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Welcome to the Ohio BASS Federation Nation
Youth Home
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2010 OBFN Youth Update
Okay, I know that I’ve
been dragging my feet getting this update done and I
apologize. As everyone knows, I’ve played a major
part within the OBFN since the beginning and this fall
I have stepped back from everything else except the
Youth Program. My passion is with our juniors and I
look forward to another great year of success with our
program.
This year we will be
kicking the season off at Indian Lake on May 8th. The
launch location will be Moundwood State Park, located
on the Southeast side of the lake. Indian Lake is one
of Ohio’s best bass fisheries, as far as numbers
of fish goes and it gives up that occasional 5 pounder
during this time of year! The lake has an abundance
number of channels and canals lined with rock, in case
we have a few “crankers & spinnerbaiters”
competing! For you “Flippin” guys and gals,
there’s more grass and Lilly pads that you can
fish in a year! The best colors for crankin” are;
crawdad, black and fire tigers. The best spinnerbaits
are Indiana/Colorado combinations in white & chartreuse.
If you like flippin’ plastic, the Warrior Baits
Quiver Bug or Mud Bug in a number of different colors
can be the best. Make sure to get some in Green Pumpkin,
Chobee Craw, Black & Blue and Red Shad. Maybe you’re
more of a jig fisherman, then you better keep A.C.T.
Lures jigs in mind. The best jig colors are brown and
black/blue with a matching Warrior jig trailer.
The best housing available
for the area is around the Bellefontaine area. Bellefontaine
is located about 7 miles from the lake and offers some
great restaurants also. For reservations contact the
Comfort Inn at (937) 599-5555 or the Super 8 at (937)
599-5300. Both are located right off of State Route
33 at the State Route 68 exit.
Our second Junior Elite
Trail stop will be at Muskingum Counties, Dillon Lake
located near Zanesville, Ohio. Dillon is a touch smaller
than Indian but offers some really good fishing. Dillon
is a watershed lake designed for flood control for the
Muskingum River System but by the time the event takes
place (June 19th) hopefully “Mother Nature”
will be totally out of rain by then! We will be launching
from the Marina ramp.
The best baits for Dillon
this time of year are Shaky Heads, Crankbait and buzz
baits. The lake has a huge number of Gizzard Shad along
with a ton of crawfish, so make sure your baits match
the forage and you’ll do fine. If the lake has
a good color to it, smoke purple or red shad can be
the best colors for plastics but if it’s stained
at all, throw darker colors such as a dark green pumpkin.
The river section of the lake can be very good fishing
but keep in mind that it’s extremely shallow and
a very long idle to get there. If you choose to fish
that area you will be giving up a lot of your half the
day with idle time and I will be leaving it up to each
boater on if they choose to take their boat up there.
I recommend everyone concentrate their efforts on the
lake only while prefishing.
Accommodations may be
made in several locations. The Dillon State Park offers
some very nice cabins and beautiful campgrounds right
at the lake. For cabins or camping reservations, the
contact information is 866-644-6727. There are a number
of hotels in the Zanesville area but I recommend when
calling for information, ask how far away from the lake
they are located.
The qualifying system
will be the same as it’s been the past few years.
The first two events will be used for advancing to the
BASS Northern Divisional as one of the OBFN State Team
members. The top angler from each age group will be
traveling to Escanaba, Michigan to fish the clear waters
of Little Bay De Noc. The event will take place August
9-14, right before school starts and unfortunately right
during summer workouts for football. I ask that everyone
check their schedules good too make sure you and your
family will be able to attend during these dates.
This year we will be
adding a third event. The tournament was originally
schedule for Hoover Reservoir on August 7th but due
to the conflicting dates of the Northern Divisional,
I will be changing the date and the location. I’ll
post the change as soon as I have the lake permit in
hand. This event will have no qualifying status and
will be a little different than what we usually do.
That’s all I’m going to say about it at
this point, just so I can keep everyone in suspense!
I will tell you this; it’s going to be a blast!
Make sure to send me
all your photos from this springs fishing trips, hunting
trips or maybe even a winter vacation shot taken by
your mom! We love posting them on the website and it’s
a great way to show other juniors the fun we’re
having in the OBFN! Also, everyone that sends me a picture
with a small story about their day wins a bag of Warrior
Baits! A special “Thank You” to Brandon
Estep, owner of Warrior Baits for sponsoring our photo
contest!
Email me anytime at
todd@boatboys.com
or bbskeeterteam@roadrunner.com.
Sharpen those hooks,
Springs finally here!!!
Todd Thompson
OBFN Youth Director
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~~NEW for 2010~~
OBFN Membership Volunteer
Youth Discounts

This fall the OBFN
Board of Directors took a close look at what we could
do for our volunteers that help make our Youth events
so special. I think we’ve come up with a great
idea that’s going to show our “Thanks”
to everyone for their hard work and efforts and as you
read through the new program, “I think you’ll
agree!”
New for this season,
any angler that volunteers their time as a boater or
a tournament helper at anyone one of the youth events,
will receive a certificate worth $20 off their next
OBFN Trail entry fee. A limited number of volunteers
will be needed for each event, so we will do these positions
based on a first come, first serve basis. At each event,
the number of volunteers may vary depending on the participation
level from our juniors.
If you are one of
the Trail anglers that pay for all 5 events at the beginning
of the season, then you can turn your certificate in
at the next Trail event for $20 cash. State Team volunteers
must work” one” of the youth events before
being eligible for the $20 certificate.
