Peek Leads Rayovac Championship as field is cut for final round

Richard Peek of Centre, Alabama, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Friday weighing 18 pounds, 5 ounces to grab the lead after day two of the Rayovac FLW Series Championship at Wheeler Lake. Peek now holds a 2-pound, 14-ounce lead heading in to the final day of the three-day event, hosted by Florence/Lauderdale Tourism, that features 140 anglers from across the country casting for a top cash award of $50,000 plus a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard if Ranger Cup qualified.

Right behind Peek in second place is veteran pro Chris Baumgardner of Gastonia, North Carolina, who has a two-day weight of 10 bass worth 28-6 as the tournament heads into the third and final day of competition. 

“I was pretty much a phone call away from not even coming to the tournament,” said Peek, whose wife is due to give birth to the couple’s first child this weekend. “But, I decided to come on over and I’m glad I did.

“It’s all about timing right now,” Peek, who just finished his rookie year on the Walmart FLW Tour. “Yesterday I had a good flurry at about 1 o’clock, and I caught three of the fish I weighed-in in that window. Today it happened around 10 a.m. and it was over by 11 a.m., but I caught four of my keepers in six casts.

“The places I’m keying on have a lot of laydowns and structure for them to get in,” Peek continued. “It is all close to creek channels and bends, and I think when the fish pull up to feed you catch them.

“Today, the wind got up after lunch,” Peek added. “I don’t know if I’ll even be able to fish some of my places tomorrow because the waves might be too big.”

Despite the possibility of the wind wreaking havoc with his areas, Peek said that he was optimistic that with fewer boats on the water Saturday he would be able to take advantage of more of his secondary areas to catch fish.

The top 10 boaters advancing to the final day of competition on Wheeler Lake are:

                1st:           Richard Peek, Centre, Ala., 10 bass, 31-4

                2nd:          Chris Baumgardner, Gastonia, N.C., 10 bass, 28-6

                3rd:          Zach Birge, Blanchard, Okla., 10 bass, 28-0

                3rd:          Todd Auten, Lake Wylie, S.C., 10 bass, 28-0

                5th:           George Kapiton, Inverness, Fla., 10 bass, 27-15

                6th:           Randy Haynes, Counce, Tenn., eight bass, 25-12

                7th:           Chevy pro Jay Yelas, Corvallis, Ore., 10 bass, 25-3

                8th:           Chris McCall, Brookeland, Texas, 10 bass, 25-0

                9th:           Casey Gallagher, Pulaski, Wis., 10 bass, 24-8

                10th:        Chevy pro Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 10 bass, 24-3

 

Complete results can be found at FLWOutdoors.com.

 

Overall there were 545 bass weighing 1,105 pounds, 1 ounce caught by 140 boaters Friday. The catch included 87 five-bass limits.

 

Boaters are competing for a top award of $50,000 plus a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard if Ranger Cup guidelines are met. Additionally, 10 boaters will qualify for the 2015 Forrest Wood Cup – the top five tournament finishers as well as the top five finishers from each Rayovac division. The 2015 Forrest Wood Cup will be in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Aug. 20-23 on Lake Ouachita. The winning angler in that event will win $500,000 – professional bass-fishing’s richest prize.

 

Carl Gillespie of Old Hickory, Tennessee, continues to lead the co-angler division with a two-day total of nine bass weighing 19 pounds, 5 ounces followed by James Callaghan of De Berry, Texas, who has a two-day weight of 10 bass worth 17-4 as the tournament heads into the third and final day of competition.

 

 The top 10 co-anglers who will fish day three on Wheeler Lake are:

 

                1st:           Carl Gillespie, Old Hickory, Tenn., nine bass, 19-5

                2nd:          James Callaghan, De Berry, Texas, 10 bass, 17-14

                3rd:          Ryan Bowman, Seneca, S.C., nine bass, 16-7

                4th:           Casey Smith, Musella, Ga., 10 bass, 16-5

                5th:           Randy Gardner, Wetumpka, Ala., six bass, 15-11

                6th:           Corey Bechtel, Macungie, Pa., nine bass, 15-8

                7th:           Brett Rachal, Monroe, La., 10 bass, 15-5

                8th:           Randy Forbes, Pleasant Plain, Ohio, seven bass, 15-3

                9th:           Brandon Bray, Marble Falls, Texas, 10 bass, 15-2

                10th:        Justin Sward, Birmingham, Ala., 10 bass, 15-0

 

Full results are available at FLWOutdoors.com.

 

Co-anglers are casting this week for a top award of a Ranger Z117 with 90-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and $5,000 if Ranger Cup guidelines are met. Additionally, 10 co-anglers will qualify for the 2015 Forrest Wood Cup – the top five co-angler finishers as well as the top five finishing co-anglers from each Rayovac division.

 

Anglers will take off from Joe Wheeler State Park located at 4601 McLean Drive in Rogersville at 7:30 a.m. Saturday. Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at Walmart located at 2701 Cloverdale Road in Florence beginning at 4 p.m.

 

Fans will also be treated to the FLW Expo at Walmart on Saturday from 3–4 p.m. prior to the final weigh-in. The Expo includes a casting pool, interactive games and activities provided by sponsors, and fans can learn more about the sport of fishing and other outdoor activities. The first 200 fans in attendance will also receive a $5 Walmart gift card courtesy of KIX 96. All activities are free and open to the public.

 

For complete details and updated information visit FLWOutdoors.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow FLW on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWOutdoors.


David Wright and Jeff Coble win the Anglers Choice Marine TT NC Div Classic-Full Results and Pictures here!

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Local Anglers David Wright and Jeff Coble conquered High Rock Lake this weekend during the 2 day Classic for the NC Division of the Anglers Choice Marine Team Trail. Their 2 day total won by almost 3 Lbs, as they brought in a solid 32.92 Lbs and went home with a brand new Triton 189 TRX with a 150 Merc pkg!! 78 teams showed up to compete for this years classic..............congrats to all and full results are attached at the bottom.

 

 

Jeff Coble and David Wright all Smiles Sun Afternoon! 

Jeff Coble and David Wright all Smiles Sun Afternoon!

 

Jeff Coble and David Wright celebrate their big win! 

Jeff Coble and David Wright celebrate their big win!

 

2nd Place finishers Mike Layton and Scooter Lilley 

2nd Place finishers Mike Layton and Scooter Lilley

 

Scooter Lilley displays his solid catch! 

Scooter Lilley displays his solid catch!

 

3rd Place team of Dennis Gilbert and Bobby Crisman 

3rd Place team of Dennis Gilbert and Bobby Crisman

 

Day 2 Bf Winners Travis Owen and Tommy Milem 

Day 2 Bf Winners Travis Owen and Tommy Milem

 

One more shot of this years Champs with the team from Anglers Choice Marine! 

One more shot of this years Champs with the team from Anglers Choice Marine!

 

 

 


Tom's Marine 2014 Team Trail Classic Wrap Up With Director Richard Mcmaster

Tom's Marine Team Trail Director Richard McMaster joins us for the last time as this is the final tournament for Tom's Marine. Next year will bring a new foremat called the Tennessee Team Trail which will include more dealers and lakes for all the anglers to fish. Richard has run one of the finest team trails in the nation-here are some of his thoughts.


Tom's Marine Classic Champs Clifford Bunch and Paul Napier talk after their big 2 day win!!

What a tremendous finish for this years Tom's Marine Team Trail Classic Champions Clifford Bunch and Paul Napier...........they caught their last fish with about 7 minutes to go and won by 30/100 of a Lb! Both anglers talk about their big win and the Smallmouth factor that helped them reel in their new Ranger Boat!!


Paul Napier and Clifford Bunch win the 2014 Toms Marine TT Classic on Cherokee-Full Results here!

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On a spectacular last weekend of October, Tom's Marine TT held its annual Classic with a 2 day event starting out on Douglas Lake Sat and concluding on Cherokee lake Sun. Blue bird skies and mid 70's temps made the fishing more than a little challenging, but the quality fish that were caught were fantastic. For those that don't know, Douglas and Cherokee have some of the best Smallmouth in the land (pics below). When your champions weigh-in 5 fish and 4 are large smallmouth, this is not your normal bass fishery. Paul Napier and Clifford Bunch hauled in 13+ on Sat and came back with a 14+ LB bag Sunday on Cherokee for a 27.66 Lb Total with some of the prettiest 4+ Lb Smallmouth you've ever seen. They took home a $40,000 Ranger Z119C with a 200 HP Mercury VS for their efforts! Coming in 2nd and only 1/4 Lb behind was Guy Siler and Brian Holt with 27.36, so there was no margin for error! Full results are attached and pictures below of the top 5 and some weigh-in shots. Congrats to the anglers, Tom's Marine, and director Richard McMaster on running his last weigh-in for Tom's Marine TT. Next year will bring the Tenn Team Trail with a combination of 3 dealers and more lakes. Great job by all look fwd to 2015!!

 

Tom's Marine Classic Champs Clifford Bunch and Paul NapierTom's Marine Classic Champs Clifford Bunch and Paul Napier

 

Part of the Champs Smallmouth Haul Sunday! 

Part of the Champs Smallmouth Haul Sunday!

 

Tom's Marine Classic 2nd Place Team of Guy Siler and Brian HoltTom's Marine Classic 2nd Place Team of Guy Siler and Brian Holt

 

Tom's Classic 3rd Place team of Allen Smith and Josh RoarkTom's Classic 3rd Place team of Allen Smith and Josh Roark

 

Tom's Marine Classic 4th place team of Michael Livesay and Robert Jones!Tom's Marine Classic 4th place team of Michael Livesay and Robert Jones!

 

Tom's Marine Classic 5th place tie of Dwight and Bill Bales: and Gary Pilkenton and Tim SmileyTom's Marine Classic 5th place tie of Dwight and Bill Bales: and Gary Pilkenton and Tim Smiley

 

Tom's Marine Classic Day 2 Big Large Mouth winning TeamTom's Marine Classic Day 2 Big Large Mouth winning Team

 

Tom's Marine Classic Day 2 Big Smallmouth WinnersTom's Marine Classic Day 2 Big Smallmouth Winners

 

Tom's Marine Classic Big LMB at weigh-in!Tom's Marine Classic Big LMB at weigh-in!

 

Tom's Marine Classic Father-Son LMB at Weigh-in!Tom's Marine Classic Father-Son LMB at Weigh-in!


Lew's Expands Springfield, MO Facility

Lew's has announced plans for a new $3.5M corporate headquarters and consolidated distribution center in Springfield, Mo. A public groundbreaking ceremony for the 58,000 sq. ft. facility is scheduled for Friday, October 31, at 1 p.m., with Lew's personnel hosting the event and a number of professional anglers participating, including David Fritts, Wally Marshall and Kevin Short.

 

"Springfield is a growing city in the middle of the country, and it's home," said Lew's CEO Lynn Reeves. "We're close to our customers, and close to our roots. When we began looking to the future of the company, that's what really counted."

 

Lew's, a legendary fishing brand known for its quality rods, reels and accessories, moved to Springfield in 2009 with a change in ownership and has been on a rapid growth climb ever since under the leadership of industry veterans Reeves and Gary Remensnyder. The new facility will more than double current space and better serve present business needs and allow for future growth. At least five new jobs will result from the expansion, adding to Lew's current workforce of 26.

 

Chamber staff and partners at the City of Springfield have worked with Lew's executives to facilitate the expansion and help them access local property tax abatement. Local-based Morelock-Ross Builders is leading the construction.

 

The Lew's site is located on land north of Partnership Industrial Center, conveniently situated near the I-44 and U.S. Route 65 intersection northwest of Springfield. The address for Friday's ceremony is 3031 N. Martin Ave.

 

Lew's sells its fishing tackle products to a variety of independent retailers, wholesalers and major national accounts across the country, including Academy Sports, Cabela's, Dick's Sporting Goods, Gander Mountain, Mills Fleet Farm, Sportsman's Warehouse, Tackle Warehouse and Wal-Mart. The brand also continues to steadily increase its distribution in international markets.

 

For more information on Lew's history, products and pro staff, visit www.lews.com.


Doug Webster wins the Oakley Big Bass on Guntersville with a 7.81 LB Kicker!! Full Results here-

Congrats to Doug Webster and his $30,000 pay day on Guntersville with this 7.81 LB Monster below! Oakley Big Bass is one of the top if not the top hourly payout tournament series in the country. Here is the pic of our winner and top 10 below that:

Leaders

Rank Angler Weight
1 DOUG WEBSTER 7.81
2 ROBERT ABERNATHY SR 7.29
2 DANNY THOMAS 7.29
4 EUBA SHELNUTT 7.24
5 CLINT HARRISON 6.96
5 THERON LIVINGSTON 6.96
7 ROGER BRANCH 6.94
8 JOSH JACKSON 6.92
9 JESSE RIGSBY 6.73
10 DAVE HEATH 6.72

 

 

 

 


Howell Tops Walker In First-Ever B.a.s.s. Brawl

Randy Howell caught one bass that weighed 0.39 pounds. It was all he needed to beat David Walker in the first-ever football-themed B.A.S.S. Brawl on the Tennessee River near Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, TN.

The socring rules award 7 points for first bass caught, 7 points for biggest bass, and 3 points every bass caught. So in a 'defensive struggle' the Classic Champ bested his buddy by a score of 17-0.

Howell represented the University of Alabama and Walker represented the Tennessee Volunteers - the two schools play each other in gridiron action this Saturday.

The anglers fished for 2 hours, the first out of Walker's boat wherein Howell was a co-angler, and the 2nd from Howell's boat at which time he ran the trolling motor and chose fishing locations (within the fairly limited boundaries of the 'playing field').

The action was steamed live on Bassmaster.com. Pretty cool concept!


Sportsman's Warehouse Fall Hunting And Fishing Update With Mgr Craig Baird

Sportsman's Warehouse is the place to be this fall with more hunting inventory than you've ever seen! Coolers galore and as always, plenty of top quality fishing gear. Join us as we get a full hunting update from Mgr Craig Baird!


Collegiate Fishing Makes Ny Times Article

Slide Show|14 Photos

Suiting Up for the Bass Fishing Team

Suiting Up for the Bass Fishing Team

CreditGreg Kahn for The New York Times

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MARBURY, Md. — Before daybreak one drizzly October morning, 44 boats representing 31 colleges organized themselves around a marina at Mattawoman Creek, a tributary of the Potomac River. Light from the GPS navigation systems was all that illuminated the faces of the drivers, who wore wool caps and camouflage hoodies.

By 7 a.m., after a recited prayer and a playing of the national anthem, the teams were off, zipping across the water to their fishing spots.

The winning team would take home $4,000, a handsome sum, at least by the standards of college students. The top 10 teams would automatically advance to a national championship tournament in April with a grand prize of $30,000. And unlike contestants in events sanctioned by the N.C.A.A., many of the participants could not only accept the earnings but also do what they wanted with them: invest in equipment, support future fishing teams or buy whatever they desired, be that textbooks or beer.

Given that approach, those looking for a glimpse of what college sports might look like when athletes can collect paychecks might find a template in the teams that are traversing the nation’s rivers and streams rather than those on fields or courts.

Photo

SUNY Plattsburgh teammates Ricky Lee, left, and Brendan Bolis, right, haul in a fish during the FLW College Fishing Northern Conference Invitational. Credit Greg Kahn for The New York Times

 

As the N.C.A.A. works to reform its rules amid severe criticism that they are outdated and that they exploit the athletes who play the games, it has taken steps, sometimes grudgingly, to loosen its grip on the administering of athletics. In August it voted overwhelmingly to give its five most powerful conferences greater autonomy to make their own rules, a move that could pave the way for amateur athletes to receive a portion of the enormous revenue that college programs take in.

The college fishing circuit — outside the N.C.A.A. umbrella and administered by various fishing-tournament organizations — has grown to include more than 600 registered clubs, from about 90 in 2009, and these clubs have gotten serious. Many have sponsors who outfit them with boats and gear or pay for lodging, and some teams are actively recruiting high school anglers. Others have full-time coaches. At least two colleges now offer scholarships.

And without the N.C.A.A.’s involvement in the sport, college anglers can compete alongside professionals, win prize money and return to the classroom without any consequences.

“It’s kind of evolved into a nice counter to what the N.C.A.A.’s quote-unquote stated mission is,” said David Ridpath, an assistant professor of sports administration at Ohio University and the president-elect of the Drake Group, which pushes for educational reform in college athletics. “Here you have college kids competing, earning money. I’m sure their academics aren’t much different from others that are out there. They’re not corrupted by the money.”

And there is money out there. The winner of last April’s college fishing national championship, the University of Minnesota, won the $30,000 prize and was entered into the Forrest Wood Cup, a top professional tournament, in August for an opportunity to win $500,000. The Bassmaster Classic, a competition organized by a different league, the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society, typically airs on ESPN and has an overall purse worth about $1 million, up for grabs to any participant, college or professional.

Photo

Adrian College's fishing team has a promotional poster. Credit Holly Smith/Adrian College

 

Some college fishing teams are more akin to a Frisbee club, with only a few members. But many teams have dozens of anglers, including Penn State’s, which has 45. Most simply have club status and operate outside the purview of a college’s athletic department.

Each club’s bylaws dictate what teams can do with the money they earn, and often it is redistributed back into a general pool of funds. But Brett Warrick and Sid Hoover, teammates on Ohio State’s club team, said they could keep a portion of whatever they earned.

The Buckeyes’ football program, on the other hand, generates close to $60 million every year, according to Forbes, and the football players are prohibited from reaping any financial benefit for their effort.

College fishing has caught hold in part because competitors are chasing the prize money, but also because sponsors, as well as the professional fishing circuits, are trying to entice younger participants to the sport.

“It just went beyond what we could imagine,” said Kevin Hunt, director of tournament operations for F.L.W. College Fishing, which began in 2009. “When you’re in that circuit, you know who the big man is. These guys are competitive — they walk around with their chest pumped out. It’s just like football and basketball.”

Photo

Travis Riley, left, and Seth Winslow made up one of three teams from Christopher Newport, a university in Newport News, Va. Credit Greg Kahn for The New York Times

 

F.L.W. College Fishing, run by Fishing League Worldwide, which organizes the college national championship, is one of three groups that primarily run college fishing; the others are Bassmaster College Series, run by BASS, and Cabela’s Collegiate Bass Fishing Series, run by the Association of Collegiate Anglers. Each circuit has its own rules and tournament structures, and most college teams can fish in any of the circuits whenever they can.

When administrators at Adrian College in Michigan, an N.C.A.A. Division III program in other sports, decided to initiate a bass fishing team last winter, they went all out. They hired a full-time coach, Seth Borton, and enlisted top-line sponsors like Ranger boats and Mercury motors to put together one of the nation’s finest fleets. They even designed merchandise, Borton said, and sold out more than 140 T-shirts bearing the logo for Bulldogs bass fishing in weeks.

“There’s 100 percent an opportunity for us to bring in funds, for sure,” Borton said, adding, “The team essentially becomes a product that you’re able to sell.”

According to Hunt, a handful of colleges have begun offering scholarship money to top anglers, including Bethel University in McKenzie, Tenn. There, Coach Garry Mason oversees the fishing program, five bass boats, close to a dozen major sponsors and a pool of applicants that has grown to the point that he has been forced to turn people away.

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Hey Mom and Dad,Thanks for the tuition money over the last four years. Have had a blast and Saturday I graduate with by BA degree! The...

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“I’m attracting students from all over the country,” Mason said.

Photo

Teams drop their boats in the water before sunrise during the competition. Credit Greg Kahn for The New York Times

 

On a recent rainy and raw Saturday here, anglers strategized in boats near the docks at Mattawoman Creek, about 35 miles south of Washington. There was much to consider: When was high tide? What was the water temperature? What did the local fishing reports say?

It was easy to forget they were college students until the team from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry tried to determine whether fish liked rap music.

“Keeps the mood up when we’re not catching anything,” Jacob Ball, a freshman, said as the lyrics from Dr. Dre’s “Keep Their Heads Ringin’ ” played softly from an onboard stereo.

Teams came from as far as Portland, Me., and Kalamazoo, Mich., and many competitors brought textbooks.

“I’ve got my laptop, I’ve got all my books, folders, notebooks, all of it back at the hotel,” said Ronnie Penders, a junior on the University at Buffalo team.

Day 1 of the Maryland tournament unfolded without a hiccup, and a crowd gathered at the water’s edge to watch the teams motor back into the marina as the clock ticked toward the cutoff time. The teams then carried their bounty up a small hill to the parking lot, where a truck’s trailer, complete with a stage and video board, served as a weigh-in station.

The national anthem was played for a second time. Aloe Blacc’s self-congratulatory sports anthem, “The Man,” was cranked up as the anglers — carrying bags of fish — approached the stage one by one. West Virginia University led after the first round with 16.7 pounds and went on to win the tournament the next day.

“That’s the deal,” Hunt said to the crowd. “Whether it’s top 15, top 10, or they win the whole thing, these guys are wanting to be the man.”


Airport Marine High School Team Trail Registration Underway

 

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THIS SATURDAY

October 25th

Millers Ferry, Selma City Landing

 

AIRPORT MARINE

HIGH SCHOOL TEAM TRAIL

1.  Fishing one tournament will qualify you for the CLASSIC.

2.  Two kids from the 6th through the 12th grade (public school, private school, home school) with a captain 21 years or older is a TEAM (Nothing else required)

Guaranteed in Each Tournament

 

$3,500.00 in scholarship money, a 1 in 6 pay back plus up to $7,500.00 in Triton Gold

 

$1,000.00 First Place, $1,000.00 to the highest finisher with a permanent Airport Marine logo on their shirts, $1,000.00 to their school, and $500.00 cash to the captain if in a qualified boat or a $500.00 gift certificate toward a new boat.

 

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Are Eligible

(High School, Private School, Homeschool, etc,)

 

Please visit our website for more details & registration.

 


Cashion Rods End Of Year Team Trail Qualifier #7 Results - Shearon Harris - Oct 11, 2014

Teaser image:

1st Place: Scott Woodson & Austin Randall of Fuquay Varina...5 bass...34.10 lbs...$8651st Place: Scott Woodson & Austin Randall of Fuquay Varina...5 bass...34.10 lbs...$865

A record was just broken for Piedmont Bass Classics (as far back as I can remember) in the Cashion Fishing 
Rods 'End of Year' Team Tournament Bass Fishing Trail Qualifier #7 at Shearon Harris this past Saturday! 27 teams showed up on just a perfect day! The weather was beautiful! Air temps were about 68 in the am and 
around 84 in the afternoon. The wind was light and variable up to 15 mph at times. Water temps averaged 73 
degrees. The most fish were caught shallow early on but once the sun popped out most were caught suspended 
in 20' of water. Crankbaits, plastics, spinnerbaits, swimbaits, Rat-L Traps and Topwater took their toll on the 
rest of the fish.
Scott Woodson & Austin Randall, both of Fuquay Varina brought in the heaviest bag of 5 bass I remember 
seeing in our PBC events over the years, 34.10 lbs.! They took 1st Place, 1st Place Big Fish (7.21) & TWT for a 
grand total of $1,663. 

Jaime Fajardo & Josh Hooks, Harris regulars, took 2nd Place & 2nd Place TWT with 5 
bass weighing 24.25 lbs. Tony Woodard & Scott Smith had 2nd Place Big Fish at 5.51. Jaime Fajardo also won 
the Tow Boats US Member Award of $50.
54 bass were weighed in for a total of 165 pounds. This averaged a little over 3 lbs. a fish and most looked 
healthy. This was our last event at Harris for 2014, but we'll be back in February 2015 to get back at those 
hawgs!
I want to thank all the anglers that participated and all our sponsors that support these trails. Our next 
tournament will be the 
Cashion Fishing Rods 'End of Year' Team Tournament Bass Fishing Trail Final Qualifier 
#8, Saturday, October 25th at Falls Lake out of Ledge Rock Wildlife Ramp.
All the information on our tournaments can be found at http://piedmontbassclassics.com/

Now here are the full results:

1st Place: Scott Woodson & Austin Randall of Fuquay Varina...5 bass...34.10 lbs...$865
2nd Place: Jaime Fajardo & Josh Hooks of Fuquay Varina...5 bass...24.25 lbs...$497
3rd Place: Thomas Sheffer & Ken McNeill of Cary & Raleigh...5 bass...15.62 lbs...$345
4th Place: Todd Sumner & Mike Dinterman of Southern Pines & Oxford...5 bass...13.99 lbs...$259
5th Place: Shane Burns & Rick Ohlson of Durham & Garner...5 bass...9.83 lbs...$194

2nd Place: Jaime Fajardo & Josh Hooks of Fuquay Varina...5 bass...24.25 lbs...$4972nd Place: Jaime Fajardo & Josh Hooks of Fuquay Varina...5 bass...24.25 lbs...$4971st Place Big Fish: 1st Place Team above...7.21 lbs...$378
2nd Place Big Fish: Tony Woodard & Scott Smith of Four Oaks & Apex...5.51 lbs...$162

1st Place TWT: 1st Place Team above...34.10 lbs...$420
2nd Place TWT: 2nd Place Team above...24.25 lbs...$180

Tow Boats US Award: Jaime Fajardo of Fuquay Varina: $50

Contact Information:
Phil McCarson...Tournament Director---922 Valetta Rd.---Durham, NC 27712
Home: 919-471-1571 Cell: 919-971-5042
email: 
[email protected] website: http://piedmontbassclassics.com


Georgia Bulldog Team Ready To Tackle Lake Chickamauga In Southeastern Conference Tournament

Will Treadwell and Byron Kenney, members of the University of Georgia Bass Fishing Team

Things did not go well at first when Will Treadwell and Byron Kenney hooked up as a team for the University of Georgia Fishing Team.

“We struggled the first couple of tournaments,” said Treadwell who, like Kenney, had fished with another teammate before this year. “We got a new boat and took off the lower unit at Okeechobee. It seemed like something was trying to bring us down at each tournament.”

But, Treadwell said, he and Kenney never lost faith.

“We knew it would turn around. It was cold early in the year. We said we have just got to get to summer.”

