AC Insider Podcast Episode #7 Featuring Graph Glass Founder John Hunter, Strike King's Mark Copley & More!
On this weeks AnglersChannel Insider Podcast, Chris & Jason catch up with FLW Tour Pro and Founder of Graph Glass John Hunter as well as they talk with
Mark Copley, Marketing Manager for Strike King Lure Company and Lews Rods and Reels about life after a merger and what its like to be the
all time leading bait manufacturer in Classic Wins. Chris interviews the winners of the Alabama Bass Trail Lake Martin event and the boys welcome
back Vance McCullough to the program after a long two week hiatus..... All this and more only on the AnglersChannel Insider Podcast!
Strike King Pro Mark Davis Takes Medical Hardship to Have Hip Replaced
Story Courtesy of Jim Sexton/BASS
When the Bassmaster Elite Series resumes at the Sabine River in Orange, Texas, Mark Davis won’t be fishing. He’s taking a medical hardship to have his hip replaced.
“It started hurting me last summer,” said Davis. “Champlain was the first tournament it started bothering my fishing. Over the winter it went downhill fast. The x-rays showed it was bone on bone.
“I had hoped to limp through the year. But it’s very evident I can’t do that. At the Classic I nearly fell out of the boat getting my fish out of the livewell.”
Davis, who is 54, will have hip replacement surgery this spring. He plans to come back stronger for the 2019 season.
“I might be able to make it a while longer, but fishing these multi-day events, standing on your feet the whole time, I just can’t do it,” said Davis. “If I didn’t fish for a living I could probably put it off for a while.”
Davis said he hoped to combat the pain by fishing sitting down more this year. “I even bought one of those high dollar seats,” he said. “I just can’t fish sitting down. I’ve been doing it standing up for 32 years.”
Davis finished 105th at Lake Martin, the first Elite Series tournament of 2018. He finished 24th at the 2018 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods. Davis is a three-time Toyota
Bassmaster Angler of the Year and the 1995 Classic champion. He lives in Mt. Ida, Arkansas.
Beginning with the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River presented by Econo Lodge the Elite field will drop down to 109 anglers. The Day 2 cut will remain at 51 anglers.
Boater Killed in Boat Crash on Lake Tuscaloosa
Courtesy of TuscaloosaNews.com
A boater participating in a bass fishing tournament was killed early Saturday morning after crashing into the Tierce Patton bridge over Lake Tuscaloosa.
Danny James Pate, 63, of Coker, was pronounced dead at the scene, Tuscaloosa Police spokeswoman Lt. Teena Richardson said.
TPD’s lake patrol division officers were called to the crash site at 6:30 a.m. Saturday. Pate was participating in the Bass Waterworks Bass Tournament, and had been traveling south on the lake when he struck a rocky bank, became airborne and hit the underside of the bridge.
The bridge remains open, Richardson said.
Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Carroll’s Creek volunteer firefighters also responded to the accident.
#CancerSucks - A Conversation with ABT Husband & Wife Team Steven & Pam Martin Wells
The Majority of us in our lifetime are either dealing with a loved one who has Cancer, Have dealt with it or will deal with it. Its almost inevitable.
Pam Martin Wells and Her Husband Steven are currently dealing with as Steven battles this terrible disease.
Pam's Jersey says it best, #CancerSucks. Say a Prayer, Send a text, lift up someone you know who is dealing with Cancer and help brighten their day.
Photo Courtesy Dan O'Sullivan/ABT
Kurth Reservoir Produces Latest Texas ShareLunker Largemouth
AUSTIN – For the first time in the 32 year history of the program, Kurth Reservoir in Lufkin has produced a Toyota ShareLunker entry. Angler Pablo Torres Jr. of Lufkin caught the 13.34 pound, 26 inch Legacy Class lunker in less than 8 feet of water while fishing with his son-in-law at the lake March 25.
“At first I didn’t even know it was a fish – it thought I was hung up,” Torres said. “I tightened up and it started swimming, and when it started pulling the line I thought ‘this might be a good fish.’”
“Catching a ShareLunker from Kurth was the farthest from my dreams until I saw it in the net,” Torres added. “When we got it to the boat and it turned to the side my jaw dropped and I thought ‘Oh my gosh.”
Although he has seen and heard of larger fish being caught from Kurth, Torres said being the first angler to enter a Toyota ShareLunker from the lake was a great feeling. He decided to loan the fish to the Toyota ShareLunker program for spawning to contribute to the number of Florida largemouth bass being stocked in his area.
“Kurth is a fantastic lake with a lot of lunkers in it,” Torres said. “[Texas Parks and Wildlife Department] stocks a lot of the ‘Floridas’ in Sam Rayburn Reservoir and other surrounding lakes so this is a good way for me to help contribute to the area. And this fish will be released back to Kurth when they are done with it.”
Todd Driscoll, the TPWD Inland Fisheries District Supervisor for the Jasper district, said he was not surprised at all to hear that the East Texas lake had produced a Toyota Sharelunker entry.
“This lake has everything it needs to produce big fish – including ample amounts of aquatic vegetation like hydrilla, which covers 30-40 percent of the reservoir,” Driscoll said. “That produces really strong year classes of fish. In addition to a 16 inch maximum limit, we have also been stocking it for years with frequent stockings of pure Florida largemouth bass to increase trophy potential of lake.”
ShareLunker 575 is the fifth Legacy Class entry of the season with the previous entries coming from Twin Buttes Reservoir and Lake Fork.
ShareLunker 575 was transported to the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens where hatchery staff will monitor and care for her in preparation for spawning. Also in the “Lunker Bunker” are the four other Legacy Class entries of the season: Toyota ShareLunker 574, a 13.40 pound largemouth bass caught by angler Austin Terry from Twin Buttes Reservoir March 14; Toyota ShareLunker 573, a 13.06 pound largemouth bass caught by angler Alex Finch from Lake Fork March 11; Toyota ShareLunker 572, a 13.00 pound largemouth bass caught by angler Michael Terrebonne from Lake Fork March 8; and Toyota ShareLunker 571, a 15.48 pound largemouth bass caught by angler John LaBove from Lake Fork March 2.
Texas anglers who catch a 13 pound or larger largemouth bass can loan the fish to the Toyota ShareLunker program for spawning through March 31.
Every angler who loans a 13 pound or larger Legacy Class bass to the Toyota ShareLunker program during the spawning period Jan. 1 to March 31 will receive a Toyota ShareLunker Catch Kit containing branded merchandise and fishing tackle items, a 13lb+ Legacy decal, VIP access to awards programming at the Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest, a replica of their fish, and an entry into the year-end ShareLunker Prize Drawing to win a $5,000 shopping spree and an annual fishing license. These anglers will also be entered into the Legacy Class Prize Drawing for a $5,000 shopping spree and an annual fishing license at the end of the spawning period March 31.
The Toyota ShareLunker Program is made possible by a grant to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation from Gulf States Toyota. Toyota is a longtime supporter of the Foundation and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, providing major funding for a wide variety of education, fish, parks and wildlife projects.
For updates on the Toyota ShareLunker program and to view photos of all of the 13-pound-plus largemouth bass caught this season, visit https://www.facebook.com/ShareLunkerprogram or https://texassharelunker.com/.
B.A.S.S. Urges Louisiana Legislators To Restore Angler Access To Public Waterways
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ROCK HILL’S JENNINGS WINS T-H MARINE FLW BFL SOUTH CAROLINA DIVISION EVENT ON LAKE MURRAY PRESENTED BY NAVIONICS
Cerv Claims Co-angler Title
COLUMBIA, S.C. (March 26, 2018) – Boater Jeff Jennings of Rock Hill, South Carolina, caught a five-bass limit weighing 22 pounds, 15 ounces, Saturday to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) South Carolina Division event on Lake Murray presented by Navionics. For his win, Jennings earned $7,115.
According to post-tournament reports, Jennings used a creature-style bait to catch fish near docks and wood in the mid- and lower sections of the lake.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Jeff Jennings, Rock Hill, S.C., five bass, 22-15, $5,115 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
2nd: Cody Hoyle, Rutherfordton, N.C., five bass, 22-5, $2,458
3rd: Adam Waters, Denver, N.C., five bass, 19-7, $1,640
4th: Scott Allgood, Fair Play, S.C., five bass, 18-12, $1,147
5th: Steve Thornhill, Pineville, S.C., five bass, 18-11, $1,083
6th: Randy Childers, Anderson, S.C., five bass, 18-1, $901
7th: David Williams, Maiden, N.C., five bass, 17-11, $819
8th: Craig Rexford, Grand Isle, Vt., five bass, 17-10, $737
9th: John Allen, Concord, N.C., five bass, 17-8, $655
10th: Chris Marshall, Forest City, N.C., three bass, 16-15, $1,323
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Marshall brought a 7-pound, 10-ounce bass to the scale – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $750.
Joel Cerv of North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, won the Co-angler Division and $2,469 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 14 pounds, 14 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Joel Cerv, North Wilkesboro, N.C., five bass, 14-14, $2,469
2nd: Tyler Dover, Blacksburg, S.C., five bass, 13-5, $1,235
3rd: Tyler Ward, Grover, N.C., five bass, 12-15, $1,023
4th: Travis Ruff, Connelly Springs, N.C., five bass, 12-4, $576
5th: Blake Whittaker, Monterey, Tenn., four bass, 12-2, $494
6th: Bryce Tumberg, Moore, S.C., four bass, 12-1, $432
6th: Bill Hawkins, Piedmont, S.C., five bass, 12-1, $482
8th: Terry Coleman, Sumter, S.C., three bass, 11-15, $370
9th: Greg Atkinson, Ridgeway, S.C., four bass, 10-10, $329
10th: Stewart Uldrick, Anderson, S.C., five bass, 10-9, $288
Rodney Tapp of North Augusta, South Carolina, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division weighing in at 6 pounds, 13 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $372.
The T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) South Carolina Division event on Lake Murray was hosted by Capital City Lake Murray Country Regional Tourism.
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. 18-20 BFL Regional Championship on Lake Norman in Huntersville, North Carolina. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.
The 2018 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 2018 BFL All-American will be held May 31-June 2 at Cross Lake in Shreveport, Louisiana, and is hosted by the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission. 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, YouTube and Snapchat.
NORTH CAROLINA’S CHANDLER WINS T-H MARINE FLW BFL PIEDMONT DIVISION TOURNAMENT ON SMITH MOUNTAIN LAKE
Shawsville’s Jones Wins Co-angler Title
HUDDLESTON, Va. (March 26, 2018) – Boater Kevin Chandler of New London, North Carolina, won the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Piedmont Division tournament on Smith Mountain Lake Saturday with five bass weighing 20 pounds, 12 ounces. For his efforts, Chandler pocketed $7,327.
Chandler caught the majority of his fish targeting rocks in the west arm of Smith Mountain Lake. He said he used green-pumpkin- and black and blue-colored custom jigs with Zoom Super Chunk Jr. trailers.
“I just dragged the jig along the bottom. All of the fish I weighed in except for one came from rocks – the fifth came from a pier pole,” said Chandler, who earned his sixth win in BFL competition. “Most were in 3 to 8 feet of water and I was able to put 12 keepers in the boat.”
Chandler credited his 7-foot, 2-inch Medium Heavy Level Rod and Abu Garcia REVO STX Gen 4 Casting Reel as being crucial to his success.
“In my opinion, that rod has the perfect tip. You can make soft presentations and it has the backbone you need to get the hook in and catch them,” said Chandler.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Kevin Chandler, New London, N.C., five bass, 20-12, $5,327 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
2nd: David Perdue, Wirtz, Va., five bass, 19-13, $2,164
3rd: Ben Reynolds, Callands, Va., five bass, 18-6, $1,377
4th: Brian Calloway, Danville, Va., five bass, 17-13, $963
5th: Scott Hamrick, Denver, N.C., four bass, 16-11, $825
6th: Chris Lewis, Dublin, Va., five bass, 15-15, $757
7th: Justin Hicks, Roanoke, Va., five bass, 15-14, $688
8th: Bradley Staley, Pleasant Garden, N.C., five bass, 15-11, $619
9th: Eric Bailey, Lexington, N.C., five bass, 15-7, $550
10th: Chris Brummett, Lynch Station, Va., five bass, 15-6, $482
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Gary D’Angelo of Woodbine, Maryland, weighed a 7-pound, 6-ounce bass – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $575.
Isaac Jones of Shawsville, Virginia, won the Co-angler Division and $2,059 Saturday after catching three bass weighing 14 pounds, 1 ounce.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Isaac Jones, Shawsville, Va., three bass, 14-1, $2,059
2nd: Kurt Moser, Max Meadows, Va., five bass, 12-11, $1,030
3rd: Jason Hinger, Timberlake, N.C., three bass, 12-3, $787
4th: Craig Wheeler, King George, Va., five bass, 10-8, $480
5th: David DeCiucis, Chester, Va., four bass, 10-5, $412
6th: Pat Kendrick, Bumpass, Va., three bass, 10-3, $378
7th: Josea Goble, Newton, N.C., three bass, 10-2, $343
8th: Shane Robbins, Raleigh, N.C., three bass, 9-11, $309
9th: Jamie Newton, Falls Church, Va., four bass, 9-8, $275
10th: Tony Laaper, Pittsboro, N.C., two bass, 9-4, $290
Steve Mazingo of Bedford, Virginia, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division weighing in at 6 pounds, 1 ounce. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $282.
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. 18-20 BFL Regional Championship on Lake Norman in Huntersville, North Carolina. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.
The 2018 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 2018 BFL All-American will be held May 31-June 2 at Cross Lake in Shreveport, Louisiana, and is hosted by the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission. 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, YouTube and Snapchat.
STANLEY, TROBAUGH TIE FOR WIN AT T-H MARINE FLW BFL MOUNTAIN DIVISION TOURNAMENT ON DALE HOLLOW LAKE PRESENTED BY NAVIONICS
Kentucky’s Bennington Takes Co-angler Title
BYRDSTOWN, Tenn. (March 26, 2018) – Boaters Matt Stanley of Alexandria, Tennessee, and Greg Trobaugh of Rickman, Tennessee, each caught five bass weighing 20 pounds, 3 ounces, Saturday to tie for the win at the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Mountain Division event on Dale Hollow Lake presented by Navionics. For their efforts, each boater took home $3,573.
Stanley said that he fished mid-lake grass edges with a Picasso School-E-Rig Bait Ball umbrella rig rigged with Xcite Baits Shadnasty Swimbaits in 8 to 12 feet of water. He used a 7-foot 10-inch iRod Genesis II Bama Rig Special Rod and caught around 15 keepers.
“I got a couple good ones early and that keyed me in on what they were doing,” said Stanley, who claimed his third career win in BFL competition. “There’s a lot of grass on Dale Hollow, but once I found the specific spots they were in I could pull up and fish it. Everywhere I stopped I used my Lowrance units to see if there was grass on the bottom and if there was a flat bank. After that it was pretty much game on.”
Trobaugh caught the bulk of his fish mid-lake as well, and used an umbrella rig with Keitech and Reaction Innovations swimbaits. He said his morning was slow, but the bite picked up as the day went on.
“I hit transition spots and caught 11 or 12 keepers. Some of them were relating to points, and a few of them were relating to staging areas,” said Trobaugh, who earned his first BFL win as a boater on Dale Hollow Lake. “I fished a local tournament on Dale Hollow last week and more fish seemed to be pulled up and catchable this time around. I think that helped me.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Matt Stanley, Alexandria, Tenn., five bass, 20-3, $3,573
1st: Greg Trobaugh, Rickman, Tenn., five bass, 20-3, $3,573
3rd: Todd Beaty, Rickman, Tenn., five bass 19-7, $1,498
4th: Jimmy Gayhart, Sadieville, Ky., five bass, 18-11, $1,050
5th: Joe Rucker, Nicholasville, Ky., five bass, 17-8, $1,000
6th: Mike Casada, Stearns, Ky., five bass, 17-7, $825
7th: Keith Monson, Burgin, Ky., five bass, 16-10, $750
8th: Freddy Adkins, East Bernstadt, Ky., five bass, 16-9, $637
8th: Brian Wilson, Somerset, Ky., five bass, 16-9, $937
10th: Rusty Smith, Somerset, Ky., five bass, 16-8, $525
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Matt Salmons of Somerset, Kentucky, weighed a 6-pound, 10-ounce bass – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $645.
Ed Bennington of Scottsville, Kentucky, won the Co-angler Division and $2,249 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 18 pounds, 2 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Ed Bennington, Scottsville, Ky., five bass, 18-2, $2,249
2nd: Jeremiah Williams, Livingston, Tenn., four bass, 14-13, $1,125
3rd: Joshua Jernigan, Rocky Top, Tenn., five bass, 13-7, $752
4th: Ben Stacy, Cincinnati, Ohio, five bass, 12-15, $525
5th: Cole Sowards, Salt Rock, W. Va., four bass, 12-11, $450
6th: Brent Clark, Bowling Green, Ky., three bass, 11-12, $412
7th: Shane Sparks, Allardt, Tenn., five bass, 11-1, $575
8th: Justin Davis, Cookeville, Tenn., five bass, 10-15, $318
8th: Alex Straubing, Mason, Ohio, four bass, 10-15, $368
10th: Billy Gardner, Livingston, Tenn., four bass, 10-12, $262
Gary Wallace of Albany, Kentucky, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division weighing in at 5 pounds, 14 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $322.
The T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Mountain Division event on Dale Hollow Lake was hosted by Star Point Resort.
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. 25-27 BFL Regional Championship on Lake Chickamauga in Dayton, Tennessee. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.
The 2018 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 2018 BFL All-American will be held May 31-June 2 at Cross Lake in Shreveport, Louisiana, and is hosted by the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission. 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, YouTube and Snapchat.
THOMAS WINS T-H MARINE FLW BFL MISSISSIPPI DIVISION TOURNAMENT ON ROSS BARNETT RESERVOIR
Diberville’s Petras Grabs Co-angler Title
BRANDON, Miss. (March 26, 2018) – Boater Anthony Thomas of Jackson, Mississippi, caught a five-bass limit weighing 22 pounds, 9 ounces, Saturday to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Mississippi Division event on Ross Barnett Reservoir. For his win, Thomas earned $5,475.
“I fished heavy grass patches in Pelahatchie Bay that had the coontail moss up under them,” said Thomas, who notched his first career win in FLW competition. “I had two areas, but one was more productive because there were bream bedding near the bass. Every year the bream seem to bed in the same area as the bass and they mess with them.”
