The Oklahoma Bass Federation held their 2013 Junior State Championship, Sunday, April 28 on Lake Ponca in Ponca City, Oklahoma. With an overcast, windy, practice on Saturday, the weather made a dramatic change for the Sunday competition day. This is the 8th annual OBF Junior Championship for the 11-14 age and the 15-18 age group.

The State Champion in the 11-14 group was defending State Champion Trevor Owens. Trevor netted a 5 fish limit weighing 9.15 pounds. The only other limit in the younger group was brought in by Caleb Taylor, who captured the second place prize with his 7.25 pound catch. Bryce Mittasch was third with 3.59 pounds followed by Erig Hadley, 2.52, and fifth went to Dalton Owens at 1.26.

The 15-18 State Champion was Jake Keenom with a 5 fish limit weighing 7.91 pounds. Trevor Yates also weighed in a limit of bass tipping the scales at 6.41 pounds. Cameron Sherbon was third with only three fish at 5.67. Cameron’s stringer included the 3.76 big bass of the tournament as he nosed out Austin French who had 5.54 pounds. Following Austin in fifth place was Donnie Combrink with a limit weighing 5.06 pounds. Sixth place was Landon Roe with a fish weighing 1.31 pounds.

The young anglers boated 39 fish weighing 55.67 pounds for a 1.43 pound average per fish. All fish were returned to the lake after the weigh in. This years event featured three sister from the same family participating in the event, Kaitlyn Dye, Jessica Dye, and Jolie Kuhlman. The OBF/TBF events are open to all youth interested in fishing.

Our two State Champions will advance to the TBF Junior World Championship at Caddo Lake near Shreveport, LA, August 16 and 17, 2013.

Anyone interested in more information concerning our Junior/High School program should contact State Youth Director Jody Linder throught the OKBass.org web site.

DAY 1 RESULTS | DAY 2 RESULTS

By Marisa Dye
Eufaula is often known as the windiest lake in Oklahoma, which it proved on Day 2 of the tournament. Despite the anglers having a day of fishing under their belts, Sunday’s winning weight was 2.33 pounds lower than Saturday’s. Sunday’s 16 mph average winds plus gusts above that made for a rough day of fishing.
Saturday
The weather leading up to the tournament was not ideal; there was a big drop in temperature a few days before the tournament along with heavy rains in Eastern Oklahoma. Sanford “Sandy” Hooker of the Ponca City Bassmasters described the water as murky. Continue reading

By Marisa Dye
DAY 1 RESULTS | DAY 2 RESULTS

The first day of the Oklahoma Bass Federation’s Qualifier on Lake Texoma had temperatures in the low 80’s by mid-afternoon, which had some of the 30 anglers sweating and smelling worse than the fish. However, on Sunday, a cold front arrived to cool things down.

First Time Competitors

Some new recruits were fishing their first tournament. Brett Krieger may not have caught any fish on his first day, but said he “liked it a lot. It was fun and I learned a lot about the inner workings of it.”

He got to watch partner Stuart Ryan catch a 15 lb. striper on Saturday, about which Ryan apparently mused, “We could paint it green and put it in the boat!”
Another rookie, Curtiss Plunkett from OKC, was paired with Darrel Dye. Curtiss, who described himself as a “pond hopper for many years”, recently joined the Bedlam club. When asked if he planned to return to the other qualifiers, he enthused, “Most definitely! I loved it!”

Mike Zachary of the Ada club and Tim Carlton of Bedlam may have been new faces to many of the anglers. They both returned to OBF after a few years absence and fished well.

Continue reading