Attending

Bobby Harkness-President

David Rice- Vice President

Doug Wine-Treasurer

Randy Toler-Board Member

Wes Lester- Board Member

Chris Wine -Board Member

Brent Kerere-Board Member

Mick Goodwin-Board Member

Wayne Shuman-Youth Director

Announcements

• Bobby Harkness called meeting to order
• Reviewed the current balances for the WVBF as of End of month October
• Took roll call for each club.
• Selected dates and locations for our 2026 Tournament schedule.

Dates and Locations (tentative, pending DNR approval)

Apr 11                   Youth Tournament         Sutton Lake

Apr 12                   Buddy Trail                        Summersville Lake

Apr 26                  Buddy Trail                        Stonewall Lake

May 3                   Buddy Trail                        Kanawha River-Nitro

May 17                 Buddy Trail                        Ohio Rvr-Moundsville

June 7                  Buddy Trail                        Ohio Rvr-Belpre

July 11                   Buddy Trail Champ.        Mon River-Fairmont

Sep 12                  Southern Qualifier          Stonewall Lake

Sep 13                  Northern Qualifier          Ohio Rvr-Powhatten

Oct 17/18             State Champ.                   Summersville Lake

Sep 26/27            Semi-Nationals(VA)        Lake Anna, Virginia

• Discussed new ideas for fundraising. There will be a 50/50 drawing at every tournament this year. $5.00/ticket, or five tickets for $20.00, so bring some cash.
• Announced the Fishing EXPO! Dec 13, 2025 at the Community Building, Burnsville, WV. 10am-4pm

End of Meeting

Congratulations to JC Christopher for winning the 2025 State Championship this weekend on the Ohio River at Moundsville with a two-day weight of 20.22lbs.

JC, John Smarr, Mick Goodwin, Hanns VonSchmitt, Jason Suter, Luke Doughty, Robert Harkness, Scott Butler, Jeremy Byers and Bill Fore all qualified to be on the 2026 state team along with our Buddy trail champions, Billy Payne and Joey Walker. For the first time ever, we will be sending our state champion and runner up to the Federation National Championship next spring. Congratulations to JC and John!

It was a full weekend of qualifiers for the WVBF.

Congratulations to Josh Balser for winning the Southern Qualifier at Sutton Lake on Saturday with an impressive  bag weighing 12.71lbs anchored by big fish for the event weighing 3.23lbs. Congratulation to Stonewall Bassmasters for winning the team event. We will be taking 10 boaters and 11 co-anglers to the state championship from this event.

Congratulations to Jason Suter for winning the Northern Qualifier on the Ohio River on Sunday with a nice bag weighing 10.26lbs. Big fish went to Gary Parsons with a nice small mouth weighing 3.84lbs. Congratulations to the Ohio Valley River Rats for winning the team event. We will be taking 15 boaters and 14 co-anglers to the state championship.

The State Championship will be held on the Ohio River in Moundsville WV on October 18-19.

The Host motel will be the Holiday Inn Express in Moundsville. Local number is 304-845-8455. We will have a block of rooms at a special rate. When booking ask for the state championship block to receive special pricing.

Saturday morning started with 47 boats from West Virginia and Virginia. Water conditions on the Ohio River were unusually clear with minimum current, with water temperatures running in the upper seventies. These conditions are unusual for fishing on the Ohio River for late September. Fishing conditions were tough for most anglers, but some of our local fisherman figured it out. We only had four anglers that caught five fish limits both days. The overall champion caught limits both days, for a total of 20.92 pounds, and the runner-up caught eight fish for two days, with the largest bag for the tournament weighing 12.08 pounds on the second day.

Special thanks to Scott Whitmore, President of the Virginia Bass Federation, for bringing a great bunch of anglers to West Virginia. Fishing was tough, but a good time and great fellowship were had by all.