AC Insider Podcast - ICAST Edition - Part 1
In a special 2 part series this week, Chris & Jason talk about the newly released 2019 Bassmaster Elite Schedule, New Product Launches at ICAST and more as ICAST Week, The Fishing Industries Biggest Week, Kicks off in Orlando, Florida.
Humminbird® Gives Anglers Ability to Share AutoChart® Live Map Intelligence with New Service – AutoChart LiveShare
RACINE, Wis., July 10, 2018 – Today Humminbird® announces a new extension of its AutoChart® Live mapping capability – AutoChart LiveShare. LiveShare is a free online service that allows Humminbird users to download AutoChart Live mapping information from others and add it to their own map collection, as well as upload their own AutoChart Live sonar data to a global community. AutoChart LiveShare reinforces Humminbird’s commitment to providing enhanced mapping capabilities to anglers around the world.
Launched in 2015, AutoChart Live gives anglers the ability to map the depth, vegetation and changing bottom hardness of their favorite body of water. This data can be used to add details to existing LakeMaster® maps, or obtain information on bodies of water unavailable in the Humminbird LakeMaster collection. Until now, the only way anglers could share this valuable information was by physically copying the data from an AutoChart Zero Line Map Card. LiveShare changes this dramatically.
How it works is simple - Anglers go to the AutoChart LiveShare website – https://chartselect.humminbird.com/liveshare – and open a free account to gain access to the service. Choose to upload AutoChart Live map information from their Zero Line map card, or, select any available mapping data and move it to a Zero Line Map Card. This information can be used in AutoChart Live-compatible Humminbird fish finders, where anglers can target key depths or pair it with an i-Pilot® Link™-equipped Minn Kota® trolling motor to follow any depth contour line.
“AutoChart Live puts the power in anglers’ hands to map the depths of uncharted waters,” said Ray Schaffart, Humminbird brand manager. “Adding the capability to share this information with fellow anglers around the world creates a community that is the backbone to real-time map availability. It also makes our technology shareable among millions of Humminbird owners, whether they fish freshwater or saltwater.”
Anglers can easily create an AutoChart LiveShare account or, if they have a ChartSelect® account, they can sign in today. In order to utilize the LiveShare service, you must have a HELIX® 12, 10 or 9 model, a GPS-equipped HELIX 7/5 G2/G2N, or any SOLIX® or ONIX® model, along with an AutoChart Zero Line map card. For users that do not have a compatible unit, you can still participate by uploading Humminbird track files and viewing LiveShare information on the website.
For more information on Humminbird’s AutoChart LiveShare, visit Humminbird.com.
About Humminbird
JOHNSON OUTDOORS FISHING is comprised of the Minn Kota®, Cannon® and Humminbird® brands. Minn Kota® is the world’s leading manufacturer of electric trolling motors, as well as a complete line of shallow water anchors, battery chargers and marine accessories. Humminbird® is a leading global innovator and manufacturer of marine electronics products including fish finders, multifunction displays, autopilots, ice flashers, and premium cartography products. Cannon® is the leader in controlled-depth fishing and includes a full line of downrigger products and accessories.
Visit Humminbird at http://www.humminbird.com
JOHNSON OUTDOORS is a leading global outdoor recreation company that inspires more people to experience the awe of the great outdoors with innovative, top-quality products. The company designs, manufactures and markets a portfolio of winning, consumer-preferred brands across four categories: Watercraft, Fishing, Diving and Camping.
Visit Johnson Outdoors at www.johnsonoutdoors.com
2019 Bassmaster Elite Series Schedule Highlighting a Western Swing and Three New Venues
|
The New Gold Standard in Fluorocarbon - From Seaguar
Seaguar unveils Gold Label 100% fluorocarbon leader at ICAST 2018
New York, NY (July 9, 2018) - Fishing in saltwater is the ultimate test – of mental and physical toughness, and of tackle, from lure to rod and reel and everything in between. Oversized predators that swim in briny waters are experts at exploiting the weakest link in that long chain, in an effort to gain their freedom from an angler’s grasp. All too often, that inadequacy resides within the leader, linking the main line to an artificial or living bait, a leader that isn’t ready for what lies ahead.
But those days are over.
Seaguar, the world’s foremost authority and originators of 100% fluorocarbon fishing lines, is poised to introduce the thinnest, strongest leader material ever made. A leader with exceptional knot and tensile strength, complementing its innate abrasion resistance. A leader that is ready to withstand the rigors of saltwater predators and their unforgiving environment. A leader that will change the way you think about fluorocarbon
At ICAST 2018, Seaguar will unveil Gold Label.
Seaguar Gold Label is designed to exceed the expectations of the most demanding saltwater anglers. The first superlative you’ll notice with Gold Label is that this 100% fluorocarbon leader is exceptionally thin. Indeed, for any particular break test rating, Seaguar Gold Label is as much as 23% thinner than any other 100% fluorocarbon leader made by Seaguar.
Why does using the thinnest diameter in a 100% fluorocarbon leader matter? Mark Davis, Seaguar pro angler and host of BigWater Adventures TV, encapsulates the advantages by noting that, “the thinnest diameter leader at any pound test rating means that with Gold Label, I can make extremely stealthy presentations without the leader impeding the bait’s natural action and bite-triggering abilities.” Baits rigged on Seaguar Gold Label will swim more naturally, triggering more bites and putting more fish in the box than ever before.
Don’t let Gold Label’s industry-leading thin diameters fool you; it retains the same legendary knot and tensile strength that characterizes Seaguar leaders. Davis remarks that, “knots that I tie with Gold Label cinch down like a dream. I typically tie FG knots for my braid-to-leader connections; because Gold Label is so thin and manageable, those knots are easier to tie than ever. They are incredibly compact and bullet-proof. And the Palomar knots that I use for lures – they are 100% reliable.” Gold Label’s high tensile strength means that the leader won’t fail when put under extreme stress, like a powerful hookset into a bony mouth, or a short-range battle with a finned opponent. “You’ve seen what happens when a big predator fish is boatside, especially on relatively light tackle: pandemonium! With Gold Label, I already know how the battle is going to end: with that fish, and all of its attitude, on board.”
Each of these Gold Label advantages complements the well-established benefits of 100% fluorocarbon leaders, attributes that result in more strikes and more fish landed. Fluorocarbon is far more abrasion-resistant than monofilament leaders, incredibly important when pulling fish out of reefs, wrecks, rocks, and dock pilings. In addition, fluorocarbon leaders are virtually invisible beneath the surface, a result of the leader’s index of refraction which nearly matches that of water. Davis notes that, “with Gold Label, the visibility is even lower than that of other fluorocarbon leaders, simply because Gold Label is so much thinner. That’s a game-changer!”
Gold Label’s paradigm-shifting characteristics are made possible because Seaguar, the originators of fluorocarbon fishing lines, is still the only company that completely controls every aspect of fluorocarbon line production, from resin development and preparation to extrusion, winding and packaging. Indeed, Gold Label is prepared using Seaguar’s proprietary co-extrusion method that yields a unique Double-Structure leader. This exclusive process unites two different fluorocarbon resins: a strong, sensitive fluorocarbon core and a soft, supple, fluorocarbon exterior, into the finest leader available, one that has earned the title of Gold Label. This is not hype or hyperbole; it’s science and fact.
Seaguar Gold Label will be released in six versatile pound test ratings, ranging from 15 lb test to 40 lb test, on 25 yard spools. Look for Seaguar Gold Label on shelves in early 2019 with MSRP $18.99-34.99 depending on pound test.
Mark Davis concludes by noting that, “big fish aren’t lost, they are given away. With Gold Label, I’m not giving those memory-makers away; I’m turning them into TV stars instead.” Seaguar Gold Label sets the new standard in premium 100% fluorocarbon leaders – fish it once, and you’ll understand why Seaguar Gold Label is Always The Best!
About Seaguar Fishing Lines
As the inventors of fluorocarbon fishing lines in 1971, Seaguar has played a prominent role in the advancement of technologies to improve the performance of lines and leader materials for both fresh and saltwater anglers. Seaguar is the only manufacturer of fluorocarbon fishing lines that produces its own resins and controls the manufacturing process from start to finished product. Today, Seaguar is the #1 brand of fluorocarbon lines and offers a full spectrum of premium products including fluorocarbon mainlines and leader material, fly tippet and leaders, 8-strand and 16-strand braid and monofilament fishing lines.
Minn Kota® Launches New Trolling Motors with Built-In MEGA Down Imaging™
|
||||
|
Pickwick Lake Announced As The Site For 2018 B.A.S.S. Nation Championship
|
|
Roller-Coaster
Luke Estel
Just when you think you have it all figured out, reality sets in and it feels like you are going back to square one. Tournament fishing for most of us is like that. We are on a roll and then, BAM, it’s over. There was a point in my so called career where I had it figured out on my home lake. Cashing checks and winning every now and then was the norm. Now, it seems like I couldn’t even catch a fish in a pay lake. Times change, fish move, fishermen become better, old honey holes no longer produce, and so on. So the million dollar question is this, “How do I get out of this slump?” I don’t have all the answers but I do have a few suggestions on how I have handled it.
First off, do not think you are invincible. Yes, confidence is key but there are wolves chasing you all the time and they are hungry. Realize that you have to adapt to either your lake or fishing pressure differently than you do now. Advancements in technology helps anglers become better in a short amount of time. It used to take years on the water, now it takes a week to figure out where they are. So, outsmart the competition. Try different approaches, and yes try to learn new techniques.
No excuses! The fish didn’t leave the lake. You may just be fishing it the wrong way. On my home lake the traditional brush piles that held good bass are no longer. We have grass growing in ten to twelve feet of water now so there is no reason for a bass to leave it. Last year I refused to believe that and got it handed to me over and over. This year I started out the same way and came in with a big fat 0 in the first event. I finally had enough and went out and did something different and guess what, I caught fish and ended up third. I fished grass edges with a Strike King Magnum Cut-R worm instead of going deep with a crankbait or big jig. I didn’t want to do it at first, but after two quick keepers in the boat, my mind quickly changed.
A fish’s brain is small. We obviously are much more intelligent than they are so why are we over complicating fishing? I tend to over think things too much when in reality it’s just a fish. I started fishing tournaments with two junky rods and a small tackle box full of worms and old crankbaits and caught them just as good as I do now. Just fish! It sounds dumb but that’s really all it is.
Start having fun again. I am a fierce competitor and hate losing but I started this whole tournament deal because I loved it. We tend to let that slip away over time. Start getting it back. Fish because you love it, not because you have to win a check. Things will slowly turn back around in your favor.
In my mind, my Uncle Paul is still one of the best fisherman I know. Now in his late 70’s he still does well in tournaments. He can’t read a graph, he doesn’t have the best boat, his hook set is worse than my daughters, but somehow always manages to catch them. And the answer is simple, he just goes fishing.
Tournament fishing is alike a roller-coaster. Ride the ups and downs and never give up. Make it fun again and go catch them.
Rhino Hitch - When you've got a lot "Going on"
Rhino Hitch in simple terms is the most Versatile Adjustable Hitch on the Market. Period. No other truck hitch gives you the flexibility of the Convert-a-ball system along with the adjustability that is unheard of in the towing industry.
AC President Chris Brown tows mulitple trailers on any given week and he needs a quick, reliable, and adjustable hitch to help him get the job down in a proficient manner. Brown has been using the Rhino Hitch since early March and he literally threw away his other "adjustable" receiver. "It was such a pain in the butt to adjust, one trailer tows at one point and another is either lower or higher. It was messy and frankly a pain. The Rhino Hitch's adjustability and ease of use is unparalleled and you'll never see my truck without one."
Matt Becker - 2018 FLW Rookie of the Year!
Vance McCullough / Photo Courtesy of FLW
“It was a cold 10-hour drive home from Cumberland Lake,” said Matt Becker. “I told myself ‘I’m never going to do that again’.” The eventual 2018 FLW Tour Rookie of the Year was facing the steep side of the learning curve.
With a 154th-place finish at Cumberland, Becker had dropped himself precipitously down the standings after having started strong. At the next stop on Smith Lake he showed the resilience needed to win a ROY title.
“I’m pretty proud of myself for that event. I figured it out as the tournament was going on and I made a Top 10. I learned from my mistakes at Cumberland – not adjusting – I made those adjustments at Smith and was able to dial it in.
“It was more a matter of changing with the weather conditions. At Cumberland I had a good practice and I got too dialed into a pattern and didn’t adjust quickly enough. And that really haunts me.”
By the time the Tour came to his region for the finale on Lake St Clair Becker had all but put the ROY award out of his mind. “It was the goal going into the season but, just being the realist I am, after a couple of bad tournaments I kind of figured it was out of the question so I wasn’t thinking a whole lot about it going into the last tournament I was more focused on qualifying for the Forrest Wood Cup, but I managed to do all of it.”
Becker knew he would need help to win ROY. “The leader, Sheldon Collings was going to have to stumble. When he came in with a light bag the first day that’s when it finally hit me that it was even possible. Day 2 is a day I will never forget. I got out there and the wind was calm, it was a beautiful morning. I got to catching fish right away. I caught enough to seal up Rookie of the Year, a check in the tournament and to make the Cup in the first hour. It was an extremely relaxed day.”
Becker caught his St Clair fish a couple miles out in the lake. They were on a mayfly hatch and he tossed a Keitech swimbait on a dropshot rig to catch them.
Becker had to fight off some self-doubt during his rookie season. “Looking back now I can see some turning points that made my year. On Kentucky Lake I struggled the first day – only caught one fish. The next day I had 4 pretty early and then went back to struggling again and the voices got to talking to me, said ‘hey, you’re gonna bomb this tournament. You’re gonna fall out of cup contention.’ All that stuff. Then late in the day I caught the big fish of the day, a 7-and-a-half-pounder. Which, now looking back, that bumped me up 40-something spots in the points. Without those points I wouldn’t have made the Cup. I wouldn’t have won Rookie of the Year.
“That single fish sticks out to me as a pretty important hookset this year.”
Success has come quickly for the 26-year-old from the Pittsburg, PA suburbs. “Last year was my first jump into the AAA level. I fished the Costa Series. That worked out well. I was Top 10 in the points so I was able to fish the Tour this year. That worked out pretty good so, hopefully, we’ve got a decent future ahead of us here.”
Winning ROY has given Becker some momentum which he hopes to ride into the Cup on l
Lake Ouachita next month. “It’s definitely a confidence booster. I’m feeling good heading into it. I’m fishing good right now. My mind is clear so hopefully we can keep it rolling at the Cup.”
Becker has never seen Lake Ouachita but he plans to make a scouting trip soon before it goes off limits. “I’ve never seen the lake. I haven’t even looked at it much on the map because I was more focused on qualifying than on doing research on it prior to making it so I’ve got some work to do the next couple of weeks.”
If Becker catches them on Ouachita he will likely do so with a Keitech swimbait, the lure he has leaned on most heavily this year. He has used different sizes of the lure on spinning gear and baitcasters. He has used it on everything from a dropshot to a quarter-ounce Bass Cave Custom Tackle jig head. “You can find them at BassCaveTackle.com. They have a very unique jig head with a screw lock on the hook shank so once you get the bait rigged on there it does not come off. It saves you time when you’re on the water.”
Becker also bragged on his Mercury Pro XS as an advantage he enjoyed on Tour. “It ran flawlessly all year, kept me fishing. I never had an issue with it. You’ve got to have confidence in your equipment like that.”
OSAGE BEACH’S SYKORA WINS T-H MARINE FLW BFL OZARK DIVISION TOURNAMENT ON LAKE OF THE OZARKS
Dixon’s Fierce Takes Co-angler Title
WARSAW, Mo. (July 2, 2018) – Boater Marcus Sykora of Osage Beach, Missouri, brought five bass to the scale Saturday weighing 18 pounds, 3 ounces, to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Ozark Division tournament on Lake of the Ozarks – his 11th career BFL victory, third-most all-time. For his efforts, Sykora pocketed $4,871.
Sykora made a long run from takeoff to the Grand Glaize arm of the lake, near Osage Beach, and worked through brush piles in 10 to 15 feet of water to catch his fish. He said he rotated between a ½-ounce Davenport Special-colored Chompers Brush Jig with a Root Beer Green Flake-colored Chompers Double Tail Grub trailer, a Texas-rigged green-pumpkin Zoom Brush Hog and a Gizzard Shad-colored Sixth Sense Cloud 9 Series C15 crankbait.
“I fished the jig or the Brush Hog first and then ran the crankbait before I’d leave,” said Sykora, who earned his seventh career win on Lake of the Ozarks. “I threw the jig because there was a bream spawn going on and it looks similar to one, but sometimes they wanted something bulkier like the Brush Hog.”
Sykora said he caught 10 keepers throughout the day.
