Huge Final Day Lifts Zaldain And Rickard To Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship Win
The all-star team of Chris Zaldain of Fort Worth, Texas, and Ryan Rickard of Brandon, Fla., have won the 2021 Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter with a three-day total of 43 pounds, 4 ounces.
Photo by James Overstreet/B.A.S.S.
November 14, 2021
PORT ARANSAS, Texas — Despite a Day 2 letdown, Bassmaster Elite Series pro Chris Zaldain of Fort Worth, Texas, and IFA Redfish Tour angler Ryan Rickard of Brandon, Fla., stuck with their area and put the finishing touches on a winning three-day total of 43 pounds, 4 ounces at the Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter.
After placing third on Day 1 with 14-10, Zaldain and Rickard held that spot on Day 2 but saw the effects of a minor front dwindle their productivity to 11-5. Championship Sunday served up nearly perfect conditions — light south wind, warm and calm — and the anglers put on a bona fide shallow-water redfish clinic that yielded their best bag of the event — 17-5.
Zaldain and Rickard’s final-round catch was the day’s second largest, behind the second-place team of Bassmaster Elite Derek Hudnall of Baton Rouge, La., and IFA Redfish Tour veteran Ron Hueston of Naples, Fla., who caught the event’s heaviest limit — 18-3. Edging Hudnall and Hueston by a margin of 2-12, Zaldain and Rickard won $50,000.
“We figured out a pattern really late on our last day of pre-fishing,” Rickard said. “We had to stick with it for three days. Yesterday it bit us a little bit, but it panned out today.”
A seven-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier, Zaldain won the 2015 Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship tournament. Rickard, a seasoned redfish tournament pro, notched his first career victory.
“I’ve been bumped so many times,” said a visibly emotional Rickard. “I can’t even express the emotion that I feel — it doesn’t seem real. But today on the boat, Chris said ‘Whenever it happens, something special happens.
“Well, I’ll tell you, today was something special on the bite. I’ve never had a final day like today was.”
Recognizing that Day 2 saw the front’s strong north wind and high pressure suppress their area’s potential, the champions decided to go all in for the final round. This was a prudent decision, as Saturday’s quiet, lifeless complexion starkly contrasted Sunday’s immediate vibrancy.
“I think we caught like 40 fish today — unreal,” Zaldain said. “The signs weren’t right yesterday and we only caught two fish. Today, we go into our area and Ryan said ‘Dude, look at all the mullet (a known redfish indicator) on the horizon.’
“There were mullet jumping and baitfish everywhere. Things started happening and we went through one fish after another. I think we released like 10 7-pounders and four 8s.”
Zaldain and Rickard caught all of their fish on a shallow Laguna Madre flat on the east side of Padre Island, south of the Highway 358 Bridge. As Zaldain explained, they targeted three main areas with sand depressions dropping to about 2 1/2 feet.
“The redfish were feeding on the shallow flats and then they’d drop into these sandy holes,” Zaldain said. “We would drift up to each of these areas and make bomb casts until we hooked a fish, then we would Power-Pole down and fan cast the area.”
Of the six fish they weighed this week, Rickard and Zaldain each caught three. The anglers fished weedless gold spoons and 4-inch Strike First paddle tails on belly-weighted hooks.
“These baits imitated the mullet that these redfish were eating,” said Rickard, who doctored his baits with baitfish-scented Pro-Cure Super Gel.
The paddle tails produced both of their final-round fish, but Zaldain also dipped into his Elite Series repertoire and caught several big fish on a 6-inch Megabass Magdraft swimbait.
Zaldain, who distributed commemorative buttons with distinctive purple ribbons to event staff and fellow competitors, dedicated his win to former Bassmaster Elite Aaron Martens, who recently passed after battling cancer for 19 months.
“He loved saltwater fishing, too,” Zaldain said. “So, Aaron, this is for you!”
Hudnall and Hueston struggled on Day 1 and placed eighth with 8-6. Rebounding on Day 2, they added 13-15 and rose to sixth before racing into a second-place finish with a dominant final-round performance that tallied 40-8 and earned them a pair of 36-volt Lithium Pro Powerpack batteries valued at $4,200.
Fishing the Redfish Flats area close to the takeoff site at Fisherman’s Wharf, Hudnall and Hueston targeted grass flats with sandy potholes. They caught their fish on 1/2-ounce gold spoons and a 3/8-ounce white Z-Man ChatterBait JackHammer with a chartreuse/white Missile Baits Shockwave trailer.
“The key was that Missile Baits Shockwave; it was something I could make long casts with,” Hudnall said. “Those fish were feeding on little baitfish that were the same size as that ChatterBait with that Shockwave.”
Day 2 leaders Travis Land of Seguin, Texas, and Nicky Savoie of Cutoff, La., who represented the Elite Redfish Tour, placed third with 40-4. On Day 1, they placed fourth with 13-3, then added 14-8 to take over the top spot. In the final round, they caught a pair of reds that weighed 12-9.
Returning to the same marshy area of Mesquite Bay on the east side of Matagorda Island, Land and Savoie tried sight fishing the shallow flat that produced for them on Saturday. Land said the day’s lighter winds and lower water kept the fish from aggressively feeding in this area and they were unable to put together any substantial back-up plan.
Berkley Gulp! Shrimp and Berkley Ripple Shads on lead head jigs produced their fish.
“It’s a humbling sport; you work your tail off, fish hard, the fish are there one day, gone another,” Savoie said. “Their (Zaldain and Rickard) fish showed up today, ours left.
“We had 10 pounds all day and caught our last two fish in the last hour to upgrade.”
2021 Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter 11/12-11/14
Port Aransas, Port Aransas TX.
(BOATER) Standings Day 3
Angler Club/School Pts
1. Chris Zaldain - Ryan Rickard 0
Day 1: 2 14-10 Day 2: 2 11-05 Day 3: 2 17-05 Total: 6 43-04
2. Derek Hudnall - Ron Hueston 0
Day 1: 2 08-06 Day 2: 2 13-15 Day 3: 2 18-03 Total: 6 40-08
3. Travis Land - Nicky Savoie 0
Day 1: 2 13-03 Day 2: 2 14-08 Day 3: 2 12-09 Total: 6 40-04
4. Patrick Walters - Dwayne Eschete 0
Day 1: 2 11-00 Day 2: 2 15-06 Day 3: 2 12-06 Total: 6 38-12
5. Thomas Barlow - Glenn Vann 0
Day 1: 2 15-00 Day 2: 2 09-01 Day 3: 2 12-09 Total: 6 36-10
6. Jeremy Heimes - Micky Gibbs 0
Day 1: 2 07-11 Day 2: 2 13-12 Day 3: 2 11-01 Total: 6 32-08
7. Matt Herren - Chad Manning 0
Day 1: 2 10-13 Day 2: 2 09-00 Day 3: 2 12-04 Total: 6 32-01
8. Mark Menendez - Ricky Bort 0
Day 1: 2 15-01 Day 2: 2 10-02 Day 3: 1 03-03 Total: 5 28-06
9. Trait Zaldain - Matt McCabe 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 2 11-07 Day 3: 2 12-04 Total: 4 23-11
10. Chris Cenci - Chris Kennedy 0
Day 1: 2 08-11 Day 2: 2 09-04 Day 3: 1 05-03 Total: 5 23-02
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 9 18 104-07
2 0 20 117-12
3 0 18 116-15
----------------------------------
9 56 339-02
Adjustment Helps Land And Savoie To Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship Lead
Elite Redfish Tour anglers Travis Land of Seguin, Texas, and Nicky Savoie of Cutoff, La., are leading after Day 2 of the 2021 Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter with a two-day total of 27 pounds, 11 ounces.
Photo by James Overstreet/B.A.S.S.
November 13, 2021
PORT ARANSAS, Texas — Travis Land of Seguin, Texas, and Nicky Savoie of Cutoff, La., didn’t panic when their spot failed to produce. They simply adjusted their positioning, worked their plan and took over the Day 2 lead at the Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter with a two-day total of 27 pounds, 11 ounces.
The leaders, who are representing the Elite Redfish Tour, placed fourth on Day 1 with 13-3 and bolstered that with a Day 2 catch of 14-8 — the day’s second-heaviest bag, behind the 15-6 weighed by Bassmaster Elite Series pro Patrick Walters of Summerville, S.C., and Dwayne Eschete of Lake Jackson, Texas. Land and Savoie lead Walters and Eschete by a margin of 1-5.
After Friday’s moderate south wind, Day 2 brought 15 to 25 mph winds out of the north. Land and Savoie stuck to their main spot — Mesquite Bay on the east side of Matagorda Island — but relocated to a more strategic area.
“We made a move around the corner from where we fished yesterday because our fish have left,” Land said. “I think they’ve pushed back further into the marsh, so we picked up and moved to where we thought we would have a little cleaner water because the wind blew pretty hard this morning.
“Immediately after that move, we went 50 yards and caught a good fish. We just continued that pattern the rest of the day.”
Land described their relocation spot as a small flat with a shelf. The fish were feeding along the shallows and dropping off the edge. Land and Savoie were catching them when they rose onto the flat.
“All of these fish were moving in with the tide and we sight-fished all day,” Savoie said. “We found this place in practice because we knew we needed to find a place to fish in this weather. It was perfectly planned, perfectly executed and it just worked for us.”
With the flat rising to about 8 inches of water, Land and Savoie caught their fish on Berkley Ripple Shad and Berkley Gulp! Shrimp on jigheads. Short, accurate casts with Abu Garcia baitcasting gear were essential to maximizing their opportunities.
“These fish are spooked, that’s why we went to baits without vibration,” Land said. “We were throwing root beer and sugar and spice colors. They started to react to those better than something with (vivid tail colors).”
Savoie said he and his partner mixed up the bait presentations. He threw a 1/4-ounce jighead, while Land threw a 3/8-ounce. If they spotted a fish that refused one bait, they would immediately follow with a different look.
“We felt like those fish fed the best in the middle of the day, but we have yet to find our biggest school that we caught our biggest (practice) fish out of,” Land said. “We keep trying, we keep checking that spot and hoping they’ll come back. I believe some porpoises have moved into that area and spooked them out of there, but we’re going to keep checking it."
Savoie, a 6-foot-8 former NFL tight end, scored the save of the day after hooking a slot fish across a narrow bulkhead. He reeled the fish as close as possible, but Land was unable to reach far enough to net the red and tournament rules prohibit competitors from leaving their boat to land a fish.
“My partner was trying to net the fish and the net wouldn’t even touch the water,” Savoie chuckled. “He’s trying and trying and I’m looking at him thinking ‘Oh, this is hilarious.’
“I said, ‘Here, hold the pole.’ So, I gave him the pole and I took the net and said ‘Clockwork.’”
Looking ahead to Championship Sunday, Land said he’s optimistic about his team’s potential.
“I feel good about what we did today,” he said. “The fish we weighed are only 25 inches long; if we go catch the ones that are 28, they’ll weigh 8 to 8 1/2-pounds. We caught them during pre-fishing.
“We’re competing against a great group of anglers, so you can’t ever let off the gas. I didn’t really want to be in first place going into the last day because I always like to move up the leaderboard, but here we are.”
Walters and Eschete entered Day 2 genuinely happy about the stronger winds. They’ve been committed to drifting large flats in the upper end of Laguna Madre where they’re targeting a mix of grass and sand bottom with paddle tails and swimbaits on jigheads.
“The wind 100 percent helped us today,” Eschete said. “We made 20 drifts that were triple the distance of our drifts on Day 1. We were drifting at 2.5 mph. Yesterday were making drifts at .8 mph.
“That made the difference in everything because we were able to cover more water and locate our fish. Our fish had moved today, but we got them dialed in. Now, we just have to go out tomorrow and continue doing what we’re doing.”
Toward the end of their day, the anglers came close to surging into the lead when Walters hooked a big fish that crushed his bait and put up an extensive fight. In the net, the fish looked like it might fit the 20- to 28-inch slot limit, however, the 10-pounder went 28 1/4, so Walters had to release it.
“It was a big one, but the good thing is I feel good about the day,” Walters said. “We struggled for a while; I think it was 10 o’clock before we caught our first one. Then we slowly kept pecking away at it.
“After lunch, I think we dialed something in. We’re around 10-pound fish, they just need to be a quarter-inch shorter. I feel pretty good about tomorrow.”
Bassmaster Elite Chris Zaldain of Fort Worth, Texas, and Ryan Rickard of Brandon, Fla., remained in the third-place spot with a total weight of 25-15. They added 11-5 to the Day 1 weight of 14-10.
Describing a tougher second round, Zaldain said the day’s complexion nearly shut down their main area. Making a long run south of Port Aransas, they couldn’t afford to burn much time running around, so they did their best to work with the areas they had selected.
“I knew in the back of my mind: It’s a northeast kind of front, the air was kind of light and, down here on the Texas coast where that southern, heavy, low-pressure wind is predominant, things change (with these fronts),” Zaldain said. “It was pretty nasty in our areas. We noticed there were no mullet jumping, there were no pinfish (showing in the grass) and there were no pelicans (indicating baitfish).
“Those were the ingredients we needed and it wasn’t happening. We only had five bites and landed all of them.”
Noting that he and Zaldain threw weedless gold spoons and jigs with soft plastics, Rickard said that as the afternoon brought warming and slightly less wind, they saw their area start to pop. Baitfish started showing and redfish followed.
“This all happened in the last 45 minutes of the day,” Rickard said. “We just didn’t have enough time to take advantage of it. But those fish will still be there tomorrow.”
Competition hours Sunday will be 6:45 a.m.-2.45 p.m. CT, with weigh-ins set for 3 p.m. at Fisherman’s Wharf. Fans can catch Bassmaster Redfish LIVE coverage of the tournament as cameras capture all of the action. FS1 will broadcast live from 7-11 a.m. with continuing coverage available on Bassmaster.com.
2021 Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter 11/12-11/14
Port Aransas, Port Aransas TX.
(BOATER) Standings Day 2
Angler Club/School Pts
1. Travis Land - Nicky Savoie 0
Day 1: 2 13-03 Day 2: 2 14-08 Total: 4 27-11
2. Patrick Walters - Dwayne Eschete 0
Day 1: 2 11-00 Day 2: 2 15-06 Total: 4 26-06
3. Chris Zaldain - Ryan Rickard 0
Day 1: 2 14-10 Day 2: 2 11-05 Total: 4 25-15
4. Mark Menendez - Ricky Bort 0
Day 1: 2 15-01 Day 2: 2 10-02 Total: 4 25-03
5. Thomas Barlow - Glenn Vann 0
Day 1: 2 15-00 Day 2: 2 09-01 Total: 4 24-01
6. Derek Hudnall - Ron Hueston 0
Day 1: 2 08-06 Day 2: 2 13-15 Total: 4 22-05
7. Jeremy Heimes - Micky Gibbs 0
Day 1: 2 07-11 Day 2: 2 13-12 Total: 4 21-07
8. Matt Herren - Chad Manning 0
Day 1: 2 10-13 Day 2: 2 09-00 Total: 4 19-13
9. Chris Cenci - Chris Kennedy 0
Day 1: 2 08-11 Day 2: 2 09-04 Total: 4 17-15
10. Trait Zaldain - Matt McCabe 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 2 11-07 Total: 2 11-07
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 9 18 104-07
2 0 20 117-12
----------------------------------
9 38 222-03
Bass Tactics Put Bort And Menendez Atop Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship
Mark Menendez and Ricky Bort are leading after Day 1 of the 2021 Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter with 15 pounds, 1 ounce.
Photo by James Overstreet/B.A.S.S.
November 12, 2021
PORT ARANSAS, Texas — One partner chose the spot, one chose the bait and teamwork gave Bassmaster Elite Series champion Mark Menendez and veteran multispecies pro Ricky Bort a two-fish limit of 15 pounds, 1 ounce to lead Day 1 of the Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter.
Heading into Day 2, Menendez and Bort hold a 1-ounce lead over Elite Redfish Tour pros Glenn Vann and Thomas Barlow.
“Not bad for Team Geritol,” Menendez joked of he and Bort’s age (both late 50s). “We had a great day. Ricky and I met a long time ago; we actually fished a championship tournament in the late ’90s, so we’ve known each other through Skeeter Boats for a long time.”
Their familiarity bred a competitive camaraderie that translated into strategic efficiency. Leaning on Bort’s saltwater experience, the anglers started their day in what Bort termed a “culling area” about 8 miles north of the Fisherman’s Wharf takeoff site. After boating one keeper around 8:30 a.m., they ran 54 miles east and spent the rest of their day in a narrow, protected ditch.
“It’s a really unique little place,” Menendez said. “We’re just being really stealthy, trying not to stir things up and watching really good.
“Our timing was perfect today. After Ricky got a good fish in the boat, we picked up stakes, ran to our (main) spot and got lucky and got a couple of good bites.”
Both of those redfish ate a classic bass fishing rig that Menendez has successfully used in multiple Elite events. He pitched and cast a black neon Strike King Rage Craw Texas-rigged on a 5/0 Gamakatsu straight-shank hook with a 3/16-ounce Strike King Tour Grade Tungsten weight.
“I’ve caught them in Florida, Louisiana and other parts of Texas doing this,” Menendez said. “It’s just something I’m comfortable with; it’s something I love to do on tour, so it just made it easy to make the conversion over here.”
Bort’s keen ability to spot fish or their movement proved helpful in guiding Menendez’s casts. As Bort explained, watching for waking fish, pushes and shadows was the key.
“Ricky has really good eyes,” Menendez said. “He says, ‘Hey, hey, hey, look to your right.’ I’m getting the hang of it, but with his years of experience, I’m taking his lead on that.”
“It was a great day out there; we had a great week pre-fishing and did really well,” Bort said. “Mark brings a lot from the freshwater world that is new to the saltwater world and that seems to be shining right now. We’ll keep it up and see what we can do tomorrow.”
After an opening round of moderate south winds, the Day 2 forecast calls for 20 to 30 mph north winds. This will greatly hinder a lot of the open-water patterns, but Bort is confident he and Menendez can replicate their success.
“We’re going to go directly to our primary area, instead of starting out in that culling location first,” he said. “It’ll be rough getting there, but once we’re there we’re good.
“We were hoping to get two in the boat really quickly (on the first spot), but there was another boat in there so we had to shift gears a little bit. Once we made the decision to leave, we did well.”
Menendez added this: “Once we reach our area, we don’t have to move around much. We’re fishing the entire time.”
Barlow and Vann caught their fish in the Corpus Christi area. Targeting areas with oyster bars, they did more looking than casting; strategically waiting for one of the schools they’d found in practice to appear.
Needing to fish their baits over the hard shell bottom without snagging, Barlow and Vann hung 1/2-ounce Bill Lewis Saltwater Rat-L-Traps under popping corks. The anglers expanded their creativity by reversing their corks. Traditionally, the wider end faces upward for maximum chugging commotion, but they faced their narrow ends up for minimal disturbance.
“Most of the time a Rat-L-Trap (fished in a cast-and-wind presentation) is a reaction bait, but today, they didn’t want anything but this (cork rig),” Barlow said. “We cast plastics into five different schools and they didn’t eat it.”
With various species of small, shiny baitfish abounding in the marsh areas they fished, Vann surmised that their rigs kept a familiar profile visible in a unique manner.
“It was something totally and completely different; it’s not what they’re used to,” he said.
Seven-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier Chris Zaldain and veteran IFA Redfish Tour angler Ryan Rickard fished far south and placed third with 14-10. Capping their day with Zaldain’s 8-pounder, the anglers wrapped up around 1 p.m. and allowed themselves ample time for a long return ride.
“Typically, the water’s cleaner down south; the water’s clearer down there,” Zaldain said. “In practice, Ryan said, ‘It’s going to blow out of the north (during the tournament).’ We thought that would be today, but it will be tomorrow, so he put us in a protected area.”
Rickard said he considers his team’s choice of weedless gold spoon jigs with soft plastics the reliable redfish favorites. Despite getting only a few of the right-size fish today, he’s confident the area he and Zaldain are fishing holds winning potential.
“I went into today saying I would love to come out with 14-plus pounds, I don’t care if we were sixth place, 10th place, first place — it didn’t matter,” Rickard said. “With the fish we have to go back to, we definitely have a good opportunity to get this done.”
Saturday’s takeoff is scheduled for 6:45 a.m. CT from Fisherman’s Wharf. The weigh-in will be held back at the wharf at 3 p.m. FS1 will broadcast Bassmaster Redfish LIVE coverage Saturday from 7-10 a.m. with continuing coverage available on Bassmaster.com.
2021 Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter 11/12-11/14
Port Aransas, Port Aransas TX.
(BOATER) Standings Day 1
Angler Club/School Pts
1. Mark Menendez - Ricky Bort 0
Day 1: 2 15-01 Total: 2 15-01
2. Thomas Barlow - Glenn Vann 0
Day 1: 2 15-00 Total: 2 15-00
3. Chris Zaldain - Ryan Rickard 0
Day 1: 2 14-10 Total: 2 14-10
4. Travis Land - Nicky Savoie 0
Day 1: 2 13-03 Total: 2 13-03
5. Patrick Walters - Dwayne Eschete 0
Day 1: 2 11-00 Total: 2 11-00
6. Matt Herren - Chad Manning 0
Day 1: 2 10-13 Total: 2 10-13
7. Chris Cenci - Chris Kennedy 0
Day 1: 2 08-11 Total: 2 08-11
8. Derek Hudnall - Ron Hueston 0
Day 1: 2 08-06 Total: 2 08-06
9. Jeremy Heimes - Micky Gibbs 0
Day 1: 2 07-11 Total: 2 07-11
10. Trait Zaldain - Matt McCabe 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 9 18 104-07
----------------------------------
9 18 104-07
Colorado Angler Tops Field At Big Bass Zone Junior Championship World Finals
Evan Cox, a senior at Windsor High School in Loveland, Colo., topped a talented field of 54 anglers from across the country to win the world finals of the 2021 BassCat Boats Big Bass Zone Junior Championship presented by B.A.S.S. on Missouri's Lake Taneycomo.
Photo by Kyle Jessie/B.A.S.S.
November 11, 2021
BRANSON, Mo. — Evan Cox, a senior at Windsor High School in Loveland, Colo., topped a talented field of 54 anglers from across the country at the BBZ Junior Championship World Finals on Lake Taneycomo to claim a fully loaded 2021 BassCat Margay powered by a Mercury Pro XS outboard as well as a scholarship to fishing powerhouse Bethel University.
The BBZ Junior Championship World Finals is a big fish tournament. Anglers were tasked with a simple challenge: catch the biggest fish they could find in an eight-hour day and hope it was bigger than every other fish that hit the scales. Cox’s 5-pound largemouth edged out second-place finisher Trey McKinney (4.89) from Illinois and third-place Jason Gibson (4.48) of North Carolina.
