The weight put him atop the Southwestern Division and tied for third place overall with Kentucky’ s B. J. Nelson. Cody Huddleston of West Virginia, who brought in 15-9, led the field overall. Pennsylvania’ s John Schoener was in second with 14-10.
Wilson followed a similar game plan on day two. This time, the bridge failed to produce, while a mix of umbrella rigs and cranking Little Ns yielded all the keepers.
Wilson and Nelson turned in identical limits again on day two. Each weighed 13 pounds, 9 ounces to lead his respective division and move into a tie for the overall lead with 27-11.
Confident in his game plan, Wilson followed the same strategy on day three. For the second straight morning, the bridge was a bust. Unshaken, he fell back on his crankbait-and-umbrella-rig program close to the weigh-in area, which yielded a respectable limit caught in 10 feet of water on secondary points.“ I didn’ t think I had enough to win it,” Wilson admits. Still, the 12-pound, 9-ounce catch was enough for a 40- pound, 4-ounce total that put him more than 3 pounds ahead of his nearest rivals, Pat Upthagrove of Michigan and Brian Trieschman of Washington, D. C., who tied with 37-2.
“ I’ m ecstatic,” he says.“ I’ ve been fishing as long as I can remember, and ever since I was about 16 I knew this is what I wanted to do with my life. I’ m thankful TBF offers an opportunity like this.”
Wilson says he became interested in TBF after seeing fellow Californian Mark Daniels Jr. win the“ Living the Dream” package. Daniels parlayed the opportunity into a professional bass fishing career, and Wilson, currently a dockworker by trade, hopes to do likewise with his shot at the Forrest Wood Cup and FLW Tour.
WILSON’ S WINNING PRIZE
The TBF National Championship is a lucrative tournament. The winner, Austin Wilson, went home with an impressive prize that includes the“ Living the Dream” package. His total haul:
• $ 20,000 in cash
• Fully paid entry fees on the 2019 FLW Tour as a pro
• Travel expense stipends for each Tour event
• Use of a wrapped Ranger boat and tow vehicle for the 2019 season
• A berth in the 2018 T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League All-American
• A berth in the 2018 Forrest Wood Cup
• Ranger Z518 for being the event’ s top Ranger Cupqualified boater
BLASH TOPS CO-ANGLERS
Retired U. S. Army veteran Ray Blash, representing the Central Division, won the co-angler title with 10 bass for a 27-pound, 12-ounce total.
Blash sacked 6 pounds, 11 ounces on day one and followed up by boating the field’ s heaviest catch on day two with a 16-pound, 3-ounce limit, which moved him into the final round where he finished strong with 4 pounds, 14 ounces.
Blash received a $ 30,000“ Living the Dream” prize package that included $ 20,000 in cash, plus fully paid entry fees into the Costa FLW Series division of his choice. Vermont’ s Scott McKay earned a $ 5,000 cash award for being the highest-placing Ranger Cup-qualified co-angler.
Ray Blash topped the co-angler ranks with 27 pounds, 12 ounces.
TBF Finalists
The top boater and co-angler from each of the seven TBF divisions qualified to compete on the final day. They also earned entry into the 2018 BFL All-American.
Boaters 1. Austin Wilson, California, 40-04,( 15) 2. Pat Upthagrove, Michigan, 37-02( 15) 3. Brian Trieschman, Washington, D. C., 37-02( 14) 4. B. J. Nelson, Kentucky, 35-00( 13) 5. Nick Deering, Maine, 32-02( 12) 6. Mike Webster, Arkansas, 27-08( 10) 7. Loren Torok, Idaho, 19-03( 7)
Co-anglers 1. Ray Blash, Missouri, 27-12( 10) 2. Jesse Parks, Arizona, 21-13( 7) 3. Hernandez Ruffin, Washington, 19-10( 8) 4. Adam Wall, Delaware, 16-06( 6) 5. Dave Berg, Minnesota, 11-05( 4) 6. Chris Franco, Tennessee, 7-14( 3) 7. Scott McKay, Vermont, 5-05( 2) juLy 2018 I fLWfIshIng. com
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