YANKTON, S.D. - The BASS Federation Northern Divisional wound up Friday, sending the top angler from each of the competing nine states to the BASS Federation Championship next spring.
Wisconsin's Randy Burch was the top dog on South Dakota's Lewis and Clark Lake with a three-day weight of 30 pounds, 9 ounces. This is the third time Burch has made it this far in Federation competition.
"I'm very excited," Burch said. "They say the third time's the charm and I guess they're right. The Federation Championship is what we were here for. We worked very well together as a team.
"The whole team of Wisconsin was swimming jigs. I was using a Black Super S swim jig, just casting it out and fishing it just like a spinnerbait. The conditions were pretty rough today; in fact, I didn't know if we were going to make it back in. We left in plenty of time, though, and made it. We were soaking wet, but we made it."
While the top anglers from the nine teams gathered at the Northern Divisional are heading to the 2005 BASS Federation Championship next spring, the teams were competing for a cash prize purse based on each team's cumulative weight over three days.
Burch's Wisconsin team claimed the $15,000 cash prize with a total weight of 258-9, which Team Captain Roy Bragg credited to teamwork.
"This was a total team effort," Bragg said. "We had team meetings and we discussed strategy. I have to say that it was really tough conditions and we really worked well as a team.
"I greatly appreciate my co-captain, Andy Ritchie. He helped us out a lot. We had a lot of broken boats and we were up long hours fixing them."
Iowa's Andy Somerfelt will also be heading to the Federation Championship. Somerfelt claimed the lead for his team on the first day of the tournament and held it throughout with a three-day weight of 29-11.
"I'm breathing a little easier now," Somerfelt said. "I'm happy. It's my sixth time in the divisional and it's about time I made it. I've been second a few times and I can tell you, that's as good as last.
"I caught most of my fish on a back-weighted spinnerbait with a chartreuse trailer. I found a patch of weeds, but they were floaty weeds. The first two days, I stuck with the top water, but today they weren't biting the topwater, so I started slow rolling the spinnerbait under the canopy."
Joining Burch and Somerfelt in the Federation Championship are South Dakota's Jami Fralik (27-13), Ohio's Brian McNeal (26-1), Indiana's Dewey Allen (23-9), Minnesota's Chuck Steinbauer (23-4), Ontario's Bill Todd (20-2), Illinois' Brian Plank (19-13) and Michigan's Nate Wellman (17-14).
Nebraska's Shane Oltjenbruns earned the $1,000 prize for the Purolator Big Bass of the Tournament with a 4-9 lunker he caught on day one.
2004 Northern Divisional 09/15-09/17 Lews & Clarke Lake, Yankton S.D. Standings Day 3 Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Total $$$ 1. Randy Burch Ladysmith, Wisc. (WI) 15 30-09 2. Andy Sommerfelt Denver, Iowa (IA) 15 29-11 3. Jami Fralick Martin, S.D. (SD) 15 27-13 4. Shane Oltjenbruns Neligh, Neb. (SD) 13 26-04 $1,000.00 5. Bryan McNeal Springfield, Ohio (OH) 15 26-01 6. David Hefflefinger Cedar Rapids, Iowa (IA 15 24-15 7. Dave Snyder Holmen, Wisc. (WI) 15 23-15 8. Kevin Fassbind Madison, Wisc. (WI) 11 23-13 9. Dewey Allen Connersville, Ind. (IN 13 23-09 10. Michael Mueller Cedar Rapids, Iowa (IA 11 23-06 11. Chuck