“This event showed me that anyone can win and anything can happen during a tournament,” said Cox. “Winning it also gives me more determination and keeps fueling my love for the sport.”
Cox used a Yum Yumbrella rig with three hooks to catch his winning fish. “I like using them in that lake because it imitates a big ball of bait and entices the bigger fish to bite. I was throwing on an 80-pound braid, PowerPro Maxcuatro, with a 30-pound leader on a Dobyns Rods Fury Series casting rod, which works great for umbrella rigs and big swimbaits.”
The anglers qualified for the World Finals event via the online BassCat Boats Big Bass Zone Junior Championship presented by B.A.S.S, which allowed young competitors to fish from anywhere and on their own schedule. Anglers submitted their fish catches to a virtual leaderboard for each state through the Fishing Chaos app. The angler with the heaviest five-bass limit from that state moved on to the 2021 BBZ Junior Championship World Finals.
Among the impressive field of finalists are some of the country’s best high school anglers, including Cox and 10 other students who competed in July’s Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School National Championship presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors and seven anglers who were named to the 2021 Bassmaster High School All-State Fishing Team presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors.
Rounding out the Top 10 were Texas’ Triston Richardson (3.56); Florida’s Carson Kamien (3.17); South Carolina’s Chase Black (2.94); Pennsylvania’s Carson Forrester (2.90), member of the Bassmaster High School All-State Fishing Team; Louisiana’s Wade Roberts (2.88), a National Championship qualifier; Alabama’s Micaiah Lindquist (2.78) and Indiana’s Dylan May (2.53), a National Championship qualifier and member of the Bassmaster High School All-State Fishing Team.
In addition to the boat and motor package, Cox's BassCat is outfitted by Power-Pole, MotorGuide and Lowrance. Other prizes up for grabs in the tournament included four trips to Lake El Salto, Mexico, provided by Anglers Inn International; electronics and trolling motors from Humminbird, Minn Kota and other supporting manufacturers; scholarships from Bethel University; gear from AFTCO; rod and reel combos from Lew’s; batteries from Lithium Pros and a host of prizes from other event sponsors.
Berkley Fishing and Santa Want YOU to Decide Where Santa Should Fish After Christmas and He’s Bringing Up to $25k to the Winning Town
Submit your town for a chance to win a visit from Santa, gifts for the children and up to $25K from Berkley Fishing toward conservation efforts this holiday season!
COLUMBIA, S.C. (Nov. 11, 2021) — Everyone wants to know what Santa does after he’s done delivering toys to all the good boys and girls after Christmas. Well, we know the answer! Santa goes fishing! And this year, Santa needs your help to decide where he should fish next and what makes it a not-to-be-missed fishing destination!
Fishing tackle brand Berkley and Santa Claus are teaming up to look for fishy cities, towns, and communities who want Santa to visit, fish and donate to a good fishy cause on December 27th. Entering your community in the mix is easy: Answer the questions on the submission form and tell us why Santa should come to your area. You can fill out the submission form here!
The winning town must have a great fishing spot and clearly identify a conservation need or special fishing access project that Santa and Berkley can support. Submissions are open to everyone, but will only be accepted from November 11 through December 5, 2021, so submit your town today!
Remember, even after Christmas Santa loves to give presents! The winning town will receive gifts for the children of the community and a generous donation for their conservation/special project from Berkley Fishing.
The top five towns will be announced on December 6, 2021, and the winning town will be chosen by a public vote that will run from December 7 through December 12.
To submit your town, go to: SantaFishes.com.
To learn more about Berkley, visit: Berkley-Fishing.com
"Why Knot!?!"
Courtesy of Vance McCullough
My ability to break things is remarkable. More than a talent, I’d call it a superpower. At the very least it’s on the ‘professional’ level. Seriously, even at age 13 while working a summer construction job with my dad and uncle I got paid to tear out an entire bathroom with a sledgehammer and a crowbar. Shut the door and got flat after it. Thought I’d died and gone to Heaven. Until they checked on me to find that I’d smashed a couple of fixtures that weren’t supposed to be demolished. Seeing that I was eminently overqualified, they moved me right up the ladder. And into the attic. The dark, cramped, oven-hot attic where I installed itchy insulation and danced around - and sometimes with – live electrical wires, their insulation having been chewed away by rats.
While others have typically been less amused by my feats of destruction, the talent does serve a purpose. Namely, if you want to check the durability of, say, a bowling ball, let me have at that sucker.
It’s no different with trucks, boats, or fishing gear. Also, I set the hook like a gorilla, especially when flipping.
So, I have not found a line-to-line connection for splicing braid to fluoro that I trust. I will spool up with straight 30-lb fluorocarbon to avoid having to trust a splice. But then, I’ve busted straight line as well. It’s enough to make me just stick with braid for all heavy cover applications, period.
There are some strong connections that can be made between braid and fluoro, but the best ones are difficult, if not impractical to tie under cold or wet weather conditions and time-consuming when fishing against the tournament clock. If only there was a way to simplify the process . . .
My research has led me to a couple of candidates. Elites Series pros have recommended the Uni-to-Uni connection for years. It is strong and fairly easy to tie. A good all-around choice. However, for pure brute strength, the IGFA did some extensive testing in 2018 and concluded that the GT Knot is the strongest braid-to-leader connection for use with fluoro or monofilament. The strongest. Not the smoothest, not necessarily suited for use with micro guides commonly found on modern rods, maybe not the smoothest for getting in and out of matted grass, etc., but it is also among the simplest to tie while on the water under real world conditions, making it a knot you need to know.
Many anglers opt for the FG Knot because they feel it is strong enough for most applications and it is certainly the smallest, smoothest splice you can make. I’d love to break a few FG’s and remind myself why I am a straight braid or straight fluoro guy for life, but the FG is time consuming to tie.
Well, a friend of mine - Daniel Winkles - who battles big saltwater fish, turned me on to a video tutorial that details a much easier way to tie the FG Knot which, if I can perfect, might be a difference-maker in my fishing exploits - and my fishing line budget if it keeps me from spooling up with straight fluoro, because I don’t use the cheap stuff.
Note: The chap in this video also uses a Rizzuto finish instead of the standard finish, which should make this connection that much stronger than a standard FG (I know, I really go down the rabbit hole for a guy who just uses straight braid anyway). You’ll want to use more wraps in than he does with lighter lines and you may want to skip the pyrotechnics, unless you like playing with lighters, but this video may help you refine your FG techniques and give you the confidence to try this popular connection.
I am a work in progress, and this is a slowly developing story. My views will change over time, as I hope, will yours. Chime in on our social channels and let us know which knots are working for you. I’m always open to suggestions. You can find me on my personal account @VanceMcculloughOutdoors on Instagram as well as @AnglersChannel on Instagram and the AnglersChannel.com Facebook page. You can also chime in on our Podcast Hotline with a text at 256-535-3217
American Bass Anglers 2022 Open Series Registration Now Open
| Registration is now open for the 2022 Open Series. The 2022 season offers 16 divisions, Alabama North, Alabama South, Florida Central, Florida South, Georgia, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee Central, Tennessee East, Texas East, and Texas Southeast, and Virginia.
Each division offers four one-day qualifying events offering a boater/co-angler format, with boaters paying a $210 entry fee and co-anglers paying $105. The Series offers a guaranteed payout of $5000 to the winning boater for one-day events with a field of 60 boats or more, Anglers are then invited to compete in an area championship with a guaranteed $6,000 to the winning boater for a field of 60 boats and $10,000 or more and to the winner of each area championship with a field of 100 boats. The top anglers from each division and those qualifying from the Area Championship are then invited to compete in the Ray Scott Champions, which will be held in the spring of 2023. The first events of the 2022 season start January in Florida and quickly move north as the weather warms. Anglers can register online as a package that registers them for all five (5) events. Which is made up of four divisional events and the two-day area championship. Entries in the events will be by date/time of entry. To learn more about the Series, rules, and schedules, visit americanbassanglers.com Link to Search for your Division's Schedule For more information on these tournaments and how to qualify for the next one, call ABA at 256-232-0406. Online, see www.americanbassanglers.com About the American Bass Anglers - American Bass Anglers is committed to providing low-cost, close-to-home tournaments for the weekend angler while offering an upward path for individual angler progression. For more information about American Bass Anglers and all their bass tournament trails visit www.americanbassanglers.com. American Bass Anglers is sponsored by: Triton Boats, Mercury Marine, Nitro Boats, Tracker Boats, MotorGuide, Garmin, T-H Marine, Abu Garcia, Berkley, Engel Coolers, REKS Sunglasses, Lucas Oil, Optima Batteries, and Power-Pole. Mailing address: American Bass Anglers, Inc, PO Box 475, Athens, AL 35612 PH (256) 232-0406.
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Upcoming 2022 Season Events - November |
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AC Insider Podcast - Randy Howell's Hope Fest
This week Chris and the boys welcome in MLF BPT Angler Randy Howell to talk about his Kings Home Boat Giveaway coming up Saturday Nov. 13th. Randy & Robin have raised over 1.8 million for Kings Home in 10 years and they look for this year to be stellar! KG is back from Lake Martin, DX wins the U-Pick-em and Chris gets uptight about ice. All this and more, just hit play!
Multiple Factors Merit Consideration For Redfish Cup Championship Field
Ten teams — including six all-star teams featuring a B.A.S.S. pro and redfish pro — will be competing for a grand prize of $50,000 during the Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter in Port Aransas, Texas, Nov. 12-14, 2021.
November 10, 2021
PORT ARANSAS, Texas — For Bassmaster fans familiar with freshwater fishing, the Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter Nov. 12-14 will shine the spotlight on new targets and tactics. This event promises a fascinating look at the inshore tournament world for the six competing bass pros, along with everyone watching daily Bassmaster Redfish LIVE coverage on Bassmaster.com and FS1.
Many of the event’s B.A.S.S. pros are fairly new to the inshore scene, but their redfish pro partners are well-versed at pursuing these copper-scaled brutes. While fall typically is considered a favorable season for redfish action, those who’ve walked this path recognize several variables demanding attention.
WEATHER WISDOM
Teaming with Bassmaster Elite veteran Matt Herren, Elite Pro Redfish Tour Championship qualifier Chad Manning of Apollo Beach, Fla., makes his first visit to Port Aransas. Expecting windy conditions, Manning spent Sunday studying local charts to identify protected areas with fish-friendly features.
“I’m going to find leeward areas, pre-fish them heavily and hope I can find and pattern some fish,” he said. “I don’t know much about the area, but from the maps I’ve looked at, it seems very similar to (my home waters of) Tampa Bay. There’s a lot of open water and grass flats, so you’re going to have to get out of the wind.
“A little wind isn’t bad; I prefer a little ripple on the surface, but too much wind stirs up the water and makes it difficult for the fish to see. When that happens, they’re going to move to cleaner or deeper water.”
Ryan Rickard of Brandon, Fla., who pairs with seven-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier Chris Zaldain, has previously fished Port Aransas, so he’s comfortable with the week’s windy forecast.
“I think being patient with the weather and not stressing out over the conditions will be important,” the veteran IFA Redfish Tour pro said. “I’ll be trying to find lee side pockets with cleaner water where the bait is stacking up because that’s where the redfish are going to travel in with (the bait).
“It’s going to depend on which way the wind blows, whether the water’s going to stack there or whether it’s going to blow out. That’s going to be a huge factor. If you pattern fish pre-fishing and they’re in a specific zone, but the wind switches and blows the water out, or it’s opposite of where you pre-fished, you have to know where the fish are going to transition to.”
TIDE CHARTS
Hailing from Sargent, Texas, multispecies tournament pro Ricky Bort will compete alongside Elite angler Mark Menendez, who has notched three Bassmaster victories. With a formidable blend of bass, speckled trout and redfish experience, Bort knows that lunar cycles bear critical impact.
As Bort explained, tidal flow (controlled by the moon) moves baitfish around and stimulates redfish feeding. Full and new moons exert the strongest tidal influence, but with a first quarter phase on Nov. 11, tournament days will see increasingly weak water movement, which he says will require anglers to stay mobile and find feeding fish.
“We’re on an (unfavorable) moon cycle; a quarter-moon phase that can delay our bite,” Bort said. “Barring a tremendous cold front, the fish are going to feed; it’s just a matter of what time of day is going to be the prime feed and if you can make some bite during the time that they are not in that prime feed time.”
A CHANGE OF PACE
Former FLW Redfish Championship winner Dwayne Eschete of Lake Jackson, Texas, will partner with Patrick Walters, who holds the all-time Bassmaster Elite record for a winning margin of 29 pounds, 10 ounces (Lake Fork, 2020). With a solid understanding of tournament waters, Eschete said that tournament rules prohibiting the sight fishing towers/platforms common to redfish pursuits will require him to replace the largely visual strategy he typically follows.
“It’s going to be a grind, simply because all these redfishermen are used to sight fishing and this is going to be a (mostly) blind casting tournament; you’re going to be doing a lot of casting and not really seeing many fish,” Eschete said. “I really think that coming up with a plan and sticking with it will be the key.
“It’s going to be important to be in the right place at the right time, so we’re going to be using our pre-fishing days to cover a lot of area to eliminate a lot of dead water.”
Eschete’s top criteria will be clear water and bait concentrations. Pogies (Gulf menhaden) and mullet are the leading finfish forage, while shrimp and crabs also factor into the red’s diet.
Notably, mullet are vegetarians and, while redfish prey on juvenile “finger mullet,” schools of adults often displace finfish and crustaceans as they rumble across shallow flats. As Eschete points out, finding mullet schools often leads anglers to redfish.
LESS CROWDED WATERS
Considering Port Aransas’ reputation as the “Fishing Capital of Texas,” tournament teams might assume they’ll have to contend with excessive local traffic. Some level of recreational activity is always assumed, but Elite Redfish Trail pro Travis Land makes a timely observation.
“One of the seasonal advantages we’re going to have is the tournament overlaps the opening weekend of deer season in South Texas,” said Land, who partners with former NFL tight end Nicky Savoie. “Hunters are fishermen and fishermen are hunters, so I think we’ll have a lot less pressure on our fishery due to the fact that a lot of folks will be hunting.
“With less fishing pressure, the fish become less spooky of a trolling motor or a boat floating near them. Even without towers, some level of sight fishing could still come into play, because the fish shouldn’t be as pressured.”
Nevertheless, Matt McCabe of Slidell, La., knows that the less he sees of his competitors, the better. Paired with Bassmaster Opens pro Trait Zaldain, the 30-year veteran pro is hoping that solitude will be their ally.
“I think the key will be finding some fish away from the (rest of the tournament field),” McCabe said. “I’ve never fished Port Aransas before this week but all the research I’ve done indicates that a lot of people do the same thing — they’re running these big schools.
“I think the key will be to find some unpressured fish off the beaten path where you can have them to yourself.”
Drawing on his Bayou State experience, McCabe said he knows that redfish living in grass tend to be bigger than those roaming sand flats, as the vegetation tends to hold more food. He plans on sticking to what he knows and targeting those darker colored grass fish.
BAIT SELECTION
Using topwater walkers as search baits is redfish 101, but with subterminal mouths, the fish often miss the bite. Weedless spoons (gold, copper, chartreuse) also allow anglers to cover lots of water to locate fish, and their 4-wheel drive versatility means anglers can throw spoons into places an open-hook bait would likely snag.
Rickard plans on throwing a 1/4-ounce spoon along with soft-plastic paddle tails. Rigging his plastics on a 5/0 3/16-ounce wide gap hook, he opts for an ample profile.
“I’m not a small paddle tail guy, but I’m not a huge paddle tail guy — I’ll throw a 4-inch bait,” Rickard said. “I feel like those bigger, heavier fish we’re concentrating on like to eat something bigger.
“Now, depending on what we have in barometric pressure, if we have a supercold front and we get lots of high pressure and bluebird skies, you may have to downsize the bait a little bit and slow your presentation, because they might get a little finicky. But, over the years, I have found that bigger profile bait catches your heavier fish.”
For McCabe, bait selection will come down to identifying fish disposition: “What I’m going to have to figure out is whether these fish are chasing stuff that moves fast or slow.
“I think it will be a matter of finding some fish that will eat. The key thing will be determining whether they’re chasing so we can throw ChatterBaits, spinnerbaits and spoons at them; or are we going to have to go along and see them and flip to them or make long casts with popping cork rigs.”
While he’s never fished the Texas coast, Mickey Gibbs of Dade City, Fla., said he believes his experience on Florida’s Gulf Coast flats will serve him and partner Jeremy Heimes well. With three Team of the Year titles and a 2019 Championship win in the Power-Pole Pro Redfish Series (Florida Division), these anglers will rely heavily on jigs with Strike First or Slayer Inc. paddle tails — the latter made by fellow competitor Chris Cenci.
“I rig these baits on a weighted wide gap bass hook, but I do mine a little differently than most people,” Gibbs said. “I buy one size weighted hook and then I use (various sizes of) a tungsten worm weight and a bobber stop to make the bait whatever weight I want.”
Eschete likes Berkley PowerBait Ripple Shad and Ripple Mullet on jigheads, but he’ll also keep jigs with 4-inch Berkley Gulp! Shrimp handy. The latter’s potent scent formula helps redfish locate the bait, while the dense, streamlined form facilitates the long casts needed for reaching spooky fish.
“When we’re drift fishing (shallow flats), the longer the cast the better opportunity you’re going to have because the fish know you’re there; they feel the boat pressure,” Eschete said. “The longer your cast, the better your chance of getting a reaction strike. When we’re blind casting, most of our strikes come within the first two cranks or on the drop.”
Competition hours are 6:45 a.m.-2.45 p.m. CT, with daily weigh-ins set for 3 p.m. at Fisherman’s Wharf. Fans can catch Bassmaster Redfish LIVE coverage all three days of the tournament as cameras capture all of the action. Bassmaster.com will stream live beginning at 7 a.m. CT on Nov. 12. FS1 will broadcast live Nov. 13 from 7-10 a.m. and Nov. 14 from 7-11 a.m. with continuing coverage available on Bassmaster.com.
MLF Angler Association Partners with MLB players to ‘Cast 4 Kids’ at Alabama’s Lake Guntersville
GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. (Nov. 10, 2021) – Professionals from two of America’s most popular sports are getting together in Guntersville to do a little fishing, and more importantly, raise money to benefit youth.
Pro anglers with Major League Fishing along with pros from Major League Baseball will test their skills on one of the top bass fishing lakes in the country on Sunday, Nov. 21.
Headed up by the Major League Fishing Foundation and the Major League Fishing Angler Association, “Cast 4 Kids” was conceived out of an idea within the MLF Foundation.
“Our goal at the MLFAA and MLF Foundation is to elevate the sport of fishing and there’s no better way to do that than to get our anglers exposure with other pros from other sports,” Executive Director of the MLF Foundation Wes Long said. “In addition, our goal at the MLF Foundation is to extend the life of the sport by taking care of our fisheries and making sure kids are exposed to fishing at an early age. We’re looking forward to raising money and putting on an event that kids and parents will enjoy.”
Each professional angler will be paired with a professional baseball player to make up teams for the tournament. The tournament launch will take place at Civitan Park in Guntersville.
The public will be invited to attend the tournament for free and meet their favorite pro anglers and baseball players. The teams are set to get off the water at approximately 1 p.m. A weigh-in will be held and the winners will be announced in front of the crowd. A fan fare will also be held at Civitan Park beginning at 12 p.m. Food and retail vendors will be on hand as well.
The list of former and current MLB players who have committed to participating in the event is sure to create excitement among baseball fans throughout Alabama and beyond.
The MLB will be represented by Jake Peavy, Ned Yost, Corbin Burnes, Josh Hader, Chaz Roe, Dan Jennings, Jake Marisnick, Jace Peterson, Wade Miley, LaTroy Hawkins and Lane Thomas.
MLF anglers joining the MLB players are Chris Lane, Jared Lintner, Brandon Coulter, Kelly Jordan, Paul Elias, Fred Roumbanis, Russ Lane, Casey Ashley, Mark Rose, Boyd Duckett, Gary Klein, Bobby Lane, Greg Vinson and Fletcher Shyrock.
Each team will leave out early Sunday, November 21 from Civitan Park with the goal of winning the tournament and securing bragging rights for an entire year.
For more information about the MLFAA and MLF Foundation, visit www.mlfaa.org. To become a vendor at the event or for more information, contact Joe Cagle at joecagle@mlfaa.org.
For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
South Carolina Native Wins Go Out{side} Giveaway
November 9, 2021
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Go Out{side} by Bassmaster was created to inspire and educate families as they begin exploring nature. Few things will motivate outdoor enthusiasts more than the incredible prizes in the Go Out{side} Giveaway, which included prizes from Big Green Egg, Eukanuba, Grizzly Coolers, AFTCO and a 2021 Toyota 4Runner Off Road Premium.
For giveaway winner Jeff Haire of Rock Hill, S.C., this prize came at the perfect time.
“The Toyota 4Runner TRD Off Road is the ideal prize at the ideal time,” explained Haire. “My wife’s SUV is more than 14 years old and ready to be replaced. We do frequently go off road, and the Toyota 4Runner has outstanding off-road capability, fantastic safety features and an amazing array of comfort and high-tech features.”
In addition to the new Toyota 4Runner, the Haire family will be outfitted with everything they need to continue their adventures, including a large Big Green Egg integrated Nest+Handler package, a Eukanuba prize pack including one year of dog food, a Grizzly G60 cooler and a $500 AFTCO gift card. The full value of the Go Out{side} Giveaway package is more than $46,000.
Haire already has plans to put these prizes to good use while exploring the outdoors.
“I am really looking forward to cooking with the Big Green Egg,” Haire said. “I’ve never had one, but everybody says they are the best! The Grizzly cooler will be used often for tailgates, trips to the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains and to the beaches of the Carolinas.
“We’re already planning a trip to Ocracoke Island (part of North Carolina's Outer Banks). We’ve taken many trips there over the last few decades, and a competent 4WD vehicle is required to access the best fishing spots. The 4Runner accomplishes that in comfort with room for three grandchildren and all our gear.”
Go Out{side} offers guidance on a variety of outdoor topics, including fishing, camping, hiking, cooking, travel, gear and conservation, from the knowledgeable writers and staff from B.A.S.S. along with Go Out{side} Ambassadors like Chef Jimmy Kennedy, outdoor bloggers and photographers Philip and Corey Hunt from Two Dog Outdoors, tournament angler Kristine Fischer and multispecies kayak angler John Deshauteurs.
Brandon Lester’s special boat dock
Courtesy of Alan McGuckin - Dynamic Sponsorships
Team Toyota’s Brandon Lester has won a million bucks thus far in his short career. And as national touring pro, he’s seen as many boat docks as what his Tundra’s seen interstate exit signs.
