Cecil Finds Bedding Bass During Competition Rounds to Win Rayovac on Toledo Bend

Russell Cecil of Willis, Texas, weighed five bass totaling 15 pounds, 10 ounces Saturday to win the Rayovac FLW Series Texas Division event presented by Frabill on Toledo Bend Reservoir with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 61 pounds, 9 ounces. For his victory, Cecil earned $33,000 and a new Ranger Z518 with a 200 horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.
      “I’m as excited as I’ve ever been to win one of these because I sure didn’t think I pulled it off today,” said Cecil, who earned his fifth career victory in FLW competition. “I thought I only had about 14 pounds. I made a strategic decision this morning that I would catch five and not stop until I caught a big one. I caught five keepers and fished for three big ones, but I didn’t catch any of them. Sitting there after Clark (Reehm) had weighed his fish, I thought I had lost it.”
      Cecil fished for spawning bass the entire tournament, and underperformed his expectations on days one and three.
      “I won this tournament on the first day. At noon I had no fish, and I was like ‘what am I going do to save myself.’ I had a little pocket that I was going to save that I didn’t think anyone else would be fishing. I didn’t go there, but I ran to another place and ended up catching a 2-pounder and a 7-pounder there. Then, with five minutes to go, I ran to my little pocket, caught two 3-pounders and got my limit. I could have easily weighed only three fish for 10 pounds.
      “I don’t have a lot of experience on Toledo Bend in the spring,” continued the Texas pro. “I have a whole lot more summer experience here. These fish were coming to the bank really hard and this was not an event where you could find them in practice and then go catch them. All of the fish that I caught I found during tournament hours. It was very mentally taxing. But, I kind of like tournaments like this. I hate it when it turns into a boat race and everyone knows where the same fish are.”
      Cecil said that he caught almost all of his fish on a Texas-rigged Big Bite Baits WarMouth and credited his Costa Del Mar sunglasses for his ability to see fish that others didn’t in the crowded pockets.
      The top 10 pros on Toledo Bend were:
      1st: Russell Cecil, Willis, Texas, 15 bass, 61-9, $33,000 + Ranger Z518 with 200-horsepower outboard
      2nd: Clark Reehm, Huntington, Texas, 15 bass, 61-2, $12,778
      3rd: Todd Castledine, Nacogdoches, Texas, 15 bass, 58-0, $9,901
      4th: Andrew Upshaw, Tulsa, Okla., 15 bass, 57-13, $8,251
      5th: Ronnie Wagner, Houston, Texas, 15 bass, 55-8, $7,426
      6th: Nick Lebrun, Tyler, Texas, 15 bass, 52-13, $6,600
      7th: Troy Broussard, Beaumont, Texas, 15 bass, 51-14, $5,775
      8th: Lendell Martin Jr., Nacogdoches, Texas, 15 bass, 51-4, $4,950
      9th: Kellogg’s Rice Krispies Treats pro Jim Tutt, Longview, Texas, 15 bass, 49-5, $4,125
     10th: Ricky Guy, Humble, Texas, 12 bass, 42-1, $3,300
      Complete results can be found at FLWOutdoors.com.
      Corey Stanley of Orange, Texas caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division Thursday – a 10-pound, 3-ounce bass – that earned him the day’s Rayovac FLW Series Big Bass award of $222.
      Ronnie Ray Jr. of McKinney, Texas, won the co-angler division and a Ranger Z117C with an Evinrude or Mercury outboard motor with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 32 pounds, 9 ounces.
      The top 10 co-anglers on Toledo Bend were:
      1st: Ronnie Ray Jr., McKinney, Texas, 15 bass, 32-9, Ranger Z117C with 90-horsepower outboard
      2nd: Mike Power, Conroe, Texas, nine bass, 31-7, $4,163
      3rd: Jeff Kitchens, Henderson, Texas, 10 bass, 29-11, $3,330
      4th: Kerry Barnett, Waldron, Ark., nine bass, 25-3, $2,914
      5th: Ryan Bailey, Humble, Texas, eight bass, 24-3, $2,497
      6th: Travis Kelehan, Broussard, La., eight bass, 23-8, $2,081
      7th: Clint Lipham, Conroe, Texas, nine bass, 22-3, $1,665
      8th: John Martin, Buna, Texas, six bass, 21-12, $1,457
      9th: Dan Wilson, Pilot Point, Texas, eight bass, 20-6, $1,249
     10th: Neil Herline, Silsbee, Texas, eight bass, 18-6, $1,041
      Mack McCoy of Ringgold, La. caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division Friday – an 8-pound, 7-ounce bass – that earned him the day’s Rayovac FLW Series Big Bass award of $148.
    The Rayovac FLW Series consists of five divisions – Central, Northern, Southeast, Texas and Western. Each division consists of three tournaments and competitors will be vying for valuable points in each division that could earn them the opportunity to fish in the no-entry-fee Rayovac FLW Series Championship. The 2014 Rayovac FLW Series Championship is being held Oct. 30-Nov. 1 on Wheeler Lake in Rogersville, Ala.
      The final Rayovac FLW Series Texas Division tournament of 2014 will be held October 2-4, at Sam Rayburn Reservoir in Lufkin, Texas.
      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.

Costas Wins B F L On Santee Cooper

Lex Costas of Daniel Island, S.C., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 32 pounds, 14 ounces Saturday to win the first Walmart Bass Fishing League South Carolina Division tournament of 2014 on Santee Cooper. For his victory, Costas earned $3,255.
Costas, a former guide on Santee Cooper, used his local knowledge to bring in the massive limit that would have topped any single day catch in the Rayovac FLW Series event held just one week before.
      “I never thought I would catch 32 pounds,” said Costas. “You always hope to of course, and it was certainly nice to do.”
      Costas said that he fished an area with current to start the day, and caught part of his limit there with a white bucktail jig. He said he finished his limit and culled a few times by targeting other pre-spawn areas in 6 to 12 feet of water with Yamamoto Senkos and a medium-diving crankbait.
      “I caught fish in five different places,” explained Costas. “We just bounced around and picked up one fish here and two fish there. Other than our first stop we didn’t catch more than two fish anywhere.
      “It felt great,” said Costas of his win. “I’ve come close quite a few times. I’m happy to finally get one under my belt.”
      Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
            2nd:   Kyle Giella, Irmo, S.C., five bass, 22-9, $1,628
            3rd:   Ken Ellis, Bowman, S.C., five bass, 19-13, $1,084
            4th:    Ron Brown, Mount Pleasant, S.C., five bass, 19-5, $760
            5th:    Anthony Colacurcio, Mount Pleasant, S.C., five bass, 18-9, $651
            6th:    Freddie Gamble Jr., Sumter, S.C., three bass, 18-8, $597
            7th:    Mark Curry, Conway, S.C., five bass, 17-12, $543
            8th:    Thomas Rubbo, Lexington, S.C., five bass, 17-3, $488
            9th:    Greg Rikard, Leesville, S.C., five bass, 16-8, $434
            10th:  Norm Attaway, Clearwater, S.C., five bass, 13-11, $380
      Complete results can be found at FLWOutdoors.com.
      Lonnie Drusch of Sumter, S.C., weighed in a four bass totaling 15 pounds, 7 ounces Saturday to win $1,628 in the co-angler division.
      Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
            2nd:   Carluss King, Galivants Ferry, S.C., three bass, 12-13, $814
            3rd:   Jack Daniel Hoy, Hollywood, S.C., five bass, 11-6, $542
            4th:    Mike Field, Columbia, S.C., two bass, 9-2, $380
            5th:    John King, Santee, S.C., three bass, 9-0, $326
            6th:    Tom Patten, Brandon, Vt., two bass, 7-8, $298
            7th:    Gregory Littles, Columbia, S.C., two bass, 5-14, $257
            7th:    Dale Webber, Kernersville, N.C., two bass, 5-14, $257
            9th:    Michael Petras, Summerville, S.C., two bass, 5-13, $217
            10th: Jamie Amerson, Savannah, Ga., three bass, 5-11, $190
      The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 2-4 Regional Championship on the James River in Richmond, Va. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a Chevy Silverado, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.
      The BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 120 tournaments throughout the season, five in each division. The top 40 boaters and co-anglers from each division qualify for a regional tournament and compete 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. The 2014 BFL All-American is being held June 5-7 on Wilson Lake in Florence, Ala. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Rayovac FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.

 


Scott Threadgill and Dwayne Saunders win the CBC on Norman-Take home $13k-Full results here!

A record crowd showed up for the 1st NC Div event of the 2014 CBC Season with 203 teams blasting off from Blythe Landing Sat morning. The fishing on Norman has been hot, and the weigh-in did not disappoint! There were more limits brought in Sat afternoon than we have ever seen on Norman. Large spots were the norm in the 2-2.5 Lb range along with a very high quality BF of 5.80 Lbs caught by the winning team. The Blanton father son team won the Skeeter bonus money, so finishing in 8th place allowed them to go home with $6300!! Congrats to all the anglers who came out and made this one heck of a tournament! Here are some great pic's and full results below:

CBC Norman Champs hold up their $13,000 Stringer! 

CBC Norman Champs hold up their $13,000 Stringer!

 

CBC 2nd Place team of Greg Osborne and Wyatt Blevins 

CBC 2nd Place team of Greg Osborne and Wyatt Blevins

 

CBC 3rd Place Team of Jeff and KJ Queen place near the top-Again! 

CBC 3rd Place Team of Jeff and KJ Queen place near the top-Again!

 

AC Pro Staffer Rob Digh Holds up some of his stringer after finishing in 11th place 

AC Pro Staffer Rob Digh Holds up some of his stringer after finishing in 11th place

 

Will Blanton Holds up his Skeeter Bonus CHeck with Al Odom 

Will Blanton Holds up his Skeeter Bonus CHeck with Al Odom

 

 

Place Team Name Team # Fish       Weighed Net             Weight Big Fish Points Winnings $$ Each
1 Scott Threadgill - Dwayne Saund 45 5 18.740 5.800 310 $12,000 6,000.00
2 Greg Osborne - Wyatt Blevins 128 5 17.830 0.000 309 $5,000 2,500.00
3 Jeff Queen - Kristopher KJ Quee 159 5 15.500 0.000 308 $3,500 1,750.00
4 Dale Surrett - Brian Morgan 199 5 15.310 0.000 307 $2,500 1,250.00
5 Thomas Hardwick - Tommy William 191 5 14.630 0.000 306 $2,000 1,000.00
6 Larry Yancey - Milton Yancey 58 5 14.620 0.000 305 $1,750 875.00
7 Darren Sigmon - Brian Huffman 143 5 14.540 0.000 304 $1,500 750.00
8 William Blanton - David Blanton 187 5 14.430 0.000 303 $1,300 650.00
9 Todd Sumner - Robert Parrish 195 5 14.230 5.470 302 $1,100 550.00
10 Terry Wike - Greg Deal 93 5 14.130 0.000 301 $1,000 500.00
11 Robert Stilner - Rob Digh 139 5 13.930 0.000 300 $900 450.00
12 Nathan Webber - Paul Rigsbee 163 5 13.890 0.000 299 $850 425.00
13 Nick Miller - Brandon Brickweg 106 5 13.500 0.000 298 $700 350.00
14 Gene Webster - Mike Seawright 65 5 13.490 0.000 297 $560 280.00
15 Brian Gallimore - Brian Mays 203 5 13.430 0.000 296 $520 260.00
16 Marvin Godard - Robert Adams 193 5 13.420 0.000 295 $475 237.50
17 Scott Sellers - Randy Childers 49 5 13.330 0.000 294 $450 225.00
18 John McBride - Shaun Hall 100 5 13.310 0.000 293 $400 200.00
19 Chris Corriher - Randy Christy 72 5 13.240 0.000 292 $350 175.00
20 Chuck Camp - Mark Swink 180 5 13.200 0.000 291 $340 170.00
21 Dwight Dellinger - Doug Delling 53 5 13.140 0.000 290 $325 162.50
22 Kevin Toler - Rodney Lambert 48 5 13.020 0.000 289 $315 157.50
23 Roy Barrow - Jerry Bullaboy 71 5 12.980 0.000 288 $300 150.00
24 tony woodard - scott smith 114 5 12.890 0.000 287 $290 145.00
25 Doug Punch - tim bumgarner 12 5 12.810 3.690 286 $280 140.00
26 Joshua Queen - Mike Queen 30 5 12.790 0.000 285 $275 137.50
27 JESSIE TOWERY - Dwayne towery 196 5 12.700 0.000 284 $260 130.00
28 Jason Threadgill - Todd Walters 120 5 12.610 0.000 283 $250 125.00
29 Lester Elton - Chris Martin 121 5 12.310 0.000 282 $240 120.00
30 Dale Luckey - John Brown 147 5 12.260 0.000 281 $235 117.50
31 Buddy Black - Timothy Borders 55 5 12.250 0.000 280 $225 112.50
32 Robert Porter - Chris Dellinger 54 5 12.180 0.000 279 $205 102.50
32 Dennis Allen - Travis Allen 149 5 12.180 0.000 279 $205 102.50
34 tracy brown - Duane Marlowe 82 5 12.170 0.000 277  
35 Brent Kukowski - Patrick Carter 28 5 12.160 0.000 276  
36 Keith Speece - Wendell Ireland 29 5 12.160 5.640 275  
37 Larry LeHew - Adam Waters 98 5 12.140 0.000 275  
38 Mike Stephens - Hunter Hicks 164 5 12.110 0.000 274  
39 Russell Hoyle - Jerry Pruitt 141 5 12.040 0.000 273  
40 Stephen Griggs - Rodney Sorrell 95 5 12.010 0.000 272  
41 joel ketcham - Steve Dyer 2 5 11.650 0.000 271  
42 Jason Wilson - Kelly Logan 158 5 11.630 0.000 270  
43 Christian Shoda - Josh Sherwood 184 5 11.620 0.000 269  
44 Steven Austin - Roger Wood 115 5 11.590 0.000 268  
45 Bron Hemphill - Nathan Dellinge 56 5 11.570 0.000 267  
46 Doug Easton - Pete Bejte 138 5 11.560 0.000 266  
47 Charles Sipe - Charlie Sipe 35 5 11.440 0.000 265  
48 William Harris - Stanton Harris 43 5 11.290 0.000 264  
49 David Williams - Gerald William 181 5 11.240 0.000 263  
50 Charles Stroud - Danny Bullman 86 5 11.130 0.000 262  
51 Bobby Lateuch - Jerry Craig 148 5 11.090 0.000 261  
52 michael bryant - Eric Rothrock 182 5 11.070 0.000 260  
53 Dale Duncan - Donnie Woody 188 5 11.050 0.000 259  
54 george lambeth - ron wolfarth 47 5 11.040 0.000 258  
55 Thomas Richmond - Artie Phillip 41 5 11.010 0.000 257  
56 Aric Dwyer - zack bolick 142 5 10.960 0.000 256  
57 Chris Graham - Ricky Byrd 46 5 10.880 0.000 255  
58 Roger Hoover - Scott Hamrick 75 5 10.870 0.000 254  
59 Vince Parker - Mark Parker 162 5 10.860 0.000 253  
60 Patrick Tierney - Todd Auten 130 5 10.850 0.000 252  
61 Brent Berry - Lee Hoilman 11 5 10.840 3.880 251  
62 Steve Addington - Scott Beattie 31 5 10.830 0.000 250  
63 Tony Foster - Steve Sink 174 5 10.720 0.000 249  
64 Wayne Hauser - Alfred Keisling 194 5 10.660 0.000 248  
65 Todd Garner - Chad Taylor 38 5 10.640 0.000 247  
66 Morris Ruff - Travis Ruff 151 5 10.640 0.000 246  
67 Wesley Cashwell - Shane Doughti 3 5 10.530 0.000 245  
68 Bill Grier - Robby Byrum 189 5 10.430 0.000 244  
69 Stephen McLeod - John Russell 132 5 10.370 0.000 243  
70 Gary Love - Ricky Todd 36 5 10.340 0.000 242  
71 Alan Johnston - Thomas Anderson 133 5 10.320 0.000 241  
72 Chuck Morton - Chuck Collins 66 5 10.290 0.000 240  
73 Danny Mason - Lionel Mason 134 5 10.290 0.000 239  
74 sheldon hipps - Ronnie Kobos 76 5 10.270 0.000 238  
75 Harold Drew - Jackie Reilly 20 5 10.200 0.000 237  
76 Tracy Schiff - Eric Grigg 61 5 10.170 0.000 236  
77 Shane Lineberger - Jerry Linebe 42 5 10.160 0.000 235  
78 Brian Triplett - Stacey Richard 81 5 10.130 0.000 234  
79 Brandon Chandler - Scott Alliso 83 5 10.100 0.000 233  
80 Dave Snyder - david snyder 123 5 10.050 0.000 232  
81 Shannon Stowe - Brian Stowe 80 5 9.980 0.000 231  
82 Randy Gray - Drew Stankwytch 169 5 9.870 0.000 230  
83 Jason Eaker - Allen Eaker 7 5 9.810 0.000 229  
84 Thomas Vickers - Brian Huskins 171 5 9.710 0.000 228  
85 marcus Leech - Tim Chapman 34 5 9.680 0.000 227  
86 robert mixon - Mark Green 77 5 9.540 0.000 226  
87 Steve Godfrey - Steve Harwood 140 5 9.440 0.000 225  
88 Larry Horton - Steve Arnold 166 5 9.370 0.000 224  
89 Mike Scott - Chris Johnson 178 5 9.370 0.000 223  
90 Reginald Pickett - Larry Kirk 27 5 9.330 0.000 222  
91 Michael Bellassai - Jake Hart 25 5 9.320 0.000 221  
92 Reggie Guffey - Tommy Chapman 74 5 9.240 0.000 220  
93 Tommy Lambert - Matthew Walters 109 5 9.040 0.000 219  
94 Mark Beck - todd durham 165 5 9.040 0.000 218  
95 Josh Huffman - Nolan Eller 112 5 9.030 0.000 217  
96 Jeff Coble - David Wright 124 5 9.020 0.000 216  
97 Mark Mitchell - Mike Kirkley 39 3 9.000 0.000 215  
98 Jason Lowman - Paul Brittain 155 4 8.990 0.000 214  
99 Charlie Hanshaw - Jeffrey Hansh 51 5 8.960 0.000 213  
100 Darrell Fisher - William Gregor 176 5 8.950 0.000 212  
101 Rick Dunstan - Cliff Kirby 167 5 8.930 0.000 211  
102 Nathan White - Chris Guest 5 5 8.910 0.000 210  
103 Josh Stepp - Aaron Curry 103 5 8.910 0.000 209  
104 Mason Boyd - christopher terry 13 5 8.890 0.000 208  
105 Phillip Frady - Dirk Porter 87 5 8.850 0.000 207  
106 brandon gardner - william cordt 172 5 8.830 0.000 206  
107 John Drew - David Horton 107 5 8.760 0.000 205  
108 Wayne Ingram - Bobby Gill 127 4 8.760 0.000 204  
109 Chris Albright - Jarrett Albrig 63 5 8.740 0.000 203  
110 Brian Travis - Ashley Brotherto 15 5 8.620 0.000 202  
111 marty williams - howard bean 89 5 8.490 0.000 201  
112 Bobby Snyder - Tim Cline 116 5 8.360 0.000 200  
113 Don Sprinkle - Wayne Skipworth 168 5 8.050 0.000 199  
114 Gene Parker - Stanley Harkins 18 5 8.040 0.000 198  
115 Eddie Davis - Rob Fitch 186 5 7.850 0.000 197  
116 Mitch Drew - Kenny Drew 125 5 7.840 0.000 196  
117 Brad Petway - Keith Hawley 177 5 7.700 0.000 195  
118 Mike Branch - Brian Branch 118 4 7.680 0.000 194  
119 Chandler Revels - Joe Lowery 185 5 7.610 0.000 193  
120 Bryan LeFever - Wayne Sharpe 145 5 7.590 0.000 192  
121 Mike Brehm - Craig Rozema 44 5 7.580 0.000 191  
122 Scott Henley - Dean Minor 154 4 7.440 0.000 190  
123 Chris Richey - George Bost 90 5 7.220 0.000 189  
124 Roger Adams - josh adams 64 5 7.190 0.000 188  
125 Paul Guthrie - Danny Hucks 4 5 6.950 0.000 187  
126 Danny Nifong - Matthew Nifong 84 3 6.810 0.000 186  
127 Jimmy Cummings - Jesse Smith 40 4 6.450 0.000 185  
128 Dennis Cable - Tim Harrison 68 4 6.310 0.000 184  
129 Chris Vallance - 8 4 6.100 0.000 183  
130 Phil Hennessee - Rob Johnson 50 4 6.080 0.000 182  
131 Billy Gunter - Bernie Davis 1 2 6.030 0.000 181  
132 Jimmy Carswell - Bobby Carswell 110 4 5.670 0.000 180  
133 Jeff Tant - Doug Parrish 19 2 5.470 0.000 179  
134 Chris McDuffie - Greg Creech 9 3 5.430 0.000 178  
135 James Hobbs - Dustin Calloway 57 3 5.050 0.000 177  
136 Randy Randolph - Allen Willis 6 2 5.010 3.200 176  
137 Mike Allman - Keith Porter 17 2 4.990 3.300 175  
138 Rob Ross - Rory Saliger 157 3 4.970 0.000 174  
139 David Pless - Keith Revis 105 2 4.920 0.000 173  
140 Gary Cline - Terry Wien 117 3 4.560 0.000 172  
141 Gene Sparks - Thomas Glavin 60 3 4.430 0.000 171  
142 Jason Dancy - alan mcglamery 136 3 4.370 0.000 170  
143 Michael Walters - Joseph Floyd 32 2 4.350 0.000 169  
144 Robert Branch - Stuart Parker 201 2 4.080 0.000 168  
145 Michael Hofmann - Patrick Mcgir 102 2 4.070 0.000 167  
146 Christopher Allard - Scottie Sm 104 2 3.470 0.000 166  
147 Adam Ridings - Chris Beaird 88 2 3.320 0.000 165  
148 Tyler Hoopaugh - Chris Hoopaugh 16 2 3.190 0.000 164  
149 brad anderson - brian king 146 1 1.800 0.000 163  
150 Noah Steere - Tim Spencer 24 1 1.620 0.000 162  
151 Trip Emerson - Caleb Unger 14 1 1.430 0.000 161  
152 Levi Meeks - Steven Crockford 21 1 1.410 0.000 160  
153 William Hardy - michael boeke 129 1 1.360 0.000 159  
154 Matt Stout - 10 0 0.000 0.000 158  
155 Louie Hull - Chuck Montgomery 22 0 0.000 0.000 157  
156 Chris Ellis - Justin Shropshire 23 0 0.000 0.000 156  
157 Wendell Gaddy - Pam Gaddy 26 0 0.000 0.000 155  
158 Butch Zadlo - Bryan Lewis 33 0 0.000 0.000 154  
159 Matthew Benge - Charles Hobbs 37 0 0.000 0.000 153  
160 Travus Lovell - Joshua Lyalls 52 0 0.000 0.000 152  
161 David Clanton - Derek Lilley 59 0 0.000 0.000 151  
162 dennis hensley - Steve Yoder 62 0 0.000 0.000 150  
163 Greg Whittington - Robert Churc 67 0 0.000 0.000 149  
164 Bryce Owen - Jonathan Phillips 69 0 0.000 0.000 148  
165 W C Reed - Judy Reed 70 0 0.000 0.000 147  
166 mike clark - orlando giles 73 0 0.000 0.000 146  
167 Rodney Morrow - Steve Jordan 78 0 0.000 0.000 145  
168 Ronald Farrow - Roger Farrow 79 0 0.000 0.000 144  
169 Craig Chambers - Keith Ogden 85 0 0.000 0.000 143  
170 Chuck Daymude - Graham Rushing 91 0 0.000 0.000 142  
171 Billy Scoggins - Eddie Parker 92 0 0.000 0.000 141  
172 Greg Sims - Michael Huffman 94 0 0.000 0.000 140  
173 Hau Tran - 96 0 0.000 0.000 139  
174 dylan bailey - Brian Bailey 97 0 0.000 0.000 138  
175 Mike Nishimoto - Ben McKinney25 99 0 0.000 0.000 137  
176 Roger Pope - Michael Smith 101 0 0.000 0.000 136  
177 Duke Denison - Jamie Denison 108 0 0.000 0.000 135  
178 Ben Warner - Richard Hurt 111 0 0.000 0.000 134  
179 Miles Hair - Terry Tolar 113 0 0.000 0.000 133  
180 ronnie wilson - Josh Gardner 119 0 0.000 0.000 132  
181 Steve Shaw - Ken Fender 122 0 0.000 0.000 131  
182 Mitchell Cook - Todd Huffman 126 0 0.000 0.000 130  
183 Dempsey Carter - Ted Mobley 131 0 0.000 0.000 129  
184 Brent White - cody andrews 135 0 0.000 0.000 128  
185 Jason Amato - Charlie Christenb 137 0 0.000 0.000 127  
186 george fleming - tannar blanks 144 0 0.000 0.000 126  
187 Alton Rockett - Brandon Earls 150 0 0.000 0.000 125  
188 Reid Mcginn - Brandon Williams 152 0 0.000 0.000 124  
189 Ben Parker - Jimmy Drumm 153 0 0.000 0.000 123  
190 Donald Poteat - Johnny Allen 156 0 0.000 0.000 122  
191 Eddie Smith - Michael Carson 160 0 0.000 0.000 121  
192 Eric Jeter - Darron Jeter 161 0 0.000 0.000 120  
193 Mike Ray - Chris Anderson 170 0 0.000 0.000 119  
194 Chris Wagner - Chase Deal 173 0 0.000 0.000 118  
195 Zach McGlamery - jerry mcglamer 175 0 0.000 0.000 117  
196 Shawn Crosby - Linda Patterson 179 0 0.000 0.000 116  
197 Brayden Rakes - Chris Cox 183 0 0.000 0.000 115  
198 Jim Witherspoon - Jerry Goble 190 0 0.000 0.000 114  
199 Max Long - Jason Long 192 0 0.000 0.000 113  
200 Will Petty - Barry Bost 197 0 0.000 0.000 112  
201 Earl Proctor - David Fortenberr 198 0 0.000 0.000 111  
202 Corey Patton - Kyle Whisnant 200 0 0.000 0.000 110  
203 Lewis Thomasson - Matt Haywood 202 0 0.000 0.000 109  

Chris Lane Wins Bassmaster Elite Series On St Johns River!

When everything is in sync and his timing feels perfect, Chris Lane says he experiences a sensation like a clock ticking inside of him. He yells “Pow!” when he boats a big bass.

Over the four-day Bassmaster Elite Series event on the St. Johns River system, Lane heard the tick-tock, and his word of triumph exploded repeatedly from his lips.

Starting Sunday’s final round with a 12 1/2-pound lead, the tournament was Lane’s to win or lose.

Lane not only stayed in stride the final day by catching 15 pounds, but he also he walked off with the victory in high style: His winning margin was 14 pounds, 4 ounces over the second-place finisher, Dean Rojas.

Lane amassed 90-13 over the four days of competition. He added a sixth Bassmaster victory to his resume that includes being the 2012 Bassmaster Classic champion and a 2013 Bassmaster Elite Series winner.

A Florida native now living in Guntersville, Ala., Lane’s win in Palatka, Fla., was like coming home for the victory parade. Fans flocked to him for autographs, and several photographers shot a family photo of so many people, they almost fell out of the cameras’ viewfinder.

“To win here in Florida is something special for me. This (the trophy) is for my family who got up at 3 o’clock and drove all the way from Guntersville,” Lane said.

All four days of competition Lane fished on Dexter, a lake of the St. Johns River system peppered with lily pad patches with an average depth of about 7 feet and about a mile long.

He decided on Dexter during practice for the event because he’d fished it before. His instinct was proved right when huge bass began to hit his lure so hard, they were sawing tough lily pad stems in half, he said.

Even when he was in 15th place on the first day, Lane did not question his decision to stick with Dexter. The conditions there were perfect — higher water and lower temperature than normal for March.

His reward for keeping faith in his instincts came on Day 2. He produced the event’s largest catch of 37-9, plus the lead by almost 9 pounds. Day 3 with 19-9, he stretched that margin to an incredible 12 pounds, 8 ounces, the second-largest lead in Elite history.

On Sunday, he returned to Dexter. If the lunkers were still there, he didn’t find them.

“I knew things were getting a little slow because there are only so many lily pads to fish, and once you take two or three fish off a pad, you’re not going to go back there and catch another one,” he said. “It was getting thin. I had to buckle down today and grind hard.”

Lane either cast into Dexter’s pads or punched a jig into the vegetation, targeting largemouth bass that were prespawners and postspawners, he said.

Which pads held bass, he said, “was just something you learn from fishing in Florida. You can’t explain it, but you know when you see it. And in practice I tried to find a patch I could get not just one, but eight bites out of.”

Casting to pads was his choice over sight fishing in eel grass, a pattern employed by many in the 108-angler Elite field.

Lane said he considered his winning lures to be a Luck-E-Strike ribbontail worm in black-and-blue, and a prototype soft stickbait being developed by Luck-E-Strike. He rigged both with a 1/8-ounce Reins weight. His jig, he said, was homemade, black-and-blue and rigged with a 3/4-ounce weight and 65-pound line.

Trailing Lane by 14-4 was Rojas of Lake Havasu City, Ariz. Rojas was happy with his second-place finish at 76-9 because he’d been in 20th place after Day 1, then climbed to 11th, then ninth before ending in the runner-up position after weighing a five-bass limit of 21-10, his best of the event.

By finishing in third place with 75-4, Mark Davis of Mount Ida, Ark., retained his early lead in the race for Toyota Angler of the Year, an award he’s won three times. Taking fourth place at St. Johns with 74-7 was the 2012 Elite winner on the same fishery, Alton Jones of Lorena, Texas. Fifth place was by Davy Hite of Ninety Six, S.C., with 73-3.

Bonuses that Elite pros earned at the St. Johns event were:

* Toyota Bonus Bucks award of $3,000 to the highest finisher eligible for the bonus: Davy Hite.  This Bonus Bucks award at the previous Elite event was won by Andy Montgomery of Blacksburg, S.C.

* Toyota Bonus Bucks award of $2,000 to the second-highest finisher eligible for the bonus: David Walker. This Bonus Bucks award at the previous Elite event was won by Jason Christie of Park Hill, Okla.

* Toyota’s $1,000 bonus to the leader in the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year points race: Mark Davis

* Berkley Heavyweight Award of $500 for the best five-fish limit: Chris Lane for his 37-9 on Day 2.

* Carhartt Big Bass of the tournament worth $1,000 plus another $500 for wearing Carhartt apparel: Greg Hackney of Gonzales, La., for his 10-10 on Day 2.

* Power-Pole Captain’s Cash award of $1,000 to the winner: Chris Lane.

* Rigid Industries Jackpot award of $250 daily to the angler eligible for the bonus who brought in 25 pounds or more in one day: Day 2, Chris Lane for his 37-9 on Day 2, $250 plus Day 1’s unclaimed $250. The unclaimed $500 from days 3 and 4 roll over into the next Elite event’s Rigid Industries Jackpot.

* Livingston Lures Leader Award of $500 for heading up the leaderboard on the second day: Chris Lane.

ESPN2 will air coverage of the St. Johns River event on The Bassmasters, Sunday, April 6, at 8 a.m. ET. A reair is scheduled for Sunday, April 13, also at 8 a.m. ET. Fans can catch the episode again on The Outdoor Channel on May 19.

Next up for the Elite Series is the April 3-6 A.R.E Truck Caps Bassmaster Elite at Table Rock Lake out of Branson, Mo.

St. Johns Event Local Host: Putnam County Chamber of Commerce.

