Lexington, Kentucky’s Tyson Peterson took top honors this past weekend in the second annual Hobie Bass Open CPR (Catch, Photo, Release), earning him a ticket to compete in this year’s Hobie Fishing World Championship, compliments of Hobie Cat Company and Marshall County Kentucky Tourism. Tyson also walked away with $3000 in cash and a Power-Pole® MICRO™ anchor. New Jersey’s Tom Michael took second winning $2000 and a Fugoo waterproof speaker. Kentucky scored again with third place winner, Jay Wallen, who was presented a check for $1000 and a Lowrance® fish finder. Tommy Eubanks took fourth and Brad Uhl fifth. The field of competitors included a total of 73 seasoned adult anglers from all over North America and five junior anglers under the age of 16.
Tyson will join 2014 Hobie Fishing World’s Champion, Steve Lessard, and 2014 IFA Champion, Benton Parrott, in representing Team USA at the fifth annual Hobie Fishing World Championship (HFW5). Presented by Rhino-Rack™ and hosted by Hobie Cat® Australasia, the event will take place on Shang Lake in Changshu, China November 9-16 of this year.
The event paid out cash prizes totaling over $8000 to the top seven winners. Big Bass honors went to Terry Elkens for his 22” fish that won him a St Croix rod. Everyone, though, had a chance to win prizes from Hobie as well as from a host of other tournament sponsors. Besides Power-Pole MICRO, Fugoo and Lowrance mentioned above, Bassin’ Magazine, Yak Attack, Daiwa and Plano upped the ante for all the anglers.
Anglers endured a variety of challenges including sporadic thunderstorms and heavy winds. With water temperatures in the mid 70’s, most of the quality fish had moved to the ledges. Competitors making this adjustment were rewarded with quality fish and daily limits. Despite tough conditions, catch rates remained strong with over 420 bass checked in over the week-end. Saturday night festivities included a hot dog roast with all the fixings followed by a pizza lunch on Sunday sponsored by Bassin’ Magazine.
To view Leader Board for click: http://ianglertournament.com/tournament/leaderboard/368
Hobie extends a special thanks to Kentucky Dam Village where the event was held. Their entire team went to extraordinary lengths to make sure everyone involved in the Open was welcomed.
The Hobie Bass Open was the second in a series of four qualifying events being held in the U.S. and one in Canada that give anglers the opportunity to qualify for five coveted spots on the North American team. For more details, go to http://www.hobiefishingworlds.com