Lew’s Selects Murski-Breeding as Sales Agency for MINK, SE and TALO Regions

Springfield, MO (April 9, 2018) - Legendary fishing tackle manufacturer Lew’s Fishing has announced that they have entered into an agreement with Dallas, TX based sales agency Murski-Breeding Sales to represent their business in the extremely important MINK, TALO and SE regions.

Murski-Breeding Sales has served the fishing and hunting industries for more than sixty years and with a stout staff which covers the entire eastern half of the U.S.

The headquarters of some the largest retailers in the outdoor space, including Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Academy Sports & Outdoors reside in these territories.  In addition, the Southeast region is the heart of the bass fishing universe so effective representation is critical to success to any company in the fishing realm.

Murski-Breeding Sales has been associated with Strike King Lure Company (which Lew’s Holdings Corp. acquired in late 2017) for over thirty years, so it makes sense that Lew’s would go this direction.

Lew’s CEO Gary Remensnyder echoed this sentiment: “The relationship between Murski-Breeding and Strike King spans for decades.  We are excited to now have the team at Murski-Breeding also represent the Lew’s brand in the key TALO, MINK and SE territories.”

Matt Breeding, President of Murski-Breeding Sales, stated that this relationship is exciting for him both professionally and personally. “My first day working for Ray Murski over 27 years ago was at the Lew’s/Browning Fishing sales meeting, and I can’t tell you how excited the Murski-Breeding team is to partner with the team at Lew’s. Combining the strengths of Lew’s and Strike King while capitalizing on the many synergies that can already exist, should pave the pathway for continued growth of these iconic industry brands.”

 

ABOUT Lew’s Fishing

Lew's is a Springfield, Missouri based supplier of fishing equipment and tackle. The Company supplies branded fishing reels, rods, and related accessories through the mass market, sporting goods, and specialty outdoor channels. For further information about Lew’s, please visit www.lews.com.

by AnglersChannel

CHARLIE GANTENBEIN & CLYDE GLENN TOP 171 TEAMS ON BELTON WITH OVER 20 POUNDS AND WIN $10,000

WINNERS - Charlie Gantenden & Clyde Glenn

 

2nd PLACE - Scott Meads / Tom Gridley

 

3RD PLACE - Craig Cordova / Shawn Tamez

 

Complete Results:

by AnglersChannel

Luke Palmer Wins the ABA Ray Scott Championship on the Red River!!

 

ATHENS, Ala. –  The 2018 Ray Scott National Championship on the Red River in Shreveport & Bossier City, LA has come to an astonishing close! Throughout challenges and difficult waters, the anglers brought their best to the water for a strong and competitive event.

Angler Luke Palmer of Coalgate, OK finished the event with a strong final day to take home the winning prize from the Red River. He moved up from 8th place after day 3 to take the lead with an overall weight of 38.57 lbs from 16 fish throughout the 4-day event. Palmer took home a new Triton 21 TrX boat, outfitted with a Mercury 250 ProXS motor, MotorGuide trolling motor, and Garmin electronics. He also walked away with a check for $50,000!

“The Lord blessed me and that’s all that matters,” Palmer explained. “I missed good fish all week, but I executed well today. I lost a good one early this morning on a stump, so I let it rest for a while then came back. This time I was able to put her in the boat. She was my biggest fish, and that put my limit to where it was today because I was also able to keep them on the hook to get them in the boat.”

Coming in second for the event is Robert Branagh out of Malabar, FL. Branagh maintained a consistent quality weight of fish each day, totaling out to 36.85 lbs with 20 fish. For the 2nd place effort, he took home a check for $10,000.

“I had a good week,” Branagh said. “After day 1, I had to put my head down. I knew it was going to take a limit every day. I’ve got to thank Aquamarine, Bass Cat, and Halo Rods, as well as the ABA. Without them this would not be possible.”

Finishing in 3rd for the championship event is Billy Graves from Montgomery, LA. Billy totaled 18 fish for the week with a cumulative weight of 36.79 lbs. He was able to take home a $8,000 check for the event.

“It was a hard tournament, but I wish some of the other guys could have been here when the river was good,” stated Graves. “I was making long runs every day to get away from the field. I had some fish down in pool 4 in the jungle that I was going to. The first three days I bounced around from 2 different spots to catch what I brought to the scales. Even though the weather was terrible, day 2 turned out to be the best for me. I was shocked on day 3 when I took the lead with only a 5-pound bag. Today just didn’t pan out because it was so cold.”

The top 10 on the boater side was rounded out by the following anglers:

4th –    Josh Cameron of Meridian, MS              - 36.71 lbs
5th –    John Anderson of McKinney, TX            - 35.44 lbs
6th –    Terry Peacock of Royse City, TX           - 34.11 lbs
7th –    Mike Quinlin of Mooresville, IN               - 33.97 lbs
8th –    Dustin Seaborn of Guin, AL                   - 32.43 lbs
9th –    Scott Dean of Terrell, TX                       - 31.87 lbs
10th – Tyler Rivet or Raceland, LA                   - 31.84 lbs

Complete Boater Results:

For the coangler side of the championship event, Shane Cashman had a solid final day on the river to come in first place overall. He brought in a total of 9 fish for the week weighing at 19.89 lbs, including a 3.03 lb larger bass. For his first-place win, Cashman took home a new Triton 19 TrX boat, outfitted with a Mercury 200 ProXS motor, MotorGuide trolling motor, and Garmin electronics. He also walked away with a check for $25,000!

“The win is starting to sink in,” Cashman stated after the event. “I was able to talk to my wife and daughter and they are so excited. I knew I was close but didn’t think I would take the lead because I was 4 pounds back. Especially with the way things were this week, and there was a big gap to close. Today was just a fun day of fishing. My boater put me on some good fish. The first bite this morning hit me pretty hard on a spinner bait, which is what I was hoping for, and it gave me the confidence to keep throwing it all day. Catching six keepers, I culled a couple of times. It’s hard to express my feelings right now, but my wife and daughter are ready to see the point and I’m excited to get home.”

Second for the coanglers is Eric Andrews out of Davenport, FL. He managed to bring in 10 fish during the event that totaled 18.77 lbs overall. For being able to finish in second, Andrews took home a check for $5,000.

“I was here for practice and only caught one keeper,” explained Andrews. “I decided to try something different, fishing soft plastics all week long. Caught them on the same bait for the first day, but it didn’t work on day 2 so I changed it up and caught again. I went back and forth between the two the rest of the event.”

Rounding out third place for the coanglers is Herbert Hall out of Harrison, TN. Hall brought in 10 fish during the week for a cumulative total of 18.49 lbs. He also took home a check for $4,000 for his efforts.

“I had good boaters all week that put me on the fish, and I wish I could fish with them again,” stated Hall. “I just enjoyed it. It was a good event.”

The top 10 on the coangler side was rounded out by the following anglers:

4th –    Brian Murphy of Sulphur, LA                  - 17.61 lbs
5th –    Jared West of Mont Belvieu, TX             - 16.82 lbs
6th –    Brian Lasiter of Elba, AL                        - 16.66 lbs
7th –    Sam Fish of Alexander City, AL              - 15.80 lbs
8th –    Anthony Kashiwsky of Aliquippa, PA       - 15.64 lbs
9th –    Doug File of Salisbury, NC                     - 15.50 lbs
10th – Jeffery Sanford of Decatur, AL               - 14.99 lbs

The largest bass of the entire event for the boaters was caught by Joseph Hethcoat on the first day with a weight of 5.72 lbs. The big biggest bass of the event for the coanglers was caught by Brian Murphy on day 2, weighing 6.51 pounds.

The field of championship anglers launched out from Red River South Marina at 6:35 am on April 5th and began checking in for weigh-in at 3pm. Look forward to another eventful day of fishing competition on the river as day 2 takes off at daybreak on April 6th.

American Bass Anglers’ commitment is to provide low cost, close to home tournaments for the weekend angler and at the same time offer each competitor an upward path for individual angler progression. For more information about American Bass Anglers and the American Fishing Tour, the ABA Open Series, the Triton 100% Plus Team Tour, or the American Couples Series, visit www.americanbassanglers.com 

by AnglersChannel

MCCOY WINS COSTA FLW SERIES SOUTHEASTERN DIVISION FINALE ON SANTEE COOPER LAKES

Story & Photos Courtesy of FLW Outdoors Staff

Lamar’s Ronnie McCoy Tops 196-Boat Field, Takes Home $93,500 Prize Package

 

SUMMERTON, S.C. (April 7, 2018) – Pro Ronnie McCoy of Lamar, South Carolina, brought a five-bass limit weighing 26 pounds, 2 ounces, to the weigh-in stage Saturday – his second 26+ pound limit of the tournament – to win the Costa FLW Series Southeastern Division tournament on the Santee Cooper Lakes presented by Bass Pro Shops. McCoy’s three-day total of 15 bass weighing 73 pounds, 8 ounces, was enough to earn him the grand prize package worth $93,500, including a brand new Ranger Z518C boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.

“I fished clean this week, from up in the swamp all the way down to the dam. It was fantastic,” said McCoy, who earned his first career win in Costa FLW Series competition. “I started each morning of the event targeting the shad spawn above the I-95 bridge and would catch a limit weighing around 15 to 18 pounds. From there, I’d fish all day to try and upgrade.”

McCoy said he used a homemade ½-ounce white double willow leaf spinnerbait with a white Black Flagg Slikk Shadd trailer and a white Z-Man/Evergreen Jack Hammer ChatterBait with the same Slikk Shadd trailer to target bass feeding on shad near cypress trees.

Following the morning bite on Thursday, McCoy said he went sight-fishing and ended up catching the largest bass of the tournament.

“I put a 9-pound, 9-ouncer and a 7-pounder in the boat from the same bed in Potato Creek using a Texas-rigged green-pumpkin-colored (Zoom) Road Kill with a ½-ounce tungsten weight,” said McCoy. “I also caught some good ones in Wyboo Creek, but those two big ones were the most important.”

On Friday, McCoy followed the same schedule but was only able to catch two small fish from beds. On championship Saturday, McCoy abandoned sight-fishing altogether and stayed above I-95, fishing the cypress trees to finish out the tournament.

“I was really fortunate to get those two for nearly 18 pounds on Thursday – they anchored my catch this week. I’m just really blessed.”

 

The top 10 pros on Santee Cooper Lakes finished:

1st: Ronnie McCoy, Lamar, S.C., 15 bass, 73-8, $93,500

2nd: Daniel Howell, Prosperity, S.C., 15 bass, 67-13, $19,500

3rd: Jonathan Canada, Pelham, Ala., 15 bass, 65-2, $14,100

4th: Joey Sabbagha, Prosperity, S.C., 15 bass, 63-14, $12,000

5th: Robert Crosnoe, Inverness, Fla., 15 bass, 60-12, $11,000

6th: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 14 bass, 58-8, $9,300

7th: Kent Ware, Guntersville, Ala., 14 bass, 57-1, $7,800

8th: Mark Hutson, Moncks Corner, S.C., 15 bass, 56-10, $6,800

9th: Buddy Gross, Chickamauga, Ga., 14 bass, 54-9, $5,800

10th: Lex Costas, Daniel Island, S.C., 13 bass, 49-10, $4,400

 

A complete list of results will be posted at FLWFishing.com

 

McCoy’s 9-pound, 9-ounce fish that he weighed on Thursday was the biggest of the tournament in the Pro Division. For his catch, McCoy earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $300.

 

Spencer McNeill of Ladson, South Carolina, won the Co-angler Division and a Ranger Z175 with a 90-horsepower outboard motor. McNeill earned his win with a three-day total catch of 11 bass weighing 42 pounds even.

The top 10 co-anglers on Santee Cooper Lakes finished:

1st: Spencer McNeill, Ladson, S.C., 11 bass, 42-0, $28,200

2nd: Jim Short, Ocean Pines, Md., eight bass, 30-7, $6,050

3rd: Keith Westrick, Dallas, N.C., nine bass, 30-5, $4,800

4th: Mark Lamb, Wake Forest, N.C., eight bass, 29-14, $3,900

5th: Coulby Lewis, Macon, Ga., 10 bass, 29-10, $3,400

6th: James Wegmann, Fruitland Park, Fla., 12 bass, 29-9, $2,900

7th: Gerald Bozeman, Sylvester, Ga., 12 bass, 27-6, $2,400

8th: Brian Scott, Sumter, S.C., nine bass, 23-5, $1,950

9th: Dearal Rodgers, Camden, S.C., eight bass, 22-5, $1,580

10th: Shawn York, Sarasota, Fla., eight bass, 20-8, $1,330

 

Bud McKelvey of Knoxville, Tennessee, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division Thursday, a fish weighing 8 pounds, 12 ounces that earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $200.

The Costa FLW Series on Santee Cooper Lakes presented by Bass Pro Shops was hosted by the Clarendon County Chamber of Commerce. It was the third and final FLW Series Southeastern Division tournament of the 2018 regular season. The next Costa FLW Series tournament will be the Central Division opener, held April 19-21 on Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri and is presented by Lowrance. For a complete schedule, visit FLWFishing.com.

by AnglersChannel

$125K UP FOR GRABS AT FLW TOUR ON LAKE CUMBERLAND PRESENTED BY GENERAL TIRE

World’s Top Professional Anglers Set to Compete on 50,000-acre Central Kentucky Mountain Reservoir in Internationally-Televised Event

SOMERSET, Ky. (March 29, 2018) – The FLW Tour, the most competitive Tour in professional bass-fishing, returns to the water next week, April 12-15, with the FLW Tour at Lake Cumberland presented by General Tire. Hosted by the Somerset Tourist and Convention Commission, the tournament will feature 368 of the world’s best bass-fishing professionals and co-anglers casting for top awards of up to $125,000 cash in the pro division and up to $25,000 cash in the co-angler division.

The FLW Tour has visited Lake Cumberland two times previously, with 2018 marking the third visit in the Tour’s 23-year history. When the Tour visited the Central Kentucky mountain reservoir in 2017, some of the biggest names in the sport ended up competing on Championship Sunday, including two former Forrest Wood Cup champions (Scott Martin, Anthony Gagliardi) and three former Pennzoil Marine Angler of the Year (AOY) winners (Martin, Gagliardi, Clark Wendlandt). Martin won the event, weighing 20 bass totaling 60 pounds, 1 ounce, focusing on creeks on the lower end of the reservoir with a deep-diving jerkbait and flipping a jig.

Different this year, anglers will be able to keep any bass above the statewide size limit of 12 inches. Normally, Lake Cumberland has a 15-inch minimum size limit for largemouth bass and an 18-inch minimum size limit for smallmouth bass. However, the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources recently announced a study on the impact of allowing anglers participating in fishing tournaments to keep shorter bass in lakes with special regulations. The three-year test is limited to two spring and two fall tournaments each year on Lake Cumberland, and will help fisheries biologists determine if these limited exceptions to the bass size limits will significantly affect the overall fishery in the lake. The FLW Tour at Lake Cumberland presented by General Tire is the first tournament to be a part of the test regulations.

“I think the tournament weights will be higher this year, throughout the field, because of the new length limits,” said three-time AOY Clark Wendlandt of Leander, Texas, who has two top-10 finishes on Lake Cumberland in his two career visits. “We’re going to see a whole lot of spotted bass caught, but I still think that largemouth and smallmouth are going to dominate the event.”

Wendlandt said the he expects some fish could be on beds by the time the Tour event starts, but that the timing is a little early for a full-on bed-fishing tournament.

“The conditions should be fairly similar to last year,” Wendlandt said. “The spawn will be close – we may see some bedding fish – but with water temperatures in the mid- to upper-50s and I think the majority will be prespawn. I think it’s going to take a four-day total in the mid-60-pound range to win.”

Anglers will take off at 7 a.m. EST each morning from General Burnside Island State Park, located at 8801 S. Highway 27, in Burnside, Kentucky. Thursday and Friday’s weigh-ins, April 12-13, will be held at the park beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday’s weigh-ins, April 14-15, will also be held at the park, but will begin at 4 p.m.

The total purse for the FLW Tour at Lake Cumberland presented by General Tire is more than $930,000, including $10,000 through 60th place in the Pro Division.

Television coverage of the FLW Tour at Lake Cumberland presented by General Tire will premiere in high-definition (HD) on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) May 23 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.

“We are excited to welcome FLW back to Somerset, Kentucky, for the second consecutive year,” said Leslie Ikerd, Director of Tourism with the Somerset Tourist and Convention Commission. “Since raising the lake levels in 2014, Lake Cumberland has seen an abundance of new vegetation that has truly created a fisherman’s paradise. We were thrilled to hear that many of the FLW Tour pros that competed in last year’s event agreed with us and shared a new-found love and appreciation for our lake. Somerset offers many hotels, restaurants, shopping and family-friendly activities, making it the perfect tournament venue.”

Prior to the weigh-ins Saturday and Sunday, April 14-15, FLW will host a free Family Fishing Expo at General Burnside Island State Park 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 Pulaski County Park, located at 1200 State Highway 3189 in Nancy, Kentucky on Saturday, April 14 from 8:30-10:30 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.

As part of the FLW Tour’s community outreach initiative, FLW Tour pro anglers will visit patients, guests and staff at the Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital, located at 305 Langdon St., in Somerset on Wednesday, April 11 from 8:30-9:45 a.m. to interact with guests, snap photos and sign autographs for patients, give away some goodie bags and share fishing stories.

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 368 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.

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.

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.

by AnglersChannel

Howells Lead Shrinks but He’s Still In Control Heading into Final Day

April 6, 2018

Santee Cooper is one of those rare places where catching 18 pounds on the second day of a tournament could be considered leaving the door open.

Consider the plight Daniel Howell of Prosperity, S.C. On day one of the Costa FLW Series Southeastern Division tournament presented by Bass Pro Shops and hosted by the Clarendon County Chamber of Commerce, he caught a tremendous 30 pounds, 6 ounces to take the lead by 3-7, then backed it up today with 18 pounds. He now only leads by a single pound.

Welcome to Santee Cooper.

With only about 7 pounds now separating first from 10th going into the final day tomorrow, the trophy for this event is still available to anyone in the top 10.

“The way this place is fishing, I was shocked I kept the lead with 18 pounds today,” Howell says. “I really thought I only had 15 pounds, and I was seriously worried about not even making the top 10. That’s the way this place makes you start thinking, like, ‘If I don’t have 25 a day, I won’t even make the top 10.’”

Howell’s slower day was a result of his “frog hole” not producing any giants like it did yesterday.

“I started the day in a shad spawn place just to get a quick limit,” Howell says. “Then I fished some other stuff and couldn’t catch much to help me. So I went back into my frog hole, and I’m afraid it’s toast. It gave me two big ones yesterday, but nothing today. I was really hoping to save it for tomorrow, but I tried it today, and I think that deal is over.”

Howell spent the rest of his day “just fishing.” He spent some of his time in the lower end of the upper lake with no improvement to his weight, so he thinks he’ll scrap that for tomorrow.

“I think my chance to win is up the lake, so that’s where I’m spending all my time tomorrow,” he adds. “The right ones live up there, so that’s where I’m going to stay.”

TOP 10 PROS

1. Daniel Howell – Prosperity, S.C. – 48-6 (10)

2. Ronnie McCoy – Lamar, S.C. – 47-6 (10)

3. Robert Crosnoe – Inverness, Fla. – 46-6 (10)

4. Jonathan Canada – Pelham, Ala. – 46-0 (10)

5. Bryan Thrift – Shelby, N.C. – 45-14 (10)

6. Joey Sabbagha – Prosperity, S.C. – 45-0 (10)

7. Mark Hutson – Moncks Corner, S.C. – 42-3 (10)

8. Kent Ware – Guntersville, Ala. – 41-11 (10)

9. Buddy Gross – Chickamauga, Ga. – 41-9 (10)

10. Lex Costas – Daniel Island, S.C. – 41-7 (10)

Complete results

MCNEILL DOMINATING CO-ANGLER DIVISION

While the pro tournament is still a heated contest, the battle on the co-angler side is extremely lopsided in favor of Spencer McNeill, who’s now led the tournament for both days.

After catching 20-13 yesterday, McNeill added another 19-4 today for a two-day total of 40-1. He now enjoys a lead of more than 13 pounds going into the final day.

TOP 10 CO-ANGLERS

1. Spencer McNeill – Ladson, S.C. – 40-1 (10)

2. Keith Westrick – Dallas, N.C. – 26-11 (8)

3. Jim Short – Ocean Pines, Md. – 23- 5 (6)

4. James Wegmann – Fruitland Park, Fla. – 22-8 (10)

5. Dearal Rodgers – Camden, S.C. – 22-5 (8)

6. Gerald Bozeman – Sylvester, Ga. – 21-11 (9)

7. Coulby Lewis – Macon, Ga. – 21-5 (8)

8. Mark Lamb – Wake Forest, N.C. – 20-13 (6)

9. Shawn York – Sarasota , Fla. – 20-8 (8)

10. Brian Scott – Sumter, S.C. – 19-7 (7)

Complete results

by AnglersChannel

SATURDAY'S YETI FLW COLLEGE FISHING EVENT AT LAKE TEXOMA POSTPONED UNTIL SUNDAY

Advisory for Friday, April 6, 2018

 

WHAT: The YETI FLW College Fishing tournament at Lake Texoma scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday, April 7, has been postponed until Sunday, April 8, due to inclement weather. With high winds and sustained wind gusts, conditions on the lake have been deemed unsafe by Kevin Hunt, FLW College Fishing's Director of Tournament Operations.

NOTES: The tournament, hosted by the Denison Area Chamber of Commerce, will be held on Sunday with all original takeoff and weigh-in locations and times remaining the same.

Competitors will take off from the Highport Marina, located at 120 Texoma Harbor in Pottsboro, at 7 a.m. CST Sunday. Weigh-in will be held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. Takeoff and weigh-in are free and open to the public.

YETI FLW College Fishing teams compete in three regular-season qualifying tournaments in one of five conferences – Central, Northern, Southern, Southeastern and Western. The top ten teams from each division’s three regular-season tournaments and the top 20 teams from the annual FLW College Fishing Open will advance to the 2019 FLW College Fishing National Championship. Additional teams will qualify for the National Championship if the field size in regular-season events exceeds 100 boats. The 2018 FLW College Fishing National Championship will take place May 30-June 1 on the Red River in Shreveport, Louisiana, and is hosted by the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission & Red River Waterway Commission.

YETI FLW College Fishing is free to enter. All participants must be registered, full-time students at a college, university or community college and members of a college fishing club that is recognized by their school.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow YETI FLW College Fishing on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat.

by AnglersChannel

Anderson Leads Day 1 of ABA Ray Scott Championship on Red River!

ATHENS, Ala. –  The 2018 Ray Scott National Championship is underway on the Red River near Shreveport & Bossier City, LA and the first day has come to a close on April 5th with a challenging day for the anglers trying to gain early positions in the event.

Angler John Anderson of McKinney, TX took the first lead over a field of 143 boaters with a total weight of 16.53 from a 5-fish bag after his first day on the water. Anderson locked down his weight with a 5.29 pound kicker, and he will be looking forward to maintaining his current lead on day two. “We had a little backwater area to ourselves with a little bit of clear water, and we just got lucky,” Anderson explained after weigh-in.

Trent Menees of Saginaw, TX. moved into second place awith 5 fish weighing a total of 14.89. Although he has a gap to cover looking to the leading position, Trent has set himself up nicely for the days ahead.

In third place is Nick LeBrun, right out of Bossier City, LA. Nick also came in with a limit bag of 5 fish weighing in at 14.40 lbs, which he is aiming to improve on for day two tomorrow.

The current top 10 on the boater side is rounded out by the following anglers:

4th –    Luke Palmer of Coalgate, OK                    - 13.32 lbs
5th –    Scott Dean of Terrell, TX                            - 12.63 lbs
6th –    Eric Silverstrim of Indian Mound, TN        - 12.50 lbs
7th –    Billy Graves of Montgomery, LA                - 11.35 lbs
8th –    Donald Tripoli of Webster, NY                   - 11.27 lbs
9th –    Tyler Rivet of Raceland, LA                       - 11.17 lbs
10th – Albert Collins of Nacogdoches, TX           - 11.01 lbs

COMPLETE DAY 1 STANDINGS

For the coangler side of the house, Keith Whipple out of Iuka, MS is currently in control of the lead with a total weight of 8.88 lbs, held with his biggest fish at 3.68 lbs. His 3-fish limit bag gives him a reliable start going into day two. “I caught everything on a crank bait, a shaky head,” informed Whipple. “We stayed just off the river. We had a breakdown this afternoon but had a good day regardless.”

Second for the coanglers is Brandon Foard out of Rincon, GA. His 3-fish bag provided him with an overall weight of 7.88 lbs with a larger bass hitting 5.06 pounds.

In third place for the coanglers after the first day on the river is Dante Gray out of Ruther Glen, VA. His bag came to the scales with a weight of 7.28 lbs, held down with a 3.94 lbs kicker.

The current top 10 on the coangler side is rounded out by the following anglers:

4th –    Brian Lasiter of Elba, AL                             - 7.00 lbs
5th –    Jared West of Mont Belvieu, TX                - 6.99 lbs
6th –    Ike Gray of Kissimmee, FL                         - 6.89 lbs
7th –    Randy Depto of Kane, PA                          - 6.89 lbs
8th –    Michael Nantz of Ben Wheeler, TX           - 6.63 lbs
9th –    Rudy Staab of Roxbury, NY                       - 6.31 lbs
10th – Samuel Thomas of Lexington, NC            - 6.08 lbs

The largest bass of the day for the boaters was caught by Joseph Hethcoat with a weight of 5.72 lbs. “I caught my big bass back in some clear water. Everybody knows about it, but everyone was flipping and I wanted to do something different. So, I just kept cranking and finally it paid off,” stated Hethcoat

The big bass for the coanglers was brought in by Brandon Foard weighing in at 5.06 lbs. “I threw a brush hog all day, didn’t put it down all day,” Foard explained. “I had three bites, and got three fish. I had a great boater, so it worked out good.”

The field of championship anglers launched out from Red River South Marina at 6:35 am on April 5th and began checking in for weigh-in at 3pm. Look forward to another eventful day of fishing competition on the river as day 2 takes off at daybreak on April 6th.

