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Stanford Lures has joined Wired2Fish as an advertiser for 2011-2012.
" Stanford Lures is very excited to join the Wired2Fish family," said Clayton Batts of Stanford Lures. "With more than 25 years of experience in both design and manufacturing of fishing lures, Stanford Lures understands what goes into a great crankbait. We offer a wide range of baits that are all made out of 100% natural cedar because cedar has more natural buoyancy and a uniquely tighter wobble due to the denseness of the cedar."
"All our lures are 100% Made in the USA," Batts said. "Nothing but the highest grade components are acceptable for a Stanford lure. This constant attention to detail and quality is what separates us from the other lure manufactures. We look forward to hearing from the Wired2Fish users and being a part of this great community."
"We are excited to have the opportunity to work with another great company that takes every effort to build quality products," said Terry Brown, President of Wired2Fish. "We feel it's our duty to inform Wired2Fish readers of the best products in the marketplace and based on our knowledge of Dieter Stanford and his team, we know Wired2Fish readers will agree they build top notch baits."
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It's fall bass fishing classic time. A lot of anglers will be on the water enjoy the pleasant weather. A lot of anglers will be in bass fishing tournaments and other fishing tournaments for other species. With a lot of guys and gals racing around the lake with a sense of urgency, we thought it would be good for folks to review the Rules of the Water guide we put together last year. This guide talks about right of way, navigation aids, and other good resources for more information on how to boat safely on the water.
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By Alan McGuckin
When the toughest Bassmaster Classic in history played out on Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers in 2005, their hardened faces got as much TV time as eventual winner Kevin VanDam. You know them well. You can’t miss them. They span hundreds of yards, if not miles, over your favorite body of water, and hang dozens of feet over your head.
Lake Shasta, California’s I-5 Memorial Bridge, Grand Lake, Oklahoma’s Sailboat Bridge, Table Rock, Missouri’s Shell Knob Bridge, Guntersville, Alabama’s B.B. Comer Bridge and Buggs Island, Virginia’s Clarksville Bridge represent just a handful of the famous ones.
Still, bass fishing’s famous bridges are like a homecoming queen with a highly arrogant demeanor. They’re of a striking physical presence, yet most of us choose to steer clear of them.
Mike McClelland is honest to a fault, and he’s quick to admit that he too often turns a cold shoulder to bass fishing’s most obvious structure.
“It’s kind of funny,” he said. “I know the power of bridge pilings. Still, I’m one that too often overlooks them. I don’t fish them nearly as often as I should.
“Bridges offer all the things bass love. Generally they have as much or more current around them as any portion of the lake. They create a funnel for baitfish, and generally you’ll find major depth changes near bridges. Plus, the one thing they consistently offer in the warmer months is a lot of shade lines for the bass to ambush prey from.
“Typically, bass that live near bridge piers are suspended. They’re not on the bottom, and they’re not surface oriented. So I use spinning tackle for finesse presentations to catch them, but I also use baitcasting equipment for lures like my McStick jerkbait to catch them around the piers too.”
As a construction supervisor for Solitaire Homes in southern Oklahoma, Robert Henderson knows a lot about manmade structure, and he’s fast to back-up McClelland’s claim about bridge-oriented bass typically being suspended.
“It’s really key to stay in touch with your line as it’s falling down the side of the pier, because nearly every bite will occur from bass that are suspended as your lure is sinking through the water column,” said the BoatU.S. Angler member from Lake Texoma. “I use spinning tackle, and I peel off line as my shaky head or drop-shot is sinking. I’m careful not to let the line get too slack, but I want it to fall fairly deep until a suspended bass decides to pick it off.”
Speaking of spinning tackle, living legend Shaw Grigsby won’t claim to be a bridge pier expert, but he is fast to acknowledge their goodness.
“There’s not a bad time of the year to fish bridges,” Grigsby said. “They’re like the pinch points or funnels we talk about in deer hunting. They’re travel routes where creatures congregate because of abundant nearby food and security cover.”
“There have been plenty of times when bridge piers have produced the one or two critical bites that got me a paycheck,” reflected Grigsby, who favors what he describes as an “amazingly light” Quantum EXO spinning reel, paired with his 6-foot 10-inch Tour Grigsby spinning rod for bridge piling fishing. “That reel is so light that you’re able to feel anything that breathes on your lure as it’s falling through the water. And that rod is built with a parabolic blank so it’s forgiving enough not to stress and break the 6- or 8-pound test line I typically use.”
Perhaps nothing offers greater testimony as to the productivity of the often-ignored structures than McClelland echoing Grigsby’s sentiments about the payday potential of these concrete piers.
“Thank goodness a lot of the best bridges are near weigh-in locations. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve made one last stop before weigh-in at a bridge pier and caught the key fish that saved my day,” McClelland said.
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 Minnesotans Buckley Smith and John Roundsley carved their names in bass
fishing history by weighing in 34.95 pounds to win the North American
Bass Circuit's first-ever NABC World Bass Championship, held on
Minnesota's mighty Leech Lake.
Their 10-fish NABC limit of beefy largemouths earned them a $20,000
first-place check in the two-day event, along with a $1,000 Ranger Cup
bonus and a great prize package including Rapala, Trigger X and Sufix
products.
"It's a great experience," said Roundsley, of Brainerd. "Buckley and I
have been tournament fishing together for three years and had some good
finishes, but this takes the cake." The majority of their fish came from
three feet of water in a reed bed in Waboose Bay, on jigs tipped with
soft-plastic craws.
After an exciting season spanning three states and thousands of acres of
prime bass water, the Circuit's inaugural season drew to a dramatic
close at the Championship, held out of Trapper's Landing Lodge on the
lake's scenic south shore.
As the weigh-in crowd held its breath, Roundsley and Buckley edged out
reigning NABC Team of the Year, fellow Minnesotans Keith Tuma, of
Baxter, and Jim Smith, of Brainerd, who tallied 34.83 pounds. "It's
still sinking in to get this win against the best of the best," added
Smith, of Lindstrom.
The event pitted the NABC's top 25 teams in an all-out bassin' brawl
that treated the weigh-in crowd to numerous lead changes, big bass and
hefty baskets. Teams earned a berth in the invitation-only Championship
at the Circuit's three qualifiers. The NABC's first season started
strong on Wisconsin's bass-rich Lake Winnebago Chain June 11, and teams
battled on Michigan's Big and Little Bays de Noc July 30. Minnesota's
Lake Minnetonka hosted the final qualifier August 19.
In all, the top seven teams shared the $30,000 cash payout plus $1,250
from the Big Bass Pot and sponsor contingencies. Tuma and Smith earned
$4,000 for second place, plus the $1,000 Cabela's Angler Cash bonus and
U2 contingency.
The Leech Lake fishery produced largemouths on a variety of
presentations. Two- hundred and three largemouths weighing a total of
602.93 pounds were weighed in under
the NABC's catch-and-release format. The Circuit's Bass Conservation
Fund donated $15 per boat to the Minnesota Department of Natural
Resources for fisheries projects on the Leech Lake system. To date, the
NABC and its sister trail-the Cabela's Masters Walleye Circuit-has
donated more than $300,000 to fisheries projects in states where its
tournaments are held.
Following the Day One weigh-in, the NABC and National Professional
Anglers Association presented kids age 12 and under with great gifts,
including free rod-and-reel combos, free tackle packages from Northland
Fishing Tackle, NPAA "Future Pro" T- Shirts and more.
This was the final event of the NABC's inaugural season, and plans are
already under way for 2012. The NABC is open to all anglers. And its
popular team format-which lets you choose your partner and cut your
costs-has stood the test of time for 26 tournament seasons on the
Cabela's MWC. For details visit northamericanbasscircuit.com, call toll-
free (877) 893-7947, or email events@namginc.com.
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Newly qualified for the 2012 Elite Series corps are, Michael Simonton,
the top points earner of the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Northern Opens
season; Derek Remitz and Charlie Hartley, longtime Elite Series pros now
with a qualification to continue in 2012; Kyle A. Fox, the 23-year-old
from Florida who's been shooting for the Elite Series for five years;
and Fletcher Shryock, an Open rookie.
Simonton, one of three from Ohio who earned Elite Series status, was an
Elite Series qualifier in 2010. Financial reasons held him back then.
"I couldn't find the funding, so I think we're going back to the drawing
board," said Simonton, who is from Fremont, Ohio. "I've been dreaming
about this since third or fourth grade."
The points competition ended Saturday on New York's Oneida Lake, site of
the final Northern event of the season. The Top 5 in points after each
three-event season in all three Open divisions - Central and Southern as
well as Northern - qualify to move up and compete at the highest level.
Simonton wrapped up second place in the tournament, securing his No. 1
finish in points, just 11 points in front of Remitz of Grant, Ala.
Coming into Oneida, Remitz was second in points. Thanks to a 19th-place
tournament finish, he stayed there.
Hartley of Grove City, Ohio, was 15th in the tournament. Like Remitz,
staying high in the Open points secured his entry into the 2012 Elite
Series corps.
Fox and Shryock, if they join, would be among the Elite Series corps'
youngest guns. Fox, 23, of Lakeland, Fla., entered his first full season
of Open events at age 18. Shryock, 26, from Newcomerstown, Ohio,
competed in his first Bassmaster tournament in 2011, a Southern Open.
"To go from where I was in January, to now - the Classic as well as the
Elite Series - is a dream come true," said Shryock on Monday morning.
He said he's decided to take the step up, but he hasn't officially notified anyone of his intent.
Fox is considering his options.
"The Elite Series is my goal for next year, why I've been fishing the
Central and Southern Opens for years, and the Northerns this year. I
wanted to learn how to catch bass all around the country, so I'd be
ready when I qualified," Fox said.
"I've made the decision that I really want to do it," he added. "Now I'm
figuring out the money part of it. The Elite Series is my dream."
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Just released today, the
mobile version of Wired2Fish.com for your iPhone, Android, Blackberry,
iPad or other mobile devices is ready for your viewing enjoyment. We've
stripped down our site to bring you all the fishing content you want in
an easy to view format on much smaller screens.
The Mobile version loads the most
current fishing stories, fishing videos, radio programs and fishing
tackle reviews first. Then from there you can choose one of several
buttons to visit archived articles, video, radio, tackle box, blog and
more.
To view our blog articles, you'll
need to have an RSS reader installed on your mobile device. We're
working diligently to pull those articles into our mobile reader, but
for now we're relying on the RSS feed of those stories to bring you the
content quickly and easily.
For answers to frequently asked
questions like how to add a homescreen button on your smartphone for
Wired2Fish Mobile, browse through our FAQ.
To begin accessing the mobile version of Wired2Fish, just open your browser on your mobile device and enter
m.wired2fish.com.
Here is a copy of our Wired2Fish Mobile FAQ.
Q. How do I access the mobile version of Wired2Fish?
A. Just enter
m.wired2fish.com
in your mobile browser to access Wired2Fish. Eventually we will
detect your browser and route you automatically from Wired2Fish.com.
Q. How can I add this to my iPhone or Android Home Screen like an App?
A. On an iPhone, follow these steps:
Go to
m.wired2fish.com
in your mobile browser.
Click on the curved arrow icon.
Choose Add to Homescreen.
Name it Wired2Fish or W2F Mobile and click Add.
On an Android phone follow these steps:
Bookmark the page you want to add to a Home screen
Open the browser “bookmarks” screen
Long-press the bookmark you want
Select “Add to Home screen”
Q. Why can't I see the Blog pages or why does the blog just come up as garbled text?
A. To view our blog you must have an
RSS reader installed on your mobile device. By default the iPhone and
iPad will use mac reader. Android and other phones may require that you
add a free RSS reader to your phone. Eventually we will pull our blog
stories into the mobile view. Please allow a few extra seconds for the
RSS feed to launch in your RSS Reader.
Q. Why is Wired2Fish.com Mobile slow to load?
A. If you are on a slow connection,
some of the photos and videos will have to buffer and load before you
can view them. Our mobile site is still loaded through the internet, but
we've stripped it down to make loading on mobile devices much faster
for you.
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So there has been a lot of discussion the Berkley Nanofil in recent months. We truly like the line for fishing with spinning reels. It handles well, the memory is great, the castability is the best we've ever seen. The one sticking point for anglers has been the knot slipping. There are two knots we really like for this line. One is the Double Palomar, which they are also calling the Nanofil Knot. The other is the Double Albright knot for attaching Nanofil to leaders like fluorocarbon for clear water fishing.
Folks have mentioned knot slippage. The one key factor in that is tag end length. You need to leave a little more than you normally would for a tag end. That's really not a big deal, especially if you join a fluoro leader because the line is soft and the longer tag end won't be snaggy. If you clip the tag end too close to the knot and it continues to cinch tighter as you fish, the tag can slip into the knot. Just make your tag a little longer and then use these two knots we mentioned.
Here are two great videos from our friends at North American Fishing Club and their Knot Wars segments.
The Nanofil Knot (Double Palomar)
The Double Albright Knot (for attaching fluoro leaders)
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Pinnacle Tournament Class Optimus reels are helping anglers like Dave Wolak, John Crews, and Paul Elias win and have quality finishes. Dependable and smooth the Optimus OP10X is both affordable and functional. The Pinnacle OP10X is a 6.4:1 gear ratio that costs around 120 dollars and offers Tandem Cast Control and solid internal components. This reel is truly engineered for peak performance.
Thanks to everyone who entered the contest and again, thanks for all of the comments. Look for another great contest very soon where Pinnacle will offer a matching Perfecta rod.
The winners of the Pinnacle Optimus OP10X reels, a cool looking Pinnacle Hat and a Pinnacle sticker are:
Charles Prestridge
La Grange, Ga
Luther Reeger
Midland, TX
Matt Henry
Milledgeville, GA
They are on the way!
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Courtesy of LBAA Communications
For the Lady Bass Anglers Association (LBAA) in their inaugural year, it has been a year of many firsts – their first full tournament season, their first regular season tournament winner(s), their first repeat winners, their first pro and co Angler of the Year winners, and the upcoming – first ever -- LBAA Lady Bass Classic. It is on the horizon at Kentucky’s vast expanse of water known as Kentucky Lake. The Lady Bass Classic will be Oct. 6-8.
Bainbridge, Georgia’s Pam Martin-Wells has an opportunity to make history on Kentucky Lake at the LBAA Lady Bass Classic. Martin-Wells has a chance to win the LBAA’s Triple Crown in their inaugural year of operation.
To win the LBAA Triple Crown an angler would have to win one, or more, regular season tournaments, win Angler of the Year (AOY), and be victorious in the first ever Lady Bass Classic. Martin-Wells won the last two tournaments on Guntersville and Old Hickory Lakes, and in her tournament victory on Old Hickory, she claimed a come from behind win in the pro division AOY race.
“Along with the AOY title, it would be a great accomplishment to be the "first" LBAA classic winner. That would be another one of those titles that whoever wins will be the only one forever, and no matter how many other classic winners throughout the year, that person will always be the first winner,” Martin-Wells stated. “Since I have won a regular season event, and the LBAA Angler of the Year, to also win the classic in the same year, it would be the triple crown – and that one title I have not won. I have won other tournaments, other AOY's and other Classics, but not all in one year.
“Having won the last two might give me a little edge as far as confidence, but on the other hand, it could also make the other competitors more determined to win. All I can do is prepare to the best of my abilities, and give a 110% to my efforts! I can ONLY control my efforts and not my competitors, and ultimately I am competing against the fish, so that is what I have to concentrate on -- what it will take to figure out and catch them.
“To win this tournament, an angler will have to perform at their peak and not have the luxury to make any mistakes. You have to have confidence in your abilities and have enough fish to be consistent for three days.”
The LBAA’s Co-angler of the Year Kim Giddens also has a chance at the LBAA’s Triple Crown this year.
“I was fortunate enough to win the co-angler’s division at Lake Hartwell in May,” Giddens, a resident of Alpine, Alabama stated, “but I never dreamed that I would end up the point’s winner at the end of the season. To win the classic at Kentucky Lake and become the first Triple Crown winner in the co-angler division would be icing on the cake. I think a win on Kentucky Lake is going to be tough because I will be competing against the top co-anglers in the U.S.,” Giddens went on to say. “I believe the key to winning is by consistently having a good limit each day, and hopefully having a kicker or two.”
The 2011 LBAA Lady Bass Classic will have 42 total competitors, 21 one that will compete in the pro division and 21 that will compete in the co-angler division. The competitors earned a berth in the 2011 LBAA Lady Bass Classic by their finishes earned in the four 2011 regular season tournaments. Each regular season finish had an accompanying number of points that anglers accumulated as the year progressed.
Official practice days for the 2011 LBAA Lady Bass Classic will be October 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 with anglers being off the water by 3 p.m. on the fifth.
Competition days for the 2011 LBAA Lady Bass Classic are October 6, 7, and 8. Launch will be at local safe light each morning and competition concludes each day at 3 p.m. All launches and afternoon check-ins will be held at Moors Resort and Marina 570 Moors Road in Gilbertsville, Kentucky. Upon check-in, all anglers will then trailer to the weigh-in, which will be held at the Fisherman’s Headquarters, located at 2754 US Highway 641 Benton, KY 42025 (270) 527-5938.
Host lodging and tournament headquarters for the LBAA Lady Bass Classic is Moors Resort and Marina 570 Moors Road Gilbertsville, Kentucky 42044. 1-270-362-8361 or 1-800-626-5472. http://www.moorsresort.com
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Everyone looks to spring and summer for the most volatile weather and quick changes that can be life threatening but fall can be equally brutal. Fast approaching fronts with lightning and wind can catch you off guard, and if you are out on the water, it can spell disaster. Water temps are cooler and when a front hits there may not be enough time to get to shelter, that is unless you have Sirius Marine Weather in your boat. Alarms will warn you of fast approaching storms, lightning, wind and a host of other weather variables.
Installing the Lowrance Sirius Marine weather module can put you ahead of bad storms when you're out on your favorite fishery. For big-water anglers, it's a valuable tool! You can plan your trips, pick your areas and stay ahead of the weather.
It can also help you put more fish in the boat. Knowing the weather and how fish react to it can mean a change of baits or a new location. You can plan your attack and stay on the move related to wind, approaching fronts, rain, and more.
TackleWarehouse.com has the modules available and the install is simple. Turn on the service and you have a peace of mind that you will be safe on the water.
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The 6th Annual Berkley/Sebile Big Bass Challenge on Lake Fork is set for October 15th – 16th at Lake Fork Marina. The event has grown every year and 2011 is shaping up to do the same.
The grand prize boat packages have been upgraded to a new Skeeter ZX 200/Yamaha SHO that will be awarded to the heaviest fish over 24 inches and a new Skeeter ZX 190/Yamaha 150 VMax awarded to the heaviest fish that measures less than 16 inches.
“The Lake Fork event has always been an extremely successful event,” said Andrew Marks, Marketing Director for Berkley. “Anglers have an excellent opportunity to cash in on a single fish in a fun and exciting tournament on a premier bass fishing lake. Sebile baits are now legal to use in these events, which broadens the type of fishing that can be done.”
The Berkley Experience trailer partnered with Lake Fork Marina and will be on site from Friday, October 15th at noon until the final weigh-in and awards on Sunday.
The trailer features interactive presentation screens, educational seminars on line selection, reel maintenance and selecting the right bait, a knot tying station and competition, bait demonstration tanks and many other fun elements designed to help the anglers Catch More Fish.
The Experience Team and Pro Staff will also be on hand to help anglers with their selection of Berkley and Sebile baits, if anglers have not already stocked up for the tournament.
More information can be found at: http://www.basschamps.com/basschamps/berkley.cfm
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2011 Forrest Wood Cup Champion Scott Martin talks to Terry Brown on Weighing In Radio today about the win, what it has already done for his career and how it will allow him to fish more free in the future. To listen click here. |
Outdoor television’s most exciting fishing programs will have a new home as Tightline Tuesday Powered by Ranger Boats comes to the Pursuit Channel in January 2012.
The new three-hour block of primetime programming will feature non-stop
angling action courtesy of some of the biggest names and highest-rated
shows in the outdoor industry. Partnering with the most esteemed brand
in the marine industry, Tightline Tuesday Powered by Ranger Boats gives viewers a definitive destination for entertaining and educational outdoor programming.
“We’re anglers, too, and we couldn’t be happier that there will be a
place we can go to see all of our favorite outdoor TV personalities on
one channel, on the same night, catching big fish and helping to grow
the sport we all love,” said Bart Schad, Director of Marketing for
Ranger Boats. “The shows that will comprise Tightline Tuesday are
the of the highest quality and have an enormous amount of entertainment
and educational value, making this partnership between Ranger and
Pursuit Channel an ideal match.”
The three-hour, primetime programming block will run from 8 p.m. to 11
p.m. (EST) and will include outdoor television mainstays like Hank
Parker’s Outdoors, IFA Redfish Tour, Scott Martin Challenge, Cabela’s
Fisherman Handbook, Fishing Club Journal, Fishing Texas and others.
Additional weekend and day airtimes will be announced at a later date.
“We are looking forward to this new relationship with such a great
company like Ranger and feel that our viewer is going to see some of the
best of the best when it comes to fishing programming,” said Rusty
Fulk, CEO of the Pursuit Channel. “Fishing is a huge part of the
outdoors and our lifestyle and we are happy to have Ranger as a
partner.”
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Photo courtesy of FLW Outdoors
EverStart
Pro Dan Stier of Mina, S.D., caught five walleyes weighing 18 pounds,
14 ounces to win the National Guard FLW Walleye Tour Championship on the
Missouri River. Stier had a four-day catch of 18 walleyes weighing
69-4. He won by more than 4-pounds over his closest competitor in an
event featuring the top 40 pro and 40 co-anglers from the 2011 National
Guard FLW Walleye Tour season. Stier took home $70,000 for his efforts.
“This is truly a dream come true for me,” said Stier, who won
his first FLW championship title. “This is one of the greatest moments
of my life. I’ve had a bad year. I lost my dad in Feb. and two weeks
later my grandmother so things were not all that great. I’ve had a lot
of fishing mishaps this year and I was beginning to wonder if I would
ever catch a break. But this…this is amazing.
“I ended the tournament where I started,” Stier went on to say.
