Hello

My name is Steve Allard and I represented Pennsylvania as the Co-Angler in the 2009 TBF National Championship presented by the National Guard on Bull Shoals Lake, March 12-14. It was an honor and a privilege to fish this tournament and represent Pennsylvania.

FLW Outdoors, The Bass Federation, Sponsors, Workers and Volunteers rolled out the red carpet for all the state anglers fishing this event and it was awesome. The anglers were treated like royalty with no worries but to go fishing and have fun. I will give a brief re-cap of the events for all of you and an insight into the tournament we all strive to qualify for.

Pre- Practice: Feb 21-22

Brent McNeal the boater representative from Pa and myself travelled to Bull Shoals on the last week before the cutoff to practice. I have never been to Bull Shoals and was overwhelmed by the size of the lake. It has miles and miles of cuts, coves, creeks, bluff walls and rocks and they all look similar. The lake is very deep and you can find water color from clear to muddy. The main structures were rocks due to the water level as most wood structure was out of the water. The lake is loaded with fish and is a place where you can catch a lunker largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass in the same day. There is a 15” size limit on largemouth and smallmouth and a 12” limit on spotted bass. The basic pattern we found was beating the banks and points with jerk baits and crank baits because the water was still cold with temperatures in the upper 30’s to low 40’s. We both caught lots of fish and had a great time exploring a new lake. I looked forward to the upcoming adventure.

Tuesday March 10: Registration and Orientation

All state anglers registered, went over the tournament rules and some of the FLW/ TBF programs and were given a boat orientation at the Branson Hilton Convention Center. The boats provided were brand new Ranger Comanche Z520 equipped with a 250HP Yamaha or Evinrude Motor, Lowrance Electronics and Minn Kota trolling motors and towed with Chevy trucks. WHAT A RIDE!!!!!

A plate dinner was provided and unbeknownst to me at the time, my wife Judy and I sat with the soon to be crowned National Champion Robert Harkness and his wife from West Virginia of the Mid-Atlantic division. I recall asking Robert “What would you do if you won the Living the Dream package?” WOW!!! What irony of the events that were about to unfold for Robert.

Wednesday March 11: Official Practice Day

I was paired with the boater from Washington and he would also be my Day 1 tournament partner. Practice was similar to a tournament with two flights and check in time at 3:00 and 3:30 PM. We were driven to the K dock ramp about 15 minutes away from the hotel by a driver and upon arrival we got into the boat and prepared to go fishing. When the fishing day was done we got back in the truck and were driven back to the hotel. All the workers and volunteers took care of everything else with the boats and no worries for the anglers except there own fishing gear. This was repeated for all the fishing days. I really appreciated this and give a lot of thanks to all the workers and volunteers that made this entire tournament special. Fishing was good on this day but I felt with the cold front that set in the fishing would change. The temperature changed from near 80 on Tuesday to the 30’s by Wednesday. I thought I was back in Pa. ice fishing! It was cold! The bait of choice was jerk baits and crank baits thrown at the bank and points. The water temps were in the upper 40’s and water levels similar to pre-practice.

Thursday March 12: Day 1

Two fish for 3lbs 10 oz – 4th Place Mid-Atlantic Division

Very very cold with temps in the low 30’s at the start. Fish seemed scattered with each spot giving up one good fish. Boater got a 5 fish limit that included a 5lbs 8oz toad largemouth. My fish came on a Wiggle Wart crank bait and a Megabass jerk bait.

Lost a good fish first thing in the morning on the crank bait which was not a good start to the tournament. Fishing seemed good in the early morning but struggled in the afternoon with a lot of non-keeper fish. Weigh in stage was incredible and was set up the same as done for the professionals. Each angler was interviewed on stage and made to feel like a professional and I was honored. Some of my family members arrived on this day to share the experience.

Friday March 13: Day 2 Cut Day

Two fish for 5lbs Total Weight 8lbs 10oz

3rd Place Mid Atlantic Division and 22nd Place overall Co-Angler

Still very cold but sun came out in the afternoon and warmed a bit. I was paired with the boater from Colorado on this day. First spot of the morning produced a good keeper smallmouth for me and two for my boater. I thought this was a good start to make up the 9lbs deficit I had from day 1. Unfortunately the fishing tapered off again as it had done the previous days with lots of non-keeper fish.