The public is invited to attend the Ray Scott Championship daily weigh-ins at Red River Marina South starting Thursday, April 5th at 3 pm. The final weigh-in will be on Sunday, April 8th with the top 25 boater and co-anglers. Red River Marina South is located at 250 Red River South Marina Road, Bossier City, LA 71112, (318) 747-9545.

American Bass Anglers’ commitment is to provide low cost, close to home tournaments for the weekend angler and at the same time offer each competitor an upward path for individual angler progression. For more information about American Bass Anglers and the American Fishing Tour, the ABA Open Series, the Triton 100% Plus Team Tour, or the American Couples Series, visit www.americanbassanglers.com 

by AnglersChannel

Howell Busts over 30 Pounds for Day 1 Costa Santee Cooper Lead!

April 5, 2018

Story & Photos Courtesy of FLW Outdoors / Rob Newell

Before the Costa FLW Series Southeastern Division event began on Santee Cooper Lakes, reports of 30-pound limits being caught in tournaments had become commonplace around the lakes.

In an event just last weekend a South Carolina pro by the name of Daniel Howell weighed in an eye-popping 33-pound limit to win.

Howell followed up his double-3s from last weekend with yet another 30 pounds, 6 ounces today to set the leading bar on day one of the Costa FLW Series event, which is presented by Bass Pro Shops and hosted by the Clarendon County Chamber of Commerce.

Clearly, Howell is onto something pretty spectacular on Santee Cooper.

“I started the morning throwing a frog in a little pocket up the lake,” Howell says. “The first two I caught on it were 7-pounders. After that I ran down the lake to some spawning pockets where I had marked some big ones on beds during practice. I didn’t really sight-fish them; I just knew where they were set up, and I caught three that way. After that I just went looking to find some more fish for tomorrow.

“The ones I have left on beds are not that big,” he adds. “I really need that frog bite to shine again in the morning to catch a big bag again tomorrow.”

 

TOP 10 PROS

1. Daniel Howell – Prosperity, S.C. – 30-6 (5)

2. Jonathan Canada – Pelham, Ala. – 26-15 (5)

3. Ronnie McCoy – Lamar, S.C. – 26-0 (5)

4. Tony Couch – Buckhead, Ga. – 25-14 (5)

5. Buddy Gross – Chickamauga, Ga. – 25-11 (5)

6. Ken Ellis – Bowman, S.C. – 24-3 (5)

7. Chuck Howard – Elloree, S.C. – 23-7 (5)

8. Barry Wilson – Birmingham, Ala. – 23-5 (5)

9. Clint Brown – Bainbridge, Ga. – 22-15 (5)

10 (tie). Bryan New – Belmont, N.C. – 22-11 (5)

10 (tie). Robert Clarke III – Pineville, S.C. – 22-11 (5)

Complete results

 

MCNEILL LEADS CO-ANGLERS

Spencer McNeill of Ladson, S.C., leads the co-angler division on day one with five fish weighing 20 pounds, 13 ounces.

McNeill found a YUM Dinger to be the key to his success in the back of the boat.

 

TOP 10 CO-ANGLERS

1. Spencer McNeill – Ladson, S.C. – 20 - 13 (5)

2. Mark Lamb – Wake Forest, N.C. – 15 - 4 (5)

3. Adam Beckum – Martinez, Ga. – 14 - 3 (5)

4. Bud McKelvey – Knoxville, Tenn. – 13 - 9 (3)

5. Keith Westrick – Dallas, N.C. – 13 - 6 (3)

6. Gerald Bozeman – Sylvester, Ga. – 12 - 3 (5)

7. Roger Hahn – Fairfield, Ohio – 12 - 1 (4)

8. Max Terry – Sumter, S.C. – 11 - 13 (5)

9. Roger Stubbs – Locust Grove, Ga. – 11 - 12 (2)

10. Randy Brown – Lugoff, S.C. – 11 - 11 (5)

Complete results

 

Pro Results - Day 1

PLACE ANGLER CITY/STATE DAY 1
WT (Fish)		 DAY 1&2
WT (Fish)		 WINNINGS
1 DANIEL HOWELL PROSPERITY, SC 30 - 6 (5) 30 - 6 (5)
2 JONATHAN CANADA PELHAM, AL 26 - 15 (5) 26 - 15 (5)
3 RONNIE MCCOY LAMAR, SC 26 - 0 (5) 26 - 0 (5) $300
4 TONY COUCH BUCKHEAD, GA 25 - 14 (5) 25 - 14 (5)
5 BUDDY GROSS CHICKAMAUGA, GA 25 - 11 (5) 25 - 11 (5)
6 KEN ELLIS BOWMAN, SC 24 - 3 (5) 24 - 3 (5)
7 CHUCK HOWARD ELLOREE, SC 23 - 7 (5) 23 - 7 (5)
8 BARRY WILSON BIRMINGHAM, AL 23 - 5 (5) 23 - 5 (5)
9 CLINT BROWN BAINBRIDGE, GA 22 - 15 (5) 22 - 15 (5)
10 BRYAN NEW BELMONT, NC 22 - 11 (5) 22 - 11 (5)
10 ROBERT CLARKE III PINEVILLE, SC 22 - 11 (5) 22 - 11 (5)
12 BRADFORD BEAVERS RIDGEVILLE, SC 22 - 8 (5) 22 - 8 (5)
12 JT KENNEY PALM BAY, FL 22 - 8 (5) 22 - 8 (5)
14 LINDWOOD THORNHILL PINEVILLE, SC 22 - 6 (5) 22 - 6 (5)
15 CLAYTON BATTS MACON, GA 22 - 5 (5) 22 - 5 (5)
16 RYAN BOWLES PINEVILLE, SC 21 - 9 (5) 21 - 9 (5)
16 BRYAN SCHMITT DEALE, MD 21 - 9 (4) 21 - 9 (4)
18 DONALD HINSON LUGOFF, SC 21 - 8 (5) 21 - 8 (5)
19 CHAD PROUGH CHIPLEY, FL 21 - 1 (5) 21 - 1 (5)
20 JOSEPH MARKS DUNCAN, SC 21 - 0 (5) 21 - 0 (5)
21 LEE NUNNALLY SOCIAL CIRCLE, GA 20 - 13 (5) 20 - 13 (5)
22 BRYAN THRIFT SHELBY, NC 20 - 11 (5) 20 - 11 (5)
23 ROBERT CROSNOE INVERNESS, FL 20 - 7 (5) 20 - 7 (5)
24 PETER THLIVEROS SAINT AUGUSTINE, FL 20 - 5 (5) 20 - 5 (5)
25 MARK HUTSON MONCKS CORNER, SC 20 - 4 (5) 20 - 4 (5)
26 LEX COSTAS DANIEL ISLAND, SC 20 - 3 (5) 20 - 3 (5)
26 JOHN COX DEBARY, FL 20 - 3 (5) 20 - 3 (5)
28 JESSIE MIZELL SARASOTA, FL 19 - 13 (4) 19 - 13 (4)
28 BRETT MITCHELL TIMMONSVILLE, SC 19 - 13 (5) 19 - 13 (5)
30 KENT WARE GUNTERSVILLE, AL 19 - 9 (5) 19 - 9 (5)
31 BARRON ADAMS MINERAL BLUFF, GA 19 - 5 (5) 19 - 5 (5)
32 JOEY SABBAGHA PROSPERITY, SC 19 - 4 (5) 19 - 4 (5)
32 TODD SMITH BONNEAU, SC 19 - 4 (5) 19 - 4 (5)
34 DUSTIN SMITH GRAND ISLAND, FL 19 - 1 (5) 19 - 1 (5)
35 PATRICK WALTERS SUMMERVILLE, SC 19 - 0 (5) 19 - 0 (5)
36 WES LOGAN SPRINGVILLE, AL 18 - 14 (5) 18 - 14 (5)
37 KYLE WALTERS GRANT VALKARIA, FL 18 - 10 (5) 18 - 10 (5)
38 DAVID HUDSON JASPER, AL 18 - 8 (5) 18 - 8 (5)
38 BRENT BARNES CHATTANOOGA, TN 18 - 8 (5) 18 - 8 (5)
40 RODGER BEAVER DAWSON, GA 18 - 5 (5) 18 - 5 (5)
41 BRANDON MEDLOCK LAKE PLACID, FL 18 - 3 (5) 18 - 3 (5)
42 JEREMY PRIDGEN HAHIRA, GA 18 - 0 (5) 18 - 0 (5)
43 TERRY TUCKER GADSDEN, AL 17 - 13 (5) 17 - 13 (5)
44 TIM FREDERICK LEESBURG, FL 17 - 12 (5) 17 - 12 (5)
44 PHIL CURY JACKSONVILLE, FL 17 - 12 (5) 17 - 12 (5)
46 SCOTT GIBBS ROME, GA 17 - 11 (5) 17 - 11 (5)
47 CODY GREEN LENOIR CITY, TN 17 - 7 (4) 17 - 7 (4)
48 MARSHALL DEAKINS DUNLAP, TN 17 - 3 (5) 17 - 3 (5)
49 FURMAN (JOE) THOMPSON CLAYTON, GA 17 - 2 (3) 17 - 2 (3)
50 NICK THLIVEROS ST. AUGUSTINE, FL 16 - 4 (5) 16 - 4 (5)
51 JAY KENDRICK GRANT, AL 16 - 0 (5) 16 - 0 (5)
52 DEREK HICKS ROCKY FACE, GA 15 - 14 (5) 15 - 14 (5)
52 MARTY BROWN DALTON, GA 15 - 14 (4) 15 - 14 (4)
54 BAILEY BOUTRIES DAPHNE, AL 15 - 12 (5) 15 - 12 (5)
54 BRAD HARMON RINGGOLD, GA 15 - 12 (4) 15 - 12 (4)
56 MASON BOYLAN MELBOURNE, FL 15 - 11 (5) 15 - 11 (5)
56 AUSTIN MURRAY DELAND, FL 15 - 11 (5) 15 - 11 (5)
58 RON NELSON BERRIEN SPRINGS, MI 15 - 10 (5) 15 - 10 (5)
58 WADE GROOMS BONNEAU, SC 15 - 10 (5) 15 - 10 (5)
58 WAYNE FRIERSON MANNING, SC 15 - 10 (5) 15 - 10 (5)
61 JIM NEECE JR BRISTOL, TN 15 - 6 (5) 15 - 6 (5)
61 FRANK CLARK PORT SAINT JOE, FL 15 - 6 (5) 15 - 6 (5)
63 MIKE MILLER TRINITY, NC 15 - 3 (4) 15 - 3 (4)
64 JASON ABRAM PINEY FLATS, TN 15 - 2 (5) 15 - 2 (5)
64 JASON S. SMITH DAWSON, GA 15 - 2 (5) 15 - 2 (5)
66 JIM MOYNAGH CARVER, MN 15 - 0 (5) 15 - 0 (5)
67 ROBBY FRASHIER CARROLLTON, GA 14 - 14 (5) 14 - 14 (5)
67 TONY DAVIS WILLISTON, FL 14 - 14 (5) 14 - 14 (5)
67 ROB DIGH DENVER, NC 14 - 14 (5) 14 - 14 (5)
70 DEREK YASINSKI SENOIA, GA 14 - 13 (5) 14 - 13 (5)
71 JEFF HOLLAND WINTER SPRINGS, FL 14 - 10 (5) 14 - 10 (5)
71 HENSLEY POWELL WHITWELL, TN 14 - 10 (5) 14 - 10 (5)
73 KEITH PACE MONTICELLO, AR 14 - 7 (5) 14 - 7 (5)
74 DAVID SHEFFIELD DAVIE, FL 14 - 6 (5) 14 - 6 (5)
74 DARRELL DAVIS DOVER, FL 14 - 6 (5) 14 - 6 (5)
76 STEVE THORNHILL PINEVILLE, SC 14 - 5 (5) 14 - 5 (5)
77 CHRIS HENSLEY MARBURY, AL 13 - 15 (5) 13 - 15 (5)
78 BILL TROYER SARASOTA, FL 13 - 14 (5) 13 - 14 (5)
79 MATTHEW NETTLES RIDGEWAY, SC 13 - 13 (5) 13 - 13 (5)
79 BRIAN ELDER LOCUST GROVE, GA 13 - 13 (5) 13 - 13 (5)
81 NICK GAINEY CHARLESTON, SC 13 - 12 (5) 13 - 12 (5)
82 PAUL GETTYS DUE WEST, SC 13 - 11 (5) 13 - 11 (5)
83 MATT BATY BAINBRIDGE, GA 13 - 9 (5) 13 - 9 (5)
84 LYNN JOHNSON ATTALLA, AL 13 - 7 (5) 13 - 7 (5)
84 JOSHUA WEAVER MACON, GA 13 - 7 (5) 13 - 7 (5)
86 KOBY KREIGER BOKEELIA, FL 13 - 2 (5) 13 - 2 (5)
86 SHANE POWELL DOTHAN, AL 13 - 2 (5) 13 - 2 (5)
88 JARED THOMPSON MARVELL, AR 12 - 15 (5) 12 - 15 (5)
88 THOMAS OLTORIK DELAND, FL 12 - 15 (3) 12 - 15 (3)
88 BRYAN COOK VANCE, SC 12 - 15 (5) 12 - 15 (5)
91 JOSH MCDERMOTT FISHERS, IN 12 - 14 (5) 12 - 14 (5)
92 JOEY WEAVER MACON, GA 12 - 11 (4) 12 - 11 (4)
93 NATHAN THOMAS WEIRSDALE, FL 12 - 9 (4) 12 - 9 (4)
93 ERIC PANZIRONI LONGWOOD , FL 12 - 9 (5) 12 - 9 (5)
95 JARED DIAL WINTER HAVEN, FL 12 - 7 (5) 12 - 7 (5)
95 TRENT PALMER CUMMING, GA 12 - 7 (4) 12 - 7 (4)
97 PAT FISHER COLBERT, GA 12 - 5 (5) 12 - 5 (5)
98 SCOTT TOWRY LAWRENCEBURG, TN 12 - 2 (4) 12 - 2 (4)
99 MICHAEL BLACK TOLEDO, IL 11 - 15 (3) 11 - 15 (3)
99 ROBERT GIBBS HARLEYVILLE, SC 11 - 15 (5) 11 - 15 (5)
101 CARLTON THOMPKINS MYRTLE BEACH, SC 11 - 14 (4) 11 - 14 (4)
101 JUSTIN HAMNER NORTHPORT, AL 11 - 14 (5) 11 - 14 (5)
103 CHAD MORGENTHALER REEDS SPRING, MO 11 - 13 (5) 11 - 13 (5)
103 JOHN MOBLEY MACCLENNY, FL 11 - 13 (4) 11 - 13 (4)
105 SANDY MELVIN BOCA GRANDE, FL 11 - 9 (5) 11 - 9 (5)
106 JASON MULLINAX WHITE, GA 11 - 8 (5) 11 - 8 (5)
107 BRADLEY ENFINGER COLQUITT, GA 11 - 7 (5) 11 - 7 (5)
108 JAMIE PIERCE LAKE WACCAMAW, NC 11 - 5 (5) 11 - 5 (5)
109 NELSON WALKER MANNING, SC 11 - 1 (4) 11 - 1 (4)
110 JOEY THIGPEN ST JOHNS, FL 10 - 14 (5) 10 - 14 (5)
110 DENNIS MAGOTO WAYNESVILLE, OH 10 - 14 (3) 10 - 14 (3)
112 ALLEN ARMOUR CUMMING, GA 10 - 12 (4) 10 - 12 (4)
113 MIKEY KEYSO JR NORTH PORT, FL 10 - 10 (4) 10 - 10 (4)
114 HAL CERCOPELY MANNING, SC 10 - 9 (4) 10 - 9 (4)
115 BRANDON CLASSON SR LEESBURG, GA 10 - 5 (5) 10 - 5 (5)
116 VAL OSINSKI FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 10 - 3 (3) 10 - 3 (3)
117 ZACH CRIDER TUNNEL HILL, GA 10 - 1 (4) 10 - 1 (4)
117 MICHAEL CORBISHLEY RALEIGH, NC 10 - 1 (4) 10 - 1 (4)
119 TONY HOGAN MCDAVID, FL 9 - 15 (4) 9 - 15 (4)
119 JOHN BITTER MAITLAND, FL 9 - 15 (5) 9 - 15 (5)
121 TOMMY DICKERSON ORANGE, TX 9 - 13 (4) 9 - 13 (4)
122 STEPHEN CRAWLEY BUSH, LA 9 - 9 (4) 9 - 9 (4)
123 CURREY HOLLEY MADISON, AL 9 - 8 (4) 9 - 8 (4)
124 BRANDON JOHNSON OWINGSVILLE, KY 9 - 7 (4) 9 - 7 (4)
125 DEAN BORUFF VALDOSTA, GA 9 - 3 (2) 9 - 3 (2)
126 HUNTER BOZEMAN OCALA, FL 9 - 0 (4) 9 - 0 (4)
127 MICHAEL MAXFIELD HANAHAN, SC 8 - 15 (3) 8 - 15 (3)
127 ANTHONY FORD NEW SMYRNA, FL 8 - 15 (3) 8 - 15 (3)
129 KYLE MONTI OKEECHOBEE, FL 8 - 12 (4) 8 - 12 (4)
130 TIMMY THOMPKINS MYRTLE BEACH, SC 8 - 11 (4) 8 - 11 (4)
131 BRAD SCHWARTZ GOOSE CREEK, SC 8 - 8 (4) 8 - 8 (4)
132 SCOTT BYRD OCKLAWAHA, FL 8 - 7 (4) 8 - 7 (4)
133 JEFF CANNON DOUGLASVILLE, GA 8 - 3 (3) 8 - 3 (3)
134 LEE FRYE BROOKSVILLE, FL 8 - 0 (2) 8 - 0 (2)
135 TODD OLDS NORTH CHARLESTON, SC 7 - 12 (4) 7 - 12 (4)
136 AL ODOM CHAPIN, SC 7 - 10 (2) 7 - 10 (2)
137 JOHN BRAZZELL WINTER GARDEN, FL 7 - 9 (2) 7 - 9 (2)
137 DANNY ALLEN LORIS, SC 7 - 9 (4) 7 - 9 (4)
139 CODY NICHOLS FAYETTE, AL 7 - 7 (3) 7 - 7 (3)
139 GEORGE KAPITON INVERNESS, FL 7 - 7 (3) 7 - 7 (3)
139 RON BROWN CROSS, SC 7 - 7 (2) 7 - 7 (2)
142 TIM WILSON GAS CITY, IN 7 - 5 (3) 7 - 5 (3)
142 CHRIS FERGUSON WITTENSVILLE, KY 7 - 5 (3) 7 - 5 (3)
144 BRIAN MERRIMAN FALKVILLE, AL 7 - 3 (2) 7 - 3 (2)
145 LAVOYD LEMMOND DECATUR, AL 7 - 1 (2) 7 - 1 (2)
146 ROBERT HOLCOMB LONGWOOD, FL 6 - 14 (3) 6 - 14 (3)
146 TROY GIBSON MOUNTAIN HOME, AR 6 - 14 (3) 6 - 14 (3)
148 ALEX DEMPSEY ORANGEBURG, SC 6 - 12 (3) 6 - 12 (3)
149 KOBY NEWMAN KENNEDY, AL 6 - 10 (2) 6 - 10 (2)
150 RICK CORN FORT MILL, SC 6 - 7 (1) 6 - 7 (1)
151 FRANK KITCHENS III OXFORD, GA 6 - 5 (3) 6 - 5 (3)
152 BRADLEY DORTCH ATMORE, AL 6 - 3 (2) 6 - 3 (2)
152 YOAN ALVAREZ MIAMI, FL 6 - 3 (1) 6 - 3 (1)
154 SCOTT ASHMORE BROKEN ARROW, OK 6 - 1 (2) 6 - 1 (2)
155 SCOTT KIRSCH EDGEWATER, FL 5 - 15 (2) 5 - 15 (2)
156 GERRY BROUSSEAU NAPLES, FL 5 - 14 (3) 5 - 14 (3)
157 LONNIE ONEAL VALDOSTA, GA 5 - 13 (2) 5 - 13 (2)
157 SEAN SKEY SUMTER, SC 5 - 13 (2) 5 - 13 (2)
159 RANDY GARDNER TITUS, AL 5 - 12 (2) 5 - 12 (2)
160 DANIEL WEAVER MACON, GA 5 - 10 (3) 5 - 10 (3)
160 BILLY HALL GREENBACK, TN 5 - 10 (2) 5 - 10 (2)
160 JIMMY WILSON WAGENER, SC 5 - 10 (2) 5 - 10 (2)
163 RICKIE KNIGHT SELMA, AL 5 - 6 (2) 5 - 6 (2)
164 KIM CARVER MILLEDGEVILLE, GA 5 - 5 (2) 5 - 5 (2)
165 OMARI NAVIES FORT WASHINGTON, MD 5 - 4 (2) 5 - 4 (2)
166 TIM ARNOLD CULLMAN, AL 5 - 1 (2) 5 - 1 (2)
167 JOHN DIAL WINTER HAVEN, FL 4 - 15 (3) 4 - 15 (3)
168 JEFF FITTS KEYSTONE HEIGHTS, FL 4 - 14 (2) 4 - 14 (2)
169 MCCOY (SIMON) BORJA TAVARES, FL 4 - 13 (2) 4 - 13 (2)
170 LEON WILLIAMS FAIRDALE, KY 4 - 12 (2) 4 - 12 (2)
171 BRANDON MCINTOSH SAINT AUGUSTINE, FL 4 - 10 (2) 4 - 10 (2)
172 BRENT RILEY CROSS, SC 4 - 7 (2) 4 - 7 (2)
172 DANIEL GREEN PRATTVILLE, AL 4 - 7 (2) 4 - 7 (2)
174 DENNIS REDD LAKE CITY, FL 4 - 6 (2) 4 - 6 (2)
175 HARRY MOORE VALLEY, AL 4 - 3 (2) 4 - 3 (2)
176 MATTHEW MOLLOHAN PROSPERITY, SC 4 - 1 (2) 4 - 1 (2)
177 JEFF JENNINGS ROCK HILL, SC 3 - 11 (1) 3 - 11 (1)
178 JIMMY BASS FLORENCE, SC 3 - 6 (1) 3 - 6 (1)
179 TY SOLIS ALBANY, GA 2 - 4 (1) 2 - 4 (1)
180 DAVID GOSHORN HARLEYVILLE, SC 2 - 1 (1) 2 - 1 (1)
180 TRENT PARDUE TROY, NC 2 - 1 (1) 2 - 1 (1)
182 JERRY PELFREY LAURENS, SC 1 - 11 (1) 1 - 11 (1)
STEVE YOUNG VALDOSTA, GA
CHRIS HEATH NORTH AUGUSTA, SC
MICHAEL HALL ANNANDALE, VA
JOHNNY JOHNSTON SUMMERVILLE, SC
JOHN DUARTE MIDDLE RIVER, MD
MACK COOK MONCKS CORNER, SC
RAYMOND JONES III STATESVILLE, NC
WARREN SHORES BULLS GAP, TN
TONY WOOD BOWDON, GA
STEVE PINKSTON SUGAR HILL, GA
MIKE WATSON SUMTER, SC
MARK ABBOTT NINETY SIX, SC
WAYNE CHRISTOPHER HUNTSVILLE, AL
DAVID GASTON SYLACAUGA, AL

by AnglersChannel

Bassmaster Elite At The Sabine River Rescheduled For June 7-10

he Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River presented by Econo Lodge has been rescheduled for June 7-10. The Sabine River and Orange, Texas, are home to the second-most attended regular-season Bassmaster Elite Series event in history, drawing more than 33,650 fans.

Photo by B.A.S.S.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 5, 2018

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River presented by Econo Lodge, which was postponed last week because of heavy rains and unsafe boating conditions in the Sabine River watershed, has been rescheduled for June 7-10 at Orange, Texas.

Citing concerns for the safety of anglers and other boaters on the Sabine River and its tributaries, B.A.S.S. Tournament Director Trip Weldon said last week that he and other B.A.S.S. officials “felt compelled to postpone the event until conditions are more favorable.”

The decision to reschedule was announced jointly today by B.A.S.S., which conducts the prestigious bass fishing circuit, and the host organization, the Greater Orange Area Chamber of Commerce (GOACC).

Practice for the event, which was originally scheduled as the second of nine regular season Elite Series tournaments, will get underway Monday, June 4, with competition taking place Thursday through Sunday, June 7-10.

The tournament originally was to begin Friday, April 6, and conclude Monday, April 9.

“We recognize that some of our anglers, staff and others involved in the Elite Series will have commitments that conflict with the new dates, but we owe it to our fans, hosts, sponsors and anglers to reschedule the event at Orange this season,” said B.A.S.S. CEO Bruce Akin. “We appreciate the hard work our staff and our partners in Orange have put into rescheduling this tournament and overcoming the curveball nature threw at us.”

Previous Elite Series tournaments in Orange have been among the most popular and well-attended in B.A.S.S. history. Local organizers were hoping to set new records this week and had planned concerts following the afternoon weigh-ins to further entertain bass fishing fans.

“We are excited that B.A.S.S. has worked with the Greater Orange Area Chamber of Commerce to reschedule the Bassmaster Elite Tournament on the Sabine River. This community has looked forward to this event, and we are pleased that we can still offer it,” said Tad McKee, Chairman of the GOACC Board, “Orange County has suffered a huge loss in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, and this tournament will offer a significant economic boost to the businesses in our area. We look forward to the welcomed distraction from the everyday recovery process. We value our continued partnership with B.A.S.S. for years to come.”

Chamber of Commerce officials said they intend to hold a festival during the rescheduled tournament. A Bassmaster Outdoors Expo also will be held during the event, which will take place at the City of Orange Boat Ramp. Visit Bassmaster.com for further details.

by AnglersChannel

Texas Team Trail heads back to Lake Amistad

 

  Record payouts, exceptional fishing expected
for third TXTT event of 2018
NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. (April 3, 2018) - The Texas Team Trail (TXTT) presented by Cabela's will host its third regular-season event on Saturday, April 14, at Amistad Reservoir. The TXTT previously visited the Rio Grande impoundment for the 2012 TXTT championship.