2014 Bassmaster Elite Series St. John River 3/20-3/23
St. Johns River, Palatka  FL.
Standings Day 4
Angler                 Hometown              No./lbs-oz  Pts   Total $$$
1.  Chris Lane         Guntersville, AL        20  90-13  100 $102,000.00
Day 1: 5   18-11     Day 2: 5   37-09     Day 3: 5   19-09     Day 4: 5   15-00
2.  Dean Rojas         Lake Havasu City, AZ    20  76-09   99  $25,000.00
Day 1: 5   17-15     Day 2: 5   19-07     Day 3: 5   17-09     Day 4: 5   21-10
3.  Mark Davis         Mount Ida, AR           20  75-04   98  $21,000.00
Day 1: 5   18-03     Day 2: 5   26-07     Day 3: 5   16-13     Day 4: 5   13-13
4.  Alton Jones        Lorena, TX              20  74-07   97  $15,000.00
Day 1: 5   18-01     Day 2: 5   21-11     Day 3: 5   19-08     Day 4: 5   15-03
5.  Davy Hite          Ninety Six, SC          20  73-03   96  $14,000.00
Day 1: 5   24-01     Day 2: 5   14-07     Day 3: 5   24-13     Day 4: 5   09-14
6.  David Walker       Sevierville, TN         20  71-13   95  $13,500.00
Day 1: 5   14-07     Day 2: 5   20-01     Day 3: 5   19-11     Day 4: 5   17-10
7.  Randy Howell       Springville, AL         20  71-12   94  $13,000.00
Day 1: 5   27-03     Day 2: 5   20-02     Day 3: 5   11-09     Day 4: 5   12-14
8.  Keith Combs        Huntington, TX          20  70-03   93  $12,500.00
Day 1: 5   14-12     Day 2: 5   28-02     Day 3: 5   17-11     Day 4: 5   09-10
9.  Justin Lucas       Guntersville, AL        20  69-10   92  $12,000.00
Day 1: 5   19-12     Day 2: 5   24-15     Day 3: 5   13-04     Day 4: 5   11-11
10. Todd Faircloth     Jasper, TX              20  68-09   91  $11,500.00
Day 1: 5   12-11     Day 2: 5   21-02     Day 3: 5   21-00     Day 4: 5   13-12
11. Jason Williamson   Aiken, SC               19  65-00   90  $11,000.00
Day 1: 5   17-14     Day 2: 5   16-11     Day 3: 5   19-14     Day 4: 4   10-09
12. Paul Elias         Laurel, MS              20  63-13   89  $10,500.00
Day 1: 5   19-05     Day 2: 5   24-14     Day 3: 5   13-04     Day 4: 5   06-06

CARHARTT BIG BASS
Greg Hackney             Gonzales, LA        10-10      $1,000.00
BERKLEY HEAVYWEIGHT
Chris Lane               Guntersville, AL    37-09        $500.00
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day   #Limits    #Fish      Weight
1        97       521      1440-06
2        99       515      1514-05
3        46       243       705-06
4        11        59       158-00
----------------------------------
253      1338      3818-01


Cbc Lake Norman Wrap Up With Director Brett Collins.....wateree Up Next!!

CBC Tournament Director Brett Collins talks about a record setting turnout (203 Teams) as well as the fantastic fishing that these anglers were able to experience on Norman Sat. With Wateree up next weekend, don't look for much to change expect bigger limits!!


Scott Threadgill And Dwayne Saunders Win The Cbc On Lake Norman And Take Home $13,000!!

Scott Threadgill and Dwayne Saunders talk about their great day, 18.74 LB sack, BF (5.80), and the $13,000 they took home with Tournament Director Brett Collins!!


Excitement Building For First Anglers Choice Nc Division Tournament Sunday On Falls Lake

Jerame Edwards & Butch McMurray won the VA Division opener on Smith MountainJerame Edwards & Butch McMurray won the VA Division opener on Smith Mountain

Two weeks ago Chris Lucas did not know what to expect for the first Anglers Choice Marine Team Tournament of the year on Virginia's Smith Mountain Lake. A brutal winter storm hit the day before and there was a real question of how many teams would even be able to get to the lake.

But, despite the cold, snow and ice, 187 boats showed up for the first Virginia Division tournament of the year – and, despite the winter chill, the bass were hungry.

“We probably would have had 250 boats if a lot of our boats had not been snowed in,” Lucas said. “But the tournament went really well and it took a pretty good weight to win it. There were a lot of big fish weighed in – a couple over 7 pounds, a lot of 6-pounders and plenty of 4- and 5-pounders.”

Despite the winter storm, the day of the tournament at Smith Mountain it was 65 degrees and gorgeous, Lucas said.

“But that morning the ramp was iced and we had to put salt on it. But by the afternoon, they were putting on sunscreen because they were getting sunburned,” he added.

Now, with the first North Carolina Division tournament scheduled this Sunday on Falls Lake, Lucas has questions about how it will turn out, but he is encouraged by the response seen so far from anglers in both North Carolina and Virginia.

“A lot of our Virginia boats are going to Falls and we are getting a lot of calls from the Raleigh area, too,” he said. “I don't know that we will have 187 boats, but I think we are going to have a pretty good sized tournament to kick off the Carolina side of the series this year. A lot of folks we have not seen before are coming to fish.”

As for the fishing, Lucas said he had no idea about what the bass are doing this first weekend of spring in Falls, but some of the fishermen have reported being very excited about fishing the lake.

“I had one guy call me and tell me he got a map of Falls. Some of the deepest water he found was about 20 feet, but there was a whole bunch of stuff down there to fish around, so I think it will be pretty good fishing.”

Beginning last year the Anglers Choice Team series was split into two divisions, one for Virginia and one for North Carolina, with four qualifiers in each division.

“What's unique is that you can get four qualifiers in two weekends on Buggs Island,” Lucas said. “Make two trips and you have two qualifiers to fish for a boat. Then through the course of the season fish two more and qualify for the whole shooting match. You can fish six of the eight qualifiers in just four weekends the way the schedule is set up.”

The double qualifier weekends are April 5 and 6 and June 7 and 8, with anglers able to fish the Virginia Division qualifier on Saturday and the North Carolina Division qualifier on Sunday both weekends.

“Our anglers really like this opportunity because fishing a trail is an investment and it helps cut down on expenses for the fishermen,” Lucas said.

“The other aspect of out trail this year is that we are going to have two separate Classics, with a Ranger Boat for the winners on the Virginia side and a Triton for the winners on the North Carolina side. So, with the opportunity to fish both Classics, guys have two chances to win a boat.”

And, he added, about 80 teams so far have registered for the Bassmaster Trail to fish for the opportunity to qualify for the 2015 Bassmaster Classic.

The Virginia Division schedule runs March 8, Smith Mountain Lake; April 5, Kerr Reservoir; May 10, Smith Mountain Lake; June 7, Kerr Reservoir; with the Virginia Classic Oct. 4-5 on Smith Mountain Lake. The North Carolina Division runs March 23 on Falls Lake, April 6 on Kerr Reservoir; May 24 on High Rock; June 8 on Kerr Reservoir; with the North Carolina Classic Oct. 25-26 on High Rock.

“Anglers should note that this first North Carolina tournament is a Sunday event and we will be launching out of Ledge Rock. We had another ramp scheduled earlier, but some folks from down that way called and advised that it was not conducive to our tournament, so we had to switch to Ledge Rock,” Lucas said.

 

Anglers Choice Marine Team Trail NC Division

Sun, Mar 23, 2014

Falls Lake

Ledge Rock

Call Chris Lucas 276-358-0844

www.anglerschoicemarine.com

 


Spring May Not Be Quite Soon Enough For Carolinas Bass Challenge Tournament On Lake Norman

Spring finally arrived in the Carolinas Thursday, bringing sunshine and warmer temperatures – a welcome relief from the winter chill, dark skies and precipitation that have prevailed for months.

But the relief from the weather rigors of winter might not have come soon enough to bust the bass out of their winter doldrums in time for the first Carolina Bass Challenge North Carolina Division tournament of 2014 Saturday on Lake Norman.

“I can't believe the water temperature has moved up a lot this week,” said veteran angler Jeff Coble of Manson, N.C. “The fish are wanting to move up and start spawning, but the water temperature just won't let them, so I figure the fish will still be in pre-spawn this weekend.”

Fellow veteran angler David Wright of Lexington, N.C., agreed.

“I don't know if the next couple of days of warmer weather will be enough,” Wright said. “I just don't know how much it's going to warm things up.”

For the past month the weather has teased the bass and the fishermen, Wright noted. The occasional warmer, drier day, seemed to portend the arrival of spring and the start of spawning activity, but then there would be another wintry blast to knock things back. But, Wright noted, the trend has been towards conditions getting right for spring.

“It seems like every time it warms up a little another front comes through and cools things down, but just not quite as much as it was. If we get 60-degree water we will see spawning or fish trying to spawn,” he said.

Wright would seem to have a leg up on other anglers since he fished an American Bass Anglers tournament on Norman last weekend, placing 4th with five bass that weighed 13.48 pounds. However, in the short time since that weigh-in the lake has experienced another bone-chilling cold front, followed by the sunny arrival of spring on Thursday.

With the lake off limits the week before the tournament, both anglers agreed there is very little to go on as far as having a set fishing strategy for Saturday.

“Nobody is going to have any up-to-the-minute information. You are just going to have to guess right when you get on the lake Saturday morning,”Coble said.

“You will just have to go out there and start fishing and see what's happening,” Wright added.

More than 170 two-man teams are expected to fish for more than $40,000 in cash and prizes Saturday, according to Al Odom, tournament administrator.

“First Place will be $10,000 with the highest finishing Skeeter/Yamaha owner taking home $5,000,” Odom said. “The Big Fish winner will take home $1,000. CBC pays one place for every 6 teams entered and features a 100 percent-plus payout.”

 

Carolinas Bass Challenge - NC Division

Sat, Mar 22, 2014

Lake Norman

Blythe Landing

Call Brett Collins 803-413-7521

www.carolinasbasschallenge.com

 


Low Water Means Largemouths Should Prevail In Alabama Bass Trail North Division Tournament On Pickwick

Very low water levels means the Alabama Bass Trail North Division tournament on Pickwick Lake Saturday likely will be a largemouth bass tournament, according to veteran tournament angler Rex Chambers.

“The water is down probably three feet from what it usually is, with lots of rock showing,” Chambers said. “They have not run any water since Monday and they probably will not run any this week since we have not got any rain. That is going to put the current-dependent people in a little bind.”

Chambers said that this is the time of year when a lot of anglers like to get in the current and the area called “the Horseshoe” right below the dam and catch big smallmouth with an occasional big largemouth. But with less current to target smallmouth bass in the tournament should be dominated by largemouth bass, he added.

“With the water low and them not pulling any water, the smallmouth are not turned on,” Chambers said. “I am sure there will be some smallmouth weighed in, but the largemouths are on the move and they are shallow. They are ready to spawn as soon as the water temperature warms up.”

That means anglers will have to shift their focus to areas downstream that harbor largemouths, he noted.
“I think about 75 percent of the field will be running mid-river, trying to find some grass to pull some largemouths out of,” he said. “Anybody who finds the right patch of grass will be the ones who come out on top.”

Chambers said half the field likely will be throwing rattle baits in the grass and some will be casting jerkbaits.

“Once those Pickwick largemouths get on the move they get on a jerkbait bite,” he noted.

Chambers and his partner Kevin McMahan are fishing both divisions of the New Alabama Bass Trail. “I live halfway between Smith Lake and Guntersville. I am about an hour to an hour and 15 minutes from just about every lake in North Alabama,” said Chambers, who, with McMahan, finished 13th in the first North Division Tournament on Guntersville in early February.

“We really expected to win it, but all the ice and cold weather kind of changed our bite, so we will take that 13th place and go on to Pickwick and see if we can do a little better,” he said.

The Alabama Bass Trail, which launched this year, could be even more attractive in its second year, 2015, Program Director Kay Donaldson said.

“We think we will see a big increase next year. We are about 70 percent done in having all those dates confirmed and we hope to release the 2015 dates this May. We are looking for more interest from anglers in Florida and South Georgia and we think getting the dates out early this year will help people get prepared for next year.

Registration is available online at www.alabamabasstrail.org up to the Wednesday preceding each tournament. The entry fee per tournament is $250 per team.

The schedule includes: North Division – Feb. 1, Lake Guntersville; March 22, Pickwick Lake; April 5, Neely Henry Lake; May 31, Wheeler Lake; June 21, Logan Martin Lake. South Division – March 1, Mobile-Tensaw River Delta; March 15, Lake Eufaula; April 19, Lake Jordan; May 10, Alabama River (Millers Ferry); June 7, Lay Lake.

Each tournament has a guaranteed first prize of $10,000, plus $23,000 to the top 20 places and $500 to big fish. There are also numerous bonus packages available to winning and placing anglers.

The Top 50 teams for both the Northern and Southern Divisions will advance to the 2014 ABT Team Championship Oct. 10-11 at Smith Lake in Jasper. Plus, the top 25 student boats overall will be in the final event. To be eligible for the championship, teams must enter all five qualifying events in their respective division.

The grand prize for the no-entry fee championship is a fully-rigged Phoenix 619 Pro Bass Boat with a 150-horsepower Mercury Outboard, valued at $40,000. Adding to that excitement level is an opportunity to advance to the Bassmasters Team Championship and possibly earn a berth in the Bassmaster Classic.

“We are looking at an estimated $420,000 total in prizes for the series,” Donaldson said. “We think the anglers are going to really enjoy it because they will have the opportunity to advance to our championship and from there the opportunity to go to the BASS Team Championship.”

 

Alabama Bass Trail - North Division

Sat, Mar 22, 2014

Pickwick Lake

McFarland Park

Call Kay Donaldson 855-934-7425

www.alabamabasstrail.org

 


Pickwick Lake to Host Second Stop of Alabama Bass Trail Tournament Series’ Northern Division Mar 22, 2014

Decatur, Ala. (March 18, 2014) – On March 22, 2014, the Alabama Bass Trail Tournament Series is bringing the second stop of the Northern Division to the waters of Pickwick Lake where a guaranteed first place prize of $10,000 is up for grabs!

Hosted by the Florence-Lauderdale Tourism Board, the tournament has attracted 400 amateur anglers from across the southeastern United States and is expected to generate an approximate $500,000 economic impact for the Florence area and Lauderdale County.

Takeoff is set for approximately 7 a.m. and weigh-in begins at 3 p.m. at the boat ramp in McFarland Park in Florence, AL. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public. Registration and briefing will take place at the Marriott Shoals Conference Center beginning at 5 p.m. on Friday, March 21. According to Alabama Bass Trail’s Program Director Kay Donaldson, the tournament is expected to pump an estimated $500,000 into the local economy of the host city through revenue generated by anglers and their family members dining, shopping, and overnighting in local hotels and motels.

Sanctioned by BASS (Bass Anglers Sportsman Society), the tournament trail features two divisions: Northern and Southern. Each division is made up of five tournaments on five different lakes. Maximum number of boats is 200 and each tournament will have a $10,000 guaranteed first place prize and will pay 20 places.

 

Northern Division:

Lake Guntersville                    February 1, 2014 hosted by Marshall County CVB

Pickwick Lake                         March 22, 2014 hosted by Florence-Lauderdale Tourism

Neely Henry Lake                  April 5, 2014 hosted by City of Gadsden Parks & Recreation

Wheeler Lake                          May 31, 2014 hosted by Decatur-Morgan County CVB

Logan Martin Lake                 June 21, 2014

 

Southern Division:

Mobile-Tensaw Delta                March 1, 2014 hosted by North Baldwin Chamber of Commerce

Lake Eufaula                              March 15, 2014 hosted by Eufaula-Barbour County Chamber of Commerce

Lake Jordan                                April 19, 2014 hosted by Wetumpka Chamber of Commerce

Alabama River (Millers Ferry)  May 10, 2014 hosted by Wilcox County Chamber and the City of Monroeville

Lay Lake                                    June 7 hosted by Shelby County Commission

 

The championship is a 125 boat, two-day event. The 125 boats are comprised of the top 50 teams in points from both divisions that fished all five events in their respective divisions, along with the top 25 student boats collectively from both divisions that fished all five events in their respective division. Hosted by Chamber of Commerce of Walker County, the championship tournament is set for October 10-11, 2014 on Lewis Smith Lake.

The championship is a no entry tournament and the first place prize is a fully-rigged 2015 Phoenix 619 Pro with a Mercury 150, trolling motor and electronics valued at $37,495 with an additional $40,000 in cash and prizes. The official bass boat of the Alabama Bass Trail, Phoenix Bass boats will also offer the tier one First Flight incentive plan to tournament winners in a qualifying Phoenix boat.

Alabama Bass Trail Tournament Series’ sponsors include Bill Penney Toyota, the Alabama Tourism Department, Phoenix Bass Boats, Inc., Fishlife, Elite Outdoors Media, McDonalds of Alabama, and Pradco-FISHING representing BOOYAH and YUM, Dobyns Rods, Randy Jones Agency – Nationwide, T-H Marine Supplies, Inc., Alabama Power Company, Buffalo Rock, Inc., Jet-Pep, Inc., Tennessee Valley Authority, Rigid Industries, Inc., and Frogg Toggs, Inc., Go Pro, Gander Mountain, HydroWaveTM, Garmin, and Yeti Coolers.

For more information on the Alabama Bass Trail and the tournament series, call Program Director Kay Donaldson at 855.934.7425 or visit www.alabamabasstrail.org.

 

About Alabama Bass Trail

The Alabama Bass Trail is a program of the Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association. Its mission is to promote Alabama as a year round fishing destination, to preserve natural resources for generations to come, and to educate high school and college aged students to be good stewards of natural resources. The 11 bass fishing lakes consist of Lake Guntersville, Wheeler Lake, Pickwick Lake, Lewis Smith Lake, Neely Henry Lake, Lay Lake, Logan Martin Lake, Lake Jordan, Alabama River (Millers Ferry), Lake Eufaula, and the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta.  For more information, visit www.alabamabasstrail.org.

 


Murray State Wins Collegiate Bass Fishing Open On Lake Chickamauga

Teaser image:
Bethel University and Auburn University Finish 2nd and 3rd

 

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (March 18, 2014) -

The Association of Collegiate Anglers kicked off the 2014 Cabela's Collegiate Bass Fishing Series in style with over 260 college anglers from over 60 schools attending the Collegiate Bass Fishing Open at Lake Chickamauga near Dayton, TN. The famed fishery played host to one the most unique formats in college fishing for this event which features a combined weight format between two boats and four anglers from the same school. Each boat weighed in their heaviest three fish limits daily and then combined their weight with their other boat's weights and the heaviest combined weight over two days is be used to crown the winner.   

  

This event also featured nine of the top ten teams in the current Cabela's School of the Year race, making it arguably the toughest field yet to date this season. Playing host to the event was Dayton, TN who rolled out the red carpet for the college anglers with a registration banquet and assistance at the event.    

 

"When you combine the best collegiate anglers, the hottest big bass lake in the country in the most angler friendly host city in America, you can't help but have a record breaking event.  We had over 100 volunteers show up to provide these anglers the same VIP treatment that we give our professional anglers and I believe they were able to see why Dayton is called the "new bass fishing capitol of the south," said Dennis Tumlin, Executive Director of Rhea Economic Development and Tourism Council. "I can't thank our volunteers and our city & county officials enough along with TWRA for creating a one of a kind angling environment here in Dayton."     

  

The college anglers did not disappoint nor did the lake, with numerous fish over 6 pounds hitting the scales and when the final weigh in wrapped up, it was Murray State's Team of Justin Graben, Dan Schult, Justin Bergen, Cody Santel that won the event edging out Bethel University and Auburn University who finished in second and third, respectively.   

  

The Murray State Team reported that they had a shortened practice due to classes at the school on Wednesday as well as a club meeting on Wednesday night, thus arriving at the lake late in the early morning hours on Thursday. They rested at the boat ramp for a few hours before hitting the waters on the final official practice day.

 

"We knew everyone would be throwing an umbrella rig and didn't want to share water with those guys.  Shallow fishing is all four of our strengths and from our knowledge and experience on the river we knew there would be some good fish pushed shallow so we looked for that type of water," stated Cody Santel of Murray State Bass Club. "Our three baits for the week were a jig, chatterbait, and a 2.5 squarebill.  The crankbait caught the majority of our fish, and accounted for the 6 and 7 pounder myself and Berger weighed in.  The key though to the chatterbait and crankbait bite was to reel as slowly as possible through the wood."

 

"We have some awesome anglers on the team this season, and a lot of us have had some great finishes in the past but it feels good to finally seal the deal with a major win. Our club is as strong as it has ever been, and we have a bunch of new freshman this year who can really fish and I'm excited to see how this year will play out.  Murray State is definitely going to be a team to watch out for," Santel went on to say.

 

The Murray State Team feels that this win will be a huge momentum builder for the rest of the Association of Collegiate Angler events as well as move them into contention for the Cabela's School of the Year Race. All the team members wanted to thank all their families and sponsors and stated that without their help the team could never send as many teams to the event as we did.  We have some great sponsors that help us out, but a special thanks to Wood Forrest Bank, John at Fisherman's Headquarters, Navionics, and Mr. Campisano. 

 

The Bethel University bass team once again started out strong at a major collegiate event and have also moved into contention for a run at the Cabela's School of the Year title. The Bethel Team of Cody Ross, Dewey Sims, Zach Parker and Matthew Roberts were in first place after day one before slipping a little bit on day two which caused them to fall to second. Bethel, last year's BoatUS Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship winners, reported using umbrella rigs on channel swings in the back of creeks as their primary tactic.

"We noticed in practice that if we fished parallel to the swings we would get better bites. We also figured out that if you threw the umbrella rig on fluorocarbon you would get more quality bites," Cody Ross of the Bethel Bass Team.   The team went on to thank their parents for making it all possible as well as their sponsors Lews, Strike King, Car-Hart, Triton boats, and everyone else that supports the team. They are looking forward to the Cabela's Big Bass Bash in April as Kentucky Lake has been on fire lately and that event should be a great one for all the anglers.

 

Rounding out the Top Ten Places:

4th Virginia Tech

5th North Carolina State University

6th North Carolina State University

7th Tennessee Tech University

8th Bethel University

9th University of Tennessee-Knoxville

10th Southwestern Oklahoma State University

 

For full results click here and to see our photo gallery from the Collegiate Bass Fishing Open click here.

 

The event, which will be televised later this year as part of the national televised series, will highlight the entire schedule of the Association of Collegiate Anglers events. It will include the most prestigious, largest, and longest running event in college fishing, the BoatUS Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship held on Lake Pickwick, as well as the Cabela's Collegiate Big Bass Bash held on Kentucky Lake.

 


Piedmont Bass Classics Spring Mini Trail Qualifier #1 Results - Shearon Harris - Mar 16, 2014

1st Place: Jaime Fajardo & Scott Woodson of Fuquay Varina...5 bass...22.27

32 teams came out on a cold Sunday morning to fish the rescheduled Piedmont Bass Classics February 15th
snowed out Mini Trail Qualifier #1 at Shearon Harris.It was a little chilly that morning at 36 degrees and it didn't warm up until after noon and then only got up to about 56 degrees with a light rain. The wind was mostly light but did gust a few times during the day. Water temps averaged from 47 to 58. You had to find the warmer water and cast with Chatterbaits, Crankbaits, Jigs, C-Rigs & Spinnerbaits to get a hit.

Jaime Fajardo & Scott Woodson caught 5 nice bass weighing a total of 22.27 lbs taking 1st Place. They also won 1st Place TWT for a total of $1,127 in winnings. They are also with the Stratos Boats 2X program and will probably earn another $749 for fishing out of a Stratos Boat!

2nd Place went to the team of Chuck Byrd & Seth Ellis with 5 bass weighing 17.06 lbs. They also won the 2nd Place TWT and took home a total of $599. Big fish for the day weighed 8.84 lbs. and was landed by the team of David Lynch & Daniel Everwine and paid them $320!!

62 bass were weighed in for a total of 185 pounds. All the bass caught were nice and healthy looking. Harris is still a hawg hunters paradise! I want to thank all the anglers that participated and all our sponsors that support these trails.

The next tournament, coming up Saturday March 22nd, will be the Piedmont Bass Classics Mini Trail Qualifier #3 at Mayo Reservoir. Our 2014 Boats Unlimited Team Tournament Bass Trail Qualifier #3, will be Saturday, Mar. 29th at Shearon Harris out of Cross Point Landing Wildlife Ramp.

All the information on our tournaments can be found at yahoo and bing search or

http://piedmontbassclassics.com/index.html

Now here are the full results:

1st Place: Jaime Fajardo & Scott Woodson of Fuquay Varina...5 bass...22.27 lbs...$749
2nd Place: Chuck Byrd & Seth Ellis of Sanford & Lillington...5 bass...17.06 lbs...$437
3rd Place: Chip Baty & Alan Parker of Linden...5 bass...16.33 lbs...$312
4th Place: Mike Miller & Phil Edgerton of Pittsboro & Durham...2 bass...15.44 lbs...$229
5th Place: Jerry Marshburn & Tim Parker of Sanford & New Hill...5 bass...14.01...$187
6th Place: Carl & Justin Johnson of Apex...5 bass...13.19 lbs...$166

1st Place Big Fish: David Lynch & Daniel Everwine of Siler City...8.84 lbs...$320

1st Place TWT: 1st Place Team above: 22.27 lbs...$378
2nd Place TWT: 2nd Place Team above: 17.70 lbs...$162
Tow Boats US Member Bonus: Tim Goss of Franklinton: $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: www.piedmontbassclassics.com


Piedmont Bass Classics Hyco Lake Open Results - Mar 15, 2014

Jimmy & James Wall of Greensboro...5 bass...31.72

34 teams showed up for the 2nd annual Piedmont Bass Classics Hyco Lake Open. We had pretty good weather conditions with about 47 degrees in the morning and about 68 at weighin with winds 5 to 10 mph gusting to 17 mph during the day. Water temps ranged from 47 to 58 depending on the areas fished and most of
the water was really stained from previous rains that week.

Jimmy & James Wall, of Greensboro, took 1st place honors with 5 bass weighing a whopping 31.72 lbs. They won the 1st place money, Big Fish Award (10.43 lbs.) & the Tournament Within A Tournament for a total of $1,602. Allen Haigh & Doug Washburn weighing in 5 totalling 15.76 lbs., won 2nd place and 2nd place TWT for a grand total of $670.

97 fish were weighed in for a total weight of 228 pounds. Most fish were caught from 3 to 12 feet of water on a variety of baits including jerk baits, c-rigs, jigs, spinnerbaits & crankbaits for the most part, and the fish looked very healthy. The hot baits for the day reported to be c-rigs! I want to thank all the anglers that participated and that supported this tournament.

Our next tournament will be the Piedmont Bass Classics Team Bass Spring Mini Trail Qualifier #3 at Mayo Reservoir, Saturday March 22nd out of Triple Springs Wildlife Ramp.

All the information on our tournaments can be found at: http://piedmontbassclassics.com/index.html

Now here are the full results:

1st Place: Jimmy & James Wall of Greensboro...5 bass...31.72 lbs...$925
2nd Place: Allen Haigh & Doug Washburn of Prospect Hill & Bracey, VA...5 bass...15.76 lbs...$517
3rd Place: Joey & Lee Moore of Sutherlin, VA & Eden...5 bass...12.40 lbs...$408
4th Place: Marty Warren & Derek Cobb of Elon & Burlington...5 bass...12.04 lbs...$300
5th Place: Kenneth Dixon & W.F. Cox of Leasburg...5 bass...11.92 lbs...$217
6th Place: Kenny Allen & Larry Moody of Raleigh & Youngsville...5 bass...10.50 lbs...$190
7th Place: Dennis Duncan of Danville, VA...4 bass...10.31 lbs...$163

Winner Big Fish..1st Place Team above: 10.43 lbs...$320

1st Place TWT..1st Place Team above: 31.72 lbs...$357
2nd Place TWT..2nd Place Team above: 15.76 lbs...153

 

 


SMELLEY, HOLLINGSHEAD WIN TEXAS TEAM TRAIL EVENT AT LAKE RAY ROBERTS

Anglers top 217-team field, take home over $31,000 in cash and prizes!

NORMAN, Okla. (March 17, 2014) – Parker Smelley and Branden Hollingshead, both of Fort Worth, Texas, brought 28.06 pounds of bass to the scales to win the second stop of the 2014 Texas Team Trail presented by Cabela’s (TXTT) at Lake Ray Roberts on March 15. With their victory, the winning anglers took home nearly $2,000 of bonus incentives plus a new, fully rigged Stratos 189 VLO with 150-horsepower Evinrude, valued at $30,000.

With a weather front approaching the anglers took advantage of the increased bite.

“The weather fell right into what we wanted to happen,” said Smelley. “We wanted the front to come in.”

Fishing with jerkbaits, umbrella rigs and crankbaits, the anglers fished in only one location.

“We fished a secondary point and ridge,” said Smelley. “We never left, stayed in one spot all day. We felt good about our weight and figured it would take thirty pounds to win.”

In their second year fishing the TXTT, second-place finishers Chad Walkoviak and Russell Pasket, both of Anderson, Texas, weighed a five-fish limit of 28.04, just four one-hundredths of a pound behind the winners.

During pre-fishing on Friday, the team experienced a slow bite. Unaccustomed to fishing with an umbrella rig, the anglers tied one on and landed a six-pound bass in three casts.

“Neither one of use had thrown one before, but there was a tournament out here a few weeks ago that was won with one,” said Walkoviak. “My partner used an umbrella rig and within the first ten minutes we had a four-pounder. I finally picked one up around noon and as soon as I started throwing it I caught a six-pounder.”

With a good bag of fish the anglers still had a small bass to replace before heading back to the weigh-in.

“Right at the end of the day we still had a two-pounder we needed to cull,” said Walkoviak. “In the last ten minutes I caught a 7.81-pound bass. After that, we were pretty much done.”

The anglers won a total of $5,425 and plan on fishing the remaining two TXTT events and the championship at Toledo Bend.

“I like competition in general,” said Walkoviak. “I’ve been fishing tournaments since I was 14 or 15. The Texas Team Trail’s competition is pretty stout. It’s a lot different than fishing our home lake against the same people. We’re looking forward to the rest of the season.”

Rob Burns and Mike Burns took home the $3,255 third-place price and added $1,452 in Angler’s Advantage cash. T.J. Goodwyn and Phillip Crelia won the $1,085 Big Bass award for their 10.65-pound lunker. Additionally, Duck Hawkins and Victor Hawkins were winners of a free Minn Kota Talon shallow water anchor system for pre-registering for the event while Johnny King and Ginger King won a Mustang Survival inflatable PFD for registering online.

The next stop for the Texas Team Trail is Lake Texoma on April 12. Competitors who register for the Lake Texoma event by midnight of Thursday, April 10, will be allowed to pre-fish on Friday, April 11, and entered into a drawing for a free Power-Pole shallow water anchor. All participants who register online will also be entered into a drawing for a Cabela’s $100 gift card.

For additional information, anglers are encouraged to call 210-788-4143 or check out the TXTT website at www.texasteamtrail.com. Site visitors can register for events, review the television schedule, get official Texas Team Trail gear, view results and learn more about what’s in store for 2014.

Along with title-sponsor Cabela’s, Texas Team Trail has also welcomed Lucas Oil®, Ranger Boats, Stratos Boats, Triton Boats, Evinrude®, Minn Kota®, Talon, RAM Trucks, Lowrance, Power-Pole, Amphibia, iON, Garmin, General Tire, SuperClean, Valley Fashion, Mustang Survival, Artic Ice and Protect the Harvest as official partners.

For full results, please go to www.texasteamtrail.com/tournaments/events-results.

 


Major League Fishing Format Now Available for Local Tournaments

Teaser image:

SCORETRACKER LIVE Allows Anglers Across the Country to FISH “MLF Style”

TULSA, Okla. (February 17, 2014) - Major League Fishing’s innovative every-catch-counts competition format – complete with an in-boat leader board for all competitors - is now available to local tournament anglers through an Internet-based program called MLF SCORETRACKER LIVE.

 

Major League Fishing Commissioner Don Rucks announced today that the league has built technology that will allow any angler with a smart phone or tablet to download and utilize the same scoring system that made MLF an instant hit on Outdoor Channel.

 

“This is the same scoring technology that Kevin VanDam, Skeet Reese, Mike Iaconelli, Gary Klein and all MLF anglers utilize during competition,” Rucks said.

 

"The one thing we’ve heard over and over, since the first round of the first Major League Fishing telecast, is that anglers around the country want to fish in their own MLF-style tournaments. They want to be able to count every scorable fish they catch, and they want to see a live leader board showing where they stand against the other anglers at any time.

 

"So we built the technology to make it happen,” Rucks said. “To put it simply, Major League Fishing at the club level is now here.”