Figure It Out Part: Up until this time in all the fishing days we were beating the banks and it seemed the larger fish were dropping off the bank. At 1:00PM I cast to the other side of the boat in 20 ft of water with a shaky head worm and “Bang” caught a keeper smallmouth. It was the first time all week I got a bite on plastics. We started running this pattern on main lake points and the boater added three fish to fill out his five fish limit. But I never caught another keeper. We had to be back at the ramp by 3:00PM and I felt we figured out the pattern but just ran out of time.

Saturday March 14: Final Day / Awards Banquet

I did not make the cut so watched the weigh in. It was a dual weigh in with the TBF Championship and the FLW Pro tournament from Table Rock Lake. It was a great show and the Boater and Co-Angler champions were crowned. The awards banquet was a formal event with another awesome plate dinner. It featured several key speakers including Forrest L. Wood. All anglers received their awards and got pictures taken with Mr. Wood on stage with their trophy.

In Conclusion:

I would like to thank FLW Outdoors, The Bass Federation, National Guard, PA Bass Federation, District 6 of Pa Bass, Bassmasters of Crawford County, The Event Sponsors, Workers, Volunteers, My family and my wife Judy for all the sponsorship and support.

It was an incredible event and one I will cherish forever. And hopefully I will return.

Thank You: Steve Allard

TBF Championship Final

David Hart

Robert Harkness had little thought of actually pulling out a win on the final day of the TBF Championship. The Elizabeth, West Virginia angler was in fifth place and 7 pounds, 9 ounces behind leader Nick Smyers who was on a strong pattern that produced two solid limits on days one and two. Harkness just went fishing.

“I honestly didn’t think I was going to be able to pull out a win so I just went out and had a good time,” he recalled.

Harkness, however, not only managed to have fun, he caught a five-bass limit that weighed 13 pounds, 11 ounces, one of only two anglers to catch a limit on the final day. His three-day weight of 40 pounds, 13 ounces was good enough to capture the win and the TBF’s $100,000 Living The Dream package. Although Harkness, a purchasing manager for a hospital, knew the winner would have the option of paid entry into the Wal Mart FLW Tour or Series, he never gave the choice much thought. Now he’ll have some decisions to make.

Smyers spots that surrendered so many fish on the first two days went dry on the final day, and he brought only two bass that weighed 5-7 to the stage at the Branson Convention Center. When it was over, Harkness edged him out by a mere 11 ounces.

“I had a fish on my third cast but it came off. I never saw it, but I’m pretty sure it was a keeper,” said Smyers, who focused on bluff walls toward the backs of major creeks.

He threw a Strike King Series 5 crankbait throughout the tournament while Harkness threw a Mega Bass jerkbait along bluff walls in the Diamond City area of Bull Shoals Lake.

Georgia angler Zach King, who was in fourth place after the second day, caught a limit that weighed 11 pounds, 3 ounces for a total weight of 38-13. He finished third in the boater division. Daniel Ellis of Tennessee slipped one spot to fourth overall with a three-day total of 34-7, and Brandon Craner, who was in second after day two, fell to fifth overall. His three-day total weight was 34 pounds, 3 ounces. New York angler Rob LaMoy rounded out the final six with 21 pounds, 8 ounces.

Woody Parks, who was in second place after the second day, won the co-angler division with 23 pounds, 13 ounces. He traded places after the second day with Michigan angler Mark Modrak, who ended up with 23 pounds over three days. Jerry Necaise of Mississippi finished in third; West Virginia angler Eric Stewart came in fourth; David Martinez placed fifth; and Peter De Moya of Massachusetts came in sixth.

Harkness and Parks will compete in the $2 million Forrest Wood cup in August and all 12 anglers will advance to the BFL All-American in May.

West Virginia angler nets $100,000 ‘Living the Dream’ prize package

14.Mar.2009

BRANSON, Mo. – Robert Harkness of Elizabeth, W. Va., a 50-year-old health care purchasing manager, is now “Living the Dream” after catching a five bass limit weighing 13 pounds, 11 ounces on the final day of The Bass Federation National Championship presented by the National Guard Saturday on Bull Shoals Lake. He captured the TBF National Championship title with a three-day total catch of 15 bass weighing 40 pounds, 13 ounces.

The victory earned Harkness a $100,000 prize package that includes automatic entry into the $1 million Walmart Bass Fishing League All-American presented by Chevy on the Mississippi River in Davenport, Iowa, May 28-30 and automatic entry into the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup presented by BP and Castrol in Pittsburgh, Pa., July 30-Aug. 2, where the top pro can pocket as much as $1 million – the biggest award in bass fishing.

