Bass Tournament News

NABC News

Presented By Cabela's

Joshua Douglas and Corey Brant won the North American Bass Circuit qualifier on Lake Minnetonka with 5 bass weighing 23.53 pounds.   Photo Credit: NABC

AUGUST 19, 2011—SPRING PARK, MN—Minnesotans Joshua Douglas and Corey Brant weighed a monstrous 23.53-pound, 5-fish basket to win $7,500 in cash and top honors at the North American Bass Circuit’s Lake Minnetonka tournament against more than 80 of the Midwest’s top bass anglers.

“This won’t sink in for awhile,” said Douglas, of Minneapolis, who explained that the team caught bass from deep points to shallow milfoil on everything from crankbaits to Texas-rigged Trigger-X Flutter Worms. “It’s truly a milestone,” Brant added on the win, noting that their biggest bass of the day came with just 20 minutes left of fishing time.

In all, the top eight teams shared the $14,100 cash payout plus sponsor contingencies and Big Bass Pot winnings. Second-place finishers, Minnesotans Keith Tuma, of Baxter, and Jim Smith, of Brainerd, claimed Overall and Premier Team of the Year Honors—worth a total of $2,000 cash and $2,400 in entry fees for upcoming NABC tournaments. They also won the $500 Cabela’s Angler Cash, $250 Optima True Blue Rewards and U2 contingencies. Added to the $2,500 cash prize for second place and $550 for taking second in the Big Bass Pot, they collected $8,260 in cash and prizes.

In third, fellow Minnesotans Buckley Smith, of Lindstrom, and John Roundsley, of Brainerd, added the $100 Oxygenator bonus to their $1,500 paycheck. Fourth-place finishers Dean and Tony Capra, of Blaine, Minnesota, reeled in $925 for the biggest bass of the tournament—a 6-pound tank—plus $750 in payout earnings. As a bonus courtesy of Rapala, Trigger X and Sufix line, the top four teams also received a great line and bait package comprised of these fine products.

The Minnetonka fishery produced an amazing number of largemouths for the NABC—who hailed from Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin—producing a great show for the large weigh-in crowd gathered at historic Lord Fletcher’s Lodge. One-hundred and eighty-eight bass weighing a total of 619.90 pounds were weighed in under the NABC’s catch-and-release format.

The Circuit’s Bass Conservation Fund donated $15 per boat to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources for fisheries projects in the Minnetonka system. To date, the NABC and its sister trail—the Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit—have donated more than $300,000 to fisheries projects in states where its tournaments are held.

Following the weigh-in, the NABC and National Professional Anglers Association presented kids age 12 and under with great gifts, including free rod-and-reel combos, and free tackle packages from Northland Fishing Tackle.

This was the third stop on the NABC’s inaugural season, which began on the mighty Winnebago Chain out of Oshkosh, Wisconsin June 11. The Circuit visited Bays de Noc, Michigan, July 30. In addition to great payouts and prizes at each event, NABC teams have been vying for a coveted invite to the World Bass Championship, set for Sept. 24-25 at Trapper’s Landing Lodge on Leech Lake, Minnesota. First place pays $20,000 and total purse is $30,000.

Title sponsors of the NABC include Cabela’s, the World’s Foremost Outfitter for hunting, fishing and outdoor gear, Ranger Boats, Stratos Boats and the North American Fishing Club. Supporting sponsors include Mercury Marine, Rapala, Sufix, Trigger X, Detwiler-MarineTech Products, Gemini Sports Marketing, Wave Fishing, O2 Marine Technologies and Optima Batteries. For details visit northamericanbasscircuit.com, call toll-free (877) 893-7947, or email events@namginc.com.