New York, Ontario and Pennsylvania Advance Anglers to Nationals
Carl Alexander – NY
The first National TBF Semi-Final in District 14 was held October 15-16 on Lake Champlain out of the Ticonderoga boat ramp. The event was hosted by the New York Bass Federation (NYTBF) and started with the registration, meeting, and a banquet at the Best Western in Ticonderoga.
A total of $21,640 in cash and prizes, National Semi-Final qualifying jerseys, trophies, champion titles and slots in the national championship were awarded in the boater and co-angler divisions.
District 14 held the largest and richest Semi-Final to date. The top 12 boaters and co-anglers in the 62 boat field divvyed up $13,950 in total cash payback, not including the $500 Ranger Cup award and the $1,000 Evinrude E-tec award for the winning boater (if he/she runs a 2012 or newer Evinrude).
After two days of official practice, the anglers from New York, Ontario, and Pennsylvania were greeted with low water and foggy conditions that delayed takeoff for an hour and a half. Even with the reduced fishing time, anglers were enthusiastic about catching lots of quality largemouth and smallmouth from the famous Lake Champlain fishery. There were many mixed bags of both species weighed in over the two days of the tournament.
In the end, Brad Brodnicki from New York bested the boater field with a combined weight of 28.90 pounds. Brodnicki received a $3,100 cash prize and he’ll advance to the 2017 Federation National Championship.
Brad Brodnicki – NY
However, it was co-angler Carl Alexander from New York that had the largest total weight of the tournament at 30.20 pounds. Under the new national semi-final format, Alexander can now opt to fish as a boater at the national championship event. If he does, New York will move up the next two co-angler spots keeping the numbers even with two boaters and two co-anglers.
Also advancing to nationals as the highest finishing boaters in their states are Justin Fung representing Ontario (2nd boater overall) and Robert Joseph Davidson, Jr. representing Pennsylvania (3rd boater overall). Fung also received a $1,840 paycheck and Davidson received a $910 cash prize for his two days of work.
The co-anglers advancing to the national championship are Matthew Davis representing Pennsylvania (4th co-angler overall), and Jayson Saliba representing Ontario (5th co-angler overall).
The New York federation team also won the National Semi-Final “STATE PRIDE” award with 132.35 pounds. The award is determined by adding the weights of the top four boaters and co-anglers from each state, which are selected prior to the event.
The top New York boaters were Brad Brodnicki, Bobby Williams, Garry Woodruff, and Glenn Babineau, and the top co-anglers included Kevin Grist, David Dumas, Stuart Morse, and Luke Musto.
It was difficult to launch and retrieve the boats in the low water conditions especially in the early morning hours. The NYTBF was grateful the Pennsylvania TBF President, Chris Wilson, and Vice-President, Mike Saabi, for running the ramp and keeping boats moving in an organized manner. They also helped with the weigh-in along with team members from New York.
Anglers drove their vehicles and boats right up to the weigh-in stage held at the Bicentennial Park in historic Ticonderoga. The waterfall coming from Lake George into the LaChute River served as the backdrop making for a spectacular weigh-in site.
Special thanks to the Town of Ticonderoga and the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism (ROOST) for sponsoring the event and allowing usage of the park. Without great sponsors, events like this with 120 plus anglers and their families would be difficult.
The new event format also went well thanks to the support from TBF’s sponsors; FLW, Ranger, Cabela’s, Lowrance, Minn Kota, Humminbird, Evinrude, Berkley and Power Pole.
The Alabama Bass Federation played host to the first TBF National Semifinal contest for District 4 on Neely Henry Lake in Gadsden City, Ala. The new TBF National Semi-Finals program pits top grassroots anglers from each state in a “close to home” weekend event with neighboring states for significant cash prizes and advancements.
Hayes would close the gap on day two to claim the boater title with a tournament total of 24.21 pounds. He received a $2,300 cash prize and will advance to the 2017 Federation National Championship representing Alabama.
On the co-angler side, Nickolas Becktein from Mississippi led it after day one with 10.02 pounds. But, he had have trouble finding that limit on day two. He brought in a 5.07 pound bag making his tournament total 15.09 pounds and opened the door for John Perez from Alabama to squeeze in for the title. Becktein would still finish in second, snag a $600 paycheck and get a ticket to the national championship as the highest finishing co-angler representing Mississippi.
John Perez found a limit of bass weighing 10.11 pounds to make his tournament total 17.13 pounds. He received an $1,150 cash prize and will advance to the national championship as the co-angler champion representing Alabama.
Wayne Parrish is the fourth angler advancing to the national championship as the highest finishing boater from Mississippi. Parrish brought in a limit of bass weighing 23.04 pounds, just one ounce shy of Roy Galbraith’s limit from Alabama and a second place overall finish. The finish would affect his paycheck but not his advancement to the largest and richest championship in federation history.
The Alabama Bass Federation made the final sweep taking home bragging rights and the first District 4 State Pride Award with 115.05 total pounds. The award is determined by adding the weights of the top four boaters and co-anglers from each state, which are selected prior to the event. Alabama’s top anglers to facilitate in the win were Alex Alford, Jason Blackmon, Randal Blackmon, Rusty Burroughs, Todd Dalrymple, Tim Griffith, Wes Logan and Clayton Mosley.
The North Carolina Bass Federation played host to the first TBF National Semifinal contest for District 2 on Lake Wylie in Charlotte, N.C. The new TBF National Semi-Finals program pits top grassroots anglers from each state in a “close to home” weekend event with neighboring states for significant cash prizes and advancements.
After two days of fishing, the co-angler race remained tight with less than a pound separating first and second and two ounces separating second and third. Ultimately, the champion title went to Larry Halsey from North Carolina with 10.22 pounds. Halsey received $815 cash prize and will represent the North Carolina co-angler’s at the national championship.
The new format pays back 100% of the entry fees, 75% to the top 20% of the field, 10% to the state federations and 15% to the TBF Federation National Championship. In the new NSF rules, a co-angler can also move up as a boater if his/her weight totals more than the state boater’s weight.
