Jacob Powroznik Aiming for Back-To-Back Wins After Knockout Round Victory
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MLF pro Jared Lintner finished the Knockout Round in 8th, with this 8-10 being the kicker in his today's total of 52-1.
(Click to enlarge / download)
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The Day's Results
UPSHAW LEADS FIELD INTO FINAL DAY OF FLW TOUR ON CHEROKEE LAK
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. (April 13, 2019) – Pro Andrew Upshaw of Tulsa, Oklahoma, maintained his lead Saturday at the FLW Tour at the Cherokee Lake presented by Lowrance after catching five bass weighing 16 pounds even. Upshaw’s three-day total of 15 bass weighing 52-4 will lead the final 10 pros into the fourth and final day of the event, where he and his peers will cast for a top prize of up to $125,000.
After starting the day in eight place, Yamamoto Baits pro Tom Monsoor of La Crosse, Wisconsin, made a leap up the leaderboard with a limit weighing 17-6 to sit within striking distance of Upshaw in second place with a three-day cumulative total of 50-10, while Dylan Hays of El Dorado, Arkansas, sits in third with 50 pounds, 1 ounce. The stage is set for an exciting final day of competition with only 4 pounds, 15 ounces, separating 10th place from first.
Upshaw said he spent the day targeting main-lake spawning fish, a pattern he’s followed all week. He said his day started out slower than his first two mornings, which he admitted threw him off mentally.
“I pulled up to where I wanted to start and I caught a non-keeper immediately, and that’s only my second non-keeper of the week,” said Upshaw, who is seeking his first career victory in FLW Tour competition. “Then, a few minutes later, I caught another non-keeper, then another, and it really started spinning me out a little bit. Not necessarily the missed fish. But when you’re just catching little, little ones, it threw me off a little bit.
“Once I caught my first couple of decent ones, I kind of got this calming feeling,” Upshaw continued. “I really focused and got a little talkative – I got to where I was having fun. I caught a 4-pounder and I was really having fun – I know how big 4-pounders are going to be here.”
Upshaw said his plan for Championship Sunday is to try and eliminate the slow morning by going for a limit at a secondary area he’s been saving.
“What I’m trying to do is get that stress off of my back. I can pull up to this spot, and maybe not catch a bunch of fish, but I feel like I can catch two, three, maybe a limit fairly quick,” said Upshaw. “It’s actually a bigger area. It’s reloading and it’s got a ton of fish in it.”
The Oklahoma pro went on to say that he’s definitely feeling the pressure to finish strong after leading the event for three days, but with his secondary area set to potentially ease the stress of getting an initial limit, he has confidence that he can find his groove once again.
“As far as nerves go, I’ve dealt with high-stress situations before. Not just in tournament fishing, but in other sports like football and basketball and everything like that. Tomorrow I get to go have fun and I’ve got my family here to calm me down, so everything should be fine.”
The top 10 pros advancing to the final day of competition Sunday on Cherokee Lake are:
1st: Andrew Upshaw, Tulsa, Okla., 15 bass, 52-4
2nd: Yamamoto Baits pro Tom Monsoor, La Crosse, Wis., 15 bass, 50-10
3rd: Dylan Hays, El Dorado, Ark., 15 bass, 50-1
4th: Grae Buck, Harleysville, Pa., 15 bass, 49-4
5th: Andy Young, Isle, Minn., 15 bass, 49-0
6th: Matt Becker, Finleyville, Pa., 15 bass, 48-13
7th: Tim Frederick, Leesburg, Fla., 15 bass, 48-3
8th: Jason Reyes, Huffman, Texas, 15 bass, 48-3
9th: Derrick Snavely, Piney Flats, Tenn., 15 bass, 48-2
10th: Tim Cales, Sandstone, W. Va., 15 bass, 47-5
Finishing 11th through 30th are:
11th: Lowrance pro Austin Felix, Eden Prairie, Minn., 15 bass, 47-4, $12,000
12th: Polaris pro David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., 15 bass, 47-2, $12,000
13th: J. Todd Tucker, Moultrie, Ga., 15 bass, 46-14, $12,000
14th: Scott Martin, Clewiston, Fla., 15 bass, 46-11, $12,000
15th: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 15 bass, 46-11, $12,000
16th: Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich., 15 bass, 46-9, $11,500
17th: Alex Davis, Albertville, Ala., 15 bass, 46-8, $11,500
18th: Dakota Ebare, Denham Springs, La., 15 bass, 46-4, $11,500
19th: Berkley pro Joey Cifuentes, Clinton, Ark., 15 bass, 45-14, $11,500
20th: Johnny McCombs, Morris, Ala., 15 bass, 45-14, $11,500
21st: Kerry Milner, Bono, Ark., 15 bass, 45-12, $10,500
22nd: Josh Douglas, Isle, Minn., 15 bass, 45-7, $10,500
23rd: A.J. Slegona, Pine Bush, N.Y., 15 bass, 45-6, $10,500
24th: Jon Englund, Farwell, Minn., 15 bass, 44-13, $10,500
25th: Yamamoto Baits pro Larry Nixon, Quitman, Ark., 15 bass, 43-5, $10,500
26th: Brandon McMillan, Clewiston, Fla., 15 bass, 42-14, $10,500
27th: Jason Meninger, Saint Augustine, Fla., 15 bass, 42-14, $10,500
28th: Evan Barnes, Hot Springs, Ark., 15 bass, 42-10, $10,500
29th: Matthew Stefan, Junction City, Wis., 15 bass, 42-10, $10,500
30th: Kurt Mitchell, Milford, Del., 15 bass, 42-1, $10,500
For a full list of results visit FLWFishing.com.
Overall, there were 150 bass weighing 436 pounds, 13 ounces, caught by pros Saturday. All 30 pros were able to bring five-bass limits to the scale.
In FLW Tour competition, the full field of 164 pro anglers competed in the two-day opening round on Thursday and Friday. The top 30 pros based on their two-day accumulated weight advanced to Saturday. Now, only the top 10 pros continue competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from the four days of competition.
The total purse for the FLW Tour at Cherokee Lake presented by Lowrance is more than $860,000. The tournament is hosted by the Economic Development Alliance, Jefferson County.
Throughout the season, anglers are also vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2019 FLW Cup, the world championship of professional bass fishing. The 2019 FLW Cup will be on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Aug. 9-11 and is hosted by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and Visit Hot Springs.
Anglers will take off for the final day of competition at 7 a.m. EST Sunday from the TVA Dam Boat Launch, located at 2805 N. Highway 92, in Jefferson City. Sunday’s Championship weigh-in will be held near the launch beginning at 4 p.m.
In conjunction with the weigh-ins, FLW will host a free Family Fishing Expo at the TVA Dam Boat Launch from 2 to 6 p.m. Sunday. The Expo is a chance for fishing fans to meet their favorite anglers, enjoy interactive games, activities and giveaways provided by FLW sponsors, as well as learn more about the sport of fishing and other outdoor activities.
Television coverage of the FLW Tour at Cherokee Lake presented by Lowrance will premiere in 2019. The exact air-date will be announced soon. The Emmy-nominated "FLW" television show airs each Saturday night at 7 p.m. EST and is broadcast to more than 63 million cable, satellite and telecommunications households in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean on the World Fishing Network (WFN), the leading entertainment destination and digital resource for anglers throughout North America. FLW television is also distributed internationally to FLW partner countries, including Canada, China, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Portugal, Spain and South Africa.
The popular FLW Live on-the-water program will air on Sunday, featuring live action from the boats of the tournament’s top pros. Host Travis Moran will be joined by veteran FLW Tour pro Todd Hollowell to break down the extended action from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. On-the-water broadcasts will be live streamed on FLWFishing.com, the FLW YouTube channel and the FLW Facebook page.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the sport’s top anglers on the FLW Tour on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
Stetson Blaylock's Big Day Delivers Lead In Bassmaster Elite At Winyah Bay
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Birge Breaks 100 Pounds, Heavy Hitters Advance to Knockout Round on Chickamauga
| MLF pro Zack Birge became the first competitor in Bass Pro Tour history to break the 100-pound mark, building his two-day Shotgun/Elimination total to a record 105-6. ( |
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MLF Pro Fred Roumbanis finished the Group B Elimination Round in the No. 2 spot with 94-12; his 58-11 weight
today was anchored by this 5-12 largemouth. (Click to enlarge/download)
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The Day's Results
UPSHAW HOLDS LEAD AT FLW TOUR ON CHEROKEE LAKE
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. (April 12, 2019) – Pro Andrew Upshaw of Tulsa, Oklahoma, is still on top at the FLW Tour at the Cherokee Lake presented by Lowrance after catching five bass weighing 17 pounds, 14 ounces. Upshaw’s two-day total of 36-4 will lead the final 30 pros into the third day of the event, with pro Dylan Hays of El Dorado, Arkansas, in second with 34-8 and Lowrance pro Austin Felix of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, right on his heels in third with 34-5. With weights this close together, there is sure to be some movement on the leaderboard heading into Championship Sunday, when the final 10 pros will take the water with their sights set on the top award of up to $125,000.
“I actually started right where I caught my last big one yesterday. I went through the exact same spot and I caught a 4½- and a 2¾-pounder,” said Upshaw, who is fishing in his eighth season on the FLW Tour. “There was enough boats around me that I figured I better stay in there and catch my limit, so I went ahead and caught a limit of 2½-pounders and the one big one.
“After that I just started running new water – places where I’d had bites in practice,” continued Upshaw. “The first place I pulled up to I caught a 3, and then the next spot I caught a 3½, a 3 and a 3¼ – it was a day. I hit two new places today and I still have about 15 other spots I haven’t even touched.”
Upshaw said he caught more keepers Friday than he did Thursday, and again brought all smallmouth to the weigh-in stage.
“I wasn’t sure I could catch what I caught today. I was pretty certain I could catch 16 [pounds] and I got lucky with that big one this morning,” said Upshaw. “A 4½-pounder is a big deal here. These guys are catching 3-pounders and a lot of them, but catching a 4-pounder is really hard, and today I was just fortunate enough to do it.”
Heading into the weekend, Upshaw said he has a couple of options for catching fish.
“I did figure out something late in the day today. I just started practicing – trying to figure out a way I could catch them completely different than what I have been doing and I was able to catch about 14 pounds doing that,” said Upshaw. “I could run around and catch them – and not spawners – which was nice. But, I’m not really worried about that for tomorrow. That’s more of a day four kind of thing. Overall, I can’t complain about today – it was a great day.”
The top 30 pros that made the cut and will fish Saturday on Cherokee Lake are:
1st: Andrew Upshaw, Tulsa, Okla., 10 bass, 36-4
2nd: Dylan Hays, El Dorado, Ark., 10 bass, 34-8
3rd: Lowrance pro Austin Felix, Eden Prairie, Minn., 10 bass, 34-5
4th: Grae Buck, Harleysville, Pa., 10 bass, 34-0
5th: Tim Frederick, Leesburg, Fla., 10 bass, 33-9
6th: Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich., 10 bass, 33-9
7th: Lowrance pro Kurt Mitchell, Milford, Del., 10 bass, 33-7
8th: Yamamoto baits pro Tom Monsoor, La Crosse, Wis., 10 bass, 33-4
9th: Derrick Snavely, Piney Flats, Tenn., 10 bass, 32-14
10th: Berkley pro Joey Cifuentes, Clinton, Ark., 10 bass, 32-7
11th: Andy Young, Isle, Minn., 10 bass, 32-3
12th: Scott Martin, Clewiston, Fla., 10 bass, 32-3
13th: Kerry Milner, Bono, Ark., 10 bass, 32-2
14th: J. Todd Tucker, Moultrie, Ga., 10 bass, 31-12
15th: Polaris pro David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., 10 bass, 31-11
16th: Jason Reyes, Huffman, Texas, 10 bass, 31-10
17th: Johnny McCombs, Morris, Ala., 10 bass, 31-5
18th: Jon Englund, Farwell, Minn., 10 bass, 31-3
19th: Matt Becker, Finleyville, Pa., 10 bass, 31-2
20th: Tim Cales, Sandstone, W. Va., 10 bass, 31-2
21st: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 10 bass, 30-14
22nd: Dakota Ebare, Denham Springs, La., 10 bass, 30-12
23rd: Brandon McMillan, Clewiston, Fla., 10 bass, 30-12
24th: Josh Douglas, Isle, Minn., 10 bass, 30-11
25th: Evan Barnes, Hot Springs, Ark., 10 bass, 30-11
26th: A.J. Slegona, Pine Bush, N.Y., 10 bass, 30-4
27th: Matthew Stefan, Junction City, Wis., 10 bass, 30-3
28th: Alex Davis, Albertville, Ala., 10 bass, 30-2
29th: Jason Meninger, Saint Augustine, Fla., 10 bass, 29-14
30th: Yamamoto Baits pro Larry Nixon, Quitman, Ark., 10 bass, 29-12
For a full list of results visit FLWFishing.com.
Hensley Powell of Whitwell, Tennessee, earned the $500 Big Bass award Friday after bringing a bass to the scale weighing 5 pounds even – the heaviest fish of the day.
Overall there were 786 bass weighing 2,120 pounds, 13 ounces, caught by 162 pros Friday. The catch included 147 five-bass limits.
In FLW Tour competition, the full field of 164 pro anglers competed in the two-day opening round on Thursday and Friday. The top 30 pros based on their two-day accumulated weight now advance to Saturday. Only the top 10 pros continue competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from the four days of competition.
The total purse for the FLW Tour at Cherokee Lake presented by Lowrance is more than $860,000. The tournament is hosted by the Economic Development Alliance, Jefferson County.
Throughout the season, anglers are also vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2019 FLW Cup, the world championship of professional bass fishing. The 2019 FLW Cup will be on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Aug. 9-11 and is hosted by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and Visit Hot Springs.
Anglers will take off at 7 a.m. EST Saturday and Sunday from the TVA Dam Boat Launch, located at 2805 N. Highway 92, in Jefferson City. Saturday and Sunday’s weigh-ins will be held near the launch beginning at 4 p.m.
In conjunction with the weigh-ins, FLW will host a free Family Fishing Expo at the TVA Dam Boat Launch from 2 to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The Expo is a chance for fishing fans to meet their favorite anglers, enjoy interactive games, activities and giveaways provided by FLW sponsors, as well as learn more about the sport of fishing and other outdoor activities.
Also for youth, the FLW Foundation’s Unified Fishing Derby will be held at the TVA Dam Boat Launch on Saturday, from Noon-2 p.m. The event is hosted by FLW Foundation pro Cody Kelley along with other FLW Tour anglers, and is free and open to anyone under the age of 18 and Special Olympics athletes. Rods and reels are available for use, but youth are encouraged to bring their own if they own one. The 1st and 2nd place anglers that catch the most fish will be recognized Saturday on the FLW Tour stage, just prior to the pros weighing in.
Television coverage of the FLW Tour at Cherokee Lake presented by Lowrance will premiere in 2019. The exact air-date will be announced soon. The Emmy-nominated "FLW" television show airs each Saturday night at 7 p.m. EST and is broadcast to more than 63 million cable, satellite and telecommunications households in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean on the World Fishing Network (WFN), the leading entertainment destination and digital resource for anglers throughout North America. FLW television is also distributed internationally to FLW partner countries, including Canada, China, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Portugal, Spain and South Africa.
The popular FLW Live on-the-water program will air on Saturday and Sunday, featuring live action from the boats of the tournament’s top pros each day. Host Travis Moran will be joined by veteran FLW Tour pro Todd Hollowell to break down the extended action each day from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. On-the-water broadcasts will be live streamed on FLWFishing.com, the FLW YouTube channel and the FLW Facebook page.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the sport’s top anglers on the FLW Tour on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
Long Run Produces Lead For Lowen At Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Elite At Winyah Bay
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Gill’s Bold New Product Pushes Design Innovation to Create the Most Breathable System to Date
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100% Water Tested: For Complete Protection For All Adventures, On and Off, the Water |
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Buford, GA (April 11, 2019) – Trusted as one of the world’s leading marine clothing brands for over 40 years, Gill is proud of their brand new product addition to their wet weather collection: the Fusion System. The multifunction jacket and bibs offer unparalleled protection for anyone taking on the toughest conditions in or around the water. The Fusion System takes the best of product development and rigorous testing to create a stylish and watertight combination for any sporting activity on the water, especially fishing. |
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The products also incorporate a number of clever innovations and are finished in black-graphite and a bold tango flair, Gill’s signature color for its latest season. The Fusion System has the highest level of breathability across Gill’s S119 range with its use of specially developed 3-layer lightweight, waterproof and breathable fabric. Summarizing the newest product addition to the Gill family, alongside the brand’s new creative vision, Matt Clark, Head of Product Development concluded: “At Gill, we want to create the best technical apparel designed and engineered for a perfect balance of performance and protection on and around the water. Boats are moving faster and anglers are more critical of apparel than ever before and how we design and develop products is reflecting this—customers are demanding that our product is lighter but still durable, with a focus on fishing. Since 2002, we have developed our own unique fabrics to offer flexibility in product development and ensure the best protection, comfort and fit.” |
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“We test to destruction and we endeavor to give the product a good lifetime—and we are very proud of the results. We know our customers have trusted Gill for a long time and we are excited to see their reaction to the new Fusion performance and style.” The head-to-toe Fusion System is an essential item for any active outdoor wardrobe – and now those seeking style and guaranteed protection can tap into Gill’s world class fabric technology and product innovation. The Fusion jacket and bibs are available in sizes S – XXL in Black / Graphite and Tango / Graphite. To learn more about Gill’s fishing rainwear and additional apparel, visit www.gillfishing.com. |
Martens Pours it On; Lucas, Wiggins, Elam Escape Elimination on Lake Chickamauga
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Justin Lucas fished his way into his first Knockout Round of the season.
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| Place | Angler | Day 1 | Day 2 | Total Weight | Day 1 | Day 2 | Total # Fish | Avg Weight | Largest Fish | |
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| 1st | Aaron Martens | 57 - 03 | 36 - 13 | 94 - 00 | 18 | 17 | 35 | 2 - 11 | 7 - 06 | |
| 2nd | Jordan Lee | 55 - 08 | 34 - 05 | 89 - 13 | 24 | 16 | 40 | 2 - 04 | 5 - 03 | |
| 3rd | Keith Poche | 49 - 02 | 39 - 14 | 89 - 00 | 30 | 17 | 47 | 1 - 16 | 7 - 08 | |
| 4th | Stephen Browning | 48 - 01 | 39 - 15 | 88 - 00 | 25 | 18 | 43 | 2 - 01 | 6 - 00 | |
| 5th | Justin Lucas | 50 - 10 | 36 - 13 | 87 - 07 | 24 | 19 | 43 | 2 - 00 | 4 - 09 | |
| 6th | Dave Lefebre | 59 - 14 | 25 - 11 | 85 - 09 | 34 | 15 | 49 | 1 - 12 | 3 - 03 | |
| 7th | Casey Ashley | 42 - 04 | 43 - 04 | 85 - 08 | 25 | 24 | 49 | 1 - 12 | 3 - 02 | |
| 8th | Terry Scroggins | 45 - 14 | 38 - 08 | 84 - 06 | 25 | 21 | 46 | 1 - 13 | 5 - 04 | |
| 9th | Jesse Wiggins | 46 - 13 | 37 - 07 | 84 - 04 | 22 | 20 | 42 | 2 - 00 | 3 - 06 | |
| 10th | Brandon Palaniuk | 54 - 12 | 29 - 07 | 84 - 03 | 26 | 13 | 39 | 2 - 03 | 5 - 07 | |
| 11th | Randy Howell | 43 - 13 | 38 - 14 | 82 - 11 | 22 | 15 | 37 | 2 - 05 | 7 - 03 | |
| 12th | Jeff Sprague | 39 - 12 | 41 - 13 | 81 - 09 | 17 | 21 | 38 | 2 - 03 | 4 - 04 | |
| 13th | Bradley Roy | 46 - 12 | 30 - 06 | 77 - 02 | 22 | 17 | 39 | 1 - 15 | 4 - 01 | |
| 14th | James Elam | 46 - 06 | 28 - 13 | 75 - 03 | 27 | 17 | 44 | 1 - 11 | 2 - 15 | |
| 15th | Bobby Lane | 33 - 01 | 42 - 02 | 75 - 03 | 15 | 26 | 41 | 1 - 15 | 2 - 11 | |
| 16th | David Walker | 37 - 10 | 36 - 14 | 74 - 08 | 17 | 18 | 35 | 2 - 02 | 4 - 13 | |
| 17th | Greg Hackney | 34 - 11 | 39 - 01 | 73 - 12 | 14 | 19 | 33 | 2 - 04 | 6 - 04 | |
| 18th | Dustin Connell | 34 - 08 | 39 - 02 | 73 - 10 | 16 | 22 | 38 | 1 - 16 | 4 - 08 | |
| 19th | Chris Lane | 35 - 11 | 37 - 14 | 73 - 09 | 17 | 20 | 37 | 2 - 00 | 4 - 13 | |
| 20th | Mark Rose | 53 - 08 | 19 - 07 | 72 - 15 | 31 | 11 | 42 | 1 - 12 | 4 - 00 | |
| 21st | Cliff Pace | 38 - 03 | 27 - 06 | 65 - 09 | 21 | 16 | 37 | 1 - 12 | 2 - 13 | |
| 22nd | Roy Hawk | 25 - 09 | 37 - 14 | 63 - 07 | 15 | 20 | 35 | 1 - 13 | 3 - 03 | |
| 23rd | Jeff Kriet | 32 - 14 | 28 - 07 | 61 - 05 | 17 | 14 | 31 | 1 - 16 | 4 - 03 | |
| 24th | Ott DeFoe | 34 - 02 | 26 - 10 | 60 - 12 | 18 | 16 | 34 | 1 - 12 | 3 - 00 | |
| 25th | Dean Rojas | 36 - 14 | 22 - 12 | 59 - 10 | 18 | 11 | 29 | 2 - 01 | 4 - 09 | |
| 26th | Scott Suggs | 22 - 02 | 36 - 13 | 58 - 15 | 12 | 18 | 30 | 1 - 15 | 3 - 15 | |
| 27th | Brent Chapman | 27 - 13 | 26 - 12 | 54 - 09 | 13 | 12 | 25 | 2 - 03 | 4 - 08 | |
| 28th | Ish Monroe | 31 - 05 | 20 - 05 | 51 - 10 | 13 | 8 | 21 | 2 - 08 | 5 - 00 | |
| 29th | Skeet Reese | 19 - 08 | 29 - 10 | 49 - 02 | 8 | 21 | 29 | 1 - 15 | 2 - 10 | |
| 30th | Takahiro Omori | 13 - 06 | 35 - 10 | 49 - 00 | 8 | 18 | 26 | 1 - 13 | 4 - 08 | |
| 31st | Jonathon VanDam | 22 - 10 | 24 - 13 | 47 - 07 | 17 | 12 | 29 | 1 - 11 | 5 - 05 | |
| 32nd | Timmy Horton | 28 - 11 | 15 - 11 | 44 - 06 | 14 | 6 | 20 | 2 - 05 | 5 - 10 | |
| 33rd | Gerald Spohrer | 22 - 05 | 19 - 13 | 42 - 02 | 13 | 8 | 21 | 2 - 02 | 6 - 00 | |
| 34th | Brett Hite | 17 - 13 | 23 - 03 | 41 - 00 | 10 | 11 | 21 | 1 - 15 | 4 - 13 | |
| 35th | Britt Myers | 27 - 12 | 12 - 06 | 40 - 02 | 14 | 9 | 23 | 1 - 11 | 1 - 14 | |
| 36th | Mike McClelland | 13 - 14 | 21 - 15 | 35 - 13 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 2 - 01 | 3 - 10 | |
| 37th | Russ Lane | 14 - 15 | 19 - 15 | 34 - 14 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 2 - 03 | 5 - 02 | |
| 38th | Matt Lee | 20 - 08 | 13 - 13 | 34 - 05 | 12 | 9 | 21 | 1 - 10 | 2 - 10 | |
| 39th | Marty Robinson | 18 - 00 | 13 - 02 | 31 - 02 | 11 | 5 | 16 | 2 - 02 | 4 - 10 | |
| 40th | Shaw Grigsby | 12 - 13 | 16 - 03 | 29 - 00 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 2 - 01 | 4 - 0 |
Tyler Rivet - Work Your Way Up
Luke Stoner - Dynamic Sponsorships
If you are a young angler with aspirations to fish at the next level but you’re not real sure which route to take to get there, look no further than Bassmaster Elite Series Rookie Tyler Rivet. Rivet grew up fishing in the back of the boat in local clubs near his home in Raceland, LA before attending Nicholls State University for a college education.
