!!WATCH OUT!!



-Nick Barr to publish articles on "Youth Fishing" in





-Nick Barr in Washington State Fishing and Hunting News
More to come in Summer




Nick Barr Featured in Twinstar Newsletter

Nick Barr in "The Reel News"

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Nick Barr Wins KAAF Crown

TULSA, OK- The Kids All American Fishing Challenge and Recognition Ceremony was held on August 17th and 18th at the Oklahoma Aquarium and Zebco CastingPond in Tulsa, OK. Six young anglers ranging from 9 to 16 years of age, from Washington to South Carolina, who were chosen as a part of the KAAF Scholarship/Ambassador Program, were competing in the 2nd annual KAAF Challenge.

The recognition ceremony was held on Friday night at the breathtaking Oklahoma Aquarium, which included a behind the scenes tour ofthe grounds. The next morning as the participants woke up early and wereeating breakfast. Future KAAF team champion, and FLW Tour Pro Mark Phillips said "It's a competition kind of day" relating to the weather, as it was expecting to rain and it was overcast. Not something you would expect a week after the sunny, 105 degree weather that plagued the PGA Championship.

The morning started out with the young anglers taking pictures and discussing strategy with their professional angling partners.

The teams were:
Nick Barr and Castrol Pro Mark Phillips,
Kerryn Stroud and Wal-Mart Pro Karyn Sanchez,
Max Zavell and Zebco Pro Sheri Glasgow,
Mitchell Fish and Zebco Pro Todd Hucklebee,
Brain Kessie and Coppertone Pro Tommy Biffle,
Hayley Ellis and Fujifilm Pro Randy Blaukat.

After pictures and introductions, the fishing section of the challenge was underway with it not being the total weight that determined your points, but the type of fish, having to use push-button combo's and only being able to use a worm and bobber, everybody was at an even playing field and the true fishing challenge was on.

The second event was a casting golf challenge. Once again with push-button combos, the teams embarked on this 8 hole casting course. with the Pro's and ambassadors alternating casts.

The last event was a true test of skill, the casting accuracy challenge. Using the Push Button Combinations, they had to cast to a set of rings and each ring closer to the center target was worth more points and the center target equaled double the points of the inner ring. The youth anglers could cast from the back or the front casting positions, casting from the back doubled all points, the pro anglers had to cast from the back garnishing standard points.

As it started out, the casting competition went in order from #6 in the ranking all the way to #1. The lower ranked teams gambled from the back casting area trying for big points, which turned out to be halfway successful as Team Wal-Mart gained 280 points. Then came the 2 teams tied for 2nd. Fujifilm was up and casting from the front they gained a little over 200 points, which was quite astonishing to see more of the youth anglers out casting the pros.

Team Castrol consisting of Lacey, WA resident and semi-professional bass angler Nick Barr and Castrol Pro Mark Phillips were ready to meet the challenge.

Nick taking his tournament bass angling experience into hand, stepped up to the front casting area and within his 1 ½ minutes put on a casting clinic, with fluid casting precision, racked up 590 points, using a technique quite commonly used in bass fishing called pitching, which is basically an underhand cast with fluid wrist flick. After a short cheer from the crowd, Mark Phillips, Nick's partner, stepped to the back casting area racking up another 70 points to give them 620 points for the casting accuracy challenge. With a 5 point lead prior, Team Coppertone had to make up 615 points to tie which was quite a huge deficit as all other teams scored around 200 plus points. Team Coppertone put up a solid performance as the youth angler racked up 300 points and his pro angler, legendary Tommy Biffle, had the pressure on. Tommy had a great performance from the pro side racking up only 270 points leaving a 45 point gap officially naming Nick Barr and Castrol Pro Mark Phillips the 2007 Kids All American Fishing Challenge Champions.

After it was all said and done, Nick Barr shared his strategy. "For the Fishing Challenge, the key was to rack up the points by catching catfish, keeping the bait on the bottom and far casts to the deepest part of the pond were necessary". Nick also mentioned "My bass fishing background really came into play during the casting competitions; I have very little experience using a spincasting combo, so I had to learn it quickly. The casting accuracy needed in bass fishing is tremendous and I kicked that skillinto high gear during the casting accuracy challenge."

About his decision to go from the front casting position "I felt that with my experience from close quarters fishing that bass fishing brings, I could get almost 100% of my shots inside the key point zones, also I could fire off more casts in the minute and thirty seconds we had".

Nick Barr is sponsored by Legend Boats, Mercury Marine, Smith RV and Marine, Outdoor Emporium, Lamiglas, Gamma Fishing Line, Gamakatsu, Stowmaster Nets, Quickdrops, KeelShield, KGM Custom Baits and Red Creek Apparel.

For more information or pictures, you may contact Nick Barr at (360) 485-9462 or NickTBarr@hotmail.com

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Outdoors Notebook | Two local youngsters catch national prizes

By Mark Yuasa
Seattle Times staff reporter

A couple of local young anglers have taken home the title in the Kids All-American Fishing Challenge for two consecutive years.

Nick Barr , 16, of Lacey, teamed up with Pro Angler Mark Phillips to win the overall crown of the Kids All-American Fishing Challenge and Recognition Ceremony in Tulsa, Okla., last month.

The six-team challenge not only consisted of catching fish, but an eight-hole golf casting competition and a casting accuracy challenge.

In order to qualify for the event, each youth must be selected to the KAAF team scholarship and ambassador program, which doesn't judge how good he or she is at fishing; rather, their ability to communicate their joy of fishing and the leadership they show in their communities.

Barr was one of six young anglers selected from more than 200 applicants of the 2006 KAAF program to participate in the challenge this summer.

Each received a $5,000 U.S. Savings Bond to use for education, and other prizes.

Barr is the president and founder of the Timberline High School fishing club that involves 38 students, and also is president of the Capital City Junior Bass Club. He also is a member of the varsity football team at Timberline.

Last year, during the inaugural KAAF Challenge, 13-year-old Analissa Merrill of Lynnwood took home the grand prize after starting the final day of the contest in last place. She was paired with Pro Angler Todd Huckabee.

Merrill is an eighth-grade student at Meadowdale Middle School, and participated this past spring and summer with the C.A.S.T. for Kids Fishing Events, and is a member of the Everett Salmon & Steelhead Club and the Snohomish Sportsman Club. She also is a Cadet Girl Scout, a member of the school's cross country team and plays the violin. 

Nick has also been featured in other publications such as FLW Outdoors Magazine, BASS Times, The Seattle Times, The Olympian and more, even other media such as radio and internet.