Johnny Babb and Stewart Ryan Advance To

2016 TBF Nationals

The Oklahoma Bass Federation defended their position as the Central Division Champs by winning the Central Division Tournament taking the title on the Tenn-Tom Waterway in Aberdeen, MS.  The team took the 2014 title on Eufaula Lake in Oklahoma and now has added the 2015 title, being one of the few State Teams to ever have back-to-back Divisional Championships.

Day 1

The practice days were hampered by rain, swift river currents, and ever changing weather.  However, as the tournament started the water calmed, the skies cleared, and many of the things learned during the practice went out the window and the anglers had to change with the conditions.  The team weighed in only 12 fish, tied for the 5^th ranking State of fish weighed in as a team total, however, our weight per fish averaged 2-9 pounds and placed the OBF in 3^rd after the initial day of competition.  Johnny Babb let the team with a two fish catch weighing 6-15 pounds followed by 4 plus pound stringers from Brandon Moss, Mike Zachary, Ron Fuller, and Gene Vogt.  Brandon and Ron had only one fish each but they were 4-14 and 4-09, respectively.  Stewart Ryan (3-07) and Jackie Husmann (2-04) rounded out the 30-15 pounds total leaving us behind both Kansas and Mississippi by only 3 pounds.  After day one Johnny ranked 3 overall for the tournament with Brandon at 14, Mike at 18 and Ron at 20.  Only 57 of the 94 contestants weighed in fish the first day, 102 fish caught for a total weight of 211-13.

Day 2

Johnny Babb and Stewart Ryn 2016 Nation Qualifiers.

During our team meeting following the 1 day, we were able to reevaluate and change our approach for competition the second day.  The result proved to really pay dividends.  Our team brought 22 fish to the scales owith an average, again, of about 2-8.  Johnny improved his first days catch with 4 fish weighing 9-10.  Mike and Gene also put 4 fish on the scales with 7-11 and 6-13. Brandon had 3 for 6-6. Ron Boyd and Ron Fuller brought in two fish  each weighing 5-6 and 4-11, respectively.  ( Ron Boyd’s  first day partner wanted to go up the river 5 locks and due to lock delays did not get back in time to weigh in.  It was a team decision for Ron to take the “adventure” trip.)  The only team close to us in number of  fish was Mississippi with 21 fish, however, their fish averaged only 1-10.

After the day 2 weigh in Oklahoma jumped from 3 to first with a 9 pound lead over Kansas and an 11 pound lead over Mississippi. We had four team members in the top 10, Johnny at 2, Mike at 7, Brandon at 8 and Gene at 9.  Ron Fuller moved up from 20 to 16 while Stewart advanced 3 places from 29 to 26.

Day 3

The final day started with our team going out to maintain our lead.  The big stringer for the final day for us  was a 5 fish limit weighing 10-6, one of the largest of the tournament, by Stewart.  Johnny continued to increase his daily total with 9-15 being the only angler in the tournament to increase his catch each of the three days.   On the last day, many of the anglers from other states was more interested in going home than catching fish.  Two our anglers, Brannon Whipple and Chuck Nelson had a difficult draws and had not weighed fish on day 1 or day 2, rather than be discouraged they combined to bring 6 fish to the scales for a total of 11-15.  Brannon had four weighing 8-13 while Chuck had 2 at 3-2.  (Our margin of victory turnout to be 11-14.)

Oklahoma won the tournament with a total catch of 122-10 followed by Mississippi with 110-12 and in third was Arkansas with 97-3.  OBF had 22 fish the last day with a total of 44-10 while Mississippi had 21 fish to move into second.

On the individual level, Johnny Babb was crowned the Central Division individual Champion and also won a $500 Ranger Cup bonus for himself, as he did last year, and $500 to be shared by other Ranger Cup qualified team members. Johnny, already a BFL All-American from his efforts in the 2015 TBF Nationals, qualified at the Boater in the 2016 TBF Nationals.   The big gest jump in the  standings was Stewart Ryan with a move from 26 to 6.  This qualified Stewart to be the non-boater at the 2016 TBF Nationals.  Mike ended with 10 place finish with Ron Fuller at 12, Brandon Moss at 16 and Gene Vogt at 20.

This makes the second year that we have won the Division Championship, the individual champion ( Dean Matts was the 2014 Division Champ), and had the winner of the Central Division Ranger Cup competition.

