When it comes to bass fishing, Ron Cherkas of Grimes, Iowa, has two lifetime ambitions: to qualify for a Bassmaster Classic and the Bassmaster Elite Series.
His chance will come Oct. 28-30, when he and 54 other anglers compete in the Bassmaster Federation Nation Championship presented by Yamaha Outboards and Skeeter Boats, on the Harris Chain of Lakes out of Tavares, Fla.
"I've been trying to do this for a long time," said Cherkas, 61, a BASS Federation Nation member since 1979 and owner of a digital printing firm that he says in 1999 was the first to wrap a bass boat. "I want to win this championship, and I would just love to make the Elites."
Like most other qualifiers, Cherkas made it to the 2009 championship by advancing through layers of local, state and regional Federation Nation tournaments. He emerged as the top angler from Iowa, one of 47 states represented. Six other anglers on the roster are international entrants; they're from Canada, Mexico, Japan, Italy, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Rounding out the field of 55 are defending champion Bryan Schmidt of Olney, Texas; and John Clark of Bossier City, La., the Paralyzed Veterans of America 2009 Open Angler of the Year. A full list can be found below.
Cherkas will have to outfish them all to claim the winner's prize, an invitation to the 2010 Bassmaster Elite Series and a Skeeter/Yamaha boat rig valued at $63,250. The winner also will score a Classic berth by way of a victory in their respective division. In each of six divisions, the top angler will earn a berth in the 2010 Classic, set for Feb. 19-21 on Lay Lake out of Birmingham, Ala.
So to get to the Classic, Cherkas will have to boat more pounds of bass through three days than any of the other eight anglers in the Northern Division.
As Cherkas is from Iowa, Florida fisheries aren't his strong suit, but he has plenty of experience figuring out different lakes and rivers through his years of competing on the Bassmaster Open trail. He said he had never seen the Harris Chain until he scouted it just before the official off-limits period went into effect Sept. 25.
Based on what he saw during his 10 days on the nine-lake chain, he estimated 44 pounds would take the title.
"I think the main patterns are going to be fishing drops, shellfish beds and brushpiles," he said. "This could be done on Griffin, and probably the Harris lakes, with either a jig or a Carolina rig."
Bryan Schmidt, the defending champion, had an automatic entry into the 2009 championship. He's hoping it will lead to a second Classic experience. It would be hard to top his first, a sixth-place finish at the 2009 Classic on the Red River out of Shreveport-Bossier City, La.
"I would love to make it two in a row," said Schmidt, 39. "It was a dream come true that I even qualified for the first one. And to make a second one would be unreal."
He said he squeezed in a week of scouting on Harris this past summer, between his job in Texas working for a maker of crop dusters and his first year competing in the Bassmaster Opens.
"Harris fishes to some of my strengths," Schmidt said. "I believe I'll be in the areas where the fish are, and if I can execute well, I will put them in the boat.
"I think there will be a couple of patterns that can produce bigger fish, but those same patterns won't produce limits. We'll see multiple techniques — flipping, cranking, throwing spinnerbaits. Bigger fish will come off topwaters or flipping."
For Mike Wolfenden, of Warwick, R.I., the Federation Nation Championship in Tavares will be his fourth. He won the 2009 Eastern Divisional as well as state honors. A 39-year-old UPS employee, Wolfenden said he has won 87 tournaments since he began competing at age 18, but he's still looking for a pass to the Classic.
This could be his year, as he said he has competed several times on Florida fisheries, so his comfort level is high.
I went down there about three weeks ago and practiced for a week," he said. "I tried to get an overview so that during official practice I'll be able to narrow down where I should spend most of my time."
The 55 championship competitors will have three days of practice before the tournament begins Wednesday, Oct. 28. The full field will compete for three days.
Launches, at 7:30 a.m. ET daily, and weigh-ins, at 3:45 p.m., will be at Wooten Park, 200 S. Rockingham Ave., Tavares, Fla. Fans can watch live, streaming video of all three days of weigh-ins at Bassmaster.com, along with real-time leaderboards. Daily standings, stories and photo galleries also will be available at Bassmaster.com.
Also during the same week, the Junior Bassmaster World Championship and will take place on nearby Lake Yale. Kids in two age divisions (11-14, 15-18) will weigh their bass at 3:45 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, on the Federation Nation Championship stage in Tavares.
Also to be played out will be the Bassmaster CastingKids National Championship. Kids in two age groups (7-10, 11-14) will cast, pitch and flip to targets. The CastingKids finals will begin at Noon Friday, Oct. 30, at the Lake Sumter Community College gymnasium in Leesburg, Fla.
Youth prizes will include trophies and scholarships.
2009 BASS Federation Nation Championship presented by Yamaha Outboards and Skeeter Boats
*2009 Divisional winner
QUALIFIERS BY DIVISION
DEFENDING CHAMPION (1)
PARALYZED VETERANS of America 2009 OPEN ANGLER OF THE YEAR (1)
SOUTHERN DIVISION (8)
Representing:
WESTERN DIVISION (12)
Representing:
CENTRAL DIVISION (9)
Representing:
MID-ATLANTIC DIVISION (7)
Representing:
EASTERN DIVISION (8)
Representing:
NORTHERN DIVISION (9)
Representing:
QUALIFIERS BY STATE
INTERNATIONAL QUALIFIERS: