Russ Behlings and Aaron Warner qualified for the Western conference finals by winning the event on lake Havasu (see image)[inline “russ and aaron.jpg”]
Little did we know, the FLW would chose Utah Lake to host the event. This thing gets underway with an official practice day tomorrow. Competition begins on Thursday, and they cut the field down from 20 teams to 5 for Saturday. Those top 5 teams all advance to the National Championships in April. The top team will win a $25,000 Ranger bass boat.
I am cordially inviting all BFT members to attend the weigh-ins on Thur, Fri, and Sat at 4 PM in the Orem Walmart parking lot.
oh by the way…NBC sports (in HD) will be filming the event and it will be televised nationally in November. This is probably the biggest fishing event to ever be held in the state of Utah. And the University, State tourism, and sporting goods retailers will all reap a huge marketing benefit from this coverage.
and to think one year ago our club did not even exist…
That is freaking awsome. Hopefully our local boys will tear it up. Utah Lake is a tough lake to fish, hopefully there experience will give them an edge. How are they doing the weigh in with the only 1 fish over 12 inches regulation? Is it still a five fish limit with 2 over 12 and 3 under 12?
the FLW got a variance on the rule. They will weigh in 5 bass over 12 inches (if they can catch them). That is a variance for this tournament only. They also got it approved to transport the fish alive to Walmart in Orem, weigh them in, and release them back into Utah Lake.
man thats awesome , if you guys need any advice i would ask tubedude, he is like the roland martin of that pond, bring him to that weigh in to fire up the crowd, good luck
HOLY SH#@^$*$, how in the %$@#$ did they catch the ear of the DWR and get a variance? I"m both excited for them and mad as hell that we’ve been declined and shuned so many times on this issue.
Where are they launching from? I was planning on fishing in the morning, plus another day over the weekend. How are spectators viewed during this event (in a boat)? Hell, I can’t ever get a bass and it would be cool to watch the pros.
I spent the day on the water with one of the teams and it was a blast. These kids are GREAT, and I do mean GREAT !! I have been doing this tournament thing for almost 40 years and been fishing Utah Lake for that long and I learned a few things from these kids today. My view was that it was going to be a tough, tough event, but after today, if they convert the bites that they got today, they are going to put some fish in the boat, all of the teams. Come out to the weighin, 4 PM, Wal Mart on University Parkway, across from UVU Campus. It is going to be AWESOME !!! ( i hate that word !!!)
Launch is from Utah Lake State Park, west Center Street, Provo. Blast off is at 7 AM and I am sure the kids would be thrilled to have some spectators follow them around and watch. Come on down and see em off !!!
I am planning on going in the morning, be on the water around 6:15, hopefully be able to watch someone land a bass or two. Where are they fishing in general?
My guess is the harbors will have a lot of pressure.
Your guess was right on, I was there this morning mostly messing with my new trolling motor and took a spin around and a couple harbors were being hit pretty hard. It was enjoyable to watch them for a little while to get a better understanding of why they are successful.