The Bass Federation (TBF) held its National Semi Finals Championship this past weekend, September 27-28 on Lake Blackshear, Cordele, Georgia. Three (3) days of practice started on Wednesday, September 24.  Practice for the competitors proved to be challenging with sunny weather, light breezes and the largemouth bass choosing not to participate in this event.

Anglers from both states blasted off from the Georgia Veterans Memorial State Park with weigh-in starting at 3:00 p.m. for Saturday and 2:00 pm on Sunday. Weather conditions on both days were sunny with some light breezes.

Day 1 results had Jesse Tacoronte of the Florida Bass Federation leading on the Boaters side with five (5) bass weighing 15 pounds 1 ounce.  David Perry of the Florida Bass Federation lead the Co-Anglers with two (2) bass weighing 7 pounds 2 ounces

Day 2 results had Boater Patrick Brown of the Georgia Bass Federation coming in with five (5) bass weighing 16 pounds 4 ounces and Co-Angler Kevin Watson from the Georgia Bass Federation weighing in three (3) bass totaling 8 pounds 6 ounces.

Overall winners for the 2025 District 1 TBF GA-FL National Semi Finals were Jesse Tacoronte of the Florida Bass Federation with eight (8) bass weighing 21 pounds 8 ounces on the Boater’s side and Gene Willis of the Georgia Bass Federation with five (5) bass weighing 11 pounds 11 ounces on the Co-angler’s side.

Top Boater and Co-Angler from the Georgia Bass Federation was Jason Cheek and Gene Willis.

Top Boater and Co-Angler from the Florida Bass Federation was Jesse Tacoronte and David Perry.

Big Fish for the tournament was caught by Brian Rodriguez of the Florida Bass Federation weighing 7 pounds 2 ounces.

A total of 177 bass were weighed in with a combined weight of 409 pounds 6 ounces.

The top Boater and Co-Angler from each state advances to The Bass Federation National Championship in 2026, where they will test their skills by competing against the winners of the other state federations.  Date and location of the 2026 The Bass Federation (TBF) National Championship TBA.

State Pride honors went to the Georgia Bass Federation.

The 2025 season is a wrap, and we have our next set of anglers qualifying for the TBF National Championship where anglers compete for over 400k+ in cash and prizes as well as advancement opportunities into the highest levels of the sport. Nate Maher ran away with this event on the boater side bringing in both the heavy bag and big bass both days of the event to finish with a commanding 6lb+ lead over 2nd place. Nate finished with a 2-day total of 30.33lb including a 4.77lb big bass on day 1 and a 3.69lb big bass on day 2. The weights were certainly tight on the co-angler side, but Justin Bauer was able to beat the field by bringing in big bass on both days as well bringing his two-day total to 18.31lb with a 3.14lb day 1 big bass and 3.52lb big bass on day 2. Rumor has it Justin was able to anchor his day 2 bag in the last 20 minutes of the event to earn his spot to Nationals!

These two anglers will be joining Chancy Walter and Jim Garton who both qualified for the TBF National Championship back in May by winning our Clear Lake Qualifier.

The river was a new body of water for a lot of anglers and for a weekend forecasted to be filled with rain we were all lucky to stay dry throughout the event. A lot of fish were caught, no one got stuck in a backwater, and the Mississippi showed why it truly is a special place to fish. We are already looking forward to the 2026 season and it is never too early to reach out about TBF membership or creating your own club to participate in next year’s events. Let’s congratulate all our anglers on more time who made it to the TBF National Championship, and we look forward to cheering all these anglers on as they compete for a piece of the “Living the Dream” prize package at Nationals. Thank you to all the anglers who participated in the 2025 season, and we look forward to seeing you all again next year.

Event Overview

The District 17 semifinals were held on Lake Winnipesaukee under frigid conditions, with temperatures starting at a brisk 38°F. Despite the cold, the competition was intense and produced impressive results from both Angler and Co-angler divisions.

Angler Division Highlights

John Levesque dominated the Angler division, leading the tournament from start to finish. On day one, he brought in a bag weighing 15.37 lbs. He followed up with an outstanding performance on day two, landing 21.22 lbs of largemouth bass. His two-day total of 36.59 lbs secured a commanding victory, finishing 9 lbs ahead of his closest competitor.

Co-Angler Division Results

The Co-angler competition was much closer. Brayden Antosiewicz narrowly edged out Jeff Peron by just 0.16 ounces, with a winning total of 22.84 lbs. The tight race showcased the high level of competition among the co-anglers.

Winners by State

• NH Angler: John Levesque
• NH Co-angler: Brayden Antosiewicz
• Maine Angler: Anthony Gelardi
• Maine Co-angler: Zack Morris

Conclusion

The event on Lake Winnipesaukee tested anglers with cold weather and tough competition. Congratulations to all winners, especially John Levesque and Brayden Antosiewicz for their outstanding performances. The Ranger Cup winner was Nick Deering with a two day total of 24.42 lbs.