“In the honey hole that we all fished this week. I was going down there
just to play for one or two bites. It truly was a morning bite and I
knew it was just a matter of time before the fish would replenish. The
area had seen a lot of pressure all week so I was thinking if I could
get one or two good bites early I would be okay. I had some areas in the
main river where I was getting some pretty good action in the afternoon
so figured as soon as I got my first two I would move into the river to
catch the rest of my limit.
“I got my first fish within the first 20 minutes of the day.
Fifteen minutes later I got my second fish. Then I lost the third fish
that was probably 24 inches, landed the next fish and knew I wasn’t
leaving that area. I had to stay there all day, the fish were back. At
one point I lost four in a row that were all 20 to 25 inchers.
Thankfully the lack of the fifth fish didn’t cost me the tournament.
“All week long I was either throwing a jig with plastics; Gulp!
Minnows and Bass Pro. When the fish stopped biting the jig I would
change up and start trolling crankbaits. Glo green was the color that
seemed to work best for me this week.
Rounding out the top 10 pros are:
2: Walmart pro Dean Arnoldussen, Appleton, Wis., 19 walleyes, 64-15, $29,000
3: OFF! pro Chris Gilman, Chisago City, Minn., 20 walleyes, 63-8, $18,000
4: David Andersen, Amery, Wis., 20 walleyes, 62-12, $8,000
5: National Guard pro Bill Shimota, Lonsdale, Minn., 18 walleyes, 61-1, $10,000
6: Tommy Skarlis, Waukon, Iowa, 16 walleyes, 58-15, $7,750
7: National Guard pro Mark Courts, Harris, Minn., 20 walleyes, 56-10, $6,500
8: Tom Kemos, Oconomowoc, Wis., 20 walleyes, 55-9, $4,000
9: Keith Kavajecz, Kaukauna, Wis., 16 walleyes, 51-2, $3,000
10: Kevin Carstensen, Merrill, Wis., 15 walleyes, 44-14, $3,250
Final results, photos and more about the fishing can be found at FLWOutdoors.com.
Todd Dankert of Anoka, Minn., earned the Co-angler championship
title on Saturday and took home $7,000. His three-day weight totaled 58
pounds, 12 ounces. He fished with OFF! pro Chris Gilman, David Andersen
and Tommy Skarlis during the tournament.
Overall there were 34 walleyes weighing 92 pounds, 2 ounces
caught by 10 pros Sunday. The catch included four five-walleye limits.
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The
Chico State team of Nicholas Carrico and Matthew Wetmore won the
National Guard FLW College Fishing Western Division event on Clear Lake
Saturday with five bass weighing 20 pounds, 10 ounces. The victory
earned the team $10,000 to be split between the university and the
university’s bass fishing club - $7,500 for the bass club and $2,500 for
their school. The win also helped them advance to the Western Division
Regional Championship.
“We had a great day,” said Carrico, a sophomore
Agriculture Science major. “Matt was using ½ ounce white Booyah
chatterbaits and I was drop-shotting spinnerbaits and swimbaits. We
caught a lot of fish today, but most of them were pretty small. We
probably caught one good bass every hour. We caught two right away in
the morning but then it slowed down and we really had to grind it out.”
"It was slow, frustrating and tough today,” said Westmore,
a senior in Construction Management. “We didn’t catch our last fish
until five minutes before we had to come in.
"We were fortunate in that we were able to come here three
times for pre-practices so were able to find areas that had a good fish
population. The lake has been under a lot of
pressure lately so I knew the fishing was going to be tough. But Nick
and I worked hard as a team and we were able to get it done.”
Rounding out the top five teams and also advancing to the Western Regional Championship are:
2nd: California State University, Long Beach – Justin Gangel and Alex Cox (five bass, 19-3, $3,000)
3rd: California State University, Monterey Bay – David Hamblin and Matthew Diaz (five bass, 19-0, $2,000)
4th: Boise State University – Jared Spickelmier and Jacob Leanna (five bass, 18-9, $2,000)
5th: Chico State – Bo Harkins and Anthony Dayton (five bass, 18-7, $2,000)
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Michael Tuck of Granite Bay, Calif., weighed a five-bass limit totaling
27 pounds, 12 ounces Saturday to win the EverStart Series Western
Division event on Clear Lake with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing
76 pounds, 9 ounces. For his victory, Tuck earned $29,919.
“This turned out to be a pretty good week!,” exclaimed Tuck. “I
started the week with engine trouble and I really have to give a shout
out to the Mercury Motor dealership in Sacramento. They got me up and
running so that I could get here just in time to do a little
pre-practice that enabled me to locate my fish.
“I pretty much fished the same area all week long,” Tuck
continued. “I was fishing shallow grass near Rodman Slough with Little
Creeper All American Trash Fish. This bait was designed to match the
forage here and I really think it was key to my victory.
“Everything came together for me this week. My engine getting
fixed, the water dropping which helped position the fish, my choice of
baits…it was just incredible.”
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
2: Joe Uribe Jr., Lake Forest, Calif., 15 bass, 71-10, $10,258
3: Steve Adams, Discovery Bay, Calif., 15 bass, 66-2, $8,548
4: Ken Mah, Elk Grove, Calif., 15 bass, 65-2, $7,693
5: Mark Daniels Jr., Fairfield, Calif., 15 bass, 65-1, $6,839
6: Chris Franks, Petaluma, Calif., 15 bass, 63-9, $5,984
7: Howard Hughes, Redding, Calif., 15 bass, 62-10, $5,129
8: Jesse Forthun, La Mesa, Calif., 15 bass, 62-0, $4,274
9: Charley Almassey, Oakley, Calif., 15 bass, 61-14, $3,419
10: Richard Dobyns, Yuba City, Calif., 15 bass, 59-11, $2,564
Chad Leblanc of Sutter, Calif., won the Co-angler Division and a
Ranger boat with an Evinrude or Mercury outboard motor with a three-day
total of 15 bass weighing 58-pounds, 14 ounces.
“This was just an awesome tournament,” said Leblanc. “My pros
couldn’t have been better. They all gave me plenty of water to fish and
let me do my thing.
‘The first two days we were fishing shallow grass, which is
pretty much what I practiced for,” went on Leblanc. “Today I had to make
some adjustments because my pro was fishing deep. I struggled all day,
but my pro really helped me out. Told me what to do and it worked.
“Today we were fishing the main body of the lake in about 15
feet of water. I threw just about everything including Berkley Chigger
Craws, Jackall Flick Shake Worms and purple RoboWorms. The first two
days I was throwing mostly topwater frogs in less than a foot of water.”
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
2: Travis, Bounds, Roseville, Calif. 15 bass, 54-9, $3,985
3: Carl Limbrick Jr., San Diego, Calif., 15 bass, 53-14, $3,542
4: Bruce McCune, Anderson, Calif., 15 bass, 53-8, $3,099
5: Blaine Christiansen, San Jose, Calif., 15 bass, 52-11, $2,656
6: Lester Albury, Temecula, Calif., 15 bass, 49-5, $2,214
7: Nick Nourot, Benicia, Calif., 15 bass, 49-4, $1,771
8: Kyle Gelles, Pingree, Idaho, 13 bass, 48-4, $1,328
9: Jason Chang, Riverside, Calif., 10 bass, 37-10, $885
10: Scott Hamman, Sacramento, Calif., nine bass, 33-10, $708
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Ish Monroe had a ball on Oneida Lake for the third straight day as he went wire-to-wire for the win of the final 2011 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Northern Open. He rode a hot frog bite all three days and backed it up with a prototype flipping bait to sack 51-2, more than 2 pounds ahead of runner-up Michael Simonton.
“I tell you what, this feels awesome. I’ve won on all the (B.A.S.S.) levels: an Elite Series event, Federation-level event and now that I’ve won an Open it feels really good,” he said as he clutched his trophy.
For his win, Monroe earned a brand new bass boat and motor as well as a handsome paycheck of more than $9,000. The total package is worth north of $54,000. He’s not concerned about not picking up the 2012 Bassmaster Classic berth because he qualified through the Bassmaster Elite Series. He would have double qualified if he had fished all three events, the prerequisite for earning the Opens berth. He was fishing Oneida for pride and most importantly, fun.
“The thing that carried me through this week — and the whole season — has been the fact that I’ve had fun,” he said. “That’s been my focus throughout the Elites and into these Opens, and it’s worked out really well. I’m having a blast!”
Monroe relied on two baits and several areas. He threw a Snag Proof Ish’s Phat Frog (three different models: white, black and clear) across the top of matted grass along the bank, and when the wind blew, he punched through the grass with a heavy weight and a black and blue flipping bait. The key with the flipping bait was the River2Sea specialty flipping weight. It sports a matte black finish. Monroe reasons that lighter-colored weights give off too much flash under the dark mats and spook fish.
Michael Simonton made a hard charge at Monroe, but Monroe’s 4-pound cushion proved too much for Simonton’s 16-9 stringer and 48-12 total. Simonton, a Fremont, Ohio, native earned $13,800 for his runner-up finish. Simonton enjoyed the relatively little pressured presented to him by the smaller field.
In third place, earning $11,500 is John Pelletier of Nassau, N.Y. He tallied 45-7 over three days. In fourth is Elite Series pro Pat Golden of High Point, N.C., who earned $9,200 for his three-day catch of 45-7. Rounding out the top five is Elite Series pro Randy Howell of Springville, Ala., who won $8,280 for his total of 44-5.
On the co-angler side, Kevin Haley of Syracuse, N.Y., took home a brand new Skeeter bass boat with Yamaha outboard for his three-day catch of 26-8. Haley relied on a pair of baits: a Bass Pro Shops XPS walking topwater bait and a 3-inch Strike King Shadalicious swimbait. Five of his nine keepers fell for the topwater, the other four ate the swimbait. He gives much credit to his pros, all three of whom put Haley on solid fish each day.
In second place is Kevin Phelps of Allentown, Pa., with 25-12; in third place is Anthony Savino of Marlboro, N.Y., with 24-13; in fourth place is Michael Rinaldi of North Haledon, N.J., with 24-11; and in fifth place is Aaron Anders of Boston, Ontario, Canada.
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 Tommy Skarlis of Waukon, Iowa, and co-angler Todd Dankert of Anoka, Minn., caught five walleyes weighing 17 pounds, 2 ounce Saturday to maintain the lead on the third day of the National Guard FLW Walleye Tour Championship on the Missouri River. Skarlis’ three-day catch of 15 walleyes weighing 58-0 gives him a solid 4-pound, 14-ounce lead over his closest competitor in an event which started with the top 40 pros and 40 co-anglers from the 2011 FLW Walleye Tour season. Pros are fishing for a top award of up to $70,000.
“This a tournament where anything can happen and I am so excited to go fishing tomorrow,” said Skarlis, who is looking for his second championship title, the first coming in 2008 on the Missouri River. “We had a lot of missed bites today. When you start missing bites the way we did today it either means you have to start going ultra slow and finesse fish or go ultra fast and use ultra big baits and be ultra aggressive. I like to fish fast and furious with big baits. I really want the fish tomorrow to eat my bait.
“I have caught all my fish this week with Gulp!,” Skarlis continued. “Tomorrow I am going to have to make some changes based on what happened today. I may switch from the superlines I have been using to Trilene XL or XT and get some live bait.
“Today I was blessed with a great co-angler,” Skarlis went on to say. “He is one of the best jiggers I have fished with and he caught five of our six weigh walleyes that went in the box.
“Today was a real grind. Most of what we caught was in the main river channel. We started on the honey hole that I caught most of my weight on yesterday, but the fish have vacated that area and we moved out of there pretty quickly. We were fortunate to be able to catch key fish here and key fish there throughout the day.”
Rounding out the top 10 pros and fishing for the championship title on Sunday are:
2nd: Walmart pro Dean Arnoldussen, Appleton, Wis., 15 walleyes, 53-2
3rd: National Guard pro Bill Shimota, Lonsdale, Minn., 15 walleyes, 52-8
4th: David Andersen, Amery, Wis., 15 walleyes, 51-8
5th: EverStart pro Dan Stier, Mina, S.D., 14 walleyes, 50-6
6th: OFF! pro Chris Gilman, Chisago City, Minn., 15 walleyes, 50-6
7th: Keith Kavajecz, Kaukauna, Wis., 14 walleyes, 47-1
8th: Kevin Carstensen, Merrill, Wis., 15 walleyes, 44-14
9th: Tom Kemos, Oconomowoc, Wis., 15 walleyes, 44-13
10th: National Guard pro Mark Courts, Harris, Minn., 15 walleyes, 43-14
Final results for the remaining field can be found at FLWOutdoors.com.
Todd Dankert of Anoka, Minn., won the Co-angler championship title with a total of 15 walleyes weighing 58-12 and earning $7,000 for his efforts. He fished with OFF! pro Chris Gilman on day one, was then paired with David Andersen on day two and finally on day three he fished with Tommy Skarlis.
“I never fished the Missouri River before this tournament ,” said Dankert. “What an awesome fishery!. It is healthy, full of fish and just unbelievable. I tell you what, as soon as I get back to where I am staying I am going to wrap my hands in band aids. My hands are just tore-up we caught so many fish.
“You just can’t beat the week that I have had. I couldn’t have picked better partners if I tried. I was paired with three of the best and I have to thank each and every one of them. I had a blast. I am thrilled, really thrilled!
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
2nd: John Mickish, White Bear Lake, Minn., 14 walleyes, 55-1, $2,500
3rd: Tim Depooter, Rock Island, Ill., 15 walleyes, 53-10, $1,750
4th: John Solek, Indianapolis, Ind., 15 walleyes, 51-11, $1,200
5th: Don Shepard, Lowell, Mich., 14 walleyes, 50-11, $1,000
6th: Tyrone Larson, Amherst, Wis., 15 walleyes, 50-11, $900
7th: Jimmy Cox, Bono, Ark., 15 walleyes, 49-7, $800
8th: Dave Smith, Saint Joseph, Minn., 15 walleyes, 44-9, $700
9th: Jim Milewsky, Bondurant, Iowa, 15 walleyes, 44-5, $600
10th: Lance Bainville, Mounds View, Minn., 15 walleyes, 43-1, $500 plus $250 Evinrude bonus
Final results for the remaining field can be found at FLWOutdoors.com.
Overall there were 97 walleyes weighing 264 pounds, 8 ounces caught by 20 boats Friday. The catch included 18 five-walleye limits.
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 Tommy
Skarlis of Waukon, Iowa, and co-angler Daniel Leach of Linwood, Mich.,
caught five walleyes weighing 21 pounds, 1 ounce Friday to take the
lead on day two of the National Guard FLW Walleye Tour Championship on
the Missouri River. Skarlis’ two-day catch of 10 walleyes weighing 40-14
gives him a 3-pound, 5-ounce lead over his closest competitor in an
event featuring the top 40 pros and 40 co-anglers from the 2011 FLW
Walleye Tour season. Pros are fishing for a top award of up to $70,000
and Co-anglers are vying for up to $12,000.
“I was so blessed today to catch what I did,” said Skarlis, who
is looking for his second championship title, the first coming in 2008
on the Missouri River. “I caught seven walleyes in the spot where
everyone was fishing and only saw five or six other walleyes caught
there. We were fishing boat to boat bumping trolling motors, I think I
might need to see a chiropractor when this is all over.”
“The hole was good while it lasted, but I’m pretty sure the area
has dried up,” Skarlis went on to say. “I am pretty fired-up to go
fishing tomorrow though. I have a couple of other secondary spots that I
checked out today and there are walleye there. The fish are hungry;
this is a phenomenal and exciting bite.
“I am using superline, Spiderline and Berkley Fireline and you
can just feel the fish as soon as they bite. It feels like they are
going to knock the St. Croix rod right out of my hand. For the most part
I am jigging and rigging Gulp! and PowerBait. Right now I have narrowed
down my colors which is key to my catch. I have been catching fish in a
multitude of depths; anywhere from 6 to 30 feet. I have done a little
trolling but not much.”
Second place Keith Kavajecz summed up the honey hole that over
20 boats were fishing in the first two days of the tournament best when
he said, “I saw more boats in one area than fish caught, that is never a
good thing.”
According to several of the leaders the warm weather and falling
water have not impacted their fishing so far. They believe that the
walleye are hungry and primed to be caught.
Rounding out the top 10 pros after day two on the Missouri River are:
2nd: Keith Kavajecz, Kaukauna, Wis., 10 walleyes, 37-9
3rd: EverStart pro Dan Stier, Mina, S.D., nine walleyes, 36-11
4th: National Guard pro Bill Shimota, Lonsdale, Minn., 10 walleyes, 35-3
5th: David Andersen, Amery, Wis., 10 walleyes, 35-2
6th: Kevin Carstensen, Merrill, Wis., 10 walleyes, 34-4
7th: Tom Kemos, Oconomowoc, Wis., 10 walleyes, 34-0
8th: Walmart pro Dean Arnoldussen, Appleton, Wis., 10 walleyes, 33-8
9th: OFF! pro Chris Gilman, Chisago City, Minn., 10 walleyes, 32-6
10th: Perry Good, Minnetrista, Minn., nine walleyes, 32-3
The remaining top 20 pros who will fish again on Saturday are:
11th: National Guard pro Mark Courts, Harris, Minn., 10 walleyes, 30-4
12th: Chase Parsons, Brillion, Wis., 10 walleyes, 30-1
13th: Tom Keenan, Hatley, Wis., 10 walleyes, 30-0
14th: Richard Zachowski, Milwaukee, Wis., 10 walleyes, 29-3
15th: Ryan Jirik, Rhinelander, Wis., 10 walleyes, 29-2
16th: AMP/Diet Mtn. Dew pro John Balla, Bartlett, Ill., 10 walleyes, 28-4
17th: Lynn Jurrens, Watertown, S.D., nine walleyes, 28-2
18th: Gary Maher, Menoken, N.D., 10 walleyes, 27-14
19th: David Kolb, Rockford, Mich., 10 walleyes, 27-10
20th: Chevy pro Jason Przekurat, Stevens Point, Wis., 10 walleyes, 27-7
Todd Dankert of Anoka, Minn., leads the Co-angler Division with
10 walleyes weighing 41-10 followed by Don Shepard of Lowell, Mich., in
second place with 10 walleyes weighing 41-3.
“As a co-angler it is really the luck of the draw,” said
Dankert. “I have fished with two of my fishing idols and tomorrow I get
to fish with another one of my idols, Tommy Skarlis. I couldn’t have
asked for better draws and at a championship…this is amazing.”
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers are:
3rd: Tim Depooter, Rock Island, Ill., 10 walleyes, 39-15
4th: John Mickish, White Bear Lake, Minn., ninw walleyes, 37-12
5th: Tyrone Larson, Amherst, Wis., 10 walleyes, 34-5
6th: Dave Smith, Saint Joseph, Minn., 10 walleyes, 33-15
7th: Lance Bainville, Mounds View, Minn., 10 walleyes, 32-4
8th: John Solek, Indianapolis, Ind., 10 walleyes, 32-1
9th: Jimmy Cox, Bono, Ark., 10 walleyes, 31-7
10th: Dave Barrett, Mosinee, Wis., nine walleyes, 31-3
The remaining top 20 co-anglers who will fish Saturday are:
11th: Jim Milewsky, Bondurant, Iowa, 10 walleyes, 30-11
12th: Cal Van Cleve, Wilmot, S.D., 10 walleyes, 29-6
13th: Brian Boelter, Colgate, Wis., nine walleyes, 27-5
14th: Tom Filar, West Bend, Wis., 10 walleyes, 27-1
15th: Allan Frevert, Pocahontas, Iowa, 10 walleyes, 27-0
16th: Darrell Martin, Forest Lake, Minn., nine walleyes, 26-12
17th: Edward Piekutowski, Moorhead, Minn., nine walleyes, 26-5
18th: David Dedecker, Orion, Ill., 10 walleyes, 25-14
19th: Daniel Leach, Linwood, Mich., seven walleyes, 25-8
20th: Greg Oppegard, West St. Paul, Minn., 10 walleyes, 25-4
Overall there were 174 walleyes weighing 507 pounds, 11 ounces
caught by 40 boats Friday. The catch included 25 five-walleye limits.
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Bassmaster Elite Series pro Ish Monroe retained his lead on Day Two of the third and final Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Northern Open with a 16-pound limit today, extending his lead over the field to 35-14, nearly 4 pounds ahead of the pack. Although Oneida Lake is full of substantial smallmouth bass, Monroe is sticking to the shallows and targeting largemouth with a topwater frog.
“My day started slow and I had to bounce around a bit; the wind kind of hurt me,” he said. “If the wind blows north or south, I can pick a bank and fish the area, but that east wind killed me because it rolls across the entire lake.”
Monroe said that his frog — a Snag Proof Ish’s Phat Frog — doesn’t work too well in the wind, so he resorted to flipping creature baits into shallow grass.
“With the wind blowing like it was today, all the protected stuff had boats on it,” he said. “Tomorrow’s going to be great; there will only be the top 12 guys so I can fish some of those other areas that I couldn’t today. I’ve got an area where I can start if the wind dies down, and hopefully catch a few and have a good day. I think if I get 16 or so pounds again I’ll be hard to catch.”
Giving chase to Monroe is Michael Simonton of Fremont, Ohio. Simonton enjoyed the windy conditions today as they forced him to fish new water.
“The rolling waves were hitting my best bank from yesterday pretty hard, so I was forced to fish these two little spots that turned out to be magical little spots,” he said. “They’re probably 15 feet across, and I caught good fish out of them.”
Simonton is cautiously optimistic about repeating his 17-1 from today, but — like Monroe — will move around more with the abbreviated field. He has 32-3 after two days.
In third place is John Pelletier of Nassau, N.Y., who caught 16-7 today, upping his total to 31-10; in fourth place is Elite Series pro Pat Golden of High Point, N.C., who added 15-5 to his total, giving him 31-9; in fifth place is Fletcher Shryock of Newcomerstown, Ohio, who caught 13-7 today, giving him 30-9.
Pro anglers are vying for a boat and motor package, cash and a coveted berth in the 2012 Bassmaster Classic in Shreveport-Bossier City, La., this coming February. Co-anglers are fishing for a fully rigged boat and cash as well. While Monroe has a somewhat commanding lead on the pro side, the co-angler division is tightly knotted; 2 pounds separate the top 13 anglers.