And once they did, everything turned around in a big time way. During a magical week in May they won back to back major collegiate tournaments on the Tennessee River – the FLW College Fishing Southeastern Conference tournament on Lake Guntersville May 17 and then the BoatUS Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship on Pickwick Lake May 22-23.

The Bulldog duo is headed to another Tennessee River impoundment – Lake Chickamauga – this Saturday and Sunday to compete in FLW Collegiate Southeastern Conference Invitational. Forty-five college teams have qualified for this event and will be competing for a top award of $4,000 and a berth in the 2015 FLW College Fishing National Championship.

“Fishing on Chickamauga is tough right now,” Treadwell said. “It's not taking much in local tournaments to win.”

Treadwell and Kenney practiced on Chickamauga this past weekend but Treadwell had to return for class this week while Kenney, who has already graduated, continued to practice.

“The biggest thing will be trying to figure out if there is a pattern,” said Treadwell, who is in his final semester at Georgia.”We fished out deep and caught some fish, but not enough to win. All the big fish we caught came out of the grass. Sometimes you just have to get on the right stretch of grass.”

Both anglers are fairly familiar with Chickamauga, having fished several tournaments there in the past.

“He has figured some things out already and in a couple of days I will be up there and we will figure some more out together,” said Treadwell. “We can easily get on a winning pattern at Chickamauga and we are going to make that effort. Fishing shallow or fishing a frog, we are pretty confident.”

Treadwell, of Buford, Ga., is working on his degree in criminal justice, but hopes to find his way in the fishing business, either competing or working in the industry. He already has a leg up on his hopes, working with ALX Rods (http://www.alxrods.com) in Aiken, S.C., as head of the company's program to support high school and college anglers.

The ALX Rods “School ‘N’ Fish Program” (http://www.alxrods.com/high-schoolcollege-program/) has been designed to help younger anglers obtain quality, US assembled ALX Rods through their team affiliations while offering support regarding the business side of fishing.

Kenney, who graduated in May with a degree in agricultural business, works with his father which gives him the flexibility to practice for tournaments. The Griffin, Ga., angler plans to fish the Bassmaster Opens.

“He has a pro fishing dream” said Treadwell of his teammate. “He has the potential to make it a long way.”

 

FLW College Fishing – Southeastern Division

Oct 18-19, 2014

Lake Chickamauga

Chester Frost Park

www.flwoutdoors.com

 


Major Sponsor Sought To Boost Payout, Participation In Special Olympics/north Shelby School Tournament

In the seven years the North Shelby School Tournament for Special Olympics has been held on Lake Norman, the annual event has raised over $144,000 for Special Olympics at the school, but tournament director Ricky Peace would like to do much, much more.

“The Special Olympics of Cleveland County (N.C.) is housed in a school called the North Shelby School,” Peace explained. “The school gets funding, but the Special Olympics side does not so that have to raise money every year. All the teachers, the volunteers, the staff, coaches, everyone, gives up their weekends to get out and do fund-raising. They work with the kids at school all week long and then on weekends they do car washes, cake sales and other fund-raising to meet their budget needs.”

Peace said the tournament grew out of a small fishing club at the Eaton Corporation where he works. Once the club members decided to hold the tournament to benefit Special Olympics the company provided financial support and the first year the tournament raised $14,400.

The tournament really took off once some of the top names in bass fishing from around the area began fishing in it – and helping find good sponsors, Peace said. The tournament raises funds for Special Olympics and for the North Shelby School which specializes in serving children with special needs.

“We are making more money for the organization,” Peace said. “this year our company has put in some corporate money. That did not change anything this year, but we are hoping that may change things around some next year with corporate support.”

The key to growth, he said, is to raise the level of prize money and increase the number of places that earn prize money. To take that next step, he said, he needs to find some major corporate support.

“I keep trying. I call these people with different organizations, different dealers, trying to get them on board. I'm not affiliated with the fishing industry, however, just an average guy working in a factory.”

There is hope, however, he noted. Bass Pro Shops in Concord has been a tournament sponsor and this year the general manager, Eric Winter, plans to fish in the tournament.

“He said he wanted to take a look at our tournament and see if there is something there for next year. It would be great if there is because that would be the big break I have been wanting,” Peace said.

What Winter will find, in addition to the bass fishing in Lake Norman, Peace said, is a group of volunteers giving their time and effort to support a local charity that needs financial help.

“We have the best volunteers that come and work. Our whole staff, including the plant manager and the front office staff, will be there at 4 a.m. to help with the tournament.”

The 8th annual Special Olympics/ North Shelby School Benefit Tournament will be held Saturday, Nov. 1, out of Pinnacle Landing on Lake Norman. Entry fee is $100 per team with an optional $10 Big Fish Pot. The total purse, which will be paid through the top 20 places, includes a $2,500 first prize.

 

North Shelby School Tournament for Special Olympics

Sat, Nov 1, 2014

Lake Norman

Pinnacle Access

Call Ricky Peace @ 704-434-7573

[email protected]

 


Weather, Lake Level Could Be Major Factors In Chevy Wild Card On Kentucky-Barkley Lakes

Billy Schroeder will be looking for redemption – and more – in the Walmart Chevy Wild Card tournament on Kentucky-Barkley lakes next week.

“I was 14th in the standings coming into the last tournament – and did not catch a fish,” said Schroeder who lives about a dozen miles from Kentucky Lake Dam and considers the lake his home water. That zero in the BFL qualifier Sept. 20 dropped him to 41st place, but he has a good chance to move on to the 2015 Walmart BFL All-American if he can finish in the top six in the Wild Card.

The tournament three weeks ago conflicted with his job, Schroeder explained. He works for the American Quilters Society (www.americanquilter.com) which conducts competitive quilting shows and that tournament was right between two major shows. The quilting society was created by his father who was close friends with B.A.S.S. founder Ray Scott.

“They traveled together for years and Dad patterned the American Quilters Society after B.A.S.S.,” Schroeder said.

“The last time I fished the lake was in August,” he said. “My friend did fish a two-day tournament last weekend and finished 3rd, so I have some insight as to what's going on with the fish.”

That insight, he said, is sure to help, but the weather could change everything.

“I don't know what all this rain is going to do to the fishing. The lake came up, but it will be falling next week. There was a lot of topwater going on, so I don't know what this will do to the topwater bite. I was hoping they would stay where they were, but I may have to totally regroup. That happens sometimes,” said Schroeder.

Besides the rain, the fall weather fronts moving through the region could bring some high winds and that could change everybody's plans, he said.

I fished the FLW Tour for about four years and fished on Lake Champlain, but Kentucky Lake gets about as rough as any lake you ever saw. The weather will be a factor.”

Schroeder said that while a lot of anglers will be making 80-mile runs down the lake to get to the areas with heavy grass, he plans to stay close to home.

“When I start practicing Saturday I will probably work some of the bigger bays, start shallow and work out to deeper water. I'll probably throw a topwater a lot, a spinnerbait and a jig. Those will be my three main baits. For the tournament I'll throw a buzzbait, a spoon, a half-ounce jig and a half-ounce spinnerbait.”

Even though the changing weather and falling lake level may affect the fishing, Schroeder said there will be a lot of fish caught in the Chevy Wild Card Tournament.

“I think three will be a lot of 12- and 13-pound stringers and then there will be an occasional 20- to 21-pound stringer, maybe a 25-pound stringer. I am thinking it will take about 17 1/2 pounds to make the top 10, so maybe 34 pounds for the two days will be good.”

 

Walmart BFL Chevy Wild Card

Oct 24-25, 2014

Kentucky-Barkley Lakes

Moors Resort & Marina

www.flwoutdoors.com

 


Craig Daniel and Jackie Flack win the 2014 Alabama Bass Trail Championship on Lewis Smith

 

Jasper, Ala. – October 11, 2014 – A little more than a year ago, when the Alabama Bass Trail Tournament Series was announced, anglers from Alabama and the surrounding states leapt at the chance to sign up.  To do so, they had to commit to all five tournaments in their division.  But, with the stated prizes of a Phoenix Boats 619 and Mercury ProXS prize package, many anglers stepped up and did exactly that.  In fact, the northern division filled up very quickly.

Amongst those were the team of Craig Daniel and Jackie Flack, tournament veterans who had proved their mettle over the years all over; but especially on Lewis Smith Lake, the venue for the inaugural Alabama Bass Trail Championship.  Saturday, the pair of anglers proved once again that experience and willingness to continue learning could once again lead to victory.

After taking the day one lead with a stellar 17.74-pound limit on the first day of competition, Daniel and Flack arrived to the scales as the last of 117 teams to weigh-in.  Needing 14.09 pounds to tie, the tension filled the air as the pair’s limit was placed in the ABT water weight scales.  When the scales read 14.74 pounds, the tension was released and the celebration could begin.

“I didn’t think we had enough all days,” said Flack.  “I really thought that we had slipped up and left the door open too much and we wouldn’t win.  When I saw that we had enough, I was relieved.  We signed up for the Alabama Bass Trail because we liked the potential of the payout and competition, and to have a chance to win this event right here; it is an amazing feeling.”

Daniel said that they relied on their knowledge of Lewis Smith Lake, and being able to learn to read the water, and the blueback herring; a non native baitfish in the lake.  “These fish have really adapted to the (presence of the) blueback herring, and you have to be able to take advantage of the activity when they school,” said Daniel.  “We ran a route that took us to Bailey’s Bridge and Back twice both days, and we caught them on a Heddon Super Spook and a Zoom Super Fluke.”

The pair reported using a one-two combination with Daniel working the front of the boat with the Super Spook  topwater bait, and Flack using the Super Fluke soft jerkbait to appeal to spotted bass that were not willing to go all the way to the surface lure.  The anglers reported being able to produce fairly evenly on both baits, saying that there were periods throughout the day when each of them would produce quality strikes.

The pair were rewarded with the first place prize package of a boat, motor, trailer was provided by Phoenix  Boats, with electronics provided by Garmin. The total prize package is valued at $43,000.

The runners up were the team of Josh Aaron and Derrick Roberts who began the final morning in 10th place after a first day limit that weighed 14.76 pounds.  They improved their catch to 17.05 pounds to bring their total weight to 31.81 pounds for the tournament.

The third place team of Jesse and Jordan Wiggins, also locals to Lewis Smith Lake, boated 17.11 pounds on day one to start the tournament in second place, but their day two weight of 14.50 pounds brought their total to 31.61 pounds, and they slipped to third.

Anglers overall reported a tougher bite on the second day of competition, largely in part because of the unstable weather conditions that buffeted the area the afternoon of the first day and overnight into day two.  Despite the difficult conditions, most of the field reported enjoying the lake and the community of Jasper.

CRAIG DANIEL-JACKIE FLACK 32.48
JOSH AARON-DERRICK ROBERTS 31.81
JESSE WIGGINS-JORDAN WIGGINS 31.61
JESTON ANDERSON-ROBBIE ROBINSON 28.55
BENJIE SEABORN-JOHNATHON SEABORN 28.46
BRENT CROW-REX CHAMBERS 28.43
KEITH DEES-TOMMY WALLEY 27.44
MARK MCCAIG-TIM HURST 27.38
LUKE KYLE-ARCH CORNETT 27.37
TERRY PRYOR-TERRELL MANN 26.71
DAVID CAYLOR-ALLEN HAYES 25.84
WILLIAM DAVIS-TIM CUMMINGS 25.76
GREG TUCKER-DILLON TUCKER 25.73
BILLY SHARP-KEVIN STUBBLEFIELD 25.60
JIMMY MASON-LANCE WALKER 25.26
RICKIE KNIGHT-RANDALL CARTER 25.24
HADLEY COAN-SCOTT KEELING 23.95
TRAVIS NORTHEY-MIKE MCDANIEL 23.63
NICHOLAS REEVES-BLAKE HALL 23.25
JAMES HALL-KENNETH ROBINSON 23.05
JOE HARTLEY-JOEY STEWART 22.97
WAYLON HANCOCK-TIMOTHY LITTLE 22.52
SCOTT GIDDENS-PAUL WATSON 22.39
JUSTIN ATKINS-GRANT GALLOWAY 21.42
NICHOLAS TURNER-JOE LAY 20.90
LOWELL EVERETT-LAWRENCE CURD 20.88
BILL MAYO-WALTON ROBERTS 20.86
LEE STEPHENS-AARON STEPHENS 20.72
MIKE DUTTON-HENSLEY POWELL 20.31
TONY PARTON-MARTY GIDDENS 20.30
RAHN HOGELAND-ALLEN GUYSE 19.85
JAMES OSWALT-LINDA OSWALT 19.59
KEVIN DEES-JIM SMITH 19.27
KYLE GLASGOW-JOSH BRAGG 19.16
MICHAEL HARDIN-MIKE HARDIN 18.90
TY CAMPBELL-MARK MEYER 18.88
JUSTIN HAMNER-CHRIS PAYNE 18.82
JIMMY SIMS-BOB LOWERY 18.70
REX CHAMBERS-KEVIN MCMAHAN 18.69
DEREK FOWLER-SHANNON VINSON 18.10
BEN ETHEREDGE-PATRICK CURRIE 18.07
JOHN POLLARD-DALLAS WELDON 17.46
JOSH BUTLER-JEB TATE 17.37
MICHAEL STEVENS JR-PAUL ARNOLD 17.32
JOEY MCCALL-MIKE MCCALL 17.20
CHARLIE CUMMINGS-GREG PUGH 16.89
JEREMY UTLEY-ROBERT BOYD 16.68
SHANE COX-TY COX 16.55
JEREMY CHRISTIAN-LOGAN JOHNSON 16.32
MORGAN BROWN-MICHAEL ROUSH 15.95

Craig Daniel And Jackie Flack, Winners Of The Alambama Bass Trail Championship On Lewis Smith, Talk About Thier Big Win!!

Alabama Bass Trail Champs Craig Daniel and Jackie Flack hold on to win a nail biter Championship event on Lewis Smith lake and take home a $43,000 Boat-Motor-trailer pkg, plus $8250 in CASH!! Click here for their full story on their HUGE WIN!!


Rigid Industries Lighting offering Mail in rebate for 1st time ever this fall!!

Phoenix, AZ – October 6, 2014 - Rigid Industries® LED Lighting, the world’s leader in forward projecting LED lighting via its patented optic systems and torture-tested housing, announces the first ever Rigid Mail-In Rebate Program for consumers. From October 1 to December 31, 2014, Rigid Industries LED Lighting is offering a Rigid Rebate where the customers can earn up to a $100 American Express gift card with proof of purchase.

 

Rigid Industries LED Lighting is thrilled to offer this its customers and dealers around the country.  Look for your local authorized Rigid dealer for the signs, rebate forms and the countertop display with all the details.  The program is simple: Buy a Rigid product (or products) valued at a certain price and fill in all requested information on the rebate from, which is downloadable at www.rigidindustries.com/rebate. Mail in the rebate form with the original retailer receipt and the UPC from the product packaging, and a rebate will be sent directly to the customer.

 

This offer is valid only for Rigid products purchased in the United States and Canada, and valid for US and Canadian residents only. All rebates must be postmarked no later than January 9, 2015.

 

Make your purchase now and reap the rewards with the Rigid Rebate mail-in promotion.

 

About Rigid Industries®: Thanks to its unparalleled patented Hybrid™, Specter™ and Hyperspot™ optics and its torture-tested housings, Rigid Industries® is a world leader in the forward projecting LED lighting industry. Rigid Industries® ranked 316th on the Inc. 500 list for 2014 and ranked as the fastest growing off-road LED lighting manufacturer in America. Rigid LED lighting products can be used in a plethora of applications across industries such as: agriculture, construction, emergency response, industrial, marine, military, mining, and, of course, off-road and power sports. Rigid Industries® is committed to providing top-notch, innovative technologies and always guarantees a quality product which has been designed, engineered, and assembled in the USA. For more information and a comprehensive list of products, visit http://www.rigidindustries.com or follow the company on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.


David Loyd wins the Oakley Big Bass on Douglas Lake-Full results here!

Big weekend for David Loyd on Douglas Lake as he brings in a solid 5.82 Lb fish to win the 9th event of the year for the Oakley Big Bass Trail. David went home with a $30,000 boat-motor-trailer package for his efforts. Congrats to David and all the anglers to showed up to tackle one great lake in East Tennessee!

 

David Loyd and his $30,000 5.82 Lb kicker on Douglas Lake!David Loyd and his $30,000 5.82 Lb kicker on Douglas Lake!

 

 

Leaders

Rank Angler Weight
1 DAVID FLOYD 5.82
2 BART HARRIS 5.73
3 GARY BAKER 5.53
4 CLAUDE SHELTON 5.50
5 RAY SMITH 5.48
6 JEFFERY KIRK 5.46
7 MIKE GOLDEN 5.42
8 MARK OWNBY 5.31
9 BOBBY CARWELL 5.07
10 NICK SEXTON 5.04

FLW has announced the 2015 Rayovac FLW Series schedule

FLW has announced the 2015 Rayovac FLW Series schedule, which will again consist of three events in each of the five divisions – Central, Northern, Southeastern, Texas and Western.
Regarding the no-entry-fee Rayovac FLW Series Championship to be held on the Ohio River in Paducah, Ky.:
“Paducah’s identity was authored by the river,” said Fowler Back, Paducah Convention and Visitors Bureau Sales Director. “The major waterways that surround Paducah are the lifeblood of this community. Our interaction with the river has always included fishing, yet the Ohio River at Paducah remains an overshadowed fishery on a national scale. Hosting the 2015 Rayovac FLW Series Championship in Paducah will bring positive attention to the fishing resources here and our new boat launch will be an excellent portal to make this happen.”
The top 30 pros and co-anglers in the final point standings in each division after three qualifying tournaments will advance to the 2015 Rayovac FLW Series Championship provided they fished all three qualifiers in a division.
“The Ohio River at Paducah is a tremendous fishery,” said FLW Series Tournament Director Ron Lappin. “It is not uncommon for it to take well over 20 pounds to win a single-day tournament there. Anglers who have not fished the river in a few years will be pleasantly surprised with how well it fishes.”
Details of the 2015 are as follows:

 

The highest finishing pro from each of the five Rayovac FLW Series divisions based on final results at the 2015 Rayovac FLW Series Championship qualify for the Forrest Wood Cup along with the top five overall finishers for a total of 10 Rayovac FLW Series pros advancing to the 2016 Forrest Wood Cup for a shot at winning $500,000, the biggest payday in bass fishing.
Entry fees will remain the same – $1,500 per qualifier for pros and $500 per qualifier for co-anglers.
Complete rules and entry dates will be announced soon.
2015 Rayovac FLW Series Schedule
Central Division
April 16-18             Grand Lake, Grove, Okla.
May 7-9                 Kentucky Lake, Gilbertsville, Ky.
Sept. 10-12           Lake Dardanelle, Russellville, Ark.
Northern Division
June 4-6                James River, Henrico, Va.
July 9-11               Lake Champlain, Plattsburgh, N.Y.
Aug. 27-29            Lake Erie, Sandusky, Ohio
Southeastern Division
Jan. 22-24             Lake Okeechobee, Clewiston, Fla.
March 19-21         Lake Guntersville, Guntersville, Ala.
May 21-23             Lake Seminole, Bainbridge, Ga.
Texas Division
Feb. 12-14             Lake Amistad, Del Rio, Texas
April 9-11               Sam Rayburn Reservoir, Brookeland, Texas
April 30-May 2      Lake Texoma, Pottsboro, Texas
Western Division
Feb. 5-7                 Lake Havasu, Lake Havasu City, Ariz.
May 7-9                 California Delta, Bethel Island, Calif.
Sept. 24-26           Clear Lake, Lakeport, Calif.
Rayovac FLW Series Championship
Oct. 29-31             Ohio River, Paducah, Ky.
2015 Rayovac FLW Series Payouts:
Qualifier:
Place      Pro                        Ranger Cup                        Co-angler                            Ranger Cup
1             $40,000                 Ranger Z518C                     Ranger Z117                        $5,000
                                             with 200 HP outboard          with 90 HP outboard
2             $15,500                                                              $5,000
3             $12,000                                                              $4,000
4             $10,000                                                              $3,500
5             $9,000                                                                $3,000
6             $8,000                                                                $2,500
7             $7,000                                                                $2,000
8             $6,000                                                                $1,750
9             $5,000                                                                $1,500
10           $4,000                                                                $1,250
11           $3,750                                                                $1,000
12           $3,500                                                                $1,000
13           $3,000                                                                $1,000
14           $3,000                                                                $1,000
15           $3,000                                                                $1,000
16-20      $3,000                                                                $800
21-25      $2,750                                                                $700
26-30      $2,500                                                                $600
31-40      $2,000                                                                $500
Big Bass: Day 1  $300                                                    $200
Big Bass: Day 2  $300                                                    $200
Entry Fee             $1,500                                                 $500
* Payback is based on the number of paid entries for each tournament.
Strike King Angler of the Year and Co-angler of the Year:
Angler of the Year
$2,000 prize package, including deposits for the 2016 season
Co-angler of the Year
$800 prize package, including deposits for the 2016 season
The top pro and co-angler from the point standings in each division after three events win the Strike King Angler of the Year and Co-angler of the Year titles, respectively.
Rayovac FLW Series Championship:
Place      Pro                        Ranger Cup                        Co-angler                            Ranger Cup
1             $50,000                 Ranger Z518C                     Ranger Z117                        $5,000
                                             with 200 HP outboard          with 90 HP outboard
2             $20,000                 $5,000                                 $9,000
3             $15,000                 $3,500                                 $7,500
4             $12,000                 $2,000                                 $6,000
5             $10,000                 $1,000                                 $5,000
6             $8,000                                                                $4,000
7             $7,000                                                                $3,500
8             $6,000                                                               $3,000
9             $5,000                                                               $2,500
10           $4,500                                                                $2,000
11-15      $4,000                                                                $1,500
16-20      $3,500                                                               $1,000
21-25      $3,000                                                                $900
26-30      $2,500                                                               $800
31-40      $2,000                                                               $700

 


Ben and Brandon Reynolds win the Anglerschoice Marine TT Championship on Smith Mtn

Another 2 day championship slugfest ended with a 2 Lb win for Ben and Brandon Reynolds who hauled in 33.45 over the two days to take home a brand new Ranger Boat-Motor trailer pkg valued at over $35,000!! This is one of the top team trails in the country and proof was in the pudding with 116 teams showing up to compete for all the cash and prizes. Here are the winners and full results attached:

 

Anglers Choice Marine TT Classic Champs all smiles Sunday afternoon!Anglers Choice Marine TT Classic Champs all smiles Sunday afternoon!

 

2nd Place finishers Derik Hudson and Jacob Bumgarner and their solid stringer! 

2nd Place finishers Derik Hudson and Jacob Bumgarner and their solid stringer!

 

 


Bassmaster Southern Open Co-Angler Champion Tyler Boyle Overwhelmed With His 1St Big Win!

Bassmaster Southern Open Co-Angler Champion Tyler Boyle wins the Co-Angler side of this Open and is one of the best on stage interviews of the year...............you can't miss this!


Bassmaster Open Lake Norman Champion Andy Montgomery Takes The Big Prize On Stage!

The marathon 3 day Southern Open on Norman ended in all smiles for Champion Andy Montgomery-watch here as he accepts the trophy and roars from the huge crowd!!


Bassmaster Open Lake Norman Day 3 Weigh-In Andy Montgomery Highlights-Must See!!

Bassmaster Open Champion Andy Montgomery gets emotional on stage as he realizes he will win this Open in front of many friends and family, inlcluding his new 4 week old daughter. This is MUST SEE footage-


Bassmaster Lake Norman Open Day 3 Weigh-In Highlights Right Here

We kick off some weigh-in coverage with Livingston Lures Pro Hank Cherry who went into the final day with a chance to quality for the Classic in 2015............


Andy Montgomery Comes From Behind To With The Bassmaster Open On Lake Norman

In all the years we have covered the rise of Andy Montgomery, never ever have we seen the emotion he displayed on stage Saturday afternoon for Day 3 and the final day of the Bassmaster Open here on Lake Norman. He headed into Sat in 2nd place behind local angler David Williams, who has won MANY, MANY events here on Norman. The weather changed significantly on Sat with blue bird skys and much cooler temps with morning lows in the low 50's. Everyone figured that the weights would be the best of the 3 day event on Sat, but that was hardly the case. The final 12 anglers who made the Sat cut would struggle to get 5 fish no less 10+ lbs. With so much on the line, these final days are critical for those who have to make a charge, maintain, or seperate from the pack. Andy Montgomery, calm, cool, and new father of a 4 week old little girl, strattled up and went out and caught a fairly lean 10-6, giving him 37-10 for the tournament. He knew his strong first two days set him up nicely to win in his backyard for the 1st time in front of his family and new daughter. It was too much for him to hold back. Several times he had to stop and take a breath as he re-capped his day. The crowd was large, many of which were there specifically to see their local Pro take home the championship, and boy did he deliver. Special, special weekend for the Montgovery family.............one we won't forget! Full results and pictures below:

 

Bassmaster Open Lake Norman Champion Andy Montgomery accepts congrats on the big win!Bassmaster Open Lake Norman Champion Andy Montgomery accepts congrats on the big win!

 

Bassmaster Open Lake Norman Champion Andy Montgomery accepts congrats on the big win!Bassmaster Open Lake Norman Champion Andy Montgomery accepts congrats on the big win!

 

Bassmaster Open Lake Norman Champion Andy Montgomery and his OPEN TROPHY! 

Bassmaster Open Lake Norman Champion Andy Montgomery and his OPEN TROPHY!

 

Shane Lehew weighs in his stringer on his way to a solid 4th place finish!Shane Lehew weighs in his stringer on his way to a solid 4th place finish!

 

Elite Series Pro Greg Vinson on stage! 

Elite Series Pro Greg Vinson on stage!

 

Chad Morgenthaler shows off his day on Norman!Chad Morgenthaler shows off his day on Norman!

