2018 TBF NATIONAL SEMI-FINALS UPDATE
T
he Bass Federation state presidents
and other tournament organizers
provided highlights from some of
the early 2018 National Semi-Finals
events. The top boater and co-angler
from each state in these events qualified
for the 2019 TBF National Championship.
and pocket $2,070 in cash plus an invita-
tion to the National Championship.
Fellow Natural State angler Corey Ruff
topped the co-angler field with 22.26
pounds for $1,035.
Boater Jackie Husmann (fourth
place; 22.06 pounds) and co-angler
Sanford Hooker (second place; 19.64
pounds) qualified for the championship
from Oklahoma. Husmann also nabbed
the $500 Ranger Cup award.
The Oklahoma contingent captured
the State Pride award.
District 8
Dustin Glaze won the District 5 boater division.
District 5
Legendary Lake Conroe was in a gen-
erous mood when 42 TBF members from
Texas and Louisiana locked horns June 9-
10 for the District 5 National Semi-Finals
event.
When the dust settled, Texan Dustin
Glaze topped the boaters with 10 bass for
a whopping 47.60-pound total weight. His
effort was worth $1,500 in cash and a trip
to the National Championship. Fellow
Texan James Moore paced the co-angler
ranks with 26.33 pounds and earned $750.
Other championship qualifiers include
Robert Gann, the top Louisiana boater
(third place; 29.19 pounds), and Louisiana
co-angler Trey Blocker (third place; 21.07
pounds).
Finishing eighth, Louisiana’s Vernon
Silver claimed the $500 Ranger Cup award
for being the top-finishing qualified
boater.
The Texas team won the battle for
State Pride honors.
Flush with water, bass and a variety
of other game fish, North Dakota’s Lake
Sakakawea provided a world-class play-
ing field for TBF members from North
Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska
fishing the District 8 National Semi-
Finals event.
The tournament was set for Sept. 8-9,
but foul weather on day one forced tour-
nament officials to keep the field on
shore. Undaunted, the anglers set out
from Dakota Waters Resort and Marina
on day two, greeted by far fairer weather.
Nebraska’s Kent Priel won the
boater division and $2,070 with three
bass for 9.01 pounds. South Dakota’s
Mason Big Crow led the co-anglers with
7.55 pounds for a $1,035 payday.
Other National Championship quali-
fiers on the boater side include South
Dakota’s Troy Diede (second place; 8.56
pounds) and North Dakota’s Cody Arth
(third place; 8.35 pounds). Arth also
earned the $500 Ranger Cup award.
Additional co-angler qualifiers to
the National Championship include
Matthew Franz of North Dakota (sec-
ond place; 7.09 pounds) and Nebraska’s
Chris Swift (fourth place; 6.94 pounds).
In State Pride competition, North
Dakota took top honors.
Kent Priel took District 8 boater honors.
District 9
A windy, rainy, stormy pre-fishing
period was followed up by 41-degree
temperatures and a challenging first
day for TBF anglers from Minnesota
and Wisconsin at the District 9 Semi-
Finals on Pools 5, 6 and 7 of the
Mississippi River in Winona, Minn. The
tournament was held Sept. 22-23.
Minnesotan Randy Wieczorek had a
good day one with 13.32 pounds, but
knew he had to step it up on day two
as the river increasingly muddied up.
With the backwaters remaining clear,
Wieczorek frog fished and brought in a
huge 16.33-pound sack to seal the win.
He’ll be joined at the championship by
fellow Minnesotan Richard Conrad,
who won the co-angler division with 10
smallmouths that weighed 22.81
pounds.
From Wisconsin, boater Brady
Ferrell fished grass with a jig to finish
second overall with 28.89 pounds and
will represent the Badger State at the
championship. Runner-up co-angler
Deven Etnyre topped the Wisconsin
contingent from the back of the boat.
The Minnesota team finished just a
few pounds ahead of Wisconsin to win
the State Pride award.
District 6
76
The bass fishing battleground of
Grand Lake in Oklahoma set the stage
for competitors from Oklahoma and
Arkansas at the District 6 National Semi-
Finals June 16-17.
Arkansas’ Doug Thompson blew off
his rivals’ home-lake advantage and
boxed 25.27 pounds to best the boaters
North Dakota’s Lake Sakakawea was a fitting stage for the District 8 showdown.
flWfIshInG.com I WInter 2019