For additional info and the daily standings go to www.bassfederation.com.  Go to Tournaments, Tournament Results, then Division Tournament Results, and TBF Central Divisional Championship.

For Entry Form and Rules CLICK HERE

After six days of tournaments, with each angler counting their top four days, the race for the State Champion title came down to a dead heat with Stewart Ryan and Brandon Moss tied with 394 points.  Not only were they tied on points, they were also equal on the first two tie breakers, most fish weighed (20) and most fish weighed alive (20).  The third tie breaker was the largest single day catch.  Stewart won that with a 15 lbs stringer while Brandon could not seem to bread into the 15 pound range.  Dean Matts took third followed by Mike Zachary, Ron Fuller, Curtis Bryan, and Johnny Babb.  The top 6 will be our Boaters at the Central Division Tournament May 31 thru June 5 on Tenn-Tom waterway in Aberdeen, Mississippi.  (Due to work schedule, Cutis Bryan will not be able to attend the Divisional.)  The 12 man team will be filled with Ron Boyd, Gene Vogt, Brannon Whipple, John Garcia, Jackie Hausmann, and Chuck Nelson as the non-boaters.

The final tournament was held on the River system out of the 3 Forks ramp in Muskogee.  Although we have had changing weather at our first two tournaments, the May 2,3 event went without abrupt changes and limited wind conditions.  Due to the intense competition during the first two tournaments, 37 anglers still had a chance to move into the top 12.  In fact, Jackie Husmann moved from 34 to 12th will Gene Vogt shot from 33 up to 9^th.

Day 1

The Saturday event began with a 6:00 am start and concluded with a 3:00 pm weighin.  Brandon Moss lead the field with a catch of 13.80 with the big bass of 5.08 pounds to anchor his catch.  Stewart Ryan  was second with a 10.60 stringer.  Third went to Jackie Husmann at 8.74 followed by Kyle Tudor’s   8.24 nosing out Michael Morris’ 8.23 by .01 pounds to complete the top 5.  Rounding out the top 10 were Shawn Lewis at 6^th, John Garcia 7^th, Brian Browning 8^th, Sandy Hooker 9^th and Brandon West 10^th.

Day 2

The final day of competition in our State Qualifying tournament schedule was again a partly clouded sky with a mild wind.  The top angler for day 2 was our 2014 State Champion Mike Zachary with the big bass (4.41)  and top creel of 14.47 pounds.  Following in second, matching his first days catch, was Stewart Ryan at 13.34.   Completing the top 5 were Gene Vogt with 11.62, Brandon Moss at 9.92, and Chuck Nelson with 9.06.  The 6 thru 10 place finisher for the day were Brian Browning, Michael Morris, Dean Matts, Brannon Whipple and Don Linder.

This final tournament also featured a “second chance” tournament for those with 175 two day points totals or less and not open to those that eventually make the top 12 team.  The pay back was 60% for first, 30% second and 10% for third based on a $10 per day entry fee.  Day one was won by Jackie Husmann but due to his making the team Kyle Tudor was declared the first day winner with Jackie being refunded his entry fee.  Michael Morris was second while Shawn Lewis held the final spot.  Day two found Gene Vogt in the same position as Jackie on Day 1, therefore,  Brian Browning was declared the second chance winner on Day 2 followed by Michael Morris and Don Linder at third.

Our next tournament will be an Open Team event on the River June 26.  Check the OKBASS.org website for info and entry forms.  The final tournament will also be held  in Muskogee with a combination Top 6 and a two person team tournament September 11 and 12. The two person team event will require that one of the two members be an OBF member, at least 16 years of  age and have a valid Oklahoma Drivers License.  Details will follow or call 580761-8094.

By Marisa Dye

The fishermen’s expectations were high in the days leading up to the Eufaula Oklahoma Bass Federation qualifying tournament with water temperatures in the 60’s and some impressive practice fishing catches. However, conditions changed and many angler’s hopes were dashed by day two of the qualifier, which was held April 13th and 14th, 2015.

Saturday
The top 20 of the 46 competitors caught a limit on Saturday, but weight decided the fate of those who would be in the top spots. Bedlam Bass Club member Tony Latta didn’t place in the top 12, but part of his two-fish catch was an impressive 5.78 lb. lunker. A couple of anglers made even bigger catches when they hooked themselves (in the finger and belly, respectively), but they removed the hooks and kept fishing. The top three bass fishermen all had a big fish in their limits that helped give them the edge over the competition. Continue reading