HEADRICK WINS SEMI-FINALS AT LAKE MEAD
L
ake Mead was the site of The Bass
Federation’s first National Semi-
Finals tournament of 2018, an
event that offered grassroots District 22
bass anglers from Utah and Nevada a
chance to qualify for the 2019 TBF
National Championship. Anglers com-
peted on the massive Colorado River
reservoir out of Lake Mead Marina
May 19-20.
Utah’s Wade Headrick paced the
boaters with daily limits of 9.92 pounds
and 13.52 pounds, respectively. For his
23.44-pound two-day total, Headrick
pocketed $1,170, along with the $500
Ranger Cup contingency prize and an
invitation to compete in the TBF
National Championship.
Nevada boater David Hudson was
hot on Headrick’s heels, posting a pair of
limits weighing 9.20 pounds and 12.33
pounds for a 21.53-pound tournament
total. That was good for $630 in cash
and Nevada’s slot in the TBF title match.
Utah’s Mark Shepard topped the
co-angler ranks with 13.62 and 8.60
pounds for a nine-fish total that
weighed 22.22 pounds. Shepard
earned $585 and a trip to nationals,
where he will be joined by Nevada’s
top co-angler, Andrew Hays, who
weighed in 17.13 pounds and collect-
ed $315 in cash. Utah won the State
Pride competition by 134.19 pounds to
126.06 pounds.
In all, TBF paid out $5,640 in cash
and prizes at the District 22 event, rep-
resenting a payback of nearly 157 per-
cent on entry fees – not counting state
stipends or TBF championship funds,
which push the total payback to more
than 180 percent.
Utah’s Wade Headrick won the District 22 title
with 23.44 pounds.
INDIANA BASS FEDERATION FUNDS RACCOON LAKE BASS STOCKING
C
onservation is one of the corner-
stones of The Bass Federation,
as members of the Indiana Bass
Federation (IBF) demonstrated this
spring by stocking bass in select
Hoosier reservoirs.
“We wanted to supplement bass
populations with stocking, since most
of the stocking done by the Indiana
Department of Natural Resources
(DNR) tends to focus on walleyes and
muskies,” says IBF Secretary Mike
Goins.
“IBF Conservation Director Maggie
Templeton and IBF District 9 Director
Jason Hartz were instrumental in spear-
heading our stocking program,” he
continues. “When we contacted the
DNR, biologists were supportive of the
idea and suggested we start with
Raccoon Lake.”
The 2,110-acre impoundment of Big
Raccoon Creek is a popular fishing
destination located in west-central
Indiana in the rolling farmlands of
Parke and Putnam counties.
In accordance with the IBF’s core
mission of uniting member clubs to
assist the DNR in matters mutually
beneficial to Indiana resources, the
organization allotted $5,000 to stock
largemouth bass in Raccoon Lake in
2018.
With the cooperation and support
of the DNR, the IBF purchased 1,000 8-
to 12-inch-long largemouth bass from
a hatchery in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Templeton adds that the DNR was
From left, Indiana DNR fisheries biologists Corey DeBoom and Nick Haunert received a hand stocking
bass from IBF Conservation Director Maggie Templeton and IBF District 9 Director Jason Hartz.
108
helpful in recommending the best size
of bass to stock and locating the best
pricing. The bass were stocked in the
lake on Friday, April 27 at the Walker
Boat Ramp.
Templeton says the IBF plans to
stock additional bass in Raccoon Lake
in 2020 and will also release bass in
Indiana’s Lake Monroe in 2019 and
2021. The IBF set up a GoFundMe
page to raise additional funds for
those future releases.
The IBF stocking is part of the DNR
Division of Fish and Wildlife’s efforts to
restore Monroe and Raccoon lakes
under the auspices of the state’s
Reservoir Habitat Enhancement
Program.
Launched in 2016, the five-year pro-
gram aims to reset the clock on certain
aging Hoosier reservoirs by improving
aquatic habitat through a combination
of structure placement, shoreline stabi-
lization and dredging. Various IBF
clubs and other volunteers assisted the
DNR with placement of habitat in
Raccoon Lake in 2017.
Goins notes that DNR monitoring
of fish populations in response to the
reservoir habitat enhancements will
also help biologists assess the success
of the IBF stocking projects.
flWfIshIng.com I august-september 2018