Cabela’s NABC Heads For Multi-Species Showdown On Lake Wisconsin June 6
Category: npaa
Jun 1st, 2015 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified Jun 1st, 2015 at 12:00 AM
Cabela’s NABC Heads For Multi-Species Showdown On Lake Wisconsin June 6
Presented by Stratos Boats
Ponca City, Okla.-May 12, 2015-Competitive bass anglers have a shot at great team-format tournament action and thousands in cash and prizes when the Cabela’s North American Bass Circuit visits bass-rich Lake Wisconsin June 6.
The event offers a single day of competition on the 7,197-acre south-central Wisconsin impoundment, which offers a variety of options for large- and smallmouth bass. Teams will be allowed to bring their best five bass to the scale, and the team with the heaviest total will be crowned tournament champions.
Senior tournament director Dan Palmer expects a great bite for both species of bass. “The fish should be setting up in post-spawn patterns,” he says. “With docks, small bays, slop and submerged timber to work with, there’s something for everyone at Lake Wisconsin.”
Palmer notes that based on input from local and traveling Cabela’s NABC teams, the tournament’s upstream boundaries were set at the first I-90 bridge over the Wisconsin River. “Collectively we decided it was the safest and fairest option, because it allows teams to focus on the many main-lake options, without risking a run through shallow water upriver,” he explains.
Given Lake Wisconsin’s healthy populations of both types of bass, Palmer predicts a mixed bag of large- and smallmouths topping the 20-pound mark will be needed to take top honors.
Besides great fishing and the thrill of competing in a professionally run setting, teams will vie for serious cash and bragging rights. Cabela’s NABC payouts are based on the number of teams entered in each event. Qualifying tournaments with 75 teams or more offer a guaranteed first-place cash purse of $10,000 plus additional payout to the top 20 percent of the field. Plus, the NABC Big Bass Pot, along with sponsor contingencies including Ranger Cup, Stratos 2X and Garmin Grand Giveaway add thousands in cash to the total.
At the recent Cabela’s NABC Sturgeon Bay qualifier, for example, winners Troy Norman and Andrew Carlson collected $10,150 in cash and Cabela’s cash cards for their victory.
Teams competing in multiple events can reap even greater rewards. Those fishing at least three NABC tournaments have a shot at qualifying for the prestigious, high-stakes championship, which offers $15,000 for first place and $10,000 for second, based on full fields at the qualifiers and championship. Team of the Year titles will also be awarded to the top five teams, led by a $3,600 prize package for the overall Team of the Year, which includes paid entry fees to all four 2016 qualifiers and the 2015 championship, $1,000 Cabela’s in gift cards and handsome trophies.
Bass fans of all ages are invited to watch the action unfold at the weigh-in, which is free, open to the public, and starts at 3 p.m. at the Lakeside Bar and Grill in Dekorra.
This is the second of four NABC regular-season qualifiers of 2015. The remaining schedule includes Mille Lacs Lake, Minnesota, July 11; and Lake Vermillion, Minnesota, August 15. The NABC Championship is set for Sept. 19-20 on Minnesota’s Lake Minnetonka.
Cabela’s, the World’s Foremost Outfitter for hunting, fishing and outdoor gear, is in its fifth season as title sponsor of the NABC. Other sponsors include: Ranger Boats, Stratos Boats, Mercury Marine, Garmin, MotorGuide, G-Juice and T-H Marine.
Based in Ponca City, Oklahoma, the Cabela’s NABC is open to two-person teams regardless of club or sponsor affiliation. Entry fees are $500 per regular season tournament and $600 for the two-day championship. The Circuit offered more than 100 percent payback to anglers in 2014 and will do so again in 2015. In addition, a small donation is included in each entry fee and matched by NABC and other conservation organizations up to 3-to-1 in support bass conservation projects anywhere the NABC does business.
Registration closes at 10 a.m. on Monday prior to each tournament. For more information, visit northamericanbasscircuit.com or call (580) 765-9031.