Bass Fishing Jan 2018 | Page 85

2017 TBF NATIONAL SEMI-FINALS UPDATE H ere are updates from The Bass Federation National Semi- Finals events held in early fall 2017: District 12 Virginia and West Virginia TBF members clashed on Summersville Lake in the District 12 Semi-Finals Sept. 23-24 out of Battle Run Ramp. Virginia’s Chris Lewis bested the boater field with 16.61 pounds, which earned him $2,440. West Virginia’s Cody Huddleston finished second overall with 14.43 pounds. Co-angler qualifiers for the national championship are West Virginia’s Rick Hamer, who won his division with 12.68 pounds, and Virginian Jason Clark with 11.60 pounds. The West Virginia Bass Federation won the State Pride Award with 64.07 pounds. District 15 TBF members from Connecticut, New Jersey and Rhode Island battled on Lake Hopatcong Sept. 30-Oct. 1 when the New Jersey Bass Federation hosted the District 15 Semi-Finals. New Jersey boater Sean Loll started slow with four bass for 8.68 pounds on day one, but rallied with 15.49 pounds on day two for a winning total of 24.17 pounds. He won $2,270. Art Vitale of New Jersey won the co-angler title with 19.79 pounds, good for $1,135. Other championship qualifiers are Connecticut boater Alex Wetherell and co-angler John Fonda, along with Rhode Island boater Jeremy Sadowski and co-angler Robert Rull. The New Jersey Bass Federation won the State Pride Award with 74.56 total pounds. District 13 The Maryland Bass Federation hosted Washington, D.C., and Delaware in the District 13 Semi-Finals Sept. 30-Oct. 1 on the upper Chesapeake Bay out of Dundee State Park. The tournament was originally scheduled as a two-day event, but due to high winds competition was cut to just one day. D.C.’s Brian Trieschman claimed the boater title with 18.10 pounds, good for $2,000. Craig Morris of Delaware and Maryland’s Dan Rodriguez also advanced to the champi- onship for being the top boaters in their states with 16.42 and 11.26 pounds, respectively. Per Semi-Finals rules, co-angler champion Ron Stierstorfer of Maryland will advance to the championship as a boater for landing a bigger catch than his state’s boater. He weighed in 18.40 pounds for a $1,000 payday. Other championship qualifiers are Delaware co-angler Adam Wall with 13.32 pounds and D.C. co-angler Jason Pierson with 8.51 pounds. The Delaware Bass Federation won the State Pride Award with 69.05 pounds. Maine co-angler Lewis Mendell shows off a pair of quality smallmouth bass. District 17 Lake Winnipesaukee was ground zero for Maine and New Hampshire TBF members competing in the District 17 Semi- Finals event Sept. 23-24. New Hampshire’s Sean Graves paced the boaters with a two-day total of 26.13 pounds. He received a $1,700 paycheck. Nick Deering, who finished third overall with 23.95 pounds, was the top Maine boater and will advance to the championship. Myles Tripp of New Hampshire was the co-angler winner with a tournament total of 21.68 pounds for a total cash payout of $850. He’ll be joined at the championship by Lewis Mendall, who topped the Maine co-anglers with 20.73 pounds. The Bass Federation of Maine claimed the State Pride Award with 153.08 pounds. Maryland Co-angler Ron Stierstorfer will fish the championship as a boater since he weighed in more than his boater counterpart. JANUARY 2018 I FLWFISHING.COM District 18 Both the Dalles and Bonneville pools of the Columbia River hosted 38 TBF members from Washington and Oregon for the District 18 Semi-Finals Oct. 7-8. 83