Ohio Valley Bass Masters

Roughing It: The Aftermath

Part 2 of the Series

In part 1 of this series I discussed changing up our tournament tactics based on being a non-boater. The change being to take as little tackle as necessary to get the job done. Three of us did just that, stuffing a Plano 3700 box with just a few essentials and sticking to it throughout the day.

So how did it work? First the players involved: Matt Baker, Jeff King, and myself, Greg Johnson. Take a look at the results and you can decide. By the way, Matt paired up with Roger Adams, Jeff paired with Bill Whitt, and I paired with Bob Otto.

I can say with no uncertainty that I was excited to be fishing that morning and so was Jeff and Matt.

Roughing It

Another OVBM season has begun and much like last year Mike Brown is sitting on top after the first tournament held at Kentucky and Barkley Lakes. Unlike last year though some minor tweaks were made to the tournament format. Day One was held on Kentucky Lake and Day Two was launched from Barkley.

In the spirit of tweaks and changing things up a bit, I and two of my good friends and fellow OVBM aumni have decided to change our approach up a bit to tournaments. Mainly for cost savings, but also all three of us have had some changes and tweaks in our own lives that have made tournament fishing take a back seat...way back.

�SHIP� SETS SAIL TO IMPROVE BASS FISHING ON LAKE LORAMIE

School will educate youth on fishing and conservation

XENIA, OHIO - Bass in Lake Loramie will discover 100 new places to nest on Saturday March 15, 2008 when the Ohio Bass Federation�s Ohio Valley Bass Masters, Shelby County Bassmasters, Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife (DOW) and Lake Loramie State Park team up to complete the final phase of a Spawning Habitat Improvement Partnership (SHIP) project around the lake. This large-scale conservation-partnering project was launched to enhance largemouth bass spawning habitat using artificial nesting boxes and is modeled after a successful SHIP project conducted at Buckeye Lake in 2005.

New Legislation Would Permit Towing at Slow Speeds Among Other Changes

Senate Bill 271 was introduced to the Senate Environment and Natural Resources committee on January 10, 2008. The bill, if passed, will change 5 statutes and make some technical changes to other boating laws. State Senator Larry Mumper (R-Marion) is the sponsor. The bill addresses several boating issues that the ODNR Division of Watercraft brought to Senator Mumper�s attention, he said in sponsor testimony. �I see this bill as a common-sense modernization of our laws and do not anticipate any controversy or opposition.� The bill, drafted in close coordination with the Division of Watercraft, would mean the following if adopted:

Create a "no wake" zone within 100 feet of a law enforcement or public service boat that is stationary and displaying a flashing light.
Allow for slow towing in some "no wake" zones to improve safety for people learning water sports.
Include Type V (specialty) life jackets among the types acceptable for children to wear.
Allow for the transfer of electronic titles for outboard motors. (Electronic transfer of titles for boats has been in place since 1993.)

2007 Season Awards Banquet this Weekend

By Greg Johnson

The OVBM 2007 Season Awards Banquet will be held this Saturday, February 9 from 6-9pm at Treasure Island restraunt in Moraine.

All OVBM Members and their guests are invited to attend. Ohio Valley's Angler of the Year, Big Bass Cup winner, and The Top 8 will be honored.

Here is a review of how the Top 8 found their way up to the top of the standings this past year:

Deer Creek Results; Erie Does Not Disappoint

By Greg Johnson

With the Top 8 in the OVBM AOY race getting closer and closer, some contestants are needing a good tournament to close in.

This was the first time in recent history that Ohio Valley has visited Deer Creek. It may or may not be a good venue to really gain some weight and move up, or lose ground.

A total of 16 bass went through the weigh-in between 11 competitors.

Bob Otto had a good top water bite going early.

With the final weights tallied, Bob Otto finished in first place with a five fish limit at 5.76 pounds. Bob caught most of his limit using a white buzzbait along channel banks on the upper end of the lake.

The rest of the Top 5

Second Place went to non-boater Erik Williams who found a small concentration of fish in the damn area. Erik caught all of his fish on a Strictly Bass spinnerbait.

Mike Brown continued his exceptional run this year with a 3.2 pound sack and third place. Mike got his fish using a shakey worm in the lower end creek near Harding Cabin.

Fourth place finisher JR Corbin found two keeper bass on the damn to finish in fourth.

