NBAA National Championship Week a Huge Success

Houghton Lake Michigan Hosts Largest Bass Tournament Ever Held in Michigan

Three Skeeter/Yamaha Boats Awarded in Three Days!

The National Bass Anglers Association just wrapped up their National Championship week held on beautiful Houghton Lake in northern Michigan.  Over 475 teams of anglers competed in this event and were awarded the largest ever payout in the history of amateur bass fishing in Michigan – over $100,000 in cash and prizes were awarded in this three day super event, including THREE Skeeter/Yamaha rigs valued at nearly $20,000 each.  Houghton Lake proved itself as a great fishery with over 2000 pounds of fish brought to the scales in this three day event.  Over 99% of the fish were released alive back into Houghton Lake.

“Everything came together perfectly - the fishing was spectacular, the weather was great and the anglers came up ready to fish.”  Said NBAA Executive Director and owner Jim Sprague “The fishing can be tough this time of year, with most of the bass just done with their spawning season.  These anglers are the top semi pro anglers in the midwest and they proved it by figuring out patterns that brought an amazing amount of fish to the scales.  Anglers were also impressed with the large number of walleye and pike they caught.” 
  

Tournament registration was held on Tuesday May 29 with each team receiving a welcome package from the Houghton Lake Tourism Bureau, a shirt from Bass Pro Shops.  Sponsors kicked in dozens of great prizes including Minn Kota trolling motors, Aqua Vu cameras, Solar Bat sunglasses, Minn Kota on board chargers, Powell rods, DJ custom rods, Quantum reels, Auto Value MIS race tickets,  Bass Pro gift cards, Combat Fishing packs, Lunch Money Lures, Gamma Line, Humminbird Graphs, Mann’s, Please Release Me, Fish Hedz, Scent-Lok, Snack Daddy Lures, Strike King, Venom, WaveCast, Yamaha and more. view Championship Registration album»

For this three day NBAA National Championship, anglers were required to qualify through any of more than 100 local NBAA divisions scattered throughout nine states. Day one of the event on May 30 was the National Weekend Challenge Championship with 118 teams competing for a first place prize of a new Skeeter / Yamaha boat package and a share of the $10,000 cash prize.  The winners of the event were – Jason Keller of Portage and Steve Zimmerman of Vicksburg, Michigan with a catch of five smallmouth bass weighing in at 15.63 pounds. view Weekend Championship album»

On the second day of the event 192 teams of qualifiers of the Overtime Challenge National Championship took to the lakes to compete for the top cash prize of $2500 and a total purse of more than $30,000 in cash and prizes.  All competitors also had a shot at a “wildcard” drawing for a new Skeeter/Yamaha boat package valued at nearly $20,000.  The winners of the top cash prize were the team of John McMichael of Fife Lake and Brian Wilson of Buckley, Michigan with a great catch of 5 bass weighing 14.06 pounds.  The lucky winners of the wildcard boat drawing were the team of Jack Palmer of Battle Creek and Tom Smith of Battle Creek, Michigan.  A total of 576 fish were brought to the stage, tipping the scales at over 1100 pounds total.  Another highlight of the day was the landing of a Coast Guard helicopter at the event weigh in which was enjoyed by the spectators and participants. view Overtime Challenge album»

The top twenty qualifiers from day one and the top thirty qualifiers from day two plus two wildcard teams were invited to the Ultimate Challenge Championship held on June 1. These 52 teams once again had a shot at a Skeeter/Yamaha Package and a total prize purse valued at over $25,000.  The winners were once again the team of Jason Keller of Portage and Steve Zimmerman of Vicksburg, Michigan. This time they weighed in a catch weighing 13.42 pounds enough for their SECOND Skeeter / Yamaha package of the week.

For those not qualifying for the Ultimate Championship, the NBAA Lunker Shootout drew nearly 30 teams trying to weigh in the largest fish of the day. Winning this event was the team of Dave Rattay and Andy Lynch with a big smallmouth going 3.96 pounds. view Ultimate Championship album»

“The Houghton Lake businesses also tagged a bass that could have been worth up to $25,000 had it been caught by one of the NBAA anglers.  Unfortunately, no angler caught the bass or any of the other tagged fish in the lake.  The good news is that if the tagged fish is caught by ANY angler this season, they can win the prizes” stated Jack Horning, National Director for NBAA, “That’s great for anyone looking to make a trip north this summer – great fishing, great accommodations and a chance to win big money.”

NBAA thanks all of their staff, sponsors, and the Houghton Lake Tourism Bureau for all of their assistance.  NBAA is based out of Hastings, Michigan and sanctions tournament events in 9 states and has a membership base of over 3500 anglers.  Sponsors include Skeeter Boats, Yamaha Motors, Al & Bobs Sport Shop, Aqua-Vu, Auto Value, Bass-n-Bag, Combat Fishing, D&R Sports, DJ’s Custom Rods, Eagle Claw, Nitro Bait, Xtreme Scents, G3, Gamma Line, Humminbird, Minn Kota Trolling Motors, Dixie Dancer Spinner baits, Leaders Marine, Mann’s Bait Company,Minn Kota Batteries, Moose Tracks, Please Release Me, Poor Boys Baits, Powell Rods, Fish Hedz, Scent-Lok, Snack Daddy Lures, Solar Bat Sunglasses, Strike King, Venom and WaveCast Reels.

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