 

Here are the full results for the 3 day Tournament:

 

Daily Standings

Weight Leader

Andy Montgomery
Blacksburg, SC
Weight: 37-10

Carhartt Big Bass Leader (Daily)

Jordan Lee
Vinemont, AL
Weight: 5-14

Place Name Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Total Fish Total Weight
Fish Weight Fish Weight Fish Weight
1 Andy Montgomery 5 13- 2 5 13-12 5 10-12 15 37-10
2 Richard Howes 5 13-11 5 10- 1 5 12- 6 15 36- 2
3 Ronald Farrow 3 5- 6 5 16-10 5 13- 1 13 35- 1
4 Shane Lehew 5 9- 6 5 14- 3 5 9-11 15 33- 4
5 Drew Montgomery 5 10- 5 5 11- 3 5 11- 8 15 33- 0
6 Shane Lineberger 5 10-12 5 10-12 5 11- 0 15 32- 8
7 Chad Morgenthaler 5 13- 8 5 11- 3 5 7-12 15 32- 7
8 David Williams 5 14- 1 5 13- 5 3 4-13 13 32- 3
9 Greg Vinson 5 12- 5 5 9-15 5 9-10 15 31-14
10 Cliff Pace 5 10- 9 5 11-10 4 8- 1 14 30- 4
11 Hank Cherry 5 10- 8 5 11-15 3 6- 1 13 28- 8
12 Jordan Lee 5 9-13 5 12-10 3 5- 1 13 27- 8
13 David Kilgore 5 11- 4 5 10- 3 10 21- 7
14 Rob Digh 5 10-13 5 10- 6 10 21- 3
15 Britt Myers 5 10-15 5 10- 1 10 21- 0
16 Russ Lane 5 11-11 5 9- 4 10 20-15
17 Brock Mosley 5 10- 2 5 10-10 10 20-12
18 Craig Chambers 5 11- 7 5 9- 3 10 20-10
19 Derek Cummings 5 11- 6 5 9- 4 10 20-10
20 Van Soles 5 11- 4 5 9- 5 10 20- 9
21 Cliff Prince 5 10- 5 5 10- 4 10 20- 9
22 Doug Easton 5 12-11 3 7-13 8 20- 8
23 Tracy Adams 5 12- 3 5 8- 1 10 20- 4
24 Josh Bragg 5 8-12 5 11- 3 10 19-15
25 David Walker 5 10- 4 5 9- 8 10 19-12
26 Alvin Shaw 5 10- 0 5 9- 9 10 19- 9
27 Ryan Davidson 5 9- 3 5 9-14 10 19- 1
28 Kameron Harbin 5 11- 0 5 8- 0 10 19- 0
29 Kendall Newson 5 8- 3 5 10-10 10 18-13
30 Hunter Eubanks 5 8- 2 5 10- 8 10 18-10
31 Carl Jocumsen 5 7-15 5 10-10 10 18- 9
32 Hunter Shryock 5 8-12 5 9-13 10 18- 9
33 Jacopo Gallelli 5 9- 5 5 9- 4 10 18- 9
34 Kelley Jaye 5 8- 0 5 10- 8 10 18- 8
35 Todd Auten 5 10- 7 5 8- 1 10 18- 8
36 Rodney Jones 5 8-10 5 9-14 10 18- 8
37 Jesse Wiggins 5 9- 0 5 9- 7 10 18- 7
38 Roland Martin 5 11-14 4 6- 8 9 18- 6
39 Andrew Slegona 5 9- 0 5 9- 4 10 18- 4
40 Gary Isgrigg 5 8-15 5 9- 3 10 18- 2
41 Stephen Longobardi 5 8-11 5 9- 2 10 17-13
42 Terry Scroggins 5 8-14 5 8-15 10 17-13
43 Michael Johnson 5 8-15 5 8-13 10 17-12
44 Marty Robinson 5 8- 7 5 9- 4 10 17-11
45 Pete Bejte 5 8-14 5 8-13 10 17-11
46 Joey Nania 5 11-10 3 6- 0 8 17-10
47 Joseph Lee 5 7- 9 5 10- 1 10 17-10
48 Michael Stephens 5 8- 3 5 9- 7 10 17-10
49 Jordan Card 5 11-14 4 5-10 9 17- 8
50 Michael Fox 5 9-15 5 7- 9 10 17- 8
51 James Harris 5 9- 1 5 8- 7 10 17- 8
52 Shaw Grigsby 5 8-13 5 8-11 10 17- 8
53 Tim Hawley 5 7-15 5 9- 7 10 17- 6
54 Anthony Hayes 4 6-11 5 10-10 9 17- 5
55 Skylar Hamilton 5 8- 7 5 8-13 10 17- 4
56 Matt Lee 5 9- 4 5 7-14 10 17- 2
57 George Lambeth 5 10- 2 4 6-15 9 17- 1
58 Jesse Tacoronte 5 9-14 5 7- 2 10 17- 0
59 Jimmy Mason 5 8- 3 5 8-11 10 16-14
60 Patrick Pierce 5 12- 8 3 4- 3 8 16-11
61 Kazuki Kitajima 5 10- 3 3 6- 8 8 16-11
62 Jeff Holland 5 8- 4 5 8- 7 10 16-11
63 Cody Green 5 8- 0 5 8- 6 10 16- 6
64 Kyle Kempkers 5 8- 6 5 7-15 10 16- 5
65 Derek Remitz 5 8-13 5 7- 7 10 16- 4
66 Paul Tidwell 4 8- 5 5 7-10 9 15-15
67 Randy Elliott 5 8- 3 4 7-12 9 15-15
68 Jamey Caldwell 5 11- 1 2 4-13 7 15-14
69 Gary Clouse 5 7- 4 5 8- 6 10 15-10
70 David Perdue 4 6- 1 5 9- 7 9 15- 8
71 Brandon Lester 4 8- 2 4 7- 6 8 15- 8
72 Scott McGehee 3 4-11 5 10-11 8 15- 6
73 Arthur Cipoletti 5 8- 1 5 7- 5 10 15- 6
74 Woo Daves 5 9-11 4 5- 9 9 15- 4
75 Matt Lowe 4 7- 3 5 8- 0 9 15- 3
76 Jason Patterson 5 10-13 3 4- 4 8 15- 1
77 John Brazzell 5 9- 4 3 5- 8 8 14-12
78 Sandy Melvin 5 6- 7 5 8- 4 10 14-11
79 Miles Burghoff 5 9- 1 3 5- 9 8 14-10
80 David Hudson 5 8- 8 4 6- 1 9 14- 9
81 Joshua Douglas 4 6- 3 5 8- 5 9 14- 8
82 Matthew Henry 4 6-12 4 7-11 8 14- 7
83 Ernest Morris 4 6- 3 5 8- 2 9 14- 5
84 Ronnie Glasgow 5 8- 9 3 5- 5 8 13-14
85 Ken Iyobe 3 4-12 5 9- 1 8 13-13
86 Sean Alvarez 5 8-10 3 5- 3 8 13-13
87 Josh Herren 3 4- 6 4 9- 5 7 13-11
88 Cecil Douberly 4 6- 7 4 7- 3 8 13-10
89 Eric Conant 5 7-12 4 5-13 9 13- 9
90 Ben Parker 5 8-10 2 4- 7 7 13- 1
91 Carl Whitfield 2 4- 6 5 8- 5 7 12-11
92 Matthew Mcbee 4 7- 2 3 5- 6 7 12- 8
93 Wayne Murray 4 6- 8 4 6- 0 8 12- 8
94 James Garrett 4 7- 8 3 4-11 7 12- 3
95 Stanley Gunter 5 8- 5 2 3-13 7 12- 2
96 Charlie Hartley 1 1-10 4 10- 7 5 12- 1
97 Eric Silverstrim 3 5- 2 5 6-15 8 12- 1
98 Christiana Bradley 5 8- 2 2 3-14 7 12- 0
99 Richard Rhodes 2 3- 6 5 8- 5 7 11-11
100 Michael Murphy 3 4-15 4 6-11 7 11-10
101 Jon Englund 4 5- 8 5 6- 2 9 11-10
102 Kyle Fox 3 6- 8 3 5- 1 6 11- 9
103 Kevin Clark 2 2-13 5 8-11 7 11- 8
104 Michael Reid 2 3- 0 5 8- 6 7 11- 6
105 Ryan Payne 5 9-14 1 1- 7 6 11- 5
106 Warren Barnes 3 5- 7 3 5- 4 6 10-11
107 Allen Brooks 2 4- 1 3 5-10 5 9-11
108 Larry Draughn 1 1- 9 5 8- 1 6 9-10
109 David Cooke 2 2-12 5 6-14 7 9-10
110 Paul Pagnato 2 3-11 3 5-12 5 9- 7
111 Gerald Swindle 5 9- 6 0 0- 0 5 9- 6
112 Ron Wolfarth 5 6-10 2 2-11 7 9- 5
113 Sam George 5 7-12 1 1- 8 6 9- 4
114 Jeff Jennings 3 4-13 3 4- 7 6 9- 4
115 Kevin Langill 5 9- 0 0 0- 0 5 9- 0
116 Jared Dial 4 8-11 0 0- 0 4 8-11
117 Bigworm Ludwig 1 1-15 4 6- 5 5 8- 4
118 Gene Eisenmann 5 7-12 0 0- 0 5 7-12
118 Tim Ezell 5 7-12 0 0- 0 5 7-12
118 Greg Mansfield 5 7-12 0 0- 0 5 7-12
121 Garrett Rocamora 2 3- 4 3 4- 6 5 7-10
122 Tim Frederick 2 3-10 3 3-14 5 7- 8
123 Darrell Pons 3 4- 8 2 2- 1 5 6- 9
124 Rick Morris 3 6- 7 0 0- 0 3 6- 7
125 Earnie Jones 2 3- 1 2 3- 5 4 6- 6
126 Tim Foster 1 1-14 3 4- 5 4 6- 3
127 Joe Clements 3 3-15 1 2- 4 4 6- 3
128 Steven Priest 1 1- 4 3 4-13 4 6- 1
129 Rusty Camp 1 2- 2 2 3-12 3 5-14
130 Waine Pittman 3 5- 9 0 0- 0 3 5- 9
131 Kyle Worsham 1 1- 4 2 4- 4 3 5- 8
132 Ryusuke Nishio 2 3-10 1 1- 8 3 5- 2
133 Christopher Cline 4 4-12 0 0- 0 4 4-12
134 Danny White 2 2-15 1 1-11 3 4-10
135 James Bumgarner 2 3- 0 1 1- 6 3 4- 6
136 Samuel Fish 2 4- 3 0 0- 0 2 4- 3
137 Hojin Chang 3 4- 1 0 0- 0 3 4- 1
138 Kerry Page 0 0- 0 2 3- 8 2 3- 8
139 Jeff Cloud 2 3- 3 0 0- 0 2 3- 3
140 James Bailey 1 1- 5 1 1-13 2 3- 2
141 Clay Dyer 2 2- 9 0 0- 0 2 2- 9
142 David Sheffield 1 1- 5 0 0- 0 1 1- 5
143 Billy Shelton 1 1- 3 0 0- 0 1 1- 3
144 James Bader 0 0- 0 0 0- 0 0 0- 0
144 Keith Poche 0 0- 0 0 0- 0 0 0- 0
144 Greg Sims 0 0- 0 0 0- 0 0 0- 0

Day 2 For The Bass Southern Open Doesn't Change Much-Full Pic's And Results Here!

Another big day out on Lake Norman for Day 2 of the Bassmaster Southern Open..........unlike yesterday, the weather began to change for the worse after 12n and with that, we thought the weights would pick up. Not the case, as David Williams and Andy Montgomery maintain their first and second place standings heading into day three. The bite was more shallow than many predicted, and now its down to the final 12. Pic's and full results below:

 

David Williams Maintains his lead on Day 2 at Norman with 13+!!David Williams Maintains his lead on Day 2 at Norman with 13+!!

 

Andy Montgomery climbs into 2nd Place on Day 2 with this impressive sack!Andy Montgomery climbs into 2nd Place on Day 2 with this impressive sack!

 

Livingston Lures on hand to help out all the Anglers!Livingston Lures on hand to help out all the Anglers!

 

 

 

Weight Leader

David Williams
Maiden, NC
Weight: 27- 6

Carhartt Big Bass Leader (Daily)

Jordan Lee
Vinemont, AL
Weight: 5-14

Place Name Day 1 Day 2 Total Fish Total Weight
Fish Weight Fish Weight
1 David Williams 5 14- 1 5 13- 5 10 27- 6
2 Andy Montgomery 5 13- 2 5 13-12 10 26-14
3 Chad Morgenthaler 5 13- 8 5 11- 3 10 24-11
4 Richard Howes 5 13-11 5 10- 1 10 23-12
5 Shane Lehew 5 9- 6 5 14- 3 10 23- 9
6 Jordan Lee 5 9-13 5 12-10 10 22- 7
7 Hank Cherry 5 10- 8 5 11-15 10 22- 7
8 Greg Vinson 5 12- 5 5 9-15 10 22- 4
9 Cliff Pace 5 10- 9 5 11-10 10 22- 3
10 Ronald Farrow 3 5- 6 5 16-10 8 22- 0
11 Drew Montgomery 5 10- 5 5 11- 3 10 21- 8
12 Shane Lineberger 5 10-12 5 10-12 10 21- 8
13 David Kilgore 5 11- 4 5 10- 3 10 21- 7
14 Rob Digh 5 10-13 5 10- 6 10 21- 3
15 Britt Myers 5 10-15 5 10- 1 10 21- 0
16 Russ Lane 5 11-11 5 9- 4 10 20-15
17 Brock Mosley 5 10- 2 5 10-10 10 20-12
18 Craig Chambers 5 11- 7 5 9- 3 10 20-10
19 Derek Cummings 5 11- 6 5 9- 4 10 20-10
20 Van Soles 5 11- 4 5 9- 5 10 20- 9
21 Cliff Prince 5 10- 5 5 10- 4 10 20- 9
22 Doug Easton 5 12-11 3 7-13 8 20- 8
23 Tracy Adams 5 12- 3 5 8- 1 10 20- 4
24 Josh Bragg 5 8-12 5 11- 3 10 19-15
25 David Walker 5 10- 4 5 9- 8 10 19-12
26 Alvin Shaw 5 10- 0 5 9- 9 10 19- 9
27 Ryan Davidson 5 9- 3 5 9-14 10 19- 1
28 Kameron Harbin 5 11- 0 5 8- 0 10 19- 0
29 Kendall Newson 5 8- 3 5 10-10 10 18-13
30 Hunter Eubanks 5 8- 2 5 10- 8 10 18-10
31 Carl Jocumsen 5 7-15 5 10-10 10 18- 9
32 Hunter Shryock 5 8-12 5 9-13 10 18- 9
33 Jacopo Gallelli 5 9- 5 5 9- 4 10 18- 9
34 Kelley Jaye 5 8- 0 5 10- 8 10 18- 8
35 Todd Auten 5 10- 7 5 8- 1 10 18- 8
36 Rodney Jones 5 8-10 5 9-14 10 18- 8
37 Jesse Wiggins 5 9- 0 5 9- 7 10 18- 7
38 Roland Martin 5 11-14 4 6- 8 9 18- 6
39 Andrew Slegona 5 9- 0 5 9- 4 10 18- 4
40 Gary Isgrigg 5 8-15 5 9- 3 10 18- 2
41 Stephen Longobardi 5 8-11 5 9- 2 10 17-13
42 Terry Scroggins 5 8-14 5 8-15 10 17-13
43 Michael Johnson 5 8-15 5 8-13 10 17-12
44 Marty Robinson 5 8- 7 5 9- 4 10 17-11
45 Pete Bejte 5 8-14 5 8-13 10 17-11
46 Joey Nania 5 11-10 3 6- 0 8 17-10
47 Joseph Lee 5 7- 9 5 10- 1 10 17-10
48 Michael Stephens 5 8- 3 5 9- 7 10 17-10
49 Jordan Card 5 11-14 4 5-10 9 17- 8
50 Michael Fox 5 9-15 5 7- 9 10 17- 8
51 James Harris 5 9- 1 5 8- 7 10 17- 8
52 Shaw Grigsby 5 8-13 5 8-11 10 17- 8
53 Tim Hawley 5 7-15 5 9- 7 10 17- 6
54 Anthony Hayes 4 6-11 5 10-10 9 17- 5
55 Skylar Hamilton 5 8- 7 5 8-13 10 17- 4
56 Matt Lee 5 9- 4 5 7-14 10 17- 2
57 George Lambeth 5 10- 2 4 6-15 9 17- 1
58 Jesse Tacoronte 5 9-14 5 7- 2 10 17- 0
59 Jimmy Mason 5 8- 3 5 8-11 10 16-14
60 Patrick Pierce 5 12- 8 3 4- 3 8 16-11
61 Kazuki Kitajima 5 10- 3 3 6- 8 8 16-11
62 Jeff Holland 5 8- 4 5 8- 7 10 16-11
63 Cody Green 5 8- 0 5 8- 6 10 16- 6
64 Kyle Kempkers 5 8- 6 5 7-15 10 16- 5
65 Derek Remitz 5 8-13 5 7- 7 10 16- 4
66 Paul Tidwell 4 8- 5 5 7-10 9 15-15
67 Randy Elliott 5 8- 3 4 7-12 9 15-15
68 Jamey Caldwell 5 11- 1 2 4-13 7 15-14
69 Gary Clouse 5 7- 4 5 8- 6 10 15-10
70 David Perdue 4 6- 1 5 9- 7 9 15- 8
71 Brandon Lester 4 8- 2 4 7- 6 8 15- 8
72 Scott McGehee 3 4-11 5 10-11 8 15- 6
73 Arthur Cipoletti 5 8- 1 5 7- 5 10 15- 6
74 Woo Daves 5 9-11 4 5- 9 9 15- 4
75 Matt Lowe 4 7- 3 5 8- 0 9 15- 3
76 Jason Patterson 5 10-13 3 4- 4 8 15- 1
77 John Brazzell 5 9- 4 3 5- 8 8 14-12
78 Sandy Melvin 5 6- 7 5 8- 4 10 14-11
79 Miles Burghoff 5 9- 1 3 5- 9 8 14-10
80 David Hudson 5 8- 8 4 6- 1 9 14- 9
81 Joshua Douglas 4 6- 3 5 8- 5 9 14- 8
82 Matthew Henry 4 6-12 4 7-11 8 14- 7
83 Ernest Morris 4 6- 3 5 8- 2 9 14- 5
84 Ronnie Glasgow 5 8- 9 3 5- 5 8 13-14
85 Ken Iyobe 3 4-12 5 9- 1 8 13-13
86 Sean Alvarez 5 8-10 3 5- 3 8 13-13
87 Josh Herren 3 4- 6 4 9- 5 7 13-11
88 Cecil Douberly 4 6- 7 4 7- 3 8 13-10
89 Eric Conant 5 7-12 4 5-13 9 13- 9
90 Ben Parker 5 8-10 2 4- 7 7 13- 1
91 Carl Whitfield 2 4- 6 5 8- 5 7 12-11
92 Matthew Mcbee 4 7- 2 3 5- 6 7 12- 8
93 Wayne Murray 4 6- 8 4 6- 0 8 12- 8
94 James Garrett 4 7- 8 3 4-11 7 12- 3
95 Stanley Gunter 5 8- 5 2 3-13 7 12- 2
96 Charlie Hartley 1 1-10 4 10- 7 5 12- 1
97 Eric Silverstrim 3 5- 2 5 6-15 8 12- 1
98 Christiana Bradley 5 8- 2 2 3-14 7 12- 0
99 Richard Rhodes 2 3- 6 5 8- 5 7 11-11
100 Michael Murphy 3 4-15 4 6-11 7 11-10
101 Jon Englund 4 5- 8 5 6- 2 9 11-10
102 Kyle Fox 3 6- 8 3 5- 1 6 11- 9
103 Kevin Clark 2 2-13 5 8-11 7 11- 8
104 Michael Reid 2 3- 0 5 8- 6 7 11- 6
105 Ryan Payne 5 9-14 1 1- 7 6 11- 5
106 Warren Barnes 3 5- 7 3 5- 4 6 10-11
107 Allen Brooks 2 4- 1 3 5-10 5 9-11
108 Larry Draughn 1 1- 9 5 8- 1 6 9-10
109 David Cooke 2 2-12 5 6-14 7 9-10
110 Paul Pagnato 2 3-11 3 5-12 5 9- 7
111 Gerald Swindle 5 9- 6 5 9- 6
112 Ron Wolfarth 5 6-10 2 2-11 7 9- 5
113 Sam George 5 7-12 1 1- 8 6 9- 4
114 Jeff Jennings 3 4-13 3 4- 7 6 9- 4
115 Kevin Langill 5 9- 0 5 9- 0
116 Jared Dial 4 8-11 4 8-11
117 Bigworm Ludwig 1 1-15 4 6- 5 5 8- 4
118 Gene Eisenmann 5 7-12 5 7-12
118 Tim Ezell 5 7-12 5 7-12
118 Greg Mansfield 5 7-12 5 7-12
121 Garrett Rocamora 2 3- 4 3 4- 6 5 7-10
122 Tim Frederick 2 3-10 3 3-14 5 7- 8
123 Darrell Pons 3 4- 8 2 2- 1 5 6- 9
124 Rick Morris 3 6- 7 3 6- 7
125 Earnie Jones 2 3- 1 2 3- 5 4 6- 6
126 Tim Foster 1 1-14 3 4- 5 4 6- 3
127 Joe Clements 3 3-15 1 2- 4 4 6- 3
128 Steven Priest 1 1- 4 3 4-13 4 6- 1
129 Rusty Camp 1 2- 2 2 3-12 3 5-14
130 Waine Pittman 3 5- 9 3 5- 9
131 Kyle Worsham 1 1- 4 2 4- 4 3 5- 8
132 Ryusuke Nishio 2 3-10 1 1- 8 3 5- 2
133 Christopher Cline 4 4-12 4 4-12
134 Danny White 2 2-15 1 1-11 3 4-10
135 James Bumgarner 2 3- 0 1 1- 6 3 4- 6
136 Samuel Fish 2 4- 3 2 4- 3
137 Hojin Chang 3 4- 1 3 4- 1
138 Kerry Page 0 0- 0 2 3- 8 2 3- 8
139 Jeff Cloud 2 3- 3 2 3- 3
140 James Bailey 1 1- 5 1 1-13 2 3- 2
141 Clay Dyer 2 2- 9 2 2- 9
142 David Sheffield 1 1- 5 1 1- 5
143 Billy Shelton 1 1- 3 1 1- 3
144 James Bader 0 0- 0 0 0- 0
144 Keith Poche 0 0- 0 0 0- 0
144 Greg Sims 0 0- 0 0 0- 0

David Williams Maintains Lead On Day 2 At The Bass Southern Open On Lake Norman-Plus 7Th Place Angler And Livingston Lures Pro Hank Cherry!

Livingston Lures Pro Hank Cherry has a 12+ Lb day to finish 7th after 2 days and make the cut for the final day, plus David Williams maintains his lead with another big day on Lake Norman-Click here to watch!


David Willimas holds lead after Day 1 of the Southern Open on Lake Norman-Pic's and results here

Teaser image:

Tough 1st day out on Lake Norman for Day 1 of the Sothern Open. Lots of 8 and 10 Lb bags with a few above that. Fish were biting better yesterday than they have for most of the week according to AC Pro Staffer Rob Digh. He also claimed that they were more shallow than expected with water temps in the low 70's. Here are some pictures of the weigh-in yesterday plus full boater results-with severe weather moving in late today the winds will be up and more cloud cover, so look for better weights this afternoon!!