But there’s one particular boat dock within sight of iconic Waterfront Grocery boat ramp on Lake Guntersville that means more to the easy-going Tennessee pro than any other.
No, it’s not because he once caught a herd of 4-pounders off that dock and won a tournament. Instead, the special dock produced a few crappies with his grandpa on what would be their last treasured fishing trip together.
“I called him Papa. He was born in 1928, and he was of that old school mindset that fishing was a means to putting food on the table,” grins Lester.
But Hubert Smith was more than just a meat hunter seeking fresh fillets. He served America in the National Guard, was a preacher for 40 years in Fayetteville, Tennessee, and very much the foundation of his grandson Brandon’s future life as a top professional bass angler and all-around good man.
“I spent a ton of time with he and Nana during my summers as a kid. And of course, we went fishing as much as we could in his 16-foot Bumble Bee boat with a 40-horse engine on it. That was the first bass boat I ever rode in, and I thought it was the greatest thing ever,” remembers Lester.
It didn’t take long for the young Lester to move from Papa’s ride-along fishing buddy to being Captain of the small vessel, and that included learning to run the trolling motor.
“He’d always tell me, “One of these days you’re gonna be carrying me fishing,” -- and sure enough I did,” says Lester.
“I knew that particular trip here to Guntersville in 2018 was nearing the end. It was about 5-months before he passed away, and that dock behind me produced enough crappie for me to clean and share for dinner with him that evening. He loved that,” he reflects with emotion while holding up a photo of Papa on his cell phone.
So, while Lester will encounter thousands more boat docks in his still young career, only one will hold a place in his heart for Papa. It’s a big old dock, on the tip of Pine Island Point, blueish grey in color, across from a ramp he frequents often.
“Every time I launch at Waterfront, I think of Papa,” trails Lester’s voice with treasured memories.
Major League Fishing Announces Entry Dates for 2022 Toyota Series, Abu Garcia College Fishing and U.S. Army High School Fishing
The 2022 Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. offers the biggest payouts for the lowest entry fees of any national tournament trail and is the pathway to the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit and ultimately the Bass Pro Tour. The Toyota Series provides an opportunity for anglers to fish close to home for incredible awards and advancement to the nationally televised Toyota Series Championship on Lake Guntersville, where pros will fish for a top prize of up to $235,000 and Strike King co-anglers compete for a $33,500 Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat powered by a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard. The highest-finishing pro from each division at the Toyota Series Championship also receives a $10,000 bonus.
- Registration for the 2022 Toyota Series season opens at 8 a.m. CT on Nov. 8, 2021, for the top 40 pros and Strike King co-anglers from each division of the 2021 Toyota Series, the top 45 pros and co-anglers from each division of the 2021 Phoenix Bass Fishing League, the winner of each 2021 Bass Fishing League tournament who paid an entry fee for all five tournaments in a division and fished at least two tournaments in the same division, and each College Fishing angler finishing in the top 10 at the 2021 National Championship . These anglers have until Nov. 29, 2021, to secure their priority entry.
- Phoenix boat owners may register beginning at 8 a.m. CT on November 30, 2021.
- Anglers who fished a full division of the 2021 Toyota Series or 2021 Bass Fishing League can register beginning at 8 a.m. CT on Dec. 1, 2021, followed by TBF members at 8 a.m. CT on Dec. 2, 2021.
- All other entries will be accepted beginning at 8 a.m. CT on Dec. 3, 2021.
- Anglers can register for the Toyota Series online at MajorLeagueFishing.com or call 270.252.1000. Priority entries will be taken by phone only. Online entries will open at 8 a.m. CT on Dec. 3, 2021.
- Registration for teams competing in 2022 Abu Garcia College Fishing tournaments opens at 8 a.m. CT on Dec. 13, 2021, for teams from school clubs represented in the 2021 College Fishing National Championship.
- All other teams may register beginning Dec. 14, 2021.
- Teams can register for the Abu Garcia College Fishing online at MajorLeagueFishing.com or call 270.252.1000. Priority entries will be taken by phone only. Online entries will open at 8 a.m. CT on Dec.14, 2021.
- Registration for the 2022 season of U.S. Army High School Fishing Presented by Favorite Fishing is now open.
- Teams can register at MajorLeagueFishing.com or call 270.252.1000.
- Registrations for the 2022 Wiley X High School Fishing Camp Presented by Tackle Warehouse is now open.
- Teams can register at MajorLeagueFishing.com or call 270.252.1000.
Catch Redfish Cup Championship Coverage Live On FOX Sports And Bassmaster.com
Fans will enjoy live coverage all three days as 10 teams compete for a grand prize of $50,000 during the Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter in Port Aransas, Texas, Nov. 12-14, 2021.
Photo courtesy of Skeeter
November 8, 2021
all-redfishCupChampionshipFINAL_all-redLogo.pngCatch Redfish Cup Championship Coverage Live On FOX Sports And Bassmaster.com
PORT ARANSAS, Texas — Eager sportfishing fans will have three days to catch live coverage of the Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter, which runs Nov. 12-14 out of Port Aransas, Texas. Competition hours are 6:45 a.m.-2.45 p.m. CT, with daily weigh-ins set for 3 p.m. at Fisherman’s Wharf.
The 10 teams competing will only be allowed to weigh two fish in the 20- to 28-inch slot per day rather than the standard five-fish limit for B.A.S.S. events, which will make finding the right bites critical for claiming the $50,000 first prize.
Bassmaster Redfish LIVE kicks off Day 1 with real-time coverage from each of the 10 boats beginning at 7 a.m. on Bassmaster.com. FS1 will broadcast live the mornings of Days 2 and 3 with continuing coverage available on Bassmaster.com.
Date Time (All times Central) Network
Friday, November 12 7 a.m. – 10 a.m. Bassmaster.com
11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Bassmaster.com
Saturday, November 13 7 a.m. – 10 a.m. FS1; FOX Sports Digital
11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Bassmaster.com
Sunday, November 14 7 a.m. – 11 a.m. FS1; FOX Sports Digital
12 p.m. – 2 p.m. Bassmaster.com
Ten teams will compete in this year’s Redfish Cup Championship, including the teams of Travis Land and Nicky Savoie and Glenn Vann and Thomas Barlow from the Elite Redfish Tournament Trail as well as Jeremy Heimes and Mickey Gibbs and Chris Cenci and Chris Kennedy from the Power-Pole Pro Redfish Tour. Joining these talented teams are six additional all-star teams featuring Bassmaster pro anglers paired with redfish pros: Matt Herren and Chad Manning; Derek Hudnall and Ron Hueston; Mark Menendez and Ricky Bort; Patrick Walters and Dwayne Eschete; Chris Zaldain and Ryan Rickard; and Trait Zaldain and Matt McCabe.
Deal Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League Wild Card Regional Championship on Fort Loudon and Tellico Lakes
LENOIR CITY, Tenn. (Nov. 8, 2021) – After a grueling couple of days on the water, boater Ryan Deal of Evansville, Indiana, brought a two-day total of five bass to the scale weighing 15 pounds, 3 ounces to win the no-entry-fee Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine Wild Card Regional Championship at Fort Loudoun and Tellico Lakes. For his victory, Deal earned $5,076 and automatic entry into the 2022 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American Championship, as well as priority entry into the Toyota Series – the pathway to the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit and ultimately the Bass Pro Tour.
Hosted by Visit Loudon County and the City of Lenoir City, the Wild Card Regional Championship is a no-entry fee, last-chance shot at the All-American for Phoenix Bass Fishing League anglers that didn’t qualify for a Regional Championship in 2021. An optional side pot was available to anglers who elected to participate at the Wild Card tournament, with the top 20 percent of anglers who elected to participate in the optional pot receiving checks.
The top six boaters and top six Strike King co-anglers advanced to one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the 2022 Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine All-American, which will be held June 2-4 on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, hosted by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and Visit Hot Springs.
Running way up the Tennessee River on Fort Loudon, Deal said he caught his fish in about 10 feet of water, chasing a current-based pattern that relied on a morning bite.
Deal said his key bait was a ½-ounce Lunker Lure Rattleback Flipping Jig in green pumpkin with a matching Zoom Super Chunk Jr. trailer on 20-pound Sunline.
“The first day was definitely better,” Deal said. “I caught three good smallmouths early and a largemouth later in the day to bring in 12 pounds, 10 ounces.
“The final day was extremely tough,” continued Deal. “I kept catching 17½-inch smallmouth, but they’ve got to be 18 inches to keep, so I threw back about 10 pounds on Day 2 and only managed to catch one keeper the entire day.”
The Indiana native started fishing with Major League Fishing (MLF) when he was 16 years old and has fished more than 165 Phoenix Bass Fishing League tournaments over the years.
“This is the third BFL event I’ve won, but my first Regional Championship win and my fourth time to qualify for the All-American,” said Deal. “I’m excited and looking forward to going to the All-American again.”
The top six boaters that qualified for the 2022 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American were:
2nd: Perry Dawson of Rockwood, Tenn., seven bass, 14-2, $2,538
3rd: Kevin Powers of Unicoi, Tenn., seven bass, 13-12, $1,715
4th: Steve Phillips of Douglas, Ga., seven bass, 12-2, $1,544
5th: Darren Ashley of Calhoun Falls, S.C., five bass, 12-1, $1,372
6th: Wade Ramsey of Choctaw, Okla., seven bass, 11-11, $1,235
8th: Anthony Tardivet Mondo of Ooltewah, Tenn., four bass, 11-5, $1,452
9th: Jason Foster of Ripley, Miss., six bass, 11-4, $500
10th: Darrell Ivey, Jr. of Osage Beach, Mo., seven bass, 10-6, $1,392
Mondo took home an additional $354 for the Day One Berkley Big Bass award in the boater division with a bass weighing 4 pounds, 14 ounces. Mark Wedan of Florence, Alabama won the Day Two Berkley Big Bass award and $354 in the boater division, bringing a 4-pound, 2-ounce bass to the scale.
Foster took home an extra $500 as the highest finishing Phoenix MLF Bonus member. Boaters are eligible to win up to an extra $7,000 per event in each Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine tournament if all requirements are met. More information on the Phoenix MLF Bonus contingency program can be found at PhoenixBassBoats.com.
Gary Meredith of Mount Juliet, Tennessee weighed in five bass over two days totaling 9 pounds, 1 ounce to win the Strike King co-angler division at the Wild Card Regional Championship and earn automatic entry into the 2022 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American Championship, as well as priority entry into the Toyota Series.
The top six Strike King co-anglers that qualified for the 2022 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American were:
2nd: Jarrod Bailey of Salyersville, Ky., five bass, 9-0, $2,660
3rd: Gary Owens of Columbus, Ind., four bass, 8-2
4th: Brian Zelinskas of Beavercreek, Ohio, four bass, 7-7, $1,330
5th: Russell Woodson of Jonesville, S.C., five bass, 7-6, $899
6th: Kim Sapetti of Chatham, Ill., three bass, 7-5, $809
8th: Don Bible of Knoxville, Tenn., two bass, 6-2, $842
9th: Damon Phillips of Anderson, S.C., four bass, 5-14, $575
10th: Jarrod Egolf of Walkersville, Md., two bass, 5-13, $753
To be eligible to fish the no-entry-fee Wild Card Regional Championship, anglers must have entered all five events within a Phoenix Bass Fishing League division during the 2021 season and fished at least two of those events. In addition, anglers who fished in a regular BFL Regional Championship were ineligible. The full field competed both days at the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Wild Card, with winners determined by the heaviest two-day catch.
For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine on MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
Wong’s Dream Comes True With B.A.S.S. Nation Championship Victory
Matty Wong, of Culver City, Calif., has won the 2021 TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Championship on the Ouachita River with a three-day total of 35 pounds, 9 ounces.
Photo by Dalton Tumblin/B.A.S.S.
November 5, 2021
MONROE, La. — Matty Wong said he envisioned the Bryan V. Kerchal Memorial Trophy sitting on his passenger seat during the 25-hour drive from his home in Culver City, Calif., to the TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Championship.
Turns out, it’ll be there.
Wong caught 15 bass for a three-day total of 35 pounds, 9 ounces to win the championship that concluded Friday on the Ouachita River in north Louisiana. In addition to the hardware, Wong collected a $20,000 Nation’s Best first prize presented by Nitro/Mercury and a spot on the Bassmaster Elite Series in 2022. He’ll have use of a fully-rigged Nation’s Best tournament boat for the Elite season, which he emphatically stated he’ll join.
Wong also earned a berth into the 2022 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk scheduled for March 4-6 on South Carolina’s Lake Hartwell. Washington’s Taylor Smith (second place, 33-15) and former Elite Series angler Jared Miller who hails from Oklahoma (third, 33-7) also claimed spots in the Classic.
Wong, a 33-year old Hawaii-born angler, rallied from an 8-ounce deficit heading into Day 3. He fished cypress laydowns on the main river channel throughout the week and was consistent with his catch. He caught a 12-2 limit on opening day and followed with an 11-2 limit on Day 2, trailing only Alabama’s Coby Carden heading into the finals.
Wong caught a 12-5 bag Friday, with no fish weighing more than 3 pounds.
“I caught a 3-pounder to start the day and felt OK,” he said. “Then I caught another 3-pounder and felt good. When I caught my third 3-pounder, I actually started crying.”
Wong doesn’t hide his emotions. He shed tears again on stage shortly before taking the hot seat with only Carden left to weigh. Carden, who’s reached two previous Classics, mustered only a 6-8 limit on the final day and fell to seventh overall.
That left Wong holding the trophy he dreamed was sitting shotgun on last week’s long drive across the continent.
“This whole thing is a dream,” he said. “I’m absolutely speechless.”
Wong leaned on a variety of balsa wood squarebill crankbaits to boat his best bass, with bluegill, shad and chartreuse as his go-to colors. He also flipped a brown jig and used a War Eagle spinnerbait with a chartreuse blade and chartreuse trailer.
“It basically was trash fishing,” he said. “But I was looking for unusual stretches of laydowns. I was looking for places on the riverbank that were on a bend, after a sandbar or a long stretch of mud.”
Smith, 36, caught the big bag on Friday – a 16-8 limit that vaulted him from 12th place to second. It is the second time he’s finished runner-up at a B.A.S.S. Nation Championship, having done so on Lake Hartwell in 2019. He’ll head there again for his second trip to the biggest event in bass fishing.
“Being in the Classic for me is pretty special,” he said. “Whether it’s Ping-Pong or cornhole, I want to win. So, there will still be pressure.”
Smith used an aluminum boat on Friday to reach a backwater area that wasn’t accessible earlier in the week in his fiberglass boat. He threw a white Bandit crankbait on Day 3 and wound up catching the second-biggest bag of the tournament.
Miller, 37, caught a 13-4 limit on Day 3, moving from seventh place up to third and into a spot in the Classic. His primary bait was a Berkley MaxScent Creature Hawg (green pumpkin).
“Half my fish this week came from squeezing behind docks and the other half came from main-river laydowns,” Miller said.
Both Smith and Miller will have their entry fees paid into the 2022 Bassmaster Opens in all divisions.
Also fishing on Friday were: fourth, Arkansas’ Chris Johnson, 32-6; fifth, Wisconsin’s Jim Barczak, 31-11; sixth, Utah’s Ben Byrd, 30-6; seventh, Carden, 30-4; eighth, Rhode Island’s Mike Wolfenden, 28-0; ninth, South Africa’s Justin Karan, 26-13; 10th, Missouri’s Ray Cates, 26-4; 11th, Pennsylvania’s Aaron Green, 24-15; 12th, Wisconsin’s Dustin Drath, 23-12; 13th, Arizona’s Zack Holwerda, 20-6; and 15th, Minnesota’s Richard Lindgren, 17-4.
A total of 101 anglers from 47 states and three foreign countries competed this week for $96,000 in prize money. The field was narrowed to 14 after Thursday’s cut, including the Top 10 boaters, Cates and Drath from the nonboater division, and Green and Lindgren as leading anglers in the championship from their respective B.A.S.S. Nation regions. Missouri’s Nick Luna finished 14th overall with 17-5 but didn’t make the cut to the final round.
Carden won $1,000 for having the big bass of the tournament (5-7).
Cates won the nonboater division on Thursday. He collected the Louis “Pee Wee” Powers Memorial Trophy as well as a $10,000 cash prize courtesy of Nitro/Mercury. His 4-3 bass was the heaviest among nonboaters and he won another $500 for that catch.
Drath, who finished second among nonboaters, won $7,500, part of a $31,500 purse split among the Top 12 in that division.
As part of the Yamaha Power Pay program, Jason Pittman of Covington, Miss., earned $5,000 as the program’s highest placing entrant while last year’s B.A.S.S. Nation champion and current Elite Series pro Pat Schlapper of Eleva, Wis., claimed an additional $2,500 for being the second-highest placing entrant.
2021 TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Championship - Ouachita River 11/3-11/5
Ouachita River, Monroe LA.
(BOATER) Standings Day 3
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Matty Wong Culver City, CA 15 35-09 0 $20,000.00
Day 1: 5 12-02 Day 2: 5 11-02 Day 3: 5 12-05
2. Taylor Smith Valleyford, WA 15 33-15 0 $15,000.00
Day 1: 5 08-14 Day 2: 5 08-09 Day 3: 5 16-08
3. Jared Miller Norman, OK 15 33-07 0 $10,500.00
Day 1: 5 10-11 Day 2: 5 09-08 Day 3: 5 13-04
4. Chris Johnson Farmington, AR 15 32-06 0 $5,000.00
Day 1: 5 12-12 Day 2: 5 09-02 Day 3: 5 10-08
5. Jim Barczak Osceola, WI 13 31-11 0 $4,000.00
Day 1: 5 13-04 Day 2: 5 08-15 Day 3: 3 09-08
6. Ben Byrd Moab, UT 15 30-06 0 $3,000.00
Day 1: 5 07-13 Day 2: 5 11-01 Day 3: 5 11-08
7. Coby Carden Shelby, AL 12 30-04 0 $3,000.00
Day 1: 5 19-05 Day 2: 2 04-07 Day 3: 5 06-08
8. Mike Wolfenden Warwick, RI 14 28-00 0 $1,000.00
Day 1: 5 12-04 Day 2: 5 08-04 Day 3: 4 07-08
9. Justin Karan Heidelberg Gauteng SOUT 15 26-13 0 $1,000.00
Day 1: 5 10-06 Day 2: 5 07-15 Day 3: 5 08-08
10. Ray Cates Overland Park, KS 11 26-04 0 $11,500.00
Day 1: 5 13-12 Day 2: 3 08-00 Day 3: 3 04-08
11. Aaron Green Everett, PA 11 24-15 0 $500.00
Day 1: 5 15-06 Day 2: 1 01-06 Day 3: 5 08-03
12. Dustin Drath Coon Valley, WI 11 23-12 0 $8,000.00
Day 1: 5 13-09 Day 2: 2 04-06 Day 3: 4 05-13
The Heart of AMart
My brother and I with Aaron Martens at the 2017 Bassmaster Classic Expo in Houston
Courtesy of David Xiong / AnglersChannel.com
In this sport we call bass fishing, we all have our personal favorites. For many it was Clunn, Nixon, Parker. For me, it was VanDam, Iaconelli… Martens. That last one means a bit more to me. It was definitely about what happened off the water than it did on.
I didn’t get into the sports-side of bass fishing until the mid to late 2000s. I attended my first professional bass fishing event in 2011 as part of a wedding gift from my wife, the Bassmaster Classic in New Orleans. My favorite angler ended up winning that event but little did I know that the guy who ended up bridesmaid would leave a more impactful memory.
It was Day 2 of the 2016 Bassmaster Elite event in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. I’ve met Aaron Martens a handful of times prior to this but the interaction I had with him that day would be one that changed me forever.
Having been to the past Elite events in Wisconsin a few years prior, I’ve had mixed interactions with anglers. Some were pleasant, others somewhat cordial and a few that probably didn’t know I existed. On that September day, I didn’t expect anything different.
The weigh-in had just concluded and my brother and I were about to make our way back to the car to begin the 3 hour drive back home. For some reason, we decided to take a stroll through the parking lot where the anglers parked. Rigging up tackle in their boats were Mike Iaconelli and Aaron Martens. My brother had recently gotten into bass fishing and like any basshead, we had some questions and figured we can ask them. For the next hour or so, my brother and I chatted up a storm with Aaron. Mind you, Aaron had qualified to fish the next day and did not eat dinner yet. I believe he was in the mood for sushi. Not once did Aaron make us feel like we were wasting his time or that he had something better to do. He talked fishing, sharing some of the information from the immense database in that head of his. Even though I knew and felt that we should leave him alone so he could go on with his day, Aaron kept talking to us, roping us in like a moth to a flame. From that moment I became an Aaron Martens fan for life.
It was from this day that Aaron, intentionally or not, taught me the importance of treating people like they’re important, regardless of who they are. He didn’t have to spend that time talking to me when he was trying to win $100,000, was hungry and maybe had to use the bathroom. In doing so, he taught me more about being a human than the tips and tricks we discussed about that day. He made sure to make my time with him special. They say that you should never meet your heroes but I’m glad I met Aaron.
Since that day, every time I’ve talked to Aaron, he always spoke to me like I was one of his close buddies. It’s like the conversations you have when you don’t see a friend for quite some time but you seem to pick up where you left off the last time you saw each other.
When I saw the most recent posts from Aaron, I had a feeling that things weren’t looking too good. Having lost my dad to cancer, I knew that Aaron was still fighting but could see that the cancer was beginning to take it’s toll on him. Upon hearing of his passing, I promise you that it didn’t sit well with me. Though saddened, I rejoice knowing that Aaron is now home where he’s cancer-free and furiously catching some hawgs in the pristine lakes of Heaven. I look forward to the day I get to catch my personal best with Aaron and my dad.
-DX
Carden Maintains B.A.S.S. Nation Championship Lead Despite Tough Day On Ouachita River
Coby Carden, of Shelby, Ala., is leading after Day 2 of the 2021 TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Championship on the Ouachita River with a two-day total of 23 pounds, 12 ounces.
Photo by Dalton Tumblin/B.A.S.S.
November 4, 2021
MONROE, La. — Coby Carden had a dismal Day 2 on the Ouachita River, but an especially heavy Day 1 haul allowed him to maintain the lead in the TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Championship.
And that means his hopes of reaching his third Bassmaster Classic remain intact.
The 47-year-old Shelby, Ala., resident caught only two bass Thursday that weighed 4 pounds, 7 ounces. The 19-5 limit he caught a day earlier, however, was strong enough to give him 23-12 overall and a spot atop the leaderboard.
A total of 101 anglers from 47 states and three foreign countries are competing this week for $96,000 in prize money. Also up for grabs are three berths in the 2022 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk scheduled for March 4-6 on South Carolina’s Lake Hartwell.