There, Rivet joined the bass fishing club and began an extremely fruitful college fishing career, qualifying for the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Championship every year he competed. It had always been a childhood dream, but the success and the platform Rivet found fishing in Carhartt College B.A.S.S events was what propelled him to pursue becoming a professional fisherman.
The B.A.S.S. platform provided a myriad of opportunities, so Rivet registered for the Bassmaster Opens and began competing at the next level. Taking his share of licks while cashing two checks a year during his first two Bassmaster Opens campaigns, just enough to keep him financially able to continue chasing his dream. In 2018, Rivet set the hook on that dream when he qualified for the 2019 Bassmaster Elite Series through the Bass Pro Shops Central Opens.
While that may sound easy enough in two paragraphs of a 600 word article, you can be sure Rivet’s path was filled with lots of long days, late nights, bumps in the road, and a boatload of hard work. But with the support of his family and those closest to him, Rivet kept the faith and kept his head down until he found success.
This week at the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Elite on Winyah Bay, Rivet is coming off his first top 20 finish as an Elite Series angler. The south Louisiana angler finished last week’s Lake Hartwell event in 18thplace and earned himself his first $10,000 check of his career. While he isn’t satisfied with anything but 1stplace, Rivet knows last week was a big milestone and respects the anglers he fishes against.
“The level of competition on the Elites is definitely a step up,” admitted Rivet. “No one slacks off at this level, you have to bring 5 big ones to the scales every single day. At the college or opens level, you could get by with having one “decent” day in a multi-day tournament, but not against these guys. You’ve got to catch ‘em.”
Rivet is trying to keep the momentum rolling this week on Winyah Bay, and he put himself in great position to do so after the day 1 weigh-in concluded. He caught five bass that weighed 9-lbs 15-ounces today and had to drive 194.2 miles in his Phoenix Boat to catch them. His day one efforts have him tied in 21stplace and he is ready to do whatever is necessary tomorrow to improve his position.
It doesn’t take long when talking to Rivet to feel his competitive nature and understand he isn’t satisfied with anything but his best. When asked what kind of advice, or words of wisdom he had for aspiring anglers wanting to get to where he is now, Rivet had this to say.
“You just gotta work your way up,” Rivet said with a smile. “Don’t skip steps trying to get to the top of the ladder, and be willing to put in the work to get to where you want to be. This may not be the best advice, but you have to be willing to gamble a little bit to make it to the next step sometimes. You’ll never go anywhere if you just sit still. Trust your gut and do your best.”
With that kind of work ethic and perspective, this 24-year old Elite Series Rookie won’t be going anywhere for a long time.
Strike King / Lew's Pro Andrew Upshaw Leads Day 1 of FLW event on Cherokee
Oklahoma pro brings 18-pound limit to the FLW Tour weigh-in stage, grabs early lead on Cherokee Lake
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. (April 11, 2019) – Pro Andrew Upshaw of Tulsa, Oklahoma, caught a five-bass limit weighing 18 pounds, 6 ounces to lead the field after day one of the FLW Tour at the Cherokee Lake presented by Lowrance. Right behind Upshaw in second place is pro Dylan Hays of El Dorado, Arkansas, with 17-13 and Tim Frederick of Leesburg, Florida, in third with 17-4. The full field of 164 professionals, who are casting for a top award of up to $125,000, will continue competition into day two, with just the top 30 fishing Saturday and the final 10 competing Sunday.
“I started in an area that I’d thought there’d be a lot of boats, but there were only two of us when I got there. It’s a big area, and both of us caught quite a few fish out of there,” said Upshaw, a former YETI FLW College Fishing angler who is a two-time FLW Cup qualifier. “I had 14 or 15 pounds early – within the 45 minutes to an hour or so. I made a couple of quick moves and caught two big ones that I’d marked and shook off in practice.
“I caught a lot of 3-pounders and that’s why, around 10 [a.m.], I just laid off of them completely,” continued Upshaw. “I was catching too many 3s and I knew how crucial 3-pounders would be in this tournament.”
Upshaw said he caught approximately 28 keepers Thursday – which included some largemouth – but ended up weighing a limit of smallmouth.
“I was fishing slow and just focusing on fish that were possibly on a bed, as well as staging fish in a couple of places,” said Upshaw. “I’m looking for a harder bottom.”
The Oklahoma pro went on to say that he doesn’t have a bait that’s producing better than the rest, saying he pretty much junk-fished his way to the lead today.
“I fell in love with this lake the first hour of practice, and ever since then I just kind of rolled with it. It really reminds me of a lake I grew up fishing - Lake Texoma –on the border of Texas and Oklahoma. How the fish set up is so similar, and they spawn on a lot of the exact same stuff.”
The top 10 boaters after day one on Cherokee Lake are:
1st: Andrew Upshaw, Tulsa, Okla., five bass, 18-6
2nd: Dylan Hays, El Dorado, Ark., five bass, 17-13
3rd: Tim Frederick, Leesburg, Fla., five bass, 17-4
3rd: Lowrance pro Austin Felix, Eden Prairie, Minn., five bass, 17-4
5th: Andy Young, Isle, Minn., five bass, 17-2
5th: Jason Reyes, Huffman, Texas, five bass, 17-2
7th: Johnny McCombs, Morris, Ala., five bass, 17-1
8th: Yamamoto Baits pro Tom Monsoor, La Crosse, Wis., five bass, 17-0
9th: Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich., five bass, 16-12
10th: Buddy Gross, Chickamauga, Ga., five bass, 16-9
For a full list of results visit FLWFishing.com.
Christopher Brasher of Longview, Texas, earned Thursday’s $500 Big Bass award after bringing a 5-pound, 8-ounce bass to the scale – the largest fish of the day.
Overall there were 781 bass weighing 2,064 pounds, 8 ounces, caught by 163 pros Thursday. The catch included 143 five-bass limits.
In FLW Tour competition, the full field of 164 pro anglers compete in the two-day opening round on Thursday and Friday. The top 30 pros based on their two-day accumulated weight advance to Saturday. Only the top 10 pros continue competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from the four days of competition.
The total purse for the FLW Tour at Cherokee Lake presented by Lowrance is more than $860,000. The tournament is hosted by the Economic Development Alliance, Jefferson County.
Throughout the season, anglers are also vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2019 FLW Cup, the world championship of professional bass fishing. The 2019 FLW Cup will be on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Aug. 9-11 and is hosted by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and Visit Hot Springs.
Anglers will take off at 7 a.m. EST Friday through Sunday from the TVA Dam Boat Launch, located at 2805 N. Highway 92, in Jefferson City. Friday’s weigh-in will be held near the launch beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday’s weigh-ins will also be held near the launch, but will begin at 4 p.m.
In conjunction with the weigh-ins, FLW will host a free Family Fishing Expo at the TVA Dam Boat Launch from 2 to 6 p.m. The Expo is a chance for fishing fans to meet their favorite anglers, enjoy interactive games, activities and giveaways provided by FLW sponsors, as well as learn more about the sport of fishing and other outdoor activities.
Also for youth, the FLW Foundation’s Unified Fishing Derby will be held at the TVA Dam Boat Launch on Saturday, April 13, from Noon-2 p.m. The event is hosted by FLW Foundation pro Cody Kelley along with other FLW Tour anglers, and is free and open to anyone under the age of 18 and Special Olympics athletes. Rods and reels are available for use, but youth are encouraged to bring their own if they own one. The 1st and 2nd place anglers that catch the most fish will be recognized Saturday on the FLW Tour stage, just prior to the pros weighing in.
Television coverage of the FLW Tour at Cherokee Lake presented by Lowrance will premiere in 2019. The exact air-date will be announced soon. The Emmy-nominated "FLW" television show airs each Saturday night at 7 p.m. EST and is broadcast to more than 63 million cable, satellite and telecommunications households in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean on the World Fishing Network (WFN), the leading entertainment destination and digital resource for anglers throughout North America. FLW television is also distributed internationally to FLW partner countries, including Canada, China, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Portugal, Spain and South Africa.
The popular FLW Live on-the-water program will air on Days Three and Four of the event, featuring live action from the boats of the tournament’s top pros each day. Host Travis Moran will be joined by veteran FLW Tour pro Todd Hollowell to break down the extended action each day from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. On-the-water broadcasts will be live streamed on FLWFishing.com, the FLW YouTube channel and the FLW Facebook page.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the sport’s top anglers on the FLW Tour on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
| PLACE | ANGLER | DAY 1-4 WT (Fish) |
WINNINGS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ANDREW UPSHAW | 18 - 6 (5) | |
| 2 | DYLAN HAYS | 17 - 13 (5) | |
| 3 | TIM FREDERICK | 17 - 4 (5) | |
| 3 | AUSTIN FELIX | 17 - 4 (5) | |
| 5 | ANDY YOUNG | 17 - 2 (5) | |
| 5 | JASON REYES | 17 - 2 (5) | |
| 7 | JOHNNY MCCOMBS | 17 - 1 (5) | |
| 8 | TOM MONSOOR | 17 - 0 (5) | |
| 9 | RON NELSON | 16 - 12 (5) | |
| 10 | BUDDY GROSS | 16 - 9 (5) | |
| 11 | DERRICK SNAVELY | 16 - 8 (5) | |
| 11 | SCOTT MARTIN | 16 - 8 (5) | |
| 13 | GRAE BUCK | 16 - 6 (5) | |
| 14 | MATT BECKER | 16 - 4 (5) | |
| 15 | COREY NEECE | 15 - 14 (5) | |
| 15 | KERRY MILNER | 15 - 14 (5) | |
| 17 | KYLE WEISENBURGER | 15 - 13 (5) | |
| 17 | MATTHEW STEFAN | 15 - 13 (5) | |
| 17 | MARTY LAWRENCE | 15 - 13 (5) | |
| 20 | EVAN BARNES | 15 - 12 (5) | |
| 21 | DAVID DUDLEY | 15 - 11 (5) | |
| 22 | CODY MURRAY | 15 - 9 (5) | |
| 22 | JOEY CIFUENTES | 15 - 9 (5) | |
| 24 | TIM CALES | 15 - 8 (5) | |
| 25 | MATT REED | 15 - 7 (5) | |
| 25 | MILES BURGHOFF | 15 - 7 (5) | |
| 27 | JEREMY LAWYER | 15 - 6 (5) | |
| 27 | BRANDON MCMILLAN | 15 - 6 (5) | |
| 29 | MARK FISHER | 15 - 5 (5) | |
| 30 | AJ SLEGONA | 15 - 3 (5) | |
| 30 | CHRISTOPHER BRASHER | 15 - 3 (5) | $500 |
| 32 | RANDY DESPINO | 15 - 2 (5) | |
| 33 | MATT GREENBLATT | 15 - 0 (5) | |
| 33 | REX HUFF | 15 - 0 (5) | |
| 33 | DARYL BIRON | 15 - 0 (5) | |
| 36 | BRADFORD BEAVERS | 14 - 15 (5) | |
| 36 | JORDAN OSBORNE | 14 - 15 (5) | |
| 38 | JAMES NIGGEMEYER | 14 - 14 (5) | |
| 38 | ALEX DAVIS | 14 - 14 (5) | |
| 40 | J TODD TUCKER | 14 - 12 (5) | |
| 41 | JASON MENINGER | 14 - 11 (5) | |
| 41 | TIM MALONE | 14 - 11 (5) | |
| 43 | BRAXTON SETZER | 14 - 9 (5) | |
| 43 | BRYAN THRIFT | 14 - 9 (5) | |
| 45 | JOSH DOUGLAS | 14 - 8 (5) | |
| 45 | MILES HOWE | 14 - 8 (5) | |
| 45 | DARRELL DAVIS | 14 - 8 (5) | |
| 48 | BRIAN LATIMER | 14 - 7 (5) | |
| 48 | LARRY NIXON | 14 - 7 (5) | |
| 48 | JASON ABRAM | 14 - 7 (5) | |
| 48 | ROBERT CASE | 14 - 7 (5) | |
| 52 | JOSHUA WEAVER | 14 - 6 (5) | |
| 52 | DARREL ROBERTSON | 14 - 6 (5) | |
| 54 | KEVIN FINLEY | 14 - 4 (5) | |
| 55 | JOHN HUNTER | 14 - 3 (5) | |
| 55 | TOM REDINGTON | 14 - 3 (5) | |
| 57 | ZELL ROWLAND | 14 - 1 (5) | |
| 57 | TIMMY THOMPKINS | 14 - 1 (5) | |
| 59 | KURT MITCHELL | 14 - 0 (5) | |
| 59 | BOB MORIN | 14 - 0 (5) | |
| 61 | SHELDON COLLINGS | 13 - 15 (5) | |
| 62 | AUSTIN WILSON | 13 - 14 (5) | |
| 63 | MICHAEL MATTHEE | 13 - 13 (5) | |
| 63 | JOHN COX | 13 - 13 (5) | |
| 65 | KURT DOVE | 13 - 12 (5) | |
| 65 | JAMIE HORTON | 13 - 12 (5) | |
| 67 | CODY HAHNER | 13 - 10 (5) | |
| 67 | KYLE CORTIANA | 13 - 10 (5) | |
| 69 | JON ENGLUND | 13 - 9 (5) | |
| 69 | JIM MOYNAGH | 13 - 9 (5) | |
| 69 | DAKOTA EBARE | 13 - 9 (5) | |
| 72 | TERRY BOLTON | 13 - 7 (5) | |
| 72 | GREG BOHANNAN | 13 - 7 (5) | |
| 72 | SCOTT ASHMORE | 13 - 7 (5) | |
| 75 | NICK GAINEY | 13 - 6 (5) | |
| 75 | JOEL WILLERT | 13 - 6 (5) | |
| 77 | CHRIS WHITSON | 13 - 4 (5) | |
| 77 | CHAD WARREN | 13 - 4 (5) | |
| 77 | ANDY WICKER | 13 - 4 (5) | |
| 80 | MIKE SURMAN | 13 - 2 (5) | |
| 80 | JEFF DOBSON | 13 - 2 (5) | |
| 82 | JIM TUTT | 13 - 1 (5) | |
| 83 | BRYAN SCHMITT | 13 - 0 (5) | |
| 83 | GLENN CHAPPELEAR | 13 - 0 (5) | |
| 83 | JARED MCMILLAN | 13 - 0 (5) | |
| 83 | CHAD RANDLES | 13 - 0 (5) | |
| 83 | PETE PONDS | 13 - 0 (5) | |
| 88 | BRAD KNIGHT | 12 - 15 (5) | |
| 89 | RANDY BLAUKAT | 12 - 14 (5) | |
| 89 | JACOB WALL | 12 - 14 (5) | |
| 89 | BILL MCDONALD | 12 - 14 (5) | |
| 92 | CODY KELLEY | 12 - 13 (5) | |
| 93 | BILLY MCCAGHREN | 12 - 12 (5) | |
| 94 | BARRY WILSON | 12 - 10 (5) | |
| 94 | WADE STRELIC | 12 - 10 (5) | |
| 94 | CHAD GRIGSBY | 12 - 10 (5) | |
| 94 | COLBY SCHRUMPF | 12 - 10 (5) | |
| 98 | JOHN VOYLES | 12 - 9 (5) | |
| 99 | CHRIS MCCALL | 12 - 8 (5) | |
| 99 | CAPT BLAKE SMITH | 12 - 8 (5) | |
| 99 | TYLER WOOLCOTT | 12 - 8 (5) | |
| 102 | RAMIE COLSON JR | 12 - 5 (5) | |
| 103 | BRANDON MOSLEY | 12 - 4 (5) | |
| 103 | LUKE DUNKIN | 12 - 4 (5) | |
| 103 | RUSSELL CECIL | 12 - 4 (5) | |
| 106 | JONATHAN CANADA | 12 - 3 (5) | |
| 106 | CLAYTON BATTS | 12 - 3 (5) | |
| 108 | CHARLIE EVANS | 12 - 2 (5) | |
| 108 | SHAWN MURPHY | 12 - 2 (5) | |
| 110 | TONY DUMITRAS | 12 - 1 (5) | |
| 111 | BRANT GRIMM | 12 - 0 (5) | |
| 112 | CURTIS RICHARDSON | 11 - 15 (5) | |
| 113 | JASON CHRISTY | 11 - 14 (5) | |
| 114 | BILLY HINES | 11 - 13 (5) | |
| 114 | AARON BRITT | 11 - 13 (5) | |
| 116 | NICK LEBRUN | 11 - 10 (5) | |
| 116 | REX JAEGER | 11 - 10 (5) | |
| 118 | BAILEY BOUTRIES | 11 - 9 (5) | |
| 118 | TODD CASTLEDINE | 11 - 9 (5) | |
| 120 | RICHARD LOWITZKI | 11 - 7 (5) | |
| 120 | TYLER STEWART | 11 - 7 (5) | |
| 120 | DAVID WOOTTON | 11 - 7 (5) | |
| 120 | DAVID WILLIAMS | 11 - 7 (5) | |
| 124 | ROBERT BEHRLE | 11 - 6 (5) | |
| 124 | BRADLEY HALLMAN | 11 - 6 (5) | |
| 126 | SCOTT WILEY | 11 - 5 (5) | |
| 127 | ALTON WILHOIT | 11 - 2 (5) | |
| 127 | BRADLEY DORTCH | 11 - 2 (5) | |
| 129 | CHRIS NEAU | 11 - 1 (5) | |
| 130 | JIM JONES | 10 - 12 (5) | |
| 131 | JOSEPH WEBSTER | 10 - 8 (5) | |
| 132 | ERIC JACKSON | 10 - 7 (4) | |
| 133 | RYAN CHANDLER | 10 - 4 (5) | |
| 133 | HENSLEY POWELL | 10 - 4 (5) | |
| 135 | CLARK REEHM | 10 - 2 (5) | |
| 135 | WES LOGAN | 10 - 2 (5) | |
| 135 | JIMMY REESE | 10 - 2 (5) | |
| 138 | LENDELL MARTIN JR | 10 - 1 (5) | |
| 138 | TROY MORROW | 10 - 1 (5) | |
| 138 | CASEY SCANLON | 10 - 1 (5) | |
| 141 | MATT WITTEKIEND | 9 - 13 (5) | |
| 142 | JIMMY HOUSTON | 9 - 7 (4) | |
| 143 | CHARLIE INGRAM | 8 - 14 (5) | |
| 144 | ROB KILBY | 8 - 7 (4) | |
| 145 | DICKY NEWBERRY | 8 - 5 (5) | |
| 146 | TROY RODER | 8 - 3 (4) | |
| 147 | CHARLES SIM | 8 - 2 (4) | |
| 148 | HUNTER FREEMAN | 8 - 0 (4) | |
| 149 | CHUCK MEDLEY | 7 - 11 (4) | |
| 150 | RYAN SALZMAN | 7 - 9 (4) | |
| 151 | CHUCK STRATTON | 7 - 5 (3) | |
| 152 | CHIP HARRINGTON | 7 - 3 (3) | |
| 152 | RON FARROW | 7 - 3 (3) | |
| 152 | BILL HUTCHISON | 7 - 3 (3) | |
| 155 | HARRY MOORE | 6 - 14 (3) | |
| 156 | TOMMY DICKERSON | 6 - 11 (3) | |
| 156 | DEREK FULPS | 6 - 11 (3) | |
| 158 | DAVID GASTON | 6 - 6 (4) | |
| 158 | JIMMY BREWER | 6 - 6 (3) | |
| 160 | RUSTY TRANCYGIER | 5 - 12 (3) | |
| 161 | RANDY ALLEN | 3 - 2 (2) | |
| 162 | CRAIG ROZEMA | 2 - 10 (5) | |
| 163 | SAM GEORGE | 1 - 5 (1) | |
| DREW RATLEY | 0 - 0 (0) |
Jason Williamson Takes First-Round Lead In Bassmaster Elite At Winyah Bay
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Over 41 Pound limit leads Day 1 of WON Bass California Open on Clear Lake
Courtesy of WONews.com
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Noy Vilaysane and AAA Ryan Furno crush records with 41.76-pound day 1 at the California Open Crushing. That’s the only way to describe what Pro Division angler Noy Vilasayne and his AAA Ryan Furno did in lapping the field on Day 1 of the WON BASS California Open with an astounding 41.76-pound limit. Vilaysane’s Big Fish weighed 11.74 pounds, but every fish in his combined limit was a chunk. Consider, the per fish average was over 8 pounds! Tournament Director Billy Egan said the Vilaysane-Furno limit was the largest he’s weighed in the ten years he’s run tournaments for WON BASS. Terry McKnight, fish reporter for the Lake County Record Bee said he’s covered and run tournaments at Clear Lake since 1986 and never seen the like and opined that Vilaysane’s 41.76 pounds could be a single day lake tournament record. McKnight said Vilaysane told him he caught his fish in deep water while using swimbaits. He further said Vilaysane said he couldn’t believe it when he hooked into his 11.74-pound Big Fish. Pro Sean Wayman and AAA Nick Klein sit in second with 27.30 pounds, normally an outstanding Clear Lake day, but one that was overshadowed on Day 1. Wayman’s limit was backstopped by a 9.01-pound Big Fish, good for third Pro Big Fish on the day. Pro Mike Iloski and AAA Kevin Quach are in third after Day 1 with 26.91 pounds. Iloski scored second Pro Big Fish with his 10.24-pound largemouth. That’s two fish over 10 pounds on Day 1 if you’re counting. Clear Lake gives up the goods. AAA Big Fish of the day went to Justin Taylor Bolen (09.80 pounds), Kevin Quach (7.11 pounds), and Aaron Riggs. Competitors fished under bluebird skies and the forecast high winds never materialized in the northern portion of the lake, but some who fished south of The Narrows said it was windy. |
Official Statement from FLW Regarding Irwin Jacobs
The following statement was issued today, Thursday April 11, 2019, by FLW President of Operations Kathy Fennel and the FLW Organization.
