The Bass Federation (TBF) today announced much-anticipated details for its 2011 TBF National Championship, and here's the skinny.
The event will take place at Nickajack Lake in Kimball City, Tenn., April 12-16. That date coincides with an FLW Tour stop at Chickamauga, which is one pool up the Tennessee River. The National Guard will serve as presenting sponsor. Official practice is April 13.
The field will be 94 boats, including the Association of Collegiate Anglers national champions. The full field fishes days 1 and 2, but the top boater and co-angler from each of the seven TBF divisions will advance to fish the final day. The final-day weigh-in will occur at the Chattanooga Convention Center in conjunction with the Tour weigh-in.
In announcing the news, Kimball mayor David Jackson said: "The town of Kimball's very excited to be the host of the 2011 TBF National Championship. This event will mean a lot to our community and our local businesses. The economic boost to our town will be unreal, especially with the downturn in the economy. We look forward to the coming months of preparation. Our goal is to make this the best event of 2011, and we hope it encourages people from across the U.S. to come visit and draws other fishermen here as well. We'd like to thank TBF for choosing Kimball as the host city and we're looking forward to hosting the anglers and their families."
TBF president Robert Cartlidge added: "The Federation has never been simply about fishing for money. Although these anglers will vie for their share of nearly a quarter of a million in cash and prizes during this championship event, these 94 anglers are the very best this year out of literally tens of thousands of TBF members. If they don't catch another fish, pride in that fact is something that can never be taken away. The cash to be claimed is a nice bonus but the real brass rings are the TBF $100,000 Living the Dream prize package, two berths in the 2011 Forrest Wood Cup, and 14 berths in the 2011 BFL All-American presented by Chevy. We'll show up in Kimball, Tenn. in April and see who claims them."
This year, the Living the Dream package includes a cash prize, sponsor merchandise, a guaranteed spot in the 2011 BFL All-American, a guaranteed spot in the 2011 Forrest Wood Cup, up to $24,000 in paid entry fees for the 2012 FLW Tour, travel-expense stipends for each event, and the use of a TBF Living the Dream-wrapped Chevy truck and Ranger boat powered by Evinrude for the 2012 FLW Tour season.