 

4th Place Angler Andy Montgomery Holds part of his 13-2 Lb first day sack 

4th Place Angler Andy Montgomery Holds part of his 13-2 Lb first day sack

 

1st Day Leader David Williams holds up his 14-1 stringer 

1st Day Leader David Williams holds up his 14-1 stringer

 

6th place Angler Patrick Pierce and his 12-8 Lb sack 

Boats coming in at Blythe Landing for Day 1 weigh-inBoats coming in at Blythe Landing for Day 1 weigh-in6th place Angler Patrick Pierce and his 12-8 Lb sack

 

Weight Leader

David Williams
Maiden, NC
Weight: 14- 1

Carhartt Big Bass Leader (Daily)

Richard Howes
Oviedo, FL
Weight: 4- 5

Place Name Day 1 Total Fish Total Weight
Fish Weight
1 David Williams 5 14- 1 5 14- 1
2 Richard Howes 5 13-11 5 13-11
3 Chad Morgenthaler 5 13- 8 5 13- 8
4 Andy Montgomery 5 13- 2 5 13- 2
5 Doug Easton 5 12-11 5 12-11
6 Patrick Pierce 5 12- 8 5 12- 8
7 Greg Vinson 5 12- 5 5 12- 5
8 Tracy Adams 5 12- 3 5 12- 3
9 Jordan Card 5 11-14 5 11-14
9 Roland Martin 5 11-14 5 11-14
11 Russ Lane 5 11-11 5 11-11
12 Joey Nania 5 11-10 5 11-10
13 Craig Chambers 5 11- 7 5 11- 7
14 Derek Cummings 5 11- 6 5 11- 6
15 David Kilgore 5 11- 4 5 11- 4
15 Van Soles 5 11- 4 5 11- 4
17 Jamey Caldwell 5 11- 1 5 11- 1
18 Kameron Harbin 5 11- 0 5 11- 0
19 Britt Myers 5 10-15 5 10-15
20 Rob Digh 5 10-13 5 10-13
20 Jason Patterson 5 10-13 5 10-13
22 Shane Lineberger 5 10-12 5 10-12
23 Cliff Pace 5 10- 9 5 10- 9
24 Hank Cherry 5 10- 8 5 10- 8
25 Todd Auten 5 10- 7 5 10- 7
26 Drew Montgomery 5 10- 5 5 10- 5
26 Cliff Prince 5 10- 5 5 10- 5
28 David Walker 5 10- 4 5 10- 4
29 Kazuki Kitajima 5 10- 3 5 10- 3
30 George Lambeth 5 10- 2 5 10- 2
30 Brock Mosley 5 10- 2 5 10- 2
32 Alvin Shaw 5 10- 0 5 10- 0
33 Michael Fox 5 9-15 5 9-15
34 Ryan Payne 5 9-14 5 9-14
34 Jesse Tacoronte 5 9-14 5 9-14
36 Jordan Lee 5 9-13 5 9-13
37 Woo Daves 5 9-11 5 9-11
38 Shane Lehew 5 9- 6 5 9- 6
38 Gerald Swindle 5 9- 6 5 9- 6
40 Jacopo Gallelli 5 9- 5 5 9- 5
41 John Brazzell 5 9- 4 5 9- 4
41 Matt Lee 5 9- 4 5 9- 4
43 Ryan Davidson 5 9- 3 5 9- 3
44 Miles Burghoff 5 9- 1 5 9- 1
44 James Harris 5 9- 1 5 9- 1
46 Kevin Langill 5 9- 0 5 9- 0
46 Andrew Slegona 5 9- 0 5 9- 0
46 Jesse Wiggins 5 9- 0 5 9- 0
49 Gary Isgrigg 5 8-15 5 8-15
49 Michael Johnson 5 8-15 5 8-15
51 Pete Bejte 5 8-14 5 8-14
51 Terry Scroggins 5 8-14 5 8-14
53 Shaw Grigsby 5 8-13 5 8-13
53 Derek Remitz 5 8-13 5 8-13
55 Josh Bragg 5 8-12 5 8-12
55 Hunter Shryock 5 8-12 5 8-12
57 Stephen Longobardi 5 8-11 5 8-11
58 Jared Dial 4 8-11 4 8-11
59 Sean Alvarez 5 8-10 5 8-10
59 Rodney Jones 5 8-10 5 8-10
59 Ben Parker 5 8-10 5 8-10
62 Ronnie Glasgow 5 8- 9 5 8- 9
63 David Hudson 5 8- 8 5 8- 8
64 Skylar Hamilton 5 8- 7 5 8- 7
64 Marty Robinson 5 8- 7 5 8- 7
66 Kyle Kempkers 5 8- 6 5 8- 6
67 Stanley Gunter 5 8- 5 5 8- 5
68 Paul Tidwell 4 8- 5 4 8- 5
69 Jeff Holland 5 8- 4 5 8- 4
70 Randy Elliott 5 8- 3 5 8- 3
70 Jimmy Mason 5 8- 3 5 8- 3
70 Kendall Newson 5 8- 3 5 8- 3
70 Michael Stephens 5 8- 3 5 8- 3
74 Christiana Bradley 5 8- 2 5 8- 2
75 Hunter Eubanks 5 8- 2 5 8- 2
76 Brandon Lester 4 8- 2 4 8- 2
77 Arthur Cipoletti 5 8- 1 5 8- 1
78 Cody Green 5 8- 0 5 8- 0
78 Kelley Jaye 5 8- 0 5 8- 0
80 Tim Hawley 5 7-15 5 7-15
80 Carl Jocumsen 5 7-15 5 7-15
82 Eric Conant 5 7-12 5 7-12
82 Gene Eisenmann 5 7-12 5 7-12
82 Tim Ezell 5 7-12 5 7-12
82 Sam George 5 7-12 5 7-12
82 Greg Mansfield 5 7-12 5 7-12
87 Joseph Lee 5 7- 9 5 7- 9
88 James Garrett 4 7- 8 4 7- 8
89 Gary Clouse 5 7- 4 5 7- 4
90 Matt Lowe 4 7- 3 4 7- 3
91 Matthew Mcbee 4 7- 2 4 7- 2
92 Matthew Henry 4 6-12 4 6-12
93 Anthony Hayes 4 6-11 4 6-11
94 Ron Wolfarth 5 6-10 5 6-10
95 Wayne Murray 4 6- 8 4 6- 8
96 Kyle Fox 3 6- 8 3 6- 8
97 Sandy Melvin 5 6- 7 5 6- 7
98 Cecil Douberly 4 6- 7 4 6- 7
99 Rick Morris 3 6- 7 3 6- 7
100 Joshua Douglas 4 6- 3 4 6- 3
100 Ernest Morris 4 6- 3 4 6- 3
102 David Perdue 4 6- 1 4 6- 1
103 Waine Pittman 3 5- 9 3 5- 9
104 Jon Englund 4 5- 8 4 5- 8
105 Warren Barnes 3 5- 7 3 5- 7
106 Ronald Farrow 3 5- 6 3 5- 6
107 Eric Silverstrim 3 5- 2 3 5- 2
108 Michael Murphy 3 4-15 3 4-15
109 Jeff Jennings 3 4-13 3 4-13
110 Christopher Cline 4 4-12 4 4-12
111 Ken Iyobe 3 4-12 3 4-12
112 Scott McGehee 3 4-11 3 4-11
113 Darrell Pons 3 4- 8 3 4- 8
114 Josh Herren 3 4- 6 3 4- 6
115 Carl Whitfield 2 4- 6 2 4- 6
116 Samuel Fish 2 4- 3 2 4- 3
117 Hojin Chang 3 4- 1 3 4- 1
118 Allen Brooks 2 4- 1 2 4- 1
119 Joe Clements 3 3-15 3 3-15
120 Paul Pagnato 2 3-11 2 3-11
121 Tim Frederick 2 3-10 2 3-10
121 Ryusuke Nishio 2 3-10 2 3-10
123 Richard Rhodes 2 3- 6 2 3- 6
124 Garrett Rocamora 2 3- 4 2 3- 4
125 Jeff Cloud 2 3- 3 2 3- 3
126 Earnie Jones 2 3- 1 2 3- 1
127 James Bumgarner 2 3- 0 2 3- 0
127 Michael Reid 2 3- 0 2 3- 0
129 Danny White 2 2-15 2 2-15
130 Kevin Clark 2 2-13 2 2-13
131 David Cooke 2 2-12 2 2-12
132 Clay Dyer 2 2- 9 2 2- 9
133 Rusty Camp 1 2- 2 1 2- 2
134 Bigworm Ludwig 1 1-15 1 1-15
135 Tim Foster 1 1-14 1 1-14
136 Charlie Hartley 1 1-10 1 1-10
137 Larry Draughn 1 1- 9 1 1- 9
138 James Bailey 1 1- 5 1 1- 5
138 David Sheffield 1 1- 5 1 1- 5
140 Steven Priest 1 1- 4 1 1- 4
140 Kyle Worsham 1 1- 4 1 1- 4
142 Billy Shelton 1 1- 3 1 1- 3
143 James Bader     0 0- 0
143 Kerry Page     0 0- 0
143 Keith Poche     0 0- 0
143 Greg Sims     0 0- 0

Bass Southern Open Lake Norman Day 1 Leader David Williams And Ac Pro Staffer Rob Digh!

Bass Southern Open Lake Norman leader David Williams talks about his 14.10 Lb leading weight on day 1 as well as AC Pro Staffer Rob Digh chiming in on his 10+ that launched a good start to a big tournament down the stretch!! Big wx changes coming for Day 2 so stay tuned for more updates tomorrow!


Local Pro Hank Cherry Says Lake Norman Will Test Contestants At This Week's Bassmaster Southern Open

Teaser image:

Bassmaster Elite Series pro Hank Cherry of Maiden, N.C., will fish Lake Norman in the 2014 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open #3 presented by Allstate, Oct. 2-4. This is the final event in the 2014 Southern Opens Series.

Photo by Gary Tramontina/Bassmaster

For the 3rd time in the last 4 years Lake Norman is set to host a Bassmaster Southern Open. Norman can be a tough nut to crack. Right now the bass are in 25 feet of water as well as right on the bank and anywhere between those extremes on the grassless reservoir.

That’s not to say there aren’t good stringers of fish waiting to be caught. Recent reports indicate that those targeting Norman’s abundant spotted bass are finding plenty of them. The heavier largemouth are a different story.

Largemouth played a huge role in in the last 2 Opens on Norman because the anglers visited during the spring when largemouth were shallow and in some cases, spawning.

Largemouth will factor into this event, but in a limited capacity. While harder to find, a kicker fish will likely anchor the winner’s weight each day.

“Whoever wins will need at least one kicker largemouth every day,” said Carolina-based Elite Series Pro Hank Cherry. “Depending on the weather conditions, 12 1/2 to 14 pounds will be a big limit.”

Among the challenges facing anglers is a relatively high water level. Cherry lives minutes from the lake and says it is only a foot-and-a-half below full pool instead of the usual 5 feet below that anglers see this time of year. This prevents fish from ganging up on predictable spots.

The timing of this event is about 2 weeks too early for the fall shad blitz that would have made for faster action.

And then there is the dreaded fall turnover. Oxygen-depleted waters have risen from the bottom and mixed with the upper layers to present contestants with one of bass fishing’s toughest riddles.

Cherry says, “the bad water is as black as night.” He advises anglers to avoid this situation which happens first in the upper reaches of the lake. Of course, that’s also where it clears up first. “Part of the lake is cleaning up from turning over, part is turning over and part of it will turn over soon,” Cherry said.

As with a mud line that forms after a rain, those fishing downstream may find their bite trashed at some point during the multi-day event. Those who fall-in above it will find that conditions improve each day in their areas.

For this reason, up-lake may be the way to go during this event. Plus, that’s where those kicker largemouth tend to live on Norman.

Cherry says contestants need to be ready to roll with the punches this week. “The fall turnover makes the bass move around more. You’re not going to catch them in the same places or the same way every day.”

Cherry also expects the lake to fish small as anglers crowd into prime water.

The good news:  “Norman has so many bass it’s ridiculous,” Cherry said. “We don’t have lots of 4- to 6-pounders, but there are bunches of bass that weigh 2 1/2 pounds.”

Competition begins Thursday as the anglers take off from Blythe Landing at 7 a.m. ET. Thursday and Friday’s weigh-in will be held at the same location — Blythe Landing — and will begin at 3 p.m. ET. Saturday’s weigh-in will be held at the Bass Pro Shops in Concord, N.C., and begins at 4 p.m. ET.


Davey Thomas wins the Oakley Big Bass on Murray this past weekend-Full results here!

How do you win a $30,000 boat-motor-tralier pkg with one fish? Well, catch a 7+ LB kicker like Davey Thomas did below on Lake Murray at the Oakly Big Bass 2 day Event and you are off to the races! Congrats on Davey's big win and to Oakly Big Bass for putting on one heck of an event! Top 10 results are below the pic below:

 

Oakly Big Bass Lake Murray Champ Davey Thomas holds up his 7.09 Winning Catch!Oakly Big Bass Lake Murray Champ Davey Thomas holds up his 7.09 Winning Catch!

 

 

Leaders

Rank Angler Weight
1 DAVEY THOMAS 7.09
2 WILLIAM SHIPES 6.58
3 JEFF GREEN 5.69
4 EVAN WEAVER 5.57
5 TIMMY OSTEEN 5.22
6 ANDREW BRIDGES 5.20
7 SAM PATTERSON 5.14
8 HAMPTON ANDERSON 5.10
9 KEVIN RICHBOURG 4.99
10 SHAWN CALLAHAN 4.85

Cashion Fishing Rods 'End Of Year' Trail Results - Mayo Reservoir - Sep 27, 2014

Teaser image:

1st Place: Allen Stout & Mark Sharpe of Graham & Crestview, FL...4 bass...12.05 lbs1st Place: Allen Stout & Mark Sharpe of Graham & Crestview, FL...4 bass...12.05 lbs

The Cashion Fishing Rods 'End of Year' Team Tournament Bass Fishing Trail Qualifier #6 at Mayo Reservoir 
this past Saturday proved again bass fishing here can be tough this time of year! 16 teams showed up to fish 
Mayo, which is tough to fish because of the deep clear water! The weather was beautiful! Air temps were about 
59 in the am and around 77 in the afternoon. The wind was pretty much calm all day. Water temps averaged 73 
degrees. The most fish were caught in 
2' to 10' water early on. Once the sun popped out the bite slowed but 
some anglers did fool a few bass in up to 40' of water. Believe it or not, A-Rigs seemed to be the hot baits on 
schooling bass chasing bait balls. Crankbaits, plastics, spinnerbaits and Topwater took their toll on the rest of 
the fish.


Allen Stout & Mark Sharpe needed only 4 bass weighing a total of only 12.05 lbs. but it was enough to take 1st 
Place worth $640. Right on their tails was the 2nd Place Team of Michael Thomas & Michael Jr. with 5 bass 
weighing 11.96 lbs. Bryce McClenney & Michael Christie took 3rd with 11.85 lbs. Big fish for the day was 
caught by the team of Barney Compton & Sue Gates (6.88 lbs.) winning them a total of $210. Robyn Cook won 
the Tow Boats US Member Award of $50.


35 bass were weighed in for a total of 90 pounds. This averaged a little over 2.5 lbs. a fish and they were nice 
and fat. Mayo is a great little lake and with the bass feeding heavily on shad for the winter, now is the time to 
go! Mayo also has some good Chain Pickerel fishing if the bass aren't biting!!!
I want to thank all the anglers that participated and all our sponsors that support these trails. Our next 
tournament will be the 
Cashion Fishing Rods 'End of Year' Team Tournament Bass Fishing Trail Qualifier #7, 
Saturday, October 11th at Shearon Harris out of Cross PointLanding Wildlife Ramp.
All the information on our tournaments can be found at http://piedmontbassclassics.com/

Now here are the full results:

1st Place: Allen Stout & Mark Sharpe of Graham & Crestview, FL...4 bass...12.05 lbs...$640
2nd Place: Michael & Michael Jr. Thomas of Pittsboro...5 bass...11.96 lbs...$385
3rd Place: Bryce McClenney & Michael Christie of Cary & Fuquay Varina...5 bass...1
1.85 lbs...$255

1st Place Big Fish: Barney Compton & Sue Gates of Roxboro & Caldwell...6.88 lbs...$210
2nd Place
 Big Fish: Jay Garrard & Mark Herndon of Durham & Bahama...5.67 lbs...$90

1st Place TWT: J
ay Garrard & Mark Herndon of Durham & Bahama...8.82 lbs...$140
2nd Place TWT: T
homas Sheffer & Ken McNeill of Cary & Raleigh...8.31 lbs...$90

Tow Boats US Award: Robyn Cook of Raleigh: $50
 
Contact Information:
Phil McCarson...Tournament Director---922 Valetta Rd.---Durham, NC 27712
Home: 919-471-1571 Cell: 919-971-5042
email: 
[email protected] website: http://piedmontbassclassics.com/


Williams Hoping To Earn Classic Spot In Bass Southern Open On Lake Norman

David Williams was fishing the Walmart BFL Super Tournament on Lake Norman this past weekend to practice for the B.A.S.S. Southern Open final qualifier on the lake next weekend.

Although it would be extra special to win the BFL Super Tournament, Williams has already qualified for the BFL Regional Championship Oct. 9-11 on Lake Cherokee in Morristown, Tenn., through the Savannah River BFL Division.

So, right now he needs to focus on the upcoming B.A.S.S. Open because a shot at making the Bassmaster Classic is on the line.

“I love Lake Hartwell. I have probably won as much money at Lake Hartwell as I have at Lake Norman,” said Williams who lives at Maiden, N.C., just a little beyond a long cast from Lake Norman “I won a regional at Hartwell a couple of years ago, won a truck and a boat there. I've finished in the top five in BFLs on Hartwell, so it would definitely be a good opportunity to make the Classic there.”

But first there is the BFL Super Tournament on Lake Norman.

“I've not been on the lake very much this year. I went one day this week, the first time since May, and I found some fish. They are biting all right, but they are scattered. It will be typical fall fishing.”

Williams said anglers should be able to catch fish about any way they want to fish.

“I caught some fish shallow and I caught some deep, out to 25-30 feet deep. The bigger fish will come deeper,” he said, adding that the first thrust of cooler fall weather this week could change things.

“Summertime is probably the worst time to fish Norman, but it gets a lot better once the water cools off and the fish get more active,” he said. “The cooler weather helps make them get that urge to feed and they get off the Dog Days of Summer pretty quick.”

Williams is ranked 5th in the Southern Open points. The top five from each Open division qualify to move up to the Elite Series, while the winner of an Open tournament automatically qualifies for the Classic.

Williams said he would love to take the big step up to fishing the Elite Series, “but that costs a lot of money and I am not loaded. It's always been a dream of mine to fish the Elites, so if I got the opportunity and if I got the money I'd definitely do it.”

He's also working to make the Bassmaster Classic through another route – the Carolinas Bass Challenge – for the Bassmaster Team Championship on DeGray Lake at Bismarck, Ark., in December. The top three teams there will break into six individual anglers to fish one day for one entry in the Classic.

Meantime, he is already qualified to move on to the BFL Regional at Lake Cherokee. The top 40 boaters and co-anglers from each of the 24 BFL divisions will qualify for a regional tournament and 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 Walmart BFL All-American presented by Chevy. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Rayovac FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.

 

Bassmaster Southern Open

Oct 2-4, 2014

Lake Norman

Blythe Landing

www.bassmaster.com

 


CBC Regional Champs Shane Lineberger and Anthony Johnson Win on Clarks Hill-Take home $36,000-Full results here!

Shane Linberger and Anthony Johnson "whacked" em with the top 3 all being VERY close - but Shane and Anthony took home the "Triple Crown" with 1st place - $30,000 Skeeter TZX190 w/ a Yamaha 150 HPDI, $5,000 for the highest finishing Skeeter and $1,000 Big Fish - Total Pay Day = $36,000!!  What a HUGE win and just think, this wasn't even the Championship-only a REGIONAL! Full results and Pic's below:

 

CBC Clarks Hill Champs Shane Lineberger and Anthony Johnson 

CBC Clarks Hill Champs Shane Lineberger and Anthony Johnson

 

CBC Clarks Hill Champs with new boat! 

CBC Clarks Hill Champs with new boat!

 

 

 

 

 

Place Team Name Team # Fish       Weighed Net             Weight Big Fish Points Winnings
1 Shane Lineberger - Anthony Johnson 67 5 22.640 7.380 310 TZX 190
2 Russ Padgett - Meredith Havird 13 5 21.950 6.320 309 $6,000
3 Ronnie McCoy - Jason McCoy 34 5 21.900 6.930 308 $3,000
4 Michael Murphy - Kevin Sanders 14 5 18.320 5.540 307 $2,000
5 Russell Anderson - Daniel Howell 15 5 17.430 5.230 306 $1,500
6 Chip Grice - Bobby Stanfill 2 5 17.080 0.000 305 $1,000
7 Ross Burns - Dane Odom 46 5 16.560 0.000 304 $800
8 Sean Anderson - George Berry 57 5 16.460 0.000 303 $700
9 Clay Riddle - Eddie Bundrick 49 5 15.670 0.000 302 $600
10 Daniel Jordan - Lyn Langston 77 5 15.400 0.000 301 $550
11 Lee Sawyer - Cole Winn 44 5 15.380 0.000 300 $500
12 Wesley Cashwell - Shane Doughtie 41 5 15.330 0.000 299 $450
13 Donald Poteat - Johnny Allen 64 5 14.870 0.000 298 $350
14 Jerry Uhrich 54 5 14.310 3.970 297 $300
15 Jason Turner - Rick Carson 28 5 13.850 6.710 296 $250
16 Robby Hipps - Rodney Chastain 27 5 13.700 5.110 295 $200
17 Bill Grier - Robby Byrum 40 5 13.500 0.000 294  
18 Glenn Gentry - Tommy Purvis 12 5 13.330 0.000 293  
19 Greg Rikard - Eddie Herlong 6 5 13.240 4.170 292  
20 Perry Wycuff - Dan Lowe 70 5 13.030 0.000 291  
21 Jay Keith - Donald Hinson 47 5 12.940 0.000 290  
22 Kevin Ashley - Keith Ashley 58 5 12.740 0.000 289  
23 Gene Parker - Stanley Harkins 89 5 12.630 0.000 288  
24 Stan Gunter - Will Smith 3 5 12.350 0.000 287  
25 Grayson Mathis - Derek Schlotterback 30 5 12.300 5.060 286  
26 Mack Cook - Patrick Cook 17 5 12.280 0.000 285  
27 Mike Allman - Mike Allman 73 5 12.110 0.000 284  
28 Eric Bozeman - Clint Proudfoot 1 5 12.000 0.000 283  
29 Shannon Jordan - Shawn Jordan 74 5 11.840 0.000 282  
30 Glenn Altman - Larry Parker 48 5 11.790 0.000 281  
31 John Gutierrez - Rodney Tapp 66 5 11.750 0.000 280  
32 Tim Jones - Chris Bennett 51 5 11.500 0.000 279  
33 Tony Jackson - Clint Jackson 37 5 10.950 0.000 278  
34 Kiel Kelly - Chuck Whittaker 24 5 10.780 0.000 277  
35 Alan Fletcher - Danny Johnson 83 5 10.670 0.000 276  
36 Bradford Beavers - Dwight Beavers 63 5 10.410 0.000 275  
37 Larry Christopher - Chuck Hensley 21 5 10.220 0.000 274  
38 Richard Bradshaw - O'Neal Johnston 65 5 10.200 0.000 273  
39 Roger Medlock - Todd Lawrence 5 5 10.080 0.000 272  
40 Hunter Hicks - Mike Stephens 29 5 10.010 0.000 271  
41 Eddie Smith - Michael Carson 43 5 9.760 0.000 270  
42 Bernie Dreher - Les Westbury 32 5 9.680 0.000 269  
43 Robert Guest - David Heatherly 88 5 9.670 0.000 268  
44 Eric Grigg - Marc Grigg 20 5 9.610 4.610 267  
45 Reggie OBrien - Pat O'Brien 76 5 9.000 0.000 266  
46 Coy Watts - David Hutcherson 50 5 8.970 0.000 265  
47 Joseph Toth - Daniel Grassi 39 5 8.860 0.000 264  
48 John Branstetter - Troy Buffington 87 5 8.470 0.000 263  
49 Kevin Fulmer - Mark Richardson 10 5 8.430 0.000 262  
50 Ron Brown - Bobby Brown 81 5 8.130 0.000 261  
51 Travis Parrish - Sean Hall 23 5 7.910 0.000 260  
52 Johnny Houser - Deron Donohoo 4 5 7.810 0.000 259  
53 Marty Quesada - James Rose 79 5 7.810 0.000 258  
54 Thomas King - Clayton King 82 5 7.310 0.000 257  
55 Chuck Howard - Ken Ellis 60 5 7.230 0.000 256  
56 William Young  Jr. - James Mizell 22 4 7.000 4.760 255  
57 Billy Morris - Gary Angel 19 4 6.350 0.000 254  
58 Dustin Compton - Derrick Compton 16 4 6.250 0.000 253  
59 Larry Moss - JB Wicker 8 4 4.990 0.000 252  
60 Ferris Jennings - Larry Michalec 52 4 3.880 0.000 251  
61 Tommy Williams - Thomas Hardwick 7 0 0.000 0.000 250  
62 Randy Mathis - Jody Jones 9 0 0.000 0.000 249  
63 Austin Johnson - Andrew McClintock 11 0 0.000 0.000 248  
64 Joey Outlaw - Ray Dowey 18 0 0.000 0.000 247  
65 Brad Nappier - Nathan Luke 25 0 0.000 0.000 246  
66 Wayne King - Max Terry 26 0 0.000 0.000 245  
67 David Teel - Chris Ramsey 31 0 0.000 0.000 244  
68 Shawn Gray - Keith Gray 33 0 0.000 0.000 243  
69 Paul Gettys 35 0 0.000 0.000 242  
70 Shane Suddeth - Fred Moore 36 0 0.000 0.000 241  
71 Brian Hall - Doug Stallings 38 0 0.000 0.000 240  
72 Robert Fowler - John Parker 42 0 0.000 0.000 239  
73 Bo Chappell 45 0 0.000 0.000 238  
74 Eddie Williams - Carl Williams 53 0 0.000 0.000 237  
75 John Sturkie - Calvin Hewitt 55 0 0.000 0.000 236  
76 Neil Huffstetler - Ben Lee 56 0 0.000 0.000 235  
77 Keith Porter - Jason Threatt 59 0 0.000 0.000 234  
78 Nathan Burgess - Brent Riley 61 0 0.000 0.000 233  
79 Chris Dover - Chad Lail 62 0 0.000 0.000 232  
80 David Blanton - William Blanton 68 0 0.000 0.000 231  
81 Ronnie Mueller - Wayne Frierson 69 0 0.000 0.000 230  
82 Gary Michaud - Doc McDaniel 71 0 0.000 0.000 229  
83 Tracy Schiff - David Few 72 0 0.000 0.000 228  
84 Josh McGregor - Randall Driggers 75 0 0.000 0.000 227  
85 Jason Miles - Jerry Freezon 78 0 0.000 0.000 226  
86 Andy Wicker - Steve Wicker 80 0 0.000 0.000 225  
87 Rodney Cromer 84 0 0.000 0.000 224  
88 Johnny Johnson - Ron Carson 85 0 0.000 0.000 223  
89 Conrad Bolt - George Parker 86 0 0.000 0.000 222  
90 Todd Walters - Patrick Walters 90 0 0.000 0.000 221  
91 Jason Hadden - Norm Attaway 91 0 0.000 0.000 220  

Brownridge Wins B.a.s.s. Nation Eastern Divisional

Ontario angler Doug Brownridge wins the 2014 Old Milwaukee B.A.S.S. Nation Eastern Divisional on New York's St. Lawrence River, sacking a three-day total of 72 pounds, 9 ounces. Photo by Tyler Wade/Bassmaster

WADDINGTON, N.Y. — Doug Brownridge has finished two tournaments with 71 pounds and ended up second. He had no plans to finish second in the 2014 Old Milwaukee B.A.S.S. Nation Eastern Divisional, so he resolved to catch 72 pounds — and win.

He did, indeed. Brownridge ended the divisional with 72 pounds, 9 ounces over three days. What’s exceptional about that is all of his bass were smallmouth, averaging nearly 5 pounds each. Well, almost all of them were smallmouth.

“I’ve got one largemouth in my bag today,” he said on the final day. “I had a chance to cull up with a smallmouth that was 1/4 pound heavier, but it didn’t look that healthy.” So Brownridge put the smallie right back into the St. Lawrence River and held onto the largemouth.

Brownridge has led the tournament since its opener on Wednesday and has never even been threatened with losing his lead. He caught 24 pounds, 5 ounces on the first day, and then followed it up with 24-2 sacks on Days 2 and 3. He had the three biggest bags of the tournament.