Registration for the event is already underway - anglers can secure an opportunity to pre-fish Friday, April 13, by completing their registration online or via phone prior to midnight on Thursday, April 12. Additionally, all anglers that pre-register online at www.texasteamtrail.com will be entered into a drawing for a $100 Cabela's gift card.

The Amistad event is the third regular-season event of four 2018 qualifying events that guarantee a fully rigged, 18-foot boat, motor, trailer package as first-place prize. The winning anglers at Amistad will walk away with a brand-new Triton 189TRX powered by a 150HP Mercury, valued at $30,495.

In addition to the payout, the event offers anglers an unprecedented opportunity in terms of sponsor bonuses and television coverage. The budget-friendly $250 entry fee, plus multiple contingency programs and a guaranteed, over-100 percent payback at every event provides tremendous value to the weekend angler.

On-site registration is set for Friday, April 13, from 4-6 p.m. at Diablo East Marina. At least one team member must attend, as boat numbers will be assigned during this time. The tournament will launch Saturday, April 14, at safe light from the marina with anglers returning to the Diablo East Marina for the weigh-in at 3 p.m.

Anglers with questions or anyone interested in more details on the event are encouraged to visit  www.texasteamtrail.com or call 210-281-1752 or 210-788-4143.

Texas Team Trail events are made possible through the sponsorship and continued support of these well-respected brands: Cabela's, Ranger Boats, Lucas Oil, Evinrude, Mercury, Minn Kota, Triton Boats, Power-Pole, NITRO, Lowrance, Protect the Harvest, Garmin, Valley Fashions, T-H Marine, Atlas, G-Juice, Navionics, Amphibia, Powertex Group.

 

Remaining 2018 TXTT scheduled events:

April 14 - Amistad

May 5 - Ray Roberts

 

Championship

June 2-3 - Sam Rayburn

by AnglersChannel

April: Month of the Somewhat Forgotten Lizard

Story & Photos Courtesy of Alan McGuckin

In my little universe, April is as much about soft plastic lizards as the Easter Bunny and the Masters at Augusta National. In fact, while the Chinese Zodiac calendar spotlights 2018 as the “Year of the Dog” -- I’d like to go ahead an officially nominate April as forever being bass fishing’s “Month of the Lizard.”

Like my Carhartt raingear, I don’t leave home in April without several bags of 5, 6, and 8” soft plastic lizards during this often rain-soaked month centered around various phases of the annual spring spawn.

Yet, you’d be hard pressed to find a professional bass tournament in recent years where a lizard was

credited with being the winning lure, or even playing a huge role in the victor’s creel.

Has the lizard fallin out of fashion? Has this highly versatile lure that was a mainstay in the 1980s and 1990s lost its fish catching ability? It certainly hasn’t for me, but what do the best anglers on the planet and the lure manufacturers say?

 

 

Mike Iaconelli: “Lures are kinda like clothes – designs and shapes fall in and out of fashion, but I’ll promise you this, there’s a Flambeau box full of lizards in my boat right now, and it’ll stay there all year with the exception of the dead of winter,” says the Team Toyota pro.

“The thing that makes a soft plastic lizard special is the flat belly paired with a tail and legs that have great but subtle swimming action,” says Iaconelli. “It glides perfectly behind a Carolina Rig in the pre-spawn, and all the way into summer, plus it’s also great Texas rigged shallow around the spawn because its slender shape gets in and out of brush and vegetation without hanging up.”

“As for the reason you don’t hear about it more – I think it’s because guys don’t want to spotlight it. They keep it kinda under the collar. But again, come check my boat, and you’ll find a box full of lizards right now,” he says adamantly.

“Oh, and the 9 pound 11 ounce beast I caught last year at the Bassmaster Classic on Lake Conroe came on a 6” green pumpkin Berkley Power Lizard,” adds Ike for emphasis on the lizard’s modern day effectiveness.

 

Jacob Powroznik: “One of the reasons we used lizards a lot more 20 years ago is because our options on soft plastic lures were a lot more limited than they are these days,” says Quantum pro Jacob Powroznik. “We didn’t have the beaver style lures or the wide variety of creature baits like the J-Bug I designed for V & M Lures. So we used a lizard, and trust me … it got the job done.”

“And I’ll promise you it still gets the job done. Just like it did two decades ago when we were constantly pitching them into flooded bushes or Carolina Rigging them, and smokin’ a lot of good bass on them,” says the Virginia pro.

 

What do the Sales Numbers say about Lizards?

It would be difficult to argue Zoom Lure Company didn’t have the biggest hand in the popularity boom of soft plastic lizards in the late 1980s. Avid angler Chris Baxter has been employed by the super successful Georgia-based lure company most of his adult life, and has had a front row seat to the soft plastic lizard’s life cycle to date.

Even though they may not be as trendy on pro angling trails as they once were, Baxter watched the lizard’s rise to popularity 25 years ago, and for the most part, says it has stayed there, according to retail sales numbers.

“Zoom Lure Company started in 1977, and by 1987 and 1988 everybody was wanting our pumpkin seed colored lizards to Carolina Rig,” remembers Baxter.

“I think we’re selling as many lizards now in 2018 as we ever did because anglers are more comfortable throwing larger lures than they once were. So the 8” Magnum Lizard we make offers another sales opportunity we couldn’t capitalize on as well 30 years ago, and the 6” still remains a very important part of most every amateur angler’s tackle collection,” says Baxter.

While the 8” variety is most often Texas rigged and pitched to shallow flooded habitat, the 4” is good for early spawn. The 6” is most versatile, and hence the 6” is the top selling size according to Baxter.

“Back in the early 1990s it seemed like everybody flipped and pitched a lizard shallow, and by the mid 1990s a Carolina-rigged lizard was big time popular. Our overall bait selection wasn’t as versatile back then – so we leaned on lizards to catch a ton of fish,” reflects Baxter. “And the fact is, they still would catch a ton of fish, if we’d just simplify our approach and tied one on more often.”

I agree with Baxter. In a fishing universe with an often-overwhelming number of choices in soft plastic shapes and sizes, there’s one sure way to simplify things. Be like “Ike” and keep a few bags of lizards in your boat nearly year round.

Texas rigged or Carolina rigged, their effectiveness remains as dependable as the Azaleas bushes blooming each April at Augusta National for the Masters.

 

Author Alan McGuckin, Head PR Guru for Dynamic Sponsorships working with brands such as Quantum Fishing, Toyota USA, Carhartt and many more.

by AnglersChannel

April 4th - Costa Countdown to Blastoff with John Byrne & Sportsmans Warehouse's CJ Freeman

John Byrne & Sportsmans Warehouse CJ Freeman Discuss this weeks happening tournaments & events coming up on the Costa Countdown to Blastoff! Check it out!

by AnglersChannel

COSTA FLW SERIES HEADED TO SANTEE COOPER

SUMMERTON, S.C. (March 27, 2018) – More than 340 pros and co-anglers are set to compete next week, April 5-7, at the Costa FLW Series at Santee Cooper Lakes presented by Bass Pro Shops. The tournament is the third and final regular-season tournament scheduled in the FLW Series Southeastern Division. Hosted by the Clarendon County Chamber of Commerce, the event will feature anglers competing for a top award of up to $89,000, including a brand new Ranger Z518C boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.

“This is going to be a really good tournament, and it could be absolutely phenomenal,” said FLW Tour pro Bryan Thrift, who won when the FLW Series last visited Santee Cooper in 2016. “With the way the weather is warming up, and the full moon next week, it could be a perfect storm. It’s setting up to be an absolute slugfest.”

When the FLW Series anglers competed at Santee Cooper in 2016, 16 five-bass limits were weighed in excess of 25 pounds, with three limits weighing more than 30 pounds. Thrift said that he expects the same thing this time around.

“The best thing about the Santee Cooper lakes is that you can catch giants anywhere,” Thrift said. “We’re definitely going to see multiple 30-pound bags. It’s not like one lake is better than the other, or one end of the lake is better. There are big fish to be caught everywhere, on the whole system.”

Thrift predicted that the bass would be in their prespawn and spawning patterns, with a large majority of the largemouth on beds. He suggested that Rat-L-Traps, spinnerbaits, ChatterBaits and soft stickworms, like a Damiki Stinger, would all play a big role for tournament anglers.

“I think the key is going to be finding fresh fish that are just coming up – staging to move shallow,” Thrift said. “I would say that a three-day total of 78 to 84 pounds will win.”

Anglers will take off from the John C. Land III Landing, located at 4404 Greenall Road., in Summerton, at 7 a.m. EST each day of competition. Weigh-ins will also be held at the landing and will begin at 3 p.m. each day. All takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.

In Costa FLW Series regular-season competition, payouts are based on the number of participants competing in the event. At Santee Cooper pros will fish for a top prize of $89,000, including a brand new Ranger Z518C boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard if Ranger Cup qualified. Co-anglers will cast for a brand new Ranger Z175 boat with a 90-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard, and $5,000 if Ranger Cup qualified.

The Costa FLW Series consists of five U.S. divisions – Central, Northern, Southeastern, Southwestern and Western – along with the International division. Each U.S. division consists of three regular-season tournaments with competitors vying for valuable points that could earn them the opportunity to compete in the season-ending Costa FLW Series Championship. The 2018 Costa FLW Series Championship is being held Nov. 1-3 on Lake Guntersville in Guntersville, Alabama, and is hosted by the Marshall County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Costa FLW Series on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat.

by AnglersChannel

Black Velvet Named B.A.S.S. Elite Partner And Presenting Sponsor Of St. Lawrence Event

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - From BASS Communications

April 4, 2018

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Black Velvet Canadian Whisky has signed on as an Elite Partner of the 2018 Bassmaster Elite Series.

The Elite Partner agreement provides for promoting Black Velvet at Bassmaster Elite Series events this year with special activities planned for four of the Elite tournaments. They are to be held at Lake Oahe at Pierre, S.D., June 29-July 2; Upper Chesapeake Bay at Harford County, Md., July 26-29; St. Lawrence River at Waddington, N.Y., Aug. 23-26; and the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship at Lake Chatuge at Young Harris, Ga., Sept. 20-23.

It also includes a presenting sponsorship for the brand in the New York Elite, which will be entitled, “Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River presented by Black Velvet Canadian Whisky,” and advertising in B.A.S.S.’s print and digital media, including Bassmaster Magazine and Bassmaster.com.

“Waddington, N.Y., has always been one of our most enthusiastic host communities, and it holds the all-time attendance record for a Bassmaster Elite Series event after 34,100 fans attended in 2013,” said B.A.S.S. CEO Bruce Akin. “This will be a great venue for promoting Black Velvet Canadian Whisky.”

“Black Velvet has long been loved by outdoorsmen. We are thrilled to be partnering with Bassmaster and to be a part of these extraordinary events,” said Carl Evans, Vice President, Marketing, Spirits.

Black Velvet is a blended whisky that has been available since 1951. It is part of the family of brands from Constellation Brands, a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Victor, N.Y.

“We welcome Black Velvet as an Elite Partner and presenting sponsor,” Akin added. “Constellation Brands has earned a reputation for integrity and is one of world’s most admired companies, according to Fortune Magazine, and we are proud that they recognize the importance of the Bassmaster Elite Series in exposing their brands.”

by AnglersChannel

Sam Rayburn Produces 13.06 Legacy Class Texas ShareLunker!

AUSTIN – Sam Rayburn Reservoir produced the final Toyota ShareLunker Legacy Class largemouth bass entry with just hours left in the 2018 donation season March 31.  Angler Stacy Spriggs of Huntsville caught the 13.06 pound, 27 inch Legacy Class lunker during the Second Annual Stanley Burgay Memorial Bass Tournament on a Carolina rig in 8 feet of water.

“When I set the hook I knew it was a big fish – but I didn’t know how big,” Spriggs said. “It never crossed my mind that it was a ShareLunker until we got to the [tournament] scale. When they put her on the scale and she weighed over 13 pounds I was shocked. This is way bigger than anything I’ve ever caught before.”

An avid tournament angler, Spriggs said her previous biggest fish was a 9.71 pound bass caught in another tournament the weekend before. Spriggs said ShareLunker 576 meets a goal she set since she began fishing nearly 8 years ago – to catch a double digit bass at her home lake.

“We have a lakehouse on Sam Rayburn and fish the lake 90 percent of the time,” Spriggs said. “Neither my boyfriend or I had ever caught a double digit on Sam Rayburn. I did it by three pounds – it was pretty crazy.”

Once Toyota ShareLunker program coordinator Kyle Brookshear arrived at the Sam Rayburn Lakeview marina to inspect the fish, he decided it was in the best interest of the fish’s health to return it to the lake instead of bringing it back to the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens to attempt spawning. Although she will not be a part of the selective breeding program, the fish is classified as a Legacy Class entry and now bears the title ShareLunker 576.

ShareLunker 576 is the sixth and final Legacy Class entry of the season. The five other Legacy Class entries of the season include: Toyota ShareLunker 575, a 13.34 pound largemouth bass caught by angler Pablo Torres Jr. from Kurth Reservoir March 25; Toyota ShareLunker 574, a 13.40 pound largemouth bass caught by angler Austin Terry from Twin Buttes Reservoir March 14; Toyota ShareLunker 573, a 13.06 pound largemouth bass caught by angler Alex Finch from Lake Fork March 11; Toyota ShareLunker 572, a 13.00 pound largemouth bass caught by angler Michael Terrebonne from Lake Fork March 8; and Toyota ShareLunker 571, a 15.48 pound largemouth bass caught by angler John LaBove from Lake Fork March 2.

Every angler who loaned a 13 pound or larger Legacy Class bass to the Toyota ShareLunker program during the spawning period Jan. 1 to March 31 will receive a Toyota ShareLunker Catch Kit containing branded merchandise and fishing tackle items, a 13lb+ Legacy decal, VIP access to awards programming at the Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest, a replica of their fish, and an entry into the year-end ShareLunker Prize Drawing to win a $5,000 shopping spree and an annual fishing license. These anglers will also be entered into the Legacy Class Prize Drawing for a $5,000 shopping spree and an annual fishing license at the end of the spawning period. TPWD will officially announce the drawing winner at the Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest during the ShareLunker awards ceremony on May 19th.

Although the Legacy Class donation season has ended, anglers can still enter their 8 pound or larger largemouth bass catches into the Toyota ShareLunker program through Dec. 31. Entries can be made online or through a free app available to download from the Apple App Store and Google Play.

Each angler who enters an 8 pound or 24 inches and larger lunker bass on the mobile app or website will receive a Toyota ShareLunker Catch Kit containing branded merchandise and fishing tackle items and an entry into the year-end ShareLunker Prize Drawing for a $5,000 shopping spree and an annual fishing license. Anglers will also receive a vehicle decal to display their recognition category – Lunker Class for bass at least 8 pounds or 24 inches, Lunker Elite Class for bass 10 to 12.99 pounds, and Lunker Legend Class for bass at least 13 pounds.

The Toyota ShareLunker Program is made possible by a grant to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation from Gulf States Toyota. Toyota is a longtime supporter of the Foundation and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, providing major funding for a wide variety of education, fish, parks and wildlife projects.

For updates on the Toyota ShareLunker program and to view photos of all of the 13-pound-plus largemouth bass caught this season, visit https://www.facebook.com/ShareLunkerprogram or https://texassharelunker.com/.

by AnglersChannel

AnglersChannel Insider Podcast Episode #8 Featuring Bassmaster Classic Champ Jordan Lee & FLW Tour Pro Carl Jocumsen!!

On this weeks Episode Chris & Jason break down the 2018 Bassmasters Classic with Jordan Lee and how he won back-to-back Classics at only 26 years old. What this has done for his career on many levels and how it feels to be in the same company as Rick Clunn and KVD. The Boys also Talk with FLW Tour Pro Carl Jocumsen and how his career started in Australia to the Bass/Camping life on the road here in the states! They also talk boating safety and remember fallen fisherman Wayne Cox. All of this and more on this weeks AnglersChannel Insider Podcast!

 

by AnglersChannel

MADISON SOUTHERN HIGH SCHOOL WINS TBF/FLW HIGH SCHOOL FISHING KENTUCKY STATE CHAMPIONSHIP ON LAKE CUMBERLAND

BURNSIDE, Ky. (Apr. 2, 2018) – The Madison Southern High School fishing duo of Blake Harold of Berea, Kentucky, and Cameron Cochran of Mount Vernon, Kentucky, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Saturday weighing 17 pounds, 7 ounces to win the 2018 TBF/FLW High School Fishing Kentucky State Championship on Lake Cumberland.

A field of 243 teams competed in the no-entry fee tournament, which launched from the Burnside Island State Park in Burnside. In FLW/TBF High School Fishing competition, the top 10-percent of teams competing advance to the High School Fishing National Championship.

The top 10 teams on Lake Cumberland were:

1st:     Madison Southern High School, Berea, Ky. – Blake Harold, Berea, Ky., and Cameron Cochran, Mt. Vernon, Ky., five bass,   17-7

2nd:    Rockcastle High School, Mt. Vernon, Ky. – Jordan Nicely and Cameron Cornelius, both of Mt. Vernon, Ky., five bass, 12-12

3rd:     Jessamine County High School, Nicholasville, Ky. – Luke Lamb, Nicholasville, Ky., and Carson Mitchell, Lexington, Ky., five bass, 12-8

4th:     Spencer County Bass Club – Clayton Rountree and Dillin Stallings, both of Taylorsville, Ky., five bass 12-6

4th:     Lake Cumberland High School Bass Club – Ragan Burton and Blake Stringer, both of Somerset, Ky., five bass, 12-6

6th:     Jessamine County High School, Nicholasville, Ky. – Nathan Marshall and Braxton Lamb, both of Nicholasville, Ky., five bass 12-5

7th:     Casey County High School, Liberty, Ky. – Britt Pendleton, Liberty, Ky., and Ethan Lee, Dunnville, Ky., five bass, 11-13

8th:     Thomas Nelson High School, Barstown, Ky. – John Mattingle, New Hope, Ky., and Stephen Bradley, Hodgenville, Ky., five bass, 11-4

9th:     Jessamine County High School, Nicholasville, Ky. – Levi Keith and Casey Shearer, both of Nicholasville, Ky., five bass, 11-2

10th:   George Rogers Clark High School, Winchester, Ky. – Robert Powe and Allen Powe, both of Winchester, Ky., four bass, 11-0

The rest of the 24 High School teams that advanced to the 2018 High School Fishing National Championship and complete results for the remaining field can be found at HighSchoolFishing.org.

The 2018 TBF/FLW High School Fishing Kentucky State Championship was a two-person (team) event for students in grades 7-12, open to any Student Angler Federation (SAF) affiliated high school club in the United States. The top 10 percent of each Challenge, Open, and state championship field will advance to the High School Fishing National Championship on Pickwick Lake, in Florence, Alabama, June 26-29. The High School Fishing national champions will each receive a $5,000 college scholarship to the school of their choice.

In addition to the High School Fishing National Championship, all High School Fishing anglers nationwide automatically qualify for the world’s largest high school bass tournament, the 2018 High School Fishing World Finals, held in conjunction with the National Championship on Pickwick Lake. At the 2017 World Finals more than $60,000 in scholarships and prizes were awarded.

Full schedules and the latest announcements are available at HighSchoolFishing.org and FLWFishing.com.

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.

by AnglersChannel

2018 Ray Scott Championship Field to Take on the Red River April 5-8, 2018

Athens, AL. – In the June of 1967, Ray Scott held the first modern-day bass tournament, which he called the All-American.  Fifty-one years later the best anglers from across the US are gathering to compete for the championship named after him, the Ray Scott Championship.  It’s only fitting that at the same time the best in golf are playing at the Masters that the best weekend anglers will be competing for the Ray Scott Championship title. The 2018 Ray Scott Championship is being held on the Red River out of Shreveport-Bossier, LA April 5-8.

The Red River will test the anglers, but championships are intended to test competitors. They are forced to be both mentally and physically prepared for a four-day battle and find ways to score and win. In the world of bass fishing, this means consistently weighing in a limit of bass each day of the event.

The Red River has been the site of Bassmaster Classics as well as many weekend angler championships. The Red River is made up of pools, and our anglers will fish pools 3, 4 and 5. The anglers will launch each day on pool 5 about 12 miles north of the pool 5 lock and dam. Pool 5 is considered the most stable dealing with inflowing water. Anglers will fish Pool 4 which is more like a river than pool 5 and is loaded with Oxbows. These Oxbows fish well with higher water, but the anglers will have to navigate the lock to get there. Locks on the Red River can take thirty minutes to an hour to navigate.

A real gambler might shoot for Pool 3, but that means a two-hour run each way, navigating locks and still have enough time to turn in a good limit. Anglers that makes a pool 3 run better have a game plan that works.

The last few big events held on the Red River proves that plastics and bladed swim jigs are very productive. However, other baits that produce big bags are square bill crankbaits, jigs and spinnerbaits. Thank goodness there is a Bass Pro Shop right in Shreveport. Once the anglers in this championship figure out what is the hot bait(s), they will sell out fast.

A good example would come from a veteran of the Red River Homer Humphreys Jr. In April of 2008, Humphreys placed second in a BASS Open making only a 12-minute run from the launch. He caught his fish by swimming a BassGitter jig and a chatter bait. That week Humphreys and his partners brought in 90 pounds of bass.

Alternatively, in 2014 Stephen Browning won a BASS Open. He used a 1/2-ounce chartreuse-and-white spinnerbait when the wind was blowing on day one. However, his money bait was a square-bill crankbait.

In an interview on bassmaster.com Browning said, “Every day the fish are going to be on a specific piece of cover,” he said. “It requires keen observation and brain recall of what the fish are relating to on that given day.”

Based on Browning’s comments about the tournament it may come down to the anglers that can catch a limit then find one or two kickers each day. His final weight was 44 pounds 3 ounces or 14.66 pounds a day. His three days weights were 14 pounds 15 ounces, 13 pounds 9 ounces and the final day 15 pounds 11 ounces.

The 2018 Ray Scott Championship may come down to who can be the most consistent angler that brings in 15 pounds per day average.

The Boater Ray Scott Champion will win $50,000 and a new Triton 21 TRX Bass Boat powered by a Mercury 250ProXS.  The Co-Angler Ray Scott Champion will win $25,000 a new Triton 19 TRX Bass Boat powered by a Mercury 200ProXS. Both Triton Bass Boats are rigged with ABA Sponsor Products. Garmin Marine Electronics, T-H Marine Accessories and powered with Optima Batteries.

The Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission is hosting the 2018 Ray Scott Championship. Not only does the Shreveport-Bossier City area provide a top-notch area to hold tournaments they have a lot to offer anglers when they are off the water. Shreveport-Bossier is also home to the famous Louisiana Boardwalk. Where there is a lot to discover from the Bass Pro Shop to Joe’s Crab Shack.  The area offers entertainment for the whole. For a list of fun things to do visit https://www.shreveport-bossier.org/things-to-do/.

If that wasn’t enough, it is full on crawfish season! That means some the best Cajun food you could ever experience. Crawdaddy's Kitchen, LarryP’s Boiling Pot, Marilynn's Place and the Blind Tiger are just a few of the local Cajun cuisine hot spots to choose from.

The public is invited to attend the Ray Scott Championship daily weigh-ins at Red River Marina South starting Thursday, April 5th at 3 pm. The final weigh-in will be on Sunday, April 8th with the top 25 boater and co-anglers. Red River Marina South is located at 250 Red River South Marina Road, Bossier City, LA 71112, (318) 747-9545.

American Bass Anglers’ commitment is to provide low cost, close to home tournaments for the weekend angler and at the same time offer each competitor an upward path for individual angler progression. For more information about American Bass Anglers and the American Fishing Tour, the ABA Open Series, the Triton 100% Plus Team Tour, or the American Couples Series, visit www.americanbassanglers.com 

by AnglersChannel

Boat Crash Kills 1, Passenger in Serious Condition

 

Content and Photo Courtesy of WALA News /Mobile

By Elizabeth Rodil
Published: March 31, 2018 at 2:38 PM CDT
Updated: March 31, 2018 at 9:28 PM CDT

STOCKTON, AL (WALA) -

One person was killed and another was seriously injured when two fishing boats collided during a fishing tournament near Live Oak Landing in Baldwin County Saturday, according to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.

This happened at about 10:50 a.m. near Stockton, where a Media Bass fishing tournament was happening on the Tensaw River.

One of the two fishing boats was involved in the tournament, an ALEA official on the scene said.

Alabama State Troopers from ALEA’s Marine Patrol Division responded to a two-vessel collision in north Baldwin County near the confluence of Miflin Lake and the Tensaw River.

Troopers said a bass boat operated by Wesley Scott Feely of Atmore collided with the driver’s side of a bass boat operated by Jackie Dewayne Cox of Pace, Fla.

Troopers provided the following information:

The occupants of both boats were ejected into the water but were wearing personal flotation devices. Several boaters who heard the boat crash rushed to assist the victims. They pulled Cox and his passenger, Lee Grandquest, of Semmes from the water, rendered first-aid and stopped one of the boats that was still circling without an operator.

Cox was deceased at the scene. Grandquest was flown to USA Medical Center in Mobile, where he is still hospitalized Saturday night. Feely was treated at North Baldwin Infirmary Emergency Room and released.

Acting Baldwin County EMA Director Jessie Peacock and his son Hayden were also fishing nearby and helped provide treatment and coordinated with Crossroads VFD and a Medstar EMS crew to guide them to the scene.

The cause of the accident is still under investigation by the Marine Patrol Division.

Twenty-five boat teams were listed online by Media Bass for Saturday's tournament.

 

by AnglersChannel

UPDATE: Elite Series on the Sabine River Officially Postponed Due To Unsafe Water Conditions

UPDATED 8:00pm March 30th

March 30, 2018

B.A.S.S. Postpones Sabine River Elite Due To Unsafe Boating Conditions

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Citing recent heavy rains and high water in the Sabine River watershed, B.A.S.S. has decided to postpone the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Elite presented by Econo Lodge that had been scheduled to begin in Orange, Texas, next week.