“I probably hit 50 or 60 different piles,” said Sykora. “That’s what made the crankbait good. I could fish faster and cover more water, especially after that long run. It was about 172 miles round trip, but it paid off.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Marcus Sykora, Osage Beach, Mo., five bass, 18-3, $4,871
2nd: Stan Tucker, Festus, Mo., five bass, 17-12, $1,935
3rd: Mark Tucker, Kirkwood, Mo., five bass, 17-11, $1,224
4th: Jamie Edge, Pittsburg, Mo., five bass, 17-5, $1,326
5th: Rob Bueltmann, Osage Beach, Mo., five bass, 16-11, $734
6th: Wesley Myers, Raytown, Mo., five bass, 16-4, $673
7th: Brian Hansen, Fenton, Mo., five bass, 16-0, $612
8th: Andre Dickneite, Freeburg, Mo., five bass, 15-14, $551
9th: Brad Jelinek, Deepwater, Mo., five bass, 15-9, $489
10th: Darrell Durham, Saint Peters, Mo., five bass, 15-7, $428
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Edge brought a 6-pound, 3-ounce, bass to the scale – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $470.
Christopher Fierce of Dixon, Missouri, won the Co-angler Division and $1,835 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 15 pounds, 8 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Christopher Fierce, Dixon, Mo., five bass, 15-8, $1,835
2nd: Spencer Clark, Maryland Heights, Mo., five bass, 15-7, $918
3rd: Lane Becker, Steelville, Mo., five bass, 14-13, $612
4th: Kit Lueg, Olathe, Kan., three bass, 12-14, $428
5th: Jared McBride, Rolla, Mo., five bass, 12-13, $367
6th: Walter Hammond, Lees Summit, Mo., four bass, 12-4, $336
7th: Bobby Dennison, St. Louis, Mo., three bass, 9-2, $306
8th: David Jones, Mackinaw, Ill., four bass, 8-6, $275
9th: William Hoffert, Columbia, Mo., two bass, 7-5, $229
9th: Tom Lloyd, Springfield, Mo., three bass, 7-5, $429
Steve Heitman of Osage Beach, Missouri, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division weighing in at 5 pounds, 9 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $235.
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 and Barkley lakes 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. 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.
VIRGINIA’S BAKER WINS T-H MARINE FLW BFL SHENANDOAH DIVISION TOURNAMENT ON KERR LAKE
Maryland’s Kyte Grabs Co-angler Title
HENDERSON, N.C. (July 2, 2018) – Boater Ronnie Baker of Providence Forge, Virginia, brought five bass to the scale Saturday weighing 14 pounds, 1 ounce, to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Shenandoah Division tournament on Kerr Lake. Baker earned $4,479 for his win.
Baker spent his day in Nutbush Creek, fishing main-lake points in 12 to 16 feet of water. He said he rotated through 8 to 10 different points and caught five keepers.
“I didn’t get many bites. I knew eight of the points had bait on them, so I concentrated on those and caught a fish every hour and a half or so,” said Baker, who earned his first career win in FLW competition. “I spent two of my three practice days fishing shallow, but didn’t catch many quality-sized fish. On Friday, I stayed deep and had a couple quality bites. That told me what I needed to do to win.”
Baker said he primarily threw a custom ½-ounce green-pumpkin and purple-colored Surfside Bait & Tackle football-head jig. He also weighed one on an American Shad-colored Lucky Craft G Splash topwater bait.
“I fished the jig by hopping it a little bit, and they’d hit it when it was moving. The bites were so few and far between it was hard to get a rhythm going,” said Baker. “I did drift off and fish some floating docks and bream beds during lulls to make sure I wasn’t missing out on anything, but by the end of the day I was committed to the deep bite.
“The water was rough, but I didn’t have any dead fish penalties,” Baker went on to say. “It was like a washing machine out there, but my BassCat’s big livewell kept the fish alive and healthy.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Ronnie Baker, Providence Forge, Va., five bass, 14-1, $4,479
2nd: Rick Tilley, Moneta, Va., five bass, 13-10, $2,140
3rd: Martin Villa, Charlottesville, Va., five bass, 13-3, $1,726
4th: Steven Wiseman, Bryans Road, Md., five bass, 12-0, $1,098
5th: Rick McFaul, Phoenix, Md., five bass, 11-6, $856
6th: Jack Dice, Lynchburg, Va., five bass, 11-3, $785
7th: Keith Joyce, Apex, N.C., four bass, 11-2, $713
8th: Jonathan Kelley, Old Forge, Pa., five bass, 10-12, $642
9th: K.C. Choosakul, Sandford, N.C., five bass, 10-11, $571
10th: Nicholas Bodsford, Bon Air, Va., five bass, 10-7, $499
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Jason Houchins of Clarksville, Virginia, brought a bass weighing 5 pounds, 3 ounces, to the scale – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $605.
William Kyte of Waldorf, Maryland, won the Co-angler Division and $2,140 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 14 pounds, 5 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: William Kyte, Waldorf, Md., five bass, five bass, 14-5, $2,140
2nd: Michael Trivette, Blackstone, Va., five bass, 10-4, $1,070
3rd: James Covington, Fredericksburg, Va., three bass, 9-14, $1,014
4th: Joshua Hertzog, Lititz, Pa., five bass, 9-11, $499
5th: Daryl Moody, Newport News, Va., four bass, 9-0, $428
6th: Cornell Badra, Clarksburg, Md., five bass, 8-11, $492
7th: Chris Whittaker, Waverly, Va., five bass, 8-6, $407
8th: Lucas Doucet, Lanham, Md., five bass, 7-11, $321
9th: David DeCiucis, Chester, Va., three bass, 7-8, $285
10th: David Williams, Fredericksburg, Va., three bass, 7-1, $250
Covington caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division weighing in at 6 pounds even. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $302.
The T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Shenandoah Division tournament 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 the Chesapeake Bay in North East, Maryland. 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. 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.
AC Insider: FLW AOY Mark Rose, Costa Pro Dylan Hays & Strike King Pro Brad Knight
FLW AOY Mark Rose along with Costa Pro Dylan Hays & LEws Pro Bad Knight Break down the St. Clair Small Slugfest that took over 97 pounds of smallmouth to win.
Knight talks about competition and Rose talks AOY, Fishing, Family and his Faith. All of this and more on the AC Insider Podcast!
Mustang Survival Tip of the Week
AnglersChannel.com's Chris Brown gives us a little tip that helps to keep him safe on the water each time he goes out.
Check it out and maybe you can add it into your routine.
Mark Rose - From the Banks of the Mississippi to Angler of the Year!
Vance McCullough
Photo Courtesy of FLW
“I’m a pretty simple guy,” says Mark Rose.
Indeed, the fire that drives the 2018 FLW Tour Angler of the Year differs from the motives of many Tour anglers.
Yet, Rose is a very motivated man.
“My motivation is for me to have a platform to share how much Jesus loves people.”
While he feels a great sense of accomplishment during, yet another, career-defining moment, Rose almost ducks when people throw accolades his way.
“I want the glory and all of that stuff to go to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to my sponsors and to my family.
“I don’t necessarily thrive off of big titles but I’m also smart enough to know that it’s a great accomplishment and it’s a hard one to achieve. I’m very thankful."
“I don’t downplay it in any way, I just want the notoriety to go toward my sponsors because, in the beginning, when I was just a redheaded kid on the banks of the Mississippi River wanting to quit my job and go make a living fishing, I had a long row to hoe.
“And I had a lot to learn. It took me being out here for a while to be able to learn and the only way you can be out here is with support. Support from the companies you work for, support from your family and, ultimately, support from God. He’s the one that made all these fish. He’s the one who gives us the ability to catch ‘em. He’s the one who provides our good health and everything else so that’s where I want all the praise to go to.”
Anything worth doing will involve challenges. Rose had his share this season. “A couple of things really stand out. After the second day at Kentucky Lake I had dug myself a big hole. It was a big challenge to come back and stay in contention for it. I was able to accomplish that.
“The next big challenge was to have a big lead going into the last tournament and have a lot of time off to think about it because it’s the time off that bothers you more than anything. When I’m fishing I just do my job. I like what I do. Go out there, let it unfold, read the water and let the outdoors instincts shine. But off the water, you start thinking. Your mind drifts. You think about a lot of things. So once I knew it was attainable, boy I really wanted to win it for all the people and the reasons I discussed earlier; really wanted to finish it.
“That makes you think. And I’m not a thinking type person. I’m more of an instinctive type fisherman.
“So, whenever you have a lot of time to sit back and think and try to come up with a strategy and crunch numbers and do all that – I don’t like that.”
But Rose did use the time off to build a winning game plan for the Tour finale on Lake St. Clair. “I didn’t have a real good strategy . . . well, I guess I did because I won, but I don’t know that I would do it again because it was a slugfest and I chose to play the numbers game and cull all day in an area that had a lot of fish, but they weren’t those big that a lot of people were catching. It almost cost me but it worked out.”
Some anglers dominate for a while on the strength of a hot lure or a weather pattern that continues to play to their advantage across the Tour schedule. Rose couldn’t do that on the diverse trail that was the 2018 FLW Tour. “I’m comfortable fishing for smallmouth, spotted bass, whether I have a spinning rod in my hand – whatever – I feel comfortable doing it. Now, the fish humble me all the time, but, I’m better than I was 20 years ago and I’m comfortable.
“This year there was no one bait or technique. One thing I can honestly say is we had the most versatile schedule we’ve ever had. Down south in the flat country on Okeechobee, and then we were in highland reservoirs, and then we were on river systems, we were in sort of a canyon-type lake at Cumberland, we were on the Great Lakes. We fished spotted bass. We fished largemouths. We fished prespawn. We fished postspawn. We fished during the spawn. All species. It was a versatile schedule.”
Extra challenge yields extra reward. “There is a sense of accomplishment. You feel like . . . I mean, my goodness on the FLW Tour we have 180 anglers, some of the best in the world, and to come out on top like that on such a versatile schedule, it is a sense of accomplishment. A lot of hard work has paid off.”
Silver linings this season included 3 tournaments in which Rose had found nothing solid in practice and had to “adjust on the fly. Those are difference-making type deals where, if you make the wrong decision, boy, you can bury yourself for the year real quick. In all 3 of those, I chose right.”
Even after the best possible outcome, the memory often seizes on an unfortunate event. Rose will never forget a heartbreaker he met briefly in Florida. “There was a memorable fish at the Harris Chain. It was a giant fish that broke my line. I finished 61stat Harris Chain. If that fish was 6 pounds, I would have finished 31stin that tournament with her. And it was a lot bigger than 6 pounds.
“Let’s just put that in perspective: had I caught that fish, I would have gone into the last tournament with a 94-point lead instead of a 64-point lead.”
But, Rose says, “It all worked out.”
Mark Daniels Jr. Cashes In At Bassmaster Elite At Lake Oahe
|
|||||
|
Navico and C-MAP Announce Merger
|
OKLAHOMA’S KIEFER HIGH SCHOOL WINS 2018 TBF/FLW HIGH SCHOOL FISHING WORLD FINALS ON PICKWICK LAKE
Courtesy of FLW Fishing
FLORENCE, Ala. (July 2, 2018) – Oklahoma’s Kiefer High School duo of Jeremy Tolle and Garrett Hale, both of Kiefer, Oklahoma, dominated the final round of the 2018 TBF Student Angler Federation High School Fishing World Finals on Pickwick Lake, Saturday, with a five-bass limit that weighed 23 pounds, 9 ounces. Edging their closest competitors by 3-11, the Kiefer High School juniors received a pair of $28,000 scholarships to Bethel University.
“This is the best moment of my life,” Tolle said.
“It’s great. I’ve never had anything this big,” added Hale.
Along with 347 other high school teams, Tolle and Hale competed for three qualifying days, which ran concurrently with the 2018 High School Fishing National Championship, won by South Carolina’s North Augusta Fishing Club. Thirty-one teams fished in Saturday’s final round, when all weights were zeroed.
The pathway to the final round was a roller-coaster ride for Tolle and Hale, but the latter said persistence and prudent planning proved essential to their success.
“The key was just staying with it,” Hale said. “We only had 13 pounds the first day. We came in with 9 the second day, and we had almost 18 the third day. We found our fish late in the day [on day three], but we stayed off of them because we knew they’d probably be back there. We came in today and caught all of our weight in an hour and a half to two hours.”
The winning limit included a 7-plus largemouth that won Big Bass honors. That bass was the winning team’s second fish of the day.
Tolle says he and his partner caught their fish in 20 to 25 feet of water on ledges with shell beds near the Pickwick Dam.
Their bait of choice was Tolle’s homemade 1-ounce brown/black football-head jig with a green pumpkin/purple twin-tail trailer. They committed to the heavy football jig because it allowed them to remain in contact with the bottom and create the kind of display that impressed big fish.
“It gets down, and it bounces off those rocks and helps get those fish to react to it,” Hale said. “You could tell when the fish were just starting to school up and get ready to feed because you’d barely feel them tap it – like they would barely have it on the edge of their lips. But when they would get schooled up, they would just hammer it. That 7-15 almost pulled the rod out of my hand.”
The top 10 teams at the TBF Student Angler Federation High School Fishing World Finals on Pickwick Lake finished:
1st: Kiefer High School, Kiefer, Okla. – Kyler McKie and Chad Champy, both of North Augusta, S.C., five bass, 23-9
2nd: Central High School, Martinsburg, Pa. – Gerald Brumbaugh and Hunter Klotz, both of Martinsburg, Pa., five bass, 19-14
3rd: Hardin County High School, Savannah, Tenn. – Cort Walker, Counce, Tenn., and Lawson Tilghman, Somerville, Tenn., five bass, 17-8
4th: Fannin County High School, Blue Ridge, Ga. – Luke McHan and Blake Cobb, both of Blue Ridge, Ga., five bass, 17-0
5th: Lawrence County High School, Lawrenceburg, Tenn. – Jerren Gieske and Austin Clanton, both of Lawrenceburg, Tenn., five bass, 16-3
6th: Lawrence County High School, Lawrenceburg, Tenn. – Will Daniels and Kade Suratt, both of Lawrenceburg, Tenn., five bass, 16-1
7th: Mansfield High School, Mansfield, Mo. – Dawson Barnett and Holden Dennis, both of Mansfield, Mo., five bass, 15-15
8th: Grand Rapids High School, Grand Rapids, Minn. – Easton Fothergill and Alex Timm, both of Grand Rapids, Minn., five bass, 15-8
9th: Danville Christian Academy, Danville, Ky. – Camden Slone, Danville, Ky., and Caleb Hurst, Lancaster, Ky., five bass, 15-6
10th: Calloway County High School, Murray, Ky. – Andrew Douglas and Allen Mullins, both of Murray, Ky., five bass, 15-4
Complete results and photos will be posted at HighSchoolFishing.org.
The 2018 TBF/FLW High School Fishing World Finals on Pickwick Lake, open to any High School Fishing team across the country, was a four-day event that saw the entire field of 348 teams compete for three days. The World Finals field was cut to just 31 for day four and the weights were zeroed with the winner determined by heaviest final-day weight. The largest High School Fishing Open event in the country lived up to the hype crushing records in attendance, number of contenders and participating states. More than $150,000 in scholarships and prizes were awarded to the 348 teams from 35 states.
The 2018 TBF/FLW High School Fishing World Finals on Pickwick Lake was hosted by Florence/Lauderdale Tourism Bureau.
For complete details and updated information visit HighSchoolFishing.org. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow FLW/TBF High School Fishing on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat.
About The Bass Federation
The Bass Federation Inc., (TBF) is a member of the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame. TBF is owned by those we serve and dedicated to the sport of fishing. The Federation is the largest and oldest, organized grassroots fishing, youth and conservation organization there is. TBF, our affiliated state federations and their member clubs conduct more than 20,000 events each year and have provided a foundation for the entire bass fishing industry for more than 45 years. TBF founded the Student Angler Federation and the National High School Fishing program in 2008 to promote clean family fun and education through fishing. Visit bassfederation.com or highschoolfishing.org and “LIKE US” on Facebook.
SOUTH CAROLINA’S NORTH AUGUSTA FISHING TEAM WINS 2018 TBF/FLW HIGH SCHOOL FISHING NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ON PICKWICK LAKE
Courtesy of FLW Fishing
FLORENCE, Ala. (July 2, 2018) – The North Augusta Fishing Team duo of Kyler McKie and Chad Champy, both of North Augusta, South Carolina, entered the final day of the 2018 TBF/FLW High School Fishing National Championship on Pickwick Lake with a slim lead of just 3 ounces, but after catching a limit of 19 pounds, 12 ounces the duo sealed the deal Saturday with a three-day total of 57-10. The win earned the North Augusta Team the title of National Champions, along with impressive trophies and $10,000 in scholarships ($5,000 each).