The Ontario B.A.S.S. Nation angler came into the event with a lot of experience on the St. Lawrence, including 10 to 15 tournament days on the water just this year. In fact, in July, he came in second on the fishery in the Kingston Canadian Open with 70.95 pounds. He knows this water, and he knows his spots.

“The fish in my area are all big,” said Brownridge. “It’s a sunken current break, with clean rock all over it. And I had it all to myself. The closest competitor was 2 miles away.”

He was dragging a 3 1/2-inch Set the Hook tube in a green pumpkin color, called Ten Point, 20 to 22 feet along the rocks at the bottom.

“I was bouncing it as hard as I could,” said Brownridge.

For the first two days, that system worked perfectly, and he had 20 pounds of smallies in the boat by 10 a.m. But on the final day, the spot seemed to give out on him, so he had to make a run. He had been very confident so far in the tournament, but at 9 a.m. on Day 3, he had only two in the boat, and doubt started creeping in.

“That’s why I ran,” Brownridge said. “I took off, 35 minutes or so in the other direction, to another spot similar to this one. That’s where I got the largemouth and a couple of other smallmouth.”

Around 12:30, he went back to his first spot, and the bronzebacks bit then. He got a 4 1/2-pounder within 10 minutes of arriving back at his primary area. Then he culled up to his final-day weight of 24-2.

“I really wanted this trophy,” said Brownridge, gripping his Eastern Divisional hardware.
With that trophy comes a berth in the 2014 Old Milwaukee B.A.S.S. Nation Championship on Louisiana’s Ouachita River, Nov. 6-8. If he’s the best in the Eastern division there, he’ll advance to the 2015 Bassmaster Classic.

Eight other anglers earned invitations to the championship, as well. Each team sends its top representative. Paul Mueller won Connecticut’s nomination, and he’ll be making a return trip to the championship after competing there last year and advancing to the 2014 Bassmaster Classic, where he finished second. Now he has a chance to compete for a berth in the 2015 Classic.

Other championship qualifiers are Chuck Towns, Maine; Jeff Kenney, Massachusetts; Rob Messenger, New Hampshire; Ken Golubjatnikov, New York; Leo Bevelaqua, Rhode Island; Eric Corbella Salvia, Spain; and Russell Phillips, Vermont.

The teams competed against each other, too, for a chance at a $40,000 Skeeter/Yamaha boat and motor package, based on highest cumulative weight of all of each respective team’s anglers. Host team New York won with 540 pounds, 6 ounces. Behind New York were Connecticut with 532-9 and Ontario with 516-13.

Meanwhile, another competition was brewing. Teenage anglers competed for the award of the top high school division. The young anglers fished the second and third day of the overall competition, and their weight contributed to their team’s overall weight. Ontario’s high schoolers, Cooper Gallant and Danny McGarry, won with 36 pounds, 10 ounces over the two days. They were both competing on behalf of St. Stephens High School. Their sack of 23 pounds, 13 ounces, on Day 2 was the fourth-biggest bag of the tournament behind Brownridge’s bags.

Brownridge can claim the biggest bass of Day 3 with a 5-pound, 11-ounce smallie. But the Carhartt Big Bass award went to James Hanatow and Michael McNamara, both of New Hampshire. Hanatow caught a 6-pounder on Day 1, and McNamara caught the same on Day 2. They will split the $500 award.

Brownridge did claim the Livingston Lures Leader Award of $250 for leading on Day 2.
Stay tuned to Bassmaster.com during the 2014 Old Milwaukee B.A.S.S. Nation Championship, Nov. 6-8, to find out who from the Eastern Division qualifies to compete in the Classic.
2014 Old Milwaukee BASS Nation Eastern Divisional 9/24-9/26
St. Lawrence River, Waddington  NY.
(ANGLER) Standings Day 3

Angler                   Hometown              No./lbs-oz  Pts

1.  Doug Brownridge        Milton ONTARIO CANADA ( 15  72-09  0
2.  Ken Golubjatnikov      Pittsford, NY (NY)      15  65-07  0
3.  Rob Messenger          Sunapee, NH (NH)        15  64-00  0
4.  Christopher Killoren   Marcellus, NY (NY)      15  57-14  0
5.  Paul Mueller           Naugatuck, CT (CT)      15  53-15  0
6.  Mark Rorke             St Cathrines ONTARIO CA 15  53-05  0
7.  Russell Phillips       Guilford, VT (VT)       15  53-05  0
8.  Brad Brodnicki         Buffalo, NY (NY)        15  52-04  0
9.  Mark Cavanaugh         Port Perry CANADA (ONT) 15  52-03  0
10. Abe Kalechman          Ashford, CT (CT)        15  51-14  0
11. Todd Covert            Port Crane, NY (NY)     15  50-08  0
12. Charles Sim            Ottawa CANADA (ONT)     14  50-04  0
13. Dennis Sikorski        Bozrah, CT (CT)         15  50-04  0
14. Kevin Rose Jr          Anniston, CT (CT)       15  48-13  0
15. Joe Valerio            Red Creek, NY (NY)      15  48-01  0
16. Scott Downie           Danbury , CT (CT)       14  47-13  0
17. Pete Demoya            Plymouth, MA (NH)       14  47-00  0
18. Eric Corbella Salvia   Mollerusa SPAIN (ESP)   15  45-15  0
19. Chris O'Brien          Rochester, NY (NY)      15  45-12  0
20. David Maiorano         Clinton, CT (CT)        12  45-09  0
21. Jeff Kenney            Franklin, MA (MA)       15  44-11  0
22. Jim Moorey             Whitinsville, MA (MA)   15  44-11  0
23. Carlos Perez Zamorano  Madrid SPAIN (ESP)      15  44-09  0
24. Leo Bevelaqua          Wyoming, RI (RI)        13  44-05  0
25. Randy Lamanche         Marcellus, NY (NY)      15  43-09  0
26. Jonathan Case          Swanton, VT (VT)        15  43-06  0
27. James Knox             Rutland, VT (VT)        15  43-03  0
28. John Levesque          Nashua, NH (NH)         15  42-02  0
29. Chuck Towns            Readfield, ME (ME)      15  41-13  0
30. Garrett Kruger         Monroe, CT (CT)         15  41-08  0
31. Ricardo Rodriguez Gonzalez S Vicente D Alcantara S 15  41-07  0
32. Chris Molineaux        Hope Valley, RI (RI)    15  41-02  0
33. Frank Ramsay           Ingleside ONTARIO CANAD 15  41-00  0
34. John Diaco             Rochester, NH (NH)      14  40-08  0
35. Bill Kuslaka           Windham, NH (NH)        13  40-03  0
36. Dan Tavilla            Clelmsford, MA (MA)     15  40-00  0
37. Brian Jarvis           Warwick , RI (RI)       13  39-12  0
38. Skip Sjobeck           Randolph, VT (VT)       14  39-10  0
39. Reed Johnson           Farmington, CT (CT)     14  39-02  0
40. Mike Wolfenden         Warwick, RI (RI)        14  39-01  0
41. John Hinckley          Cumberland, RI (RI)     12  39-00  0
42. Michael Elliott        Chelmsford, MA (MA)     13  38-13  0
43. Tim Birch              Waterloo ONTARIO CANADA 12  38-08  0
44. Luis Vilar Patino      Castellon SPAIN (ESP)   12  38-04  0
45. George Puskar          Peekskill, NY (NY)      11  37-15  0
46. David Frey             West Warwick, RI (RI)   13  37-05  0
47. George Cooper          Buxton, ME (ME)         15  37-01  0
48. Fernando Lay           talaurea del reina  SPA 15  36-13  0
49. HS ON - McGarry Gallant Bowmanville CANADA (ONT 8  36-10  0
50. David Dziob            Meriden, CT (CT)        12  36-04  0
51. HS NY - Arndt          Clay, NY (NY)           10  34-02  0
52. John Fitzgerald        Salisbury, VT (VT)      11  34-02  0
53. HS CT - Marino / Winslow Naugatuck, CT (CT)      10  34-01  0
54. Keith Lee              Avon, CT (CT)           15  33-13  0
55. Sheron Brown           Ayer, MA (MA)           12  33-03  0
56. Brian Kelly            Liverpool, NY (NY)      15  33-02  0
57. Jim Lynch              Bomoseen, VT (VT)       11  33-01  0
58. Michael McNamara       Milford, NH (NH)        12  33-00  0
59. Joe Holland            Jefferson, ME (ME)      8  32-15  0
60. Pete Garnier           Lindsey ONTARIO CANADA  12  32-15  0
61. HS NH - Farrington Sterritt Newfields, NH (NH)      10  32-10  0
62. Rick Landry            Hudson, NH (NH)         13  32-09  0
63. Joseba Miquel          vitoria SPAIN (ESP)     14  32-04  0
64. Des Barnes             Aurora CANADA (ONT)     11  31-13  0
65. Adrian Torres Embid    Zaragoza SPAIN (ESP)    13  31-13  0
66. Ramiro Ruben Tarazona Sicilia Tarazona SPAIN (ESP)    14  31-12  0
67. Dwayne Turnage         Hollis, ME (ME)         11  31-05  0
68. Kevin Busch            Vienna, ME (ME)         13  31-03  0
69. James Hanatow          Alstead, NH (NH)        9  30-11  0
70. Ruben Corbella Salvia  Mollerusa SPAIN (ESP)   11  30-05  0
71. Ricky Turczak          Housatonic, MA (MA)     11  30-04  0
72. Allan Smith            Litchfield, NH (NH)     11  30-01  0
73. HS MA - McQuade Jaskolski Dudley, MA (MA)         9  30-01  0
74. John Carmen            Norfolk, MA (MA)        12  29-15  0
75. Farris Deroma          Newton, NJ (NY)         12  29-12  0
76. Scott Guimond          Sebago, ME (ME)         12  29-00  0
77. Ernesto Gonzalez Garcia S Vicente De Alcantara  11  28-05  0
78. Mark Lodge             Alfred, ME (ME)         11  27-14  0
79. John Lamour            Harrowsmith CANADA (ONT 8  27-13  0
80. John Shpack            Attleboro, MA (MA)      10  27-12  0
81. Matt Poissant          Alburg, VT (VT)         12  27-11  0
82. Larry MacPhail         Kingston Ontario CANADA 8  27-08  0
83. Bruce Leeson           Port Rowan ONTARIO CANA 11  27-06  0
84. Ronald Bestwick        Grisword, CT (RI)       9  27-04  0
85. Eloy Fernandez Jofre   L'Ametlla Del Valles SP 11  27-01  0
86. Peter Knight           Fulton, NY (NY)         11  26-13  0
87. Jay Guidaboni          Plymouth, MA (MA)       10  26-10  0
88. HS RI - Bestwick Sampson N Stonington, CT (RI)   10  26-08  0
89. Chuck Sturtevant       NoChihenden, VT (VT)    9  26-04  0
90. Steven Conde           Chepachet, RI (RI)      11  25-13  0
91. Kevin Noel             Burlington, CT (CT)     8  25-10  0
92. Bill Wright            Whiting, VT (VT)        9  25-08  0
93. Jamie Janzen           St Catherines ONTARIO C 10  24-15  0
94. Scott McKay            Mendon, VT (VT)         7  24-10  0
95. Harry Gordon           WATERBURY, CT (CT)      10  23-15  0
96. Steve Wilson           East Waterboro, ME (ME) 11  23-15  0
97. Paul LeBlanc           Medway, MA (MA)         9  22-08  0
98. HS VT - Gaudette Seaman Colchester, VT (VT)     10  21-10  0
99. Scott Barker           Gray, ME (ME)           8  20-15  0
100. Chris Guncheon         Warwick, RI (RI)        9  19-00  0
101. Matthew Breach         Douglas, MA (MA)        7  18-15  0
102. Chris Adams            Concord, NH (NH)        7  18-02  0
103. HS ME - Rodgers Williamson Gorham, ME (ME)         6  18-00  0
104. Steven Worden          Cumberland, RI (RI)     9  17-14  0
105. Kevin Miller           Merrimack, NH (NH)      8  17-10  0
106. Javier Guillen Cordoba Tarragona SPAIN (ESP)   8  17-02  0
107. David Riley            North Attleboro, MA (RI 6  16-06  0
108. Justin Spraske         Swanzey, NH (NH)        7  15-07  0
109. Donnie Staszczyk       Cheetowaga, NY (NY)     6  15-03  0
110. Michael Abernathy      Coventry, RI (RI)       7  15-01  0
111. John Grondin           Scarborough, ME (ME)    7  14-09  0
112. Shawn Grover           Biddeford, ME (ME)      5  13-08  0
113. Chris Mann             Cornish, VT (VT)        6  12-09  0
114. Scott Laliberty        Sabaltus, ME (ME)       4  12-06  0
115. Robert Hegyi           Wales, MA (MA)          5  11-12  0
116. James Jeffries         Rouses Point, NY (VT)   2  04-15  0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day   #Limits    #Fish      Weight
1       64       433       1264-14
2       69       466       1388-15
3       59       443       1297-08
----------------------------------
192      1342      3951-05

TEAM STANDINGS Day 3
----------------------------------
State                Lbs-Oz
1 NEW YORK             540-06
2 CONNECTICUT          532-09
3 ONTARIO              516-13
4 NEW HAMPSHIRE        443-15
5 SPAIN                405-10
6 MASSACHUSETTS        399-03
7 VERMONT              389-14
8 RHODE ISLAND         388-07
9 MAINE                334-08

INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS Day 3
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

CONNECTICUT
Angler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz
1 Paul Mueller         Naugatuck, CT               15   53-15  0
2 Abe Kalechman        Ashford, CT                 15   51-14  0
3 Dennis Sikorski      Bozrah, CT                  15   50-04  0
4 Kevin Rose Jr        Anniston, CT                15   48-13  0
5 Scott Downie         Danbury , CT                14   47-13  0
6 David Maiorano       Clinton, CT                 12   45-09  0
7 Garrett Kruger       Monroe, CT                  15   41-08  0
8 Reed Johnson         Farmington, CT              14   39-02  0
9 David Dziob          Meriden, CT                 12   36-04  0
10 HS CT - Marino / Winslow Naugatuck, CT               10   34-01  0
11 Keith Lee            Avon, CT                    15   33-13  0
12 Kevin Noel           Burlington, CT              8   25-10  0
13 Harry Gordon         WATERBURY, CT               10   23-15  0

MASSACHUSETTS
Angler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz
1 Jeff Kenney          Franklin, MA                15   44-11  0
2 Jim Moorey           Whitinsville, MA            15   44-11  0
3 Dan Tavilla          Clelmsford, MA              15   40-00  0
4 Michael Elliott      Chelmsford, MA              13   38-13  0
5 Sheron Brown         Ayer, MA                    12   33-03  0
6 Ricky Turczak        Housatonic, MA              11   30-04  0
7 HS MA - McQuade Jaskolski Dudley, MA                  9   30-01  0
8 John Carmen          Norfolk, MA                 12   29-15  0
9 John Shpack          Attleboro, MA               10   27-12  0
10 Jay Guidaboni        Plymouth, MA                10   26-10  0
11 Paul LeBlanc         Medway, MA                  9   22-08  0
12 Matthew Breach       Douglas, MA                 7   18-15  0
13 Robert Hegyi         Wales, MA                   5   11-12  0

MAINE
Angler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz
1 Chuck Towns          Readfield, ME               15   41-13  0
2 George Cooper        Buxton, ME                  15   37-01  0
3 Joe Holland          Jefferson, ME               8   32-15  0
4 Dwayne Turnage       Hollis, ME                  11   31-05  0
5 Kevin Busch          Vienna, ME                  13   31-03  0
6 Scott Guimond        Sebago, ME                  12   29-00  0
7 Mark Lodge           Alfred, ME                  11   27-14  0
8 Steve Wilson         East Waterboro, ME          11   23-15  0
9 Scott Barker         Gray, ME                    8   20-15  0
10 HS ME - Rodgers Williamson Gorham, ME                  6   18-00  0
11 John Grondin         Scarborough, ME             7   14-09  0
12 Shawn Grover         Biddeford, ME               5   13-08  0
13 Scott Laliberty      Sabaltus, ME                4   12-06  0

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Angler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz
1 Rob Messenger        Sunapee, NH                 15   64-00  0
2 Pete Demoya          Plymouth, MA                14   47-00  0
3 John Levesque        Nashua, NH                  15   42-02  0
4 John Diaco           Rochester, NH               14   40-08  0
5 Bill Kuslaka         Windham, NH                 13   40-03  0
6 Michael McNamara     Milford, NH                 12   33-00  0
7 HS NH - Farrington Sterritt Newfields, NH               10   32-10  0
8 Rick Landry          Hudson, NH                  13   32-09  0
9 James Hanatow        Alstead, NH                 9   30-11  0
10 Allan Smith          Litchfield, NH              11   30-01  0
11 Chris Adams          Concord, NH                 7   18-02  0
12 Kevin Miller         Merrimack, NH               8   17-10  0
13 Justin Spraske       Swanzey, NH                 7   15-07  0

NEW YORK
Angler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz
1 Ken Golubjatnikov    Pittsford, NY               15   65-07  0
2 Christopher Killoren Marcellus, NY               15   57-14  0
3 Brad Brodnicki       Buffalo, NY                 15   52-04  0
4 Todd Covert          Port Crane, NY              15   50-08  0
5 Joe Valerio          Red Creek, NY               15   48-01  0
6 Chris O'Brien        Rochester, NY               15   45-12  0
7 Randy Lamanche       Marcellus, NY               15   43-09  0
8 George Puskar        Peekskill, NY               11   37-15  0
9 HS NY - Arndt        Clay, NY                    10   34-02  0
10 Brian Kelly          Liverpool, NY               15   33-02  0
11 Farris Deroma        Newton, NJ                  12   29-12  0
12 Peter Knight         Fulton, NY                  11   26-13  0
13 Donnie Staszczyk     Cheetowaga, NY              6   15-03  0

RHODE ISLAND
Angler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz
1 Leo Bevelaqua        Wyoming, RI                 13   44-05  0
2 Chris Molineaux      Hope Valley, RI             15   41-02  0
3 Brian Jarvis         Warwick , RI                13   39-12  0
4 Mike Wolfenden       Warwick, RI                 14   39-01  0
5 John Hinckley        Cumberland, RI              12   39-00  0
6 David Frey           West Warwick, RI            13   37-05  0
7 Ronald Bestwick      Grisword, CT                9   27-04  0
8 HS RI - Bestwick Sampson N Stonington, CT            10   26-08  0
9 Steven Conde         Chepachet, RI               11   25-13  0
10 Chris Guncheon       Warwick, RI                 9   19-00  0
11 Steven Worden        Cumberland, RI              9   17-14  0
12 David Riley          North Attleboro, MA         6   16-06  0
13 Michael Abernathy    Coventry, RI                7   15-01  0

VERMONT
Angler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz
1 Russell Phillips     Guilford, VT                15   53-05  0
2 Jonathan Case        Swanton, VT                 15   43-06  0
3 James Knox           Rutland, VT                 15   43-03  0
4 Skip Sjobeck         Randolph, VT                14   39-10  0
5 John Fitzgerald      Salisbury, VT               11   34-02  0
6 Jim Lynch            Bomoseen, VT                11   33-01  0
7 Matt Poissant        Alburg, VT                  12   27-11  0
8 Chuck Sturtevant     NoChihenden, VT             9   26-04  0
9 Bill Wright          Whiting, VT                 9   25-08  0
10 Scott McKay          Mendon, VT                  7   24-10  0
11 HS VT - Gaudette Seaman Colchester, VT              10   21-10  0
12 Chris Mann           Cornish, VT                 6   12-09  0
13 James Jeffries       Rouses Point, NY            2   04-15  0

ONTARIO
Angler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz
1 Doug Brownridge      Milton ONTARIO CANADA       15   72-09  0
2 Mark Rorke           St Cathrines ONTARIO CA 15   53-05  0
3 Mark Cavanaugh       Port Perry CANADA           15   52-03  0
4 Charles Sim          Ottawa CANADA               14   50-04  0
5 Frank Ramsay         Ingleside ONTARIO CANAD    15   41-00  0
6 Tim Birch            Waterloo ONTARIO CANADA     12   38-08  0
7 HS ON - McGarry Gallant Bowmanville CANADA          8   36-10  0
8 Pete Garnier         Lindsey ONTARIO CANADA      12   32-15  0
9 Des Barnes           Aurora CANADA               11   31-13  0
10 John Lamour          Harrowsmith CANADA          8   27-13  0
11 Larry MacPhail       Kingston Ontario CANADA     8   27-08  0
12 Bruce Leeson         Port Rowan ONTARIO CANA   11   27-06  0
13 Jamie Janzen         St Catherines ONTARIO C 10   24-15  0

SPAIN
Angler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz
1 Eric Corbella Salvia Mollerusa SPAIN             15   45-15  0
2 Carlos Perez Zamorano Madrid SPAIN                15   44-09  0
3 Ricardo Rodriguez Gonzalez S Vicente D Alcantara S 15   41-07  0
4 Luis Vilar Patino    Castellon SPAIN             12   38-04  0
5 Fernando Lay         talaurea del reina  SPA   15   36-13  0
6 Joseba Miquel        vitoria SPAIN               14   32-04  0
7 Adrian Torres Embid  Zaragoza SPAIN              13   31-13  0
8 Ramiro Ruben Tarazona Sicilia Tarazona SPAIN              14   31-12  0
9 Ruben Corbella Salvia Mollerusa SPAIN             11   30-05  0
10 Ernesto Gonzalez Garcia S Vicente De Alcantara  11   28-05  0
11 Eloy Fernandez Jofre L'Ametlla Del Valles SP  11   27-01  0
12 Javier Guillen Cordoba Tarragona SPAIN             8   17-02  0


Brownridge Still Leads B.a.s.s. Nation Eastern Divisional

Doug Brownridge of Ontario, Canada, leads Day 2 of the Old Milwaukee B.A.S.S. Nation Eastern Divisional on the St. Lawrence River out of Waddington, N.Y., with a two-day total weight of 48 pounds, 7 ounces. 

Photo by Tyler Wade/Bassmaster

WADDINGTON, N.Y. — Doug Brownridge followed up his massive 24-pound, 5-ounce bag on Day 1 of the 2014 Old Milwaukee B.A.S.S. Nation Eastern Divisional with one that weighed 24-2, extending his lead in the tournament on the St. Lawrence River to nearly 6 pounds.

“I’m still not comfortable yet,” said Brownridge, a member of the Mississauga Bassmasters in the Ontario B.A.S.S. Nation. “I’m going to have to fish hard all day tomorrow.”

The Canadian angler shows no signs of slowing down, though. He caught most of his fish in the same place on Day 2 as he did on Day 1, leaving him plenty of areas to pick apart on the final day.

“I dropped a horse today, though,” said Brownridge, referring to a big fish he lost. It’s not the only one, either: He lost a couple on the first day, as well. “That one was a monster. If I had gotten that one, I’d be much better off.”

Still, Brownridge said he figured out something today that he thinks will help him on the final day. And he’ll have to work hard early on Day 3. “My smallmouth bite just shuts down around 10 o’clock,” he said. “I’ve got to really get them in the morning.”

Brownridge has 48 pounds, 7 ounces for two days. His closest competitor is Rob Messenger of New Hampshire with 42-14. Messenger was also the runner-up on Day 1.

Brownridge and Messenger are currently among the team leaders slated to qualify for the 2014 Old Milwaukee B.A.S.S. Nation Championship, Nov. 6-8, on the Ouachita River in Monroe, La. The top angler on each team advances there, and one competitor from each of the six divisions will earn a coveted berth in the 2015 Bassmaster Classic. Other team leaders are Paul Mueller, Connecticut; James Moorey, Massachusetts; Chuck Towns, Maine; Ken Golub, New York; Leo Bevelaqua, Rhode Island; Russell Phillips, Vermont; and Carlos Perez Zamorano, Spain.

Several anglers made big moves on Day 2 thanks to adjustments they made. A few others who had 20-plus-pound bags on the first day came in with scant weights on the second. But almost all of the competitors who are doing well said they expect their fish to hold up on Day 3.

“I have not scratched the surface,” said Golub, who has brought in two 20-plus sacks in a row. “I’ve saved all of them for tomorrow. There are anglers fishing all around me, and I’ve been playing dumb, skipping over those fish. But I’m going to clean out those holes tomorrow.”

The fish don’t seem to be slowing down. The average weight for Day 2 held steady at nearly 3 pounds, just like on Day 1. Most of the field caught limits of five bass, and six 20-plus-pound bags were brought in on Day 2, compared to eight on the first day.

One of those big bags was brought in by high school anglers Cooper Gallant and Danny McGarry of the Ontario B.A.S.S. Nation. The young anglers brought in the second-largest bag of the day, 23 pounds, 13 ounces.

“The smallmouth have been hitting a lot of different lures,” Gallant said. “They’re pretty aggressive.”

Gallant and McGarry are part of the B.A.S.S. High School division that competes alongside the adults for the final two days of the tournament. Each B.A.S.S. Nation team sends two high schoolers to the divisional, who go out with an adult team member who serves as their coach.

“We hope we can duplicate that tomorrow,” Gallant said.

In the state team competition, the Connecticut B.A.S.S. Nation overtook the lead from New York, but it’s too close to call. Connecticut has a cumulative weight of 358 pounds, 8 ounces, and New York has 357 pounds, 14 ounces. Ontario is third with 337-14. The team with the most weight at the end of Day 3 wins a Skeeter/Yamaha boat and motor package worth $40,000.

The leader of the Carhartt Big Bass competition is a tie. James Hanatow of New Hampshire brought in a 6-0 bass on Day 1, and his teammate, Michael McNamara, weighed in one the same size on Day 2. Carhartt awards $500 to the winner, and in the event of a tie, the anglers will split the winnings.

Brownridge wins the Livingston Lures Leader Award for being the leader on the second day. His award is $250. Brownridge also still has the biggest bag of the tournament, his 24-5 from Day 1.

Competition at the Eastern Divisional resumes tomorrow at 6:30 a.m. ET at Whittaker Park in Waddington. Competition concludes Friday, Sept. 26, after the weigh-in, which begins at 2:30 p.m. ET. Keep up with the tournament live at Bassmaster.com.

