News

Defending champs surge to early lead


By Mitch Calvert, Fort Frances Times LTD.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Matt Christy of Superior, Wis. and partner Chris Hay of Brooklyn Centre, Mn. had a great day on the waters of Rainy Lake yesterday after bringing in an 18.88-pound bag to sit in second place behind defending champs Jim Moynagh and Joe Thrun after Day 1 of the 15th-annual Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship.

Bass tourney off and running


By Mitch Calvert, Fort Frances Times LTD.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Chad Buist and Rick Cooper of Fort Frances (Team #141) roared out from under the Causeway en route to the north arm of Rainy Lake this morning to begin the 15th-annual Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship.

FORT FRANCES—A field of 124 teams took to the waters of Rainy Lake early Thursday morning to kick off the 15th-annual Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship.

FFCBC anglers battled elements while pre-fishing

By Mitch Calvert, Fort Frances Times LTD.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009

        Conditions have been far from ideal for those teams pre-fishing ahead of tomorrow’s start of the 15th-annual Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship.
    Cold rains and strong winds haunted anglers all last week before briefly subsiding over the weekend—only to return in full force again Monday and Tuesday during the last couple of days teams were allowed to test the waters.

'Kid-Pro' angler had a blast

By Elisabeth Heslop, Fort Frances Times LTD.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009

The day of the 11th-annual “Kid-Pro” tournament dawned sunny and warm, boding well for the 14 youngster who gathered under the big tent at the Sorting Gap Marina on Sunday morning to meet their pro angling partners.
As the third of her siblings to participate in the tourney, 10-year-old Harleigh Brow-Rose knew something of what to expect—her two older brothers had told her stories of their experiences. Now it was her turn.

FFCBC Listens to anglers

Tom Fry, Chairman of the Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship, announced that the field of the 15th Anniversary 2009 tournament would be increased to 150 teams.

The entry fee for 2009 will be $1,000.00 CDN per team.

The prizeboard, based on 150 teams, will be a total of $127,500.00. This represents an 85% payback.

As previously announced the captain of every team competing in the 2008 Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship will be offered a spot in the 2009 event.

Roaring away

 

 

Teams competing in the 14th-annual Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship roared out of Sand Bay early this morning to open the three-day showdown. The weigh-ins are at 4 p.m. today and tomorrow, with the final one set starting at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
—Lee Oelke photo

Parade soaker

 

 

Sierra Adams soaked a crowd of bystanders watching the Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship’s annual parade of boats late yesterday afternoon. Mike Adams and Vince Godbout (Team #99) decked their boat out with a Hawaiian theme for the parade.
—Amanda Roy photo (FFTimes)

Fishin' in the rain

Jason Cain showed Jarred Taylor the ropes during the annual Canada Safeway KidPro tournament held yesterday to kick off the Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship. Jack Hamilton teamed up with FFCBC anglers Mike Salvador and Reid Norine to win the event with a total weight of 10.55 pounds.
—Mitch Calvert photo (Fort Frances Times)

Spots Available In 2008 Field

As of Monday May 12th there are spots open in the field of the 2008 Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship (FFCBC) and there is no one in the Waiting List.


For the first time in 11 years, you can now enter the FFCBC tournament directly without having qualified or having entered in the draw. Recent team cancellations now make it easier to enter.

Former champs earn third bass crown Moynagh, Thrun lead wire-to-wire at annual FFCBC

By Justin Holmes
Fort Frances Times

Jim Moynagh and Joe Thrun led on Day One and never lost a step en route to their third title at the Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship on Saturday.
Their three-day total of 58.36 pounds was almost two pounds more than the second-place team and just short of the 58.62-pound tournament record set, fittingly enough, by the two Minnesotans back in 1998.
Thrun credited their 20.92-pound bag on Thursday as being key to the victory, calling it “probably our best day ever of all tournament and practice put together.”

Two-time champs grab early lead Moynagh has big first day in FFCBC return

By Justin Holmes
Fort Frances Times

Jim Moynagh, partnered again with Joe Thrun after a five-year layoff from the Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship, returned with a bang yesterday—leading the tournament with a 20.92-pound haul on Day 1.
“It was a special day the way things unfolded,” Moynagh said. “It was nice to see. It was our best day we’ve had here this year.
“We’ve had a couple decent practice days, but nothing like this,” he added.

