PONCA CITY, Okla. (April 3, 2017) – The Bass Federation club and state federations across the nation are growing in response to the new National Semi-Final tournament format and this week that excitement culminates on Table Rock Lake in Kimberling City, Mo., as the first of its kind, 2017 Federation National Championship kicks off. The largest payout, a 204 angler field, huge prize giveaways and free swag are just to name of a few of the added perks to the new format. 

Last night, registration kicked off with a walk through of freebies, including a goodie bag from the Table Rock Chamber of Commerce, Ranger, Lowrance and Evinrude hats, Federation National Champion rods and qualifier fleece jackets, Cabela’s gift cards, 100% polarized Solar Bat sunglasses, TBF decals and Berkley baits. On top of that, four lucky anglers were drawn to receive a Minn Kota 80lb thrust trolling motor, a Lowrance HDS 9, an Evinrude prop and a Humminbird Helix 9. 

With all the additions, one thing remains the same; this week the 2017 Federation National Champion boater and co-angler will be crowned. The winning champion boater will receive the $100,000 “Living the Dream” prize package to include an increased cash prize check, fully paid entry fees on the 2018 FLW Tour as a Pro, travel expense stipends for each event and use of a “Living the Dream” wrapped Ranger boat for the year. The national champion co-angler will also receive an increased cash payout and fully paid entry fees into the FLW Series division of his/her choice. 

TBF National Championship anglers will compete for berths in two of the sport’s most coveted events – the Forrest Wood Cup and the BFL All-American. The top boater and co-angler from each of the seven TBF divisions will advance to the 2017 BFL All-American. The TBF Federation National Champion boater will also advance to the world championship of bass fishing, the 2017 Forrest Wood Cup for a shot at winning the biggest payday in bass fishing. 

Coverage of the TBF National Championship will be broadcast in high-definition on the NBC Sports Network and streamed live on bassfederation.com. 

For more information about The Bass Federation, visit bassfederation.com or call 580-765-9031. Look for TBF on Facebook for updates and tournament photos. 

For more information about the Table Rock area, contact Sheila Thomas, Table Rock Chamber, 417-739-2564.

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About TBF: The Bass Federation Inc. is the oldest and largest, organized grassroots angling organization in America. TBF is 100 percent owned by those it serves and is dedicated to the sport of fishing. TBF affiliated state federations and their member clubs conduct more than 20,000 fishing, youth and conservation events at the local level each year, and have provided the foundation for the entire bass fishing industry for almost 50 years. For more information about TBF or High School Fishing visit bassfederation.com or highschoolfishing.org and look for us on Facebook and YouTube. 

About FLW: FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money in 2016 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW conducts more than 235 bass-fishing tournaments annually across the United States and sanctions tournaments in Canada, China, Mexico, South Africa and South Korea. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show, broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, while FLW Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros. For more information visit FLWFishing.com and follow FLW at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat: @FLWFishing.