Steinbauer Brainerd, Minn. (MN) 12 23-04 12. Chad Ekroth Yankton, S.D. (SD) 14 23-02 13. Terry Imus Mitchell, S.D. (SD) 12 22-13 14. Jeffrey Schleifer Onalaska, Wisc. (WI) 13 22-08 15. Randy Peck Mt Ve Rnon, Ohio (OH) 13 22-03 16. Jeremy Foster Weyauwega, Wisc. (WI) 12 22-02 17. Dennis Christensen Friendship, Wisc. (WI) 14 22-01 18. Jimmy Johnson Lacrosse, Wisc. (WI) 12 21-12 19. Mark Dove North Vernon, Ill. (IN 15 21-11 20. Brady Farrell Ft Atkinson, Wisc. (WI 13 21-05 21. James Schleifer Onalaska, Wisc. (WI) 13 21-02 22. Brian Runyon Mcarthur, Ohio (OH) 12 20-14 23. Anthony Hall Machesney Park, Ill. ( 13 20-11 24. Jerry Hawke Prior Lake, Minn. (MN) 12 20-04 25. Bill Todd Elmvale, Canada (ON) 12 20-02 26. Chad Altwine Fordyce, S.D. (SD) 13 19-15 27. Rick Hemesath Ossian, Minn. (MN) 12 19-14 28. Brian Plank Mt. Zion, Ill. (IL) 11 19-13 29. Brannon Hilton Indianola, Iowa (IA) 13 19-10 30. G W Ekroth Dallas, S.D. (SD) 11 19-09 31. Bill Grove Cedar Rapids, Iowa (IA 10 19-00 32. Bill Skowronski Hennepin, Ill. (IL) 14 18-14 33. Nate Wellman Jenison, Mich. (MI) 9 17-14 34. Rick Hartwig Waupun, Wisc. (WI) 11 17-09 35. Marty Lamberti Altoona, Iowa (IA) 13 17-07 36. Ken Caldwell Rome, Ohio (OH) 11 17-02 37. Chris Schultz Fair Oaks, Ind. (IN) 12 16-14 37. Dennis Beltz Clinton Township, Mich 12 16-14 39. Bob Garman Cedar Rapids, Iowa (IA 10 16-11 40. James Moses Danville, Ind. (IN) 12 16-10 41. Allan Hall Brandon, S.D. (SD) 11 16-05 41. Rick Rasmussen Downers Grove, Ill. (I 10 16-05 43. Fred Felix New Castle, Ind. (IN) 9 15-15 43. Kent Miller Linden, Mich. (MI) 9 15-15 45. Richard Campitelli Albany, Ohio (OH) 12 15-13 45. Jeff Moffett Illiopolis, Ill. (IL) 10 15-13 47. Eric Ronningen Rochester, Minn. (MN) 10 15-10 48. Jeff Dyer Patriot, Ohio (OH) 10 15-09 49. Kent Oakley Decatur, Ill. (IL) 9 15-07 50. Monty Fralick Martin, S.D. (SD) 9 14-10 51. Glen Gray Fenton, Mich. (MI) 9 14-07 52. Joseph Sestak Tabor, S.D. (SD) 9 14-02 53. Terry McWilliams Greenfield, Ind. (IN) 8 13-03 54. Dan Parker Coultenberg, Iowa (IA) 8 12-11 54. Tim Krantz Somonauk, Ill. (IL) 8 12-11 56. John Lamson Flint, Mich. (MI) 9 12-10 57. Kevin Meunier Lamar, Ind. (IN) 9 12-06 58. Brian Elgin Kewanee, Ill. (IL) 6 12-04 59. Todd Thompson Newark, Ohio (OH) 7 12-03 60. James McIntyre Petawawa, Canada (ON) 9 12-02 61. Timothy Bertrand Gahanna, Ohio (OH) 6 12-01 62. Bryan Freyermuth Muscatine, Iowa (IA) 6 11-14 63. James Pinke Hastings, Minn. (MN) 9 11-13 64. Thomas Kiefer Fowlerville, Mich. (MI 9 11-09 65. Brian Moore Minesing, Canada (ON) 5 11-05 66. Kevin Raimer Poyette, Wisc. (WI) 8 11-02 67. Darin Jorg Cincinnati, Ohio (IN) 9 10-15 68. Jason Lohnes Westerville, Ohio (OH) 7 10-13 68. Wil Wegman Bradford, Canada (ON) 6 10-13 70. Scott Holterhaus Ft Madison, Iowa (IA) 7 10-09 71. Willard Bryan Avon, S.D. (SD) 7 10-04 72. Eddie Summers Burton, Mich. (MI) 7 9-11 73. Bob Kendall New Market, Canada (ON 6 9-10 74. Jonathan Patrick Calmar, Iowa (MN) 6 9-06 75. Josh Nelson Mound, Minn. (MN) 5 9-00 76. Steven Johnson Lake Villa, Ill. (IL) 7 8-12 77. Barry Narrin Fostoria, Mich. (MI) 6 8-04 77. Guy Papineau St Catherines, Canada 5 8-04 79. Jeff Muntz New Riegel, Ohio (OH) 5 8-01 80. Thomas Logue Tyndall, S.D. (SD) 6 7-08 81. Dan Yeager Nineveh, Ind. (IN) 6 7-02 82. Craig Stuckless Bracebridge, Canada (O 4 6-11 83. Garrett Green Bracebridge, Canada (O 3 6-09 84. Ronald Hicks White Cloud, Mich. (MI 