 

When anglers utilize SCORETRACKER LIVE, real-time results will display competing anglers by name, show where they rank in comparison to other anglers in the event and offer their total weight and number of scorable bass caught. The leader board also displays the average weight of each catch and the weight of the anglers’ heaviest fish.

 

All information is updated instantly and will be viewable on majorleaguefishing.com via smart phone, pad, tablet and/or computer.

 

“I truly believe that Scoretracker Live is the most progressive idea that has happened to local tournament fishing since catch-and-release was introduced,” Rucks said.

 

The cost for utilizing the SCORETRACKER LIVE technology is “$5 per angler per day, and we are really pleased to be able to deliver this technology at such an affordable price,” Rucks said.

 

Allen Martin, a regional fisheries administrator for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said he hopes that SCORETRACKER LIVE is a model for future bass tournaments.

 

“I like the fact that it encourages the almost immediate release of the fish and eliminates hauling fish around in a live well. That’s a lot of stress on fish, especially in the warm weather we have in Florida,” Martin said.

 

“Up until a couple of years ago, I wouldn’t have thought we’d ever see this format,” Martin said.  “We had talked about e-tournaments and even came up with some plans. But we concluded that until local anglers see the pro anglers do it, it’s never going to happen. Now, Major League Fishing is doing it, and they’re providing the technology.”

 

SCORETRACKER LIVE has been tested in Florida and Oklahoma, and the software “worked flawlessly,” said Florida Bass Network representative John Mobley, who directed a tournament on the St. John’s River near Palatka, Fla.

 

"I gave everyone my cell phone number just in case they ran into problems, and I didn't get a call all day. That speaks for itself,” Mobley said.

 

"The weights were super easy to put in, the page refreshed quickly, and I really liked how it broke down the number of fish, the average weight and the biggest fish.”

 

For detailed information about SCORETRACKER LIVE, please visit majorleaguefishing.com


Brett Hite Wins Bassmaster Elite Series On Lake Seminole

Brett Hite of Phoenix, Ariz., takes the victory at the Dick Cepek Tires Bassmaster Elite at Lake Seminole presented by Hardee's. With his win, Hite receives $100,000 and a berth in the 2015 Bassmaster Classic.. Photo by Gary Tramontina/Bassmaster

Brett Hite is 1-for-1.

Sunday, Hite won the first Bassmaster Elite Series event in which he competed, the Dick Cepek Tires Bassmaster Elite at Lake Seminole presented by Hardee’s.

The Phoenix, Ariz., pro’s name is now alongside Derek Remitz’s in the history books as the only Elite Series rookies who have walked away with the trophy in their debut events.

Hite’s prize was $100,000 and an automatic berth in the 2015 Bassmaster Classic on Lake Hartwell in South Carolina.

“I’m pretty excited because Lake Hartwell is one of my favorite lakes,” Hite said. “Going into this season, getting to the Classic on Lake Hartwell was a goal. But I’m still going into the rest of the season by putting my head down and practicing hard and fishing hard.”

With a four-day total of 97 pounds, 10 ounces, Hite’s margin of victory was a whopping 13-0 over the runner-up, Todd Faircloth of Jasper, Texas, who posted a total of 84-10.

Ending up in third at 80-9 was Mark Davis of Mount Ida, Ark. Fourth place was taken by the 2004 Classic champion, Takahiro Omori of Emory, Texas, with 78-4. Finishing fifth was Kevin Short of Mayflower, Ark., with 76-6.

To take his win, Hite targeted hefty female prespawners staging along stretches of grassy banks. With his boat positioned in 6 to 8 feet of water, he was close enough to the bank to have been able to cast and hit it. He cast to the edge of the grass.

The fact that these spots replenished daily, and that he managed the use of those spots well, were keys to his daily weights: 24-11 on Day 1, which was good for fourth place; 20-11 on Day 2, when he took the lead; 26-5 on Day 3 when he led the field again, then 25-15 on Day 4.

The icing on his final day was hooking into a 7-13.

“I set the hook, and I was thinking, ‘Man, I hope this isn’t a tree.’ Then I saw my line coming toward me. It was the biggest fish I’d caught all week, and it came at the right time. It was pretty special,” he said. “I just knew that was the dagger.”

Hite achieved his hefty final-round weight despite a short competition day. A heavy storm front approaching the lake prompted Bassmaster officials to bring the 12 finalists off the water at 1 p.m. ET instead of 3:45.

Hite’s go-to lure all four days was a Z-Man ChatterBait, a bladed swim jig, in 3/8- and 1/2-ounce sizes depending on whether the grass was low or high in the water column. He said he caught most of his bass on the green pumpkin color, but he also used black-and-blue version in the morning or to give the bass something new to look at.

His trailer was usually a 4 1/2-inch swimming Gary Yamamoto Senko trailer in either green pumpkin with a dyed chartreuse tail, or in black-and-blue.

Although technically a Bassmaster Elite Series rookie, Hite has a 13-year history of competing in major tournaments. His Sunday victory was No. 2 for him in as many months; he won in Florida last month on another circuit.

Hite’s 2015 Classic qualification is his third. He competed in the 2000 Classic, qualifying through what was then the Western Invitational series and again in 2004 through the Top 150 tour before the Elite Series was created in 2006.

“The Classic is the biggest tournament in the world,” he said. “And the time period of the Classic (February) is when I excel, during the prespawn. I’m looking forward to it.”

Bonuses earned at the Lake Seminole event include :

* Carhartt Big Bass of the tournament, worth $1,000 plus another $500 for wearing Carhartt apparel: Bernie Schultz for his 10-10 on Day 1.

* Berkley Heavyweight Award of $500 for the best five-fish limit: Shaw Grigsby for his 30-5 on Day 1.

* Toyota’s $1,000 bonus to the leader in the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year points race: Brett Hite

* Livingston Lures Leader Award of $500 for heading up the leaderboard on the second day: Brett Hite.

* Power-Pole Captain's Cash Award of $1,000 to the highest finisher equipped with Power-Poles: Faircloth

* Rigid Industries Jackpot award of $250 daily to the angler eligible for the bonus who brought in 25 pounds or more in one day: Day 1, Kevin Short (25-9); Day 2, Justin Lucas (25-9); Day 3, Hite (26-5); and Day 4, Hite (25-15).

The local host of the Elite event was the Bainbridge-Decatur County Chamber of Commerce (http://www.bainbridgegachamber.com).

The Bassmasters TV show featuring the Lake Seminole event will air from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. ET, Sunday, March 20 on ESPN2. The episode will reair on ESPN2 from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. ET on Sunday, April 13, and again on The Outdoor Channel on Monday, May 12.
2014 Bassmaster Elite Series Lake Seminole Presented by Dick Cepek Tires & Wheels 3/13-3/16

Lake Seminole, Bainbridge, Ga.

(PROFESSIONAL) Standings Day 4

Angler                   Hometown              No./lbs-oz  Pts   Total $$$

1.  Brett Hite             Phoenix, AZ             20  97-10  100 $100,500.00

Day 1: 5   24-11     Day 2: 5   20-11     Day 3: 5   26-05     Day 4: 5   25-15

2.  Todd Faircloth         Jasper, TX              20  84-10   99  $25,000.00

Day 1: 5   20-15     Day 2: 5   12-04     Day 3: 5   23-12     Day 4: 5   27-11

3.  Mark Davis             Mount Ida, AR           20  80-09   98  $20,000.00

Day 1: 5   21-00     Day 2: 5   20-13     Day 3: 5   20-02     Day 4: 5   18-10

4.  Takahiro Omori         Emory, TX               20  78-04   97  $15,000.00

Day 1: 5   19-11     Day 2: 5   14-15     Day 3: 5   23-12     Day 4: 5   19-14

5.  Kevin Short            Mayflower, AR           20  76-06   96  $14,000.00

Day 1: 5   25-09     Day 2: 5   17-10     Day 3: 5   17-08     Day 4: 5   15-11

6.  Aaron Martens          Leeds, AL               19  72-11   95  $13,500.00

Day 1: 5   17-05     Day 2: 5   13-00     Day 3: 5   29-11     Day 4: 4   12-11

7.  Bernie Schultz         Gainesville, FL         18  72-00   94  $14,500.00

Day 1: 5   26-14     Day 2: 5   17-10     Day 3: 5   17-02     Day 4: 3   10-06

8.  Shaw Grigsby Jr.       Gainesville, FL         19  70-12   93  $13,000.00

Day 1: 5   30-05     Day 2: 5   12-05     Day 3: 5   16-09     Day 4: 4   11-09

9.  Byron Velvick          Boenre, TX              16  67-06   92  $12,000.00

Day 1: 5   16-07     Day 2: 4   17-04     Day 3: 5   24-08     Day 4: 2   09-03

10. Justin Lucas           Guntersville, AL        17  62-11   91  $11,500.00

Day 1: 5   17-08     Day 2: 5   25-09     Day 3: 5   15-03     Day 4: 2   04-07

11. Andy Montgomery        Blacksburg, SC          17  59-10   90  $11,000.00

Day 1: 5   15-10     Day 2: 5   15-11     Day 3: 5   23-09     Day 4: 2   04-12

12. Charlie Hartley        Grove City, OH          16  57-07   89  $10,500.00

Day 1: 5   19-07     Day 2: 5   16-01     Day 3: 5   20-08     Day 4: 1   01-07

CARHARTT BIG BASS

Bernie Schultz           Gainesville, FL     10-10      $1,000.00

BERKLEY HEAVYWEIGHT

Shaw Grigsby Jr.         Gainesville, FL     30-05        $500.00

Totals

Day   #Limits    #Fish      Weight

1        81       479      1503-02

2        59       428      1268-11

3        35       227       760-02

4         5        43       162-04

----------------------------------

180      1177      3694-03


Tom's Marine Team Trail Results - Cherokee - Mar 15, 2014 - Boles and Absher win!

Luke Boles and Dennis Absher won the first Tom's Marine Team Trail event of 2014 on Cherokee Lake! They brought in 5 fish that weighed an impressive 21.18 lbs and took home $2,500!

The team of Scott Seaton and Wandell Lusk came in 2nd place with 19.87 lbs. They won $1,500. Third place was Tim Wright and Jimmy Moore with 19.52 lbs. Fourth place was Mark Mellons and Mark Mellons, Sr with 19.17 lbs. And Fifth place was Jeremy Gordon and Philip Gordon with 19.07 lbs.

CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE RESULTS!

CLICK HERE FOR POINTS!


Collins Bass For Cash Series Update With Director Jeff Narron

Collins Bass for Cash Tournament Director Jeff Narron joins us at their Open House Sat to get us caught up on their 2nd season and whats coming up in April. Affordable entry fee's and solid paybacks........click here for more!


Hite Widens Lead As Bassmaster Elite Series On Lake Seminole Heads Into Final Day

Bassmaster Elite Series rookie Brett Hite of Phoenix, Ariz., maintains the lead on Day 3 of the Dick Cepek Tires Bassmaster Elite at Lake Seminole presented by Hardee's. Photo by Gary Tramontina/Bassmaster

The Bassmaster Elite Series season kick off on Lake Seminole wraps-up tomorrow. As usual, the tournament standings tell a tale of two tourneys. On one hand, the guys at the top of the lreaderboard brought some serious weight - 8 of the Top 12 had 20-plus pounds today. On the other hand, it took less than 12 pounds per day to cut a paycheck.

As the rest of the pack collects their pay and packs up to head to Palatka, Fla. for next week's tourney on the St Johns River, 12 men made the cut to fish for the big money tomorrow. Among them, FLW Tour veteran/Elite Series rookie Brett Hite stands apart. Way apart. As in, nearly 10 pounds apart. The hottest angler on tour brought 26-5 to the scale today and ran his 3-day total to 71-11.

Strike King pro Mark Davis is the only other man to sack more than 20 pounds each day. He has been remarkably consistent with limits weighing 21-0, 20-13 and 20-02 for a total weight of 61-15.His consistency is unusual for a man who has relied on multiple patterns. Davis sight-fished the first day, but then went offshore with crankbaits the next two days.

That Hite is 9 pounds, 12 ounces ahead of Davis is testament to the strength of Hite's pattern.

Hite has stayed 'outside' and caught staging bass, culling to five fat females per day. Then he has gone looking for new areas that fit his pattern, noting that he knows the right stuff when he sees it. Hite is dialed-in and will be hard to catch.

Hite estimates that if he can get 6 or 8 bites tomorrow, and execute on them, he will have 15-to-20 pounds. He is targeting what he calls 'highways' to spawning grounds. He noted, "The fish I'm getting to bite are all big ones."

Weights tighten up quickly as Bernie Schultz is 5 ounces back of Davis, hoping to leapfrog him challenge Hite for the first Bassmaster title of his career.

Schultz is capable, as he has a solid game plan going. "Anytime you can catch a big bedding fish, that's a plus," said Schultz in reference to his 10-10 giant that came off a bed at noon on the first day and propelled him up the standings, where he has remained.

"My open water pattern is the staple for me," continued Schultz. "That's where I get my start each day. I'm fishing a grass edge about 3 feet deep with a red, 3/8 oz. Rip N Rap (lipless crankbait) a DT Fat square bill crankbait and a homemade bladed jig. The action doesn't really start until 10 or 11 o'clock and even at that,  I'm only getting maybe 10 bites, or fewer, each day."

The bites Schultz is getting are the rigth ones. When the sun gets up he goes to his secondary pattern - looking at spawning bass. "I caught that big one on a Yamamoto Lizard. Green Pumpkin has been the dominant color for me this week but when a fish is dificult I switch colors to a junebug Yamamoto lizard." He said it's hard to remember but he thinks he caught the big girl on the junebug color.

Kevin Short has been right there with Schultz in the Top 5 all week and he is less than a pound behind now. Short has also fished 'out' this week as photos show him cranking near timber.

Aaron Martens stormed into the cut with 29-11 today. His Saturday weight represents nearly half of his 60-pound, 3-day total. Martens is currently in 5th place.

Shaw Grigsby rode the week's only 30-pound bag - his 30-05 day 1 effort - into the cut. He fell of with 12 pounds and change on day two but rebounded with 16-09 today and occupies 6th.

Takahiro Omori, Byron Velvick, Todd Faircloth and Charley Hartley all rallied with better-than-20-pound-bags today and will fish tomorrow.

Andy Montgomery also caught Saturday's wave of big bass momentum as he followed up his 15-11 and 15-10 limits with a 3rd day weight of 23-09 to sneak into the 12th spot of the eve of the final competition day.

Weather forecast for Bainbridge, GA tomorrow - starting out in the upper 50's, topping out in the low 70's, a southeast breeze will develop into a stiff southerly wind as cloudy morning skies bring an increased chance of rain toward mid day, culminating in thundershowers throughout weigh-in time which is 4 P.M. at the Earle May Baot Basin in Bainbridge.

If a guy played catch up with bedding bass today, he probably won't gain ground with them again tomorrow. Give the edge to the top few, who have gotten there on the strength of their offshore stuff. Still, we could be in for an exciting finish on one of America's premier bass fisheries.

2014 Bassmaster Elite Series Lake Seminole Presented by Dick Cepek Tires & Wheels 3/13-3/16

Lake Seminole, Bainbridge, Ga.

(PROFESSIONAL) Standings Day 3

   Angler                   Hometown              No./lbs-oz  Pts   Total $$$

1.  Brett Hite             Phoenix, AZ             15  71-11  100     $500.00

Day 1: 5   24-11     Day 2: 5   20-11     Day 3: 5   26-05

2.  Mark Davis             Mount Ida, AR           15  61-15   99

Day 1: 5   21-00     Day 2: 5   20-13     Day 3: 5   20-02

3.  Bernie Schultz         Gainesville, FL         15  61-10   98

Day 1: 5   26-14     Day 2: 5   17-10     Day 3: 5   17-02

4.  Kevin Short            Mayflower, AR           15  60-11   97

Day 1: 5   25-09     Day 2: 5   17-10     Day 3: 5   17-08

5.  Aaron Martens          Leeds, AL               15  60-00   96

Day 1: 5   17-05     Day 2: 5   13-00     Day 3: 5   29-11

6.  Shaw Grigsby Jr.       Gainesville, FL         15  59-03   95

Day 1: 5   30-05     Day 2: 5   12-05     Day 3: 5   16-09

7.  Takahiro Omori         Emory, TX               15  58-06   94

Day 1: 5   19-11     Day 2: 5   14-15     Day 3: 5   23-12

8.  Justin Lucas           Guntersville, AL        15  58-04   93

Day 1: 5   17-08     Day 2: 5   25-09     Day 3: 5   15-03

9.  Byron Velvick          Boenre, TX              14  58-03   92

Day 1: 5   16-07     Day 2: 4   17-04     Day 3: 5   24-08

10. Todd Faircloth         Jasper, TX              15  56-15   91

Day 1: 5   20-15     Day 2: 5   12-04     Day 3: 5   23-12

11. Charlie Hartley        Grove City, OH          15  56-00   90

Day 1: 5   19-07     Day 2: 5   16-01     Day 3: 5   20-08

12. Andy Montgomery        Blacksburg, SC          15  54-14   89

Day 1: 5   15-10     Day 2: 5   15-11     Day 3: 5   23-09

13. Jared Lintner          Arroyo Grande, CA       15  53-09   88  $10,000.00

Day 1: 5   14-09     Day 2: 5   21-05     Day 3: 5   17-11

14. Jason Christie         Park Hill, OK           15  53-06   87  $10,000.00

Day 1: 5   14-05     Day 2: 5   18-05     Day 3: 5   20-12

15. Chad Morgenthaler      Coulterville, IL        14  52-10   86  $10,000.00

Day 1: 5   20-10     Day 2: 5   22-06     Day 3: 4   09-10

16. James Niggemeyer       Van, TX                 13  51-14   85  $10,000.00

Day 1: 5   19-07     Day 2: 4   18-02     Day 3: 4   14-05

17. Alton Jones            Lorena, TX              15  51-10   84  $10,000.00

Day 1: 5   14-09     Day 2: 5   19-07     Day 3: 5   17-10

18. David Walker           Sevierville, TN         15  51-09   83  $10,000.00

Day 1: 5   21-04     Day 2: 5   12-05     Day 3: 5   18-00

19. Gerald Swindle         Warrior, AL             15  50-13   82  $10,000.00

Day 1: 5   16-15     Day 2: 5   18-02     Day 3: 5   15-12

20. Nate Wellman           Newaygo, MI             15  50-11   81  $10,000.00

Day 1: 5   15-05     Day 2: 5   21-05     Day 3: 5   14-01

21. Brandon Lester         Fayetteville, TN        15  50-01   80  $10,000.00

Day 1: 5   18-06     Day 2: 5   17-09     Day 3: 5   14-02

22. Randall Tharp          Port Saint Joe, FL      15  50-00   79  $10,000.00

Day 1: 5   17-00     Day 2: 5   20-07     Day 3: 5   12-09

23. Hank Cherry Jr         Maiden, NC              14  49-13   78  $10,000.00

Day 1: 5   23-03     Day 2: 5   14-10     Day 3: 4   12-00

24. Stephen Browning       Hot Springs, AR         15  49-12   77  $10,000.00

Day 1: 5   14-11     Day 2: 5   15-13     Day 3: 5   19-04

25. Morizo Shimizu         Osaka JAPAN             14  49-09   76  $10,000.00

Day 1: 5   19-02     Day 2: 5   17-06     Day 3: 4   13-01

26. Brian Snowden          Reeds Spring, MO        15  48-14   75  $10,000.00

Day 1: 5   20-03     Day 2: 5   14-07     Day 3: 5   14-04

27. Ott DeFoe              Knoxville, TN           15  47-12   74  $10,000.00

Day 1: 5   17-11     Day 2: 5   16-04     Day 3: 5   13-13

28. Bill Lowen             Brookville, IN          15  46-07   73  $10,000.00

Day 1: 5   13-03     Day 2: 5   16-15     Day 3: 5   16-05

29. Jacob Powroznik        Port Haywood, VA        15  46-02   72  $10,000.00

Day 1: 5   14-12     Day 2: 5   15-11     Day 3: 5   15-11

30. Matt Herren            Trussville, AL          15  45-04   71  $10,000.00

Day 1: 5   15-04     Day 2: 5   14-13     Day 3: 5   15-03

31. Clifford Pirch         Payson, AZ              15  45-01   70  $10,000.00

Day 1: 5   18-07     Day 2: 5   12-07     Day 3: 5   14-03

32. Kevin VanDam           Kalamazoo, MI           15  45-00   69  $10,000.00

Day 1: 5   17-09     Day 2: 5   14-08     Day 3: 5   12-15

33. Kotaro Kiriyama        Moody, AL               15  44-02   68  $10,000.00

Day 1: 5   12-03     Day 2: 5   15-13     Day 3: 5   16-02

34. Chris Lane             Guntersville, AL        15  43-15   67  $10,000.00

Day 1: 5   18-06     Day 2: 5   09-10     Day 3: 5   15-15

35. Skeet Reese            Auburn, CA              15  43-15   66  $10,000.00

Day 1: 5   16-07     Day 2: 5   11-01     Day 3: 5   16-07

36. Dean Rojas             Lake Havasu City, AZ    15  43-08   65  $10,000.00

Day 1: 5   18-09     Day 2: 5   13-04     Day 3: 5   11-11

37. Cliff Prince           Palatka, FL             14  43-06   64  $10,000.00

Day 1: 5   13-08     Day 2: 4   14-13     Day 3: 5   15-01

38. Greg Hackney           Gonzales, LA            12  43-02   63  $10,000.00

Day 1: 2   05-00     Day 2: 5   23-15     Day 3: 5   14-03

39. Josh Bertrand          Gilbert, AZ             13  42-11   62  $10,000.00

Day 1: 5   17-08     Day 2: 5   13-10     Day 3: 3   11-09

40. Ish Monroe             Hughson, CA             14  41-00   61  $10,000.00

Day 1: 5   12-03     Day 2: 5   19-13     Day 3: 4   09-00

41. J Todd Tucker          Moultrie, GA            10  40-10   60  $10,000.00

Day 1: 4   18-14     Day 2: 2   08-06     Day 3: 4   13-06

42. Mike Kernan            Wylie, TX               13  40-06   59  $10,000.00

Day 1: 5   14-08     Day 2: 5   16-08     Day 3: 3   09-06

43. Russ Lane              Prattville, AL          13  40-02   58  $10,000.00

Day 1: 5   12-08     Day 2: 5   17-15     Day 3: 3   09-11

44. Kelly Jordon           Palestine, TX           12  39-12   57  $10,000.00

Day 1: 5   15-05     Day 2: 4   17-10     Day 3: 3   06-13

45. Jeremy Starks          Scott Depot, WV         13  38-12   56  $10,000.00

Day 1: 5   16-00     Day 2: 4   12-11     Day 3: 4   10-01

46. Davy Hite              Ninety Six, SC          14  37-10   55  $10,000.00

Day 1: 5   18-08     Day 2: 5   10-11     Day 3: 4   08-07

47. Kelley Jaye            Dadeville, AL           15  37-10   54  $10,000.00

Day 1: 5   15-03     Day 2: 5   14-00     Day 3: 5   08-07

48. Tim Horton             Muscle Shoals, AL       12  37-00   53  $10,000.00

Day 1: 4   10-07     Day 2: 5   17-04     Day 3: 3   09-05

49. Kurt Dove              Del Rio, TX             13  36-13   52  $10,000.00

Day 1: 5   17-00     Day 2: 5   10-04     Day 3: 3   09-09

50. Tommy Biffle           Wagoner, OK             11  35-10   51  $10,000.00

Day 1: 5   23-13     Day 2: 4   06-08     Day 3: 2   05-05

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Totals

Day   #Limits    #Fish      Weight

1        81       479      1503-02

2        59       428      1268-11

3        35       227       760-02

----------------------------------

175      1134      3531-15

 


No Rookie, Hite Leads Bassmaster Elite Series On Seminole, Seeks 2Nd Tour-Level Win This Season

Brett Hite of Phoenix, Ariz., takes the lead on Day 2 of the Dick Cepek Tires Bassmaster Elite at Lake Seminole presented by Hardee's. Photo by Gary Tramontina/Bassmaster

Brett Hite’s first catch Friday was a 4-pounder. On his next cast, a largemouth just as big came back to the boat.

“That got things rolling and gave me a lot of confidence in what I’m doing,” said Hite, the Bassmaster Elite Series rookie who moved up from fourth place into Friday’s catbird seat in the Dick Cepek Tires Bassmaster Elite at Lake Seminole presented by Hardee’s.

The Phoenix, Ariz., pro ended his day with 20 pounds, 11 ounces. Added to his 24-11 already on the board, Hite had the lead in his first Elite appearance. His 45-6 total gave him a 14-ounce jump on Bernie Schultz of Gainesville, Fla.

Schultz held fast to his second-place standing achieved the first day, when a 10-pound, 10-ounce behemoth made his weigh-in bag sag. His 17-10 of Friday brought his weight to 44-8.

Kevin Short of Mayflower, Ark., owned third place — for the second consecutive day — with his 43-3 total.

A rookie like the leader, Justin Lucas of Guntersville, Ala. catapulted from 27th place into fourth place with the day’s largest bag, 25-9. In fifth was yet another rookie, Chad Morgenthaler of Coulterville, Ill., with 43-0.

Day 1 leader Shaw Grigsby of Gainesville, Fla., slipped to sixth place after bringing in 12-5.

Hite, unlike some pros in the field, is not banking on the bank. In this case, “the bank” means focusing on bedding bass.

“I’m targeting prespawn fish,” said Hite. “Water temperature is not really at the point where enough fish are going to the bank. I wanted to key in on the fish that are replenishing, that are going to be there day after day.”

After the two 4-pounders that set him in the right direction, Hite’s day got better.

“I ran to a secondary spot, and there were a lot more fish there than I realized. I had quite a few bites — then got out of there,” he said.

That was at about 1 o’clock. Hite backed off his fish and hunted for new water in hopes he could develop alternate plans for the two remaining competition days.

“In a four-day event, fish management is huge,” Hite said.

For Schultz, the obvious difference between his two competition days was a 10-10 lunker taken from a spawning bed on the first, but nothing near that weight on the second. His two largest bass were in the 4-pound range, he said.

Schultz said the fog delay of an hour and 20 minutes Friday morning changed his game plan. He decided to not make one of his spawning hotspots the first stop of the morning.

“Because of the delay, I went to my open-water pattern first. Then I went to sight fish, but never really saw any big fish at all,” he said.

Short also was affected by the delay.

“I think it made a lot more difference than I thought it would,” he said.

On Friday, Short said, he had caught 17 to 18 pounds by the time he made his first cast on Saturday.

He turned his slow day around when he boated a 6-3 and a 5-plus-pounder. That happened only a few minutes before he had to head back to shore and check in.

Hite won the Livingston Lures Leader Award of $500 for his second-day domination of the field.

The big fish of the day, a 7-12, was by James Niggemeyer of Van, Texas. But the 10-10 of Thursday by Schultz remains the largest so far. The big bass over four days is worth the Carhartt Big Bass bonus of up to $1,500.

Lucas won a $250 bonus from Rigid Industries for being the participating angler who achieved a 25-pound or heavier bag. The same award went to Short on Thursday.

The field was cut to the Top 50 for Saturday’s round. The pros will begin Day 3 at 7:30 a.m. from Earle May Boat Basin, 100 Boat Basin Circle, Bainbridge, Ga. The weigh-in will begin at 4 p.m. at the same location.

By Sunday, only the Top 12 will remain in the competition for a first-place prize of $100,000 and an automatic berth in the 2015 Bassmaster Classic. Pros also earn points that count toward the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year award and a Classic qualification.

Continuing through Sunday, the 11th annual Bainbridge River Town Days will offer many kids activities, plus vendors and Flames on the Flint, a barbecue cook-off. Town Days also will include many free concerts, including Chris Cagle, Saturday’s headliner.

Opening at noon Saturday and Sunday, the Bassmaster Elite Series Expo presents the products of Elite Series sponsors. The Expo includes free demo rides in Nitro, Skeeter and Triton boats powered by Mercury ProXS and Yamaha SHO engines. Saturday’s Expo also will feature the premier of GEOBASS, a new video adventure series from Costa. More GEOBASS episodes will be shown in conjunction with subsequent 2014 Elite Series events.

There’s no admission charge to any Bassmaster event, and parking is free.

The local host of the Elite event is the Bainbridge-Decatur County Chamber of Commerce (http://www.bainbridgegachamber.com).

On ESPN2 on Sunday, March 20, 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. ET, The Bassmasters will present a show covering the Lake Seminole event. The episode will reair on ESPN2 on Sunday, April 13, 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. ET, and again on The Outdoor Channel on May 12.
2014 Bassmaster Elite Series Lake Seminole Presented by Dick Cepek Tires & Wheels 3/13-3/16

Lake Seminole, Bainbridge, Ga.