“I really didn’t think I had a prayer when I went out this morning,” said Harkness. “I told my partner that I was going to go out and fish and do the same thing I have done the past two days and see what happens. This lake is a great lake and you could get five bites and they could all be four or five pounds apiece, and I said it’s not over until it’s over.”

Harkness, who caught all his fish this week on a stickbait, is looking forward to the Forrest Wood Cup. He said, “Pittsburgh is almost home. I have fished the area many times.”

“The TBF is great,” he said. “Every young person ought to get out there and join a club. It really costs you nothing and you get the opportunity to accomplish what I just did.”

In addition to the incredibly lucrative championship berths, Harkness also received $10,000 and a “prize package that includes use of a “Living the Dream” wrapped Chevy truck and Ranger boat powered by Evinrude or Yamaha, sponsor merchandise and entry fees into the 2010 Walmart FLW Tour or Walmart FLW Series to compete against the world’s top bass anglers.

Anglers from six nationwide TBF divisions competed during 2008 and qualified through a series of TBF club, TBF state and TBF divisional tournaments to compete in the no-entry-fee TBF National Championship.

Harkness started the tournament Thursday in 17th place with five bass weighing 13 pounds. He moved into fifth place overall Friday with a five-bass catch weighing 14-2 that bumped his two-day total to 27-2 going into the final day of competition.

Rounding out the division-leading boaters were Nicholas Smyers of Franksville, Wis. (Northern Division, 12 bass, 40-2); Zachary King of Clarksville, Ark. (Central Division, 15 bass, 38-13); Daniel Ellis of Gleason, Tenn. (Southern Division, 14 bass, 34-7); Brandon Craner of Filer, Idaho (Western Division, 12 bass, 34-3); and Rob Lamoy of Chazy, N.Y. (Eastern Division, 11 bass, 21-8).

Overall there were 19 bass weighing 42 pounds, 4 ounces caught by six boaters. The catch included two five-bass limits.

Craner also won a 198VX Ranger as the highest finishing Ranger Cup participant.

Mark Modrak of China Township, Mich., entered the final round of co-angler competition with a slim 9-ounce lead, but fell to second by only bringing in two fish weighing a total of 2 pounds, 13 ounces. The Northern Division angler earned $2,500 for the finish with a total of nine bass weighing a total of 23 pounds. This opened the door for Woody Parks, 35, of Lincolnton, Ga., representing the Southern Division.

Parks overcame the 9-ounce deficit on the final day thanks to two bass weighing 4-03 that boosted his three-day total to 10 bass weighing 23-13, good for a $5,000 cash prize and co-angler entry into the 2009 Forrest Wood Cup for a chance to fish for as much as $50,000. He also earned a berth into the BFL All-American presented by Chevy along with the top co-angler from each TBF division for a chance to fish for as much as $70,000.

“This has not quite sunk in yet, but it will,” Parks said. “I have wanted to make the All-American my whole life and now I am going to get to go. I am still trying to qualify on the boater side to try and make it by fishing BFL trails and have been real close on the boater side. Maybe I will get to go next year too on the boater side.”

Parks said he caught most of his fish on a DT6. “Most of the boaters were paralleling the high bluff banks and anytime they would give me a little leeway, I could throw the crankbait. You had to be hitting rocks to catch any fish. I threw a DT6, jerkbait, Lucky Craft Ghost Minnow and caught one of my better fish on a jig.

Rounding out the co-angler field were Jerry Necaise of Long Beach, Miss. (Central Division, eight bass, 22-0); Eric Stewart of Anmoore, W.Va. (Mid-Atlantic Division, 10 bass, 20-3); David Martinez of Tucson, Ariz. (Western Division, 11 bass, 17-10); and Peter De Moya of Plymouth, Mass. (Eastern Division, five bass, 9-2).

Overall there were 11 bass weighing 19 pounds, 14 ounces caught by six co-anglers. No angler caught a five-bass limit.

The entire field of 44 TBF boaters and 44 co-anglers fished Thursday and Friday for an accumulated two-day weight. The top boater and co-angler from each of the TBF’s six divisions advanced to Saturday’s final round, where the winners were determined by the heaviest three-day accumulated weight.

For full complete standings click here.

The Bass Federation Inc. (TBF) is owned by those it serves and is dedicated to the sport of fishing. TBF affiliated state federations and their member clubs conduct more than 20,000 fishing, youth and conservation events at the local level each year and have provided the foundation for the entire bass fishing industry for more than 30 years. For more information about The Bass Federation, visit bassfederation.com or call (580) 765-9031.