Thomas said a natural-colored Spro Dean Rojas Bronzeye Poppin’ Frog produced his best bites.
“I caught one fish chasing a bream in practice on a frog and it was cloudy, so I knew I’d do the same thing if it was cloudy during the tournament,” said Thomas. “I only had eight bites all day – four in the morning and then four more throughout the day with my biggest coming around 2 (p.m.).
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Anthony Thomas, Jackson, Miss., five bass, 22-9, $5,475
2nd: Terry Whittington, Laurel, Miss., five bass, 19-5, $2,737
3rd: Michael Savell, Brandon, Miss., five bass, 18-9, $2,697
4th: Ramey Harrell, Brandon, Miss., five bass, 16-5, $1,277
5th: Dave Woodfin, Kosciusko, Miss., five bass, 15-10, $1,095
6th: Marty Torrence, Crystal Springs, Miss., five bass, 14-6, $1,004
7th: Kenny Churchill, Jackson, Miss., five bass, 14-3, $912
8th: Jason Hannah, Forest, Miss., four bass, 13-5, $821
9th: Brent Anderson, Kingston Springs, Tenn., five bass, 12-13, $930
10th: Shannon Denson, Brandon, Miss., five bass, 12-9, $639
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Savell weighed a 7-pound, 13-ounce bass – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $870.
Michael Petras of Diberville, Mississippi, won the Co-angler Division and $2,668 Saturday after catching four bass weighing 12 pounds, 10 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Michael Petras, Diberville, Miss., four bass, 12-10, $2,668
2nd: Josh Taylor, Nesbit, Miss., three bass, 10-1, $1,334
3rd: Ken Pecanty, Vicksburg, Miss., four bass, 9-7, $988
4th: Justin Thomas, Braxton, Miss., three bass, 9-3, $673
5th: Marian Hall, Hattiesburg, Miss., two bass, 9-0, $954
6th: Leland Brown, Fulton, Miss., two bass, 7-10, $489
7th: Brent Ladnier, Wiggins, Miss., three bass, 7-1, $445
8th: Adam Horn, Madison, Miss., two bass, 7-0, $400
9th: Ray Higginbotham, Brooksville, Miss., three bass, 6-15, $356
10th: Tim Callahan, Houston, Miss., three bass, 6-10, $311
Hall caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division weighing in at 5 pounds, 14 ounces. The catch earned her the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $420.
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. 18-20 BFL Regional Championship on Kentucky Lake in Gilbertsville, Kentucky. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.
The 2018 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 2018 BFL All-American will be held May 31-June 2 at Cross Lake in Shreveport, Louisiana, and is hosted by the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission. 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, YouTube and Snapchat.
KNEPP WINS T-H MARINE FLW BFL HOOSIER DIVISION EVENT ON PATOKA LAKE PRESENTED BY NAVIONICS
Kentucky’s Bays Wins Co-angler Title
BIRDSEYE, Ind. (March 26, 2018) – Boater Jeremy Knepp of Montgomery, Indiana, caught three bass weighing 8 pounds, 15 ounces, Saturday to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Hoosier Division event on Patoka Lake presented by Navionics. For his win, Knepp pocketed $4,741.
Knepp stayed on the main lake to catch his fish, targeting points at the mouths of feeder creeks. He said he caught two on a Clown-colored Strike King KVD Deep Jerkbait and one on a homemade spinnerbait with a Reaction Innovations Skinny Dipper trailer.
“I caught one in the morning around 10:45 (a.m.) and the other two at about 3 (p.m.),” said Knepp, who earned his first career victory in FLW competition. “It was tough fishing conditions out there. It rained and was windy the entire day and the temperature only reached 35 degrees.”
Knepp said he worked along 15 to 20 points throughout the day.
“Technique-wise I gave the jerkbait a five or 10 second pause before bringing it in,” said Knepp.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Jeremy Knepp, Montgomery, Ind., three bass, 8-15, $4,741
2nd: Marty Sisk, Evansville, Ind., two bass, 8-5, $2,370
3rd: Paul Mendez, Fort Wayne, Ind., two bass, 7-14, $1,514
4th: Matt McCoy, Indianapolis, Ind., two bass, 7-6, $1,060
5th: Thomas Foster, Terre Haute, Ind., two bass, 6-15, $908
6th: Nick Teeters, Martinsville, Ind., two bass, 6-9, $795
6th: Brody Campbell, Oxford, Ohio, one bass, 6-9, $1,455
8th: Mark Nies, Cannelton, Ind., one bass, 6-4, $681
9th: Doug Ruster, New Palestine, Ind., one bass, 6-1, $605
10th: Bryan Jenkins, Indianapolis, Ind., one bass, 5-13, $530
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Campbell weighed 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 $660.
Lenny Bays of Dayton, Kentucky, won the Co-angler Division and $2,270 Saturday after catching two bass weighing 8 pounds, 8 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Lenny Bays, Dayton, Ky., two bass, 8-8, $2,270
2nd: Leroy Miller, Napoleon, Ohio, one bass, 6-4, $1,465
3rd: Lawrence Spicher, Boonville, Ind., two bass, 6-0, $757
4th: Garron Sneed, Charlestown, Ind., one bass, 5-12, $530
5th: Justin Kivett, Indianapolis, Ind., one bass, 5-11, $454
6th: Nick Horton, Trafalgar, Ind., one bass, 5-9, $416
7th: James Mayle, Newark, Ohio, one bass, 5-6, $378
8th: Greg Roberts, Columbus, Ind., two bass, 4-10, $341
9th: Nicole Foor, Greens Fork, Ind., one bass, 4-0, $503
10th: Dan Pardue, Morgantown, Ind., one bass, 3-13, $265
Miller caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division weighing in at 6 pounds, 4 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $330.
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. 18-20 BFL Regional Championship on Kentucky Lake in Gilbertsville, Kentucky. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.
The 2018 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 2018 BFL All-American will be held May 31-June 2 at Cross Lake in Shreveport, Louisiana, and is hosted by the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission. 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, YouTube and Snapchat.
WAYNE DIXON WINS T-H MARINE FLW BFL ARKIE DIVISION TOURNAMENT ON LAKE MILLWOOD
Mountain Home’s Johnson Wins Co-angler Title
ASHDOWN, Ark. (March 26, 2018) – Boater Wayne Dixon of Morrilton, Arkansas, weighed a 19-pound, 10-ounce, limit of bass Saturday to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Arkie Division event on Lake Millwood presented by GEARED. For his win, Dixon pocketed $5,866.
Dixon spent his day upriver, above the White Cliffs area, targeting prespawn bass near cypress trees, coontail and milfoil. He said he used a Texas-rigged Right Bite Baits stickbait in 4½ to 5 feet of water.
“I originally had two areas – one where I’d caught a big one in practice and another that had a lot more fish,” said Dixon, who logged his first career win in FLW competition. “The night before the tournament my wife told me to go to the area with more fish and just sit down and catch them, so that’s what I did.
“The area was about 10 acres and I shared it with four other boats,” Dixon continued. “I used a 7-foot 2-inch Denali (KOVERT Lite) Heavy Casting Rod and caught 35 to 40 keepers.”
Dixon said that the bite was the best between 9 a.m. and noon, and that four of the five fish he weighed came in during that three-hour stretch.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Wayne Dixon, Morrilton, Ark., five bass, 19-10, $5,866
2nd: Chip Hawkins, Little Rock, Ark., five bass, 19-6, $2,336
3rd: Jeffery Conway, Mineral Springs, Ark., five bass, 19-0, $1,424
4th: Josh Ray, Alexander, Ark., five bass, 18-5, $1,097
5th: Steve Bowman, Little Rock, Ark., five bass, 18-4, $854
6th: Justin Swayze, Gurdon, Ark., five bass, 16-1, $783
7th: Chad Parks, Edgemont, Ark., five bass, 15-15, $712
8th: John Andrews Jr., Cherry Valley, Ark., five bass, 15-11, $641
9th: Harold Bennett, Hope, Ark., five bass, 15-6, $569
10th: Jerry Tabler, Mineral Springs, Ark., five bass, 15-1, $498
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Dixon weighed a 7-pound, 9-ounce bass – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and also earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $595.
Kenyon Johnson of Mountain Home, Arkansas, won the Co-angler Division and $2,236 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 15 pounds, 13 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Kenyon Johnson, Mountain Home, Ark., five bass, 15-13, $2,236
2nd: Jacob Sloan, Paola, Kan., four bass, 14-13, $1,118
3rd: Steve Belew, Beebe, Ark., five bass, 13-11, $712
4th: John Vinakalns, Farmersville, Texas, five bass, 13-9, $498
5th: Larry Dugger, Pottsville, Ark., five bass, 13-3, $427
6th: Bo Mitchell, Malvern, Ark., five bass, 12-6, $392
7th: Patrick Massey, Texarkana, Ark., five bass, 12-4, $338
7th: Don Billiot, Bryant, Ark., five bass, 12-4, $338
9th: Doug Bishop, Bono, Ark., five bass, 12-3, $285
10th: Eddie Brown, Texarkana, Ark., five bass, 12-2, $249
Travis Harley of Sherwood, Arkansas, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division weighing in at 9 pounds, 9 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $297.
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. 25-27 BFL Regional Championship on Lake of the Ozarks in Osage Beach, Missouri. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.
The 2018 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 2018 BFL All-American will be held May 31-June 2 at Cross Lake in Shreveport, Louisiana, and is hosted by the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission. 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, YouTube and Snapchat.
SALZMAN WINS T-H MARINE FLW BFL CHOO CHOO DIVISION EVENT ON WHEELER LAKE WITH OVER 25 POUNDS!
Decatur’s Peyton Wins Co-angler Title
ROGERSVILLE, Ala. (March 26, 2018) – Boater Ryan Salzman of Huntsville, Alabama, caught a five-bass limit weighing 25 pounds, 9 ounces, Saturday to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Choo Choo Division event on Wheeler Lake. Salzman earned $5,810 for his win.
Salzman made a 72-mile run up the Tennessee River to fish the Guntersville Dam tailrace. He said his day started slow, but eventually got rolling around 9 a.m. From there, he caught the majority of his weight within 20 minutes.
“I didn’t get a lot of time to practice and it was the only thing I felt comfortable doing,” said Salzman, who earned his third career win in BFL competition. “I figured I’d be one of the only ones to make the long run, especially with the wind blowing.”
Salzman said he used his Lowrance HDS-12 Carbon units with C-Map Insight Charts to locate isolated rock piles in the current. He targeted smallmouth using 4½-inch Green Bean- and 99 Problems-colored True Bass Little Head Swimbaits with ½-ounce True Lock Swimbait Heads.
By 11 a.m., Salzman said his cranking battery began to die, so he made the decision to return to the ramp early. Fortunately, with the long run, he said his battery recharged to the point to where he could fish the final two hours of the day.
“I flipped marina slips with a ½-ounce Pickwick Special-colored Tight Line Mussel Crawler jig and (Strike King) Rage Craw trailer,” said Salzman. “I ended up culling twice with 4- and 5-pound largemouth.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Ryan Salzman, Huntsville, Ala., five bass, 25-9, $5,810
2nd: Mitch Mitchell, Muscle Shoals, Ala., five bass, 21-12, $2,405
3rd: Cameron Trousdale, Rogersville, Ala., five bass, 18-0, $1,536
4th: Michael Hood, Winchester, Tenn., five bass, 16-10, $1,076
5th: Greg Lamb, Harrison, Tenn., five bass, 16-1, $1,257
6th: Daniel Whitaker, Phil Campbell, Ala., five bass, 15-12, $845
7th: Gavin Ainslie, Harrison, Tenn., five bass, 15-5, $768
8th: Eddie Jewell, Lawrenceburg, Tenn., five bass, 15-4, $1,026
9th: Kenny Everette, Villa Rica, Ga., five bass, 15-1, $615
10th: Mike Ary, Dalton, Ga., five bass, 14-11, $838
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Lamb weighed a 7-pound bass – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $335.
Harry Peyton of Decatur, Alabama, won the Co-angler Division and $2,370 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 17 pounds, 2 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Harry Peyton, Decatur, Ala., five bass, 17-2, $2,370
2nd: Chris Harcrow, Dawson, Al a., five bass, 13-14, $1,185
3rd: Chris Keel, Hampton Cove, Ala.., five bass, 12-14, $757
4th: Rich Frey, Owens Cross Roads, Ala., three bass, 11-12, $822
4th: Brian Warfel, Woodbridge, Va., five bass, 11-12, $492
6th: Aaron Bishop, Hamilton, Al a., three bass, 10-14, $416
7th: Bruce Stanley, Jasper, Ala., four bass, 10-13, $378
8th: Steven Jacques, Addison, Ala., five bass, 10-12, $341
9th: Daniel Kendrick, Chatsworth, Ga., five bass, 10-9, $303
10th: Daniel Douglas, Meridianville, Ala., five bass, 10-8, $265
Frey caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division weighing in at 8 pounds even. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $330.
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. 25-27 BFL Regional Championship on Lake Chickamauga in Dayton, Tennessee. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.
The 2018 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 2018 BFL All-American will be held May 31-June 2 at Cross Lake in Shreveport, Louisiana, and is hosted by the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission. 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, YouTube and Snapchat.
23.70 Limit Wins the ABA Texas East Open Event on Palestine for Todd Pierce!
ATHENS, Ala. – Todd Pierce of Tyler, TX won the American Bass Anglers Open Series Texas East Division, held March 24th at Lake Palestine.
Running out of Flint, TX, the 70-boat field left at 7:00 AM. For the boaters, 14 places were paid out and it took 11.06 pounds to make the cut.
Pirce caught a five-fish limit weighing 23.70 lbs with a healthy 6.04-pound kicker. For the boater division victory, he took home a check for $5000.
“I started out North of here in a little ditch and was able to get 4 to start the day. I left there and came a little south and my next bite came around 9 AM. That finished my limit. I caught the next one on a bed, turned back around, and caught 6 more. I knew where one of the beds was but the rest of them I had to guess on because I couldn’t see them. I culled every fish I caught earlier that morning and had a great day today.” Said Pierce.
In second for the boaters, Kenneth Moore of Red Oak, TX landed a five-bass limit weighing 19.32 lbs held up by a beautiful 8.51 lb kicker. He collected a check for $1400.
“It was a rough day for me. I started at the dam and nothing happened for us. I put a bit of a pattern together just running around and trying to figure them out. Later in the afternoon it came together with some better bites and I was able to get them in the boat to come in with what I had. It was a grind, but it worked out. I was just a little shy today.” Said Moore.
Trent Menees of Saginaw, TX took third for the boaters with a limit of five bass weighing 17.07 lbs and took home a check for $950.00
“I found most of my fish on beds. 6 or 7 of them. I found them during practice and I knew that some of the guys would have done the same. With the wind blowing the way it was on Friday I tried to find fish in protected water where it was still calm. I knew it was going to be breezy today out of the south again and the plan worked. I fished in some grass today but mainly just sight fished.” Said Trent.
In fourth, Albert White of Crosby, TX had a solid bag for 16.61 lbs, and Darrell Lyons of Hemphill, TX came in with a solid bag of 14.68 lbs to take the fifth-place honors.
In the Co-Angler Division, Chris Pearson of Marthaville, LA blew past the field with a monster 3 fish limit at 14.22 lbs, anchored by his 6.32 lb bass. His performance filled his pocket with a check for $1600 on the win.
“I started out the day the wrong way. I lost my first bite and she was probably 4 lbs. We left that area and went north where I landed my first keeper about 15 minutes later. I had my limit around 1:30. All my fish were caught on a Senko. If I had landed everything that bit I may have had 2 lbs more than I did bu4 14 is not too bad with 3 fish.” Said Chris.
Taking second for the co-anglers was Tom Brouillette of Garland, TX weighing a 3-fish limit for 11.75 lbs. His placement earned him a check for $600. Tom had a very nice anchor weight in his bag earning top honors for the co-angler big bass with a 7.88 lb kicker, earning another check for $290.00.
“We went up to Kickapoo and roughly 20 minutes in to the day the big one blew up on a frog. I caught her in the grass and it was so wadded up we thought she had gotten off. I dragged it all up to the side of the boat and my boater started pulling it all apart and there she was. He picked her up, I took her and put her in the livewell and never really got a good look at her. I didn’t realize she was that big until we got back to the dock and pulled her out to bring her to the scales. My other 2 keepers came off a trick worm.” Stated Tom.
Robbie Carson of Carrollton, TX placed third among the co-anglers. He had three fish weighing in at 9.73 lbs to earn a check for $450.
“I caught my fish on frogs from 2 or 3 spots on the lake. I had a limit and did manage to cull once but I fished clean and didn’t lose any bites.” Stated Robbie.
In fourth place among the co-anglers, Thomas Helsley of Duncanville, TX brought in two fish for 8.56 lbs. Thomas was the first co-angler of the day to scale a big bass at 7.06 lbs and held the bar high for most of the afternoon. Joe Embry of Tyler, TX landed a limit of 3 bass for 8.53 lbs and finished in fifth place.
The biggest bass for the boaters was caught by Blake Whatley of Harlton, TX. Weighing in at 8.81 lbs for $710. “I caught her on a beaver. She was on a bed on the back side of a log. Of course she wrapped up and I didn’t think I was going to get her out but she finally did and by then she was worn out and I just dragged her to the net,” said Whatley.
Slated for June 30th, the next divisional tournament will be held on Lake of the Pines launching from Johnson Creek. At the end of the season, the best anglers from across the nation advance to the 2019 Ray Scott Championship, slated for the first week of April, 2019 on Lake Eufaula, AL.
For more information on this tournament, call Chris Wayand, tournament manager, at 256-230-5627 or ABA at 256-232-0406.
About American Bass Anglers: American Bass Anglers is committed to providing low cost, close to home tournaments for the weekend angler and at the same time offer each competitor an upward path for individual angler progression. For more information about American Bass Anglers, the ABA Open Series, the American Fishing Tour or the American Couples Series, visit www.americanbassanglers.com.
Brian Carper Takes ABA Tennessee Central Open Win at Percy Priest with over 20 Pounds!
Brian Carper of Murfreesboro, Tennessee won the second event of the Tennessee Central Open Series. Running out of Fate Sanders Marina, Carper won the tournament with five bass that weighed 20.07 pounds and took home the $5000 prize for his win.