“I’m speechless; this probably won’t set in until I get home,” McKie said. “It’s an honor to win this.”
“We really wanted this so bad,” added Champy. “The past few years, Kyler has been working so hard for this, and I’m thankful that he chose me to come with him this year.”
The winners caught their fish on 1/2-ounce black shaky heads. They started day three with Zoom Magnum Trick Worms in plum and red bug, but made a key switch to end the day on a strong note.
“We changed our shaky-head worms later in the day to give the fish a different look,” Champy said. “We ended up catching two keepers to wind up with about 15 minutes left.”
The winners caught most of their fish on a small hump that rose to 9 feet under the surface, with a 30-foot drop-off on the river channel side.
A field of 232 teams competed in the event, which launched from McFarland Park in Florence.
The top 10 teams at the TBF/FLW High School Fishing National Championship on Pickwick Lake finished:
1st: North Augusta Fishing Team, North Augusta, S.C. – Kyler McKie and Chad Champy, both of North Augusta, S.C., 14 bass, 57-10, $10,000 Scholarship
2nd: George Rogers Clark High School, Winchester, Ky. – Hunter Redman and Avery Brown, both of Winchester, Ky., 15 bass, 57-6
3rd: Gordon Lee High School, Chickamauga, Ga. – Colby Chapman, Lafayette, Ga., and Will Smith, Chickamauga, Ga., 14 bass, 53-1
4th: Fannin County High School, Blue Ridge, Ga. – Luke McHan and Blake Cobb, both of Blue Ridge, Ga., 15 bass, 49-4
5th: Grand Rapids High School, Grand Rapids, Minn. – Easton Fothergill and Alex Timm, both of Grand Rapids, Minn., 15 bass, 48-11
6th: West Sabine High School, Pineland, Texas – Hunter Muncrief and Landon McCary, both of Pineland, Texas, 14 bass, 48-9
7th: Tennessee Student Angler Federation – Garrett Bartlett, New Market, Tenn., and Henry Bryan, Sevierville, Tenn., 13 bass, 41-13
8th: Obion County Central High School, Troy, Tenn. – Cody Gregory, Troy, Tenn., and Thomas Mathis, Union City, Tenn., 15 bass, 41-12
9th: McCracken County High School, Paducah, Ky. – James Harper Burkeen and Ethan Hayes, both of Paducah, Ky., 12 bass, 39-11
10th: Discovery Christian School, Florence, Miss. – Garrett McWilliams, Florence, Miss., and Addison Yates, Pearl, Miss., 11 bass, 33-5
Complete results and photos from the event can be found at FLWFishing.com.
The 2018 TBF/FLW High School Fishing National Championship on Pickwick Lake was a three-day event that saw the entire field of 232 teams compete for two days. The National Championship field was cut to the top 10 for day three and the winner was determined by heaviest three-day cumulative weight. Each member of the winning team received a $5,000 scholarship to the school of his or her choice. The tournament featured the top anglers from the 2018 TBF High School Fishing State Championships and Bass Pro Shops FLW High School Fishing Open events.
The 2018 TBF/FLW High School Fishing National Championship on Pickwick Lake was hosted by Florence/Lauderdale Tourism Bureau.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow FLW/TBF High School Fishing on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat.
About FLW
FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money in 2018 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW and their partners conduct 286 bass-fishing tournaments annually around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Portugal, South Africa and Spain. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW" television show, broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, while FLW Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros. For more information visit FLWFishing.com and follow FLW at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat.
GRIGSBY FINISHES STRONG TO WIN FLW TOUR ON LAKE ST. CLAIR PRESENTED BY MERCURY
Courtesy of FLW
Minnesota Pro Earns Second Career FLW Tour Victory, $125,000
DETROIT, Mich. (July 1, 2018) – FLW Tour pro Chad Grigsby of Maple Grove, Minnesota, brought a five-bass limit of smallmouth weighing 26 pounds, 4 ounces to the scale Sunday to win the FLW Tour at Lake St. Clair presented by Mercury and the top prize of $125,000 – his second-career FLW Tour win. Grigsby’s four-day total of 20 bass weighing 97-8 gave him the win by a 2-pound, 3-ounce margin over second-place angler Costa pro Dylan Hays of Sheridan, Arkansas, who weighed 20 bass for 95-5 to finish second and earn $30,200.
“I love this lake and today was one of those days that was just incredible,” said Grigsby, a five-time Forrest Wood Cup qualifier. “I’m at a loss for words on how good the lake is fishing. Michigan is my home state, and I’ve been fishing here for 20 years. I’ve never seen it so good. The fishing has been phenomenal – it’s been a really special week.”
Grigsby caught his bass this week fishing an area he estimated as 1/8 of a mile stretch on the southern Canadian side of St. Clair that he had all to himself.
“I found this group of fish during practice and I knew after the first day that this was a really special spot,” Grigsby said. “It had all of the right ingredients – a ton of bait, grass patches, sand, and it was deep. It was loaded with fish. I was so disappointed yesterday when I only weighed in 21 pounds, and that’s just ridiculous.”
Grigsby credited three baits as being key for him this week – a Duo Realis Spinbait 80 spybait, a 4-inch green pumpkin and gold-colored Venom Lures Tube on a ¾ ounce Venom jig head, and a ¼-ounce black marabou hair jig.
“I only weighed in two fish on the hair jig, but they were key fish for me on Day Two when they weren’t biting the spybait,” Grigsby said. “The key for me was being able to adjust with the conditions. I couldn’t get bit on the spybait if it was rough, and I couldn’t get bit on a tube when it was slick. I had a combination of different baits for the conditions.”
Grigsby’s win highlights a season which saw his return to the FLW Tour and qualification for his first Forrest Wood Cup appearance since 2010 after a two-year stint on the Bassmaster Elite Series.
“To get this win is just awesome,” said Grigsby. “I’ve had to overcome a lot of my own demons. I’ve had such a bad last two years I didn’t even feel comfortable fishing anymore. I had no confidence. Coming back to the Tour – especially these last four events – I finally feel relaxed, comfortable and confident in my abilities as an angler. And now winning here just blows everything out of the water.”
The top 10 pros on Lake St. Clair finished:
1st: Chad Grigsby, Maple Grove, Minn., 20 bass, 97-8, $125,000
2nd: Costa pro Dylan Hays, Sheridan, Ark., 20 bass, 95-5, $30,200
3rd: Brad Knight, Lancing, Tenn., 20 bass, 92-5, $25,100
4th: Scott Dobson, Clarkston, Mich., 20 bass, 89-11, $20,000
5th: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 20 bass, 87-13, $19,000
6th: Todd Castledine, Nacogdoches, Texas, 20 bass, 85-1, $18,000
7th: Cody Hahner, Wausau, Wis., 20 bass, 84-11, $17,000
8th: Bass Pro Shops pro Jeremy Lawyer, Sarcoxie, Mo., 20 bass, 82-14, $16,000
9th: Ryan Chandler, Hebron, Ind., 20 bass, 82-6, $15,500
10th: Joey Cifuentes, Clinton, Ark., 20 bass, 82-3, $14,000
Complete results for the entire field can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Overall there were 50 bass weighing 211 pounds, 9 ounces caught by pros Sunday. All of the final 10 pros weighed in five-bass limits.
Mark Myers of Cedar Falls, Iowa, won the Co-angler Division and $20,000 Friday with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 42 pounds, 4 ounces, followed by Billy Messer of Spartanburg, South Carolina, who finished in second place with 10 bass totaling 41-4, worth $7,550.
Television coverage of the FLW Tour at Lake St. Clair presented by Mercury will premiere in high-definition (HD) on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) Aug. 8 from Noon-1 p.m. EST. The Emmy-nominated "FLW" television show airs on NBCSN, the Pursuit Channel and the World Fishing Network and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide.
The total purse for the FLW Tour at Lake St. Clair presented by Mercury was more than $930,000. The tournament was hosted by the Detroit Sports Commission, Macomb County, the Huron-Clinton Metroparks Authority and the Sterling Heights Regional Chamber of Commerce. The next event for FLW Tour anglers will be the 2018 Forrest Wood Cup on Lake Ouachita in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Aug. 10-12 hosted by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and Visit Hot Springs.
In FLW Tour competition, pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat movement and competing against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other co-anglers. The full field of 360 anglers competed in the two-day opening round. Co-angler competition concluded following Friday’s weigh-in, while the top 30 pros based on their two-day accumulated weight advanced to Saturday. Only the top 10 pros continued competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from the four days of competition.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the sport’s top anglers on the FLW Tour on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat.
Mark Daniels Expands Lead At Bassmaster Elite Series Event On Lake Oahe
|
|||||
|
Mark Daniels Jr. Slams Lake Oahe Smallmouth To Take Lead In Bassmaster Elite Event
|
|||||
|
HAYS MOVES INTO LEAD, ROSE CLINCHES AOY TITLE AT FLW TOUR ON LAKE ST. CLAIR PRESENTED BY MERCURY
Final Day Showdown Looms at Smallmouth Smackdown
DETROIT, Mich. (June 30, 2018) – After catching the heaviest limit of what has already been a record-breaking event on Friday, Costa pro Dylan Hays of Sheridan, Arkansas, added another limit of smallmouth bass weighing 22 pounds, 6 ounces, to move into the lead Saturday at the FLW Tour at Lake St. Clair presented by Mercury.
The field is now trimmed to the final 10 pros for Championship Sunday, and Hays (15 bass, 72-3) will start with a 15-ounce lead over second-place pro Chad Grigsby of Maple Grove, Minnesota, (15 bass, 71-4) who led the first two days of competition. Also in striking distance in third place is the 2014 Forrest Wood Cup Champion, Brad Knight of Lancing, Tennessee, (15 bass, 70-6). Knight, who weighed in Saturday’s lone 25+ pound limit, has been sharing water with Hays throughout the week.
“We both found a pretty special area, and we’re having a lot of fun out there,” said Hays, who is fishing in his 14th career FLW Tour event. “Brad watched me catch them yesterday, and I watched him catch them today. I think it’s going to come down to whomever can catch 25 pounds tomorrow is going to win it.”
Hays said that the fishing was a little bit tougher Saturday, despite weighing his third-consecutive limit in excess of 22 pounds. On the first two days of competition he said he would catch 12 to 15 keepers each day and leave the area by 10:30 a.m. On Saturday he stayed in the area all day, but only managed a dozen keepers all day long.
“The biggest factor here has been trying to keep the smallmouth on,” Hays said. “They come up and jump, flip, windmill and somersault. I’ve lost my biggest fish every day this week and you can’t do that and win. But, luckily, there has been enough quality there to make up for it.
“It’s not one school of fish, but a bunch of little groups of fish,” Hays continued. “It really comes down to relocating them every day. Today, Brad found a school of 4- and 5-pounders. Yesterday, I found two key groups and had a big day.
“It’s nice to have a little cushion, but 15 ounces isn’t nothing here. I could catch 22 and Chad can catch 23, it’s no different. It’s all going to come down to who can get the best bite and put them in the boat.”
The top 10 pros advancing to the final day of competition on Lake St. Clair are:
1st: Costa pro Dylan Hays, Sheridan, Ark., 15 bass, 72-3
2nd: Chad Grigsby, Maple Grove, Minn., 15 bass, 71-4
3rd: Brad Knight, Lancing, Tenn., 15 bass, 70-6
4th: Scott Dobson, Clarkston, Mich., 15 bass, 68-10
5th: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 15 bass, 66-2
6th: Todd Castledine, Nacogdoches, Texas, 15 bass, 65-10
7th: Ryan Chandler, Hebron, Ind., 15 bass, 64-0
8th: Cody Hahner, Wausau, Wis., 15 bass, 63-11
9th: Joey Cifuentes, Clinton, Ark., 15 bass, 63-7
10th: Bass Pro Shops pro Jeremy Lawyer, Sarcoxie, Mo., 15 bass, 62-15
Finishing in 11h through 30th are:
11th: Cody Meyer, Auburn, Calif., 15 bass, 62-6, $12,000
12th: Wes Logan, Springville, Ala., 15 bass, 62-6, $12,000
13th: Quaker State pro Scott Canterbury, Odenville, Ala., 15 bass, 61-14, $12,000
14th: Chris Johnston, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, 15 bass, 61-13, $12,000
15th: David Williams, Maiden, N.C., 15 bass, 61-10, $12,000
16th: Darrel Robertson, Jay, Okla., 14 bass, 60-7, $12,000
17th: Scott Martin, Clewiston, Fla., 15 bass, 59-14, $12,000
18th: Pennzoil Marine pro Matt Arey, Shelby, N.C., 15 bass, 59-13, $12,000
19th: Shane LeHew, Catawba, N.C., 15 bass, 59-10, $12,000
20th: Carl Jocumsen, Queensland, Australia, 15 bass, 59-4, $12,000
21st: Berkley pro Justin Atkins, Florence, Ala., 15 bass, 59-0, $10,000
22nd: Craig Rozema, Simpsonville, S.C., 15 bass, 58-8, $10,000
23rd: Miles Howe, San Juan Capistrano, Calif., 15 bass, 58-7, $10,000
24th: Clark Reehm, Elm Grove, La., 15 bass, 58-1, $10,000
25th: Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla., 15 bass, 57-13, $10,000
26th: Matt Becker, Finleyville, Pa., 15 bass, 56-13, $10,000
27th: J.T. Kenney, Palm Bay, Fla., 15 bass, 56-9, $10,000
28th: Ramie Colson Jr., Cadiz, Ky., 15 bass, 56-6, $10,000
29th: Clent Davis, Montevallo, Ala., 15 bass, 54-7, $10,000
30th: Jeff Dobson, Bartlesville, Okla., 15 bass, 54-2, $10,000
For a full list of results visit FLWFishing.com.
Overall there were 149 bass weighing 572 pounds, 15 ounces caught by pros Saturday, Twenty-nine of the final 30 pros were able to bring a five-bass limit to the scale.
Anglers were also vying for the prestigious 2018 FLW Tour Pennzoil Marine Angler of the Year (AOY) title that is determined by the most points accumulated over the seven Tour events in 2018.
For the first time in his career, General Tire pro Mark Rose of West Memphis, Arkansas, wrapped up the AOY title on Saturday. He narrowly edged out the 2015 AOY, pro Scott Martin of Clewiston, Florida, by just 14 points in a tightly contested race that was too close to call until Martin’s 17th place finish today. Rose, who received $100,000 for the title, will also receive an automatic berth into the 2019 Forrest Wood Cup.
Pro Matt Becker of Finleyville, Pennsylvania, clinched the 2018 FLW Tour Rookie of the Year award Friday, which is awarded to the rookie pro angler who finishes the season with the highest point total.
Mark Myers of Cedar Falls, Iowa, won the Co-angler Division and $20,000 Friday with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 42 pounds, 4 ounces, followed by Billy Messer of Spartanburg, South Carolina, who finished in second place with 10 bass totaling 41-4, worth $7,550.
Throughout the season, anglers are also vying for valuable Angler of the Year (AOY) points in hopes of qualifying for the 2018 Forrest Wood Cup, the world championship of professional bass fishing. The 2018 Forrest Wood Cup will be on Lake Ouachita in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Aug. 10-12 and is hosted by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and Visit Hot Springs.
In FLW Tour competition, pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat movement and competing against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other co-anglers. The full field of 360 anglers competed in the two-day opening round. Co-angler competition concluded following Friday’s weigh-in, while the top 30 pros based on their two-day accumulated weight advanced to Saturday. Only the top 10 pros now continue competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from the four days of competition.
The total purse for the FLW Tour at Lake St. Clair presented by Mercury is more than $930,000. The tournament is hosted by the Detroit Sports Commission, Macomb County, the Huron-Clinton Metroparks Authority and the Sterling Heights Regional Chamber of Commerce.
The final 10 anglers will take off at 6:30 a.m. EDT Sunday from the Lake St. Clair Metropark, located at 31300 Metro Parkway, in Harrison Township. Sunday’s weigh-in will also be held at the park, beginning at 4 p.m.
Prior to the weigh-ins Sunday, FLW will host a free Family Fishing Expo at the Lake St. Clair Metropark from noon to 4 p.m. The Expo is a chance for fishing fans to meet their favorite anglers, enjoy interactive games, activities and giveaways provided by FLW sponsors, and learn more about the sport of fishing and other outdoor activities.
Television coverage of the FLW Tour at Lake St. Clair presented by Mercury will premiere in high-definition (HD) on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) Aug. 8 from Noon-1 p.m. EST. The Emmy-nominated "FLW" television show airs on NBCSN, the Pursuit Channel and the World Fishing Network and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the sport’s top anglers on the FLW Tour on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat.