Greg Johnson fooled one keeper bass in the marina by fishing the rip-rap with a shakey head.

So no big moves were made in the AOY standings after Deer Creek. But with Lake Erie on the horizon, anything wouls be possible.

Oklahoman Royce Dennington Wins Bass Federation Nation Championship

Dennington and 5 Other Federation Nation Amateurs Qualify For 2007 Bassmaster Classic
Bass Communications — Jan. 19, 2007

Day Three standings

GADSDEN, Ala. — In his first time fishing outside the state of Oklahoma, Royce Dennington outfished 53 other amateur anglers with a catch of 43 pounds of bass to win the BASS Federation Nation National Championship on Alabama's Lake Neely Henry.

Royce Dennington- 2007 Federation Nation Champion- Oklahoma

The 39-year-old science teacher at Barnsdall (Okla.) High School beat South Carolina Federation Nation representative Brent Long by a mere 2 ounces. Dennington brought 14 pounds, 14 ounces to the scales on Friday, just enough to nudge Long from the leader's spot he had attained on Friday.

With the victory, Dennington earned one of six coveted Federation Nation berths in the 2007 Bassmaster Classic, a spot in the Bassmaster Elite Series, $15,000 in cash, a fully rigged Triton boat valued at $50,000, and a guaranteed spot in the Bassmaster Open division of his choice.

Fishing fans can catch Dennington's banner day and all of the on-the-water Federation Nation action on ESPN2 on Saturday, Jan. 27, at 9 a.m. ET.

Major Shake-Up in AOY Race

Friday, July 14, 2006
by Greg Johnson
Results / Photos

The Great Equalizer. The tournament that can not be skipped. The one event where seasons can be made or broken.

Lake Erie in July. It is the one event where OVBM members can turn everything around and make a run at the Top 8 or even AOY. But if you let the Great Equalizer get the best of you, it can create a deep hole that is tough to climb out of.

This event was no exception to years past. Even if the weather happens to be too bad to get out on the main lake, the largemouth will cooperate in the many bays and harbors. The weekend of July 8-9 though had beautiful weather: Saturday it was clear with winds at 5-15 from the south west for most of the day. Many limits were expected and so were big sacks of smallmouth. However that was not the case. Most anyone will say that you want a south west wind to fish Erie. What they don't say is you also want that wind to be heavy enough to churn up some 2-3 foot waves. Needless to say largemouth dominated Saturday's weigh-in and after the scales were closed, Bob Otto had the lead with a mixed bag at 14.71 pounds including big bass of the day, a 4 .09 largemouth. Otto's boater, Mike Brown, was in second with 12.01 followed by Don Herwick with 10.71, Jim Clawson had 4th with 9.41 and Greg Johnson sat in 5th with 7.95 pounds.

Indiana Bass Federation Battles Tournament Fees

Friday, June 23, 2006
bassfederation.com article

Tournament fishing on Indiana state waters could be a thing of the past if the Department of Natural Resources institutes new fees on tournament anglers.

Eldon Crabtree of the Indiana Bass Federation believes proposed fees could force tournaments to avoid Indiana's state-run lakes.

The Indiana DNR has proposed new application and user fees on tournaments held at DNR controlled lakes, but the Indiana Bass Federation (IBF) is fighting the fees, which could put tournament angling out of business.

The proposed fees include a non-refundable application fee for all tournaments held on state waters, which the Natural Resources Commission (NRC) approved at between $20 and $750. Also proposed is a $5 per boat user fee for tournament anglers. The user fee would be based on the number of estimated boats listed on an organization's tournament application, not how many boats actually show up.

SS Minnows take Junior Shootout at Hook Lake

ohiobass.org article

Two Ohio Junior Federation fishing clubs squared off in a first ever bass tournament between two Jr. clubs. Westerville’s S.S. Minnows accepted an invitation from the Perry County Jr. Renegades to meet in a competition billed as the Shootout at Hook Lake. The event took place Thursday afternoon on May 11. Hook Lake is located in the heart of ReCreation Land, the American Electric Power’s public hunting and fishing area in Morgan County. When AEP’s ReCreation Land Programs Coordinator, Dave Dingey, was presented the proposal to host the event, he decided to provide trophies for the young fishermen and a picnic for their families.