“I come out here a lot and a lot of days don’t go this well. We had almost a limit in an hour and a half. We didn’t smash them all day but we got the right bites. I didn’t lose and fish and didn’t miss any really.” stated Carper.
Second place for the boaters was Ben Ballou from Lafayette, Tennessee. He landed five fish weighing in at 19.02 pounds. Weaver was awarded $1,250 for his catch.
“It was a grind all day, I only had three fish by 1:30. I probably had the fish on to win it but they just came off. Live with a crankbait, die with a crankbait.” said Ballou
Mickey Beck from Lebanon, Tennessee took third place with a five-fish limit that weighed 17.36 pounds. Beck took home a check for $900 for his fish.
“Got to the first spot and jerk, jerk, jerk, and nothing happened so I picked up Hoppy’s half ounce shell cracker and we started smoking them. A little later I picked up a Hoppy’s ¾ ounce spinner bait and no lie, started catching them there as well. I had about three and a half limits today. It was an awesome day to be out there.” said Beck.
In fourth place for the boaters, Noel Smith from Portland, Tennessee weighed in five bass for 17.33 pounds including a nice 6.31 pound largemouth. Rounding out the top five was John Hopkins from Hendersonville, Tennessee. Hopkins had five fish that weighed 16.78 pounds.
Big Bass among the Boaters was brought in by Ryan Haykal of Mount Juliet, Tennessee. Haykal finished the tournament in eighth place with four fish that weighed 14.85 pounds but his6.52 pound bass won him the Big Bass honors and a check for $670.
In the Co-Angler division, Monte Escue of Murfreesboro, Tennessee took the win with a three-fish tournament limit that weighed 14.73 pounds with a 6.72 pound kicker. Escue earned $1,200 for the win along with an additional $190 for Co-angler Big Bass.
“It was a grind today. Threw a crankbait and fished shallow aboutmid lake all day. Didn’t lose any. Five bites, five fish.” said Escue.
Taking second place among the co-anglers was Daniel Brown of Smyrna, Tennessee. Brown brought three bass to the stage that weighed 10.85 pounds. His three fish earned him a check for $400.
“I just tried to stay off the bank and not hung up all day. Lucky enough to fish with a great guy and enjoyed every minute of it. Can’t wait to do another one.” said Brown.
Dane Gamble of Nashville, Tennesee came in third with threebass weighing 10.75 pounds. Gamble took home a check for $350 for his fish.
“We fished the whole lake today. I just stuck with a jig and kept my line wet. The bite kind of slowed down around ten o’clock. I caught my biggest fish around two o’clock.” said Gamble.
In fourth place among the co-anglers, Tom Skelton of Mount Juliet, Tennessee had threebass that weighed 9.64 pounds. Rounding out the top five was Ben Smith of Levern, Tennessee who had a three-fish bag weighing 6.69 pounds.
The third Tennessee Central Division tournament of the season is scheduled for May 5th at Old Hickory. We will fish out of Sanders Ferry Park in Hendersonville, Tennessee.
About American Bass Anglers: American Bass Anglers is committed to providing low cost, close to home tournaments for the weekend angler and at the same time offer each competitor an upward path for individual angler progression. For more information about American Bass Anglers, the Open Series, the American Fishing Tour or the American Couples Series, visit www.americanbassanglers.com.
Leonard & Bronder Surge Ahead to Dominate Bass Champs Amistad Event
| By: Patty Lenderman |
| The weather conditions on Amistad were more than alluring as Bass Champs hosted the South Regions third event of the season on March 24, 2018. Nearly $53,000 was up for grabs for 175 participating teams in this 103% payback tournament. Lee Leonard and Scott Bronder dominated the win, with plans on sharing their winnings with the family of a fallen comrad.
Lake Amistad is brimming with big bass set to spawn with the air and water temperatures prime. The wind was nil for the field of anglers rushing over this deep clear water lake to find the bites that would pay off at the scales. In a lake like this it is easy to see clearly with the naked eye depths to twenty feet. Such was the case on this day with the surface water like glass and sunny skies. As beautiful as that sounds, for anglers it makes it tough. The bass can see them too! As the weigh in commenced, it was evident that conditions were tough to catch a bite. Brandan Kenncil and Zach Bibb established the initial tournament lead. “We were fishing in a pocket, and found the fish biting,” Brandan began. “Zach caught our first fish, a small keeper.” Using a craw worm, they were fishing shallow water when Brandan got their next bite. “As soon as I set the hook, I knew it was a good one!” Brandan landed the fish, weighing in at 11.16 pounds! “We wrapped up a limit with small fish, and spent the rest of the day culling by mere ounces.” All total, their five fish weighed 17.64 pounds and stayed on top of the pack until nearly the end of the day. Ultimately they won Big Bass and $500 plus 2nd place for an additional $3,500 check. Lee Leonard and Scott Bronder had gotten a late draw to start their day. “We weren’t real happy with the late start, our fish were biting early during practice,” Lee explained. Lee and Scott are each police officers in San Marcos. “Last December, a friend and fellow police officer, Ken Copeland, was killed in the line of duty. He left behind his wife and two sets of twins, 9 and 12 years old. We agreed that if we managed to win the tournament, we would each give his wife $1,000.” With that they embarked on their day, targeting points with deep water nearby. “We boated our first fish fairly quick, and its size was ok, then we caught another. The bite was slow, but we had six spots picked out to hit. When the sun came out, the water was so clear that it hurt us, making the bite that much tougher to find.” One by one they put keepers in their livewell, but it took until noon to wrap up their initial limit. “Our better fish came off of two of our spots, and we were able to cull up one or two pounds before the end of the day.” Upon arriving at the scales, their final five fish weighed 21.17 pounds, dominating the win. Bass Champs presented the duo with the guaranteed 1st place $20,000 purse and they also won the Lowrance and Sure-Life bonuses. “We really didn’t think we would have enough weight to win the tournament. We are going to give Mrs. Copeland part of our winnings, but not only that we intend to get the kids out fishing with us.” The team would like to thank Triton boats, Texas Boat World, Tire Factory Outlet, Wood Bros. Custom Rods and San Marcos Police Officers Association for their help and support. 3rd place was won by Tyler Wilson and Melody Dixon. Melody reported targeting deep water initially, 18’-25’ deep with grass. “I was using a Lake Fork Creature bait and Tyler used swim baits and drop shots,” Melody stated. Right off the bat, Melody christened their livewell with a good sized bass. “After that, we just caught dinks throughout the day.” As the hours passed, then down to mere minutes left to fish, Tyler landed their second biggest fish. “We had started in deep water, then tried shallow for a while, then headed back out to deep water to wrap up our day. It was just a real good day to fish.” When they arrived at the weigh in, transferring their fish into a bag, they checked their smallest fish one last time. “It was close on the measuring board. Tyler checked it and just wasn’t absolutely sure, and just about released it. I stopped him and checked the measurement, and it was hitting right at 14”. The weights were so tight that if he threw that fish back, we would have lost a pound and that would have made a LOT of difference in the line up!” They had 17.47 lbs for a $2,500 payday. “We know a lot of work goes on behind the scenes to put these tournaments on, so I would like to speak on behalf of all of us fishermen – THANK YOU!” Rounding out the top five includes 4th place winners Josh Pasco and Ryan Dupriest with 17.40 lbs, winning $2,000. 5th place had 17.16 lbs, and were the highest finishing team in a qualified Skeeter boat. Mike Coon and Wesley Graham doubled their $1,700 check to a $3,200 payday, and won the Sportsmans Auto Bonus as well, with a $5,000 value! Bass Champs paid the top 23 teams, and the last $600 check went to Joseph Lane and Nathaniel Ashley with 11.31 lbs. |
For Complete Results, Check them out Here!
Carson Wins ABA Florida South Event on Lake Okeechobeen with over 26 pounds!
ATHENS, Ala. – Keith Carson won the American Bass Anglers Open Series Florida South tournament, held March 24th on Lake Okeechobee.
Running out of Scott Driver Park in Okeechobee, FL the Palm Harbor, FL angler caught five bass weighing 26.44 pounds including a 6.85-pound kicker. For the Boater Division victory, Keith took home a check for $5000.
“I was sight-fishing in the monkey-box. I was casting at isolated reeds that I fished a month ago when the water was up. Since the water has dropped some, I noticed that I could see beds in the holes in the eel grass.
I caught my fish on flukes and senkos and I lost a few fish that would have helped me bust 30-pounds today.” Carson said.
In second for the boaters, Gary Milicevic of Labelle, FL landed a five-bass tournament limit going 21.43 pounds. He collected $1250 for the effort.
“I caught my fish on the north end of the lake on a frog. Yesterday during practice, I had a couple of good bites on the frog so I threw it all day today. I was able to cull two fish but I missed three on that frog.” Milicevic said.
Buck Durrance of Okeechobee, FL took third for the boaters with five bass going 20.70 pounds. He earned $900 for his catch.
“I caught my fish on a Carolina-rig today on the north end of the lake. I probably caught 50-fish throughout the day today.” Durrance said.
Finishing fourth, Greg Jones of Sarasota, FL landed a five-bass limit for 19.24 pounds. Gary Niemi of Lake Placid, FL rounded out the top five boaters with five-bass limit for 18.63 pounds topped by a 9.47-pound kicker that won the big bass award of $640.
“I caught that fish on a Zara Spook around 3:00 pm today. “Niemi said.
In the Co-Angler Division, Eric Andrews of Davenport, FL won with three bass going 14.29 pounds including a 6.67-pound kicker. He pocketed a check for $1500 for his win.
“I was fishing a speed-worm all day. I caught about fifteen fish today but the bigger fish were about five hours apart. I am happy that I finally won an event after placing third several times.” Andrews said.
Taking second for the co-anglers, John Smith of Orlando, FL brought in a three-bass division limit weighing 12.53 pounds. He collected $500 for the effort.
“I caught my fish today on a frog and a speed-worm. I lost one about six pounds on a frog that would have helped me win this event. I had a lot of bites but only caught seven fish today.” Smith said.
Irving Mercado of Davenport, FL placed third among the co-anglers with three-bassgoing 10.78 pounds. He earned $400 for his catch.
“I was fishing in the open water dragging a speed-worm,” Mercado said.
In fourth place among the co-anglers, Kyle Wieczorek of Nokomis, FL brought in three-bass for 10.59 pounds. Bobby Poncev of Boca Raton, FL rounded out the top five co-anglers with three bass at 10.42 pounds.
Finishing sixth for the co-anglers was Tomas Gomez of Kissimmee, Fl that brought in three-bass for 10.22 including a big bass that weighed 7.44 pounds. Gomez pocketed a check for $200 for his finish and an additional $255 for that big bass
“I caught that big bass on a chatter-bait about fifteen minutes after our first stop this morning," Gomez said.
Slated for May 12th, the next tournament will be held on Lake Okeechobee out of Roland Martin Marina & Resort in Clewiston, FL. At the end of the season, the best anglers from across the nation advance the 2019 Ray Scott Championship to be held at Lake Eufaula in Eufaula, Alabama, April 2019.
For more information on this tournament, call Billy Benedetti, tournament manager, at 256-230-5632 or ABA at 256-232-0406. On line, see www.abaopenseries.com .
About American Bass Anglers: American Bass Anglers is committed to providing low cost, close to home tournaments for the weekend angler and at the same time offer each competitor an upward path for individual angler progression. For more information about American Bass Anglers, the ABA Open Series, the American Fishing Tour or the American Couples Series, visit www.americanbassanglers.com.
Clint Wade & Stacy Springs Win TTZ Rayburn Event with over 37 pounds!!!
| 1 | CLINT WADE | STACY SPRIGGS | 5 | 9.71 | 37.80 | $10,000 + $440 Big Bass + $500 BIOBOR Bonus |
| 2 | CORY RAMBO | RUSTY CLARK | 5 | 4.99 | 21.87 | $750 |
| 3 | KEVIN WOLFORD | MICHAEL DORSEY | 5 | 6.36 | 18.76 | $400 |
| 4 | TED PATE | VINCENT NEAL | 5 | 17.77 | $300 | |
| 5 | PHILIP CRELIA | TJ GOODWYN | 5 | 6.81 | 17.19 | $250 |
| 6 | CHRIS TREST | JUSTIN FESCO | 5 | 6.69 | 16.95 | |
| 7 | TYLER NETTERVILLE | TERRY POOLE | 5 | 16.89 | ||
| 8 | JUSTIN MORTON | RANDY TURNER | 5 | 16.75 | ||
| 9 | GREGG GRAY | GREG BASS | 5 | 16.40 | ||
| 10 | TODD HUGHES | SIMON HUGHES(Y) | 5 | 14.87 | ||
| 11 | SEAN TROTTER | ALLEN SEIGL | 5 | 3.92 | 14.22 | Pre-Registration Drawing Winner! Two pairs of Costa Sunglasses |
| 12 | HAROLD MOORE | SCOTT DAVID | 5 | 6.20 | 14.21 | |
| 13 | WYATT FRANKENS | ALEC CASTONGUAY | 5 | 13.65 | ||
| 14 | WARREN KEPKE | CODY MORRISON | 5 | 13.18 | ||
| 15 | BEN MATSUBU | AARON FREEMAN | 5 | 5.29 | 13.15 | |
| 16 | BRIAN ADAMS | KEITH CARLILE | 5 | 12.80 | ||
| 17 | CLAYTON GODFREY | JAY KENDRICK | 5 | 12.18 | ||
| 18 | RICKY EXUM | STEVE RAETTIG | 5 | 11.58 | ||
| 19 | DUSTY ATKINSON | HUGH KILMAN | 5 | 11.12 | ||
| 20 | STEVEN NIETO | LARRY PASKET | 5 | 10.60 | Pre-Registration Drawing Winner! Curado Rod | |
| 21 | JUSTIN CHILDRESS | ROY LOVE | 5 | 10.35 | Pete Jorgensen Marine Angler Appreciation Costa Giveaway-two pairs of Costa Sunglasses | |
| 22 | JEFF ROOD | GROVER MANSFIELD | 5 | 10.06 | Pre-Registration Drawing Winner! Curado 200K HG Reel | |
| 23 | MILES PRCIN | DARRELL PRCIN | 4 | 9.43 | ||
| 24 | BILLY WALDSCHMIDT | JAY DAVIS | 5 | 9.20 | Pre-Registration Drawing Winner-Curado Rod | |
| 25 | SEAN GOODSON | BILL SWEETEN | 5 | 8.92 | ||
| 26 | DAVID MILLER | KEANU BRADY | 5 | 8.49 | ||
| 27 | JASON TRUITT | JOHNNY RAY | 5 | 7.54 | Pete Jorgensen Marine Angler Appreciation Giveaway-Shimano Rod | |
| 28 | JOSHUA PRICE | ASHER PRICE(Y) | 3 | 4.38 | ||
| 29 | DALLAS COPELAND(Y) | DAVID COPELAND | 2 | 3.41 | ||
| 30 | ANDREW MCCLUSKY | JOSH STOTT | ||||
| 30 | BOBBY VICE | RICKY GUY | ||||
| 30 | SHAINE CAMPBELL | STEVE PHILLIPS | ||||
| 30 | BILL PERMENTER | MAVIS MOORE JR | ||||
| 30 | CHRIS BAILEY | KELLY GOAD | ||||
| 30 | MIKE GARRETT | |||||
| 30 | PHIL MARKS | DIXIE PRICE | ||||
| 30 | TYLER ROANE | SKYLAR LONG | ||||
| 30 | TREY BERRYMAN | BRADEN BERRYMAN(Y) | ||||
| 30 | FRANK CANIZARO | WAYLON PALMER | ||||
| 30 | LEE YOWELL | KERRY SLAUGHTER | ||||
| 30 | KENNETH CATES | DELIN DOGNAN | ||||
| 30 | JASON BONDS | KYLE NITSCHKE | ||||
| 30 | MICHAEL NUGENT | TYLER NUGENT | ||||
| 30 | CLINT WEST | BUDDY DAY |
7.55 Big Fish Wins Chad Coulter the KVD Big Bass Classic Title on Table Rock Lake!!
Chad Coulter takes the win on Table Rock at the KVD Big Bass Classic! Chad’s 7.55lb big bass earned him the win and the keys to the Nitro Boats Z19 powered by Mercury Marine
James Moore of Cullman Wins the Sealy Outdoors Big Bass Splash Event on Lake Guntersville with a 10.81!
James Moore of Cullman, AL takes over the lead on Day 3 of the Big Bass Splash on Lake Guntersville, AL with a 10.81.
Gardendale Team Wins Bassmaster High School Event On Alabama's Lay Lake
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Rob Lee and Steve Winslett win 2018 Alabama Bass Trail Lake Martin
by Dan O’Sullivan
March 24, 2018 – Alexander City, Ala. – One thing Alabama Bass Trail anglers can count on from a stop at Lake Martin is consistency. The Central Alabama, Tallapoosa River impoundment is going to produce ample limits of respectable bass. In two previous stops in ABT competition, Lake Martin produced winning weights in the 15 to 26-pound class and it took 10 pounds to get the last paycheck in 40th place.
Not this year.
Thanks to warm conditions that saw Lake Martin on the verge of full scale spawn, the weights increased throughout the 225 boat field during the second stop of the 2018 Alabama Bass Trail’s Southern Division schedule.
Leading that charge were the team of Rob Lee and Steve Winlett, local anglers who banked on isolated bedding fish as their strategy. The plan worked to the tune of a 20.38-pound limit of Lake Martin largemouth bass that earned them the victory and the $10,000 winner’s purse, along with a slot in this year’s Alabama Bass Trail Championship in October.
The pair said they committed to the program despite the fact that finding spawners wasn’t easy. “These fish were not easy to locate, and they were single fish in isolated pockets,” they said. “We found seven or eight fish that we felt would help us, we never thought that we would catch most of them.”
Armed with the location of their prey, Lee and Winslett ran to the first fish following takeoff, and caught it on the first cast. They ran six miles to the next one; which they caught on their second cast to that particular fish. They made another six to seven mile run, and caught the third fish on their next cast. “We made four casts and had nearly 12 pounds in the boat,” they said. “We tried for three hours before getting two small spotted bass to fill our limit, which we culled out later with more bed fish.” They reported catching their fish on a homemade floating minnow plug, a wacky rigged Crème Scoundrel floating worm in Natural color and a tube.”
