IOWA ANGLER CONTINUES DOMINANCE AT CITGO BASS FEDERATION NORTHERN DIVISIONAL

Yankton, S.D. - With one day remaining in the CITGO BASS Federation Northern

Divisional presented by Busch Beer, Iowa's Andy Somerfelt is holding on to the lead for his state as well as the lead for the tournament with a two-day weight of 21 pounds and 14 ounces.

Somerfelt is pleased with the lead, but isn't looking too far ahead.

"I'm not looking at the Federation Championship yet," Somerfelt said. "I've been second too many times.

"I caught all my fish when it was still flat out there. They were all within 50 yards of where I caught them yesterday. I caught my first two on top water.

"Tomorrow I'm going to burn everything. I only hit two banks so far, but tomorrow I'm going all out."

While the nine teams gathered at the Northern Divisional are competing for a cash prize purse based on each team's cumulative weight over three days, the other big prize will go to just nine anglers.

Each team's top angler based on his individual cumulative weight after Friday's final round will earn a berth in amateur bass fishing's world championship, the CITGO BASS Federation Championship presented by Busch Beer next spring. Five anglers from the Federation Championship earn berths in the 2005 CITGO Bassmaster Classic presented by Busch Beer and will be the only amateurs to qualify for the world championship.

Wisconsin's Randy Burch has been instrumental in keeping his team in first place. Wisconsin is leading the team standings with a total weight of 176-2. Birch is currently sitting in first on his team and second over all. His two-day weight of 20-4 is leading the charge for Wisconsin.

"The spots where I caught my fish yesterday, I didn't really catch any on today," Burch said. "The bite today was really related to the current and the weeds more than the wood that I was fishing yesterday.

"I didn't have a bite until 10 o'clock today, but once I got on them, it stayed steady. It's a weird deal here, when the wind blows, the fish seem to bite more.

"I'm not looking at the Federation Championship at all really. We're just doing this as a team thing. We really want to win as a team and whoever has the biggest catch, so be it."

Nebraska's Shane Oltjenbruns is still holding on to the Purolator Big Bass of the Tournament with his 4-9 he caught on day one. If he holds on to the lead after tomorrow's finale, he will take home the $1,000 prize from Purolator.

Competition for the CITGO BASS Federation Northern Divisional presented by Busch Beer will continue Friday. Launch will be at 7 a.m. with weigh-ins starting promptly at 3:30 p.m. from the Lewis & Clark Recreation Area.

BASS is the world's largest fishing organization, sanctioning more than 20,000 tournaments worldwide through its Federation. The CITGO Bassmaster Tournament Trail is the oldest and most prestigious pro bass-fishing tournament circuit and continues to set the standard for credibility, professionalism and sportsmanship as it has since 1968.

Sponsors of the CITGO BASS Federation Northern Divisional presented by Busch Beer include CITGO Petroleum Corp., Busch Beer, Purolator, Triton Boats, Mercury Marine, Toyota, Berkley, Abu Garcia, Lowrance Electronics, Flowmaster Exhaust Systems, Evan Williams, MotorGuide, Bass Pro Shops, and BankOne.

Local Sponsors include South Dakota BASS Federation and the Yankton Convention & Visitors Bureau.

For more information, contact BASS Communications at (334) 551-2375 or visit www.bassmaster.com.