5 6-08 85. Mike Graham Bowmanville, Canada (O 5 6-07 86. Jeff Kellogg Greenville, Mich. (MI) 4 5-15 87. Andy Williamson Lake Andes, S.D. (SD) 4 5-14 88. Marvin Parton Greentown, Ind. (IN) 4 5-11 89. John Gustin Monticello, Ind. (IN) 4 5-08 90. Rick House Winona, Minn. (MN) 4 5-02 91. David Fogle Sidney, Ohio (OH) 3 4-10 92. Jason Denkman Moscow, Iowa (IA) 2 4-08 93. Darrell Preston Coscoran, Minn. (MN) 4 4-01 94. Ralph Turpen Henry, Ill. (IL) 3 4-00 94. Loren Davidson Forest Lake, Minn. (MN 2 4-00 96. Jeremy Crawford Palo, Iowa (MN) 2 3-12 97. Danny Hall Davison, Mich. (MI) 3 3-08 98. Todd Ackerman Biggsville, Ill. (IL) 2 3-05 99. Joel Pearson London, Ohio (OH) 2 3-02 100.Mike Payne Hatfield, Ind. (IN) 2 3-00 101.Dan Hamdorf Lowden, Iowa (IA) 2 2-10 102.Michael Augot Petawawa, Canada (ON) 1 2-06 103.Brent Haimes Mazeppa, Minn. (MN) 2 2-05 104.James McLaren Perkinsfield, Canada ( 2 1-15 105.Steve Golden Mackinaw, Ill. (IL) 1 1-04 106.Jay Green Mound, Minn. (MN) 1 1-01 107.Jeff Duncan Dartmouth, Canada (ON) 0 0-00 107.Dan Gibbs Kingston, Canada (ON) 0 0-00 107.Kenneth Hattan Chillicothe, Ill. (IL) 0 0-00 107.Dan Myers Leclaire, Iowa (MI) 0 0-00 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Shane Oltjenbruns Neligh, Neb. (SD) 4-09 $1,000.00 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals Day #Limits #Fish Weight 1 39 324 541-05 2 27 289 473-01 3 28 281 443-13 ---------------------------------- 94 894 1458-03 TEAM STANDINGS Day 3 ---------------------------------- State Lbs-Oz 1 WISCONSIN 258-9 2 SOUTH DAKOTA 208-3 3 IOWA 193-0 4 OHIO 168-8 5 INDIANA 152-8 6 MINNESOTA 129-8 7 ILLINOIS 128-8 8 MICHIGAN 123-3 9 ONTARIO 96-4 INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS Day 3 -----------------------------------------------------------------------WISCONSIN Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Total $$$ 1 Randy Burch Ladysmith, Wisc. 15 30- 9 2 Dave Snyder Holmen, Wisc. 15 23-15 3 Kevin Fassbind Madison, Wisc. 11 23-13 4 Jeffrey Schleifer Onalaska, Wisc. 13 22- 8 5 Jeremy Foster Weyauwega, Wisc. 12 22- 2 6 Dennis Christensen Friendship, Wisc. 14 22- 1 7 Jimmy Johnson Lacrosse, Wisc. 12 21-12 8 Brady Farrell Ft Atkinson, Wisc. 13 21- 5 9 James Schleifer Onalaska, Wisc. 13 21- 2 10 Anthony Hall Machesney Park, Ill. 13 20-11 11 Rick Hartwig Waupun, Wisc. 11 17- 9 12 Kevin Raimer Poyette, Wisc. 8 11- 2SOUTH DAKOTA Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Total $$$ 1 Jami Fralick Martin, S.D. 15 27-13 2 Shane Oltjenbruns Neligh, Neb. 13 26- 4 $1,000.00 3 Chad Ekroth Yankton, S.D. 14 23- 2 4 Terry Imus Mitchell, S.D. 12 22-13 5 Chad Altwine Fordyce, S.D. 13 19-15 6 G W Ekroth Dallas, S.D. 11 19- 9 7 Allan Hall Brandon, S.D. 11 16- 5 8 Monty Fralick Martin, S.D. 9 14-10 9 Joseph Sestak Tabor, S.D. 9 14- 2 10 Willard Bryan Avon, S.D. 7 10- 4 11 Thomas Logue Tyndall, S.D. 6 7- 8 12 Andy Williamson Lake Andes, S.D. 4 5-14IOWA Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Total $$$ 1 Andy Sommerfelt Denver, Iowa 15 29-11 2 David Hefflefinger Cedar Rapids, Iowa 15 24-15 3 Michael Mueller Cedar Rapids, Iowa 11 23- 6 4 Brannon Hilton Indianola, Iowa 13 19-10 5 Bill Grove Cedar Rapids, Iowa 10 19- 0 6 Marty Lamberti Altoona, Iowa 13 17- 7 7 Bob Garman Cedar Rapids, Iowa 10 16-11 8 Dan Parker Coultenberg, Iowa 8 12-11 9 Bryan Freyermuth Muscatine, Iowa 6 11-14 10 Scott Holterhaus Ft Madison, Iowa 