The second place team of Charlie Williams and Michael Smith spent their morning fishing a shaky head to get a limit of spotted bass, then spent the afternoon culling those fish out by throwing wacky and Flick Shake rigged green pumpkin Yamamoto Senkos around boat docks. “We had a great day, and caught a lot of fish,” they said. “We did enough to win on most any other day here, and got beat by a really big day; we are really happy with our finish.” The pair weighed 16.83 pounds and earned $5,000 for their day. They also earned the $500 Mountain Dew Big Bass of the Day bonus for their 6.45-pound kicker largemouth.
The team of Myles Palmer and B.J. Barnett finished third with 15.59-pounds, good for 44,000 in tournament payout. However, their total haul for the day was bolstered by a $125 AFTCO clothing bonus, a $250 Alabama Bass Trail gear bonus and a $1000 America’s First Credit Union bonus for financing the purchase of their boat through America’s First Federal Credit Union. The additional ABT bonus programs brought their total earnings to nearly $6,000.
The Top 10 Standings for Lake Martin are below, for complete standings visit: http://www.alabamabasstrail.org/tournament-series/lm-results/
| Place | Anglers | Weight | Big Fish | Winnings |
| 1 | Rob Lee / Steve Winslett | 20.38 | 5.15 | $10,000 |
| 2 | Charlie Williams / Michael Smith | 16.83 | 6.45 | $5,000 |
| 3 | Myles Palmer / B.J. Barnett | 15.59 | $4,000 | |
| 4 | Chris Rutland / Coby Carden | 14.48 | 5.96 | $3,000 |
| 5 | David Sherrill / Dennis Sherrill | 14.46 | $2,000 | |
| 6 | Marty Giddens / Josh Stracner | 14.24 | $1,500 | |
| 7 | Warren Hoffman / Ben Weldon | 14.1 | $1,100 | |
| 8 | Joey Aderhold / Jonathan Collins | 14.01 | $1,100 | |
| 9 | Nicholas Turner / Joe Lay | 13.79 | $1,100 | |
| 10 | Deandrae Kimbrough / Verneille (Bo) Quinney | 13.77 | $1,100 |
Jones Wins Final Day Tie Breaker to Claim FLW Costa Series SW event om Grand Lake!
March 24, 2018
Given the countless variables tournament fishing presents, consistency stands essential for success in a multi-day event. Just ask Christopher Jones, who edged Jeff Sprague in a tiebreaker victory at the Costa FLW Series Southwestern Division event on Grand Lake. The tournament was presented by Ranger Boats and hosted by the City of Grove.
According to FLW tournament rules, ties on day three will be resolved by day-two standings. Both anglers finished with 47 pounds, 3 ounces, but Jones and Sprague placed fourth and fifth, respectively, on the tournament’s second day. Jones was declared the winner.
Fishing the mid-lake area, Jones mostly targeted secondary pockets inside large creeks. He caught his fish on a 1/2-ounce chartreuse and white BOOYAH spinnerbait with a No. 5 gold Colorado blade and a 3 1/2-inch YUM Pulse Swimbait trailer.
“I was slow-rolling the bait behind the docks,” Jones says. “A lot of them were suspended under the dock cables and on the corners of the docks. I didn’t even waste my time on the fronts of the docks. I’d kick the trolling motor on high and go around to another dock. I burned my trolling motor batteries to the ground every day.”
While it took several dozen docks to amass his winning weight, Jones says one particular structure played a key role.
“I had a place where years ago I caught a 5-pounder, and about four years ago, in a BFL, I had four fish that weighed 13 pounds [off that dock],” he says. “Yesterday, I caught my big one [a 6-pounder] on it, and today I laughed and told my co-angler, ‘I can’t go by this dock without fishing it.’
“So, we ran over there, and the wind was blowing on it from the north. The wind was blowing on it from the south yesterday, so I fished the other side today and caught a 3-pounder. The next cast, I caught a 6-pounder. So on that special dock I caught three of my keepers this week. It’s just one of those special places.”
Jones says he spent a little time each day on a stretch of main-lake riprap where he caught a couple of keepers on an umbrella rig. He used a YUM YUMbrella Flash Mob Jr. with 3 1/2-inch YUM Pulse Swimbaits.
This week presented a mix of weather conditions that followed a significant cold spell a couple of weeks before the tournament. Day one started cold and relatively calm, with a strong warming trend coinciding with big southwest winds on day two. The final round brought more warmth, but a little less wind from the north.
“It was basically the perfect storm because the changing conditions and all the cold weather we had kept them from starting to bite and kept a bunch of guys from catching them,” Jones says. “That kept a lot of non-locals from figuring them out.
“The fish are there, and they’re set up [for their spawning movement]. The water temperature hit 60 today about 1 o’clock, and they started biting.”
Jones’s daily weights were 12-1, 17-8 and 17-10. He caught limits the latter two days, but started with a deficit by falling a fish short of his day-one limit.
“I thought I’d totally lost it on Thursday when I caught four fish,” Jones says. “But those were the four bites I had. I caught everything that bit this week, except for today; I lost one that was 4 1/2 or 5 pounds over a dock cable. It was just one of those weeks when everything went right.”
TOP 10 PROS
1. Christopher Jones – Bokoshe, Okla. – 47-3 (14) – $88,700
2. Jeff Sprague – Point, Texas – 47-3 (12) – $16,600
3. Troy O'Rourke – Natchitoches, La. – 44-15 (14) – $12,500
4. Toby Hartsell – Afton, Okla. – 36-1 (13) – $10,800
5. Blaine Covington – Fort Worth, Texas – 36-1 (10) – $9,500
6. Sheldon Collings – Grove, Okla. – 34-5 (11) – $8,550
7. Kevin Ledoux – Choctaw, Okla. – 33-6 (11) – $7,200
8. Curt Warren – Rose, Okla. – 33-5 (10) – $6,200
9. Colby Miller – Elmer, La. – 32-15 (9) – $5,200
10. Jeff Reynolds – Calera, Okla. – 28-7 (8) – $4,100
Warren Makes a Move to the Lead at Grand Lake Costa
March 23, 2018
Grand Lake was not easy today, but it’s starting to show signs of stabilizing, as evidenced by the 20-pound, 6-ounce bag that moved Curt Warren up from 15th place to first with a two-day total of 33-5. He’ll lead the pack on Saturday’s final day at the Costa FLW Series Southwestern Division event on Grand Lake, which is presented by Ranger and hosted by the City of Grove.
“The fish are just moving. I had to follow them and just go fishing today,” Warren says. “I went back to a spot where I caught one of my fish yesterday and caught my biggest fish [5-11] and kind of adjusted from there.”
Morning temperatures that were about 10 degrees higher than Thursday’s bespoke greater potential than the super-tough day one, while windy conditions suggested a good reaction bite. Those factors did seem to spur things along for some anglers, but the day’s overcast skies countered some of that benefit by allowing fish to roam, rather than hold tight to cover as they would in bright sunshine.
Warren opted to keep his details thin, but he noted that the type of habitat he’s fishing holds the key to his success. When prespawners first move up, they can be very particular about their initial staging areas, and the key spots held the right cover in 10 feet or less.
Warren’s ability to identify what that was enabled him to get his baits in front of a group of new arrivals. He says the deduction process took about an hour and a half.
“They started biting around 9:30 this morning,” Warren says. “It took a little while; we had to run around a little before we got rolling with it. After that, they bit all day long. My co-angler caught his biggest fish 20 minutes before we checked in.”
Warren caught his fish flipping a 1/2-ounce Bass-X jig. He says he had to run all over the lake to catch his weight.
“I kind of got on that pattern in practice, and I added to it a little bit today,” Warren says. “That’s just something you have to do up here when it gets tough.”
PHOTO GALLERIES
Day 2 OTW gallery
Day 2 takeoff gallery
TOP 10 PROS
1. Curt Warren – Rose, Okla. – 33-5 (10)
2. Sheldon Collings – Grove, Okla. – 31-8 (10)
3. Colby Miller – Elmer, La. – 30-0 (8)
4. Christopher Jones – Bokoshe, Okla. – 29-9 (9)
5. Jeff Sprague – Point, Texas – 29-1 (7)
6. Troy O'Rourke – Natchitoches, La. – 28-11 (9)
7. Toby Hartsell – Afton, Okla. – 27-15 (10)
8. Blaine Covington – Fort Worth, Texas – 25-3 (7)
9. Kevin Ledoux – Choctaw, Okla. – 24-14 (8)
10. Jeff Reynolds – Calera, Okla. – 24-13 (7)
CONSISTENT MEADOR TAKES OVER CO-ANGLER LEAD
When you get the green light, you have to step on the gas, and that’s what Steven Meador did en route to taking over the co-angler division lead with a total of 24-15. Meador, who leads his nearest competitor by 7-9, placed second on day one with 12-15 and added another dozen pounds today thanks to his preferred technique delivering the goods.
“I hadn’t been getting a jig bite, but I finally got it,” Meador says. “I grinded on it all day and got six keepers. I feel like I made a lot of casts, but apparently I only made five good ones.”
Meador ended up fishing classic prespawn banks with larger rock transitioning into gravel, all near a deep-water drop-off. He surmises that he caught mostly males, but he had one 4-pound kicker that was almost certainly an egg-laden female.
“I threw a 1/2-ounce jig, and, depending on how much wind was blowing, I’d rotate between Zoom Chunk trailers and Zoom Baby Brush Hogs,” Meador says. “I threaded my Chunk trailers [as opposed to hanging them] on the hook for a compact profile. Painfully slow was the key. I was counting rocks.”
TOP 10 CO-ANGLERS
1. Steven Meador – Bentonville, Ark. – 24-15 (10)
2. Frank Divis Sr. – Farmington, Ark. – 17-6 (5)
3. James Callaghan – De Berry, Texas – 16-5 (5)
4. Alan Bernicky – Joliet, Ill. – 15-15 (5)
5. Rick Blosser – Tulsa, Okla. – 15-11 (6)
6. Ben Wickham – Ponca City, Okla. – 15-2 (3)
7. Kennith George – Edmond, Okla. – 13-12 (3)
8. Jim Opetaia-Williamson – Dunnellon, Fla. – 12-12 (3)
9. Rich Dalbey – Greenville, Texas – 12-0 (4)
10. Jordan Burks – Joplin, Mo. – 11-4 (6)
Ranger Pro James Niggemeyer - Enjoying Life on the FLW Tour
The FLW Season has gotten off to a great start and I wanted to take some time to update everyone. It is my hope to spend more time blogging this season and sharing what’s happening and from time to time give some updates and tips on the fishing.
On Valentine’s day I drove from my home in Texas to the Ranger plant and picked up my new Ranger Z520L powered by Mercury OptiMax loaded out with my 10ft power poles, Gator Guard Keelshield and Raymarine electronics. I then started driving to Georgia where I was going take a loop around Lake Lanier when I got to a campground at lake Lanier I put in my Cabela’s x900 batteries and loaded those all in and spent some time making sure everything was working. The next day, I began my drive down to the Harris Chain to begin practice for the 2nd FLW event out of Leesburg, FL. This year has started like it normally does its been go go go. It was completely pouring raining at home a lot before the FL event and we got like 5 inches of rain. In FL the weather was beautiful with temps in the 80’s. So, it was nice to get some good weather.
I feel like I have really started to settle in to the FLW Tour which is really nice. I am enjoying the extra time on Wednesday during registration day to be off the water and getting the boat ready instead of staying up till 0’dark 30 working on tackle. That helps me to have lots of time to make sure I have everything the way I like it for the tournament. In the evening we have the registration meeting. I really like the extra time not only to get tackle ready, but it gives me time to respond to emails can catch up with any sponsor correspondence and go to the grocery get food for the week. It really just gives everyone a lot more time instead of a rushed pace.
I have also really enjoyed the Meet The Pros events. We had a great attendance of over 400 people at the event at First Baptist Church Umatilla FL where Greg Bohannon, Chase Brooks, Tim Frederick (who won the first FLW Tour Stop), Bill McDonald, Glenn Chappelear were all there. It was great to see everyone and their passion for the outdoors. During this event 53 people made a first-time salvation decision and 56 rededicated their lives to Christ. It was really exciting and that was over ¼ of the people in attendance making a decision. If you have the opportunity to visit one of the Meet the Pros stops at a future event, please come out and join us. I share on my Facebook page where these events are on the week prior to the event.
I love how the FLW Starts in January and I can get a jump on my bass fishing fix a little earlier than most of the country. I live in a great state where I can fish year-round. However just like everyone else, I get the fishing bug and I am thankful this year get to an early start fishing on the FLW Tour. Prespawn is about to make its way across the country. That is always exciting to me. Fish are starting to act like themselves and not the lethargic things that make us go what in the world are they doing, which is nothing much during the winter.
I just finished the 3rd FLW Stop at Lake Lanier with a top with a top 20 finish. In my next blog I will share a little more about that tournament.
"In the Boat with B-Hite," Lets Get Fishing!!!
The 2018 Bassmaster Elite Season has gotten off to a good start. The biggest difference for me this season is I was more prepared at the beginning of this season. I got my boat a lot earlier this year. This allowed for plenty of time to get the boat, truck and camper all wrapped well before Christmas. So, after Christmas this allowed me to really concentrate on fishing prior the season staring. Pretty much all of January I was fishing 3-5 days a week. I spent a lot of time getting tackle ready and getting myself into that fishing mode. It just allowed me time to settle in and get ready for the season.
Going into the first event and never having been on the lake before, I just kind of showed up there and looked at maps did some studying. I was thinking it would take 12-13lbs to have a good stringer. A big stringer would probably be 18lbs or so. Lake Martin is a lot like some of our western reservoirs or northern California reservoirs that have spots and large mouth in them like Lake Oroville or lake Shasta
The first day I picked a giant creek about half way down the lake that looked like it had a little bit of everything; good deep water, a creek in the back that had some mud too it and some other structure. I just fished the whole first day in that creek trying to figure out the pattern. After I figured out the pattern, I started to run that pattern to the rest of the lake. I fished deep the whole time. I told myself I was going to fish deep. I caught them between 30-50 feet using a couple different baits; Ned Rig with Yamamoto Fat Senko on it, a drop shot with a Roboworm and Neko Rig with a Senko on it. I just used a few baits and fished deep and ended up 11th. That was a good start to the year and I got that ball rolling in the right direction
Having this break big break in between the first and the second tournament is tough. The second tournament is not until a month and half. It is on the Sabine river. Obviously we have been there before and it’s going be a tough venue. Of course, we have the Bassmaster Classic that unfortunately I am not fishing this year. It’s always exciting and yes, I would like to be fishing it. It is the biggest sports show in our sport with the biggest prized too. Everybody who is anybody is at the classic. There are lots of new products coming out at the classic. One of the ones I’ve been working on is the 3/4 oz. Jackhammer. It will be introduced at the Classic. I am just looking forward to being there and see what the buzz is and what other new products are going to be there. Yamamoto has another new product coming out at the classic called The Cowboy it is a flip bait it’s going to be really cool. There will be lots of other neat stuff to look at and see. If you get a chance to come to the Classic be sure to check out the expo.
I am just really excited the 2018 season is getting started off to the right way and I am really looking forward to it. I will have another update after the Classic.
Hartsell Leads Day 1 of SW Costa on Grand Lake
March 22, 2018 by David A. Brown
Blissfully unaware is a fitting description of Toby Hartsell’s impression of Grand Lake — the currently difficult body of water on which the Oklahoma pro’s first-day limit of 19 pounds, 4 ounces leads the Costa FLW Series Southwestern Division event hosted by the City of Grove and presented by Ranger.
Edging second-place pro Kevin Ledoux by 5 ounces, Hartsell says a physical limitation became his advantage on this Grand River impoundment, where recent fluctuations in water level and temperature have stalled the prespawn movement. Personally untainted by the reality of Grand’s conditions, he simply went fishing
“I didn’t get any practice because I’ve been having some back problems,” Hartsell says. “I think that was a good thing, really, because I’ve heard everyone saying it’s been bad the past couple of weeks. I think that gave me an edge by not thinking it was going to be that bad. I caught a big one [a 6-14 that took Big Bass honors] and really didn’t expect to have 19, but I’ll take it.”
Hartsell says he fished all over the lake. He started near the Pensacola Dam, ran up to the Elk River and fished several spots in between.
“There wasn’t any rhyme or reason to any of it,” he says. “I caught them on four different baits. There wasn’t any pattern; it was just fishing.”
Targeting traditional prespawn staging areas, Hartsell says his fish were on the outer edge of this seasonal zone, which kept them in a replicable target area.
“I know the fish are close to moving up, but I don’t want them to move up all the way; halfway up is when I can catch them really good,” he says.
On the river end, Hartsell mostly targeted flats. He switched to channel swings and bluff ends down the lake.
He caught his fish on a mix of spinnerbaits, crankbaits, bladed jigs and 5/16-ounce flipping jigs. To the latter, he added an old-school Zoom Chunk.
“Fast-moving baits are what I caught the majority of my fish on, but I love throwing a jig, so I have to keep them honest,” Hartsell says.
While most of his river work took place in typical shallow habitat, Hartsell says that getting bit on the lower end was a more precise deal.
“It seemed like you had to have some deep water really close, especially down toward the dam,” he says. “Because it was a little cloudy this morning, I thought I’d take a chance and run down there by the dam, because that’s where the better quality fish are.”
Clearly indicative of the lake’s current instability, Hartsell says his bites were noticeably non-aggressive.
“There wasn’t hardly a bite,” he says. “Even on a spinnerbait, they don’t really knock it; they just load up.”
TOP 10 PROS
1. Toby Hartsell – Afton, Okla. – 19-4 (5)
2. Kevin Ledoux – Choctaw, Okla. – 18-15 (5)
3. Colby Miller – Elmer, La. – 18-10 (5)
4. Jeff Reynolds – Calera, Okla. – 16-8 (5)
5. Nick Lebrun – Bossier City, La. – 16-3 (5)
6. Darrel Robertson – Jay, Okla. – 15-3 (4)
7. John Pilcher – Kansas, Okla. – 15-2 (5)
8. Jordan Osborne – Longview, Texas – 14-0 (5)
9. Troy O’Rourke – Natchitoches, La. – 13-15 (5)
10. Chad Warren – Sand Springs, Okla. – 13-13 (5)
Complete results
STEALTH MODE GIVES GEORGE CO-ANGLER LEAD
Doing something different is the inherent mandate for co-anglers, but Kennith George took that beyond the relationship between front and back deck. It was his focus on outthinking his fellow co-anglers that landed him atop his division with 13 pounds, 12 ounces.