2014 Old Milwaukee BASS Nation Eastern Divisional 9/24-9/26
St. Lawrence River, Waddington  NY.
(ANGLER) Standings Day 2

Angler                   Hometown              No./lbs-oz  Pts

1.  Doug Brownridge        Milton ONTARIO CANADA ( 10  48-07  0
2.  Rob Messenger          Sunapee, NH (NH)        10  42-14  0
3.  Ken Golubjatnikov      Pittsford, NY (NY)      10  42-13  0
4.  Christopher Killoren   Marcellus, NY (NY)      10  40-02  0
5.  Paul Mueller           Naugatuck, CT (CT)      10  39-08  0
6.  Leo Bevelaqua          Wyoming, RI (RI)        10  39-06  0
7.  Dennis Sikorski        Bozrah, CT (CT)         10  35-06  0
8.  Brad Brodnicki         Buffalo, NY (NY)        10  35-02  0
9.  Abe Kalechman          Ashford, CT (CT)        10  34-10  0
10. Russell Phillips       Guilford, VT (VT)       10  34-06  0
11. Mark Rorke             St Cathrines ONTARIO CA 10  34-05  0
12. Todd Covert            Port Crane, NY (NY)     10  34-03  0
13. Pete Demoya            Plymouth, MA (NH)       10  33-09  0
14. Kevin Rose Jr          Anniston, CT (CT)       10  33-07  0
15. Randy Lamanche         Marcellus, NY (NY)      10  33-04  0
16. Carlos Perez Zamorano  Madrid SPAIN (ESP)      10  33-01  0
17. John Hinckley          Cumberland, RI (RI)     10  32-12  0
18. Bill Kuslaka           Windham, NH (NH)        10  32-04  0
19. Skip Sjobeck           Randolph, VT (VT)       10  32-00  0
20. Mark Cavanaugh         Port Perry CANADA (ONT) 10  31-15  0
21. Tim Birch              Waterloo ONTARIO CANADA 9  31-04  0
22. Chuck Towns            Readfield, ME (ME)      10  30-12  0
23. David Maiorano         Clinton, CT (CT)        8  30-11  0
24. David Dziob            Meriden, CT (CT)        10  30-11  0
25. Scott Downie           Danbury , CT (CT)       9  30-11  0
26. Joe Valerio            Red Creek, NY (NY)      10  30-04  0
27. Jonathan Case          Swanton, VT (VT)        10  30-03  0
28. James Moorey           Whitinsville, MA (MA)   10  29-09  0
29. Chris Molineaux        Hope Valley, RI (RI)    10  28-10  0
30. James Knox             Rutland, VT (VT)        10  28-07  0
31. Eric Corbella Salvia   Mollerusa SPAIN (ESP)   10  28-05  0
32. Chris O'Brien          Rochester, NY (NY)      10  28-04  0
33. Garrett Kruger         Monroe, CT (CT)         10  28-00  0
34. Charles Sim            Ottawa CANADA (ONT)     9  27-15  0
35. George Puskar          Peekskill, NY (NY)      8  27-13  0
36. Jeff Kenney            Franklin, MA (MA)       10  27-12  0
37. Ricardo Rodriguez Gonzalez S Vicente D Alcantara S 10  27-10  0
38. Adrian Torres Embid    Zaragoza SPAIN (ESP)    10  26-09  0
39. Luis Vilar Patino      Castellon SPAIN (ESP)   9  26-06  0
40. John Diaco             Rochester, NH (NH)      9  26-06  0
41. George Cooper          Buxton, ME (ME)         10  26-04  0
42. Chuck Sturtevant       NoChihenden, VT (VT)    9  26-04  0
43. Dan Tavilla            Clelmsford, MA (MA)     10  25-15  0
44. James Hanatow          Alstead, NH (NH)        7  25-14  0
45. Michael McNamara       Milford, NH (NH)        9  25-13  0
46. Farris Deroma          Newton, NJ (NY)         10  25-09  0
47. John Levesque          Nashua, NH (NH)         10  25-02  0
48. Reed Johnson           Farmington, CT (CT)     9  25-00  0
49. Matt Poissant          Alburg, VT (VT)         10  25-00  0
50. Fernando Lay           talaurea del reina  SPA 10  24-11  0
51. Mike Wolfenden         Warwick, RI (RI)        9  24-08  0
52. Sheron Brown           Ayer, MA (MA)           8  24-08  0
53. Scott Guimond          Sebago, ME (ME)         10  24-07  0
54. Frank Ramsay           Ingleside ONTARIO CANAD 10  24-03  0
55. John Shpack            Attleboro, MA (MA)      9  23-14  0
56. HS ON - McGarry Gallant Bowmanville CANADA (ONT 5  23-13  0
57. John Lamour            Harrowsmith CANADA (ONT 7  23-12  0
58. Joseba Miquel          vitoria SPAIN (ESP)     9  23-11  0
59. Brian Kelly            Liverpool, NY (NY)      10  23-07  0
60. Des Barnes             Aurora CANADA (ONT)     8  23-06  0
61. Brian Jarvis           Warwick , RI (RI)       8  23-03  0
62. Allan Smith            Litchfield, NH (NH)     6  22-12  0
63. Ramiro Ruben Tarazona Sicilia Tarazona SPAIN (ESP)    10  22-11  0
64. Michael Elliott        Chelmsford, MA (MA)     8  22-09  0
65. David Frey             West Warwick, RI (RI)   8  21-14  0
66. Pete Garnier           Lindsey ONTARIO CANADA  8  21-07  0
67. Rick Landry            Hudson, NH (NH)         9  21-06  0
68. Keith Lee              Avon, CT (CT)           10  20-13  0
69. Dwayne Turnage         Hollis, ME (ME)         7  20-08  0
70. John Fitzgerald        Salisbury, VT (VT)      7  20-07  0
71. Jay Guidaboni          Plymouth, MA (MA)       7  19-12  0
72. Paul LeBlanc           Medway, MA (MA)         7  19-11  0
73. Ernesto Gonzalez Garcia S Vicente De Alcantara  7  19-08  0
74. John Carmen            Norfolk, MA (MA)        8  19-06  0
75. Kevin Noel             Burlington, CT (CT)     6  19-01  0
76. Chris Guncheon         Warwick, RI (RI)        9  19-00  0
77. Steve Wilson           East Waterboro, ME (ME) 9  18-11  0
78. Ricky Turczak          Housatonic, MA (MA)     6  18-10  0
79. Scott McKay            Mendon, VT (VT)         5  18-01  0
80. Mark Lodge             Alfred, ME (ME)         7  17-09  0
81. Kevin Busch            Vienna, ME (ME)         8  16-15  0
82. Jamie Janzen           St Catherines ONTARIO C 7  16-11  0
83. Ruben Corbella Salvia  Mollerusa SPAIN (ESP)   6  16-09  0
84. David Riley            North Attleboro, MA (RI 6  16-06  0
85. HS NY - Arndt          Clay, NY (NY)           5  15-13  0
86. Scott Barker           Gray, ME (ME)           6  15-12  0
87. Jim Lynch              Bomoseen, VT (VT)       6  15-11  0
88. Joe Holland            Jefferson, ME (ME)      4  15-10  0
89. Bruce Leeson           Port Rowan ONTARIO CANA 7  15-07  0
90. Harry Gordon           WATERBURY, CT (CT)      6  15-06  0
91. Larry MacPhail         Kingston Ontario CANADA 5  15-05  0
92. HS CT - Marino / Winslow Naugatuck, CT (CT)      5  15-04  0
93. HS NH - Farrington Sterritt Newfields, NH (NH)      5  15-02  0
94. Steven Conde           Chepachet, RI (RI)      6  15-02  0
95. Eloy Fernandez Jofre   L'Ametlla Del Valles SP 6  15-01  0
96. HS RI - Bestwick Sampson N Stonington, CT (RI)   5  14-15  0
97. Chris Adams            Concord, NH (NH)        6  14-05  0
98. William Wright         Whiting, VT (VT)        5  13-15  0
99. Shawn Grover           Biddeford, ME (ME)      5  13-08  0
100. Steven Worden          Cumberland, RI (RI)     6  13-04  0
101. Ronald Bestwick        Grisword, CT (RI)       5  12-11  0
102. Scott Laliberty        Sabaltus, ME (ME)       4  12-06  0
103. HS MA - McQuade Jaskolski Dudley, MA (MA)         4  12-03  0
104. HS VT - Gaudette Seaman Colchester, VT (VT)     5  11-11  0
105. Peter Knight           Fulton, NY (NY)         6  11-02  0
106. Matthew Breach         Douglas, MA (MA)        4  10-13  0
107. Robert Hegyi           Wales, MA (MA)          4  10-09  0
108. Javier Guillen Cordoba Tarragona SPAIN (ESP)   6  10-07  0
109. Chris Mann             Cornish, VT (VT)        5  10-06  0
110. Donnie Staszczyk       Cheetowaga, NY (NY)     5  10-02  0
111. Michael Abernathy      Coventry, RI (RI)       4  09-06  0
112. Justin Spraske         Swanzey, NH (NH)        4  08-00  0
113. Kevin Miller           Merrimack, NH (NH)      3  07-13  0
114. John Grondin           Scarborough, ME (ME)    2  05-08  0
115. HS ME - Rodgers Williamson Gorham, ME (ME)         1  03-03  0
116. James Jeffries         Rouses Point, NY (VT)   0  00-00  0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day   #Limits    #Fish      Weight
1       64       433       1264-14
2       69       466       1388-15
----------------------------------
133       899      2653-13

TEAM STANDINGS Day 2
----------------------------------
State                Lbs-Oz
1 CONNECTICUT          358-08
2 NEW YORK             357-14
3 ONTARIO              337-14
4 NEW HAMPSHIRE        301-04
5 SPAIN                274-09
6 RHODE ISLAND         271-01
7 VERMONT              266-07
8 MASSACHUSETTS        265-03
9 MAINE                221-01

INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS Day 2
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

CONNECTICUT
Angler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz
1 Paul Mueller         Naugatuck, CT               10   39-08  0
2 Dennis Sikorski      Bozrah, CT                  10   35-06  0
3 Abe Kalechman        Ashford, CT                 10   34-10  0
4 Kevin Rose Jr        Anniston, CT                10   33-07  0
5 David Maiorano       Clinton, CT                 8   30-11  0
6 David Dziob          Meriden, CT                 10   30-11  0
7 Scott Downie         Danbury , CT                9   30-11  0
8 Garrett Kruger       Monroe, CT                  10   28-00  0
9 Reed Johnson         Farmington, CT              9   25-00  0
10 Keith Lee            Avon, CT                    10   20-13  0
11 Kevin Noel           Burlington, CT              6   19-01  0
12 Harry Gordon         WATERBURY, CT               6   15-06  0
13 HS CT - Marino / Winslow Naugatuck, CT               5   15-04  0

MASSACHUSETTS
Angler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz
1 James Moorey         Whitinsville, MA            10   29-09  0
2 Jeff Kenney          Franklin, MA                10   27-12  0
3 Dan Tavilla          Clelmsford, MA              10   25-15  0
4 Sheron Brown         Ayer, MA                    8   24-08  0
5 John Shpack          Attleboro, MA               9   23-14  0
6 Michael Elliott      Chelmsford, MA              8   22-09  0
7 Jay Guidaboni        Plymouth, MA                7   19-12  0
8 Paul LeBlanc         Medway, MA                  7   19-11  0
9 John Carmen          Norfolk, MA                 8   19-06  0
10 Ricky Turczak        Housatonic, MA              6   18-10  0
11 HS MA - McQuade Jaskolski Dudley, MA                  4   12-03  0
12 Matthew Breach       Douglas, MA                 4   10-13  0
13 Robert Hegyi         Wales, MA                   4   10-09  0

MAINE
Angler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz
1 Chuck Towns          Readfield, ME               10   30-12  0
2 George Cooper        Buxton, ME                  10   26-04  0
3 Scott Guimond        Sebago, ME                  10   24-07  0
4 Dwayne Turnage       Hollis, ME                  7   20-08  0
5 Steve Wilson         East Waterboro, ME          9   18-11  0
6 Mark Lodge           Alfred, ME                  7   17-09  0
7 Kevin Busch          Vienna, ME                  8   16-15  0
8 Scott Barker         Gray, ME                    6   15-12  0
9 Joe Holland          Jefferson, ME               4   15-10  0
10 Shawn Grover         Biddeford, ME               5   13-08  0
11 Scott Laliberty      Sabaltus, ME                4   12-06  0
12 John Grondin         Scarborough, ME             2   05-08  0
13 HS ME - Rodgers Williamson Gorham, ME                  1   03-03  0

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Angler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz
1 Rob Messenger        Sunapee, NH                 10   42-14  0
2 Pete Demoya          Plymouth, MA                10   33-09  0
3 Bill Kuslaka         Windham, NH                 10   32-04  0
4 John Diaco           Rochester, NH               9   26-06  0
5 James Hanatow        Alstead, NH                 7   25-14  0
6 Michael McNamara     Milford, NH                 9   25-13  0
7 John Levesque        Nashua, NH                  10   25-02  0
8 Allan Smith          Litchfield, NH              6   22-12  0
9 Rick Landry          Hudson, NH                  9   21-06  0
10 HS NH - Farrington Sterritt Newfields, NH               5   15-02  0
11 Chris Adams          Concord, NH                 6   14-05  0
12 Justin Spraske       Swanzey, NH                 4   08-00  0
13 Kevin Miller         Merrimack, NH               3   07-13  0

NEW YORK
Angler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz
1 Ken Golubjatnikov    Pittsford, NY               10   42-13  0
2 Christopher Killoren Marcellus, NY               10   40-02  0
3 Brad Brodnicki       Buffalo, NY                 10   35-02  0
4 Todd Covert          Port Crane, NY              10   34-03  0
5 Randy Lamanche       Marcellus, NY               10   33-04  0
6 Joe Valerio          Red Creek, NY               10   30-04  0
7 Chris O'Brien        Rochester, NY               10   28-04  0
8 George Puskar        Peekskill, NY               8   27-13  0
9 Farris Deroma        Newton, NJ                  10   25-09  0
10 Brian Kelly          Liverpool, NY               10   23-07  0
11 HS NY - Arndt        Clay, NY                    5   15-13  0
12 Peter Knight         Fulton, NY                  6   11-02  0
13 Donnie Staszczyk     Cheetowaga, NY              5   10-02  0

RHODE ISLAND
Angler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz
1 Leo Bevelaqua        Wyoming, RI                 10   39-06  0
2 John Hinckley        Cumberland, RI              10   32-12  0
3 Chris Molineaux      Hope Valley, RI             10   28-10  0
4 Mike Wolfenden       Warwick, RI                 9   24-08  0
5 Brian Jarvis         Warwick , RI                8   23-03  0
6 David Frey           West Warwick, RI            8   21-14  0
7 Chris Guncheon       Warwick, RI                 9   19-00  0
8 David Riley          North Attleboro, MA         6   16-06  0
9 Steven Conde         Chepachet, RI               6   15-02  0
10 HS RI - Bestwick Sampson N Stonington, CT            5   14-15  0
11 Steven Worden        Cumberland, RI              6   13-04  0
12 Ronald Bestwick      Grisword, CT                5   12-11  0
13 Michael Abernathy    Coventry, RI                4   09-06  0

VERMONT
Angler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz
1 Russell Phillips     Guilford, VT                10   34-06  0
2 Skip Sjobeck         Randolph, VT                10   32-00  0
3 Jonathan Case        Swanton, VT                 10   30-03  0
4 James Knox           Rutland, VT                 10   28-07  0
5 Chuck Sturtevant     NoChihenden, VT             9   26-04  0
6 Matt Poissant        Alburg, VT                  10   25-00  0
7 John Fitzgerald      Salisbury, VT               7   20-07  0
8 Scott McKay          Mendon, VT                  5   18-01  0
9 Jim Lynch            Bomoseen, VT                6   15-11  0
10 William Wright       Whiting, VT                 5   13-15  0
11 HS VT - Gaudette Seaman Colchester, VT              5   11-11  0
12 Chris Mann           Cornish, VT                 5   10-06  0
13 James Jeffries       Rouses Point, NY            0   00-00  0

ONTARIO
Angler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz
1 Doug Brownridge      Milton ONTARIO CANADA       10   48-07  0
2 Mark Rorke           St Cathrines ONTARIO CA 10   34-05  0
3 Mark Cavanaugh       Port Perry CANADA           10   31-15  0
4 Tim Birch            Waterloo ONTARIO CANADA     9   31-04  0
5 Charles Sim          Ottawa CANADA               9   27-15  0
6 Frank Ramsay         Ingleside ONTARIO CANAD    10   24-03  0
7 HS ON - McGarry Gallant Bowmanville CANADA          5   23-13  0
8 John Lamour          Harrowsmith CANADA          7   23-12  0
9 Des Barnes           Aurora CANADA               8   23-06  0
10 Pete Garnier         Lindsey ONTARIO CANADA      8   21-07  0
11 Jamie Janzen         St Catherines ONTARIO C 7   16-11  0
12 Bruce Leeson         Port Rowan ONTARIO CANA   7   15-07  0
13 Larry MacPhail       Kingston Ontario CANADA     5   15-05  0

SPAIN
Angler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz
1 Carlos Perez Zamorano Madrid SPAIN                10   33-01  0
2 Eric Corbella Salvia Mollerusa SPAIN             10   28-05  0
3 Ricardo Rodriguez Gonzalez S Vicente D Alcantara S 10   27-10  0
4 Adrian Torres Embid  Zaragoza SPAIN              10   26-09  0
5 Luis Vilar Patino    Castellon SPAIN             9   26-06  0
6 Fernando Lay         talaurea del reina  SPA   10   24-11  0
7 Joseba Miquel        vitoria SPAIN               9   23-11  0
8 Ramiro Ruben Tarazona Sicilia Tarazona SPAIN              10   22-11  0
9 Ernesto Gonzalez Garcia S Vicente De Alcantara  7   19-08  0
10 Ruben Corbella Salvia Mollerusa SPAIN             6   16-09  0
11 Eloy Fernandez Jofre L'Ametlla Del Valles SP  6   15-01  0
12 Javier Guillen Cordoba Tarragona SPAIN             6   10-07  0


Lake Hartwell's Bassmaster Classic - Who's In?

Ken Duke wrote the following excellent explanation regarding who's in for the 2015 Bassmaster Classic to be held on South Carolina's Lake Hartwell in February. For more, visit Bassmaster.com.

You need a scorecard, calculator and some scratch paper to figure out the 2015 Bassmaster Classic field ... or you could read this

As defending Classic champ, Randy Howell was one of the first to qualify for the 2015 championship

By Ken Duke

Sep 25, 2014

With the completion of the 2014 Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship, 48 of the 56 Bassmaster Classic berths for Lake Hartwell, Feb. 20-22, 2015, are in the books. Remaining are one spot from the final Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open presented by Allstate (to be decided on Oct. 4), six spots from the B.A.S.S. Nation Championship (Nov. 8) and one spot from the Bassmaster Team Series (Dec. 13).

Classic qualifiers come from seven sources.

Defending Champion(s)

Randy Howell

Cliff Pace

Ordinarily, only one defending Classic champ has a berth in the Classic, and it would be Randy Howell, who won earlier this year. The 2013 champ, Cliff Pace, however, was unable to defend his title after suffering a hunting injury that forced him to sit out the Elite Series season. As a result, he'll be back in the Classic in 2015. What's more, Pace finished second to Alton Jones at the 2008 Classic on Hartwell, so he'll certainly be one of the pre-tournament favorites.

Elite Winners

Brett Hite

Chris Lane

Mike McClelland

Jacob Powroznik

Jason Christie

Jacob Wheeler

Michael Iaconelli

Greg Hackney

Wheeler isn't fishing the Elite Series, but he won BASSfest on Chickamauga Lake and fished the full season of Northern Opens to earn his spot.

Top-Ranking Anglers in the AOY Standings

The top 29 anglers in the AOY race all earn a berth in the Classic. You've seen some of these names already above.

Greg Hackney

Todd Faircloth

Jacob Powroznik

Aaron Martens

Mark Davis

Keith Combs

Skeet Reese

Jared Lintner

Dean Rojas

Casey Ashley

Justin Lucas

Chris Lane

Randall Tharp

Gerald Swindle

Jason Christie

Matt Herren

Brandon Palaniuk

Chad Morgenthaler

John Crews

David Walker

Scott Rook

Edwin Evers

Paul Elias

Cliff Crochet

Michael Iaconelli

Mike McClelland

James Niggemeyer

Brandon Lester

Randy Howell

Six of the anglers who won Elite events (Hackney, Powroznik, Chris Lane, Christie, Iaconelli and McClelland) were also in the top 29 of the AOY race. Thus they "double qualify," earning a spot via their wins and on points. Howell also double qualifies on points and as defending Classic champion. That opens up seven more spots for Elite anglers, as follows.

Morizo Shimizu

Brett Hite

Bill Lowen

Bobby Lane

Brian Snowden

Andy Montgomery

Clifford Pirch

But wait! Hite was also an Elite winner, so that's another double qualifier, and we can move down the list one more place to pick up ...

Ott DeFoe

But don't stop there! DeFoe won a Northern Open so he's also double qualified (see below). Let's move down the list another spot to add ...

Takahiro Omori

And don't forget that one of the Opens winners (former Elite pro Mark Tyler) didn't fish the full Open season and so did not earn a Classic berth with his win. Instead of that spot going unused, though, it shifts to the next angler on the AOY points list, which is ...

Kevin Short

And that completes the field of Elite qualifiers ... for now.

Opens Winners

Stephen Browning

Ott DeFoe

Shinichi Fukae

David Kilgore

Chad Pipkens

Van Soles

Andy Young

Mark Tyler also won an Open, but didn't fish them all in that division, so he didn't get a Classic berth with the win. The final Open of 2014 is on North Carolina's Lake Norman, Oct. 2-4. The winner will earn a Classic berth if he fished all the Southern Opens this year. If he didn't, that spot will go to the next ranking angler in Elite AOY points — Cliff Prince. Interestingly, Prince will be fishing the event even though he didn't fish the other Southern Opens this year. If he wins, the victory itself will not earn him a Classic berth. Instead, the win opens the door for the next Elite pro —Cliff Prince! As a practical matter, it's inconsequential. But it is interesting. Prince can play both Classic spoiler and benefactor with a win. That's never happened before.

College B.A.S.S.

Brett Preuett

B.A.S.S. Nation

Six spots are up for grabs and will be decided at the Old Milwaukee B.A.S.S. Nation Championship, Nov. 6-8, on the Ouachita River in Louisiana.

Bassmaster Team Series

One Classic spot to be determined at the Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship on DeGray Lake, Ark., Dec. 9-13.

Now you're up to speed.


Oakley Big Bass Preview from Sportsman's Warehouse

Sportsman's Warehouse fishing manager Craig Baird helps us preview this weekends Oakly Big Bass Event out on Lake Murray.........one lucky angler is going to go home with a $30,000 Boat-Motor-Trailer pkg for 1 good fish!!


Ish dishes on Daiwa's latest - pro-designed rods

Ish Monroe tells us about Daiwa's pro-designed rods, what makes them special, and what actions will be offered. Looking for an old school glass cranking rod? How about a super sensitive graphite model? Check it out. From ICAST 2014!


Doug Brownridge Leads B.a.s.s. Nation Eastern Divisional With Big Sack Of Smallies

WADDINGTON, N.Y. — When Doug Brownridge took off on Day 1 on the St. Lawrence River, he knew exactly where he was heading. He chose correctly, and he currently leads the 2014 Old Milwaukee B.A.S.S. Nation Eastern Divisional with 24 pounds, 5 ounces.

“This year, I was second in a Canadian Open and sixth and first in two other tournaments here,” Brownridge said. “I’ve spent 10 to 15 tournament days on this river this year. So I knew right where I wanted to go.”

Brownridge, a member of the Ontario B.A.S.S. Nation, doesn’t even know what’s special about the spot he’s got. He only knows that it produces big fish, and that’s enough to keep him coming back for more.

Just in case it doesn’t bear similar fruit on Day 2, Brownridge has plenty of backup areas.

“I’ll run out of time before I run out of spots,” he said. “Smallmouth are notorious for moving. They never give up that easily.”

Brownridge had his Day 1 limit by 10 a.m., and he culled up once with a 5-pound, 12-ounce smallmouth. The Mississauga Bassmasters member spent the rest of the day letting his co-angler, Bill Kuslaka, fill out his limit while Brownridge pre-fished other areas he can use as backup.

The 2-pound lead he has right now gives him little comfort. “I lost two 4-plus-pound fish today,” said Brownridge. “If I lose more tomorrow, I could bring in only 12 pounds. That’s just how it goes.”

He would be much happier with that 2-pound lead going into the final day.

Brownridge wasn’t the only angler loading up on football-size smallmouth. He had three that weighed more than 5 pounds, but several competitors had 4- and 5-pound smallies on Day 1. James Hanatow of New Hampshire brought in one that weighed 6 pounds even. Hanatow’s fish is in the lead for Carhartt Big Bass honors.

The occasional largemouth bass showed up to play, too, and one boat had two limits of nothing but largemouth. Abe Kalechman of Connecticut and Peter Knight of New York had a combined 26 1/2 pounds of largemouth bass, a stark difference from the rest of the field.

Most competitors complimented the St. Lawrence River fishery and the day’s weather, which was pretty easy to do with eight 20-plus-pound bags crossing the stage and with more than half the field boasting five-bass limits.

Even with the strong weights the competitors brought in for Day 1, several said they expect Day 2 to bring in even heavier ones.

“Today, we had an east wind,” said Randy Lamanche of the New York B.A.S.S. Nation. “It’s hard to do great up here with an east wind. Tomorrow, if we get a southwest wind and the sun is high, the weights will be better.”

At the end of Day 1, host New York held the state lead for cumulative weight. The New York anglers brought 178 pounds, 5 ounces to the scales. New Hampshire is in second place in the state competition with 157-9, followed by Connecticut at 154-7. The winning state takes home a boat.