Leading the charge is Kevin Haley of Syracuse, N.Y., with 17-6. Haley added 7-11 to his total today. An ounce behind him is Kevin Phelps of Allentown, Pa., who caught 8-12 today. In third place is Anthony Savino of Marlboro, N.Y., with 16-15. Savino caught 9-0 today. In fourth place is Ronald Flamisch of Northampton, Pa., who added 7-10 to his total, giving him 16-12, and in fifth place is Michael Rinaldi on North Haledon, N.J., who caught 9-0 today, giving him a total of 16-3.
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We got our October 2011 issue of the FLW Outdoors Magazine - Bass Edition. This issue is the Forrest Wood Cup Champion issue, so there is a lot of great photo and news coverage of the tournament from Ouachita Lake near Hot Springs, Ark. But there are also some great departments and features in this issue. But what really caught our eye was the feature story on page 70. It's a great piece on combating the problem with an overabundance of shad on many fisheries in the fall. But the photo is what caught our eye! We know Ramie Colson and this photo really cracked us up.
Kudos to Ramie and FLW Outdoors for having a great sense of humor and injecting some fun into a fishing article!
If you don't already subscribe to FLW Outdoors Magazine, you should. Our very own Jason Sealock used to be the Editor-in-Chief there and is close friends with the staff. Good folks that take a lot of pride in making a very refined magazine with great content on a monthly to bi-monthly basis.
To sign up for a subscription, visit flwoutdoors.com. Or stop by your local Walmart and pick up a copy. They can be found in display boxes in Sporting Goods and in their Entertainment sections.
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Fishhound.com, the provider of real-time fishing reports supplied by professional anglers, licensed guides and charter captains, has announced its sponsorship of veteran pro bass fisherman and 2011 Forrest Wood Cup champion, Scott Martin.
Martin, a Walmart FLW Tour angler with $1.9 million in career winnings and host of the popular “Scott Martin Challenge” TV show on NBC Sports, will be contributing his knowledge and expertise to help Fishhound develop a competition-ready product for tournament anglers. He will also serve as a Fishhound.com spokesman and a regular contributor of fishing reports from Florida’s renowned Lake Okeechobee, where he guides at the Roland Martin Marina when not fishing the tour.
“We’re thrilled to have Scott join the Fishhound team to help us build a better product,” said Richard Marks, CEO of Fishhound.com. “He’s one of the best anglers in the world, and we didn’t partner with him just so he could say he uses our product, we’re working with him to build a product that he’ll actually rely on for all his pre-tournament research.”
“I’m really impressed with Fishhound – not only with the quality and timeliness of the information, but also with how easy it is to access this data and put it to use out on the water,” said Scott Martin. “The product is only going to get better, and with a few additions, it’ll become a tool that every competitive angler will benefit from using.”
To learn more about Fishhound, or to register for free, visit: www.fishhound.com.
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Photo courtesy of FLW Outdoors
Keith
Kavajecz of Kaukauna, Wis. and co-angler John Mickish of White Bear
Lake, Minn., brought in five walleyes weighing 26 pounds, 12 ounces
Thursday to lead day one of the National Guard FLW Walleye Tour
Championship on the Missouri River. The pair now holds a solid 5-pound,
6-ounce lead over their closest rivals in an event featuring the top 40
pros and 40 co-anglers from the 2011 FLW Walleye Tour season. Pros are
fishing for a top award of up to $70,000 and Co-anglers up to $12,000.
“I am a little surprised by today’s weight, I would have been
happy with 15 or 20-pounds,” said Kavajecz, who is fishing in his first
FLW Walleye Tour Championship. “I had a good practice, but this is a
little surprising.
“I am fishing in an area where a good number of people are
fishing,” Kavajecz went on to say. “But I think I am doing something a
little differently than the rest of them which is why I was a little
more successful. I am not using any live bait. I am jigging Gulp!
Minnows. There are a lot of white bass in the area so by using the
artificial bait I can get the bait down quickly allowing me more time to
fish rather than tying my lines with fresh bait.
“The area is a sharp break near a feeder creek. I am in about 12
to 28 feet of water,” Kavajecz continued. “Waves of walleye are moving
through the area all day long so it should replenish, but pressure from
all the anglers fishing there could stop the flow of fish. I do have
another area that I can try, but this is the only spot I went to today.”
Frigid temperatures and early morning fog didn’t seem to slow
anglers down any today. Warmer temperatures and little to no wind is
predicted for the rest of the week making for a real showdown on the
Missouri.
Rounding out the remainder of the top 10 pros and co-anglers after day one on the Missouri River are:
2nd: OFF! pro Chris Gilman, Chisago City, Minn., Todd Dankert, Anoka, Minn., five walleyes, 21-6
3rd: EverStart pro Dan Stier, Mina, S.D., Tim Depooter, Rock Island, Ill., five walleyes, 21-4
4th: Perry Good, Minnetrista, Minn., Dave Barrett, Mosinee, Wis., five walleyes, 20-2
5th: Tommy Skarlis, Waukon, Iowa, Don Shepard, Lowell, Mich., five walleyes, 19-13
6th: Richard Zachowski, Milwaukee, Wis., Jimmy Cox, Bono, Ark., five walleyes, 17-14
7th: Walmart pro Dean Arnoldussen, Appleton, Wis., Lance Bainville, Mounds View, Minn., five walleyes, 17-13
7th: National Guard pro Bill Shimota, Lonsdale, Minn., Brian Boelter, Colgate, Wis., five walleyes, 17-13
9th: Chase Parsons, Brillion, Wis., Craig Cayemberg, Valders, Wis., five walleyes, 17-9
10th: Kevin Carstensen, Merrill, Wis., Tyrone Larson, Amherst, Wis., five walleyes, 16-3
Overall there were 184 walleyes weighing 525 pounds, 15 ounces
caught by 40 boats Thursday. The catch included 33 five-walleye limits.
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 Anglers
had no problem filling out limits on Day One of the third and final
Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Northern Open on Oneida Lake in central New
York.
The
trick, however, was finding better-than-average fish to bring to the
scales. Bassmaster Elite Series pro Ish Monroe of Hughson, Calif., found
the five best of the 138-boat field, amassing 19 pounds, 14 ounces to
take the lead on the first day of competition.
Monroe’s
mantra throughout the Bassmaster Elite Series season and Bassmaster
Opens has been “just have fun.” Monroe played his cards close to his
vest and was reluctant to share any information on his techniques, but
he did allow that his bite was an early one.
“This
lake is awesome, just awesome,” he said. “I had everything that I
weighed in by 8:30 this morning. It was pretty interesting. It was
partly my spot, partly me and partly just having fun. I feel like I can
catch ’em like this every single day.”
In second is former Elite Series pro Kurt Dove of Del Rio, Texas. He managed 17-9 and was a bit more open about his pattern.
“I
caught 12 or 14 smallmouth today, and one good largemouth. I’m fishing
in an area that’s got some grass and should have some largemouth in it,”
he said. “It was a bit of a grind; I finally got my limit by 10:30,
then between 11 and one o’clock they bit pretty good. I’m throwing
reaction baits and working three areas over hard and fishing the best I
can.
“I don’t know if I can do it again tomorrow, but I’m going to go out there and enjoy the wet weather.”
In
third place is Fletcher Shryock of Newcomerstown, Ohio, with 17-2.
Though Shryock isn’t gunning for the Bassmaster Classic berth at stake
in this Open — he’s already in the 2012 Classic via a Southern Open win —
he’s fishing the Northern Opens in an attempt to become a more
well-rounded angler.
Shryock
said he has his sights set on the Elite Series and feels he needs to
become familiar with as many bodies of water as possible.
In
fourth place is Elite Series pro Jami Fralick of Martin, S.D., with
16-5, and rounding out the top five is Elite pro Pat Golden of High
Point, N.C., with 16-4.
In
the co-angler division, Richard Rodriguez of Williamsburg, Va., found a
three-fish co-angler limit that weighed 9-12. An ounce back is Keith
Diluzio of North East, Pa., and Kevin Haley of Syracuse, N.Y., both with
9-11. Rick Best of Fulton, N.Y., is fourth with 9-7, and in fifth place
is Thomas Hajjar of Garnet Valley, Pa., with 9-4.
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 B.A.S.S. LLC announced
the 2012 schedule today for a three-division Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster
Open circuit that will hit nine bass fisheries in nine different states.
Timing on the fisheries
was a top consideration in creation of the schedule — Lake Norman and
Table Rock in April, and the James River in July, for example. So was
geography: south to Florida, west into Texas, and north to Michigan. A
fresh challenge was added with a Cayuga Lake tournament; that one is in
August, perfect timing for upstate New York.
“We wanted to come up
with a schedule that included a wide range of fishery types, on dates
that made sense for that fishery, and with a geographical spread that
made participation easier for more tournament anglers,” said Jerry
McKinnis, one of three principals who purchased B.A.S.S. in late 2010.
“I think we’ve come pretty close to all those goals.”
The season will kick off
with a Southern Open in central Florida, Jan. 19-21 on the Harris Chain
of Lakes out of Tavares. Host to more than a dozen Bassmaster events
since 1986, “the Chain” was the site of the 2011 Bassmaster Elite Series
opener in March. Shaw Grigsby smoked the field with a sight-fishing
bonanza of 75 pounds, 4 ounces over four days. The sprawling,
canal-linked lakes have produced for Open pros, too. In a 2009 Open, Day
1 leader John Kremer posted 29-13, and eventual victor Bryan Hudgins on
Day 2 sacked a bag that was 1 ounce shy of 31 pounds.
Texas’ Lewisville Lake
is No. 2 on the 2012 Open schedule. Lewisville was a “sleeper” stop in
2011, but pro Mark Tucker woke it up after a cold front with a catch of
45 pounds, 15 ounces over three days. The Feb. 9-11, 2012, tournament
out of Lewisville, Texas, will be the first of three in the Central
division.
Lake Norman out of
Charlotte, N.C., will keep Southern Open anglers going April 5-7. In the
2011 Open on Norman, a 25-year-old unknown from Ohio, Fletcher Shryock,
put his name up on the bass board by posting 49-9 over three days in
late March. The early April dates for the 2012 event could result in
similar weights.
Table Rock — a name
that’s become bedrock in B.A.S.S. tournament history — will be the 2012
Central Open’s second stop on April 26-28. Like Norman and Lewisville,
Table Rock is an encore from the 2011 schedule, but a 2011 Open champ
from The Rock is still to come. Torrential rains in April forced a
rescheduling of the 2011 Central event to Oct. 20-22. But come the 2012
Open dates in late April, there’s every chance that Table Rock will show
its springtime potential for a big shallow bite and lots of limits.
The tidal James River
out of Richmond, Va., will be the site of the June 14-16 Northern Open,
the division’s first of 2012. The James ran gold in the 2011 Open for
Kelly Pratt of Williamsburg, Va., when he won with 42-6 taken on a
shallow finesse bite. But B.A.S.S. and the James go back much further.
After a 1983 James River Invitational won by the legendary Hank Parker,
B.A.S.S. followed with three Bassmaster Classic river events in a row,
1988-1990.
Rivers run through the
2012 schedule. Next up after the James will be Northern Open No. 2 on
the Detroit River out of Detroit, Mich., July 19-21. The last time an
Open was there, Todd Schmitz pulled off a come-from-way-way-behind win
with 61 pounds. He keyed on the river’s deeper, cooler channel, a
reliable midsummer tactic. But anglers can run to Lake St. Clair to find
the cooler temps, just like the fish do.
After Detroit, Northern
Open anglers can shift their attention to Cayuga Lake and Seneca Falls,
N.Y., for the Aug. 16-18 Northern season finale. Cayuga is a cool, deep
fishery — max depth is more than 400 feet — but the northern-end shoals
area is a known haunt of largemouth bass. Cayuga also has smallmouth
bass. Finger-slim, the fishery stretches 28 miles and up to 3 1/2 miles wide. Not huge, but big enough.
The Central Open finale
takes place Sept. 6-8 on Fort Gibson Lake out of Wagoner, Okla. In 2010,
Fort Gibson Lake was the site of a relocated Bassmaster Elite Series
tournament. In the Elite Series tournament, pro Tommy Biffle of Wagoner
capitalized on a home-lake advantage to haul in 73-11 over four mid-June
days. With three days of competition, Open anglers aren’t likely to hit
that mark, but a September time frame could help boost weights.
Memorable for big
spotted bass and several record spots, Alabama’s Lewis Smith Lake will
be the last 2012 Open destination. Smith will long be etched in pro Andy
Montgomery’s memory. His win with 34 pounds, 9 ounces at the 2010 Open
on Smith helped him qualify for the 2011 Bassmaster Elite Series.
Hitting docks over deeper, stained water was a key to his success with
spotted (and largemouth) bass in an unusually high-water situation for
Smith. How the Oct. 4-6, 2012, event out of Jasper, Ala., goes for
anglers should again be tied to water levels and clarity.
Registration dates and
details about the 2012 Bassmaster Open season will be announced soon.
For more information about the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens, visit www.bassmaster.com/open.
2012 Schedule of Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Open Events, By Division
Date Fishery Location
Southern
Jan. 19-21 Harris Chain of Lakes Tavares, Fla.
April 5-7 Lake Norman Charlotte, N.C.
Oct. 4-6 Lewis Smith Lake Jasper, Ala.
Central
Feb. 9-11 Lewisville Lake Lewisville, Texas
April 26-28 Table Rock Lake Branson, Mo.
Sept. 6-8 Fort Gibson Lake Wagoner, Okla.
Northern
June 14-16 James River Richmond, Va.
July 19-21 Detroit River Detroit, Mich.
Aug. 16-18 Cayuga Lake Seneca Falls, N.Y.
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Snag Proof Lures has joined Wired2Fish as an advertiser for 2011 and 2012.
"Since 1961, Snag Proof continues to deliver innovative, effective lures that help you put more fish in the boat," said Connie Fuller of Snag Proof. "We’re excited about our new products for 2012 and our partnership with Wired2Fish to further enhance your fishing experiences."
"We have worked with Connie and the folks at Snag Proof for years but until now did not have a business relationship," said Terry Brown, President of Wired2Fish.com. "We are excited to have the opportunity to help them showcase their products through contests, interviews with the pros, and news about Snag Proof in the upcoming weeks and months."
Snag Proof currently sponsors Bobby Barrack, Ish Monroe, Joe Thomas and Chris Lane.
Go to the Snagproof Website to learn more or go to Tackle Warehouse to buy.
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By Mark Zona
I hate phones. There, I said it. And that’s exactly why I’m
the first guy that needs to listen closely to the wisdom I’m attempting to
scatter across your screen in this blog.
Here’s the deal, when my lunatic lifestyle comes to an end
at the conclusion of the Bassmaster Elite Series season, I’m ready for some
football. But instead, I go straight into another season of insanity associated
with filming several episodes of Zona’s
Awesome Fishing Show.
My soul-consumed love of fishing is the core reason why I do
what I do – but with my job comes countless business responsibilities – and
that requires talking on the phone. So I
avoid it. And sadly, my shunning of the cell phone leads to me failing
miserably at making the one or two non-business related calls at this time of
year that all of us need to make – that phone call to a friend for a chance to
simply go fishing for fun.
Thank goodness for the always responsible and
more-mature-than-me, Kevin VanDam, who insisted that he and I call B.A.S.S.
owners Don Logan and Jerry McKinnis and convince them to leave the warm
confines of Alabama and Arkansas for a chance to come to Michigan – actually,
Northern Michigan– to wreck some bronze slounches (mega-toad Smallmouth for
those of you that don’t know me).
We called. And fortunately, Jerry answered, and agreed that
he and Don would come join us. See, here’s the thing, dudes – I work for Jerry
McKinnis –he’s my boss – but Jerry is a guy I’ve looked up to since I was about
4-years-old – and he’s a friend. Jerry McKinnis is like Joe Torre or Bill
Belichick – the kind of dude you’ll play hard for simply because you like and
respect him so much.
When Jerry and Don Logan got here, as is often the case,
Jerry was wondering what in the heck I had gotten him into. The temperatures had plummeted, and the wind
was blowing a sustained 15-20 miles per hour out of the north. It was gusting to 25 mph, and air temps were
in the 40s.
Oh yea – and there’s more -- the waves were good 3-footers, and at one point it was even sleeting.
That may not sound like a smart time to go fishing, but we knew they were
chewing, and there’s always a little more peace-of-mind in freak show
conditions like that when you’re a member of BoatU.S. Angler, and thank
goodness, Kevin and I both are.
It was a freak show, all right. McKinnis and I busted
several 20-pound limits. I’m serious. No exaggeration on that statement right
there, kids. In fact, Jerry and I really only needed one lure – a brown, 1/4
ounce, Strike King jig. We had our first
20-pound limit of smallmouth on that lure by 9:00 a.m. We made memories amid a
brutal northern cold front and blowing sleet – and it only happened because I
got past my hatred of the phone – and made that call.
Until next time, promise me you’ll do the same. Pick up the
phone before the snow starts to fall, and invite a friend you haven’t seen in a
while to go fishing.
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 Bass Pro Shops denied allegations by the U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that the company discriminated against
African American and Hispanic applicants in its employment practices and
that it retaliated against any employees. The EEOC filed a federal lawsuit on Wednesday claiming that the fishing tackle retail giant had discriminated against minority applicants and employees and retaliated against those that spoke up about it.
“The EEOC’s allegations are contrary to our profound respect for and
commitment to our team of experienced and knowledgeable associates, and
we are determined to prove them wrong,” said Mike Rowland, Vice
President of Human Resources. "Respect for our associates and our customers
is central to the mission of our company, and it has been a key
contributor to our success."
Bass Pro said it is extremely disappointed by the EEOC's decision to
take action.
“The company has cooperated with the EEOC throughout its
investigation, providing extensive documentation and numerous
witnesses,” Rowland said. "Bass Pro vigorously denies the EEOC’s
allegations that the Company engaged in unlawful document destruction.
It is our policy to retain all documents required by law. We provided
more than 250,000 pages of documents to the EEOC.
“Despite our cooperation, the EEOC made unrealistic demands during
conciliation. The EEOC cannot or will not tell us the basis for the
analysis they claim to have conducted. Fundamental fairness
and good faith should require that the EEOC reveal the evidence on which
its claims are based before filing a lawsuit that will be long,
expensive and disruptive.
“This investigation and the EEOC’s conduct demonstrate a troubling
tendency by the EEOC to stereotype those who love outdoor sports and
support conservation as people who unlawfully discriminate or oppose
equal opportunity for all. For example, EEOC staff
investigators have suggested on several occasions that because Bass Pro
sponsors a NASCAR race team the company is more likely to discriminate
against minorities.
"In addition, the EEOC staff raised questions about Bass Pro’s policy
against hiring convicted felons, claiming it discriminates against
certain minority groups, even though federal regulations prohibit
convicted felons from handling firearms, and Bass Pro sells firearms,
ammunition and explosives.
“Bass Pro has long been a significant supporter of numerous youth
development and conservation programs that give outdoor opportunities to
inner-city diverse youth. As we challenge these unfair and unfounded
charges, we want to assure the millions of people from all walks of
life who visit our stores annually that Bass Pro will continue to
provide the one-of-a-kind experience they have come to expect. And we will do so while fully complying with the law.”
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BASS announced today that Nate Wellman will not be fishing the Classic in 2012.
Below is that statement:
B.A.S.S. tournament officials and Nate Wellman have mutually agreed that Mr. Wellman will not fish any Bassmaster tournaments until March 2012. Mr. Wellman will not compete in the Bassmaster Northern Open this week in Syracuse, N.Y., and as a consequence of his withdrawal, Mr. Wellman will be ineligible to compete in the 2012 Bassmaster Classic. No changes have been made to the previously communicated penalties or the final tournament standings of the August 27, 2011 Bassmaster Northern Open held on Lake Erie. Wellman maintains his eligibility in the 2012 Bassmaster Elite Series.
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The 2010 B.A.S.S. Federation Nation
Championship winner told B.A.S.S. officials late last week that he's
decided to step aside in 2011 and not defend his title.
Brandon
Palaniuk, now a Bassmaster Elite Series pro, will attend the Nov. 3-5
event in Monroe, La. But he's giving up the berth he earned as the
defending champ because, he said, what he stands to gain is money, and
"fishing the Federation for money was never a part of it."
"I already have a Classic berth, I already qualified for the 2012
Bassmaster Elite Series. The only other reason to fish it would be for
the money, but the Federation's not about making money," he said Monday.
The winner of the championship takes home a fully rigged bass boat
worth about $60,000 as well as an Elite Series invitation and a
Bassmaster Classic berth.
"When I had to decide if I should go
back and defend my title, I started looking at things ... and I saw that
the only thing I'd get out of fishing the championship again would be a
boat, if somehow I won," Palaniuk said. "And that's the wrong reason to
fish the Federation. It's never been about making money. It's always
been about things like getting youth into the sport, conservation and
trying to qualify for the Elites."
Palaniuk said he plans to travel to Monroe from his Rathdrum, Idaho,
home with his boat in tow. It sports a B.A.S.S. Federation Nation wrap,
and Palaniuk hopes it can help promote the event. And, he said, he'll
be on hand to support the Federation Nation in any way he can.
Last year at age 22, Palaniuk was the first Federation Nation champ
to exercise the winner's option to join the Bassmaster Elite Series. He
ended his rookie season with a qualification for the 2012 Classic; at
37th place in Elite Series points, he was the last man into the 2012
field. He said he'll combine the Monroe trip with a few days of scouting
the nearby Red River, site of the Feb. 24-26 Classic.
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 A field of 54 anglers
will compete in the Nov. 3-5 B.A.S.S. Federation Nation Championship on
the Ouachita River out of Monroe, La.
The field was completed
Friday with the addition of Eastern Divisional qualifiers and the angler
of the year from the Paralyzed Veterans of America, Tony Choe of
Fairfax Station, Va. The 54 anglers are from 47 states and six
international locations. All earned berths in the annual B.A.S.S.
Federation Nation Championship through a long string of qualifying
tournaments.
The anglers will compete
within their respective regional divisions for a 2012 Bassmaster
Classic entry. The overall winner will receive a fully rigged bass boat
and 2012 Bassmaster Elite Series qualification as well as a Classic
berth.
Defending champ Brandon Palaniuk has chosen to sit out but will attend.
The 2011 field includes:
Central Division
Josh Wray, Omaha, Ark.
Beau Branine, Haysville, Kan.
Jason Pecoraro, Youngsville, La.