“The safety of our anglers and others on the waters of the Sabine River system are our primary concern,” said B.A.S.S. Tournament Director Trip Weldon. “Weather and water conditions are expected to create potentially hazardous boating conditions, and we feel compelled to postpone the event until conditions are more favorable.”

The tournament originally was to begin Friday, April 6, and conclude Monday, April 9. As conditions began to deteriorate, Weldon told Elite Series anglers Thursday the tournament would be delayed at least one day. “We became convinced today that conditions would not improve in time for the tournament to be held in the coming days.”

The tournament will be rescheduled for another time during the 2018 Elite Series season, which concludes with the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship in September. Officials from B.A.S.S. and local host organizations in Orange will be meeting in the coming days to select a suitable date to reschedule the event.

B.A.S.S. has conducted Elite Series tournament at Orange twice before, in 2013 and 2015. Both generated tremendous crowds of spectators, including some of the best attendance figures in tournament history.

Local organizers were hoping to set new records next week and had planned concerts following the afternoon weigh-ins to further entertain bass fishing fans.

The Greater Orange Area Chamber of Commerce (GOACC) said in a statement it has been made aware of B.A.S.S.’s decision to postpone the Bassmaster Elite Tournament on the Sabine River, based on the safety of the anglers. “As a result of this decision the Orange County River Festival will also be cancelled,” it said.

Tad McKee, Chairman of the GOACC Board, stated, “This was a hard decision, but we support B.A.S.S.’s commitment to the safety of the anglers and participants. We look forward to a rescheduled tournament in the near future."

 

 

Posted March 29th

Due to weather conditions in and around Orange, Texas, B.A.S.S. has decided to delay the start of the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River presented by Econo Lodge. "We have conferred with authorities there to get the best information and forecasts we can," Tournament Director Trip Weldon said in a note to Elite Anglers Thursday. "River levels are predicted to crest along the Sabine and Neches sometime tomorrow or Saturday, depending on the location."

Weldon said B.A.S.S. will continue to monitor the situation and talk to authorities prior to making a decision Monday whether to hold the event next week. He said "safety is the utmost consideration" and may require postponing the event until sometime further into the future.

If the tournament begins next week, practice days will be Wednesday-Friday and competition will be held on Saturday-Tuesday. Competition was originally scheduled to begin Friday.

by AnglersChannel

COLLEGE ANGLERS SET TO COMPETE AT YETI FLW COLLEGE FISHING AT LAKE TEXOMA

DENISON, Texas (March 27, 2018) – YETI FLW College Fishing will continue the 2018 fishing season with an event April 7 on Lake Texoma. The tournament, hosted by the Denison Area Chamber of Commerce, is the second of three regular-season events for anglers in the Southern Conference, and will feature a top prize of a $2,000 club scholarship and an invitation to compete in the 2019 College Fishing National Championship.

“They’re going to catch them pretty good at Texoma and it should be a really fun tournament,” said FLW Tour pro and former College Fishing standout Andrew Upshaw, who has three top-12 finishes on Lake Texoma in Costa FLW Series competition. “The majority of the largemouth should be spawning, or just about to spawn. The smallmouth will likely already have spawned, so the chances of catching a 3½ to 4 pound smallmouth are pretty good. I think the winning team will probably have a mixed bag – a few big largemouth and a few big smallmouth.”

Upshaw said that the majority of the big fish live on the south end of the lake – within six miles of the dam – and he expects that a big grouping of college competitors will likely be found in that area.

“Sight fishing is going to be the deal for most of the teams,” Upshaw said. “You can’t beat a (Gene Larew) Biffle Bug – it’s my number one bait when sight fishing. I’d also have something compact tied on, like a (Gene Larew Jacob Wheeler) Hammer Craw.

“I’d recommend doing a little homework and looking at what past winners have done this time of year,” Upshaw continued. “If I wasn’t sight fishing, I’d be cranking a (Bill Lewis) Echo 1.75 squarebill around rocks. (Ray) Hanselman won a couple of years ago throwing a frog around spawning areas. A big 6- to 8-inch swimbait in the clear water around docks could catch some big ones that are staging.

“My biggest recommendation if you’re looking to win is to pick up baits that you know are going to catch big ones,” Upshaw went on to say. “Between a frog, a big swimbait and a Biffle Bug, I don’t think you can beat those three options.”

Upshaw predicted that the winning team would bring a five-bass limit nearing 22 pounds to the scale.

Competitors will take off from the Highport Marina, located at 120 Texoma Harbor in Pottsboro, at 7 a.m. CST Saturday. Weigh-in will be held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. Takeoff and weigh-in are free and open to the public.

Schools are allowed to register up until the morning of the tournament. Entries may be made either by phone or at CollegeFishing.com.

Schools registered to compete in the Lake Texoma tournament include:

Abilene Christian University – Tanner Sanderson, El Paso, Texas, and Corbin Craft, Fort Worth, Texas

Colorado State University-Pueblo – Austin Miles, Durango, Colo., and Cooper Brown, Pueblo West, Colo.

Harding University – Ethan Flowers, Dexter, Mo., and Cole Swede, Little Rock, Ark.

Louisiana Tech University – Huff McIntosh and Jacob Mitcham, both of Ruston, La.

Northeast Texas Community College – Austin King, Hughes Spring, Texas, and Danny Boyd, Winnsboro, Texas

Northeastern State University – Caleb Gibson and Tyler Winn, both of Tahlequah, Okla.

Oklahoma State University – Bates Enmeier, Enid, Okla., and Dexter Flick, Olathe, Colo.

Oklahoma State University – Garrett Brown, Broken Arrow, Okla., and Jake Swanson, Eufaula, Okla.

Sam Houston State University – Jackson Carrell, Anderson, Texas, and Kyle Pasket, Tomball, Texas

Stephen F. Austin State University – Kyle Dragulski, Mansfield, Texas, and Will Hughes, Tyler, Texas

Texas A&M University – Grant Adams, Midlothian, Texas, and Shane Stafford, Belton, Texas

Texas A&M-Commerce – Jacob Galindo, Commerce, Texas, and William Fitzgerald, Quinlan, Texas

Texas A&M-Commerce – Michael Wallace, Plano, Texas, and Jolten Andree, Commerce, Texas

Texas A&M-Commerce – Remy Schenk, Bogata, Texas, and Mason Ray, Plano, Texas

Texas A&M-Galveston – Aaron Batten, Houston, Texas, and Mathew Dove, Deer Park, Texas

Tyler Junior College – Hudson Daille, Tyler, Texas, and Tyler Davis, Whitehouse, Texas

University of Oklahoma – Peyton Berkley, Norman, Okla., and Colton Risley, Yukon, Okla.

YETI FLW College Fishing teams compete in three regular-season qualifying tournaments in one of five conferences – Central, Northern, Southern, Southeastern and Western. The top ten teams from each division’s three regular-season tournaments and the top 20 teams from the annual FLW College Fishing Open will advance to the 2019 FLW College Fishing National Championship. Additional teams will qualify for the National Championship if the field size in regular-season events exceeds 100 boats. The 2019 FLW College Fishing National Championship will take place May 30-June 1 on the Red River in Shreveport, Louisiana, and is hosted by the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission & Red River Waterway Commission.

YETI FLW College Fishing is free to enter. All participants must be registered, full-time students at a college, university or community college and members of a college fishing club that is recognized by their school.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow YETI FLW College Fishing on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat.

by AnglersChannel

New Record Largemouth Caught on the Sabine River

Courtesy of Lakerecord.net

Justin Royal has turned a lot of heads this week with an absolute giant bass he caught on the Sabine River.  Royal was fishing on the Louisiana side of the Sabine in the Burton’s Ditch area of the river during the Resilience Outdoors Tx/La River Shootout tournament on Sunday with partner Hunter Marshall.  Royal says he was was flipping a Stanley Original Casting jig in black blue using a green pumpkin rage craw as a trailer. He boat flipped (WOW!) the giant largemouth using a Power Tackle Pow R Point series 970 rod, paired with a Shimano Chronarch MGL Reel.  Their 5 bass limit weighed 18.26Lb, but Royal’s big bass stole the show weighing an amazing 9.73Lb.  The Sabine doesn’t boast a reputation as a big bass factory so Royals near double digit bass truly is a anomaly.  Congratulations Justin!  For more records in Louisiana check out thislink.   For Texas records check here.

by AnglersChannel

Super Pro or No?- Who Do You Want to Be?

Story Courtesy of Luke Estel / Strike King Pro

You cannot win a bass tournament unless you have at least a 20ft boat with a 250 hp motor on back.

You cannot win a tournament unless you have two power poles on the back of your boat.

You cannot win a tournament unless you have 4 12 inch touch screen units on your boat.

You cannot win a tournament unless you have a new truck that is jacked up with two rod storages on top of your camper shell.

You cannot win a tournament without a gps locking trolling motor.

You cannot win a tournament unless you have your own you tube channel. And so on and so on.

In today’s bass fishing tournament world, there are many anglers that believe this. This is especially true with the youth. It has become a status thing and the more stuff you have, the cooler you look, the better you are.

I myself have fallen into this fake reality from time to time.

I say this because our youth see how we veterans act and try to follow suit. I help coach a college fishing team and the first thing I tell them is time on the water means more than all that stuff. Practice at becoming a good angler first. Learn how to read water and make quick decisions when things aren’t working out. From there things will start to fall in place.

I started fishing big tournaments out of a 16ft tri hull Stryker bass boat with an 85 hp Mercury. I believe it was a 1974 model. It was ugly. There was no graph and it couldn’t run faster than 40 miles per hour. My cousin and I would drive down to Kentucky Lake in the spring to fish these big 300 to 400 boat tournaments. We would be intimidated because our boat was a piece of junk compared to everyone else’s. They had us beat before we even took off. But something happened not long after we started fishing down there. We started cashing checks. And a lot of them. From then on I realized that a person didn’t need the best equipment to do well.

25 years later and I still feel the same way. Granted I have upgraded into a better boat and better equipment but I try to let my ability do the talking instead of my physical appearance like I am some super pro fisherman.

The youth of our sport try to mimic the pros but tend to forget that good old fashioned hard work will prevail. They see all these fancy rigs and think if they don’t have that, they can’t compete. Although the fishing industry pushes new product on a daily basis with social media and never ending advertisements, little is said about hard work and just going fishing.

If you want to become a better tournament fisherman then all you have to do is fish and fish a lot. Spend time on the water. Practice casting, setting the hook, fighting the fish, learning new techniques. Worry less about what boat you are fishing out of, how many rods you have, and how cool you think you look because that will get you nowhere in this game. Trust me, you want to be the guy in that 74 Stryker that beat 300 of the best fishermen on the lake. You want those fishermen to start taking notice of your abilities and talking about how in the heck you caught them. Not how cool your truck is.

Us tournament veterans need to help our youth become better fishermen by teaching them how to fish and sharing our secrets, not trying to sell them a $3000 graph because if they don’t have it, they won’t do well.

As I get older I want to be known not as the best fishermen on the water but the guy that helps young anglers become better as fishermen.

I hope you all follow and mentor our youth the same.

 

Strike King Pro Luke Estel from Carbondale Illinois Fishes the BASS Opens, Is an AnglersChoice Classic Champion and an all around great guy and fisherman as well as accomplished writer.

by AnglersChannel

Costa® Adds Cape and Montauk Styles for Anglers

Performance and Comfort Components Stand Up to Every Adventure On and Off the Water
Daytona Beach, Fla. – March 28, 2018 –  Costa®, the leader in world-class performance sunglasses, has once again found a way to improve upon its extensive collection of frames developed specifically for life on or off the water. The company has launched two new wrap-style frames – Cape and Montauk – featuring temple ventilation ports to reduce lens fogging—staying true to Costa’s commitment to help anglers “see what’s out there.”

Manufactured from biodegradable resins sourced from reclaimed castor oil, Costa’s newest frames withstand the elements of adventure while also providing comfort and wearability. Featuring Costa’s new innovative sweat management system, the new styles have ventilation ducting allowing air to flow through the end piece of the frame, which reduces lens fogging and works in conjunction with the sweat management temple channels. These channels enable airflow from the vents to cool, wick away and drain sweat and moisture through the openings on the temple tips. In addition, a thinned out inner bottom eyewire tucks closely into the back surface of the lens, which allows sweat and moisture to drain down the back surface of the lens and off the bottom of the frame.

The Cape is an extra-large frame that offers massive lenses and ultra-wide temples to provide the most protection from the sun’s harmful rays. The open ventilation ports and Hydrolite® nose and temple pads help manage perspiration and heat while preventing slippage, and the flexible temples provide all day comfort—helping anglers make the most of their time on the water. The Cape frame is available in matte black ultra, shiny steel gray metallic, bowfin and matte russet, with 580 polycarbonate lenses in seven different lens colors, including Sunrise Silver Mirror or Gray Silver Mirror. The new frame can also be customized with prescription lenses.
The Montauk, named after the iconic fishing village at “the end” of Long Island, is a large full-wrap, highly ventilated frame designed to block peripheral light and manage sweat. The Hydrolite nose and temple pads ensure a secure fit, and are keeper-ready—making it practically impossible to lose them when the sun goes down. The Montauk frames are available in matte black ultra, steel gray metallic and bowfin, with 580 glass or polycarbonate lenses in all seven lens colors, and are also available with prescription lenses.

The new frames feature Costa’s patented 580 lens technology, providing 100 percent UV protection and polarization to give anglers the clearest lenses on the planet. The Costa 580® color-enhancing lens technology selectively filters out harsh yellow light for superior contrast and definition and absorbs high-energy blue light to cut haze and enhance sharpness. In addition, Costa’s lens technology reduces glare and eye fatigue. Costa’s lenses are available in both polycarbonate and scratch-resistant Lightwave® glass, which are 20 percent thinner and 22 percent lighter than average polarized glass.

“As we began designing our new frames for anglers, we focused on the Costa mission to stand up to every adventure on and off the water,” said John Sanchez, vice president of product design for Costa. “Helping our customers explore and perform at their very best while protecting their eyes is what inspires us. We added features to help anglers find more fish by standing up to the toughest elements, and still made them ultra-lightweight with anti-fogging and sweat-management capabilities.”

The new styles range in price from $179 to $259, based on lens selection. For more information on the new frames and Costa’s full line of performance sunglasses, visit www.costadelmar.com.

by AnglersChannel

New TH Marine Hats Now in Stock!!!

by AnglersChannel

AC Insider Podcast Episode #7 Featuring Graph Glass Founder John Hunter, Strike King's Mark Copley & More!

On this weeks AnglersChannel Insider Podcast, Chris & Jason catch up with FLW Tour Pro and Founder of Graph Glass John Hunter as well as they talk with

Mark Copley, Marketing Manager for Strike King Lure Company and Lews Rods and Reels about life after a merger and what its like to be the

all time leading bait manufacturer in Classic Wins. Chris interviews the winners of the Alabama Bass Trail Lake Martin event and the boys welcome

back Vance McCullough to the program after a long two week hiatus..... All this and more only on the AnglersChannel Insider Podcast!

by AnglersChannel

Strike King Pro Mark Davis Takes Medical Hardship to Have Hip Replaced

Story Courtesy of Jim Sexton/BASS

When the Bassmaster Elite Series resumes at the Sabine River in Orange, Texas, Mark Davis won’t be fishing. He’s taking a medical hardship to have his hip replaced.

“It started hurting me last summer,” said Davis. “Champlain was the first tournament it started bothering my fishing. Over the winter it went downhill fast. The x-rays showed it was bone on bone.

“I had hoped to limp through the year. But it’s very evident I can’t do that. At the Classic I nearly fell out of the boat getting my fish out of the livewell.”

Davis, who is 54, will have hip replacement surgery this spring. He plans to come back stronger for the 2019 season.

“I might be able to make it a while longer, but fishing these multi-day events, standing on your feet the whole time, I just can’t do it,” said Davis. “If I didn’t fish for a living I could probably put it off for a while.”

Davis said he hoped to combat the pain by fishing sitting down more this year. “I even bought one of those high dollar seats,” he said. “I just can’t fish sitting down. I’ve been doing it standing up for 32 years.”

Davis finished 105th at Lake Martin, the first Elite Series tournament of 2018. He finished 24th at the 2018 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods. Davis is a three-time Toyota

Bassmaster Angler of the Year and the 1995 Classic champion. He lives in Mt. Ida, Arkansas.

Beginning with the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River presented by Econo Lodge the Elite field will drop down to 109 anglers. The Day 2 cut will remain at 51 anglers.

by AnglersChannel

Boater Killed in Boat Crash on Lake Tuscaloosa

Courtesy of TuscaloosaNews.com

By Stephanie Taylor / Staff Writer

Posted Mar 25, 2018 at 4:18 PM
Updated Mar 26, 2018 at 3:32 PM

A boater participating in a bass fishing tournament was killed early Saturday morning after crashing into the Tierce Patton bridge over Lake Tuscaloosa.

Danny James Pate, 63, of Coker, was pronounced dead at the scene, Tuscaloosa Police spokeswoman Lt. Teena Richardson said.

TPD’s lake patrol division officers were called to the crash site at 6:30 a.m. Saturday. Pate was participating in the Bass Waterworks Bass Tournament, and had been traveling south on the lake when he struck a rocky bank, became airborne and hit the underside of the bridge.

The bridge remains open, Richardson said.

Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Carroll’s Creek volunteer firefighters also responded to the accident.

by AnglersChannel

#CancerSucks - A Conversation with ABT Husband & Wife Team Steven & Pam Martin Wells

The Majority of us in our lifetime are either dealing with a loved one who has Cancer, Have dealt with it or will deal with it. Its almost inevitable.

Pam Martin Wells and Her Husband Steven are currently dealing with as Steven battles this terrible disease.

Pam's Jersey says it best, #CancerSucks. Say a Prayer, Send a text, lift up someone you know who is dealing with Cancer and help brighten their day.

 

Photo Courtesy Dan O'Sullivan/ABT

by AnglersChannel

Kurth Reservoir Produces Latest Texas ShareLunker Largemouth

AUSTIN – For the first time in the 32 year history of the program, Kurth Reservoir in Lufkin has produced a Toyota ShareLunker entry. Angler Pablo Torres Jr. of Lufkin caught the 13.34 pound, 26 inch Legacy Class lunker in less than 8 feet of water while fishing with his son-in-law at the lake March 25.

“At first I didn’t even know it was a fish – it thought I was hung up,” Torres said. “I tightened up and it started swimming, and when it started pulling the line I thought ‘this might be a good fish.’”

“Catching a ShareLunker from Kurth was the farthest from my dreams until I saw it in the net,” Torres added. “When we got it to the boat and it turned to the side my jaw dropped and I thought ‘Oh my gosh.”

Although he has seen and heard of larger fish being caught from Kurth, Torres said being the first angler to enter a Toyota ShareLunker from the lake was a great feeling. He decided to loan the fish to the Toyota ShareLunker program for spawning to contribute to the number of Florida largemouth bass being stocked in his area.

“Kurth is a fantastic lake with a lot of lunkers in it,” Torres said. “[Texas Parks and Wildlife Department] stocks a lot of the ‘Floridas’ in Sam Rayburn Reservoir and other surrounding lakes so this is a good way for me to help contribute to the area. And this fish will be released back to Kurth when they are done with it.”

Todd Driscoll, the TPWD Inland Fisheries District Supervisor for the Jasper district, said he was not surprised at all to hear that the East Texas lake had produced a Toyota Sharelunker entry.

“This lake has everything it needs to produce big fish – including ample amounts of aquatic vegetation like hydrilla, which covers 30-40 percent of the reservoir,” Driscoll said. “That produces really strong year classes of fish. In addition to a 16 inch maximum limit, we have also been stocking it for years with frequent stockings of pure Florida largemouth bass to increase trophy potential of lake.”

ShareLunker 575 is the fifth Legacy Class entry of the season with the previous entries coming from Twin Buttes Reservoir and Lake Fork.

ShareLunker 575 was transported to the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens where hatchery staff will monitor and care for her in preparation for spawning. Also in the “Lunker Bunker” are the four other Legacy Class entries of the season: Toyota ShareLunker 574, a 13.40 pound largemouth bass caught by angler Austin Terry from Twin Buttes Reservoir March 14; Toyota ShareLunker 573, a 13.06 pound largemouth bass caught by angler Alex Finch from Lake Fork March 11; Toyota ShareLunker 572, a 13.00 pound largemouth bass caught by angler Michael Terrebonne from Lake Fork March 8; and Toyota ShareLunker 571, a 15.48 pound largemouth bass caught by angler John LaBove from Lake Fork March 2.

Texas anglers who catch a 13 pound or larger largemouth bass can loan the fish to the Toyota ShareLunker program for spawning through March 31.

Every angler who loans a 13 pound or larger Legacy Class bass to the Toyota ShareLunker program during the spawning period Jan. 1 to March 31 will receive a Toyota ShareLunker Catch Kit containing branded merchandise and fishing tackle items, a 13lb+ Legacy decal, VIP access to awards programming at the Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest, a replica of their fish, and an entry into the year-end ShareLunker Prize Drawing to win a $5,000 shopping spree and an annual fishing license. These anglers will also be entered into the Legacy Class Prize Drawing for a $5,000 shopping spree and an annual fishing license at the end of the spawning period March 31.

The Toyota ShareLunker Program is made possible by a grant to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation from Gulf States Toyota. Toyota is a longtime supporter of the Foundation and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, providing major funding for a wide variety of education, fish, parks and wildlife projects.

For updates on the Toyota ShareLunker program and to view photos of all of the 13-pound-plus largemouth bass caught this season, visit https://www.facebook.com/ShareLunkerprogram or https://texassharelunker.com/.

by AnglersChannel

B.A.S.S. Urges Louisiana Legislators To Restore Angler Access To Public Waterways

When Bassmaster Elite Series anglers return to the Sabine River system April 6-9, Louisiana waters will be off-limits. B.A.S.S. is urging Louisiana lawmakers to restore public access to tidal waters closed off by landowners. 
March 26, 2018

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — B.A.S.S., the world’s largest fishing organization, has endorsed proposed legislation that would reopen navigable waters in Louisiana to boaters and anglers.

The bill, HB 391, introduced on March 1 by State Rep. Kevin Pearson (R.) of Slidell, would restrict the ability of private landowners to prohibit boater access to navigable waters flowing over or through their lands. It is currently being considered by the House Committee on Civil Law and Procedure.

“For 50 years, B.A.S.S. has fought for anglers’ rights to access public waters,” said B.A.S.S. Conservation Director Gene Gilliland. “Louisiana is one of the most important battlegrounds in the nation, especially along the Gulf Coast, where canals, ponds and bays that have been fished for many years are now being gated by those who own the land around them.”

Numerous Bassmaster tournaments have been held in coastal fisheries of Louisiana, including four Bassmaster Classic world championships in the Louisiana Delta out of New Orleans between 1999 and 2011. However, B.A.S.S. announced last year it would no longer schedule professional tournaments in Louisiana tidewaters where anglers risk being arrested for fishing what appear to be and have historically been public waterways. State law does not currently require the waters be posted against trespassing.

In a Bassmaster Elite Series tournament to be held April 6-9 on the Sabine River out of Orange, Texas, Louisiana waters have been declared off-limits to anglers, said Trip Weldon, B.A.S.S. tournament director.

He noted that in previous Elite tournaments on the Sabine, some anglers practiced in waters they thought were public, only to find them closed when competition began. In addition, anglers in the Bassmaster Central Open on the Sabine River last June were informed on the eve of competition they could not enter a large section of tidewaters where many had planned to fish.

Gilliland said B.A.S.S. supports efforts by the Louisiana Sportsman’s Coalition to update the state’s antiquated definitions of land ownership and navigable waters, and it has urged B.A.S.S. members in Louisiana — as well as those who travel from out of state to fish in the “Sportsman’s Paradise” — to support passage of the HB 391. “This bill is a start in the right direction,” he said.

Pearson’s bill states, “The running waters of the state and the wild aquatic life inhabiting those waters are and remain the property of the state and, as such, title and ownership remain unchanged whether the running waters flow over public or private water bottoms.” It also would prohibit anyone from restricting or prohibiting the “public navigation of running waters which are navigable by a motorboat.”

In addition, it would protect private property along the canals and other channels from damage by boaters.

by AnglersChannel

ROCK HILL’S JENNINGS WINS T-H MARINE FLW BFL SOUTH CAROLINA DIVISION EVENT ON LAKE MURRAY PRESENTED BY NAVIONICS

Cerv Claims Co-angler Title

COLUMBIA, S.C. (March 26, 2018) – Boater Jeff Jennings of Rock Hill, South Carolina, caught a five-bass limit weighing 22 pounds, 15 ounces, Saturday to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) South Carolina Division event on Lake Murray presented by Navionics. For his win, Jennings earned $7,115.

According to post-tournament reports, Jennings used a creature-style bait to catch fish near docks and wood in the mid- and lower sections of the lake.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1st:          Jeff Jennings, Rock Hill, S.C., five bass, 22-15, $5,115 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus

2nd:         Cody Hoyle, Rutherfordton, N.C., five bass, 22-5, $2,458

3rd:          Adam Waters, Denver, N.C., five bass, 19-7, $1,640

4th:          Scott Allgood, Fair Play, S.C., five bass, 18-12, $1,147

5th:          Steve Thornhill, Pineville, S.C., five bass, 18-11, $1,083

6th:          Randy Childers, Anderson, S.C., five bass, 18-1, $901

7th:          David Williams, Maiden, N.C., five bass, 17-11, $819

8th:          Craig Rexford, Grand Isle, Vt., five bass, 17-10, $737

9th:          John Allen, Concord, N.C., five bass, 17-8, $655

10th:        Chris Marshall, Forest City, N.C., three bass, 16-15, $1,323

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Marshall brought a 7-pound, 10-ounce bass to the scale – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $750.

