Anderson and Lenz win the inaugural TBF/FLW High School Fishing National Championship

COLUMBIA, SC – Dalton Anderson and Dawson Lenz of McIntosh High in Peachtree City, GA conquered a 5 team field to win the inaugural High School Fishing National Championship yesterday in Columbia, South Carolina on Lake Murray. The senior duo weighed a whopping bag of 16 lbs 12 ounces to dominate the event, beating the nearest team by over 8 lbs to win a $10,000 Scholarship to a college of their choice ($5,000 each), not to mention bragging rights to be named the first ever High School Fishing National Champions. The event was held in conjunction with the FLW College Fishing National Championship.

“We drove down here by ourselves during spring break and fished 15 hours a day trying to figure something out,” cited the champs. “When we got out to our first location, we realized that things had changed and we had to start all over again.  We probably burned 20 gallons of gas checking the points that we had caught good fish on during our practice; by 10:30am we had not even had a bite! Finally we stopped for a moment and just thought about what we had seen the pros do on this lake a couple of years ago when they were here and said hey, let’s try a suspended jerk bait,” said Lenz. Continue reading

Burghoff Continues to Parlay 2011 BoatUS Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship Victory

Thanks to The Bass Federation  

San Antonio, Texas (April 5, 2012) – When the University of Central Florida’s fishing team of Miles “Sonar” Burghoff and Casey O’Donnell won the 2011 BoatUS Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship on Lake Lewisville, they had reached the pinnacle of college bass fishing.  They won the nation’s most prestigious college fishing event and topped the largest field of collegiate anglers ever assembled.  For many, this would be defined as that special “One Shining Moment” in a lifetime of bass fishing competition.  Thanks to the partnership between the Association of Collegiate Anglers (ACA) and The Bass Federation (TBF), it turned out to only be the start of a special journey for both of them.

They took the time to join the TBF prior to the Championship, which made them eligible for the TBF contingency program tied to the event.  A simple $35 investment into TBF membership by each angler allowed them to walk off the collegiate stage and into the arena of national competition.  Their TBF bonus was automatic qualification for the TBF National Championship.  As team captain, Miles advanced as a boater.  His partner, Casey O’Donnell, advanced as a non-boater to the same TBF National Championship, which took place last week on Bull Shoals. Continue reading

Conservation Directors Take on Bull Shoals Reservoir

Conservation Directors from across the country converged on Northern Arkansas last week as part of the 2012 TBF National Championship. The group, which represented 16 different states, started the week by assisting the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission with constructing and placing a variety of different habitat structures in beautiful Bull Shoals Reservoir.

Colton Dennis the coordinator of the AGFC Black Bass Program and his staff orchestrated the construction and placement of habitat which included various synthetic structures along with great nursery habitat constructed out of “River Cane”. Continue reading

Tie-breaker settles it; Gagner wins the 2012 Federation National Championship!

March 31, 2012 – It came down to a tie-breaker for the national champion title today as 14 division champions walked across the FLW Tour stage in Branson, Mo., on the final of the 2012 Federation National Championship.  The weights sat at 35lbs 5ounces for both Gilbert Gagner from Highgate Springs, Vt., and Jeff Erickson from Phoenix, Az.  The tie-breaker went to the angler who brought in the most fish after three days of tournament fishing.  For Gagner, consistency was key.  Gagner caught a solid five bass limit every day of the tournament to give him the win.  Erickson didn’t walk away empty-handed though, as the highest finished Ranger Cup qualified boater, he’s now the proud owner of a new Ranger Z518 Boat, trolling motor, batteries, Lowrance electronics and trailer.  On the co-angler side, Tyler Webb from Arnett, W.V., came from third to snag the title and be named 2012 National Champion today.   Gagner and Webb both earned berths in the 2012 Forrest Wood Cup, and they, as well as, all 14 anglers competing today earned slots at the 2012 BFL All-American.  Gagner also receives the dream of a lifetime, the prize that makes it all worth it, the $100,000 “Living the Dream” prize package.  The package includes cash and prizes, fully paid entry fees as an FLW Tour Pro for the year, travel funds and use of a wrapped Ranger Boat and Chevrolet truck. Continue reading