April 30, 2008 Update
As our open water season is finally upon us (or most of us anyway)
I just
thought I’d give a quick update on where things stand as of today.
Adult State Championship – Lake Alexander (June 13 & 14)
Currently, we have 11 paid entries for this tournament. Hard to believe there
aren’t more anglers interested in competing for a chance to go on to fish for
the Living the Dream Package, a spot in the Forrest Wood Cup and a spot in the
BFL All-American. If you’re not familiar with all of the advancement
opportunities or membership benefits, check out the TBF web site for more
information, www.bassfederation.com.
Just a reminder, there is a May 13th deadline for entering this tournament and
it will be enforced. Tournament headquarters will be The Castaway, located on
the north side of Lake Alexander. This event will go on regardless of the number
of entries. Entry forms and rules are available on the web site. Please note,
you must be a current member of the MFBA, TBF and FLW Outdoors to participate in
this event. Go to www.flwoutdoors.com
to obtain/renew a FLW membership. Send $40 ($25-MFBA, $15-TBF) along with your
entry form for the MFBA and TBF memberships. Another reminder, the top 12
anglers from this event will advance to fish the 2008 TBF Northern Divisional
Championship which will be held the week of September 8th on Lake St. Clair,
just outside of Detroit, MI. The 2 highest finishing anglers from MN at Lake St.
Clair will advance on to the 2009 TBF National Championship which will be held
in March 2009 at a location that has not been announced yet.
Junior State Championship – Fishtrap Lake (June 12)
Currently we have 10 junior anglers signed up, as well as a couple of boat
captains. As was the case last year, we’re always looking for volunteers to help
with this event, so if you are willing and able to help in anyway, please
contact us at info@mnbass.org. Please note
that the deadline to enter for this tournament is May 12th and the junior angler
must be a current MFBA and TBF member to participate. There are 2 membership
options for junior anglers. The first one is the standard option, which costs $5
and simply includes a membership for TBF. The second option is the premium
option, which costs $25 and includes a 1 year membership to FLW Outdoors and
TBF, a 1 year subscription to FLW Outdoors magazine, a hat, a shirt and some
baits. There is no cost for junior anglers to be a member of the MFBA, so by
joining TBF, they are automatically a member of the MFBA. The dues for either
option can be included with the entry form for the tournament, with the check
made payable to MFBA. Entry forms and rules are available on the web site. The
top angler in each age bracket will advance on to the 2008 National Guard Junior
World Championship which will be held in conjunction with the 2008 Forrest Wood
Cup. The junior anglers will get to fish with FLW Tour pros as the boat
captains.
Club State Championship – Mississippi River-Pools 5A, 6 & 7 (September 26 & 27)
Currently only 1 club has registered with the MFBA in addition to the umbrella
club (MFBA Club). The deadline to be on a club roster in order to participate is
6/1. In case you missed the announcement, as a result of the MFBA Series being
cancelled and all 12 state team spots now being qualified for from this event,
all members of the MFBA (including the umbrella club) are eligible for this
event and the youth/conservation requirement for clubs has been lifted for this
year. This tournament is to qualify our 12 person state team for the 2009 TBF
Northern Divisional Championship which will be held in September 2009 on Pool 19
of the Mississippi River. If the total MFBA membership is less than 50 at 6/1,
this event will be cancelled.
TBF National Championship
I just returned from the 2008 TBF National Championship which was held on Lake
Wylie in North Carolina. Jim Severson and Doug Pietrzak represented Minnesota in
admirable fashion, with Jim just barely missing out on the top spot for the
Northern Division which would have gotten him a spot in the 2008 BFL
All-American. Overall it was a great event and the support from FLW was
incredible. The show for this event will air on FSN on June 8th at 10:00 AM. If
you’re going to be out on the water, you should definitely record it to watch
later.
That’s about it for now. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions, need
any additional information or are interested in getting involved with the MFBA.
As with any volunteer organization, it takes people to make things happen.
Rick Pelletier
President
Minnesota Federation of Bass Anglers
www.mnbass.org
The MFBA and TBF would like to thank all of our sponsors
and ask that you keep them in mind the next time you’re in the market for their
products/services.