Joel Cerv of North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, won the Co-angler Division and $2,469 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 14 pounds, 14 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1st:          Joel Cerv, North Wilkesboro, N.C., five bass, 14-14, $2,469

2nd:         Tyler Dover, Blacksburg, S.C., five bass, 13-5, $1,235

3rd:          Tyler Ward, Grover, N.C., five bass, 12-15, $1,023

4th:          Travis Ruff, Connelly Springs, N.C., five bass, 12-4, $576

5th:          Blake Whittaker, Monterey, Tenn., four bass, 12-2, $494

6th:          Bryce Tumberg, Moore, S.C., four bass, 12-1, $432

6th:          Bill Hawkins, Piedmont, S.C., five bass, 12-1, $482

8th:          Terry Coleman, Sumter, S.C., three bass, 11-15, $370

9th:          Greg Atkinson, Ridgeway, S.C., four bass, 10-10, $329

10th:        Stewart Uldrick, Anderson, S.C., five bass, 10-9, $288

Rodney Tapp of North Augusta, South Carolina, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division weighing in at 6 pounds, 13 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $372.

The T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) South Carolina Division event on Lake Murray was hosted by Capital City Lake Murray Country Regional Tourism.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 18-20 BFL Regional Championship on Lake Norman in Huntersville, North Carolina. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.

The 2018 BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2018 BFL All-American will be held May 31-June 2 at Cross Lake in Shreveport, Louisiana, and is hosted by the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the FLW Tour.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat.

by AnglersChannel

NORTH CAROLINA’S CHANDLER WINS T-H MARINE FLW BFL PIEDMONT DIVISION TOURNAMENT ON SMITH MOUNTAIN LAKE

Shawsville’s Jones Wins Co-angler Title

HUDDLESTON, Va. (March 26, 2018) – Boater Kevin Chandler of New London, North Carolina, won the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Piedmont Division tournament on Smith Mountain Lake Saturday with five bass weighing 20 pounds, 12 ounces. For his efforts, Chandler pocketed $7,327.

Chandler caught the majority of his fish targeting rocks in the west arm of Smith Mountain Lake. He said he used green-pumpkin- and black and blue-colored custom jigs with Zoom Super Chunk Jr. trailers.

“I just dragged the jig along the bottom. All of the fish I weighed in except for one came from rocks – the fifth came from a pier pole,” said Chandler, who earned his sixth win in BFL competition. “Most were in 3 to 8 feet of water and I was able to put 12 keepers in the boat.”

Chandler credited his 7-foot, 2-inch Medium Heavy Level Rod and Abu Garcia REVO STX Gen 4 Casting Reel as being crucial to his success.

“In my opinion, that rod has the perfect tip. You can make soft presentations and it has the backbone you need to get the hook in and catch them,” said Chandler.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1st:          Kevin Chandler, New London, N.C., five bass, 20-12, $5,327 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus

2nd:         David Perdue, Wirtz, Va., five bass, 19-13, $2,164

3rd:          Ben Reynolds, Callands, Va., five bass, 18-6, $1,377

4th:          Brian Calloway, Danville, Va., five bass, 17-13, $963

5th:          Scott Hamrick, Denver, N.C., four bass, 16-11, $825

6th:          Chris Lewis, Dublin, Va., five bass, 15-15, $757

7th:          Justin Hicks, Roanoke, Va., five bass, 15-14, $688

8th:          Bradley Staley, Pleasant Garden, N.C., five bass, 15-11, $619

9th:          Eric Bailey, Lexington, N.C., five bass, 15-7, $550

10th:        Chris Brummett, Lynch Station, Va., five bass, 15-6, $482

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Gary D’Angelo of Woodbine, Maryland, weighed a 7-pound, 6-ounce bass – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $575.

Isaac Jones of Shawsville, Virginia, won the Co-angler Division and $2,059 Saturday after catching three bass weighing 14 pounds, 1 ounce.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1st:          Isaac Jones, Shawsville, Va., three bass, 14-1, $2,059

2nd:         Kurt Moser, Max Meadows, Va., five bass, 12-11, $1,030

3rd:          Jason Hinger, Timberlake, N.C., three bass, 12-3, $787

4th:          Craig Wheeler, King George, Va., five bass, 10-8, $480

5th:          David DeCiucis, Chester, Va., four bass, 10-5, $412

6th:          Pat Kendrick, Bumpass, Va., three bass, 10-3, $378

7th:          Josea Goble, Newton, N.C., three bass, 10-2, $343

8th:          Shane Robbins, Raleigh, N.C., three bass, 9-11, $309

9th:          Jamie Newton, Falls Church, Va., four bass, 9-8, $275

10th:        Tony Laaper, Pittsboro, N.C., two bass, 9-4, $290

Steve Mazingo of Bedford, Virginia, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division weighing in at 6 pounds, 1 ounce. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $282.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 18-20 BFL Regional Championship on Lake Norman in Huntersville, North Carolina. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.

The 2018 BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2018 BFL All-American will be held May 31-June 2 at Cross Lake in Shreveport, Louisiana, and is hosted by the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the FLW Tour.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat.

by AnglersChannel

STANLEY, TROBAUGH TIE FOR WIN AT T-H MARINE FLW BFL MOUNTAIN DIVISION TOURNAMENT ON DALE HOLLOW LAKE PRESENTED BY NAVIONICS

Kentucky’s Bennington Takes Co-angler Title

BYRDSTOWN, Tenn. (March 26, 2018) – Boaters Matt Stanley of Alexandria, Tennessee, and Greg Trobaugh of Rickman, Tennessee, each caught five bass weighing 20 pounds, 3 ounces, Saturday to tie for the win at the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Mountain Division event on Dale Hollow Lake presented by Navionics. For their efforts, each boater took home $3,573.

Stanley said that he fished mid-lake grass edges with a Picasso School-E-Rig Bait Ball umbrella rig rigged with Xcite Baits Shadnasty Swimbaits in 8 to 12 feet of water. He used a 7-foot 10-inch iRod Genesis II Bama Rig Special Rod and caught around 15 keepers.

“I got a couple good ones early and that keyed me in on what they were doing,” said Stanley, who claimed his third career win in BFL competition. “There’s a lot of grass on Dale Hollow, but once I found the specific spots they were in I could pull up and fish it. Everywhere I stopped I used my Lowrance units to see if there was grass on the bottom and if there was a flat bank. After that it was pretty much game on.”

Trobaugh caught the bulk of his fish mid-lake as well, and used an umbrella rig with Keitech and Reaction Innovations swimbaits. He said his morning was slow, but the bite picked up as the day went on.

“I hit transition spots and caught 11 or 12 keepers. Some of them were relating to points, and a few of them were relating to staging areas,” said Trobaugh, who earned his first BFL win as a boater on Dale Hollow Lake. “I fished a local tournament on Dale Hollow last week and more fish seemed to be pulled up and catchable this time around. I think that helped me.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1st:          Matt Stanley, Alexandria, Tenn., five bass, 20-3, $3,573

1st:          Greg Trobaugh, Rickman, Tenn., five bass, 20-3, $3,573

3rd:          Todd Beaty, Rickman, Tenn., five bass 19-7, $1,498

4th:          Jimmy Gayhart, Sadieville, Ky., five bass, 18-11, $1,050

5th:          Joe Rucker, Nicholasville, Ky., five bass, 17-8, $1,000

6th:          Mike Casada, Stearns, Ky., five bass, 17-7, $825

7th:          Keith Monson, Burgin, Ky., five bass, 16-10, $750

8th:          Freddy Adkins, East Bernstadt, Ky., five bass, 16-9, $637

8th:          Brian Wilson, Somerset, Ky., five bass, 16-9, $937

10th:        Rusty Smith, Somerset, Ky., five bass, 16-8, $525

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Matt Salmons of Somerset, Kentucky, weighed a 6-pound, 10-ounce bass – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $645.

Ed Bennington of Scottsville, Kentucky, won the Co-angler Division and $2,249 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 18 pounds, 2 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1st:          Ed Bennington, Scottsville, Ky., five bass, 18-2, $2,249

2nd:         Jeremiah Williams, Livingston, Tenn., four bass, 14-13, $1,125

3rd:          Joshua Jernigan, Rocky Top, Tenn., five bass, 13-7, $752

4th:          Ben Stacy, Cincinnati, Ohio, five bass, 12-15, $525

5th:          Cole Sowards, Salt Rock, W. Va., four bass, 12-11, $450

6th:          Brent Clark, Bowling Green, Ky., three bass, 11-12, $412

7th:          Shane Sparks, Allardt, Tenn., five bass, 11-1, $575

8th:          Justin Davis, Cookeville, Tenn., five bass, 10-15, $318

8th:          Alex Straubing, Mason, Ohio, four bass, 10-15, $368

10th:        Billy Gardner, Livingston, Tenn., four bass, 10-12, $262

Gary Wallace of Albany, Kentucky, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division weighing in at 5 pounds, 14 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $322.

The T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Mountain Division event on Dale Hollow Lake was hosted by Star Point Resort.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 25-27 BFL Regional Championship on Lake Chickamauga in Dayton, Tennessee. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.

The 2018 BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2018 BFL All-American will be held May 31-June 2 at Cross Lake in Shreveport, Louisiana, and is hosted by the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the FLW Tour.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat.

by AnglersChannel

THOMAS WINS T-H MARINE FLW BFL MISSISSIPPI DIVISION TOURNAMENT ON ROSS BARNETT RESERVOIR

Diberville’s Petras Grabs Co-angler Title

BRANDON, Miss. (March 26, 2018) – Boater Anthony Thomas of Jackson, Mississippi, caught a five-bass limit weighing 22 pounds, 9 ounces, Saturday to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Mississippi Division event on Ross Barnett Reservoir. For his win, Thomas earned $5,475.

“I fished heavy grass patches in Pelahatchie Bay that had the coontail moss up under them,” said Thomas, who notched his first career win in FLW competition. “I had two areas, but one was more productive because there were bream bedding near the bass. Every year the bream seem to bed in the same area as the bass and they mess with them.”

Thomas said a natural-colored Spro Dean Rojas Bronzeye Poppin’ Frog produced his best bites.

“I caught one fish chasing a bream in practice on a frog and it was cloudy, so I knew I’d do the same thing if it was cloudy during the tournament,” said Thomas. “I only had eight bites all day – four in the morning and then four more throughout the day with my biggest coming around 2 (p.m.).

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1st:          Anthony Thomas, Jackson, Miss., five bass, 22-9, $5,475

2nd:         Terry Whittington, Laurel, Miss., five bass, 19-5, $2,737

3rd:          Michael Savell, Brandon, Miss., five bass, 18-9, $2,697

4th:          Ramey Harrell, Brandon, Miss., five bass, 16-5, $1,277

5th:          Dave Woodfin, Kosciusko, Miss., five bass, 15-10, $1,095

6th:          Marty Torrence, Crystal Springs, Miss., five bass, 14-6, $1,004

7th:          Kenny Churchill, Jackson, Miss., five bass, 14-3, $912

8th:          Jason Hannah, Forest, Miss., four bass, 13-5, $821

9th:          Brent Anderson, Kingston Springs, Tenn., five bass, 12-13, $930

10th:        Shannon Denson, Brandon, Miss., five bass, 12-9, $639

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Savell weighed a 7-pound, 13-ounce bass – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $870.

Michael Petras of Diberville, Mississippi, won the Co-angler Division and $2,668 Saturday after catching four bass weighing 12 pounds, 10 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1st:          Michael Petras, Diberville, Miss., four bass, 12-10, $2,668

2nd:         Josh Taylor, Nesbit, Miss., three bass, 10-1, $1,334

3rd:          Ken Pecanty, Vicksburg, Miss., four bass, 9-7, $988

4th:          Justin Thomas, Braxton, Miss., three bass, 9-3, $673

5th:          Marian Hall, Hattiesburg, Miss., two bass, 9-0, $954

6th:          Leland Brown, Fulton, Miss., two bass, 7-10, $489

7th:          Brent Ladnier, Wiggins, Miss., three bass, 7-1, $445

8th:          Adam Horn, Madison, Miss., two bass, 7-0, $400

9th:          Ray Higginbotham, Brooksville, Miss., three bass, 6-15, $356

10th:        Tim Callahan, Houston, Miss., three bass, 6-10, $311

Hall caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division weighing in at 5 pounds, 14 ounces. The catch earned her the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $420.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 18-20 BFL Regional Championship on Kentucky Lake in Gilbertsville, Kentucky. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.

The 2018 BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2018 BFL All-American will be held May 31-June 2 at Cross Lake in Shreveport, Louisiana, and is hosted by the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the FLW Tour.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat.

by AnglersChannel

KNEPP WINS T-H MARINE FLW BFL HOOSIER DIVISION EVENT ON PATOKA LAKE PRESENTED BY NAVIONICS

Kentucky’s Bays Wins Co-angler Title

BIRDSEYE, Ind. (March 26, 2018) – Boater Jeremy Knepp of Montgomery, Indiana, caught three bass weighing 8 pounds, 15 ounces, Saturday to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Hoosier Division event on Patoka Lake presented by Navionics. For his win, Knepp pocketed $4,741.

Knepp stayed on the main lake to catch his fish, targeting points at the mouths of feeder creeks. He said he caught two on a Clown-colored Strike King KVD Deep Jerkbait and one on a homemade spinnerbait with a Reaction Innovations Skinny Dipper trailer.

“I caught one in the morning around 10:45 (a.m.) and the other two at about 3 (p.m.),” said Knepp, who earned his first career victory in FLW competition. “It was tough fishing conditions out there. It rained and was windy the entire day and the temperature only reached 35 degrees.”

Knepp said he worked along 15 to 20 points throughout the day.

“Technique-wise I gave the jerkbait a five or 10 second pause before bringing it in,” said Knepp.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1st:          Jeremy Knepp, Montgomery, Ind., three bass, 8-15, $4,741

2nd:         Marty Sisk, Evansville, Ind., two bass, 8-5, $2,370

3rd:          Paul Mendez, Fort Wayne, Ind., two bass, 7-14, $1,514

4th:          Matt McCoy, Indianapolis, Ind., two bass, 7-6, $1,060

5th:          Thomas Foster, Terre Haute, Ind., two bass, 6-15, $908

6th:          Nick Teeters, Martinsville, Ind., two bass, 6-9, $795

6th:          Brody Campbell, Oxford, Ohio, one bass, 6-9, $1,455

8th:          Mark Nies, Cannelton, Ind., one bass, 6-4, $681

9th:          Doug Ruster, New Palestine, Ind., one bass, 6-1, $605

10th:        Bryan Jenkins, Indianapolis, Ind., one bass, 5-13, $530

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Campbell weighed a 6-pound, 9-ounce bass – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $660.

Lenny Bays of Dayton, Kentucky, won the Co-angler Division and $2,270 Saturday after catching two bass weighing 8 pounds, 8 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1st:          Lenny Bays, Dayton, Ky., two bass, 8-8, $2,270

2nd:         Leroy Miller, Napoleon, Ohio, one bass, 6-4, $1,465

3rd:          Lawrence Spicher, Boonville, Ind., two bass, 6-0, $757

4th:          Garron Sneed, Charlestown, Ind., one bass, 5-12, $530

5th:          Justin Kivett, Indianapolis, Ind., one bass, 5-11, $454

6th:          Nick Horton, Trafalgar, Ind., one bass, 5-9, $416

7th:          James Mayle, Newark, Ohio, one bass, 5-6, $378

8th:          Greg Roberts, Columbus, Ind., two bass, 4-10, $341

9th:          Nicole Foor, Greens Fork, Ind., one bass, 4-0, $503

10th:        Dan Pardue, Morgantown, Ind., one bass, 3-13, $265

Miller caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division weighing in at 6 pounds, 4 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $330.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 18-20 BFL Regional Championship on Kentucky Lake in Gilbertsville, Kentucky. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.

The 2018 BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2018 BFL All-American will be held May 31-June 2 at Cross Lake in Shreveport, Louisiana, and is hosted by the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the FLW Tour.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat.

by AnglersChannel

WAYNE DIXON WINS T-H MARINE FLW BFL ARKIE DIVISION TOURNAMENT ON LAKE MILLWOOD

Mountain Home’s Johnson Wins Co-angler Title

ASHDOWN, Ark. (March 26, 2018) – Boater Wayne Dixon of Morrilton, Arkansas, weighed a 19-pound, 10-ounce, limit of bass Saturday to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Arkie Division event on Lake Millwood presented by GEARED. For his win, Dixon pocketed $5,866.

Dixon spent his day upriver, above the White Cliffs area, targeting prespawn bass near cypress trees, coontail and milfoil. He said he used a Texas-rigged Right Bite Baits stickbait in 4½ to 5 feet of water.

“I originally had two areas – one where I’d caught a big one in practice and another that had a lot more fish,” said Dixon, who logged his first career win in FLW competition. “The night before the tournament my wife told me to go to the area with more fish and just sit down and catch them, so that’s what I did.

“The area was about 10 acres and I shared it with four other boats,” Dixon continued. “I used a 7-foot 2-inch Denali (KOVERT Lite) Heavy Casting Rod and caught 35 to 40 keepers.”

Dixon said that the bite was the best between 9 a.m. and noon, and that four of the five fish he weighed came in during that three-hour stretch.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1st:          Wayne Dixon, Morrilton, Ark., five bass, 19-10, $5,866

2nd:         Chip Hawkins, Little Rock, Ark., five bass, 19-6, $2,336

3rd:          Jeffery Conway, Mineral Springs, Ark., five bass, 19-0, $1,424

4th:          Josh Ray, Alexander, Ark., five bass, 18-5, $1,097

5th:          Steve Bowman, Little Rock, Ark., five bass, 18-4, $854

6th:          Justin Swayze, Gurdon, Ark., five bass, 16-1, $783

7th:          Chad Parks, Edgemont, Ark., five bass, 15-15, $712

8th:          John Andrews Jr., Cherry Valley, Ark., five bass, 15-11, $641

9th:          Harold Bennett, Hope, Ark., five bass, 15-6, $569

10th:        Jerry Tabler, Mineral Springs, Ark., five bass, 15-1, $498

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Dixon weighed a 7-pound, 9-ounce bass – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and also earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $595.

Kenyon Johnson of Mountain Home, Arkansas, won the Co-angler Division and $2,236 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 15 pounds, 13 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1st:          Kenyon Johnson, Mountain Home, Ark., five bass, 15-13, $2,236

2nd:         Jacob Sloan, Paola, Kan., four bass, 14-13, $1,118

3rd:          Steve Belew, Beebe, Ark., five bass, 13-11, $712

4th:          John Vinakalns, Farmersville, Texas, five bass, 13-9, $498

5th:          Larry Dugger, Pottsville, Ark., five bass, 13-3, $427

6th:          Bo Mitchell, Malvern, Ark., five bass, 12-6, $392

7th:          Patrick Massey, Texarkana, Ark., five bass, 12-4, $338

7th:          Don Billiot, Bryant, Ark., five bass, 12-4, $338

9th:          Doug Bishop, Bono, Ark., five bass, 12-3, $285

10th:        Eddie Brown, Texarkana, Ark., five bass, 12-2, $249

Travis Harley of Sherwood, Arkansas, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division weighing in at 9 pounds, 9 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $297.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 25-27 BFL Regional Championship on Lake of the Ozarks in Osage Beach, Missouri. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.

The 2018 BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2018 BFL All-American will be held May 31-June 2 at Cross Lake in Shreveport, Louisiana, and is hosted by the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the FLW Tour.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat.

by AnglersChannel

SALZMAN WINS T-H MARINE FLW BFL CHOO CHOO DIVISION EVENT ON WHEELER LAKE WITH OVER 25 POUNDS!

Decatur’s Peyton Wins Co-angler Title

ROGERSVILLE, Ala. (March 26, 2018) – Boater Ryan Salzman of Huntsville, Alabama, caught a five-bass limit weighing 25 pounds, 9 ounces, Saturday to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Choo Choo Division event on Wheeler Lake. Salzman earned $5,810 for his win.

Salzman made a 72-mile run up the Tennessee River to fish the Guntersville Dam tailrace. He said his day started slow, but eventually got rolling around 9 a.m. From there, he caught the majority of his weight within 20 minutes.

“I didn’t get a lot of time to practice and it was the only thing I felt comfortable doing,” said Salzman, who earned his third career win in BFL competition. “I figured I’d be one of the only ones to make the long run, especially with the wind blowing.”

Salzman said he used his Lowrance HDS-12 Carbon units with C-Map Insight Charts to locate isolated rock piles in the current. He targeted smallmouth using 4½-inch Green Bean- and 99 Problems-colored True Bass Little Head Swimbaits with ½-ounce True Lock Swimbait Heads.

By 11 a.m., Salzman said his cranking battery began to die, so he made the decision to return to the ramp early. Fortunately, with the long run, he said his battery recharged to the point to where he could fish the final two hours of the day.

“I flipped marina slips with a ½-ounce Pickwick Special-colored Tight Line Mussel Crawler jig and (Strike King) Rage Craw trailer,” said Salzman. “I ended up culling twice with 4- and 5-pound largemouth.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1st:          Ryan Salzman, Huntsville, Ala., five bass, 25-9, $5,810

2nd:         Mitch Mitchell, Muscle Shoals, Ala., five bass, 21-12, $2,405

3rd:          Cameron Trousdale, Rogersville, Ala., five bass, 18-0, $1,536

4th:          Michael Hood, Winchester, Tenn., five bass, 16-10, $1,076

5th:          Greg Lamb, Harrison, Tenn., five bass, 16-1, $1,257

6th:          Daniel Whitaker, Phil Campbell, Ala., five bass, 15-12, $845

7th:          Gavin Ainslie, Harrison, Tenn., five bass, 15-5, $768

8th:          Eddie Jewell, Lawrenceburg, Tenn., five bass, 15-4, $1,026

9th:          Kenny Everette, Villa Rica, Ga., five bass, 15-1, $615

10th:        Mike Ary, Dalton, Ga., five bass, 14-11, $838

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Lamb weighed a 7-pound bass – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $335.

Harry Peyton of Decatur, Alabama, won the Co-angler Division and $2,370 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 17 pounds, 2 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1st:          Harry Peyton, Decatur, Ala., five bass, 17-2, $2,370

2nd:         Chris Harcrow, Dawson, Al a., five bass, 13-14, $1,185

3rd:          Chris Keel, Hampton Cove, Ala.., five bass, 12-14, $757

4th:          Rich Frey, Owens Cross Roads, Ala., three bass, 11-12, $822

4th:          Brian Warfel, Woodbridge, Va., five bass, 11-12, $492

6th:          Aaron Bishop, Hamilton, Al  a., three bass, 10-14, $416

7th:          Bruce Stanley, Jasper, Ala., four bass, 10-13, $378

8th:          Steven Jacques, Addison, Ala., five bass, 10-12, $341

9th:          Daniel Kendrick, Chatsworth, Ga., five bass, 10-9, $303

10th:        Daniel Douglas, Meridianville, Ala., five bass, 10-8, $265

Frey caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division weighing in at 8 pounds even. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $330.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 25-27 BFL Regional Championship on Lake Chickamauga in Dayton, Tennessee. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.

The 2018 BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2018 BFL All-American will be held May 31-June 2 at Cross Lake in Shreveport, Louisiana, and is hosted by the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the FLW Tour.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat.

by AnglersChannel

23.70 Limit Wins the ABA Texas East Open Event on Palestine for Todd Pierce!

ATHENS, Ala. – Todd Pierce of Tyler, TX won the American Bass Anglers Open Series Texas East Division, held March 24th at Lake Palestine.

Running out of Flint, TX, the 70-boat field left at 7:00 AM. For the boaters, 14 places were paid out and it took 11.06 pounds to make the cut.

Pirce caught a five-fish limit weighing 23.70 lbs with a healthy 6.04-pound kicker.   For the boater division victory, he took home a check for $5000.

“I started out North of here in a little ditch and was able to get 4 to start the day.  I left there and came a little south and my next bite came around 9 AM.  That finished my limit.  I caught the next one on a bed, turned back around, and caught 6 more.  I knew where one of the beds was but the rest of them I had to guess on because I couldn’t see them.  I culled every fish I caught earlier that morning and had a great day today.” Said Pierce.

In second for the boaters, Kenneth Moore of Red Oak, TX landed a five-bass limit weighing 19.32 lbs held up by a beautiful 8.51 lb kicker.  He collected a check for $1400.

“It was a rough day for me.  I started at the dam and nothing happened for us.  I put a bit of a pattern together just running around and trying to figure them out. Later in the afternoon it came together with some better bites and I was able to get them in the boat to come in with what I had.  It was a grind, but it worked out.  I was just a little shy today.” Said Moore.

Trent Menees of Saginaw, TX took third for the boaters with a limit of five bass weighing 17.07 lbs and took home a check for $950.00

“I found most of my fish on beds.  6 or 7 of them.    I found them during practice and I knew that some of the guys would have done the same.  With the wind blowing the way it was on Friday I tried to find fish in protected water where it was still calm.  I knew it was going to be breezy today out of the south again and the plan worked.  I fished in some grass today but mainly just sight fished.”  Said Trent.

In fourth, Albert White of Crosby, TX had a solid bag for 16.61 lbs, and Darrell Lyons of Hemphill, TX came in with a solid bag of 14.68 lbs to take the fifth-place honors.

In the Co-Angler Division, Chris Pearson of Marthaville, LA blew past the field with a monster 3 fish limit at 14.22 lbs, anchored by his 6.32 lb bass.  His performance filled his pocket with a check for $1600 on the win.

“I started out the day the wrong way.  I lost my first bite and she was probably 4 lbs.  We left that area and went north where I landed my first keeper about 15 minutes later.  I had my limit around 1:30. All my fish were caught on a Senko.  If I had landed everything that bit I may have had 2 lbs more than I did bu4 14 is not too bad with 3 fish.” Said Chris.

Taking second for the co-anglers was Tom Brouillette of Garland, TX weighing a 3-fish limit for 11.75 lbs. His placement earned him a check for $600.  Tom had a very nice anchor weight in his bag earning top honors for the co-angler big bass with a 7.88 lb kicker, earning another check for $290.00.

“We went up to Kickapoo and roughly 20 minutes in to the day the big one blew up on a frog.  I caught her in the grass and it was so wadded up we thought she had gotten off.  I dragged it all up to the side of the boat and my boater started pulling it all apart and there she was.  He picked her up, I took her and put her in the livewell and never really got a good look at her.  I didn’t realize she was that big until we got back to the dock and pulled her out to bring her to the scales.  My other 2 keepers came off a trick worm.” Stated Tom.