(PROFESSIONAL) Standings Day 2

Angler                   Hometown              No./lbs-oz  Pts   Total $$$

1.  Brett Hite             Phoenix, AZ             10  45-06  100     $500.00

Day 1: 5   24-11     Day 2: 5   20-11

2.  Bernie Schultz         Gainesville, FL         10  44-08   99

Day 1: 5   26-14     Day 2: 5   17-10

3.  Kevin Short            Mayflower, AR           10  43-03   98

Day 1: 5   25-09     Day 2: 5   17-10

4.  Justin Lucas           Guntersville, AL        10  43-01   97

Day 1: 5   17-08     Day 2: 5   25-09

5.  Chad Morgenthaler      Coulterville, IL        10  43-00   96

Day 1: 5   20-10     Day 2: 5   22a-06

6.  Shaw Grigsby Jr.       Gainesville, FL         10  42-10   95

Day 1: 5   30-05     Day 2: 5   12-05  a

7.  Mark Davis             Mount Ida, AR           10  41-13   94

Day 1: 5   21-00     Day 2: 5   20-13

8.  Hank Cherry Jr         Maiden, NC              10  37-13   93

Day 1: 5   23-03     Day 2: 5   14-10

9.  James Niggemeyer       Van, TX                  9  37-09   92

Day 1: 5   19-07     Day 2: 4   18-02

10. Randall Tharp          Port Saint Joe, FL      10  37-07   91

Day 1: 5   17-00     Day 2: 5   20-07

11. Nate Wellman           Newaygo, MI             10  36-10   90

Day 1: 5   15-05     Day 2: 5   21-05

12. Morizo Shimizu         Osaka JAPAN             10  36-08   89

Day 1: 5   19-02     Day 2: 5   17-06

13. Brandon Lester         Fayetteville, TN        10  35-15   88

Day 1: 5   18-06     Day 2: 5   17-09

14. Jared Lintner          Arroyo Grande, CA       10  35-14   87

Day 1: 5   14-09     Day 2: 5   21-05

15. Charlie Hartley        Grove City, OH          10  35-08   86

Day 1: 5   19-07     Day 2: 5   16-01

16. Gerald Swindle         Warrior, AL             10  35-01   85

Day 1: 5   16-15     Day 2: 5   18-02

17. Brian Snowden          Reeds Spring, MO        10  34-10   84

Day 1: 5   20-03     Day 2: 5   14-07

18. Takahiro Omori         Emory, TX               10  34-10   83

Day 1: 5   19-11     Day 2: 5   14-15

19. Alton Jones            Lorena, TX              10  34-00   82

Day 1: 5   14-09     Day 2: 5   19-07

20. Ott DeFoe              Knoxville, TN           10  33-15   81

Day 1: 5   17-11     Day 2: 5   16-04

21. Byron Velvick          Boenre, TX               9  33-11   80

Day 1: 5   16-07     Day 2: 4   17-04

22. David Walker           Sevierville, TN         10  33-09   79

Day 1: 5   21-04     Day 2: 5   12-05

23. Todd Faircloth         Jasper, TX              10  33-03   78

Day 1: 5   20-15     Day 2: 5   12-04

24. Kelly Jordon           Palestine, TX            9  32-15   77

Day 1: 5   15-05     Day 2: 4   17-10

25. Jason Christie         Park Hill, OK           10  32-10   76

Day 1: 5   14-05     Day 2: 5   18-05

26. Kevin VanDam           Kalamazoo, MI           10  32-01   75

Day 1: 5   17-09     Day 2: 5   14-08

27. Ish Monroe             Hughson, CA             10  32-00   74

Day 1: 5   12-03     Day 2: 5   19-13

28. Dean Rojas             Lake Havasu City, AZ    10  31-13   73

Day 1: 5   18-09     Day 2: 5   13-04

29. Andy Montgomery        Blacksburg, SC          10  31-05   72

Day 1: 5   15-10     Day 2: 5   15-11

30. Josh Bertrand          Gilbert, AZ             10  31-02   71

Day 1: 5   17-08     Day 2: 5   13-10

31. Mike Kernan            Wylie, TX               10  31-00   70

Day 1: 5   14-08     Day 2: 5   16-08

32. Clifford Pirch         Payson, AZ              10  30-14   69

Day 1: 5   18-07     Day 2: 5   12-07

33. Stephen Browning       Hot Springs, AR         10  30-08   68

Day 1: 5   14-11     Day 2: 5   15-13

34. Russ Lane              Prattville, AL          10  30-07   67

Day 1: 5   12-08     Day 2: 5   17-15

35. Jacob Powroznik        Port Haywood, VA        10  30-07   66

Day 1: 5   14-12     Day 2: 5   15-11

36. Tommy Biffle           Wagoner, OK              9  30-05   65

Day 1: 5   23-13     Day 2: 4   06-08

37. Aaron Martens          Leeds, AL               10  30-05   64

Day 1: 5   17-05     Day 2: 5   13-00

38. Bill Lowen             Brookville, IN          10  30-02   63

Day 1: 5   13-03     Day 2: 5   16-15

39. Matt Herren            Trussville, AL          10  30-01   62

Day 1: 5   15-04     Day 2: 5   14-13

40. Davy Hite              Ninety Six, SC          10  29-03   61

Day 1: 5   18-08     Day 2: 5   10-11

41. Kelley Jaye            Dadeville, AL           10  29-03   60

Day 1: 5   15-03     Day 2: 5   14-00

42. Greg Hackney           Gonzales, LA             7  28-15   59

Day 1: 2   05-00     Day 2: 5   23-15

43. Jeremy Starks          Scott Depot, WV          9  28-11   58

Day 1: 5   16-00     Day 2: 4   12-11

44. Cliff Prince           Palatka, FL              9  28-05   57

Day 1: 5   13-08     Day 2: 4   14-13

45. Chris Lane             Guntersville, AL        10  28-00   56

Day 1: 5   18-06     Day 2: 5   09-10

46. Kotaro Kiriyama        Moody, AL               10  28-00   55

Day 1: 5   12-03     Day 2: 5   15-13

47. Tim Horton             Muscle Shoals, AL        9  27-11   54

Day 1: 4   10-07     Day 2: 5   17-04

48. Skeet Reese            Auburn, CA              10  27-08   53

Day 1: 5   16-07     Day 2: 5   11-01

49. J Todd Tucker          Moultrie, GA             6  27-04   52

Day 1: 4   18-14     Day 2: 2   08-06

50. Kurt Dove              Del Rio, TX             10  27-04   51

Day 1: 5   17-00     Day 2: 5   10-04

51. Gary Klein             Weatherford, TX         10  27-01   50

Day 1: 5   12-12     Day 2: 5   14-05

52. Brent Chapman          Lake Quivira, KS        10  27-00   49

Day 1: 5   12-13     Day 2: 5   14-03

53. Mike McClelland        Bella Vista, AR          8  26-09   48

Day 1: 3   07-04     Day 2: 5   19-05

54. Scott Rook             Little Rock, AR         10  26-08   47

Day 1: 5   15-02     Day 2: 5   11-06

55. Terry Scroggins        San Mateo, FL            9  25-07   46

Day 1: 5   11-11     Day 2: 4   13-12

56. Brandon Card           Caryville, TN            8  25-01   45

Day 1: 5   16-10     Day 2: 3   08-07

57. Cliff Crochet          Pierre Part, LA          8  24-14   44

Day 1: 5   19-07     Day 2: 3   05-07

58. John Crews Jr          Salem, VA               10  24-10   43

Day 1: 5   14-00     Day 2: 5   10-10

59. Bobby Lane             Lakeland, FL             9  24-08   42

Day 1: 5   14-05     Day 2: 4   10-03

60. Glenn Browne           Ocala, FL               10  24-02   41

Day 1: 5   08-13     Day 2: 5   15-05

61. Casey Scanlon          Shawnee Mission, KS      9  23-15   40

Day 1: 5   13-01     Day 2: 4   10-14

62. Britt Myers            Lake Wylie, SC           6  23-14   39

Day 1: 5   19-03     Day 2: 1   04-11

63. Boyd Duckett           Guntersville, AL         8  23-11   38

Day 1: 3   09-12     Day 2: 5   13-15

64. Boo Woods              Oneida, KY               9  22-14   37

Day 1: 5   16-06     Day 2: 4   06-08

65. Brandon Palaniuk       Hayden, ID               9  22-09   36

Day 1: 5   09-00     Day 2: 4   13-09

66. Zell Rowland           Montgomery, TX          10  22-04   35

Day 1: 5   12-15     Day 2: 5   09-05

67. Chad Pipkens           Holt, MI                10  21-15   34

Day 1: 5   14-04     Day 2: 5   07-11

68. Rick Morris            Lake Gaston, VA          7  21-14   33

Day 1: 5   15-09     Day 2: 2   06-05

69. Keith Combs            Huntington, TX           9  21-13   32

Day 1: 5   11-03     Day 2: 4   10-10

70. Marty Robinson         Lyman, SC                7  21-12   31

Day 1: 5   17-01     Day 2: 2   04-11

71. Jeff Kriet             Ardmore, OK             10  21-05   30

Day 1: 5   06-01     Day 2: 5   15-04

72. BJ Haseotes            Centerville, MA         10  21-03   29

Day 1: 5   11-14     Day 2: 5   09-05

73. Jamie Horton           Centerville, AL          7  21-02   28

Day 1: 5   16-10     Day 2: 2   04-08

74. Matt Reed              Madisonville, TX         6  21-01   27

Day 1: 5   17-07     Day 2: 1   03-10

75. Michael Iaconelli      Pitts Grove, NJ          9  21-00   26

Day 1: 5   13-15     Day 2: 4   07-01

76. Chris Zaldain          San Jose, CA             8  21-00   25

Day 1: 5   10-15     Day 2: 3   10-01

77. Derek Remitz           Grant, AL                8  20-13   24

Day 1: 3   05-12     Day 2: 5   15-01

78. Rick Clunn             Ava, MO                  9  20-09   23

Day 1: 4   06-09     Day 2: 5   14-00

79. Yusuke Miyazaki        Forney, TX               8  20-04   22

Day 1: 5   15-15     Day 2: 3   04-05

80. John Murray            Phoenix, AZ              9  20-03   21

Day 1: 5   11-10     Day 2: 4   08-09

81. Dennis Tietje          Roanoke, LA              6  20-02   20

Day 1: 5   18-11     Day 2: 1   01-07

82. Greg Vinson            Wetumpka, AL             7  19-10   19

Day 1: 5   14-10     Day 2: 2   05-00

83. Bradley Roy            Lancaster, KY            8  19-10   18

Day 1: 5   12-10     Day 2: 3   07-00

84. James Elam             Tulsa, OK                7  19-08   17

Day 1: 4   13-15     Day 2: 3   05-09

85. Fletcher Shryock       New Philadelphia, OH     8  19-08   16

Day 1: 5   11-03     Day 2: 3   08-05

86. Kenyon Hill            Norman, OK               6  18-15   15

Day 1: 1   04-10     Day 2: 5   14-05

87. Billy McCaghren        Mayflower, AR            7  18-09   14

Day 1: 3   06-11     Day 2: 4   11-14

88. Trevor Romans          Plano, TX                6  18-07   13

Day 1: 5   15-14     Day 2: 1   02-09

89. Casey Ashley           Donalds, SC              6  17-06   12

Day 1: 5   14-13     Day 2: 1   02-09

90. Jared Miller           Norman, OK               6  17-04   11

Day 1: 2   02-12     Day 2: 4   14-08

91. Kevin Hawk             Guntersville, AL         4  17-04   10

Day 1: 2   10-05     Day 2: 2   06-15

92. Paul Elias             Laurel, MS               7  17-03    9

Day 1: 2   06-03     Day 2: 5   11-00

93. Jason Williamson       Aiken, SC                7  17-01    8

Day 1: 4   11-00     Day 2: 3   06-01

94. Edwin Evers            Talala, OK               6  16-14    7

Day 1: 4   09-01     Day 2: 2   07-13

95. Fred Roumbanis         Bixby, OK                6  16-05    6

Day 1: 4   11-12     Day 2: 2   04-09

96. Tracy Adams            Wilkesboro, NC           8  15-15    5

Day 1: 5   11-09     Day 2: 3   04-06

97. Jonathon VanDam        Kalamazoo, MI            6  15-02    4

Day 1: 3   06-05     Day 2: 3   08-13

98. Pete Ponds             Madison, MS              4  14-12    3

Day 1: 3   07-08     Day 2: 1   07-04

99. Keith Poche            Pike Road, AL            7  14-10    2

Day 1: 4   07-13     Day 2: 3   06-13

100. Steve Kennedy          Auburn, AL               7  13-04    1

Day 1: 5   08-09     Day 2: 2   04-11

101. Scott Ashmore          Broken Arrow, OK         4  09-10    0

Day 1: 3   07-15     Day 2: 1   01-11

102. David Mullins          Mt Carmel, TN            5  09-09    0

Day 1: 2   03-04     Day 2: 3   06-05

103. Joel Baker             Talala, OK               7  09-04    0

Day 1: 2   03-04     Day 2: 5   06-00

104. Michael Simonton       Fremont, OH              3  08-06    0

Day 1: 2   03-15     Day 2: 1   04-07

105. David Smith            Del City, OK             5  07-06    0

Day 1: 2   02-07     Day 2: 3   04-15

106. Randy Howell           Springville, AL          2  06-10    0

Day 1: 2   06-10     Day 2: 0   00-00

107. Joseph Sancho          New Windsor, NY          2  03-07    0

Day 1: 1   02-03     Day 2: 1   01-04

108. Grant Goldbeck         Boerne, TX               4  02-00    0

Day 1: 1   02-00     Day 2: 3   00-00

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Totals

Day   #Limits    #Fish      Weight

1        81       479      1503-02

2        59       428      1268-11

----------------------------------

140       907      2771-13


Bassmaster Elite Series: Grigsby Leads Sightfest At Seminole

If bed fishing’s the game, Shaw Grigsby’s the name.

And that’s just how it went Thursday, the first day of the Dick Cepek Tires Bassmaster Elite at Lake Seminole presented by Hardee’s. Out of Bainbridge, Ga., the event is the 2014 Elite Series season opener.

Well-known for his bed fishing talents, Grigsby led the 108-pro field by 3 pounds, 7 ounces, with a 30-pound, 5-ounce day’s total.

“It was a perfect day,” said Grigsby, who caught the entire 30-plus pounds by 10 a.m., and then sat back and ate cold chicken. “One of those great days — amazing.”

Grigsby took the first step toward duplicating his 2011 season-opener victory in Florida, the ninth and most recent win of his storied Bassmaster career. Two of those titles were taken at Lake Seminole.

Grigsby’s 3-7 lead was over Bernie Schultz, who weighed 26-14. A largemouth of 10-10 was the jewel of Schultz’s bag — and the largest single bass brought to the scales Thursday.

Coincidentally, the two leaders both hail from Gainesville, Fla.

Kevin Short of Mayflower, Ark., was in third place with 25-9, trailing the leader by 4-12. Fourth place was pegged at 24-11 by Brett Hite, a 2014 Elite rookie from Phoenix, Ariz. In fifth was Tommy Biffle of Wagoner, Okla., with 23-13.

Local favorite J Todd Tucker of Moultrie, Ga., who calls Lake Seminole his home water, ended his first day in 18th place. His Day 1 weight of 18-14 was for four bass, one short of the five-fish limit.

The first-place prize of the event is $100,000 and an automatic berth in the 2015 Bassmaster Classic. Pros also earn points that count toward the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year award and a Classic qualification.

Grigsby said his largest bass of the day were two over 7 pounds. They came from one of his several bed-fishing spots, he said, as did most of the bass he hooked into Thursday.

For the second round on Friday, Grigsby said he’d go back to his magical spot.

“I don’t know whether I’ll get a bite in that same area, but I’ve got a couple more areas to hit, and then I can always go sight-fishing to get decent little sacks,” he said.

Grigsby said he’s targeting prespawners moving up to beds, as well as fish actually on beds.

The cold front that came through Wednesday night did not affect his bite Thursday, unusual behavior for spawning fish, he said.

Schultz’s behemoth largemouth of 10-10 set the bar high for the event’s Carhartt Big Bass bonus of up to $1,500. He said he caught the bass sight fishing at about noon.

“She was on a bed with a male that weighed about 4 pounds; I caught him next,” Schultz said.

Fish came in pairs for Schultz. He caught a second couple (male and female) soon after the first two. A fifth bass soon finished his limit.

Short, unlike many in the field, was not bed fishing or sight fishing. He established a pattern during practice and stuck to it.

“You gotta love it when the plan comes together,” Short said.

Neither did Biffle try to “look at ’em.”

“I haven’t seen one on the bed. If I did happen to, I’d try for it. But I don’t like to hunt them,” said Biffle, who would describe his pattern only as “just fishing.”

The full field of 108 will return to the water at 7:30 a.m. Friday. Takeoff will be at Earle May Boat Basin, 100 Boat Basin Circle, Bainbridge. The weigh-in will begin at 4 p.m. at the same location.

Opening at noon Saturday and Sunday, the Bassmaster Elite Series Expo presents the products of Elite Series sponsors. People ages 14 and up can sign up for free demo rides in Nitro, Skeeter and Triton boats powered by Mercury ProXS and Yamaha SHO engines.

There’s no admission charge to any Bassmaster event, and parking is free.

Friday through Sunday, the 11th annual Bainbridge River Town Days will offer many kids activities, plus vendors and Flames on the Flint, a barbecue cook-off. Town Days also will include many free concerts, including Chris Cagle, Saturday’s headliner.

The local host of the Elite event is the Bainbridge-Decatur County Chamber of Commerce (http://www.bainbridgegachamber.com).

2014 Bassmaster Elite Series Lake Seminole Presented by Dick Cepek Tires & Wheels 3/13-3/16
Lake Seminole, Bainbridge  GA.
(PROFESSIONAL) Standings Day 1

Angler                   Hometown              No./lbs-oz  Pts

1.  Shaw Grigsby Jr.       Gainesville, FL          5  30-05  100
Day 1: 5   30-05
2.  Bernie Schultz         Gainesville, FL          5  26-14   99
Day 1: 5   26-14
3.  Kevin Short            Mayflower, AR            5  25-09   98
Day 1: 5   25-09
4.  Brett Hite             Phoenix, AZ              5  24-11   97
Day 1: 5   24-11
5.  Tommy Biffle           Wagoner, OK              5  23-13   96
Day 1: 5   23-13
6.  Hank Cherry Jr         Maiden, NC               5  23-03   95
Day 1: 5   23-03
7.  David Walker           Sevierville, TN          5  21-04   94
Day 1: 5   21-04
8.  Mark Davis             Mount Ida, AR            5  21-00   93
Day 1: 5   21-00
9.  Todd Faircloth         Jasper, TX               5  20-15   92
Day 1: 5   20-15
10. Chad Morgenthaler      Coulterville, IL         5  20-10   91
Day 1: 5   20-10
11. Brian Snowden          Reeds Spring, MO         5  20-03   90
Day 1: 5   20-03
12. Takahiro Omori         Emory, TX                5  19-11   89
Day 1: 5   19-11
13. Cliff Crochet          Pierre Part, LA          5  19-07   88
Day 1: 5   19-07
13. Charlie Hartley        Grove City, OH           5  19-07   88
Day 1: 5   19-07
13. James Niggemeyer       Van, TX                  5  19-07   88
Day 1: 5   19-07
16. Britt Myers            Lake Wylie, SC           5  19-03   85
Day 1: 5   19-03
17. Morizo Shimizu         Osaka JAPAN              5  19-02   84
Day 1: 5   19-02
18. J Todd Tucker          Moultrie, GA             4  18-14   83
Day 1: 4   18-14
19. Dennis Tietje          Roanoke, LA              5  18-11   82
Day 1: 5   18-11
20. Dean Rojas             Lake Havasu City, AZ     5  18-09   81
Day 1: 5   18-09
21. Davy Hite              Ninety Six, SC           5  18-08   80
Day 1: 5   18-08
22. Clifford Pirch         Payson, AZ               5  18-07   79
Day 1: 5   18-07
23. Chris Lane             Guntersville, AL         5  18-06   78
Day 1: 5   18-06
23. Brandon Lester         Fayetteville, TN         5  18-06   78
Day 1: 5   18-06
25. Ott DeFoe              Knoxville, TN            5  17-11   76
Day 1: 5   17-11
26. Kevin VanDam           Kalamazoo, MI            5  17-09   75
Day 1: 5   17-09
27. Josh Bertrand          Gilbert, AZ              5  17-08   74
Day 1: 5   17-08
27. Justin Lucas           Guntersville, AL         5  17-08   74
Day 1: 5   17-08
29. Matt Reed              Madisonville, TX         5  17-07   72
Day 1: 5   17-07
30. Aaron Martens          Leeds, AL                5  17-05   71
Day 1: 5   17-05
31. Marty Robinson         Lyman, SC                5  17-01   70
Day 1: 5   17-01
32. Kurt Dove              Del Rio, TX              5  17-00   69
Day 1: 5   17-00
32. Randall Tharp          Port Saint Joe, FL       5  17-00   69
Day 1: 5   17-00
34. Gerald Swindle         Warrior, AL              5  16-15   67
Day 1: 5   16-15
35. Brandon Card           Caryville, TN            5  16-10   66
Day 1: 5   16-10
35. Jamie Horton           Centerville, AL          5  16-10   66
Day 1: 5   16-10
37. Skeet Reese            Auburn, CA               5  16-07   64
Day 1: 5   16-07
37. Byron Velvick          Boenre, TX               5  16-07   64
Day 1: 5   16-07
39. Boo Woods              Oneida, KY               5  16-06   62
Day 1: 5   16-06
40. Jeremy Starks          Scott Depot, WV          5  16-00   61
Day 1: 5   16-00
41. Yusuke Miyazaki        Forney, TX               5  15-15   60
Day 1: 5   15-15
42. Trevor Romans          Plano, TX                5  15-14   59
Day 1: 5   15-14
43. Andy Montgomery        Blacksburg, SC           5  15-10   58
Day 1: 5   15-10
44. Rick Morris            Lake Gaston, VA          5  15-09   57
Day 1: 5   15-09
45. Kelly Jordon           Palestine, TX            5  15-05   56
Day 1: 5   15-05
45. Nate Wellman           Newaygo, MI              5  15-05   56
Day 1: 5   15-05
47. Matt Herren            Trussville, AL           5  15-04   54
Day 1: 5   15-04
48. Kelley Jaye            Dadeville, AL            5  15-03   53
Day 1: 5   15-03
49. Scott Rook             Little Rock, AR          5  15-02   52
Day 1: 5   15-02
50. Casey Ashley           Donalds, SC              5  14-13   51
Day 1: 5   14-13
51. Jacob Powroznik        Port Haywood, VA         5  14-12   50
Day 1: 5   14-12
52. Stephen Browning       Hot Springs, AR          5  14-11   49
Day 1: 5   14-11
53. Greg Vinson            Wetumpka, AL             5  14-10   48
Day 1: 5   14-10
54. Alton Jones            Lorena, TX               5  14-09   47
Day 1: 5   14-09
54. Jared Lintner          Arroyo Grande, CA        5  14-09   47
Day 1: 5   14-09
56. Mike Kernan            Wylie, TX                5  14-08   45
Day 1: 5   14-08
57. Jason Christie         Park Hill, OK            5  14-05   44
Day 1: 5   14-05
57. Bobby Lane             Lakeland, FL             5  14-05   44
Day 1: 5   14-05
59. Chad Pipkens           Holt, MI                 5  14-04   42
Day 1: 5   14-04
60. John Crews Jr          Salem, VA                5  14-00   41
Day 1: 5   14-00
61. Michael Iaconelli      Pitts Grove, NJ          5  13-15   40
Day 1: 5   13-15
62. James Elam             Tulsa, OK                4  13-15   39
Day 1: 4   13-15
63. Cliff Prince           Palatka, FL              5  13-08   38
Day 1: 5   13-08
64. Bill Lowen             Brookville, IN           5  13-03   37
Day 1: 5   13-03
65. Casey Scanlon          Shawnee Mission, KS      5  13-01   36
Day 1: 5   13-01
66. Zell Rowland           Montgomery, TX           5  12-15   35
Day 1: 5   12-15
67. Brent Chapman          Lake Quivira, KS         5  12-13   34
Day 1: 5   12-13
68. Gary Klein             Weatherford, TX          5  12-12   33
Day 1: 5   12-12
69. Bradley Roy            Lancaster, KY            5  12-10   32
Day 1: 5   12-10
70. Russ Lane              Prattville, AL           5  12-08   31
Day 1: 5   12-08
71. Kotaro Kiriyama        Moody, AL                5  12-03   30
Day 1: 5   12-03
71. Ish Monroe             Hughson, CA              5  12-03   30
Day 1: 5   12-03
73. BJ Haseotes            Centerville, MA          5  11-14   28
Day 1: 5   11-14
74. Fred Roumbanis         Bixby, OK                4  11-12   27
Day 1: 4   11-12
75. Terry Scroggins        San Mateo, FL            5  11-11   26
Day 1: 5   11-11
76. John Murray            Phoenix, AZ              5  11-10   25
Day 1: 5   11-10
77. Tracy Adams            Wilkesboro, NC           5  11-09   24
Day 1: 5   11-09
78. Keith Combs            Huntington, TX           5  11-03   23
Day 1: 5   11-03
78. Fletcher Shryock       New Philadelphia, OH     5  11-03   23
Day 1: 5   11-03
80. Jason Williamson       Aiken, SC                4  11-00   21
Day 1: 4   11-00
81. Chris Zaldain          San Jose, CA             5  10-15   20
Day 1: 5   10-15
82. Tim Horton             Muscle Shoals, AL        4  10-07   19
Day 1: 4   10-07
83. Kevin Hawk             Guntersville, AL         2  10-05   18
Day 1: 2   10-05
84. Boyd Duckett           Guntersville, AL         3  09-12   17
Day 1: 3   09-12
85. Edwin Evers            Talala, OK               4  09-01   16
Day 1: 4   09-01
86. Brandon Palaniuk       Hayden, ID               5  09-00   15
Day 1: 5   09-00
87. Glenn Browne           Ocala, FL                5  08-13   14
Day 1: 5   08-13
88. Steve Kennedy          Auburn, AL               5  08-09   13
Day 1: 5   08-09
89. Scott Ashmore          Broken Arrow, OK         3  07-15   12
Day 1: 3   07-15
90. Keith Poche            Pike Road, AL            4  07-13   11
Day 1: 4   07-13
91. Pete Ponds             Madison, MS              3  07-08   10
Day 1: 3   07-08
92. Mike McClelland        Bella Vista, AR          3  07-04    9
Day 1: 3   07-04
93. Billy McCaghren        Mayflower, AR            3  06-11    8
Day 1: 3   06-11
94. Randy Howell           Springville, AL          2  06-10    7
Day 1: 2   06-10
95. Rick Clunn             Ava, MO                  4  06-09    6
Day 1: 4   06-09
96. Jonathon VanDam        Kalamazoo, MI            3  06-05    5
Day 1: 3   06-05
97. Paul Elias             Laurel, MS               2  06-03    4
Day 1: 2   06-03
98. Jeff Kriet             Ardmore, OK              5  06-01    3
Day 1: 5   06-01
99. Derek Remitz           Grant, AL                3  05-12    2
Day 1: 3   05-12
100. Greg Hackney           Gonzales, LA             2  05-00    1
Day 1: 2   05-00
101. Kenyon Hill            Norman, OK               1  04-10    0
Day 1: 1   04-10
102. Michael Simonton       Fremont, OH              2  03-15    0
Day 1: 2   03-15
103. Joel Baker             Talala, OK               2  03-04    0
Day 1: 2   03-04
103. David Mullins          Mt Carmel, TN            2  03-04    0
Day 1: 2   03-04
105. Jared Miller           Norman, OK               2  02-12    0
Day 1: 2   02-12
106. David Smith            Del City, OK             2  02-07    0
Day 1: 2   02-07
107. Joseph Sancho          New Windsor, NY          1  02-03    0
Day 1: 1   02-03
108. Grant Goldbeck         Boerne, TX               1  02-00    0
Day 1: 1   02-00
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day   #Limits    #Fish      Weight
1        81       479      1503-02
----------------------------------
81       479      1503-02


Elite Anglers Should Enjoy Phenomenal Sight Fishing On The St. John's River

The St. John's River is a special place for B.A.S.S. Elite angler Davy Hite. He carried his new bride, Natalie, there on their honeymoon 27 years ago.

As wonderful as that memory is, however, the place is an enigma to Hite. Although he has won eight B.A.S.S. tournaments and earned more than $1.8 million in Bassmaster competition alone, fishing success has eluded him there.

“That place has been my Achilles heel,” said Hite while practicing for the 2014 Elite Series opener this week on Lake Seminole. The series moves next week to the St. John's River for the second of eight regular tournaments on the schedule this year.

“I have not done well in the tournaments we have held there,” the Elite pro from Ninety Six, S.C., said. His record in recent St. John's River tournaments is 86th in March of 2012 and 83rd in March of 2011.

But, Hite added, conditions bode well for a lot of anglers to have outstanding tournaments on the river next week.

“The last time we were down there we had a mild winter and those fish were almost done spawning. There were still a lot of fish caught sight fishing then, but the spawn was almost over. But that certainly is not going to be the case this year.”

The two-time B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year and 1999 Bassmaster Classic champion said he visited the St. John's River in January before the waters went off-limits for the Elite tournament and he liked what he saw then.

“We've had this crazy, cold winter, with the temperature back and forth. It happened to be cold when I was down there, so I just rode around, looking at the grass and seeing how it had changed. It seems to change from year to year.”

Hite saw some bedding bass in January – Florida bass usually spawn a lot earlier than bass further north – but because of the cold temperatures the spawning was limited to natural spring areas where the water is warmer coming out of the ground.

“I think the tournament next week will be a sight fishing tournament,” he said. “When we have been there in the past the bigger stringers have been caught predominately sight fishing and I think we are going to hit it at the prime time next week.”

Hite said a lot of 8- to 10-pound bass will be on the beds when the Elite anglers get to the St. John's River.

“Those fish can be hard to find, but they are are definitely there on the St. John's,” he said.

 

Bassmaster Elite Series at St. Johns River

Mar 20-23, 2014

St. Johns River

Palatka, FL

www.bassmaster.com

 


Alabama Bass Trail Southern Division Growing In Entries For Lake Eufaula Saturday

Six weeks ago, in announcing the launch of the Alabama Bass Trail, Program Director Kay Donaldson proudly reported a full field of 200 boats in the Northern Division and expressed hope the Southern Division would field at least 150 boats.

The inaugural tournament in the Southern Division March 1 on the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta drew 160 boats and by the first of the week there were 162 boats already registered for the second Southern Division tournament Saturday on Lake Eufaula, and Donaldson said she expected more to register by the weekly deadline on Wednesday.

“We are looking at averaging 165 to 170 boats in the Southern Division Some anglers have already registered for the Lay Lake tournament and for the other tournaments as well. So far we have four states competing in the division.”

With the Northern Division running at capacity and the Southern Division starting to grow, Donaldson said the Alabama Bass Trail has exceeded expectations after the first tournament in each division.

“We think we will see growth in the Southern Division next year, both in payout and participation,” she said. “We are working really hard to get more anglers and more sponsors.”

The series could be even more attractive in its second year, 2015, Donaldson said.

“We think we will see a big increase next year. We are about 70 percent done in having all those dates confirmed and we hope to release the 2015 dates this May. We are looking for more interest from anglers in Florida and South Georgia and we think getting the dates out early this year will help people get prepared for next year.

Registration is available online at www.alabamabasstrail.org up to the Wednesday preceding each tournament. The entry fee per tournament is $250 per team.

The schedule includes: North Division – Feb. 1, Lake Guntersville; March 22, Pickwick Lake; April 5, Neely Henry Lake; May 31, Wheeler Lake; June 21, Logan Martin Lake. South Division – March 1, Mobile-Tensaw River Delta; March 15, Lake Eufaula; April 19, Lake Jordan; May 10, Alabama River (Millers Ferry); June 7, Lay Lake.

Each tournament has a guaranteed first prize of $10,000, plus $23,000 to the top 20 places and $500 to big fish. There are also numerous bonus packages available to winning and placing anglers.

The Top 50 teams for both the Northern and Southern Divisions will advance to the 2014 ABT Team Championship Oct. 10-11 at Smith Lake in Jasper. Plus, the top 25 student boats overall will be in the final event. To be eligible for the championship, teams must enter all five qualifying events in their respective division.

The grand prize for the no-entry fee championship is a fully-rigged Phoenix 619 Pro Bass Boat with a 150-horsepower Mercury Outboard, valued at $40,000. Adding to that excitement level is an opportunity to advance to the Bassmasters Team Championship and possibly earn a berth in the Bassmaster Classic.

“We are looking at an estimated $420,000 total in prizes for the series,” Donaldson said. “We think the anglers are going to really enjoy it because they will have the opportunity to advance to our championship and from there the opportunity to go to the BASS Team Championship.”

 

Alabama Bass Trail South Division

Sat, Mar 15, 2014

Lake Eufaula

Lakepoint Resort State Park

Call Kay Donaldson 855-934-7425

www.alabamabasstrail.org

 


Tom's Marine Trail Looking To Grow With Elite Series, Classic Opportunity And New Incentives

Bobby Chambers and Justin McClain won the 2013 Classic

With the economy improving slightly, anticipation is high that fishermen will be able to fish more tournaments and that means that the already highly successful Tom's Marine Team Trial in Eastern Tennessee will grow even more, said Tournament director Richard McMaster.

“I am looking forward to to another great season,” McMaster said. “I think this is going to be a really good year. Things are starting to get a little more relaxed with the economy and fishermen are starting to come back. We probably will average 130 to 150 boats this year.”

The first tournament of the 2014 season is Saturday on Cherokee Lake and the fish are just as anxious as the anglers for springtime to get here, McMaster said.

“The fish are starting to warm up after this winter. They are starting to move up and anglers are catching a lot of fish shallow, in 2 to 8 feet of water, on crankbaits, Rat-L-Traps and Alabama Rigs. The fish are moving back into the pockets off the main channel and anglers are doing really well when the wind picks up and blows the bait back into the pockets.”

This year opens with some exciting new additions to the Tom's Marine Team Trail, McMaster said.

“We are really looking forward to the Tom's Marine Elite Series which starts this year. The top 30 boats, based on 2013 points, will qualify for the Elite Series,” he said.

There will be three tournaments, two that are qualifying tournaments, and the top 30 in points from 2013 have first choice. The entry fee for the first two will be $200 per boat. There will be no big fish only places paid and only three places per tournament.

The third tournament will be a no entry fee tournament with the top five from each of the first two tournaments competing for $2,000 reserved from the first two tournaments in a winner-take-all format. Dates for the Elite Tournaments include : March 22, Cherokee Lake, 25E; June 28, Douglas Lake at Dandridge; and Sept. 6, at a lake TBA by draw.

“I am also looking forward to having somebody fishing the Tom's Marine Team Trail having a chance of going to the Bassmaster Classic in 2015,” said McMaster. “That opportunity is exclusive only to certain trails across the United States and we were lucky through Mercury Marine to be invited to be a part of it.”

Teams can qualify for a chance to fish for the 2015 Bassmaster Classic by paying a $10 per angler membership fee. Up to three teams, based on points, could qualify to fish the Bass Team Classic Championship, where the top three teams will break up into individual boats to fish for a berth in the Bassmaster Classic.

“The nighttime tournaments have been absent for about three years, but we are bringing one back this year and the fishermen are excited about that,” McMaster said.

The night tournament will be held July 12 on Cherokee Lake with a three-fish limit. The rest of the 2014 schedule includes: March 15, Cherokee Lake, 25E Bridge; April 5, Douglas Lake, Shady Grove; April 19, Cherokee Lake, the Dam; May 24, Cherokee Lake, 25E Bridge; June 7, Douglas Lake, Shady Grove; July 12, Cherokee Lake, 25E Bridge; Sept. 13, Douglas Lake, Shady Grove; and Oct. 25-25, Douglas Lake, Shady Grove and Cherokee Lake, 25E Bridge.

