NATIONAL SEMI-FINALS SEASON WRAPS UP
Hartwell Early Bird Challenge tyler Christy and Scott Springer bested the 67-boat field battling in the Cabela ’ s Lake Hartwell early Bird Challenge Feb . 19 . the pair weighed in an 18-01 limit , which included a 5- pounder that won the Big Bass Award .
Devildog Anglers ’ Jacob Smith and Hunter Harrison landed in second with a limit of 13-11 , followed by Cole and Karston Hopson of Rivers Academy elite with five fish for 12-11 . In all , 176 bass weighing 341-08 were brought to the scale , including 19 limits .
For additional information on the Student Angler Federation ’ s High School Fishing program , please visit their website at highschoolfishing . org . Mason Waddell ( left ) and Cal Culpepper . Tyler Christy ( left ) and Scott Springer .
NATIONAL SEMI-FINALS SEASON WRAPS UP
The final qualifiers for the 2017 the Bass Federation National Championship were decided Feb . 18-19 when the 2016-2017 National Semi-Finals season wrapped up . the District 23 showdown involved tBF members from Arizona and California competing on Lake Havasu out of Lake Havasu Marina .
Arizona ’ s Charlie Crawford stormed out of the gate on day one , sacking an 18-01 limit to grab a solid lead on the boater side of the event . Fellow Grand Canyon State boaters Max Hernandez and Chris Cook were next on the leaderboard with 17-12 and 13-09 , respectively . Arizona ’ s Richard Vizcarra paced the co-anglers with an 11-05 limit .
On day two , Crawford struggled a bit to fill his livewell and ended up with four bass for 11-06 , but it was enough to carry him to victory with a 29-07 total . He earned a slot in the 2017 tBF National Championship and $ 1,690 for his efforts , not to mention serious Southwestern bragging rights for at least a year .
California ’ s George Fedor climbed from fourth on day one to second in the final round with 25-04 . Fedor , who was the only boater in the field to box a limit both days , also claimed a trip to the championship , plus $ 870 . Californian Robin Oh rose to top the co-anglers with a total weight of 20-07 . In seventh place , California ’ s Bryan Kurata claimed the $ 500 Ranger Cup award for being the highestfinishing boater registered for that popular contingency program . the Arizona Bass Federation took home the first District 23 State Pride Award with 78-03 . the award is determined by adding the weights of four boaters and co-anglers from each state , who are selected prior to the event . Overall , a total of $ 9,480 in cash and prizes , representing a 131.5 percent payback , were awarded in the boater and coangler divisions . the new tBF National Semi-Finals system pits top grassroots anglers from each state in a “ close to home ” weekend event with neighboring states for significant cash prizes and advancements . Anglers qualify for the Semi- Finals in one of two ways : Active state clubs in good standing can send their top two anglers directly to the event , or the top 10 percent of state championship event participation or a minimum of 12 anglers per state qualify – whichever is greater . the new format pays back 100 percent of entry fees , including 75 percent to the top 20 percent of the field , 10 percent to the state federations and 15 percent to the tBF National Championship .
For details , visit bassfederation . com .
District 23 winner Charlie Crawford weighed in a mixed bag at Lake Havasu .
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