Statement from Kathy Fennel, FLW President of Operations:
Yesterday was a difficult day for the FLW family and the entire sport of professional bass fishing. Mr. Jacobs did so much for our organization and truly had a revolutionary impact on the industry throughout his time as owner of FLW. He cared deeply about the anglers and staff, and he gave all of us the unwavering support needed to be successful. I remain humbled and honored for the leadership opportunity he provided me. His sincerity and kindness extended not only to me but to all families of this organization. It was a privilege to know and work for Mr. Jacobs and his impact on our organization as well as our sport will continue on. My thoughts and prayers are with Trish and the entire Jacobs Family during this time.
Official Statement from FLW:
It is with deep sadness that we mourn the passing of FLW Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Irwin Jacobs and his loving wife, Alexandra. We as an organization are devastated by this loss and remember the leadership and passion with which Mr. Jacobs led our organization. We ask the bass fishing community to keep the Jacobs family in your thoughts and prayers during this time.
All FLW tournaments and operations will proceed as scheduled.
Hard work the core of Matt Lee in baseball and bass
Alan McGuckin - Dynamic Sponsorships
Major League Fishing pro Matt Lee is the son of a Carhartt wearing man who may just be the sweetest natured, hardest working veterinarian in Alabama. So it’s no surprise that hard work has also been the common thread of his son’s current success as a competitive angler, and previously as a 2-time Alabama High School State Champion baseball player as a Cullman Bearcat.
“Our pitching staff probably wasn’t the best in the state at Cullman, and we weren’t near as big physically as some teams, but we worked harder than everybody else,” says the now 30-year old Lee, as he reflects on the 2007 State Champion Bearcats.
“Baseball was something I absolutely loved from the time I was in tee-ball. But at 5’ 7” and 150 pounds in high school, I wasn’t nearly as gifted as my good friend Josh Rutledge who played for the Crimson Tide and then the Colorado Rockies, or our pitcher Caleb Clay who could throw 94 mph and got drafted in the first round by the Red Sox,” says Lee.
Lee graduated from Cullman High with a 3.96 GPA, scored an impressive 29 on the ACT, and eventually earned a degree in engineering from Auburn where he became a national champion in the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series. But it was pure dedication and hustle that allowed him to be a key contributor at second base on the same starting line-up as future big leaguers like Clay and Rutledge.
“Fishing became my competitive outlet when my baseball career ended, and just like baseball, I may not be the most naturally gifted angler on tour. So I have to work extra hard to stay competitive against the best bass fishermen in the world,” admits Lee.
“Trust me, life as a pro angler can be a physical and mental grind. But I love it. And the cool thing about fishing is through hard work I can be successful. The fish don’t care how big I am or how fast I can throw a baseball,” he smiles.
With a dugout full of Top 20 finishes to his credit, a Carhartt Bassmaster College Series title, and two Bassmaster Classic qualifications, obviously the hard work is paying off in a manner to make all who know him proud, including a particular hard working veterinarian in Cullman, Alabama.
Crochet's First-Period Maelstrom Propels Him to Shotgun Round Win
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MLF pro Andy Morgan knows home-lake Chickamauga isn't finished in showing of its wealth of big bass. Because of that, it is unlikely any angler will try coasting his way through Elimination Rounds into the Knockout Round. (Photo by Josh Gassmann. Click to enlarge/download)
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Updated - FLW CEO Irwin Jacobs and Wife Found Dead in Minnesota Mansion
4.11.19 updated report by the Star Tribune:
Irwin Jacobs, wife Alexandra dead in murder-suicide, close friend says
The Minneapolis Star-Tribune is reporting that FLW founder and CEO was found dead along with his Wife in their suburban Minneapolis home Wednesday morning.
Police are investigating the deaths in Jacobs’ home. A police dispatcher reported Wednesday morning that two people were “found unconscious, possibly DOA [dead on arrival],” and were in a bed with a handgun on the bed as well, the Star Tribune reported.
Swindle: Don’t forget about The Possum
Alan McGuckin - Dynamic Sponsorships
Most bass fishing fans know Gerald Swindle for his world-class comedy and angling skills. What they may not know is Swindle has a deep love of lyrics, mostly country music lyrics. Hence he’s quick to parallel spinnerbaits, arguably the greatest bass fishing lure of all time, to country music legend George “The Possum” Jones.
“Just like lures, there are so many new songs released every year it’s easy to get caught up in the new stuff and forget about the proven classics like “He Stopped Loving Her Today”,” says Swindle. “That’s why anytime we start talking about spinnerbaits, I say “Don’t forget about The Possum, fellas.” – because to me, a spinnerbait is a whole lot like George Jones.”
In 1998, Swindle was struggling a bit financially, splitting time between pro tournaments and a job he hated as a house framer, when he rode a spinnerbait through the high waters of Beaver Lake, Arkansas to a $150,000 FLW victory and put down his hammer for good.
“That win launched my career, and I haven’t stopped loving a spinnerbait since,” smiles Swindle. “People think the pros stopped throwing spinnerbaits the last decade, but that’s not necessarily true. Fact is, we were using spinnerbaits to find fish in practice, but when the pressure was on to go catch five fat ones in the derby, we’d switch to a big swimbait or something else.”
“To be honest the new Major League Fishing format has revitalized the spinnerbait. I’ve had two different tackle manufacturers tell me that recently. In MLF, you’re just trying to generate keeper bites, not necessarily fishing for giants, and there ain’t many lures in history that get more bites than a spinnerbait,” says the Team Toyota angler.
Chatterbaits and Spinnerbaits are first cousins
Some anglers might ask how the now highly popular Chatterbait fits into Swindle’s spinnerbait mix. It’s simple. He says they’re in the same family. It’s just a matter of habitat and weather conditions as to which one he throws, and it’s a pretty elementary formula. If there’s rocks, wood, and wind … he’ll likely throw a spinnerbait. If there’s aquatic vegetation, and a lack of wind, he’ll choose a Chatterbait.
Rod, reel, line, and lure weight
“People would be shocked to know how simple I keep my spinnerbait and chatterbait fishing,” says Swindle. “I throw a 5/16 ounce spinnerbait with a Colorado-Indiana blade combo 90-percent of the time. And for Chatterbaits, I always throw a ½ ounce to keep the lure down in the water column a little better,” he explains. “I throw ‘em both on 16-pound Sunline Shooter fluorocarbon spooled on a Quantum Smoke 7.3:1 reel. My trailer for each is a Zoom Boot Tail.”
“The 7’ 2” medium heavy rod I use is a $99 Quantum G-Force, and it’s critical to success with bladed baits, because the biggest mistake most anglers make is using a rod that’s too stiff or too limber with this category of lures. That rod has the perfect combination of tip and backbone,” emphasizes Swindle.
The success Swindle has had since putting down the framing hammer 21 years ago ranks amazingly high in the 50-year history of professional bass fishing – and a whole lot of his accolades can be traced back to spinnerbaits.
“I’d argue a spinnerbait is the most versatile lure ever,” says Swindle. “Don’t make it complicated, folks. Don’t forget about The Possum.”
“He stopped loving her today. They placed a wreath upon his door.And soon they'll carry him away. He stopped loving her today.” George “The Possum” Jones (1980)
B.A.S.S. Agrees To Associate Sponsorship With Joe Gibbs Racing
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 10, 2019 |
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. – Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) announces today that it has entered into an agreement with Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (B.A.S.S.) to serve as an associate sponsor on its No. 19 Toyota Camry driven by Martin Truex, Jr.
“B.A.S.S. is thrilled to enter into this partnership with Joe Gibbs Racing and the Bass Pro Shops No. 19 car,” said Bruce Akin, CEO of B.A.S.S. “As an avid outdoorsman and fisherman, Martin Truex, Jr. is a great fit as an ambassador for our sport. This partnership also amplifies our common partnerships with Toyota and Bass Pro Shops. Most importantly, in a year where we are celebrating the fans of B.A.S.S., it connects our organization with racing fans who are also fans of fishing.”
B.A.S.S. is the world’s largest fishing organization with a growing membership that has now reached 510,000. A media-and-events company that celebrated its 50thanniversary last year, B.A.S.S. conducts the world’s most prestigious professional bass fishing tournaments and reaches millions of fans each month through its flagship magazine, Bassmaster, Bassmaster.com, and the highly rated The Bassmasters television program.
“It’s great to have B.A.S.S. come on board as an associate sponsor with our No. 19 Toyota Camry,” said Martin Truex, Jr. “It’s no secret that I love fishing so this is obviously a great fit. B.A.S.S. has done a lot to advance the sport and I look forward to working with them and through their partnerships with Toyota and Bass Pro Shops.”
About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S. is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 510,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), television show (The Bassmasters on ESPN2), radio show (Bassmaster Radio), social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, BassPro.com Bassmaster Opens Series, TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Series, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School Series presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors, Bassmaster Team Championship and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods.
About Joe Gibbs Racing:
Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) is one of the premier organizations in NASCAR with four Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series teams, three NASCAR Xfinity Series teams and a driver development program. Its 2019 driver lineup will consist of Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Erik Jones, and Martin Truex, Jr. in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Meanwhile Christopher Bell and Brandon Jones will each run fulltime in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2019, joining Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Riley Herbst, and Harrison Burton all of whom will run partial schedules. In addition, Herbst and Ty Gibbs will share duties behind the wheel of JGR’s ARCA Series entry. Based in Huntersville, N.C., and owned by Joe Gibbs — a three-time Super Bowl winner as head coach of the Washington Redskins and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame — JGR has competed in NASCAR since 1992, winning four Cup Series championships, and five Xfinity Series owner’s championships along with more than 300 NASCAR races, including four Brickyard 400s and three Daytona 500s.
"Three's A Crowd"
This week Jason and Chris dive into the subject of all 3 major tours having events on the same week and how that will work for you, the fans of the sport. They also welcome in Special guest Bryan New, The ABA Ray Scott Championship Winner to hear about his journey as a Co-Angler to now a Pro. Jason sneaks in a "Special Guest" for the weekly "Pick-em" contests and he throws Chris and David quite the curveball. Check it all out right here on the AC Insider Podcast!
Lefebre's Afternoon Flurry on Lake Chickamauga Powers Him to Shotgun Round Win at Bass Pro Tour Econo Lodge Stage Four Presented by Winn Grips
Courtesy of MLF BPT
Group A
| Place | Angler | Total Weight | Total # Fish | Avg Weight | Largest Fish | |
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| 1st | Dave Lefebre | 59 - 14 | 34 | 1 - 12 | 3 - 06 | |
| 2nd | Aaron Martens | 57 - 03 | 18 | 3 - 03 | 7 - 07 | |
| 3rd | Jordan Lee | 55 - 08 | 24 | 2 - 05 | 5 - 09 | |
| 4th | Brandon Palaniuk | 54 - 12 | 26 | 2 - 02 | 5 - 05 | |
| 5th | Mark Rose | 53 - 08 | 31 | 1 - 12 | 5 - 01 | |
| 6th | Justin Lucas | 50 - 10 | 24 | 2 - 02 | 5 - 08 | |
| 7th | Keith Poche | 49 - 02 | 30 | 1 - 10 | 3 - 00 | |
| 8th | Stephen Browning | 48 - 01 | 25 | 1 - 15 | 3 - 12 | |
| 9th | Jesse Wiggins | 46 - 13 | 22 | 2 - 02 | 6 - 07 | |
| 10th | Bradley Roy | 46 - 12 | 22 | 2 - 02 | 3 - 13 | |
| 11th | James Elam | 46 - 06 | 27 | 1 - 12 | 2 - 13 | |
| 12th | Terry Scroggins | 45 - 14 | 25 | 1 - 13 | 7 - 09 | |
| 13th | Randy Howell | 43 - 13 | 22 | 1 - 16 | 4 - 00 | |
| 14th | Casey Ashley | 42 - 04 | 25 | 1 - 11 | 3 - 13 | |
| 15th | Jeff Sprague | 39 - 12 | 17 | 2 - 05 | 4 - 03 | |
| 16th | Cliff Pace | 38 - 03 | 21 | 1 - 13 | 3 - 14 | |
| 17th | David Walker | 37 - 10 | 17 | 2 - 03 | 6 - 06 | |
| 18th | Dean Rojas | 36 - 14 | 18 | 2 - 01 | 3 - 15 | |
| 19th | Chris Lane | 35 - 11 | 17 | 2 - 02 | 3 - 06 | |
| 20th | Greg Hackney | 34 - 11 | 14 | 2 - 08 | 5 - 05 | |
| 21st | Dustin Connell | 34 - 08 | 16 | 2 - 03 | 7 - 01 | |
| 22nd | Ott DeFoe | 34 - 02 | 18 | 1 - 14 | 4 - 06 | |
| 23rd | Bobby Lane | 33 - 01 | 15 | 2 - 03 | 7 - 06 | |
| 24th | Jeff Kriet | 32 - 14 | 17 | 1 - 15 | 2 - 14 | |
| 25th | Ish Monroe | 31 - 05 | 13 | 2 - 07 | 5 - 06 | |
| 26th | Timmy Horton | 28 - 11 | 14 | 2 - 01 | 5 - 06 | |
| 27th | Brent Chapman | 27 - 13 | 13 | 2 - 02 | 3 - 14 | |
| 28th | Britt Myers | 27 - 12 | 14 | 1 - 16 | 3 - 10 | |
| 29th | Roy Hawk | 25 - 09 | 15 | 1 - 11 | 2 - 13 | |
| 30th | Jonathon VanDam | 22 - 10 | 17 | 1 - 05 | 1 - 12 | |
| 31st | Gerald Spohrer | 22 - 05 | 13 | 1 - 12 | 3 - 11 | |
| 32nd | Scott Suggs | 22 - 02 | 12 | 1 - 13 | 4 - 00 | |
| 33rd | Matt Lee | 20 - 08 | 12 | 1 - 11 | 2 - 13 | |
| 34th | Skeet Reese | 19 - 08 | 8 | 2 - 07 | 4 - 06 | |
| 35th | Marty Robinson | 18 - 00 | 11 | 1 - 10 | 2 - 04 | |
| 36th | Brett Hite | 17 - 13 | 10 | 1 - 12 | 4 - 09 | |
| 37th | Russ Lane | 14 - 15 | 7 | 2 - 02 | 2 - 12 | |
| 38th | Mike McClelland | 13 - 14 | 6 | 2 - 05 | 3 - 11 | |
| 39th | Takahiro Omori | 13 - 06 | 8 | 1 - 11 | 2 - 14 | |
| 40th | Shaw Grigsby | 12 - 13 | 7 | 1 - 13 | 2 - 07 |
2019 BASS FISHING HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE DAVY HITEHONORED BY SOUTH CAROLINA STATE SENATE
ANDERSON, S.C. – For Immediate Release – 4.8.19 – This past weekend, on the same stage where current Bassmaster Elite Series pros were weighing in for their Lake Hartwell tournament, 2019 Bass Fishing Hall of Fame inductee Davy Hite was surprised by the South Carolina state Senate with a resolution honoring his career.
Jay West, a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives, acting on behalf of the resolution’s sponsors, South Carolina state Senators Michael Gambrell and Floyd Nicholson, made clear that Hite was being honored not just for his angling exploits, which include the 1999 Bassmaster Classic title, the 1998 Forrest Wood Cup, and the 1997 and 2002 Bassmaster Angler of the Year awards. He certainly cited those achievements as a driving force in Hite’s influence, but added that his prior career in the National Guard, his subsequent career as a broadcaster and his role a consummate steward of our natural resources also justified this recognition. (to view the presentation – visit this link:http://bit.ly/HiteHonor)
Hite attended his first Bassmaster Classic as a spectator in 1996 and had a dream “just to maybe qualify for one.” Instead, he visited the Classic stage 14 times during a career that earned him nearly $2 million in B.A.S.S. winnings alone.
“When you get to fish for a living, and now get to talk about fishing for a living, it’s a great thing,” Hite said onstage.
He will be formally added to the rolls of the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame at its annual induction dinner at Johnny Morris’ Wonders of Wildlife Museum and Aquarium in Springfield, Mo., being held on Thursday, September 19, 2019. Information on event and table sponsorships, dinner seats and tickets for a special VIP unveiling reception, along with details about the Hall and its mission of ‘celebrating, promoting and preserving the sport of bass fishing’ is available at www.BassFishingHOF.com, or by contacting BFHOF executive director Barbara Bowman at [email protected].
UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA-MONROE WINS YETI FLW COLLEGE FISHING SOUTHERN CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT ON LAKE TEXOMA
Link to photo of winning team University of Louisiana-Monroe
DENISON, Texas (April 9, 2019) – The University of Louisiana-Monroe (ULM) duo of Connor Nimrod of Monroe, Louisiana, and Morgan Jalaldin of West Monroe, Louisiana, won the YETI FLW College Fishing event on Lake Texoma presented by Bass Pro Shops last weekend with a five-bass limit weighing 18 pounds, 15 ounces. The victory earned the Warhawk’s bass club $2,000 and a slot in the 2020 FLW College Fishing National Championship.
“Winning was definitely unexpected after the start that we had,” said Nimrod, a freshman at ULM majoring in business marketing. “It was very foggy, and takeoff was delayed until around 10:30. We were boat No. 92, and when we got to the arm of the lake that we wanted to fish there was already 30 to 40 boats fishing there.”
“We watched guy catch a 5-pounder from a dock that we knew was there and we had to move,” said Jalaldin, a fresman majoring in nursing. “We abandoned our pattern completely and decided to make a move to a new area.”
“We decided to change up altogether and ran 25 minutes to a completely different spot mid-lake that we had found in practice,” Nimrod said. “We weren’t really planning to go there during the tournament, but I’m glad that we did.”
The duo described their winning area as a pea gravel bank that had isolated, broken-off bushes in 2- to 4-feet of water. They managed to catch 7 or 8 keepers in their fog-shortened day, all coming on Ned rigs. They fished Z-Man TRD Crawz and BioSpawn ExoSticks that they cut in half on their Ned Rig setups, and credited their long practices and patience as the key to their victory.
“I think the key was really buckling down in practice,” Jalaldin said. “We had never fished here before, but we were out there for three full days, sunrise to sunset, to practice and learn the lake.
“We were able to catch every fish in that area by really slowing down and fishing very thoroughly,” Nimrod went on to say.
The top 10 teams that advanced to the 2020 College Fishing National Championship are:
1st: University of Louisiana-Monroe – Connor Nimrod, Monroe, La., and Morgan Jalaldin, West Monroe, La., five bass, 18-15, $2,000
2nd: Tarleton State University – Reagan Nelson and Cody Rayburn, both of Athens, Texas, five bass, 18-9, $1,400
3rd: Texas A&M University – Garrison Thomas, Keller, Texas, and Tyler Anderson, Austin, Texas, five bass, 18-4, $500
4th: Oklahoma State University – Dexter Flick, Stillwater, Okla., and Cameron Simmons, Owasso, Okla., five bass, 18-1, $900
5th: Tulsa Community College – Garrett James, Sand Springs, Okla., and Garrett McCrackin, Jennings, Okla., five bass, 17-4, $500
6th: Angelo State University – Lance Culak, San Angelo, Texas, and Steven Armstrong, Brownwood, Texas, five bass, 17-3
7th: East Texas Baptist University – Brett Clark, Center, Texas, and Cody Ross, Livingston, Texas, five bass, 16-13
8th: Texas State University – Conner Iselt, Georgetown, Texas, and Josh Soroka, Arlington, Texas, five bass, 15-5
9th: University of Oklahoma – Drew Fazzino, The Woodlands, Texas, and Charles Vang, Norman, Okla., five bass, 14-10
10th: Louisiana Tech University – Andrew Harp, Linden, Texas, and Christopher Gaudin, Tickfaw, La., five bass, 14-9
Complete results for the entire field can be found at FLWFishing.com.
The YETI FLW College Fishing event on Lake Texoma presented by Bass Pro Shops was hosted by the Denison Area Chamber of Commerce. It was the second of three regular-season qualifying tournament for Southern Conference anglers. The next event for FLW College Fishing anglers will be the Central Conference opener, April 12 at Lake Cumberland in Burnside, Kentucky.
YETI FLW College Fishing teams compete in three regular-season qualifying tournaments in one of five conferences – Central, Northern, Southern, Southeastern and Western. All participants must be registered, full-time students at a college, university or community college and members of a college fishing club that is recognized by their school. The top 10 teams from each division’s three regular-season tournaments and the top 20 teams from the annual FLW College Fishing Open will advance to the 2020 FLW College Fishing National Championship. Additional teams will qualify for the National Championship if the field size in regular-season events exceeds 100 boats. The Potomac River and Marbury, Maryland, will play host to the 2019 FLW College Fishing National Championship, June 4-6, 2019.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow YETI FLW College Fishing on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
Hartman hauls home Toyota Bonus Bucks
Alan Mcguckin - Dynamic Sponsorships
Jamie Hartman loves his current job as a “part-time truck driver” far more than the 10-years he spent hauling paper products around Central New York near his home waters of Oneida Lake.
Now, as a full time Bassmaster Elite Series pro, Hartman still drives a truck 40,000 miles a year, but it’s a Toyota Tundra, not an 18-wheeler, and pro angling is actually his full time profession.
“Let me be honest, there was absolutely nothing great about being a truck driver except they agreed to give me all the time off I needed to go fishing. Which pretty much meant if I wasn’t driving truck, I wasn’t getting paid,” says Hartman, who loves the towing power of his Tundra.
Hartman made one of the most daring and documented career moves in modern day pro angling history when he resigned his trucking job, put everything he owned in a storage facility, and went all-in on a career as a Bassmaster pro.
Things are working out just fine.
He’s won prize money in 75-percent of the B.A.S.S. tournaments he’s fished, and just cashed-in on Toyota Bonus Bucks for his 8th place finish at the Bassmaster Elite Series event on Lake Hartwell. Because like all Bonus Bucks sanctioned events – you don’t have to win the tournament to win the Bonus Bucks, you simply have to be the highest finishing registered participant.
You also don’t have to be a pro to cash in on Toyota Bonus Bucks. You just have to drive a 2015 or newer Toyota Truck, sign up Free for Bonus Bucks, and like Hartman, be the highest finishing registered participant in one of the dozens of local and regional tournaments supported by the program.
To learn more, please visit www.toyotafishing.com, or call (918) 742-6424 and ask for Kendell or Jarrett and they will help you get signed-up.
CLARKSVILLE’S DEGRANDCOURT WINS T-H MARINE FLW BASS FISHING LEAGUE OPENER ON KERR LAKE
Raleigh’s Richardt Claims Co-Angler Title
HENDERSON, N.C. (April 8, 2019) – Boater R.J. DeGrandcourt of Clarksville, Virginia, caught five bass Saturday weighing 18 pounds, 7 ounces, to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Shenandoah Division opener on Kerr Lake. For his catch, DeGrandcourt took home $2,585.
According to post-tournament reports, DeGrandcourt caught his bass fishing flats on the upper end of the lake with a Bomber Speed Shad crankbait.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: R.J. DeGrandcourt, Clarksville, Va., five bass, 18-7, $2,585
2nd: Ben Dalton, Keeling, Va., five bass, 16-5, $1,175
3rd: Travis Lugar, McGaheysville, Va., five bass, 15-9, $784
4th: Jack Dice, Lynchburg, Va., five bass, 15-0, $759
4th: Thomas Svec, Chesapeake, Va., five bass, 15-0, $509
6th: Curtis Talbott, Forest, Va., five bass, 14-15, $631
7th: Michael Delvisco, Dandridge, Tenn., five bass, 14-1, $392
8th: Derik Hudson, Concord, Va., five bass, 13-11, $752
9th: Rick Hawkins, Roanoke, Va., five bass, 13-10, $313
10th: Craig Wright, Rustburg, Va., four bass, 13-1, $150
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
DeGrandcourt also caught a 6-pound, 9-ounce bass – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $235.