The entry fee per tournament is $100, plus a $10 lunker fee.

New incentives for the Tom's Marine Team Trail in 2014 include :
– Toms Marine will pay $250 to anyone who wins out a boat purchased new from Toms Marine since 2011.

– Glow Max will pay the winner of the night tournament $250 in cash and $250 merchandise if they use Glow Max black lights in their boat. In addition, Toms Marine will pay the winner an additional $100 if the Glow Max black lights were purchased from and installed by Toms Marine.
– Linex has teamed up with Toms Marine Team Trail to sponsor a drawing for a new spray-in Linex bed liner this season. Anyone making a purchase from Linex and letting them know you are a member of Toms Marine Team Trail will be entered into this drawing to be held at the end of the 2014 regular season.

 

Tom's Marine Team Trail

Sat, Mar 15, 2014

Cherokee Lake

25 E Bridge Access

Call Richard McMaster 423-748-3240

[email protected]

 


Talton Wins Walmart Bass Fishing League Volunteer Division On Lake Chickamauga

John Talton of Georgetown, Tenn., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 25 pounds, 5 ounces Saturday to win the Walmart Bass Fishing League Volunteer Division event on Lake Chickamauga. For his victory, Talton earned $3,842.
Talton indicated that he was on the north end of the lake slow rigging in 2-feet of water.
      Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
            2nd:      Daniel Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., five bass, 17-15, $1,921
            3rd:       Rogne Brown, Hixson, Tenn., five bass, 17-10, $1,089
3rd:      Rodney James, Soddy Daisy, Tenn., five bass, 17-10,   $1,089
5th:       Tim Saylor, Johnson City, Tenn., five bass, 17-01, $768
            6th:       Shalin Lusk, Soddy Daisy, Tenn., five bass, 16-12, $672
6th:       Cade Stallings, Knoxville, Tenn., five bass, 16-12, $672
            8th:       Tim Cody, Charleston, Tenn., five bass, 16-11, $576
            9th:       Larry Neal, Piney Flats, Tenn., three bass, 16-09, $512 + $300 Evinrude bonus
            10th:     Greg Lamb, Harrison, Tenn., five bass, 16-07, $448
Complete results can be found at FLWOutdoors.com.
James Headrick of Harriman, Tenn., weighed three bass totaling 16 pounds, 11 ounces Saturday to win the co-angler division. Headrick earned $1,921 for his victory.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
2nd:     Brandon James, Newport, Tenn., four bass, 14-15, $960
3rd:       Johnny Taylor, Dandridge, Tenn., three bass, 14-11, $641
4th:       Bill Freshour, Strawplains, Tenn., three bass, 13-3, $448
5th:       David Blankenbeckler, Maryville, Tenn., three bass, 12-7, $384
6th:       Jimmy Flanagan, Kingston, Tenn., two bass, 11-12, $352
7th:       Kris Marble, Macomb, Mich., four bass, 10-15, $320
8th:       Scott Rowland, Flatgap, Ky., three bass, 10-9, $288
9th:       Jason Meade, Knoxville, Tenn., four bass, 10-5, $256
10th:     Larry Darden., Knoxville, Tenn., four bass, 9-13, $224
The next BFL Volunteer Division tournament is scheduled for April 12 on Douglas Lake in Kodak, Tenn. After the last divisional tournament is complete, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 9-11 Regional Championship on Pickwick Lake in Florence, Ala. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a Chevy Silverado, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.

Boats Unlimited Nc Team Trail Qualifier #2 Results - Jordan Lake - Mar 8, 2014

The Boats Unlimited NC Team Tournament Bass Trail Qualifier #2 almost got postponed but after looking at
the road situation for Saturday morning we decided to go ahead with the plans!

It was a hard decision to make with all the damage in the area, especially around Hillsborough. All 74 boats arrived ok and the tournament went on as planned. We had a beautiful day with light winds. It was about 31 degrees that morning and around 70 that afternoon. Water temps ranged from 41 to 50 depending on the area fished and water was muddy in certain areas after the storm Thursday and Friday. The lake rose about 2 feet while we were there which amazed even some of our long time anglers! The fishing was very tough but we did manage a few in the nets.

Most were caught 5 to 10 feet off the banks and no rhyme or reason to which lure you used. Only 28 fish were
weighed in for a total of 104 pounds. We had numerous fish over 5 lbs. and all the fish looked healthy.

Todd Massey and Brandon Gray are on a winning streak! They only had two today for 12.15 lbs. but is was
enough to take home 1st Place, 1st Place Big Fish (7.69 lbs.), 1st Place TWT, 1st Place Tow Boats US Bonus and
1st Place Boats Unlimited NC Bonus for a whopping total of $4,268 and Massey should get his Triton Boats
Gold Bonus of $7,000 which will bring their winnings to $11,268!!

Manny Lenau and Brandon Morrissey took 2nd with 3 bass weighing 11.53 lbs winning $800. 3rd Place went
to Tony Fofi and Dave Murdock (9.38 lbs). They also won 2nd TWT and 2nd Place Big Fish (5.87 lbs.) for a
total of $1,502.

I want to thank all the anglers that participated and all our sponsors that support this trail. Our next
tournaments will be the 2014 Piedmont Bass Classics Hyco Open, Saturday Mar.15th at Hyco Lake out of
Hyco Park Ramp...The Boats Unlimited NC Team Tournament Bass Mini Trail make-up tournament will be at
Shearon Harris, Sunday Mar. 16th, out of Cross Point Landing.

All the information on our tournaments can be found at yahoo and bing search or our website:
http://piedmontbassclassics.com/index.html

Now here are the full results:

1st Place: Todd Massey & Brandon Gray of Chapel Hill & Bullock...2 bass...12.15 lbs...$1,305
2nd Place: Manny Lenau & Brandon Morrissey of Vass & Ft. Bragg...3 bass...11.53 lbs...$800
3rd Place: Tony Fofi & Dave Murdock of Spring Lake & Sanford...2 bass...9.38 lbs...$575
4th Place: Larry Hipps & Patrick Arzonico of Cary & Raleigh...2 bass...8.01 lbs...$520
5th Place: Rodney Hilber & Kenneth Penderman of Hillsborough & Durham...2 bass...7.26 lbs...$463
6th Place: Corey Linton & Mark Peck of Pikeville...1 bass...5.52 lbs...$407
7th Place: Jim Nichols & Jeremy Martin of Chapel Hill & Rougemont...1 bass...5.07 lbs...$351
8th Place: Erik Ross & Les Walters of Fayetteville...2 bass...4.92 lbs...$295
9th Place: Tim Goss & Jeff Vincent of Franklinton & Durham...1 bass...4.68 lbs...$239
10th Place: Bubba Haywood & Steve Goodwin of Roxboro & Durham...1 bass...4.51 lbs...$239
11th Place: Mike Salguero & Steve Foster of Durham...1 bass...3.83 lbs...$183
12th Place: Jay Garrard & Mark Herndon of Durham & Bahama...1 bass...3.77 lbs...$183
13th Place: Bryce McClenney & Michael Christie of Cary & Fuquay Varina...1 bass...3.29 lbs....$130
14th Place: Phillip Johnson & Gene McCree of Durham...1 bass...3.14 lbs...$130
15th Place: Billy West & Tracy Sykes of Wendell & New Hill...1 bass...2.94 lbs...$100

1st Place Big Fish..1st Place Team above...7.69 lbs...$1,008
2nd Place Big Fish..3rd Place Team above...5.87 lbs...$432

1st Place TWT..1st Place Team above...12.15 lbs...$1,155
2nd Place TWT..3rd Place Team above: 9.38 lbs...$495

Boats Unlimited 1st Place Bonus: 1st Place Team Above...$750
Boats Unlimited Skeeter Boat Owner Bonus: Todd Sumner of Southern Pines...$250
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/index.html


Gerry Benedicto and JP Talk 'Smackdown'

From the 2014 Bassmaster Classic Expo, FLW angler JP Prouty talks with Seaguar's Gerry Benedicto about the advantages of the new Smackdown braided line.


Smith wins BFL by an ounce on Kentucky Lake

Noel Smith of Ashland City, Tenn., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 20 pounds even Saturday to win the first Walmart Bass Fishing League Music City Division tournament of 2014 on Kentucky Lake. For his victory, Smith earned $3,418

 Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
            2nd:   Jeff Lokken, Lebanon, Tenn., five bass, 19-15, $1,709
            3rd:   Ryan Hollingshead, Murfreesboro, Tenn., five bass, 18-15, $1,138
            4th:   Brent Anderson, Kingston Springs, Tenn., five bass, 18-14, $798
            5th:   Rodney Clawson, Nashville, Tenn., five bass, 18-9, $684
            6th:   Brandon Sims, Sparta, Tenn., five bass, 18-2, $627
            7th:   David Gnewikow, Mount Juliet, Tenn., five bass, 17-5, $570
            8th:   Billy Hinson, Mount Juliet, Tenn., four bass, 16-14, $513
            9th:   Chris Hughes, Centerville, Tenn., four bass, 16-11, $456
            10th: Roger Stegall, Iuka, Miss., five bass, 15-7, $399
     Complete results can be found at FLWOutdoors.com.
     Blake Whittaker of Monterey, Tenn., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 21 pounds even Saturday to win $1,709 in the co-angler division.
     Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
            2nd:   Jody Gallimore, Almo, Ky., five bass, 17-3, $855
            3rd:   Steve Melton, Shelbyville, Tenn., four bass, 16-1, $570
            4th:   Nicholas Griffin, Dickson, Tenn., three bass, 14-7, $399
            5th:   Mike Todd, Cane Ridge, Tenn., five bass, 13-13, $342
            6th:   Monty Escue, Murfreesboro, Tenn., four bass, 12-2, $313
            7th:   Jim Fontaine, Smyrna, Tenn., five bass, 11-15, $285
            8th:   Brandon Adcock, McMinnville, Tenn., four bass, 11-13, $256
            9th:   Derrick Harris, Old Hickory, Tenn., three bass, 10-3, $213
            9th:   Blaine Wimberly, Nashville, Tenn., three bass, 10-3, $213
     The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 9-11 Regional Championship on Pickwick Lake in Florence, Ala. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a Chevy Silverado, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.

Ingram Whacks Stout Sack, Wins BFL on Eufaula

  Ryan Ingram of Phenix City, Ala., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 26 pounds, 6 ounces Saturday to win the first Walmart Bass Fishing League Bulldog Division tournament of 2014 on Lake Eufaula. For his victory, Ingram earned $7,610.
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
            2nd:   Bobby Padgett, Lagrange, Ga., five bass, 24-3, $2,605
            3rd:   Ryan Horton, Palmetto, Ga., five bass, 20-3, $1,536
            4th:   Jay Grogan, Fort Mitchell, Ala., five bass, 19-9, $1,076
            5th:   Tim Rockett, Douglas, Ga., five bass, 18-0, $922
            6th:   Terry Tucker, Gadsden, Ala., five bass, 17-10, $845
            7th:   Pat Fisher, Colbert, Ga., five bass, 16-7, $768
            8th:   Will Barnes, Headland, Ala., five bass, 16-2, $691
            9th:   Ronnie Ray, Phenix City, Ala., five bass, 16-0, $615
            10th: Paul Anthony, Dawson, Ga., five bass, 15-13, $538
     Complete results can be found at FLWOutdoors.com.
     Patrick Watson of Newnan, Ga., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 13 pounds, 15 ounces Saturday to win $2,305 in the co-angler division.
     Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
            2nd:   Darryl Johnson, Flowery Branch, Ga., four bass, 12-14, $1,152
            3rd:   Rob Thomas, Griffin, Ga., five bass, 12-9, $768
            4th:   Tyler Morgan, Columbus, Ga., five bass, 12-0, $538
            5th:   Clifford Avery, Bonaire, Ga., five bass, 10-10, $442
            5th:   Guy Jordan, Gainesville, Ga., five bass, 10-10, $442
            7th:   Ethan Wallace, Macon, Ga., four bass, 10-9, $384
            8th:   Keith Reynolds, Ozark, Ala., four bass, 10-5, $346
            9th:   Nick Sperounis, Lawrenceville, Ga., five bass, 10-4, $307
            10th: Dave Altman, Lawrenceville, Ga., five bass, 9-12, $269
     The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 2-4 Regional Championship on the St. John’s River in Palatka, Fla. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a Chevy Silverado, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.

Pickwick Produces Solid limits for BFL Anglers, Crow Tops Field

Brent Crow of Hartselle, Ala., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 23 pounds, 4 ounces Saturday to win the second Walmart Bass Fishing League Choo Choo Division tournament of 2014 on Pickwick Lake. For his victory, Crow earned $3,592.
 Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
            2nd:   Leon Tidwell, Muscle Shoals, Ala., five bass, 22-15, $1,796
            3rd:   Gary Fleming, Russellville, Ala., five bass, 22-8, $1,201
            4th:   Nicholas Reeves, Moulton, Ala., five bass, 20-15, $838
            5th:   Wayne Christopher, Huntsville, Ga., five bass, 20-1, $718
            6th:   Shane Cox, Guntown, Miss., five bass, 19-13, $659
            7th:   Michael Stevens Jr., Fayetteville, Tenn., five bass, 19-11, $599 + $300 Evinrude Bonus
            8th:   Alex Carvell, Lawrenceburg, Tenn., five bass, 19-5, $509
            8th:   Michael Law, Arab, Ala., five bass, 19-5, $509
            10th: Donny Beck, Killen, Ala., five bass, 18-8, $419
     Complete results can be found at FLWOutdoors.com.
     Jackie Flack of Cullman, Ala., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 25 pounds, 5 ounces Saturday to win $1,796 in the co-angler division.
     Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
            2nd:   Brandon Summers, Sherwood, Tenn., five bass, 20-8, $898
            3rd:   Thomas White, Iron City, Tenn., five bass, 19-3, $598
            4th:   Dwain Hargett, Muscle Shoals, Ala., five bass, 18-8, $419
            5th:   Gregory Nunnelly, Ohatchee, Ala., four bass, 18-7, $359
            6th:   Alan Barrett, Cullman, Ala., five bass, 18-0, $329
            7th:   Matt Huckaba, Lawrenceburg, Tenn., five bass, 17-11, $299
            8th:   Jason Mullinax, White, Ga., five bass, 17-10, $269
            9th:   Terry Smith, Tullahoma, Tenn., five bass, 17-0, $239
            10th: Tim Letson, Decatur, Ala., five bass, 15-13, $210
     The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 2-4 Regional Championship on the St. John’s River in Palatka, Fla. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a Chevy Silverado, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.
     The BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 120 tournaments throughout the season, five in each division. The top 40 boaters and co-anglers from each division qualify for a regional tournament and compete 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.

2011 Collegiate National Champ Casey O'Donnell on MHX Rod Blanks

From the 2014 Bassmaster Classic Expo, 2011 Collegiate National Champion Casey O'Donnell shows us the fine MHX rod blanks in the Mudhole rod-building booth. FLW Tour pro John Cox used MHX blanks to place 5th on a stingy Lake Hartwell this weekend. Find out what John and Casey already know.


Scott Hamrick and Roger Pope hold on to win the 2014 Jim Ledbetter on Lake Norman

205 Teams showed up to a 2 hour Fog delay Sat am on Lake Norman after a week of horrific weather hit the area. This 28th year represents one of the longest running charity events in the country and the outstanding turnout despite the weather and multiple other HUGE Tournaments in the region proved that once again. This year turned out to be one of the tightest and most competitive finishes in the history of the Tournament. While Hamrick and Pope won with 17.71 Lbs, Thomas Hardwick and Tommy Williams finished 2nd with 17.66 while Jeff and KJ Queen fishined 3rd with 17.60!!! I don't know that we've ever seen a finish that tight! This is the 3rd time that Scott and Roger have won this event and they won it on the last cast of the day to haul in a 4.75 Lb kicker and ride home with a $35,000 Ranger/Evinrude Boat pkg! Congrats to all the anglers who fished, and open the attchment for full results at the bottom here with some great pictures below:

2014 Jim Ledbetter Champs Roger Pope and Scott Hamrick with their 17.71 Lb Winning Stringer!2014 Jim Ledbetter Champs Roger Pope and Scott Hamrick with their 17.71 Lb Winning Stringer!

 

2014 Jim Ledbetter Champs with Danny McCall of Denver Marine!2014 Jim Ledbetter Champs with Danny McCall of Denver Marine!

 

2014 Jim Ledbetter 2nd Place Team of Tommy Williams and Thomas Hardwick2014 Jim Ledbetter 2nd Place Team of Tommy Williams and Thomas Hardwick

 

2014 Jim Ledbetter 3rd Place team of Jeff and KJ Queen2014 Jim Ledbetter 3rd Place team of Jeff and KJ Queen

 

2014 Jim Ledbetter BF of 6.08 Held up by Mr Travis!2014 Jim Ledbetter BF of 6.08 Held up by Mr Travis!


Jerame Edwards and Butch McMurray win the Anglers Choice Marine Event on Smith Mtn

187 Teams launched to kick off the 2014 AC Marine Team Trail on Smith Mtn Lake Sat. Conditions improved tremendously firday night and all day Sat after some horrific ice storms and rain had pounded the area Wed and Thursday. The condistions really did't seem to effect the anglers too much as there were 34 teams that weighed in more than 10 Lbs. Edwards and McMurray held on to win by 2/100 of a Lb with 18.94 vs 18.92 for 2nd! Click on the attachment for full results and here is a picture of the Champs below:

Anglers Choice Marine Smith Mountain Lake Champs Edwards and McMurray with their 18.94 Lb Stringer!


'Sonar' Shows the NEW Curado

Bassmaster Opens Pro Miles 'Sonar' Burghoff gives us a look at the new Shimano Curado from the 2014 Bassmaster Classic Expo!


Kilgore Wins Bassmaster Southern Open On Smith Lake

Teaser image:

David Kilgore of Jasper, Ala., wins the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open presented by Allstate. Bringing in a three-day total of 54 pounds, 11 ounces, Kilgore earned a berth in the 2015 Bassmaster Classic.

Photo by James Overstreet/Bassmaster

At 6-feet, 9-inches, Jasper, Ala.’s David Kilgore appears better suited for basketball than bass fishing. His victory at the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open presented by Allstate March 6-8 was an impressive slam dunk.
 
Kilgore lead the tournament from start to finish. His three-day tally of 54 pounds, 11 ounces of chunky largemouth and spotted bass earned him $6,741 and a Nitro Z9 powered by a Mercury 225 Pro XS. Even more important is an invitation to compete in the 2015 Bassmaster Classic.
 
Any angler that wins a Bassmaster Open tournament and fishes all three events in that division (Northern, Southern or Central) punches his or her ticket to the Bassmaster Classic the following year. This is the second year in a row that Kilgore has qualified for the Classic via the Bassmaster Opens. Last year he did so by winning a Southern Open at Logan Martin Lake.
 
A Strike King Tour Grade Titanium Umbrella Rig dressed with Strike King KVD Perfect Plastic Swim'n Caffeine Shads accounted for most of Kilgore’s bass. He was targeting docks that were the farthest from the main lake in short pockets. The bigger female bass were staging there prior to moving shallow.
 
Kilgore slowly retrieved his umbrella rig along the shady side of the docks. It often took repeated casts to coax a strike.
 
The final day started slowly for Kilgore. He was getting bites, but the bass were slapping at the rig and not getting hooked. This was a common refrain among many of the Top 12 finalists today. The water was much clearer today than yesterday, which could be why the bigger bass were harder to dupe.
 
With only three bass in his livewell at midday, Kilgore alternated his umbrella rig with a 3/8-ounce Strike King Hack Attack Jig dressed with a Strike King Rage Tail Chunk.
 
“I was swimming the jig in the same places I was fishing the umbrella rig,” Kilgore said.
 
After that, it was game on. If a bass smacked his umbrella without getting hooked, Kilgore followed up with the jig. This ploy often put a bow in his rod.
 
Todd Auten of Lake Wylie, S.C., finished second with 48 pounds, 11 ounces. During the first two days of the tournament, Auten who stayed at Kilgore’s hunting cabin during the tournament, stated that he and Kilgore were sharing information, as good friends often do. However, Auten said that they were doing entirely different things to catch their bass.
 
Apparently, there was a lack of communication because it wasn’t until today that Auten learned that they were both fishing Alabama Rigs.
 
“I thought he was catching his bass on a jerkbait,” Auten said. “That’s what was working for him in practice.”
 
Although both anglers were fishing around docks, Kilgore was retrieving his umbrella rigs no deeper than 6 feet. Auten was running his 10- to 20-feet deep. Auten was using a homemade umbrella rig and another one made by Shane’s Baits. 
 
South Carolina's Michael Murphy culled through 30 bass today to bring 14 pounds, 3 ounces to the scales. It moved him up one spot to third place with a total of 47 pounds, 15 ounces.
 
“I caught more bass today than the first two days combined,” Murphy said.
 
Two different umbrella rigs accounted for the majority of Murphy’s bass, a Yumbrella and a Kahara brand from Optimum Baits. An Ima Flit 120 jerkbait did the rest of the damage. Murphy caught some of his bass today by following up with the jerkbait after a bass missed his Yumbrella rig.
 
The big mover today was co-angler Carlton Tipp from Grand Bay, Ala. His 11-pound, 3-ounce, three-bass limit jumped him from 10th to first place with a total weight of 24 pounds, 5 ounces. He happily hoisted a slick trophy and claimed a Skeeter TZX170 powered by a Yamaha F115LA outboard.
The Allstate Good Hands, Great Day award for climbing the most points from Day 1 to Day 2 goes to Stanley Gunter, who wins $250, and Drew Dupre, who wins $150.
 
The Carhartt Big Bass award of $500 goes to Stanley Gunter 7-8 catch.

The Power-Pole Captain’s Cash award of $500 goes to David Kilgore.

The Livingston Lures Leader Award of $250 goes to Kilgore, and on the co-angler side, Stephen Longobardi will take home a Livingston Lures gift pack valued at $250.

 

Smith Lake, Jasper  AL.
(BOATER) Standings Day 3

   Angler                   Hometown              No./lbs-oz  Pts   Total $$$

1.  David Kilgore          Jasper, AL              15  54-11  200  $47,491.00
  Day 1: 5   19-15     Day 2: 5   17-15     Day 3: 5   16-13   
2.  Todd Auten             Lake Wylie, SC          15  48-11  199  $16,011.00
  Day 1: 5   18-05     Day 2: 5   16-04     Day 3: 5   14-02   
3.  Michael Murphy         Lexington, SC           15  47-15  198  $12,008.00
  Day 1: 5   15-03     Day 2: 5   18-09     Day 3: 5   14-03   
4.  Jordan Wiggins         Cullman, AL             15  46-12  197  $10,744.00
  Day 1: 5   14-08     Day 2: 5   19-09     Day 3: 5   12-11   
5.  Justin Lucas           Guntersville, AL        15  46-12  196   $9,375.00
  Day 1: 5   14-05     Day 2: 5   17-01     Day 3: 5   15-06   
6.  Jesse Wiggins          Cullman, AL             15  43-11  195   $8,005.00
  Day 1: 5   15-10     Day 2: 5   17-00     Day 3: 5   11-01   
7.  Brandon Lester         Fayetteville, TN        15  40-01  194   $6,741.00
  Day 1: 5   17-15     Day 2: 5   11-07     Day 3: 5   10-11   
8.  Woo Daves              Spring Grove, VA        15  38-10  193   $5,372.00
  Day 1: 5   10-15     Day 2: 5   14-15     Day 3: 5   12-12   
9.  Jon Englund            Farwell, MN             14  38-03  192   $4,003.00
  Day 1: 5   13-01     Day 2: 4   16-09     Day 3: 5   08-09   
10. Kyle Fox               Lakeland, FL            15  38-00  191   $3,687.00
  Day 1: 5   12-10     Day 2: 5   13-14     Day 3: 5   11-08   
11. Carl Jocumsen          Queensland AUSTRALIA    15  34-10  190   $3,371.00
  Day 1: 5   11-03     Day 2: 5   14-10     Day 3: 5   08-13   
12. Derek Cummings         Clayton, NC             14  32-09  189   $3,160.00
  Day 1: 5   16-02     Day 2: 4   09-02     Day 3: 5   07-05   
CARHARTT BIG BASS
     Stanley Gunter           Saluda, SC          07-08        $500.00
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day   #Limits    #Fish      Weight
 1       111       667      1451-01
 2        80       568      1158-09
 3        12        60       143-14
----------------------------------
         203      1295      2753-08

Smith Lake, Jasper  AL.
(NON_BOATER) Standings Day 3

   Angler                   Hometown              No./lbs-oz  Pts   Total $$$

1.  Carlton Tipp           Grand Bay, AL            9  24-05  200  $25,000.00
  Day 1: 3   06-04     Day 2: 3   06-14     Day 3: 3   11-03   
2.  Stephen Longobardi     Northford, CT            9  23-01  199   $5,161.00
  Day 1: 3   09-07     Day 2: 3   07-13     Day 3: 3   05-13   
3.  Dan Taylor             Olean, NY                9  21-07  198   $3,897.00
  Day 1: 3   05-08     Day 2: 3   08-10     Day 3: 3   07-05   
4.  Tyler Hicks            Jasper, AL               9  21-01  197   $2,633.00
  Day 1: 3   07-00     Day 2: 3   07-02     Day 3: 3   06-15   
5.  Joshua Price           Clarksville, TN          9  20-11  196   $2,423.00
  Day 1: 3   07-15     Day 2: 3   06-11     Day 3: 3   06-01   
6.  Joshua Kolodzaike      Toledo, OH               9  20-10  195   $2,317.00
  Day 1: 3   07-03     Day 2: 3   05-07     Day 3: 3   08-00   
7.  Dustin Seaborn         Guin, AL                 9  20-04  194   $2,212.00
  Day 1: 3   08-11     Day 2: 3   07-01     Day 3: 3   04-08   
8.  Kevin Roland           Mulberry, TN             8  17-08  193   $2,107.00
  Day 1: 3   07-15     Day 2: 2   05-02     Day 3: 3   04-07   
9.  Drew Dupre             Clinton, CT              6  17-06  192   $2,151.00
  Day 1: 1   03-08     Day 2: 3   10-00     Day 3: 2   03-14   
10. Reid Mcginn            Fort Mill, SC            7  16-02  191   $1,791.00
  Day 1: 3   09-07     Day 2: 3   05-06     Day 3: 1   01-05   
11. Kent Biggs             Morristown, TN           7  15-04  190   $1,580.00
  Day 1: 3   06-03     Day 2: 3   08-05     Day 3: 1   00-12   
12. Kelly Townson          Hartselle, AL            7  15-03  189   $1,475.00
  Day 1: 3   05-11     Day 2: 3   07-03     Day 3: 1   02-05   
CARHARTT BIG BASS
     Grady Maynard            Leesburg, FL        07-07          $0.00
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day   #Limits    #Fish      Weight
 1        60       268       534-04
 2        48       224       425-11
 3         8        29        62-08
----------------------------------
         116       521      1022-07


2014 Jim Ledbetter Champs Scott Hamrick And Roger Pope Win Their 3Rd Ledbetter With 17.71 Lbs!

The A-Rig and Jerkbait were the keys to Scott Hamrick and Roger Pope winning their record 3rd Jim Ledbetter Memorial Tournament on Lake Norman today-click the video to hear more!!


Hot New Technique: 'Spybaiting' revealed

From the floor of the 2014 Bassmaster Classic Expo, FLW Tour angler JP Prouty and Realis pro-staffer Chris Jackson explore the newest finesse craze from Japan:  Spybaiting!


From Lake Guntersville - a look at a real life-saver

While filming the action of the 2014 Bassmaster Classic on Lake Guntersville for the Progressive Bass Wrap Up TV Show, Vance McCullough forgot he was wearing an Onyx PFD that friend, Clay Connor had loaned him. Yes, the Onyx PFD is that light, that comfortable. And if you saw the video clip wherein a careless spectator boat nearly sent Vance swimming in multiple layers of clothes and boots, then you understand the advice he shares in this video clip.


Ardent Reels Rolls-Out Latest Innovation: the Apex Line of Baitcasters

Teaser image:

Ardent offer 3 new models designed and tested by the best anglers on tour - the Apex line.

According to Ryan Hohl of Ardent the company has, “once again introduced a fishing reel innovation.”

He refers to the new Apex line of extremely light weight, low profile reels and says they offer the greatest casting distance and smoothness in the lightest package possible for tournament tough, high performance baitcasters.

“All Apex models feature high strength aluminum frames, combined with a deep V 6061 T6 machined aluminum spool, and 270 degree mag brake system with external adjustment,” says Hohl.

The Apex Elite features 12+1 stainless steel ball bearings, carbon fiber swept back handle, EVA grip knobs on handle, swept back forged aluminum star drag, and weighs 5.9oz. It will retail for $149.99 and is available in 6.5:1 gear ratio in both left and right hand retrieve.

The Apex Pro features 10+1 stainless steel ball bearings, swept back forged aluminum handle, and a swept back forged aluminum star drag. Retail on the Pro will be $129.99 and it is available in 7.3:1 gear ratio, right hand retrieve only.

The Apex Tournament features 8+1 stainless steel ball bearings, swept back forged aluminum star drag, and swept back forged aluminum handle. Retail on the Tournament is $99.99. Apex Tournament is available in 6.5:1 gear ratio and in right hand retrieve only.

Of course, All Ardent Apex reels are backed by the industry’s best 3 year warranty.

Apex reels have been designed and tested by some of the best anglers on the Bassmaster Elite Series, FLW Tour, and Major League Fishing, including Denny Brauer, Fred Roumbanis, Pete Ponds, James Niggemeyer, Cliff Crochet and Zell Rowland.

In fact, Greg Bohannan used the Apex Elite and Apex Pro to finish second in the Walmart FLW Tour season-opener on Lake Okeechobee with 82.08lbs over four days.

For more on the innovative and affordable Apex reels, visit ardentreels.com. To buy one now, visit Academy Sports & Outdoors, Gander Mountain, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Tacklewarehouse.com or Walmart.com.


Kilgore Tightens Grip On Lead At Smith Lake Open

The cold, wet, miserable weather that brutalized the fishermen yesterday at Smith Lake was nowhere to be seen today at the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open presented by Allstate. After the fog lifted this morning, the lake and the anglers were bathed in bright, warm sunshine.
Many anglers that struggled yesterday blamed the bone-chilling weather for their slow start. Those that did well yesterday wished for more nasty weather.

A few of the fishermen that did well yesterday believed they would fare even better today if the sun came out of hiding. One of them was local angler David Kilgore of Jasper, Ala., the leader after Day 1.

“The sun helped me a lot today,” Kilgore said. “It was just what I wanted.”

Kilgore’s day started slowly. It took him until 10 o’clock to boat his first limit. As the sun got higher, Kilgore tuned into what the bass were doing. From then on he landed another 30 bass. His 17-pound, 15-ounce, limit today brings his two-day total to 37 pounds, 14 ounces.

“I’m super psyched for tomorrow,” Kilgore said. “I’ll sleep well tonight.”

If Kilgore holds off the rest of the Top 12 on tomorrow’s final day, he will collect $6,741, a Nitro Z-9 powered by a Mercury 225 ProXS and an invitation to fish the 2015 Bassmaster Classic if he fishes all three tournaments in the Southern Opens series.

Kilgore leads his friend Todd Auten of Lake Wylie, S.C., who is second with 34 pounds, 9 ounces.

Although the two anglers are sharing information, Kilgore is catching mainly largemouth bass while Auten has weighed only spotted bass. Auten says they are doing entirely different things to catch their bass.

Jordan Wiggins of Cullman, Ala., made the biggest move today, leaping from 14th to third place with a limit that weighed 19 pounds, 9 ounces, the second heaviest of the tournament.

“I fished the same way I did yesterday, but I had to switch areas,” Wiggins said. “I left them still biting at noon.”

Wiggins’ limit consisted of four spotted bass and one largemouth of more than 4 pounds, which was his biggest fish.

South Carolina’s Michael Murphy also played leapfrog. His 18-pound, 9-ounce limit of largemouth and spotted bass jumped him from 10th to fourth place. The heaviest bass in his bag was a gorgeous 5-pound, 5-ounce spotted bass that he caught early in the day.