Robbie Carson of Carrollton, TX placed third among the co-anglers. He had three fish weighing in at 9.73 lbs to earn a check for $450.

“I caught my fish on frogs from 2 or 3 spots on the lake.  I had a limit and did manage to cull once but I fished clean and didn’t lose any bites.” Stated Robbie.

In fourth place among the co-anglers, Thomas Helsley of Duncanville, TX brought in two fish for 8.56 lbs.  Thomas was the first co-angler of the day to scale a big bass at 7.06 lbs and held the bar high for most of the afternoon.  Joe Embry of Tyler, TX landed a limit of 3 bass for 8.53 lbs and finished in fifth place.

The biggest bass for the boaters was caught by Blake Whatley of Harlton, TX. Weighing in at 8.81 lbs for $710. “I caught her on a beaver.  She was on a bed on the back side of a log.  Of course she wrapped up and I didn’t think I was going to get her out but she finally did and by then she was worn out and I just dragged her to the net,” said Whatley.

Slated for June 30th, the next divisional tournament will be held on Lake of the Pines launching from Johnson Creek.  At the end of the season, the best anglers from across the nation advance to the 2019 Ray Scott Championship, slated for the first week of April, 2019 on Lake Eufaula, AL.

For more information on this tournament, call Chris Wayand, tournament manager, at 256-230-5627 or ABA at 256-232-0406.

About American Bass Anglers: American Bass Anglers is committed to providing low cost, close to home tournaments for the weekend angler and at the same time offer each competitor an upward path for individual angler progression. For more information about American Bass Anglers, the ABA Open Series, the American Fishing Tour or the American Couples Series, visit www.americanbassanglers.com.

by AnglersChannel

Brian Carper Takes ABA Tennessee Central Open Win at Percy Priest with over 20 Pounds!

 

Brian Carper of Murfreesboro, Tennessee won the second event of the Tennessee Central Open Series.  Running out of Fate Sanders Marina, Carper won the tournament with five bass that weighed 20.07 pounds and took home the $5000 prize for his win.

“I come out here a lot and a lot of days don’t go this well. We had almost a limit in an hour and a half.  We didn’t smash them all day but we got the right bites.  I didn’t lose and fish and didn’t miss any really.” stated Carper.

Second place for the boaters was Ben Ballou from Lafayette, Tennessee.  He landed five fish weighing in at 19.02 pounds.  Weaver was awarded $1,250 for his catch.

“It was a grind all day, I only had three fish by 1:30.  I probably had the fish on to win it but they just came off.  Live with a crankbait, die with a crankbait.” said Ballou

Mickey Beck from Lebanon, Tennessee took third place with a five-fish limit that weighed 17.36 pounds.  Beck took home a check for $900 for his fish.
“Got to the first spot and jerk, jerk, jerk, and nothing happened so I picked up Hoppy’s half ounce shell cracker and we started smoking them.  A little later I picked up a Hoppy’s ¾ ounce spinner bait and no lie, started catching them there as well. I had about three and a half limits today.  It was an awesome day to be out there.”  said Beck.

In fourth place for the boaters, Noel Smith from Portland, Tennessee weighed in five bass for 17.33 pounds including a nice 6.31 pound largemouth.  Rounding out the top five was John Hopkins from Hendersonville, Tennessee.  Hopkins had five fish that weighed 16.78 pounds.

Big Bass among the Boaters was brought in by Ryan Haykal of Mount Juliet, Tennessee.  Haykal finished the tournament in eighth place with four fish that weighed 14.85 pounds but his6.52 pound bass won him the Big Bass honors and a check for $670.

In the Co-Angler division, Monte Escue of Murfreesboro, Tennessee took the win with a three-fish tournament limit that weighed 14.73 pounds with a 6.72 pound kicker.  Escue earned $1,200 for the win along with an additional $190 for Co-angler Big Bass.

“It was a grind today.  Threw a crankbait and fished shallow aboutmid lake all day.  Didn’t lose any.  Five bites, five fish.” said Escue.

Taking second place among the co-anglers was Daniel Brown of Smyrna, Tennessee.  Brown brought three bass to the stage that weighed 10.85 pounds.  His three fish earned him a check for $400.

“I just tried to stay off the bank and not hung up all day.  Lucky enough to fish with a great guy and enjoyed every minute of it.  Can’t wait to do another one.” said Brown.

Dane Gamble of Nashville, Tennesee came in third with threebass weighing 10.75 pounds.  Gamble took home a check for $350 for his fish.

“We fished the whole lake today.  I just stuck with a jig and kept my line wet.  The bite kind of slowed down around ten o’clock.  I caught my biggest fish around two o’clock.” said Gamble.

In fourth place among the co-anglers, Tom Skelton of Mount Juliet, Tennessee had threebass that weighed 9.64 pounds.  Rounding out the top five was Ben Smith of Levern, Tennessee who had a three-fish bag weighing 6.69 pounds.

The third Tennessee Central Division tournament of the season is scheduled for May 5th at Old Hickory.  We will fish out of Sanders Ferry Park in Hendersonville, Tennessee.

About American Bass Anglers: American Bass Anglers is committed to providing low cost, close to home tournaments for the weekend angler and at the same time offer each competitor an upward path for individual angler progression. For more information about American Bass Anglers, the Open Series, the American Fishing Tour or the American Couples Series, visit www.americanbassanglers.com.

by AnglersChannel

Leonard & Bronder Surge Ahead to Dominate Bass Champs Amistad Event

By: Patty Lenderman
The weather conditions on Amistad were more than alluring as Bass Champs hosted the South Regions third event of the season on March 24, 2018. Nearly $53,000 was up for grabs for 175 participating teams in this 103% payback tournament. Lee Leonard and Scott Bronder dominated the win, with plans on sharing their winnings with the family of a fallen comrad.

Lake Amistad is brimming with big bass set to spawn with the air and water temperatures prime. The wind was nil for the field of anglers rushing over this deep clear water lake to find the bites that would pay off at the scales. In a lake like this it is easy to see clearly with the naked eye depths to twenty feet. Such was the case on this day with the surface water like glass and sunny skies. As beautiful as that sounds, for anglers it makes it tough. The bass can see them too!

As the weigh in commenced, it was evident that conditions were tough to catch a bite. Brandan Kenncil and Zach Bibb established the initial tournament lead. “We were fishing in a pocket, and found the fish biting,” Brandan began. “Zach caught our first fish, a small keeper.” Using a craw worm, they were fishing shallow water when Brandan got their next bite. “As soon as I set the hook, I knew it was a good one!” Brandan landed the fish, weighing in at 11.16 pounds! “We wrapped up a limit with small fish, and spent the rest of the day culling by mere ounces.” All total, their five fish weighed 17.64 pounds and stayed on top of the pack until nearly the end of the day. Ultimately they won Big Bass and $500 plus 2nd place for an additional $3,500 check.

Lee Leonard and Scott Bronder had gotten a late draw to start their day. “We weren’t real happy with the late start, our fish were biting early during practice,” Lee explained. Lee and Scott are each police officers in San Marcos. “Last December, a friend and fellow police officer, Ken Copeland, was killed in the line of duty. He left behind his wife and two sets of twins, 9 and 12 years old. We agreed that if we managed to win the tournament, we would each give his wife $1,000.” With that they embarked on their day, targeting points with deep water nearby. “We boated our first fish fairly quick, and its size was ok, then we caught another. The bite was slow, but we had six spots picked out to hit. When the sun came out, the water was so clear that it hurt us, making the bite that much tougher to find.” One by one they put keepers in their livewell, but it took until noon to wrap up their initial limit. “Our better fish came off of two of our spots, and we were able to cull up one or two pounds before the end of the day.” Upon arriving at the scales, their final five fish weighed 21.17 pounds, dominating the win. Bass Champs presented the duo with the guaranteed 1st place $20,000 purse and they also won the Lowrance and Sure-Life bonuses. “We really didn’t think we would have enough weight to win the tournament. We are going to give Mrs. Copeland part of our winnings, but not only that we intend to get the kids out fishing with us.” The team would like to thank Triton boats, Texas Boat World, Tire Factory Outlet, Wood Bros. Custom Rods and San Marcos Police Officers Association for their help and support.

3rd place was won by Tyler Wilson and Melody Dixon. Melody reported targeting deep water initially, 18’-25’ deep with grass. “I was using a Lake Fork Creature bait and Tyler used swim baits and drop shots,” Melody stated. Right off the bat, Melody christened their livewell with a good sized bass. “After that, we just caught dinks throughout the day.” As the hours passed, then down to mere minutes left to fish, Tyler landed their second biggest fish. “We had started in deep water, then tried shallow for a while, then headed back out to deep water to wrap up our day. It was just a real good day to fish.” When they arrived at the weigh in, transferring their fish into a bag, they checked their smallest fish one last time. “It was close on the measuring board. Tyler checked it and just wasn’t absolutely sure, and just about released it. I stopped him and checked the measurement, and it was hitting right at 14”. The weights were so tight that if he threw that fish back, we would have lost a pound and that would have made a LOT of difference in the line up!” They had 17.47 lbs for a $2,500 payday. “We know a lot of work goes on behind the scenes to put these tournaments on, so I would like to speak on behalf of all of us fishermen – THANK YOU!”

Rounding out the top five includes 4th place winners Josh Pasco and Ryan Dupriest with 17.40 lbs, winning $2,000. 5th place had 17.16 lbs, and were the highest finishing team in a qualified Skeeter boat. Mike Coon and Wesley Graham doubled their $1,700 check to a $3,200 payday, and won the Sportsmans Auto Bonus as well, with a $5,000 value!

Bass Champs paid the top 23 teams, and the last $600 check went to Joseph Lane and Nathaniel Ashley with 11.31 lbs.

For Complete Results, Check them out Here!

by AnglersChannel

Carson Wins ABA Florida South Event on Lake Okeechobeen with over 26 pounds!

 

ATHENS, Ala. –  Keith Carson won the American Bass Anglers Open Series Florida South tournament, held March 24th on Lake Okeechobee.

Running out of Scott Driver Park in Okeechobee, FL the Palm Harbor, FL angler caught five bass weighing 26.44 pounds including a 6.85-pound kicker. For the Boater Division victory, Keith took home a check for $5000.

“I was sight-fishing in the monkey-box. I was casting at isolated reeds that I fished a month ago when the water was up. Since the water has dropped some, I noticed that I could see beds in the holes in the eel grass.

I caught my fish on flukes and senkos and I lost a few fish that would have helped me bust 30-pounds today.” Carson said.

In second for the boaters, Gary Milicevic of Labelle, FL landed a five-bass tournament limit going 21.43 pounds. He collected $1250 for the effort.

“I caught my fish on the north end of the lake on a frog. Yesterday during practice, I had a couple of good bites on the frog so I threw it all day today. I was able to cull two fish but I missed three on that frog.” Milicevic said.

Buck Durrance of Okeechobee, FL took third for the boaters with five bass going 20.70 pounds. He earned $900 for his catch.

“I caught my fish on a Carolina-rig today on the north end of the lake. I probably caught 50-fish throughout the day today.” Durrance said.

Finishing fourth, Greg Jones of Sarasota, FL landed a five-bass limit for 19.24 pounds.  Gary Niemi of Lake Placid, FL rounded out the top five boaters with five-bass limit for 18.63 pounds topped by a 9.47-pound kicker that won the big bass award of $640.

“I caught that fish on a Zara Spook around 3:00 pm today. “Niemi said.

In the Co-Angler Division, Eric Andrews of Davenport, FL won with three bass going 14.29 pounds including a 6.67-pound kicker. He pocketed a check for $1500 for his win.

“I was fishing a speed-worm all day. I caught about fifteen fish today but the bigger fish were about five hours apart. I am happy that I finally won an event after placing third several times.”  Andrews said.

Taking second for the co-anglers, John Smith of Orlando, FL brought in a three-bass division limit weighing 12.53 pounds. He collected $500 for the effort.

“I caught my fish today on a frog and a speed-worm. I lost one about six pounds on a frog that would have helped me win this event. I had a lot of bites but only caught seven fish today.” Smith said.

Irving Mercado of Davenport, FL placed third among the co-anglers with three-bassgoing 10.78 pounds. He earned $400 for his catch.

“I was fishing in the open water dragging a speed-worm,”  Mercado said.

In fourth place among the co-anglers, Kyle Wieczorek of Nokomis, FL brought in three-bass for 10.59 pounds. Bobby Poncev of Boca Raton, FL rounded out the top five co-anglers with three bass at 10.42 pounds.

Finishing sixth for the co-anglers was Tomas Gomez of Kissimmee, Fl that brought in three-bass for 10.22 including a big bass that weighed 7.44 pounds. Gomez pocketed a check for $200 for his finish and an additional $255 for that big bass

“I caught that big bass on a chatter-bait about fifteen minutes after our first stop this morning,"  Gomez said.

Slated for May 12th, the next tournament will be held on Lake Okeechobee out of Roland Martin Marina & Resort in Clewiston, FL. At the end of the season, the best anglers from across the nation advance the 2019 Ray Scott Championship to be held at Lake Eufaula in Eufaula, Alabama, April 2019.

For more information on this tournament, call Billy Benedetti, tournament manager, at 256-230-5632 or ABA at 256-232-0406. On line, see www.abaopenseries.com .

About American Bass Anglers: American Bass Anglers is committed to providing low cost, close to home tournaments for the weekend angler and at the same time offer each competitor an upward path for individual angler progression. For more information about American Bass Anglers, the ABA Open Series, the American Fishing Tour or the American Couples Series, visit www.americanbassanglers.com.

by AnglersChannel

Clint Wade & Stacy Springs Win TTZ Rayburn Event with over 37 pounds!!!

by AnglersChannel

7.55 Big Fish Wins Chad Coulter the KVD Big Bass Classic Title on Table Rock Lake!!

Chad Coulter takes the win on Table Rock at the KVD Big Bass Classic! Chad’s 7.55lb big bass earned him the win and the keys to the Nitro Boats Z19 powered by Mercury Marine

Overall Leaders

Rank Name Weight
1 CHAD COULTER 7.55
2 MITCHELL MEYER 6.41
3 HADEN LONG 6.32
4 BRANDON HILL 6.24
5 PAUL BOWER 6.17
6 EDDIE SNOW 5.72
7 JUSTIN GARNER 5.71
8 JODY BUCKLE 5.68
9 JASON BAKER 5.63
10 JAY MYATT 5.62

Saturday 8-9

Rank Name Weight
1 JAKE WILLIAMS 5.32
2 RANDY CUMMINGS 4.81
3 SHAWN BUZZARD 4.66
4 ROY HODGES 4.57
5 DALE SANDY 3.46
6 JARED BROWN 3.31
7 DUSTIN LIPPE 3.02
8 MITCH WHITEHEAD 2.99
9 MARTY MATHERLY 2.97
10 JUSTIN GARNER 2.95
11 DAVID BUCHEK 2.85
12 JOHN WELBORN 2.76
13 CODY SISCO 2.75
14 KENNY REEDY 2.73
15 RONNIE LAWSON 2.71
16 MICHAEL HIGHFILL 2.54
17 MATT WHITELEY 2.50
18 MITCH PHILLIPS 2.49
19 JEFF BARTON 2.47
20 WES POLCA 2.34
21 WES PLY 2.05
22 ROY BRYANT 2.05
23 JOSH TAYLOR 2.03
24 SAM POULOS 1.85

Saturday 9-10

Rank Name Weight
1 JODY BUCKLE 5.68
2 ANDREW KEENAN 5.24
3 BRYAN LEONARD 4.44
4 RYAN STRACKE 4.28
5 MIKE SOWDERS 4.23
6 RYAN GROETEKE 3.91
7 PHILLIP POTTER 3.62
8 ERIC HAMMOND 3.20
9 JAMES L DUDLEY 3.11
10 KENT LAWSON 3.10
11 ANDY CAPPS 3.00
12 MATT FRY 2.93
13 JOHN PALMER 2.91
14 DUSTIN LIPPE 2.82
15 PATSY LODWICK 2.70
16 LARRY HURTT 2.66
17 JUSTIN MCCREARY 2.65
18 ASHTON STUTE 2.48
19 JOHN ROBERTSON 2.09

Saturday 10-11

Rank Name Weight
1 CHET VAN GUNDY 5.41
2 TIMOTHY JONES 4.66
2 CARL BROYLES 4.66
4 MICHAEL KATROSH 4.38
5 RANDY FRAMPTON 4.22
6 JIM ODLE 3.91
7 VANCE VENABLE 3.54
8 JAMES HENSLEY 3.37
9 LES MORRIS 3.33
10 TOM BUEHLER 3.31
11 PAUL MARTIN 3.24
12 MARC JOHNSON 3.20
12 WAYNE YOUNGBLOOD 3.20
14 JUSTIN GARNER 3.10
15 MIKE GRESHAM 2.89
15 BRAD COOPER 2.89
17 JOE BRUNETTE 2.78
18 RYAN GROETEKE 2.77
19 ROBERT POTTER 2.72
20 DON KARAS 2.59
21 ZACH STANTON 2.52
22 KENT LAWSON 2.49
23 KEITH NEWSOME 2.44
24 RYAN STRACKE 2.30
25 FRANK LONG 2.20
26 TYLER DARLING 1.81

Saturday 11-12

Rank Name Weight
1 PAUL BOWER 6.17
2 JASON PARSONS 4.50
3 MARK JENKINS 4.31
4 HUNTER WHITELEY 3.84
5 RICK EUTSLER 3.77
6 VANCE VENABLE 3.74
7 MIKE PALASKA 3.71
8 DUSTIN LIPPE 3.55
9 DON KARAS 3.42
10 KURT PRALLE 3.40
10 JOE BRUNETTE 3.40
12 RYDER PARKHILL 3.31
13 JODY BUCKLE 3.26
14 DAVID SPRAGUE 3.22
15 RICK GEUJEN 3.18
16 ROBERT HARLEY 3.09
17 WAYNE YOUNGBLOOD 2.74
18 KYLE BEAVER 2.64
19 BRYAN VILES 2.63
20 MICHAEL KATROSH 2.60
21 CHAD ROSEWICZ 2.57
22 WES YANCEY 2.56
23 GARRETT GERHAUSER 2.50
24 GRANT GERHAUSER 2.44
25 WENDELL MILLS 2.42
26 KELVIN HOUSE 2.38
27 AUSTIN WHITEHEAD 2.37
28 JERRY WILLIS 2.25
29 I M BISHOP 2.04
30 DANIEL MITCHELL 1.86

Saturday 12-1

Rank Name Weight
1 TYLER GAVER 5.25
2 KURT PRALLE 4.89
3 MARK BOWEN 4.55
4 RANDY DODD 4.29
5 JUSTIN HILL 4.21
6 JOE NEWMAN 4.11
7 BILLY BIRD 4.04
8 BOBBY TITTSWORTH 4.03
8 RICHARD MOSLEY 4.03
10 JEFF EPLEY 3.98
11 JASON OVERTURF 3.89
12 RICK GEUJEN 3.86
13 MIKE LAFERTY 3.63
14 BRENSTON JENKINS 3.38
15 JEFF MOSELEY 3.32
16 JOANNA REIN 3.31
17 BRANDON CALHOUN 3.23
18 BILLY CARPENTER 3.20
19 KYLE BEAVER 2.86
20 GREG LAFFERTY 2.81
21 HUNTER WHITELEY 2.76
22 CHRIS ADAMS 2.75
23 DAVE ANDERSON 2.57
24 TYLER NEKOLNY 2.38
25 TIM MCNEW 2.22
26 JUSTIN BOWEN 2.12
26 DEVIN HENDRIX 2.12
28 HUNTER PLY 1.95

Saturday 1-2

Rank Name Weight
1 CHAD COULTER 7.55
2 WOLFGANG ALBRECHT 4.66
3 JESSE JORDAN 4.53
4 MATT JACKSON 4.24
5 AARON STANPHILL 4.18
6 GREG JOHNSTON 4.11
7 JAMES BAILEY 3.78
8 PAUL BOWER 3.77
9 DUSTIN LEE 3.75
10 BRAD GROSS 3.74
11 VANNETTA GROETEKE 3.67
12 RYAN COPELAND 3.47
13 JAMES LOVEALL 3.40
14 JEREMY EALY 3.37
14 ARRON HODGE 3.37
16 CHRIS EUBANKS 3.35
16 RYAN LEATHERS 3.35
18 JASEN CONNER 3.24
18 JOE DICKEY 3.24
18 ROLLIN LEWIS 3.24
21 AUSTIN MCCRACKEN 3.22
22 NICK BORCHERS 3.20
23 HENRY ADAMS 3.17
24 DARRELL MCCRACKEN 3.11
25 MARK DEWEY 3.07
26 JOHN DAVIS 3.03
27 TONY TORRES 2.98
28 RICK HILTON 2.91
29 ALPHA TAYLOR 2.87
30 JAY BEACH 2.82
31 DARYN KEETER 2.70
32 CORY LAFERTY 2.69
33 JUSTIN BOWEN 2.63
34 BOBBY TITTSWORTH 2.47
35 RYDER PARKHILL 2.41
36 PHILLIP RICE 2.37
37 MARK BOWEN 2.25
38 BLAIR COX 2.24
39 MASON DAVIS 2.14
39 JOHN ROBERTSON 2.14
41 ARNOLD PLY 2.12
42 CHEVY PLY 1.97
43 JARED HENSON 1.91
44 JAMES FOSTER 1.84

Saturday 2-3

Rank Name Weight
1 AARON HODGE 4.77
2 BRANDON SCHREINER 4.68
3 ANDY EUTSLER 4.61
4 DREW NEUBAUER 4.51
5 KYLE POWER 4.44
6 DOUG KERMICK 4.33
7 DUSTIN LIPPE 4.32
8 JAMES BAILEY 4.11
9 NICK HASS 3.89
10 PD ROGERS 3.64
11 RYAN GROETEKE 3.63
12 CHRIS LAPOSTA 3.52
13 ROBERT SWEARNGIN 3.44
13 JOHN HAMMERSMITH 3.44
15 ERIC KISTNER 3.40
16 TRAVIS EDWARDS 3.38
17 BRYAN LEONARD 3.30
18 RON HEDGPETH 3.29
18 PAUL REED 3.29
20 TIM DELASHMIT 3.21
21 STEVEN THOMPSON 3.17
22 ROBERT POTTER 3.14
23 CHAD VAUGHT 3.06
24 LANDON ROGERS 3.05
25 JEFF BLAUW 3.03
25 AUSTIN MCCRACKEN 3.03
27 CHEVY PLY 3.01
27 DARYN KEETER 3.01
27 STEVEN REDFORD JR 3.01
30 KEITH DURR 2.98
31 JOSH MAYBERRY 2.95
31 BRANDON HOLT 2.95
31 TROY FRANDSON 2.95
34 JIM DOTSON 2.85
34 JASON BAKER 2.85
34 JASON OVERTURF 2.85
37 JIM TROGDON 2.82
38 JIMMIE HOLT 2.79
38 MARK DEWEY 2.79
40 BRYAN VILES 2.76
41 DAKOTA NEWMAN 2.69
42 LULIE AISTROPE 2.61
43 DALE MANNING 2.58
44 LENNY VANDRIEL 2.49
45 DAVID HONEY 2.45
46 JOEY BEGGS 2.41
47 JOSH KING 2.39
48 PHILLIP SIMMONS 2.37
49 SULLIVAN LEWIS 2.35
50 MATT FRY 2.33
51 GERALD HUSAK 2.28
52 ARNOLD PLY 2.25
53 ALLEN HESTON 2.19
54 MATT LANGSTON 2.18
55 ROBERT SWICKARD III 2.15
56 DEVIN HENDRIX 2.01
57 TUCKER STUTE 1.98
58 JIM GRECO 1.83
58 MIKE SOWDERS 1.83
60 KEN MARTIN 1.60

Sunday 8-9

Rank Name Weight
1 EDDIE SNOW 5.72
2 DENNIS MEYER 4.54
3 JORDAN BORGMANN 4.51
4 RON KRAUS 4.40
5 WILLIAM KNIGHT 4.12
6 DUSTIN LIPPE 3.85
7 FRANK LONG 3.83
8 ANDREW KEENAN 3.75
9 CHRIS KNIGHT 3.67
10 NICK HASS 3.65
11 TOM LAWSON 3.46
12 JAMES FOSTER 3.28
13 CASEY SHEPHERD 3.19
14 CHAD COULTER 3.15
15 ROD BOWERSOX 3.07
16 DENNIS SMITH 3.04
17 JASON COLEY 2.96
17 MATT JACKSON 2.96
19 MATT JONES 2.94
20 PETE LEONARD 2.86
21 KENT LAWSON 2.51
22 RODNEY CREWSE 2.43
22 RODNEY CREWSE 2.43
22 RODNEY CREWSE 2.43
22 RODNEY CREWSE 2.43
26 DAVID BUCHEK 2.40
27 JARED HENSON 2.39
28 JONATHAN SIMMONS 2.38
29 TANNER SUNQUIST 1.87
30 BAILEY BEWLEY 1.80
31 SHANE RILEY 1.32

Sunday 9-10

Rank Name Weight
1 MITCHELL MEYER 6.41
2 NICK BORCHERS 5.43
3 RANDALL CUMMINGS 4.73
4 ERIC HAMMOND 4.57
5 FRANK LONG 3.97
6 DREW NEUBAUER 3.61
7 JODY BUCKLE 3.40
8 BRANDON SCHREINER 3.38
9 CHAD COULTER 3.22
10 DAVID WALKINGSTICK 3.16
11 JOSH CALLAHAN 3.14
12 RYAN FISCHER 3.11
13 THOMAS HEISCHMIDT 3.08
13 LES BRANDENBURG 3.08
15 KENT WHITAKER 2.75
16 JIMMY DOTSON 2.72
17 MIKE KATROSH 2.33
18 JEFFERY CREWSE 2.27
19 RYAN LEATHERS 2.26
20 ETHAN COURTER 2.12
21 MITCH WHITEHEAD 2.10
22 AUSTIN WHITEHEAD 1.85

