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| FishTails |
2003 West Virginia BASS Federation Buddy Tournament Trail
season opener April 12th
[April 2, 2003] - by Jim Matuga
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The Riffle Run ramp at Burnsville Lake on April 2, 2003. Note the water
level. As of 6:00 PM April 3rd, Burnsville was at 781.16 ft with a summer pool level of 789. Burnsville has been
raising about 1.6 ft a day since April 1st.
Photo Courtesy of: Rodney Thompson, Topwater Bassmasters |
The 2003 season of the West Virginia BASS Federation Buddy Tournament Trail gets under way April 12th at Burnsville
Lake. This year promises to field a full slate of the state's best bass anglers competing for the 2003 WVBF Buddy
Trail Championship.
Anglers are also competing for a direct shot at the WVBF state championship in October. The top 4 boats go directly
to the State Tournament. From the state championship, amateur anglers can eventually qualify for the prestigious
Citgo Bassmasters Classic. West Virginia bass angler Russ Smarr did just that and was the last West Virginian to
compete in the Classic in July 2000.
The opening event this year will take place four days prior to a full moon and water temperatures are expected
to be in the upper 50s - usually optimum pre-spawning conditions. The 2002 event at Burnsville produced six bass
over 5lbs and two bass over 6lbs. The biggest fish at this event - held April 21, 2002 weighed in at 6 lbs 13 oz.
WVBF bass tournaments follow a strict set of rules for the competitors and adhere to a strict observance to the
catch and release ethic set forth by the parent organization B.A.S.S. (a subsidiary of ESPN/Disney). New rules
this year include a six fish limit and an 8-ounce penalty for each dead fish. Also, 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.
Spectators are encouraged to attend the weigh-in events at each of these tournaments and witness first-hand the
plentiful resources of quality bass West Virginia waters have to offer.
The 2002 season opener at Sutton Lake:
04/06/2002
Total Teams 91
Total Fish Weighted 83
Total Dead Fish 0
Total Fish Weight 101 lb 7 oz
2002 Burnsville Lake Event:
04/21/2002
Total Teams: 86
Total Bass Weighed: 135
Total Dead Bass: 1
Total Weight: 210-07
2003 WVBF Buddy Tournament Trail Schedule
April 12, 2003
Burnsville Lake
April 27, 2003
Sutton Lake
May 10, 2003
Summersville Lake
June 1, 2003
Kanawha River - Charleston
June 28, 2003
Ohio River - Ravenswood
July 13, 2003
Ohio River - St. Mary's
All Tournament times: 7am - 4pm
6 (six) fish team limit
$80.00 entry fee includes lunker
80% Payback to 10% of field
Top 4 boats go directly to the State Tournament
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.
For more information:
President
John Burdette
25 West Main Street
Buckhannon, WV 26201
(304) 472-3600 (W)
(304) 472-6221 (H)
jburdette@wvbass.com
www.wvbass.com
More about the WVBF:
The West Virginia Bass Federation is a state-wide organization which formed and affiliated with the Bass Anglers
Sportsman Society of Montgomery, Alabama in 1973. Presently, the Federation has approximately 800 members in 64
clubs throughout the State of West Virginia. The Federation was formed to stimulate public awareness of bass fishing
as a major sport, to offer the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources our organized moral and political
support and encouragement, to promote full adherence to all conservation codes and to demand adequate water standards
and detect and report any polluter and call public and political attention to crime, to improve our skill as bass
anglers through fellowship and friendly exchange of expert bass catching techniques and ideas, to promote and encourage
youth fishing and love for this great recreation and to function as a dynamic and effective link with individual
chapters and other federations embracing the principles and purposes of the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society.
One of the functions of the West Virginia Bass Federation is to hold bass tournaments to qualify a 12 man state
team each year which will compete in the Eastern Divisional Tournament conducted by the Bass Anglers Sportsman
Society from which one West Virginia angler will qualify to compete in the Wrangler/B.A.S.S. National Championship
where one angler from the Eastern Division will earn a berth in the prestigious Bass Masters Classic.
The Federation is also active with the youth of the state. A youth bass tournament is conducted by the Federation
where an adult angler and a youth compete as a team to win prizes and trophies. This is a great opportunity for
the young anglers to learn fishing skills, sportsmanship, conversation and become more familiar with their natural
environment.
The Federation also conducts Bassmaster CastingKids contests presented by Zebco and Kmart throughout the state.
This is a program similar to football's punt, pass and kick but the kids flip, pitch and cast fishing lures to
targets on the ground. Local competitions are held where contestants qualify for the state championship. At the
state championship, two contestants qualify for the national championship which is conducted by the Bass Anglers
Sportsman Society. The successful contestants from the national championship qualify to compete at the Bass Masters
Classic where the winners receive college scholarships. |
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