Edgar Romero, Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico
Destre DeDeaux, Meadville, Miss.
Daniel Stark, Eldon, Mo.
Pat Klausen, Lincoln, Neb.
Jared Miller, Norman, Okla.
Tom Jessop, Dalhart, Texas
Eastern Division
Tom Reynolds, Lyme, Conn.
George Cooper, Buxton, Maine
Edward Robak, Weymourd, Mass.
John Diaco, Rochester, N.H.
Jamie Hartman, Newport, N.Y.
Craig Denham, Fenlon Falls, Ontario, Canada
Andrew MacColl, Chepachet, R.I.
Skip Sjobeck, Randolph, Vt.
Mid-Atlantic Division
Chris Price, Church Hill, Md.
Paul Gietka, Abingdon, Md.
Rich McCrone III, Cream Ridge, N.J.
Scott Sirakos, Houston, Pa.
Tony Choe, Fairfax Station, Va.
Mike Cumberledge, Virginia Beach, Va.
Chris Morrison, St. Marys, W.Va.
Darren Thornton, Avondale, Harare, Zimbabwe
Northern Division
Greg Heindselman, Lewiston, Mo.
Matt McCoy, Indianapolis, Ind.
Jesse Reynolds, Muscatine, Iowa
Carlo Alberto-Tenchini, Verona, Italy
Thomas Keifer, Fowlerville, Mich.
Andrew Nitchals, Wilmar, Minn.
Bryan McNeal, Enon, Ohio
Todd Serfoss, Bath, S.D.
Brian Christianson, La Crosse, Wis.
Southern Division
Jamie Horton, Centreville, Ala.
Michael Smith, Laurel Hill, Fla.
Jeff Jones, Marietta, Ga.
Heath Martin, Louisville, Ky.
Stephen Dyer, Mt. Pleasant, N.C.
Justy Varkevisser, Johannesburg, South Africa
Jeff Green, Gaffney, S.C.
Mark Pierce, Clarksville, Tenn.
Western Division
Gerald Kimzey, Willcox, Ariz.
Don Edmonds, Sacramento, Calif.
Ed McCaw, Ignacio, Colo.
Josh Polfer, Nampa, Idaho
Wakebe Takuya, Kanagawakenn, Japan
Curtis Spindler, Missoula, Mont.
Aaron Leon, Henderson, Nev.
Jay Salisbury, Aztec, N.M.
Jim Brinkerhoff, Longview, Wash.
Jared Roos, Paradise, Utah
Aaron Echternkamp, Moses Lake, Wash.
Boyd Golightly, Preston, Idaho
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Shaw Grigsby knows the little things that make a difference in fishing. Line choice is a question we get often and the segment below Shaw explains what line works best for each technique. Markel Insurance Fishing Tips with Shaw Grigsby has a great group of tips that can help you make the right decisions for a better experience on the water.
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Vermont's Skip Sjobeck beat the challenge of facing different weather
patterns for three days to win the B.A.S.S. Federation Nation Eastern
Divisional at Lake Champlain.
The 32-year-old Just for Fun Bass Anglers club member bagged an
18-pound, 10-ounce limit the first day that featured ideal smallmouth
conditions of sunny skies and light wind. He backed up that catch with a
17-9 limit yesterday in the rain and wind. Today Sjobeck followed up
with 15 pounds during post-frontal conditions of clouds and wind and
then sunshine by the afternoon.
"It is tough right now," Sjobeck said. "I just ground it out every day
and ran a bunch of stuff today. Everywhere I caught them the day before I
didn't catch them the next day so I moved around a lot. The west wind
made it very tough today. My batteries were almost dead at 11 (o'clock)
so luckily I had my fish by then. I wanted one more fish because I
thought I had only 13 1/2 pounds."
His final day limit gave him a three-day total of 51-3 and his first divisional title in eight tries.
"All of my fish today came on the XZone Lures Slammer on a drop shot,"
he said. "I tried to Carolina rig this morning but that wasn't working. I
had bites, but they just weren't really eating it, so I just ran around
with the drop shot and it produced."
He targeted smallmouth every day at depths ranging from 12 to 35 feet.
Some of the fish were in grass 14 to 16 feet deep and others were on
isolated rockpiles in the 25- to 35-foot range.
"Being a local, I have a lot of history here and I knew a lot of little
rockpiles that are hard to find," he said. "Every day I could catch one
or two good fish off those isolated rockpiles."
As the tournament champ and his team's top angler, Sjobeck also
qualifies for the B.A.S.S. Federation Nation Championship presented by
Yamaha and Skeeter Boats to be held in November in Louisiana. Other
state and province winners headed to the FNC are Tom Reynolds of
Connecticut; George Cooper, Maine; Ed Robak, Massachusetts; John Diaco,
New Hampshire; Jamie Hartman, New York; Craig Denham, Ontario, Canada;
and Andrew MacColl, Rhode Island.
For the second year in a row, Connecticut won the team competition by
amassing 470 pounds, 10 ounces. "We all worked really well together,"
said team captain Alan Guite. "We stayed together and ate together every
night and shared techniques."
For more information about the B.A.S.S. Federation Nation, go to www.bassmaster.com/federation-series.
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FLW Outdoors Communication
David
Wolak of Wake Forest, N.C., caught a five-bass limit weighing 19
pounds, 7 ounces Sunday to win $125,000 at the Walmart FLW Tour on Lake
Champlain presented by Snickers Peanut Butter Squared with a four-day
catch of 20 bass weighing 81-0.
The catch gave him the win by a solid 6-pound, 4-ounce margin
over pro Gary Yamamoto of Palestine, Texas, who caught a total of 20
bass weighing 74-12 and earned $31,329.
“The key for me this week was being able to make the proper
adjustments,” said Wolak who finally got redemption from a second place
finish at Lake Champlain in 2007 and fifth in 2010 in FLW Series
competition. “I fished in rain and cold and wind and was able to adapt
correctly for every situation.
“On Thursday and Friday when we had the cold, wind and rain
grass was gold,” Wolak continued. “Yesterday and today I looked for
clean hard bottom. I covered a lot of water using my history and
experience on this lake to make wise decisions. I was very fortunate and
was able to capitalize on my past failures this week.
“Current played a huge role in my victory as well,” Wolak went
on to say. “The lake is still pretty high so I looked for areas that had
moving water, especially when I was targeting smallmouth. One of the
great things about this lake is that it replenishes itself; if you catch
one fish in an area go back because the fish will go back.
“Lake Champlain is a pretty special place for me. There is no
other fishery in the country where you can catch both large- and
smallmouth that are the same size,” continued Wolak. “You can fish north
or south, anywhere you go you’ll catch fish. I must have caught over 50
fish today. It was amazing. I will be back every year.”
Known as the mixologist, Wolak’s winning sack contained four
large- and one smallmouth today. His primary bait was ½ ounce Fin-tech
Title Shot Jig for the largemouth and ¼ ounce Title Shot Jig for the
smallmouth.
Wolak opened the tournament in second place Thursday with five
bass weighing 22-8. On Friday he added another five bass weighing 19-4
to maintain second place. He then caught five bass weighing 19-13 on
Saturday to make the crucial top-10 cut in first place. On Sunday he
sealed his victory with a 19-7 stringer that included one kicker
largemouth that weighed over 5-pounds.
The remaining top 10 pros finished the tournament in:
3rd: Daryl Biron, South Windsor, Conn., 20 bass, 72-15, $26,829
4th: Band Aid/Neosporin pro Glenn Browne, Ocala, Fla., 20 bass, 72-6, $22,329
5th: Walmart pro Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., 20 bass, 70-3, $17,829
6th: Straight Talk pro Scott Canterbury, Springville, Ala., 20 bass, 70-2, $15,129
7th: Brian Bylotas, Olyphant, Pa., 20 bass, 69-8, $14,229
8th: Bryan Schmitt, Deale, Md., 20 bass, 68-15, $13,329
9th: Kyle Mabrey, McCalla, Ala., 20 bass, 64-9, $12,429
10th: J Todd Tucker, Moultrie, Ga., 20 bass, 62-11, $11,529
Second place Yamamoto said that he fished docks with Senkos all
week long. The key to his success was that he was hooking the Senkos
backwards with #6 ¾ to 1 inch screws. This allowed the bait to go back
toward the dock and according to Yamamoto, they didn’t know what hit
them.
Overall there were 50 bass weighing 153 pounds, 7 ounces caught by 10 pros Sunday. The catch included five, five-bass limits.
Casey Martin of Huntsville, Ala., won the Co-angler Division and
$20,000 Saturday with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 49 pounds, 9
ounces followed by Christopher Hall of Clarks Summit, Pa., in second
place with 15 bass weighing 45-11 worth $6,715.
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For more information, photos and full results see AIMFishing.com.
Chad Schilling literally ‘powdered’ the Oahe walleyes again on day
three jigging up another AMM CRR weight of more than 35 pounds, to take the win
on his home waters with more than 111 total pounds. He was confident going
into the event he could hold his own against the rest of the AIM field
with a strategy of staying local. His wish was to fish a longer day
avoiding the long runs many of the rest of the field were making. He
traveled less than twenty miles fishing an area bridge, and had the
entire spot to himself.
Chad had only looked at the pillars he was fishing briefly leading up
to the event, hoping to avoid pointing his spot out to any of the rest
of the field. The strategy paid off with his first Professional Angling
Championship winning a Lund 2075 powered by a Mercury 300 Verado and
fitted with a Mercury Pro Kicker, custom Lund trailer and travel cover.
The rig is valued at over $60,000.00.
He won today wearing his wife’s pink lip gloss.
No, that wasn’t part of the plan, or some sort of superstition Pro
fishermen live…it was actually a complete accident. Chad grabbed the
wrong lip balm tube this morning after a completely sleepless night, and
much to his Co Angler’s delight, continued to apply the bright pink
gloss all day, oblivious to the fact he was…well…sort of glowing, and
completely missing the correct application of the gloss for the effect
it was intended to offer.
Brett King was leading the JJ Keller Angler of the Year race coming
in to the Championship, and had a tough and very personally
disappointing day yesterday, placing him well back of Ross Grothe and
Robert Blosser until he came to the stage today. Robert and Ross both
had respectable days, but Brett King crushed the ‘Eyes today CRRing
30.61, enough to regain yesterday’s lost points and take home the AIM JJ
Keller Angler of the Year trophy and a check for $10,000.00.
Texan Kevin Audrain took second qualifying for the Championship
through the AIM Sanctioned Series. He spoke of the lack of water in his
home state due to severe drought, and how fishing here in South Dakota
was a treat; especially with all the walleyes he boated every day. Kevin
was using a gaudy spoon he said he’d usually not have used, but the
walleyes were all over it here so he kept that as his top presentation.
The top ten at the AIM International Championship:
Chad Schilling
Kevin Audrain
Robert Blosser
Mark Brunbaugh
Ross Grothe
Brandon Carpenter
Dan Plautz
Brett king
Scott Duncan
Keith Kavajecz
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Walmart
FLW pro David Wolak of Wake Forest, N.C., caught a five-bass limit
weighing 19 pounds, 13 ounces Saturday to capture the lead at the
Walmart FLW Tour on Lake Champlain presented by Snickers Peanut Butter
Squared. With a three-day catch of 15 bass weighing 61-9, he now holds a
2-pound, 8-ounce lead in the tournament going into the final day of
competition.
“I am fishing my favorite style, I’m good at it and I enjoy
doing it,” said Walmart FLW pro Wolak who is known as the mixologist. “I
love fishing tournaments where you can catch both large-and smallmouth
bass. I grew up doing this and really have a knack for it
“Glenn (Browne) was right when he said the first thing you need
to fish on Champlain is Band Aids. Look at my hands they are all tore
up. But that is what Lake Champlain is all about, putting in a lot of
hard work and capitalizing on the good bites.
 “I am going for broke tomorrow. I laid off some of my fish today
but tomorrow I am going to fish real hard and see what happens. I have
fished in a lot of great tournaments on Champlain and I am really
looking forward to getting out there tomorrow.”
Wolak has four of his nine FLW Outdoors top-10 finishes on Lake
Champlain, but has yet to win here. He indicated that he will be fishing
for smallmouth for about the first two hours to try and get a steady
pace going and then switch over to look for largemouth. Wolak indicated
that the largemouths are way to iffy and very volatile on Lake Champlain
for him to feel comfortable targeting first.
Today Wolak was drop-shotting Jackall Super Cross Tailshad for
his smallmouth and was using Jackall Sasuteki Craw to catch his
largemouth.
Weather conditions for the anglers tomorrow are predicted to be
the same as they were today, sunny with highs in the low to mid 60s.
Walmart FLW pro Gary Yamamoto of Palestine, Texas, advanced to
the final round of 10 pros in the No. 2 spot with a three-day total of
15 bass weighing 59-1.
Yamamoto continued his assault on Lake Champlain using Senkos in shallow water.
Rounding out the top 10 pros and advancing to the final day of competition are:
3rd: Daryl Biron, South Windsor, Conn., 15 bass, 59-1
4th: Band Aid/Neosporin pro Glenn Browne, Ocala, Fla., 15 bass, 56-4
5th: Straight Talk pro Scott Canterbury, Springville, Ala., 15 bass, 55-8
6th: J Todd Tucker, Moultrie, Ga., 15 bass, 52-11
7th: Kyle Mabrey, McCalla, Ala., 15 bass, 52-11
8th: Walmart pro Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., 15 bass, 52-6
9th: Brian Bylotas, Olyphant, Pa., 15 bass, 52-5
10th: Bryan Schmitt, Deale, Md., 15 bass, 52-2
Finishing in 11th through 20th are:
11th: Joe Lucarelli, Center Harbor, N.H., 15 bass, 50-8, $11,079
12th: Thanh Le, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., 15 bass, 49-14, $11,079
13th: Michael Iaconelli, Pittsgrove, N.J., 15 bass, 49-13, $11,079
14th: Chevy pro Dion Hibdon, Sunrise Beach, Mo., 15 bass, 49-9, $11,079
15th: Cheez-It pro Shinichi Fukae, Palestine, Texas, 15 bass, 48-14, $11,079
16th: M&Ms pro Jim Moynagh, Carver, Minn., 15 bass, 48-9, $11, 129
17th: Jason Cordiale, Orinda, Calif., 15 bass, 48-6, $10,629
18th: Greg Hackney, Gonzales, La., 15 bass, 46-12, $10,629
19th: Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes pro Dave Lefebre, Union City, Pa., 15 bass, 46-4, $10,629
20th: Steve Kennedy, Auburn, Ala., 15 bass, 42-7, $10,629
Overall there were 100 bass weighing 317 pounds, 10 ounces caught by 20 pros Saturday. The catch included 20 five-bass limits.
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See AIMFishing.com for more photos, news and full standings!
Chad Schilling is the local favorite at Akaska for two reasons.
One: Akaska is his home town.
Two: He’s one of the top talents in competitive Walleye fishing.
Chad lived up to expectations today CRRing the biggest bag of the
event at 40.85 pounds to take the lead at 75.87, 14 pounds and change
ahead of second place Mark Brumbaugh. Mark weighed in a CRR total od
32.36 to total 61.19 for Day two.
Dan Plautz is tied with Brumbaugh at 61.19, just .19 of a pound ahead
of fourth place Ross Grothe, who made a strong run at the JJ keller
Angler of the year race today. Robert Blosser is in fifth just two
pounds back with 59.14.
Scott Duncan made the move up to sixth, Keith Kavajecz is in seventh,
Texan Kevin Audrain is in eighth, Rick Olson in ninth, and Gary Parsons
rounds out the top ten almost 27 pounds back of the leader.
That’s not unattainable here on Oahe. Many of the Pros mentioned the
possibility of a 7 fish CRR averaging 26”. That could turn the
leaderboard up side down, and the weather looks to be far more stable
tomorrow, which will help the pros traveling more than 20 miles with
somewhat calmer conditions. The temps will be warmer as well, with a
forecast high of 69 degrees under partly cloudy skies and winds running
north to northwest 10 to 20.
The pros didn’t talk much about technique yet with the top 18 heading
back out to compete for a total cash and prize amount of over
$90,000.00. Tomorrow, they will describe how the walleyes ended up in
the net during the AIM Live Weigh In, beginning at about 5 PM.
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Alabama’s Martin Leads Co-anglers
Gary Yamamoto of Palestine,
Texas, caught a five-bass limit weighing 17 pounds, 8 ounces Friday to
maintain his lead on day two of the Walmart FLW Tour on Lake Champlain.
His two-day catch of 10 bass weighing 41 pounds, 12 ounces matches the
second-place angler’s weight, but Yamamoto’s heavier day-one weight
breaks the tie. Pros and co-anglers from across the United States and
Canada started the tournament and the top 20 will fish day three and the
top 10 will compete for the title on day four.
“I started off in the opposite direction that I did the first day
because I thought that some of my spots would be hit hard by other
fishermen, but that didn’t work out,” Yamamoto said. “I went to a spot I
fished yesterday and caught three keepers pretty quickly. Then I
switched to a Chatterbait to fill my limit and I had my limit by 10
o’clock.”
Yamamoto said he started out the day fishing a Senko and caught most
of his fish Friday on the Senko, but managed to boat three or four on
the Chatterbait. Yamamoto estimates his keeper catch Friday numbered
close to 30. He said he hopes Saturday’s results are similar to the
first two days of competition.
“I’m just going to go fishing,” Yamamoto said. “I’ll probably start in
same area where I caught better fish today. I have one area I haven’t
hit yet, so I’ll go there tomorrow afternoon.”
David Wolak of Wake Forest, N.C., is in the No. 2 spot with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 41-12.
Rounding out the top 20 pros that will fish Saturday on Lake Champlain are:
3rd: Daryl Biron, South Windsor, Conn., 10 bass, 38-14
4th: Bryan Schmitt, Deale, Md., 10 bass, 38-3
5th: Straight Talk pro Scott Canterbury, Springville, Ala., 10 bass, 37-6
6th: Band Aid/Neosporin pro Glenn Browne, Ocala, Fla., 10 bass, 37-2
7th: Brian Bylotas, Olyphant, Pa., 10 bass, 36-6
8th: J. Todd Tucker, Moultrie, Ga., 10 bass, 36-3
9th: Joe Lucarelli, Center Harbor, N.H., 10 bass, 35-11
10th: Cheez-Its pro Shinichi Fukae, Palestine, Texas, 10 bass, 35-7
11th: M&Ms pro Jim Moynagh, Carver, Minn., 10 bass, 35-6
12th: Steve Kennedy, Auburn, Ala., 10 bass, 34-10
13th: Michael Iaconelli, Pittsgrove, N.J., 10 bass, 34-9
14th: Kyle Mabrey, McCalla, Ala., 10 bass, 34-8
15th: Walmart pro Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., 10 bass, 33-14
16th: Jason Cordiale, Orinda, Calif., 10 bass, 33-8
17th: Greg Hackney, Gonzales, La., 10 bass, 33-2
18th: Chevy pro Dion Hibdon, Sunrise Beach, Mo., 10 bass, 33-0
19th: Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes pro Dave Lefebre, Union City, Pa., 10 bass, 32-14
20th: Thanh Le, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., 10 bass, 32-13
Final results for the remaining field can be found on FLWOutdoors.com.
Pros are competing for a top award of up to $125,000 this week plus
valuable points in the hope of qualifying for the 2012 Forrest Wood Cup
presented by Walmart, the world championship of bass fishing. The top
five anglers in the point standings from the four Walmart FLW Tour Open
tournaments will qualify.
Casey Martin of Huntsville, Ala., leads the Co-angler Division with a
two-day total of 10 bass weighing 34 pounds, 2 ounces, followed by
Christopher Hall of Clarks Summit, Pa., in second place with 10 bass
weighing 32-5.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers are:
3rd: Greg Scott, Dearborn, Mich., 10 bass, 28-15
4th: Carl Hunter, Snellville, Ga., 10 bass, 28-7
5th: Jason Bilow, Woodlawn, Ont., 10 bass, 28-1
6th: Phil Jarmon, Apex, N.C., 10 bass, 28-0
7th: Richard Schumacher, Newton, Conn., 10 bass, 27-4
8th: Mark Banks, East Aurora, N.Y., 10 bass, 27-3
9th: William Wood, West Palm Beach, Fla., 10 bass, 27-0
10th: Philip Jarabeck, Lynchburg, Va., 10 bass, 26-13
Final results for the remaining field can be found on FLWOutdoors.com.
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The Federation Nation Eastern Divisional anglers have been met with wind, rain and big waves. Former Bassmaster Classic Qualifier Sean Alvarez is glad he had his Simms Pro Dry Rainsuit with him. He calls it the "Cadillac" of all rainsuits. Check out why at Simms Fishing.
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Thanks to everyone who participated in the Wired2Fish HydroWave Contest this past week. Its obvious that anglers believe in the technology and want to learn more about how sound can mean more fish in the boat. Thanks to everyone who made comments as well. These are invaluable to both us here at Wired2Fish and the folks at HydroWave. Feel free to give input on all of the contests.
The winner of the HydroWave is:
Ronald Fogelson Doyline, LA
Don't forget to sign up for the Pinnacle contest we currently have running on the homepage.
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Nate Wellman's actions at Bass Open prompt PAA decision - Photo courtesy of BASS
PAA Communications
The Professional Anglers Association has declared Michigan professional
angler Nate Wellman ineligible to compete in any of its events for a
year.
Wellman was fined $2,500 and put on probation for one year by B.A.S.S.
following an investigation into a complaint by his final day co-angler
at the recent Bass Pro Shops Northern Open on Lake Erie. Wellman won the
tournament. His co-angler reported to tournament officials that Wellman
made repeated statements that, according to B.A.S.S., “were suggestive
of a rules violation.”
B.A.S.S. stated that Wellman violated its tournament rule 3(vii), which
prohibits ‘suggesting to another competitor that he violate these
(B.A.S.S.) rules.’ On Sept. 6, FLW Outdoors announced Wellman is
ineligible to compete in any of its events for a year for violating its
sportsmanship rule.
“Violations or harm to the integrity of the sport hurts all anglers at
any level, the organizations and the entire industry,” said PAA
President Dave Mansue. “It’s unfortunate when something like this
occurs. The PAA recognizes the difficult position B.A.S.S. officials
were placed in by Mr. Wellman’s actions. We applaud the co-angler who
stepped up to inform B.A.S.S. officials after the tournament and also
FLW Outdoors for taking the steps it did.
