TOURNAMENT FISHING — Dakota Jones of Spokane will be representing Washington in a national bass fishing competition after winning the 15-18 age-group title in the 2012 Washington’s Junior State Bass Fishing Championship at Lake Washington.

Jones, a member of the Inland Empire Junior Bass Club, will represent Washington State Bass Federation and the Washington National Guard at the National Guard Junior World Championship at Gainesville, Georgia. Aug. 9-12.

Jones weighed in four fish totaling 8.85 pounds to top the other 12 competitors in his division at the state championships April 28 near Seattle.

TOURNAMENT FISHING — Mark Kendall, teamed with Doug Wood, caught the 34-inch tiger musky (above) to top the 11 anglers Saturday in the Silver Lake Mountain Muskies Tiger Musky Tournament in Spokane County.

The second place team of Herb Zielke and Don Grove wwere just a half an inch shy with one musky measuring 33.5 inches

Those were the only two tigers the 11 anglers caught during the day-long tournament, reports Douglas Wood, president of the local Mountain Muskies chapter of Muskies, Inc.

Both of the fish were released.

“Many more were seen, but not caught,” Wood said.

TOURNAMENT FISHING  — After a trip to a hospital to have a hook removed from his pinky, Brandon Palaniuk, 24, of Rathdrum powered forward through three days of fishing to dominate and win the Bassmaster Elite Series TroKar Quest tournament at Bull Shoals Lake, Ark., this weekend.

He'll have $100,000 in the bank after today's weigh-in, but that’s not going to change his lifestyle. He planned to spend tonight sleeping in the back of his pickup, just as he has every night this week and during most other tournaments.

 “It’s just easy,” said Palaniuk, who beds down in a bed  under the canopy of his pickup near launch sites. “I’ve got power and a shower, and it’s close to the water. That’s all I need. And it’s free.

“A hundred thousand dollars doesn’t go as far as it used to,” he added.

Read on for more details on Palaniuk's big win.

TOURNAMENT FISHING — Brandon Palaniuk, 24, of Rathdrum, Idaho, didn't get skunked today but he also didn't come up with enough fish to make the cut for the third and final day of competition in the 2012 Bassmaster Classic on the Red River near Shreveport-Bossier City, La.

The photo above shows Palaniuk landing his first of three fish totaling 5 pounds 15 ounces at today's weigh in. But that total just moved him up to 48th place among the 49 anglers who competed today. He was the only angler in the competition to get skunked on Day 1. 

After today's weigh in, the field was cut to 25 anglers for the last day of fishing.

Josh Polfer of Nampa, Idaho, a Bassmaster rookie, is the only Westerner to make the cut. In two days of fishing, he's in 19th place.

Continue reading for the latest news on the leaders and the complete catch totals in this “Indy 500” of bass fishing.

TOURNAMENT FISHING — Brandon Palaniuk, 24, of Rathdrum, Idaho, had a horrible start among the 50 select anglers who roared off this morning to start the 2012 Bassmaster Classic on the Red River near Shreveport-Bossier City, La.

The weigh-in has just been completed, and Palaniuk is the only angler in the field who caught no fish.  He's in last place after Day 1.  I don't have a report on what happened.

The 30th Bassmaster, a three-day culmination of months of qualifying tournaments, no longer has the distinction of being the richest prize in bass fishing. The Forrest Wood Cup claimed that distinction wtih a $1 million championship prize to Scott Suggs in 2007.

But the Bassmasster Classic is still considered the big stage. A win here can put a half a million bucks in your pocket and bring sponsors to your door.

This is the second consecutive year Palaniuk has qualified for the “Indy 500” of tournament bass fishing.

Palaniuk caught a lot of attention in last year's main event. The youngest competitor in the 2011 classic and the only angler to qualify from the West, he finished in fourth place, winning $30,000.

This year, four anglers from the West are in contention, including Josh Polfer of Nampa, Idaho, and Californians Jared Lintner and Iah Monroe.

Read on for more details on Palaniuk and the ESPN Bassmaster Classic TV coverage, which is being compiled for broadcast next week.

TOURNAMENT FISHING — Brandon Palaniuk, 24, of Rathdrum, Idaho, has been pre-fishing this weekend, warming up with the 50 anglers competing in the 2012 Bassmaster Classic, Feb. 24-26, on the Red River near Shreveport-Bossier City, LA.

This is the second consecutive year Palaniuk has qualified for the “Super Bowl” of tournament bass fishing.

Palaniuk caught a lot of attention in last year's main event. The youngest competitor in the 2011 classic and the only angler to qualify from the West, He finished in fourth place, winning $30,000. 

This year, four anglers from the West are in contention, including Josh Polfer of Nampa, Idaho, and Californians Jared Lintner and Iah Monroe. 

Read on for more details on Palaniuk and the ESPN Bassmaster Classic TV coverage scheduled for the following week.

COMPETITIVE FISHING — The Oregon State University team of Zach MacDonald, of Willits, Calif. and William Sparks, of Corvallis, Ore. won the National Guard FLW College Fishing West Conference event on Lake Shasta near Redding, Calif., Saturday.

An Eastern Washington University team of local anglers was in the top five, winning a berth to the  West Conference Regional Championship.

The Oregon team, with five fish totaling 9 pounds, 4 ounces, won the first place prize of $5,000.

Rounding out the top five teams advancing to the West Regional Championship are:

•  2nd: University of California-Santa Cruz – Chris Rhoden and Sam Sayad, both of Santa Cruz, Calif.(five bass, 9-00, $1,500)
• 3rd: Humboldt State University – Hideaki Kubo, Arcata, Calif., and Ben Smith, Samoa, Calif. (five bass, 8-7, $1,000)
• 4th: Eastern Washington University – Jarred Walker, Cheney, Wash., and Robert Trukositz, Spokane, Wash. (five bass, 8-5, $1,000)
• 5th: California State University-Long Beach – Alex Cox and Justin Gangel, both of Long Beach, Calif. (five bass, 8-1, $1,000)

The EWU team of Jake Ponce and Nick Barr placed 11 with 6 pounds, 3 ounces of fish.

The top five teams from each tournament qualify for the regional championship where the first-place team will win a bass boat with a 90-horsepower outboard wrapped in school colors for their fishing club. The top five teams from each regional tournament advance to the national championship.

College Fishing is free to enter and FLW provides boats and drivers for each competing team along with travel allowances. All participants must be registered, full-time undergraduate students at a four-year college or university and members of a fishing club recognized by their college or university.

The next National Guard FLW College West Conference tournament is scheduled for Feb. 25 at Lake Havasu in Lake Havasu City, Ariz.

PRO FISHING — The Florida-based fishing tournament group founded 40 years ago as the Bass Angler Sportsman Society became known simply as as BASS purchased and reconfigured by ESPN in 2001. Last week, BASS was acquired by three businessmen who vow to make it “a friendly organization.”

For now, the first thing youll notice is that BASS has been renamed B.A.S.S.

That’s it, so far. Period.