“Being a co-angler forces you to fish a different way, and that played into my hand,” George says. “By doing something that was different than my boater, that lead me to the fish I found.”
George opted to keep the details thin, but he says he fished slower baits and targeted “less obvious” spots in 10 to 15 feet of water.
“Most of the quality fish I caught were on targets people normally wouldn’t hit,” he says. “I definitely slowed down my retrieves.”
Notably, George had only three keepers today, so he was around quality fish. He had four bites and lost one big fish.
TOP 10 CO-ANGLERS
1. Kennith George – Edmond, Okla. – 13-12 (3)
2. Steven Meador – Bentonville, Ark. – 12-15 (5)
3. Rick Blosser – Tulsa, Okla. – 12-9 (5)
4. Frank Divis Sr. – Farmington, Ark. – 11-10 (3)
5. James Callaghan – De Berry, Texas – 11-5 (3)
6. Shane Patrick – Springdale, Ark. – 10-9 (2)
7. Ben Wickham – Ponca City, Okla. – 10-4 (2)
8. Jordan Burks – Joplin, Mo. – 9-4 (5)
9. Jason Clark – Bixby, Okla. – 7-10 (2)
9. Rich Dalbey – Greenville, Texas – 7-10 (2
AnglersChannel Insider Podcast Episode #6 with Chris Brown, Jason Duran & Anglers Choice Classic Champ Luke Estel! Check it out!
On this Weeks AnglersChannel Insider Podcast Chris and Jason talk Classic Hangover, They talk with AnglersChoice Classic Champ Luke Estel and talk about his partner "Chopper" then they talk 42 pound stringers and whats ahead in the Anglerschannel Insider Podcast!
AnglersChannel.com's John Byrne and Pro Staffer Robbie Digh Talk about the Classic and whats ahead on this weeks Costa Countdown to Blastoff
AnglersChannel.com's John Byrne and Pro Staffer Robbie Digh Talk about the Classic and whats ahead on this weeks Costa Countdown to Blastoff. Check it out!!!
Scouting With Navionics - Using Navionics Mapping To Increase Your Fishing Success
By Stephen Trull
As a bass angler, I find that locating the perfect fishing spots are both an art and a science. The definition of art is a skill at doing a specified thing, typically one acquired through practice. Science is just as much a part by its definition as the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experimentation.
One of the most difficult questions to get a straight answer to and most asked question of any professional angler is how do you find fish on a body of water? Most answers are usually vague at best, if you get an answer at all. Fishing can be an extremely competitive sport that is full of secrets and social clicks. Although competition is fierce, fishing pressure is even more fierce. This is were good scouting an knowledge comes into play.
If I want to make quick work in finding productive fish, I start with a full study of topographic maps. Navionics has detailed maps that give me down to one foot contours. When you are looking for underwater structure, such as saddles, flats and humps, it is invaluable I know where to start. I view these maps on several sources to include your web browser on the Navionics web site Chart Viewer on my computer. I also study using their app on my tablet and phone not to mention my favorite Lowrance HDS Carbon. There are many marine electronics manufactures that support Navionics mapping cards. Pick your favorite.
The Chart Viewer site gives me several basic options to include satellite and terrain overlay as well as safety depth shading up to 60 feet. For bass fishing, safety depth is not as big of an issue as it would be for some larger boat configurations. That said, it is invaluable if you need it. Other settings display units in various measurements and the notable “Community Edits”. These are all available on Navionics mobile apps as well.
Navionics mobile apps, on the other hand, give me many added features in my scouting quest. It gives me the advantage of scouting on the go, anywhere, on my time. No water needed and the app itself is free. With a Navionics+ subscription, it includes downloads of Nautical Chart, SonarChart™, and Community Edits that stays on the phone or tablet even if the subscription expires. There is also the ability to get daily chart updates, Dock-to-dock Autorouting, Navigation Module, Advanced Map Options, Plotter Sync, Weather & Tides. One nice feature, unfortunately only on iPhone/iPad, is Timeline.
When planning to pre-fish for a tournament, I like to know all the details about the elements. With the Navionics app, I can get detailed weather forecasts and weather buoy data. I can see hourly and daily forecasts, wind conditions, tides, currents, temperature, air pressure, visibility, precipitation and sun/moon cycles. Depending on the particular lake and time of year, this can very well be a life saver.
With such a vast list of features, the two I use most are the daily updates and plotter sync while out scouting. There is no substitute for time on the water. You need time to perfect your use and knowledge of using your electronics with your Navionics maps. You also need time on the water to practice locating fish utilizing your knowledge of structure and cover. All the reading and studying of maps can not substitute for hard work and persistence.
Daily updates allow me to get the latest community edits showing me where other fish have been located. With this detail, I can look at my Navionics app and determine what structure fish may be holding on at a particular time of year and what depth range to start with. Fishing a new lake can be frustrating without some historical knowledge. Community edits provide some sense of where to begin.
Once I determine some of the best places to start my search, utilizing my tablet and phone, I can engage Plotter Sync with my Navionics+ card in my Lowrance unit that has WiFi enabled, as my source for mapping. This frees my Lowrance HDS units for other uses such as sonar, downscan, sidescan or 3D. As I scan over an area I have chosen to scout from my previous map study, I can mark my waypoints on any structure or fish on my app for further even review. Information is power and logging your information gives the power to you. When I am on the water, I mark everything and look for patterns and uncharted structure or cover.
Unfortunately for me but great for many, only available on the iPhone or iPad, the Navionics app has a feature called Timeline. With Timeline, you can look back at your trips in the tracks and see photos taken while tracking as well as Navionics panoramic images. I hope they have it for Android in the near future. For now I have to use my Lowrance HDS unit and that is much less portable.
I must say, I am quite impressed with the Navionics line-up of mapping options. I know you will find the right one to meet your way of fishing, boating or recreation.
The Cold Front Advantage - How Luke Estel & "Chopper" Won the Anglers Choice Tournament Trail Classic on Guntersville
Story & Photos Courtesy of Luke Estel
You always hear fishermen talk of how their fish moved on them due to a cold front moving in before a tournament. During the Anglers Choice Classic held on Guntersville Lake this year, it proved just the opposite for my partner and me.
Josh Jackson (Chopper) and I made our way down to beautiful Lake Guntersville for the Anglers Choice Classic last week. We would get five days of practice in before the tournament started.
We made it on the lake Friday evening and started searching. We were looking for tall grass on the back side of the river bank near spawning areas. At our second stop Chopper lost a stud on a spinnerbait and I followed it up with a chunky four pound fish on a Strike King Red Eye Shad Tungsten 2-Tap. We left that spot and idled down another hundred yards where we put a couple more nice keepers in the boat. One day of practice down, one good spot.
Saturday the rain came in and there was an ABT tournament with 200 over boats and three other smaller events going out of Goose Pond. The lake was crowded but we kept hunting. We flipped some boat docks catching a few small keepers but realized we needed to locate some bigger fish. We headed back out toward the main lake where we immediately caught three big fish including one over six out of some tall grass. Day two down, another good spot.
Sunday, the weather stayed about the same with the water temp holding between fifty one and fifty two degrees. We caught a few random fish throughout the day. We located another small stretch of tall grass at the end of the day and they were stacked in there. We could literally catch them every cast, and they were good ones. It was incredible how many fish were in such a small area. Day three over, another good spot.
Monday the sun came out but the wind was bad. We checked another spot just south of the loaded up area we had found the day before just to see if we could get an early bite. It didn’t take long as we caught four nice fish in a matter of minutes. The wind picked up so we opted to stay back in pockets the rest of the day looking for some shallow fish. We never found the right ones. Day four and we added to our eventual milk run.
Tuesday the cold front had come in and the water temps hit near fifty. The sun was out and a nice breeze blew down the lake. We found a small stretch with some deeper grass and began to catch them good. I had switched to the new Strike King 4.0 square bill because it was able to reach the deeper grass and it was working. Day five and things were looking good. The water temp was staying the same and it seemed like the fish weren’t going anywhere.
Wednesday was half day practice and we again found some more fish in the same type of spots so we knew the five areas we had found should hold up in the event.
Day One – We were boat number fourteen and blasted out to our first spot. I ran right to my first way point and shut the boat down. Chopper picked up his rod and took a cast. As I was taking my life jacket off, he boat flipped the first keeper of the day into the boat. In five minutes we had a nice limit in the boat. I was throwing the 2-Tap in Royal Purple and Chopper was throwing the 2-Tap in Royal Red. We stayed there about an hour culling up our weight to around fifteen pounds. We ran to our second spot where I caught a four pound fish off the 4.0 and one other nice keeper. After an hour there we decided to head to our best spot to see if we could upgrade. It didn’t take long before we started hammering on them. Within a half an hour we caught thirty bass including a seven, and I don’t know how many fours. It was incredible. We backed off of it trying to save it for the next day. We had time to run one more of our areas and I quickly boated another giant six. At the weigh in I knew we had over twenty but I wasn’t prepared for Rick Byrnes to call out, “ 25.27 pounds!” As happy as we were sitting in ninth place, I knew we had our work cut out for us the next day. We were going to have to keep our foot on the gas if we were to have a chance at winning.
After a restless night of not much sleep we decided to live and die at our best area. We were one of the last boats out of the 283 boat field and were kind of worried that we would even get on our number one spot. As luck would have it, there was no one there when we arrived. The water temp was still around fifty one but the water had cleared up. I tied on a Strike King 1.5 in Orange Bream and went to work. The bite was slower and by 9:30 we only had one five pounder and two small keepers. We decided to give it a rest and ran south a couple of hundred yards to our other spot where Chopper quickly caught a six with myself following up with a five. Now we knew that we were two big bites away from having a chance. We fished our way back down towards our spot and along the way I picked up another nice three. But Chopper wasn’t satisfied. He kept saying, “ I want a Big One!” Around noon we had quite the company as we guarded our area. Finally one boat decided to leave and idled right over where we were casting. Chopper cast into the prop wash and said, “ I don’t know what I got, but its big!” The giant broke the surface and I could see he only had one hook in him. He fought him around the boat and the fish surged and headed back toward the grass. He jumped and thrashed trying to throw the Red Eye. I sat there thinking there was no way we were landing this fish, especially because we had no net in the boat. He brought the fish in for a second chance and the giant finally opened his mouth and I grabbed him. After several high fives and jumping up and down the boat we went back to work. Four hours later resulted in nothing, not one more keeper bite.
At weigh in I had a good feeling we would make it into the top five but I wasn’t prepared for what was about to happen. Our five fish limit hit the scales at 27 pounds even! We sat and watched as the final team weighed in wondering if we were going to actually pull out the win. And we did it! We took home 1st place and a brand new Basscat Pantera 2 bass boat powered by a 200 Mercury. Our two day total was 52.27 pounds.
It is not only rare but very hard to win an event of this caliber. My hats off to all of the teams that competed. I am very humbled and thankful to pull out a win like this.
To sum it up, the key to our success was this. We located four key areas with taller grass in three to four foot of water that were holding big fish. The weather kept those fish from leaving and heading towards the banks. We capitalized by not losing one fish not only throughout the week but also during the tournament. We stuck to our pattern and ground it out until the end. Our tackle consisted of Tigerodz(all glass crankbait rods), Ardent Reels, Vicious 12 and 15 pound 100% fluorocarbon, Strike King Red Eye Shad Tungsten 2-Tap, Strike King 1.5, and 4.0 crankbaits, and Mustad Triple grip treble hooks.
Thank you to all that have supported Josh and me throughout this incredible week. I also
Bassmasters Classic Photo Gallery - AnglersChannel Insider Style
Now that we have recovered from the Jet Lag/Hangover known as Classic Week, We wanted to share with you the fans our Classic Gallery from Media Day all the way to hoisting of the Trophy.
These Images were shot by our Team at AnglersChannel.com & Silo Creative. Check it out!
COSTA FLW SERIES READIES GRAND LAKE FOR SECOND SOUTHWESTERN EVENT OF SEASON
GROVE, Okla. (March 13, 2018) – More than 280 pros and co-anglers are set to compete next week, March 22-24, at the Costa FLW Series at Grand Lake presented by Ranger Boats. The tournament is the second of three regular-season events scheduled in the FLW Series Southwestern Division. Hosted by the City of Grove, the event will feature anglers competing for a top award of up to $85,000, including a brand new Ranger Z518C boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.
“The lake has been fishing great and I think that we’re going to see Grand Lake show its true colors in this tournament,” said FLW Tour rookie Sheldon Collings of Grove, who has three career top-10 finishes in the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) competition on Grand Lake. “It’s been taking 24 to 25 pounds to win one-day tournaments on the lake the past few weekends and the potential is there right now to weigh in a 30-pound limit.
“The key to this event will be adapting to the cold front that is supposed to be coming in,” Collings continued. “It’s warm right now and they’re saying that it could get up to 80 degrees this weekend. But, next week a cold front is coming through and we could be back down to 30 degrees. A guy is going to have to have a couple of different patterns and areas to deal with the weather.”
Collings said that he expects anglers to be catching fish both deep and shallow and that anglers would be able to catch fish “however they want to.”
“Guys are catching them good right now 20 to 25 deep on umbrella rigs and on Wiggle Warts and jerkbaits in 8 to 10 feet,” Collings said. “I think a lot of guys will catch them flipping jigs behind docks, as well, but the majority of fish will be caught on reaction baits.
“I think someone is going to come in the first day of the tournament and weigh in at least 25 pounds,” Collings went on to say. “They’ll back it up with another 18 to 20 pounds the next two days and I think the winner will need to have a weight in at least the mid- to high-60-pound range.”
Anglers will take off from Wolf Creek Park, located at 963 N. 16th St., in Grove, at 7:30 a.m. CDT each day of competition. Weigh-in will be held at Wolf Creek Park on Thursday and Friday beginning at 3:30 p.m. Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at the Cabela’s in Rogers, Arkansas, located at 2300 Promenade Boulevard, and will begin at 4:30 p.m. All takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
In Costa FLW Series regular-season competition, payouts are based on the number of participants competing in the event. At Grand Lake pros will fish for a top prize of $85,000, including a brand new Ranger Z518C boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard if Ranger Cup qualified. Co-anglers will cast for a brand new Ranger Z175 boat with a 90-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard, and $5,000 if Ranger Cup qualified.
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 2018 Costa FLW Series Championship is being held Nov. 1-3 on Lake Guntersville in Guntersville, Alabama, and is hosted by the Marshall County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
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 at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat.
Fritts & Adams Win PBC Academy Sports Qualifier on Jordan Lake with over 34 pounds!!!
The 2018 PBC Academy Sports & Outdoors $10,000 Spring Team Bass Trail Qualifier #2 at Jordan Lake started pretty
good. That morning the air temp was 35 degrees then warmed up to 59 in the pm. Water temps averaged about 50
degrees. Winds were light at the 7:15 blastoff and then picked up to 15 to 20 for the afternoon! All 86 teams agreed it
was a very tough fishing day. As soon as these cold fronts stop coming thru the water temps should be warming and the
Spring fishing will become wide open!! It won't be long'
Brian Fritts & Bo Adams just demolished the field weighing in 5 bass at 34.54 lbs. and also caught the 2nd place Big Fish
(9.10 lbs.) plus won the 1st Place TWT for a total of $3,670 in winnings. The team found the fish in 4' to 10' of water
using spinnerbaits, swim baits & crankbaits!!! They had 2 really big fish that helped weigh down the sack!!
Todd Massey & Brandon Gray took 2nd place with 5 fish (one at 7.30 lbs.) weighing 25.44 lbs. and 2nd Place TWT to
take home $1,595 in winnings. 3rd Place Team, Steve Upchurch & Johnny Howard, had 5 nice fish weighing 23.51 lbs.
and took home $688!! The 1st Place Big Fish Award went to the team of James Sutton & Travis Priest (subbing for
Sutton's regular partner, Michael McLamb). They took home a whopping $1,190 for the 9.34 lb. bass!!!
The prize money got spread around pretty good today!
Only 124 fish were weighed in for a total of 452 pounds for an average of 3.56 lbs. each. Most of the fish were caught on
Swimbaits baits, chatterbaits, spinnerbaits and shallow running crankbaits in anywhere from 2 to 10 feet of water. Water
temps are very important now and they need to warm up a little to get that hot bite we all want! Going to Falls next week
and hopefully it will warm up a bit! Falls is always a great lake just about any time of year!!
I want to thank all the anglers that participated and all our sponsors that support this trail. Our next tournament is
Saturday March 24th, the PBC Cashion Fishing Rods Spring Trail Q#3 at Falls Lake out of Ledge Rock Wildlife Ramp.
All the info can be found at this link:
http://piedmontbassclassics.com/2018CashionSpringTrailMainPage.html
Following that will be the PBC Academy Sports & Outdoors $10,000 Spring Team Bass Trail Qualifier #3, Saturday
March 31st also at Falls Lake.