Brownridge not only holds the overall lead for the tournament; he’s also leading his team, Ontario. Each team sends one representative to the 2014 Old Milwaukee B.A.S.S. Nation Championship, Nov. 6-8, in Monroe, La. Other current state leaders are David Maiorano, Connecticut; George Cooper, Maine; James Moorey, Massachusetts; Rob Messenger, New Hampshire; Christopher Killoren, New York; Leo Bevelaqua, Rhode Island; Eric Corbella Salvia, Spain; and Jonathan Case, Vermont. Brownridge and Bevelaqua are the only ones with leads of more than 3 pounds, though; the rest could be wiped out with a single fish.

Anglers who advance to the championship have a chance to win a berth in the 2015 Bassmaster Classic, a dream for most amateur competitors. Only two here at the Eastern Divisional this year have ever achieved a Classic berth: John Diaco of New Hampshire and Paul Mueller of Connecticut. Mueller competed in the 2014 Bassmaster Classic and finished only 1 pound behind winner Randy Howell.

Competition at the Eastern Divisional resumes tomorrow at 6:30 a.m. ET at Whittaker Park in Waddington. The Day 2 weigh-in will take place there at 2:30 p.m. ET. The tournament concludes Friday, Sept. 26. Keep up with the tournament live at Bassmaster.com.

 

2014 Old Milwaukee BASS Nation Eastern Divisional 9/24-9/26
St. Lawrence River, Waddington  NY.
(ANGLER) Standings Day 1
   Angler                   Hometown              No./lbs-oz  Pts
1.  Doug Brownridge        Milton ONTARIO CANADA ( 5  24-05  0
2.  Rob Messenger          Sunapee, NH (NH)        5  22-02  0
3.  Christopher Killoren   Marcellus, NY (NY)      5  21-07  0
4.  David Maiorano         Clinton, CT (CT)        5  21-00  0
5.  Paul Mueller           Naugatuck, CT (CT)      5  20-14  0
6.  Leo Bevelaqua          Wyoming, RI (RI)        5  20-09  0
7.  Randy Lamanche         Marcellus, NY (NY)      5  20-04  0
8.  Ken Golubjatnikov      Pittsford, NY (NY)      5  20-01  0
9.  Bill Kuslaka           Windham, NH (NH)        5  19-15  0
9.  Allan Smith            Litchfield, NH (NH)     5  19-15  0
11. James Hanatow          Alstead, NH (NH)        5  19-13  0
12. Jonathan Case          Swanton, VT (VT)        5  18-15  0
13. Russell Phillips       Guilford, VT (VT)       5  18-07  0
14. Dennis Sikorski        Bozrah, CT (CT)         5  18-05  0
15. Mark Cavanaugh         Port Perry CANADA (ONT) 5  17-15  0
16. Eric Corbella Salvia   Mollerusa SPAIN (ESP)   5  17-14  0
17. Ricardo Rodriguez Gonzalez S Vicente D Alcantara S 5  17-13  0
18. Skip Sjobeck           Randolph, VT (VT)       5  17-08  0
19. George Puskar          Peekskill, NY (NY)      5  16-09  0
20. Abe Kalechman          Ashford, CT (CT)        5  16-08  0
21. Carlos Perez Zamorano  Madrid SPAIN (ESP)      5  16-06  0
21. Joe Valerio            Red Creek, NY (NY)      5  16-06  0
23. Brad Brodnicki         Buffalo, NY (NY)        5  15-09  0
23. Luis Vilar Patino      Castellon SPAIN (ESP)   5  15-09  0
25. Scott Downie           Danbury , CT (CT)       5  15-08  0
26. Todd Covert            Port Crane, NY (NY)     5  15-05  0
27. George Cooper          Buxton, ME (ME)         5  15-04  0
28. John Hinckley          Cumberland, RI (RI)     5  15-03  0
28. James Moorey           Whitinsville, MA (MA)   5  15-03  0
28. Chuck Towns            Readfield, ME (ME)      5  15-03  0
31. John Fitzgerald        Salisbury, VT (VT)      5  15-02  0
32. John Lamour            Harrowsmith CANADA (ONT 5  15-01  0
33. Jeff Kenney            Franklin, MA (MA)       5  15-00  0
34. Fernando Lay           talaurea del reina  SPA 5  14-08  0
35. James Knox             Rutland, VT (VT)        5  14-00  0
36. Tim Birch              Waterloo ONTARIO CANADA 4  13-13  0
37. Peter Demoya           Plymouth, MA (NH)       5  13-12  0
37. David Dziob            Meriden, CT (CT)        5  13-12  0
39. Michael Elliott        Chelmsford, MA (MA)     4  13-12  0
40. Paul LeBlanc           Medway, MA (MA)         5  13-11  0
41. Mark Lodge             Alfred, ME (ME)         5  13-09  0
42. Sheron Brown           Ayer, MA (MA)           4  13-08  0
43. Chris Molineaux        Hope Valley, RI (RI)    5  13-07  0
44. John Levesque          Nashua, NH (NH)         5  13-03  0
45. Ernesto Gonzalez Garcia S Vicente De Alcantara  4  13-02  0
46. Steven Conde           Chepachet, RI (RI)      5  13-01  0
46. Chris O'Brien          Rochester, NY (NY)      5  13-01  0
48. Ramiro Ruben Tarazona Sicilia Tarazona SPAIN (ESP)    5  13-00  0
49. Scott Guimond          Sebago, ME (ME)         5  12-15  0
49. Matt Poissant          Alburg, VT (VT)         5  12-15  0
51. Jay Guidaboni          Plymouth, MA (MA)       5  12-14  0
52. Pete Garnier           Lindsey ONTARIO CANADA  5  12-13  0
52. Mark Rorke             St Cathrines ONTARIO CA 5  12-13  0
52. Dan Tavilla            Clelmsford, MA (MA)     5  12-13  0
55. Jamie Janzen           St Catherines ONTARIO C 5  12-11  0
56. Ricky Turczak          Housatonic, MA (MA)     4  12-10  0
57. Michael McNamara       Milford, NH (NH)        5  12-06  0
58. Chuck Sturtevant       NoChihenden, VT (VT)    4  12-04  0
59. Christopher Guncheon   Warwick, RI (RI)        5  11-14  0
60. Kevin Rose Jr          Anniston, CT (CT)       5  11-11  0
61. Frank Ramsay           Ingleside ONTARIO CANAD 5  11-10  0
62. Joseba Miquel          vitoria SPAIN (ESP)     4  11-07  0
63. Adrian Torres Embid    Zaragoza SPAIN (ESP)    5  11-05  0
64. Reed Johnson           Farmington, CT (CT)     4  11-05  0
65. John Diaco             Rochester, NH (NH)      5  11-03  0
66. Garrett Kruger         Monroe, CT (CT)         5  10-14  0
67. Brian Kelly            Liverpool, NY (NY)      5  10-11  0
68. Farris Deroma          Newton, NJ (NY)         5  10-06  0
69. Larry MacPhail         Kingston Ontario CANADA 4  10-02  0
70. Peter Knight           Fulton, NY (NY)         5  09-15  0
71. John Shpack            Attleboro, MA (MA)      4  09-15  0
72. Scott McKay            Mendon, VT (VT)         3  09-12  0
73. Rick Landry            Hudson, NH (NH)         4  09-10  0
74. Steve Wilson           East Waterboro, ME (ME) 5  09-09  0
75. Keith Lee              Avon, CT (CT)           5  09-07  0
76. Charles Sim            Ottawa CANADA (ONT)     4  09-03  0
77. Javier Guillen Cordoba Tarragona SPAIN (ESP)   5  09-02  0
78. Chris Adams            Concord, NH (NH)        3  09-02  0
79. Brian Jarvis           Warwick , RI (RI)       3  09-00  0
80. Donnie Staszczyk       Cheetowaga, NY (NY)     4  08-11  0
80. Mike Wolfenden         Warwick, RI (RI)        4  08-11  0
82. Robert Hegyi           Wales, MA (MA)          3  08-10  0
83. Kevin Busch            Vienna, ME (ME)         4  07-06  0
84. Eloy Fernandez Jofre   L'Ametlla Del Valles SP 2  07-00  0
85. David Riley            North Attleboro, MA (RI 3  06-11  0
86. Dwayne Turnage         Hollis, ME (ME)         2  06-09  0
87. Des Barnes             Aurora CANADA (ONT)     3  06-04  0
88. Bruce Leeson           Port Rowan ONTARIO CANA 2  06-01  0
89. Ronald Bestwick        Grisword, CT (RI)       2  06-00  0
90. Shawn Grover           Biddeford, ME (ME)      3  05-12  0
91. Chris Mann             Cornish, VT (VT)        3  05-11  0
92. John Carmen            Norfolk, MA (MA)        3  05-10  0
93. Scott Barker           Gray, ME (ME)           3  04-14  0
93. David Frey             West Warwick, RI (RI)   3  04-14  0
95. Joe Holland            Jefferson, ME (ME)      1  04-12  0
96. Kevin Miller           Merrimack, NH (NH)      1  03-11  0
97. Kevin Noel             Burlington, CT (CT)     2  03-05  0
98. Steven Worden          Cumberland, RI (RI)     1  02-14  0
99. Justin Spraske         Swanzey, NH (NH)        1  02-13  0
100. John Grondin           Scarborough, ME (ME)    1  02-09  0
101. Ruben Corbella Salvia  Mollerusa SPAIN (ESP)   1  02-01  0
102. Harry Gordon           WATERBURY, CT (CT)      1  01-14  0
103. Michael Abernathy      Coventry, RI (RI)       1  01-07  0
104. Scott Laliberty        Sabaltus, ME (ME)       1  01-04  0
105. Jim Lynch              Bomoseen, VT (VT)       1  01-02  0
106. HS NY - Arndt          Clay, NY (NY)           0  00-00  0
106. Matthew Breach         Douglas, MA (MA)        0  00-00  0
106. HS ON - McGarry Gallant Bowmanville CANADA (ONT 0  00-00  0
106. HS MA - McQuade Jaskolski Dudley, MA (MA)         0  00-00  0
106. James Jeffries         Rouses Point, NY (VT)   0  00-00  0
106. HS RI - Bestwick Sampson N Stonington, CT (RI)   0  00-00  0
106. HS VT - Gaudette Seaman Colchester, VT (VT)     0  00-00  0
106. HS NH - Farrington Sterritt Newfields, NH (NH)      0  00-00  0
106. HS ME - Rodgers Williamson Gorham, ME (ME)         0  00-00  0
106. HS CT - Marino / Winslow Naugatuck, CT (CT)      0  00-00  0
106. William Wright         Whiting, VT (VT)        0  00-00  0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day   #Limits    #Fish      Weight
1       64       433       1264-14
----------------------------------
64       433      1264-14
TEAM STANDINGS Day 1
----------------------------------
State                Lbs-Oz
1 NEW YORK             178-05
2 NEW HAMPSHIRE        157-09
3 CONNECTICUT          154-07
4 ONTARIO              152-11
5 SPAIN                149-03
6 MASSACHUSETTS        133-10
7 VERMONT              125-12
8 RHODE ISLAND         113-11
9 MAINE                 99-10
INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS Day 1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
CONNECTICUT
Angler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz
1 David Maiorano       Clinton, CT                 5   21-00  0
2 Paul Mueller         Naugatuck, CT               5   20-14  0
3 Dennis Sikorski      Bozrah, CT                  5   18-05  0
4 Abe Kalechman        Ashford, CT                 5   16-08  0
5 Scott Downie         Danbury , CT                5   15-08  0
6 David Dziob          Meriden, CT                 5   13-12  0
7 Kevin Rose Jr        Anniston, CT                5   11-11  0
8 Reed Johnson         Farmington, CT              4   11-05  0
9 Garrett Kruger       Monroe, CT                  5   10-14  0
10 Keith Lee            Avon, CT                    5   09-07  0
11 Kevin Noel           Burlington, CT              2   03-05  0
12 Harry Gordon         WATERBURY, CT               1   01-14  0
13 HS CT - Marino / Winslow Naugatuck, CT               0   00-00  0
MASSACHUSETTS
Angler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz
1 James Moorey         Whitinsville, MA            5   15-03  0
2 Jeff Kenney          Franklin, MA                5   15-00  0
3 Michael Elliott      Chelmsford, MA              4   13-12  0
4 Paul LeBlanc         Medway, MA                  5   13-11  0
5 Sheron Brown         Ayer, MA                    4   13-08  0
6 Jay Guidaboni        Plymouth, MA                5   12-14  0
7 Dan Tavilla          Clelmsford, MA              5   12-13  0
8 Ricky Turczak        Housatonic, MA              4   12-10  0
9 John Shpack          Attleboro, MA               4   09-15  0
10 Robert Hegyi         Wales, MA                   3   08-10  0
11 John Carmen          Norfolk, MA                 3   05-10  0
12 Matthew Breach       Douglas, MA                 0   00-00  0
12 HS MA - McQuade Jaskolski Dudley, MA                  0   00-00  0
MAINE
Angler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz
1 George Cooper        Buxton, ME                  5   15-04  0
2 Chuck Towns          Readfield, ME               5   15-03  0
3 Mark Lodge           Alfred, ME                  5   13-09  0
4 Scott Guimond        Sebago, ME                  5   12-15  0
5 Steve Wilson         East Waterboro, ME          5   09-09  0
6 Kevin Busch          Vienna, ME                  4   07-06  0
7 Dwayne Turnage       Hollis, ME                  2   06-09  0
8 Shawn Grover         Biddeford, ME               3   05-12  0
9 Scott Barker         Gray, ME                    3   04-14  0
10 Joe Holland          Jefferson, ME               1   04-12  0
11 John Grondin         Scarborough, ME             1   02-09  0
12 Scott Laliberty      Sabaltus, ME                1   01-04  0
13 HS ME - Rodgers Williamson Gorham, ME                  0   00-00  0
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Angler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz
1 Rob Messenger        Sunapee, NH                 5   22-02  0
2 Bill Kuslaka         Windham, NH                 5   19-15  0
2 Allan Smith          Litchfield, NH              5   19-15  0
4 James Hanatow        Alstead, NH                 5   19-13  0
5 Peter Demoya         Plymouth, MA                5   13-12  0
6 John Levesque        Nashua, NH                  5   13-03  0
7 Michael McNamara     Milford, NH                 5   12-06  0
8 John Diaco           Rochester, NH               5   11-03  0
9 Rick Landry          Hudson, NH                  4   09-10  0
10 Chris Adams          Concord, NH                 3   09-02  0
11 Kevin Miller         Merrimack, NH               1   03-11  0
12 Justin Spraske       Swanzey, NH                 1   02-13  0
13 HS NH - Farrington Sterritt Newfields, NH               0   00-00  0
NEW YORK
Angler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz
1 Christopher Killoren Marcellus, NY               5   21-07  0
2 Randy Lamanche       Marcellus, NY               5   20-04  0
3 Ken Golubjatnikov    Pittsford, NY               5   20-01  0
4 George Puskar        Peekskill, NY               5   16-09  0
5 Joe Valerio          Red Creek, NY               5   16-06  0
6 Brad Brodnicki       Buffalo, NY                 5   15-09  0
7 Todd Covert          Port Crane, NY              5   15-05  0
8 Chris O'Brien        Rochester, NY               5   13-01  0
9 Brian Kelly          Liverpool, NY               5   10-11  0
10 Farris Deroma        Newton, NJ                  5   10-06  0
11 Peter Knight         Fulton, NY                  5   09-15  0
12 Donnie Staszczyk     Cheetowaga, NY              4   08-11  0
13 HS NY - Arndt        Clay, NY                    0   00-00  0
RHODE ISLAND
Angler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz
1 Leo Bevelaqua        Wyoming, RI                 5   20-09  0
2 John Hinckley        Cumberland, RI              5   15-03  0
3 Chris Molineaux      Hope Valley, RI             5   13-07  0
4 Steven Conde         Chepachet, RI               5   13-01  0
5 Christopher Guncheon Warwick, RI                 5   11-14  0
6 Brian Jarvis         Warwick , RI                3   09-00  0
7 Mike Wolfenden       Warwick, RI                 4   08-11  0
8 David Riley          North Attleboro, MA         3   06-11  0
9 Ronald Bestwick      Grisword, CT                2   06-00  0
10 David Frey           West Warwick, RI            3   04-14  0
11 Steven Worden        Cumberland, RI              1   02-14  0
12 Michael Abernathy    Coventry, RI                1   01-07  0
13 HS RI - Bestwick Sampson N Stonington, CT            0   00-00  0
VERMONT
Angler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz
1 Jonathan Case        Swanton, VT                 5   18-15  0
2 Russell Phillips     Guilford, VT                5   18-07  0
3 Skip Sjobeck         Randolph, VT                5   17-08  0
4 John Fitzgerald      Salisbury, VT               5   15-02  0
5 James Knox           Rutland, VT                 5   14-00  0
6 Matt Poissant        Alburg, VT                  5   12-15  0
7 Chuck Sturtevant     NoChihenden, VT             4   12-04  0
8 Scott McKay          Mendon, VT                  3   09-12  0
9 Chris Mann           Cornish, VT                 3   05-11  0
10 Jim Lynch            Bomoseen, VT                1   01-02  0
11 James Jeffries       Rouses Point, NY            0   00-00  0
11 HS VT - Gaudette Seaman Colchester, VT              0   00-00  0
11 William Wright       Whiting, VT                 0   00-00  0
ONTARIO
Angler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz
1 Doug Brownridge      Milton ONTARIO CANADA       5   24-05  0
2 Mark Cavanaugh       Port Perry CANADA           5   17-15  0
3 John Lamour          Harrowsmith CANADA          5   15-01  0
4 Tim Birch            Waterloo ONTARIO CANADA     4   13-13  0
5 Pete Garnier         Lindsey ONTARIO CANADA      5   12-13  0
5 Mark Rorke           St Cathrines ONTARIO CA 5   12-13  0
7 Jamie Janzen         St Catherines ONTARIO C 5   12-11  0
8 Frank Ramsay         Ingleside ONTARIO CANAD    5   11-10  0
9 Larry MacPhail       Kingston Ontario CANADA     4   10-02  0
10 Charles Sim          Ottawa CANADA               4   09-03  0
11 Des Barnes           Aurora CANADA               3   06-04  0
12 Bruce Leeson         Port Rowan ONTARIO CANA   2   06-01  0
13 HS ON - McGarry Gallant Bowmanville CANADA          0   00-00  0
SPAIN
Angler               Hometown                   No./lbs-oz
1 Eric Corbella Salvia Mollerusa SPAIN             5   17-14  0
2 Ricardo Rodriguez Gonzalez S Vicente D Alcantara S 5   17-13  0
3 Carlos Perez Zamorano Madrid SPAIN                5   16-06  0
4 Luis Vilar Patino    Castellon SPAIN             5   15-09  0
5 Fernando Lay         talaurea del reina  SPA   5   14-08  0
6 Ernesto Gonzalez Garcia S Vicente De Alcantara  4   13-02  0
7 Ramiro Ruben Tarazona Sicilia Tarazona SPAIN              5   13-00  0
8 Joseba Miquel        vitoria SPAIN               4   11-07  0
9 Adrian Torres Embid  Zaragoza SPAIN              5   11-05  0
10 Javier Guillen Cordoba Tarragona SPAIN             5   09-02  0
11 Eloy Fernandez Jofre L'Ametlla Del Valles SP  2   07-00  0
12 Ruben Corbella Salvia Mollerusa SPAIN             1   02-01  0

Greg Hackney Takes Bassmaster Angler Of The Year Title

Teaser image:

Greg Hackney of Gonzales, La., wins the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year (AOY) Monday at the Toyota Bassmaster AOY Championship held on Bays de Noc out of Escanaba, Mich.

Photo by Seigo Saito/Bassmaster

ESCANABA, Mich. — Louisiana’s Greg Hackney, 41, is the 2014 Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year (AOY). Over nine events, Hackney outpracticed, outstrategized, outfished and ultimately outlasted the other 107 Bassmaster Elite Series anglers who started the season.

Hackney finished 24th in the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship on Bays de Noc Monday after weather forced the postponement of the second (and final) round for three days. It was enough to lock up his first career AOY title.

Along with the sport’s most prestigious title and trophy, Hackney earns $100,000 as bass fishing’s best angler in 2014. The other 49 competitors earned shares of the rest of the $900,000 purse, based on their rankings in Angler of the Year points.

His season was solid right out of the gate. He finished a respectable 38th in the opener on Lake Seminole and followed it up with Top 16 finishes at the St. Johns River (16th), Table Rock Lake (third), Lake Dardanelle (third) and Cayuga Lake (first). His worst finish of the season was 48th at the Delaware River. He was the only angler in the series to earn a prize check (Top 50 finish) at every tournament.

Hackney entered the championship with a 15-point lead over defending AOY Aaron Martens and a 17-point margin over Todd Faircloth. Hackney knew that if he finished in the Top 15 at Bays de Noc, no one could catch him. Though he fell short of that mark, he was strong enough to hold off his challengers.

“I started thinking about Angler of the Year after the Lake Dardanelle tournament,” Hackney said. “I felt like I had a chance to do it. It didn’t change my approach to the tournaments, but it motivated me and made me fish harder.”

This was not Hackney’s first brush with the AOY title. In 2004, he finished second to Gerald Swindle as a rookie, earning Bassmaster Rookie of the Year honors in the process. He was also fifth in 2005 and eighth in 2010. He is the first Louisiana resident to win AOY, and the fourth angler to claim AOY honors with both B.A.S.S. and FLW (along with Denny Brauer, Kevin VanDam and Jay Yelas). A Bassmaster Classic victory would make Hackney the first angler in history to complete the Grand Slam of professional bass fishing — winning both AOY titles, the FLW Forrest Wood Cup (which he won in 2009) and the Classic.

The rest of the 2014 AOY Top 5 are Todd Faircloth, Jacob Powroznik, Aaron Martens and Mark Davis, respectively.

For the event, Jacob Powroznik took first place with two five-bass limits weighing 47-6. In addition to prize money earned for his rank in the Angler of the Year race, Powroznik won $500 and the Livingston Lures Leader Award which is given to the angler leading on the second day of the event.

Powroznik completed one of the greatest rookie seasons in B.A.S.S. history. Not only did he win the Rookie of the Year award, but he also became the first newcomer to the Elite Series to win two Elite events and the first angler of any classification to win two Elite tournaments in the same season since Skeet Reese in 2010.

Ironically, Reese came in second at this event with 46-2, and Mark Davis was third with 44-13. Brandon Lester and Mark Davis shared the Carhartt Big Bass Award with identical 6-4 smallmouths. Lester caught his on the first day; Davis on the second. For their lunkers, Lester and Davis share $1,000. A $500 bonus will be awarded to one or both if they were wearing Carhartt clothing.

As expected, Bays de Noc revealed itself to be one of the finest smallmouth bass fisheries in the world. Almost all of the competitors recorded five-bass limit catches in both rounds, and the average bass weighed 3 1/2 pounds.

In addition to AOY, Bays de Noc was also the final battle ground for dozens of berths in the 2015 Bassmaster Classic on Lake Hartwell out of Greenville, S.C., Feb. 20-22. For more information, visit Bassmaster.com.

 

2014 Points Report

PROFESSIONAL

ELITE SERIES

as of 22-Sep-2014

Angler Points Lbs-Oz

1 Greg Hackney Gonzales, LA 741 309- 1

2 Todd Faircloth Jasper, TX 727 273- 1

3 Jacob Powroznik Port Haywood, VA 723 292- 2

4 Aaron Martens Leeds, AL 721 240- 0

5 Mark Davis Mount Ida, AR 716 283-14

6 Keith Combs Huntington, TX 705 264-13

7 Skeet Reese Auburn, CA 702 268-13

8 Jared Lintner Arroyo Grande, CA 696 271- 6

9 Dean Rojas Lake Havasu City, AZ 669 272-10

10 Casey Ashley Donalds, SC 644 250- 8

11 Justin Lucas Guntersville, AL 638 283- 0

12 Chris Lane Guntersville, AL 637 260- 6

13 Randall Tharp Port Saint Joe, FL 627 264-14

14 Gerald Swindle Warrior, AL 624 264- 6

15 Jason Christie Park Hill, OK 622 240- 3

16 Matt Herren Ashville, AL 621 268-14

17 Brandon Palaniuk Hayden, ID 618 251-15

18 Chad Morgenthaler Coulterville, IL 615 257- 3

19 John Crews Jr Salem, VA 613 263- 4

20 David Walker Sevierville, TN 613 243-10

21 Scott Rook Little Rock, AR 602 240- 8

22 Edwin Evers Talala, OK 599 240- 5

23 Paul Elias Laurel, MS 595 217- 8

24 Cliff Crochet Pierre Part, LA 594 225-15

25 Michael Iaconelli Pitts Grove, NJ 587 247- 8

26 Mike McClelland Bella Vista, AR 586 240- 7

27 James Niggemeyer Van, TX 585 255- 1

28 Brandon Lester Fayetteville, TN 585 247- 5

29 Randy Howell Springville, AL 585 240-14

30 Morizo Shimizu Osaka, JPN 585 218- 2

31 Brett Hite Phoenix, AZ 580 273- 7

32 Bill Lowen Brookville, IN 576 232- 5

33 Bobby Lane Lakeland, FL 574 222-12

34 Brian Snowden Reeds Spring, MO 567 254- 3

35 Andy Montgomery Blacksburg, SC 565 250- 8

36 Clifford Pirch Payson, AZ 563 245- 7

37 Ott DeFoe Knoxville, TN 563 241- 5

38 Takahiro Omori Emory, TX 562 259-11

39 Kevin Short Mayflower, AR 561 231- 0

40 Cliff Prince Palatka, FL 560 231- 0

41 Marty Robinson Lyman, SC 558 246- 8

42 Tim Horton Muscle Shoals, AL 557 244- 4

43 Bernie Schultz Gainesville, FL 552 232-10

44 Davy Hite Ninety Six, SC 545 247- 3

45 Alton Jones Lorena, TX 544 239- 0

46 Chris Zaldain San Jose, CA 536 232-15

47 Jeff Kriet Ardmore, OK 525 209-10

48 Casey Scanlon Lanexa, KS 524 213- 7

49 Terry Scroggins San Mateo, FL 519 232- 9

50 Steve Kennedy Auburn, AL 517 202- 3


Deep And Shallow Patterns Should Win Checks In Oakley Big Bass Tournament On Lake Murray

Anglers in the Oakley Big Bass Tournament on Lake Murray next weekend will have two different patterns to win some money with, said veteran tournament angler Doug Lown of Newberry.
“I think you can win some money if you can find some suspended bass,” Lown said. “A 4-pounder is a good fish on suspended bass and a 4-pounder will get you a good check most hours.”