Kyle Richardt of Raleigh, North Carolina, won the Co-angler Division and $1,175 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 12 pounds, 7 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Kyle Richardt, Raleigh, N.C., five bass, 12-7, $1,175
2nd: Trey Grow, Mechanicsville, Va., five bass, 11-6, $587
3rd: Louis Britos, Disputanta, Va., five bass, 10-10, $393
4th: Jamie Newton, Falls Church, Va., four bass, 10-9, $254
4th: Timothy Kinder, Manassas, Va., five bass, 10-9, $354
6th: Brandt Thompson , Richmond, Va., five bass, 10-7, $215
7th: Gregory Chuhta, Germantown, Md., five bass, 10-5, $196
8th: Danny Crickenberger, Charlottesville, Va., four bass, 10-0, $293
9th: Billy Brown, Dahlgren, Va., five bass, 9-13, $157
10th: Al Berkley, Madison Heights, Va., five bass, 9-12, $50
Crickenberger caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 4 pounds, 12 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $117.
The tournament was hosted by the Vance County Tourism Development Authority.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 10-12 BFL Regional Championship on Lake Hartwell in Seneca, South Carolina, presented by Navionics. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518L with a 200-horsepower outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518L with a 200-horsepower outboard.
The 2019 BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2019 BFL All-American will be held May 30-June 1 at the Potomac River in Marbury, Maryland, and is hosted by the Charles County Department of Recreation, Parks and Tourism and the Commissioners of Charles County. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the FLW Tour.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
CORNELIA’S BENFIELD WINS T-H MARINE FLW BASS FISHING LEAGUE TOURNAMENT ON LAKE HARTWELL
Ellenwood’s Waldon Claims Co-Angler Title
LAVONIA, Ga. (April 8, 2019) – Boater Brad Benfield of Cornelia, Georgia, won the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Savannah River Division tournament on Lake Hartwell with a five-bass limit weighing 14 pounds, 15 ounces. For his day on the water, Benfield took home $2,977.
Benfield said he sight-fished for bass on the lower end of the lake near the dam on the Georgia side. He said he targeted main-lake pockets, and had about 20 different pockets at his disposal.
“The fish were kind of behind the grass that had been on the bank before the lake had come up – I think its dogfennel grass – in 2 feet or less of water,” said Benfield, who grabbed his first win in FLW competition. “I probably caught eight keepers. It was slow until midday, but when it warmed about 1:30 [p.m.] until weigh-in is when I caught most of them.”
Benfield said he used two different baits – a 5-inch, Texas-rigged Pumpkin Chartreuse-colored Zoom Lizard with a ¼-ounce tungsten sinker weight and a 3/8-ounce, green-pumpkin-colored 706 Fishing Lures shaky-head rig with a Watermelon Candy-colored Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Craw.
“I just flipped to the beds to get them agitated,” said Benfield. “All the fish I weighed were largemouth. I did catch a couple spotted bass, but culled those out.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Brad Benfield, Cornelia, Ga., five bass, 14-15, $2,977
2nd: Derrick Bridges, Greenville, S.C., five bass, 14-7, $1,489
3rd: Carl Zoellner, Highlands, N.C., five bass, 13-10, $992
4th: Sean Skey, Sumter, S.C., five bass, 13-8, $895
5th: Randy Childers, Anderson, S.C., five bass, 13-2, $845
6th: Jeremy Strong, Elberton, Ga., five bass, 12-15, $846
7th: Justin Raines, Easley, S.C., five bass, 12-14, $596
8th: Joe Eubanks, Marietta, Ga., five bass, 12-5, $447
9th: Baylor Ronemus, Clarkesville, Ga., five bass, 12-2, $397
10th: Justin Singleton, Milledgeville, Ga., five bass, 11-15, $347
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Michael Molenaar of Grovetown, Georgia, caught a 4-pound, 15-ounce bass – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $340.
Stephen Waldon of Ellenwood, Georgia, won the Co-angler Division and $1,839 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 15 pounds, 1 ounce.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Stephen Waldon, Ellenwood, Ga., five bass 15-1, $1,839
2nd: Corey Bryson, Mount Airy, Ga., five bass, 13-6, $744
3rd: Roger Coggins, Greenville, S.C., five bass, 11-7, $497
4th: Keith Horton, Anderson, S.C., four bass, 10-2, $347
5th: Eric Cerny, Cumming, Ga., five bass, 10-0, $298
6th: Bill Hawkins, Piedmont, S.C., five bass, 9-13, $323
7th: Keith Lewis, Franklin, N.C., five bass, 9-11, $235
7th: Tucker Souther, Brevard, N.C., five bass, 9-11, $235
9th: Mark Johnson, Martinez, Ga., five bass, 9-9, $198
10th: Nathan McClure, Hiawassee, Ga., five bass, 9-8, $174
Mario Hill of Thomson, Georgia, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 5 pounds, 5 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $170.
The tournament was hosted by Tugaloo State Park.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 10-12 BFL Regional Championship on Lake Seminole in Bainbridge, Georgia. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518L with a 200-horsepower outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518L with a 200-horsepower outboard.
The 2019 BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2019 BFL All-American will be held May 30-June 1 at the Potomac River in Marbury, Maryland, and is hosted by the Charles County Department of Recreation, Parks and Tourism and the Commissioners of Charles County. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the FLW Tour.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
TENNESSEE’S SURATT WINS T-H MARINE FLW BASS FISHING LEAGUE TOURNAMENT ON PICKWICK LAKE
Co-Angler Title Goes to Byhalia’s Sawyer
IUKA, Miss. (April 8, 2019) – Boater Trent Suratt of Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, brought five bass to the weigh-in stage Saturday totaling 20 pounds, 3 ounces, to earn the win and $4,394 at the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Mississippi Division tournament on Pickwick Lake.
“I was on the upper end of the lake, just below Wilson Dam, targeting chunk rock in 4 to 7 feet of water where smallmouth and largemouth like to get in and bed,” said Suratt, who notched his first career win in FLW competition. “I stayed in one area all day – it was pretty much a flat on the main river that was probably 100 by 100 yards in size.
“I caught five keepers – three smallmouth and two largemouth,” continued Suratt. “I had two fish at 11 [a.m.] and three more between 11 and 1 [p.m.]. It was a midday bite – that’s how it’s been the last couple of weeks. They haven’t come up to feed to feed until 11 or noon.”
Suratt said he caught his fish on shaky-head rigs with a 5-inch, green-pumpkin-colored Yum Dinger. He used 10-pound-test Yo-Zuri braided line with an 8-pound-test Sunline Super FC Sniper fluorocarbon leader and a 7-foot, 3-inch Fitzgerald Stunner HD Medium-Heavy Spinning Rod.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Trent Suratt, Lawrenceburg, Tenn., five bass, 20-3, $4,394
2nd: Don Perkins, Guntersville, Ala., five bass, 19-12, $2,397
3rd: Taurian Parks, Yazoo City, Miss., five bass, 19-7, $1,564
4th: Todd Rackley, Sheffield, Ala., five bass, 19-4, $1,025
5th: Blake Daugherty, Batesville, Miss., five bass, 18-9, $879
6th: Justin Atkins, Florence, Ala., four bass, 18-2, $1,985
7th: Mitch Mitchell, Muscle Shoals, Ala., five bass, 18-1, $695
7th: Jade Keeton, Florence, Ala., five bass, 18-1, $695
9th: Jeff Suratt, Leoma, Tenn., five bass, 17-15, $736
10th: Heath Gilmore, Meridian, Miss., five bass, 17-11, $513
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Atkins caught a 9-pound, 2-ouncer – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $630.
Thomas Sawyer of Byhalia, Mississippi, won the Co-angler Division and $2,512 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 19 pounds, 9 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Thomas Sawyer, Byhalia, Miss., five bass, 19-9, $2,512
2nd: John Swords, Collierville, Tenn., five bass, 15-2, $1,098
3rd: Kevin Crutcher, Collierville, Tenn., four bass, 13-11, $733
4th: George Welch, Hernando, Miss., five bass, 12-11, $513
5th: Richard Baker, Jackson, Tenn., five bass, 12-10, $439
6th: Larry Stewart Jr., Clinton, Miss., four bass, 11-12, $603
7th: Zach Smith, Ripley, Miss., three bass, 10-10, $366
8th: Jimmy Tisdale, Ellisville, Miss., four bass, 10-2, $330
9th: Ryan LeCompte, Picayune, Miss., four bass, 9-10, $343
10th: Don White, Columbus, Miss., three bass, 9-6, $406
Sawyer also caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 6 pounds, 5 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $315.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 17-19 BFL Regional Championship on Lake Guntersville in Guntersville, Alabama, presented by Mercury. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518L with a 200-horsepower outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518L with a 200-horsepower outboard.
The 2019 BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2019 BFL All-American will be held May 30-June 1 at the Potomac River in Marbury, Maryland, and is hosted by the Charles County Department of Recreation, Parks and Tourism and the Commissioners of Charles County. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the FLW Tour.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
HUDSON, PUGH AND GREGORY TIE FOR T-H MARINE FLW BASS FISHING LEAGUE WIN ON LEWIS SMITH LAKE
Stephenson Claims Co-Angler Title
JASPER, Ala. (April 8, 2019) – Boaters David Hudson of Jasper, Alabama, and Greg Pugh and Dexton Gregory, both of Cullman, Alabama, ended up in a three-way tie for the win at the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Choo Choo Division tournament on Lewis Smith Lake after each bringing five bass weighing 15 pounds, 1 ounce, to the scale. After contingency awards, Hudson earned $3,001, with Gregory taking home $2,801 and Pugh $2,501.
Gregory and Pugh said they caught their bass sight-fishing. Gregory caught his fish from Rock Creek – both largemouth and spotted bass.
“I had a few largemouth I found first thing [in the morning]. After that I went and got some spotted bass that I actually found on Friday during practice,” said Gregory, who earned his first in win FLW competition. “The largemouth were on little flats in the backs of pockets in 1 to 3 feet of water, while the spots were keyed in on certain rocks in 5 to 7 feet of water. I ended up catching 15 keepers throughout the day.”
Gregory said he flipped a white ½-ounce custom jig with a white Zoom Super Chunk trailer for his largemouth, while his spotted bass ate a 1/8-ounce shaky-head rig with a Bold Bluegill-colored Strike King KVD Fat Baby Finesse Worm.
Pugh, who earned his second career victory in BFL competition, primarily fished mid-lake, catching bass on jerkbaits, topwaters, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits and Hawg Caller jigs. All of the fish that he weighed in came via sight-fishing, though.
Hudson worked in Ryan Creek and on the main lake and said he caught approximately 50 fish throughout the day.
“The other two [Gregory and Pugh] were sight-fishing, but I just fished, with most of my bites coming from 8 to 10 feet of water,” said Hudson, who earned his first career victory as a boater in FLW competition. “They could’ve been spawning, but I couldn’t see them – I didn’t try to. All of my fish were spotted bass, and I think that the Gamma 6-pound-test fluorocarbon line is what made the difference for me. The water in the area was so clear, and when I started using it I had a lot more bites.”
Hudson said his baits of choice were wacky-rigged Watermelon Seed- and green-pumpkin-colored Yamamoto Senkos and a shaky-head rig with a Payback-colored Reaction Innovations Flirt Worm.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: David Hudson, Jasper, Ala., five bass, 15-1, $3,001
1st: Greg Pugh, Cullman, Ala., five bass, 15-1, $2,501
1st: Dexton Gregory, Cullman, Ala., five bass, 15-1, $2,801
4th: Josh Butler, Hayden, Ala., five bass, 14-10, $979
5th: David Milsaps, Ranger, Ga ., five bass, 14-9, $1,053
6th: Randall Allen, Owens Cross Roads, Ala., five bass, 14-5, $690
7th: Jackie Flack, Cullman, Ala., five bass, 14-3, $628
8th: James Swindle, Parrish, Ala., five bass, 13-15, $565
9th: Justin Blalock, Cullman, Ala., five bass, 13-10, $502
10th: Kyle Glasgow, Guin, Ala., five bass, 13-4, $439
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Chad Aaron of Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, caught a 4-pound, 12-ounce bass – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $500.
Justin Stephenson of Jasper, Alabama, won the Co-angler Division and $1,873 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 15 pounds, 5 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Justin Stephenson, Jasper, Ala., five bass, 15-5, $1,873
2nd: Cameron Gatlin, Chattanooga, Tenn., five bass, 15-4, $936
3rd: Daniel Swartz, Jasper, Ala., five bass, 14-3, $591
4th: Randy Hill, Athens, Ala., five bass, 13-6, $564
5th: William Ryan, Jasper, Ala., five bass, 12-9, $355
6th: Hayden Obarr, Gurley, Ala., five bass, 12-6, $325
7th: Donnie Gamble, Bessemer, Ala., five bass, 11-14, $295
8th: Richard Lucia, Buford, Ga., five bass, 11-10, $266
9th: Hank Golden, Tallassee, Ala., five bass, 11-4, $336
10th: David Marr, Cleveland, Tenn., five bass, 10-13, $207
Matthew Spears of Jasper caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 3 pounds, 14 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $222.
The tournament was hosted by the Chamber of Commerce Walker County.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 10-12 BFL Regional Championship on Lake Seminole in Bainbridge, Georgia. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518L with a 200-horsepower outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518L with a 200-horsepower outboard.
The 2019 BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2019 BFL All-American will be held May 30-June 1 at the Potomac River in Marbury, Maryland, and is hosted by the Charles County Department of Recreation, Parks and Tourism and the Commissioners of Charles County. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the FLW Tour.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
VINITA HIGH SCHOOL WINS 2019 BASS PRO SHOPS FLW HIGH SCHOOL FISHING LAKE TEXOMA OPEN
DENISON, Texas (April 8, 2019) – The Vinita High School duo of Tyler Lake and Jessie Woodward, both of Vinita, Oklahoma, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Saturday weighing 22 pounds, 11 ounces to win the 2019 Bass Pro Shops FLW High School Fishing Lake Texoma Open.
A field of 26 teams competed in the no-entry fee tournament, which launched from Highport Marina in Pottsboro. The tournament was hosted by the Denison Area Chamber of Commerce. In FLW and TBF High School Fishing competition, the top 10-percent of teams competing advance to the High School Fishing National Championship.
The top two teams on Lake Texoma that advanced to the 2019 High School Fishing National Championship were:
1st: Vinita High School, Vinita, Okla. – Tyler Lake and Jesse Woodward, both of Vinita, Okla., five bass, 22-11
2nd: Norman North High School, Norman, Okla. – Hunter Meadows and Cameron Meadows, both of Midwest City, Okla., five bass, 19-1
Rounding out the top 10 were:
3rd: Tushka High School, Tushka, Okla. – Seth Daniel and Sam Kennedy, both of Atoka, Okla., five bass, 16-4
4th: Charles Page High School, Sand Springs, Okla. – Reese David and Mack Taylor, both of Sand Springs, Okla., five bass, 14-6
5th: Mannford High School, Mannford, Okla. – Todd McKinley, Mannford, Okla., and Cole Kilpatrick, Yale, Okla., five bass, 13-3
6th: Broken Arrow High School, Broken Arrow, Okla. – Michael Reiss and Max Klein, both of Broken Arrow, Okla., five bass, 12-7
7th: Queen City High School, Queen City, Texas – Rylan Donaldson, Queen City, Texas, and Carson Dillinger, Bloomberg, Texas, five bass, 11-14
8th: Westmoore High School, Oklahoma City, Okla. – Joshua Smith, Oklahoma City, Okla., and Colton White, Moore, Okla., five bass, 11-9
9th: Queen City High School, Queen City, Texas – Ryan Ream and Dylan Benson, both of Atlanta, Texas, five bass, 11-0
10th: Calvary Baptist Academy, Shreveport, La. – Mark Andrew Trant and Noah Trant, both of Bossier City, La., five bass, 10-15
Complete results from the event can be found at FLWFishing.com.
The 2019 Bass Pro Shops FLW High School Fishing Lake Texoma Open was a two-person (team) event for students in grades 7-12, open to any Student Angler Federation (SAF) affiliated high school club in the United States. The top 10 percent of each Challenge, Open, and state championship field will advance to the 2019 High School Fishing National Championship on a body of water that has yet to be revealed. The High School Fishing national champions will each receive a $5,000 college scholarship to the school of their choice.
In addition to the High School Fishing National Championship, all High School Fishing anglers nationwide automatically qualify for the world’s largest open high school bass tournament, the 2019 High School Fishing World Finals, held in conjunction with the National Championship. At the 2018 World Finals more than $150,000 in scholarships and prizes were awarded.
Full schedules and the latest announcements are available at HighSchoolFishing.org and FLWFishing.com.
Bedding Bass Will Likely Be Key During Bassmaster Elite At Winyah Bay
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FLW AND GENERAL TIRE ANNOUNCE EXTENSION OF GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP
Premier Tire Brand Renews with Fishing Organization, Named Title Sponsor of 2019 BFL All-American
MINNEAPOLIS (April 8, 2019) – Fishing League Worldwide (FLW), the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, and Continental AG today announced an extension of their global partnership that continues to showcase and promote the General Tire brand, the “Official Tire” of FLW. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
General Tire, which first became an official sponsor of FLW in 2016, will maintain a significant presence at more than 200 tournaments across multiple FLW circuits, including the FLW Tour, the Costa FLW Series, the T-H Marine Bass Fishing League (BFL), YETI FLW College Fishing and the Bass Pro Shops High School Fishing Opens. Per terms of the agreement, General Tire has also been named as the presenting sponsor of the prestigious 2019 T-H Marine BFL All-American, held May 30-June 1 on the Potomac River in Marbury, Maryland.
“Entering their fourth season as an FLW sponsor, General Tire has been extremely creative and effective in maximizing our relationship by developing campaigns that fully engage FLW fans, members and anglers, both on and off the water,” FLW President of Marketing Trish Blake said. “Being named the title sponsor of one of our most prestigious events – the BFL All-American – ensures that the General Tire brand will remain highly visible to our fans and anglers. We are pleased to announce this extension and look forward to continuing our collaboration with such a highly regarded partner.”
“We are very excited to continue our longstanding partnership with FLW,” said Travis Roffler, Director of Marketing, Continental Tire. “Fishing has continued to be a great fit for the General Tire brand, as we embody an outdoor lifestyle that usually requires trucks and the right kind of tires to get you where you need to go. We’re looking forward to continue to engage with FLW fans and anglers in 2019 and beyond.”
General Tire will receive exposure across multiple FLW media platforms including its website, social media outlets, FLW Bass Fishing magazine, the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show, and on-site activation at all FLW-sanctioned tournaments and Outdoor Expos.
As part of the sponsorship agreement, General Tire will begin offering a contingency award program for all boaters and co-anglers competing in the two-day T-H Marine BFL Super Tournaments and the 2019 BFL All-American. To participate, an angler must be the owner of a vehicle and/or boat trailer used at the tournament that is running on General Tire tires and have a General Tire decal displayed on the vehicle and/or boat. The highest-finishing boater and co-angler that meet contingency requirements at each T-H Marine BFL Super Tournament and the All-American will receive a $200 Visa gift card.
All contingency payouts will be administered by FLW, allowing for immediate payouts at each tournament. Updated details and terms of the program will be posted at FLWFishing.com.
For more information on General Tire or to locate an authorized General Tire dealer near you, please visit GeneralTire.com. For complete details and updated information about FLW, visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
About FLW
FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money in 2019 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW and their partners conduct more than 290 bass-fishing tournaments annually around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Portugal, South Africa and Spain. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW" television show while FLW Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros. For more information visit FLWFishing.com and follow FLW at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
About General Tire
For over 100 years General Tire has offered a complete quality line of ultra-high performance, passenger, light truck, off-road and commercial tires to meet all your needs. General Tire is a proud supporter of ARCA, Best in the Desert Racing Series, Major League Fishing, Fishing League Worldwide, King of the Cage, Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, Late Model Dirt Series, Pro Pulling League, Modified Series, Drag Boat Racing Series and ASCS Sprint Car Dirt Series, Petty’s Garage, Expedition Overland, FreestyleMx.com Tour, Zero One Odyssey and Spec Tire of JeepSpeed. Team GT supports athletes: CJ Hutchins, Jim Beaver, Jeff Proctor, Chase Motorsports, Camburg Racing, Stan Shelton, Ryan Beat, Skeet Reese, Edwin Evers, Mark Rose, Ott DeFoe, Andy Montgomery, James Watson, Alton Jones Jr., John Crews, Britt Myers and Bill McDonald.
Meet Mike Elsea, Your 2019 KBF National Champion!
Vance McCullough
Mike Elsea was dialed-in. The results prove it. With a 3-day total of 288.75 inches and a winning margin of 16 inches against a field of 461 competitors, his was the most dominant performance ever in a Kayak Bass Fishing National Championship, or any major kayak tournament for that matter.
“I’m still trying to wrap my head around it,” said Elsea even after the long ride home to Indiana with the big check for $73,000 beside him.
“I caught my first bass of the tournament on a spinnerbait,” said Elsea, “but after that, I couldn’t get bit on a moving lure. I had to slowly drag a lure tight to the base of a cypress tree – try to peel the bark off of it and get hung up in order to get a bite.”
In a sea of sameness that confounded other anglers, Elsea differentiated the key trees among Caddo Lake’s countless flooded cypress. He could call his shot so well that he would just pedal to the next target and, often as not, catch a bass. “It got to a point where I would just close my eyes, because everything looks so similar with all the trees, and I would open them and say ‘oh, over there, that tree is off by itself’. And it might be 400 yards away, but I would go there and, half the time, I’d catch a fish. Depth didn’t really matter. I caught fish in 3 feet of water and I caught a fish in 8 feet of water, but the tree had to be isolated.”
If he sounds like a hardcore tourney angler, there’s good reason: Elsea has fished the pro division of the Bassmaster Opens and FLW Costa Series. He even fished the first BassFest on Chickamauga a few years back, narrowly missing a shot to fish the final day when he lost a 5-pounder at the boat and finished 11thin the wildcard elimination round. The Top 10 advanced.
Elsea expects that background to pay off now. “When you get your butt kicked 9 times out of 10 it’s going to make you better. Fishing at that level made me better. It made me more versatile. I learned different techniques, learned about finding fish. I’m taking that with me to the kayak tour.”
So how did he go from competing at a very high level in a motorboat to fishing from a ‘yak? “I kind of went through a rough period in my life. I got rid of my boat. I wasn’t able to fish much for a little over year.
“I wasn’t a real happy person to be around, to be honest. I wasn’t happy with myself and I’m sure I didn’t make very many people happy at that time either.”
A friend showed Elsea a new way to enjoy the same sport of bass fishing that he had enjoyed competitively since age 16. “A good friend of mine, year before last, kept sending me pictures. He’d gone and gotten himself a kayak and was sending me texts and pictures of all the fun he was having. I wanted to get back on the water, so I went and bought little cheapo kayak to get out there and it was fun.”