Fritts Solves Lake Oahe Smallmouth Riddle For Day 1 Lead
|
GRIGSBY IN CONTROL AFTER TWO DAYS AT FLW TOUR ON LAKE ST. CLAIR PRESENTED BY MERCURY
Fishery Sets New FLW Record – Two-Day Pro Total of 6,045 Pounds of Bass Shatters Previous Tour Record of 5,938
DETROIT, Mich. (June 29, 2018) – FLW Tour pro Chad Grigsby of Maple Grove, Minnesota, brought another limit of smallmouth bass to the scale Friday – this one weighing 24 pounds, 4 ounces – to maintain his lead after Day Two of the FLW Tour at Lake St. Clair presented by Mercury. The 180-boat field is now cut to just the top 30, and Grigsby will start Saturday’s Day Three of competition with a slim 4-ounce lead over Costa pro Dylan Hays of Sheridan, Arkansas (49-13), who sits in second. Local ace Scott Dobson of Clarkston, Michigan is in fourth place with 10 bass totaling 46-5.
“They weren’t acting the same as they were yesterday,” said Grigsby, who has nine previous FLW Tour top-10 finishes in his career. “The bait that was key for me yesterday didn’t work, so I grabbed another bait that I hadn’t thrown all week and started catching them on that. It was a smaller-profile, finesse-type bait. I’m kind of feeling like I’m one step ahead of the fish and I’m just rolling with whatever they tell me to throw.”
Grigsby said that he caught fish on four different baits throughout the day, but the fish that he weighed in came on just three. He had his day’s weight by 10 a.m. and spent the rest of the day looking to see if he could find any other areas near his on the southern section of Canadian waters. He said he was unable to find anything that was as good, but is confident that his area can hold up.
“It’s about a mile long, and no one else is fishing where I am,” Grigsby said. “There are a couple of sweet spots. Every time I go across one waypoint, it’s almost a guarantee that I catch one.
“I really wanted to make the Forrest Wood Cup, and about the only way that I was going to do that was to win here, so that was my goal,” Grigsby went on to say. “I thought that a 23-pound-a-day average would be enough to do it, and I’m ahead of that right now. I was really confident coming here that I could do it. I don’t know if it’s going to happen, but I’ve got two more days of fishing to go.”
The top 30 pros that made the first cut and will fish Saturday on Lake St. Clair are:
1st: Chad Grigsby, Maple Grove, Minn.., 10 bass, 50-1
2nd: Costa pro Dylan Hays, Sheridan, Ark., 10 bass, 49-13
3rd: Darrel Robertson, Jay, Okla., 10 bass, 46-9
4th: Scott Dobson, Clarkston, Mich., 10 bass, 46-5
5th: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 10 bass, 46-4
6th: Brad Knight, Lancing, Tenn., 10 bass, 45-1
7th: Joey Cifuentes, Clinton, Ark., 10 bass, 44-5
8th: Todd Castledine, Nacogdoches, Texas, 10 bass, 43-9
9th: Ryan Chandler, Hebron, Ind., 10 bass, 43-5
10th: Ramie Colson Jr., Cadiz, Ky., 10 bass, 42-7
11th: Scott Martin, Clewiston, Fla., 10 bass, 42-4
12th: Quaker State pro Scott Canterbury, Odenville, Ala., 10 bass, 42-3
13th: Cody Meyer, Auburn, Calif., 10 bass, 42-1
14th: Carl Jocumsen, Queensland, Australia, 10 bass, 41-13
15th: Berkley pro Justin Atkins, Florence, Ala., 10 bass, 41-11
16th: Jeremy Lawyer, Sarcoxie, Mo., 10 bass, 41-11
17th: David Williams, Maiden, N.C., 10 bass, 41-8
18th: Cody Hahner, Wausau, Wis., 10 bass, 41-8
19th: Chris Johnston, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, 10 bass, 41-5
20th: Shane LeHew, Catawba, N.C., 10 bass, 41-5
21st: Pennzoil Marine pro Matt Arey, Shelby, N.C., 10 bass, 41-2
22nd: Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla., 10 bass, 40-13
23rd: Jeff Dobson, Bartlesville, Okla., 10 bass, 40-4
24th: Matt Becker, Finleyville, Pa., 10 bass, 40-3
25th: J.T. Kenney, Palm Bay, Fla., 10 bass, 40-1
26th: Clent Davis, Montevallo, Ala., 10 bass, 39-13
27th: Wes Logan, Springville, Ala., 10 bass, 39-9
28th: Craig Rozema, Simpsonville, S.C., 10 bass, 39-5
29th: Miles Howe, San Juan Capistrano, Calif., 10 bass, 39-4
30th: Clark Reehm, Elm Grove, La., 10 bass, 39-2
For a full list of results visit FLWFishing.com.
Chandler earned Friday's $500 Simms Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a monster 6-pound, 10-ounce smallmouth bass.
Overall there were 842 bass weighing 3,011 pounds, 15 ounces, caught by 173 pros Friday. The catch included 162 five-bass limits. The pros’ two-day total catch of 6,045 pounds, 6 ounces is a new FLW Tour record, besting the previous record of 5,938 pounds, 12 ounces which occurred in a 2008 Tour-level event at the California Delta.
Mark Myers of Cedar Falls, Iowa, won the Co-angler Division and $20,000 Friday with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 42 pounds, 4 ounces, followed by Billy Messer of Spartanburg, South Carolina, who finished in second place with 10 bass totaling 41-4, worth $7,550.
The top 10 Co-anglers finished:
1st: Mark Myers, Cedar Falls, Iowa, 10 bass, 42-4, $20,100
2nd: Billy Messer, Spartanburg, S.C., 10 bass, 41-4, $7,550
3rd: Jamie Jacobus, Johnstown, Ohio, 10 bass, 40-3, $5,000
4th: Cody Kelley, Portage, Mich., 10 bass, 40-0, $4,000
5th: Chad Smith, Minnetonka, Minn., 10 bass, 39-13, $3,000
6th: Jeff Baffa, Frankfort, Ill., 10 bass, 39-13, $2,500
7th: Keith Bridges, Mission Viejo, Calif., 10 bass, 39-5, $2,000
8th: Christopher Kanute, Clover, S.C., 10 bass, 37-13, $1,800
9th: Justin Drljaca, Nashotah, Wis., 10 bass, 37-8, $1,700
10th: Justin Mounce, Springdale, Ark., 10 bass, 37-6, $1,600
Stephen Crawley of Bush, Louisiana, earned $250 for the Simms Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division Friday with a 6-pound, 7-ounce smallmouth.
Overall there were 644 bass weighing 2,412 pounds, 12 ounces, caught by 165 co-anglers Friday. The catch included 122 five-bass limits.
In FLW Tour competition, pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat movement and competing against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other co-anglers. The full field of 360 anglers competed in the two-day opening round. Co-angler competition concluded following Friday’s weigh-in, while the top 30 pros based on their two-day accumulated weight advance to Saturday. Only the top 10 pros continue competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from the four days of competition.
The total purse for the FLW Tour at Lake St. Clair presented by Mercury is more than $930,000. The tournament is hosted by the Detroit Sports Commission, Macomb County, the Huron-Clinton Metroparks Authority and the Sterling Heights Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Throughout the season, anglers are also vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2018 Forrest Wood Cup, the world championship of professional bass fishing. The 2018 Forrest Wood Cup will be on Lake Ouachita in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Aug. 10-12 and is hosted by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and Visit Hot Springs.
Anglers will take off at 6:30 a.m. EDT each morning from the Lake St. Clair Metropark, located at 31300 Metro Parkway, in Harrison Township. Saturday and Sunday’s weigh-ins will also be held at the park, beginning at 4 p.m.
Prior to the weigh-ins Saturday and Sunday, June 30-July 1, FLW will host a free Family Fishing Expo at the Lake St. Clair Metropark from noon to 4 p.m. each day. The Expo is a chance for fishing fans to meet their favorite anglers, enjoy interactive games, activities and giveaways provided by FLW sponsors, and learn more about the sport of fishing and other outdoor activities.
Also for youth, the FLW Foundation’s Unified Fishing Derby will be held at the Lake St. Clair Metropark on Saturday, June 30 from 9-11 a.m. The event is hosted by FLW Foundation pro Cody Kelley along with other FLW Tour anglers, and is free and open to anyone under the age of 18 and Special Olympics athletes. Rods and reels are available for use, but youth are encouraged to bring their own if they own one. The 1st and 2nd place anglers that catch the biggest fish will be recognized Saturday on the FLW Tour stage, just prior to the pros weighing in.
Television coverage of the FLW Tour at Lake St. Clair presented by Mercury will premiere in high-definition (HD) on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) Aug. 8 from Noon-1 p.m. EST. The Emmy-nominated "FLW" television show airs on NBCSN, the Pursuit Channel and the World Fishing Network and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the sport’s top anglers on the FLW Tour on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat.
DUCE Fishing - Cliff Crochet Signature Rods Being Released at ICAST 2018
|
|
Lawson Tilghman Blog - "Crazy Time of Year for Me & the Bass!"
Lawson Tilghman
This blog will be published while I am on the water fishing the High School World Finals on Pickwick out of Florence, AL.
I have really been looking forward to this event for a couple of months now. I am fishing with Cort Walker and we are representing Tennessee Hardin County High School. Lance Walker is our boat captain, and we are hoping to have a great tournament.
This last month has been a month full of fishing.
I recently returned from Lake El Salto, Mexico filming with Joe Thomas and the Outdoor Channel. We had a great time and caught a lot of fish. I’m looking forward to seeing how that show turns out.
I fished the BFL on Kentucky Lake and finished 17thwith 11-14. That was a really great tournament for me.
Shimano has some great new products coming out in a couple week at ICAST. Earlier this month I spent some time filming with some of the new products in Georgia. I can’t say too much, but let’s just say, high school anglers- there is something coming for you.
Another highlight for me was the FLW Costa on Lake Barkley. During practice I thought it could be won on just one spot. There were close to 300 boats, and I realized how tight it was going to be trying to fish the ledges and fight for a spot. I told myself in practice, I should find an off the wall spot and fish away from everybody so I wouldn’t have to worry about anyone around me or have anyone pull up on me. On the last day of practice, I made a run way down the lake and spent some time fishing. It was like a ghost town down there- just a couple crappie fishermen and some carp fishermen. I searched around, looked over and said to myself, I’m gonna go graph this point over here and see if I can find anything. Up to that time, I didn’t have any spots with really good fish. I felt like I could catch a limit, but it wasn’t really a big limit. It was late in the day when I pulled up on the point just before I was about to go in. I saw some fish, so I fished it a little. I didn’t catch anything but had some good bites, so I added that spot on my list to try.
Fast forward to tournament day. I had an early boat draw. I thought this was for sure going to be a morning bite, because once the sun gets up the fish get real weird. They don’t want anything moving. I knew I had to use my time wisely to catch them. I pulled up to my first spot and caught a keeper after 30 minutes, but after that catch, I couldn’t get them to fire up again. I knew I had to make a move while it was still morning. So, I made the decision to head to the point where I saw fish in practice. When I got there, it was like something you see in a movie. The fish were taking off with every cast. It was for sure a God thing. I was down there by myself all day seeing only one boat. I was able to catch 17-2 off that spot on day one. On day 2 I had a later boat number, so I was worried I would probably only have an hour to make it happen. I went straight to the spot and started fishing. I fished for 2 hours and caught three. I moved around a little and spent about an hour trying other stuff but I just had to go back to the spot because I thought maybe they would be pulled up a little more on the spot. I ran over it with my graph and saw three, but I didn’t think I could get them to bite. About that time a barge headed down the river. I made my cast out and my line hit the bottom. While the barge was going by, my line took off. I thought to myself, this is either current or a really big fish. I set the hook and reeled in a 4.5. On my next cast, I caught another one to get my limit of 18-13. I didn’t catch any more fish that day and missed the top 10 the cut by 1lb. 3oz but finished 14th. What an exciting tournament!
Hopefully we have a great finish at the High School World Finals. After that I will be headed to ICAST to work in the new product showcase, lead some seminars and work the show.
Be sure to follow me on social media for updates from the show.
EDITORS NOTE: Lawson and Sort are leading the Tennessee Team in the World Finals High School Tournament on Pickwick Lake. All Weights are zeroed as of Today (Friday) - Top 20 fish on Saturday.
BRP Acquires Alumacraft, Creates new Marine Group
Courtesy of BRP Communications
STURTEVANT, Wis. – Evinrude announced today that it is now a part of the newly established BRP Marine Group. Tracy Crocker, Senior Vice-President and General Manager of Evinrude since 2017, has been appointed President of the Group, effective immediately. Crocker will be responsible for the strategic direction and operations of the BRP Marine Group while maintaining his active role at Evinrude.
Evinrude, an outboard engine manufacturer that developed the first commercially viable outboard engine in 1909, will join Alumacraft, a 70-plus year-old manufacturer of aluminum fishing boats which was acquired today. The acquisition of Alumacraft and creation of BRP Marine Group reinforces BRP’s commitment to become a leading global marine corporation.
“This is an opportunity for BRP and is the first step of many towards our goal to become a leading marine company,” said Crocker. “The formation of BRP Marine Group with two iconic marine industry players in Evinrude and Alumacraft will open up a world of possibilities for us within the marine industry. Our key objective is to provide high quality, innovative opportunities that help families create unforgettable memories on the water.”
Crocker continued, “For nearly 110 years, Evinrude has led years of invention, re-invention and innovation of outboard engine manufacturing. Leveraging BRP’s state-of-the-art manufacturing expertise in powersports will allow us to continue our development of innovative technology and production of user-friendly, fuel efficient, and environmentally friendly outboard engines.”
“This acquisition was a natural fit for us as the first step in our newly formed Marine Group,” said José Boisjoli, President and CEO of BRP. “In the short term, we plan to focus on network optimization and dealer conversion to leverage both product lines’ strengths and gradually develop our presence in the industry. In about three years from now, we expect to be in a position to truly transform the marine industry. Along with our approach to innovation and design expertise, we will apply a buy, build and transform strategy to do for the marine business what we have done for the powersports business.”
Evinrude and Alumacraft will experience no changes in day-to-day operations and will remain independent companies within the BRP Marine Group. Terms of the Alumacraft acquisition are not being disclosed.
For additional information on Alumacraft, visit alumacraft.com.
About Evinrude Evinrude is a global manufacturer of outboard marine engines. A model of innovation, Evinrude developed the first commercially viable outboard engine in 1909. Celebrating 110 years of innovation in 2019, Evinrude’s engine line up, from 3.5 to 300 HP, offers customers superior value across a full range of applications while meeting all global emissions standards. Engines are available at authorized Evinrude dealerships worldwide. For more information visit www.evinrude.com.
GRIGSBY TOPS 25 POUNDS TO TAKE EARLY LEAD AT FLW TOUR ON LAKE ST. CLAIR PRESENTED BY MERCURY
Pros Catch More Than 3,030 pounds of Bass – Shattering Previous 2018 High of 2,200 Pounds
DETROIT, Mich. (June 28, 2018) – FLW Tour pro Chad Grigsby of Maple Grove, Minnesota, crossed the stage with a limit of smallmouth bass weighing 25 pounds, 13 ounces – the largest limit ever weighed in his 15-year FLW Tour career – to lead Day One of the FLW Tour at Lake St. Clair presented by Mercury. The Minnesota pro now holds a 1-pound, 13-ounce lead over pro Darrel Robertson of Jay, Oklahoma, who caught five bass weighing 24 pounds even. The four-day event features a field of 180 of the world’s best bass-fishing professionals and co-anglers competing for top awards of up to $125,000 cash in the pro division and up to $25,000 cash in the co-angler division.
“I thought that I could go out and catch 23 pounds today, but you never really know,” said Grigsby, a four-time Forrest Wood Cup qualifier with one previous Tour-level win. “You can’t win the tournament on Day One, but I’m around a bunch of big fish and now I just have to figure out what they want to bite.”
Grigsby was fairly tight-lipped about his pattern, but said that he fished “deep” on a big main-lake area and caught fish on three different baits. He credited a bait change around 10 a.m. as being the key to his 25-pound limit.
“We were catching them, but we made an adjustment when the wind quit blowing around 10 (a.m.) and then we really started catching them,” Grigsby said. “It was a bait that I had never thrown in practice, but everything that I weighed in came on it.
“The area where I’m fishing is a big area, and it’s deep and has a lot of bait where I’m at,” Grigsby continued. “It seems to have all of the right ingredients. Tomorrow the wind is supposed to be blowing a little bit, so I’m not sure if I’ll be able to catch them the way that I did today. Fishing changes every day, though, and you have to be able to change with it. I know the area where they’re at and I’m confident that I can catch them again.”
