Sunday marked the first tournament of the Yough River Bass Association. It was held at Cross Creek Lake. We had 19 teams battling it out as we looked for valuable points towards team of the year, prize money and bragging rights.

Jon and I started the day hoping for a solid finish to defend our run of 3 straight team of the year titles. I was unable to practice for the event, but Jon got down 1 morning to practice and found a stretch that had a fair amount of fish on it. Much like both of my previous tournament we decided we were going to grind that area all day. It paid off because we caught over 20 bass and landed 4 keepers that went 9.79lbs. That doesn’t sound very good, but on this day it was enough to win the tournament. All of our fish came pitching or dragging soft plastics or jigs. We gained a 50 points and lead the team of the year standings heading into the Pymatuning events where we will try to keep the momentum going.

For those of you that are unfamiliar with Yough River Bass Association (YRBA), here is a break down of the club and how it works. Annual membership is $50 per adult or $30 per junior angler. Junior anglers are considered 15 or under as they go by the fish commission rules for fishing license. Once a junior member is paid on the team you take any junior member from either adult members house without another membership fee. Each single day tournament costs $50 and 2 day events cost $100 to fish. Single day tournaments are worth 50 points to win and the 2 day events are worth 50 points per day, but the money is combined for a larger payout. At the end of the year the top 10 teams in point standings fish in the club championship which is a free entry with a high payout. Membership includes a free T-Shirt and you and a guest can come to the end of year/kickoff banquet. The payouts are based on the $50 entry fee. $20 goes to first place, $10 goes to second place, $5 goes towards third place, $5 goes towards lunker, and $10 goes to the end of the year championship. The same break down applies to the 2 day events, but the amounts double. In my opinion this club has a great group of guys, goes to great fisheries, and give you a great opportunity to compete with low team fees.