The problem with the suspended fish, Lown said, is that the areas holding those fish are very limited because the baitfish are located only in a few areas.

The lake is fishing really small, but with it cooling off those areas may expand. The water has some color and the bait is really small,” he said. “It's hard to find the fish and hard to get them to react, but once you spook the bait the fish will come up and feed.”

But, he added, the bigger fish – with a good shot at winning the overall first prize – will probably be caught shallow.

If you look at what was going on when the FLW was here (the Forrest Wood Cup Aug. 14-17) a lot of those fish were caught shallow on buzzbaits and stuff like that. After the FLW the temperature started coming up and they pulled about a foot of water in the last month,” Lown said. “That slowed the bite, but the lake has now stabilized and the water has cooled off.”

With cooler weather forecast this weekend, Lown said the bait will begin to move from deeper water to the shallower areas as the water temperature cools even more.

The bite has already picked up in the last week to 10 days with the cooler weather,” he said.

Entry fees for the tournament are $100 for one day or $150 for a two-day entry. Whoever catches the overall big bass for the weekend will win a $30,000 Nitro Z7 with a Mercury 150HP Pro XS.

Hourly prizes, based on 400 total entries, are: 1st, $1,000; 2nd, $500; 3rd, $300; 4th, $250; 5th, $200; 6th, $150; and 7th, $100. Weigh-in times are” 8-9 a.m., 9-10 a.m., 10-11 a.m., 11 a.m.-12 noon, 12 noon-1 p.m., 1-2 p.m., and 2-3 p.m.

Only amateur anglers are eligible to compete. Fishing guides and major tournament anglers are not allowed.

 

Oakley Big Bass Tournament Trail

Sep 27-28, 2014

Lake Murray

Dreher Island State Park

Call Mark Jones 214-605-4600

www.oakleybigbass.com

 


Chris Richey and Geroge Bost win the CBC NC Regional on Kerr-Full results here!

Great NC Regional this weekend on Kerr for the CBC. Full Results below- 132 boats - over $60k in payout (cash and prizes) 2nd-23rd was 100% of entry fees PLUS 1st place got a 2014 Skeeter TZX190 with a 150 HPDI Yamaha - PLUS highest finishing skeeter got $5,000 and Big Fish got $1,000.  the Skeeter Boat, $5,000 Skeeter Bonus, and the $1,000 big fish bonus DID NOT come out of entry fees.

Nobocy pays back BIGGER.

 

Place Team Name Team # Fish       Weighed Net             Weight Big Fish Points Winnings
1 Chris Richey - George Bost 1 5 17.860 5.020 310 TZX 190
2 David Wright - Jeff Coble 113 5 15.580 0.000 309 $8,000
3 Roger Hoover - Scott Hamrick 93 5 15.020 0.000 308 $4,000
4 Donald Poteat - Johnny Allen 90 4 13.160 5.820 307 $2,500
5 Rodney Bell - Tommy Jones 41 5 12.670 0.000 306 $1,750
5 Gary Cline - Terry Wien 95 5 12.670 0.000 305 $1,750
7 Darren Sigmon - Brian Huffman 73 5 12.590 0.000 304 $1,200
8 Jerry Lineberger - Shane Lineberger 44 5 12.140 0.000 303 $900
8 Ronald Farrow - Roger Farrow 123 4 12.140 0.000 302 $900
10 Jeff Queen - Kristopher KJ Queen 86 5 12.060 0.000 301 $700
11 Thomas Vickers - Brian Huskins 105 5 11.580 0.000 300 $600
12 Greg Creech - Chris McDuffie 4 4 11.430 6.070 299 $500
13 Dale Luckey - John Brown 114 4 11.220 0.000 298 $450
14 Wesley Cashwell - Shane Doughtie 117 4 11.040 5.420 297 $425
15 Todd Sumner - Robert Parrish 107 5 11.020 0.000 296 $400
16 Patrick Tierney - Todd Auten 127 5 11.000 0.000 295 $375
17 Brian McDonald - Billy Bledsoe 31 5 10.780 0.000 294 $350
18 Stephen Griggs - Rodney Sorrell 37 5 10.390 0.000 293 $325
19 Scott Faulkner - Tony Brewer 5 5 10.350 0.000 292 $287.50
19 Reggie Guffey - Tommy Chapman 18 4 10.350 0.000 291 $287.50
21 Chris Wagner - Chase Deal 28 5 10.320 0.000 290 $250
22 Nathan Webber - Paul Rigsbee 33 4 10.250 0.000 289 $225
23 Chuck Camp - Mark Swink 129 5 10.150 0.000 288 $225
24 Chad Poteat - Shaun Hunter 101 4 9.790 0.000 287  
25 Robby Byrum - Bill Grier 25 4 9.580 3.250 286  
26 Phillip Frady - Dirk Porter 32 4 9.560 0.000 285  
27 Mark Inman - Billy Shelton 128 5 9.410 0.000 284  
28 Rick Dunstan - Cliff Kirby 43 5 9.360 0.000 283  
29 Charlie Hanshaw - Jeffrey Hanshaw 60 4 9.230 0.000 282  
30 Ernest Stephens - Richard Greene 79 4 9.140 0.000 281  
31 Barry Bost - Will Petty 108 4 8.840 0.000 280  
32 Robert Walser - Mack Lowe 23 5 8.740 0.000 279  
33 Ben Parker - Jimmy Drumm 70 4 8.720 0.000 278  
34 Dale Surrett - Brian Morgan 67 5 8.400 0.000 277  
35 Randall Soles - Jason Dew 130 3 8.130 0.000 276  
36 Stacey Richards - Brian Triplett 74 3 8.110 0.000 275  
37 Robert Perkins - Chris Bullock 10 5 8.100 0.000 274  
38 Robin Collins - Ronnie White 109 4 7.950 0.000 273  
39 Bron Hemphill - Nathan Dellinger 120 4 7.910 0.000 272  
40 Milton Yancey - Larry Yancey 9 4 7.830 0.000 271  
41 Roger Adams - Josh Adams 17 3 7.810 4.430 270  
42 Adam Ridings - Chris Beaird 91 4 7.700 0.000 269  
43 Wayne Skipworth - Don Sprinkle 66 4 7.530 0.000 268  
44 Dwight Dellinger - Doug Dellinger 112 3 7.470 0.000 267  
45 Ronnie Britt - Jim Britt 14 3 7.440 0.000 266  
46 Corey Patton - Kyle Whisnant 42 5 7.230 0.000 265  
47 Scott Henley - Dean Minor 118 5 7.090 0.000 264  
48 Brandon Williams - Reid Mcginn 110 3 7.060 0.000 263  
49 Stump Bledsoe - Glenn Elliott 84 3 6.800 0.000 262  
50 Dave Snyder - David Snyder 131 3 6.790 0.000 261  
51 Michael Boeke - William Hardy 81 3 6.730 0.000 260  
52 David Shields - Chip Crews 8 3 6.460 0.000 259  
53 Greg Osborne - Wyatt Blevins 36 3 6.460 0.000 258  
54 David Williams - Gerald Williams 30 3 6.160 0.000 257  
55 Jimmy Cummings - Jesse Smith 38 3 5.590 0.000 256  
56 Marcus Leech - Tim Chapman 11 2 5.570 4.230 255  
57 Shawn Crosby - Linda Patterson-Woodside 26 2 4.900 0.000 254  
58 Jerry Pruitt 53 1 4.530 4.530 253  
59 Gene Parker - Stanley Harkins 13 2 3.570 0.000 252  
60 Tyler Hoopaugh - Chris Hoopaugh 45 2 3.030 0.000 251  
61 Thomas Gavin - Gene Sparks 106 1 2.970 2.970 250  
62 Michael Hofmann - Patrick McGirl 61 1 2.900 0.000 249  
63 Bobby Snyder - Tim Cline 46 1 2.810 2.810 248  
64 Greg Sims - Michael Huffman 2 0 0.000 0.000 247  
65 Bryan Welch - Troy Searcy 3 0 0.000 0.000 246  
66 Keith Speece - Wendell Ireland 6 0 0.000 0.000 245  
67 Danny Nifong - Wiley Jr Nifong 7 0 0.000 0.000 244  
68 Dennis Reedy - Jeffrey Thomas 12 0 0.000 0.000 243  
69 George Lambeth - Ron Wolfarth 15 0 0.000 0.000 242  
70 Mark Beck - Todd Durham 16 0 0.000 0.000 241  
71 Allen Eaker - Jason Eaker 19 0 0.000 0.000 240  
72 Trip Emerson - Caleb Unger 20 0 0.000 0.000 239  
73 Dennis Hensley - Steve Yoder 21 0 0.000 0.000 238  
74 Mason Boyd - Christopher Terry 22 0 0.000 0.000 237  
75 Dennis Allen - Travis Allen 24 0 0.000 0.000 236  
76 Scott Threadgill - Dwayne Saunders 27 0 0.000 0.000 235  
77 Jason Wilson - Kelly Logan 29 0 0.000 0.000 234  
78 Patrick Carter - Brent Kukowski 34 0 0.000 0.000 233  
79 Roger Pope - Michael Smith 35 0 0.000 0.000 232  
80 Lester Elton - Chris Martin 39 0 0.000 0.000 231  
81 Kevin Toler - Rodney Lambert 40 0 0.000 0.000 230  
82 Christopher Allard - Scottie Smith 47 0 0.000 0.000 229  
83 Aric Dwyer - Zack Bolick 48 0 0.000 0.000 228  
84 Danny Mason - Lionel Mason 49 0 0.000 0.000 227  
85 Doug Easton - Pete Bejte 50 0 0.000 0.000 226  
86 Chris Ellis - Justin Shropshire 51 0 0.000 0.000 225  
87 Larry Hipps - Jesse Spell 52 0 0.000 0.000 224  
88 Reginald Pickett - Larry Kirk 54 0 0.000 0.000 223  
89 Billy Scoggins - Eddie Parker 55 0 0.000 0.000 222  
90 Greg Deal - Terry Wike 56 0 0.000 0.000 221  
91 Larry LeHew - Adam Waters 57 0 0.000 0.000 220  
92 Chuck Morton - Lonnie Fox 58 0 0.000 0.000 219  
93 Jeff Tant - Doug Parrish 59 0 0.000 0.000 218  
94 Mike Branch - Brian Branch 62 0 0.000 0.000 217  
95 Derek Lilley - David Clanton 63 0 0.000 0.000 216  
96 Lee Hoilman - Brent Berry 64 0 0.000 0.000 215  
97 Robert Branch, Jr - Stuart Parker 65 0 0.000 0.000 214  
98 Brian Stowe - Shannon Stowe 68 0 0.000 0.000 213  
99 Steve Sink - Tony Foster 69 0 0.000 0.000 212  
100 Jimmy Carswell - Bobby Carswell 71 0 0.000 0.000 211  
101 Louie Hull - Chuck Montgomery 72 0 0.000 0.000 210  
102 Mitchell Cook - Todd Huffman 75 0 0.000 0.000 209  
103 Jackie Reilly - Harold Drew 76 0 0.000 0.000 208  
104 John Drew - David Horton 77 0 0.000 0.000 207  
105 Jerry Craig - Bobby Lateuch 78 0 0.000 0.000 206  
106 Steve Shaw - Matt Haywood 80 0 0.000 0.000 205  
107 Mike Scott - Chris Johnson 82 0 0.000 0.000 204  
108 James Wall - Jimmy Wall 83 0 0.000 0.000 203  
109 Bernie Davis - Billy Gunter 85 0 0.000 0.000 202  
110 Dempsey Carter - Ted Mobley 87 0 0.000 0.000 201  
111 Nick Miller - Brandon Brickweg 88 0 0.000 0.000 200  
112 Mike Clark - Orlando Giles 89 0 0.000 0.000 199  
113 Robert Porter - Chris Dellinger 92 0 0.000 0.000 198  
114 Gary Love - Ricky Todd 94 0 0.000 0.000 197  
115 James Hobbs - Dustin Calloway 96 0 0.000 0.000 196  
116 Randy Gray - Dave Whitehead 97 0 0.000 0.000 195  
117 Charles Sipe - Charlie Sipe 98 0 0.000 0.000 194  
118 Scott Sellers - Randy Childers 99 0 0.000 0.000 193  
119 Keith Porter - Mike Allman 100 0 0.000 0.000 192  
120 Todd Walters - Jason Threadgill 102 0 0.000 0.000 191  
121 Rob Ross - Rory Saliger 103 0 0.000 0.000 190  
122 Duke Denison - Jamie Denison 104 0 0.000 0.000 189  
123 Marvin Godard - Robert Adams 111 0 0.000 0.000 188  
124 Joshua Queen - Mike Queen 115 0 0.000 0.000 187  
125 Steve Addington - Scott Beattie 116 0 0.000 0.000 186  
126 David Blanton - William Blanton 119 0 0.000 0.000 185  
127 Eric Jeter - Darren Jeter 121 0 0.000 0.000 184  
128 Brian Travis - Ashley Brotherton 122 0 0.000 0.000 183  
129 Tony Woodard - Scott Smith 124 0 0.000 0.000 182  
130 Steve Godfrey - Steve Harwood 125 0 0.000 0.000 181  
131 Brandon Sykes - Jack Boyce 126 0 0.000 0.000 180  
132 Jim Witherspoon - Jerry Goble 132 0 0.000 0.000 179  

Andy Montgomery and a pair of Classic Champs tell us more about Daiwa's latest

Daiwa Pro Andy Montgomery, Bassmaster Classic Champion Takahiro Omori and reigning Classic Champ Randy Howell continue with the roll-out of Daiwa's new products at ICAST 2014 in Orlando.


Bassmaster Angler Of The Year Championship Competition Will Resume Monday

ESCANABA, Mich. — Bassmaster Elite Series tournament officials postponed competition in the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship for an unprecedented third consecutive day today because of unsafe boating conditions.

The third day of competition was postponed Sunday because of steady north winds gusting to 20 miles per hour which resulted in small craft advisories for the Escanaba area of Lake Michigan.

“Winds through the north were up to 25 mph and higher,” said Trip Weldon, B.A.S.S. tournament director. “It's especially rough here at the takeoff location.”

The Top 50 Bassmaster Elite Series anglers are competing this week on Big Bay de Noc and Little Bay de Noc in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for the coveted title of Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year and a purse of $900,000.

Greg Hackney of Gonzales, La., remains the frontrunner for the Angler of the Year title, but he’s being chased by Todd Faircloth of Texas and Aaron Martens of Leeds, Ala. Also at stake are berths in the 2015 Bassmaster Classic to be held on Lake Hartwell out of Greenville, S.C.

Competition is set to resume Monday, Sept. 21 as the final day of the Toyota AOY Championship. Anglers will takeoff from Ludington Park at 7:30 a.m. and weigh in at the same location at 4 p.m.

The Bassmaster Elite Series Expo opens at noon on Sunday and all fans are welcome to attend.

All Bassmaster events are free and open to the public. All times are eastern.


Daiwa at ICAST part 1

From the floor of the 2014 ICAST show in Orlando, Daiwa rolls out the latest, greatest, as illustrated by Ish Monroe, Brent Ehrler and Yusuke Miyazaki in the first of this 2-part special.


Second Day Of Angler Of The Year Championship Postponed Due To High Winds

ESCANABA, Mich. — Bassmaster Elite Series tournament officials postponed competition in the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship today after building winds created unsafe boating conditions.

“In the interest of safety, today’s fishing has been canceled,” said Trip Weldon, B.A.S.S. tournament director. Winds from the south, including gusts to 35 miles, and 5-foot seas were predicted for today, and a small craft advisory was in effect. “We will err on the side of caution and the safety of our anglers and their marshals,” he added.

The Top 50 Elite Series bass anglers are competing this week on Big Bay de Noc and Little Bay de Noc here in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Catches were outstanding in the first competition round Thursday, which was led by Brett Hite of Phoenix, Ariz., with five bass weighing a total of 24 pounds, 6 ounces. Winds were light and weather conditions favorable for fishing the waters just off Lake Michigan on Thursday.

But the Bays de Noc are exposed to a south wind, which has virtually all of Lake Michigan to build. Having seen the waters at their worst during practice for the event, several of the competitors endorsed the decision.

Weldon said he and other officials plan for competition to continue on Saturday, weather permitting. “We will make that call in the morning,” he said. Current weather forecasts show some improvement by Saturday.

The event is built around three days of competition as Elite anglers battle for the coveted title of Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year, as well as berths in the 2015 Bassmaster Classic. Saturday was originally planned as a day off for the anglers, many of whom are slated to participate in Bassmaster University seminars during the afternoon at Ludington Park in Escanaba.

The seminars are part of the Bassmaster Fan and Military Appreciation Day, which includes an outdoor expo featuring displays and activities from Bassmaster Elite Series Sponsors, as well as booths from food and other vendors from the Escanaba area. Shifting competition to Saturday would affect the Bassmaster University sessions, but the Fan and Military Appreciation Day will continue as planned. Fans who wish to attend should visit Bassmaster.com for up-to-date scheduling advisories.


Cashion Fishing Rods 'End Of Year' Bass Trail Qualifier #5 Results - Jordan Lake - Sep 13, 2014

Teaser image:

1st Place: Thomas Sheffer & Ken McNeill of Cary & Raleigh...5 bass...29.36 lbs...$8601st Place: Thomas Sheffer & Ken McNeill of Cary & Raleigh...5 bass...29.36 lbs...$860

30 teams arrived to fish the The Cashion Fishing Rods 'End of Year' Team Tournament Bass Fishing Trail Qualifier #5 at Jordan Lake!

We had great weather with just a spot or 2 of rain during the day. About 65 in the am and around 78 in the afternoon. The wind blew from 0 to about 5 mph which was nice. Water temps averaged 80 degrees. The fish were caught in shallow water early on to 30' of water later in the day, which is a typical summer/fall pattern at Jordan. Jigs, C & T rigs, spinnerbaits, a little top water and crankbaits seemed to be the hot baits. 

 

Thomas Sheffer & Ken McNeill landed 5 bass weighing a total of 29.04 lbs. taking 1st Place worth $860. 4 bass averaged 5 lbs. and a kicker weighing in at 9.04 helped them win on this day! They also won the big fish award and 1st place TWT for a grand total of $1,735!

 

2nd Place Team of Jaime Fajardo & Josh Hooks caught 5 bass weighing 20.21 lbs. They also won the 2nd Place TWT and took home a total of $705. 3rd Place Team, Tony Fofi & Dave Murdock, had 16.87 lbs & 2nd Place Big Fish (6.07) to take home $530! Todd Massey of Chapel Hill won the Tow Boats US Member Award of $50.

 

78 bass were weighed in for a total of 240 pounds. This averaged just over 3 lbs. a fish and they were nice and healthy looking.

 

This was our last tournament on Jordan for the year. I want to thank all the anglers that participated and all our sponsors that support these trails.

  

Our next tournament will be the Cashion Fishing Rods 'End of Year' Team Tournament Bass Fishing Trail Qualifier #6, Saturday, September 27th at Mayo Reservoir out of Triple Springs Wildlife Ramp. All the information on our tournaments can be found at http://piedmontbassclassics.com/

 

Now here are the full results:

 

1st Place: Thomas Sheffer & Ken McNeill of Cary & Raleigh...5 bass...29.36 lbs...$860

2nd Place: Jaime Fajardo & Josh Hooks of Fuquay Varina & Apex...5 bass...20.21 lbs...$510

3rd Place: Tony Fofi & Dave Murdock of Spring Lake & Sanford...5 bass...16.87 lbs...$350

4th Place: Todd Sumner & Mike Dinterman of Southern Pines & Oxford...5 bass...16.63 lbs...$270

5th Place: Steve & Horton Upchurch of Raleigh & Pittsboro...5 bass...15.69 lbs...$220

6th Place: Michael & Michael Jr. Thomas of Pittsboro...4 bass...15.36 lbs...$190

 

1st Place Big Fish: 1st Place Team above...9.04 lbs...$420

2nd Place Big Fish: 3rd Place Team above...6.07 lbs...$180

 

1st Place TWT: 1st Place Team above: 29.36 lbs...$455

2nd Place TWT: 2nd Place Team above: 20.21 lbs...$195

 

Tow Boats US Award: Todd Massey of Chapel Hill: $50

 

Contact Information:

Phil McCarson...Tournament Director---922 Valetta Rd.---Durham, NC 27712

Home: 919-471-1571 Cell: 919-971-5042

email: [email protected]

website: http://piedmontbassclassics.com/

 


Sink, Foster Hoping 'strange Luck' Continues In Carolinas Bass Challenge N.c. Championship

Tony Foster and Steve Sink are hoping their “strange” fishing year continues right on through the Carolinas Bass Challenge North Carolina Division Championship on Kerr Reservoir Saturday.

“All our practices have been terrible and then we lucked up and found our fish during the tournaments,” said Sink, who teamed with Foster to win the CBC-NC Division Points Championship for the second year in a row.

“It's just been on of those years when things worked out for us. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't,” Sink said.

True to form, their first day of practice at Kerr Thursday was tough, to say the least, he said.

“We are not finding anything. We fished from daylight to now (lunchtime) and we have not caught a keeper. We've fished shallow, deep, topwater, every way possible, and we've just caught five or six little ones.”

Sink said Kerr was slick as glass Thursday morning.

“I don't think they are pulling any water. Another thing, it did not get quite as cold as expected last night. The low was about 64 degrees and the water temperature is running 77-78 degrees.”

The one tournament when they did not catch quality fish was the first one of the year on Lake Norman in March when they finished 63rd. But they rebounded strong with a first place on High Rock in April and then finished 7th at Hickory in May and 5th at Falls in early June. Foster, fishing with Robert Mixon, finished the year with a 13th place finish on Lake Wylie June 14.

They finished the year with more than $19,000 in prize money, plus $1,000 for the points title. They won $12,000 for the first place on High Rock and their fifth place at Falls where they were the Top Finishing Skeeter/Yamaha Team netted a total of $6,000 more.

First prize in the N.C. Division Championship is a Skeeter TZX190 with Yamaha 150, with $5,000 for the highest finishing Skeeter/Yamaha Team and $1,000 for Big Fish.

The entire field of both the SC. and N.C. Championships will be eligible to enter the 2014 CBC Classic on Lake Norman Nov. 7-8. The South Carolina Championship will be held on Clarks Hill Lake Saturday, Sept. 17.

Sink said he and Foster will spend their second day of practice for the North Carolina Championship on Kerr fishing deep on Friday.

We will probably fish deep all day. We can't catch them on the bank right now. We can't even find any bait,” he said.

But, history has an uncanny knack of repeating, so things could turn completely around by Saturday. Sink and Foster are counting on it.

 

Carolinas Bass Challenge - North Carolina Division Championship

Sat, Sep 20, 2014

Kerr / Buggs Island Lake

New Nutbush Ramp

www.carolinasbasschallenge.com

 


Spectacular Weights Expected In B.a.s.s. Nation Eastern Division Championship On St. Lawrence River

Look for some eye-popping weights in the Old Milwaukee B.A.S.S. Nation Eastern Division Championship next week on the St. Lawrence River. That's the prediction of B.A.S.S. Nation tournament director Jon Stewart, and he has history to back him up.

“It's just a phenomenal fishery. I expect the weights to be big,” Stewart said. “I would not be surprised if the individual who wins it weighs in 60 to 65 pounds for a three-day total – and I may be underestimating with 60 to 65 pounds.”

Stewart said the fishery produces exceptional weights year-round.

“If you look at the results of local tournaments the weights are pretty much like that,” he said. You only have to go back to August 2013 for further proof. Elite pro Brandon Palaniuk of Rathdrum, Idaho, weighed in a four-day total of 88 pounds, 12 ounces – a whopping 22-pound-plus average per day – to win the Evan Williams Bourbon Showdown on the St. Lawrence River, also out of Waddington, N.Y.

“It is an amazing smallmouth fishery,” Stewart said. “I expect very few largemouths will be weighed in.”

The Eastern Division Championship is the last of six divisional finals for grass roots anglers in the B.A.S.S. Nation. Stewart said there will be 126 anglers representing seven states and two countries – Spain and the Canadian Province of Ontario – in the championship. States competing include Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York.

“These guys all qualified through their clubs, through their states, to make it to a state team, which is made up of 12 adult anglers and two high school students, plus two alternates. Each of the seven states and Ontario will provide seven boaters and five non-boaters. The Spanish team does not bring boats, so all of those anglers will be non-boaters,” Stewart said.

There are actually three different competitions going on in the championship, he said.

“First, they fish as a team, so we put all 14 anglers' weights together for the three days and the state or country with the most weight wins the big prize – the boats we are giving away.”

Second, he said, is the individual competition, the big prize all the anglers are fishing for.

“The top person from each team advances to the Old Milwaukee B.A.S.S. Nation Championship. When they get to the B.A.S.S. Nation Championship they will fish for the Eastern Division against the same nine guys and the top angler from that group will be the Eastern Division representative in the Bassmaster Classic,” Stewart said. The Old Milwaukee B.A.S.S. Nation Championship will be held on the Ouachita River in Louisiana Nov. 6-8.

“These are all grass roots anglers and this is one of the few ways for a grass roots angler to make it to the Bassmaster Classic,” Stewart said.

The third competition is among the high school anglers competing in the Eastern Divisional Championship, he said.

“It's really for bragging rights. We award a trophy for the top high school team at the event. They have already had their national championship, so this is a kind of bonus tournament for them.”

 

B.A.S.S. Nation Eastern Divisional Championship

Sep 24-26, 2014

St. Lawrence River

Whittaker Park

www.bassmaster.com