The top 10 pros after day one on Lake St. Clair are:
1st: Chad Grigsby, Maple Grove, Minn., five bass, 25-13
2nd: Darrel Robertson, Jay, Okla., five bass, 24-0
3rd: Ryan Chandler, Hebron, Ind., five bass, 23-10
4th: Scott Dobson, Clarkston, Mich., five bass, 23-7
5th: Costa pro Dylan Hays, Sheridan, Ark., five bass, 23-6
6th: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., five bass, 23-2
7th: Chris Johnston, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, five bass, 23-1
7th: Joey Cifuentes, Clinton, Ark., five bass, 22-11
9th: Abu Garcia pro Justin Atkins, Florence, Ala., five bass, 22-6
10th: Russell Cecil, Willis, Texas, five bass, 22-2
For a full list of results visit FLWFishing.com.
Grigsby’s limit was anchored by a chunky 6-pound, 3-ounce, smallmouth that also earned the day's $500 Simms Big Bass award in the pro division.
Overall there were 868 bass weighing 3,033 pounds, 7 ounces caught by 178 pros Thursday – by far the largest single-day catch for the FLW Tour pros in 2018. The catch included 165 five-bass limits.
Mark Myers of Cedar Falls, Iowa, leads the co-angler division with five bass weighing 23 pounds, 9 ounces, followed by Cody Kelley of Portage, Michigan, and Jason Williams of Mason, Michigan, who both weighed five bass totaling 22-3, and are tied for second place.
The top 10 co-anglers after day one on Lake St. Clair are:
1st: Mark Myers, Cedar Falls, Iowa, five bass, 23-9
2nd: Jason Williams, Mason, Mich., five bass, 22-3
2nd: Cody Kelley, Portage, Mich., five bass, 22-3
4th: Chad Smith, Minnetonka, Minn., five bass, 21-6
4th: Jamie Jacobus, Johnstown, Ohio, five bass, 21-2
6th: Kenneth Taylor, Shelby Township, Mich., five bass, 20-9
7th: Mike Emrich, Chatham, Ontario, Canada, five bass, 20-2
8th: Mark Goetsch, Gibralter, Mich., five bass, 19-12
9th: Don Smith, Brodhead, Ky., five bass, 19-10
10th: Craig Kopczyk, Ortonville, Mich., five bass, 19-7
Rob Bakeman of Rochester Hills, Michigan, earned $250 for the Simms Big Bass award in the co-angler division with a 5-pound, 6-ounce smallmouth.
Overall there were 779 bass weighing 2,415 pounds, 7 ounces caught by 174 co-anglers Thursday. The catch included 130 five-bass limits.
In FLW Tour competition, pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat movement and competing against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other co-anglers. The full field of 360 anglers competes in the two-day opening round. Co-angler competition concludes following Friday’s weigh-in, while the top 30 pros based on their two-day accumulated weight advance to Saturday. Only the top 10 pros continue competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from the four days of competition.
The total purse for the FLW Tour at Lake St. Clair presented by Mercury is more than $930,000. The tournament is hosted by the Detroit Sports Commission, Macomb County, the Huron-Clinton Metroparks Authority and the Sterling Heights Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Throughout the season, anglers are also vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2018 Forrest Wood Cup, the world championship of professional bass fishing. The 2018 Forrest Wood Cup will be on Lake Ouachita in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Aug. 10-12 and is hosted by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and Visit Hot Springs.
Anglers will take off at 6:30 a.m. EDT each morning from the Lake St. Clair Metropark, located at 31300 Metro Parkway, in Harrison Township. Friday’s weigh-in will be held at the park beginning at 3:15 p.m. Saturday and Sunday’s weigh-ins will also be held at the park, but will begin at 4 p.m.
Prior to the weigh-ins Saturday and Sunday, June 30-July 1, FLW will host a free Family Fishing Expo at the Lake St. Clair Metropark from noon to 4 p.m. each day. The Expo is a chance for fishing fans to meet their favorite anglers, enjoy interactive games, activities and giveaways provided by FLW sponsors, and learn more about the sport of fishing and other outdoor activities.
Also for youth, the FLW Foundation’s Unified Fishing Derby will be held at the Lake St. Clair Metropark on Saturday, June 30 from 9-11 a.m. The event is hosted by FLW Foundation pro Cody Kelley along with other FLW Tour anglers, and is free and open to anyone under the age of 18 and Special Olympics athletes. Rods and reels are available for use, but youth are encouraged to bring their own if they own one. The 1st and 2nd place anglers that catch the biggest fish will be recognized Saturday on the FLW Tour stage, just prior to the pros weighing in.
Television coverage of the FLW Tour at Lake St. Clair presented by Mercury will premiere in high-definition (HD) on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) Aug. 8 from Noon-1 p.m. EST. The Emmy-nominated "FLW" television show airs on NBCSN, the Pursuit Channel and the World Fishing Network and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the sport’s top anglers on the FLW Tour on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat.
| 1 | CHAD GRIGSBY | 25 - 13 (5) | $500 |
| 2 | DARREL ROBERTSON | 24 - 0 (5) | |
| 3 | RYAN CHANDLER | 23 - 10 (5) | |
| 4 | SCOTT DOBSON | 23 - 7 (5) | |
| 5 | DYLAN HAYS | 23 - 6 (5) | |
| 6 | BRYAN THRIFT | 23 - 2 (5) | |
| 7 | CHRIS JOHNSTON | 23 - 1 (5) | |
| 8 | JOEY CIFUENTES | 22 - 11 (5) | |
| 9 | JUSTIN ATKINS | 22 - 6 (5) | |
| 10 | RUSSELL CECIL | 22 - 2 (5) | |
| 11 | BRAD KNIGHT | 22 - 1 (5) | |
| 12 | JEREMY LAWYER | 22 - 0 (5) | |
| 13 | TROY MORROW | 21 - 14 (5) | |
| 13 | SCOTT CANTERBURY | 21 - 14 (5) | |
| 15 | JT KENNEY | 21 - 12 (5) | |
| 16 | SCOTT MARTIN | 21 - 8 (5) | |
| 17 | CARL JOCUMSEN | 21 - 7 (5) | |
| 18 | CLENT DAVIS | 21 - 6 (5) | |
| 19 | NICK GAINEY | 21 - 5 (5) | |
| 20 | CLARK REEHM | 21 - 3 (5) | |
| 21 | RAMIE COLSON JR | 21 - 1 (5) | |
| 22 | CODY MEYER | 21 - 0 (5) | |
| 23 | FREDDY HURLEY | 20 - 14 (5) | |
| 24 | CODY HAHNER | 20 - 13 (5) | |
| 25 | TODD CASTLEDINE | 20 - 12 (5) | |
| 26 | MATT BECKER | 20 - 8 (5) | |
| 27 | DAVID WILLIAMS | 20 - 5 (5) | |
| 28 | BUDDY GROSS | 20 - 4 (5) | |
| 29 | CORY JOHNSTON | 20 - 3 (5) | |
| 30 | BRANDON MOSLEY | 20 - 1 (5) | |
| 30 | MATT AREY | 20 - 1 (5) | |
| 32 | CLAYTON BATTS | 20 - 0 (5) | |
| 33 | ALLEN BOYD | 19 - 15 (5) | |
| 34 | DENNIS TIETJE | 19 - 14 (5) | |
| 35 | JEFF DOBSON | 19 - 13 (5) | |
| 35 | SHANE LEHEW | 19 - 13 (5) | |
| 37 | BRANDON COBB | 19 - 11 (5) | |
| 38 | MATT GREENBLATT | 19 - 10 (5) | |
| 39 | KYLE WEISENBURGER | 19 - 9 (5) | |
| 39 | TYLER STEWART | 19 - 9 (5) | |
| 41 | JOHN COX | 19 - 8 (5) | |
| 41 | TOM MONSOOR | 19 - 8 (5) | |
| 41 | GREG BOHANNAN | 19 - 8 (5) | |
| 44 | KOBY KREIGER | 19 - 7 (5) | |
| 45 | BRADLEY DORTCH | 19 - 3 (5) | |
| 45 | JEFF SPRAGUE | 19 - 3 (5) | |
| 47 | BRAXTON SETZER | 19 - 2 (5) | |
| 47 | SCOTT SUGGS | 19 - 2 (5) | |
| 49 | KURT MITCHELL | 19 - 0 (5) | |
| 50 | RANDY HAYNES | 18 - 15 (5) | |
| 50 | CHRIS NEAU | 18 - 15 (5) | |
| 52 | CLINT BROWN | 18 - 13 (5) | |
| 52 | MATTHEW STEFAN | 18 - 13 (5) | |
| 54 | BOB MORIN | 18 - 12 (5) | |
| 54 | JASON REYES | 18 - 12 (5) | |
| 54 | DAVID WOOTTON | 18 - 12 (5) | |
| 54 | MICHAEL NEAL | 18 - 12 (5) | |
| 58 | JIMMY BREWER | 18 - 11 (5) | |
| 59 | GRAE BUCK | 18 - 9 (5) | |
| 60 | MARK ROSE | 18 - 8 (5) | |
| 60 | ANDY MORGAN | 18 - 8 (5) | |
| 60 | TAYLOR ASHLEY | 18 - 8 (5) | |
| 63 | GREG MANSFIELD | 18 - 7 (5) | |
| 63 | ROB JORDAN | 18 - 7 (5) | |
| 63 | JEFF GUSTAFSON | 18 - 7 (5) | |
| 66 | BARRY WILSON | 18 - 6 (5) | |
| 66 | JOHNNY MCCOMBS | 18 - 6 (5) | |
| 66 | JIM JONES | 18 - 6 (5) | |
| 69 | LUKE DUNKIN | 18 - 5 (5) | |
| 69 | KYLE CORTIANA | 18 - 5 (5) | |
| 69 | JARED MCMILLAN | 18 - 5 (5) | |
| 69 | JOHN DEVERE | 18 - 5 (5) | |
| 73 | ANDY WICKER | 18 - 4 (5) | |
| 74 | JAMES NIGGEMEYER | 18 - 3 (5) | |
| 75 | MATT REED | 18 - 2 (5) | |
| 76 | ROB KILBY | 18 - 1 (5) | |
| 76 | DERRICK BLAKE | 18 - 1 (5) | |
| 76 | AUSTIN FELIX | 18 - 1 (5) | |
| 79 | LARRY NIXON | 18 - 0 (5) | |
| 80 | TIM FREDERICK | 17 - 14 (5) | |
| 81 | TOM REDINGTON | 17 - 13 (5) | |
| 82 | JOSH DOUGLAS | 17 - 12 (5) | |
| 82 | WES LOGAN | 17 - 12 (5) | |
| 84 | CHRIS MCCALL | 17 - 11 (5) | |
| 85 | MATT WITTEKIEND | 17 - 10 (5) | |
| 86 | JOSHUA WEAVER | 17 - 8 (5) | |
| 86 | RANDY BLAUKAT | 17 - 8 (5) | |
| 88 | JASON LAMBERT | 17 - 5 (5) | |
| 89 | JASON ABRAM | 17 - 4 (5) | |
| 89 | BRANDON MCMILLAN | 17 - 4 (5) | |
| 91 | WADE CURTISS | 17 - 3 (5) | |
| 92 | CODY KELLEY | 17 - 2 (5) | |
| 93 | BRITT MYERS | 17 - 1 (5) | |
| 94 | JOHN VOYLES | 17 - 0 (5) | |
| 95 | CAPT BLAKE SMITH | 16 - 15 (5) | |
| 95 | JIMMY REESE | 16 - 15 (5) | |
| 97 | JIM TUTT | 16 - 14 (5) | |
| 98 | JOHN HUNTER | 16 - 13 (5) | |
| 98 | MARK FISHER | 16 - 13 (5) | |
| 98 | ROBERT PEARSON | 16 - 13 (5) | |
| 101 | JAY KENDRICK | 16 - 12 (5) | |
| 102 | BILLY MCCAGHREN | 16 - 10 (5) | |
| 102 | CLARK WENDLANDT | 16 - 10 (5) | |
| 102 | CAMERON GAUTNEY | 16 - 10 (5) | |
| 105 | BRETT PREUETT | 16 - 9 (5) | |
| 105 | JOSEPH WEBSTER | 16 - 9 (5) | |
| 105 | JIM MOYNAGH | 16 - 9 (5) | |
| 105 | ALEX DAVIS | 16 - 9 (5) | |
| 109 | TODD HOLLOWELL | 16 - 8 (5) | |
| 109 | JASON JOHNSON | 16 - 8 (5) | |
| 111 | SHANE LINEBERGER | 16 - 6 (5) | |
| 111 | BILLY HINES | 16 - 6 (5) | |
| 113 | ANDY YOUNG | 16 - 5 (5) | |
| 113 | TERRY BOLTON | 16 - 5 (5) | |
| 115 | BRADLEY HALLMAN | 16 - 4 (5) | |
| 116 | MILES HOWE | 16 - 3 (5) | |
| 116 | ANDREW UPSHAW | 16 - 3 (5) | |
| 118 | ERIC JACKSON | 16 - 2 (5) | |
| 119 | DAVID LARSON | 16 - 1 (5) | |
| 119 | SHAWN MURPHY | 16 - 1 (5) | |
| 121 | MIKE SURMAN | 16 - 0 (5) | |
| 122 | MICHAEL WOOLEY | 15 - 13 (5) | |
| 122 | KERRY MILNER | 15 - 13 (5) | |
| 122 | RICHARD LOWITZKI | 15 - 13 (5) | |
| 125 | SCOTT WILEY | 15 - 12 (5) | |
| 126 | EVAN BARNES | 15 - 11 (5) | |
| 127 | SHELDON COLLINGS | 15 - 9 (5) | |
| 128 | JIM MOULTON | 15 - 8 (5) | |
| 128 | JIMMY HOUSTON | 15 - 8 (5) | |
| 128 | CRAIG ROZEMA | 15 - 8 (5) | |
| 131 | ZACK BIRGE | 15 - 7 (5) | |
| 132 | AARON BRITT | 15 - 5 (5) | |
| 133 | TIM CALES | 15 - 4 (5) | |
| 134 | TIMMY THOMPKINS | 15 - 3 (5) | |
| 135 | CHAD MORGENTHALER | 15 - 2 (5) | |
| 136 | JIM DILLARD | 15 - 1 (5) | |
| 136 | JAMIE HORTON | 15 - 1 (5) | |
| 138 | SCOTT ASHMORE | 15 - 0 (5) | |
| 139 | REX HUFF | 14 - 14 (5) | |
| 140 | PETER THLIVEROS | 14 - 12 (5) | |
| 141 | CHRISTOPHER BRASHER | 14 - 11 (5) | |
| 141 | FURMAN (JOE) THOMPSON | 14 - 11 (5) | |
| 141 | DAVID NICHOL | 14 - 11 (5) | |
| 141 | WILLIAM CAMPBELL | 14 - 11 (5) | |
| 141 | DARRELL DAVIS | 14 - 11 (5) | |
| 146 | GLENN CHAPPELEAR | 14 - 9 (5) | |
| 147 | CURTIS RICHARDSON | 14 - 8 (5) | |
| 148 | JASON MENINGER | 14 - 6 (5) | |
| 148 | TODD AUTEN | 14 - 6 (5) | |
| 150 | JAY YELAS | 14 - 4 (5) | |
| 151 | MATT GARNER | 14 - 3 (5) | |
| 152 | KURT DOVE | 13 - 13 (4) | |
| 153 | RUSTY TRANCYGIER | 13 - 12 (5) | |
| 153 | DAVID DUDLEY | 13 - 12 (5) | |
| 155 | CHRIS GOSSELAAR | 13 - 9 (5) | |
| 156 | GARY YAMAMOTO | 13 - 6 (4) | |
| 157 | DARYL BIRON | 13 - 2 (5) | |
| 158 | BRIAN LATIMER | 12 - 15 (5) | |
| 159 | CHAD RANDLES | 12 - 13 (5) | |
| 160 | KEITH BRYAN | 12 - 12 (5) | |
| 161 | CHARLIE EVANS | 12 - 8 (5) | |
| 162 | YUSUKE MIYAZAKI | 12 - 5 (4) | |
| 163 | BILL MCDONALD | 12 - 3 (4) | |
| 164 | JORDAN OSBORNE | 12 - 2 (5) | |
| 165 | CHASE BROOKS | 12 - 0 (5) | |
| 166 | WILLIAM(BILLY) SHELTON III | 11 - 15 (5) | |
| 167 | J TODD TUCKER | 11 - 14 (5) | |
| 168 | RONALD YOUNG | 11 - 3 (5) | |
| 169 | LENDELL MARTIN JR | 11 - 1 (3) | |
| 170 | BILL HUTCHISON | 10 - 3 (5) | |
| 171 | ANTHONY GAGLIARDI | 10 - 2 (3) | |
| 172 | ZELL ROWLAND | 9 - 6 (4) | |
| 173 | RICHIE EAVES | 8 - 11 (3) | |
| 174 | HARRY MOORE | 8 - 6 (4) | |
| 174 | JAMES WATSON | 8 - 6 (4) | |
| 176 | BRYAN SCHMITT | 6 - 2 (3) | |
| 177 | ROBERT BEHRLE | 3 - 12 (2) | |
| 178 | TONY DUMITRAS | 1 - 11 (1) | |
| STEVEN HATALA | 0 - 0 (0) | ||
| KENNETH (BOO) WOODS | 0 - 0 (0) |
WALKER AND TILGHMAN LEAD WORLD FINALS FIELD - 25.01 Limit Anchored by 10.08 BF!
