Presented by Garmin, the event offers a single day of competition on the 8,000-acre outstate gem, and is open to all two-person teams regardless of sponsor or club affiliation. Teams will be allowed to bring their best five large- or smallmouth bass to the scale, and the team with the heaviest total will be crowned the champions.
NABC veteran Shane Raveling says he and his father Mark Raveling are excited about fishing the event. “Minnewaska is a great lake with a really healthy population of largemouths and smallmouths,” he says. “It’s going to be a fun tournament for sure.”
Raveling says Minnewaska offers a variety of fishing options, allowing anglers to play to their strong suits. “You can fish weedlines, shallow water, pencil reeds, offshore-everything,” he says. “The lake is loaded with chunky, 2½- to 3-pound bass. I think it will take at least 17½ pounds to win this one.”
Besides great bass fishing and the thrill of competing in a professionally run setting, teams will vie for serious cash and bragging rights. Cabela’s NABC payouts are based on the number of teams entered in each event. Qualifiers with 75 teams or more offer a guaranteed first-place cash purse of $10,000 plus additional payout to the top 20 percent of the field. Plus, the NABC Big Bass Pot, along with sponsor bonuses including Ranger Cup, Stratos 2X and Garmin Grand Giveaway add thousands to the total.
The 2016 Cabela’s NABC season includes four qualifiers in Minnesota and Wisconsin, visiting a variety of largemouth and smallmouth bass fisheries at peak fishing times. The remaining schedule includes Lake Wissota, Wisconsin, July 30 and Mille Lacs Lake, Minnesota, August 13. The Cabela’s NABC Championship is set for October 1-2 at Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.
Teams may fish one or all qualifiers, but those competing in multiple events can reap even greater rewards. Those fishing at least three NABC tournaments have a shot at qualifying for the prestigious, high-stakes Cabela’s NABC World Bass Championship, which offers $15,000 for first place and $10,000 for second, based on full fields at the qualifiers and championship.