Volunteer for 3,
get one free!! That’s right! Volunteer for all
3 youth events and it would be like fishing as an “angler”
in one of the Trail events for FREE! Volunteer for all
3 and compete from the “Co-Angler” division
on the Trail and it’s like getting one and a half
for free!
If you’re
interested in volunteering, contact me via email at
todd@boatboys.com. Make sure to list which event or
events you will be volunteering for in your email. At
this point I am only accepting volunteers for the first
2 events. The dates & locations are:
** Indian Lake (Moundwood) May 8th, 2010
** Dillon Lake (Marina) June 19th, 2010

Again, A special
“Thank You” to everyone that’s volunteered
over the past 4 years! The Junior Elite Trail has been
a huge success thanks to all your help and hopefully
we can continue with the same success!! BASS CLASS !!!!!!!!!
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Jacob Wheeler - Eddie Levin
Levin
Wins Shoot-Out over Wheeler for 15-18 Age Group State
Championship!
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Daryl Eckert
Eckert
Wins 11-14 Age Group State Championship!
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From Todd Thompson, OBFN Youth Director,
This past Sunday, the Ohio Junior Elite Trail closed
the season in dramatic fashion at Deer Creek Lake in
southern Ohio. With just a two event "points"
trail for the 2009 season, the door was left wide open
for a tie between the junior anglers and as luck would
have it, it happened. Hollywood writers could not have
scripted the finish any better that what was witnessed
by everyone that attended.
As weigh-in closed, Eddie Levin of Westerville, Ohio
found himself with consecutive 2nd place finishes for
the season. Entering the last event only one point behind
Levin, Jacob Wheeler from Indianapolis, Indiana knew
his only chance to catch Eddie was for a win at Deer
Creek. Without any help from the tournament committee
staging their positions, Wheeler stood in line at the
tanks, the last angler to weigh-in. After hearing the
weight of 7.52 called from Levin's 5 fish limit, Jacob
knew it was going to be close but he never had an idea
of just how close. Wheeler crossed the scales with a
5 fish limit weighing in at 7.93 to give him his first
tournament win on the OBFN Junior Trail, putting him
in a "points" tie with Levin for the 15-18
age group state champion and a spot on the 2009 OBFN
State Team.
After reviewing the tie-breakers in place (number of
fish & Big Bass), Levin and Wheeler still found
themselves in a tie for the year. This left the OBFN
Tournament Committee with only two options for these
young men. Either a flip of the coin or a one hour "Shoot-out".
Again things stood as a tie, Levin wanted to flip a
coin, thinking that he burnt up all his good spots during
the event while Wheeler wanted to put it to rest on
the lake. After about 15 minutes of deliberation, both
anglers decided to leave the faith of the outcome up
to their angling skills. It was then Tournament Director,
Rod Pullins then turned to each angler telling them
they now had 15 minutes to get their stuff ready and
be in the water. From the looks on their faces, I don't
think either angler thought it was going to happen quite
this fast!
Each angler was placed in a Ranger Z20 (same colors)
powered by an Evinrude 255, MinnKota 101 trolling motors
and Lowrance electronics. One member of the Board of
Directors along with an observer was placed in each
boat also. The two boats were placed right out side
the launch area, side by side as "ready-set-go"
was called out. Little did anyone know that the majority
of the crowd left was going to put their boats back
in so that they could follow the anglers during that
last hour. It looked like an Elite event! During the
one hour "shoot out", the BOD members were
to report back to the weigh-in area on how things were
going. After only 7 or 8 minutes, I received a text
message stating that Levin had just put his first fish
in the box. After another 10 minutes passed, another
text arrived stating that Levin had just caught another
keeper. Still nothing from the Wheeler boat! As time
came to a close, it was evident that each angler was
thinking along the same lines! With only 5 minutes to
spare, each pulled up at the launch area "knowing
that it had just had a bunch of fish released there."
Levin to the right of the ramp and Wheeler to the left.
Neither angler knowing what the other had in the well!
As the "Shoot out" weighin began, Levin went
first weighing in 2 fish at 1.77 pounds. It was then
Eddie looked to the crowd to find Wheeler and said "now
go get yours." It was then that Wheeler told Eddie
congratulations and shook his hand. During this show
of "sportsmanship" between these two fine
young men, you could have heard a pin drop! The true
meaning of sportsmanship, fellowship and camaraderie
was defined at this point for the entire crowd to witness.
My words can't do justice to what took place during
this time frame. All I can say is "BASS CLASS"
to both of these fine young men!!!
Daryk Eckert of Stockport, Ohio earned a spot on the
2009 State Team in the 11-14 age group. I have to thank
Daryk for not making it near as dramatic as the older
age group. My heart couldn't take doing that twice in
one day! Daryk won the first event of the year at Alum
Creek and followed it up with a 6th place finish at
Deer Creek. This is Daryk first year competing with
the OBFN and I can guarantee, it won't be his last.
Eckert boat captain for the day was State Team member
Randy Peck. Randy approached me at the end of the day
to tell me "If this young man ends up winning,
it's well deserved. He's a heck of a stick!" Daryk
stuck to his strength all day by keeping his flippin
stick in his hand and throwing a jig.
This will be Daryk's first time as a BASS State Champion
earning him the right to compete at the 2009 Northern
Divisional. Levin is no stranger to advancing outside
the state, this year makes his fourth time as state
champion within both organizations, along with earning
the Casting Kids State title another 3 times! The OBFN
will be represented well by both young men!
Congrat's to everyone that competed for the year! A
special "Thank's" goes out to everyone that
volunteered throughout the 2009 Junior season! We couldn't
have done it without you and you are all the definition
of "BASS CLASS!"
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