Courtesy of FLW Fishing
McKie and Champy also placed second in the 2018 High School Fishing World Finals, which runs concurrently with the National Championship. All National Championship participants are also competing in the invitational World Finals.
Leading the World Finals are Cort Walker and Lawson Tilghman of Hardin County High School, who caught the day’s biggest bag – a limit of 25-01. Their catch was anchored by a 10-pound, 8-ounce bass that earned Big Fish honors.
“My partner caught that fish on a spot we had been wanting to fish all day, but there were people on it,” Walker says. “We waited until everyone was getting ready to leave, and we hoped we would be able to pick up one at the end of the day. On his first cast, he culls a 3-pounder for a 4 1/2.
“We didn’t have another bite for another 50 casts, but we kept fishing around the spot. We said we had to leave by 3:05 to make the weigh-ins, and at 3:04, right before he starts reeling in his bait, he sees his line jump and he sets the hook.”
“The fish was just digging and digging and digging, and I said, ‘There’s no way this is a bass,’” continues Tilghman. “It never wanted to come up and jump, so I thought it was going to be a drum or big catfish. About 20 yards from the boat, it comes up and does a slow walk across the top.
“We all got to hollering, and I skied him the rest of the way to the net. That was definitely the highlight of the day.”
Tilghman says he caught the big bass on a finesse-style bait that he declines to identify until tournament’s end. He and his partner also caught fish on crankbaits.
“They’re kind of in a funk right now,” Tilghman says of the effects of hot weather and heavy fishing pressure on the Pickwick bass. “You can get them fired up really quick, but you have to get something slow through there to really get the good ones to eat.”
WORLD FINALS TOP 10
1. Cort Walker and Lawson Tilghman, Hardin County High School – 25-01
2. Kyler McKie and Chad Campy, North Agusta – 23-09
3. Brian Linder and Nathan Thompson, Eagan Bass Fishing Club – 22-06
4. Dillian Kilcrease and Gage Struben, West Ouachita Fishing Team – 20-15
5. Miles Kaneko and Jared De Femery, Delta Teen Team – 20-00
6. Cal Culpepper and Mason Waddell, Harris County High School – 19-11
7. Hunter Muncrief and Landen MCcary, West Sabine – 19-10
8. Colby Miller and Cole Moore, Oak Hills High School – 19-02
9. Jerren Gieske and Austin Clanton, Lawrence County – 19-00
10. Konnor Rogers and Luke Robinson, Tremont – 18-13
Costa Countdown to Blast Off - June 27, 2018
AC's John Byrne and Pro Staffer Robbie Digh Talk about Summer time heat and whats ahead this week on the Tournament Trail. Check it out!
Moore & Lohr champion 4th annual Techron TX tournament to win over $50,000.
| By: Patty Lenderman |
| It was a push for pounds at the 4th annual Techron TX tournament presented by Bass Champs on Sam Rayburn Jun 23rd, 2018. Push came to shove as 203 teams didn’t disappoint at the scales. $50,000 was guaranteed to the 1st place team and over $100,000 was paid out overall. Twenty four teams went home with checks, but the bite was so good on Sam Rayburn that it took almost 20 pounds of bass to earn a check. In the end Harold Moore and Bryan Lohr hit the jackpot with their five fish limit to win over $50,000.
It is undeniably summertime here in Deep East Texas. Temperatures continued to climb throughout the day hitting triple digits in the ‘feels like’ temps. Thankfully there was a pretty consistent breeze that helped a little to endure this hot day on the lake. When it is hot like this, taking care of the fish in livewells becomes a part of the job out on the lake. As incentive to take great care of the fish caught, any fish brought in that is dead gives the team a one-pound penalty per deceased fish. Considering how tight the weights were, that can make a big difference in the standings. Also, with over 200 teams participating, Bass Champs offered three ‘Zero’ bonuses. Chad Potts explained “When you have this many teams catching that many fish in temperatures like this, it puts a lot of fish in a position to undergo a lot of extra duress going through the weigh in process. We developed this conservation bonus to do two things. (A) Cut down the number of bass being weighed in, getting released back into the lake a lot quicker, and (B) Give more teams who would not have won a check in the regular payout a chance to win for participating in this conservation effort.” Two $500 checks were given out and $250 for the third team drawn to win the conservation bonuses. The first team to breach twenty pounds was Sammy Christian and Allan Shivers. Their biggest fish weighed 8.50, and their limit hit 24.22 lbs to set the bar in both categories. That was only the beginning. Lee Batson and Jason Greer came in with their catch and heaved their biggest to the scales. It weighed 10.92 lbs! Adding the rest of their catch, they took over the lead with 25.06 pounds. But that was just the beginning. Harold Moore of Caldwell, TX and Bryan Lohr of Lumberton brought in a huge sack. While it was filled with big chunky bass, none of them would hit over ten pounds to check for the Big Bass category. Heaving their entire sack onto the scales, it registered 29.71 pounds – but they had a one pound penalty, bringing their official weight to 28.71 pounds. What an amazing sack of bass! “The first part of the day we caught our fish on 6th Sense C-25 crank baits,” Harold began. “Later we went to structure areas with a ¾ ounce 6th Sense jig.” Bryan caught their biggest fish on a Carolina rig, anchoring their $50,000 win. Sure Life added another $200 to their day for using the product in their livewell. Jesse and Brandon Moody of Apple Springs, TX hit 2nd place overall having 27.96 pounds. “We used a 6th Sense C-15 crank bait all day,” the team reported. They had a nice kicker in their bag weighing 9.52 pounds. “We lost a seven pounder earlier in the day that would have put us over the top!” Bass Champs awarded them $10,000 plus another $250 from Lowrance. Lee Batson and Jason Greer, both of Heath, TX held onto a 3rd place win with their 25.06 lb sack. “We stuck to brush piles all day with a 6th Sense Hybrid jig,” they explained. “We had a limit in the boat by 7am, then we headed to another brush pile. Jason landed our big bass (10.92 lbs) at 9:00. He named her ‘Sarah’”. They received a 3rd place check for $8,000 and got another $1,000 for winning Big Bass. The rest of the top 10 line up was quite tight: Techron has been the premier sponsor for this annual event for the last few years. Joe DeFina, Business Manager for Techron flew from California to attend the event. “This is such an awesome community,” DeFina began as he surveyed the anglers and the crowd. “Techron makes products that fit both diesel and gas applications, and later in 2018 we will introduce the new marine products as well.” He continues “This annual tournament is a grass roots opportunity for us to meet with the end-users, the consumers of our product. We appreciate this sport so much, and the men and women who participate in it in venues across the board. It is an honor to be a part of the Bass Champs series. Chad and his team run a first class operation. Next year we will feature Techron Marine products, and showcase the features and benefits of this new protection plus formula. I would like to thank everyone who participated in this tournament, and am looking forward to next year. Congratulations to all participants, especially those taking home checks!” For full standings, click to www.BassChamps.com |
Navionics June Updates
Courtesy of Navionics
Navionics just released a ton of new data on lakes and water ways across the United States and Canada, just in time for you to go boating or fishing or sailing or just cruising around!
Navionics is the only cartography provider that shares updates every day, so our customers can enjoy the most current content available, averaging 2,000 updates a day!
They also have an expansive database of over 18,000 lakes in 1 ft HD contours for US and Canada! Now we've added more coverage that is available on Navionics plotter cards and mobile apps - with more on the way! Here are some links to check out....
- US - Lake Tohopekaliga, Lake Harris, Little Lake Harris, Lake Eustis (FL) updated
https://www.navionics.com/usa/blog/post/significant-updates-released-for-10-us-lakes/
- Canada - New lakes in Ontario and Quebec
https://www.navionics.com/usa/blog/post/new-lake-charts-in-canada/
On your PLOTTER:
- Purchase a Navionics+ chart card and get the latest Nautical Chart, SonarChart™ and Community Edits for all of US and Canada plus one year of daily updates or purchase HotMaps Platinum if you want exclusive Satellite Overlay, 3D view and Panoramic Pictures along with Navionics+ charts and features.
- If you already have a chart card from Navionics or even a different brand, you can update and upgrade to Navionics+ with Navionics Updates at half price! See video.
- If you currently own a Navionics+ or HotMaps Platinum, simply perform your daily updates to have the new lakes added!
On your MOBILE:
- If you are new to Navionics, download the FREE version of our Boating app. You'll get a two weeks free trial before the option to purchase so you can explore any of our existing lakes.
- If you currently own the Boating app for USA or US & Canada, or the free Boating app with either region purchased, just go to Menu>Update All or Download Map if it is a new area. If you are not able to update your charts, renew your Navionics+ subscription for another year at half price!
Here are some more Navionics News you might have missed...
- How to track your day on the Navionics Boating app!
Keep a record of your activities and share your moments on the water! The tracking feature of the Navionics Boating app is perfect for:
Cruising & Sailing - recall trip details from your favorite destinations; analyze speed data and compare it to previous results.
Fishing - return to successful spots.
Learn more at this link:
https://www.navionics.com/usa/blog/post/how-to-track-your-day-on-the-boating-app/
- New Lake Charts in Canada
Just in time for summer boating & fishing season, we just released more than a thousand new charts of lakes in Quebec and Ontario as well as hundreds of updates to our existing charts of the region. Navionics is committed to providing our customers with the most up-to-date and accurate content available, continuously updating, verifying, and integrating information.
Learn more at: https://www.navionics.com/usa/blog/post/new-lake-charts-in-canada/
- Here are some more exciting Navionics webinars coming soon...
July 9th 8000PM EST Learn how to catch Tuna on poppers and jigs with Captain Jim Freda and Captain Anthony Grassi Co-Sponsored by: Tackle Direct and St Croix Rods.
Link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7976053452510236161?source=host+link
July 12th 1000PM EST Southern California Yellowtail Strategy with Erik Landesfeind Co Sponsored by: Penn Reels
Link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6588946966303651073?source=host+link
July 16th 800PM EST Bassmaster Elite Angler Brandon Card Topwater fishing during the summer. Co Sponsored by: Yo-Zuri
Link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1241856993686621697?source=host+link
July 19th, 2018 1000PM EST Travis Huckaby Prepping for UFC Delta Frog event. Co Sponsored by: Phenix Rods.
Link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3114493521068480769?source=host+link
July 24th, 2018 800PM EST Summer Bassin on Lake Okeechobee where do you start with Mike Readling. Co Sponsored by: DOA Lures.
Link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8241702058853327873?source=Host+Link
July 30th 800PM EST Redfish time is now! Captain Stephen Fields with Charleston Fishing Co. will help show you where to go and the baits to use. Co Sponsored by: Bass Pro Shops.
Link:https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3679901982359320577?source=Host+Link
BASS Heads to South Dakota & The Mystery Smallmouth At Lake Oahe
|
|||
|
AC Insider: Bass Mafia Elite Series Pro Justin Lucas Talks Daddy Life,LaCrosse, AOY & Oahe Plus News, Wrap-ups, Opinions & More!
This week the boys check in with Elite Series Pro Justin Lucas and Life on the road with 7 month old Baby Boy Cooper Jack. JLuc & Jason play "Whats Under the ARE Truck Cap", he talks Lake Oahe and more! The boys also look back at the Progressive Bass Wrap Up, Costa Countdown to blast off and CB Goes off on Thieves and Idiots. Typical Monday here on the AC Insider Podcast!
BLAKE’S TRUCK, BOAT STOLEN AT ST. CLAIR
Courtesy of FLW
June 25, 2018
FLW Tour pro Derrick Blake’s boat and suburban were stolen from outside his hotel early Monday morning around 1:40 a.m., per the hotel security cameras at the Days Inn and Suites in Roseville, Mich. Blake’s truck is a black 2005 Z71 Chevy Suburban, and the boat is a charcoal and grey 2015 Ranger Z520 with Mercury 250 Pro XS, black Power-Poles and Humminbird electronics. If you have any information that might help locate the truck and boat, you can call the Roseville Police at 586.447.4483.
Because Blake was traveling to St. Clair with his family for the final FLW Tour event of the season, all of his tackle was stolen, as well as a number of personal items, including car seats, toys and clothes.
Blake says that according to the hotel cameras, a car drove into the parking lot early in the morning and two men got out, broke into Blake’s truck and then got back in the car. After about 10 minutes two men got back out of the car and into Blake’s truck, started it and drove off with it and the boat, with a third man following in the car.
Blake will be able to borrow a boat from FLW to use for the tournament and practice starting Tuesday, but he’s got other logistical obstacles to overcome besides just getting on the water.
“I’ve got to find a vehicle to get there and back,” says Blake. “I may try and rent a car. I’m sure I can find someone to dump me in every day at the launch.”
Though he lost some irreplaceable tackle, Blake is likely to be OK for the tournament. Some local anglers and Tour pros have stepped up to loan him tackle, and Ark Rods is overnighting him rods and reels.
“If I can get all this done in the next few hours I can get a decent day of practice in tomorrow,” says Blake. “Then it’ll be better than nothing I guess.”
KENTUCKY’S HOCK WINS T-H MARINE FLW BFL BUCKEYE DIVISION TOURNAMENT ON OHIO RIVER
Ohio’s Wilkens Takes Co-angler Title
LAWRENCEBURG, Ind. (June 25, 2018) – Boater Adam Hock of Independence, Kentucky, brought five bass to the scale Saturday weighing 9 pounds even to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Buckeye Division tournament on the Ohio River at Tanner’s Creek. For his win, Hock earned $4,000.
“We got a lot of rain leading up to the tournament, which muddied the water and brought the water levels up,” said Hock, who earned his first career win in BFL competition. “I ended up finding clearer water, and that was the ticket.”
Hock said most of the field ran to the lower end in search of clear water, but equipment limitations forced him to stay upriver.
“It’s shallower upriver and it muddies up a lot more than the steadier water down at the lower end, which is pretty typical for most impoundments,” said Hock. “I was fishing in an aluminum boat with a 60-horsepower motor and didn’t have the fuel capacity or the speed to make the 30-minute run down there. I knew there were a couple good creeks just up from Tanner’s Creek, so I went to what I could get to.”
Around 7:30 a.m. Hock caught a 3-pounder on a white buzzbait. As the morning progressed, Hock left his area to look for cleaner water upriver, but ended up returning.
“My co-angler caught a 4-pounder and we talked to another boat who lost another 4 (pounder) in the area. Those size fish aren’t that common on the Ohio River,” said Hock. “Knowing how clean the water was and realizing that those fish were there, we decided to stay and grind it out.”
Hock said he started out with the buzzbait, but ended up switching to a Texas-rigged green-pumpkin-colored Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Craw on 20-pound-test line. He ended up weighing four fish on the craw.
“I had more bites with the buzzbait, but they weren’t committing to it. I knew fish were there, but I just had to slow down and flip,” said Hock. “I fished wood, flooded grass and rocky banks. They weren’t on anything specific. I just knew they were in the area and I picked everything apart.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Adam Hock, Independence, Ky., five bass, 9-0, $4,000
2nd: Brian Campbell, Oxford, Ohio, four bass, 8-0, $2,000
3rd: Ronald Nutter, Saint Louisville, Ohio, five bass, 7-4, $1,534
4th: Tilford Head, Hamilton, Ohio, four bass, 7-3, $933
5th: Gary Ginter, Maplewood, Ohio, three bass, 7-1, $800
6th: Mark Dove, North Vernon, Ind., five bass, 6-7, $733
7th: Cody Hall, Xenia, Ohio, two bass, 6-6, $767
8th: Trevor Windgassen, Alexandria, Ky., four bass, 6-5, $566
8th: Chris Joyce, Hebron, Ky., four bass, 6-5, $566
10th: John Viox, Hebron, Ky., two bass, 6-3, $1,307
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Viox brought a bass to the scale weighing 5 pounds even – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $540.