“Actions that undermine the integrity of the sport are not to be
condoned at any level. Everyone from top professionals to weekend
anglers in a jackpot tournament expect and should demand the highest
levels of honesty and integrity.”
Official PAA Tournament Rule 3(iv), regarding Sportsmanship, states:
“Chemical substance addiction or abuse, conviction of a felony or
other crimes involving moral turpitude, or other conduct reflecting
unfavorably upon efforts to promote safety, sportsmanship, fair
competition and compliance with tournament rules, shall be grounds for
rejecting any application for participation and/or for disqualification
after circumstances are reviewed by the Tournament Director. Any
disqualification, suspension from, or other disciplinary action
regarding any tournament or fishing organization, shall be grounds for
rejecting any application for participation in a PAA tournament, and/or
disqualification from a PAA tournament, after circumstances are reviewed
by the Tournament Director.”
Based on this rule, Wellman will not be permitted to compete in any
PAA-sanctioned event until such time that said disciplinary action is
complete and satisfied.
Three polygraph examinations are given to the winner and two other
anglers, selected randomly from the field, during the Bass Pro Shops PAA
Tournament Series. Polygraph examinations also may be given at any time
during the official tournament period at the discretion of the
Tournament Director.
“Maintaining the integrity of the sport and avoiding any appearance of
impropriety are paramount to establishing trust among anglers and fans,”
Mansue said. “The PAA urges other tournament organizations at all
levels to establish firm, enforceable rules that will withstand
litigation, as well
as appropriatedisciplinary measures to help maintain
the level of trust, respect and spirit of competition all anglers
expect during competition.”
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Photo courtesy of FLWOutdoors.com
Walmart
FLW Tour pro Gary Yamamoto of Palestine, Texas, crossed the stage Thursday
with a 5-bass limit weighing 24 pounds, 4 ounces to lead day one of the
Walmart FLW Tour Open on Lake Champlain presented by Snickers Peanut Butter
Squared. Yamamoto now holds a 1-pound, 12-ounce lead over Walmart FLW
pro David Wolak of Wake Forest, N.C., who caught 5 bass weighing 22-8 in
a tournament featuring 270 anglers from all across the country, and
Canada.
“I was catching fish all day long,” said Walmart FLW pro
Yamamoto. “I started the day by catching four small fish, my smallest
fish of the day, 3-pounds, came very early. I threw back fish I wished I
had caught in other tournaments. I believe the high water level has
really helped me in this tournament.
“I am fishing with Senkos,” Yamamoto went on to say. “I found a
pattern that is working for me and it really doesn’t matter where I
fish. I am covering a lot of water targeting very specific things. There
are some areas that I did not make it to today so I feel like I should
be in good shape for tomorrow.
Although Yamamoto said there are both large- and smallmouth bass
in the area he is fishing, today’s record breaking sack contained only
largemouths. Weather conditions for tomorrow are predicted to be the
complete opposite of today, sunny and very windy. Yamamoto
doesn’t believe that conditions tomorrow will impact his fishing pattern
other than he may have to allow more time getting to and from his spot.
Yamamoto’s sack set a new FLW Outdoors record for being the
heaviest single day catch on Lake Champlain. The previous record was set
back in 2007 when Guido Hibdon of Summer Beach, Mo., caught five bass
for 23-0 pounds during an FLW Series event.
Rounding out the top 10 pros after day one on Lake Champlain are:
3rd: Arnie Lane, Lakeland, Fla., five bass, 21-5
4th: Daryl Biron, South Windsor, Conn., five bass, 21-4
5th: Bryan Schmitt, Deale, Md., five bass, 20-11
6th: Steve Kennedy, Auburn, Ala., five bass, 19-13
7th: Craig Dowling, Grant, Ala., five bass, 19-4
8th: Scott Canterbury, Springville, Ala., five bass, 19-3
9th: Joe Lucarelli, Center Harbor, N.H., five bass, 18-14
10th: Kyle Mabrey, McCalla, Ga., five bass, 18-13
Walmart FLW Pro Arnie Lane caught the Snickers® Big Bass weighing 6-1 on the pro side to win $500
Overall there were 658 bass weighing 1,914 pounds, 4 ounces
caught by 135 pros Thursday. The catch included 129 five-bass limits.
Pros are competing for a top award of up to $125,000 this week
plus valuable points in the hope of qualifying for the 2012 Forrest Wood
Cup presented by Walmart, the world championship of bass fishing. The
top five anglers in the point standings from the four Walmart FLW Tour
Open tournaments will qualify.
Greg Scott of Dearborn, Mich., leads the Co-angler Division with
five bass weighing 18-8 followed by Christopher Hall of Clarks Summit,
Pa., in second place with five bass weighing 16-11.
“I caught all smallmouth bass today,” said Scott, who was
fishing with Harry Moore. “I caught three drop-shotting and two on a
Carolina rig. We caught a lot of fish pretty early and then there was
about a two hour lull before we started to catch bass again. We were
fishing deep, about 18 to 21 feet.
“I am happy to be leading, but there is still a long way to go,”
Scott added. “I had probably one of the toughest practices I’ve ever
had on Champlain so we’ll see what happens tomorrow.”
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers are:
3rd: Frank Divis Sr., Fayetteville, Ark., five bass, 16-7
4th: William Rogers, Hiram, Ga., five bass, 16-6
5th: Jeff Gengler, Fort Collins, Colo., five bass, 16-5
6th: Chad Billiot, Raceland, La., five bass, 16-4
6th: Casey Martin, Huntsville, Ala., five bass, 16-4
8th: Mark Banks, East Aurora, N.Y., five bass, 16-2
9th: William Wood, West Palm Beach, Fla., five bass, 15-12
10th: Jeff Barry South Royalton, Vt., five bass, 15-11
Gary Walker of Rutland, Mass., caught the Snickers® Big Bass weighing 5-14 in the co-angler division to win $250.
Overall there were 573 bass weighing 1,344 pounds, 15 ounces
caught by 135 co-anglers Thursday. The catch included 98 five-bass
limits.
Co-anglers are fishing for a top award of $25,000 this week plus
valuable points that could help them qualify for the 2012 Forrest Wood
Cup. The top five co-anglers in the point standings from the four
Walmart FLW Tour Open tournaments will qualify.
Earlier in the day representatives from the City of Plattsburgh
and New York DER held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the opening of a new
boat launch at Dock Street Landing. Mayor Donald Kasprzak thanked FLW
Outdoors for the $5,000 donation that was given to the Fish America
Foundation in 2001 that enabled a feasibility study to be done showing
the need for the new launch.
“This boat launch is very important to the community,” said
Mayor Kasprzak. “This boat launch is being utilized by everybody, not
only for public but also for professional use, including our very good
friends at FLW.”
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Photo and story courtesy of AIMFishing.com
Fall arrived today in South Dakota via a massive cold front ushering
in high winds, rain, cold temps, and rough seas on Oahe for Day One of
the AIM International Walleye Championship out of Akaska. Leading up to
the first day of the Tournament, the temps had been summer-like, and the
winds light.
The walleyes didn’t care.
Robert Blosser CRR’d 7 fish for 40.19 pounds to take the day one
lead by almost 5 pounds over Keith Kavajecz. Keith has 35.48 pounds,
placing him just past third place local favorite Chad Schilling’s 35.01.
Blosser, the 2010 AIM JJ Keller Angler of the year, is in 5th in the
AOY race going into the Championship, and is challenging current leader
Brett King. Brett weighed 32.02 for fourth place on Day One, leading
fifth place seasoned Pro Ross Grothe by just over two pounds.
In sixth is Gary Parsons with 29.12. Seventh is Mark Brumbaugh with
28.83, eighth is Rick Olson with 28.34, ninth is Scott Duncan with
27.37, and perennial top ten Master Mike Gofron holds tenth with 26.51.
Many of the better weights came from up to 90 miles one way from the
launch. The conditions made the trip challenging, and many reports of
broken rods, rod holders, and other interior equipment indicated just
how rough it was out on Oahe today. Add the cold rain that fell during
the latter portion of the day, and the picture of a less than pleasant
ride back forms up.
Some of the Pros didn’t make the run, yet held their own fishing
closer to Akaska, placing in the top twenty in good shape to make the
cut to the top 18 on Day Three.
Tomorrow looks to be absolutely brutal out there. The day is forecast
to begin with temps in the 30’s, topping out in the 50’s with winds in
the mid twenty MPH range and possible gusts to 50 MPH. That could limit
the field’s range, and effect the weights accordingly.
The AIM Championship field leaves tomorrow morning at 8 AM. Weigh in
will begin at approximately 5 PM. Watch for the morning interviews and
updates directly after 8 AM, and for updates during the day on aimfishing.com.
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FLW Outdoors today announced the 2012 EverStart Series schedule. The
EverStart Series will again consist of five divisions – Central,
Northern, Southeast, Texas and Western – with four qualifying events per
division culminating in the no-entry-fee EverStart Series Championship
Nov. 1-4 on the Ouachita River in Monroe, La. Pros will be competing for
$35,000, and co-anglers will be vying for a new Ranger 177TR with a
90-horsepower outboard in every qualifier. If the angler is Ranger Cup
qualified, the winning pro will also receive a new Ranger Z518 with a
200-horsepower outboard and the co-angler will receive an additional
$5,000 in each regular-season tournament.
“As a stepping stone to the Walmart FLW Tour, the EverStart Series is
an extremely popular circuit that offers anglers the opportunity to test
their skills on a variety of fisheries,” said Kathy Fennel, President
of FLW Outdoors Operations Division. “We are looking forward to another
outstanding season of competition on some fantastic fisheries.”
SCHEDULE
Central Division Northern Division
March 1-3 Table Rock Lake June 14-16 Kerr Lake
May 10-12 Kentucky Lake July 19-21 Lake Champlain
July 26-28 Mississippi River, La Crosse Aug. 16-18 1000 Islands
Sept. 13-15 Lake of the Ozarks Sept. 6-8 Potomac River
Southeast Division Texas Division
Jan. 19-21 Lake Okeechobee Feb. 2-4 Lake Amistad
March 22-24 Lake Seminole April 12-14 Sam Rayburn Reservoir
April 19-21 Santee Cooper Lakes May 31-June 2 Toledo Bend
May 3-5 Lake Guntersville Oct. 4-6 Lake of the Pines
Western Division Championship
Jan. 26-28 Lake Shasta Nov. 1-4 Ouachita River
Feb. 23-25 Lake Havasu
Mar. 29-31 California Delta
April 26-28 Clear Lake
PAYOUT
Qualifiers:
Place Pro Ranger Cup Co-angler Ranger Cup
1 $35,000 Ranger Z518 Ranger 177TR $5,000
with 200 HP outboard with 90 HP outboard
2 12,000 4,500
3 10,000 4,000
4 9,000 3,500
5 8,000 3,000
6 7,000 2,500
7 6,000 2,000
8 5,000 1,500
9 4,000 1,000
10 3,000 800
11-15 2,000 700
16-20 1,500 650
21-25 1,400 600
26-30 1,300 550
31-40 1,200 500
41-50 1,100 450
Big Bass – Day 1 300 200
Big Bass – Day 2 300 200
Entry Fee $1,000 $400
Payback is based on the number of paid entries for each tournament.
EverStart Series Championship:
Place Pro Ranger Cup Co-angler Ranger Cup
1 $50,000 Ranger Z518 Ranger 177TR $5,000
with 200 HP outboard with 90 HP outboard
2 20,000 5,000
3 10,000 3,500
4 9,000 2,500
5 8,000 2,250
6 7,000 2,000
7 6,000 1,750
8 5,000 1,500
9 4,000 1,250
10 3,000 1,000
11-15 2,500 900
16-20 2,000 800
21-25 1,750 700
26-30 1,500 600
31-40 1,250 500
41-50 1,000 400
Big Bass – Day 1 300 200
Big Bass – Day 2 300 200
Payback is based on the number of paid entries in qualifying tournaments.
Strike King Angler of the Year and Co-angler of the Year:
Angler of the Year Co-angler of the Year
$5,000 per division $2,000 per division
Additional details can be found at FLWOutdoors.com
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Mercury College B.A.S.S., the premier college circuit of tournament anglers, announces its schedule and locations for the 2012 season. North to south, east to west, the circuit will cover regions that allow every style of angler to showcase his or her skills on the water.
“When we created Mercury College B.A.S.S. in 2006, there was one event. We grew the property to three events in 2008. Now we are boasting more than seven events that are created and run by us. Not to mention the fact that we will be placing a Mercury College B.A.S.S. angler in the 2013 Bassmaster Classic,” said Hank Weldon, Mercury College B.A.S.S. director.
The 2012 Bassmaster Classic on the Red River out of Shreveport-Bossier City, La., Feb. 24-26, will welcome the first-ever collegiate-level angler, Stephen F. Austin University student Andrew Upshaw of Hemphill, Texas, to compete in the Bassmaster Classic, commonly known as the Super Bowl of bass fishing. Upshaw qualified for the Classic by winning the 2011 Mercury College B.A.S.S. National Championship in July. He and his teammate, Ryan Watkins, represented Stephen F. Austin University and took home the national title. The next day, they fished against each other for a chance to compete in the Classic.
The first stop of the 2012 tour, at Lake Guntersville in Alabama, will be the South Super Regional, March 9-10. The following month, the tour moves to Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia for the April 13-14 East Super Regional.
“As a part of the team that helps bring tournaments to Smith Mountain Lake, Franklin County is extremely excited about the opportunity of hosting this tour. Fishing is big in southwest Virginia, but support of our college and university teams is even bigger. This tournament will be a tremendous plus to our community!” said Debra H. Weir, tourism/special events manager for Franklin County Commerce & Leisure Services.
The tour then heads to Fort Gibson Lake in Oklahoma on May 11-12 for the third stop.
“The mayor and I are very pleased you have picked Wagoner for the college tournament for 2012. It really helps the economic impact to our community, and the anglers are so friendly and show their appreciation of all we do to make them feel welcome,” said Cyrina Lang, tournament and tourism director, Wagoner Area Chamber of Commerce.
On the heels of the Fort Gibson tournament, the Midwest Super Regional takes place the following week, May 18-19 on the Mississippi River in Wisconsin.
“La Crosse, Wisconsin, is one of the largest cities on the upper Mississippi River, and we are proud to host the College B.A.S.S. series next May. Our vibrant community is home to three institutions of higher learning, which fits well with this event,” said Dave Clements, executive director of the La Crosse Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.
The location and date of the fifth event, the Western Wildcard, are still to be determined. All five of these events are qualifying events in which each qualifying school will send at least one boat to the championship tournament, set for July 25-27 on a fishery in Little Rock, Ark. The following two days, July 28-29, will be spent on a “Mystery Lake” in Little Rock for the Bassmaster Classic Bracket.
“We wanted to set a schedule that placed us at premier locations at the best time of the year for that location. I feel like we achieved that. It will be fun to watch what our anglers can do at these stops in 2012,” said Weldon.
To learn more about Mercury College B.A.S.S. and to enroll collegiate teams, go to www.bassmaster.com/college.
2012 Mercury College B.A.S.S. Schedule and Locations:
Tournament Dates/Location Host Venue
South Super Regional March 9-10 Lake Guntersville Guntersville, Ala.
East Super Regional April 13-14 Smith Mountain Lake Franklin County, Va.
Central Super Regional May 11-12 Fort Gibson Lake Wagoner, Okla.
Midwest Super Regional May 18-19 Mississippi River La Crosse, Wis.
Western Wildcard TBA TBA
National Championship July 25–27 TBA Little Rock, Ark.
Bassmaster Classic Bracket July 28-29 Mystery Little Rock, Ark.
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We had a chance to take a look at the new Ranger Z520 and
Z522 boats at the Forrest Wood Cup about a month ago. The Z series from Ranger
Boats really elevated the tournament bass fishing boat and the series has gone
on to be one of the best selling bass fishing rigs of the modern era. But the
new features on the 2012 models we mentioned here really impressed from a
practical, listen-to-the-angler standpoint. We could tell a lot of these
improvements must have come from angler suggestions because of the practicality
of the features.
First the gunwales seemed lower. That’s because the new Z520
and Z522 boats feature an elevated fishing deck. This was a major request of
anglers who spent a lot of time flipping and pitching and wanted those extra
couple of inches for that technique.
The hull has always
offered a comfortable smooth and dry ride so it remained exactly the same but
the new features were apparent on the top cap for 2012. New for 2012 are
features like a recessed foot pedal standard on all models. A redesigned splash guard back by the motor
mount eliminates water coming onto the back deck when you come off pad. The new
trailer parking brake we found especially cool. No need for chock blocks. Just
throw the brake and unhook your trailer and you’re good to go.
We also found the newly designed center console very cool with storage, no slip
step, cup holders, map storage and more. The newly designed console(s) were very sleek looking as well as being
practice for putting a large graph like a Lowrance HDS 8 flush mounted in the
dash.
Small but functional changes were noticeable as well. Things like a grooved pad
on the backside of the consoles so that rods would lay in there and not bang
and rattle against the console, which often leads to broke top guides. And
extra padded step on the trailer fenders so anglers have an easy place to enter
and exit the boat on the trailer. And an easier accessible gas cap makes life
easier on the angler when filling up at the pumps.
We like when boat and tackle companies take the feedback from their customers
and incorporate them into the next offerings of their products. It shows that
they listen and want to provide the product that meets the consumers’ demands. Now Ranger Boat anglers will get a great ride
and more great fishing and boat driving features on top as well as below the
water. To see more about these new boats, visit RangerBoats.com.
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The Lady Bass Anglers Association is holding its inaugural Bass Classic on Kentucky Lake Oct. 6-8. The tournament will launch out of Moors Marina at first safe light, and daily weigh-ins will be held at Fisherman's Headquarters after the 3 p.m. check-in. On Oct. 1, there will be a Pro Night at Fisherman's Headquarters, and the pros encourage young female anglers interested in fishing the LBAA in the future to stop by and find out more about the tour and the fishing around the country from the top lady anglers in the sport.
To get more details on when and where as well as lodging and other accommodations for the championship week, visit ladybassanglers.com/kentucky-lake.html.
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Royal Purple's 2 Cycle TCWIII (HP-2) performance oil is now available at Tackle Warehouse. The synthetic blend combined with Royal Purple's Synerlec additive technology is perfect for all two cycle engines. HP 2-C increases horsepower and reduces fuel consumption, heat, wear and emissions. Its synthetic solvency keeps spark plugs and exhaust ports clean as well. Its performance advantages come from a blend of synthetic oils plus Royal Purple’s proprietary Synerlec additive technology. Synerlec significantly increases the oil film strength for optimum engine efficiency and maximum protection.
.Having it available on Tackle Warehouse means it can be shipped directly to your door and when you want it.
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Royal Purple, one of Wired2Fish's partners, continues to look at different mediums to introduce their brands and create 'top of mind' awareness on a mass scale. They got into fishing a few years ago and gained success there. Now they are looking at additional venues too.
Their latest venture is a corporate integration into a soon to be released major motion picture Real Steel starring Hugh Jackman. It's about robot boxing. By going to royalpurple.com, you can see additional trailers trailers and do a little robot boxing yourself. Sign up and check it out. It's a hoot.
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We asked Grant Corbett of EGO nets what material is best for most applications and why. Not all nets are created equal and there are several materials on the market that work better by application. What type of net do you prefer?
Here is what Grant told us:
“That’s a tough question to answer because it really depends on the type of fishing being done. However, if an angler is looking for the best all-round solution I would recommend the PVC coated mesh. It is more cost effective than the all rubber, it is lighter, the rubber coating is hook friendly and is soft on fish if catch and release is important. The down side to the PVC mesh is that the smaller holes can tend to allow treble hooks to get tangled plus cause more water drag than a typical nylon mesh net.”
To learn more about EGO S2 Slider and other nets go to their website. |
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The Rod Glove and VRX Fishing has joined Wired2Fish as an advertiser partner for 2011 and 2012. Building customizable rod sleeves since 2010 in 15 colors, Rod Glove has a tapered tip, best for rod lockers and currently sponsors 15 university fishing teams.
"We have worked with Jim pretty much since he started and are glad he has joined us here at Wired2Fish," said Terry Brown, President of Wired2Fish. "He has an excellent product that is top quality and some neat new ones on the way too."
"The Rod Glove is excited to join forces with Wired2Fish though their dynamic website," said Jim Van Ryn, President of Rod Glove. "The Rod Glove brand of fishing rod covers is an exceptional product that protects as well as keeps you organized. We offer technique tags and strive to make every product one that delivers value and service. We have set ourselves apart with the "Tapered Tip" and custom logos too."
Rod Glove currently sponsors Elite Series pro Gerald Swindle. For more information, go to therodglove.com.
Watch for some great contests very soon from the Rod Glove.
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We recently had the opportunity to speak with multi-species expert Scott Glorvigen on Weighing In Radio about the re-introduction of the Lund Pro V's. Here his brother, Marty Glorvigen, walks us through the Pro V 2075 IFS. Take a look by clicking here. |
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Alan Clemons of the PAA has a good article up today about the one bass fishing championship that was cancelled in FLW Tour history due to the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. His article talks with the folks that made that championship and involved with that championship and there thoughts on that tournament being cancelled and their thoughts on the attacks then and now.
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Photo courtesy of BASS Communications
Wagoner, Okla., Elite Series pro Tommy Biffle built on his 9-pound, 15-ounce lead with a five-fish stringer weighing 11-8 for a three-day total of 45-13, good enough to win the Bass Pro Shops Central Open in Muskogee, Okla., by more than 8 pounds. While the win was expected, it didn’t come easy.
“It was a slow day,” said Biffle, who was able to get into the shallow water he’s been fishing the entire event using a jet drive outboard boat. “I didn’t get my first bite until about 10:20, where I’ve been getting my fish by nine o’clock on the other days. It was cloudy early, and that’s probably what kept the fish from biting.”
Biffle estimates he caught 20 fish during the course of the day including drum and shorts. He was throwing a Biffle Bug during the entire event.
“I wasn’t liking it for a while. I thought I’d be done by 9:30, so I was beginning to worry a little bit,” said Biffle.
