ALEXANDRIA, Minnesota - A dock pattern paid off
handsomely for Minnesota angler Jim Severson and his partner
today in the first round of the BASS Federation Nation Northern
Divisional at the Le Homme Dieu Chain of Lakes here.
Severson, 39, a full-time angler from Breezy Point, Minn.,
relied on docks to catch five largemouth bass weighing 17
pounds, 4 ounces, and take the lead in the individual standings
of the Northern Divisional. The Central Minnesota Bassmaster
club member is competing in his seventh divisional.
Meanwhile, Quincy, Ill., angler David Junk moved into second
place with a 13-6 limit, which included the big bass of the day,
a 6-pound, 2-ounce largemouth.
Both Severson and his partner, Jeff Brown of Brandon, S.D.,
discovered the dock pattern in practice.
"We just had some big fish spots on docks," said Severson.
"There were some good ones under there, and we caught them right
away and then worked on them the rest of the afternoon."
Three small sets of docks produced best for Severson and Brown,
who found the fish were holding under the docks about 2 feet
deep.
Severson finished the day with about 10 keepers, while Brown
amassed a 12-15 limit to move into third place overall.
"I went to his docks and caught big fish and then he went to
some of my docks and caught big fish," said Severson. "So we
kind of switched off back and forth."
The Northern Divisional is the fourth of six regional qualifying
events that advance top Federation Nation competitors from
America and abroad to the only international world fish-off for
amateur anglers, the BASS Federation Nation National
Championship. The event is scheduled for January 2007 at Lake
Neely Henry in Alabama.
The tournament features both an individual and team competition.
Leading their states after today's competition are Severson
(Minnesota), Junk (Illinois), Brown (South Dakota), Mike Toht
(Ohio), Dallas Lasche (Wisconsin), Bob Allen (Indiana), Brian
Searcy (Iowa) and John Gipson (Michigan).
In the team competition, eight Federation Nations are vying for
a total payout of $65,000, with the prize monies to be used for
each states' conservation, civic and fishing outreach programs.
Minnesota leads with a cumulative weight of 115 pounds, 8
ounces.
The Northern Divisional weigh-ins begin at 3 p.m. CT the next
two days at the Bug-A-Boo Bay Restaurant.
Sponsors of the Federation Nation include CITGO Petroleum Corp.,
Toyota, Busch Beer, Purolator, Triton Boats, Mercury Marine,
Berkley, Lowrance Electronics, MotorGuide and Evan Williams.
For more information, contact BASS Communications at (407)
566-2208 or visit www.bassmaster.com.