Sunday 10-11

Rank Name Weight
1 HADEN LONG 6.32
2 COLTEN HENDERSON 4.71
3 GREG LAFFERTY 4.57
4 MICHAEL KATROSH 4.25
5 JUSTIN SUNQUIST 4.13
6 JORDAN BORGMANN 4.12
7 DANIEL CRAIN 4.01
8 DREW NEUBAUER 3.84
9 STEVE SEITZ 3.43
10 JACK REYNOLDS 3.38
11 DUSTIN LIPPE 3.33
12 CHET VAN GUNDY 3.30
13 BRANDON SCHREINER 3.07
14 JESSE COLE 3.04
15 RICK WILES 3.01
16 MARK JENKINS 2.95
17 JUSTIN HENDERSON 2.90
18 TERRY HUTCHISON 2.84

Sunday 11-12

Rank Name Weight
1 JUSTIN GARNER 5.71
2 CONNOR O'CONNOR 4.98
3 BRIAN KASMANN 4.68
4 VANCE VENABLE 4.40
5 JOSH HICKS 4.39
6 JAMES PEVETO 4.36
7 RANDY LYMAN 3.72
8 GREG LAFFERTY 3.65
9 NICK GERDES 3.59
10 JARED ESSARY 3.58
11 FRANK LONG 3.57
12 CODY MILLICAN 3.47
13 SCOTT PURSE 3.31
14 RONNIE LAWSON 3.05
15 JOHN HAMMERSMITH 2.91
16 DUSTIN LIPPE 2.90
17 GLENN LAWSON 2.70
17 DAKOTA MILLICAN 2.70
19 SAM POULOS 2.62
20 JAMES LEA 2.55
21 BRAYDEN RAKES 2.31
22 BRAD FRAMPTON 2.19

Sunday 12-1

Rank Name Weight
1 PHILLIP POTTER 5.57
2 DAVID ADDISON 5.38
3 SCOTT PURSE 5.04
4 KELLY GREER 4.78
5 JUSTIN MOSLEY 4.61
6 JE VANNATTA 4.54
7 JOSH BECK 4.04
8 DAN BROWN 4.03
9 BRANDON DONAVAN 3.81
10 RON HEDGPETH 3.73
11 MYRON DIXON 3.71
12 WESLEY SWAFFORD 3.68
13 MICHAEL KERSEY 3.61
14 BRIAN COBB 3.39
15 RICK EUTSLER 3.38
16 JARED STONER 3.27
17 RON KRAUS 3.15
18 JOHN HAMMERSMITH 2.92
19 TERRY HUTCHISON 2.77
20 TOM KRAUS 2.74
21 CODY MILLICAN 2.72
22 PETE LEONARD 2.51
23 JOSH RATHBONE 2.14
24 NICK HASS 2.13
25 DAVID WALKINGSTICK 1.97

Sunday 1-2

Rank Name Weight
1 BRANDON HILL 6.24
2 JASON BAKER 5.63
3 JAY MYATT 5.62
4 DUANE FRAHM 5.31
5 GREG LAFFERTY 4.98
6 JERRY LAUB 4.74
7 KURT PRALLE 4.69
8 CODY YARGER 4.52
9 DARRYL WHITE 4.45
10 MARTY MATHERLY 4.12
11 BILLY EDGAR 4.05
12 MATT MASTERS 3.84
13 RANDY HADDOCK 3.82
14 SCOTT HILL 3.81
15 GIL BRYANT 3.71
15 MIKE GRESHAM 3.71
17 LES MORRIS 3.69
18 CHEVY PLY 3.51
19 KENT SULLIVAN 3.36
20 PHIL ROTHERMICH 3.31
21 JESSE MORRIS 3.28
22 PAUL MARTIN 3.26
23 TODD JUSTICE 3.15
24 JOE NEWMAN 2.93
25 BRANDON CALHOUN 2.90
26 WAYNE YOUNGBLOOD 2.87
27 DAVID EDWARDS 2.73
28 TIM GARDNER 2.69
29 RON HEDGPETH 2.50
30 ROBERT SEIGART 2.45
31 BAILEY BEWLEY 2.39
32 KELBY PARKS 2.35
33 DWIGHT GATES 2.34
34 JAYME STARK 2.19

Sunday 2-3

Rank Name Weight
1 CORY LAFERTY 5.41
2 ARNOLD PLY 5.19
3 SCOTT PURSE 5.15
4 JACKSON ROBERTS 5.11
4 KENT SULLIVAN 5.11
6 WILLIAM MILLER 4.53
7 DAKOTA MILLICAN 4.46
8 JE VANNATTA 4.35
9 CHEVY PLY 4.32
10 MIKE BARNER 4.04
11 BRAD JOHNSTON 4.03
12 MARVIN CARNEY 3.99
13 RICK JONES 3.92
14 ERIC HAMMOND 3.81
15 TIM CHRISTENSEN 3.75
16 MARK VENABLE 3.73
17 ZANE RIDPATH 3.65
18 GREG RYAN 3.62
19 JESSE MORRIS 3.51
20 LANDON ROGERS 3.49
21 MIKE SAVAGE 3.48
22 RYDER PARKHILL 3.47
23 BRANDON HOLT 3.46
24 TIM STACK 3.45
25 BRANDON HILL 3.37
26 SAM POULOS 3.33
27 JAMES BURROW 3.25
28 CHET VAN GUNDY 3.13
29 BLAIR COX 3.09
30 BRAD FRAMPTON 2.81
31 RICHARD BRUSHIA 2.77
32 ROCKY FONTANA 2.75
33 JACK MITCHELL 2.49
34 RYAN ENGLISH 2.23
35 DARRYL WHITE 2.14

 

by AnglersChannel

James Moore of Cullman Wins the Sealy Outdoors Big Bass Splash Event on Lake Guntersville with a 10.81!

James Moore of Cullman, AL takes over the lead on Day 3 of the Big Bass Splash on Lake Guntersville, AL with a 10.81.

by AnglersChannel

Gardendale Team Wins Bassmaster High School Event On Alabama's Lay Lake

Jordan McCaleb (left) and Jaxon Brown of the Gardendale Rockets bass club won the 2018 Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School Series Southern Open presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods on Lay Lake out of Shelby County, Ala., with 20 pounds, 8 ounces.

Photo by Stephen Findley/B.A.S.S.

March 24, 2018

SHELBY, Ala. — Since they live just over an hour away, Gardendale High School anglers Jaxon Brown and Jordan McCaleb have always considered Lay Lake their favorite fishery.

Apparently, it likes them right back.

The Rockets anglers caught five bass Saturday that weighed 20 pounds, 8 ounces, to win the Mossy Oak Bassmaster High School Southern Open presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods. Instead of specifically targeting spotted bass, like many do on the central Alabama Coosa River fishery, they said they just went looking for five good bites.

“We fished an Alabama B.A.S.S. Nation high school event here last week, and we fished for spots,” Brown said. “But, we only had about 5 pounds with three fish. We said, ‘to heck with that,’ for this week. Today, we fished a totally different way on a totally different end of the lake.”

Since they fish frequent tournaments on the lake, the anglers were coy about the way they caught their fish.

“We used a 1 1/2-pounce piece of tungsten all day long,” said Brown, whose father, Bobby, served as the team’s boat captain for the day.

McCaleb offered slightly more detail.

“We were just flipping and throwing a swim jig,” he said.

Brown and McCaleb finished just ahead of John Walley and Justin Duke of Satsuma High School, who came in second with 19-13. Another Gardendale team consisting of Griffin Phillips and Fletcher Phillips weighed in 18-11. Kaleb Cook and Hudson Tinnell of Helena High School also had 18-11 but dropped to fourth after a tie-breaker based on the biggest bass in their limit. Grant Sanford and Lane Sanford of the Northside High School team were fifth with 17-4.

“We have about 30 members on our team at Gardendale,” McCaleb said. “It's probably one of the biggest teams in the state. This is our fifth year to have a team.”

McCaleb, a senior, and Brown, a junior, earned first-place plaques, a $2,000 check for their school’s fishing team and $10,000 scholarships to join the college fishing team at the University of Montevallo.

They said they caught fish throughout the day, but their biggest bass of the day — a 5 1/2-pound largemouth — came before lunchtime. They only had about 17 pounds with 20 minutes left before weigh-in time, but a key cull put them over the top.

“We had one that weighed about a pound and a half that we had been trying to get rid of for about three or four hours,” McCaleb said. “We caught a 3 1/2-pounder to cull it right at the end.”

The event featured 274 teams, and the Top 27 earned a berth in the Bassmaster High School National Championship scheduled for Kentucky Lake in August. It took 13-12 to make the cut for the championship.

“We made it to Nationals last year by winning a B.A.S.S. Nation high school tournament on Smith Lake,” Brown said. “We caught them good at Kentucky Lake until bad weather moved in.

“We’re looking forward to another shot.”

 

STANDINGS BOATER DAY 1
Lay Lake - Paradise Point - Shelby County, AL
3/24/2018 - 3/24/2018
Mossy Oak Bassmaster High School Southern Open presented by DICK'S Sporting Goods

Today's Activity
# Fsh Lbs - Oz
Accumulative
Name # Live # Fsh # Live Lbs-Oz PTS
1 Jaxon Brown - Jordan McCaleb Gardendale Rockets 5 5 20- 8 5 5 20- 8 0.00
2 John Walley - Justin Duke Satsuma HS 5 5 19-13 5 5 19-13 0.00
3 Griffin Phillips - Fletcher Phillips Gardendale High School 5 5 18-11 5 5 18-11 0.00
4 Kaleb Cook - Hudson Tinnell Helena HS 5 5 18-11 5 5 18-11 0.00
5 Grant Sanford - Lane Sanford Northside HS 5 5 17- 4 5 5 17- 4 0.00
6 Tucker Putman - Will Dickerson Good Hope Fishing Team 5 5 16- 6 5 5 16- 6 0.00
7 Wyatt Sauder - Micah Ford Sequoyah HS 5 5 16- 1 5 5 16- 1 0.00
8 Fischer Keel - Will Garrett Auburn Anglers 5 5 15-15 5 5 15-15 0.00
9 Shaw Sandy - Sam Bennett Athens Anglers 5 5 15-14 5 5 15-14 0.00
10 Griffin Fernandes - Zach Witte Southeastern Bass Anglers 5 5 15-11 5 5 15-11 0.00
11 Cameron Vaughn - Gunnar Halstead Herrin HS 5 5 15- 7 5 5 15- 7 0.00
12 JP Johnson - Connor Handley Vinemont HS 5 5 15- 4 5 5 15- 4 0.00
13 Connor Neal - Sam Hoesley Hoover High School 5 5 15- 3 5 5 15- 3 0.00
14 Garick Robinson - Micah Bryant Sequoyah High School 5 5 14-15 5 5 14-15 0.00
15 Cade Holcomb - Kopeland Rosser Helena High School 5 5 14- 9 5 5 14- 9 0.00
15 Connor Jacob - Jordan Alwan Peoria Notre Dame 5 5 14- 9 5 5 14- 9 0.00
17 Bailey Bleser - Matthew McDonald Catholic Central HS 5 5 14- 8 5 5 14- 8 0.00
18 Wesley Hall - Preston Crowley Tuscaloosa County High School 5 5 14- 7 5 5 14- 7 0.00
19 Cody Hammond - Rob Draper Rehobeth HS 5 5 14- 4 5 5 14- 4 0.00
20 Cody Cissell - Jeremiah Howard Bullitt Central HS 5 5 14- 3 5 5 14- 3 0.00
21 Jaxon Sullivan - Chase Milholen Scotts Hill HS 5 5 14- 1 5 5 14- 1 0.00
22 Cameron Cokley - Jack Brown Rocket Bassmasters 5 5 14- 0 5 5 14- 0 0.00
23 Josh Lee - Mason Cizek Karns Bass Fishing Club 5 5 13-14 5 5 13-14 0.00
23 Scott Yunke - Destin Sackreiter Helena HS 5 5 13-14 5 5 13-14 0.00
25 Brandon Bates - Logan Phillips Soddy Daisy High School 5 5 13-13 5 5 13-13 0.00
25 Brent Cowley - Mason Beck Springville Anglers 5 5 13-13 5 5 13-13 0.00
27 Jake Maddux - Carson Maddux Spain Park High School 5 5 13-12 5 5 13-12 0.00
27 Chase Parsons - Hayden Drucker Hillcrest High School 5 5 13-12 5 5 13-12 0.00
29 Jayden McCain - Jared McCain Piedmont HS Fishing Team 5 5 13-11 5 5 13-11 0.00
30 Eli Chambers - Hunter Herfurth Vinemont High School 5 5 13-10 5 5 13-10 0.00
30 Asher Peters - Hudson Choquette Headland HS 5 5 13-10 5 5 13-10 0.00
32 Alec Berens - Wyatt Pazdro Minooka Anglers Bass Club 5 4 13-10 5 4 13-10 0.00
33 Ethan King - Matthew Vining SC Fishing Team 5 5 13- 8 5 5 13- 8 0.00
34 Laker Howell - Jantzen Leonard Guntersville HS 5 5 13- 6 5 5 13- 6 0.00
34 Caleb Reynolds - Lex Thompson GA - Bainbridge BassCats 5 5 13- 6 5 5 13- 6 0.00
36 Tyler Brashier - Hunter Shaw Winfield Student Anglers 5 5 13- 5 5 5 13- 5 0.00
37 Jackson Isbell - Trent Robinson Moody Fishing 5 5 13- 5 5 5 13- 5 0.00
38 Mason Connelley - Dylan Green Fayetteville HS 5 5 13- 4 5 5 13- 4 0.00
39 Lawson Graves - Cameron Glasscock Cullman High School 5 5 13- 3 5 5 13- 3 0.00
40 Justin Kanute - Adam Altman York County 5 5 13- 1 5 5 13- 1 0.00
41 Cy Lambert - David Dueland Cullman HS 5 5 12-14 5 5 12-14 0.00
42 Connor Ezzell - Ben Shinkunas Athens Anglers 5 5 12-13 5 5 12-13 0.00
42 Drew Herrmann - Wyatt Gabby Marion High School 5 5 12-13 5 5 12-13 0.00
44 Tyler Lubbat - Tyler Christy Buffalo Grove Bass Fishing 5 5 12-11 5 5 12-11 0.00
44 Grayson Morris - Tucker Smith Briarwood Christian School 5 5 12-11 5 5 12-11 0.00
46 Colin McCullough - Jake Cagle Cedar Bluff Bass Team 5 5 12- 8 5 5 12- 8 0.00
47 Jacob Frazier - Kaden Hillman Hazard High School 5 5 12- 5 5 5 12- 5 0.00
47 Brady Holland - Cal Lane Guntersville HS 5 5 12- 5 5 5 12- 5 0.00
47 Justin Watts - Colby Badeaux Live Oak HS 5 5 12- 5 5 5 12- 5 0.00
50 Cody Banks - Josh Spurger Cold Springs Fishing Team 5 5 12- 4 5 5 12- 4 0.00
51 David Taylor - Brylan Sexton Tuscaloosa Co HS 5 5 12- 1 5 5 12- 1 0.00
52 John Owens - George Hill Spain Park HS 5 5 12- 0 5 5 12- 0 0.00
52 Laney Skipper - Taylor Brown Rehobeth Bass Club 5 5 12- 0 5 5 12- 0 0.00
54 Hayden Fox - Owen Chamberlain Mt Juliet Fishing Team 4 4 12- 0 4 4 12- 0 0.00
55 Ethan Greene - Stan Wilson Lakeside Chiefs 5 5 11-15 5 5 11-15 0.00
56 Jordan Feltner - Abby Ison Perry County Central High School 5 5 11-14 5 5 11-14 0.00
57 Steven Corvin - Micah McDonald Hueytown HS 5 5 11-13 5 5 11-13 0.00
58 Jon Bedford - Walker Brown Lawrence County High School 5 5 11-12 5 5 11-12 0.00
58 Wyatt Hamner - Austin Adcox Sipsey Valley High School 5 5 11-12 5 5 11-12 0.00
58 Hunter Hood - Landen Graves Mortimer Jordan Bass Club 5 5 11-12 5 5 11-12 0.00
61 Kolby Holcomb - Dawson Mason Walker Valley 5 5 11-10 5 5 11-10 0.00
62 Raley Guy - Ethan Cotney Sylacauga Fishing Team 5 5 11- 7 5 5 11- 7 0.00
63 Jake Griggs - Justin Hoffman Vinemont HS 5 5 11- 7 5 5 11- 7 0.00
63 Mason Karner - Shane Bowles Harrison HS 5 5 11- 7 5 5 11- 7 0.00
63 Ryan Scott - Austin Anz Choctaw Bass Club 5 5 11- 7 5 5 11- 7 0.00
66 Gage Beck - Keith Weems Sipsey Valley High School 5 5 11- 6 5 5 11- 6 0.00
66 Summer Dees - Garret Dees Grundy Co HS 5 5 11- 6 5 5 11- 6 0.00
66 Houston Smith - Jack West Cullman HS 5 5 11- 6 5 5 11- 6 0.00
66 Andrew Weaver - Gaven Brown Cold Springs 5 5 11- 6 5 5 11- 6 0.00
70 Matthew Roberts - Richard Cornett Perry County Central High School 5 5 11- 5 5 5 11- 5 0.00
70 Chase Taylor - Colton Williams Good Hope Fishing team 5 5 11- 5 5 5 11- 5 0.00
72 John Moore - Elijah Linderman Brewer HS 4 4 11- 5 4 4 11- 5 0.00
73 Landon Nelson - Michael Childers Brewer High School 5 5 11- 3 5 5 11- 3 0.00
73 Cooper Smith - Grant Noelle Marion High School 5 5 11- 3 5 5 11- 3 0.00
75 Nick Knabenshue - Cameron Kidd York CO HS Anglers 5 5 11- 1 5 5 11- 1 0.00
75 Harley Owens - Taylor McCarty Campbell Co HS 5 5 11- 1 5 5 11- 1 0.00
77 AJ Segers - Justin Roberts Marion High School 5 5 11- 0 5 5 11- 0 0.00
78 Logan Henderson - Steven Swann Springville Anglers 5 5 10-12 5 5 10-12 0.00
79 Cal Culpepper - Mason Waddell GA-Harris County High School 5 5 10-11 5 5 10-11 0.00
80 Jake Beihoffer - Bailey Faires Soddy Daisy HS 5 5 10-10 5 5 10-10 0.00
81 Sam McNew - McKinley Prickett Alexandria High School 4 4 10-10 4 4 10-10 0.00
82 Chace Gregory - Tucker Weidler Helena High School 5 5 10- 8 5 5 10- 8 0.00
82 Ezra Smith - Devin Howard Walker Valley HS 5 5 10- 8 5 5 10- 8 0.00
84 Mathew Windham - Chipper Tucker Jackson Acadeny 5 5 10- 7 5 5 10- 7 0.00
85 Hunter Fowler - Quinton Spann Arab HS 5 5 10- 6 5 5 10- 6 0.00
86 Ben Thompson - Chase Ivey Sylacauga Fishing Team 5 5 10- 4 5 5 10- 4 0.00
87 Connor Crafton - Cody Gillentine NEA Youth Fishing 5 5 10- 1 5 5 10- 1 0.00
87 Brady Harp - Mason Huey Spain Park High School 5 5 10- 1 5 5 10- 1 0.00
87 Drew Lyvers - Jake Seigle Spencer Co HS 5 5 10- 1 5 5 10- 1 0.00
87 Gabe Sanford - Jacob Pearson Northside High School 5 5 10- 1 5 5 10- 1 0.00
91 Brock Bowers - Rocky Jonio Springville Anglers 5 5 9-14 5 5 9-14 0.00
92 Noah Coleman - Drake Williams Oneonta 5 5 9-13 5 5 9-13 0.00
92 Bailey Miller - Lucas Scott Tullahoma HS 5 5 9-13 5 5 9-13 0.00
94 Wesley Gore - Blake Davenport Jemison HS 5 5 9- 9 5 5 9- 9 0.00
95 Hunter Porter - Cade Crocker Hillcrest High School 5 5 9- 5 5 5 9- 5 0.00
95 Bryce Richburg - Alexis Grandstaff Headland HS 5 5 9- 5 5 5 9- 5 0.00
95 Logan Tice - Andrew Harris Oxford Bass Club 5 5 9- 5 5 5 9- 5 0.00
98 Walker Price - Austin Wallace Moody Fishing Team 5 5 9- 2 5 5 9- 2 0.00
99 Hunter Nanney - TJ Edwards North Mississippi 5 5 9- 1 5 5 9- 1 0.00
100 Cameron Gilbert - Hannah Boyet Lynn Bears Bass Club 4 4 9- 1 4 4 9- 1 0.00
101 Steven Deason - Logan Lolley Hayden HS 5 5 9- 0 5 5 9- 0 0.00
102 Catherine Walls - Heather Grace Arab HS 5 5 8-15 5 5 8-15 0.00
102 Kyle Williamson - Bremen High School 5 5 8-15 5 5 8-15 0.00
104 Tyler Finley - Ryan Prince MPHS Bass 5 5 8-14 5 5 8-14 0.00
105 Brooks Anderson - Mason Venable Mt. Bethel Christian Academy 5 5 8-11 5 5 8-11 0.00
105 Justin Graham - Noah Gray Glencoe HS 5 5 8-11 5 5 8-11 0.00
105 Matt Holmes - Clayton Reed Auburn Anglers 5 5 8-11 5 5 8-11 0.00
108 Jacob Bigelow - Shawano Bass Assassins 4 4 8-10 4 4 8-10 0.00
109 Jake Guy - Camden Keeton Fayetteville HS 3 3 8- 9 3 3 8- 9 0.00
110 Connor Edwards - Cody Perkins American Christian Academy 4 4 8- 8 4 4 8- 8 0.00
110 Nathan Partain - Gabe Lunsford Moody Fishing Team 4 4 8- 8 4 4 8- 8 0.00
112 Brae Williams - Nathaniel Robbins Hillcrest High School 4 4 8- 4 4 4 8- 4 0.00
113 Andrew Davis - Cal McInnis Headland HS 3 3 8- 3 3 3 8- 3 0.00
114 Jacob Damron - Jase Damron Tullahoma HS 4 4 8- 0 4 4 8- 0 0.00
115 AJ McGee - JJ Tindell Choctaw Bass Club 4 4 7-15 4 4 7-15 0.00
115 Jarrett McMillan - Paul Robinson Bremen High School 4 4 7-15 4 4 7-15 0.00
117 Kyle Kellum - Jack Pinon Springville Anglers 3 3 7-15 3 3 7-15 0.00
118 Brennan Fox - Colin King Marion HS 3 3 7-13 3 3 7-13 0.00
119 Jackson Murphree - Skylor Strickland Springville Anglers 4 4 7-12 4 4 7-12 0.00
120 Ross Webster - Nick Fox Harris Co HS 3 3 7-12 3 3 7-12 0.00
121 Noe Liles - Jake Sparks Fairhope HS 3 3 7-10 3 3 7-10 0.00
122 Charlie Baker - Taylor Gilliland American Christian Academy 5 5 7- 8 5 5 7- 8 0.00
123 Allen Baxter - Braxton Arnold Rehobeth HS 4 4 7- 7 4 4 7- 7 0.00
124 Trace Yeager - Austin Dillenburg Shawano High School 4 4 7- 6 4 4 7- 6 0.00
125 Jacob Nekvinda - Devon Dvorak IA - Eastern Iowa Jr Bassmasters 3 3 7- 5 3 3 7- 5 0.00
126 Cole Wooten - Russ Boackle Gardendale High School 5 5 7- 4 5 5 7- 4 0.00
127 Brandon Quattlebaum - Drew Cumbie Rehobeth Bass Club 4 4 7- 1 4 4 7- 1 0.00
128 Jarrett Floyd - Sydney Pointer Piedmont High School 5 5 7- 0 5 5 7- 0 0.00
129 Owen Hawker - Tom Laicher NChs Anglers 4 4 7- 0 4 4 7- 0 0.00
130 Justin Lowery - James Cobbs Cullman High School 5 5 6-14 5 5 6-14 0.00
131 Colby White - Addison Collins Arab HS 4 4 6-14 4 4 6-14 0.00
132 Cole MacDonald - Alex Curington Good Hope Fishing Team 4 4 6-11 4 4 6-11 0.00
133 Taylor Cox - Nate Butler Carrollton High School 4 4 6-10 4 4 6-10 0.00
134 Dylan Nutt - Nathan Reynolds Backwoods Bassin' 2 2 6-10 2 2 6-10 0.00
135 Jacob Cross - Robert Goodner Bradley Central HS 3 3 6- 9 3 3 6- 9 0.00
136 Connor Nimrod - Dylan Nimrod De Soto Bass Team 5 5 6- 8 5 5 6- 8 0.00
137 Andrew Bunch - Jacob Young Bradley Central 3 3 6- 7 3 3 6- 7 0.00
138 Hayden Cowart - Connor Sanderson Perry Co HS - MS 3 3 6- 6 3 3 6- 6 0.00
139 Logan Weeks - Gage Fortenberry Hayden HS 3 3 6- 5 3 3 6- 5 0.00
140 Morgan Miracle - Logan Miracle Garrard County HS 2 2 6- 5 2 2 6- 5 0.00
141 Hogan Mabury - Robbie Meggs Tuscaloosa Co HS 4 4 6- 4 4 4 6- 4 0.00
142 Brady Brasington - Caemon Metcalf Headland HS 5 5 6- 1 5 5 6- 1 0.00
142 Noah Varner - Nate Varner Rhea County High School 5 5 6- 1 5 5 6- 1 0.00
144 John-Murphy Day - Hayden McCarty Corner High School 3 3 6- 0 3 3 6- 0 0.00
144 Thomas Harris - Will Jackson Talluah Falls School 3 3 6- 0 3 3 6- 0 0.00
146 Jacob Clark - Hunter Jones Rehobeth HS 3 3 5-12 3 3 5-12 0.00
146 Tyler Fox - Jett Harris Harris Co HS 3 3 5-12 3 3 5-12 0.00
148 Elijah Joiner - Reid Mann Guntersville High School 3 3 5-11 3 3 5-11 0.00
148 Skyler Stevens - Helena HS 3 3 5-11 3 3 5-11 0.00
150 Jacob Ross - Jackson Andrews Satsuma HS 1 1 5-11 1 1 5-11 0.00
151 Trey Schroeder - Grant Nisbet Lindbergh High School 3 3 5-10 3 3 5-10 0.00
152 Jacob Bragwell - Brock Payne Priceville HS 2 2 5- 9 2 2 5- 9 0.00
153 Cody Griffith - Hill Weissinger Auburn Anglers 2 2 5- 8 2 2 5- 8 0.00
154 Bryden Herring - Spencer Higginbotham Franklin Co HS 4 3 5- 7 4 3 5- 7 0.00
155 Ridge Boofer - Brandon Iles Rhea County High School 3 3 5- 7 3 3 5- 7 0.00
156 Cody Hall - Andrew Salter Monroe Student Anglers 4 4 5- 5 4 4 5- 5 0.00
157 Marshall Williams - Marshall Harrelson Tullah Falls 3 3 5- 1 3 3 5- 1 0.00
158 Richard McGee - James Helfer Southeastern Bass Anglers 2 2 5- 1 2 2 5- 1 0.00
158 Tanner Scruggs - Storm Cline Anderson County High School 2 2 5- 1 2 2 5- 1 0.00
160 Cole Dodson - Tyler Crawford Gardendale Rockets 4 4 5- 0 4 4 5- 0 0.00
161 John Evans Thrower - Aubrey Whisenant Arab HS 3 3 5- 0 3 3 5- 0 0.00
162 Blake White - Dylan Allen Odenville Bass Club 2 2 4-15 2 2 4-15 0.00
163 Will Delaney - Ridge Mullis Hillcrest High School 4 4 4-13 4 4 4-13 0.00
164 Ethan Folmar - Benjamin Marling Helena HS 3 3 4-13 3 3 4-13 0.00
165 Brady Duncan - Mason Huddleston Mt Juliet Fishing Team 2 2 4-13 2 2 4-13 0.00
166 Gracey Lang - Calvin Lang Guntersville HS 3 3 4-11 3 3 4-11 0.00
167 Jake Munroe - Luke Turley Oxford Bass Club 1 1 4-11 1 1 4-11 0.00
168 Mason Mullaney - Michael Brown Hayden HS 2 2 4-10 2 2 4-10 0.00
168 Chad Salyer III - Carter Best York County HS Anglers 2 2 4-10 2 2 4-10 0.00
170 Jordan Cook - Alexandria High School 3 3 4- 8 3 3 4- 8 0.00
171 Matthew Juvers - Noah Smith Herrin HS 2 2 4- 7 2 2 4- 7 0.00
171 Andrew Smith - Kevon Carr Auburn Anglers 2 2 4- 7 2 2 4- 7 0.00
173 Keaton Kinney - Laiklind Casey Cullman High School 4 4 4- 6 4 4 4- 6 0.00
174 Nathan Sims - Drew Parker Moody Fishing Team 2 2 4- 1 2 2 4- 1 0.00
175 Reece Keeney - Bryce Moder Northeast WI Bass 2 2 4- 0 2 2 4- 0 0.00
175 Zane O'Domirok - Thomas Brown Lenoir City HS 2 2 4- 0 2 2 4- 0 0.00
177 Kobe Cagle - Skyler Ellison Priceville HS 1 1 4- 0 1 1 4- 0 0.00
178 Aaron Riggs - James Riggs Mt Pleasant HS 3 3 3-14 3 3 3-14 0.00
179 Victor Alford - Malcolm Sherbine Roane Co HS 2 2 3-14 2 2 3-14 0.00
179 Kole Key - Logan Bolton Northside HS 2 2 3-14 2 2 3-14 0.00
181 Noah Butler - Springville Anglers 1 1 3-12 1 1 3-12 0.00
182 Jarrett Allison - Zachary Lind Odenville Bass Club 2 2 3-11 2 2 3-11 0.00
183 Tristan Crawford - Parker Vaughn Hayden HS 2 2 3- 9 2 2 3- 9 0.00
183 Samuel Louw - Jon Sansgaard Eastern Iowa HS 2 2 3- 9 2 2 3- 9 0.00
183 Cody Smith - Nathan Ferrell Soddy Daisy HS 2 2 3- 9 2 2 3- 9 0.00
186 Tanner Shelton - Connor Burnett Hayden High School 2 2 3- 7 2 2 3- 7 0.00
187 Lexie Bearden - Brady McFarland Oxford Bass Club 1 1 3- 6 1 1 3- 6 0.00
188 Caleb Bridges - Watson Palmer Mt Juliet Fishing Team 2 2 3- 4 2 2 3- 4 0.00
189 Evan Kerr - Ethan Floyd Piedmont HS 3 3 3- 2 3 3 3- 2 0.00
190 Noah Ray - Aulden Mathenny Tullahoma HS 1 1 3- 2 1 1 3- 2 0.00
191 Eric Noyes - Mikey Reiss Broken Arrow High School 2 2 3- 1 2 2 3- 1 0.00
192 Evan Redic - Kyson Brown Mt Juliet 2 2 3- 0 2 2 3- 0 0.00
193 Foster Dubroc - Caleb Straight Marrietta Bassmasters 1 1 3- 0 1 1 3- 0 0.00
194 Matthew Writesman - Kaylee Orr West Blount Anglers 3 3 2-15 3 3 2-15 0.00
195 Cody Noles - Ethan Delay Lynn Bears Bass Club 2 2 2-15 2 2 2-15 0.00
196 Carter Nutt - Backwoods Bassin' 1 1 2-14 1 1 2-14 0.00
197 James Gravitte - Bryan Speller Sale Creek Anglers 2 2 2-13 2 2 2-13 0.00
198 Taylor Owens - Shelby Prather Rehobeth HS 1 1 2-13 1 1 2-13 0.00
199 Derek Sutton - Cole Herrell Villa Rica High School 2 2 2-12 2 2 2-12 0.00
199 Bailey Talent - Elijah Gibbons Livingston Academy 2 2 2-12 2 2 2-12 0.00
201 Jacob Robinson - Seth Morris Bremen HS 1 1 2- 8 1 1 2- 8 0.00
202 Jackson Henley - Bradley Tapscott Austin High 2 2 2- 6 2 2 2- 6 0.00
203 Jacob Perkins - Micah Carter Lamar County High School 1 1 2- 6 1 1 2- 6 0.00
204 Corbin Preston - Hayden Holloway Herrin High School 1 1 2- 5 1 1 2- 5 0.00
204 Kaitlyn Reynolds - Brooke Ingram Springville Anglers 1 1 2- 5 1 1 2- 5 0.00
206 Christian Wright - Dylan Henderson Clinton High School 1 1 2- 3 1 1 2- 3 0.00
207 Griffin Burk - Haleigh Wyatt Southside Anglers 1 1 2- 2 1 1 2- 2 0.00
208 Devon Johns - Drew Platts Springville Anglers 1 1 2- 1 1 1 2- 1 0.00
209 Dalton Hibboard - Zach Holbrook Perry County Central HS 1 1 2- 0 1 1 2- 0 0.00
210 Tim Borawski - Lindbergh HS 1 1 1-14 1 1 1-14 0.00
211 Landon Huff - Will Thomas Morgan County HS 2 2 1-13 2 2 1-13 0.00
212 Ryan Smith - Sammy Collins Hayden HS 1 1 1-12 1 1 1-12 0.00
213 Ethan Carr - Brady Huddleston Livingston Academy 1 1 1-11 1 1 1-11 0.00
214 Adam Gentry - Braydon Mattox Villa Rica High School 1 1 1- 9 1 1 1- 9 0.00
215 Parker Reed - Caleb Pierce Walker Valley HS 1 1 1- 8 1 1 1- 8 0.00
216 Aiden Sowell - Cameron Beckworth Headland HS 1 1 1- 5 1 1 1- 5 0.00
217 Jeremiah Purifoy - Reece Keller Hayden HS 1 1 1- 4 1 1 1- 4 0.00
217 Hunter Wilkins - Will Hardin Miller American Christian Acadamy 1 1 1- 4 1 1 1- 4 0.00
219 Taylor Adams - Guntersville HS 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Brady Bailey - Hunter Freeman Cold Springs Fishing Team 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Jesse Blackmon - Jagger White Good Hope Fishing Team 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Cade Briggs - Noah Garner Northgate High School 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Connor Brown - Dawson Kilgore Glencoe HS 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Colby Brown - Blake Handley Hayden High School 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Dylan Byrd - Hunter McClendon Cold Springs HS 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Ryan Campbell - Caleb Godsey Rhea County HS 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Landry Cooper - Cameron Kirkland TN-Sequoyah High School 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Christian Copher - Magnolia West HS 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Taylor Crawford - Cayden McCondichie Gardendale high School 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Grant Dees - Ben Freeman Grundy County HS 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Mason Gay - Caleb Butler Vinemont HS 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 McKael Gollin - Ford Ekhoff Firth Fishing 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Tyler Goodwin - Evan Goodwin Odenville Bass Club 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Gunter Gosha - Jase Gosha Herrin HS 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Dakota Green - Seathe Patterson Hayden High School 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Ethan Griffin - Melissa Griffin Harris Co HS 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Dara Hand - Della Hand Vinemont High School 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Nathan Harris - Brantley Hodo Tuscaloosa County 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Bradley Hill - Cameron Starnes Cullman High School 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Jonathon Hodges - Garrett Elliott Mortimer Jordan HS 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Cole Holloway - Zach Smith Morgan County HS 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Griffin Hopkins - Bailey Gallaher East Hamilton HS 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Keegan Jones - Chase Clark Hillcrest High School 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Ean Klasing - Trevor Rowland Hallsville HS 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Bailey Livingston - Sam Curlee Oxford Bass Club 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Ruben Martinez - Josh Hayden Hillcrest HS 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Zane Massey - Sipsey Valley High School 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Briar McKinley - Alex Hawkins Loudon HS 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Ethan Moore - Caden Barnett Cullman HS 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Braxton Morrison - Noah Thompson Moody Fishing Team 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Ross Napier - Levi Lanier Hartselle HS 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Chase Parnell - Logan Bryan Springville Anglers 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Caleb Patterson - Alec Harris Alexandria HS 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Wade Penny - Mason Taylor Hayden HS 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Tucker Perrin - Trent Wyatt Springville Anglers 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Dylan Price - Noah Lee Harris County High School 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Cameron Pruitt - Charles Simpson Casey CO HS 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Colby Reed - Brayden Stotler Southside Anglers 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Dylan Renfroe - Rylee Shell Guntersville HS 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Kade Rochelle - Ty Cobb Lawrence County HS 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Kevin Roller - Eli Benton Tuscaloosa Co HS 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Brian Rosenbalm - Jacob Brown Alexandria High School 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Hunter Silverstrim - Ryan Silverstrim Queen City Bassmaster HS 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Josh Sokol - Jason Sokol Carl Sandburg Bass Fishing 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Stevie Stephens - Sam Brock Petal High School Bassmasters 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Jacob Strickland - Matthew Bell Helena HS 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Jimmy Thornhill - Aaron George Odenville Bass Club 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Peyton Trimm - Parker Trimm Northside High School 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Carter Walker - Brady Lafever Upperman HS 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Lili Waters - Linzi Abbott Cold Springs 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Casey Wethington - Jacob Robertson Bullitt Central HS 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Garrett White - Tanner McClain Rhea County High 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Garrett Whitney - Drake Speakman Cullman HS 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
219 Ryan Wood - Jackson Drake Hanceville HS 0 0 0- 0 0 0 0- 0 0.00
Name City,State Lbs-Oz
BIG BASS
Day
1 Wyatt Sauder - Micah Ford Vonore, TN 6- 4