Carden's been in this position before. He finished second in the Nation Championship on the Ouachita River in 2014 to qualify for the 2015 Classic on Hartwell, where he finished 15th overall. He also fished in the 2014 Classic on Alabama’s Lake Guntersville, placing 24th.
Carden knows he’ll have to improve on Thursday’s weight to make a personal trifecta of Classics. He’s prepared to make changes to get there, too.
“I’m not going back to the spot I’ve been fishing,” Carden said. “The area takes a lot of commitment. It takes an hour and 20 minutes to get there. It’s dangerous to get there. Tomorrow, I’m going to play it more conservative and go in places where I can run a bunch of different water.”
The spot was obviously fizzling out anyway.
“I only had five bites today, and I caught all five,” he said. “But there were three shorts in there. It’s all about decision-making. I’m going to really try to get my primary area out of mind and go fish a bunch of different things ... maybe I can figure something out.”
So, too, will the 13 other anglers who survived Thursday’s cut. They include, second, California’s Matty Wong, 23-4; third, Wisconsin’s Jim Barczak, 22-3; fourth, Arkansas’ Chris Johnson, 21-14; fifth, Kansas’ Ray Cates, 21-12; sixth, Rhode Island’s Mike Wolfenden, 20-8; seventh, Oklahoma’s Jared Miller, 20-3; eighth, Utah’s Ben Byrd, 18-14; ninth, Arizona’s Zack Holwerda, 18-6; 10th, South Africa’s Justin Karan, 18-5; 11th, Wisconsin’s Dustin Drath, 17-15; 12th, Washington’s Taylor Smith, 17-7; 13th, Pennsylvania’s Aaron Green, 16-2; and 14th, Minnesota’s Richard Lindgren, 14-13.
The Top 10 boaters made Friday’s final cut. In addition, Cates advanced by winning the nonboater division and Drath by having a nonboater weight that ranked among the Top 10 boater weights. The Top 2 anglers from each of the five Nation regions (and not in the Top 10 overall) also advanced — Green from the Northeastern Region and Lindgren from the Northern Region.
Wong briefly held the overall lead on Day 2 after catching limits of 12-2 on Wednesday and 11-2 on Thursday.
“It was nice to go into today with the bag I had because it helped me keep an open mind and keep the pressure off,” he said.
Wong said he’s dreamed of reaching the Classic since he was a boy growing up in Hawaii.
“I’m speechless just knowing it’s within reach,” he said. “But I’m not going to think about it. I just have to go fish my brains out.”
Barczak said he’s slow rolling a white/chartreuse spinnerbait around cypress laydowns to catch his best bass. He’s fished near other top competitors on both days of the tournament, but none close enough to compete for bites.
“I’ll spend all day there again tomorrow and hopefully I’ll be alone,” he said.
This week’s winner will collect a $20,000 Nation’s Best first prize presented by Nitro/Mercury. The champ also will earn a spot in the Bassmaster Elite Series in 2022, including the use of a fully-rigged Nation’s Best tournament boat for the season. If he declines the invite to the Elites, he’ll instead have all entry fees paid into each of the 2022 Bassmaster Opens. The second- and third-place anglers also will have their entry fees paid into the Opens in all divisions.
Cates was awarded the Louis “Pee Wee” Powers Memorial Trophy that goes to the top nonboater. He also collected $10,000 courtesy of Nitro/Mercury for finishing atop the co-angler division and another $500 for having the big bass in the nonboater division (4-15).
“I’m going to stay on the main river tomorrow and try to find some fish,” the 59-year-old Overland Park, Kansas, resident said. “It’s a challenge fishing from the back of the boat, especially behind these really good fishermen. I’m looking forward to having some clean water in front of me.”
Drath won $7,500 for placing second among nonboaters. Rounding out the Top 5 in the division are third, Jake Morrison of Scottsdale, Ariz., 15-14; fourth, Joe Sodora of Garfield, N.J., 13-11; and fifth, Mark Pierce of Kadiz, Ky., 11-4. The Top 12 nonboaters split $31,500 of the total prize money.
The third and final day of the event will begin Friday with a 7:15 a.m. CT takeoff from Forsythe Park. Weigh-in will be held back at the park at 3:15 p.m.
Fall Schooling Will Favor Redfish Cup Championship Field
Ten teams will be competing for a grand prize of $50,000 during the Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter in Port Aransas, Texas, Nov. 12-14, 2021.
Photo courtesy Port Aransas Tourism Bureau & Chamber of Commerce
November 4, 2021
PORT ARANSAS, Texas — Travis Land believes that playing the numbers game will be the most consistent strategy for anglers fishing the Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter, Nov. 12-14 at Port Aransas, Texas. Fortunately, the South Texas redfish tournament pro believes seasonal patterns will likely serve up an ideal scenario.
Competition hours are 6:45 a.m.-2.45 p.m. CT, with daily weigh-ins set for 3 p.m. at Fisherman’s Wharf. Ten teams, six of which include B.A.S.S. tournament pros (Bassmaster Elite and Opens tours), will compete for the $50,000 top prize.
“We had the freeze (severe winter storms) back in February and I was concerned about the number of fish that would be in our area, but the time of year we’ll be fishing this tournament is going to be a big plus for us,” Land said. “The redfish will be schooling up this time of the year, and we’ll be trying to find and target those larger schools of redfish in order to find the weight we need.”
Juvenile redfish grow up in the protected inshore waters of bays and estuaries before heading offshore when they reach maturity at approximately 30 inches. Biologists have found that, while mature redfish typically gather in spawning groups near coastal inlets each fall, the larger juveniles — the ones nearing recruitment age — will also form fall schools in what may be explained as practice runs for upcoming transitions.
“That’s what we’ll be targeting; those redfish that are between 27 and 28 inches,” Land said. “Those are the ones that will weigh the most."
The tournament format will allow each team to weigh two redfish between 20 and 28 inches. Seeking those “upper slot” fish — the ones closest to the maximum allowed length — anglers will target a variety of habitat features from the rock jetties guarding coastal inlets, to oyster reefs, shallow grass flats near deeper edges and mangrove shorelines.
Land, who will partner with former NFL player Nicky Savoie, said he believes competitive fish can be caught throughout the entirety of tournament waters — Port O’Connor south to South Bird Island Basin. Nodding to Florida’s famous redfish tradition, he believes that anglers familiar with Sunshine State fisheries will find familiar scenarios in his home waters.
“I expect the Florida guys to do what they’re comfortable with, which is drift the shallow-water flats with clean water near mangroves,” Land said. “The majority of our mangroves were killed in the freeze, so it will look a little different to them, but I expect the Florida fishermen to do well in this tournament because Port Aransas sets up very similar to Florida-style fishing.”
Bait selection will depend on multiple factors, including habitat, depth, wind strength and water clarity. Likely choices include lead-head jigs with swimming tails or synthetic shrimp, gold spoons, topwater plugs, heavy-duty spinnerbaits and cork rigs (a jig suspended below a rattling or popping cork).
With any of these options, tides are essential to the redfish game, both in terms of shallow access, as well as feeding intensity. As Land notes, reds typically eat best on a strong falling tide; however, the tournament days will bring a challenging scenario.
Essentially, with full and new moon cycles exerting the strongest “pull” on coastal waters, these respective weeks typically see greater water movement. Quarter moon cycles, like the waxing gibbous (first quarter on Nov. 11) stage befalling tournament days, see slower tides.
With smaller fluctuations between high and low tides, anglers will find less opportunity to reach into supershallow areas. Conversely, the extreme low tides that often isolate fish in deeper areas won’t occur. Overall water movement will be weaker, but redfish still want to feed, so Land stresses strategic positioning.
“I think you’ll have to focus on where you really want to be when that tide is moving the most,” he said. “You’ll want to be in your best spots that time of day when they are moving.”
Doing so could reward a team with three days of upper-slot fish. Land predicts a winning three-day total of 48 pounds. Breaking down the math, that’s two 8-pound fish a day. Definitely doable this time of year, but, as Land notes, it’s going to come down to playing the numbers game.
“An upper-slot redfish (in this area) is going to weigh 8 to 9 pounds; a lower-slot redfish is going to weight 6 1/2 to 7 1/2,” he said. “I think the team that falls on the right school of fish is going to win. You can fall on a school that’s a bunch of ‘overs’ (redfish over the 28-inch limit), or you could fall on a school that’s a mixed bag.
“I think the team that falls on the school with the most upper-slot fish and can catch fish all day will be the team that wins.”
Fans can catch Bassmaster Redfish LIVE coverage all three days of the tournament as cameras capture all of the action. Bassmaster.com will stream live beginning at 7 a.m. CT on Nov. 12. FS1 will broadcast live Nov. 13 from 7-10 a.m. and Nov. 14 from 7-11 a.m. with continuing coverage available on Bassmaster.com.
Hurry up and Wait......
Vance McCullough
“If you’re not 10 minutes early, you’re late.”
- your grand dad (or somebody similar)
Hurry up and wait. That’s often the drill in adult life. It can be much the same when fishing, especially in the fall.
To put it more accurately, ‘Fish fast, then slow’.
Bass scatter and become nomadic during the fall more so than in other seasons. What had been a stable, if less enthusiastic school of fish holding in predictable places during summer has now dispersed to chase roaming baitfish, mostly in shallow pockets and far up creek arms and tributaries. The good news: fun baits rule now! Crank secondary points, rip jerkbaits and burn flukes over bars and humps, sling spinnerbaits – everywhere. It’s time for walking baits, poppers, buzzbaits and Whopper Ploppers.
Put the trolling motor on a steady pace and go cover water because there’s no telling where you’ll find fish right now. Except, there is. There are very few sure bets in bass fishing but there’s more than a chance that some bass will post up on some form of shallow hard cover and let dinner come to them. Often, these are the biggest, most mature bass in the fishery. They get big and fat because they conserve energy this way.
Docks are an obvious choice, as are laydown logs. Don’t overlook corners or turns in bulkheads and ‘seawalls’, especially in current heavy environs such as rivers. Any place bass can ambush, or trap prey is a high value target. Many such places exist way up the tiniest creeks and canals. Find a ditch and keep going. You can’t fish too shallow in autumn. As options are generally limited, absolutely every piece of cover with water on it is a prime suspect to harbor fish in these types of places. Tread lightly and make long casts.
Clear water calls for faster retrieves so, conversely, the more stained the water, the more valuable a hard target, such as wood, becomes because it gives an angler the confidence that there are fish present and that it will be worth the extra time required to pick the structure apart. Besides, as a general rule, the more off-colored water becomes, the tighter fish will hold to cover.
Fall bass can be stubborn. Repeated casts are often needed to trigger a bite. Switch up the angles too. I remember a trip on a tough Kentucky Lake fishery when Strike King Pro Mark Menendez cranked a tiny pile of brush in 3 feet of water with a squarebill. Repeatedly. “There he is,” said Menendez as the fish finally choked the lure. “I knew there had to be a fish in there, but it took 8 casts to get him to bite. So often that’s the deal – repeated casts. You just have to be more stubborn than the fish when you’re around some obvious cover like that and you know there’s a fish or two in there.”
Jigs are popular in such obvious shallow spots as the weather continues to cool. Not only does a jig offer a bulky profile and substantial meal, but anglers can swim them up in the water column to imitate baitfish and just as quickly hop them along bottom when they suspect the bass have switched to crawfish as a preferred forage species. Versatile as jigs are, they’re not always the best choice. Stick baits may be the undisputed champions of go-to lures when you just gotta have a bite and nothing else is working. They skip well and, as such are great lures to pitch around docks. Flukes skip a little better and land softly, making them indispensable in the shallows as well.
Go burn the flats at warp speed but if the bass don’t think your lures are as fun to eat as you think they are to fish, find an obvious piece of shallow hard cover and hunker down on it.
Giant Bag Lifts Classic Veteran Carden To Lead At B.A.S.S. Nation Championship On Ouachita River
Coby Carden, of Shelby, Ala., is leading after Day 1 of the 2021 TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Championship on the Ouachita River with 19 pounds, 5 ounces.
Photo by Dalton Tumblin/B.A.S.S.
November 3, 2021
MONROE, La. — Coby Carden figured he could catch a good bag of bass on Day 1 of the TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Championship, but he certainly didn’t expect the haul that came his way Wednesday.
Carden, who lives in Shelby, Ala., caught a five-bass limit weighing 19 pounds, 5 ounces to seize the lead on the opening day of the championship on the Ouachita River in north Louisiana. Pennsylvania’s Aaron Green is in second place with a 15-6 limit and Wisconsin’s Jim Barczak is third with 13-4.
In all, 101 anglers from 47 states and three foreign countries are competing in the championship. The top three anglers in the three-day competition will earn berths into the 2022 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk which is scheduled to be held March 4-6 on South Carolina’s Lake Hartwell.
Carden got a jump on the field with his 19-5 bag, anchored by a 5-7 largemouth that was the heaviest of the day. However, an unfortunate equipment malfunction almost made it “the catch that didn’t happen.”
“I set the hook on that fish, and when I did, the reel seat in the rod broke,” Carden said. “The reel fell off into the boat. I had to stick the rod under my arm and pull the line in with my hands.
“It was a cluster for a few minutes there,” he said, chuckling at his good fortune.
Carden has had success on Ouachita before, having finished second in the B.A.S.S. Nation Championship held there in 2014. That qualified him for the Bassmaster Classic in 2015 on Lake Hartwell, where he finished 15th. He placed 24th in the Classic on Alabama’s Lake Guntersville a year earlier.
The 47-year-old angler made a long run on the 605-mile-long Ouachita to start Day 1 — a particularly harrowing trip considering temperatures were below 50 with rain.
Carden fished with a half dozen other boats to start the day before working back down the river, fishing some new water along the way. He said he pitched a creature bait around cypress trees and expects to do the same Thursday.
The sun is expected to make an appearance on Day 2 and Carden isn’t sure how that affects his catch. Still, the nearly 4-pound cushion he built Wednesday certainly won’t hurt his championship cause.
“I thought I could catch 13 pounds today and instead wound up with 19,” he said. “Who knows what happens tomorrow?”
Green didn’t catch a bass until 10:30 a.m. on Day 1, but he relocated to an area that provided the bulk of the day’s second-heaviest bag.
“It was laydowns mostly,” Green said. “We knew they were there, but we had to narrow it down. Once we did, we caught them pretty quickly.”
Barczak said he’s fishing in a cut approximately 45 minutes from the takeoff at Forsythe Park. He said the bass he found were in shallow water, but he thinks they’ll reposition under sunnier skies.
“Most of the guys who are up in the top (of the standings) are in the same area I am, I think,” Barczak said. “I’ll stick with it. It’s all I have.”
Arkansas’ Chris Johnson is in fourth place with 12-12. Trailing just behind him are Rhode Island’s Mike Wolfenden (fifth, 12-4), Minnesota’s Richard Lindgren (sixth, 12-3) and California’s Matty Wong (seventh, 12-2).
Ray Cates of Overland Park, Kan., leads the nonboater division with five bass weighing 13-12. That limit included a 4-15 kicker — the heaviest caught by a nonboater on Day 1. Wisconsin’s Dustin Drath is in second place with 13-9, including a 4-2 largemouth that anchored his bag.
Competitors qualified for the championship through five regional championships held earlier this year. And per usual, B.A.S.S. welcomed the Paralyzed Veterans of America Angler of the Year to the event.
The field is vying for $96,000 in prize money, including a $20,000 Nation’s Best first prize presented by Nitro/Mercury that goes to the top boater. The champ also will earn a spot in the Bassmaster Elite Series in 2022, including the use of a fully-rigged Nation’s Best tournament boat for the season. If the Nation champion turns down the Elite Series berth, they will instead be awarded paid entry fees to the Basspro.com Bassmaster Opens for all divisions. The second- and third-place boaters, as well as the nonboater champ, will have their entry fees paid into the Bassmaster Opens in all divisions.
The top nonboater after Thursday’s weigh-in will collect $10,000, also courtesy of Nitro/Mercury.
Day 2 will begin Thursday with a 7:15 a.m. CT takeoff from Forsythe Park. Weigh-in is scheduled at the park for 3:15 p.m.
After Thursday’s round, the Top 10 boaters and the winning nonboater will advance to fish Friday. The Top 2 boaters from each of the regional tournaments (if not already inside the Top 10 overall) will also make the cut, as will any nonboaters that have totals that rank among the Top 10 boater weights.
2021 TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Championship - Ouachita River 11/3-11/5
Ouachita River, Monroe LA.
(BOATER) Standings Day 1
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Coby Carden Shelby, AL 5 19-05 0
Day 1: 5 19-05
2. Aaron Green Everett, PA 5 15-06 0
Day 1: 5 15-06
3. Jim Barczak Osceola, WI 5 13-04 0
Day 1: 5 13-04
4. Chris Johnson Farmington, AR 5 12-12 0
Day 1: 5 12-12
5. Mike Wolfenden Warwick, RI 5 12-04 0
Day 1: 5 12-04
6. Richard Lindgren Lakeville, MN 5 12-03 0
Day 1: 5 12-03
7. Matty Wong Culver City, CA 5 12-02 0
Day 1: 5 12-02
8. Jason Virgil Hermiston, OR 4 11-02 0
Day 1: 4 11-02
9. Earl Wells Payette, ID 5 10-14 0
Day 1: 5 10-14
10. Nick Luna Grain Valley, MO 5 10-13 0
Day 1: 5 10-13
11. Jared Miller Norman, OK 5 10-11 0
Day 1: 5 10-11
12. Justin Karan Heidelberg Gauteng SOUT 5 10-06 0
Day 1: 5 10-06
13. Kris Bosley Amarillo, TX 5 10-05 0
Day 1: 5 10-05
14. Rick Svoboda Cockeysville , MD 5 10-04 0
Day 1: 5 10-04
15. Devin Knoblauch La Vista, NE 5 10-00 0
Day 1: 5 10-00
16. Zack Holwerda Maricopa, AZ 5 09-09 0
Day 1: 5 09-09
17. Jason Pittman Covington, MS 5 09-02 0
Day 1: 5 09-02
18. Jay Evans Missoula, MT 5 08-15 0
Day 1: 5 08-15
19. Taylor Smith Valleyford, WA 5 08-14 0
Day 1: 5 08-14
20. David Cavell Prairieville, LA 5 08-09 0
Day 1: 5 08-09
21. Bryant Copley Altavista, VA 5 08-08 0
Day 1: 5 08-08
22. Richard Smith Cecilia, KY 5 07-14 0
Day 1: 5 07-14
23. Willie Adkins Jr Wayne, WV 5 07-13 0
Day 1: 5 07-13
23. Ben Byrd Moab, UT 5 07-13 0
Day 1: 5 07-13
25. Kevin Rose Jr Anniston, CT 4 07-10 0
Day 1: 4 07-10
26. Pat Schlapper Eleva, WI 5 07-09 0
Day 1: 5 07-09
27. Michael Belter Reidsville, NC 5 07-08 0
Day 1: 5 07-08
28. Josh Cotier Clinton, MA 5 07-01 0
Day 1: 5 07-01
28. Zack Smith Starke, FL 5 07-01 0
Day 1: 5 07-01
30. Fabian Rodriguez Ocean City, MD 4 06-15 0
Day 1: 4 06-15
31. Will Kanwisher Ramsey, NJ 5 06-14 0
Day 1: 5 06-14
32. Ken Carter Enterprise, FL 4 06-12 0
Day 1: 4 06-12
33. Nobuyuki Terajima Hermitage, TN 5 06-07 0
Day 1: 5 06-07
34. Nick Leonard Amelia, OH 5 06-03 0
Day 1: 5 06-03
35. Andrew Bowen Greendale Harare ZIMBA 5 06-02 0
Day 1: 5 06-02
36. Chad Petrie McKinney, TX 5 05-10 0
Day 1: 5 05-10
37. Tyler Williams Belgrade, ME 5 05-09 0
Day 1: 5 05-09
38. Brock Belik Orchard, NE 4 05-08 0
Day 1: 4 05-08
38. Brandon Moss Blanchard, OK 4 05-08 0
Day 1: 4 05-08
40. Danny McGarry Newcastle CANADA 4 05-05 0
Day 1: 4 05-05
41. Patrick Brown Swainsboro, GA 3 05-04 0
Day 1: 3 05-04
42. Adam Hamann Prairie Du Chien, IA 5 04-11 0
Day 1: 5 04-11
43. Eric Low Buxton, ME 3 04-08 0
Day 1: 3 04-08
44. Bryan Gunter Ninety Six, SC 3 03-14 0
Day 1: 3 03-14
45. Austin Kunz Celestine, IN 3 03-11 0
Day 1: 3 03-11
46. Casey Smith Macedon, NY 3 03-02 0
Day 1: 3 03-02
47. Jacob Stauthammer Lafayette, IL 2 03-00 0
Day 1: 2 03-00
48. William Naugle Lake Havasu City, AZ 2 02-02 0
Day 1: 2 02-02
49. Harrison Bertsch Rathdrum, ID 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00
49. Michael Comeau Alburgh, VT 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00
49. Greg Sochocki Bridgeport , MI 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00
49. Mike Wheaton Ottumwa, IA 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 34 217 392-10
----------------------------------
34 217 392-10
2021 TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Championship - Ouachita River 11/3-11/5
Ouachita River, Monroe LA.