Connecticut angler Stephen Longobardi stubbornly refuses to give up the lead in the co-angler division. His three-bass limit of 7 pounds, 13 ounces brings his total to 17 pounds, 4 ounces. The keys to the Skeeter TZX170 powered by a Yamaha F115LA outboard are nearly in his grasp. He can’t let up, however. There are six other co-anglers within about 3 pounds of him. That’s too close for comfort.

Anglers will take off Saturday at 6 a.m. CT from Lewis Smith Lake Dam, 640 Powerhouse Rd., Jasper, AL 35504. The Saturday weigh-in will be held at 3:30 p.m. CT at Bass Pro Shops, 5000 Bass Pro Blvd., Leeds, AL 35094.

The event host is the Chamber of Commerce of Walker County, Ala.
Smith Lake, Jasper  AL.

(BOATER) Standings Day 2

Angler                   Hometown              No./lbs-oz  Pts   Total $$$

1.  David Kilgore          Jasper, AL              10  37-14  200     $250.00

Day 1: 5   19-15     Day 2: 5   17-15

2.  Todd Auten             Lake Wylie, SC          10  34-09  199

Day 1: 5   18-05     Day 2: 5   16-04

3.  Jordan Wiggins         Cullman, AL             10  34-01  198

Day 1: 5   14-08     Day 2: 5   19-09

4.  Michael Murphy         Lexington, SC           10  33-12  197

Day 1: 5   15-03     Day 2: 5   18-09

5.  Jesse Wiggins          Cullman, AL             10  32-10  196

Day 1: 5   15-10     Day 2: 5   17-00

6.  Justin Lucas           Guntersville, AL        10  31-06  195

Day 1: 5   14-05     Day 2: 5   17-01

7.  Jon Englund            Farwell, MN              9  29-10  194

Day 1: 5   13-01     Day 2: 4   16-09

8.  Brandon Lester         Fayetteville, TN        10  29-06  193

Day 1: 5   17-15     Day 2: 5   11-07

9.  Kyle Fox               Lakeland, FL            10  26-08  192

Day 1: 5   12-10     Day 2: 5   13-14

10. Woo Daves              Spring Grove, VA        10  25-14  191

Day 1: 5   10-15     Day 2: 5   14-15

11. Carl Jocumsen          Queensland AUSTRALIA    10  25-13  190

Day 1: 5   11-03     Day 2: 5   14-10

12. Derek Cummings         Clayton, NC              9  25-04  189

Day 1: 5   16-02     Day 2: 4   09-02

13. Warren Barnes          Dallas, GA               9  25-03  188   $2,633.00

Day 1: 5   17-03     Day 2: 4   08-00

14. Darrell Pons           Gainesville, FL         10  25-02  187   $2,633.00

Day 1: 5   10-03     Day 2: 5   14-15

15. Josh Bragg             Jacksonville, AL        10  25-02  186   $2,633.00

Day 1: 5   12-14     Day 2: 5   12-04

16. Bobby Lane             Lakeland, FL            10  25-01  185   $2,633.00

Day 1: 5   13-03     Day 2: 5   11-14

17. Jordan Lee             Vinemont, AL            10  24-07  184   $2,633.00

Day 1: 5   10-15     Day 2: 5   13-08

18. Robin Erb              Crane Hill, AL          10  24-02  183   $2,633.00

Day 1: 5   13-08     Day 2: 5   10-10

19. Steven Priest          New Lexington, OH       10  24-00  182   $2,633.00

Day 1: 5   12-06     Day 2: 5   11-10

20. Shaw Grigsby Jr.       Gainesville, FL         10  23-15  181   $2,633.00

Day 1: 5   14-06     Day 2: 5   09-09

21. David Walker           Sevierville, TN         10  23-12  180   $2,633.00

Day 1: 5   09-13     Day 2: 5   13-15

22. Derek Remitz           Grant, AL               10  23-09  179   $2,633.00

Day 1: 5   13-05     Day 2: 5   10-04

23. Brock Mosley           Collinsville, MS        10  23-05  178   $2,633.00

Day 1: 5   12-06     Day 2: 5   10-15

24. Joe Lee                Knoxville, TN           10  23-03  177   $2,633.00

Day 1: 5   10-04     Day 2: 5   12-15

25. Chad Morgenthaler      Coulterville, IL        10  23-02  176   $2,633.00

Day 1: 5   11-09     Day 2: 5   11-09

26. Craig Daniel           Cullman, AL             10  22-14  175   $2,317.00

Day 1: 5   14-15     Day 2: 5   07-15

27. Stanley Gunter         Saluda, SC               8  22-10  174   $2,567.00

Day 1: 4   08-09     Day 2: 4   14-01

28. David Hudson           Jasper, AL               9  22-09  173   $2,317.00

Day 1: 5   13-13     Day 2: 4   08-12

29. Hank Cherry Jr         Maiden, NC              10  22-05  172   $2,317.00

Day 1: 5   08-11     Day 2: 5   13-10

30. Roland Martin          Naples, FL              10  22-00  171   $2,317.00

Day 1: 5   13-09     Day 2: 5   08-07

31. Marty Nester           Mount Airy, NC          10  21-13  170   $2,001.00

Day 1: 5   12-01     Day 2: 5   09-12

32. Kazunori Okuma         Moriyama-Shi Shiga JAPA 10  21-08  169   $2,001.00

Day 1: 5   08-10     Day 2: 5   12-14

33. Ken Iyobe              Tokoname  Aichi JAPAN    9  21-05  168   $2,001.00

Day 1: 5   13-04     Day 2: 4   08-01

34. Brian Morris           Cullman, AL             10  20-10  167   $2,001.00

Day 1: 5   11-00     Day 2: 5   09-10

35. Matt Lee               Auburn , AL             10  20-09  166   $2,001.00

Day 1: 5   10-04     Day 2: 5   10-05

36. Clifton Coffey         Cypress, TX              8  20-08  165   $1,685.00

Day 1: 5   17-06     Day 2: 3   03-02

37. Kelley Jaye            Dadeville, AL           10  20-08  164   $1,685.00

Day 1: 5   12-03     Day 2: 5   08-05

38. Stephen Longobardi     Northford, CT            9  20-08  163   $1,685.00

Day 1: 5   10-11     Day 2: 4   09-13

39. David Williams         Maiden, NC              10  20-06  162   $1,685.00

Day 1: 5   11-06     Day 2: 5   09-00

40. Billy Shelton          La Crosse, VA           10  20-05  161   $1,685.00

Day 1: 5   11-14     Day 2: 5   08-07

41. Michael Reid           Perry, GA               10  20-05  160

Day 1: 5   09-08     Day 2: 5   10-13

42. Rick Morris            Lake Gaston, VA          8  20-04  159

Day 1: 5   13-06     Day 2: 3   06-14

43. Keith Pace             Monticello, AR          10  20-04  158

Day 1: 5   13-02     Day 2: 5   07-02

44. Matt Henry             Milledgeville, GA       10  20-03  157

Day 1: 5   11-01     Day 2: 5   09-02

45. Eric Silverstrim       Indian Mound, TN        10  20-01  156

Day 1: 5   08-05     Day 2: 5   11-12

46. Marty Robinson         Lyman, SC               10  20-01  155

Day 1: 5   11-09     Day 2: 5   08-08

47. Tim Hawley             Linwood, NC              8  19-15  154

Day 1: 5   12-14     Day 2: 3   07-01

48. Paul Pagnato           Reston, VA              10  19-13  153

Day 1: 5   12-01     Day 2: 5   07-12

49. Greg Pugh              Cullman, AL              8  19-10  152

Day 1: 5   15-04     Day 2: 3   04-06

50. Britt Myers            Lake Wylie, SC          10  19-06  151

Day 1: 5   10-01     Day 2: 5   09-05

51. Eric Conant            Lakeland, FL            10  19-05  150

Day 1: 5   12-14     Day 2: 5   06-07

52. Gerald Swindle         Warrior, AL             10  19-05  149

Day 1: 5   07-11     Day 2: 5   11-10

53. Cody Green             Philadelphia, TN        10  19-03  148

Day 1: 5   13-01     Day 2: 5   06-02

54. Kyle Worsham           Cherokee, AL            10  19-01  147

Day 1: 5   08-14     Day 2: 5   10-03

55. Rodney Marks Jr        Tavares, FL              8  19-00  146

Day 1: 5   12-11     Day 2: 3   06-05

56. Joey Nania             Cropwell, AL            10  19-00  145

Day 1: 5   08-00     Day 2: 5   11-00

57. Seth Feider            Bloomington, MN         10  19-00  144

Day 1: 5   10-00     Day 2: 5   09-00

58. John Figi              Bloomington, MN          6  18-14  143

Day 1: 5   17-06     Day 2: 1   01-08

59. John Brazzell          Ocoee, FL                8  18-13  142

Day 1: 5   07-08     Day 2: 3   11-05

60. Chuck Pippin           Winter Garden, FL       10  18-13  141

Day 1: 5   11-01     Day 2: 5   07-12

61. Rusty Camp             New Albany, MS           9  18-07  140

Day 1: 5   10-12     Day 2: 4   07-11

62. Russ Lane              Prattville, AL          10  18-07  139

Day 1: 5   08-12     Day 2: 5   09-11

63. Carl Whitfield         Anderson, SC             8  18-07  138

Day 1: 3   09-04     Day 2: 5   09-03

64. Ray Brazier            Lawrenceburg, TN         7  18-06  137

Day 1: 5   13-09     Day 2: 2   04-13

65. Randy Elliott          Bowie, MD               10  18-06  136

Day 1: 5   10-04     Day 2: 5   08-02

66. Waine Pittman          Villa  Rica, GA          8  18-02  135

Day 1: 5   11-00     Day 2: 3   07-02

67. Gene Eisenmann         Frisco, TX              10  17-13  134

Day 1: 5   09-04     Day 2: 5   08-09

68. Bigworm Ludwig IV      Auburn, GA              10  17-12  133

Day 1: 5   07-12     Day 2: 5   10-00

69. Arnie Lane             Lakeland, FL            10  17-12  132

Day 1: 5   09-06     Day 2: 5   08-06

70. Skylar Hamilton        Dandridge, TN           10  17-11  131

Day 1: 5   07-14     Day 2: 5   09-13

71. Larry Garner           Cottondale, AL          10  17-10  130

Day 1: 5   10-03     Day 2: 5   07-07

72. Patrick Currie         Millry , AL             10  17-08  129

Day 1: 5   09-05     Day 2: 5   08-03

73. Rich Howes             Oviedo, FL               9  17-06  128

Day 1: 5   11-00     Day 2: 4   06-06

74. Smash The Giant Gallelli Firenze ITALY           10  17-06  127

Day 1: 5   09-15     Day 2: 5   07-07

75. Jeff Holland           Winter Springs, FL       9  17-05  126

Day 1: 5   11-09     Day 2: 4   05-12

76. Charlie Hartley        Grove City, OH           7  17-04  125

Day 1: 5   14-04     Day 2: 2   03-00

77. Sonar Burghoff         Guntersville, AL         9  17-04  124

Day 1: 5   10-07     Day 2: 4   06-13

78. Danny White            Milledgeville, GA        7  17-02  123

Day 1: 5   10-09     Day 2: 2   06-09

79. Jeff Cloud             Lubbock, TX              9  17-02  122

Day 1: 4   06-12     Day 2: 5   10-06

80. Gary Isgrigg           Mt Washington, KY        9  17-02  121

Day 1: 5   10-03     Day 2: 4   06-15

81. Kotaro Kiriyama        Moody, AL                8  17-00  120

Day 1: 5   11-07     Day 2: 3   05-09

82. Jesse Tacoronte        Orlando, FL             10  17-00  119

Day 1: 5   08-03     Day 2: 5   08-13

83. Jason Patterson        Bluffton, IN            10  16-14  118

Day 1: 5   08-15     Day 2: 5   07-15

84. Patrick Pierce         Jacksonville, FL        10  16-12  117

Day 1: 5   10-08     Day 2: 5   06-04

85. Terry Scroggins        San Mateo, FL           10  16-12  116

Day 1: 5   07-07     Day 2: 5   09-05

86. Jordan Card            Knoxville, TN            9  16-08  115

Day 1: 4   05-06     Day 2: 5   11-02

87. Gary Clouse            La Vergne, TN            8  16-06  114

Day 1: 3   04-12     Day 2: 5   11-10

88. David Cooke            Mooresville, NC          8  16-05  113

Day 1: 3   09-14     Day 2: 5   06-07

89. Kyle Glasgow Jr        Guin, AL                10  16-04  112

Day 1: 5   08-13     Day 2: 5   07-07

90. Josh Herren            Pinson, AL               8  16-03  111

Day 1: 5   09-01     Day 2: 3   07-02

91. Craig Chambers         Charlotte, NC           10  16-02  110

Day 1: 5   06-11     Day 2: 5   09-07

92. Chris Lane             Guntersville, AL         6  16-00  109

Day 1: 5   14-10     Day 2: 1   01-06

93. Rick Nishio            Southside, AL           10  16-00  108

Day 1: 5   08-15     Day 2: 5   07-01

94. Ernest Morris          Seneca, SC               7  15-08  107

Day 1: 5   11-03     Day 2: 2   04-05

95. Michael Johnson        Talking Rock, GA         9  15-07  106

Day 1: 4   06-12     Day 2: 5   08-11

96. Rex Chambers           Baileyton, AL            9  15-06  105

Day 1: 4   05-06     Day 2: 5   10-00

97. Jamey Caldwell         Carthage, NC             9  15-04  104

Day 1: 5   09-13     Day 2: 4   05-07

98. Tommy Brown            Louisville, TN          10  15-04  103

Day 1: 5   08-04     Day 2: 5   07-00

99. James Castillo         Grandview, WA            9  15-02  102

Day 1: 5   08-12     Day 2: 4   06-06

100. Shaye Baker            Tallassee, AL           10  15-02  101

Day 1: 5   08-05     Day 2: 5   06-13

101. Sam George             Athens, AL               5  15-01  100

Day 1: 5   15-01     Day 2: 0   00-00

102. Casey Majni            Knoxville, TN            8  14-12   99

Day 1: 5   07-10     Day 2: 3   07-02

103. Drew Sanford           Northport, AL           10  14-11   98

Day 1: 5   08-04     Day 2: 5   06-07

104. Colby Flinn            Bradenton, FL            9  14-09   97

Day 1: 5   08-07     Day 2: 4   06-02

105. Rodney Jones           Athens, GA              10  14-09   96

Day 1: 5   06-03     Day 2: 5   08-06

106. Wil Hardy II           Harlem, GA               9  14-08   95

Day 1: 5   08-02     Day 2: 4   06-06

107. Adam Hock              Independence, KY         9  14-04   94

Day 1: 4   05-10     Day 2: 5   08-10

108. Joe Clements           Saint Cloud, FL          6  13-15   93

Day 1: 5   11-04     Day 2: 1   02-11

109. Sean Alvarez           Seneca, SC               8  13-12   92

Day 1: 5   09-12     Day 2: 3   04-00

110. Sambo Fish             Hoover, AL               8  13-12   91

Day 1: 5   08-05     Day 2: 3   05-07

111. Hunter Shryock         Newcomerstown, OH        5  13-05   90

Day 1: 5   13-05     Day 2: 0   00-00

112. Chris Adams            Jacksonville, FL         9  13-03   89

Day 1: 4   05-06     Day 2: 5   07-13

113. Josh Douglas           Shakopee, MN             5  13-02   88

Day 1: 2   04-12     Day 2: 3   08-06

114. Kevin Clark            Leesburg, FL             7  12-15   87

Day 1: 2   02-11     Day 2: 5   10-04

115. Shane Lineberger       Lincolnton, NC           6  12-15   86

Day 1: 3   07-01     Day 2: 3   05-14

116. Van Soles              Haines City, FL          7  12-13   85

Day 1: 4   07-09     Day 2: 3   05-04

117. Dustin Neat            Dunnville, KY            7  12-12   84

Day 1: 2   03-13     Day 2: 5   08-15

118. Scott Hayes            Newnan, GA               6  12-11   83

Day 1: 1   01-04     Day 2: 5   11-07

119. Scott Mcgehee          Madison, MS              6  12-11   82

Day 1: 2   03-02     Day 2: 4   09-09

120. Kyle Kempkers          Hamilton, MI             7  12-08   81

Day 1: 3   05-09     Day 2: 4   06-15

121. Tim Ezell              Key West, FL             5  12-01   80

Day 1: 2   04-12     Day 2: 3   07-05

122. Ron Wolfarth           Oakboro, NC              8  11-15   79

Day 1: 3   05-14     Day 2: 5   06-01

123. Greg Mansfield         Burnsville, MN           5  11-14   78

Day 1: 5   11-14     Day 2: 0   00-00

124. Jimmy Mason            Rogersville, AL          7  11-07   77

Day 1: 2   02-15     Day 2: 5   08-08

125. George Lambeth         Thomasville, NC          6  11-04   76

Day 1: 3   06-11     Day 2: 3   04-09

126. David Perdue           Wirtz, VA                6  11-04   75

Day 1: 3   06-08     Day 2: 3   04-12

127. Tim Frederick          Leesburg, FL             6  10-11   74

Day 1: 5   08-07     Day 2: 1   02-04

128. Alvin Shaw             Roaring Gap, NC          7  10-07   73

Day 1: 5   08-03     Day 2: 2   02-04

129. Chris Cline            Stafford, VA             7  10-06   72

Day 1: 5   07-04     Day 2: 2   03-02

130. Landon Lomax           Owens Cross Roads, AL    6  10-03   71

Day 1: 3   05-15     Day 2: 3   04-04

131. Kazuki Kitajima        Orlando, FL              6  10-02   70

Day 1: 5   08-12     Day 2: 1   01-06

132. Christiana Bradley     Bealeton, VA             5  10-02   69

Day 1: 4   08-03     Day 2: 1   01-15

133. Kendall Newson         Decatur, GA              4  10-02   68

Day 1: 3   05-06     Day 2: 1   04-12

134. Wesley Sams            Cullman, AL              5  09-12   67

Day 1: 5   09-12     Day 2: 0   00-00

135. Bruce Holcombe         Cullman, AL              5  09-11   66

Day 1: 5   09-11     Day 2: 0   00-00

136. Keith Poche            Pike Road, AL            5  09-09   65

Day 1: 5   09-09     Day 2: 0   00-00

137. Hunter Eubanks         Inman, SC                4  09-09   64

Day 1: 1   03-10     Day 2: 3   05-15

138. Matt Lowe              Walhalla, SC             4  07-14   63

Day 1: 4   07-14     Day 2: 0   00-00

139. Greg Vinson            Wetumpka, AL             5  07-01   62

Day 1: 5   07-01     Day 2: 0   00-00

140. Allen Brooks           Canton, GA               2  06-12   61

Day 1: 2   06-12     Day 2: 0   00-00

141. Earnie Jones           Blythewood, SC           4  06-08   60

Day 1: 1   01-11     Day 2: 3   04-13

142. Jim Garrett            Tyrone, GA               4  06-03   59

Day 1: 2   03-10     Day 2: 2   02-09

143. James Bailey           Warrenton, VA            4  06-00   58

Day 1: 4   06-00     Day 2: 0   00-00

144. Tony Tidwell           Horton, AL               4  05-13   57

Day 1: 2   02-08     Day 2: 2   03-05

145. Garrett Rocamora       Lithia, FL               3  05-05   56

Day 1: 1   02-03     Day 2: 2   03-02

146. Red Flowers            Deland, FL               3  05-01   55

Day 1: 3   05-01     Day 2: 0   00-00

147. Kameron Harbin         Abbeville, SC            2  05-00   54

Day 1: 2   05-00     Day 2: 0   00-00

148. Richard Rhodes         Calvert City, KY         3  04-08   53

Day 1: 2   02-02     Day 2: 1   02-06

149. Jared Dial             Winter Haven, FL         2  04-02   52

Day 1: 1   01-08     Day 2: 1   02-10

150. Clay Dyer              Fayetteville, TN         3  03-15   51

Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 3   03-15

151. Wayne Murray           Baton Rouge, LA          2  03-14   50

Day 1: 2   03-14     Day 2: 0   00-00

152. James Robinson         Jackson, TN              2  02-13   49

Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 2   02-13

153. Jimbo Harris           Lenoir City, TN          2  02-12   48

Day 1: 2   02-12     Day 2: 0   00-00

154. David Sheffield        Davie, FL                2  02-07   47

Day 1: 2   02-07     Day 2: 0   00-00

155. James Bader            Fruitland Park, FL       2  02-00   46

Day 1: 1   01-01     Day 2: 1   00-15

156. Gerald Sensabaugh      Gray, TN                 1  01-12   45

Day 1: 1   01-12     Day 2: 0   00-00

157. Hojin Chang            Windermere, FL           0  00-00    0

Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 0   00-00

157. Mark Costa             Andover, ME              0  00-00    0

Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 0   00-00

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Totals

Day   #Limits    #Fish      Weight

1       111       667      1451-01

2        80       568      1158-09

----------------------------------

191      1235      2609-10

2014 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open Smith Lake Presented by Allstate 3/6-3/8

Smith Lake, Jasper  AL.