All the information on our tournaments can be found http://piedmontbassclassics.com/
Now here are the full results:
1st Place: Brian Fritts & Bo Adams of Raleigh & Pittsboro...5 bass...34.54 lbs...$1,445
2nd Place: Todd Massey & Brandon Gray of Chapel Hill & Bullock...5 bass...25.44 lbs...$860
3rd Place: Steve Upchurch & Johnny Howard of Raleigh & Carrboro...5 bass...23.51 lbs...$688
4th Place: Jared Thaxton & Brad Craptree...5 bass...21.44 lbs...$619
5th Place: Matt Dean & Stanton McDuffie of Clayton & Raleigh...4 bass...20.83 lbs...$550
6th Place: Billy Bledsoe & Brian McDonald of Gray's Creek & Hope Mills....5 bass...19.11 lbs...$481
7th Place: Stephen Lasher & Chad Fara of Bahama & Durham...4 bass...16.82 lbs...$413
8th Place: Raeford Faircloth & Joe Smith...4 bass...15.86 lbs...$344
9th Place: Stump Bledsoe & Glenn Elliott of Hope Mills & Fayetteville...5 bass...14.99 lbs...$275
10th Place Tyler Faggart & Paul Owens of Raleigh...5 bass...14.92 lbs...$241
11th Place: Thomas Sheffer & Ken McNeill of Cary & Raleigh...4 bass..14.48 lbs...$206
12th Place: Vernon Fleming & Mike Dinterman of Raleigh & Oxford...5 bass...13.44 lbs...$172
13th Place: Jaime Fajardo & Josh Hooks of Fuquay Varina & Apex...3 bass...11.65 lbs...$151
14th Place: Rick Ohlson & Randy Parker of Garner...2 bass...11.41 lbs...$131...Tie
14th Place: Vinston Nettles & Mike Cole of Pittsboro & Siler City...3 bass...11.41 lbs...$131...Tie
16th Place: Todd Sumner & Rich Sczcerbala of Southern Pines & Apex...3 bass...10.96 lbs...$103
17th Place: Chase Owens & Mitchell Lance of Snow Camp & Raleigh...5 bass...10.47 lbs...$100
1st Place Big Fish..James Sutton & Michael McLamb of Roseboro & White Oak...9.34 lbs...$1,190
2nd Place Big Fish..1st Place Team above...9.10 lbs...$510
1st Place TWT..1st Place Team above...34.54 lbs...$1,715
2nd Place TWT..2nd Place Team above: 25.44 lbs...$735
FRANKLINTON’S BIRR WINS T-H MARINE FLW BFL NORTH CAROLINA DIVISION TOURNAMENT ON KERR LAKE
Mooresville’s Luther Wins Co-angler Title
HENDERSON, N.C. (March 19, 2018) – Boater Michael Birr of Franklinton, North Carolina, weighed a 18-pound, 15-ounce, limit of bass Saturday to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) North Carolina Division event on Kerr Lake. For his win, Birr pocketed $4,313.
“I started out in Nutbush Creek but they weren’t biting, so I made a long run and caught all of my fish within three hours near Clarksville,” said Birr, who logged his second win on Kerr Lake in BFL competition. “I cranked shallow right in front of bushes where fish were staging. Normally they’d be spawning in the bushes, but the water wasn’t high enough.”
Birr used an unnamed custom-colored crankbait to catch his fish, and that he rotated through a few different spots in a specific creek.
“A recent local tournament on Kerr Lake was won in Nutbush Creek, so knowing when to make the move out of there was key for me,” said Birr. “I lost a 5-pounder first thing in the morning which I thought would cost me the tournament, but I was able to get five more of the right bites.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Michael Birr, Franklinton, N.C., five bass, 18-15, $4,313
2nd: Andy Nix, Thomasville, N.C., five bass, 17-8, $1,657
3rd: Rodney Bell, Salisbury, N.C., five bass, 13-14, $1,037
4th: James Wall, Greensboro, N.C., five bass, 13-0, $726
5th: Jason Houchins, Clarksville, Va., three bass, 12-12, $988
6th: Ryan Deal, Indian Trail, N.C., four bass, 12-8, $571
7th: Matt Stoupa, Colonial Heights, Va., four bass, 12-3, $519
8th: Travis Young, Rock Hill, S.C., five bass, 11-6, $467
9th: James Stowers, Narrows, Va., four bass, 11-1, $415
10th: Chad Poteat, Mount Airy, N.C., four bass, 10-9, $363
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Houchins weighed a 6-pound, 5-ounce bass – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $365.
Bowe Luther of Mooresville, North Carolina, won the Co-angler Division and $1,757 Saturday after catching four bass weighing 12 pounds, 10 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Bowe Luther, Mooresville, N.C., four bass, 12-10, $1,757
2nd: Brian Bird, Huntersville, N.C., three bass, 8-10, $960
3rd: Tony Laaper, Pittsboro, N.C., four bass, 7-11, $571
4th: Paul Foley, Mooresville, N.C., four bass, 7-9, $363
5th: Jeff Scism, Shelby, N.C., two bass, 7-6, $298
5th: Mark Whitman, Elon, N.C., three bass, 7-6, $298
7th: Dalton Marlow, Maiden, N.C., four bass, 7-2, $259
8th: Barry Burford, Charlotte, N.C., two bass, 6-15, $233
9th: Jeff White, Rhoadesville, Va., two bass, 5-13, $208
10th: Tristen Trull, Mount Holly, N.C., one bass, 5-0, $172
10th: Ian Dubee, Chapel Hill, N.C., one bass, 5-0, $172
Bird caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division weighing in at 5 pounds, 8 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $182.
The T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) North Carolina Division event on Kerr Lake was hosted by the Vance County Department of Tourism.
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. 11-13 BFL Regional Championship on Chesapeake Bay in North East, Tennessee. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.
The 2018 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 2018 BFL All-American will be held May 31-June 2 at Cross Lake in Shreveport, Louisiana, and is hosted by the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission. 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, YouTube and Snapchat.
INDIANA’S HACKEMACK WINS T-H MARINE FLW BFL LBL DIVISION OPENER ON KENTUCKY/BARKLEY LAKES
Tennessee’s Henry Wins Co-angler Title
GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. (March 19, 2018) – Boater Kane Hackemack of Georgetown, Indiana, caught a five-bass limit Saturday weighing 29 pounds, 8 ounces, to take top honors at the 2018 T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) LBL Division opener on Kentucky and Barkley lakes. Hackemack earned $4,915 for his win.
Hackemack said he focused on deep points with current breaks, and caught his first two keepers within 20 minutes at his first area, on the north end of Kentucky Lake,.
“The current breaks had a lot of shad and bass were feeding on them,” said Hackemack, who notched his first career win in FLW competition. “I hooked my first two on a ¾-ounce Strike King Red Eye Shad and stuck with the lure the rest of the day.”
Hackemack said he caught nine keepers from the area, averaging one every 20 to 30 minutes. He said his last good fish – a 7½-pounder – came at 11:30 a.m. From there, he said the bite slowed down.
“I’ve caught many 20- to 25-pound limits on Kentucky Lake, but to get almost 30 is awesome,” said Hackemack. “It truly is one of the best fisheries in the country.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Kane Hackemack, Georgetown, Ind., five bass, 29-8, $4,915
2nd: Cole Floyd, Leesburg, Ohio, five bass, 27-1, $3,408
3rd: Rick Shannon, Woodlawn, Tenn., five bass, 18-3, $1,640
4th: Matt Robertson, Kuttawa, Ky., three bass, 16-3, $1,147
5th: Tommy Williams, Shepherdsville, Ky., five bass, 16-12, $983
6th: Stuart Eversole, Middletown, Ohio, five bass, 16-1, $901
7th: Drew Boggs, Lebanon, Tenn., five bass, 15-11, $819
8th: Austin Brown, Benton, Ky., four bass, 15-9, $837
9th: Ray Barga, Benton, Ky., four bass, 14-14, $955
10th: Chris Beaudrie, Princeton, Ky., four bass, 14-7, $573
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Floyd weighed a 9-pound, 9-ounce bass – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $750.
Greg Henry of Hixson, Tennessee, won the Co-angler Division and $2,458 Saturday after catching three bass weighing 12 pounds, 8 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Greg Henry, Hixson, Tenn., three bass, 12-8, $2,458
2nd: Ryan Kirkpatrick, Benton, Ky., three bass, 12-4, $1,329
3rd: Roger Kirby, Owensboro, Ky., three bass, 10-7, $817
4th: John Lovin, Fayetteville, Ohio, two bass, 10-5, $573
5th: Craig Middleton, Harrodsburg, Ky., two bass, 9-10, $492
6th: Chuck Rounds, Benton, Ky., two bass, 9-6, $826
7th: Kevin Webb, Clayton, Ohio, two bass, 8-15, $410
8th: Claude Cobb, Lexington, Ky., two bass, 8-13, $369
9th: Roger Richardson, Saint Louis, Mo., three bass, 8-12, $328
10th: Luke Lamb, Nicholasville, Ky., two bass, 8-8, $287
Rounds caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division weighing in at 6 pounds, 13 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $375.
The T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) LBL Division event on Kentucky and Barkley lakes was hosted by the Kentucky Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau.
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. 25-27 BFL Regional Championship on Lake Chickamauga in Dayton, Tennessee. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.
The 2018 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 2018 BFL All-American will be held May 31-June 2 at Cross Lake in Shreveport, Louisiana, and is hosted by the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission. 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, YouTube and Snapchat.
COSTA FLW HIGH SCHOOL FISHING SUMMER CAMP OFFERS STUDENTS, COACHES AND PARENTS CAMP EXPERIENCE OF A LIFETIME ON KENTUCKY LAKE
FLW Partners with Costa to Introduce All-Inclusive Summer Camp For Serious High School Anglers
BENTON, Ky. (March 15, 2018) – Fishing League Worldwide (FLW) in partnership with Costa Sunglasses, announced today the inaugural Costa FLW High School Fishing Summer Camp, scheduled for July 18-21, 2018 on the Murray State University campus, with daily activities on the South’s Great Lake – Kentucky Lake. The three-day all-inclusive camp is designed for serious high school anglers, parents and coaches who want to gain an edge on the competition by getting hands-on bass fishing experience alongside the biggest names in the industry.
For three action-packed days, attendees will be immersed in instruction from top professionals and industry executives. Students will learn the tools they need to take their fishing and fishing-career readiness to the next level, while parents and coaches will learn what they can do to support them. FLW Tour headliners including Forrest Wood Cup champions Scott Martin and Justin Atkins, reigning Pennzoil Marine Anglers of the Year (AOY) Bryan Thrift and Andy Morgan, Costa pro Casey Ashley and many others will be on-site to provide personal instruction on an array of topics for students and parents/coaches.
"The high school fishing camp is our way of contributing to the future of the sport through education and networking opportunities for the students," said Melinda Hays, Costa Bass Community Leader. "The skills offered during camp will help build leadership qualities for these youth both on and off the water."
Sessions offered at the camp include boating safety, seasonal techniques, electronics, lure and rod building, equipment basics, fish care and off-the-water necessities like building a social media following, career exploration and resume building for the outdoors industry. Courses offered for parents/coaches will include best practices for sanctioned teams, optimizing individual and team performance, career readiness and fish care at weigh-ins.
“The Costa FLW High School Fishing Summer Camp has got to be the coolest summer camp experience that I have ever heard of,” said reigning Forrest Wood Cup champion Justin Atkins, who competed in TBF/FLW High School Fishing and FLW College Fishing tournaments before turning professional. “The knowledge and experience that these young anglers are going to receive in three-days is priceless. I wish that I had the opportunity to attend a summer camp like this when I was starting out. It’s going to be a very fun week on Kentucky Lake.”
Following the week’s activities, campers are invited to put their skills to the test at the FLW Foundation #MarshallStrong Tournament, benefiting victims of the Jan.23 school shooting at Marshall County High School in Benton, Kentucky. The tournament, held Saturday, July 21, on Kentucky Lake, will feature two divisions – a boat division and a kayak division – and one lucky camper will be selected to fish the tournament with FLW Tour pro Scott Martin. Participants will be eligible for thousands of dollars in cash prizes, with the winner taking home the Costa FLW High School Fishing Cup. The tournament entry fee is $200 per boat/kayak.
Registration for the Costa FLW High School Fishing Camp will open soon, and will close on Saturday, June 30. Cost for the camp is $250 per person, which includes all housing, meals and accommodations at Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky. To sign up for the camp mailing list and receive registration notification and complete details, including more information on the #MarshallStrong tournament, visit bit.ly/CostaHSFishingCamp.
NORTH PORT’S KEYSO WINS T-H MARINE FLW BFL GATOR DIVISION EVENT ON LAKE OKEECHOBEE
Perry’s Wiles Grabs Co-angler Title
OKEECHOBEE, Fla. (March 19, 2018) – Boater Mikey Keyso Jr. of North Port, Florida, caught a five-bass limit Saturday weighing 24 pounds, 12 ounces, to take top honors at the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Gator Division tournament on Lake Okeechobee. For his efforts, Keyso earned $7,663.
Keyso spent his day fishing south of the Monkey Box targeting postspawn bass in dollarweed pads. He said he rotated between two areas, and used a Texas-rigged Junebug-colored Reaction Innovations Skinny Dipper with 3/8- and ¼-ounce weights to catch his fish.
“There was a new moon and most people focused on spawning bass,” said Keyso, who earned his second career win on Lake Okeechobee in BFL competition. “A wave of bluegill were also spawning, so I Power-Poled down and just slow-rolled my bait through the pads.”
The Florida angler said he used a Fitzgerald Fishing Bryan Thrift Series Frog Rod with 50-pound-test braid line, and estimated that he caught 45 keepers throughout the tournament.
“The water had to be a little dirty. The big ones committed to the bait in dirty water,” said Keyso. “And when they committed, they just destroyed it. It was a fun bite.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Mikey Keyso Jr., North Port, Fla., five bass, 24-12, $5,663 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
2nd: Matthew Jerdan, Cape Coral, Fla., five bass, 22-13, $2,232
3rd: Jesus Villegas, Virginia Gardens, Fla., five bass, 20-10, $1,489
4th: Chris Crow, Lake Placid, Fla., five bass, 19-14, $1,041
5th: Mark Blevins, Palatka, Fla., five bass, 19-7, $1,633
6th: Nathan Thomas, Weirsdale, Fla., five bass, 18-15, $818
7th: Fred Chivington Jr., Welaka, Fla., five bass, 18-13, $744
8th: Greg Harp, Vero Beach, Fla., five bass, 17-11, $669
9th: Kyle Giella, Parrish, Fla., five bass, 17-5, $595
10th: George Kapiton, Inverness, Fla., five bass, 16-12, $521
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Blevins weighed a 7-pound, 14-ounce bass – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $640.
Michael Wiles of Perry, Florida, won the Co-angler Division and $2,432 Saturday after catching a five-bass limit weighing 19 pounds, 13 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Michael Wiles, Perry, Fla., five bass, 19-13, $2,432
2nd: Justin Brown, Frostproof, Fla., five bass, 17-7, $1,166
3rd: Delfin Pernas, Miami, Fla., five bass, 16-8, $743
4th: Jeffrey Shaffer, Orlando, Fla., five bass, 15-14, $521
5th: Junior Iriban, Lantana, Fla., five bass, 15-11, $446
6th: Tom Jessup, Sarasota, Fla., five bass, 14-8, $409
7th: Shannon Bryson, Merritt Island, Fla., five bass, 14-5, $372
8th: Bruce Greer, Lake Worth, Fla., five bass, 14-2, $335
9th: Timothy Hibbs, Bradenton, Fla., five bass, 13-13, $298
10th: Jackie Barber, Cocoa, Fla., two bass, 13-9, $580
Barber caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division weighing in at 9 pounds, 10 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $320.
The T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Gator Division event on Lake Okeechobee was hosted by the Okeechobee County Tourist Development Council.
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. 11-13 BFL Regional Championship on the St. Johns River in Palatka, Florida. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.
The 2018 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 2018 BFL All-American will be held May 31-June 2 at Cross Lake in Shreveport, Louisiana, and is hosted by the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission. 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, YouTube and Snapchat.
VANEGMOND WINS T-H MARINE FLW BFL BULLDOG DIVISION EVENT ON LAKE OCONEE PRESENTED BY NAVIONICS
Marietta’s Slupczynski Claims Co-angler Title
BUCKHEAD, Ga. (March 19, 2018) – Boater Tim Vanegmond of Gay, Georgia, caught five bass Saturday weighing 18 pounds, 11 ounces, to take top honors at the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Bulldog Division tournament on Lake Oconee presented by Navionics. Vanegmond earned $4,806 for his win.
“I caught everything flipping a green-pumpkin-colored (Reaction Innovations) Sweet Beaver and (Strike King) Structure Bug under docks,” said Vanegmond, who earned his first career win in FLW competition. “I had to skip the bait all the way to the center, that’s the only way I could get a bite.”
Vanegmond said he spent his time fishing 15 docks, in sight of the takeoff ramp in Sugar Creek. He said once he figured out the fish weren’t on the dock’s edges, the bite improved dramatically.
“It took me about two hours to get my first bite, but after that I really started catching them,” said Vanegmond. “I probably had 18 fish throughout the rest of the day including my biggest at 4½ pounds.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Tim Vanegmond, Gay, Ga., five bass, 18-11, $4,806
2nd: Terry Adams, Mansfield, Ga., five bass, 15-9, $2,403
3rd: Matt Henry, Milledgeville, Ga., five bass, 14-4, $1,605
4th: Joe Jackson, Newnan, Ga., five bass, 13-6, $1,121
5th: Frank Kitchens III, Oxford, Ga., five bass, 13-0, $1,461
6th: Stacy Adams, Hazlehurst, Ga., five bass, 12-7, $981
7th: Mark Svendsen, Doraville, Ga., five bass, 12-6, $801
8th: Pat Fisher, Colbert, Ga., five bass, 12-0, $721
9th: David Pettis, Tifton, Ga., five bass, 11-10, $641
10th: Tony Couch, Buckhead, Ga., five bass, 11-9, $561
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Girard Jones of Macon, Georgia, weighed 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 $725.
Adam Slupczynski of Marietta, Georgia, won the Co-angler Division and $2,403 Saturday after catching four bass weighing 8 pounds, 1 ounce.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Adam Slupczynski, Marietta, Ga., four bass, 8-1, $2,403
2nd: Scott Sayasing, Grantville, Ga., two bass, 7-13, $1,563
3rd: Donald Peppers, Good Hope, Ga., four bass, 7-10, $806
4th: Thom Dickson, Cartersville, Ga., two bass, 7-8, $561
5th: Christopher Wilder, Macon, Ga., two bass, 7-1, $581
6th: Ariska Savior, Atlanta, Ga., three bass, 6-12, $441
7th: Steve Garrett, Bishop, Ga., three bass, 6-11, $400
8th: Frank Godwin Jr., Bainbridge, Ga., four bass, 6-9, $410
9th: James South, Dawsonville, Ga., two bass, 6-4, $300
9th: Matthew O’Connell, Brooks, Ga., four bass, 6-4, $300
Sayasing caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division weighing in at 5 pounds, 10 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $362.
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. 11-13 BFL Regional Championship on the St. Johns River in Palatka, Florida. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.
The 2018 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 2018 BFL All-American will be held May 31-June 2 at Cross Lake in Shreveport, Louisiana, and is hosted by the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission. 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, YouTube and Snapchat.