(NON_BOATER) Standings Day 1
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Ray Cates Overland Park, KS 5 13-12 0
Day 1: 5 13-12
2. Dustin Drath Coon Valley, WI 5 13-09 0
Day 1: 5 13-09
3. Jake Morrison Scottsdale, AZ 5 11-11 0
Day 1: 5 11-11
4. Mark Pierce Cadiz, KY 5 10-00 0
Day 1: 5 10-00
5. Russell Vines El Dorado, AR 5 07-13 0
Day 1: 5 07-13
6. Joe Sodora Garfield, NJ 4 07-13 0
Day 1: 4 07-13
7. Michael O'Rourke Curtice, OH 4 07-01 0
Day 1: 4 07-01
8. Michael Schelling Sioux Falls, SD 4 06-14 0
Day 1: 4 06-14
9. Nathan Towes Bakersfield, CA 4 06-06 0
Day 1: 4 06-06
10. Matt Luken Independence, KY 4 05-13 0
Day 1: 4 05-13
11. Tyler Rush Clearville, PA 3 05-08 0
Day 1: 3 05-08
12. Brad Hauf Las Cruces, NM 3 05-00 0
Day 1: 3 05-00
13. Josh Cole Columbus, IN 2 04-09 0
Day 1: 2 04-09
14. Jon Pollock Lakewood, CO 3 04-06 0
Day 1: 3 04-06
15. Scooter Wright Chickasha, OK 4 04-05 0
Day 1: 4 04-05
16. Casey Baroffio Northfield, VT 4 04-04 0
Day 1: 4 04-04
17. Ronald Bestwick Grisword, CT 3 03-15 0
Day 1: 3 03-15
18. Mason Gunter Newnan, GA 2 03-14 0
Day 1: 2 03-14
19. Mark Edmonds Eldridge, AL 3 03-09 0
Day 1: 3 03-09
20. Travis Lugar McGaheysville, VA 4 03-07 0
Day 1: 4 03-07
21. Jody Belcher Naoma, WV 2 03-07 0
Day 1: 2 03-07
22. Morgan Fitzgerald Durango, CO 2 02-13 0
Day 1: 2 02-13
22. Reggie Guffey Jr Bessemer City, NC 2 02-13 0
Day 1: 2 02-13
24. TJ Dobs Verona, NY 2 02-10 0
Day 1: 2 02-10
25. Hunter Loveless American Fork, UT 3 02-09 0
Day 1: 3 02-09
26. Glenn Hahn San Antonio, TX 2 02-00 0
Day 1: 2 02-00
27. Allen Severance Lake Villa, IL 1 02-00 0
Day 1: 1 02-00
28. Dave Turner Crystal River, FL 2 01-12 0
Day 1: 2 01-12
28. Chizta Xiong Saint Cloud, MN 2 01-12 0
Day 1: 2 01-12
30. Dustin Frank Rathdrum, ID 2 01-10 0
Day 1: 2 01-10
31. Greg Hadden Pendleton, OR 2 01-09 0
Day 1: 2 01-09
32. Timothy Garrison Jefferson, SC 1 01-07 0
Day 1: 1 01-07
33. Richard Heflin Topeka, KS 1 01-01 0
Day 1: 1 01-01
33. Rob Tipton III Pitman, NJ 1 01-01 0
Day 1: 1 01-01
35. AJ Mende Bellevue, NE 1 00-15 0
Day 1: 1 00-15
36. Josh Mohn Lansing, IA 1 00-13 0
Day 1: 1 00-13
36. Hunter Neuville New Iberia, LA 1 00-13 0
Day 1: 1 00-13
38. Guiseppe Andreoli Harrisville, RI 1 00-12 0
Day 1: 1 00-12
38. Mark Pryal Silver Springs, MD 1 00-12 0
Day 1: 1 00-12
40. Brian Vogelsang Zanesfield, OH 1 00-11 0
Day 1: 1 00-11
41. Ron Christiansen Las Vegas, NV 1 00-07 0
Day 1: 1 00-07
41. Jake Hansen Bozeman, MT 1 00-07 0
Day 1: 1 00-07
43. Chris Adams Bow, NH 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00
43. Cody Champion Sabattus, ME 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00
43. Justin Jensen Laurel, MS 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00
43. Corey Kennington Eden, MD 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00
43. Frank Liu Manotick Ontario CANADA 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00
43. Liam MacDonald Glen Lorne Harare ZIMB 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00
43. Florian Olivier Carbonne FRANCE 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00
43. Tate Webb Richland, WA 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00
MEGA Live and MEGA 360 Ice Fishing Bundles Deliver Powerful Sonar Technologies for the Ice Angler
RACINE, Wis. (November 2, 2021) –– The same Humminbird technology that has been dominant on the water is now fully integrated into the ice fishing product line, thanks to a handful of new product introductions. Ice anglers will now have access to an upgraded ICE HELIX® lineup with bundles that include Humminbird MEGA Live Imaging™ and Humminbird MEGA 360 Imaging®.
Humminbird Brand Manager Matt Cook mentioned, “With such innovations to the Humminbird ice lineup, anglers will have never broken down areas faster than with these bundles. The advantages that MEGA Live and MEGA 360 bring to the table for ice anglers is unprecedented. No fish can hide anymore.”
Humminbird MEGA Live Imaging
Humminbird has created a turnkey option for the ice angler looking to harness the power of the award-winning Humminbird MEGA Live technology.
Cook mentions, “With anglers possessing the power of Humminbird MEGA Live, the anglers can now see fish, bait and structure in real-time. Powered by the unmatched detail and clarity of MEGA Imaging® throughout the entire sonar view, anglers are wasting less time searching and more time catching."
Humminbird ICE HELIX 9 MSI+ GPS G4N MEGA Live Bundle
- 9” 1024 x 600 display
- 8000 watts peak-to-peak power
- 1500 nit brightness screen
- High capacity battery (with 2 USB ports, battery % indicator) and charger
- New shuttle
- Silicone screen cover
- MEGA Live transducer, shaft, adapter kit
- MEGA Live Imaging
- Live sonar with the clarity of MEGA Imaging
- Choose from multiple viewing modes: Down, forward and landscape
- Mark and view waypoints on the MEGA Live sonar screen
- Range of up to 150 feet
- No necessity for a sonar black box
- Dual Spectrum CHIRP Sonar
- ¾” target separation
- 1024 segment flasher view
- Six CHIRP interference rejection settings
- Adjustable sonar zoom, up to 16X
- Split screen sonar views (Flasher and 2D)
- Built-in GPS and Mapping
- Mark waypoints
- Built-in HB Basemap
- Dual SD Slots for LakeMaster / Navionics / AutoChart Live cards
- AutoChart Live Ice
- Networking
- Ethernet, Bluetooth, NMEA 2000® and Wi-Fi
Learn more about the MEGA Live Imaging ICE Bundle.
MSRP: $2,999.99
Shipping: October 2021
Humminbird MEGA 360 Imaging
A technology exclusive to the Humminbird brand, Humminbird MEGA 360 Imaging is available for ice anglers looking to reap to the rewards of MEGA 360 Imaging and view the entire circumference of the depths below them.
Cook mentions, “Humminbird MEGA 360 Imaging eliminates any guessing as to what cover or structure the angler is looking at. This will help anglers rapidly gather their clues and waste less time drilling holes.”
Humminbird ICE HELIX 9 MSI+ GPS G4N MEGA 360 Bundle
- 9" 1024 x 600 display with 1500 nit brightness screen
- 8000 watts peak-to-peak power
- High capacity battery (with 2 USB ports, battery % indicator) and charger
- New shuttle
- Silicone screen cover
- MEGA 360 transducer, shaft, adapter kit, heading sensor GPS puck
- MEGA 360 Imaging
- Range of up to 125 feet around your hole
- Adjustable sweep area, size and direction
- Mark and view waypoints on the MEGA 360 sonar screen
- Range rings provide a quick reference of your distance from the target
- Dual Spectrum CHIRP Sonar
- 3/4" target separation
- 1024 segment flasher view
- Six CHIRP interference rejection settings
- Adjustable sonar zoom, up to 16X
- Split screen sonar views (Flasher and 2D)
- Built-in GPS and Mapping
- Mark waypoints
- Built-in HB Basemap
- Dual SD Slots for LakeMaster / Navionics / AutoChart Live cards
- AutoChart Live Ice
- Networking
- Ethernet, Bluetooth, NMEA 2000® and Wi-Fi
Learn more about the MEGA 360 ICE Bundle.
MSRP: $2,799.99
Shipping: October 2021
Cook concluded with, “We are extremely proud with the innovations and upgrades that have been made to the Humminbird ice lineup. All of us at Humminbird are excited to see anglers put these bundles to work and reap the rewards of such intuitive technology.”
For more information on the Humminbird ICE lineup, go to https://www.humminbird.com/ice.
Scroggins’ 3 tips to improve your autumn lipless crankbait game
Courtesy of Alan McGuckin - Dynamic Sponsorships
Along with trail cam pictures and Halloween costumes come squarebill crankbaits, Whopper Ploppers, and buzzbaits this time of year. But don’t sleep on the category of lures Bill Lewis made famous more than 50 years ago, because lipless crankbaits flat-out catch ‘em this time of year – and they likely always will.
Here are three tips from Terry “Big Show” Scroggins to soup-up your lipless crankbait game between now and Christmas when you’re not in a treestand.
Don’t just throw the standard size
The ½ ounce size is by far the most popular and top-seller of all time, but Scroggins says the smaller 1/4-ounce size will get you bites when the larger size won’t.
“By this time of year, bass have seen a ton of lures, and the baitfish are a bit smaller too. So, a lot of times that ¼-ounce size will outfish the bigger baits,” says the winner of more than $2 Million in tournament prize money.
Braided line around aquatic vegetation
“You can get away with 12-pound fluorocarbon or monofilament on your lipless baits if you’re just throwing around rocky shorelines or pockets, but if you’re raking them over submerged grass, braided line is going to make your life a whole lot easier,” explains Scroggins.
The Florida pro reaches for 30-pound Hi-Seas braid to rip his rattling baits free from the vegetation, and that’s often when the bite occurs.
Keep your color selection simple in the fall
While there have been nearly as many red lipless baits sold during February and March the past 25 years as what Dollar General sells Reese’s cups the last week of October, in autumn, Scroggins basically leans on shades of shad or chartreuse.
“If the water is pretty dingy, I love to throw the lemon-lime color, but most days I’m going to tie on Sexy Shad or Foxy Mama,” says Scroggins. “Of course, blue and chrome is the greatest seller of all-time, and there’s good reason for that, but I like to mix it up a little bit, and show ‘em something they haven’t seen a ton of,” he grins.
Heed Scroggins’ advice in the weeks ahead and you’re sure to improve your lipless success in a manner that would make ‘ol Bill Lewis grin like “Big Show” looking at a homemade pumpkin pie after hammering home one of his famous marinated rib eyes.
AC Insider Podcast - "Dreams without Goals are only Dreams"
This week, Chris is back and he and DX have a HUGE show as they welcome in Grand Lake Opens Champ Nick LeBrun, All American Qualifier Laker Howell and "Officially" named Elite Series Tournament Director Lisa Talmadge! Its a fun show, no Tricks, just Treats, well, leftover Treats, but Treats nonetheless!
Rapala Expands Bassmaster Partnership, Inking Multiyear Deal As Premier Sponsor
November 2, 2021
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Minnesota-based Rapala, maker of premium lures and other fishing tackle and accessories, is expanding their partnership with B.A.S.S., signing a three-year deal as a premier sponsor after serving as the title sponsor of the ultrapopular Fantasy Fishing program and as a supporting sponsor of the Bassmaster tournament trail for the past two years. Additionally, Rapala’s new Monster Bag prize will pay $7,000 to the angler with the heaviest single-day bag during the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk.
“We are excited to take our fantastic partnership with Rapala to the next level as we work together to build excitement among the anglers and fans across the Bassmaster tournament trail,” said B.A.S.S. chairman and CEO Chase Anderson.
Rapala will be a premier sponsor for the Bassmaster Classic, Bassmaster Elite Series, Bassmaster Opens Series, Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School Series presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors, Bassmaster Team Championship and the grass-roots TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation regional and championship tournaments.
Additionally, Rapala will be highlighted during Bassmaster LIVE, which is streamed on Bassmaster.com and broadcast Saturday and Sunday mornings on the FOX Sports platforms, and will enjoy exposure in Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times magazines and across various industry-leading social media platforms.
“Our team at Rapala is building upon the success and promotions we have had with Bassmaster over the last few years,” said Matt Jensen, Rapala USA director of marketing. “Our Rapala pro staff is the best team in the industry, and we love continuing to grow Rapala Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing. A premier level sponsorship with Bassmaster is an exciting and strategic move to grow Rapala for the next three years and beyond.”
Over the past two years with Rapala entitling Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing, the game has grown by 45% and nearly 40,000 fishing fanatics participated during the 2021 season.
Current Bassmaster Elite Series pro anglers, including 2021 Bassmaster Angler of the Year Seth Feider, two-time Century Belt winner Patrick Walters, Bob Downey, Carl Jocumsen, Brandon Palaniuk and Gerald Swindle, and Cody Huff, who qualified for the 2022 Elites by winning the Bassmaster Opens Central Division points race, are part of the Rapala pro staff.
Team Lew’s and Strike King Pro Becomes Youngest Ever to Qualify for MLF’s Bass pro Tour
Courtesy of Strike King / Lews
Lexington, S.C. – November 1, 2021 – Congratulations to Leesburg, Ohio pro Cole Floyd, the youngest angler ever to receive an invitation to fish the Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour. Floyd qualified into the 2022 Bass Pro Tour based on his 2021 AOY rankings in the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit.
Floyd will be considered a rookie for the 2022 season, but he is no stranger to fierce competition. His father Steve Floyd, himself an accomplished tournament angler, taught Cole and his two brothers to fish back in Ohio. “You should have seen us boys sprinting for that perfect spot on the front of dad’s bass boat growing up,” Cole said. “We were quite a sight with all four of us lining the deck, with rods and baits flying all over the place. Hats off to my dad for putting up with all those backlashes and snagged hooks.”
There is no question that his father was the teacher Cole needed, honing his skills pitching around matted grass and shoreline cover as a child on Kentucky Lake. He later perfected his style with a coveted spot on the Bethel University Bass Team, fishing all over the nation and surrounding himself with some of the most talented collegiate anglers in the sport. But ultimately, Cole taught himself the various styles he would need to compete on the national stage, and with three Top 10 finishes in the 2021 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit regular season, he has impressed his peers. Arkansas angler Mark Rose, against whom Floyd will compete in his rookie season, has admired the performance of the younger Floyd. “He is one of the great rising talents out there,” Rose offered. “Just the right blend of confidence and humility, and an extraordinary angler.”
Strike King and Lew’s are both proud to have Cole Floyd on the Pro Staff, and we look forward to cheering him on in the 2022 season.
Editors note: Cole Floyd will turn 25 years old on November 7th of this year.
The boat that saved Hank Cherry’s career
Courtesy of Alan McGuckin
Hank Cherry stood on a boat dock at Table Rock Lake watching amateur anglers idle through morning takeoff at the recent Toyota Bonus Bucks Owners event and felt his tear ducts getting jumpy.
“That boat right there is the boat I won in an Oakley Big Bass event that saved my fishing career and ultimately changed my life,” reflected an emotional Cherry.
You see, before the world came to know Hank Cherry as a back-to-back Bassmaster Classic Champion, an unfortunate series of events found him unloading horse feed and fertilizer at a lawn and garden store just trying to keep the light bill paid at home.
That was 13 years ago, when a corporate buy-out landed him out of a job as a well-paid district manager in the wine and spirits industry. And then the brutal reality hit that tournament fishing was far more a detriment to his personal finances than a profit center at that time – placing he and beloved bride Jaclyn on the verge of dire economic straits.
“I was at my lowest point,” admits Cherry.
To stay afloat, Cherry sold his bass boat, quit fishing tournaments, and stopped dreaming of a pro angling career when a friend invited him to ride along in an Oakley Big Bass event on Lake Norman. And that’s when Cherry’s storied life turned toward its intended path.
“I caught a 6-pounder on a Deps Silent Killer glide bait that looked like it was going to land me in 2nd place, but the guys with the bigger fish in front of me got busted for trying to cheat. So, I won the biggest bass of the tournament and the Nitro Z8 top prize,” he explains.
With a capable vessel and a new job back in the wine and spirits industry, Cherry suggested to Jaclyn he was considering entering the Bassmaster Opens. And is always the case, nobody cheered him with more encouragement than her.
The first season didn’t go great, and while the second season was much better, Cherry still headed into the final event after two years with a sense of “Maybe this pro career isn’t meant to be.”
“I thanked Jaclyn, made peace with the fact Smith Lake would be my final big tournament, and headed toward Cullman, Alabama thinking I needed to enjoy it, because that was likely going to be the end,” says Cherry.
Not only was it not the end – it was truly the beginning. Cherry won that third and final Bassmaster Southern Open on Smith Lake by 1-ounce using 5-pound line and a tiny swimbait.
The win qualified him for the 2013 Bassmaster Classic and the 2013 Bassmaster Elite Series season, and a star was born. He nearly won the 2013 Classic on Grand Lake, before finishing third, and then went on to win Rookie of the Year in the 2013 Elite Series season.
“If I hadn’t won that Nitro Z8 in the Oakley Big Bass event on Norman, there’s no way I’d have got back into the Bassmaster Opens. So yea, every time I run into the gentleman than owns it now, I get a little emotional looking at it,” says Cherry.
“There are two things I’ve learned for certain the last 13 years: You better have a budget prepared before you jump into this sport. So, learn how to eat a lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches instead of going out for steak and beers with your buddies. And mostly, things don’t happen in my time – they happen just as they’re supposed to on His time,” concluded the always introspective back-to-back Classic Champ on a perfect October Sunday morning in the Ozarks.
B.A.S.S. Announces College, High School And Junior Schedules For 2022
The Bassmaster College, High School and Junior tournament trails offer young anglers an opportunity to compete on a range of fisheries during the 2022 season.
Photo by B.A.S.S.
November 1, 2021
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The 2022 B.A.S.S. tournament schedule continues to take shape as organization officials announced today the slates for its College, High School and Junior Series.
The events have been a valuable tool for encouraging youth fishing participation across the country, and they’re beginning to have a pronounced effect on the highest levels of professional bass fishing. Since B.A.S.S. started these circuits in 2013, there has been a 97% growth in the number of participating schools and clubs at the college level while the high school and junior tournament level has seen an astounding 724% increase in the number of clubs and schools competing.
“There are already former college anglers sprinkled throughout the Bassmaster Elite Series field,” said Hank Weldon, the longtime High School and College Series tournament manager who was recently promoted to tournament director of the Bassmaster Opens. “Just this year we saw former College Classic Bracket winners Jacob Foutz and Cody Huff qualify for the Elites through the Opens.
“I think it’s just a matter of time before the majority of the Elite field will have some kind of experience in our youth programs.”
The Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops will open at the Harris Chain of Lakes in Leesburg, Fla., Jan. 21-22. As most early-season Florida events are, the tournament should be dominated by hefty prespawn and spawning largemouth.
From there, the series will feature four events in four states from March through June. The schedule will continue with an event on Lake Norman in Cornelius, N.C., March 25-26, followed by tournaments on Norfork Lake in Mountain Home, Ark., April 22-23, and Saginaw Bay in Bay City, Mich., June 9-10. Those teams who register but remain on the waitlist for the four regular-season events will enjoy an opportunity to qualify for the College National Championship via the Wild Card tournament on Logan Martin Lake in Lincoln, Ala., June 17-18.
“We have a good mix of teams that are only able to fish the events in their region and teams that travel to multiple events throughout the year,” Weldon said. “A schedule that spans from Florida to North Carolina to Arkansas to Michigan and then back to Alabama provides great opportunities for both of those groups.
“If you’re traveling with the series, you’ll be fishing a very diverse collection of fisheries.”
As usual, the Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School Series presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors and the Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster Junior Series will be paired together as concurrent one-day events.
Like the College Series, the two groups of younger competitors will open their seasons in Leesburg, Fla., on the Harris Chain of Lakes on Jan. 23. The standard format is for all Junior Series competitors (second through eighth grade) to weigh in first, with the champions being crowned before the High School Series weigh-in begins.
From Florida, the trail will visit Lewis Smith Lake in Cullman, Ala., on March 13, Norfork Lake in Mountain Home, Ark., April 24, and Saginaw Bay, Mich., June 11.
“I think people who have followed the High School and Junior Series have been amazed, not only by the knowledge these young anglers have of the sport, but by the size of the fish they bring to the scales,” Weldon said. “What they know and how they perform at such a young age really shows how the sport of competitive bass fishing has evolved — and gives us a good idea of the kind of competition we’ll see at the higher ranks in the future.”
Dates and locations for the College Series National Championship, High School Series National Championship and Junior Series National Championship will be announced at a later time. The 2022 College Classic Bracket, which offers a berth to the 2023 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk, will be held after the College Championship and, like last year, include the Top 3 teams from the National Championship as well as the Team of the Year.
During the 2021 season, Hayden Scott and Griffin Fernandes of Adrian College in Michigan won the College Series National Championship on the St. Lawrence River in New York. Then Bethel angler Tristan McCormick claimed a Classic berth by surviving four days at the College Classic Bracket on the Coosa River in Alabama.
Banks Shaw and Gage King of Sale Creek won the High School Series National Championship on Chickamauga Lake, and Bo Hollen and Ari Clark of the Mon Valley Bassmasters took the Junior Series National Championship title at Carroll County 1000 Acre Recreational Lake.
Anglers can register for the next charge toward a championship on the following dates: Dec. 7 (College), Dec. 8 (High School) and Dec. 9 (Juniors). Registration will take place online at Bassmaster.com.
2022 College Series regular-season schedule
Jan 21-22, Harris Chain of Lakes, Leesburg, Fla.
March 25-26, Lake Norman, Cornelius, N.C.
April 22-23, Norfork Lake, Mountain Home, Ark.
June 9-10, Saginaw Bay, Bay City, Mich.
2022 College Series Wild Card
June 17-18, Logan Martin Lake, Lincoln, Ala.
2022 High School/Junior regular-season schedule
Jan 23, Harris Chain of Lakes, Leesburg, Fla.
March 13, Lewis Smith Lake, Cullman, Ala.
April 24, Norfork Lake, Mountain Home, Ark.
June 11, Saginaw Bay, Bay City, Mich.
Brent Crow Surges to Win Toyota Series Championship Presented by Guaranteed Rate on Pickwick Lake
Alabama Pro Wins by 4-Pounds, 1-Ounce, Takes Home $235,000
COUNCE, Tenn. (Oct. 30, 2021) – The final day of the Toyota Series Championship Presented by Guaranteed Rate at Pickwick Lake was a come-from-behind story for pro Brent Crow of Hartselle, Alabama , who after starting the day in 10th place brought a five-bass limit to the stage Saturday weighing 23 pounds, 1 ounce to vault to the top of the leaderboard and claim the title of 2021 Toyota Series Champion and the $235,000 top prize. Crow’s winning bag gave him a 4-pound, 1-ounce margin-of-victory over pro Mikey Keyso of North Port, Florida, who weighed a five-bass limit of 15 pounds, 3 ounces on Saturday, for a total of 48-1, good for second place and $50,000.
Saturday’s final weigh-in marked the finale of the 2021 Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. season, which featured thousands of anglers from around the world competing for millions in cash and prizes.
Crow finished Day 1 of the competition in 28th place with a mere 13 pounds, 7 ounces on the leaderboard. He leapt 18 spots after Day 2, narrowly winning a tiebreaker against veteran angler Randy Blaukat of Joplin, Missouri to slide into the top 10 and qualify to fish the final day. Crow began Championship Saturday with 29 pounds, 1 ounce, before laying down the hammer with the heaviest bag of the tournament to upset the field and bring home the win.