That was the beginning. As Elsea dove further down the rabbit hole, he decided to go ‘all in’ with the fastest growing outdoor activity in America. “I did some more research, was looking into this whole kayak fishing thing and couldn’t believe how big it was. There are tournaments and national championships. I thought, ‘this is cool’. With the competitive nature that I have, I looked into getting a real fishing kayak.”
Elsea found his ‘real fishing kayak’ the first time he laid eyes on the Native Watercraft 10.5 Titan with a Propel Drive. “I loved the idea of a pedal drive so I can move while I fish at the same time. The Titan is really wide so it’s real stable – I stand up most of the time.”
Elsea qualified for the biggest stage in the kayak kingdom by fishing close-to-home state challenges. “That’s really all I did. I wanted to start small. I started fishing the state challenges and qualified for this year’s National Championship through that and low and behold, I went out and won that thing,” chuckled the new champ.
“The phone hasn’t quit ringing. I have to do a podcast later tonight. Chad Hoover wanted me to stay behind and film an episode of his YouTube show, Kayak Bass Fishing, with him. We had a great time and caught some really nice fish.”
When not catching fish, Elsea is still handling animals. “I work with pigs on a commercial hog operation. I deliver babies most of the time, and give shots and vaccines, take care of the sick and things like that.
“On top of that, I’m also a fitness trainer. I’ve been that for almost 20 years now. I work 14 hours a day on average between the two jobs. Hopefully that will change here pretty soon.”
Elsea is one fitness trainer who has no problem with his clients eating pork. “Pork is a good thing to eat. One in every 4 pigs born here in the US ends up overseas so we not only feed our community around here but we’re actually feeding the world and that’s a good feeling.”
Elsea resides in the Indianapolis area. What does he consider his ‘home water’? “Indiana has a bunch of small lakes. But no matter what direction I go, I have to drive at least an hour to hit water. That stinks,” he laughed.
He mentioned a couple of nearby reservoirs and then pivoted away, “but I grew up in the northern part of the state and there’s a lot of natural lakes up there. If I have the preference and the opportunity, I’ll make the 2-hour drive to go fish some of those northern lakes. All those lakes, I feel like, are my backyard in a sense and some of them have some toads in them, I mean, some really nice fish.”
The need to choose his water wisely followed Elsea from Indiana to Louisiana where there were more lakes than ever for championship participants to pick from.
“I qualified in May or June, so I started my research on that area 9 months ago. I looked up every article I could possibly find on Cross Lake, on Lake Bistineau, Caddo Lake, the Red River. Most of my homework was done on a computer, looking up fishing reports and articles and looking at Google Earth and YouTube videos – I can’t tell you how many hours of YouTube I watched just trying to find something, anything. Getting live views of the area . . .
“and it still didn’t do it justice when I got there. I was overwhelmed by the number of trees. Like ‘holy smokes’ how am I going to do this?
“The general consensus is that most of the big tournaments in that area, the multi-lake tournaments, are won on Caddo Lake. And that lake is 25,000 acres and it fishes twice that. It fishes huge. You’ve got 10-bazillion trees and you’ve got bayous that go back until you’re who-knows-where. Especially in a kayak because you can get so much further back in that stuff than you can in a boat so you’ve got that much more water available to you.”
Elsea addressed one of tournament angling’s dirty little secrets. There are no rules against collecting information from others prior to KBF competition as opposed to say, the Bassmaster Elite Series, so he is absolutely clean, but most don’t have the guts to talk about this:
“I’m not going to lie. Part of this game is trying to get some local intel. Anybody can do that just by getting on a fishing forum and making a friend. I did that and got a little bit of help, at least as far as narrowing it down to which lake, because of all that water. Running around to try to hit every body of water like a chicken with my head cut of was, I knew, going to be time wasted.
“I put all my eggs in one basket and fished where big fish live.”
He prefers to catch ‘em on topwaters as well as anyone but Elsea had to drag bottom in order to top the leaderboard in Louisiana.
“I was bouncing between a SinkER Swim Tackle jig – SinkER Swim is a small company in New York. He makes hand-tied custom jigs, good friend of mine. I used one of his jigs and tipped it with a beaver-style trailer – and I was alternating between the jig and just a straight up Texas-rigged creature bait, again such as a Sweet Beaver or a Strike King Rodent.
“The key was getting that bait as close to the base of the tree as I could. I was more or less dragging that bait around the base of the trees, trying to get it hung up. I couldn’t hop it; couldn’t work it like you normally would. I just dead-sticked it. Once that thing got hung up on a root ball or cypress knee, the line would swim off. That’s how I got my bites.”
“They were in all 3 stages. Some were going in, some were on beds and some had already spawned, had beat up, bloody tails while others didn’t have a mark on them.”
Elsea notes that bass in cypress lakes often spend their entire lives on a single big, isolated tree with no need to leave for long. “They stage there, they spawn there, and they recuperate there. It’s a good ambush point.
“Those bigger trees were the key for me in finding those bigger bites.”
Elsea was driven through three days of fierce fishing by a stinging mistake on Day 1. “I had a 20-incher jump off the board while I was trying to take the picture. It ate at me. It still bothers me. I hate making mistakes like that. I was just sick about it the whole time.”
The lost fish reminded Elsea of the 5-pounder that he lost during that BassFest years ago which cost him $10,000 and a shot at the finals.
No matter how many we catch, it’s always the fish we lose that stick with us forever.
“It’s just another example of something that you don’t ever forget.”
Fitzgerald Rods did the heavy lifting and Lew’s reels handled the 15-lb Seaguar fluorocarbon Elsea relied on while peeling the bark off numerous cypress trees around the bayou.
A Bioenno Power lithium battery powered Elsea’s Power-Pole Micro. “That was a staple. It helped me huge on that last day. After the storm blew through it got up to 25 or 30 miles per hour.” Not only did the pole keep him in position to fish slowly, but it helped him to not get blown “a mile away while” fighting fish.
Elsea is big on a new tungsten weight manufacturer “Titan Tungsten. They’re a new company but they’re just exploding. They make the highest quality tungsten I have ever seen. They’ve just come out with their Pro Series weight which has the weight stamped right on there.”
He used a tiny 1/8-ounce version. “Until that wind kicked up on that last day, in the last hour and I had to go to a ¼-ounce weight.”
Precision was critical. “I absolutely had to drag it. If I hopped it, I wouldn’t get bit. If I was 6 inches out from that tree, I was not going to get bit. I had to get hung on the bark.”
As dialed-in as Elsea was, Divine intervention still played a role.
“That last hour, I’ve got to give all the glory to God because He blessed me on that deal. One-hundred percent. Those fish were there, I culled 4 out of my 5 fish in that last hour. It was insane.”
Elsea sees a bright future for competitive kayak anglers, especially now that FLW Fishing has partnered with KBF to host a couple of tournaments this year. “I think it is a huge opportunity. I’m excited about it. I’m planning on at least fishing the first one and, hopefully, making it to the 2ndone.
“The sport of kayak bass fishing - this is just my 2ndyear in it - I didn’t know that it was as big as it is, and it’s getting bigger by the minute. I think the partnership with FLW could take it to one more level.
“I want to do everything I can to help grow the sport, help get more people involved because this thing just changed my life.”
What’s next for Elsea? He has a web site in the works. It will be called MikeElseaFishing.com. You can also search the tagline: Blessed Beyond Measure. YouTube channel is coming too. For now, people can follow Elsea on Facebook and Instagram, just search ‘Mike Elsea’. Either way, keep an eye on our sport’s newest ambassador.
“This ride is just beginning.”
Full Results can be found HERE
Redington & McClendon Win Bass Champs event won Sam Rayburn with over 21 pounds!!!
| Place | Boat | Truck | Angler 1 | Angler 2 | Fish | Big Bass | Wt. | Prize Amt. | |
| 1 | DAVE REDINGTON SULPHUR SPRINGS , TX |
CHAD MCCLENDON GRAPEVINE , TX |
5 | 7.80 | 21.99 |
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| 2 | ADAM DUNN HOUSTON , TX |
JOSHUA WARE NEW CANEY , TX |
5 | 0 | 21.83 |
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| 3 | MATTHEW DELANEY POLLOCK , LA |
MATTHEW NUGENT DRY PRONG , LA |
5 | 0 | 21.14 |
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| 4 | BRADLEY HILLEBRANDT RAGLEY , LA |
JORDAN BREAUX SULPHUR , LA |
5 | 0 | 20.44 |
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| 5 |  |
BRANDON MOODY APPLE SPRINGS , TX |
JESSE MOODY APPLE SPRINGS , TX |
5 | 0 | 20.29 |
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| 6 |  |
CHAD KEMP BRIDGE CITY , TX |
BRENT KEMP ORANGE , TX |
5 | 0 | 19.76 |
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| 7 | MATT MORRIS SHREVEPORT , LA |
BILLY GASTON SHREVEPORT , TX |
5 | 7.96 | 19.60 |
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| 8 | TODD NEWMAN NACOGDOCHES , TX |
SHANNON HALE NACOGDOCHES , TX |
5 | 0 | 19.11 |
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| 9 | MICHAEL LAFLEUR ORANGEFIELD , TX |
JOHN DICKERSON ORANGE , TX |
5 | 7.96 | 18.98 |
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| 10 | |
JASON FONTENOT LAKE CHARLES , LA |
NICK ABSHIRE SULPHUR , LA |
5 | 7.81 | 18.94 |
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| 11 | JACOB JOHNSON LAKE CHARLES , LA |
SHANE CORMIER RAGLEY , LA |
5 | 0 | 18.77 |
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| 12 | KURTICE FLOYD NEWTON , TX |
GREG LEBLANC NEDERLAND , TX |
5 | 6.93 | 18.49 |
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| 13 | TEDDY CLOIDE VIDOR , TX |
WESLEY DAWSON CHESTER , TX |
5 | 0 | 18.33 |
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| 14 | WILL CARSTENS ALEXANDRIA , LA |
ROSS BRYANT ALEXANDRIA , LA |
5 | 0 | 18.31 |
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| 15 | |
EASTON HEIGLEY BROOKELAND , TX |
BLAKE SCHROEDER WHITEHOUSE , TX |
5 | 8.39 | 18.24 |
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| 16 | RIVER LEE NACOGDOCHES , TX |
HUNTER MUNCRIEF PINELAND , TX |
5 | 0 | 18.03 |
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| 17 | |
RUSTY CLARK SAM RAYBURN , TX |
CORY RAMBO ORANGE , TX |
5 | 0 | 17.86 |
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| 18 | |
LANCE DUFF LUMBERTON , TX |
COLE COSTLOW LIBERTY , TX |
5 | 0 | 17.59 |
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| 19 | |
STEVEN HANNA BEAUMONT , TX |
ANTHONY BAKER BEAUMONT , TX |
5 | 0 | 17.58 |
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| 20 | |
DOUG MCCAIN LAKE CHARLES , LA |
MASON MCCAIN LAKE CHARLES , LA |
5 | 0 | 17.18 |
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| 21 | JOHNNY VINES GROVES , TX |
SHANNON PRICE PORT ARTHUR , TX |
5 | 0 | 17.17 |
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| 22 | MASON GUIN DECATUR , TX |
CAMERON LAFLEUR BRIDGE CITY , TX |
5 | 0 | 17.15 |
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| 23 | LEN FAIRBANKS LIVINGSTON , TX |
REID FAIRBANKS KYLE , TX |
5 | 0 | 16.83 |
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| 24 | JOHN MADDOX LUFKIN , TX |
JEFFERY WISE LUFKIN , TX |
5 | 0 | 16.76 |
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| 25 | PHILLIP CRELIA CENTER , TX |
TJ GOODWYN CENTER , TX |
5 | 0 | 16.69 |
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| 26 | JOSEPH CHILDERS SULPHUR , LA |
DARREN YOUNGBLOOD SULPHUR , LA |
5 | 0 | 16.57 |
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| 27 | MIKE TAYLOR JASPER , TX |
RANDY DEARMAN ONALASKA , TX |
5 | 0 | 16.37 |
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| 28 | |
BOB VOTE KINGWOOD , TX |
ANDY VOTE KINGWOOD , TX |
5 | 0 | 16.35 |
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| 29 | GERALD MITCHELL JENA , LA |
JASON LEBRUN CHOUDRANT , LA |
5 | 0 | 16.18 |
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| 30 | RICKY BLANKINSHIP HOMER , LA |
DAVID CURTIS BROOKLAND , TX |
5 | 0 | 15.79 |
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| 30 | MARSHALL HUGHES HEMPHILL , TX |
DANIEL METREYEON BEAUMONT , TX |
5 | 0 | 15.79 |
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| 32 | JASON MOOREHEAD JASPER , TX |
TY MOOREHEAD JASPER , TX |
5 | 0 | 15.51 |
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| 33 | |
JAMES BLYTHE JR ELM GROVE , LA |
EDDIE MORGAN BOSSIER CITY , LA |
5 | 0 | 15.45 |
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| 34 | JONATHAN SIMON ORANGE , TX |
COREY STANLEY ORANGE , TX |
5 | 0 | 15.44 |
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| 35 | EDWARD LACOSTE HEMPHILL , TX |
CHRIS NEWMAN HEMPHILL , TX |
5 | 0 | 15.35 |
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| 36 | SEAN MECHE LAKE CHARLES , LA |
RODNEY OWENS RAGLEY , LA |
5 | 0 | 15.33 |
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| 37 | |
ALLEN SHELTON FARMERS BRANCH , TX |
STRIDER BROWNING GUN BARREL CITY , TX |
5 | 0 | 15.31 |
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| 38 | MALCOLM FRANKS FLORIEN , LA |
RONNIE BLAND BURKEVILLE , TX |
5 | 0 | 15.21 |
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| 39 | JOSHUA SIKES PINEVILLE , LA |
SAMUEL CANOE GEORGETOWN , LA |
5 | 0 | 14.93 |
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| 40 | GARY ALLEN NACOGDOCHES , TX |
5 | 0 | 14.91 |
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| 41 | HAROLD BLYTHE ZAVALLA , TX |
BREYER ABSHIRE KIRBYVILLE , TX |
5 | 0 | 14.86 |
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| 42 | |
COLE STEWART HEMPHILL , TX |
BRANDON BAKER HEMPHILL , TX |
5 | 0 | 14.80 |
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| 43 | CLYDE GLENN BELTON , TX |
STEPHEN PHILLIPS JR BEAUMONT , TX |
5 | 0 | 14.77 |
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| 44 | |
KEVIN BURKS KOUNTZE , TX |
JASON GATES KOUNTZE , TX |
5 | 0 | 14.75 |
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| 45 | SHELBY SHAW HUNTSVILLE , TX |
ZAC CLARK CENTER , TX |
5 | 0 | 14.62 |
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| 46 | |
ROY GEESEY CROWLEY , LA |
CHARLES ANZALONE CROWLEY , LA |
4 | 8.01 | 14.55 |
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| 47 | |
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COLE BREWER LEESVILLE , LA |
ROB RICHARDS SPRING , TX |
5 | 0 | 14.47 |
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| 48 | GARY MCDONALD CENTER , TX |
CLARENCE DENBY ETOILE , TX |
5 | 0 | 14.36 |
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| 49 | |
CHARLIE BROWN III FLINT , TX |
MATTHEW MCCLELLAN TYLER , TX |
5 | 0 | 14.31 |
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| 50 | |
RANDY HANNA ZAVALLA , TX |
JASON DEW PINELAND , TX |
5 | 0 | 14.30 |
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| 51 | SAMMY CHRISTIAN LUMBERTON , TX |
ALLAN SHIVERS JASPER , TX |
5 | 0 | 14.20 |
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| 51 | BLAKE ISTRE ORANGE , TX |
CHRIS MCCLAIN DEWEYVILLE , TX |
5 | 0 | 14.20 |
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| 53 | WILLIAM WALKER JENA , LA |
BUBBA NUGENT POLLOCK , LA |
5 | 0 | 14.18 |
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| 54 | |
THOMAS DECLET JR THIBODAUX , LA |
THOMAS DECLET SR HEMPHILL , TX |
5 | 0 | 14.10 |
|
||
| 55 | LARRY DEAN HUMBLE , TX |
SHANA DEAN HUMBLE , TX |
5 | 0 | 14.01 |
|
|||
| 56 | |
JEFF HOLDER BOSSIER CITY , LA |
TERRY BURGHART SHREVEPORT , LA |
5 | 0 | 13.82 |
|
||
| 57 | BRYAN CARETHERS SILSBEE , TX |
JUSTIN HOLMES LUMBERTON , TX |
5 | 0 | 13.79 |
|
|||
| 58 | |
DONNIE PICKARD BRIDGE CITY , TX |
ALAN ASHBY ORANGE , TX |
5 | 0 | 13.74 |
|
||
| 59 | CLIFFORD MCCARTY LONGVIEW , TX |
BOBBY GUY TEXARKANA , TX |
5 | 0 | 13.58 |
|
|||
| 60 | |
 |
ERIC HUNT BUNA , TX |
STEVEN MOORHEAD JASPER , TX |
5 | 0 | 13.57 |
|
|
| 61 | JASON BONDS LUFKIN , TX |
JAMES NITSCHKE WILLIS , TX |
5 | 0 | 13.54 |
|
|||
| 62 | |
BRAD DEAL SPRING , TX |
JOHN DUNCAN HOUSTON , TX |
5 | 0 | 13.43 |
|
||
| 62 | KENNY COBB HODGE , LA |
BOBBY LOGAN COUSHATTA , LA |
5 | 0 | 13.43 |
|
|||
| 64 | |
DAVID MORTON LUFKIN , TX |
JOHN MOREHEAD HUNTINGTON , TX |
5 | 0 | 13.39 |
|
||
| 65 | CHRIS BERRY HOUSTON , TX |
KYLE GUIDRY OPELOUSAS , LA |
5 | 0 | 13.25 |
|
|||
| 66 | JASON LAWSON CORRIGAN , TX |
MASON MOODY CORRIGAN , TX |
5 | 0 | 13.24 |
|
|||
| 67 | MARTIN ELSHOUT ABITA SPRINGS , LA |
MARK PRICE RUSTON , LA |
5 | 0 | 13.20 |
|
|||
| 68 | PAT CASCIO BROOKELAND , TX |
RAY LASSIEGNE MARRERO , LA |
5 | 0 | 13.04 |
|
|||
| 69 | MICHAEL RISINGER WEST MONROE , LA |
SONTUS MITCHELL RUSTON , LA |
5 | 0 | 12.93 |
|
|||
| 70 | |
JOHN HIGHTOWER BROOKELAND , TX |
JERRY DUBOSE KIRBYVILLE , TX |
5 | 0 | 12.80 |
|
||
| 71 | AUSTIN MILAM PORT NECHES , TX |
KOLTON CLARK NEDERLAND , TX |
5 | 0 | 12.74 |
|
|||
| 72 | JORDAN WOOD LUMBERTON , TX |
CAMERON ROANE BEAUMONT , TX |
5 | 0 | 12.72 |
|
|||
| 73 | TRAVIS SIGNORIN WILLIS , TX |
BOB SIGNORIN OAKHURST , TX |
5 | 0 | 12.67 |
|
|||
| 74 | SAM HUCKABEE SHREVEPORT , LA |
ROBERT CHAMBERLAIN SHREVEPORT , LA |
5 | 0 | 12.65 |
|
|||
| 75 | MIKE EDWARDS JASPER , TX |
JAMES MUFFLER KARNACK , TX |
5 | 0 | 12.57 |
|
|||
| 75 | KURT HAGGARD ORANGE , TX |
DEREK TORFORIS VIDOR , TX |
5 | 0 | 12.57 |
|
|||
| 77 | |
KEVIN MASON COLDSPRING , TX |
BUD PRUITT HOUSTON , TX |
5 | 0 | 12.45 |
|
||
| 78 | JOHN BURLESON LOVELADY , TX |
RODNEY SALMON CROCKETT , TX |
5 | 0 | 12.37 |
|
|||
| 79 | MIKE MELANCON NEDERLAND , TX |
JESSE FLOYD NEDERLAND , TX |
5 | 0 | 12.27 |
|
|||
| 79 | KURT LUKER CLEVELAND , TX |
RICHIE THORNTON SPLENDORA , TX |
5 | 0 | 12.27 |
|
|||
| 81 | |
MIKE SOLIZ ORANGE , TX |
EDDIE CHOATE BEAUMONT , TX |
5 | 0 | 12.24 |
|
||
| 81 | |
CHANCE ARCENEAUX LAKE CHARLES , LA |
DWIGHT ABSHIRE SANTA FE , TX |
5 | 0 | 12.24 |
|
||
| 83 | RICHARD MORRIS TRINITY , TX |
BRIAN KING TIMPSON , TX |
5 | 0 | 12.16 |
|
|||
| 84 | SCOTT BARNETT MANSFIELD , TX |
MARK CHILD ARLINGTON , TX |
5 | 0 | 12.13 |
|
|||
| 85 | ROBERT HOWARD CYPRESS , TX |
DANIEL HOWARD CYPRESS , TX |
5 | 0 | 11.89 |
|
|||
| 85 | TED PRIESING DALLAS , TX |
VIRGIL CHANEY JASPER , TX |
5 | 0 | 11.89 |
|
|||
| 87 | CHRIS EAVES HUMBLE , TX |
LORI EAVES WOODLANDS , TX |
5 | 0 | 11.83 |
|
|||
| 88 | |
TOBY JONES STONEWALL , LA |
CARL JONES DAYTON , TX |
5 | 0 | 11.76 |
|
||
| 89 | IVAN DAIGS RUSTON , LA |
RANDY BRANCH RUSTON , LA |
5 | 0 | 11.60 |
|
|||
| 90 | COREY HARMON PORT NECHES , TX |
JESSE JOHNSON PORT NECHES , TX |
5 | 0 | 11.38 |
|
|||
| 91 | GEORGE GLASS DERRIDER , LA |
TRENT MANUEL ORANGE , TX |
5 | 0 | 11.25 |
|
|||
| 92 | BRANNON MIRE YOUNGSVILLE , LA |
ERIC ARNOLD LAFAYETTE , LA |
5 | 0 | 11.23 |
|
|||
| 93 | |
DEREK MONG MANY , LA |
TAMMY MONG MANY , LA |
5 | 0 | 11.22 |
|
||
| 94 | |
STEVE BELLON LAKE CHARLES , LA |
TONY COBURN LAKE CHARLES , LA |
5 | 0 | 11.19 |
|
||
| 94 | CRAIG MASSEY HOUSTON , TX |
SCOTT HOLIFIELD GRAND BAY , AL |
5 | 0 | 11.19 |
|
|||
| 96 | |
TIM WILCOXSON ROCKWALL , TX |
TIM WILCOXSON EDGEWOOD , TX |
2 | 8.89 | 11.01 |
|
||
| 97 | |
|
MIKE PETROVIC ALVIN , TX |
MARK PERRY ALBA , TX |
5 | 0 | 11.00 |
|
|
| 98 | LAMARCUS MCCRAY HOUSTON , TX |
JAMES ROZELL HOUSTON , TX |
5 | 0 | 10.91 |
|
|||
| 99 | |
SEAN GOODSON ALBA , TX |
BILL SWEETEN YANTIS , TX |
5 | 0 | 10.86 |
|
||
| 100 | LARRY BENEFIELD HUFFMAN , TX |
JIMMY ROZELL JR PORTER , TX |
5 | 0 | 10.59 |
|
|||
| 101 | |
HAYWOOD WALLACE HUFFMAN , TX |
STUART WALLACE ADDIS , LA |
5 | 0 | 10.14 |
|
||
| 102 | JOSEPH LAFLEUR ORANGE , TX |
ROWDY SLAUGHTER BROOKELAND , TX |
5 | 0 | 9.76 |
|
|||
| 103 | ALEX STEWART GOLDONNA , LA |
BRAYDEN STEWART GOLDONNA , LA |
5 | 0 | 9.75 |
|
|||
| 104 | |
SHAWN OQUINN LAVERNIA , TX |
KURT HANKS CARLYSS , LA |
5 | 0 | 9.46 |
|
||
| 105 | STUART VILLIEN DUSON , LA |
KIPP THERIOT YOUNGSVILLE , LA |
5 | 0 | 9.43 |
|
|||
| 106 | JOHN GRIMM MAGNOLIA , TX |
TIM MAGER MAGNOLIA , TX |
5 | 0 | 9.32 |
|
|||
| 107 | ROBERT HORN MILAM , TX |
PHILLIP SMITH BROOKELAND , TX |
5 | 0 | 9.28 |
|
|||
| 108 | |
ANDREW FATERKOWSKI MONTGOMERY , TX |
BILLY DRIGGERS HUNTSVILLE , TX |
5 | 0 | 9.25 |
|
||
| 109 | ROBBY JONES ORANGE , TX |
PAUL WOODS BUNA , TX |
3 | 0 | 9.00 |
|
|||
| 110 | |
DON DICKERSON PINEVILLE , LA |
JASON FOUNTAIN PINEVILLE , LA |
5 | 0 | 8.68 |
|
||
| 111 | |
WARREN CONNER MAGNOLIA , TX |
MIKE HANKS HEMPHILL , TX |
4 | 0 | 8.56 |
|
||
| 112 | JAMES COLE SPRINGHILL , LA |
5 | 0 | 8.55 |
|
||||
| 113 | |
TERRY LUEDTKE BURTON , TX |
DOYLE REEVES BURTON , TX |
4 | 0 | 7.93 |
|
||
| 114 | JASON MANNERS CLEVELAND , TX |
JORDAN MANNERS CLEVELAND , TX |
5 | 0 | 7.65 |
|
|||
| 115 | |
JACK TINDEL III ORANGE , TX |
DALTON SOLIZ ORANGE , TX |
5 | 0 | 7.30 |
|
||
| 116 | KEVIN IZZI SMITHVILLE , TX |
CHRISTOPHER IZZI SMITHVILLE , TX |
4 | 0 | 6.21 |
|
|||
| 117 | |
HARLAN DUBOIS WINNFIELD , LA |
CHRIS JOLLY DOWNSVILLE , LA |
2 | 0 | 5.31 |
|
||
| 118 | DEAN COLEMAN HUMBLE , TX |
SUZANNA COLEMAN HUMBLE , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | CULLEN NEWMAN KOUNTZE , TX |
JOSH ALLIEN KOUNTZE , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | |
STEPHEN NEWELL SHREVEPORT , TX |
CHRISTINE NEWELL SHREVEPORT , LA |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | |
CHRISTOPHER ATWELL POLLUCK , LA |
JUSTIN CROOKS COLFAX , LA |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | DARRELL REEVES RAGLEY , LA |
JASON FRUGE HOUSTON , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | SHANNON FRICK HEMPHILL , TX |
GARY FRICK HEMPHILL , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | ED MELTON HOUSTON , TX |