Record field at Bass Champs Mega Bass event – Garrett Hall wins by 4/100ths of a pound with an 11.38 pound Lunker!!!
| By: Patty Lenderman |
| Record field at Bass Champs Mega Bass event – Garrett Hall wins by 4/100ths of a pound! By Patty LendermanIt was a sight to be seen on Lake Fork March 17, 2018 as Bass Champs hosted their 10th annual Sportsman’s Auto Network Mega Bass tournament – the worlds’ richest one day hourly big bass event. Setting new records, over 1900 anglers from Canada and 23 states spanning from Ohio to Texas converged at Lake Fork Marina where three eleven pounders were weighed throughout the day, and over $100,000 was won in cash and prizes to top hourly winners. Garrett Hall of Kilgore, TX caught THE mega bass of the day to win the grand prize of a new Skeeter ZX200 powered by a Yamaha SHO and equipped with Lowrance and Power Pole.$20,000 was guaranteed to be up for grabs every hour of the day. The person weighing in the biggest bass of each hour won $15,000! You rarely see any bass weighed in between four and just over eight pounds. Those fish generally measure in the ‘slot’ and must be released immediately. Only bass under 16” or over 24” can be retained and brought in to weigh. When the scales opened, the race was on to see who would catch not only a “money fish” each hour, but who would go home with the additional grand prize of a fully rigged Skeeter boat. All but two hours of the day the top winners had caught bass over the slot limit, and overall weights were tight. The first double digit sow came in during the 9:00 hour caught by Owen Rowland at 11.34 lbs. His $15,000 check was secured, but he had a long wait until the scales closed to see if anyone else would catch a bigger bass, winning the boat. The next few hours only bass under the slot were weighed, and Owen’s hopes were high. It wasn’t until the 1:00 hour that yet another eleven pounder was brought in. It was another giant, and the weights were definitely going to be close. With all eyes on the scales, Garrett Hall of Kilgore, TX took his bass to the scales, and it locked in at 11.38 lbs, overtaking the top weight by 4/100ths of a pound!! It wasn’t over yet. There was still one hour to go. In that last hour, another giant was brought in by Bryan Toombs of Royse City, TX. At this point the crowd watching the scales was quite large, and everyone watched as this fat momba jomba was heaved to the stage. Tipping the scales at 11.13 lbs, a combination of cheers and awe’s came from the onlookers as the weigh in came to a final end. When it was all said and done, Garrett Hall received not only the $15,000 check for top bass of the hour, but a brand new fully rigged Skeeter ZX200 powered by a Yamaha SHO, equipped with Lowrance and Power Pole – all total his winnings were over $70,000! “My partner and I had gone north to shallow banks looking for fish,” Garrett began. “We managed to catch a few, but just started working our way southward.” They had some luck on a Space Monkey, square billed crank baits, and senko’s. “My partner tied on a white chatter bait, and he was having some pretty good luck with that, so I dug in my tackle box and tied one on too.” It wasn’t long before his partner got hung up and broke his bait off, so Garrett went to the front of the boat to run the trolling motor while he re-rigged. “He got his pole ready and asked if I wanted him to get back on the trolling motor, but I told him I was fine and just kept fishing.” Within three or four casts, Garrett got the bite. “As soon as I set the hook, I knew it was a good fish. It took a couple of cranks to get her turned my direction, and as soon as I did she turned and started peeling line.” After a battle of wills, he got her to the boat where his partner secured her in the net with the first attempt. “We took pictures, and guessed it was around 12 pounds. I tried to fish some more after that, but couldn’t. This is the biggest fish I have ever caught!” They decided to bring it in to weigh. “I heard on the radio that 11.34 was leading.” Putting his big catch on the scales, her weight tallied to 11.38 lbs, and it was announced that he was now leading the tournament. Chad Potts asked Garrett if that made him nervous. “YES - I figured he would have a good chance at winning an hour but I didn’t figure I would win the whole tournament! This is one fish I will never forget.” “We have such a great time hosting this event,” declared Chad Potts, President of Bass Champs. “Lake Fork holds such quality bass that makes these weigh ins that much more spectacular. We’d like to thank everyone for coming to fish this with us again this year, and especially those who come from such long distances. Congratulations to all of our winners, and we’ll look forward to seeing you again next year!” |
| Top 50 finishers listed below - to see results by hour click here | |||||
| Angler | City | State | Weight | Prize Amount | |
| GARETT HALL | Kilgore | TX | 11.38 |
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| GARETT HALL | Kilgore | TX | 11.38 |
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| OWEN ROWLAND | Bearden | AR | 11.34 |
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| BRYAN TOOMBS | Royse City | TX | 11.13 |
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| ERIC WORLEY | Fort Worth | TX | 9.65 |
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| ANTHONY JONES | Irving | TX | 8.40 |
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| ALAN SWARTS | Mt Vernon | TX | 2.55 |
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| RICHARD MICHAELS | Alba | TX | 2.50 |
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| JASON BOND | Shreveport | LA | 2.50 |
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| AUSTIN WILLIAMS | Kermit | TX | 10.51 |
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| PAUL DARNELL | Paris | TX | 2.68 |
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| JERRY GREEN | Glenwood | AR | 2.68 |
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| JUSTIN GARNETT | Corsicana | TX | 2.52 |
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| BRODY HANNA | Corsicana | TX | 2.46 |
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| KYLE SMIRL | Henrietta | TX | 2.41 |
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| JONATHON CARTER | New Orleans | LA | 6.56 |
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| JUSTIN SILLIVAN | Simms | TX | 2.59 |
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| JOHN LITTLE | Texarkana | AR | 2.46 |
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| GREG TAYLOR | Forney | TX | 2.45 |
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| TODD ANDERSON | Ovilla | TX | 2.40 |
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| DONALD THOMAS | Beebe | AR | 2.36 |
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| MARLIN HICKS | Lewisville | TX | 2.46 |
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| TERRY BOLEY | Trent | TX | 2.46 |
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| BOBBY CLEMENTS | Simms | TX | 2.76 |
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| TYLER HERRING | Emerson | AR | 2.58 |
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| SHAWN OMALLEY | Wylie | TX | 2.42 |
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| CODY HANNA | Richland | TX | 2.38 |
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| TERRY KEMP | Alba | TX | 2.35 |
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| PHILIP WASSON | Leland | MS | 2.33 |
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| SAM BOWNDS | Wichita Falls | TX | 2.67 |
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| TERRY NOYES | Winnsboro | TX | 2.41 |
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| JESSE RAWLS | Brownsboro | TX | 2.39 |
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| BILLY CARAWAY | North Richland Hills | TX | 2.34 |
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| DAVID WESTBROOK | Rowlett | TX | 2.32 |
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| RICHARD CRESSWELL | Wichita Falls | TX | 2.31 |
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| JOHN TALLEY | Quitman | TX | 2.57 |
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| JEFF NOBLE | Tyler | TX | 2.57 |
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| PEGGY CROSS | Keller | TX | 2.65 |
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| JOE CARATHERS | Queen City | TX | 2.38 |
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| ROGER WELLS | Waxahachie | TX | 2.37 |
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| LOUIE ADAMS III | Argyle | TX | 2.30 |
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| RICHARD SMITH | Oklahoma City | OK | 2.29 |
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| BRANDON BURTON | Canton | TX | 2.33 |
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| JEFFERY JONES | Cooper | TX | 2.33 |
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| RILEY GILL | Princeton | TX | 2.64 |
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| RALPH MUNK | Gladewater | TX | 2.56 |
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| MIKE CALLAHAN | Fort Worth | TX | 2.36 |
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| LEE BATSON | Heath | TX | 2.35 |
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| FRANCIS PELOWSKI | Red Oak | TX | 2.25 |
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| ROBERT TAYLOR | Caddo Mills | TX | 2.23 |
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Shane Logan and Tony Ferdinando top 197 teams on Travis with 27.32 pounds for TTZ Tournament Win & $10,000
| Pl | ANGLER 1 | ANGLER 2 | FISH | BIG BASS | WT | PRIZE |
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| 1 | TONY FERDINANDO | SHANE LOGAN | 5 | 6.85 | 27.32 | $10,000 |
| 2 | JAKE KENNAMER | BRADLEY BRISCOE | 5 | 8.25 | 23.68 | $5,000 + $1,970 Big Bass + $500 BIOBOR Bonus + Shimano Loyalty Program - Curado K (Bradley Briscoe) |
| 3 | BRIAN HARMS | TRAVIS GARNER | 5 | 6.61 | 22.46 | $3,500 |
| 4 | TIM MCNEAL | JAKE READ | 5 | 20.02 | $2,500 | |
| 5 | LANDON GLASS | MANDI GLASS | 5 | 19.75 | $1,750 | |
| 6 | GERARD RUMSEY | ERIC VASQUEZ | 5 | 18.87 | $1,500 | |
| 7 | CHARLES WHITED | BILL POLKINGHORN | 5 | 6.64 | 18.40 | $1,250 |
| 8 | GREG SHEPPERD | GARRETT SHEPPERD | 4 | 8.13 | 18.15 | $1,000 |
| 9 | BILLY MCCRARY II | KEITH HEINRICH | 5 | 7.42 | 17.15 | $900 |
| 10 | DALE READ | JIM SUNVISON | 5 | 16.46 | $800 | |
| 11 | RANDY HIBLER | RANDALL CHRISTIAN | 5 | 16.04 | $700 | |
| 12 | PRESTON DANNA | CJ OATES | 5 | 6.17 | 15.96 | $600 |
| 13 | THOMAS HOWE | PHILIP THOMPSON | 5 | 5.53 | 15.82 | $550 |
| 14 | BRUCE DAVIS | CHAD THIEL | 5 | 15.74 | $500 | |
| 15 | RONNIE MATHIS | DON SCHUETZE | 5 | 15.26 | $450 | |
| 16 | JARED SMITH | DUSTIN SMITH | 5 | 14.99 | $425 | |
| 17 | LEE BEUERSHAUSEN | RANDY GROUNDS | 5 | 14.78 | $400 | |
| 18 | TIM DIXON | LARRY HAYES | 5 | 14.62 | $375 | |
| 19 | DEAN GOLMON | JAYSON KISSELBURG | 5 | 14.55 | $350 | |
| 20 | NOEL LOWE | PHILLIP MASSOLETTI | 5 | 14.52 | $325 | |
| 21 | JUSTIN FISHER | BRYAN COTTER | 5 | 14.51 | ||
| 22 | TERRY HALL | LYNN PIERCE | 5 | 14.48 | ||
| 23 | BRANDON BRAY | JESSE FRY | 5 | 7.76 | 14.19 | |
| 24 | ZACHARY PICKLE | CLARK MANNAS | 5 | 13.87 | ||
| 25 | JAMES A. HENRY | MICHAEL ATKINS | 5 | 7.40 | 13.85 | |
| 26 | JAMIE SLAYDEN | BRANDON HOUSTON | 5 | 13.73 | ||
| 27 | CHRIS BAKER | ALAN GREEN | 5 | 13.36 | ||
| 28 | RAYMOND CALK | COREY SCHNAUTZ | 5 | 13.25 | ||
| 29 | GARRETT NELSON | JUSTIN POLLEI | 5 | 12.76 | ||
| 30 | GARRIT AFMAN | JUSTYN PARRISH | 5 | 12.54 | ||
| 31 | ROBERT MILLER | JACKY ROBERTS | 5 | 12.45 | ||
| 32 | DANIEL KURTZ | DANIEL WILLIS | 5 | 11.93 | ||
| 33 | DAVID BUECHE | JOHN WARD | 5 | 11.79 | ||
| 34 | DARREL ROUTON | JACK CULBREATH | 5 | 5.93 | 11.77 | |
| 35 | PHIL WARREN | BRIAN MATER | 5 | 11.75 | ||
| 36 | HUDSON CARLTON | FRED CATES | 5 | 11.66 | ||
| 37 | GARRETT KOSLAN | MARSHALL KOSLAN | 4 | 6.61 | 11.59 | |
| 38 | BOBBY AMIDON | MICHAEL ROBERTS | 5 | 11.44 | ||
| 39 | JASON BUCHANAN | TERRY KIRCUS | 5 | 11.35 | ||
| 40 | JAMES COTTINGHAM | TERRY ROBERTS | 5 | 11.32 | ||
| 41 | RONNY MAYNARD | ERIC CRUMLEY | 5 | 11.28 | ||
| 41 | MATT SCOTT | NICK LONCAR | 5 | 5.76 | 11.28 | |
| 43 | GARY JOHNSON | ANIBAL GUZMAN | 5 | 11.16 | ||
| 44 | BILLY FORD | WILLIAM LYNCH | 5 | 11.14 | ||
| 45 | DAMON ROSS | DONNIE ROSS | 5 | 11.12 | ||
| 46 | DANIEL BARNES | ADRIAN BARNES | 5 | 11.02 | ||
| 47 | CHRIS CONNER | KENNETH FAIRLY | 5 | 10.94 | ||
| 48 | DONNIE O'NEAL | KENNETH MCDONNEL | 5 | 10.87 | ||
| 49 | SCOTT SMITH | LANCE RAY | 5 | 10.84 | ||
| 50 | NATHEN LABAY | DONALD HUISENGA | 4 | 10.76 | ||
| 51 | HAROLD MOORE | ERIC BRIGMAN | 5 | 10.69 | ||
| 51 | TRENT BLAKE | BEAU REED | 5 | 10.69 | ||
| 53 | DARRELL WUENSCHE | JASON JONES | 5 | 10.68 | ||
| 54 | RAY TOMASITS | CARY LAUDADIO | 5 | 10.66 | Pre-Registration Winner. Two pairs of Costas | |
| 55 | NORM WILSON JR | NORM WILSON SR | 5 | 10.47 | ||
| 56 | CARSON CONKLIN | KEITH VERDICANNA | 5 | 10.44 | ||
| 56 | BLAIR COBBLE | TERRY COBBLE | 5 | 10.44 | ||
| 58 | JAMES WHITE | WAYNE ALBERTHAL | 5 | 10.40 | ||
| 59 | MATT HILL | BARRY MOTT | 5 | 10.33 | ||
| 60 | MICHAEL WALDROP | JARROD SANDERS | 5 | 10.29 | ||
| 61 | TREY GROCE | JOE BILL HALE | 5 | 10.27 | ||
| 62 | LANDRE WILSON | JIM WILSON | 5 | 10.25 | ||
| 63 | ANDREW OLIVER | DAVID STORER | 5 | 10.18 | ||
| 64 | CRAIG BULLOCK | DAVID BARATZ | 5 | 10.13 | ||
| 65 | DAVID LANDRY | EDDIE PELFREY | 4 | 10.02 | ||
| 66 | HUNTER ARTHUR | LEONARD PHILLIP | 5 | 9.93 | ||
| 67 | MATTHEW WHITTINGTON | DAVE MANGELSDORF | 5 | 9.87 | ||
| 68 | MIKE CEARLEY | DERON MUELLER JR | 5 | 9.67 | ||
| 69 | JOEY MARTIN | JACK IKONEN | 4 | 9.53 | ||
| 70 | BILL GUZMAN | TIM STEWART | 5 | 9.51 | ||
| 71 | DAVID DODSON | FRED MCWILLIAM | 5 | 9.38 | David Dodson-Shimano Loyalty Program-Curado K Reel | |
| 72 | CHUCK WARE | BOBBY WHITMIRE | 5 | 9.34 | ||
| 73 | SCOTT MEADS | TOM GRIDLEY | 5 | 9.32 | ||
| 74 | FELLER SMITH | HANK FRY | 4 | 9.29 | ||
| 75 | KEVIN THRESS | JUSTIN MAY | 5 | 9.28 | ||
| 76 | ANDER MEINE | JACOB LONG | 5 | 9.23 | ||
| 77 | JUSTIN HUMMEL | LEONARD DEBRASKA | 5 | 9.21 | ||
| 78 | JASON LARSON | JJ LARSON | 5 | 9.10 | ||
| 79 | PATRICK AMICK | WILSON AMICK | 5 | 9.09 | ||
| 80 | DAVID WENCIL | 5 | 9.08 | |||
| 81 | BRINTON HASKINS | JOHN ENCISO | 5 | 9.02 | ||
| 82 | CALEB WESTBROOK | WES JOHANNESSEN | 5 | 8.99 | ||
| 83 | LINO GUTIERREZ | RUBEN RIBERA | 4 | 8.86 | ||
| 84 | ADAM CLARK | JOSH LASSETER | 5 | 8.83 | ||
| 85 | MARK MITCHELL | WILL VAN DER HOVEN | 5 | 8.74 | ||
| 86 | COLT DIETZ | TODD IVINS | 5 | 8.67 | ||
| 87 | TONY THOMPSON | BENNETT COWAN | 5 | 8.65 | ||
| 88 | TOM WHITEHEAD | JAY JOHNSON | 3 | 8.61 | ||
| 89 | KYLE FORD | BOBBY RODRIGUEZ | 5 | 8.58 | ||
| 90 | SHAE SEALE | LARRY HOLYBEE | 5 | 8.45 | ||
| 90 | CHARLES YOUNG | RONNIE ANDREWS | 4 | 8.45 | ||
| 92 | JOHN MILLS | DAVID ACHILLES | 5 | 8.40 | ||
| 93 | GARY WEIMER | JEREMIAH WAFFORD | 5 | 8.09 | ||
| 94 | RICK HAMILTON | TONY MALDONADO | 5 | 7.97 | ||
| 95 | JAMES SCOGIN | ROLAND LOERA | 5 | 7.93 | ||
| 96 | STEVE HILL | CHARLES DORTCH | 4 | 7.66 | ||
| 97 | MICHAEL GLYNN | VICTOR MELLADO | 3 | 4.61 | 7.62 | |
| 98 | DAVID PEMBERTON | JEFF HAGER | 5 | 7.50 | ||
| 99 | BRUCE MARTIN | 4 | 7.37 | |||
| 100 | DAVID DELGADO | TRENT ERXLEBEN | 5 | 7.21 | ||
| 101 | RYAN BODE | ANDY WHITEHEAD | 5 | 7.15 | ||
| 102 | EDWARD HASHBARGER | ROWDI BIZZELL | 5 | 7.08 | ||
| 103 | CONNER ISELT | JOSH SOROKA | 5 | 7.06 | ||
| 104 | HUNTER OWENS | MASON BRYAN(Y) | 3 | 6.99 | ||
| 105 | JOEY KIRKLAND | LUPE CONTRERAS | 4 | 6.79 | ||
| 106 | DAVID HICKS | 5 | 6.16 | |||
| 107 | CHRIS WOEHL | CHRIS CLEMENTS | 4 | 5.98 | ||
| 108 | GROVER CHAMBLISS | JAMES MOORE | 4 | 5.84 | ||
| 109 | PHILLIP DOUBEK | ANDREW SWEET | 2 | 5.73 | ||
| 110 | ANTHONY GARCIA | ERIC GARCIA | 3 | 5.38 | ||
| 111 | CHRIS NORDSTROM | JEFF COURTNEY | 3 | 4.85 | ||
| 112 | MICHAEL MASTERS | ROBERT MASTERS | 2 | 4.75 | ||
| 113 | EDDIE HANSELER | SEAN HANSELER | 3 | 4.59 | ||
| 114 | JAKE MASSEY | MARTY MASSEY | 3 | 4.56 | ||
| 115 | ROBERT SCOTT | SHAWN VICKERS | 3 | 4.53 | ||
| 116 | JOSEPH MAUGHON | DAVION SPILLER(Y) | 4 | 4.31 | ||
| 117 | DUSTIN TRIMUAR | GARY SHARP | 3 | 4.04 | ||
| 118 | STEVE VAN MEETEREN | CINDY VAN MEETEREN | 2 | 3.90 | ||