7 10- 9 11 Jason Denkman Moscow, Iowa 2 4- 8 12 Dan Hamdorf Lowden, Iowa 2 2-10OHIO Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Total $$$ 1 Bryan McNeal Springfield, Ohio 15 26- 1 2 Randy Peck Mt Ve Rnon, Ohio 13 22- 3 3 Brian Runyon Mcarthur, Ohio 12 20-14 4 Ken Caldwell Rome, Ohio 11 17- 2 5 Richard Campitelli Albany, Ohio 12 15-13 6 Jeff Dyer Patriot, Ohio 10 15- 9 7 Todd Thompson Newark, Ohio 7 12- 3 8 Timothy Bertrand Gahanna, Ohio 6 12- 1 9 Jason Lohnes Westerville, Ohio 7 10-13 10 Jeff Muntz New Riegel, Ohio 5 8- 1 11 David Fogle Sidney, Ohio 3 4-10 12 Joel Pearson London, Ohio 2 3- 2INDIANA Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Total $$$ 1 Dewey Allen Connersville, Ind. 13 23- 9 2 Mark Dove North Vernon, Ill. 15 21-11 3 Chris Schultz Fair Oaks, Ind. 12 16-14 4 James Moses Danville, Ind. 12 16-10 5 Fred Felix New Castle, Ind. 9 15-15 6 Terry McWilliams Greenfield, Ind. 8 13- 3 7 Kevin Meunier Lamar, Ind. 9 12- 6 8 Darin Jorg Cincinnati, Ohio 9 10-15 9 Dan Yeager Nineveh, Ind. 6 7- 2 10 Marvin Parton Greentown, Ind. 4 5-11 11 John Gustin Monticello, Ind. 4 5- 8 12 Mike Payne Hatfield, Ind. 2 3- 0MINNESOTA Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Total $$$ 1 Chuck Steinbauer Brainerd, Minn. 12 23- 4 2 Jerry Hawke Prior Lake, Minn. 12 20- 4 3 Rick Hemesath Ossian, Minn. 12 19-14 4 Eric Ronningen Rochester, Minn. 10 15-10 5 James Pinke Hastings, Minn. 9 11-13 6 Jonathan Patrick Calmar, Iowa 6 9- 6 7 Josh Nelson Mound, Minn. 5 9- 0 8 Rick House Winona, Minn. 4 5- 2 9 Darrell Preston Coscoran, Minn. 4 4- 1 10 Loren Davidson Forest Lake, Minn. 2 4- 0 11 Jeremy Crawford Palo, Iowa 2 3-12 12 Brent Haimes Mazeppa, Minn. 2 2- 5 13 Jay Green Mound, Minn. 1 1- 1ILLINOIS Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Total $$$ 1 Brian Plank Mt. Zion, Ill. 11 19-13 2 Bill Skowronski Hennepin, Ill. 14 18-14 3 Rick Rasmussen Downers Grove, Ill. 10 16- 5 4 Jeff Moffett Illiopolis, Ill. 10 15-13 5 Kent Oakley Decatur, Ill. 9 15- 7 6 Tim Krantz Somonauk, Ill. 8 12-11 7 Brian Elgin Kewanee, Ill. 6 12- 4 8 Steven Johnson Lake Villa, Ill. 7 8-12 9 Ralph Turpen Henry, Ill. 3 4- 0 10 Todd Ackerman Biggsville, Ill. 2 3- 5 11 Steve Golden Mackinaw, Ill. 1 1- 4 12 Kenneth Hattan Chillicothe, Ill. 0 0- 0MICHIGAN Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Total $$$ 1 Nate Wellman Jenison, Mich. 9 17-14 2 Dennis Beltz Clinton Township, Mich. 12 16-14 3 Kent Miller Linden, Mich. 9 15-15 4 Glen Gray Fenton, Mich. 9 14- 7 5 John Lamson Flint, Mich. 9 12-10 6 Thomas Kiefer Fowlerville, Mich. 9 11- 9 7 Eddie Summers Burton, Mich. 7 9-11 8 Barry Narrin Fostoria, Mich. 6 8- 4 9 Ronald Hicks White Cloud, Mich. 5 6- 8 10 Jeff Kellogg Greenville, Mich. 4 5-15 11 Danny Hall Davison, Mich. 3 3- 8 12 Dan Myers Leclaire, Iowa 0 0- 0ONTARIO Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Total $$$ 1 Bill Todd Elmvale, Canada 12 20- 2 2 James McIntyre Petawawa, Canada 9 12- 2 3 Brian Moore Minesing, Canada 5 11- 5 4 Wil Wegman Bradford, Canada 6 10-13 5 Bob Kendall New Market, Canada 6 9-10 6 Guy Papineau St Catherines, Canada 5 8- 4 7 Craig Stuckless Bracebridge, Canada 4 6-11 8 Garrett Green Bracebridge, Canada 3 6- 9 9 Mike Graham Bowmanville, Canada 5 6- 7 10 Michael Augot Petawawa, Canada 1 2- 6 11 James McLaren Perkinsfield, Canada 2 1-15 12 Jeff Duncan Dartmouth, Canada 0 0- 0 12 Dan Gibbs Kingston, Canada 0 0- 0