HENRY TROTTY KOUNTZE , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | |
ROBERT GLENDE KIRBYVILLE , TX |
JASON BURT BUNA , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | CLINT BATES HAUGHTON , LA |
DAEGAN BATES HAUGHTON , LA |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | ERIC LEGER MAMOU , LA |
TODD FEUCHT VILLE PLATTE , LA |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | ROBERT LAIRD JR GOODRICH , TX |
MOLLY LAIRD GOODRICH , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | |
PERRY HOOKS DOUGLASS , TX |
KENNY JONES ETOILE , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | BRADLEY PAGE FRIENDSWOOD , TX |
JOHN SCOTT FRIENDSWOOD , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | WYATT FRANKENS CORRIGAN , TX |
CODY BARCHENGER TAYLOR , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | |
JERRY HAYES SUGARLAND , TX |
CHANDLER HAYES SUGARLAND , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | |
MIKE GARRETT HOUSTON , TX |
BRYAN LANDERS BROOKELAND , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | PHIL MARKS DALLAS , TX |
BRET STAFFORD TEMPLE , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | SCOOTER CLARK CENTER , TX |
RYAN PINKSTON CENTER , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | |
HAROLD ALLEN SHELBYVILLE , TX |
MATT LOETSCHER MANY , LA |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | STEVE DILLARD LUFKIN , TX |
DANNY CROSS LUFKIN , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | JUSTIN MORTON ETOILE , TX |
JAMES JARED ETOILE , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | RICHARD DRAPER HOUSTON , TX |
MATTHEW DRAPER HOUSTON , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | COY RIGGINS HUTTO , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||||
| 118 | |
LORIN LIVELY MONTGOMERY , TX |
STEVEN CAIN MONTGOMERY , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | DAVID BOWLEY JR LUFKIN , TX |
BILLY BOWLEY TOMBALL , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | RALPH DUPUY GROVES , TX |
BRYANT RODRIGUES PORT NECHES , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | |
LINDY HADLEY BROOKELAND , TX |
GREG GREEN LUMBERTON , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | |
GREG GILLUM PLANO , TX |
CLIFFORD TIMPSON DENISON , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | MICHAEL WILLIFORD LIVINGSTON , TX |
JOEY MARTIN | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | KELLY OWENS CROWLEY , LA |
BRENT BROUSSARD ROSENBERG , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | |
DANNY BENNETT HUNTSVILLE , TX |
NEIL CLEMENTS PASADENA , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | MARC WOOLEMS JASPER , TX |
JASON HANKS PINELAND , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | |
JERRY MASON RAGLEY , LA |
AARON SAMMONS BUNA , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | |
DEWAYNE REESE DIBOLL , TX |
JOHN COX LUFKIN , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | |
JASON GLENDE CYPRESS , TX |
TYLER BEARDEN TOMBALL , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | JOSH DUNAWAY SULPHUR , LA |
GARRET THOMPSON IOWA , LA |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | |
LARRY COTTEN HUFFMAN , TX |
RODNEY DOTSON BROOKELAND , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | |
BOBBY SHOEMAKE JR CROCKETT , TX |
DAVID DRISKELL CROCKETT , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | JOHN SCOTT III NACOGDOCHES , TX |
JODY NORSWORTHY JASPER , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | KEVIN WOLFORD ORANGE , TX |
SHANE PREJEAN ORANGE , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | |
BILLY WOLCOTT WOODVILLE , TX |
JAMES SEALE JASPER , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | |
JAMES DISLER LEANDER , TX |
DAVID DISLER CONROE , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | |
KEN SMITH RICHARDSON , TX |
KEVIN LASYONE DRY PRONG , LA |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | CLINT WADE HUNTSVILLE , TX |
STACY SPRIGGS HUNTSVILLE , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | CLOYS WARREN JR RED ROCK , TX |
WILLIAM SPILLER BASTROP , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | |
TED ODELL BUNA , TX |
TRACE ODELL BUNA , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | |
BRANDON PICOU LAKE CHARLES , LA |
ANDREW DELANO BUNA , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | CODY ERICKSON HUNTSVILLE , TX |
RICHARD SCHAUBERT CONROE , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | |
JOHN BURTON NEDERLAND , TX |
MICHAEL DORSEY ORANGE , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | WILLIAM MESSER TIMPSON , TX |
CHRISTOPHER BEVERLY SHEPHERD , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | |
SETH HAUSMAN NACOGDOCHES , TX |
TYLER HAM ROCKWALL , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | |
ARCHIE DORE II NATCHITOCHES , LA |
ANDY BARNES NATCHITOCHES , LA |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | JUSTIN SOWELL SILSBEE , TX |
DAVID GORE KOUNTZE , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | |
KERRY CAMPBELL GOODRICH , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | CODY JORDAN HEMPHILL , TX |
CODY CLARK HERMPHILL , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | |
BRANDON THRASH DOWNSVILLE , LA |
MICHAEL WOLFF MONROE , LA |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | CHARLES HUMPHREY NEW CANEY , TX |
BEN SMITH NEW CANEY , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | |
JASON WILLIAMS NEDERLAND , TX |
RYAN ROSS PORT NECHES , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | DOUGLAS SCHYSM RAGLEY , LA |
CHRIS GALLENDER VILLAGE MILLS , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | |
JESSE RAWLS BROWNSBORO , TX |
DANIEL COX BROWNSBORO , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | |
ERIC WILSON MARSHALL , TX |
HOWARD WILSON NACOGDOCHES , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | |
CHRIS HUEBEL NEDERLAND , TX |
DON GOULD MAURICEVILLE , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | |
NATHAN BYRD MIDLOTHIAN , TX |
JOE BYRD SPRING , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | |
CJ NICHOLS ALEXANDRIA , LA |
RAY BECK BROOKELANDL , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | |
SCOTTY VILLINES PONCA , AR |
RUSSELL LEWIS PINEVILLE , LA |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | KRIS WILSON MONTGOMERY , TX |
BRYAN LOHR LUMBERTON , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | |
DANIEL HICKMAN HUNTINGTON , TX |
DUSTIN ALEXANDER HOCKLEY , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | |
BENJI DUMAS MINDEN , LA |
JIMMY DUCK III CENTER , LA |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | |
DENNIS COURTNEY LAKE CHARLES , LA |
JERRY CHILDRESS SULPHUR , LA |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | CLAY DARDEAU RAGLEY , LA |
CRAIG BEAN LAKE CHARLES , LA |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | JASON MCRAE HENDERSON , TX |
TRAVIS MARTIN HENDERSON , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | |
TOMMY WOODARD CONROE , TX |
CHRIS JACOBUS LONGVIEW , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | |
CHRISTOPHER GORDON CLARENCE , LA |
DENNIS MORGAN II NATCHITOCHES , LA |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | |
JAMES PRUITT HOUSTON , TX |
RICK JOHNSON CONROE , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | JERREL PRINGLE HEMPHILL , TX |
KEITH KEELE TENAHA , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | |
BRANDON VAUGHAN AZLE , TX |
BOBBY BADARACK FT WORTH , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | TOMMY SHELTON MONTGOMERY , TX |
TRAVIS STEWART NEED INFO |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | CHRIS CLEMENS LUFKIN , TX |
DALLAS COLE LEESVILLE , LA |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | |
GARY REPPOND ZAVALLA , TX |
CURTIS SMITH LUFKIN , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | WAYNE TRIANA JR NACOGDOCHES , TX |
CARY WALKER NACOGDOCHES , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | COLTON BOLES LUFKIN , TX |
BUD BOLES POLLOK , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | |
CHAD PRIMOS SHREVEPORT , LA |
BRIAN HEADRICK DEBERRY , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | CLAYTON BOULWARE ZAVALLA , TX |
ALBERT COLLINS NACOGDOCHES , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | JOE MAZZURCO LUFKIN , TX |
JASON GRIFFIN CONROE , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | |
LARRY WEPPLER HOUSTON , TX |
DENNIS FIKES HOUSTON , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | |
DANNY LASHLEY BOYCE , LA |
MICHAEL IVEY OTIS , LA |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | RANDY QUALLS STREETMAN , TX |
MIKE METCALF JASPER , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | DON BRINSON WACO , TX |
DAVID BATTREALL TEMPLE , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | SHANE BARNES MIDWAY , TX |
MATTHEW BENEFIELD HUFFMAN , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | |
STEVE WOODIE SOUR LAKE , TX |
FOYCE WINN VIDOR , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | |
BEN SOUTH JASPER , TX |
BRYAN SOUTH JASPER , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | CASEY BURLEIGH ORANGE , TX |
JOSH RODGERS BEAUMONT , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | BOBBY VICE GROVES , TX |
RICKY GUY HUMBLE , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | JARRETT LATTA CEDAR PARK , TX |
BRIAN LOWRANCE NACOGDOCHES , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | |
GENE BAGLEY BEAUMONT , TX |
MITCH STEPHENSON BEAUMONT , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | VIC COOPER SHELBYVILLE , TX |
JASON WELLS CENTER , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | JOEY POHL CARMINE , TX |
JODY POHL CYPRESS , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | TROY WILLIAMSON SHEPHERD , TX |
CHARLES WOODDELL NEED INFO |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | STEVEN SHAFER CLEVELAND , TX |
KENT WILLIAMS LA PORTE , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | GREG OSTERTAG MT VERNON , TX |
BRENT EDWARDS MIDLOTHIAN , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | KEVIN WALKER JR BUNA , TX |
JEFF BRIDGES LUMBERTON , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | |
DAMON CHILDRESS ORANGE , TX |
ROBERT CRUSE LUMBERTON , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
||
| 118 | ROGER JOHNSON JR VIDOR , TX |
KIRK LELEUX KIRBYVILLE , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
|
|||
| 118 | COLT DEAR BUNA , TX |
ASHLEY ADAMS BUNA , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
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| 118 | JOHN ILES LUFKIN , TX |
BRIAN SHOOK CHINA , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
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| 118 | |
RONNIE GUNTER LILLIE , LA |
JERRY THOMPSON MANY , LA |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
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| 118 | |
PHILIP HANKS BUNA , TX |
RODNEY SAMMONS BUNA , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
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| 118 | |
CHARLES HICKMAN HUNTINGTON , TX |
TERRY HICKMAN KINGWOOD , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
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| 118 | |
LUCAS RAGUSA GONZALES , LA |
BLAKE CANELLA PLAQUEMINE , LA |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
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| 118 | RANDY BROUSSARD HACKBERRY , LA |
RICHIE KOONCE WESTLAKE , LA |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
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| 118 | |
DOUG PERKINS PORTER , TX |
BRAD HENSLEY CLEVELAND , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
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| 118 | |
STUART WELCH ORANGE , TX |
WESLEY MURDOCK VIDOR , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
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| 118 | JEREMY LEMMONS TOMBALL , TX |
CODY NICHOLSON ANDERSON , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
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| 118 | LANCE SCOTT BROOKELAND , TX |
KEVIN BOLTON WILLIS , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
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| 118 | |
BILL DAIGLE LAFAYETTE , LA |
ANDRE CHAPMAN CHURCH POINT , LA |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
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| 118 | OSCAR LANGELE JR MANY , LA |
JAMES CAMPISE ORANGE , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
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| 118 | |
ANTHONY GUIDRY KAPLAN , LA |
ZACHARY GUIDRY KAPLAN , LA |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
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| 118 | |
CALVIN JOHNSTON KINGWOOD , TX |
THOMAS BEENE SHREVEPORT , LA |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
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| 118 | CADE DURIO LAKE CHARLES , LA |
JOHN DURIO HEMPHILL , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
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| 118 | DUANE PITTMAN PRAIRIEVILLE , LA |
ZACHARY GAGNARD MANY , LA |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
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| 118 | TREY MORGAN GOLDONNA , LA |
JOHN CANERDAY CALVIN , LA |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
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| 118 | BUDDY BUMSTEAD KOUNTZE , TX |
DANNY CHERRY KIRBYVILLE , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
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| 118 | ANDRE MARTIN LENA , LA |
GLEN FREEMAN ZWOLLE , LA |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
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| 118 | CLINT WEST BEAUMONT , TX |
NATHAN PRINE BUNA , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
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| 118 | MICHAEL ROGER SCOTT , IA |
JOSH WILLIAMS NEWCASTLE , OK |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
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| 118 | MIKE ATCHLEY MOSCOW , TX |
PAUL SHIRLEY LEGGETT , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
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| 118 | |
TED PATE ALEXANDRIA , LA |
VINCENT NEAL CALDWELL , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
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| 118 | AARON FREEMAN THE WOODLANDS , TX |
BEN MATSUBU MILAM , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
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| 118 | CHRISTOPHER WADE CANTON , TX |
ARCHIE WADE CANTON , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
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| 118 | |
KEITH HAWKINS LAKE PROVIDENCE , LA |
J. DUCK HAWKINS IRVING , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
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| 118 | |
MALCOLM WILLIAMS BRONSON , TX |
STEVE WILSON FREDERICKSBURG , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
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| 118 | SHAWN VERINSKY LUMBERTON , TX |
BLAKE COLE ORANGE , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
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| 118 | BRANDON DAVIDSON LITTLE ELM , TX |
JIM FURR HEMPHILL , TX |
0 | 0 | 0.00 |
Mike Sutherland Wins Big Bass Tour Table Rock event with a 9.02 Table Rock Monster!!!!!
Congratulations to Mike Sutherland on his win at Table Rock Lake! Mike's 9.02lb giant topped a record field at the 10th annual KVD Big Bass Classic and earned him the keys to the $45,000 Nitro Boats Z19 powered by Mercury Marine!
Top Weights:
Bryan New Wins American Bass Anglers Ray Scott Championship!!
Stoute Claims Co-Angler Title
Courtesy of American Bass Anglers
By John N. Felsher
ATHENS, Ala. – After three straight days at the head of the pack, Bryan D. New won the Boater Division in the 2019 Ray Scott Championship, held April 4-7 on Walter F. George Reservoir near Eufaula, Ala.
The Belmont, N.C. angler finished the four-day tournament with a perfect catch of 20 bass weighing 98.70 pounds. An 8.80-pound bucketmouth he caught on Day 3 also took top honors in the tournament big bass competition. For the victory, New won $50,000 in cash plus a new 21TRX Triton boat equipped with a 250-horsepower Mercury Pro XS outboard motor.
During each off the four days of fishing at Walter F. George Reservoir, better known as Lake Eufaula, New landed five-bass tournament limits. New’s Day 3 catch of 26.03 pounds was one of only two bags exceeding 26 pounds caught in the event. New placed second on Day 1 with 25.69 pounds, but took the lead the following day with a 25.61-pound bag and never relinquished it. He capped off his winning effort with 21.37 pounds on the final day to seal the victory by more than eight pounds.
“On the first day, my co-angler was reeling in a jig and a big bass blew up on it,” New revealed. “I picked up a white Greenfish Tackle swim jig with a Rage craw trailer on it and caught some pretty good fish. I also caught some good fish in the tournament on Greenfish Tackle Creeper Head Jig tipped with an Ol’ Monster worm. I probably fished more than 150 places on the lake. On the final day, it was a grind.”
In second for the boaters, Scott Montgomery, a local favorite from Eufaula, Ala., also finished with four straight five-bass tournament limits. He moved up one place from Day 3 with a 23.68-pound bag that gave him a total of 90.65 pounds including a 6.82-pound lunker. Montgomery stayed in the top six each day with earlier catches of 24.63, 22.00 and 20.34 pounds.
“On the first day, I had a really good day fishing brush offshore,” Montgomery explained. “I started culling 4-pounders. The next day was so tough I could hardly get a bite. On the third day, I went to the bank with a swim jig and caught a good bag. We returned to that spot that last day and I didn’t get a bite. I didn’t have a keeper until about 9 a.m. on the final day. I finally went back to running brush. My go-to baits all week were a Davis Bait swim jig with a Big Bite prototype trailer and a jig with a Big Bite Baits Fighting Frog.”
Ryan Ingram of Phenix City, Ala. also moved up one spot on the last day to finish third with 20 bass going 89.45 pounds topped by a 6.52-pounder. He weighed in 25.55 pounds, the biggest bag on the final day, to add to his other weights of 24.69, 23.94 and 15.27 pounds to stay in the top five throughout the competition.
“On the first two days, I caught my fish out on the river cranking,” Ingram said. “During the next two days, I caught all my fish on a 1-ounce Ledgebuster willow-leaf spinnerbait. I was fishing brush on ledges. The ledges were in about 20 to 22 feet of water with the brush up at about 10 to 12 feet deep.”
Trevor Fitzgerald of Belleview, Fla. jumped from sixth place take fourth on the final day with a 23.80-pound catch. An 8.42-pounder helped him make the leap. Fitzgerald finished with a perfect 20 bass limit weighing 84.66 pounds. He also brought in catches weighing 22.31, 13.13 and 25.42 pounds.
Completing the top five boaters, Chandler A. Ray of Edsion, Ga. finished with 20 bass and 84.48 pounds including a 6.90-pound kicker. He stayed in the top eight throughout the tournament with catches of 22.86, 24.03 and 14.29 pounds. On the final day, he brought in 23.30 pounds.
In the Co-Angler Division, Jeremy S. Stoute of Crestview, Fla. won the championship with seven bass weighing 32.87 pounds. He anchored his catch with a 7.24-pounder that also won the Co-Angler Division lunker title. For winning the championship, Stoute took home $25,000 in cash plus a new 19TRX Triton boat powered by a 225-horsepower Mercury Pro XS outboard motor.
Fishing with Montgomery on the final day, Stoute caught one fish weighing 5.51 pounds, big enough to lift him from third place to the title. On the first day, Stoute landed one 1.21-pound bass, putting him at 169th place out of 195 competitors in the division. He made up for it on the second day with a 16.85-pound catch that vaulted him up 162 notches into seventh place. He landed 9.30 pounds on Day 3 to move into third.
“I almost went home after the first day because I only had one small fish,” Stoute remarked. “I caught one on the last day too, but it was the one I needed. I got to watch a clinic today watching Scott Montgomery fish. It was awesome!”
Tim L. Blanton of Climax, Ga. finished second among the co-anglers with a perfect four consecutive three-bass division limits to give him a total of 32.51 pounds. On the final day, he brought in 11.43 pounds with 6.71-pound kicker, the largest catch by any co-angler that day. That bag allowed him to move up from 14th place to less than six ounces from championship. On the other three days, he landed bags weighing 6.53, 7.00 and 7.55 pounds.
“All four days, we went all the way down almost to the dam,” Blanton said. “For the first two days, we fished Carolina rigs. On the last two days, we fished crankbaits around humps and ridges in four to 10 feet of water. I caught a lot of fish during the first two days, but not as many on the last two days. I lost about a 3-pounder on the second day and that hurt.”
Just three ounces behind, Durward Henderson of Titus, Ala. finished third with nine bass at 32.33 pounds. Catching 4.82 pounds on the final day, he dropped one position. He landed other catches of 12.87, 12.24 and 2.40 pounds with a 5-pound kicker.
“We ran piles in six to 16 feet of water,” Henderson said. “I threw a jig all day. The lake is in good shape. With the way it’s fished in the past two or three years and the stringers of fish coming in, it’s should be on the top of any list of bass lakes across the nation.”
Catching four consecutive three-bass division limits, Kevin Shrader of Valley Head, Ala. advanced every day of the competition. He finished fourth with 12 bass going 30.54 pounds. He moved up one spot on the final day with 6.65 pounds. In all, he also brought in bags weighing 8.17, 6.15 and 9.57 pounds,
Jim C. English of Gordon, Ala. rounded out the top five co-anglers by finishing with 10 bass and 29.84 pounds including a 5.87-pound kicker. He brought in catches weighing 8.03, 9.31, 10.49 and 2.01 pounds.