(NON_BOATER) Standings Day 2

Angler                   Hometown              No./lbs-oz  Pts   Total $$$

1.  Stephen Longobardi     Northford, CT            6  17-04  200

Day 1: 3   09-07     Day 2: 3   07-13

2.  Dustin Seaborn         Guin, AL                 6  15-12  199

Day 1: 3   08-11     Day 2: 3   07-01

3.  Reid Mcginn            Fort Mill, SC            6  14-13  198

Day 1: 3   09-07     Day 2: 3   05-06

4.  Joshua Price           Clarksville, TN          6  14-10  197

Day 1: 3   07-15     Day 2: 3   06-11

5.  Kent Biggs             Morristown, TN           6  14-08  196

Day 1: 3   06-03     Day 2: 3   08-05

6.  Dan Taylor             Olean, NY                6  14-02  195

Day 1: 3   05-08     Day 2: 3   08-10

7.  Tyler Hicks            Jasper, AL               6  14-02  194

Day 1: 3   07-00     Day 2: 3   07-02

8.  Drew Dupre             Clinton, CT              4  13-08  193     $150.00

Day 1: 1   03-08     Day 2: 3   10-00

9.  Carlton Tipp           Grand Bay, AL            6  13-02  192

Day 1: 3   06-04     Day 2: 3   06-14

10. Kevin Roland           Mulberry, TN             5  13-01  191

Day 1: 3   07-15     Day 2: 2   05-02

11. Kelly Townson          Hartselle, AL            6  12-14  190

Day 1: 3   05-11     Day 2: 3   07-03

12. Joshua Kolodzaike      Toledo, OH               6  12-10  189

Day 1: 3   07-03     Day 2: 3   05-07

13. Grady Maynard          Leesburg, FL             4  12-09  188   $1,264.00

Day 1: 3   05-02     Day 2: 1   07-07

14. Tim Arnold             Cullman, AL              6  12-08  187   $1,159.00

Day 1: 3   06-02     Day 2: 3   06-06

15. Jamie Butler           Jasper, AL               6  12-07  186   $1,053.00

Day 1: 3   08-03     Day 2: 3   04-04

16. Michael Perry          Brownsville, TN          6  12-06  185     $948.00

Day 1: 3   06-15     Day 2: 3   05-07

17. JR Sapp                Cullman, AL              5  12-02  184     $737.00

Day 1: 3   05-00     Day 2: 2   07-02

18. Red Berry              Crane Hill, AL           6  12-00  183     $632.00

Day 1: 3   04-10     Day 2: 3   07-06

19. Doug Hasting           Athens, AL               6  11-14  182     $632.00

Day 1: 3   05-14     Day 2: 3   06-00

20. Tony Holliday          Piedmont, SC             5  11-09  181     $527.00

Day 1: 3   08-12     Day 2: 2   02-13

21. Mark Wethington        Liberty, KY              6  11-07  180     $448.00

Day 1: 3   06-15     Day 2: 3   04-08

22. George Hirapetian      Charlotte, NC            4  11-05  179     $448.00

Day 1: 3   08-15     Day 2: 1   02-06

23. Dennis Kempkers        Hamilton, MI             6  11-05  178     $448.00

Day 1: 3   06-14     Day 2: 3   04-07

24. Chad Alexander         Addison, AL              6  11-05  177     $448.00

Day 1: 3   06-04     Day 2: 3   05-01

25. Matthew Smith          Jasper, AL               5  11-03  176     $448.00

Day 1: 3   04-09     Day 2: 2   06-10

26. Travis Dehart          Greenville, SC           6  11-00  175     $448.00

Day 1: 3   06-08     Day 2: 3   04-08

27. Blaine Freeman         Dadeville, AL            5  11-00  174     $448.00

Day 1: 2   05-15     Day 2: 3   05-01

28. Brad Gandee            Mcdonough, GA            6  10-15  173     $448.00

Day 1: 3   07-01     Day 2: 3   03-14

29. Scott Fairchild        New Windsor, NY          5  10-14  172     $448.00

Day 1: 3   05-05     Day 2: 2   05-09

30. Brandon Bolton         West Point, MS           6  10-12  171     $448.00

Day 1: 3   03-15     Day 2: 3   06-13

31. Keith Broyles          Jackson, TN              5  10-09  170     $448.00

Day 1: 2   05-03     Day 2: 3   05-06

32. Mike Spears            Jasper, AL               6  10-07  169     $448.00

Day 1: 3   06-14     Day 2: 3   03-09

33. Wayne Prater           Jacksboro, TN            5  10-03  168     $448.00

Day 1: 2   04-09     Day 2: 3   05-10

34. Gary Holcombe          Cullman, AL              5  10-02  167     $448.00

Day 1: 2   04-04     Day 2: 3   05-14

35. Ben Humphries          Jasper, AL               4  10-01  166     $448.00

Day 1: 3   08-03     Day 2: 1   01-14

36. Timothy Swango         Winter Haven, FL         6  09-13  165     $448.00

Day 1: 3   03-08     Day 2: 3   06-05

37. Jonathan Phillips      Pittsboro, NC            5  09-10  164     $448.00

Day 1: 2   03-00     Day 2: 3   06-10

38. Jarrad Nickolite       Shakopee, MN             5  09-08  163     $448.00

Day 1: 2   02-11     Day 2: 3   06-13

39. Bud Morin Jr           Saint Cloud, FL          3  09-06  162     $448.00

Day 1: 2   05-14     Day 2: 1   03-08

40. Darien Craig           Hayden, AL               6  09-04  161     $448.00

Day 1: 3   04-12     Day 2: 3   04-08

41. Matthew Hodgkinson     Navarre, FL              5  09-04  160

Day 1: 2   04-11     Day 2: 3   04-09

42. Dave Davenport         Milford, OH              3  09-03  159

Day 1: 3   09-03     Day 2: 0   00-00

43. Jason Woodard          Arley, AL                4  09-03  158

Day 1: 2   03-10     Day 2: 2   05-09

44. Destin Demarion        Grove City, PA           6  09-03  157

Day 1: 3   04-15     Day 2: 3   04-04

45. Shannon Cleghorn       Cullman, AL              5  09-02  156

Day 1: 3   06-11     Day 2: 2   02-07

46. Andrew Mcclintock      Wellford, SC             6  09-02  155

Day 1: 3   04-10     Day 2: 3   04-08

47. JP Kimbrough           Bossier City, LA         5  08-12  154

Day 1: 3   05-10     Day 2: 2   03-02

48. Jerry Allen            Jasper, AL               5  08-11  153

Day 1: 2   03-09     Day 2: 3   05-02

49. Bill Bonner            Wetumpka, AL             4  08-08  152

Day 1: 1   01-04     Day 2: 3   07-04

50. Jason Rice             Swannanoa, NC            5  08-08  151

Day 1: 3   06-06     Day 2: 2   02-02

51. Russell Chargualaf     Mc Cordsville, IN        4  08-07  150

Day 1: 1   01-04     Day 2: 3   07-03

52. Matt Fair              Ocoee, FL                3  08-06  149

Day 1: 3   08-06     Day 2: 0   00-00

53. Austin Littrell        Moulton, AL              3  08-06  148

Day 1: 2   03-14     Day 2: 1   04-08

54. Kenneth Shumate        Elkin, NC                4  08-05  147

Day 1: 3   07-01     Day 2: 1   01-04

55. Ted Pearce Jr          Florence, MS             3  08-03  146

Day 1: 3   08-03     Day 2: 0   00-00

56. Jay Fagan              Mableton, GA             5  08-02  145

Day 1: 2   05-00     Day 2: 3   03-02

57. Justin Mcclusky        Jasper, AL               4  08-02  144

Day 1: 2   04-05     Day 2: 2   03-13

58. Toby Lillard           Clarksville, TN          3  08-00  143

Day 1: 2   05-00     Day 2: 1   03-00

59. Barry Maner            Trinity, AL              4  07-11  142

Day 1: 3   06-07     Day 2: 1   01-04

60. Stanton Harris         State Road, NC           5  07-11  141

Day 1: 2   02-07     Day 2: 3   05-04

61. Justin Hamner          Northport, AL            4  07-10  140

Day 1: 3   04-09     Day 2: 1   03-01

62. Satoshi Obata          Moriyama-Shi JAPAN       5  07-09  139

Day 1: 3   05-04     Day 2: 2   02-05

63. Brad Burkhart II       Speedwell, TN            4  07-06  138

Day 1: 3   05-09     Day 2: 1   01-13

64. Andy Kearns            High Point, NC           4  07-06  137

Day 1: 3   04-06     Day 2: 1   03-00

65. Matt Ramsey            Piney Flats, TN          4  07-06  136

Day 1: 2   03-06     Day 2: 2   04-00

66. String Bean            Mc Calla, AL             3  07-05  135

Day 1: 3   07-05     Day 2: 0   00-00

67. Barry Brandt Jr.       Newport News, VA         4  07-02  134

Day 1: 3   05-06     Day 2: 1   01-12

68. Lee Mcclendon          Trussville, AL           6  06-14  133

Day 1: 3   03-15     Day 2: 3   02-15

69. Jonathan Collins       Vinemont, AL             5  06-13  132

Day 1: 3   03-06     Day 2: 2   03-07

70. Tony Beck              Social Circle, GA        5  06-12  131

Day 1: 2   03-02     Day 2: 3   03-10

71. Sam Fish               Alexander, AL            4  06-10  130

Day 1: 2   04-05     Day 2: 2   02-05

72. Daniel Parks           Greer, SC                5  06-10  129

Day 1: 3   03-11     Day 2: 2   02-15

73. Preston Harris         State Road, NC           4  06-09  128

Day 1: 1   01-13     Day 2: 3   04-12

74. Kyle Elliott           Ashland, MS              3  06-08  127

Day 1: 3   06-08     Day 2: 0   00-00

75. John Minor             Caryville, TN            3  06-07  126

Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 3   06-07

76. Brad Voegele           Hamilton, AL             4  06-07  125

Day 1: 1   01-04     Day 2: 3   05-03

77. Aaron Batson           Oxford, GA               3  06-05  124

Day 1: 2   04-14     Day 2: 1   01-07

78. Bradley Sears          Covington, GA            3  06-02  123

Day 1: 2   04-11     Day 2: 1   01-07

79. Ty Story               Prattville, AL           3  05-15  122

Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 3   05-15

80. John Keith             Remlap, AL               3  05-11  121

Day 1: 2   03-13     Day 2: 1   01-14

81. George Beville Jr      Apex, NC                 3  05-06  120

Day 1: 1   01-08     Day 2: 2   03-14

82. Jeff Cox               Saline, MI               3  05-04  119

Day 1: 3   05-04     Day 2: 0   00-00

83. Lyn Melton             Florence, AL             3  05-03  118

Day 1: 1   02-06     Day 2: 2   02-13

84. Gerald Williams        Maiden, NC               3  05-02  117

Day 1: 3   05-02     Day 2: 0   00-00

85. Tim Lollar             Cullman, AL              4  05-02  116

Day 1: 3   03-10     Day 2: 1   01-08

86. Grant Shively          Westland, MI             3  05-01  115

Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 3   05-01

87. AJ Jones               Land O Lakes, FL         3  04-15  114

Day 1: 1   00-15     Day 2: 2   04-00

88. Bill Capps             Auburn, AL               3  04-14  113

Day 1: 3   04-14     Day 2: 0   00-00

88. John Jeter             Birmingham, AL           3  04-14  113

Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 3   04-14

90. Daren McDermott        Saint Cloud, FL          3  04-10  111

Day 1: 1   01-05     Day 2: 2   03-05

91. Tommy Menefee          Ashville, AL             3  04-08  110

Day 1: 2   02-15     Day 2: 1   01-09

92. Brad Henderson         Bremen, AL               3  04-07  109

Day 1: 3   04-07     Day 2: 0   00-00

93. Miriam Donohoo         San Mateo, FL            1  04-04  108

Day 1: 1   04-04     Day 2: 0   00-00

94. Will Rigsby            Enterprise, AL           3  04-00  107

Day 1: 3   04-00     Day 2: 0   00-00

95. Beth Atkins            Lenox, GA                2  04-00  106

Day 1: 2   04-00     Day 2: 0   00-00

96. Keith Ogden            Concord, NC              3  03-15  105

Day 1: 2   02-12     Day 2: 1   01-03

97. Teb Jones              Hattiesburg, MS          2  03-14  104

Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 2   03-14

98. Roy Hurst              Birmingham, AL           3  03-14  103

Day 1: 1   01-05     Day 2: 2   02-09

99. Jimmy Hayes            Fayetteville, NC         3  03-13  102

Day 1: 2   02-10     Day 2: 1   01-03

100. Kenneth Hoffman        Cambridge, NY            2  03-12  101

Day 1: 2   03-12     Day 2: 0   00-00

101. Mark Moretz            Chesapeake, VA           1  03-12  100

Day 1: 1   03-12     Day 2: 0   00-00

102. Jonathan Morrison      Harrogate, TN            2  03-11   99

Day 1: 2   03-11     Day 2: 0   00-00

103. Deron Donohoo          Sumter, SC               4  03-11   98

Day 1: 3   02-12     Day 2: 1   00-15

104. Joe Curry              Hayden, AL               3  03-10   97

Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 3   03-10

105. Ross Highsmith         Wimauma, FL              2  03-07   96

Day 1: 2   03-07     Day 2: 0   00-00

106. Phil Thalheimer        Raleigh, NC              3  03-06   95

Day 1: 3   03-06     Day 2: 0   00-00

107. Tim Guider             Lenoir City, TN          1  03-06   94

Day 1: 1   03-06     Day 2: 0   00-00

108. William Beekman        Diamond Point, NY        1  03-05   93

Day 1: 1   03-05     Day 2: 0   00-00

109. Kyle Parks             Albany , GA              2  03-03   92

Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 2   03-03

110. Curt Huff              Saint Cloud, FL          1  03-00   91

Day 1: 1   03-00     Day 2: 0   00-00

110. Steve Mcdaniel         Prattville, AL           1  03-00   91

Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 1   03-00

112. Paul Benson            Emerson, GA              2  02-14   89

Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 2   02-14

113. Rowland Liverett       Dora, AL                 2  02-12   88

Day 1: 2   02-12     Day 2: 0   00-00

114. Tommy Edwards          Fort Myers, FL           2  02-11   87

Day 1: 2   02-11     Day 2: 0   00-00

114. Steven Roosen          Charlotte, NC            2  02-11   87

Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 2   02-11

116. Lane Wright            Loganville, GA           1  02-11   85

Day 1: 1   02-11     Day 2: 0   00-00

117. Mark Hollifield        Walhalla, SC             2  02-07   84

Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 2   02-07

118. Hank Miller            Hamilton, AL             2  02-07   83

Day 1: 1   01-07     Day 2: 1   01-00

119. Joe Hamilton           Liberty, IN              1  02-06   82

Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 1   02-06

120. Donald Thompson        Marmet, WV               1  02-03   81

Day 1: 1   02-03     Day 2: 0   00-00

121. Phillip Pendley        Townley, AL              2  02-00   80

Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 2   02-00

122. Paul Garrison          Natural Bridge, AL       1  02-00   79

Day 1: 1   02-00     Day 2: 0   00-00

123. Jason Abrain           Seffner, FL              1  01-14   78

Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 1   01-14

123. William Smith Jr       Cullman, AL              1  01-14   78

Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 1   01-14

125. John Dial              Winter Haven, FL         1  01-12   76

Day 1: 1   01-12     Day 2: 0   00-00

125. Bryon Medeiros         Fort Lauderdale, FL      1  01-12   76

Day 1: 1   01-12     Day 2: 0   00-00

127. Jay West               Canton, GA               1  01-11   74

Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 1   01-11

128. Richard Madison        Oakman, AL               1  01-10   73

Day 1: 1   01-10     Day 2: 0   00-00

129. Bryan Talmadge         Moody, AL                1  01-07   72

Day 1: 1   01-07     Day 2: 0   00-00

130. Randy Dance            Newport, TN              1  01-05   71

Day 1: 1   01-05     Day 2: 0   00-00

130. Jenny Sander           Byron, GA                1  01-05   71

Day 1: 1   01-05     Day 2: 0   00-00

132. Larry Elrod            Cullman, AL              1  01-04   69

Day 1: 1   01-04     Day 2: 0   00-00

132. JJ Polak               Covington, GA            1  01-04   69

Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 1   01-04

134. Bryon McNiel           Baileyton, AL            1  01-03   67

Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 1   01-03

135. Jonathan Barnette      Jasper, AL               1  01-02   66

Day 1: 1   01-02     Day 2: 0   00-00

136. Roy Kelly              Petal, MS                1  00-15   65

Day 1: 1   00-15     Day 2: 0   00-00

137. Bryant Adam            Madison, MS              0  00-00    0

Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 0   00-00

137. Tom Bever              Boulder, CO              0  00-00    0

Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 0   00-00

137. Barry Brunges          Gainesville, FL          0  00-00    0

Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 0   00-00

137. Eric Carroll           Leesburg, AL             0  00-00    0

Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 0   00-00

137. Marty Denton           Huntsville, AL           0  00-00    0

Day 1: 0   00-00

137. Kirkland Desmond       Knoxville, TN            0  00-00    0

Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 0   00-00

137. Mike Drisko            Leesburg, FL             0  00-00    0

Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 0   00-00

137. Clay Ellis II          Ozark, AL                0  00-00    0

Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 0   00-00

137. Robert Gorman          Murphy, NC               0  00-00    0

Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 0   00-00

137. Bruce Griffin          Jasper, AL               0  00-00    0

Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 0   00-00

137. Eric Gumbrecht         Oakhurst, NJ             0  00-00    0

Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 0   00-00

137. Linda Higginbotham     Palm Coast, FL           0  00-00    0

Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 0   00-00

137. Francesco Marchioro    Cormano ITALY            0  00-00    0

Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 0   00-00

137. Greg Mauldin           Archdale, NC             0  00-00    0

Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 0   00-00

137. Nathan Mills           Ocklawaha, FL            0  00-00    0

Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 0   00-00

137. Harold Pickett         Moncks Corner, SC        0  00-00    0

Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 0   00-00

137. Robert Prebeck         Norwood, MO              0  00-00    0

Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 0   00-00

137. Jody Purnell           Birmingham, AL           0  00-00    0

Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 0   00-00

137. Marty Rodda            Pell City, AL            0  00-00    0

Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 0   00-00

137. Miles Smith            Birmingham, AL           0  00-00    0

Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 0   00-00

137. Jason Stodder          Wiscasset, ME            0  00-00    0

Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 0   00-00

137. Kenneth Underwood      Columbus, MS             0  00-00    0

Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 0   00-00

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Totals

Day   #Limits    #Fish      Weight

1        60       268       534-04

2        48       224       425-11

----------------------------------

108       492       959-15


Quadzilla - NEW from Z-Man!

Glenn Young shows us the NEW Z-Man Quadzilla - all the schooling minnow imitation of an umbrella rig without all the bulk - from the 2014 Bassmaster Classic Expo!


AC Marine Tournament is ON at Smith Mtn Sat-Details right here

All Anglers

I must say that today is a bad day to be a Tournament Director and I wish that we had the powers to be to control Mother Nature. Unfortunately we do not and I have had to make a decision based on the information that is given to me and make one that benefits the majority of our anglers. We are going to have the first tournament of the 2014 season tomorrow at Smith Mtn. Lake. I know that there are some of our friends that will not make it due to road conditions in your area. I would not expect you to come if you felt that the conditions were not right to make the trip. I hope that you will use good judgment in that matter. Once the storm system moved through the sun has come out and warmed up nicely so to our friends further east it is on the way. Everything to the west has melted off and it did not take very long for that to happen. I do want to let you know that we will do everything that we can to accommodate your needs, just let us know and we will work with you. A couple of things that I want you to know:

1.       I will keep registration open after we launch tomorrow morning in the event you are running behind due to your travel. (Some people planned to come up today but could not get here) I will launch the field at 8:00 A.M. and then get you in as fast as we can.

2.       Parkway Marina is ready for us and they have advised me that all roads are cleared of any snow and people have been putting in all day today. Parkway will also have Coffee and Biscuits tomorrow morning.

3.       I am looking at the idea of hosting a Wildcard Tournament at Smith Mtn as a NON-POINTS tournament but count it as a qualifier so the anglers that are not able to make it tomorrow will still have a chance to get their qualifier in toward the Classic. I would like to entertain some thoughts on this. Possibly a Sunday so it does not interfere with tournament schedules that are already in place.

4.       Anyone that does not check in tomorrow morning with me I will remove you from the tournament field so we can move your entry fee to another tournament.

5.       All weather reports say that you may be shoveling snow today and battling sun burn tomorrow, we have many anglers at the lake already and for those reasons I have decided to go ahead with the tournament.

To all of our friends to the east if you do not make it up tomorrow we will miss seeing you and make the right decision about tomorrow’s tournament wherever you are. I will make sure that you get what you need and assist you the best I can. The sun has come out and it is headed your way…

Chris 


Casey Ashley Leads FLW Tour on Lake Hartwell

SENECA, S.C. (March 6, 2014) – Despite a day that featured cold, windy and rainy conditions that drastically changed the patterns that were established in practice, FLW Tour rookie Casey Ashley of Donalds, S.C., brought a five-bass limit to the scale weighing 21 pounds, 7 ounces to take the lead on day one of the Walmart FLW Tour on Lake Hartwell presented by Ranger Boats.

Ashley will hold a 2-pound, 3-ounce lead over fellow rookie pro Skip Johnson of Goodells, Mich., heading into day two of the four-day event that features 176 of the world’s best bass-fishing anglers competing for a top cash award of up to $125,000.

     â€œI had no clue that I would catch that much,” said Ashley, who has nine career top-10 finishes in Rayovac FLW Series and BFL circuit competition. “I had some good stuff that I had found in practice and I caught some pretty good fish. But today was brutal. I fished some stuff that had gone well in practice and didn’t get bit today. I caught my better fish today on stuff that I didn’t even practice. I was only able to fish what was protected, and I didn’t get to fish all of my areas today.”
     Ashley was not yet ready to divulge any bait specifics, but he did say that he caught the majority of his fish using only three rods. He estimated that he caught around 20 fish today, and his five-bass limit consisted entirely of largemouth.
     â€œI did weigh in all largemouth, but I had several spotted bass in the livewell that I culled through,” Ashley said. “To be honest, I caught more spots in practice than I did largemouth. I like to catch them shallow, but I’m a junk fisherman. I’ll do whatever.
     â€œHopefully I can run some of my different areas tomorrow if the wind doesn’t blow quite as hard,” Ashley went on to say. “I’m keeping an open mind right now, because I have no clue what these fish are going to be doing. Tomorrow may be a completely different story.”
     The top 10 pros after day one on Lake Hartwell are:
            1st:    Casey Ashley, Donalds, S.C., five bass, 21-7
            2nd:   Skip Johnson, Goodells, Mich., five bass, 19-4
            3rd:    John Cox, Debary, Fla., five bass, 18-13
            4th:    Jason Quinn, Rock Hill, S.C., five bass, 18-9
            5th:    Ramie Colson Jr., Cadiz, Ky., five bass, 17-10
            6th:    Barry Wilson, Birmingham, Ala., five bass, 17-9
            7th:    Clent Davis, Montevallo, Ala., five bass, 16-14
            8th:    Repel pro Cody Meyer, Auburn, Calif., five bass, 16-4
            9th:    Barton Aiken, Greenville, S.C., five bass, 16-0
            10th:  Rich Dalbey, Greenville, Texas, five bass, 15-15
     For a full list of results visit FLWOutdoors.com.
     Keith Amerson of Bethel Springs, Tenn., won the Big Bass Award on the pro side with a fish weighing 6 pounds, 13 ounces to win $500.
     Overall there were 739 bass weighing 1,594 pounds, 1 ounce caught by 172 pros Thursday. The catch included 121 five-bass limits.
     Pros are competing for a top award of up to $125,000 this week plus valuable points in the hope of qualifying for the 2014 Forrest Wood Cup presented by Walmart, the world championship of bass fishing. The top 35 anglers in the point standings from the six events on the 2014 Walmart FLW Tour will qualify. The 2014 Forrest Wood Cup will be in Columbia, S.C., Aug. 14-17 on Lake Murray and is hosted by Capital City Lake Murray Country. Anglers could win as much as $500,000 – professional bass-fishing’s richest prize.
     Bryan New of Belmont, N.C., leads the co-angler division with five bass weighing 14-3 followed by David Redington of Sulphur Springs, Texas, in second place with five bass weighing 13-11.
     The top 10 co-anglers are:
            1st:    Bryan New, Belmont, N.C., five bass, 14-3
            2nd:   David Redington, Sulphur Springs, Texas, five bass, 13-11
            3rd:    Brandon Booher, Bristol, Tenn., five bass, 12-4
            4th:    Paul Lafleur, Benton, Ark., five bass, 12-1
            5th:    Dennis Kirby, Lakeland, Tenn., five bass, 12-0
            6th:    Braxton Setzer, Auburn, Ala., five bass, 11-1
            7th:    Eric Self, Lawndale, N.C., five bass, 10-5
            8th:    Alan Woodford, Winslow, Ind., five bass, 10-3
            9th:    Dalton Cooksey, New Concord, Ky., five bass, 10-0
            9th:    Nick Hensley, Cumming, Ga., five bass, 10-0
     For a full list of results visit FLWOutdoors.com.
     Jake Gipson of Niceville, Fla., caught Thursday’s Big Bass in the co-angler division weighing 5-15 to win $250.
     Overall there were 350 bass weighing 635 pounds, 14 ounces caught by co-anglers Thursday. The catch included 27 five-bass limits.
     Co-anglers are fishing for a top award of $25,000 this week plus valuable points that could help them qualify for the 2014 Forrest Wood Cup presented by Walmart. The top 35 co-anglers in the point standings from the six events on the 2014 Walmart FLW Tour will qualify.
     Anglers will take off from the Clemson Marina located at 150 Clemson Marina Drive in Seneca, S.C., at 7 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. On Sunday, the final day of competition, the top 10 anglers will take off at 7:30 a.m. from the Clemson Marina. Friday’s weigh-in will be held at Clemson Marina beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday’s final weigh-ins will be held at the Walmart located at 1636 Sandifer Blvd. in Seneca beginning at 4 p.m.
     Fans will also be treated to the FLW Expo at the Walmart on Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. prior to the final weigh-ins. The Expo includes Ranger boat simulators, the opportunity to interact with professional anglers, enjoy interactive games, activities and giveaways provided by sponsors, and fans can learn more about the sport of fishing and other outdoor activities. All activities are free and open to the public. Also on Sunday, country music artist Josh Thompson will perform a free live concert on the Walmart weigh-in stage at 3 p.m.
     Coverage of the Lake Hartwell tournament will be broadcast in high-definition (HD) on NBC Sports Network when “FLW” airs May 24 from 11 a.m.-12 p.m. ET. The Emmy-nominated "FLW" television show is hosted by Jason Harper and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world.
     For complete details and updated information visit FLWOutdoors.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.
 

Kilgore Takes Lead, Auten Off To Another Solid Start In Bassmaster Southern Open On Smith Lake

Todd Auten of Lake Wylie, SC took the early lead in the first 2014 Bassmaster Open on Lake Toho with only 4 largemouth in his livewell. Now in the 2nd Southern Open, on Smith Lake, he sacked 5 big spotted bass to put a little pressure on friend, local favorite and Day 1 leader David Kilgore of Jasper, Ala.

David Kilgore of Jasper, Ala., takes the lead on Day 1 of the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open presented by Allstate. Kilgore brought 19 pounds, 15 ounces of Smith Lake bass to the scales at Thursday's weigh-in. Photo by James Overstreet/Bassmaster

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

David Kilgore of Jasper, Ala., was just hoping to survive the cold, rainy first day of the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open presented by Allstate at Smith Lake. With a limit that weighed 1 ounce shy of 20 pounds, he did more than merely survive — he claimed the lead.

“I caught them really well in practice last Sunday when it was sunny,” Kilgore said.

However, the following practice days were cold and cloudy, and Kilgore struggled to get bites. He also had an early flight today, which made for an early weigh-in and a short fishing day. Despite these handicaps, Kilgore boated 12 largemouth and spotted bass, culling to the best five as the day progressed.

“Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and warmer, and I have a late flight,” Kilgore said. “That will give me two more hours of fishing when the sun is out.”

Kilgore mentioned that the areas he fished today had plenty of pressure from other competitors. However, he saved some of his best water and is excited about his prospects for Day 2 of the Smith Lake Open.

Should Kilgore hang on and win, he will take home a check for $6,741, a Nitro Z9 powered by a Mercury 225 Pro XS and an invitation to fish the 2015 Bassmaster Classic if he fishes all three tournaments in the Southern Opens series. Kilgore qualified for the 2014 Bassmaster Classic presented by Diet Mountain Dew and GoPro by winning a Bassmaster Southern Open at Logan Martin Lake last year.

A half-ounce Strike King Pure Poison chattering jig dressed with a white Strike King Rage Tail Craw anchored Kilgore’s win at Logan Martin. It’s possible he may be fishing the same lure at Smith.

Kilgore isn’t saying, nor is his friend Todd Auten of Lake Wylie, S.C., who sits in second place with 18 pounds, 5 ounces of spotted bass. It was the heaviest limit of spots Auten has ever caught. His biggest today was a chub that weighed 5 pounds, 4 ounces.

Auten and Kilgore are sharing information, but their No. 1 techniques are nothing alike, Auten says. During practice, Auten would leave an area after getting a single bite there. When he went back today, he was happy to find that those places held several bass.

“I pulled up to my first spot at 7 o’clock this morning,” Auten said. “I had my limit by 7:05.”

In third place with 17 pounds, 15 ounces is Bassmaster Elite Series pro Brandon Lester of Fayetteville, Tenn. Lester feels fortunate that he sacked a heavy catch under the challenging conditions.

“The sun came out for 20 to 30 minutes this morning,” Lester said. “That’s when I caught my two biggest bass.”

Lester’s limit included three largemouth and two spotted bass. Although he is catching spotted bass, he is targeting largemouth. Unlike Kilgore, Lester has his fishing area to himself.

“I haven’t seen anyone else doing what I’m doing,” he said. “I saw some big largemouth where I’m fishing in practice. Tomorrow’s sun should help me catch them.”

Connecticut’s Stephen Longobardi and South Carolina’s Reid McGinn are locked in a tie for first place in the co-angler division with identical three-bass limits that weighed 9 pounds, 7 ounces. They will be casting for all they’re worth tomorrow, along with the other non-boaters, to claim the Skeeter TZX170 sporting a Yamaha F115LA outboard that goes to the victor.

Anglers will take off each day at 6 a.m. CT from Lewis Smith Lake Dam, 640 Powerhouse Rd., Jasper, AL 35504. On Friday, they will weigh in at 2 p.m. CT at the same location. The Saturday weigh-in will be held at 3:30 p.m. CT at Bass Pro Shops, 5000 Bass Pro Blvd., Leeds, AL 35094.
Smith Lake, Jasper, Ala.
(BOATER) Standings Day 1

   Angler                   Hometown              No./lbs-oz  Pts  

1.  David Kilgore          Jasper, AL               5  19-15  200
Day 1: 5   19-15
2.  Todd Auten             Lake Wylie, SC           5  18-05  199
Day 1: 5   18-05
3.  Brandon Lester         Fayetteville, TN         5  17-15  198
Day 1: 5   17-15
4.  Clifton Coffey         Cypress, TX              5  17-06  197
Day 1: 5   17-06
4.  John Figi              Bloomington, MN          5  17-06  197
Day 1: 5   17-06
6.  Warren Barnes          Dallas, GA               5  17-03  195
Day 1: 5   17-03
7.  Derek Cummings         Clayton, NC              5  16-02  194
Day 1: 5   16-02
8.  Jesse Wiggins          Cullman, AL              5  15-10  193
Day 1: 5   15-10
9.  Greg Pugh              Cullman, AL              5  15-04  192
Day 1: 5   15-04
10. Michael Murphy         Lexington, SC            5  15-03  191
Day 1: 5   15-03
11. Sam George             Athens, AL               5  15-01  190
Day 1: 5   15-01
12. Craig Daniel           Cullman, AL              5  14-15  189
Day 1: 5   14-15
13. Chris Lane             Guntersville, AL         5  14-10  188
Day 1: 5   14-10
14. Jordan Wiggins         Cullman, AL              5  14-08  187
Day 1: 5   14-08
15. Shaw Grigsby Jr.       Gainesville, FL          5  14-06  186
Day 1: 5   14-06
16. Justin Lucas           Guntersville, AL         5  14-05  185
Day 1: 5   14-05
17. Charlie Hartley        Grove City, OH           5  14-04  184
Day 1: 5   14-04
18. David Hudson           Jasper, AL               5  13-13  183
Day 1: 5   13-13
19. Ray Brazier            Lawrenceburg, TN         5  13-09  182
Day 1: 5   13-09
19. Roland Martin          Naples, FL               5  13-09  182
Day 1: 5   13-09
21. Robin Erb              Crane Hill, AL           5  13-08  180
Day 1: 5   13-08
22. Rick Morris            Lake Gaston, VA          5  13-06  179
Day 1: 5   13-06
23. Derek Remitz           Grant, AL                5  13-05  178
Day 1: 5   13-05
23. Hunter Shryock         Newcomerstown, OH        5  13-05  178
Day 1: 5   13-05
25. Ken Iyobe              Tokoname  Aichi JAPAN    5  13-04  176
Day 1: 5   13-04
26. Bobby Lane             Lakeland, FL             5  13-03  175
Day 1: 5   13-03
27. Keith Pace             Monticello, AR           5  13-02  174
Day 1: 5   13-02
28. Jon Englund            Farwell, MN              5  13-01  173
Day 1: 5   13-01
28. Cody Green             Philadelphia, TN         5  13-01  173
Day 1: 5   13-01
30. Josh Bragg             Jacksonville, AL         5  12-14  171
Day 1: 5   12-14
30. Eric Conant            Lakeland, FL             5  12-14  171
Day 1: 5   12-14
30. Tim Hawley             Linwood, NC              5  12-14  171
Day 1: 5   12-14
33. Rodney Marks Jr        Tavares, FL              5  12-11  168
Day 1: 5   12-11
34. Kyle Fox               Lakeland, FL             5  12-10  167
Day 1: 5   12-10
35. Brock Mosley           Collinsville, MS         5  12-06  166
Day 1: 5   12-06
35. Steven Priest          New Lexington, OH        5  12-06  166
Day 1: 5   12-06
37. Kelley Jaye            Dadeville, AL            5  12-03  164
Day 1: 5   12-03
38. Marty Nester           Mount Airy, NC           5  12-01  163
Day 1: 5   12-01
38. Paul Pagnato           Reston, VA               5  12-01  163
Day 1: 5   12-01
40. Greg Mansfield         Burnsville, MN           5  11-14  161
Day 1: 5   11-14
40. Billy Shelton          La Crosse, VA            5  11-14  161
Day 1: 5   11-14
42. Jeff Holland           Winter Springs, FL       5  11-09  159
Day 1: 5   11-09
42. Chad Morgenthaler      Coulterville, IL         5  11-09  159
Day 1: 5   11-09
42. Marty Robinson         Lyman, SC                5  11-09  159
Day 1: 5   11-09
45. Kotaro Kiriyama        Moody, AL                5  11-07  156
Day 1: 5   11-07
46. David Williams         Maiden, NC               5  11-06  155
Day 1: 5   11-06
47. Joe Clements           Saint Cloud, FL          5  11-04  154
Day 1: 5   11-04
48. Carl Jocumsen          Queensland AUSTRALIA     5  11-03  153
Day 1: 5   11-03
48. Ernest Morris          Seneca, SC               5  11-03  153
Day 1: 5   11-03
50. Matt Henry             Milledgeville, GA        5  11-01  151
Day 1: 5   11-01
50. Chuck Pippin           Winter Garden, FL        5  11-01  151
Day 1: 5   11-01
52. Rich Howes             Oviedo, FL               5  11-00  149
Day 1: 5   11-00
52. Brian Morris           Cullman, AL              5  11-00  149
Day 1: 5   11-00
52. Waine Pittman          Villa  Rica, GA          5  11-00  149
Day 1: 5   11-00
55. Woo Daves              Spring Grove, VA         5  10-15  146
Day 1: 5   10-15
55. Jordan Lee             Vinemont, AL             5  10-15  146
Day 1: 5   10-15
57. Rusty Camp             New Albany, MS           5  10-12  144
Day 1: 5   10-12
58. Stephen Longobardi     Northford, CT            5  10-11  143
Day 1: 5   10-11
59. Danny White            Milledgeville, GA        5  10-09  142
Day 1: 5   10-09
60. Patrick Pierce         Jacksonville, FL         5  10-08  141
Day 1: 5   10-08
61. Sonar Burghoff         Guntersville, AL         5  10-07  140
Day 1: 5   10-07
62. Randy Elliott          Bowie, MD                5  10-04  139
Day 1: 5   10-04
62. Joe Lee                Knoxville, TN            5  10-04  139
Day 1: 5   10-04
62. Matt Lee               Auburn , AL              5  10-04  139
Day 1: 5   10-04
65. Larry Garner           Cottondale, AL           5  10-03  136
Day 1: 5   10-03
65. Gary Isgrigg           Mt Washington, KY        5  10-03  136
Day 1: 5   10-03
65. Darrell Pons           Gainesville, FL          5  10-03  136
Day 1: 5   10-03
68. Britt Myers            Lake Wylie, SC           5  10-01  133
Day 1: 5   10-01
69. Seth Feider            Bloomington, MN          5  10-00  132
Day 1: 5   10-00
70. Smash The Giant Gallelli Firenze ITALY            5  09-15  131
Day 1: 5   09-15
71. David Cooke            Mooresville, NC          3  09-14  130
Day 1: 3   09-14
72. Jamey Caldwell         Carthage, NC             5  09-13  129
Day 1: 5   09-13
72. David Walker           Sevierville, TN          5  09-13  129
Day 1: 5   09-13
74. Sean Alvarez           Seneca, SC               5  09-12  127
Day 1: 5   09-12
74. Wesley Sams            Cullman, AL              5  09-12  127
Day 1: 5   09-12
76. Bruce Holcombe         Cullman, AL              5  09-11  125
Day 1: 5   09-11
77. Keith Poche            Pike Road, AL            5  09-09  124
Day 1: 5   09-09
78. Michael Reid           Perry, GA                5  09-08  123
Day 1: 5   09-08
79. Arnie Lane             Lakeland, FL             5  09-06  122
Day 1: 5   09-06
80. Patrick Currie         Millry , AL              5  09-05  121
Day 1: 5   09-05
81. Gene Eisenmann         Frisco, TX               5  09-04  120
Day 1: 5   09-04
82. Carl Whitfield         Anderson, SC             3  09-04  119
Day 1: 3   09-04
83. Josh Herren            Pinson, AL               5  09-01  118
Day 1: 5   09-01
84. Rick Nishio            Southside, AL            5  08-15  117
Day 1: 5   08-15
84. Jason Patterson        Bluffton, IN             5  08-15  117
Day 1: 5   08-15
86. Kyle Worsham           Cherokee, AL             5  08-14  115
Day 1: 5   08-14
87. Kyle Glasgow Jr        Guin, AL                 5  08-13  114
Day 1: 5   08-13
88. James Castillo         Grandview, WA            5  08-12  113
Day 1: 5   08-12
88. Kazuki Kitajima        Orlando, FL              5  08-12  113
Day 1: 5   08-12
88. Russ Lane              Prattville, AL           5  08-12  113
Day 1: 5   08-12
91. Hank Cherry Jr         Maiden, NC               5  08-11  110
Day 1: 5   08-11
92. Kazunori Okuma         Moriyama-Shi Shiga JAPA  5  08-10  109
Day 1: 5   08-10
93. Stanley Gunter         Saluda, SC               4  08-09  108
Day 1: 4   08-09
94. Colby Flinn            Bradenton, FL            5  08-07  107
Day 1: 5   08-07
94. Tim Frederick          Leesburg, FL             5  08-07  107
Day 1: 5   08-07
96. Shaye Baker            Tallassee, AL            5  08-05  105
Day 1: 5   08-05
96. Sambo Fish             Hoover, AL               5  08-05  105
Day 1: 5   08-05
96. Eric Silverstrim       Indian Mound, TN         5  08-05  105
Day 1: 5   08-05
99. Tommy Brown            Louisville, TN           5  08-04  102
Day 1: 5   08-04
99. Drew Sanford           Northport, AL            5  08-04  102
Day 1: 5   08-04
101. Alvin Shaw             Roaring Gap, NC          5  08-03  100
Day 1: 5   08-03
101. Jesse Tacoronte        Orlando, FL              5  08-03  100
Day 1: 5   08-03
103. Christiana Bradley     Bealeton, VA             4  08-03   98
Day 1: 4   08-03
104. Wil Hardy II           Harlem, GA               5  08-02   97
Day 1: 5   08-02
105. Joey Nania             Cropwell, AL             5  08-00   96
Day 1: 5   08-00
106. Skylar Hamilton        Dandridge, TN            5  07-14   95
Day 1: 5   07-14
107. Matt Lowe              Walhalla, SC             4  07-14   94
Day 1: 4   07-14
108. Bigworm Ludwig IV      Auburn, GA               5  07-12   93
Day 1: 5   07-12
109. Gerald Swindle         Warrior, AL              5  07-11   92
Day 1: 5   07-11
110. Casey Majni            Knoxville, TN            5  07-10   91
Day 1: 5   07-10
111. Van Soles              Haines City, FL          4  07-09   90
Day 1: 4   07-09
112. John Brazzell          Ocoee, FL                5  07-08   89
Day 1: 5   07-08
113. Terry Scroggins        San Mateo, FL            5  07-07   88
Day 1: 5   07-07
114. Chris Cline            Stafford, VA             5  07-04   87
Day 1: 5   07-04
115. Greg Vinson            Wetumpka, AL             5  07-01   86
Day 1: 5   07-01
116. Shane Lineberger       Lincolnton, NC           3  07-01   85
Day 1: 3   07-01
117. Jeff Cloud             Lubbock, TX              4  06-12   84
Day 1: 4   06-12
117. Michael Johnson        Talking Rock, GA         4  06-12   84
Day 1: 4   06-12
119. Allen Brooks           Canton, GA               2  06-12   82
Day 1: 2   06-12
120. Craig Chambers         Charlotte, NC            5  06-11   81
Day 1: 5   06-11
121. George Lambeth         Thomasville, NC          3  06-11   80
Day 1: 3   06-11
122. David Perdue           Wirtz, VA                3  06-08   79
Day 1: 3   06-08
123. Rodney Jones           Athens, GA               5  06-03   78
Day 1: 5   06-03
124. James Bailey           Warrenton, VA            4  06-00   77
Day 1: 4   06-00
125. Landon Lomax           Owens Cross Roads, AL    3  05-15   76
Day 1: 3   05-15
126. Ron Wolfarth           Oakboro, NC              3  05-14   75
Day 1: 3   05-14
127. Adam Hock              Independence, KY         4  05-10   74
Day 1: 4   05-10
128. Kyle Kempkers          Hamilton, MI             3  05-09   73
Day 1: 3   05-09
129. Chris Adams            Jacksonville, FL         4  05-06   72
Day 1: 4   05-06
129. Jordan Card            Knoxville, TN            4  05-06   72
Day 1: 4   05-06
129. Rex Chambers           Baileyton, AL            4  05-06   72
Day 1: 4   05-06
132. Kendall Newson         Decatur, GA              3  05-06   69
Day 1: 3   05-06
133. Red Flowers            Deland, FL               3  05-01   68
Day 1: 3   05-01
134. Kameron Harbin         Abbeville, SC            2  05-00   67
Day 1: 2   05-00
135. Gary Clouse            La Vergne, TN            3  04-12   66
Day 1: 3   04-12
136. Josh Douglas           Shakopee, MN             2  04-12   65
Day 1: 2   04-12
136. Tim Ezell              Key West, FL             2  04-12   65
Day 1: 2   04-12
138. Wayne Murray           Baton Rouge, LA          2  03-14   63
Day 1: 2   03-14
139. Dustin Neat            Dunnville, KY            2  03-13   62
Day 1: 2   03-13
140. Jim Garrett            Tyrone, GA               2  03-10   61
Day 1: 2   03-10
141. Hunter Eubanks         Inman, SC                1  03-10   60
Day 1: 1   03-10
142. Scott Mcgehee          Madison, MS              2  03-02   59
Day 1: 2   03-02
143. Jimmy Mason            Rogersville, AL          2  02-15   58
Day 1: 2   02-15
144. Jimbo Harris           Lenoir City, TN          2  02-12   57
Day 1: 2   02-12
145. Kevin Clark            Leesburg, FL             2  02-11   56
Day 1: 2   02-11
146. Tony Tidwell           Horton, AL               2  02-08   55
Day 1: 2   02-08
147. David Sheffield        Davie, FL                2  02-07   54
Day 1: 2   02-07
148. Garrett Rocamora       Lithia, FL               1  02-03   53
Day 1: 1   02-03
149. Richard Rhodes         Calvert City, KY         2  02-02   52
Day 1: 2   02-02
150. Gerald Sensabaugh      Gray, TN                 1  01-12   51
Day 1: 1   01-12
151. Earnie Jones           Blythewood, SC           1  01-11   50
Day 1: 1   01-11
152. Jared Dial             Winter Haven, FL         1  01-08   49
Day 1: 1   01-08
153. Scott Hayes            Newnan, GA               1  01-04   48
Day 1: 1   01-04
154. James Bader            Fruitland Park, FL       1  01-01   47
Day 1: 1   01-01
155. Hojin Chang            Windermere, FL           0  00-00    0
Day 1: 0   00-00
155. Mark Costa             Andover, ME              0  00-00    0
Day 1: 0   00-00
155. Clay Dyer              Fayetteville, TN         0  00-00    0
Day 1: 0   00-00
155. James Robinson         Jackson, TN              0  00-00    0
Day 1: 0   00-00
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day   #Limits    #Fish      Weight
1       111       667      1451-01
----------------------------------
111       667      1451-01