Lendell Martin of Nacogdoches, Texas, started the day in second with 24-6, almost 10 pounds behind Biffle. He rolled the dice and ran to a new area hoping to find fish that hadn’t been pressured during the tournament, but managed to catch only three fish weighing 5-9, dropping him into seventh.
“I just didn’t get many bites today,” said Martin. “I’d been catching all my biggest fish in the middle of the day, and today I didn’t get that bite. I did hook a huge fish in the brush that I went back and forth with, and when its face came out of the water it about scared me.”
That fish turned out to be a 35-pound catfish.
The big move of the day came from San Jose, Calif., pro Chris Zaldain with 14-15, the biggest bag of the day and good enough to bump him from seventh to second with 37-4. While most of the other anglers in the tournament were focusing on rocks and wood, Zaldain was fishing grass, something he’s more familiar with from his experience out west.
“I spent two days in practice in this one particular creek that had a lot of grass,” said Zaldain. “I knew all the other guys were going to focus on rocks and stumps, so I went the complete opposite. The first thing I noticed when I went in there were all the bluegills.”
Zaldain spent his entire three days flipping the edges of the grass mats and paying close attention to when the nearby locks would open and close. He was fishing a Sweet Beaver in Sprayed Grass color on 60-pound braided line and a medium-heavy flippin’ stick.
“It’s a small little creek, and when the locks would open it would create current, and the water would move out and then it would move back in. When the current changed, that’s when I’d get bit,” said Zaldain.
Fishing with Zaldain was co-angler leader Mat McMillan of Fort Worth, Texas. Unlike his pro partner, he didn’t catch his limit, coming to the scales with two fish weighing 3-6, dropping him back to fourth place with 16-13.
“It was frustrating, and looking at the limit Adrian got, I don’t know that a third fish would have done me any good,” said McMillan.
Starting the day in fifth place on the co-angler side was Adrian Smiley of Bossier City, La., who was fishing with pro Janet Parker. Smiley was leading the co-angler division after Day One with 8-14, and caught a 9-2 bag on the final day to win with a three-day total weighing 20-10.
“It took us until noon to find this one rock point that was holding some fish, and about an hour before weigh-in, Janet threw in with a jig, sets the hook and rod bends over and she yells for the net, and it turned out to be a drum,” said Smiley. “I was throwing a KD 1.5 and threw back in the same spot and turned it two times, and the rod loaded up and I said, ‘I got one too.’ It turned out to be a 4 1/2-pounder.”
Parker started the day in 12th place, so they were the first to weigh in. Smiley had to spend the rest of the weigh-in on stage sweating everyone else’s catch.
“I knew all these guys are good, so I was a little stressed up there. I just feel very fortunate. This is an amazing place to fish,” said Smiley.
Clayton Coppin of Wagoner, Okla., finished second in the co-angler division with 18-15, following a two-fish bag on the final day weighing 6-2. Coppin won as a co-angler in the Bass Pro Shops Central Open in Lewisville, Texas.
FINAL STANDINGS - BASS PRO SHOPS BASSMASTER CENTRAL OPEN- PRO
2011 Central Open 3 - Arkansas River 9/8-9/10
Arkansas River, Muskogee OK.
(BOATER) Standings Day 3
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Tommy Biffle Wagoner, OK 15 45-13 315 $54,067.00
Day 1: 5 18-12 Day 2: 5 15-09 Day 3: 5 11-08
2. Chris Zaldain San Jose, CA 15 37-04 295 $13,600.00
Day 1: 5 10-15 Day 2: 5 11-06 Day 3: 5 14-15
3. Stephen Browning Hot Springs, AR 15 35-10 290 $11,333.00
Day 1: 5 10-07 Day 2: 5 12-14 Day 3: 5 12-05
4. Trevor Romans Plano, TX 14 32-06 285 $9,067.00
Day 1: 5 11-09 Day 2: 5 12-04 Day 3: 4 08-09
5. Joey Nania Liberty Lake, WA 14 31-13 280 $8,160.00
Day 1: 5 11-01 Day 2: 5 11-14 Day 3: 4 08-14
6. Dale Hightower Sand Springs, OK 14 30-08 276 $7,253.00
Day 1: 5 11-08 Day 2: 5 10-09 Day 3: 4 08-07
7. Lendell Martin Nacogdoches, TX 11 29-15 272 $6,347.00
Day 1: 4 12-13 Day 2: 4 11-09 Day 3: 3 05-09
8. Shonn Goodwin Moore, OK 13 29-13 268 $5,440.00
Day 1: 5 10-03 Day 2: 5 12-13 Day 3: 3 06-13
9. Chris M Jones Bokoshe, OK 14 29-09 264 $4,533.00
Day 1: 5 11-10 Day 2: 5 09-05 Day 3: 4 08-10
10. Janet Parker Little Elm, TX 11 28-08 260 $4,080.00
Day 1: 5 15-02 Day 2: 3 05-13 Day 3: 3 07-09
11. Rick Clunn Ava, MO 13 28-02 257 $3,627.00
Day 1: 5 12-11 Day 2: 5 09-08 Day 3: 3 05-15
12. Ryan Lovelace Denison, TX 11 25-07 254 $3,173.00
Day 1: 5 11-14 Day 2: 4 09-03 Day 3: 2 04-06
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 28 355 786-00
2 30 326 670-12
3 3 45 103-08
----------------------------------
61 726 1560-04
FINAL STANDINGS - BASS PRO SHOPS BASSMASTER CENTRAL OPEN- CO-ANGLER
2011 Central Open 3 - Arkansas River 9/8-9/10
Arkansas River, Muskogee OK.
(NON_BOATER) Standings Day 3
|
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The
University of Georgia team of Randy Tolbert, Jr. of Rome, Ga., and
Chase Simmemon of Alto, Ga., went wire-to-wire to win the National Guard
FLW College Fishing Southeast Division Regional Championship presented
by Evinrude and hosted by Auburn University on Lake Harding Saturday
with five bass weighing 8 pounds, 8 ounces for a three-day total of
24-4. The team beat their closest competitor, Clemson University, by 7
pounds, 8 ounces and won $50,000 to be split between the university and
the university’s bass fishing club - $12,500 and a Ranger 177TR with a
90-horsepower outboard wrapped in school colors for the bass club and
$12,500 for their school.
“This is unbelievable,” said Tolbert, a senior fisheries and
aquaculture major. “The guys in this region are tough and they’re good.
We’re friends with a lot of them and we compete against them all the
time, and we love to beat them. When we do it’s awesome.
“We’ve never led every day of a tournament and won,” Tolbert added. “That makes this awesome.”
Tolbert and Simmemon said Friday they would change their strategy on
the final day of competition to try to catch a bigger stringer.
“We hit a completely new area first thing this morning and it paid
off,” said Simmemon, a junior wildlife biology and fisheries and
aquaculture major. “We caught a 2-pounder real quick. That’s the only
fish we caught in that area, so we went back to our game plan that was
our game plan for the past two days and that’s where we would go try to
get a limit real quick.”
Simmemon said the team caught a number of fish during the course of
the day but managed to boat only five keepers. The team used a drop-shot
rig tipped with a Roboworm and flipped shallow water with creature
baits such as a Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver and a Big Bite Bait
Fighting Frog to try to bag bigger largemouth.
Tolbert said the team now has their eyes on the national championship.
“We’re going to put the time and work in that it takes,” Tolbert said.
“If everything falls into place we’ll catch them. We’re going to fish
for the win. That’s all you can do.”
Rounding out the top five teams and also qualifying for the National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship are:
2nd: Clemson University – Andy Wicker, Pomaria, S.C., and Harold Turner, Sumter, S.C. (11 bass, 16-12, $10,000)
3rd: Kennesaw State University – Thomas Frink, Woodstock,
Ga., and Justin Marlow, Kennesaw, Ga. (12 bass, 16-6, $5,000)
4th: Georgia Southern – Wesley Maples, Rocky Face, Ga., and Jed Thigpen, Statesboro, Ga. (11 bass, 13-2, $5,000)
5th: Auburn University – Jordan Lee, Vinemont, Ala., and Matt Lee, Auburn, Ala. (11 bass, 12-10, $5,000)
For a complete list of final standings visit CollegeFishing.com.
The top five teams from each regional advance to the national
championship where the first-place team will win $100,000 with $25,000
of that for their school and $50,000 cash and a Ranger 177TR bass boat
wrapped in school colors and a 90-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury
outboard for their fishing club.
College Fishing is free to enter and FLW Outdoors provides boats and
drivers for each competing team along with travel allowances. All
participants must be registered, full-time undergraduate students at a
four-year college or university and members of a fishing club recognized
by their college or university.
Coverage of the Southeast Regional Championship will be broadcast in
high-definition (HD) on VERSUS. “FLW Outdoors,” will air Oct. 23 from 1 –
2 p.m. ET. “FLW Outdoors,” hosted by Jason Harper, is broadcast to
approximately 500 million households worldwide.
Dalton Anderson and Dawson Lenz from Georgia’s McIntosh High School
won the High School Southeast Regional tournament held on Lake Harding
Saturday. TBF along with FLW Outdoors held the high school tournament in
conjunction with the FLW College Fishing Southeast Regional.
McIntosh High School had four bass weighing 5 pounds, 15 ounces to beat Fuquay-Varina High by 1 pound, 15 ounces.
Lenz said the team used a Texas-rigged green pumpkin Senko weightless
in the grass as well as a Texas-rigged 8-inch Lake Fork ribbontail worm
to catch their fish Saturday.
Anderson said he fished the Senko from the bow of the boat and Lenz
was in the back flipping in an effort to cover two zones of water.
“It worked out for us,” Anderson said. “We tried to capitalize on every bite we could.”
Rounding out the top five teams were:
2nd: North Carolina’s Fuquay-Varina High, Michael McDonald and Michael Beverley, four bass, 4-0
3rd: Alabama’s Vernon High School, Kophen Sudduth and Dillon Tucker, two bass, 2-14
4th: Mississippi’s Houlka Attendance Center, Blake Galloway and Dillon Easley, one bass, 1-0
5th: South Carolina’s T.L. Hanna High, Hampton Anderson and Harrison Bramlette, one bass, 0-14
The winning team was determined by the heaviest weight for a maximum
of five bass. The winning team from each of five regional championships
advances to 2012 High School Fishing National Championship for a chance
to win a $10,000 scholarship ($5,000 to each team member).
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Bassmaster Elite Series pro Tommy Biffle came to the scales with the second largest five-fish limit of the day, good enough to put the Wagoner, Okla., angler into a commanding lead in the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Central Open going into the final day of fishing.
Mark Tyler’s five-fish limit weighing 17 pounds, 2 ounces was the largest bag of the day, but not enough for the Vian, Okla., pro to overcome a Day One two-fish bag weighing 3-11. Tyler finished 14th overall, just missing the Top 12 cut.
In second place going into Day Two was Janet Parker of Little Elm, Texas, who, like Biffle, was fishing from a jet boat. Parker didn’t get the bites she had the previous day, and came to the scales with a three-fish bag weighing just 5-13. Parker finished Day Two in 12th place with 20-15, tied with Chris M. Jones of Bokoshe, Okla.
“It was just a struggle for me today,” said Parker, who was fishing in backwaters only accessible by shallow draft jet boat. “I didn’t get the bites I did yesterday, and most of what I caught were a lot smaller.”
Unlike Parker, Biffle is still onto good fish and thinks he has enough to carry the tournament if he can get to them.
“The fish bit good all day long for me,” said Biffle. “I caught a lot of fish, and lost one 4-pounder that I’d like to have back. My amateur caught two or three nice ones too, so they’re definitely there.”
Biffle has been fishing the same area for the entire tournament, a spot he found on the last day of practice. His big concern going into the final day is the water level, which dropped 4 or 5 inches today as boats locked through into other sections of the Arkansas River.
“It’s just going to be a matter of being able to get in there tomorrow,” Biffle said. “I might not be able to get there. I’m hoping the rain comes early tomorrow or the water comes up, or I’ll just have to fish around those spots.”
Biffle caught all his fish today throwing a Gene Larew Biffle Bug with a Gene Larew Hard Head, working it down the pea gravel banks and bouncing it off the rock bottom. He’s fishing 30 minutes from the launch.
Lendell Martin of Nacogdoches, Texas, bumped up from fifth to second with a four-fish bag weighing 11-9. Martin has been running about 75 miles each way to the area he’s fishing.
“It was slow, but steady. I probably caught 11 or 12 fish all day,” Martin said. “I just tried to fish some different water today. That’s the problem with trying to move around too, you just have to try to get in an area that looks good and fish there.”
Trevor Romans of Plano, Texas, moved up from 13th place to third with a limit weighing 12-4, giving him 23-13 going into the final day of fishing. Stephen Browning of Hot Spring, Ark., sits in fourth with 23-5 while Shonn Goodwin of Moore, Okla., is fifth with 23-0.
The co-angler division saw the top two from Day One falter, allowing Matt McMillan of Fort Worth, Texas, to move from 13th to first with a three-fish limit of 7-8. McMillan was fishing with pro Jeff Cloud of Lubbock, Texas.
“I caught a three-and-a-half pounder the second or third cast of the day,” McMillan said. “Then it was pretty slow for a long time until we got into a section of brush and started flippin’ it. I was throwing a shaky head into the nastiest stuff, and managed to catch two more nice fish in there.”
McMillan fished the same pool they launched in, which gave him more fishing time. With the water dropping, the fish were pulling off the banks and into deeper water, making the fish more difficult to locate.
Sitting in second place just 10 ounces behind McMillan with 12-13 is Clayton Coppin of Wagoner, Okla. Coppin won the co-angler division during the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Central Open on Lewisville Lake, Texas, in February, and got some good bites on the Arkansas River early, then culled up during the day.
“I had a limit by noon, culled at 12:30 and made another cull at 1:20. We were in fish all day,” said Coppin, who prefished the Arkansas River for three weeks prior to the tournament and was fishing small soft plastics and jigs. “I’m a bit nervous going into the final day.”
The Top 12 pros and co-anglers will fish the final day of the tournament tomorrow, starting with the 6:45 a.m. launch at Three Forks Marina in Muskogee. Weigh-in will take place at the Bass Pro Shops store in Broken Arrow, Okla., starting at 3:45 p.m. CT.
With water levels dropping, Biffle will have to contend with limited access to his fishing area, but whether the other 11 pros will be able to overcome the 9-pound, 15-ounce lead will be determined at the weigh-in for Day Three.
“I’ve got a feeling it’s going to be one of those things where you try to get in, hit a rock, have to back it up and try to get in another way,” Biffle said. “I’ll just keep on bumping until I hopefully find a way in.”
2011 Central Open 3 - Arkansas River 9/8-9/10
Arkansas River, Muskogee OK.
(BOATER) Standings Day 2
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Tommy Biffle Wagoner, OK 10 34-05 310
Day 1: 5 18-12 Day 2: 5 15-09
2. Lendell Martin Nacogdoches, TX 8 24-06 295
Day 1: 4 12-13 Day 2: 4 11-09
3. Trevor Romans Plano, TX 10 23-13 290
Day 1: 5 11-09 Day 2: 5 12-04
4. Stephen Browning Hot Springs, AR 10 23-05 285
Day 1: 5 10-07 Day 2: 5 12-14
5. Shonn Goodwin Moore, OK 10 23-00 280
Day 1: 5 10-03 Day 2: 5 12-13
6. Joey Nania Liberty Lake, WA 10 22-15 276
Day 1: 5 11-01 Day 2: 5 11-14
7. Chris Zaldain San Jose, CA 10 22-05 272
Day 1: 5 10-15 Day 2: 5 11-06
8. Rick Clunn Ava, MO 10 22-03 268
Day 1: 5 12-11 Day 2: 5 09-08
9. Dale Hightower Sand Springs, OK 10 22-01 264
Day 1: 5 11-08 Day 2: 5 10-09
10. Ryan Lovelace Denison, TX 9 21-01 260
Day 1: 5 11-14 Day 2: 4 09-03
11. Chris M Jones Bokoshe, OK 10 20-15 257
Day 1: 5 11-10 Day 2: 5 09-05
12. Janet Parker Little Elm, TX 8 20-15 254
Day 1: 5 15-02 Day 2: 3 05-13
13. Jason Reyes Huffman, TX 9 20-14 251 $2,720.00
Day 1: 5 09-15 Day 2: 4 10-15
14. Mark Tyler Vian, OK 7 20-13 248 $2,629.00
Day 1: 2 03-11 Day 2: 5 17-02
15. Dewayne French Mammoth Spring, AR 7 20-12 245 $2,539.00
Day 1: 5 14-13 Day 2: 2 05-15
16. Shane Williams Keithville, LA 8 20-00 243 $2,448.00
Day 1: 5 12-08 Day 2: 3 07-08
17. Mark Smith West Monroe, LA 8 19-12 241 $2,357.00
Day 1: 5 14-05 Day 2: 3 05-07
18. Gene Spears West Monroe, LA 9 19-08 239 $2,267.00
Day 1: 4 10-05 Day 2: 5 09-03
19. Brian Clark Haltom City, TX 10 18-15 237 $2,131.00
Day 1: 5 08-06 Day 2: 5 10-09
20. Jared Miller Norman, OK 9 18-13 235 $1,927.00
Day 1: 5 11-01 Day 2: 4 07-12
21. Clark Reehm Lufkin, TX 8 18-12 233 $1,859.00
Day 1: 4 08-08 Day 2: 4 10-04
22. Roger Hughes Bartlesville, OK 7 18-08 231 $1,813.00
Day 1: 2 06-05 Day 2: 5 12-03
23. Kevin Ledoux Choctaw, OK 10 18-05 229 $1,768.00
Day 1: 5 08-07 Day 2: 5 09-14
24. Keith Williams Conway, AR 7 17-15 227 $1,723.00
Day 1: 2 03-15 Day 2: 5 14-00
25. Paul Ferguson Whitehouse, TX 9 17-11 225 $1,677.00
Day 1: 4 07-15 Day 2: 5 09-12
26. James Niggemeyer Van, TX 9 17-00 223 $1,632.00
Day 1: 5 09-15 Day 2: 4 07-01
27. Lisa Sternard Clarksville, TN 7 16-06 221 $1,587.00
Day 1: 4 09-05 Day 2: 3 07-01
28. Randy Allen Shreveport, LA 6 16-05 219 $1,541.00
Day 1: 4 11-09 Day 2: 2 04-12
29. Terry Butcher Talala, OK 7 16-01 217 $1,496.00
Day 1: 2 06-12 Day 2: 5 09-05
30. Nathan Kawlewski Elkhorn, WI 8 15-14 215 $1,451.00
Day 1: 3 05-14 Day 2: 5 10-00
31. Jerry Dolezal Bullard, TX 9 15-12 213 $1,405.00
Day 1: 5 09-07 Day 2: 4 06-05
32. Preston Henson Vacaville, CA 8 15-09 211 $1,360.00
Day 1: 4 08-01 Day 2: 4 07-08
33. Jeffery Lemoine Des Allemands, LA 8 15-07 209 $1,315.00
Day 1: 5 09-05 Day 2: 3 06-02
34. Jacky Hawthorne Greenville, TX 8 15-07 207 $1,269.00
Day 1: 4 08-03 Day 2: 4 07-04
35. Tommy Martin Hemphill, TX 6 15-05 205 $1,247.00
Day 1: 5 11-13 Day 2: 1 03-08
36. Billy McCaghren Mayflower, AR 6 15-03 203 $1,224.00
Day 1: 1 01-13 Day 2: 5 13-06
37. Scott Mcgehee Madison, MS 9 14-14 201 $1,201.00
Day 1: 4 06-08 Day 2: 5 08-06
38. Chris Ford Kennedale, TX 7 14-13 199 $1,179.00
Day 1: 5 11-12 Day 2: 2 03-01
39. Brandon Mosley Choctaw, OK 7 14-13 197 $1,156.00
Day 1: 3 07-05 Day 2: 4 07-08
40. Jami Fralick Martin, SD 7 14-11 195 $1,133.00
Day 1: 5 11-07 Day 2: 2 03-04
41. Ricky D Scott Van Buren, AR 7 14-11 193
Day 1: 2 05-11 Day 2: 5 09-00
42. Michael Randolph Austin, TX 7 14-11 191
Day 1: 3 07-02 Day 2: 4 07-09
43. OT Fears Sallisaw, OK 8 14-10 189
Day 1: 3 05-04 Day 2: 5 09-06
44. Mark Goines Shady Point, OK 6 13-10 187
Day 1: 2 04-13 Day 2: 4 08-13
45. Tony Chachere Opelousas, LA 7 13-04 185
Day 1: 4 08-00 Day 2: 3 05-04
46. Cecil Kingsley Lawrence, KS 7 13-04 183
Day 1: 3 06-09 Day 2: 4 06-11
47. Gary Riffle Paris, TX 6 13-03 181
Day 1: 1 02-11 Day 2: 5 10-08
48. Michael Yoder Texarkana, AR 6 13-02 179
Day 1: 5 11-11 Day 2: 1 01-07
49. Sammy Burks Joplin, MO 6 13-02 177
Day 1: 1 02-04 Day 2: 5 10-14
50. Ricky Campbell Waxahachie, TX 5 12-12 175
Day 1: 3 07-10 Day 2: 2 05-02
51. Gary Vining Morgan City, LA 6 12-10 173
Day 1: 3 07-10 Day 2: 3 05-00
52. Terry Bollom Frisco, TX 6 12-10 171
Day 1: 3 07-09 Day 2: 3 05-01
53. Joe Erwin Claremore, OK 7 12-07 169
Day 1: 2 03-10 Day 2: 5 08-13
54. Mike Shadowens Kiefer, OK 5 12-05 167
Day 1: 1 04-06 Day 2: 4 07-15
55. Brannon Long Longview, TX 6 11-14 165
Day 1: 1 02-13 Day 2: 5 09-01
56. Mark Tucker Saint Louis, MO 6 11-14 163
Day 1: 2 03-11 Day 2: 4 08-03
57. Johnny Grice Frisco, TX 6 11-12 161
Day 1: 5 10-07 Day 2: 1 01-05
58. Todd Castledine Nacogdoches, TX 7 11-06 159
Day 1: 2 03-07 Day 2: 5 07-15
59. Darrell Newman Bruceville, TX 6 11-06 157
Day 1: 3 06-12 Day 2: 3 04-10
60. Casey Scanlon Lenexa, KS 5 11-06 155
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 5 11-06
61. Keith Poche Troy, AL 5 11-05 153
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 5 11-05
62. Jay Fuller Newcastle, OK 5 11-01 151
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 5 11-01
63. Tommy Durham Whitney, TX 5 10-15 149
Day 1: 4 08-13 Day 2: 1 02-02
64. Kent Cella Shreveport, LA 6 10-14 147
Day 1: 3 05-15 Day 2: 3 04-15
65. Jimmy Johnson Ganado, TX 4 10-11 145
Day 1: 3 08-02 Day 2: 1 02-09
66. Dave Mansue Hemphill, TX 5 10-10 143
Day 1: 3 07-03 Day 2: 2 03-07
67. Christopher Jones Pocola, OK 6 10-09 141
Day 1: 4 06-10 Day 2: 2 03-15
68. Chad Griffin Cresson, TX 5 10-09 139
Day 1: 3 06-03 Day 2: 2 04-06
69. John Johnson Jacksonville, MO 6 10-06 137
Day 1: 5 08-10 Day 2: 1 01-12
70. Billy Cline South Lake, TX 6 10-00 135
Day 1: 4 07-02 Day 2: 2 02-14
71. Jeff Cloud Lubbock, TX 4 09-06 133
Day 1: 2 05-15 Day 2: 2 03-07
72. Leon Reel Tulsa, OK 3 09-04 131
Day 1: 3 09-04 Day 2: 0 00-00
73. Jason Lieblong Conway, AR 4 08-10 129
Day 1: 1 02-07 Day 2: 3 06-03
74. Rob Burns Plano, TX 5 08-09 127
Day 1: 4 07-03 Day 2: 1 01-06
75. Mike Pharr Shreveport, LA 6 08-08 125