Brent Wilkens of Hamilton, Ohio, won the Co-angler Division and $2,470 Saturday after catching two bass weighing 7 pounds, 10 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Brent Wilkens, Hamilton, Ohio, two bass, 7-10, $2,470
2nd: Chris McCusker, Beaver Falls, Pa., five bass, 7-9, $1,050
3rd: Alfie Bricker, West Portsmouth, Ohio, three bass, 6-15, $666
4th: Dan Schlegel, Cincinnati, Ohio, two bass, 4-11, $467
5th: Frank Aldridge, Wheelersburg, Ohio, four bass, 4-8, $400
6th: Brent Jones, Okeana, Ohio, four bass, 4-7, $367
7th: Mark Miller, Baltic, Ohio, three bass, 3-12, $333
8th: Robert Todd, Cincinnati, Ohio, two bass, 3-6, $300
9th: Aaron Stahley, Batavia, Ohio, two bass, 3-4, $236
9th: Nick Leonard, Cincinnati, Ohio, two bass, 3-4, $236
9th: Dakota Ball, New Castle, Ind., two bass, 3-4, $236
Wilkens also caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division weighing in at 4 pounds, 11 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $270.
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, Maryland. 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. 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.
LA HARPE’S WILSON WINS T-H MARINE FLW BFL ILLINI DIVISION TOURNAMENT ON REND LAKE
Co-angler title goes to Walnut Hill’s Arning
WHITTINGTON, Ill. (June 25, 2018) – Boater Travis Wilson of La Harpe, Illinois, weighed a 16-pound, 5-ounce limit of bass Saturday to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Illini Division tournament on Rend Lake. For his efforts, Wilson netted $5,705.
Wilson said he caught his fish along a 150-yard stretch of riprap on the south side of Illinois Route 154. He said he fished there the entire day, catching six keepers in the process.
“I found the fish in practice Friday late in the day. I hadn’t caught a keeper all day, but around 4 o’clock I caught three good ones along that stretch,” said Wilson, who logged his first win in FLW competition. “I started there Saturday morning, but it was slow. My co-angler and I only caught one or two per hour, but every time I considered leaving, I’d catch another one. I had three around 10 (a.m.) and I decided I was going to stay there the rest of the day.”
Wilson said he used a 7-inch Junebug-colored Zoom Finesse Worm with a 1/8-ounce head.
“If you used anything heavier it was really hard to keep your bait out of the rocks,” said Wilson. “Some of the fish were in 3 feet of water – close to the bank – but some of my better bites came from 6 or 7 feet down. With the light bait you had to be super patient because it’s hard to keep it down in that depth range. Basically, it was light enough to stay out of the rocks, but heavy enough to keep it down.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Travis Wilson, La Harpe, Ill., five bass, 16-5, $3,705 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
2nd: Colby Schrumpf, Highland, Ill., five bass, 13-10, $1,853
3rd: Dan Morehead, Paducah, Ky., five bass, 12-15, $1,469
4th: Brennon McCord, West Frankfort, Ill., five bass, 12-11, $818
5th: Brett Chesnek, Woodlawn, Ill., five bass, 12-0, $701
6th: Levi Shaw, Opdyke, Ill., four bass, 11-14, $1,083
7th: Dan Shoraga, West Frankfort, Ill., five bass, 11-3, $584
8th: Chad Diedrich, Nashville, Ill., five bass, 10-7, $526
9th: Jeremy Mull, Chatham, Ill., four bass, 10-6, $467
10th: Lonnie Bowlin, Benton, Ill., four bass, 10-4, $409
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Shaw brought a bass weighing 6 pounds even to the scale – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $440.
Aaron Arning of Walnut Hill, Illinois, won the Co-angler Division and $1,853 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 13 pounds, 14 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Aaron Arning, Walnut Hill, Ill., five bass, 13-14, $1,853
2nd: Greg McCandless, Normal, Ill., three bass, 11-4, $876
3rd: Spencer Clark, Maryland Heights, Mo., three bass, 8-6, $585
4th: Greg James, Carterville, Ill., four bass, 8-1, $459
5th: Roger Massey, Bloomington, Ill., three bass, 7-6, $321
5th: Timothy Rivest, Champaign, Ill., two bass, 7-6, $321
5th: Wesley Lashmett, Winchester, Ill., three bass, 7-6, $321
8th: Mark Carlock, Hillsboro, Ill., two bass, 6-10, $263
9th: Brandon Depew, Odin, Ill., three bass, 6-8, $234
10th: Jay Champley, Benton, Ill., two bass, 6-4, $204
Drew Coleman of Jackson, Missouri, 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 $220.
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. 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.
TAHLEQUAH’S WARNER WINS T-H MARINE FLW BFL OKIE DIVISION EVENT ON FORT GIBSON LAKE
Oklahoma City’s Bradford Grabs Co-angler Title
WAGONER, Okla. (June 25, 2018) – Boater Russ Warner of Tahlequah, Oklahoma, weighed five bass Saturday totaling 15 pounds, 15 ounces, to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Okie Division tournament on Fort Gibson Lake. Warner took home $5,165 for his win.
“I fished the mid-lake area and targeted offshore rock piles,” said Warner, who logged his first career victory in FLW competition. “All of my fish came from between 6 and 10 feet of water and were on main-lake spots, close to the river channel.
“Every fish I weighed came on a 10-inch Yum Ribbon Tail worm,” continued Warner. “Junebug was the best color, but I did switch to cranberry later in the day. My last fish bit around 2 (p.m.).”
Warner said he fished slow, rotating through eight different stops. He said he hit each at least three times and caught five keepers.
“I got my MinnKota Ultrex trolling motor a couple months ago and wouldn’t have won without it,” said Warner. “The wind was blowing pretty hard and I could get lined up on the rock piles I had marked. I hit Spot Lock, and it would hold me there as I faced the wind. I could make 20, 30 or even 40 casts to the same spot, sometimes waiting until that 40th cast to get a bite.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Russ Warner, Tahlequah, Okla., five bass, 15-15, $5,165
2nd: Roger Fitzpatrick, Eldon, Mo., five bass, 15-10, $2,782
3rd: Dennis Berhorst, Holts Summit, Mo., five bass, 15-9, $2,122
4th: David Youngblood, Owasso, Okla., five bass, 15-7, $1,205
5th: Terry Thomas, Nixa, Mo., five bass, 15-3, $990
5th: Jacob Capps, Muskogee, Okla., three bass, 15-3, $990
7th: Marcus Sykora, Osage Beach, Mo., five bass, 14-15, $861
8th: Clint Williams, Fayetteville, Ark., five bass, 14-9, $775
9th: Tom Silber, Labadie, Mo., five bass, 13-14, $689
10th: Curt Warren, Rose, Okla., three bass, 13-10, $603
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Richard Bower III of Westphalia, Missouri, brought a 6-pound, 3-ounce bass to the scale – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $805.
Bryant Bradford of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, won the Co-angler Division and $2,582 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 11 pounds, 9 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Bryant Bradford, Oklahoma City, Okla., five bass, 11-9, $2,582
2nd: Bradley Sullivan, Shawnee, Okla., four bass, 11-3, $1,693
3rd: Steve Madar, Starkville, Miss., five bass, 10-9, $863
4th: Jacob Sloan, Paola, Kan., four bass, 10-8, $759
4th: Bill Wiles, Arcadia, Okla., four bass, 10-8, $559
6th: Stephen Stewart, Fort Gibson, Okla., three bass, 10-2, $473
7th: David Hamilton, Rogers, Ark., four bass, 9-15, $430
8th: Kurt Gordon, Cushing, Okla., three bass, 9-6, $387
9th: David Lansford, Muskogee, Okla., three bass, 9-5, $344
10th: Stephen Delgado, Lee’s Summit, Mo., three bass, 8-13, $351
Sullivan caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division weighing in at 5 pounds, 5 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $402.
The T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Okie Division tournament on Fort Gibson Lake was hosted by the Wagoner Area Chamber of Commerce.
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. 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.
TENNESSEE’S HUFF WINS T-H MARINE FLW BFL MOUNTAIN DIVISION TOURNAMENT ON BARREN RIVER
Tennessee’s Goss Grabs Co-angler Title
GLASGOW, Ky. (June 25, 2018) – Boater Rod Huff of Monterey, Tennessee, brought five bass to the scale Saturday weighing 18 pounds, 6 ounces, to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Mountain Division tournament on the Barren River. Huff earned $7,552 for his win.
Huff said he mainly fished rock and wood and caught his fish shallow, in less than 5 feet of water. He said his day was split between four areas, spanning from up the main river, to both Peter and Beaver creeks.
“Early on in the morning I caught my biggest using a (green-pumpkin) ChatterBait with a (Zoom) Z-Craw of the same color up the main river, around the wood and rock,” said Huff, who earned his second career win in BFL competition. “I ran the bait over a small laydown and put it in the boat.”
Huff’s fish – a 5-pound, 8-ouncer – was the heaviest of the event. He also weighed in two on a Texas-rigged green-pumpkin Zoom Z-Craw and the rest on a white 3/8-ounce custom buzzbait.
“My other big bite came between 12 and 1 o’clock flipping the Z-Craw in Peter Creek,” said Huff. “I basically covered water with the ChatterBait and buzzbait, and if I came to a treetop or something like that I’d flip it.”
Huff said he ended up catching around seven keepers over the course of his day.
“The key for me was hitting the areas at the right time. There wasn’t a lot of pressure up shallow. I actually thought the tournament would be won offshore. That, along with my two big bites, was what sealed the deal for me.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Rod Huff, Monterey, Tenn., five bass, 18-6, $5,552 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
2nd: Tom Hill, Lexington, Ky., five bass, 16-15, $1,921
3rd: Joe Rucker, Nicholasville, Ky., five bass, 15-8, $1,382
4th: Tony Eckler, Lebanon, Tenn., five bass, 14-15, $896
5th: Mark Morgan, Somerset, Ky., five bass, 14-13, $768
6th: Ryan Coleman, Utica, Ky., five bass, 14-4, $704
7th: Brian Wilson, Somerset, Ky., five bass, 13-10, $940
8th: Tim Saylor, Johnson City, Tenn., five bass, 13-1, $576
9th: Robert Reagan, Byrdstown, Tenn., five bass, 12-11, $512
10th: Michael Emberton, Bowling Green, Ky., five bass, 12-9, $448
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Huff’s 5-pound, 8-ounce bass earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $510.
Larry Goss of Hartsville, Tennessee, won the Co-angler Division and $2,048 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 16 pounds, 14 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Larry Goss, Hartsville, Tenn., five bass, 16-14, $2,048
2nd: Chris Rushing, Gamaliel, Ky., four bass, 11-5, $1,160
3rd: Donnie Durbin, Somerset, Ky., five bass, 10-14, $641
4th: Tommy Glass, Verona, Ky., four bass, 10-7, $448
5th: David Mouser, Elizabethtown, Ky., four bass, 9-13, $384
6th: James Wathen, Royal Oak, Mich., five bass, 9-1, $402
7th: Brent Clark, Bowling Green, Ky., four bass, 7-12, $320
8th: Glen Alan Ruth, Frankfort, Ky., four bass, 7-11, $288
9th: Billy Gardner, Livingston, Tenn., three bass, 7-10, $256
10th: Timothy Ernst, Mount Eden, Ky., three bass, 7-6, $224
Robbie Welsh of Berea, Kentucky, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division weighing in at 4 pounds, 15 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $127.
The T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Mountain Division tournament on the Barren River was hosted by the Glasgow-Barren County Tourist & Convention Commission.
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. 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.
Nelson goes Back-to-Back on Champlain - Wins Costa Northern
Courtesy of FLW Fishing
June 23, 2018 by Jody White
In 2017, Ron Nelson of Berrien Springs, Mich., won the Costa FLW Series Northern Division opener on Lake Champlain with 54 pounds, 9 ounces and a mix of largemouths and smallmouths. Today, Nelson won the 2018 season opener, which was presented by Power-Pole, this time with 15 healthy bedding smallmouths for a total of 60 pounds even.
After weighing five smallies on the final day for 19-8, Nelson edged out Brett Carnright for the title by 8 ounces. Nelson’s third Costa FLW Series win earns him $51,700 and a Ranger Z518 with a 200-hp outboard.
Winning with all smallmouths on Champlain is pretty unheard of in a multi-day tournament. It happens, but seemingly only once a decade or so. This week, Nelson sincerely tried to catch largemouths, and almost weighed in a couple, but in the end he went all brown.
“I had the same strategy as last time,” says Nelson. “These fish are so easy to catch. They gave me a lot of window to take my co-angler fishing and try to find a big largemouth. I just did not see the largemouths I saw last time. The water quality was not the same. It seemed dirtier this year; it just seemed off. I knew that a 4-pounder was a great fish no matter what it was, but I also knew I couldn’t catch a 5-plus smallmouth. I could have a real shot at catching a 5-plus largemouth.”
Nelson lost a big largemouth on day one that would have probably given him the lead right then. As it was, he triumphed over a pile of locals with slightly heftier bedding smallies.
“I learned pretty quick that you’d find quality fish in any section you went to. It was just a matter of learning a given section and putting time in,” says Nelson, who mostly fished the main lake around the Gut (the passage between Grand Isle and South Hero).
A lot of the field spent time with their heads buried in a bathyscope, searching for smallies or eyeing them up while bed-fishing. Nelson bucked that trend to a degree.
“I found them all with my eyes, and I’d just catch them to see what they weighed,” says Nelson, who caught less than 10 smallmouths each day. “My Flogger [bathyscope] got shipped to me during practice, and I just started playing with it and couldn’t tell the size of the fish. I had a few fish where I’d catch them and then I could catch them again next pitch. Time-wise, I wanted to know exactly what I was putting time into. I didn’t want to flog them and think it was a 3 1/2-pounder and have it end up being a 3-pounder.”
Nelson tried to look for deeper beds, and he caught his smallies in 5 to 10 feet on a Poor Boy’s Erie Darter (watermelon gold) and a Reaction Innovations Smallie Beaver rigged on a 1/4- or 3/16-ounce darter head. When he fished for largemouths, Nelson targeted reeds, grass and docks with a Yamamoto Senko and a jig.
On day one Nelson lost a big largemouth around 11 a.m. On day three, he worked a 4-2 smallmouth for hours, even getting it to bite a topwater at one point. Had he caught either of those fish, he might have coasted to the victory. As it was, he had to climb from second and sweat it out.
“It’s really special. It really is,” says Nelson of the win. “I thought I was beat, to be honest with you. I thought he [Carnright] fished really hard and had a big advantage, but however the chips fall they fall, and it’s a blessing. You fish for fun, and to win twice is really cool.”
Top 10 pros
1. Ron Nelson – Berrien Springs, Mich. – 60-0 (15) – $51,700 and a Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower outboard
2. Brett Carnright – Plattsburgh, N.Y. – 59-8 (15) – $20,500
3. Austin Felix – Eden Prairie, Minn. – 59-1 (15) – $14,600
4. Chris Johnston – Peterborough, Ont. – 58-1 (15) – $12,500
5. Chris Adams – Shrewsbury, Vt. – 57-3 (15) – $11,500
6. Ryan Latinville – Plattsburgh, N.Y. – 57-0 (15) – $9,250
7. JJ Judd – Saint Albans, Vt. – 56-11 (15) – $8,000
8. Cory Johnston – Cavan, Ont. – 55-11 (15) – $7,300
9. Joseph Wood – Westport, Mass. – 54-7 (15) – $6,000
10. Bradley Dortch – Atmore, Ala. – 49-8 (15) – $4,500
Gabe Aldridge and Wes Wiggins win 2018 Alabama Bass Trail Alabama River John Pollard and Dallas Weldon Sew up Southern Division Anglers of the Year
by Dan O’Sullivan
June 23, 2018 – Prattville, Ala. – The Alabama River poses interesting challenges for anglers. With plentiful shoreline cover to choose from, and the variable of the current to factor in, a day of competitive fishing there is never a sure thing.
With so many things to consider, and so much on the line, the 225 team field of the Alabama Bass Trail’s Southern Division set out on Saturday June 23 to decide several things. Not only was there the question of who would win and collect paychecks in the final event; but also, the Southern Division Anglers of the Year title and who would automatically qualify for the 2018 ABT Championship in October on Neely Henry Lake in Gadsden.
For the individual event, the team of Gabe Aldridge and Wes Wiggins posted an impressive total of 15.88 pounds of Alabama River largemouth to claim victory and the $10,000 winner’s prize. They narrowly edged out Rob Lee and Steve Winslett, who posted a total weight of 15.83 pounds – anchored by the 6.10-pound Mountain Dew Big Bass of the event – to finish second for the day.
Aldridge and Wiggins said that they targeted the Swift Creek area of the pool, deciding to focus on backwater areas that had a mixture of shallow grass and boat docks. They said that they used swim jigs and a Flippin’ presentation to secure the victory.
