Greetings Fellow Anglers,

I am pleased to announce that this month's guest speaker is John Semken. For those of you who don't know John, here are some of the highlights from John's 14 year career as a professional bass angler.

John's success as a tournament angler began in 1992 when he ranked 2nd on the Utah BASS Federation State Team and took 6th place in the BASS Western Divisional on Elephant Butte Reservoir, New Mexico. Since that time he has been Angler of the Year for the Washington State BASS Federation twice, in 1994 and 1998. In 1995, he won the BASS Western Divisional on Lake Powell in Utah.  He has dominated the Federation Qualifiers in Washington over the last decade, qualifying for the state team 6 times. Despite all this success, his crowning achievement began where it all started, Elephant Butte, New Mexico. He took 1st from Washington State in the BASS Federation Western Divisional, taking him to the 2001 BASS Federation National Tournament on the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta in Mobile, Alabama. He took 2nd place overall, but most importantly, he finished higher than all the other Western Regional Qualifiers, giving him a berth into the 2001 BASS Masters Classic! I think all of us know what a feat it is to make it to the Big Dance through the BASS Federation. Simply put, it's something most of us will only dream about.

John is sponsered by the following companies and has represented most of them over the last 8-9 years: Skeeter Boats/Yamaha, Lamiglas Rods, Catcher Company (Makers of Smelly Jelly), Yakima Bait Company, Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits, and KGB Custom Baits.

John will speaking with us about crankbaits and their applications, and fishing the Columbia River Basin in the fall. I hope all of you are excited about hearing John speak as I am. Given his experience on the water coupled with his winning tournament strategies, I'm sure he'll have something to offer all of us, from the tournament nut to the novice weekend angler. Hope to see you all there!

Tight Lines,
Bob