| 119 | PRATT KRAMER | KATIE KRAMER | 2 | 3.81 | ||
| 120 | LORNE DORNAK | JIMMY LYNN | 2 | 3.78 | ||
| 121 | RORY HAECKER | DAVID PELATA | 2 | 3.29 | ||
| 122 | ROBERT BEARDMORE | ROBBIE BEARDMORE | 2 | 3.07 | ||
| 123 | BLAKE PAPST | JEFF PAPST | ||||
| 123 | CHAD LORENZEN | PEYTON SHIPMAN | ||||
| 123 | GERALD MUELLER | PAT MURPHY | ||||
| 123 | JAMES CANTWELL | RANDEL CANTWELL | ||||
| 123 | ERIC HAMEISTER | COREY JOHNSON | ||||
| 123 | MICKEY SANDERS | ROGER MEEK | ||||
| 123 | TOM PURSELL | KEITH BALKISSOON | ||||
| 123 | JAMES ROBERTS | DON GORDON | ||||
| 123 | ROBBIE THORSTEINSON | DAVID REID | ||||
| 123 | LARRY OWENS | ELMER OWENS | ||||
| 123 | CLIFTON WATTERS | DAVID SAPPINGTON | ||||
| 123 | SHANE SHERMAN | JAMES COMBS | ||||
| 123 | MIKE GROUNDS | KEN EVERETT | ||||
| 123 | BRENT SMITH | TAMMY SMITH | ||||
| 123 | PAUL REYNOLDS | BRIAN HOLMES | ||||
| 123 | GARY RAESZ | ANDY RIBERA | ||||
| 123 | MARK RIBERA | ANTHONY RIBERA | ||||
| 123 | ALLEN GASS | JASON STAFFORD | ||||
| 123 | RANDY ROE | TRACEY EDGAR | ||||
| 123 | MATT HUDSON | ALBERT HUDSON | ||||
| 123 | SEAN TROTTER | ALLEN SIEGL | ||||
| 123 | TYLER NUGENT | MICHAEL NUGENT | ||||
| 123 | SCOTT ROSS | MICHAEL FREEMAN | ||||
| 123 | ROBBY PAYNE | |||||
| 123 | STEPHEN MALINA | TRAVIS PROFFITT | ||||
| 123 | RONALD SISK | JOHNNY MATTHEWS | ||||
| 123 | DAN TAYLOR | ERIC FIDDLER | ||||
| 123 | JOSH COX | KEN BAILEY | ||||
| 123 | PETER RAYOS | JERRIS RAYOS | ||||
| 123 | ANDY TISCHLER | ADAM WYBORNY | ||||
| 123 | BRYAN RICHARDS | MAT KEVIL | ||||
| 123 | DEREK TAYLOR | JOHN-MICHAEL DUNAWAY | ||||
| 123 | DAVID MILLER | KEANU BRADY | ||||
| 123 | TOM LORDEN | ANDY ZAVALA | ||||
| 123 | JOHN KAPALDO | DONNIE WEBER | ||||
| 123 | RICHARD GIBSON | DANIEL GIBSON | ||||
| 123 | MICAH KIRKHART | DAN BECKMEYER | ||||
| 123 | BRYAN REECE | LACOUNTE MURRAY | ||||
| 123 | LUIS CLAVELL | MAVEN CLAVELL(Y) | ||||
| 123 | MARCUS SAMANIEGO | KELLY MAULDIN | ||||
| 123 | TRAVIS JARETT | CRUZ ISAAC | ||||
| 123 | TOM GUIDRY | JR BRIANT | ||||
| 123 | ANTHONY GOODSON | CHARLES MEREDITH | ||||
| 123 | PATRICK ANDERSON | |||||
| 123 | JOE LOOZE | DYLAN LOOZE | ||||
| 123 | TRAVIS COCKERHAM | ROGER CYR | ||||
| 123 | LOGAN CLARK | MIKE CLARK | ||||
| 123 | MARK BULLOCK | BRYAN GANO | ||||
| 123 | BRANDON KITCHENS | JEFFREY PIEL | ||||
| 123 | MARK BENNETT | CASEY BENNETT | ||||
| 123 | STEVE MAGNELIA | MIKE HASTINGS | ||||
| 123 | BRIAN VENDETTI JR | BRIAN VENDETTI SR | ||||
| 123 | MICHAEL KILE | |||||
| 123 | BRANDON DAY | CADE WILSON | ||||
| 123 | CHRISTOPHER WASHINGTON | JARRID HOHENSEE | ||||
| 123 | ERIK SCHMIDT | BRANDON RASCHKE | ||||
| 123 | SAM MORROW | PAYMON HABIB | ||||
| 123 | JAMES VALCHAR | MICHAEL HARRIS(Y) | ||||
| 123 | DAVID FULLER | RUSSELL TRUITT | ||||
| 123 | BRENNAN FERTIG | PRESTON PHILLIPS | ||||
| 123 | CHUCK BROOKE | TYLER ELLIS | ||||
| 123 | WILL BERNHARD | BEAU KAISER | ||||
| 123 | JOE BRAY | CHARLES HICE | ||||
| 123 | KEN WILKINS | RICHIE LAND | ||||
| 123 | JOHNNY JOHNSON | COLE JOHNSON | ||||
| 123 | THEO SOLANO | ERIC SOLANO | ||||
| 123 | RANDAL FRISBIE | TYLER TORWICK | ||||
| 123 | DANIEL PARK | BASS HAMILTON | ||||
| 123 | TIM BRUDER | DEWAYNE MILLEGAN | ||||
| 123 | RALPH ANDERSON | PETE HUGHEY | ||||
| 123 | LEE EVANS | WADE MEHAFFEY | ||||
| 123 | CODY SMITH | CHUCK SMITH | ||||
| 123 | MARY POSTELL | JUSTIN POSTELL | ||||
| 123 | TONY ACEVEDO | RYAN WORMLEY | Costas Conservation Bonus - Two Pairs of Costa Sunglasses | |||
| 123 | SHAWN TAMEZ | CRAIG CORDOVA | Craig Cordova-Shimano Loyalty Program Winner-Curado K Reel |
Kansas State Dominates Bassmaster College Series Classic On Keowee Docks
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Diligence Rewards Floyd And Gibbons With Bassmaster High School Classic Win
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Lew’s Unveils their Lightest, Toughest Reel to Date
Some people spend their entire life chasing perfection. With the new Team Lew’s Pro-Ti SLP, they just might have caught it.
The 2018 Bassmaster Classic on Lake Hartwell is hosting the top 52 anglers in the world. The buzz on the water is what areas will produce, what baits will be key and which angler will be able to put it all together for the $300,000 pay day and the lifelong title of Bassmaster Classic Champion. At the Bassmaster Classic Expo however, the buzz revolves around one thing – the new Team Lew’s Pro- Ti SLP baitcast reel.
Combining a one-piece aluminum frame and aluminum side plates with Titanium composition, this reel is the lightest, toughest reel ever produced by the legendary Lew’s brand to date. Hard aluminum alloy Speed Gears that have been cut on the finest Hamai CNC gear hobbing machine provide precision gear mesh that maximizes smoothness and durability. A premium 11 bearing system with double-shielded Stainless Steel ball bearings and a Zero Reverse one-way clutch bearing add to the smoothness and durability of this reel.
Not only is the new Pro-Ti SLP light and tough, but it’s also extremely user friendly to make the angler’s day on the water a success. The proprietary brake shoe geometry of the externally adjustable 6-pin, 27-position QuietCast Adjustable Centrifugal Braking System (ACB) means a quieter and smoother braking system. The exclusive and patented Speed Dial® line indicator means no more forgetting what type of line is spooled on each reel, and the patented Speed Keeper® hook keeper provides a convenient place to keep baits at the ready when not in use.
Lew’s will be unveiling the new Team Lew’s Pro-Ti SLP in Lew’s booth #3212 at the 2018 Bassmater Classic Expo at the TD Convention Center in Greenville, SC. Stop by the booth each day of the event for prizes, giveaway and to get a sneak peek at this new reel which will be available everywhere in Fall 2018.
The new Team Lew’s Pro-Ti SLP is offered in both left and right-handed models with a 7.5:1 gear ratio and will sell at an MSRP of $349.99.
Bassmaster Classic Draws Record Attendance To South Carolina’s Upstate
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Jordan Lee Becomes Third Angler To Score Back-to-Back Bassmaster Classic Victories
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Texas' Twin Buttes Reservoir Produces 13.40-Pound Share-Lunker Largemouth
AUSTIN – For the first time in more than 28 years, Twin Buttes Reservoir near San Angelo has produced a Toyota ShareLunkerlargemouth bass exceeding 13 pounds. Angler Austin Terry of San Angelo caught the 13.40 pound, 25 ¾ inch Legacy Class lunker on a Santone spinnerbait ½ ounce red river special in less than 4 feet of water at the lake March 14.
“The lake is fishing really good and there are a lot of big ones biting right now,” Terry said. “To catch a ShareLunker is pretty cool – especially for a lake where there was only 2 to 4 feet of water in there a few years ago. It’s hard to believe that there are fish that big in there.”
ShareLunker 574 is the fourth Legacy Class entry of the season and the first to come out of a lake other than Lake Fork.
“Lake Fork has been whipping everybody this year with Legacy Class entries,” said John Ingle, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) Senior Fisheries Technician. “So we are pretty excited for a lake in our (San Angelo) district to produce the first 13 pound or larger ShareLunker entry outside of Lake Fork. We know these fish are out there but the anglers just have to catch them.”
The last time the reservoir produced a ShareLunker entry was in 1989, when angler David Zak caught ShareLunker 43 – a 13.00 pound, 20 inch bass. TPWD inland fisheries staff say although the fishing can be challenging in West Texas due to drought, double digit bass can be found in many area reservoirs.
“One of our struggles in West Texas is chronic drought,” said Lynn Wright, TPWD Inland Fisheries District Supervisor for San Angelo. “But despite the low water levels the bass populations are doing great out here, as evidenced by that ShareLunker. I think a lot of people are going to take notice and we may see an uptick in fishing pressure up here in West Texas.”
ShareLunker 574 was transported to the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens where hatchery staff will monitor and care for her in preparation for spawning. Also in the “Lunker Bunker” are the three other Legacy Class entries of the season from Lake Fork: Toyota ShareLunker 573, a 13.06 largemouth bass caught by angler Alex Finch March 11; Toyota ShareLunker 572, a 13.00 pound largemouth bass caught by angler Michael Terrebonne March 8; and Toyota ShareLunker 571, a 15.48 pound largemouth bass caught by angler John LaBove March 2.
Texas anglers who catch a 13 pound or larger largemouth bass can loan the fish to the Toyota ShareLunker program for spawning through March 31.
Every angler who loans a 13 pound or larger Legacy Class bass to the Toyota ShareLunker program during the spawning period Jan. 1 to March 31 will receive a Toyota ShareLunker Catch Kit containing branded merchandise and fishing tackle items, a 13lb+ Legacy decal, VIP access to awards programming at the Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest, a replica of their fish, and an entry into the year-end ShareLunker Prize Drawing to win a $5,000 shopping spree and an annual fishing license. These anglers will also be entered into the Legacy Class Prize Drawing for a $5,000 shopping spree and an annual fishing license at the end of the spawning period March 31.
The Toyota ShareLunker Program is made possible by a grant to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation from Gulf States Toyota. Toyota is a longtime supporter of the Foundation and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, providing major funding for a wide variety of education, fish, parks and wildlife projects.
For updates on the Toyota ShareLunker program and to view photos of all of the 13-pound-plus largemouth bass caught this season, visit https://www.facebook.com/ShareLunkerprogram or https://texassharelunker.com/.
Jordan Lee Becomes a Bass Fishing Icon at Age 26
Jordan Lee has only won two professional bass fishing tournaments in his short 26 years on earth – but both of them are Bassmaster Classic wins – and in doing so, stakes his claim as one of the most iconic anglers in bass fishing history.
The younger of the Lee Brothers turned a mediocre practice into back-to-back Classic winning history. A feat achieved only by Rick Clunn and Kevin VanDam in the prestigious event’s 48 year history.
“In my wildest dreams, I never thought winning the Classic was going to happen this week, and this just goes to prove you can’t really plan on winning,” says Lee, who holds a degree in marketing from Auburn.
“It really is overwhelming. I’ve never won a Bassmaster Open. I’ve never won an Elite Series. So I guess there’s just something about this tournament for me,” he pondered.
He never really got dialed into a pattern in practice, so he essentially “junk fished” his way to the $300,000 win with a mix of jerkbaiting while his boat sat in 35 feet of water, to skipping a soft plastic Strike King stick bait rigged Neko style around docks.
His primary rods and reels on the final day were a pair of 7’ 2” medium heavy Quantum Vapor spinning rods, paired to Quantum Smoke S3 and Inshore spinning reels.
“I didn’t have a game plan. I didn’t have one magical spot. I knew as warm as the weather was the docks were going to be a player, and today I saw tons of big bass suspending under every dock – it was just amazing to see that,” says Lee.
It’s also amazing to see a 26-year-old solidify himself as one of the greatest bass anglers in history, but that’s exactly what the former Carhartt Bassmaster College Series champ proved by becoming only the third man in 48 years to win back-to-back Bassmaster Classics.
Jordan Lee - Back to Back Classic Champ!!!
Story by Vance McCullough / Photos by Caden Brown
Jordan Lee is your 2018 Bassmaster Classic Champ! With a total weight of 47 pounds, 1 ounce, Lee rocketed from back in the pack with a 16-pound, 5-ounce final round effort to win a 2nd consecutive Classic title.
Today’s exploits were reminiscent of last year’s heroics on Lake Conroe, though Lee started today in 6th not 13th as was the case on Conroe. Still, he was six-and-a-half pounds behind Jason Christie who had maintained a stranglehold on the leaderboard for two days.
Once again, the leader left the door open and, again, Lee stepped right through.
For Christie it was another final day stumble on the sport’s biggest stage, his 3rd in recent years.
“We don’t get do-overs in our sport,” said Christie who lost some fish that would have helped him. He stands by his game plan and his effort. “If I had caught 11 pounds somebody would have caught 18 and won it. I did all I could do.”
Christie finished 3rd with 45-15.
Fishermen are an optimistic lot. Especially tournament anglers. Everybody waited for Lake Hartwell to gush forth big sacks of bass at some point this week. That day never came. Most of the top pros feel as though they had been bluffed when the cards were finally revealed.
Brent Ehrler finished 2nd, exactly 1 pound behind Lee. He split time between chasing elusive largemouth in the shallows and catching slightly more dependable spots in the depths. Had he just stuck with spots, he believes he would be the Classic Champion now.
“I wasted four hours yesterday trying to catch largemouth with the cloudy conditions,” said Ehrler. “I should have spent that time fishing for spots. But I thought, with the weight Christie had, that I needed to catch a big bag to win.”
Even Lee didn’t think he had a legitimate shot at winning today. “I just wanted to fish a good tournament and fish the way I want to fish. The way I was fishing this week, typically is not the winning pattern here this time of year.”
He skipped docks with a Strike King Ocho on a spinning rod during the final round. When heavy pre-spawn females staged beneath floating platforms today, Lee was in the right place at the right time to catch just what he needed to become a back-to-back Classic Champion.
The first two days were dominated by 3 Oklahomans, Christie, Edwin Evers, and James Elam, along with Micah Frazier of Georgia. They were all fishing a similar pattern – targeting shallow cover with bladed jigs.
Looking back at it, Frazier wonders if they fished shallow enough on the final day. Many feel the fish may have moved right past the staging cover and rushed to bedding areas that were, in some cases, inches deep.
Jacob Powroznik and John Cox both caught sight fish.
Powroznik wacky-rigged them from around docks.
Cox though, saw some swimming almost in the dirt. “I saw a 7-pounder about 20 feet from a bed, just looking at the male. I cast to her and her gills flared. I missed her and got nauseous. It was very late in the day. She would have helped.”
Cox reported seeing other bass over 4 pounds up shallow today as well.
In contrast, each of the pros on the ‘Oklahoma Plan’ thought he had to simply out-hustle the others instead of changing to finesse tactics under today’s bright, calm conditions. In essence, they psyched each other out. “If I had known the weights were as low as they were, I’d have fished differently,” admitted Frazier.
Lee not only switched tactics from the jerkbait he had been throwing to the Ocho, but he also ran to new water. “I went into a pocket I hadn’t fished all week and they were under every dock.”
While filming The Progressive Bass Wrap Up TV Show today, AnglersChannel.com was fortunate to ride Lake Hartwell with Forrest Wood Cup Champion, Brad Knight. Knight told us that the floating docks, specifically, the black plastic support floats upon which the platforms rest, would radiate solar heat and draw big female bass to stage beneath them. He showed us such a dock as we broke down the shallow cover options available to Classic competitors this week. You can see that on an upcoming episode.
Jordan Lee saw it for himself and slammed the door on the leaders.
The young pro has developed a serious reputation as a guy who can close the deal. And he is wise for his age. This week he didn’t need any gaudy weight. Just a consistent effort.
Congrats to Lee for another impressive showing!
Christie And Evers Still Top The Bassmaster Classic Leaderboard On Lake Hartwell
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