The Michigan BASS State Championship was held Aug. 24^th & 25^th on Lake St. Clair this year and Ron Dowdy and Dave DeMott both made the Michigan BASS Federation Nation State Team with Ron finishing sixth with a total weight of 32.14 lbs. and Dave finishing eighth with a total weight of 31.86 lbs. With his big fish weighing in at 5.99 lbs. What is outstanding is that they both made the team last year held on Saginaw Bay; that is two very different types of water. Both were able to develop a pattern in the St. Clair River that produced enough weight to place them in the top 12 fishermen in the state.

Well the first ever Bass Club World Championship is now complete. For this series of tournaments the country is divided into ten regions, Michigan along with four other states are in Region 4. The Region 4 Championship was held on Lake Erie’s Sandusky Bay. Illinois was the only state to have a full complement of teams with six, Ohio had four, Michigan had two and Indiana had one team. Wisconsin did not field a team this year. For most of the Lake Nepessing Bass Club Team this was our first experience on Lake Erie in fact I don’t think any of us had ever fished Sandusky Bay before. We had three days to practice and we spent the first two days fishing around Ruggles Reef with out a lot of success and spent the third day in Sandusky Bay. As luck would have it the weather was bad from the start and most of us were forced to fish in the bay for both days of the tournament. At the end of day one the Lake Nepessing Team was doing pretty good, we were in fifth place, remember that the top six teams go on to the national championship where the winning team receives six fully rigged bass boats worth a total of $250,000. I guess we just did not find enough fish to last two days because on the second day we dropped to tenth place and out of the running for the bass boats.

Ohio and Illinois took first through ninth places with both states having three teams going to the national tournament. Although most of our team members did not do very well, Danny Hall did and finished tenth overall with eight fish weighing 18 lbs 15 oz.; Way to go Danny. The final team standings were very close and although we ended up in tenth place with 59 lbs. we were only 3 lbs. 10 oz. out of sixth place; that is only one good fish. I guess what it comes down to is that you need more then three days to learn Lake Erie. We will do better next time.

 On July 1^st. Chase and about 17 other young men met at Kent Lake for a five hour tournament to decide who the two junior champions would be to represent Michigan in the 2008 B.A.S.S. Junior World Championship. Chase won 1^st. place and big fish in the 11-14 age group with one fish weighing 3.33 lbs. Joe Parker won 1^st. place and big fish in the 15-18 age group with two fish and a total weight of 6.46 lbs. His big fish weighed 3.78 lbs. Both Chase and Joe fished out of the same boat and caught all three fish on Chase’s best spot. Chase was using a Senko while Joe was throwing a Yamamoto Hula Grub. The tournament will be shown on TV’s Michigan Out Of Doors, the date and time have not been announced.
The Junior Bassmaster competition program mirrors the B.A.S.S. Federation tournament structure, with one exception. Junior Bassmasters "do not" have Divisional competitions due to age groups. Through competition, Junior Bassmasters can earn a birth to the Jr. Bassmaster World Championship, a Bassmaster Classic all their own. And guess where this World Championship takes place? At the Bassmaster Classic on South Carolina’s Lake Hartwell, where the Classic will be held Feb. 22-24, 2008.Fortwo days, pro anglers that will be competing in the Bassmaster Classic serve as mentors and boat captains during the Junior Bassmaster World Championship, piloting the high-tech Classic rigs from take-off until weigh-in. Pros are randomly paired with the junior competitors for the competition.
Day one is a practice day where both the juniors and the Pros enjoy a day of fishing and learning from one another. Day two is the official Junior Bassmaster World Championship tournament day. Once the official tournament begins, the Junior Bassmasters operate the boat equipment, including the trolling motor and rely solely on their own fishing skills and knowledge, with no input from the pros. More than $27,000 in cash, scholarships and awards will be provided as the prize purse, plus two fully rigged Triton/Mercury boat motor and trailer packages for the two champions in addition to paying for rooms of all the competitors.
What a great job Chase did at the State Championship and can you believe the fantastic reward he will be getting just by going to the World Championship. Chase just relax and enjoy because you will be making memories that will last for the rest of your life.

 The 2006 Michigan B.A.S.S. Federation's State Championship was held out of Bay City. The state championship was held to determine the team that will then move on to the northern regional. In 2007 the regional will be out of Sandusky Bay, Ohio. The winners will then have a chance to wind up in the Bassmaster's Classic. If you are interested in finding out more, go to the Michigan BASS Chapter Federation web site by clicking on the headline to this article. 
 The State Championship started out on Thursday night with dinner at the Lumber Baron’s, it was very good. The boater, non-boater pairings for day one didn't take as long as in years past. Probably, because there were about half the number of boats that are usually involved. I think fishing on Saginaw Bay scared off a few fishermen. On both Friday and Saturday of the tournament there were small craft advisories and the Bay was pronounced off limits and everyone had to stay in the river. Although the fishing was slow many anglers adjusted to the conditions and brought in limits of fish. The Lake Nepessing Bass Club did very well with Ron Dowdy finishing in 5th. place with 10 fish for a total of 18.51 lbs., Larry Baker finished in 8th. place with 9 fish for a total of 16.9 lbs. and Dave DeMott finished in 9th place with 7 fish for a total of 16.41 lbs. and big fish for day one.
 The tournament this year was a huge success. From the sign-in to the final weighing of the last fish all went smoothly. The Banquet was the best ever. The Food was outstanding. At the end of day one the anglers were again treated to a great BBQ with fried and barbecued chicken, barbecued pork, cole slaw, fruit salad, beans, and several kinds of pie. We know for sure no one left hungry.
 All in all it was an interesting trip and as always an adventure. We met some great anglers, ate some great food and got to spend a lot of time on the water. Three of the Lake Nepessing Bass Club members taking home a plaque and making the state team made for a great trip. It just doesn't get any better than that!