FFCBC kicks off without a hitch

By Justin Holmes
Fort Frances Times

All 137 teams vying for the $50,000 first prize in the annual Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship roared out across Sand Bay without incident this morning starting at 7 a.m.
“The quote of the day [from the anglers] was ‘tired but wired,’” noted Doug Cain, director of angler registrations for the FFCBC, who added the morning “went awesome.”
“Every boat was in the water by 8 o’clock,” he remarked.
The exodus onto Rainy Lake was led by defending champs Mark Libitka of Kenora and Dave Bennett of Sioux Narrows.

Volunteers wanted

The Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship is 13 years old in 2007. Because of our excellent committee and volunteer support during this time, the FFCBC has become one of the premier bass tournament events in North America. We want to continue this tradition of quality and success, and to do so, we’re asking for your input.

The FFCBC committee is looking for enthusiastic new members. We want individuals who will strengthen the tournament with fresh ideas, new perspectives, and passion for their area of expertise.

Gamble pays off for FFCBC winners

August 02, 2006
Alex Cruickshank
Mark Libitka and Dave Bennett took a big gamble this past weekend at the Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship, hoping it would pay off in the long run.
It did—to the tune of $50,000.
Libitka, of Kenora, and Bennett, of Sioux Narrows, stumbled onto a great school of fish during their pre-fishing on Rainy Lake and stuck with it throughout the three-day event to capture the 12th-annual FFCBC title.

Entry Deadline Looming. Draw to be Held October 4TH

Entries for the 2007 Fort Frances Canadian Bass championship must be received by September 30TH. Tournament competition dates for 2007 are July 26, 27 and 28.

The entry fee for the tournament is $1,250.00 per two-person team. There is a 100% payback. The total of the entry fees are returned to the anglers as cash prizes.

The Fort Frances Times is the official registration site.

Leer, Gustafson lead after first day Number, weight of bass way up from last year

By Alex Cruickshank
Staff writer

Chip Leer and Jeff Gustafson found themselves atop the leaderboard after the first day of the 12th-annual Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship courtesy of their 19.06-pound catch yesterday.

Team #89 was pleased with the positive early results, but they also know they’ll need two more solid days of fishing if they are going to hoist the FFCBC trophy following the final weigh-in tomorrow afternoon.

Hebert, Whalen top ‘Quests’

Crystal Green
Fort Frances Times

Another successful “Quest for the Best” saw Sarah Hebert crowned the winner, with Jessica Whalen capturing the “Kiddie Quest” title, last night.

The event—staged annually by the local Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with the Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship—is always popular, with another sell-out crowd on hand under the big tent at the Sorting Gap Marina again this year.

Money won at ‘Fish or No Fish’

By Heather Ogilvie
Fort Frances Times

FORT FRANCES—The top prizes up for grabs weren’t won during the inaugural “Fish or No Fish” game—similar to NBC’s hit show “Deal or No Deal”—held Monday night under the big tent at the Sorting Gap Marina in conjunction with the Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship.
But two lucky contestants did walk away with some cash.
Steve Sus, 19, of Fort Frances was selected for the first game, which had a top prize of $10,000.

'Fish or No Fish’ runs tonight

Heather Ogilvie
Fort Frances Times

FORT FRANCES—“Fish or No Fish,” a game similar to NBC’s hit show, “Deal or No Deal,” will take place tonight (Monday) under the big tent at the Sorting Gap Marina in conjunction with the Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship.
And it’s not too late to get in on the action as tickets will be available at the door for $16 for adults and $7.50 for those under 19.
Doors will open at 6 p.m., with the first game starting at 7:30 sharp.

New smoke-free rules affect bass tournament

By Beth Caldwell
Fort Frances Times

The atmosphere under the big tent at the Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship later this month will have a different air about it as organizers prepare to comply with the Smoke-Free Ontario Act.
The act, which went into effect across the province May 31, prohibits smoking in enclosed workplaces and enclosed public places in Ontario in order to protect workers and the public from the hazards of second-hand smoke.