The Ray Scott Championship tournament culminated another season in the American Bass Anglers Open Series. Nearly 200 anglers in each division fished the event, each one earning a shot at the title by advancing through 18 divisions and nine area championships.
Cobb Puts Finishing Touches On Wire-To-Wire Victory In Bassmaster Elite At Lake Hartwell
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Brandon Cobb In Position For Wire-To-Wire Victory In Bassmaster Elite At Lake Hartwell
South Carolina's Brandon Cobb leads going into Championship Sunday of the Bassmaster Elite at Lake Hartwell with a three-day total of 55 pounds, 6 ounces.
ANDERSON, S.C. — For three days, the field has been waiting for Brandon Cobb to stumble.
It hasn’t happened yet — and now, they’re almost out of time.
Cobb caught five bass today that weighed 18 pounds, 5 ounces and held on to the lead for the third straight day in the Bassmaster Elite at Lake Hartwell. His three-day total of 55-6 gives him more than a 5-pound cushion over his closest competitors going into Championship Sunday and a chance at a rare wire-to-wire victory in an Elite Series event.
“I don’t know how many fish I went through today that weighed from about 2-4 to 2-11,” said Cobb, whose thumbs were red and raw from handling bass today. “I caught so many fish, but I just couldn’t find any big ones in the area I had been fishing.
“That’s why I finally decided to change areas.”
Cobb went to an area that he said was “new for this tournament, but certainly not new” to him as a bass angler on Lake Hartwell. He grew up fishing the lake and was actually a member of the bass fishing team for Clemson University, which is positioned on the banks of Hartwell.
Once he changed locations, he quickly caught his biggest fish of the day — a largemouth in the 5-pound range.
“I actually caught two pretty good ones out of that area,” Cobb said. “So, I might just change things up and spend all day in there tomorrow or at least go there a little earlier.”
Coming into the week, Cobb was afraid his history on the lake would serve as a detriment because a string of unusually cold nights and a steadily falling lake level has had the fish behaving strangely.
But he survived Thursday’s first round with a catch of 19-9 and maintained the lead with 17-8 Friday. Now, he believes the conditions are normalizing on Hartwell — and he thinks that could play into his hands as he tries to become the first wire-to-wire winner on the Elite Series since 2016.
“In practice, the fish weren’t doing anything like they would normally do this time of year,” Cobb said. “So, I was really worried that my history here would hurt me — or at least not help me very much.
“But as the week has gone on, the fish have started acting exactly like they’re supposed to. Since they didn’t do it all week in practice, a lot of people aren’t ready for it — but I feel like I am.”
If Cobb is to complete the start-to-finish win, he’ll have to hold off a logjam of anglers with weights in the 49-pound range. Micah Frazier (49-12), Stetson Blaylock (49-10), Drew Cook (49-7) and Bill Lowen (49-1) are all within relatively easy striking distance of Cobb if he finally stumbles.
Blaylock, a third-year Elite Series pro from Benton, Ark., was the biggest mover Saturday, bringing in five bass that weighed 19-3 to rise from 10th place into third. His catch was anchored by a 5-15 largemouth that gave him the lead in the race for the Phoenix Boats Big Bass award.
“I thought that biggest fish would weigh better than 6 pounds when I was fishing for it,” Blaylock said. “But that’s been the story all week — they all look bigger in the water than they do when you catch them.
“I’ve spent a lot of time on fish this week that I thought were 3-pounders and they didn’t even help me. I can’t understand how they can be so long, but then be so skinny.”
Since warm conditions have settled into the region, Blaylock said big things are possible Sunday.
“I feel like the areas that I’m fishing should be running out and I should be disappointed,” he said. “But in the back of my mind, I keep thinking that they’re showing up.
“So I’m just gonna let it unfold, and hopefully they’ll keep showing up some more.”
The Top 10 remaining pros will fish on Championship Sunday with takeoff scheduled for 7 a.m. ET from Green Pond Landing and Event Center. The weigh-in will be held back at the same site at 3:15 p.m., with the winning pro earning a $100,000 first-place prize.
A special expo will also be held Sunday at Green Pond Landing with demo rides of a Nitro, Skeeter and Triton boats, prizes from Toyota and Academy Sports + Outdoors, fun activities at the Berkley/Abu Garcia Experience trailer and more.
Sunday is also B.A.S.S. Member Appreciation Day. Fans who show their B.A.S.S. member cards at the B.A.S.S. Merchandise booth will receive a free Bassmaster hat.
Sunday will also feature the Elite LIVE Watch Party from noon-2 p.m. Fans can watch Bassmaster LIVE and hang out with special guests and possibly have a chance to be on the show.
2019 Bassmaster Elite at Lake Hartwell 4/4-4/7 Lake Hartwell, Anderson SC. (PROFESSIONAL) Standings Day 3 Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$ 1. Brandon Cobb Greenwood, SC 15 55-06 100 Day 1: 5 19-09 Day 2: 5 17-08 Day 3: 5 18-05 2. Micah Frazier Newnan, GA 15 49-12 99 Day 1: 5 17-09 Day 2: 5 18-03 Day 3: 5 14-00 3. Stetson Blaylock Benton, AR 15 49-10 98 Day 1: 5 13-10 Day 2: 5 16-13 Day 3: 5 19-03 4. Drew Cook Midway, FL 15 49-07 97 Day 1: 5 14-04 Day 2: 5 20-06 Day 3: 5 14-13 5. Bill Lowen Brookville, IN 15 49-01 96 Day 1: 5 16-00 Day 2: 5 18-03 Day 3: 5 14-14 6. Shane LeHew Catawba, NC 15 47-08 95 Day 1: 5 14-10 Day 2: 5 13-06 Day 3: 5 19-08 7. Jamie Hartman Newport, NY 15 46-06 94 Day 1: 5 13-15 Day 2: 5 16-03 Day 3: 5 16-04 8. Hank Cherry Jr Lincolnton, NC 15 46-03 93 Day 1: 5 17-09 Day 2: 5 13-15 Day 3: 5 14-11 9. Chad Pipkens Lansing, MI 15 45-14 92 Day 1: 5 14-10 Day 2: 5 15-03 Day 3: 5 16-01 10. Mark Menendez Paducah, KY 15 45-10 91 Day 1: 5 13-01 Day 2: 5 15-09 Day 3: 5 17-00 11. Patrick Walters Summerville, SC 15 45-06 90 $10,000.00 Day 1: 5 14-15 Day 2: 5 15-11 Day 3: 5 14-12 12. Jake Whitaker Fairview, NC 15 44-06 89 $10,000.00 Day 1: 5 14-01 Day 2: 5 14-03 Day 3: 5 16-02 13. Jeff Gustafson Keewatin Ontario CANADA 15 44-05 88 $10,000.00 Day 1: 5 15-04 Day 2: 5 15-13 Day 3: 5 13-04 14. Cory Johnston Cavan CANADA 15 44-03 87 $10,000.00 Day 1: 5 15-00 Day 2: 5 15-03 Day 3: 5 14-00 15. Chris Groh Spring Grove, IL 15 44-01 86 $10,000.00 Day 1: 5 11-11 Day 2: 5 15-03 Day 3: 5 17-03 16. Brandon Lester Fayetteville, TN 15 43-14 85 $10,000.00 Day 1: 5 14-06 Day 2: 5 16-14 Day 3: 5 12-10 17. Skylar Hamilton Dandridge, TN 15 43-13 84 $10,000.00 Day 1: 5 14-03 Day 2: 5 14-04 Day 3: 5 15-06 18. Tyler Rivet Raceland, LA 15 43-11 83 $10,000.00 Day 1: 5 15-05 Day 2: 5 12-05 Day 3: 5 16-01 19. Matt Herren Ashville, AL 15 43-07 82 $10,000.00 Day 1: 5 15-10 Day 2: 5 14-09 Day 3: 5 13-04 20. Drew Benton Panama City, FL 15 43-00 81 $10,000.00 Day 1: 5 14-09 Day 2: 5 11-09 Day 3: 5 16-14 21. Jason Williamson Wagener, SC 15 42-14 80 $7,500.00 Day 1: 5 15-07 Day 2: 5 15-00 Day 3: 5 12-07 22. Scott Canterbury Odenville, AL 15 42-11 79 $7,500.00 Day 1: 5 16-14 Day 2: 5 11-06 Day 3: 5 14-07 23. John Crews Jr Salem, VA 15 42-11 78 $7,500.00 Day 1: 5 16-09 Day 2: 5 10-05 Day 3: 5 15-13 24. Seth Feider New Market, MN 15 42-09 77 $7,500.00 Day 1: 5 13-04 Day 2: 5 16-07 Day 3: 5 12-14 25. Chris Zaldain Laughlin, NV 15 41-12 76 $7,500.00 Day 1: 5 14-00 Day 2: 5 12-02 Day 3: 5 15-10 26. Garrett Paquette Canton, MI 15 41-11 75 $7,500.00 Day 1: 5 15-04 Day 2: 5 11-08 Day 3: 5 14-15 27. Brad Whatley Bivins, TX 15 41-04 74 $7,500.00 Day 1: 5 15-14 Day 2: 5 10-13 Day 3: 5 14-09 28. Todd Auten Lake Wylie, SC 15 41-02 73 $7,500.00 Day 1: 5 16-13 Day 2: 5 11-06 Day 3: 5 12-15 29. Matt Arey Shelby, NC 15 40-13 72 $7,500.00 Day 1: 5 16-15 Day 2: 5 13-13 Day 3: 5 10-01 30. Gary Clouse Winchester, TN 15 40-00 71 $7,500.00 Day 1: 5 14-00 Day 2: 5 12-08 Day 3: 5 13-08 31. Tyler Carriere Youngsville, LA 15 38-13 70 $7,500.00 Day 1: 5 13-11 Day 2: 5 14-05 Day 3: 5 10-13 32. Randy Pierson Oakdale, CA 15 38-04 69 $7,500.00 Day 1: 5 12-08 Day 2: 5 13-15 Day 3: 5 11-13 33. Luke Palmer Coalgate, OK 15 37-15 68 $7,500.00 Day 1: 5 12-05 Day 2: 5 13-06 Day 3: 5 12-04 34. Clark Wendlandt Leander, TX 15 37-08 67 $7,500.00 Day 1: 5 14-12 Day 2: 5 11-10 Day 3: 5 11-02 35. Brock Mosley Collinsville, MS 15 35-08 66 $7,500.00 Day 1: 5 15-06 Day 2: 5 11-05 Day 3: 5 08-13
MCKEE’S MORRIS GOES WIRE-TO-WIRE, WINS COSTA FLW SERIES ON KENTUCKY/BARKLEY LAKE
Morris Earns Second Career Victory in FLW Competition, $39,608, Carrollton’s Bickers Takes Home New Ranger Boat as CoAngler Champ.
GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. (April 6, 2019) – Pro Jake Morris of McKee, Kentucky, brought just two bass weighing 5 pounds, 12 ounces, to the scale Saturday, but as it turned out he could have took the day off. Morris’ big 24-pound, 10-ounce Day One limit on Thursday was enough to propel him into the early lead and go wire-to wire to win the Costa FLW Series at Kentucky Lake presented by Lowrance. Morris’ three-day total of 10 bass weighing 44 pounds, 2 ounces gave him the win by a 6-pound, 14-ounce margin over second-place pro Steve Floyd of Leesburg, Ohio, and earned him $39,608 in the three-day event that kicked off the 2019 FLW Series Central Division season.
“I’m just as proud of the two that I caught today as the 24 (pounds) that I had on Thursday,” said Morris, who also won a T-H Marine Bass Fishing League (BFL) Regional Championship tournament on Lake Barkley in 2010. “It was tough out there today. My nerves are shot. It was a half-hour boat ride back and I thought for sure I had blown it. It hasn’t even sunk in that I won yet – maybe it will tomorrow.”
Morris said that he fished the same 75-yard stretch all three days of competition – a big flat that had a ditch against the bank, near the mouth of the Little River in Lake Barkley. He said that his key bait for the week was a 3/8-ounce Stan Sloan spinnerbait with a chartreuse skirt, Colorado and willow-leaf blade and a white Zoom Fat Albert Grubl trailer.
“I was making the same cast and getting tired of looking at it,” Morris joked. “I think the key was two main things – the water color was dirtier back in my area and the temperature was 3 to 4 degrees warmer.
“I worried myself sick all day long, so to get the win today is crazy,” Morris went on to say. “I won a BFL regional event here and that was special, but this one feels a little better because the competition was so tough. I had a great week and it’s a tournament I will remember for a long time.”
The top 10 pros on Kentucky and Barkley lakes finished:
1st: Jake Morris, McKee, Ky., 10 bass, 44-2, $39,608
2nd: Steve Floyd, Leesburg, Ohio, 12 bass, 37-4, $15,548
3rd: Shawn Kowal, Linn Creek, Mo., 12 bass, 36-9, $11,982
4th: Jimmy Washam, Covington, Tenn., nine bass, 35-11, $9,902
5th: Cole Floyd, Leesburg, Ohio, 11 bass, 35-6, $8,912
6th: Dan Morehead, Paducah, Ky., eight bass, 30-5, $7,922
7th: Brad Cook, Afton, Okla., nine bass, 30-3, $7,131
8th: Christopher Jones, Bokoshe, Okla., eight bass, 28-15, $5,941
9th: William Campbell, Middlesboro, Ky., nine bass, 28-8, $4,951
10th: Travis Wilson, La Harpe, Ill., seven bass, 23-6, $3,961
A complete list of results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Steven Hatala of Harrison Township, Michigan, weighed an 8-pound, 11-ounce, largemouth Thursday – the biggest of the tournament in the Pro Division. For his catch, Hatala earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $294.
Troy Bickers of Carrollton, Kentucky, won the Co-angler Division and a Ranger Z175 with a 115-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard motor with a three-day total of five bass weighing 20 pounds, 14 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers on Kentucky and Barkley lakes finished:
1st: Troy Bickers, Carrollton, Ky., five bass, 20-14, Ranger Z175 w/ 115-horsepower outboard
2nd: Chad Allison, Carl Junction, Mo., seven bass, 20-7, $5,069
3rd: Kit Lueg, Olathe, Kan., six bass, 19-10, $4,125
4th: Christopher Stites Sr., Lebanon, Tenn., six bass, 19-5, $3,478
5th: Bill Fussell, Thibodaux, La., four bass, 17-8, $2,981
6th: Craig Hulsey, Park Hills, Mo., five bass, 17-3, $2,484
7th: Kennith George, Edmond, Okla., five bass, 14-15, $2,038
8th: Kevin Mahlke, Wentzville, Mo., four bass, 14-14, $1,739
9th: Steve Madar, Starkville, Miss., four bass, 14-11, $1,491
10th: Howard Poitevint, Bainbridge, Ga., three bass, 14-2, $1,492
Bickers caught a fish weighing 8 pounds, 3 ounces, out of the back of the boat Friday – the largest bass in the Co-angler Division – to win the Co-angler Big Bass award of $196.
The Costa FLW Series on Kentucky/Barkley lakes presented by Lowrance was hosted by the Kentucky Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau. It was the first of three Central Division tournaments of the 2019 regular season. The next tournament for FLW Series anglers will be the Costa FLW Series at Santee Cooper presented by Power-Pole, held April 25-27 in Summerton, South Carolina. For a complete schedule, visit FLWFishing.com.
The Costa FLW Series consists of five U.S. divisions – Central, Northern, Southeastern, Southwestern and Western – along with the International division. Each U.S. division consists of three regular-season tournaments with competitors vying for valuable points that could earn them the opportunity to compete in the season-ending Costa FLW Series Championship. The 2019 Costa FLW Series Championship is being held Oct. 31 – Nov. 2 on Lake Cumberland in Burnside, Kentucky.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Costa FLW Series on FLW’s social media outlets
La Crosse, Wisconsin, announced as site for Inaugural Redcrest Championship
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professional bass fishing world since its January debut, and the league announced today that the season-ending championship for the tour will be titled "Redcrest".
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MLF Pro Edwin Evers leads in Bass Pro Tour points after three events. The MLF Redcrest championship event will feature the 30 anglers who have accumulated the most qualifying points over the course of the 2019 Bass Pro Tour's eight-event season.
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La Crosse, Wis., and the scenic Upper Mississippi River region will serve as host to MLF's first tour season championship, the Redcrest. It is scheduled for Aug. 19-25 and will host 30 anglers who qualified by points from the Bass Pro Tour.
(Photo by Megan Kirking, Explore La Crosse)
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Morris Maintains Kentucky Lake Costa Lead
April 5, 2019 by David A. Brown
He was concerned he should’ve gotten more, but it turns out that Jake Morris had enough weight on day one to withstand a leaner day two and retain the lead at the Costa FLW Series Central Division opener presented by Lowrance on Kentucky Lake. Morris’ two-day total is 38 pounds, 6 ounces.
After topping yesterday’s field with a limit catch of 24-10 (the tournament’s heaviest bag), the McKee, Ky., pro managed only three keepers today for 13-12. Clearly, Morris was around quality once again, as he expanded his lead from 4-9 after day one to a whopping 7-pound, 6-ounce margin going into the final round.
“I probably should have stayed a little longer yesterday and seen what I could’ve caught, but I probably left them too early because they weren’t biting as good this morning,” Morris says. “I had to back up and punt today and move to a couple of other locations. I got lucky this afternoon and caught one that was about 6 pounds.”
Morris started out on the same undisclosed area as he fished on day one. It features an assortment of rock and wood in 4 to 5 feet of water. That spot offered a handful of opportunities, but he could bring only two fish to the boat.
“I set the hook on my first fish, the rod bowed double and it just came loose,” Morris says. “I caught one big one, fished another hour and caught a small one. Then I fished and fished and fished and finally stuck another one that was probably the biggest one I’ve had on. I had it on for three to four seconds, and it came loose. I was about to cry then.”
From there, Morris ran 20 miles to one of the spots he was planning to save for the final day. Similar in depth and makeup to his main area, this spot yielded his third and final keeper.
Morris says the day-two weather played a big role in his productivity. Specifically, lack of wind hurt him.
“A little bit of wind probably helps my spot,” Morris says. “The areas I’m fishing are protected, so I don’t care how hard it blows. A little ripple on the water will help.”
Morris caught all of his day-two fish on a 3/8-ounce chartreuse tandem spinnerbait with a Colorado and willow-leaf blade. The right presentation: glacial.
“I still don’t think I’m fishing it slow enough, but if I go much slower, I won’t even be reeling,” Morris says. “It’s scary how slow I’m reeling, but it makes a big difference.”
TOP 10 PROS
1. Jake Morris – McKee, Ky. 38-6 (8)
2. Cole Floyd – Leesburg, Ohio – 31-0 (9)
3. Jimmy Washam – Covington, Tenn. – 30-11 (8)
4. Dan Morehead – Paducah, Ky. – 26-1 (7)
5. Brad Cook – Afton, Okla. – 24-8 (7)
6. Christopher Jones – Bokoshe, Okla. – 24-3 (6)
7. Steve Floyd – Leesburg, Ohio – 23-15 (7)
8. Travis Wilson – LaHarpe, Ill. – 23-6 (7)
9. Shawn Kowal – Linn Creek, Mo. – 22-3 (7)
10. William Campbell – Middlesboro, Ky. – 22-0 (7)
ALLISON TRUSTS FAVES FOR CO-ANGLER LEAD
Improving both in fish count and weight, Chad Allison rose from fifth place to take over the co-angler lead with 20 pounds, 7 ounces. The Carl Junction, Mo., co-angler had three fish for 8-13 on day one, and today he added a quartet that weighed 11-10.
After fishing near the Kentucky Dam on day one, Allison found himself facing shallow river habitat today. Adjusting to this scenario was essential, so he stayed loose and fished what was in front of him.
“I just slowed way down today,” Allison says. “I knew I needed a few more bites to make this top 10. This time of year, I have a few baits that I have confidence in, and I like to keep them in my hand because I know it’s a grind to get bites.”
Allison says he had a jig and an umbrella rig in his arsenal, but he kept his specific details under wraps. He did note that he’s making key adjustments to maximize effectiveness.
“I feel like the fish are definitely moving back to where they want to spawn,” Allison says. “I’ve weighed in four pretty big smallmouths, and they’re coming in first. That’s what keeps me going. I’m looking for what they should be spawning on and throwing at it.”
TOP 10 CO-ANGLERS
1. Chad G. Allison – Carl Junction, Mo. – 20-7 (7)
2. Bill Fussell – Thibodaux, La. – 17-8 (4)
3. Craig Hulsey – Park Hills, Mo. – 15-5 (4)
4. Kennith George – Edmond, Okla. – 14-15 (5)
5. Kevin Mahlke – Wentzville, Mo. – 14-14 (4)
6. Steve Madar – Starkville, Miss. – 14-11 (4)
7. Troy Bickers – Carrollton, Ky. – 14-4 (3)
8. Howard Poitevint – Bainbridge, Ga. – 14-2 (3)
9. Christopher Stites Sr. – Lebanon, Tenn. – 14-0 (4)
10. Kit Lueg – Olathe, Kan. – 13-14 (4)
South Carolina Pro Brandon Cobb Stays Out Front At Bassmaster Elite At Lake Hartwell
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2019 Toyota Bassmaster AOY Championship Will Be Held On Lake St. Clair
| Elite Series Pro Chad Morgenthaler fights a smallmouth bass in the 2017 Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair. B.A.S.S. officials announced today that Lake St. Clair will serve as the host venue for the 2019 Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship on Sept. 26-29.
April 5, 2019 |
HARRISON TOWNSHIP, Mich. — The Bassmaster Tournament Trail has visited Lake St. Clair six times since the early 1990s, including twice for high-stakes Elite Series events.
But the stakes have never been higher than they’ll be when the trail returns to the massive 275,000-acre fishery in late September.
B.A.S.S. officials announced today that Lake St. Clair will serve as the host venue for the 2019 Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship on Sept. 26-29. The tournament, which carries a whopping $1 million total purse, will decide the 2019 Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year winner, the 2019 DICK’S Sporting Goods Rookie of the Year and the bulk of the lineup for the 2020 Bassmaster Classic.
“B.A.S.S. has had some great events at Lake St. Clair, and the people there have always been enthusiastic and supportive fans,” said B.A.S.S. CEO Bruce Akin. “This has already been one of the most exciting years we’ve ever had on the Bassmaster Elite Series, and I can’t think of a better place for it to end than on a great smallmouth fishery like St. Clair.”
The hosts for the event will be the County of Macomb and the Sterling Heights Regional Chamber of Commerce & Industry. Takeoffs and weigh-ins will be held at Lake St. Clair Metropark — and they’ll once again feature the party atmosphere that fans have come to expect from the Elite Series’ season-ending celebration.
Anglers will compete Thursday and Friday, Sept. 26-27, and then have an off-day built around interaction with fishing fans on Saturday, and conclude the championship on Sunday. Saturday’s activities will include an Outdoors Expo with merchandise, food and drink vendors and sponsor activations and promotions. Elite anglers will provide seminars revealing their best bass fishing techniques, and they’ll be available to sign autographs, mingle with fans and talk fishing.
“Between now and the 2020 Bassmaster Classic, B.A.S.S. is celebrating the ‘Year of the Fan,’” Akin said. “We’ll be doing special things to show appreciation for our fans throughout that time, and we’ll certainly be doing plenty during the AOY Championship.
