Board Approves 2003 Schedule
[November 13, 2002] - By Chris Lawrence

The WVBF Board gave approval to the 2003 tournament schedule and event calendar at its meeting in Flatwoods. The Buddy Trail lineup for next season reflects a growing call by Southern West Virginia anglers to shift more events toward the south.

Buddy Trail events are slated at Summersville Lake May 10th and on the Kanawha River June 1st. It's a return to the Kanawha after several years away for the Buddy Trail. The omission in recent years was caused by a low turnout for the tournament. The last tournament there drew fewer than 30 boats. Board members are hoping the complaints by southern West Virginia anglers have been appeased and the Kanawha River Tournament will draw a larger field next year.

The Ohio River will have two tournaments this year, but again they remain decidedly more southern than in previous years. The schedule calls for a June 28th tournament at Ravenswood and July 13th at St. Mary's. Eliminated for the coming year are tournaments at New Martinsville and Moundsville. The Monongahela River was also taken off the slate as a change for 2003.

The Buddy Trail events at Sutton and Burnsville remain on the schedule as always. However, they are flipped for 2003. The Buddy Trail season opens at Burnsville on April 12th rather than the traditional opening weekend at Sutton. The Sutton event is slated for April 27th. Last year, the Federation Board opted to delay the opening of the season from late March to April hoping to improve the weather. So far the effort hasn't worked, but the percentages for good weather are largely better in April than March.

The Board has added an added incentive for the Buddy Trail Championship. Starting with the 2003 champions, the Buddy Trail Champion team will receive free entry into all of the following year's Buddy Trail events to defend their title.

Following a vote of clubs by division, the fish-off schedule is solidified as well. The Central Division will start the state tournament with the Central Qualifier at Sutton September 6-7. The Northern Division will follow with their qualifier at Moundsville September 27-28. The Southern Division qualifier will return to the Kanawha River on October 4-5. It was the southern division's turn to select the site of the State Tournament. The 2003 championship will be staged at Summersville Lake October 18-19.

Other events have also been planned for the year. The annual Jim Catherman Memorial Youth Tournament will be held June 21st at Sutton Lake. There's a new twist to the event that has grown exponentially over the last two years. The tournament will launch out of the Corps of Engineers ramp near the dam rather than Bee Run. The Corps made the offer following extreme overcrowding at the Bee Run facility last year. Board members readily agreed to the offer and the Federation will have the facility reserved all to themselves for the tournament weigh-in and picnic to follow.

The fall fun tournament, which has become an annual event among a number of WVBF regulars, is slated for November 1st at Sutton Lake. The tournament is a 100-percent payback event and has no bearing on qualifiers or point standings.

Other dates to keep in mind, the West Virginia Bass Festival is slated for June 7-8 at St. Mary's. The Governor's Spring Turkey Challenge is slated for the weekend of May 16-17 at Stonewall Jackson State Park. The event includes bass fishing for participants with members of the WVBF. The B.A.S.S. Federation National Championship will be held May 12-18 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Robby Fleshman will represent West Virginia in the event. The B.A.S.S. Junior Nationals are slated for Virginia's Kerr Reservoir July 11th.

The second annual WVBF Outdoor Show is set for February 14-16 at the Nathan Goff Armory in Clarksburg. Members are also urged to make plans now for the 2003 Federation Banquet at the Days Inn in Flatwoods on Friday, February 28th.

In other Federation news, nominations have been submitted for the Southern Division board seats on WVBF Board. Rick Campbell of Out-Cast Bassmasters, Chase Bryant of Mountaineer Bassmasters and Rick Lilly of Cardinal Bassmasters are the nominees. There's an at-large seat vacant as well. Jim Matuga of Mountain State Bassmasters, Cecil Ray of Out-Cast Bassmasters, and Tom Spiker of Anglers Bassmasters are all nominated. Voting for the General and Southern Board seats are slated for the February Board meeting. Also, Board member Bob Burgess submitted his resignation from the board in November. Nominations for his unexpired term for the Central Division board seat will be taken during the February meeting as well. A final vote on the Central seat is slated for March.