“This is the biggest tournament I’ve ever won. I’m not trying to make a living tournament fishing, but when the schedule fits, I fish,” said Crow. “Once I realized the Toyota Series Championship was on Pickwick in the fall, I knew I needed to qualify for this event. I had some schedule conflicts with fishing the Southeastern division, but the Northern division schedule was appealing and looked like it would work out perfectly.”
The Alabama pro opted to fish the Northern division of the Toyota Series, competing against a slew of tough anglers to qualify for the championship, despite his lack of experience on the fisheries in that division.
“Those lakes are all awesome and full of fish,” said Crow. “I guide full-time down south, and the Northern schedule had events in July, August and September, when guiding is slower in my area. That also meant I didn’t have to battle the summer heat.”
Crow said he went into the Championship planning to fish below the Wilson Dam, but was dismayed the first few days to find the area wasn’t performing as well as he’d hoped.
“I’ve been fishing here and guiding for many years and fall is usually the time of year I fish the tailrace,” said Crow. “I purposefully didn’t go check it out in practice because I didn’t want to get in my head about whether or not I saw other anglers up there, or if the fish were biting good or anything that might spin me out.”
However, Crow said when he went up there the first two days of the event, he was discouraged to see the fish weren’t biting at all.
“They were running a little too much water out of the dam for me to do what I wanted to do, so the first two days I basically struggled and squeaked into the top 10 catching spotted bass,” said Crow. “I have a few places I can count on to catch big spotted bass, and I weighed in seven spots and three smallmouth the first two days, which saved me.
“I noticed last night that they weren’t going to run as much current out of the dam as the past two days, so I knew there was an opportunity to really catch them there on the final day.”
With a hopeful heart, Crow ran up to the dam again early on Day 3.
“I pulled up and checked the levels and when I saw the release level was at 35,000 (cubic feet per second), I knew it could be good,” said Crow. “I got out where I needed to be and made the first cast and the next hour was just chaos. I either caught one or lost one on every cast.”
Crow said if he could have written out exactly what he wanted to happen on Championship Saturday, it would have gone exactly the way it did.
“I probably wouldn’t have lost as many as I did, but I anticipated I’d be able to get a big bag under those conditions and thankfully everything worked out perfectly for me today.”
Crow said he’s put more effort into qualifying for this championship than he has any other event he’s fished – effort that was certainly not wasted as it resulted in nearly a quarter-million-dollar payout for the Hartselle native.
“The money is great, but it’s not all about money,” said an emotional Crow. “All fishermen have pride in what they do, and it feels good to be recognized, especially by your buddies. My phone has been lighting up all day with calls and texts from friends and fellow fishermen – most of them better fishermen than I am. It’s a great feeling that everyone is supporting me and taking the time to congratulate me today.
“There have been a lot of great fishermen that have won this trophy, and I’m probably nowhere near the caliber of most of them but I’ll take it,” finished Crow.
The top 10 pros at the 2021 Toyota Series Championship on Pickwick Lake finished:
1st: Brent Crow of Hartselle, Ala., 15 bass, 52-2, $247,500
2nd: Mikey Keyso of North Port, Fla., 15 bass, 48-1, $50,000
3rd: Greg Bohannan of Bentonville, Ark., 15 bass, 44-8, $40,000
4th: Cody Nichols of Fayette, Ala., 13 bass, 43-0, $35,000
5th: Jeff Reynolds of Calera, Okla., 13 bass, 38-13, $30,000
6th: Todd Castledine of Nacogdoches, Texas, 12 bass, 37-1, $14,000
7th: Chris Digino of Dallas, Texas, 11 bass, 35-4, $13,000
8th: Dakota Ebare of Brookeland, Texas, 11 bass, 33-8, $12,000
9th: Barry Graves of Bobcaygeon, Ontario, 11 bass, 32-5, $21,000
10th; Aaron Johnson of Shreveport, La., 10 bass, 30-0, $10,000
For a full list of results visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 27 bass weighing 88 pounds, 14 ounces caught Saturday. Three of the final 10 anglers brought in a five-bass limit.
Scott Parsons of Rogers, Arkansas weighed in three bass totaling 12 pounds, 12 ounces, Saturday to win the top Strike King co-angler prize of a new Phoenix 518 pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard engine, with a three-day total of 12 bass weighing 35-8. Second place went to co-angler Daniel Lutz of Las Vegas, Nevada , who weighed in a three-day total of 10 bass weighing 33-9, good for $12,500.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers at the 2021 Toyota Series Championship on Pickwick Lake finished:
1st: Scott Parsons of Rogers, Ark., 12 bass, 35-8, Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat w/115-horsepower Mercury outboard
2nd: Daniel Lutz of Las Vegas, Nev., 10 bass, 33-9, $12,500
3rd: Jason Sandidge of Centerton, Ark., 12 bass, 30-10, $10,000
4th: Matt Hummel of Lancaster, Pa., 11 bass, 28-15, $7,500
5th: Rod Mackinnon, III of Middletown, N.Y., 10 bass, 26-7, $5,000
6th: Charles Dubroc of Hessmer, La., seven bass, 24-6, $4,000
7th: Mason Chambers of Galena, Mo., 10 bass, 23-12, $3,500
8th: Ray de Jong of Harare, Zimbabwe, eight bass, 22-1, $3,000
9th: Allen Neal of Whitley City, Ky., seven bass, 18-8, $2,500
10th: Nycholas Swanson of Waterloo, Iowa, five bass, 18-2, $2,000
The 2021 Toyota Series Championship Presented by Guaranteed Rate at Pickwick Lake was hosted by the Hardin County Convention and Visitors Bureau. The three-day, no entry fee tournament featured a field of 198 pros and co-anglers from around the world, competing for a top cash award of up to $235,000, plus multiple contingency bonuses.
The 2021 Toyota Series Championship Presented by Guaranteed Rate will premiere on the Outdoor Channel at 5 p.m. ET on Jan. 15, 2022, with additional airings to follow on the Sportsman Channel.
The full field of anglers competed on Days 1 and 2 of the event, with the top 10 pros and top 10 Strike King co-anglers based on cumulative weight from the first two days continuing to the third and final day. The 2021 Toyota Series champions were determined by the heaviest three-day total weight.
The 2021 Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. consisted of six divisions – Central, Northern, Plains, Southern, Southwestern and Western – each holding three regular-season events, along with the International division. The highest finishing pro from each division at the championship claimed a $10,000 bonus.
For complete details and updated information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. via social media outlets at Facebook , Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube .
Mikey Keyso Takes Day Two Lead at Toyota Series Championship Presented by Guaranteed Rate on Pickwick Lake
Florida Pro Leads by 15-Ounce Margin, Top 10 Set in the Battle for up to $235,000
COUNCE, Tenn. (Oct. 29, 2021) – Pro Mikey Keyso of North Port, Florida, crossed the stage Friday with a five-bass limit weighing 15 pounds, 4 ounces to take the lead after Day Two of the Toyota Series Championship Presented by Guaranteed Rate at Pickwick Lake in Counce, Tennessee. Keyso’s two-day total of 10 bass weighing 32 pounds, 14 ounces gives him a 15-ounce lead over pro Chris Digino of Dallas, Texas, who brought 13 pounds, 7 ounces to the scale for a two-day total of 31-15, good for second place.
The championship event, hosted by the Hardin County Convention and Visitors Bureau, features 198 pros and co-anglers from around the world, competing for a top cash award of up to $235,000. The field is now cut to just the top 10 pros and Strike King co-anglers as the event heads into the final day of competition in the no-entry-fee Toyota Series Championship, the culmination of the 2021 Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. season.
Keyso began Day 2 in third place, continuing his work on a ¼-mile stretch of hydrilla with a punching rod and a frog to quickly move into the top spot. Keyso said his spot above the Natchez Trace Bridge is the only place he’s found both numbers and quality fish and said he plans to continue that run on Saturday.
“There’s a ton of shad, bluegill and bass in there for whatever reason,” said Keyso. “It’s got current coming through it and deeper grass than anywhere I’ve found and it’s right off the river channel. I think they just come in, do their thing and hang out. When they’re ready to eat they start chomping.
“I spent basically my whole time there today. I thought I had 12 pounds all day, so I was really trying to get a big bite and I sore-mouthed a lot of 2½-pounders. I don’t know what’s left in there, but I guess we’ll find out.”
Weighing a few fish on a frog and a few from punching on Day 1, Keyso said he caught some fish punching early, but capitalized on a strong frog bite later in the day to help cull up to his 15 pounds today.
“There were way more boats in there than I was hoping for today, but I still got to hit my little section so it worked out,” said Keyso. “I went in behind some guys when they left and caught all of them on the frog in the afternoon. Usually, my big, big ones come from flipping, but today everything I weighed-in came on a frog.”
With two Phoenix Bass Fishing League wins under his belt, a Toyota Series Championship would be a major accomplishment for the Florida pro. What might work in his favor is the fact that his roommate, Kyle Walters , also hails from the Sunshine State and took home the Toyota Series Championship win on Lake Guntersville back in 2018 doing essentially the same pattern.
“It’d be huge to win,” Keyso said. “I’d rather be in second or third (to start Day 3), but we’ll see what happens. It’s exciting. I’m ready to go win.”
The top 10 pros that advanced to the final day of competition on Pickwick Lake are:
1st: Mikey Keyso of North Port, Fla., 10 bass, 32-14
2nd: Chris Digino of Dallas, Texas, 10 bass, 31-15
3rd: Jeff Reynolds of Calera, Okla., 10 bass, 31-11
4th: Todd Castledine of Nacogdoches, Texas, 10 bass, 30-13
5th: Cody Nichols of Fayette, Ala., nine bass, 30-11
6th: Aaron Johnson of Shreveport, La., 10 bass, 30-0
7th: Dakota Ebare of Brookeland, Texas, 10 bass, 29-15
8th: Greg Bohannan of Bentonville, Ark., 10 bass, 29-9
9th: Barry Graves of Bobcaygeon, Ontario, 10 bass, 29-3
10th: Brent Crow of Hartselle, Ala., 10 bass, 29-1
For a full list of results visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 514 bass weighing 1,359 pounds, 10 ounces caught Friday. The catch included 44 five-bass limits.
Daniel Lutz of Las Vegas, Nevada, leads the Strike King co-angler division with seven bass weighing 23 pounds, 12 ounces, followed by Scott Parsons of Rogers, Arkansas , who has weighed nine bass totaling 22 pounds, 12 ounces, securing his second-place position. Strike King co-anglers are competing for a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers that will fish the final day on Pickwick Lake are:
1st: Daniel Lutz of Las Vegas, Nev., seven bass, 23-12
2nd: Scott Parsons of Rogers, Ark., nine bass, 22-12
3rd: Rod Mackinnon, III of Middletown, N.Y., seven bass, 20-10
4th: Jason Sandidge of Centerton, Ark., eight bass, 18-10
5th: Allen Neal of Whitley City, Ky., seven bass, 18-8
6th” Nycholas Swanson of Waterloo, Iowa, five bass, 18-2
7th: Matt Hummel of Lancaster, Pa., seven bass, 16-12
8th: Mason Chambers of Galena, Mo., eight bass, 16-4
9th: Charles Dubroc of Hessmer, La., four bass, 15-12
10th: Ray de Jong of Harare, Zimbabwe, six bass, 15-11
The final 10 pros and Strike King co-anglers will take off Saturday at 7 a.m. CT from Pickwick Landing State Park, located at 120 Playground Loop, in Counce. Saturday’s Championship weigh-in will also be held at the park and will begin at 3:15 p.m. Outdoor vendors will be onsite prior to weigh-in on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Fans are welcome to attend the event or follow the action online through the “MLF Live” weigh-in broadcasts and coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com. The 2021 Toyota Series Championship Presented by Guaranteed Rate will premiere on the Outdoor Channel at 5 p.m. ET on Jan. 15, 2022, with additional airings to follow on the Sportsman Channel.
The full field of anglers competed on Days 1 and 2 of the event, with the top 10 pros and top 10 Strike King co-anglers based on cumulative weight from the first two days continuing to the third and final day. The 2021 Toyota Series champions will be determined by the heaviest three-day total weight.
The 2021 Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. consisted of six divisions – Central, Northern, Plains, Southern, Southwestern and Western – each holding three regular-season events, along with the International division. The highest finishing pro from each division at the championship will claim a $10,000 bonus.
The 2021 Toyota Series Championship features the top 25 pros, top 25 Strike King co-anglers and tournament winners from each of the six divisions; the top 12 pros and 12 co-anglers from the Wild Card division; the highest finishing boater and co-angler from each of the six Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine Regionals and the Wild Card at the All-American; the top three teams from the College Fishing National Championship; High School Fishing National Champions; TBF National Champions; and MLF International champions from Canada, Italy, Korea, Mexico and Zimbabwe.
For complete details and updated information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. via social media outlets at Facebook , Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube .
Punching Rigs with SKL/Lews Pro Jared McMillan
In this Sportsmans Warehouse Product Spotlight, Strike King and Lews Pro staffer Jared McMillan talks about his favorite baits and rod and reel set ups for punching mats and heavy cover!
Video courtesy of Vance McCullough
Bryan Thrift Leads Day One of Toyota Series Championship Presented by Guaranteed Rate on Pickwick Lake
North Carolina Pro Leads by 1-Pound, 7-Ounce Margin in the Battle for $235,000
COUNCE, Tenn. (Oct. 28, 2021) – A tournament field of 198 boats – each featuring a pro and a co-angler – began their three-day, no-entry-fee competition for a top cash award of up to $235,000 at the Toyota Series Championship Presented by Guaranteed Rate at Pickwick Lake in Counce, Tennessee Thursday. The bass-fishing championship, hosted by the Hardin County Convention and Visitors Bureau, is the culmination of the 2021 Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. season.
Pro Bryan Thrift of Shelby, North Carolina, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 19 pounds, 15 ounces to take the early lead after Day One of the three-day event. Thrift holds a 1-pound, 7-ounce lead over pro Chris Digino of Dallas, Texas, who caught five bass weighing 18 pounds, 8 ounces, securing his position in second place.
“Today went a little better than I thought it would go, seeing as I didn’t catch any big ones in practice,” said Thrift. “I thought a good day would be 10 to 12 pounds on six keeper bites and I think I ended up catching seven keepers today, but that was pretty much it. It definitely wasn’t an easy day.
“I started in a spot where I thought I could catch a couple early, and I did, but after that it was a struggle. I ran 40 miles up and fished my way back – I burned a lot of gas today.”
Thrift said he has seen Pickwick plenty of times in the spring and summer over the years, and though he’s had success on other parts of the Tennessee River in the fall, Pickwick in the fall was all new to him.
“This is my first time being here this time of year and it’s really not as good as I thought it would be,” said Thrift. “I thought it would be easier to get bites, but it isn’t. I don’t know if it’s pressure on the fishery, the weather or what’s going on. My day looks good on paper, but I have no idea what I’m doing.”
Despite his lack of experience on the fishery this time of year, Thrift is a quick study. With a couple big bites today, there’s a good possibility he can repeat his good day tomorrow.
“I was shocked at the two 6½-pounders I caught today,” said Thrift. “I didn’t expect that at all, but it gave me some ideas for tomorrow.”
Although Thrift has a stellar record in bass-fishing, with many big wins, he has yet to win a Toyota Series Championship in his career and said he is looking forward to the opportunity this week.
“I would love to win,” said Thrift. “That’s $200,000, and the Toyota Series is the best deal in bass fishing. Paying less than $6,000 in entry fees for a chance to fish for a $200,000 championship is an amazing opportunity and literally the best deal out there – I’d love to win it.”
The top 20 pros after Day One on Pickwick Lake are:
1st: Bryan Thrift of Shelby, N.C., five bass, 19-15
2nd: Chris Digino of Dallas, Texas, five bass, 18-8
3rd: Mikey Keyso of North Port, Fla., five bass, 17-10
4th: James Watson of Lampe, Mo., five bass, 17-2
5th: Aaron Johnson of Shreveport, La., five bass, 16-8
6th: Cody Nichols of Fayette, Ala., four bass, 16-1
7th: Dakota Ebare of Brookeland, Texas, five bass, 15-11
7th: Terry Fisher of Decatur, Ala., five bass, 15-11
9th: Todd Castledine of Nacogdoches, Texas, five bass, 15-9
10th: Colby Miller of Elmer, La., five bass, 15-7
11th: Brent Anderson of Kingston Springs, Tenn., five bass, 15-2
11th: Todd Kline of San Clemente, Calif., five bass, 15-2
13th: Harbor Lovin of Fayetteville, Ohio, five bass, 14-14
13th: Kyle Weisenburger of Columbus Grove, Ohio, five bass, 14-14
15th: Derik Hudson of Concord, Va., five bass, 14-13
16th: Nathan Thomas of Weirsdale, Fla. five bass, 14-10
17th: Kevin Drake of Cleveland, Tenn., five bass, 14-9
18th: Rick Harris of Del Rio, Texas, five bass, 14-8
19th: Wyatt Frankens of Corrigan, Texas, five bass, 14-5
20th: Scout Echols of Monticello, Ark., five bass, 14-2
For a full list of results visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 568 bass weighing 1,476 pounds, 15 ounces caught by 174 pros Thursday. The catch included 60 five-bass limits.
Rod Mackinnon, III of Middletown, New York, leads the Strike King co-angler division with five bass weighing 16 pounds, 15 ounces, followed by Fisher Cusic of Lakeland, Florida, who weighed five bass totaling 14-13, securing his second-place position. Co-anglers are competing for a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard.
The top 20 Strike King co-anglers after Day One on Pickwick Lake are:
1st: Rod Mackinnon, III of Middletown, N.Y., five bass, 16-15
2nd: Fisher Cusic of Lakeland, Fla., five bass, 14-13
3rd: Scott Parsons of Rogers, Ark., five bass, 13-12
4th: Bill Bean of Eufaula, Okla., five bass, 12-14
5th: Hayden O’Barr of Scottsboro, Ala., five bass, 12-12
6th: Jason Sandidge of Centerton, Ark., five bass, 12-10
7th: Nycholas Swanson of Waterloo, Iowa, three bass, 12-4
8th: Tristan Riddle of Nacogdoches, Texas, four bass, 11-13
9th: Charles Dubroc of Hessmer, La., two bass, 11-9
10th: Ray de Jong of Herare, Zimbabwe, four bass, 10-8
11th: Mike Power of Conroe, Texas, five bass, 10-3
12th: Mason Chambers of Galena, Mo., five bass, 10-1
13th: Larry Mullikin of Jacksonville, Fla., four bass, 10-0
14th: Daniel Buswell, Jr. of Fayetteville, Ga., five bass, 9-13
15th: Gerald Brumbaugh of Martinsburg, Pa., four bass, 9-12
16th: J.D. Blackamore of Yorba Linda, Calif., four bass, 9-9
16th: Jeff Moss of Oronogo, Mo., three bass, 9-9
18th: Lonnie Miller of Broken Arrow, Okla., five bass, 9-7
19th: Casey Dunn of North Highlands, Calif., three bass, 9-6
20th: Jack Farage of Discovery Bay, Calif., five bass, 9-4
20th: Allen Neal of Whitley City, Ky., three bass, 9-4
Anglers will take off daily at 7 a.m. CT from Pickwick Landing State Park, located at 120 Playground Loop, in Counce. Weigh-ins will also be held at the park and will begin at 3:15 p.m.Outdoor vendors will be onsite prior to weigh-in on Friday from 1 to 3 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Fans are welcome to attend the event or follow the action online through the “MLF Live” weigh-in broadcasts and daily coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com. The 2021 Toyota Series Championship Presented by Guaranteed Rate will premiere on the Outdoor Channel at 5 p.m. ET on Jan. 15, 2022, with additional airings to follow on the Sportsman Channel.
The full field of anglers compete on Days 1 and 2 of the event, with the top 10 pros and top 10 Strike King co-anglers based on cumulative weight from the first two days continuing to the third and final day. The 2021 Toyota Series champions will be determined by the heaviest three-day total weight.
Pros and co-anglers can qualify for multiple contingency awards based on final standings in the championship, including the lucrative $35,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus for pros. The winning Strike King co-angler will earn a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard motor.
The 2021 Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. consisted of six divisions – Central, Northern, Plains, Southern, Southwestern and Western – each holding three regular-season events, along with the International division. The highest finishing pro from each division at the championship will claim a $10,000 bonus.
The 2021 Toyota Series Championship features the top 25 pros, top 25 Strike King co-anglers and tournament winners from each of the six divisions; the top 12 pros and 12 co-anglers from the Wild Card division; the highest finishing boater and co-angler from each of the six Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine Regionals and the Wild Card at the All-American; the top three teams from the College Fishing National Championship; High School Fishing National Champions; TBF National Champions; and MLF International champions from Canada, Italy, Korea, Mexico and Zimbabwe.
For complete details and updated information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. via social media outlets at Facebook , Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube .
Bassmaster Fishing 2022 Video Game Casts Off Today
October 28, 2021
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Today the long-awaited sportfishing simulator Bassmaster Fishing 2022 launched with exciting multiplayer cross-play, Bassmaster Royale mode and even a career path leading players from college competition all the way to the Bassmaster Classic.
No matter the weather outside, any day is the perfect day to experience the most authentic bass fishing experience possible without being out on the water. Players can jump in a custom-wrapped boat and enjoy the game as either a unique character they create or one of 10 Elite Series anglers, including two-time Bassmaster Classic champion Hank Cherry or ultrapopular Elite Series pro Scott Martin. From the placid, largemouth bass-filled waters of Chickamauga Lake to the St. Johns River, the longest river in Florida, the eight in-game venues have been recreated to mirror their real-world counterparts.
“Working directly with Bassmaster and many of the best anglers in the world has allowed us to take the simulation in Bassmaster Fishing 2022 and deliver the most authentic bass angling experience to date,” said Dovetail Games CEO Jon Rissik. “We hope that we can help foster a new generation of anglers who find a lifelong love of fishing, both in-game and in real life, and look forward to working with our fantastic community as we grow and expand the game after launch.”
Players will begin their careers in the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series, mirroring where many professional bass anglers got their start, working through the Basspro.com Bassmaster Opens, Elite Series events and eventually earning a coveted spot in the iconic Bassmaster Classic. Throughout Career Mode, players will master the tools of the trade, from different rods, lures and reels, to learning where bass tend to congregate in different waters and practicing their perfect casts as they hook bigger and bigger bass. Players can also unlock and upgrade additional gear and boats as they progress.
Multiplayer modes include Freedom Fishing, perfect for relaxing with friends online, and the competitive Bassmaster Royale mode. The Bassmaster Royale game mode challenges anglers to be the last player fishing, competing together against the clock and challenging anglers to keep the weight of their catches above other competitors. Smart angling, location choices and strategic use of the brand-new underwater camera will be necessary to avoid being eliminated as the competition heats up.