“Obviously, the tournament and the crowning of a new AOY champion will be the main attraction at Lake St. Clair. But there will also be a festival with music, barbecue and fun things for everyone who attends.”
Anglers will be allowed to fish Lake St. Clair and all rivers, creeks and canals connected to the lake. Anglers will not be allowed to travel south of the Ambassador Bridge Highway 3 in the Detroit River or north of the I-94 bridges in the St. Clair and Black rivers, according to B.A.S.S. Tournament Director Trip Weldon.
The AOY standings change throughout the season, with anglers earning points each time they fish a regular-season Bassmaster Elite Series event. Only the Top 50 from the 75-angler Elite Series field will qualify for the AOY Championship, where they’ll have a chance to win the 50th AOY title ever awarded by B.A.S.S. and the $100,000 paycheck that goes with it.
The history of the award dates back to 1970 when the first AOY trophy was won by bass fishing superstar Bill Dance. Since then, legends of the sport like Jimmy Houston, Hank Parker, Davy Hite, Rick Clunn and Roland Martin have all earned the title. Martin won the crown an amazing nine times.
Canadian pro Chris Johnston grabbed the early lead in this year’s AOY standings after finishing second in the Elite Series opener on the St. Johns River in Florida and 10th in the event that followed at Georgia’s Lake Lanier. With a points total of 190, Johnston is followed in the standings by Scott Canterbury of Alabama (182), Lee Livesay of Texas (181) and Patrick Walters of South Carolina (176).
Walters said the AOY title is something every bass fisherman dreams about.
“This is my first season on the Elite Series — and from the moment I knew I was going to be fishing here, my goal was to win AOY,” Walters said. “That’s it. It doesn’t get any better than that in bass fishing. If I win Angler of the Year, the Rookie of the Year title will take care of itself.”
In addition to deciding the various season championship races and 39 berths for the Classic, the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship will award $25,000 and an Elite Series trophy to the angler who has the heaviest total weight for the three-day competition.
“The Bassmaster Elite Series is a year-long race to determine the best bass angler on tour,” Akin said. “Fans can witness the culmination of all that at the AOY Championship.”
B.A.S.S. also announced the dates of its first-ever “makeup tournament,” which will only take place if one of the nine regular-season Elite events has to be canceled this year. In the event that might happen, anglers, staff, sponsors and others have been asked to set aside the weekend prior to AOY — Sept. 19-22 — to make up any canceled tournament.
Maybe it’ll pay Arey to be sick
Alan McGuckin - Dynamic Sponsorships
The day before Team Toyota’s Matt Arey left home in Shelby, N.C. for the relatively short drive down to Lake Hartwell, he spiked a 101-degree fever. His sweet wife Emily confesses he got the nasty virus from she and their cute young daughters. Emily was actually bedridden for two days with the same crud.
But if ever there was a cure for feeling crappy – it’s being surrounded by the love of family – and knowing you’ve got a shot to take home your first blue Bassmaster Elite Series trophy and $100,000.
“I’ve had fever, cough, and body aches, and I just feel beat down and tired. I think it’s like a mini flu,” says the 38-year-old. “But I was hoping to catch 15 pounds Thursday, and ended up with nearly 17 pounds, so that definitely helps me feel a little better.”
When interviewed at the end of practice as to what he liked best about Lake Hartwell, Arey responded, “The fact that it’s so close to home, and all my family can be here to share this tournament with me.” Arey certainly has plenty of family here, including his parents, his wife Emily, daughters Reese and Wren, as well as Emily’s parents.
“Friday’s rain will be a challenge to me. It’s not conducive to the way I’m wanting to catch ‘em here,” warns Arey. “But throughout my career, I’ve always felt comfortable in the pre-spawn. To be honest, I’ve probably won 70% of my career prize money in the months of March and April,” says Arey, who has won nearly $1 Million during his illustrious career.
“I’ve just always been better at staying a step ahead of the fish in the pre-spawn, rather than trying to chase them once they leave the spawning beds. And staying a step ahead of them is definitely the key to pulling a “W” in a 4-day tournament,” he concluded.
After catching nearly 17 pounds on Day 1, there’s no doubt Arey has a shot to feel a whole lot better by Sunday evening. Especially given the love of family to serve as the best medicine of all.
Elite Series Coverage this week brought you by our friends at Visit Anderson in Anderson, South Carolina
Cobb’s Hometown Advantage Lands Him In The Lead At Bassmaster Elite At Lake Hartwell
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Jame Morris Leads Central Costa event on Kentucky Lake with 24.10 pounds
Courtesy of FLWfishing.com
April 4, 2019 by David A. Brown
Jake Morris leveraged a hot morning bite to sack up a 24-pound, 10-ounce bag that leads day one of the Costa FLW Series Central Division opener presented by Lowrance on Kentucky Lake.
“I caught six fish today. I culled once, and then I left them alone,” the McKee, Ky., pro says. “I just went practicing after 10:30. I had been getting a few bites in practice, but I didn’t have a clue what lived there.
“This morning for about 45 minutes, it was just wham, bam, bam. I left them biting, but tomorrow’s a different day.”
Morris says he had three or four prime spots within his main area, so he moved around until he found the active fish.
His area comprised a mix of rock and wood in 5 to 6 feet of water. His fish were clearly new arrivals, as indicated by their pale coloration.
“They’ve been deep all winter long, and now they’re moving up, getting ready to spawn,” Morris says. “They turn white in that deep water where they don’t get any sunlight, but they’ll get darker as they move shallower.”
Notably, Morris says his fish lacked the aggression common to prespawners.
“The bite really wasn’t aggressive, and they didn’t hardly fight either,” he says. “Four of the fish I caught, I didn’t even feel the bite; it just got heavy. I don’t understand that part. You’d think they’d be really mean right now.
“They didn’t even jump. I’d just dip them in the net – easy. It was just one of those days.”
Understandablyguarded in his details, Morris says he caught fish on a reaction bait and a jig. Carrying a lead of 4 pounds, 8 ounces into the second round of competition, he’s cautiously optimistic about getting back on the juice.
“The key was that I had the spot all to myself,” Morris says. “I hope nobody else finds out because there’s no pressure whatsoever, besides crappie fishermen. I look like I’m a crappie fisherman because there are about 12 crappie guys around me. I just hope I can catch as many as I did today.”
TOP 10 PROS
1. Jake Morris – McKee, Ky. – 24-10 (5)
2. Jimmy Washam – Covington, Tenn. – 20-1 (5)
3. Ramie Colson Jr. – Cadiz, Ky. – 19-0 (5)
4. Cole Floyd – Leesburg, Ohio – 17-11 (5)
5. Shawn Penn – Benton, Ky. – 16-13 (4)
6. Brad Cook – Afton, Okla. – 15-14 (5)
7. Steven Hatala – Harrison Township, Mich. – 14-4 (2)
8. Josh Ray – Alexander, Ark. – 13-0 (4)
9. Chris Engelage – Mascoutah, Ill. – 11-15 (4)
10. Sheldon Rogge – St. George, Kan. – 11-13 (4)
POWER PAIR GIVES GRIFFITH CO-ANGLER LEAD
If you can only catch two fish, it’s pretty cool when you get a pair that’s big enough for the tournament lead. That’s the case for Bobby Griffith of Mayfield, Ky., whose two-fish catch totaled an even 12 pounds.
Paired with pro leader Jake Morris, Griffith caught his 5-pounder shortly after arriving on the spot. His 7-pounder came about two hours later.
Both of Griffith’s fish bit a white ChatterBait with a pearl white grub trailer. Oddly enough, both fish exhibited a different level of urgency.
“One just killed it, and the other one just got heavy,” he says. “It was two different bites altogether.”
TOP 10 CO-ANGLERS
1. Bobby Griffith – Mayfield, Ky. – 12-0 (2)
2. Craig Hulsey – Park Hills, Mo. – 10-5 (2)
3. Bill Fussell – Thibodaux, La. – 9-8 (2)
4. Peyton Coleman – Paducah, Ky. – 8-14 (2)
5. Chad G Allison – Carl Junction, Mo. – 8-13 (3)
6. Kevin Mahlke – Wentzville, Mo. – 7-3 (2)
7. Carl Breeden – Valley Park, Mo. – 6-13 (1)
8. Frank Williams – St. Charles, Mo. – 6-11 (2)
9. Kurt Chelminiak – Delafield, Wis. – 6-3 (2)
9. Kit Lueg – Olathe, Kan. – 6-3 (2)
B.A.S.S. Unveils ‘The Year Of The Fan’ Celebration
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — On the heels of the best-attended Bassmaster Classic in history, B.A.S.S. announces a yearlong celebration of the heart and soul of the sport of professional bass fishing: the fans.
“The GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods crushed the attendance records with more than 153,000 fans descending on Knoxville, Tenn.,” said B.A.S.S. CEO Bruce Akin. “The atmosphere was electric and proved that bass fishing fans are the most passionate and rabid fans that exist. So, we decided to give them a yearlong thank-you gift with our ‘Year of the Fan’ celebration.”
“The simple truth is, without fanatical bass anglers, I’d probably have to get a real job,” said Bassmaster Elite Series pro Brandon Lester. “The everyday bass fisherman is the real hero in this industry, and I look forward to thanking them every chance I get for the rest of the season and beyond.”
That will add up to a lot of thank-yous, according to Jim Sexton, B.A.S.S. Vice President of Digital. “Not only did fans show up in droves to watch the Classic in person, but we had more than 25 million minutes watched on Bassmaster.com during Classic Week. And these fans watched from all over the world. We had 179 countries log on to Bassmaster.com to catch the action from the biggest stage in bass fishing.” It seems bass fishing truly is a universal language.
The Year of the Fan celebration will kick off at the next Elites Series event being held on Lake Hartwell, and culminate at the 50th anniversary of the Bassmaster Classic next March. Alongside B.A.S.S. and the Elite Series pros, sponsors of B.A.S.S. will be actively joining the celebration by bringing fans incredible experiences at the Elite Series venues. Here are just a few highlights of what fans can expect when they attend the Elite Series “Fandamonium”:
- B.A.S.S. Member Appreciation Day: Every Sunday at Elite events, the first 100 B.A.S.S. members to show their membership cards at the B.A.S.S. booth will receive a B.A.S.S. hat.
- Angler Alley: Fans can meet and greet Elite Series pros from 1 to 3 p.m. on Saturdays prior to weigh-in. Bassmaster LIVE cameras will be on site to interview fans.
- Elite LIVE Watch Party: Special guests will be on hand to join fans in watching Bassmaster LIVE on Sundays from 12:30 to 3 p.m. Academy Sports + Outdoors will be providing special giveaways to fans on a first-come, first-served basis.
- Free Elite Angler Clinics: Fans will have a chance to get some free advice from Elite Series pros on a wide range of topics, as well as participate in Q&A sessions with the pros.
- Fish Care V.I.P.: The new Yamaha Live Release boats will become the platform for a few lucky fans to participate in a V.I.P. conservation program during all Elite events.
- Fandamonium Dance Off: Fans can show off their moves prior to weigh-ins for special prizes.
- Military and First Responder Appreciation Day: Every Saturday at Elite events, the first 100 active military/first responders or veterans to show their IDs in the B.A.S.S. booth will receive an official Bassmaster hat.
- Mercury Concert Series: Starting with the Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest benefiting Texas Parks & Wildlife Department on May 4th, fans will be treated to a free concert provided by Mercury Marine.
- Toyota Fishing: Toyota is offering a variety of exciting activities for all fishing fans to enjoy at Elite events, including Toyota Build-A-Bait and Casting Kids Youth Activities, Meet the Pros – with Team Toyota Anglers Brandon Lester & Matt Arey, Toyota Interactive Vehicle Displays, Toyota Owner Appreciation gifts and more.
- Demo Rides: Fans will get some exciting boat rides courtesy of Nitro, Skeeter and Triton.
- Games Galore: Prior to weigh-ins on Saturday and Sunday, Berkley, Carhartt, Abu Garcia, Humminbird, Minn Kota, Power-Pole, Bass Pro Shops, Talon, Mossy Oak Fishing, Lowrance and other manufacturers and vendors will be offering fun games and cool prizes to fans who participate.
These efforts to thank B.A.S.S. fans are just the tip of the iceberg.
“We want to get to know the anglers who follow our sport,” said Bassmaster Magazine Editor James Hall. “So, we will be reaching out to our 55,000-plus Life Members to let them tell their stories. We will be interviewing weekend anglers at boat ramps across the country to get tips for Bassmasterreaders. We are going to have Elite Series pros interview fans instead of vice-versa. We believe that every bass angler has a compelling story to tell, from one who fishes on weekends from a kayak, to the competitive angler who has a full-time job and fishes the Bassmaster Opens. To celebrate and thank these men and women, we want to tell their stories.”
Additionally, the B.A.S.S. digital team will be highlighting fans on Bassmaster.com, as well as all social channels.
“We are going to be interacting with fans in a big way,” said Sexton. “There are around 1.6 million fans following B.A.S.S. social media channels. We want these anglers to share photos on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter using #yearofthefan, and we want to read their stories about fishing with family and friends. Plus, we will have plenty of fan contests throughout the year on the website. It’s all about the fans.”
B.A.S.S. legend and Elite Series pro Rick Clunn puts it best: “In the grand scheme of things, it’s not about how successful I am as a pro. The number of trophies I have on a mantel doesn’t push the sport forward. Instead, it is the knowledge that we, as an angling community, share with each other that promotes passion to pursue excellence. I am so thankful for the passion I see every day from B.A.S.S. fans. They are the heartbeat of our sport.”
Check out the kick-off tribute to all of the wonderful B.A.S.S. fans and the Year of the Fan celebration below:
https://www.bassmaster.com/slideshow/year-fan-classic
For updated events associated with the Bassmaster Year of the Fan celebration, visit Bassmaster.com.
Arey, Lester, and Mosley talk turkeys and Hartwell
Alan McGuckin - Dynamic Sponsorships
North Carolina’s Matt Arey, Tennessee’s Brandon Lester, and Mississippi’s Brock Mosley all agree on two things, a Toyota Tundra is their choice of tow vehicle, and no season beats turkey season.
Q: What’s your favorite thing about Lake Hartwell?
Arey:It’s only 1 hour and 40 minutes from home, so my wife Emily and daughters Reese and Wren get to be here with me this week.
Lester:It’s a huge reservoir, so everybody can spread out.
Mosley:I love that it’s full of fish.
Q: How much weight do you think the guy in first place will have on Day 1?
Arey:18 pounds 12 ounces
Lester:20 pounds
Mosley:21 pounds
Q: What percentage of the bass weighed in this week will be caught from visible spawning beds?
Arey:50%
Lester:60%
Mosley:30% - and I feel like most of those will get caught on Day 1
Q: If you could only have one lure for the rest of your life to catch a bass from a spawning bed, what lure would you choose?
Arey:Lunker Hunt 5” Lunker Stick in a color called “leech”
Lester:X Zone Lures 6” Fat Finesse wacky worm with a nail weight in the head of it.
Mosley:NetBait Paca Slim Craw. A lot of guys use white, but I prefer green pumpkin.
Q:It’s the start of baseball season, NFL draft season, the Masters Tournament, and March Madness. Which interest you most, and why?
Arey:Can I say turkey season, or spawning largemouth season?
Lester:None of the above – it’s turkey season.
Mosley:I played college baseball at Delta State, but I prefer turkey season over all those others.
Elite Series Coverage this week brought you by our friends at Visit Anderson in Anderson, South Carolina
Lineberger says love is in the water
Alan McGuckin - Dynamic Sponsorships
Spend five minutes talking to Bassmaster Elite Series pro, Shane Lineberger of North Carolina, and you’ll fast realize the man deeply loves and appreciates his bride Hope and teen daughter, Alli.
“There’s no way I could be out here fishing for a living without the support my wife gives me. The day I had to tell the boss at Timken Bearings I was resigning the job I had there for 20 years was the scariest day of my life. Thank heavens for Hope’s support,” says the very likeable Lineberger, who has long been a Toyota Bonus Bucks member.
Making bearings for pick-up trucks is now a thing of Lineberger’s past. He’s currently fresh off a high finish at the Bassmaster Elite Series at Lake Lanier, and looks to cash-in this week on Hartwell too. He only lives two hours from Hartwell, and fishes here a dozen times a year.
“It’s a blast to come down to Hartwell in May when the blue back herring are spawning. You can blast the bass on a topwater! It’s just nuts!” he smiles. “But it’s too early for that this week. Right now it’s all about the bass spawning, not the herring.”
“I actually think there’s already been one wave of bass spawn and leave the beds. And based on the warming weather trend we’re having right now, there’s a real good chance the biggest wave of spawners will probably hit this weekend,” warns the Champion Power Equipment pro.
Water levels on Hartwell are three to four feet higher than they typically are at this time of year. That’s made seeing beds a little more challenging. But you can bet this group of angling aces will see their way clearly to the Holy Grail of springtime activity, especially if the water levels will begin to fall slightly, as it did during practice.
Lineberger is rigged and ready with a Reaction Innovations’ Sweet Beaver, and he knows how to play the sight fishing game.
“I consider myself a fair sight fisherman. I don’t get the same amount of practice at it a guy like Drew Benton gets in Florida where bass spawn several months a year, but I’m ready to go looking for them this weekend if I can make it through the first two days of competition,” he says.
Indeed, love is in the air here in Anderson County, South Carolina. And if the warm weather holds, Lineberger warns it’ll be in the water this weekend too.
Elite Series Coverage this week brought you by our friends at Visit Anderson in Anderson, South Carolina
FLW Tour Winners Showcase with Jeremy Lawyer & "BLat", Brian Latimer
This week the boys welcome in recent FLW Tour Winner, Grand Lake Champion Jeremy Lawyer to tell us how he pulled off the win on a stingy Grand Lake in Oklahoma as well as they welcome in the Lake Seminole Tour Winner, B-Lat, Brian Latimer from South Carolina as he gives us the deets to his win and his top 10 finish on Grand Lake this past week! All of this plus the Costa Countdown to Blastoff, The Progressive Bass Wrap up and listen as Chris contests his blank in last weeks pick em' contest.
Lake Hartwell changed Caleb Sumrall’s life
Alan McGuckin - Dynamic Sponsorships
Leveraged by the magical fate of a few good topwater and drop shot bites on Lake Hartwell seventeen months ago, Caleb Sumrall went from a recently laid-off father of two, to a B.A.S.S. Nation National Champion, and then the last guy invited to join the Bassmaster Elite Series.
“At one afternoon weigh-in here on Hartwell back in October, 2017, I went from thinking I might finish second, have to sell my boat, and hurry to find a new job, to being a National Champion and a 2018 Bassmaster Classic qualifier, with a chance to start the pro career I’ve dreamed about forever,” says the highly likeable and humble, 31-year old from Southern Louisiana.
Now in his sophomore season, this week marks the third time he’s made the 12 hour drive from home to Anderson, SC to chase a dream and Hartwell’s black bass population.
“It was definitely a little nostalgic when I pulled in here for the first day of practice Monday. I obviously got a good vibe, this lake will always be special to me, but because it lacks hydrilla and hyacinth matts, it’s way different than home,” grins the former oil field service yard manager.
When he won the B.A.S.S. Nation Championship here, his practice was by no means rich with bites, and neither was the first day of practice on Hartwell this week.
“In the 2017 Nation Championship, I had five total bites in three days of practice. I’d see fish schooling on the surface and log a waypoint, and I found some brushpiles, but I wasn’t exactly full of confidence going into the tournament,” he remembers.
“This Monday wasn’t real good either, but Tuesday was better, the fish are moving shallow to spawn and shallow water fishing is my strength, so my confidence is building,” he says.
Water temps are ranging from 55 to 65 on Hartwell, and Sumrall predicts wacky-rigged soft plastics, small soft plastic swimbaits, spinnerbaits, and shallow crankbaits like Spro’s Rock Crawler will be major players this week.
Life is good for Sumrall right now. He’s fishing for a living less than two years after losing a “regular job”, but financially it’s still a strain.
“I guide on Toledo Bend and Rayburn with Darold Gleason when I’m not out on the Elite Series tour, and I’m grateful for it. But man, I’d like to get to a point financially where I could be with my wife and two kids way more when I’m not out here on the road,” says Sumrall, understandably.
If Sumrall’s sentimental history here at Hartwell shows itself this week, the $100,000 first place prize could alleviate a whole lot of strain, and change his life for the better once again at this gorgeous South Carolina reservoir.
Elite Series Coverage this week brought you by our friends at Visit Anderson in Anderson, South Carolina
Mercury Marine Signs Agreement To Continue As Premier Sponsor Of B.A.S.S.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Mercury Marine continues its longstanding support of B.A.S.S. with the announcement of a new premier sponsorship of the world’s largest fishing organization.
“For more than two decades, Mercury Marine and B.A.S.S. have partnered to not only bring fans the most exciting pro-level events in the sport, but also grow bass fishing through support of high school, college and B.A.S.S. Nation competition,” said Bruce Akin, CEO of B.A.S.S. “The continuation of this storied partnership proves that together we are laser focused on ensuring that the future of bass fishing is very bright.”
“We are delighted to renew our premier-level support of B.A.S.S. — a partnership that promotes our mutual values and our shared love of competitive bass fishing,” said Michelle Dauchy, Mercury Marine chief marketing officer. “Mercury and B.A.S.S. have worked together to advance the causes of conservation, youth development, and expanded opportunities for recreation and competition on the water. Mercury will continue to innovate outboard engines that give bass anglers a competitive edge, and we'll also find new and creative ways to elevate the sport,” Dauchy said.
Under the new agreement, Mercury Marine will be a premier sponsor of the biggest stages in bass fishing and also have premier sponsorship of youth and grass-roots programs, as well. These include the Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods, Bassmaster Elite Series, Basspro.comBassmaster Opens Series, TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Series, Bassmaster Team Championship, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops and Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School Series presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors.
One aspect of the renewed partnership fans will enjoy is the new Mercury Concert Series. These free concerts will take place prior to Saturday or Sunday weigh-ins at Elite Series events held this year on Lake Fork, Lake Guntersville, St. Lawrence River and Cayuga Lake, as well as the Angler of the Year Championship.
“We are so excited that Mercury Marine is again a premier sponsor of the Classic,” said Akin. “We broke records this year in Knoxville, with over 153,000 fans attending the biggest event in fishing. The Mercury team created some incredible fan experiences and will no doubt continue to raise the bar to keep bass anglers enthusiastic about our sport.”
The partnership extends well beyond event venues. Mercury Marine will have a strong presence within the extensive B.A.S.S. media platforms, including Bassmaster Magazine, The BassmastersTV Show and Bassmaster.com.
About Mercury Marine
Headquartered in Fond du Lac, Wis., Mercury Marine is the world’s leading manufacturer of recreational marine propulsion engines. A $3 billion division of Brunswick Corporation (NYSE: BC), Mercury provides engines, boats, services and parts for recreational, commercial and government marine applications, empowering boaters with products that are easy to use, extremely reliable and backed by the most dedicated customer support in the world. Mercury’s industry-leading brand portfolio includes Mercury outboard engines; Mercury MerCruiser sterndrive and inboard packages; MotorGuide trolling motors; Mercury propellers; Mercury inflatable boats; Mercury SmartCraft electronics; Attwood marine parts; Land ’N’ Sea marine parts distribution; and Mercury and Quicksilver parts and oils and Power Products, LLC. More information is available at mercurymarine.com
