A
RAY CROWNED DISTRICT 6 TBF NATIONAL SEMI-FINALS CHAMPION
rkansas’ Josh Ray finished strong to win the District 6
The Bass Federation National Semi-Finals on the
Arkansas River out of Muskogee, Okla., Sept. 24-25.
The tournament featured top anglers from Oklahoma and
Arkansas.
Ray sacked 7.65 pounds on day one of the event, which
put him in third behind Oklahoma’s Jackie Husmann (12.20)
and Stewart Ryan (11.96). When overcast skies greeted
anglers on the final day, Ray responded
with a 15.05-pound bag that was the
biggest stringer of the tournament. It
pushed him to the top of the leader-
board with 22.73 pounds.
Ray reported burning about 45 gallons
of gas to reach the lower Kerr Reservoir
pool approximately 30 miles from the
launch site at Three Forks Harbor.
Although it was Ray’s first trip to the
Arkansas River, he was able to find areas
with fish-holding water willows in practice.
“I set waypoints on my Lowrance HDS-
12 to return to them on tournament
days,” he notes, adding that the muscle
of his 112-pound-thrust Minn Kota
trolling motor helped him stay in position
to present frogs and swim jigs despite
the heavy current.
DECEMBER 2016 I FLWFISHING.COM
For his efforts, Ray qualified to fish the 2017 TBF National
Championship, plus the $1,700 first-place cash prize.
Day one leader Husmann brought in 9.40 pounds on
day two and slipped to second. It was a respectable finish
that qualified him to fish the TBF National Championship
and paid $900 plus the $500 Ranger Cup award. Husmann
also earned the distinction of being the only angler to
record limits both days.
The co-angler champion was Sandy
Josh Ray
Hooker from Oklahoma, who received
$850 and a chance to compete in the
championship as a co-angler for his
14.47-pound two-day total. The top
Arkansas co-angler, Robert Scott, also
received a berth in the championship.
Collectively, the Oklahoma Bass
Federation claimed the first District 6
State Pride Award with 65.93 total
pounds.
The new National Semi-Finals format
pays back 100 percent of anglers’ entry
fees, with 75 percent going to the top 20
percent of the field, 10 percent to the
state federations and 15 percent to the
National Championship. A total of
$10,120 in cash and prizes was awarded
at the event.
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