Developed and published by Dovetail Games, Bassmaster Fishing 2022, the Official Video Game, is now available on the PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, Xbox Series X|S, the Xbox One family of devices, including the Xbox One X and Xbox Game Pass, and Windows PC via Steam.
For regular updates on additional content, please visit Bassmasterthegame.com
Lake Guntersville Selected to Host 2022 Toyota Series Championship
Nation’s Best Bass-Fishing Pros and Top International Anglers will Compete in Alabama for up to $235,000 Cash
GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. (Oct. 27, 2021) – Major League Fishing (MLF), the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, announced today that Guntersville, Alabama has been selected to host the prestigious 2022 Toyota Series Championship, Nov. 3-5, 2022, on Lake Guntersville. The three-day, no-entry-fee event, hosted by Marshall County Tourism and Sports, will be the culmination of the 2022 Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. season, a six-division circuit that offers the best payouts and advancement opportunities for the lowest entry fees available on any national tournament trail, paving a path to the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit and ultimately the Bass Pro Tour.
Located in Marshall County and spanning 69,000 acres, Lake Guntersville is the state’s largest lake and has played host to some of the biggest events in competitive bass fishing. The fishery previously hosted the Toyota Series Championship in 2018 and showcased numerous Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit, Toyota Series, Phoenix Bass Fishing League, Abu Garcia College Fishing and U.S. Army High School Fishing events over the years.
With lodge accommodations, cottages, chalets and campgrounds, as well as an abundance of attractions, including swimming, boating, recreational fishing, golf and tennis, Lake Guntersville State Park is an outdoor adventure destination that ranges over 6,000 acres of natural woodlands.
"We look forward to hosting the anglers who qualify for the Toyota Series Championship at Lake Guntersville in the fall of 2022, including the international anglers and their families and friends,” said Katy Norton, President of Marshall County Tourism and Sports. “We are honored that Major League Fishing would consider our lake for their Toyota Series Championship and are excited to see the anglers bring in big weights and big bass during the competition."
The 2022 championship will launch from Civitan Park, located at 1130 Sunset Drive in Guntersville, Alabama. Home to local concerts and numerous community festivals, the park stretches along the lake’s shoreline and includes a T-dock, amphitheater, walking trails and pavilions, making it the perfect location for hosting fishing tournaments, 5K runs and corporate picnics, as well as enjoying outdoor recreation.
“Lake Guntersville is one of the premier fisheries in the country and has been the site of many successful MLF events through the years, “said Mark McWha, MLF Toyota Series Tournament Director. “We expect to see a lot of big bags that time of year, especially with the caliber of anglers who will be in contention, and are thrilled to be working again with Marshall County Tourism and Sports to bring the championship back to Alabama.”
The 2022 Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. will consist of six divisions – Central, Northern, Plains, Southern, Southwestern and Western – each holding three regular-season events, along with the International division.
The 2022 Toyota Series Championship field will feature the top 25 pros, top 25 Strike King co-anglers and tournament winners from each of the six divisions; the top 12 pros and 12 co-anglers from the Wild Card division; the highest finishing boater and co-angler from each of the six Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine Regional Championships and the Wild Card at the All-American; the top three teams from the College Fishing National Championship; the High School Fishing National Champions; the TBF National Champions; and up to two pros from each MLF International Country.
Pros will compete for a shot at winning $235,000 cash at the championship, including the lucrative $35,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus. The winning Strike King co-angler at the championship will earn a $33,500 Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat (or comparable model) with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard. The highest-finishing pro from each of the six divisions and the International Division at the championship will also receive a $10,000 bonus.
The 2022 Toyota Series Championship will be televised nationally on CBS Sports and the Sportsman Channel. Air schedules will be announced at a later date.
The complete 2022 Toyota Series schedule can be found online at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
For complete details and updated information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. via social media outlets at Facebook , Twitter, Instagramand YouTube.
2021 B.A.S.S. Nation Championship Will Be Crowned On Louisiana’s Ouachita River
Top grass-roots anglers from around the country will compete for a berth in the 2022 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk and an invitation to fish the Elite Series at the 2021 TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Championship on the Ouachita River Nov. 3-5.
Photo by Chris Brown/B.A.S.S.
October 27, 2021
MONROE, La. — More than 50 boats will compete in the 2021 TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Championship on the Ouachita River Nov. 3-5, and Bassmaster Elite Series pro and former Monroe, La., resident Lee Livesay says there will be plenty of water for anglers to cover in this shallow-water paradise.
“The fish are going to be biting good everywhere, main rivers and backwaters,” Livesay said. “The water should be cooled down and there should be some fish schooling on the main river.”
Boaters and nonboaters competed in one of five B.A.S.S. Nation regionals held across the country and qualified for the championship by finishing at the top of their state standings. Now, anglers will compete for one of three spots in the 2022 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk which will go to the event’s Top 3 finishers.
The B.A.S.S. Nation champion will earn the title of “Nation’s Best,” which includes an Elite Series berth and the use of a fully-rigged Nation’s Best tournament boat for a year. If the Nation champion turns down the Elite Series berth, they will instead be awarded paid entry fees to the Basspro.com Bassmaster Opens for all divisions. The second- and third-place finishers and nonboater champion will also each earn paid Bassmaster Opens entry fees for all divisions.
Monroe has played host to several B.A.S.S. tournaments and was the site for the 2014 Nation Championship that current Elite Series angler Paul Mueller won as well as the 2015 championship claimed by Albert Collins.
Livesay lived in Monroe for several years before relocating to Texas and spent many hours on the Ouachita River bass fishing, crappie fishing and hunting. The river stretches for 640 miles and Livesay says there will be plenty of room for the anglers to spread out, whether that is in the numerous backwaters or on the main river.
“It’s a really cool place to go,” he said. “It’s big, and that’s why it’s a really good tournament venue. You can go north, you can go south. There are hundreds of river lakes you can get in and ditches and canals. Then you’ve got Bayou D'Arbonne that connects to Lake D’Arbonne.”
Anglers will have a variety of cover to unlock, including swampy backwaters, multiple types of bushes, cypress trees and current-related structure and cover in the main river. Livesay said in his experience, the biggest population of better-than-average bass live in Bayou D’Arbonne.
“There’s a million different places to catch bass and you have to figure out where to catch the bigger ones,” Livesay said. “It is a target-rich environment. You’ll see guys catching them on spinnerbaits, flipping little creature baits and jigs, shallowing squarebills and crankbaits, and you’ll see some topwater fish.”
The X factor on the river is the rise and fall of water levels from week to week. Big rains and tropic moisture can send the river levels soaring in a hurry.
“There are so many variables on that river because the water level goes up and down,” Livesay said. “The key there is knowing what you can get in and when you can get in and how fast you can get in and out. It might be two feet below normal pool a week before the tournament and that sucker might jump up 10 feet before the tournament and you might be able to get into someone's pond in the back of their yard.”
Competitors will launch from Forsythe Park each day at 7:15 a.m. CT and return for weigh-in at 3:15 p.m.
The full field will compete the first two days. The nonboater champion will be crowned after Day 2 and the Top 10 boaters, Top 2 boaters from each of the five regions (if not already in the Top 10), the nonboater champion and any nonboaters that have enough weight to be in the Top 10 boaters overall will advance to the championship round.
MEADOR AND PENZO CLAIM TOP PRIZE AT 2021 BASS CAT OWNERS INVITATIONAL
MOUNTAIN HOME, Ark. – Bass Cat Boats held the company’s annual Owners Invitational this week as 237 teams converged on Lake Norfork in Arkansas seeking to earn the top prize and bragging rights. After two days of full-field competition using a modified “Tourney X” system of scoring, 26 teams competed on Day Three with standings zeroed out. Steven Meador and Joey Penzo of Arkansas brought five fish that weighed 13.29 pounds to the scales on Sunday to claim top honors and a prize of a Cougar FTD rigged with a 250 Pro XS Mercury.
Gary Jeffrey and Larry Pinkston finished second with five bass that weighed 11.48 pounds. Chad Bleeker and Douglas Overstreet were third with 11.19.
The competitors were challenged by a strong storm that rolled in at the end of Saturday’s competition, raising the lake and leaving the Day Three qualifiers wondering if their fish would abandon them or get lockjaw. Ultimately, Meador and Penzo figured out the puzzle to claim the top prize.
There were also various “Wild Card” prizes given to teams finishing in specific spots, as well as prizes for the largest striped/hybrid bass, the largest Ozark Bass, and the largest walleye brought to the scales. The big bass of the event was a 5.22 pound largemouth caught by the team of Vern Deatherage and Kobby Roberts on Day Two. It earned them a prize of $1,888. The top three big bass on Days One and Two all earned cash awards. As with past Owners Invitational events, one random team was drawn out of hat to win a fully-rigged 2022 Bass Cat Cougar FTD, which was won by Vernon Smith and John Crane. Among the rubber ducks scattered throughout the lake, one was redeemed for a brand new Mercury outboard by Bob Parkhill and his grandson Ty.
The use of the Tourney X scoring system was meant both to make the weigh-in more efficient and also to limit in-person contact in what are hoped to be the waning days of the COVID-19 pandemic. This system is frequently used in kayak tournaments, and requires photographs of fish measurements. Some competitors may not have been used to the technology involved, but in the end it served its purpose well.
“I was a little bit skeptical at first,” said third place finisher Chad Bleeker. “In the end, it impressed me with how user-friendly it was. I give credit to Bass Cat for altering it slightly to fit this format and I like the fact that we went back to zero for a third day shootout that produced a lot of drama.”
Despite living in Arkansas, Meador and Penzo had not previously fished Norfork, but they were quick studies, covering 85 percent of the lake in practice in Meador’s 2021 Cougar FTD. They flipflopped areas from Day One to Day Two, and then built what they’d learned into a winning pattern on championship Sunday. Topwaters and crankbaits were their primary tools.
Jeffrey and Pinkston caught key fish on a Loon colored Whopper Plopper 130, but when the bite tightened up they switched to Rite Bite jigs in Hot Peanut Butter and Jelly and Arkansas Craw. Four of their five weigh fish on Sunday were smallmouths and Jeffrey reported that they “fished clean” and never had the winning fish on the line.
Bleeker and Overstreet used a Strike King 5XD on inside channel swings near flats, the last deep water in a major creek arm, to advance to Sunday. When the lake came up overnight, they still managed to catch a kicker there in the final round, but the majority of their limit came throwing a Rat-L-Trap into 2 inches of water.
Next year’s event is tentatively scheduled for Beaver Lake in April.
“We look forward to April 22-24 and await permit approval,” Pierce said. “It’s a fun family location with a lot to offer and we want to close out our 50th Anniversary with a bang!”
For more information about the winning patterns, results and photos, visit the Bass Cat Boats OI event page.
23-year-old wins all new 2022 Tundra at Bonus Bucks event
Courtesy of Alan McGuckin - Dynamic Sponsorships
More than 400 amateur anglers filled their bellies with free BBQ, cobbler, and ice cream during the 10th Annual Bonus Bucks Owners event at the Bass Pro Shops Shooting Academy near Table Rock Lakewhen Toyota executive Mike Tripp and top pro Gerald Swindle reached into a hopper full of names to randomly draw the lucky winner of the all new redesigned 2022 Toyota Tundra.
“Cole Anderson!” said Tripp and Swindle over their microphones. To which no exuberant screams could be heard from the excited crowd of hundreds. “Cole Anderson, where are you? Is there a Cole Anderson here?” they repeated at least 15 times to no avail.
Finally, seconds before Tripp and Swindle began to reach back into the hopper for a different entry card, 23-year-old Cole Anderson came running in sport sandals from inside the Shooting Academy on to the back lawn to claim his life changing prize.
Turns out, he was inside the Shooting Academy talking about wild hog hunting and bass fishing with another guest angler and failed to hear his name being called outside the first several times.
“Oh my gosh! My face was already hurting from smiling because I’m having such a good time here tonight, and now it’s really hurting,” beamed a grateful Anderson, an electrician apprentice from nearby Bentonville, Arkansas.
October is proving to be the young Anderson’s lucky month in a rather mind-boggling way. Last October he won $100,000 at Lake of the Ozarks in a Big Bass Bash tournament, and in October 2018 he caught the biggest bass of his life, a 12-pounder.
And perhaps the only thing Anderson is more allegiant to than big and pricey KGB swimbaits is Toyota Trucks. “I just bought a Tacoma two months ago, I drove a 2005 Tundra in high school, my dad has a 4Runner, and my brother has a Tacoma too,” says Anderson proudly.
“It’s honestly going to be hard to decide which truck to keep, and which truck to sell, because I love my new Tacoma so much,” admits Anderson.
“I talked to my parents about what brand of truck to buy a few months ago before I bought my Tacoma, and really, it’s a no brainer, whether you drive a 4Runner, Tacoma, or Tundra, as far as my family is concerned, no other brand of trucks matches Toyota’s reliability and resale value,” he concludes.
Brand loyal, a passionate swimbait angler, and indeed a deserving winner of an all new 2022 Tundra. Tournament organizers are just grateful he finally came running to claim his prize.
JOHNSON and ALBRECHT take home the WIN
Michael Johnson and Byron Albrecht have fished together competitively for 12 years, but none of their previous outings compare to their victorious run to the Texas Team Trail Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s held Saturday and Sunday on Lake Whitney.
Johson and Albrecht caught a limit on both days of the championship for a total of 10 bass weighing 41.32 pounds. After weighing five bass for 19.56 on Day 1, they registered the big bag of the tournament on Sunday – a 21.76-pound haul that vaulted the duo from third place to the championship title. They also caught the big bass of the tournament, an 8.64-pound kicker on Sunday, that helped seal the win.
The victory earned the pair a Z519 Ranger bass boat with a Mercury 225 ProXS motor. Combined with Angler Advantage and Big Bass Award bonuses, they totaled $59,997 in cash and prizes over the weekend.
In all, 86 teams competed in the championship for a total purse of $120,915 in cash and prizes.
“It’s hard to put into words how nice this is,” Johnson said. “We’ve fished together so long and put in so much work. It’s really special to say you’ve won a boat against the guys we competed against this weekend. There are some really good sticks on the TXTT.”
Johnson, 42 and from Crawford, Tex., hooked the big bass using a dark-colored creature bait. It came off a brush pile at about 9 a.m. Sunday when the duo had only a pair of bass in the live well.
“That was the kicker we were looking for,” Johnson said. “We came into the second day sitting in third place and that fish took a whole lot of pressure off us. After that, we figured we had a chance if we could get two more fish in the boat.”
At first, however, Johnson wasn’t even sure the 8-pounder was a bass.
“We caught two big channel cats yesterday, one about 10 pounds and another about 15 pounds,” he said. “I honestly thought today’s big one was another catfish. Byron saw it and said, ‘No, that’s a bass! Let’s not horse around with that one.’”
Johnson and Albrecht, who hails from nearby Waco, are quite familiar with Lake Whitney – a 23,500-acre impoundment of the Brazos River southwest of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. They used that intimate knowledge to amass a list of more than 80 favorable brush piles they could hit during the championship. Steady winds on both days of the tournament, however, often forced them to shallow water. When on the banks, they favored chartreuse/white spinner baits to boat their best bites.
“We started shallow (on Sunday),” Albrecht said. “Once we had one or two in the boat, it helped settle the nerves. When we went out and got that 8-pounder in the boat, that allowed us to go back shallow and finish the limit.”
Albrecht, 48, said he and Johnson have developed a unique chemistry in their dozen years of competing together. Some of their communication is verbal, he said, but many times, they work instinctively.
“He’s as good as anybody I've seen out of back of boat,” Albrecht said. “He reads and understands what I’m doing. We’re like peanut butter and jelly. He knows when I'm doing one thing, to do something different. If I throw to one pole, he knows to throw to the other.
“And we have this thing, when of us might not be having the best day, the other one has a really good day. Yesterday, I was on and today, he was. It worked out for us.”
Lee and Whitley take second
Russell Lee and Garret Whitley finished second in the championship with a two-day total of 10 bass that weighed 36.09 pounds. Their haul of cash and prizes, including a Z518 Ranger and Mercury 150 Pro XS, totaled $48,803, including $500 for being the team using Garmin electronics to finish highest in the tournament.
“After practice, we thought we’d be pretty good fishing brush piles offshore, but come Saturday and Sunday, it got tough to do that,” Lee said. “I caught one about five pounds on Saturday cranking a brush pile then we went four or five hours without anything. Near the end of the day, we went back and caught a 6 ½ pounder and another 5-pounder.”
Lee said the biggest bass wanted Texas-rigged Xcite Maximus worms (10 inches, plum and red bug colors).
The team was in second place after Day 1 as well, with a 20.33-pound limit. They slipped a bit with 15.76 pounds on Sunday, but Lee was pleased with the outcome.
“We only had six keeper bites on Saturday and we caught five,” he said. “Today, we had seven or eight keepers. But it’s OK to get second when you still get that boat. Finishing second against some of the best anglers in the state is a proudctive weekend.”
Stafford and Moore take third place
Brett Stafford and Shane Moore, who led the championship after Day 1, finished third overall with a two-day total of 35.28. They earned $2,154 for their season-ending efforts.
“We were where we wanted to be (on Saturday),” they said after the weigh-in. “We wanted to be in position to win. But we were one dimensional. We fished brush piles the whole time we were here. We knew the wind and clouds wouldn’t help our bite (on Sunday), and we missed a couple of good ones.”
Eric and Zane Washington worked the Lake Whitney brush piles efficiently, finishing fourth overall with a 10-bass total weighing 32.11. Seth Furmanek and Robert Kettner placed fifth 31.75 over two days, including an 8.21-pound heavy caught on a drop-shot on Sunday. The duo collected $1,365 in the tournament.
Rounding out the Top 10 are, sixth, Jordan Grimm and Jud Harris, 28.73, $1,121; seventh, Lee Batson and John Fleming, 28.26, $1,299 (w/ Ranger bonus); eighth, Brannon Mire and Ben Matsubu, 27.67, $977; ninth, Paul Stokes and John Guerra, 27.07, $905; and 10th, Garrett Dokter and Courtney Hobgood, 26.16, $833.
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Imhoff and London nab TOY title
Will Imhoff and Shane London clinched the trail’s Team of the Year honors on Sunday after finishing in 11th place at the championship on Lake Whitney with a two-day total of 24.68 pounds.
Imhoff and London started the Texas Team Trail season off right with a seventh-place finish on Lake Amistad in March. Though they slipped to 80th in the May 7 competition on Sam Rayburn Reservoir, they rebounded to finish fifth at Rayburn on May 8.
Imhoff and London finished with 669 points in 2021 team scoring.
“I’m at a loss for words right now,” Imhoff said after he and London collected their Team of the Year trophies. “This was our first year ever to fish any kind of team series. Shane and I were a little skeptical about how we would compete, but we fished some good events. We thought that bobble on the first day at Rayburn would shoot us in the foot. To prevail today is pretty exciting.”
“We fished hard and there are a lot of really good guys out here fishing hard,” London said. “There are no words for this.”
Brian Shook and Danny Iles placed second in Team of the Year scoring with 651 points. Lance Robella and Cody Pratka (648 points) were third, Jason Truitt and Johnny Ray were fourth (647) and the Lee-Whitley team was fifth (639).
B. Lester picks three scary good lures for Halloween
Courtesy of Alan McGuckin - Dynamic Sponsorships
According to Brandon Lester’s mom, he hated anything in a costume as a young boy. But when it came to clowns, he loved them. “He loved being a clown at Halloween, and all his birthday parties and cakes were clown themed too,” she smiles in reflection.
Apparently, based on the attached photo, not much has changed for the young 7-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier. But with over $800,000 in tournament winnings to his credit, there’s no clowning around for Lester when he drops the trolling motor in the water. So his recommendations for what three lures to try around Halloween are wisdom-rich treats.
“Halloween kind of marks the true start of fall fishing patterns for nearly everybody in the Southern U.S.,” says Lester. “Up until about Halloween, you can still experience daytime highs way into the 80s and water temps are still warm in the low 70s, but by Halloween temps start to drop, bait starts to move shallow, and bass start to chew,” he grins.
Lipless crankbait
“I know people get tired of hearing pros talk about shad moving to the back of creeks in the fall. But it’s a fact, and no lure takes better advantage of that annual migration than a lipless crankbait like a One Knocker,” says Lester. “But don’t just use one style of lipless. Make sure you experiment with silent ones, and standard rattles too, until you figure out what they want most,” he shares.
Lester says he and a buddy dominated an end of the year championship on Center Hill Lake with a 19-pound limit around shad in less than 3-feet of water, but while the bass would not touch a traditional rattling bait, they absolutely smashed the One Knocker and silent varieties.
Whopper Plopper
“Fall is topwater time!” proclaims the Tennessee pro. “But it’s all about covering water with a topwater this time of year, and a Whopper Plopper does that really well.”
Lester says autumn seems to send some areas of the lake into a funk, while others are ganged-up with trick-or-treating largemouth, so he ties the size 130 Whopper Plopper to 40-pound Vicious No Fade Braid, turns the trolling motor up, and covers water with the sizeable lure until he finds a pack of biters.
However, he will slow down if he encounters an isolated laydown tree. “If you find a laydown tree, that’s the juice at this time of year with a Plopper. Cast as close to it as you can, and hold on, because they love to suspend on the end of those branches ambushing shad this time of year,” he says.
Jig
While Lester’s first two choices centered on faster moving baits, he never leaves home in the fall without a jig to pitch around visible habitat. “Yea, they may be focused primarily on shad around Halloween, but you need a tool you can use to pick apart specific pieces of shallow habitat. And for me that’s a ½-ounce brown jig with a green pumpkin trailer,” he says.
But what’s the scary clown eating?
“Reese’s! Anything Reese’s! I’m a Reese’s freak!” exclaims the good-natured Lester in conclusion.
Bowes Promoted To New Bassmaster Vice President Of Tournaments Role
Longtime Bassmaster Opens Series Senior Tournament Manager Chris Bowes has been promoted to Vice President of Tournaments.
Photo by Andy Crawford/B.A.S.S.
October 26, 2021
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Longtime Bassmaster Opens Series Senior Tournament Manager Chris Bowes has been promoted to Vice President of Tournaments, B.A.S.S. announced today. In this newly created role, Bowes will not only manage the Tournaments Department but also collaborate across departments as part of the B.A.S.S. Executive Leadership Team.
“We’re excited for Chris to step into this larger role representing the long-tenured, knowledgeable associates in our Tournaments Department,” said B.A.S.S. chairman and CEO Chase Anderson. “Our tournaments — from the Elite Series to the Kayak trail — are foundational to B.A.S.S., and having a seat at the table as part of our Executive Leadership Team will make an industry-leading team even stronger. They are true ambassadors of our shield.