Day 1: 5 08-00 Day 2: 1 00-08
76. Peter Daniels Shreveport, LA 5 08-05 123
Day 1: 3 05-04 Day 2: 2 03-01
77. Jeff Kriet Ardmore, OK 4 08-04 121
Day 1: 4 08-04 Day 2: 0 00-00
78. Jim Culp Tulsa, OK 4 08-04 119
Day 1: 3 07-02 Day 2: 1 01-02
79. Alan Kelly Excelsior Springs, MO 4 08-02 117
Day 1: 4 08-02 Day 2: 0 00-00
80. Ken Phillips Antioch, CA 3 08-01 115
Day 1: 2 05-13 Day 2: 1 02-04
81. Teb Jones Hattiesburg, MS 4 07-12 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 4 07-12
82. Frank Jordan JR Bainbridge, GA 4 07-10 111
Day 1: 3 05-00 Day 2: 1 02-10
83. Brad Smith Hartford, AR 4 07-10 109
Day 1: 2 03-06 Day 2: 2 04-04
84. Kelly Lee Twin Falls, ID 4 07-07 107
Day 1: 3 06-01 Day 2: 1 01-06
85. Tim Webb Olpe, KS 4 07-07 105
Day 1: 2 03-14 Day 2: 2 03-09
86. Jimmy Mize Ben Lomond, AR 4 07-05 103
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 4 07-05
87. Al Monks Panama, OK 2 07-05 101
Day 1: 2 07-05 Day 2: 0 00-00
88. Christopher Lee Keithville, LA 4 07-04 99
Day 1: 2 03-06 Day 2: 2 03-14
89. Scott Dean Terrell, TX 4 07-03 97
Day 1: 3 05-12 Day 2: 1 01-07
90. Roy Sanford Brookeland, TX 3 06-14 95
Day 1: 1 01-15 Day 2: 2 04-15
91. John D Jamison Muskogee, OK 4 06-11 93
Day 1: 1 01-15 Day 2: 3 04-12
92. James Smiley Hacienda Heights, CA 3 06-07 91
Day 1: 2 05-02 Day 2: 1 01-05
93. Joseph Sestak Tabor, SD 3 06-05 89
Day 1: 1 01-09 Day 2: 2 04-12
94. Billy Hines Vacaville, CA 4 06-04 87
Day 1: 2 02-15 Day 2: 2 03-05
95. Allen Rude Wynnewood, OK 3 06-01 85
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 3 06-01
96. Bart Gardner Dallas, TX 3 06-00 83
Day 1: 3 06-00 Day 2: 0 00-00
97. Dustin Lester Huntington Beach, CA 3 05-13 81
Day 1: 2 04-05 Day 2: 1 01-08
98. Ken Iyobe Tokoname JAPAN 3 05-11 79
Day 1: 3 05-11 Day 2: 0 00-00
99. Porter Trimble Pineville, LA 3 05-10 77
Day 1: 1 02-10 Day 2: 2 03-00
100. Mike Haggerty Hendersonville, TN 3 05-09 76
Day 1: 3 05-09 Day 2: 0 00-00
100. Adam Kaltenbach Strafford, MO 3 05-09 76
Day 1: 3 05-09 Day 2: 0 00-00
102. Ed Whaley Montgomery, TX 3 05-06 74
Day 1: 2 04-02 Day 2: 1 01-04
103. Nick Aber Piedmont, OK 3 05-06 73
Day 1: 2 03-13 Day 2: 1 01-09
104. Kenny Rooke Junction, TX 3 05-04 72
Day 1: 1 01-12 Day 2: 2 03-08
105. Brady Winans Greenville, TX 2 05-04 71
Day 1: 1 02-12 Day 2: 1 02-08
106. LA Sevilla Las Cruces, NM 3 05-03 70
Day 1: 3 05-03 Day 2: 0 00-00
107. Matt Michel Gonzales, LA 3 04-14 69
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 3 04-14
108. Gene Rasco Livingston, TX 3 04-11 68
Day 1: 2 03-07 Day 2: 1 01-04
109. Aaron Johnson Shreveport, LA 2 04-09 67
Day 1: 2 04-09 Day 2: 0 00-00
110. Marvin Ettredge Shreveport, LA 2 04-08 66
Day 1: 2 04-08 Day 2: 0 00-00
111. Gene Eisenmann Frisco, TX 2 04-07 65
Day 1: 1 03-00 Day 2: 1 01-07
112. Dave Parsons Yantis, TX 3 04-03 64
Day 1: 2 02-12 Day 2: 1 01-07
113. Quincy Houchin Mabelvale, AR 2 04-01 63
Day 1: 2 04-01 Day 2: 0 00-00
114. Logan Sherrer Karnack, TX 2 04-00 62
Day 1: 1 02-10 Day 2: 1 01-06
115. Randy Qualls Midway, AR 2 03-15 61
Day 1: 2 03-15 Day 2: 0 00-00
116. Luke Roberts Longview, TX 2 03-14 60
Day 1: 1 02-04 Day 2: 1 01-10
117. David Sherrer Elm Grove, LA 2 03-13 59
Day 1: 2 03-13 Day 2: 0 00-00
118. Debra Hengst San Antonio, TX 2 03-13 58
Day 1: 1 01-12 Day 2: 1 02-01
119. Craig Hatchel Whitesboro, TX 2 03-11 57
Day 1: 2 03-11 Day 2: 0 00-00
120. Clint Alford Atoka, OK 1 02-13 56
Day 1: 1 02-13 Day 2: 0 00-00
121. Mitch Kistner Mesa, AZ 1 02-11 55
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 1 02-11
122. Walter Andries Coweta, OK 1 02-04 54
Day 1: 1 02-04 Day 2: 0 00-00
123. Doug Vahrenberg Higginsville, MO 1 02-03 53
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 1 02-03
124. Zach Bandy Oklahoma City, OK 1 02-01 52
Day 1: 1 02-01 Day 2: 0 00-00
124. Homer Humphreys Jr. Minden, LA 1 02-01 52
Day 1: 1 02-01 Day 2: 0 00-00
126. Jason Baggett Mansfield, AR 1 02-00 50
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 1 02-00
127. Chris Dombkowski Cibolo, TX 1 01-13 49
Day 1: 1 01-13 Day 2: 0 00-00
128. Dale Jackson Van, TX 1 01-10 48
Day 1: 1 01-10 Day 2: 0 00-00
128. Chip Porche Bixby, OK 1 01-10 48
Day 1: 1 01-10 Day 2: 0 00-00
130. Jan Heavener Sherwood, AR 1 01-05 46
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 1 01-05
131. Robert Byrd Dallas, TX 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00
131. Rick Hanna Hereford, TX 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00
131. Jeff Jordan Tulsa, OK 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00
131. Robert Landrum Wichita, KS 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00
131. Michael Moore Grove, OK 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00
131. Keith Surber Longview, TX 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00
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Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 28 355 786-00
2 30 326 670-12
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58 681 1456-12
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American Racing ATX Series Wheels are proud to be a sponsor of the 2011 Toyota Texas Bass Classic, which will be taking place on Oct. 28-30 on Lake Conroe in Texas. This tournament pits most of the top 50 Bass Anglers from the top leagues against each other to see who will crowned the 2011 Champion after the final weigh in.
“We feel that this is a great opportunity for us to showcase our ATX Series of wheels at one of the premiere Bass events in the country," said Chris Anderson from ATX. “It is also great to have our brand represented in the event by one of the great ambassadors for the sport with the ‘G-Man’ Gerald Swindle. This tournament also provides us the opportunity to work with Toyota, one of the strong supporters of Bass fishing and the outdoor lifestyle."
ATX’s presence at the event will include a display featuring the entire line of wheels so those attending the tournament can check out the latest wheels styles available for their Truck and SUV. There are also plans to have a Toyota Tundra on display, showcasing one of the new wheel styles. For those not able to make the Tournament, all the ATX styles are available at atxwheels.com
One of the really cool aspects of ATX sponsorship of the Tournament this year is the ATX Wheels Big Bass Award. This award will go to the angler with the biggest bass and will include a set of four ATX series wheels. A great feature of many of the ATX series wheels is that they are offered coated with Teflon®, making them much more resistant to the elements, including UV degradation, mud, road salts and a variety of other issues associated with the outdoor
Keep up with all the action at the tournament via the ATX Facebook Fan Page.
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Mustad Hooks is hoping its new “Hook a Million” promotion will deliver $1.4 million in cash to lucky anglers who set new world and state records.
“With more than 50 new state records set in the last year and several world records pending certification, we felt the time was right for a program that rewards these accomplishments," said Tom Kurtz, General Manager of Mustad. "We all know that the next cast could be the new record, and this promotion makes it easy — anglers fish on their schedule and their waters.”
The “Hook a Million” promotion, which kicks off this October and runs 12 months, targets 10 of the country’s most popular fresh and saltwater fish. These include Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Channel Catfish, White Crappie, Coho Salmon, Striped Bass, Kelp Bass (Calico Bass), Red Drum (Redfish), Spotted Seatrout (Speckled Trout) and Yellowfin Tuna. It’s open to US residents 18 and older. To participate, anglers must use a Mustad hook and register only once at least 24 hours in advance of fishing during the contest period.
Cash awards for the promotion total $1,400,000 and recognize both fresh and saltwater all-tackle state records and new IGFA certified all-tackle world records.
“Our goal is to make sure anglers from coast to coast have the opportunity to participate and the chance to win,” Kurtz said. “It doesn’t matter what state you live in, you’re still likely to have five chances for a big cash award.”
Anglers who establish the first TWO new freshwater or first TWO new saltwater state records for the covered species receive $100,000 each, for a total of $400,000 in cash prizes. The first new IGFA certified all-tackle world record for any of the listed species nets the lucky angler $1,000,000*.
To make sure they qualify for big cash awards, anglers must register in advance and catch the new record on a Mustad hook.
“We make thousands of premium hooks for all the species in the promotion and we’re encouraging anybody who fishes to register,” Kurtz said. “It’s free and you never know when that next record is going to bite.”
To learn more, visit Mustad.no.
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Photo courtesy of FLW Outdoors
The University of Georgia team of Randy Tolbert, Jr. of Rome, Ga., and Chase Simmemon of Alto, Ga., took the day-one lead at the National Guard FLW College Fishing Southeast Division Regional Championship hosted by Auburn University on Lake Harding Thursday with five bass weighing 10 pounds even. The team holds a 1-pound, 7-ounce lead over their nearest competitor, Clemson University. Teams are fishing for a top award of $50,000 to be split between the university and the university’s bass fishing club - $12,500 and a Ranger 177TR with a 90-horsepower outboard wrapped in school colors for the bass club and $12,500 for their school.
“We started off and caught three in the first 15 or 20 minutes in a little place we found to catch a limit,” said Tolbert, a senior fisheries and aquaculture major. “We didn’t catch a limit there, though. We moved on to catch some bigger fish, and it was a grind all day long. But we managed to catch our five and even cull a couple of times.”
“We started the day fishing offshore trying to catch an early limit, but we decided to swing for the fence for a big bite and targeted largemouth in shallow water,” said Simmemon, a junior wildlife biology and fisheries and aquaculture major.
Tolbert said the team will employ the same strategy Friday but may not stick with that plan if they make it to the final day of competition. Neither teammate would reveal what baits they used to take the early lead or how they would change their strategy if they make it to Saturday’s final five.
Rounding out the top 10 teams are:
2nd: Clemson University – Andy Wicker, Pomaria, S.C., and Harold Turner, Sumter, S.C. (five bass, 8-9)
3rd: Kennesaw State University – Chris Ellis, Acworth, Ga., and Brinson Roland, Powder Springs, Ga. (five bass, 7-12)
4th: Kennesaw State University – Thomas Frink, Woodstock, Ga., and Justin Marlow, Kennesaw, Ga. (five bass, 7-9)
5th: University of Florida – Travis Fledderman, Gainesville, Fla., and Mark Gipson, Niceville, Fla. (five bass, 7-5)
6th: Georgia Southern – Wesley Maples, Rocky Face, Ga., and Jed Thigpen, Statesboro, Ga. (five bass, 7-4)
7th: Auburn University – Jordan Lee, Vinemont, Ala., and Matt Lee, Auburn, Ala. (five bass, 6-9)
8th: South Alabama – Taylor Ramey, Mobile, Ala., and John McGraw, Hattiesburg, Miss. (four bass, 5-1)
9th: LaGrange College – Torre Pike, Flat Rock, Ala., and Ryan Wakenigg, Cataula, Ga. (two bass, 5-1)
10th: UAB – Patrick Townes, Cullman, Ala., and Taylor Mardis, Oneonta, Ala. (four bass, 4-6)
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Low water levels on the Arkansas River are providing distinct
advantages to the anglers who can get shallow, as the top two anglers in
the Bass Pro Shops Central Open on the Arkansas River utilized shallow
draft jet boats to access fish the rest of the field couldn’t reach. The
majority of big fish on Day One came out of the Grand River for anglers
fishing along rocky bars and way up in shallow creeks.
One-hundred
thirty-six boats boomed out of Three Forks Marina on the Arkansas River
this morning for Day One of the Bass Pro Shops Central Open in
Muskogee, Okla., most of which are fishing in a 95-mile stretch of the
421-mile river system that’s filled with shad.
Among
the competitors on the boater side are 10 Bassmaster Elite Series pros
including Tommy Biffle, in first after Day One with a five-fish bag
limit weighing 18 pounds, 12 ounces. Biffle was utilizing an aluminum
boat with a jet drive outboard to get into the shallow areas that are
holding some of the larger fish.
“I
had to go through some nasty areas with only six or seven inches of
water and hard rock bottom,” said Biffle. “The fish in the river system
have been beat up in practice the last week or so, so I thought I’d take
my aluminum boat and get to where the other anglers can’t get and take
my chances. I think I’ve got enough fish for three days.
Biffle
borrowed the jet boat rig from one of the local marinas and caught six
or seven fish on a bite that was over early. Jet drive outboards don’t
have props and push the boat using air, allowing the boat to maneuver
through shallow and often rocky bottom.
Also
fishing out of an aluminum boat with a jet drive outboard was Muskogee
High School graduate Janet Parker, who was the first angler to weight in
on Day One. Parker’s 15-pound, 2-ounce five-fish limit was good for
second place.
“I
ran into an area that’s inaccessible to regular outboard motors, caught
eight fish and five were keepers,” said Parker. “It was not an easy
day, the river if fishing real tough. Everything is shallow right now,
and the big fish are eating on top.”
Parker’s
bites came early and later in the day. Many of the anglers fishing the
pro division had a tough day on the water, with only about a quarter of
the field catching a five fish limit.
Sitting
in third place in the pro division is Dewayne French with 14 pounds, 13
ounces from a five-fish limit he caught fishing shallow with jigs and
worms. In fourth is Louisiana pro Mark Smith, with a five-fish limit
weighing 14 pounds, 5 ounces.
Smith’s co-angler Darryl Hanks also had a good day.
“The
bite was on all day, but with long periods between them,” said Hanks.
“We were flipping baits in the shallows. I think I got eight or nine
bites, and they were all decent fish.”
Rounding
out the Top Five in the pro division after Day One was Lendell Martin,
who brought four fish to the scales weighing 12 pounds, 13 ounces. Just
behind Martin in sixth place is Elite pro Rick Clunn, with 12 pounds, 11
ounces.
“Everyone
knows the fish are shallow and that they’re hard to get to,” said
Clunn. “The folks that are fishing topwater are catching some big ones.”
Anglers
fishing in the Pro Division can weigh in up to five bass per day, with a
14-inch minimum size limit. The Co-Angler Division allows up to three
bass per angler.
The
Arkansas River is producing a mixture of Kentucky bass, largemouth bass
and smallmouth bass, with many of the anglers reporting lots of action
from the sub-limit fish. After the Day Two weigh-in tomorrow, the Top 12
Pros and Co-Anglers will advance to fish the final day. Up for grabs in
the pro division is a Triton 19XS bass boat with 200-hp Yamaha
outboard.
With
the water levels low on the Arkansas River, the boats with jet drives
and those finding access to shallow creeks have a distinct advantage
over the rest of the field. Many of the local anglers are hoping the
water level will stabilize and clean up, which will help the deeper
sections of Arkansas River fish a lot better on Day Two.
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Thanks to all the Wired2Fish readers who participated in the Denali Rods Contest on Wired2Fish.com. Thanks too to those who commented about Denali and their rods. We make sure your comments are heard by the manufacturers and they appreciate them as well.
The Denali Jadewood is a premium quality rod priced effectively with 6 baitcaster and 2 spinning models. The Rosewood is a step up and the top of the heap for Denali is their Noirwood line. Each line is designed by anglers and painstaking detail is taken into fit and finish, actions and cost. If you are buying a Denali you are getting a quality stick.
The winners of the contest are:
Danny Jorgenson, Tom Wilson, and Jed Cole. Congrats and your rods are on the way!
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Bassmaster Open angler Chip Porche’ (pronounced ‘poor-shay’)
is in an enviable position. He’s free. And he’s dreaming. He’s freer than a set
of Jimmy Buffett or Zac Brown song lyrics – and dreaming of a career as a
professional bass angler.
The Bassmaster Central Open on the Arkansas River this week
45 miles from Chip’s home sets a perfect stage for the 23-year-old to play out
his ambitions. It’s only the third
Bassmaster Open event he’s entered, but it’s worth noting that he actually led
the amateur side of the first B.A.S.S. Open he fished, before eventually
finishing fifth. He was only 18-years-old during that 2006 event.
Porche’s early success thus far is much a function of
preparedness – and what most might even call obsessive behavior. When most kids
were collecting PlayStation 2 video games, Chip was recording and studying
episodes of The Bassmasters TV show, and reading every print publication
related to tournament bass fishing as though cramming for a final exam.
Speaking of final exams, Porche’ recently earned a four-year
degree in communications from the University of Oklahoma, and during his time
in Norman, he was one of the early pioneers in the now popular college bass
fishing trails.
Now he’s blazing a trail, or as he puts it, “building a
bridge” toward the career he’s dreamed of since long before his first drivers’
education class at Bixby High School in Tulsa’s southern suburbs.
These days, mortgage rates have no place in a life more
dominated by entry fees and fleabag hotel room rates. And ladies be warned, saying “I do” at an
altar is as far from his radar as a rain cloud in drought-stricken Texas.
Prior to the pre-tournament meeting, amid chatter with
fellow competitors about everything from college football to the BoatUS Angler
“Weigh-to-Win” cash bonus program, Porche’ talked about this week’s event. “I’m
not sure if there’s more or less pressure on me since we’re fishing in my
backyard, but I’m definitely more comfortable.”
“At least I know my way to the boat ramp here in Muskogee,”
grinned Porche’. “It’s a whole lot better than my first trip to Toledo Bend
where I spent two days just trying to find my way around.” He predicts anglers
capable of averaging a 14-pound limit of bass each day will do well, and possibly
even win this week on the Arkansas River in eastern Oklahoma.
“I only got to fish for two hours on the final day of
practice, but I was fortunate enough to catch two keepers, “ said Porche’ who
will likely target shallow-dwellers with lures ranging from buzzbaits to
smaller soft-plastics.
“If I didn’t want to fish so badly for a living, I’d
probably try to get into the petroleum or medical industry,” said Porche’ as if
attempting to explain his realization that most people his age are trying to
carve out less-dreamy careers better assured at paying mortgages.
But for now, Porche’ will stick with attempting to construct
a career as a pro angler, and there’s no better time or place to “build the
bridge” than this week on the Arkansas River.
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Elite Series Pro Nate Wellman issued the following statement today:
I regret the statements that I made to my co-angler during the Bass Pro Shops, Bassmaster Northern Open on Lake Erie Aug 25-27 2011. While I never intended for my statements to be anything more than an expression of my envy for his performance that day, looking back I can understand now why my co-angler would have misinterpreted my statements. My statements were wrong and should never have been made.
To be perfectly clear - I am not a cheater. I've never cheated in the past and will never do so in the future. I've dedicated my entire adult life to bass fishing, the sport that I love and no amount of money in the world is worth jeopardizing my career that I've spent my life working for. I am an accomplished angler and am confident about my future. Simply stated, I have no reason to cheat and would never tarnish my accomplishments nor compromise my future by cheating. I respect myself, my family, my sponsors and my sport way to much to bring it all down by cheating.
I apologize to everyone for my mistake, including B.A.S.S. and my co-angler for putting them in such an awkward position. Also a sincere apology to the fans of fishing for it was not my intention to tarnish the integrity of the sport.
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Bill Siemantel, designer of the Spro BBZ-1 line of hard swimbaits sent us a note this morning about a friend's bass fishing birthday present. This is the kind of gift that keeps on giving and makes us want to go fishing on our next birthday.
