City siblings preparing for B.A.S.S. nationals.

Byline: Mary Anne Magiera

COLUMN: OUTDOORS

A winter without snow has been a bonus for Kaylee and Mitch Blanchard who will be competing Friday in Alabama for a spot in one of the four segments of bass fishing's premier international tournament to be held in late February.

The Worcester siblings are Massachusetts champions in both divisions of the CastingKids program. Children of Diana and Butch Blanchard, they will represent the state in a tournament later this week in Gadsden, Ala. State event organizers - the Massachusetts B.A.S.S. Federation Nation - believe it is the first time a brother and sister have been state champions.

The Alabama competition will determine winners from the program's six regions who will then go on to compete for $21,000 in scholarships at the Citgo Bassmaster Classic in late February in Birmingham, Ala.

The CastingKids program was developed in 1991 by the Bass Angler Sportsmen's Society (B.A.S.S.) to teach the fundamental techniques of bass fishing to children. Local and state competitions annually are held throughout the United States and Canada that focus on pitching, flipping and casting a hookless lure at a bull's-eye target.

Several weeks ago, Kaylee and Mitch chalked off a casting course in their driveway and began practicing for Friday's competition.

"I'm kind of nervous, but I think we'll do well because we've been casting to that target," Kaylee said yesterday. "I'm going to try my best to win."

The 9-year-old student at the city's Heard Street Discovery Academy won the admiration of Bass fishing greats Bill Dance and Kevin VanDam earlier this year when she outscored her older brother in the first round of the state competition in Worcester. However, the siblings are in different divisions - Kaylee is the champ for ages 7-10 - so, Kaylee didn't hurt her brother's chances of advancing. Kaylee's ability to hit the bull's-eye more frequently than her brother also held up in the state finals. Mitch is the state champion for ages 11-14.

However, it was 12-year-old Mitch yesterday who appeared more confident.

"We should do really well because we practiced with just the center of the target instead of the whole target," Mitch said. "We worked on hitting just that one small circle."

The student at Sullivan Middle School said he is looking forward to the competition and the trip to Gadsden, which will mark his second time on an airplane.

Gadsden is about 60 miles northeast of the Birmingham Classic site. The city is most famous for being the starting point each August for a 450-mile yard sale that ends in Covington, Ken. However, the city also hosts several fishing tournaments throughout the year. The weather forecast for the area for later this week calls for partly cloudy skies and temperatures near 50 degrees.

Correia clinches for U.S.

For the second year in a row, Marlboro competitive bass fisherman Danny Correia brought in the heaviest bag of fish - a two-day limit of 13 pounds - to clinch a top finish for the United States team at the recent Eurobass Cup in Spain. The 12-man US professional bass fishing team beat the Europeans, 14-10, to become one of few U.S. teams to come out on top in international sports competitions, according to Bassmaster Magazine.

"The fishing was very difficult. The weather was cold, and we had drought conditions with very stained water," Correia said. "The weights were very low, but I managed to be the only one to catch a limit both days of the tournament."

The U.S. team has won the Eurobass Cup for the three years of its existence. The tournament, which is held in a town near Madrid, is modeled after the Ryder Cup.

Correia leaves later this week for Florida where he will begin fishing the 2007 round of tournaments of the Forrest L. Wood (FLW) professional bass fishing tour. The first tournament of the new season will be held on Lake Okeechobee.

The local bass pro finished the 2006 season among the top 25 competitors of the 235-pro tour, boosting his career winnings by about $50,000 to $125,000.

Tips for fly fishermen

Jim Shouey , a guide on Montana's Madison River, will provide tips on how to get the most out of a fly fishing trip to the rivers of the western part of the country at 7 p.m. tomorrow at the Millers River Environmental Center, 100 Main St., in Athol.

The public is invited to the free program sponsored by the Millers River Chapter of Trout Unlimited. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

Ingemie Derby postponed

The annual Sam Ingemie ice fishing derby scheduled for this coming weekend at the Fitchburg Rod & Gun club at Upper Wright's Pond in Ashby has been postponed to Feb. 3-4.

DU dinner Feb. 9

The annual banquet of the Nashua River Chapter of Ducks Unlimited will be held Feb. 9 at the Four Points by Sheraton at Routes 2 and 12 in Leominster. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and dinner will be served at 7. Proceeds from the dinner, auctions and drawings will benefit DU's numerous educational and habitat restoration projects.

For more information, call Alan Chase at [phone].