Wolfenden Takes BASS Federation Nation Eastern Divisional
Category: press release
Jul 24th, 2009 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified Jul 24th, 2009 at 12:00 AM
Orillia, Ontario, Canada – Mike Wolfenden apparently has a fixation with the color brown.
The Warwick, R.I., angler who works for United Parcel Service – a company known for its brown delivery trucks – keyed on Lake Simcoe smallmouth bass for three days to win the BASS Federation Nation Eastern Divisional presented by Skeeter Boats and Yamaha Outboards.
Twelve of the 13 keepers he caught during the tournament were brown bass.
“I kind of like smallmouth,” said Wolfenden, who won the Rhode Island state championship last year keying on smallmouth at Lake Champlain. “If there are big smallmouths in a lake I shy away from largemouth because I feel more comfortable catching smallmouth.”
The 39-year-old Bass Posse club member got pretty comfortable catching Lake Simcoe smallmouth as he won the divisional championship with 51 pounds, 11 ounces. Catching a limit of smallmouth weighing 20-13 today vaulted Wolfenden from seventh place into the top spot.
“Most of my fish for the whole tournament came on a drop shot rigged with either a smelt Berkley Gulp Minnow, 3-inch Berkley Gulp worm or a smoke Strike Zone Slammer,” said Wolfenden. “I had a back up plan for when I had a tough time. I located a couple of fish on beds that I was keeping them in case I was struggling and yesterday it helped me big time because I had one close to 6 pounds that I caught on a bed.”
By winning the divisional and leading his team, Wolfenden advanced to the BASS Federation Nation Championship, the world championship for amateur bass fishing. The other seven anglers who finished atop their state or provincial teams to qualify for the national champion were Al Gambardella of Connecticut; Mark Desjardin of Maine; Randy Phillips of Massachusetts; Tyler Hanatow of New Hampshire; Joe Matt of New York; David Johnson of Ontario; and Skip Sjobeck of Vermont.
The national championship will be held Oct. 25-31 at the Harris Chain of Lakes in Tavares, Fla. The 55 contenders will be vying for six spots to the Bassmaster Classic slated for Feb. 19-21, 2010 on Lay Lake near Birmingham, Ala.
Rhode Island won the team competition and claimed the divisional’s top prize of a $30,000 Skeeter bass boat rigged with a Yamaha outboard motor. The team’s 14 anglers brought in a cumulative weight of 424 pounds, 15 ounces.
The cumulative weights for each team included the catches of 16 Junior Bassmasters who were fishing to qualify for the Junior Bassmasters World Championship (JWC) to be held in conjunction with the Federation Nation Championship in October. Advancing to the JWC from the Eastern Division were Rhode Island youngster Lowell Turner, who won the 11- to 14-year-old age division with a catch of three bass weighing 6-11 and Jake Sasnowski of Bowmanville, Ontario, who claimed his second straight divisional title in the 15-18 age group with five bass weighing 11-1.
The Eastern Divisional is the fourth of six divisionals set for 2009. The next, the Northern Divisional, will be held on Little Bay De Noc out of Escanaba, Mich.
Sponsors of the BASS Federation Nation: Yamaha Outboards, Skeeter Boats, Toyota Trucks, Berkley, BOOYAH Baits, Evan Williams Bourbon, Mercury and OPTIMA Batteries.
About BASS
For more than 40 years, BASS has served as the authority on bass fishing. With its considerable multi-media platforms and expansive tournament trail, BASS is guided by its mission to serve all fishing fans. Through its industry-leading publications Bassmaster Magazine, BASS Times and Fishing Tackle Retailer and comprehensive Web properties in ESPN360.com, ESPN’s sports broadband network, Bassmaster.com, BASSInsider.com and ESPNOutdoors.com, the organization is committed to delivering content true to the lifestyle. Additionally, television programming on ESPN2 continues to provide relevant content – from tips and techniques to in-depth tournament coverage – to passionate audiences.
The organization oversees the prestigious Bassmaster tournament trail, which includes the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bassmaster Opens, Women’s Bassmaster Tour and the Bassmaster Classic, the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing. Through its grassroots network, the BASS Federation Nation, BASS sanctions more than 20,000 events annually.
BASS also offers an array of services to its more than 500,000 members while spearheading progressive, positive change on issues related to conservation and water access. The organization is headquartered in Celebration, Fla.