Here's the note from Bill:
Hey Everyone,
Thought I would drop you a line to tell you about the nice birthday present my friend caught today.
Not to bore you with details but my friend Derrek Stewart called me about getting out on the water yesterday, and I said, "Sure."
He showed up at the house around 6 am and we headed up to Lake Pyramid for the day. Right before we got to the lake Derrek told me it was his birthday and started to grin a little.
We put the boat in the water and I told Derrek to put on his swimbait and we would go over and try to catch him his birthday fish, mind you a 6-pound bass out of Lake Pyramid is one hell of fish. A few cast later and BAM! This baby could eat a 6-pounder. This fish just shows that a Lamiglas EXCEL 735, 18-pound Maxima and a BBZ-1 6-inch is not just for throwing in winter when they plant trout.
Happy Birthday Derrek!
Your guide for the day and professional net boy,
Bill Siemantel
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Fans of Dean Rojas will want to stop by DeanRojas.com and check out his new page. He's got his bio, photos, schedule, news and more. Check out the site by clicking the photo or link above.
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Current and former military personnel wishing to live the boating lifestyle can double up on sales incentives through Ranger Boats’ “Operation Troop Salute,” thanks to a matching offer from Evinrude Outboards.
For purchases of qualifying Ranger boats powered by Evinrude outboards made from an authorized dealer between August 1 and October 31, 2011, any current or former member of the U.S. Armed Forces is eligible for a deluxe incentive package. The incentive package includes a factory rebate of $2 per engine horsepower from Ranger, plus a matching $2-per-engine-horsepower incentive from Evinrude for buyers of Evinrude-powered boats.
The “Operation Troop Salute” incentive package also includes $100 RangerWear clothing and accessories coupon card plus an exclusive military appreciation jacket, t-shirt and decals. To be eligible, customers must either be currently serving, retired from or have previous service in the United States Armed Forces. Qualifying boats include any new Ranger boat, motor and trailer package that has not been previously registered; and the program is not limited to the current model year.
For more details on “Operation Troop Salute” or to see the 2011 Ranger models, contact a local Ranger Boats dealer or visit www.rangerboats.com
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Pro angler Nate Wellman has now been banned for one year from participating in FLW Outdoors bass fishing tournaments. The tournament organization did their own investigation with the parties involved in the Lake Erie Bassmaster Open tournament controversy a week or so ago and determined that Wellman's actions undermined their Rule 9. In essence the ban stems from the part of that rule that has to do with banning, disqualifications and other penalties levied in other fishing tournaments.
Wellman was fined and put on 1 year probation for joking or otherwise suggesting that his day three co-angler sell him one of his larger bass to make sure he won the tournament and secured his berth in the Bassmaster Classic.
Click here for more information on the FLW Outdoors Rules.
Wellman may re-apply for participation in future events after the one year ban. However FLW Outdoors reserves the rights to refuse entries of any tournament angler that doesn't maintain the highest levels of ethical behavior in fishing tournaments.
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Recycled Fish Communications
It’s the fishing version of running a marathon. Anglers from across
North America will literally be fishing around the clock. The first
lines will be cast at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 9, and the last fish must
be caught, photographed and released by 7 p.m. on Saturday.
“
Team Bear Trail,” Nanci Morris Lyon and Kate Taylor, are taking on
Pebble Mine as a part of the Recycled Fish 24 Hour Fish A Thon. Bristol Bay, Alaska is facing a proposed open pit mining operation called
Pebble Mine.
A massive open pit mine, among the largest the world has ever seen, has
been proposed at the headwaters of Bristol Bay. Historically, mines of
this type have failed, leaking toxic tailings and poisoning waterways.
The mine could devestate the strong, wild native salmon stock, the local
economy, commercial and sport fishing, and the native way of life. Team
Bear Trail has raised over $2,200 and extensive exposure to bring this
issue to light.
In Nebraska there are more teams fishing than in any other state.
Eight teams will take to lakes across the Husker state in this year’s 24
Hour Fish-a-Thon.
Team NEFGA Outstate,
Corey Malm, Ken Fankauser, and Mike McClure, are fishing to raise
awareness about angler recruitment, both young and old. It's a common
theme in Nebraska - 24 Hour Fish-A-Thon Coach Arron Slater leads another
Nebraska team,
Team Dragon’s Custom Rods, who wants to get more kids involved in fishing as well.
Our current fundraising leader,
Team Playland from Pennsylvania brings
to light the fact that catch and release is something that many anglers
practice, but there’s room for improvement. Fish mortality rate is
reduced by
S.A.F.E. Angling practices;“Keeping
fish out of the water for the shortest time possible, using single
barbless hooks, and using knotless or rubber mesh nets are just some of
the ways we can increase catch and release success,” said Buddy Johns,
Team Leader and 24 Hour Fish-a-Thon Coach.
Invasive species, trash and runoff all are problems throughout
North America’s lakes and streams. “The EPA reports that 49 percent of
fresh water in America is so polluted that it can’t support a healthy
fishery,” Said Ben Leal, Program Director for Recycled Fish. “Each team
representing a lake or stream brings these issues to light on a local
level.”
“To date, the overall effort by the twenty four teams fishing this
year has raised over $8,000, with just a week remaining before the
fishing begins”, said Leal. “Anyone can still help a team by logging on
to
www.recycledfish.org
and clicking on the 24 Hour Fish-a-Thon Logo. Choose a team that best
represents the issue that you are concerned about and support that
effort.”
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 Activist photo
Well-known BASS Senior Writer and conservationist Robert Montgomery has penned a three-part article about discarding used plastics into our lakes and streams and the negative effects they can have on fish and wildlife in his Activist Angler column today. Wise words. He also mentioned we can take a bad and turn it into a good if we take charge and dispose of them properly.
Although his article centers on fish, birds and other wildlife can adversely impacted too.
Plain and simple, don't discard used plastics overboard.
To read his column and see some startling photos click here. |
 The first annual Ranger Cup University Challenge took place on Choke
Canyon Reservoir on August 25th and 26th. Two teams of collegiate
anglers qualified for the event based on their participation in the
Ranger Cup University program during 2011. The winners were the highest
finishing Ranger Cup University participants in the Boat.U.S Collegiate
Bass Fishing Championship and the National Guard FLW Collegiate
Championship.
The tournament had a very unique format which led to very close results.
It consisted of two four-hour sessions, and a final two hour fish-off
as a tie breaker. Each session was treated as its own "mini"
tournament, and the winner of each session was awarded one point. The
first session took place on Thursday evening, the second on Friday
morning, and the tie-breaker session was scheduled for Friday afternoon.
The University of Arkansas bass team, represented by Mook Miller and
Kyle Billingsley, and University of Texas Tyler bass team, represented
by Matt McClellan and Tyler Fisher, were seeing Choke Canyon for the
first time. Both teams we're prepared to fish the new waters out of
identically rigged Ranger Z521 bass boats that were waiting on them upon
arrival.
Thursday yielded some rare weather for South Texas; sustained 20 mph
winds and overcast conditions. In fact, Matthew McClellan of UT Tyler
mentioned, "I don't think the fish had seen wind and clouds in so long
that they were confused; they forgot they are supposed to bite in those
conditions." He was being a bit modest, considering they still rounded
up a limit weighing 13.08 pounds. Matt went on to say, "I thought we
were out of contention for the initial weigh-in; however, with minutes
to go I caught a four pounder on a swim jig. I thought that gave us the
edge for sure." UT Tyler was disappointed to find out Arkansas edged
them out of round one by a mere four ounces. Arkansas' Mook Miller and
Kyle Billingsley were awarded the point for their very close win over
Matt and Tyler.
The second session of the event Tyler claimed, "They bit really well,
but we never found the quality fish Choke Canyon is known for." Just
like the first session, Matt and Tyler pushed it to the end, and landed a
solid two and a half pound bass with minutes to go to significantly
improve their limit. "It is crucial in bass fishing to fish to the very
last minute, I have seen tournaments won and lost during the last cast,
so we tried to keep our focus and it paid off in round two," said
Tyler. This time, the last bite proved to be the difference, with UT
Tyler beating out Arkansas 12.11 pounds to 10.5 pounds, and forcing the
final round fish-off.
The final session was a two hour tie-breaker. The team that came back
to the dock with the heaviest weight after two hours of fishing was
heading home as the first Ranger Cup University "Team of the Year."
"The final session started with us going over an hour without a bite,"
said Tyler "We were nervous at that point but we saw Arkansas scrambling
around too, so we knew the bite was tougher." Matt and Tyler worked
their way towards a point of grass where they landed some of their
better fish during the first session; "We pulled up and started punching
mats with a big weight and things started coming together." UT Tyler
continued to catch multiple keepers in the last 45 minutes of the event
by punching creature baits through the thick matted hydrilla. The team
continued their last minute fish catching heroics in this session as
well. "The cameraman told us we had one minute left, and about that
time Tyler hoisted in a solid fish that culled our smallest fish right
at the end," said Matt. "There was excitement up until the end in every
session." Matt and Tyler won the final round by piecing together a
solid limit of just less than 14 pounds, making the University of Texas
at Tyler the inaugural Ranger Cup University champions.
Tyler Fisher, competing in his last collegiate bass fishing event, went
out the way all anglers dream of; with a win. "It was my last event;
just to make it here was awesome, and to win was really something
special. Not to mention the fact it will be televised on Americana
Outdoors. As far as the cash and prizes, that's just a bonus. This
trip was a once in a lifetime experience for all four of us that fished
this week." said Tyler.
All the anglers thanked the Association of Collegiate Anglers, Ranger
Boats, Choke Canyon Lodge, CarecoTV and their teams' supporters of
college bass fishing.
For more information about Ranger Boats, and the Ranger Cup University Program, go to www.rangerboats.com.
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Some days on the water are just special. When that day falls during a tournament its even more special and when its planned and the plan comes together, that is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Indiana pro John DeVries had one of those days a the recent BASS Northern Open at Lake Erie where his plan fell together for a very special day. Albiet he did not win the event he caught a giant bag of smallmouth that tipped the scales at over 26 pounds. Special indeed!
Today on Weighing In Radio he talks with Terry Brown about the day, his co-angler's class and how his electronics played in this once in a lifetime sack of fish. To listen click here. |
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The
Ramapo College team of Jeff Voss, Secaucus, N.J., and Joseph Zapf,
Whippany, N.J., went wire to wire to win the National Guard FLW College
Fishing Northern Division Regional championship hosted by Penn State
University on Sayers Lake Saturday with four bass weighing 5 pounds, 4
ounces, for a three day total of 14 bass weighing 27-2. The team beat
their closest competitor, Fairmont State University, by 7 pounds, 12
ounces. Teams were competing for a total award of $50,000 and a berth in
the National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship.
“This is amazing,” said Zapf, a sophomore accounting
major. “The feeling kept getting better and better with each fish we
caught. Even with a five and a half pound lead we knew we couldn’t blank
and with each fish we caught we felt better and better.
“We lost three fish today,” Zapf continued. “We had the
opportunity to bring in another limit, but it just didn’t pan out. We
were pretty upset about that but as it turned out we didn’t need them
anyway.
As promised and after all the fish were weighed Voss and
Zapf finally revealed that they were fishing an old road bed in the
middle of the lake with black stick baits.
“I found the area when I was down for pre-practice,” said
Voss, a junior information systems major. “Because it was an old road
bed it just replenished itself every day. The one thing I found that
they would bite on was a three-inch black Senko Worm. We tried some
reaction baits on the first day but couldn’t get anything to bite so we
stuck with the stick bait for the rest of the week.
“Joe and I were fishing side by side for most of the
tournament. We tried a few different things but nothing worked except
dragging the bottom with a worm so we both decided to do it and we both
kept catching fish.
Indicating that the morning bite was definitely better
than the afternoon bite both anglers agreed that slowing down was also
key to their victory.
Rounding out the top five teams and also qualifying for
the 2012 National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship are:
2nd: Fairmont State University, Wil Dieffenbauch, Hundred W. Va., and Brent Dodrill, Fairmont, Va., 10 bass, 19-6, $10,000
3rd: Virginia Tech, Wyatt Blevins, Pulaski, Va., and Carson Rejzer, Hampton, Va., 10 bass, 17-6, $5,000
4th: Rampo College, Charles Danza, Ringwood, N.J., and Bob Rieder, West Milford, N.J., 11 bass, 16-1, $5,000
5th: Christopher Newport, Ryan Ingalls, Fairfax, Va., and Derek Berhalter, Farnham, Va., eight bass, 12-6, $5,000
Overall there were 13 bass weighing 18 pounds, 11 ounces caught by five teams.
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From B.A.S.S. Communications
Nate Wellman, winner of the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Northern Open
on Lake Erie last week, has been penalized for rules violations during
the tournament.
B.A.S.S. officials today released the following statement:
“Bassmaster Elite Series angler Nate Wellman has been fined and placed
on a one-year probation due to violation of B.A.S.S. tournament rule
3(vii), which prohibits ‘suggesting to another competitor that he violate these (B.A.S.S.) rules.’ After
an investigation, B.A.S.S. officials found that the outcome of the
tournament and the final results were in no way compromised and did not
result in changes to the final standings of the Bassmaster Northern Open
on Lake Erie. The fine monies will be donated to the Ohio B.A.S.S.
Federation Nation to support its conservation efforts.”
The action centered on statements made by Wellman to his co-angler on
the final day of competition. Although Wellman said the statements were
made in jest, his co-angler reported to B.A.S.S. officials that
Wellman’s comments made him uncomfortable and were suggestive of a rules
violation.
“Our system of tournament angling, pairing a professional angler with a
co-angler or even another professional, has been tried and tested for
decades,’’ said Trip Weldon, B.A.S.S. tournament director. “It’s a great
system, as this instance proves. Our co-angler did the right thing by
reporting it. He is to be commended. At this level, there isn’t room for
questions on the integrity of our anglers. And there certainly isn’t
room for suggestions or jokes that could do anything to break down that
integrity. That is why this action was taken.”
Wellman, who was reached for comment Thursday, was apologetic.
“There were some things said during that tournament that were
definitely taken the wrong way,” he said. “I was trying to lighten the
mood on the boat a little bit.
“There were some things said that should never have been said. They
were ... said, in part, because I was under an extremely stressful
situation, leading the tournament. It was wrong for me to have said them,
even in a joking manner.”
Wellman added, “I want to apologize to my co-angler for that day, for
the situation that we were both put in. I know it was an uncomfortable
one for both of us. I cannot express how sorry I am that that happened.
I also want to apologize to B.A.S.S., the whole staff, everybody that
had to deal with the situation. None of us were in a good situation. I
can’t emphasize how bad I feel that everybody had to be a part of it.”
Wellman was fined $2,500 for his remarks during that event and placed
on a one-year probation. During the course of the next year, any
infractions of any B.A.S.S. rules could result in harsher penalties.
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Tacklewarehouse.com is one the best places we've found to stock up on the latest tackle, and Sep. 2-6 anglers can stock up on tackle for a sale discount of 15% with the Tackle Warehouse Labor Day Sale. We always take advantage of these sale weekends to stock up on things like hooks, tungsten, fishing line and more.
To get the coupon code, just click the banner above or click this link.
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 The American Sportfishing Association (ASA) named Kenneth G. Andres as its new industry tradeshow director. ASA produces the International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades, better known as ICAST, which is the largest sportfishing tradeshow in the world. Andres succeeds Maria del Valle Hamilton who oversaw significant growth in the tradeshow over the past decade.
Andres has been with ASA and the tradeshow since 2007 as ICAST Associate. During that time, Andres was responsible for sales and exhibitor relations, sponsorships, logistics, vendor relations and general show production. Andres has an extensive background in tradeshow production including work with Freeman and with Trade Show International, Inc. and Team One LLC, both based in Florida. Andres is also an avid and accomplished angler and knows both the conventional and fly fishing sides of the sportfishing industry.
ASA President and CEO Mike Nussman voiced his support for Andres. “I’m looking forward to working with Ken in his role as ICAST Director. He brings years of knowledge and experience not only about ICAST, but the entire tradeshow industry to this important position.” Nussman also noted that Ken’s lifelong passion for fishing and the outdoors will continue to serve him well in his new role.
Andres extends his thanks to Nussman and to ASA’s Board of Directors for the opportunity. “I’m really excited to roll up my sleeves and get to work in my new role as ICAST Director,” said Andres. “I’ve been fishing since I was able to hold a rod. I’m grateful for the opportunity to bring my fishing experience and my knowledge of ICAST and the tradeshow industry to ASA and to help increase education opportunities, support for and participation in the show.”
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Trace Adkins song "Just Fishin'" is in the top 10 in the country music charts this week. It's a song about the time spent fishing with your kids. It's not the fishing that matters, but the opportunity that fishing provides for family bonding time. My best trips this year have been with my young son and the light he has when he catches a big fish.
Another interesting note is Bassmaster Open angler Janet Parker will be doing an interview on Great American Country this weekend during their Top 20 Countdown show right after Just Fishin' airs in the countdown. Her time spent fishing as a little girl obviously had a big impact on her life. Look for interview on Sep 3-4 during Top 20 Countdown on GAC. Check local times for listings.
Here is the video.
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The
Ramapo College team of Jeff Voss, Secaucus, N.J., and Joseph Zapf,
Whippany, N.J., took the day one lead at the National Guard FLW College
Fishing Northern Division Regional championship hosted by Penn State
University on Sayers Lake Thursday with five bass weighing 12 pounds, 10
ounces. The team holds nearly a two pound lead over their nearest
competitor, Fairmont State University. Teams are fishing for a top award
of $50,000 to be split between the university and the university’s bass
fishing club - $12,500 and a Ranger 177TR with a 90-horsepower outboard
wrapped in school colors for the bass club and $12,500 for their
school.
“This is the best event I’ve ever been in,” said Voss, a
junior information systems major. “This is just a crazy event, what a
blast. I came up here to practice just before the lake went off limits
and I practiced a lot. We are fishing a spot I found during practice. I
hope we can do it again tomorrow.
“We got all our fish in one area. We
were probably done fishing by 11 this morning. The area I found is a
spot that should replenish itself and hopefully it will last for three
days. It is one of the creek channels, near a deep water rock pile.”
“This feels real good," said Zapf, a sophomore accounting
major. “We found a hot spot that hopefully will last the rest of the
tournament. Our weight today was a little more than we expected and
hopefully we can keep it up for two more days.
“We caught our fish pretty quick and then we were done. We
didn’t want to wear it out. We’ll see what happens
tomorrow.”
The team from Ramapo College finished in 2nd place
at both the Lake Champlain and 1000 Islands qualifying events to reach
the Northern Regional championship. Reluctant to divulge too much
information before the tournament was over, all they would say is that
they were not fishing banks.
Rounding out the top 10 teams are:
2nd: Fairmont State University, Wil Dieffenbauch, Hundred W. Va., and Brent Dodrill, Fairmont, Va., five bass, 10-14
3rd: Virginia Tech, Wyatt Blevins, Pulaski, Va., and Carson Rejzer, Hampton, Va., five bass, 8-13
4th: Rampo College, Charles Danza, Ringwood, N.J., and Bob Rieder, West Milford, N.J., five bass, 8-11
5th: Christopher Newport, Ryan Ingalls, Fairfax, Va., and Derek Berhalter, Farnham, Va., five bass, 7-6
6th: Slippery Rock University, Benjamin Tawney, Stoystown, Pa., and Justin Lonchar, Clinton, Pa., three bass, 6-3
7th: Ohio State, Tyler Berger, Worthington, Ohio and Kyle Feucht, Marysville, Ohio, four bass, 5-3
8th: North Carolina State University, Ben Dziwulski, Woodbine, Md., and Jeff Bumgarner, Wade, N.C., two bass, 4-6
9th: North Carolina State University, Josh Hooks, Apex, N.C., and Casey Johnson, Raleigh, N.C., two bass, 3-0
10th: Vermont Technical College, Justin Brouillard, Rochester, Vt., and Kyle Sabourin, Milton, Vt., two bass, 2-10
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The new Wright and McGill Rick Clunn Signature Series Rods are now available on Tackle Warehouse. Six styles and they cost $89.99. To take a look, and to buy, click here. |
 The Association of Collegiate Anglers (ACA) has partnered with the Boilermakers Bass Club of Purdue University and the Boll Weevils Bass Club of the University of Arkansas at Monticello to facilitate five collegiate events this fall including the Big Ten Classic, a storied event with a rich history and a new series of events open to anglers throughout the state of Arkansas, the Arkansas Collegiate Fall Series.
The Boilermakers Bass Club, in conjunction with the ACA, will be hosting the 2011 Big Ten Classic, one of the nation's longest running collegiate bass fishing events.
"We're excited to support such a long-standing event this fall. Some of the first collegiate events in our country started in Indiana over 20 years ago with Purdue and Indiana Universities. The Big Ten Classic and other collegiate programs grew from these rivalries into recognized club sports throughout the country. To lend today's resources to an event with so much history is our pleasure," said ACA Program Director Danny Blandford.
"Our online registration process and planning assistance should help the students have a smooth event, with their focus more on fishing and less on tournament operations."
The online registration process is available now through September 29, 2011; the first day anglers can wet a line in Coldwater Lake, Coldwater, MI. Registration and more information is available at: collegiatebasschampionship/registrations.
"We wanted to pick a lake that didn't really offer a home field advantage to any of the schools competing," said Louis Keller of Purdue. "Coldwater Lake, and the associated chain, should provide a good amount of water for everyone to spread out on for some great fall fishing."
The ACA is also hosting online registrations for the Boll Weevils Bass Club, and their Collegiate Fall Series, an inaugural trail of four events, and a year-end fall championship. The first event of the series is September 17, 2011 on the Arkansas River, out of the Alltel Ramp in Little Rock.
Registration is currently underway, and more information can be found at: collegiatebasschampionship/registrations.
"We want to encourage teams to compete on our trail for the whole season," said AJ Morgan of UAM. "It runs throughout the fall and the fishing should be good throughout the state. Teams that fish three of the four events are automatically qualified for the championship, along with a vote on the location for that final event of the season."
Anglers may register for any of the events they wish to compete in, and registration is open to any Arkansas schools interested in fishing any of the events. In addition to the participation berths, the Top 10 teams, based on season standings, also qualify for the championship.
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