2014 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open Smith Lake Presented by Allstate 3/6-3/8
Smith Lake, Jasper, Ala.
(NON_BOATER) Standings Day 1

   Angler                   Hometown              No./lbs-oz  Pts  

1.  Stephen Longobardi     Northford, CT            3  09-07  200
Day 1: 3   09-07
1.  Reid Mcginn            Fort Mill, SC            3  09-07  200
Day 1: 3   09-07
3.  Dave Davenport         Milford, OH              3  09-03  198
Day 1: 3   09-03
4.  George Hirapetian      Charlotte, NC            3  08-15  197
Day 1: 3   08-15
5.  Tony Holliday          Piedmont, SC             3  08-12  196
Day 1: 3   08-12
6.  Dustin Seaborn         Guin, AL                 3  08-11  195
Day 1: 3   08-11
7.  Matt Fair              Ocoee, FL                3  08-06  194
Day 1: 3   08-06
8.  Jamie Butler           Jasper, AL               3  08-03  193
Day 1: 3   08-03
8.  Ben Humphries          Jasper, AL               3  08-03  193
Day 1: 3   08-03
8.  Ted Pearce Jr          Florence, MS             3  08-03  193
Day 1: 3   08-03
11. Joshua Price           Clarksville, TN          3  07-15  190
Day 1: 3   07-15
11. Kevin Roland           Mulberry, TN             3  07-15  190
Day 1: 3   07-15
13. String Bean            Mc Calla, AL             3  07-05  188
Day 1: 3   07-05
14. Joshua Kolodzaike      Toledo, OH               3  07-03  187
Day 1: 3   07-03
15. Brad Gandee            Mcdonough, GA            3  07-01  186
Day 1: 3   07-01
15. Kenneth Shumate        Elkin, NC                3  07-01  186
Day 1: 3   07-01
17. Tyler Hicks            Jasper, AL               3  07-00  184
Day 1: 3   07-00
18. Michael Perry          Brownsville, TN          3  06-15  183
Day 1: 3   06-15
18. Mark Wethington        Liberty, KY              3  06-15  183
Day 1: 3   06-15
20. Dennis Kempkers        Hamilton, MI             3  06-14  181
Day 1: 3   06-14
20. Mike Spears            Jasper, AL               3  06-14  181
Day 1: 3   06-14
22. Shannon Cleghorn       Cullman, AL              3  06-11  179
Day 1: 3   06-11
23. Travis Dehart          Greenville, SC           3  06-08  178
Day 1: 3   06-08
23. Kyle Elliott           Ashland, MS              3  06-08  178
Day 1: 3   06-08
25. Barry Maner            Trinity, AL              3  06-07  176
Day 1: 3   06-07
26. Jason Rice             Swannanoa, NC            3  06-06  175
Day 1: 3   06-06
27. Chad Alexander         Addison, AL              3  06-04  174
Day 1: 3   06-04
27. Carlton Tipp           Grand Bay, AL            3  06-04  174
Day 1: 3   06-04
29. Kent Biggs             Morristown, TN           3  06-03  172
Day 1: 3   06-03
30. Tim Arnold             Cullman, AL              3  06-02  171
Day 1: 3   06-02
31. Blaine Freeman         Dadeville, AL            2  05-15  170
Day 1: 2   05-15
32. Doug Hasting           Athens, AL               3  05-14  169
Day 1: 3   05-14
33. Bud Morin Jr           Saint Cloud, FL          2  05-14  168
Day 1: 2   05-14
34. Kelly Townson          Hartselle, AL            3  05-11  167
Day 1: 3   05-11
35. JP Kimbrough           Bossier City, LA         3  05-10  166
Day 1: 3   05-10
36. Brad Burkhart II       Speedwell, TN            3  05-09  165
Day 1: 3   05-09
37. Dan Taylor             Olean, NY                3  05-08  164
Day 1: 3   05-08
38. Barry Brandt Jr.       Newport News, VA         3  05-06  163
Day 1: 3   05-06
39. Scott Fairchild        New Windsor, NY          3  05-05  162
Day 1: 3   05-05
40. Jeff Cox               Saline, MI               3  05-04  161
Day 1: 3   05-04
40. Satoshi Obata          Moriyama-Shi JAPAN       3  05-04  161
Day 1: 3   05-04
42. Keith Broyles          Jackson, TN              2  05-03  159
Day 1: 2   05-03
43. Grady Maynard          Leesburg, FL             3  05-02  158
Day 1: 3   05-02
43. Gerald Williams        Maiden, NC               3  05-02  158
Day 1: 3   05-02
45. JR Sapp                Cullman, AL              3  05-00  156
Day 1: 3   05-00
46. Jay Fagan              Mableton, GA             2  05-00  155
Day 1: 2   05-00
46. Toby Lillard           Clarksville, TN          2  05-00  155
Day 1: 2   05-00
48. Destin Demarion        Grove City, PA           3  04-15  153
Day 1: 3   04-15
49. Bill Capps             Auburn, AL               3  04-14  152
Day 1: 3   04-14
50. Aaron Batson           Oxford, GA               2  04-14  151
Day 1: 2   04-14
51. Darien Craig           Hayden, AL               3  04-12  150
Day 1: 3   04-12
52. Matthew Hodgkinson     Navarre, FL              2  04-11  149
Day 1: 2   04-11
52. Bradley Sears          Covington, GA            2  04-11  149
Day 1: 2   04-11
54. Red Berry              Crane Hill, AL           3  04-10  147
Day 1: 3   04-10
54. Andrew Mcclintock      Wellford, SC             3  04-10  147
Day 1: 3   04-10
56. Justin Hamner          Northport, AL            3  04-09  145
Day 1: 3   04-09
56. Matthew Smith          Jasper, AL               3  04-09  145
Day 1: 3   04-09
58. Wayne Prater           Jacksboro, TN            2  04-09  143
Day 1: 2   04-09
59. Brad Henderson         Bremen, AL               3  04-07  142
Day 1: 3   04-07
60. Andy Kearns            High Point, NC           3  04-06  141
Day 1: 3   04-06
61. Sam Fish               Alexander, AL            2  04-05  140
Day 1: 2   04-05
61. Justin Mcclusky        Jasper, AL               2  04-05  140
Day 1: 2   04-05
63. Gary Holcombe          Cullman, AL              2  04-04  138
Day 1: 2   04-04
64. Miriam Donohoo         San Mateo, FL            1  04-04  137
Day 1: 1   04-04
65. Will Rigsby            Enterprise, AL           3  04-00  136
Day 1: 3   04-00
66. Beth Atkins            Lenox, GA                2  04-00  135
Day 1: 2   04-00
67. Brandon Bolton         West Point, MS           3  03-15  134
Day 1: 3   03-15
67. Lee Mcclendon          Trussville, AL           3  03-15  134
Day 1: 3   03-15
69. Austin Littrell        Moulton, AL              2  03-14  132
Day 1: 2   03-14
70. John Keith             Remlap, AL               2  03-13  131
Day 1: 2   03-13
71. Kenneth Hoffman        Cambridge, NY            2  03-12  130
Day 1: 2   03-12
72. Mark Moretz            Chesapeake, VA           1  03-12  129
Day 1: 1   03-12
73. Daniel Parks           Greer, SC                3  03-11  128
Day 1: 3   03-11
74. Jonathan Morrison      Harrogate, TN            2  03-11  127
Day 1: 2   03-11
75. Tim Lollar             Cullman, AL              3  03-10  126
Day 1: 3   03-10
76. Jason Woodard          Arley, AL                2  03-10  125
Day 1: 2   03-10
77. Jerry Allen            Jasper, AL               2  03-09  124
Day 1: 2   03-09
78. Timothy Swango         Winter Haven, FL         3  03-08  123
Day 1: 3   03-08
79. Drew Dupre             Clinton, CT              1  03-08  122
Day 1: 1   03-08
80. Ross Highsmith         Wimauma, FL              2  03-07  121
Day 1: 2   03-07
81. Jonathan Collins       Vinemont, AL             3  03-06  120
Day 1: 3   03-06
81. Phil Thalheimer        Raleigh, NC              3  03-06  120
Day 1: 3   03-06
83. Matt Ramsey            Piney Flats, TN          2  03-06  118
Day 1: 2   03-06
84. Tim Guider             Lenoir City, TN          1  03-06  117
Day 1: 1   03-06
85. William Beekman        Diamond Point, NY        1  03-05  116
Day 1: 1   03-05
86. Tony Beck              Social Circle, GA        2  03-02  115
Day 1: 2   03-02
87. Jonathan Phillips      Pittsboro, NC            2  03-00  114
Day 1: 2   03-00
88. Curt Huff              Saint Cloud, FL          1  03-00  113
Day 1: 1   03-00
89. Tommy Menefee          Ashville, AL             2  02-15  112
Day 1: 2   02-15
90. Deron Donohoo          Sumter, SC               3  02-12  111
Day 1: 3   02-12
91. Rowland Liverett       Dora, AL                 2  02-12  110
Day 1: 2   02-12
91. Keith Ogden            Concord, NC              2  02-12  110
Day 1: 2   02-12
93. Tommy Edwards          Fort Myers, FL           2  02-11  108
Day 1: 2   02-11
93. Jarrad Nickolite       Shakopee, MN             2  02-11  108
Day 1: 2   02-11
95. Lane Wright            Loganville, GA           1  02-11  106
Day 1: 1   02-11
96. Jimmy Hayes            Fayetteville, NC         2  02-10  105
Day 1: 2   02-10
97. Stanton Harris         State Road, NC           2  02-07  104
Day 1: 2   02-07
98. Lyn Melton             Florence, AL             1  02-06  103
Day 1: 1   02-06
99. Donald Thompson        Marmet, WV               1  02-03  102
Day 1: 1   02-03
100. Paul Garrison          Natural Bridge, AL       1  02-00  101
Day 1: 1   02-00
101. Preston Harris         State Road, NC           1  01-13  100
Day 1: 1   01-13
102. John Dial              Winter Haven, FL         1  01-12   99
Day 1: 1   01-12
102. Bryon Medeiros         Fort Lauderdale, FL      1  01-12   99
Day 1: 1   01-12
104. Richard Madison        Oakman, AL               1  01-10   97
Day 1: 1   01-10
105. George Beville Jr      Apex, NC                 1  01-08   96
Day 1: 1   01-08
106. Hank Miller            Hamilton, AL             1  01-07   95
Day 1: 1   01-07
106. Bryan Talmadge         Moody, AL                1  01-07   95
Day 1: 1   01-07
108. Randy Dance            Newport, TN              1  01-05   93
Day 1: 1   01-05
108. Roy Hurst              Birmingham, AL           1  01-05   93
Day 1: 1   01-05
108. Daren McDermott        Saint Cloud, FL          1  01-05   93
Day 1: 1   01-05
108. Jenny Sander           Byron, GA                1  01-05   93
Day 1: 1   01-05
112. Bill Bonner            Wetumpka, AL             1  01-04   89
Day 1: 1   01-04
112. Russell Chargualaf     Mc Cordsville, IN        1  01-04   89
Day 1: 1   01-04
112. Larry Elrod            Cullman, AL              1  01-04   89
Day 1: 1   01-04
112. Brad Voegele           Hamilton, AL             1  01-04   89
Day 1: 1   01-04
116. Jonathan Barnette      Jasper, AL               1  01-02   85
Day 1: 1   01-02
117. AJ Jones               Land O Lakes, FL         1  00-15   84
Day 1: 1   00-15
117. Roy Kelly              Petal, MS                1  00-15   84
Day 1: 1   00-15
119. Jason Abrain           Seffner, FL              0  00-00    0
Day 1: 0   00-00
119. Bryant Adam            Madison, MS              0  00-00    0
Day 1: 0   00-00
119. Paul Benson            Emerson, GA              0  00-00    0
Day 1: 0   00-00
119. Tom Bever              Boulder, CO              0  00-00    0
Day 1: 0   00-00
119. Barry Brunges          Gainesville, FL          0  00-00    0
Day 1: 0   00-00
119. Eric Carroll           Leesburg, AL             0  00-00    0
Day 1: 0   00-00
119. Joe Curry              Hayden, AL               0  00-00    0
Day 1: 0   00-00
119. Marty Denton           Huntsville, AL           0  00-00    0
Day 1: 0   00-00
119. Kirkland Desmond       Knoxville, TN            0  00-00    0
Day 1: 0   00-00
119. Mike Drisko            Leesburg, FL             0  00-00    0
Day 1: 0   00-00
119. Clay Ellis II          Ozark, AL                0  00-00    0
Day 1: 0   00-00
119. Robert Gorman          Murphy, NC               0  00-00    0
Day 1: 0   00-00
119. Bruce Griffin          Jasper, AL               0  00-00    0
Day 1: 0   00-00
119. Eric Gumbrecht         Oakhurst, NJ             0  00-00    0
Day 1: 0   00-00
119. Joe Hamilton           Liberty, IN              0  00-00    0
Day 1: 0   00-00
119. Linda Higginbotham     Palm Coast, FL           0  00-00    0
Day 1: 0   00-00
119. Mark Hollifield        Walhalla, SC             0  00-00    0
Day 1: 0   00-00
119. John Jeter             Birmingham, AL           0  00-00    0
Day 1: 0   00-00
119. Teb Jones              Hattiesburg, MS          0  00-00    0
Day 1: 0   00-00
119. Francesco Marchioro    Cormano ITALY            0  00-00    0
Day 1: 0   00-00
119. Greg Mauldin           Archdale, NC             0  00-00    0
Day 1: 0   00-00
119. Steve Mcdaniel         Prattville, AL           0  00-00    0
Day 1: 0   00-00
119. Bryon McNiel           Baileyton, AL            0  00-00    0
Day 1: 0   00-00
119. Nathan Mills           Ocklawaha, FL            0  00-00    0
Day 1: 0   00-00
119. John Minor             Caryville, TN            0  00-00    0
Day 1: 0   00-00
119. Kyle Parks             Albany , GA              0  00-00    0
Day 1: 0   00-00
119. Phillip Pendley        Townley, AL              0  00-00    0
Day 1: 0   00-00
119. Harold Pickett         Moncks Corner, SC        0  00-00    0
Day 1: 0   00-00
119. JJ Polak               Covington, GA            0  00-00    0
Day 1: 0   00-00
119. Robert Prebeck         Norwood, MO              0  00-00    0
Day 1: 0   00-00
119. Jody Purnell           Birmingham, AL           0  00-00    0
Day 1: 0   00-00
119. Marty Rodda            Pell City, AL            0  00-00    0
Day 1: 0   00-00
119. Steven Roosen          Charlotte, NC            0  00-00    0
Day 1: 0   00-00
119. Grant Shively          Westland, MI             0  00-00    0
Day 1: 0   00-00
119. Miles Smith            Birmingham, AL           0  00-00    0
Day 1: 0   00-00
119. William Smith Jr       Cullman, AL              0  00-00    0
Day 1: 0   00-00
119. Jason Stodder          Wiscasset, ME            0  00-00    0
Day 1: 0   00-00
119. Ty Story               Prattville, AL           0  00-00    0
Day 1: 0   00-00
119. Kenneth Underwood      Columbus, MS             0  00-00    0
Day 1: 0   00-00
119. Jay West               Canton, GA               0  00-00    0
Day 1: 0   00-00
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day   #Limits    #Fish      Weight
1        60       268       534-04
----------------------------------
60       268       534-04


Wintry Blast Holding Fish Back Before Southern Open No. 2 On Smith Lake

In late January Todd Auten of Lake Wylie, S.C., led the first day of the Bassmaster Southern Open on Florida's Lake Tohopekaliga, but he zeroed the second day and finished 28th. He had a winning pattern figured out on Toho until a cold wind blew out of the North and his fish acquired a sudden case of lockjaw.

“Everybody thought I was sight fishing, but I was actually fishing offshore grass beds. But when that wind blew the second day I never caught a bass,” said Auten. “I finished 28th on one day's fish so I still had a payday.”

He had a winning pattern at Toho, but it's a completely different story for the second Southren Open on Smith Lake at Jasper, Ala., this week. Frigid winter weather is making another late season push into the South and it has taken the bass out of their plans to move shallow for pre-spawn, Auten said.

“Before it got cold I thought fishing would be pretty good, but this cold front has set them back. I'm still getting a few bites, but it's not nearly as good as it was when it was 70 degrees.”

There is a good possibility fishing could get better during the tournament, however, Auten said.

“The first day of the tournament it is supposed to be in the 50s with a chance of rain in the morning, but it is not supposed to get super cold like it did Monday night. Then it is supposed to warm up Friday and Saturday, so I think the fish will start biting again.”

However, there is another problem, he said.

“There are only so many fish here and everybody is here practicing so they are getting beat up. Somebody who finds something deep is probably going to be a lot better off – unless it warms up good. If we get 3 or 4 days of warm weather in a row the fish will start moving.”

As it stands, Auten said, there are probably five major patterns that will produce this week at some level.

“I am sure somebody is going to find them deep on Shakey Heads and drop-shotting There will be some throwing Alabama Rigs. There will be some crankbait fish caught and a jerkbait is always good this time of year.”

Auten is hoping one more day of practice will give him the edge he needs for the Smith Lake Open.

“I don't know if what I have so far is enough to win, but with one more day you never know what you might find,” he said.

Auten is fishing the Bassmaster Southern Opens and Northern Opens, and the FLW Rayovac Southern Series tournaments.

“I am also thinking about doing the Northern Rayovac Series, but one of those tournaments conflicts some with the Texas Toyota Classic on Lake Fork in May. I'd have to leave the Potomac after the Rayovac tournament and drive all the way to Lake Fork to start practice for the Toyota Classic the next day – and I don't know if I have that in me anymore. I'm not as young as I used to be.”

 

Bass Pro Shops Southern Open #2

Mar 6-8, 2014

Smith Lake

Lewis Smith Lake Dam

www.bassmaster.com

 


Despite Lingering Winter Weather, Fishing Could Be Good For Jim Ledbetter Memorial Tournament

Shane Lineberger and Hank Cherry won the tournament in 2010

Anglers from many states around the Southeast love to fish the Jim Ledbetter Memorial Team Bass Tournament on so much that the annual event on Lake Norman is closing in on the Million Dollar mark for cancer research.

“It's called the 'Cancer Tournament',” said Allen Eaker of Cherryville, N.C., who has fished the tournament for years. “Most of the money raised, if not all of it, goes to the Jimmy V Foundation.”

The tournament, the longest running fishing tournament in North Carolina, is named for Jim Ledbetter, a legendary television fishing show host and professional angler from the Catawba County, N.C., area who died of cancer in 2002.

Presented by the Balls Creek Bassmasters, it is the largest charity bass tournament in the state and has raised over $800,000 cumulatively to benefit the V Foundation for Cancer Research, named in honor of the late Jim Valvano, the well-known basketball coach who led N.C. State University’s men’s basketball team to a national championship in 1983. Coach “Jimmy V,” as he was nicknamed, formed the Foundation after being diagnosed with cancer in 1992.

“I don't think there is probably any other disease that affects all families more than cancer,” Eaker said. “It touches everyone in some way and that is the main reason I want to support it. Most of the fishermen who come to the tournament obviously want to to fish, but they also come because it's for such a good purpose.”

Eaker added, “It's just been crazy over the years how many boats enter that tournament.”

And, he noted, although winter has found a way to stick around well into March, fishing could be pretty good for Saturday's tournament.

“We've had some really weird weather with it being cold one day and warm the next, but I think the days getting longer is pushing those fish up shallow. With more daylight the fish know it is almost time for the spawn.”

With freezing temperatures at mid-week and mild weather predicted by the weekend, Eaker said the fish are in about all stages right now, which means anglers should be able to catch fish just about anyway they want to fish.

“The weather is holding them back a little bit, but it seems to me that they are getting into that pattern of coming up,” he said. “So, I really think that is going to make for a good tournament. There is going to be a bunch of different ways to catch fish. They are not going to be locked into one pattern, so I think you will probably be able to catch them about any way you want to.”

Seeing Ledbetter's name attached to the tournament brings back a lot of memories, Eaker said.

“Jim did a lot of fishing in this area and he used to come to the Cherryville Bassmasters and speak to our club. It's great that the tournament took on his name, and it's great that the tradition keeps carrying on and it seems like it is getting bigger and bigger every year.”

 

Jim Ledbetter Memorial Bass Tournament

Sat, Mar 8, 2014

Lake Norman

Queen's Landing

Call Call 704-483-2628

www.teamdenvermarine.com

[email protected]

 


Oregon State Team Will Bring West Coast Tactics To Flw College Championship On S.c.'s Lake Keowee

Ryan Sparks and Zack McDonald of Oregon State

Ryan Sparks and Zack McDonald of the Oregon State University Fishing Team will have one day of practice before the FLW College Fishing National Championship to figure out if South Carolina's Lake Keowee is the same kind of deep, clearwater lake they are used to fishing in Northern California.

“We don't know much about Lake Keowee,” Sparks said during a telephone call from the Houston Airport en route to Greenville, S.C., to fish the championship. “We know it's a spotted bass lake with some largemouths in it. There are some blueback herring, but mostly shad for baitfish. So, we are going into it pretty much blind.”

Hopefully, Sparks said, he and McDonald will be able to figure some things out during that one day of practice before the tournament begins Thursday.

“We fish Northern California lakes, like Lake Shasta and Lake Oroville. Both of those lakes are deep and clear. We have a lot of experience on lakes like that,” he said. “We have fished Lake Havasu. All those lakes are pretty deep. We spent a lot of time fishing points and ledges that go from zero down to 40 feet and deeper pretty fast, and we are used to fishing for spotted bass and smallmouth. From what I have heard we match up with Lake Keowee pretty good.”

This will be the first venture into South Carolina for both college anglers, although they have come close to the Palmetto State before.

“We fished lake Chatuge for the Bassmasters College World Series last August and it's half in North Carolina and half in Georgia.”

The OSU team placed 16th in that College World Series, but they got to the national tournament by winning the Bassmaster College Series Western Regional last April on Clear Lake. They also won the FLW College Qualifier Western Conference on Roosevelt Lake in Arizona in February 2013 before placing 22nd in the FLW College National Championship on Arkansas Beaver Lake in April. They placed 6th in the FLW College Qualifying Western Conference tournament on Clear Lake last October to qualify for the College Championship this week on Lake Keowee.

Both Sparks, a junior from Gearhart, Ore., and McDonald, a sophomore from Willis, Calif., are majoring in Fisheries and Wildlife at Oregon State.

“I will probably work for a year or so after college and then try bass fishing,” said Sparks, president of the OSU Fishing Club. “And if that does not work out, I will have my degree in fisheries and wildlife to fall back on.”

Meantime, he and McDonald are concentrating on figuring out the bass in South Carolina's Lake Keowee which is situated in the mountains in the northwest corner of the state .

“We brought a few things with us that we do on the West Coast,” he said. “We tried them out at Chatuge and they worked pretty good so I think they will work out good on Keowee, too.”

 

FLW College Fishing National Championship

Mar 6-8, 2014

Lake Keowee

South Cove County Park

www.flwoutdoors.com

 


Fitzgerald Rods At 2014 Bassmaster Classic Expo!

Trevor Fitzgerald shows us one of his best selling rods on the floor of the 2014 Bassmaster Classic Expo in Birmingham, Ala. Rich Howes, who qualified for the Classic via his win on Florida's Kissimmee Chain, was out on Lake Guntersville using his Fitzgerald rods as we filmed this clip.


Xpress Boats signs marketing agreement with Onyx Outdoors

Industry leader Xpress Boats of Hot Springs, Arkansas has announced a marketing agreement with Onyx Outdoors, makers of the Onyx Deluxe Automatic/Manual Inflatable Life Jacket. Onyx products are comprised of a complete line of rainwear, inflatable life jackets (PFD’s), fishing and hunting life jackets, pet vests and paddling life vests. Also in the Onyx lineup is cold weather apparel and accessories for hunting and ice fishing including the ArcticShield heat retention technology as well as base layers, gloves, beanies and balaclavas featuring X-System odor control Technology.

Xpress Boats is most excited about the synergy between our 2 companies said Clay Connor, Director of Marketing for Xpress Boats. “Like minded people, working collectively to achieve like minded goals together”. Onyx is an outdoor recreation brand under the Absolute Outdoor, Inc. umbrella, based in St. Cloud, MN. Onyx provides unique, quality products that appeal to the great traditions of fishing, hunting, boating and camping, and offer the comfort and reliability when spending time outdoors or on the water.
Xpress Boats is family owned and operated by the Herndon family since 1966. Nearly 50 years ago in an old schoolhouse in Friendship, AR Kermit Bryant’s dream was to develop the original “all-welded” aluminum boat. Today Xpress operates out of a state of the art manufacturing facility in Hot Springs, AR producing top of the line boats for just about any application.
www.xpressboats.com
www.onyxoutdoors.com

Piedmont Bass Classics Spring Mini Trail Qualifier #2 Results - Jordan Lake - Mar 1, 2014

The Piedmont Bass Classics Team Bass Spring Mini Trail finally got off the ground Saturday at Jordan!

Our January 15th Qualifier #1 was rescheduled to Sunday, March 16th at Shearon Harris because of the snow storm and we almost thought this one was going to be postponed, but the rain and sleet never showed up and we got it done sending 21 teams to the frigid waters on Jordan!

It was very cold that morning at 31 degrees and it didn't warm up until after noon and then got up to about 49
degrees. The wind never got up at all which did our angler some good. Water temps averaged from 47 to 50.
The prespawn bass seemed to be in fairly shallow 4-6 foot water and about to bust with roe. You had to find the
warmer water and spray it with Shad Raps, Jigs & Spinnerbaits to get a hit. All the lakes around here are
getting ready to explode...we just need more warm weather to get it going!

Keith Deal & Ricky Kenworthy caught 5 beautiful bass weighing a total of 27.80 lbs taking 1st Place. They also
won 1st Place TWT for a total of $804 in winnings. Their kicker was a big 9.37 lb. bass, not bad, but they got
beat out of 1st place Big Fish by the team of Jesse Wise and Dennis Alexander (subbing for Terry Hobbs) with
a Piedmont Bass Classics record bass of 11.32 lbs. which earned them $210! 2nd Place Team went to the
Father/Son team of Tim and Tyler Goss with 4 bass weighing 17.70 lbs. They also won the 2nd Place TWT and
took home a total of $449.
35 bass were weighed in for a total of 157 pounds. This averaged over 4 lbs. a fish and they were nice and
healthy looking. Jordan is doing just fine!

I want to thank all the anglers that participated and all our sponsors that support these trails. Our next tournament will be the 2014 Boats Unlimited Team Tournament Bass Trail Qualifier #2, Saturday, Mar. 8th at Jordan Lake out of Farrington Point Wildlife Ramp (Right Side). Coming up Saturday March 15th will be the Hyco Lake Open and Sunday March 16th will be the make-up Mini Trail Qualifier #1 at Shearon Harris.

All the information on our tournaments can be found at yahoo and bing search or
http://piedmontbassclassics.com/

Now here are the full results:

1st Place: Keith Deal & Ricky Kenworth of Holly Springs & Cary...5 bass...27.80 lbs...$615
2nd Place: Tim & Tyler Goss of Franklinton...4 bass...17.70 lbs...$368
3rd Place: Scott Smith & Tony Woodard of Apex & Four Oaks...5 bass...17.22 lbs...$232
4th Place: Randy Fisher & Donnie Lowe of Hillsborough & Mebane...4 bass...15.38 lbs...$150

1st Place Big Fish: Jesse Wise & Dennis Alexander of Erwin...11.32 lbs...$210

1st Place TWT: 1st Place Team above: 27.80 lbs...$189
2nd Place TWT: 2nd Place Team above: 17.70 lbs...$81

Tow Boats US Award: Tim Goss of Franklinton: $50

Jesse Wise & Dennis Alexander caught the Big Fish - 11.32 lbs!!Jesse Wise & Dennis Alexander caught the Big Fish - 11.32 lbs!!

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


Texas Team Trail Returns To Lake Lay Roberts

NORMAN, Okla. (March 5, 2014) – The Texas Team Trail presented by Cabela’s will host its second event of the 2014 tournament season on Saturday, March 15, at Lake Ray Roberts. Located just north of the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, Lake Ray Roberts is one of Texas’ premier tournament venues.

Registration for the event is already underway – anglers can secure an opportunity to pre-fish Friday, March 14, by completing their registration online or via phone prior to midnight on Thursday, March 13. All anglers that pre-register will also be entered into a drawing for a Minn Kota Talon Shallow Water Anchor. In addition, anglers that opt to register online at www.texasteamtrail.com will be entered into a drawing for a Mustang Survival inflatable PFD.

The Ray Roberts event is the second of four 2014 qualifying events that guarantee a fully rigged, 18-foot boat, motor, trailer package as first-place prize. The winning anglers at Ray Roberts will walk away with a brand-new Stratos 189VLO powered by an Evinrude 150 HO, valued at $30,000.

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

On-site registration is set for Friday, March 14, from 4-7 p.m. at Elk’s Lodge (1601 Marina Circle, Sanger, TX 76266). At least one team member must attend, as boat numbers will be assigned during this time. The tournament will launch Saturday, March 15, at safe light from Lake Ray Roberts Marina and weigh-in will begin at the same location at 3 p.m.

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

Along with title-sponsor Cabela’s, Texas Team Trail has also welcomed Lucas Oil®, Ranger Boats, Stratos Boats, Triton Boats, Evinrude®, Minn Kota®, Talon, RAM Trucks, Lowrance, Power-Pole, Amphibia, iON, Garmin, General Tire, SuperClean, Valley Fashion, Mustang Survival, Artic Ice and Protect the Harvest as official partners.

2014 TXTT scheduled events:

March 15 – Lake Ray Roberts
April 12 – Lake Texoma
May 3 – Lake Livingston

Championship – June 7-8 – Toledo Bend Lake