They said they had a good day of fishing, catching 20 to 30 fish on black and blue or white swim jigs and watermelon red YUM Christie Critters and Big Texan Reaction Innovations Sweet Beavers. “We culled for the last time at about one o’clock today, but certainly didn’t think we had enough to win,” they said. “It hasn’t sunk in yet, this is the biggest tournament we’ve won, so it’s pretty amazing; we’re really proud of this.”
Lee and Winslet fished main lake tree tops that had fallen into the water. They used one of Lee’s homemade black and blue 3/4-ounce Flippin’ jig tipped with a Flippin’ Blue colored Zoom Super Chunk trailer. They also caught several fish on a 3/16-ounce Davis Baits Shaky Head with a Red Bug colored Big Bite Baits Finesse Worm.
Their finish surprised them. “We thought that we could catch 10 to 12 pounds, so this is quite a surprise,” they said. “But, that’s what happens when you luck into a six pounder; it really helps your bag. It was a tough day overall, but we did enough to be here, so the outcome was amazing.”
Heading into the final event, the team of John Pollard and Dallas Weldon were tied with Gentry Gordy and Chad Smith for the lead in the race. There were several other teams that were within striking distance of the leaders should they stumble. The first of the two teams to come through were Gordy and Smith, and they stumbled, leaving the door open.
However, when Pollard and Weldon dropped 15.11 pounds on the scales, they sewed up the Southern Division Anglers of the Year Title by finishing the day in seventh place; their total for the season was 1,032 points. That meant they earned slightly over 206 points per event, or a 19th place finish for the year. “This has been a great year, we really couldn’t have expected things to go like this,” they said. “This is the toughest field around, so to me standing here as Anglers of the Year is truly an accomplishment that really means something; we’re very proud of this.”
The rest of the Top 10 Standings are below, for complete standings visit: https://www.alabamabasstrail.org/tournament-series/ar-results/
| PLACE | ANGLERS | WEIGHT | BIG FISH | WINNINGS |
| 1 | Gabe Aldridge / Wes Wiggins | 15.88 | 5.43 | $10,000 |
| 2 | Rob Lee / Steve Winslett | 15.83 | 6.10 | $5,000 |
| 3 | Charlie Williams / Michael Smith | 15.66 | $4,000 | |
| 4 | Chris Rutland / Coby Carden | 15.50 | $3,000 | |
| 5 | Jack Tibbs / Joshua Allman | 15.41 | 3.56 | $2,000 |
| 6 | Dusty Jordan / Alex Bowdoin | 15.35 | 4.01 | $1,500 |
| 7 | John Pollard / Dallas Weldon | 15.11 | $1,100 | |
| 7 | Joey Davidson / Tullis Lanier | 15.11 | 3.45 | $1,100 |
| 9 | Harry Parkerson / Jason Turner | 14.23 | 3.23 | $1,100 |
| 10 | Timothy Hatcher / Shane Underwood | 14.21 | $1,100 |
For complete season ending Southern Division standings, go to https://www.alabamabasstrail.org/tournament-series/south-division-standings/
California Native Ish Monroe Comes From Behind To Win Mississippi River Bassmaster Elite
|
|||||
|
Randall Tharp Takes Control With One Day To Go At Mississippi River Bassmaster Elite
|
|||||
|
UPDATE - Jamie Hartman on Medical Exemption fore Remainder of 2018 Elite Season
Courtesy of Vance McCullough
AnglersChannel.com has been following the story of Elite Series pro Jamie Hartman this week. And then the call from The Pro Agency – Hartman’s rep group. “He’s done.”
It came as a shock. Honestly, we were rooting for the guy. Last word we’d received from the tough, blue collar, former truck driver was, even though a bout of sciatica had hospitalized him on Sunday and he had missed most of the official practice period for the Bassmaster Elite Series event on the upper Mississippi River, a friend would drive him up there and he would lean on the ‘old man seat’ on the deck of his boat and give his best to make a strong showing this week.
His friend, Cole Mckown, drove the 12 hours to get him there as Hartman laid in a makeshift bed in the back seat of his own truck. Hartman spent 4 hours on the water the final practice day, caught a few fish. And couldn’t drive his boat back to the ramp. “I couldn’t even use my Hot Foot,” he explained.
“I tried man. Drove my butt up there and I tried (Wednesday) and . . . ain’t gonna happen. Not gonna happen.
“I couldn’t even sit. It’s out of my control at this point. I’m done. It’s to the point where you can’t do anything at all. It’s an excruciating pain.
“I’ve had it since I was in my twenties,” shared the 45-year-old Hartman. “but it’s always been just a pinch for a few days and then it’s gone. In December it got pretty bad but only in the lower, right back. Then at the Lake Travis event I woke up with it, in the back but going down the leg. That was the first time I felt it in my leg.
“This week it was to the major extreme where I felt it in my whole lower back, all the way down my leg and into my calf. It locked my calf up so bad and went into my foot. From the middle of my thigh all the way to my toes are numb and tingling right now.”
The pain and loss of body control were debilitating. “I had to pull the plug. I had to have somebody drive my boat back while I was on the water. My leg was locked-up. I was done.”
Doctors have been unable to comfort Hartman. “I went to the clinic on Friday and ended up in the hospital again on Sunday. Nothing would relieve it – shot to the hip, pain-killers, muscle relaxers, steroids – nothing would touch it. The pain would not stop. And it was a constant pain, not like you could try to reposition and relax. It was over two days of constant level 8.”
Hartman has been fighting through the pain all season. It finally overtook him, “I’ve never had it like that. I’ll just work through like I always have and it will go away. But every single time I got on the water this year, about 11 o’clock in the morning – you know, you have two muscles that run up your back – well the one on my right side would cramp really bad every single time and I would fight through it every time. But I knew something was not right. I guess here is the outcome of it.”
Hartman had a CAT scan done during his recent hospital visit. It showed no ruptured disks. That’s good. But a CAT scan won’t show as much as an MRI, which he will have done in the near future. “I don’t know what an MRI is going to show. It may show that there’s an issue the CAT scan didn’t reveal.”
Hartman got a medical exemption from B.A.S.S. to postpone tournament participation, so he will fish the 2019 Elite Series. “That’s the only reason I stopped.
“Otherwise I would be laying there casting a Senko to the freaking shoreline, trying to catch a damned fish.
“I had to make sure that I was qualified to fish next season, which I am. My points stay as they are now (due to the hardship exemption) so I’ll finish 35th. It doesn’t affect anybody else, it just affects me. I am locked-in for next season already.”
Locked-in and committed – “They told me, ‘you have 4 tournaments that you paid for that we’ll get you back’ and I said, ‘Nope. Keep it. It’s a down payment. I’m fishing next year’.”
Delaware Takes B.A.S.S. Nation Eastern Regional Team Title On Winyah Bay
|
|
|
Pipkens On Top After First Round At Mississippi River Bassmaster Elite
|
|||||
|
Muskegon’s College Bass Tour Shows Out at First Event
Courtesy of Jonathan LePera
The inaugural event of the College Bass Tour sponsored by DNR Sports and Kevin VanDam kicked off on Muskegon Lake in Muskegon County, Michigan this past Saturday. Muskegon Lake, which is approximately 4 000 acres in size, dumps into Lake Michigan. Both smallmouth and largemouth inhabit the lake and each took their turns visiting the scales today. Kevin VanDam and Mark Zona helped kick off the tour in style with a full tailgate spread, cash winnings and giveaways from many national sponsors.
The event saw 34 teams travel from Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio to participate in the event.
The first half-hour after blast-off suggested a beautiful day ahead but such was not to be. A front from the North moved in and launched a torrential downpour for the next 4 ½ hours. The sun finally reappeared in the afternoon.
Once the scales settled, the team of Joshua Lopez and John Neubauer bested the field with a 16.71-pound limit anchored by a 4.27-pound largemouth.
1stPlace, Joshua Lopez and John Neubauer (16.71-pounds)
While pre-fishing the event, Neubauer was surprised to find the water stained which is not typical for the lake that time of year he said.
The front actually played right into their hands as they needed the wind to blow, cloud cover, or both for their pattern to work. During pre-fish, they’d found scads of bluegill set up on beds and immediately knew it was “game-on”.
“Today was one of those days that reminded me why we do this,” Neubauer said.
Targeting isolated weed patches with milfoil mixed in, they knew a swim jig would be the ticket. Finding reeds with mixed in with old wood proved valuable as well.
There best water was at the mouth of the Muskegon River, where the combination of wind, reeds, grass patches, and grass mats, proved invaluable as it reloaded with quality fish throughout the day.
“I didn’t realize the current affected the lake so much,” Lopez said.
On Neubauer’s first cast, several bluegill followed his 3/8-ounce homemade green pumpkin colored swim jig rigged with a Bizz Baits BB Magic Craw-colored Killer Craw back to the boat only to clear the way for a charging 4-pound largemouth to engulf the jig. He fished the jig on a 7-foot medium heavy action Fox River rod paired with a Revo SX reel spooled with 15-pound fluorocarbon.
On a day where there enjoyed steady action throughout, Lopez “called an audible” and made a cast with a Booyah Popping Pad Crasher only to have a 4-pound largemouth blow up on it and completely miss. That keyed the team into fishing those isolated patches with milfoil much slower. Using a 7-6 Fox River Rod paired with a Lews Tournament MB reel spooled with 50-pound Sunline FX2 braided, he made ultra-long casts to get his fish to commit to the frog.
While Neubauer fished his, Lopez opted for a 9K Elite Lures swim jig outfitted with a Case Plastics Cash Craw. Fished on a steady retrieve, the swim jig accounted for the majority of their limit with the odd frog fish mixed in. Whenever they’d impart any time of action to the jig during the retrieve, the bass showed no interest.
2ndPlace, Lucas Murphy and Nolan Hitt (15.78-pounds)
The team of Murphy and Hitt came into the event with plenty of confidence after winning 2018 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Eastern Tour this past May.
Like the winners, they also keyed in on the bluegill spawn and targeted grass flats.
In the morning during the heart of the storm, the bites were aggressive, their baits often got snatched before they hit the bottom. If it didn’t, they’d hop it once, before making another cast nearby.
“Keeping our baits in the water was key,” Lucas started. “You could flip a foot to the left or right of where you just cast and get bit.” After the storm rolled through, they noticed that while their fish were still there, they’d turned lazy.
“You really had to knock them on the head to get them to bite”, Murphy said.
The team flipped grass quickly and efficiently using green pumpkin Texas-Rigged Strike King Rage Craws rigged on a 1-ounce tungsten weight while they fished Strike King Cut R Worms around sparse weeds rigged on a ½-ounce weight. Towards the end of the day, they were trying to almost create a reaction bite while pitching and flipping.
The craw was fished on a 7-6 Denali Lithium extra-heavy action rod paired with a Shimano casting reel spooled with 65-pound Sunline FX2 braided line. They fished a medium-heavy action Denali Lithium worm/jig rod paired with 12-pound Sunline Shooter fluorocarbon for the worm.
3rdPlace, Danny Sprague and Riley Welch (15.35-pounds)
For Sprague and Welch, focussing on current was the ticket to cashing a cheque.
Despite having to share some of their spots with other boats, Sprague mentioned they had a rather unique way of looking at the situation.
“It actually gave us confidence knowing that our fish were still in the area even if others were catching them nearby,” he said.
They worked through different periods of time during the day when the bass would feed in flurries and while the storm helped some teams, it forced them to keep an open-mind.
“With the overcast conditions all day, there were much more spread out and roaming rather than locked tight to any certain type of structure,” Welch said.
“One thing I didn’t realize was how much the bass related to cover once the sun came out in the afternoon,” Sprague said.
The abundance of clouds scattered their fish which left them to cover water with an out-of-production Smithwick jerkbait that mimicked a green perch and a tube jig.
They fished the jerkbait on a medium-action Shimano Zodias rod paired with a Curado bait casting reel spooled with 20-pound Berkley FireLine. They fished the tube jig on a medium-heavy action Shimano Zodias rod paired with a Shimano Sahara spinning reel spooled with 10-pound Seaguar Abrazx.
4thPlace, Kyle and Colin Jump (14.59-pounds)
After losing the first 3 fish of the day, the Jump brothers got things turned around quick.
During their pre-fish, they’d noticed that the bluegills were on beds on the northwest side of the lake with better than average largemouth roaming nearby.
They figure they weeded through 20- to 25-keepers during the course of the day.
Using their 2d imaging, they’d discovered that the coon tail flats they’d targeted had thicker weeds on the steeper drops. In 8 ½ to 9 ½ feet of water. They decided to target the thickest weed growth that they could find.
Initially they thought that with the front moving through that the largemouth would be roaming and that they’d pick them off with black/blue Chatterbaits outfitted with a Case Plastics Cash Craw trailer. Quickly they realized that their fish a change of heart.
Instead, they slowed down and dissected the area with Texas-rigged Case Plastics Paddle Jack craw worm rigged on ¾ and 1-ounce tungsten sinkers. They fished it on a 7-6 RaZr Rods flipping stick paired with a Lews Tournament MB reel with 8:3:1 gearing spooled with 50- to 65-pound braided line. IF they didn’t get bit on the drop or when the bait just hit bottom, they’d reel in and continue to cover water.
“This area was perfect for post-spawn bass to ambush prey and feed,” Kyle Jump said. “They’re starting to munch now.”
5thPlace, Christopher Oja and Brandon Nastally (14.54-pounds)
Sometimes it’s good to zig when others zag and that is exactly what the team of Oja and Nastally did to crack the Top 5.
While many teams focussed on the bluegill spawn or targeted vegetation, they elected to run to the channel that pushes water from Lake Michigan into Muskegon Lake.
Upon arriving at their spot, they were amazed to see that the wind had shifted and actually stalled the current allowing their baits to fall vertically instead of gliding. “The wind made its on current,” Oja said.
Fishing a Ned Rig with a Z-Man TRD Finesse worm, they alternated between several head weights to get the proper rate of fall depending on what the current was doing.
Once the bait hit the bottom, Oja would hop it but got most of his bites once he imparted a quick turn after popping the bait.
The fish were stingy- the team only caught 6 fish all day.
Line watching to detect their bites was key so they fished 8-pound fluorescent green and orange Berkley FireLine braided line with a 12-pound fluorocarbon leader.
Big Bass of the Day, Austin Sherwood and Jared Havenaar, 5.7-pounds
Muskegon Official Final Standings
1stPlace, Joshua Lopez and John Neubauer (16.71)
2ndPlace, Lucas Murphy and Nolan Hitt (15.78-pounds)
3rdPlace, Danny Sprague and Riley Welch (15.35-pounds)
4thPlace, Kyle and Colin Jump (14.59-pounds)
5thPlace, Christopher Oja and Brandon Nastally (14.54-pounds)
For more information on the College Bass Tour, visit CollegeBassTour.com or KevinVanDam.com.
Florida Angler Grabs Early Lead In B.A.S.S. Nation Eastern Regional Bass Tournament At Winyah Bay
|
|
|
Jamie Hartman to step away from remainder of 2018 Elite Series Season
AC Editor
Due to severe Sciatic Nerve pain that hospitalized Jamie Hartman earlier this week. In a recent announcement in his Facebook Page, He left the following post.
"Over the course of this Season I have experienced Sciatic pain that made me question if I was going to be able to go out and do my job. Somehow I was able to push through those tournaments at that level of pain and compete. This time, unfortunately and with every bone in my body I hate to say I can't bear it. I left the ER and commuted to Wisconsin. I attempted to practice in hopes if I got in the boat I would be able to figure it out and push through the pain, but it only became worse. I can't continue and I need to go home and seek further medical attention so that I will be able to compete in the future.
I am so thankful to have been able to participate in The Bassmaster Classic this year and compete in more than half of the Elite Series events. I appreciate BASS for allowing me to focus on my health and working with me through this situation.
I truly appreciate all of the support from my Sponsors, friends and family. I can't do this without you. Seeing your messages, texts, calls and being able to meet you is something I always look forward to. Above all of that, knowing that I have you supporting me is always a blessing I count.
This is one of - if not the most hardest decision I have had to make in my life, but I need to take this time now to get better so that I can come back next year and continue to do so for seasons to come. Competing at the highest level of Professional Fishing in the world is an honor that I am still humbled by til this day. Thank you."
Stay tuned for more to come and please keep Jamie in your prayers.
T-H MARINE HIRES SHANA RAMSEY FOR MARKETING TEAM
|
|
|
|
|
AC Insider Podcast Featuring Red River Opens Winner Patrick Walters!!
BASS Open Pro and Red River Champ Patrick Walters breaks down his win on the Red River in the Central Open last weekend. Chris breaks down his back-to-back TOC Wins on Lake Guntersville.
The boys talk Fake News and checking your facts before running your mouth, Progressive Bass Wrap Up, Costa Countdown to blastoff and plenty more in this weeks AC Insider Podcast!