Minnesotans Buckley Smith and John Roundsley carved their names in bass
fishing history by weighing in 34.95 pounds to win the North American
Bass Circuit’s first-ever NABC World Bass Championship, held on
Minnesota’s mighty Leech Lake.
Their 10-fish NABC limit of beefy largemouths earned them a $20,000
first-place check in the two-day event, along with a $1,000 Ranger Cup
bonus and a great prize package including Rapala, Trigger X and Sufix
products.
“It’s a great experience,” said Roundsley, of Brainerd. “Buckley and I
have been tournament fishing together for three years and had some good
finishes, but this takes the cake.” The majority of their fish came from
three feet of water in a reed bed in Waboose Bay, on jigs tipped with
soft-plastic craws.
After an exciting season spanning three states and thousands of acres of
prime bass water, the Circuit’s inaugural season drew to a dramatic
close at the Championship, held out of Trapper’s Landing Lodge on the
lake’s scenic south shore.
As the weigh-in crowd held its breath, Roundsley and Buckley edged out
reigning NABC Team of the Year, fellow Minnesotans Keith Tuma, of
Baxter, and Jim Smith, of Brainerd, who tallied 34.83 pounds. “It’s
still sinking in to get this win against the best of the best,” added
Smith, of Lindstrom.
The event pitted the NABC’s top 25 teams in an all-out bassin’ brawl
that treated the weigh-in crowd to numerous lead changes, big bass and
hefty baskets. Teams earned a berth in the invitation-only Championship
at the Circuit’s three qualifiers. The NABC’s first season started
strong on Wisconsin’s bass-rich Lake Winnebago Chain June 11, and teams
battled on Michigan’s Big and Little Bays de Noc July 30. Minnesota’s
Lake Minnetonka hosted the final qualifier August 19.
In all, the top seven teams shared the $30,000 cash payout plus $1,250
from the Big Bass Pot and sponsor contingencies. Tuma and Smith earned
$4,000 for second place, plus the $1,000 Cabela’s Angler Cash bonus and
U2 contingency.
The Leech Lake fishery produced largemouths on a variety of
presentations. Two- hundred and three largemouths weighing a total of
602.93 pounds were weighed in under
the NABC’s catch-and-release format. The Circuit’s Bass Conservation
Fund donated $15 per boat to the Minnesota Department of Natural
Resources for fisheries projects on the Leech Lake system. To date, the
NABC and its sister trail-the Cabela’s Masters Walleye Circuit-has
donated more than $300,000 to fisheries projects in states where its
tournaments are held.
Following the Day One weigh-in, the NABC and National Professional
Anglers Association presented kids age 12 and under with great gifts,
including free rod-and-reel combos, free tackle packages from Northland
Fishing Tackle, NPAA “Future Pro” T- Shirts and more.
This was the final event of the NABC’s inaugural season, and plans are
already under way for 2012. The NABC is open to all anglers. And its
popular team format-which lets you choose your partner and cut your
costs-has stood the test of time for 26 tournament seasons on the
Cabela’s MWC. For details visit northamericanbasscircuit.com, call toll-
free (877) 893-7947, or email [email protected].