by AnglersChannel

Rob Lee and Steve Winslett win 2018 Alabama Bass Trail Lake Martin


by Dan O’Sullivan

March 24, 2018 – Alexander City, Ala. – One thing Alabama Bass Trail anglers can count on from a stop at Lake Martin is consistency.  The Central Alabama, Tallapoosa River impoundment is going to produce ample limits of respectable bass.  In two previous stops in ABT competition, Lake Martin produced winning weights in the 15 to 26-pound class and it took 10 pounds to get the last paycheck in 40th place.

Not this year.

Thanks to warm conditions that saw Lake Martin on the verge of full scale spawn, the weights increased throughout the 225 boat field during the second stop of the 2018 Alabama Bass Trail’s Southern Division schedule.

Leading that charge were the team of Rob Lee and Steve Winlett, local anglers who banked on isolated bedding fish as their strategy.  The plan worked to the tune of a 20.38-pound limit of Lake Martin largemouth bass that earned them the victory and the $10,000 winner’s purse, along with a slot in this year’s Alabama Bass Trail Championship in October.

The pair said they committed to the program despite the fact that finding spawners wasn’t easy.  “These fish were not easy to locate, and they were single fish in isolated pockets,” they said.  “We found seven or eight fish that we felt would help us, we never thought that we would catch most of them.”

Armed with the location of their prey, Lee and Winslett ran to the first fish following takeoff, and caught it on the first cast.  They ran six miles to the next one; which they caught on their second cast to that particular fish.  They made another six to seven mile run, and caught the third fish on their next cast.  “We made four casts and had nearly 12 pounds in the boat,” they said.  “We tried for three hours before getting two small spotted bass to fill our limit, which we culled out later with more bed fish.”  They reported catching their fish on a homemade floating minnow plug, a wacky rigged Crème Scoundrel floating worm in Natural color and a tube.”

The second place team of Charlie Williams and Michael Smith spent their morning fishing a shaky head to get a limit of spotted bass, then spent the afternoon culling those fish out by throwing wacky and Flick Shake rigged green pumpkin Yamamoto Senkos around boat docks.  “We had a great day, and caught a lot of fish,” they said.  “We did enough to win on most any other day here, and got beat by a really big day; we are really happy with our finish.”  The pair weighed 16.83 pounds and earned $5,000 for their day.  They also earned the $500 Mountain Dew Big Bass of the Day bonus for their 6.45-pound kicker largemouth.

The team of Myles Palmer and B.J. Barnett finished third with 15.59-pounds, good for 44,000 in tournament payout.  However, their total haul for the day was bolstered by a $125 AFTCO clothing bonus, a $250 Alabama Bass Trail gear bonus and a $1000 America’s First Credit Union bonus for financing the purchase of their boat through America’s First Federal Credit Union. The additional ABT bonus programs brought their total earnings to nearly $6,000.

The Top 10 Standings for Lake Martin are below, for complete standings visit: http://www.alabamabasstrail.org/tournament-series/lm-results/

Place Anglers Weight Big Fish Winnings
1 Rob Lee / Steve Winslett 20.38 5.15 $10,000
2 Charlie Williams / Michael Smith 16.83 6.45 $5,000
3 Myles Palmer / B.J. Barnett 15.59 $4,000
4 Chris Rutland / Coby Carden 14.48 5.96 $3,000
5 David Sherrill / Dennis Sherrill 14.46 $2,000
6 Marty Giddens / Josh Stracner 14.24 $1,500
7 Warren Hoffman / Ben Weldon 14.1 $1,100
8 Joey Aderhold / Jonathan Collins 14.01 $1,100
9 Nicholas Turner / Joe Lay 13.79 $1,100
10 Deandrae Kimbrough / Verneille (Bo) Quinney 13.77 $1,100

by AnglersChannel

Jones Wins Final Day Tie Breaker to Claim FLW Costa Series SW event om Grand Lake!

March 24, 2018

Given the countless variables tournament fishing presents, consistency stands essential for success in a multi-day event. Just ask Christopher Jones, who edged Jeff Sprague in a tiebreaker victory at the Costa FLW Series Southwestern Division event on Grand Lake. The tournament was presented by Ranger Boats and hosted by the City of Grove.

According to FLW tournament rules, ties on day three will be resolved by day-two standings. Both anglers finished with 47 pounds, 3 ounces, but Jones and Sprague placed fourth and fifth, respectively, on the tournament’s second day. Jones was declared the winner.

Fishing the mid-lake area, Jones mostly targeted secondary pockets inside large creeks. He caught his fish on a 1/2-ounce chartreuse and white BOOYAH spinnerbait with a No. 5 gold Colorado blade and a 3 1/2-inch YUM Pulse Swimbait trailer.

“I was slow-rolling the bait behind the docks,” Jones says. “A lot of them were suspended under the dock cables and on the corners of the docks. I didn’t even waste my time on the fronts of the docks. I’d kick the trolling motor on high and go around to another dock. I burned my trolling motor batteries to the ground every day.”

While it took several dozen docks to amass his winning weight, Jones says one particular structure played a key role.

“I had a place where years ago I caught a 5-pounder, and about four years ago, in a BFL, I had four fish that weighed 13 pounds [off that dock],” he says. “Yesterday, I caught my big one [a 6-pounder] on it, and today I laughed and told my co-angler, ‘I can’t go by this dock without fishing it.’

“So, we ran over there, and the wind was blowing on it from the north. The wind was blowing on it from the south yesterday, so I fished the other side today and caught a 3-pounder. The next cast, I caught a 6-pounder. So on that special dock I caught three of my keepers this week. It’s just one of those special places.”

Jones says he spent a little time each day on a stretch of main-lake riprap where he caught a couple of keepers on an umbrella rig. He used a YUM YUMbrella Flash Mob Jr. with 3 1/2-inch YUM Pulse Swimbaits.

This week presented a mix of weather conditions that followed a significant cold spell a couple of weeks before the tournament. Day one started cold and relatively calm, with a strong warming trend coinciding with big southwest winds on day two. The final round brought more warmth, but a little less wind from the north.

“It was basically the perfect storm because the changing conditions and all the cold weather we had kept them from starting to bite and kept a bunch of guys from catching them,” Jones says. “That kept a lot of non-locals from figuring them out.

“The fish are there, and they’re set up [for their spawning movement]. The water temperature hit 60 today about 1 o’clock, and they started biting.”

Jones’s daily weights were 12-1, 17-8 and 17-10. He caught limits the latter two days, but started with a deficit by falling a fish short of his day-one limit.

“I thought I’d totally lost it on Thursday when I caught four fish,” Jones says. “But those were the four bites I had. I caught everything that bit this week, except for today; I lost one that was 4 1/2 or 5 pounds over a dock cable. It was just one of those weeks when everything went right.”

TOP 10 PROS

1. Christopher Jones – Bokoshe, Okla. – 47-3 (14) – $88,700

2. Jeff Sprague – Point, Texas – 47-3 (12) – $16,600

3. Troy O'Rourke – Natchitoches, La. – 44-15 (14) – $12,500

4. Toby Hartsell – Afton, Okla. – 36-1 (13) – $10,800

5. Blaine Covington – Fort Worth, Texas – 36-1 (10) – $9,500

6. Sheldon Collings – Grove, Okla. – 34-5 (11) – $8,550

7. Kevin Ledoux – Choctaw, Okla. – 33-6 (11) – $7,200

8. Curt Warren – Rose, Okla. – 33-5 (10) – $6,200

9. Colby Miller – Elmer, La. – 32-15 (9) – $5,200

10. Jeff Reynolds – Calera, Okla. – 28-7 (8) – $4,100

by AnglersChannel

Warren Makes a Move to the Lead at Grand Lake Costa

March 23, 2018

Grand Lake was not easy today, but it’s starting to show signs of stabilizing, as evidenced by the 20-pound, 6-ounce bag that moved Curt Warren up from 15th place to first with a two-day total of 33-5. He’ll lead the pack on Saturday’s final day at the Costa FLW Series Southwestern Division event on Grand Lake, which is presented by Ranger and hosted by the City of Grove.

“The fish are just moving. I had to follow them and just go fishing today,” Warren says. “I went back to a spot where I caught one of my fish yesterday and caught my biggest fish [5-11] and kind of adjusted from there.”

Morning temperatures that were about 10 degrees higher than Thursday’s bespoke greater potential than the super-tough day one, while windy conditions suggested a good reaction bite. Those factors did seem to spur things along for some anglers, but the day’s overcast skies countered some of that benefit by allowing fish to roam, rather than hold tight to cover as they would in bright sunshine.

Warren opted to keep his details thin, but he noted that the type of habitat he’s fishing holds the key to his success. When prespawners first move up, they can be very particular about their initial staging areas, and the key spots held the right cover in 10 feet or less.

Warren’s ability to identify what that was enabled him to get his baits in front of a group of new arrivals. He says the deduction process took about an hour and a half.

“They started biting around 9:30 this morning,” Warren says. “It took a little while; we had to run around a little before we got rolling with it. After that, they bit all day long. My co-angler caught his biggest fish 20 minutes before we checked in.”

Warren caught his fish flipping a 1/2-ounce Bass-X jig. He says he had to run all over the lake to catch his weight.

“I kind of got on that pattern in practice, and I added to it a little bit today,” Warren says. “That’s just something you have to do up here when it gets tough.”

PHOTO GALLERIES

Day 2 OTW gallery

Day 2 takeoff gallery

TOP 10 PROS

1. Curt Warren – Rose, Okla. – 33-5 (10)

2. Sheldon Collings – Grove, Okla. – 31-8 (10)

3. Colby Miller – Elmer, La. – 30-0 (8)

4. Christopher Jones – Bokoshe, Okla. – 29-9 (9)

5. Jeff Sprague – Point, Texas – 29-1 (7)

6. Troy O'Rourke – Natchitoches, La. – 28-11 (9)

7. Toby Hartsell – Afton, Okla. – 27-15 (10)

8. Blaine Covington – Fort Worth, Texas – 25-3 (7)

9. Kevin Ledoux – Choctaw, Okla. – 24-14 (8)

10. Jeff Reynolds – Calera, Okla. – 24-13 (7)

 

CONSISTENT MEADOR TAKES OVER CO-ANGLER LEAD

When you get the green light, you have to step on the gas, and that’s what Steven Meador did en route to taking over the co-angler division lead with a total of 24-15. Meador, who leads his nearest competitor by 7-9, placed second on day one with 12-15 and added another dozen pounds today thanks to his preferred technique delivering the goods.

“I hadn’t been getting a jig bite, but I finally got it,” Meador says. “I grinded on it all day and got six keepers. I feel like I made a lot of casts, but apparently I only made five good ones.”

Meador ended up fishing classic prespawn banks with larger rock transitioning into gravel, all near a deep-water drop-off. He surmises that he caught mostly males, but he had one 4-pound kicker that was almost certainly an egg-laden female.

“I threw a 1/2-ounce jig, and, depending on how much wind was blowing, I’d rotate between Zoom Chunk trailers and Zoom Baby Brush Hogs,” Meador says. “I threaded my Chunk trailers [as opposed to hanging them] on the hook for a compact profile. Painfully slow was the key. I was counting rocks.”

TOP 10 CO-ANGLERS

1. Steven Meador – Bentonville, Ark. – 24-15 (10)

2. Frank Divis Sr. – Farmington, Ark. – 17-6 (5)

3. James Callaghan – De Berry, Texas – 16-5 (5)

4. Alan Bernicky – Joliet, Ill. – 15-15 (5)

5. Rick Blosser – Tulsa, Okla. – 15-11 (6)

6. Ben Wickham – Ponca City, Okla. – 15-2 (3)

7. Kennith George – Edmond, Okla. – 13-12 (3)

8. Jim Opetaia-Williamson – Dunnellon, Fla. – 12-12 (3)

9. Rich Dalbey – Greenville, Texas – 12-0 (4)

10. Jordan Burks – Joplin, Mo. – 11-4 (6)

by AnglersChannel

Ranger Pro James Niggemeyer - Enjoying Life on the FLW Tour

The FLW Season has gotten off to a great start and I wanted to take some time to update everyone. It is my hope to spend more time blogging this season and sharing what’s happening and from time to time give some updates and tips on the fishing.

On Valentine’s day I drove from my home in Texas to the Ranger plant and picked up my new Ranger Z520L powered by Mercury OptiMax loaded out with my 10ft power poles,  Gator Guard Keelshield and Raymarine electronics. I then started driving to Georgia where I was going take a loop around Lake Lanier when I got to a campground at lake Lanier I put in my Cabela’s x900 batteries and loaded those all in and spent some time making sure everything was working. The next day, I began my drive down to the Harris Chain to begin practice for the 2nd FLW event out of Leesburg, FL.  This year has started like it normally does its been go go go. It was completely pouring raining at home a lot before the FL event and we got like 5 inches of rain. In FL the weather was beautiful with temps in the 80’s. So, it was nice to get some good weather.

I feel like I have really started to settle in to the FLW Tour which is really nice. I am enjoying the extra time on Wednesday during registration day to be off the water and getting the boat ready instead of staying up till 0’dark 30 working on tackle. That helps me to have lots of time to make sure I have everything the way I like it for the tournament. In the evening we have the registration meeting. I really like the extra time not only to get tackle ready, but it gives me time to respond to emails can catch up with any sponsor correspondence and go to the grocery get food for the week. It really just gives everyone a lot more time instead of a rushed pace.

I have also really enjoyed the Meet The Pros events. We had a great attendance of over 400 people at the event at First Baptist Church Umatilla FL where Greg Bohannon, Chase Brooks, Tim Frederick (who won the first FLW Tour Stop), Bill McDonald, Glenn Chappelear were all there. It was great to see everyone and their passion for the outdoors. During this event 53 people made a first-time salvation decision and 56 rededicated their lives to Christ. It was really exciting and that was over ¼ of the people in attendance making a decision.  If you have the opportunity to visit one of the Meet the Pros stops at a future event, please come out and join us. I share on my Facebook page where these events are on the week prior to the event.

I love how the FLW Starts in January and I can get a jump on my bass fishing fix a little earlier than most of the country. I live in a great state where I can fish year-round. However just like everyone else, I get the fishing bug and I am thankful this year get to an early start fishing on the FLW Tour. Prespawn is about to make its way across the country. That is always exciting to me. Fish are starting to act like themselves and not the lethargic things that make us go what in the world are they doing, which is nothing much during the winter.

I just finished the 3rd FLW Stop at Lake Lanier with a top with a top 20 finish. In my next blog I will share a little more about that tournament.

 

by AnglersChannel