“This tournament team is tasked with ensuring our rules are enforced consistently, maintaining the integrity of our tournaments and managing tournaments which have set the standard for all of sportfishing, and I can’t thank them enough for the incredible way they’ve represented our organization.”
Bowes joined B.A.S.S. in 2004 after being part of the New York B.A.S.S. Nation for many years. He has served as Tournament Manager for the Elite Series and B.A.S.S. Nation and took over as Senior Tournament Manager for the Basspro.com Bassmaster Opens in 2006. In addition to his department leadership role as Vice President of Tournaments, Bowes will be serving as the Tournament Director for the iconic Bassmaster Classic as well as attending Elite tournaments and other events on the Bassmaster circuit.
“I’m extremely excited about this new role and opportunity to work with the Tournament Directors, the anglers competing in all the various B.A.S.S. tournament platforms and the senior leadership and associates at B.A.S.S.,” said Bowes.
As Tournament Director-B.A.S.S. Nation, Team, Kayak and Youth, Jon Stewart will continue leading efforts to grow participation in these important grass-roots events. Veteran High School and College Series Tournament Manager Hank Weldon will move into the Tournament Director-Bassmaster Opens position while Lisa Talmadge will serve as Tournament Director-Bassmaster Elite Series.
“The entire tournament team brings so much knowledge, passion and professionalism to our tournaments and I’m proud to represent this group,” said Bowes.
Builders FirstSource Signs Sponsorship Agreement with Major League Fishing Through 2022
TULSA, Okla. (Oct. 26, 2021) – Major League Fishing (MLF), the world’s premier tournament-fishing organization, and Builders FirstSource, the nation’s largest supplier of structural building products, value-added components, and services for new residential construction, repair and remodeling, announced today a new sponsorship agreement designating Builders FirstSource as the Exclusive Building Materials Retailer of the 2022 MLF Cups and the title sponsor of the MLF Builders FirstSource Patriot Cup Presented by Berkley, scheduled to begin production next month. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
"Major League Fishing welcomes Builders FirstSource to our sponsorship family, a brand that is synonymous with high-quality products and amazing customer service – a perfect fit with MLF," said Jim Wilburn President and CEO of MLF. "Just as our MLF Cup events showcase many of the finest anglers in the world, we’re excited to integrate and promote Builders FirstSource as the premier building supply company to our loyal and passionate fanbase and television audience.”
Per terms of the agreement, Builders FirstSource will be prominently featured at all MLF Cup events in 2022, including commercials, in-show billboards and graphic elements, as well as on all competition jerseys and boats. The Dallas, Texas-based company will also be the title sponsor of the Builders FirstSource Patriot Cup Presented by Berkley. All told, the brand will receive exposure across 156 two-hour telecasts on the Outdoor Channel network and on-demand on MyOutdoorTV.
We’re thrilled to join the Major League Fishing family of sponsors,” said Builders FirstSource President of Commercial Operations Mike Farmer. “Our partnership with MLF grants us additional exposure to our shared audience – including its talented anglers and passionate fans – and connects BFS with builders, contractors, and professional remodelers across the nation.”
Formed in 1998 and publicly traded on the NYSE, Builders FirstSource is the nation’s premier supplier of building materials and services for professional home builders and remodelers. In January 2021, the company merged with BMC Stock Holdings, Inc. The combined company is a powerhouse in the building products, prefabricated components, and value-added service industry, serving customers both large and small. With approximately 550 locations in 39 states, a market presence in 84 of the top 100 Metropolitan Statistical Areas, and LTM December 31, 2020 sales of $12.8 billion, the resulting company has significant geographic diversity and a balanced end market exposure. Builders FirstSource has a strong track record of investing in innovation, process improvement and growth over more than two decades.
For more information about MLF, their tournaments and sponsors, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. To learn more about Builders FirstSource, visit BLDR.com.
Redfish Cup Format Presents Execution Challenge For Bass Pros
Teams competing in the 2021 Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter will only be allowed to weigh two fish in the 20- to 28-inch slot per day.
Photo courtesy of Ron Hueston
October 26, 2021
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — For the six Bassmaster pros competing as part of an all-star team in the Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter, the event’s format will make finding the right bites critical for claiming the $50,000 first prize. The 10 teams competing Nov. 12-14 on Texas’ Port Aransas will only be allowed to weigh two fish in the 20- to 28-inch slot per day rather than the standard five-fish limit for B.A.S.S. events.
Bassmaster Elite Series angler Derek Hudnall, who will be part of a team with veteran redfish angler Ron Hueston, believes his Elite experience will serve him well: “A lot of us on the bass side really pay attention to execution. In a tournament like this, you’re looking for two of the right bites. Those (high slot) redfish are the ones you have to have, so execution is absolutely key because those types of bites don’t come around often.”
With 20-plus years of redfish tournament experience and wins on the IFA Redfish Trail, FLW Redfish Tour and multiple Top 5 finishes in past Redfish Cup events, Hueston said redfish tournament success hinges on discernment and time management.
“A lot of guys will fish these events and think that catching two fish a day is going to do it,” he said. “Or, you get in an area where you’re fishing a school of fish and it takes you 50 fish to catch the right two. What you need to do is find an area where the fish are feeding differently — larger forage — and you’re looking to catch half a dozen to find the right two.”
Tournament waters for the 2021 Redfish Cup Championship include Aransas Bay and Corpus Christi Bay, stretching from the Gulf side of the Port O’Connor Jetties north to Port O’Connor Point and South Bird Island Basin — marker 80 (red) and 70 (green).
While picking through smaller schooling fish to find a pair of high-slot reds can become an exercise in futility, Hueston believes his odds are usually better by going to the other end of the size scale. That means taking advantage of those fall aggregations.
“In Port Aransas, that would probably mean fishing the jetties where I might catch 30 fish that are oversized, hoping to catch two in the slot,” he said. “I’d rather catch a lot of larger fish and work down than catch a lot of smaller fish and work up.
“Also, this is going to be a three-day tournament, so you’re going to try to look for consistency on the right size fish for three days. If a team is fishing smaller fish and then oversized fish, there’s no consistency on taking a chance with those bigger fish.”
With high-slot fish generally running in the 7- to 7 1/2-pound range, the winning team will likely need 14 to 15 pounds a day.
Ten teams will compete in this year’s Redfish Cup Championship, including the teams of Travis Land and Nicky Savoie and Glenn Vann and Thomas Barlow from the Elite Redfish Tournament Trail as well as Jeremy Heimes and Mickey Gibbs and Chris Cenci and Chris Kennedy from the Power-Pole Pro Redfish Tour. Hudnall and Hueston will be joined by five additional all-star teams featuring Bassmaster pro anglers paired with redfish pros: Matt Herren and Chad Manning; Mark Menendez and Ricky Bort; Patrick Walters and Dwayne Eschete; Chris Zaldain and Ryan Rickard; and Trait Zaldain and Matt McCabe.
Competition hours are 6:45 a.m. CT with daily weigh-ins set for 3 p.m. at Fisherman’s Wharf in Port Aransas. Fans can catch Bassmaster Redfish LIVE coverage all three days of the tournament as cameras capture all of the action beginning at 7 a.m. each day on Bassmaster.com. FS1 will broadcast live Nov. 13-14 from 7-10 a.m. with livestreaming available on Bassmaster.com and the FOX Sports digital platforms.
What clues are you still missing?
Vance McCullough
“If you want to understand the owl, study the mouse.”
- Apache elder via Rick Clunn
Fifty years. Half a century. I’ve been on this planet that long, all of that living right here in Florida. I’ve been paying attention. But one thing that escaped my notice was the fall shad spawn in the Sunshine State.
Sure, I’ve been aware for decades that our bass spawn at least 6 months out the year. But shad? Never really thought about it. I just thought of the shad spawn as that brief, early morning deal you get on until the sun tops the trees on days when it’s still cool enough in to wear a hoodie at daybreak in say, March or early April.
But a shad spawn in the fall? I never thought to look for it. But because someone shared their experiences with me recently, I am now wiser, if a little insecure about what I still don’t know about the fish in my native home.
My ignorance reminds me of something Rick Clunn has attributed to an Apache elder, “If you want to understand the owl, study the mouse.”
Sage advice considering animals basically eat, sleep and reproduce – kind of like some people I know, but I digress. Forage movements dictate the behaviors of predators, including birds of prey and fish alike. While bass eat a variety of baitfish, it is the shad that is most like the mouse to the bass’ inner owl. But just as there are different subspecies of mice, there are numerous different types of shad across America. Just consider what swims in the Sunshine State alone. From the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission web site:
“Several kinds of shad live in Florida. Gizzard shad and threadfin shad are members of the genus Dorosoma and are statewide, year-round residents of fresh and brackish waters. These are common prey items for predatory fish in many Florida lakes and rivers. American shad, hickory shad, and blueback herring-all members of the genus Alosa-live in the Atlantic Ocean and enter the St. John's and St. Mary's rivers in northeast Florida in winter and spring to spawn. Alabama shad and skipjack herring, also members of the genus Alosa, occur in gulf coast rivers; skipjack herring are limited to the panhandle, and Alabama shad occur as far east as the Suwannee River.”
Threadfin and gizzard are well-known to bass anglers and many of our lures are painted to match them, but an often-overlooked cousin is the American shad which, when mature is often bigger than the average bass – record sizes in northern states top 10 pounds. However, as young of the year American shad leave the St Johns River in autumn, they are about 2-to-5-inches long, perfect eating size for a bass population that needs to fatten up for winter and the coming spawn.
A similar phenomenon occurs up and down the East Coast and the around the Gulf of Mexico. The jade depths of the Great Lakes reveal their own baitfish idiosyncrasies, ditto for the moonscaped jewels of our western desert (what is a Kokanee anyway?). But no matter where you fish, the waters always hide some secrets. Keep studying, keep learning. Some things take 50 years to figure out.
PAUL SCHROEDER & BRAD ANKRUM ARE TTZ CHAMPIONS AFTER WINNING ON SAM RAYBURN WITH A TWO DAY TOTAL OF 31.84 POUNDS
| 1 | PAUL SCHROEDER | BRAD ANKRUM | 5 | 7.22 | 17.97 | 5 | 13.87 | 31.84 | $20,000 | |
| 2 | MIKE MCEACHEM | JOSEPH KENNEDY | 5 | 15.25 | 5 | 14.11 | 29.36 | $3,000 | ||
| 3 | CHARLES WHITED | TREY GROCE | 5 | 20.56 | 5 | 8.60 | 29.16 | $1,500 | ||
| 4 | DANIEL BARNES | JJ LARSON | 5 | 18.01 | 5 | 10.48 | 28.49 | $1,000 | ||
| 5 | HOLLY ROBERSON | JUSTIN MAY | 4 | 7.14 | 5 | 18.87 | 26.01 | $800 | ||
| 6 | DEAN ALEXANDER | ADRIAN SANCHEZ | 5 | 11.52 | 5 | 14.41 | 25.93 | $700 | ||
| 7 | ERIC CRUMLEY | RONNY MAYNARD | 5 | 13.79 | 5 | 11.31 | 25.10 | $600 | ||
| 8 | MAT KEVIL | BRYAN RICHARDS | 5 | 12.61 | 4 | 10.91 | 23.52 | |||
| 9 | RAYMOND CALK | COREY SCHNAUTZ | 5 | 14.29 | 4 | 8.99 | 23.28 | |||
| 10 | TANNER PATTESON | HUNTER AMIDON | 5 | 11.58 | 5 | 11.63 | 23.21 | |||
| 11 | JOEY MARTIN | GREG MEHAFFEY | 4 | 13.77 | 3 | 9.30 | 23.07 | |||
| 12 | MICHAEL MASTERS | ROBERT MASTERS | 5 | 11.93 | 5 | 10.98 | 22.91 | |||
| 13 | JOHN WARDEN | COLT DIETZ | 5 | 11.99 | 5 | 10.41 | 22.40 | |||
| 14 | TERRY KIRCUS | JASON BUCHANAN | 4 | 8.08 | 5 | 13.45 | 21.53 | |||
| 15 | COLTON ZAHN | CORD ZAHN | 5 | 10.84 | 5 | 10.66 | 21.50 | |||
| 16 | JUSTIN MADDING | STERLING MARTIN | 5 | 9.83 | 5 | 11.55 | 21.38 | |||
| 17 | BRIAN ARABIE | AUSTIN QUIET | 5 | 15.49 | 3 | 5.87 | 21.36 | Pre-Registration Prize Winner-Shimano Clarus Rod | ||
| 18 | DAVID WENCIL | MICHAEL GLYNN | 5 | 12.10 | 4 | 7.90 | 20.00 | |||
| 19 | TONY FERDINANDO | DAVID MAULDIN | 5 | 9.20 | 5 | 9.64 | 18.84 | |||
| 20 | ROBBIE THORSTEINSON | CURTIS WESLEY | 4 | 11.35 | 3 | 6.32 | 17.67 | |||
| 21 | SCOTT ROSS | GLENN RUCKEL | 5 | 14.10 | 1 | 1.70 | 15.80 | Shoreline Decal Winner-$250 Fuel Card | ||
| 22 | MARION KOPF | SETH FISHER | 2 | 7.70 | 9.80 | 3 | 5.15 | 14.95 | $550 Big Bass | |
| 23 | TRENT ERXLEBEN | NICK SULLIVAN | 5 | 9.95 | 2 | 4.99 | 14.94 | |||
| 24 | ALLEN GASS | JOHN RATLIFF | 5 | 13.51 | 13.51 | |||||
| 25 | DIRK AMAN | DANIEL WESSMAN | 1 | 1.91 | 5 | 9.88 | 11.79 | |||
| 26 | JACOB MEREDITH | JIMMY MEREDITH | 1 | 2.33 | 4 | 9.17 | 11.50 | |||
| 27 | AARON GILBERT | SEAN CLAMPITT | 4 | 9.60 | 1 | 1.33 | 10.93 | |||
| 28 | JAYSON KISSELBURG | DEAN GOLMON | 4 | 10.63 | 10.63 | |||||
| 29 | BLAIR COBBLE | TERRY COBBLE | 4 | 9.62 | 9.62 | |||||
| 30 | JOSHUA RHODES | CHRIS STUDINGER | 5 | 9.59 | 9.59 | |||||
| 31 | BRYAN SCOTT | KEITH HEINRICH | 5 | 8.54 | 8.54 | |||||
| 32 | DARRELL WUENSCHE | 4 | 7.82 | 7.82 | ||||||
| 33 | TREY EPICH | BRANDON DICKENSON | 5 | 7.78 | 7.78 | |||||
| 34 | JAMIE SLAYDEN | COLT SLAYDEN | 2 | 6.50 | 6.50 | |||||
| 35 | DAVID REID | THOMAS HOWE | 1 | 2.97 | 2 | 3.36 | 6.33 | |||
| 36 | JAMES JONES | SOREN HANSEN | 3 | 6.16 | 6.16 | |||||
| 37 | PHILLIP DOUBEK | ANDREW SWEET | 3 | 5.99 | 5.99 | |||||
| 38 | WESLEY MCCLAIN | MIKE HARMAN | 3 | 5.80 | 5.80 | |||||
| 39 | ANTHONY GOODSON | TRAVIS DAUGHERTY | 3 | 5.55 | 5.55 | |||||
| 40 | LOGAN CLARK | TRAVIS COCKERHAM | 2 | 5.26 | 5.26 | |||||
| 41 | CASEY MARTZ | 2 | 5.13 | 5.13 | ||||||
| 42 | JAKE MASSEY | MARTY MASSEY | 3 | 4.73 | 4.73 | |||||
| 43 | WADE MEHAFFEY | JOHNNY ZUNKER | 2 | 3.73 | 3.73 | |||||
| 44 | JAMES HENRY | MICHAEL ATKINS | 2 | 3.58 | 3.58 | |||||
| 45 | DARREL ROUTON | JACK CULBREATH | 2 | 3.45 | 3.45 | |||||
| 46 | KYLE FORD | TONY THOMPSON | 1 | 2.18 | 2.18 | |||||
| 47 | BARRY DODD | MATTHEW HATHAWAY | 1 | 2.04 | 2.04 | |||||
| 48 | TERRY HALL | LYNN PIERCE | ||||||||
| 48 | ROBERT BUTLER | BRIAN MATER | ||||||||
| 48 | ANDY TOLLEY | TYLER TOLLEY | ||||||||
| 48 | STEVEN KIRKWOOD | |||||||||
| 48 | LANCE DILLARD | JACKSON DILLARD (Y) | ||||||||
| 48 | STEVE ODOM | PAT WARD | ||||||||
| 48 | BLAKE ROBERSON | LES COPELAND | ||||||||
| 48 | RUSTY REEDY |
Brown Earns Victory at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on Lake Ouachita
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Boater Kevin Brown of Hot Springs, Arkansas, and Strike-King co-angler Billy Rusher of Lincoln, Arkansas
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| Lincoln’s Billy Rusher Claims Strike King Co-angler Title MOUNT IDA, Ark. (Oct. 25, 2021) – Boater Kevin Brown of Hot Springs, Arkansas, brought a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 40 pounds, 13 ounces to the scale to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship Presented by T-H Marine at Lake Ouachita . Brown earned $68,200 for his win, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard and $10,000, along with the lucrative $7,000 Phoenix MLF contingency bonus. Brown also received automatic entry into the 2022 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American Championship, June 2-4, at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, as well as priority entry into the Toyota Series – the pathway to the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit and ultimately the Bass Pro Tour.“I’ve been fishing Lake Ouachita for 20 to 30 years – since I was 10 years old,” said Brown, who earned his fourth career BFL victory. “Winning this one and getting back to the All-American is such an unreal feeling. And knowing that it is on Lake Hamilton next year – these are my home lakes, Ouachita and Hamilton. All I wanted was the opportunity to qualify for the event on my home lake.” Brown said that he keyed in on channel swings, targeting a mixture of brush and rock in 23 to 28 feet of water. Every fish that he caught in this tournament came on a Yum Yumbrella Flash Mob Jr. with Yum Pulse Swimbaits (shad-colored) on ¼ ounce jig heads and a ½-ounce green-pumpkin-colored War Eagle finesse jig. “It was strictly an offshore deal for me. I never made a cast to the bank,” Brown said. “I ran probably close to 30 places. Sometimes I kept if off the bottom, sometimes I had to keep it on the bottom. It really depended on where the fish were setting up at. On the final day, I’m not sure what happened but they moved to some flatter stuff, and they wouldn’t get off the bottom at all. “When I got to 10 pounds I knew I had clinched the berth into the All-American, but I wasn’t sure that I had enough to win,” Brown continued. “Then I got to 12 pounds and was feeling a little better, but I still wasn’t comfortable because of the guys behind me. Mike (Brueggen) is an unbelievable angler, and Brian (Bean) is one of the best guys on this lake. I hustled until the very end, because the two guys behind me were very dangerous.” Brown had qualified to compete in the All-American Championship one time in his career prior, in 2010, on nearby DeGray Lake. Now he’s getting another shot at the big event, and once again he won’t be traveling far from home. “2010 was a special year, because my dad and I both qualified to compete on the boater side,” Brown went on to say. “This one means a lot because Brian (Bean) and I have traveled together all year and now we’ve both made it. All I wanted was the opportunity. Now, hero or zero, at least I’ve got my shot and I can’t wait.” The top six boaters that qualified for the 2022 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American were: 1st: Kevin Brown, Hot Springs, Ark., 15 bass, 40-13, $68,200 Rounding out the top 10 boaters were: 7th: Charles Long, Denham Springs, La., 13 bass, 27-1, $1,600 A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com. Brown took home an extra $7,000 as the highest finishing Phoenix MLF Bonus member. Boaters are eligible to win up to an extra $7,000 per event in each Phoenix Bass Fishing League tournament if all requirements are met. More information on the Phoenix MLF BIG5 Bonus contingency program can be found at PhoenixBassBoats.com. Billy Rusher of Lincoln, Arkansas, weighed in 11 bass over three days totaling 25 pounds, 9 ounces to win the top Strike King co-angler prize package of $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard.
The top six Strike King co-anglers that qualified for the 2022 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American were: 1st: Billy Rusher, Lincoln, Ark., 15 bass, 25-9, $50,000 Rounding out the top 10 Strike King co-anglers were: 7th: Zachary Barnes, Franklinton, La., 13 bass, 19-14, $800 The Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine Regional Championship on Lake Ouachita was hosted by Visit Hot Springs. It featured the top pros and Strike King co-anglers from the Cowboy, Great Lakes, Mississippi and Okie divisions. The 2021 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine consisted of 24 divisions devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season and five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, advance to one of six Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championships. The top six finishers in each regional will qualify for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American, which will be held June 2-4 at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, hosted by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and Visit Hot Springs. The top boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each Phoenix Bass Fishing League division will also earn priority entry into the Toyota Series, the pathway to the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit and ultimately the Bass Pro Tour. For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine on the MLF BIG5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. |
Co-worker’s crankbait wins 10th annual Toyota Bonus Bucks event
Courtesy of Alan McGuckin - Dynamic Sponsorships
Along with no-entry fee, great food, and all the cool free clothing that is given out to competitors at the annual Toyota Bonus Bucks Owners event, the fellowship and camaraderie is top notch too. And the fact this year’s tournament was won by Greg Haddix and Kevin Willoughby with a crankbait given to them by co-worker Roy Byrd exemplifies that.
Haddix, Willoughby, and Byrd have dedicated most of their adult lives to building Toyota Camrys and Corollas with zero defects for optimal customer satisfaction at Toyota Manufacturing plants in Kentucky and Mississippi.
But on the weekend, they fish with equal passion and dedication.
“Even though we were fishing against Roy today, he was kind enough to give us some of his new Byrd Custom Crankbaits yesterday, and they ended up being key to us winning today,” says Willoughby.
Fishing on Table Rock proved brutally tough amid winds that gust to 40 mph on tournament day, and their winning weight of 14 pounds 1 ounce proved dominant as a result of calling an audible to fish in the back of a creek instead of battling waves on the main lake points they fished in practice.
However, nobody went home empty-handed, highlighted by 23-year-old Cole Anderson winning an all-new redesigned 2022 Toyota Tundra at Saturday evening’s tournament meeting in a random drawing. And Micah Littlejohn won a Tracker ATV valued at roughly $8,000, courtesy of Bass Pro Shops.
Also impressive regarding the generosity of Toyota was their pledge to donate 100-times the winning weight to conservation. So, $1,410 was given from Toyota to the Johnny Morris’ Wonders of Wildlife Foundation for a future fisheries-related project on Table Rock Lake.
The Top 30 places all got a paycheck at the no-entry fee event, and even the first place ‘out of the money’ got a $1,000 from Yamaha. Thomas Huckabee picked up a $1,000 Bass Pro Shops gift certificate, Kevin Adcox won $300 and two pair of Costa sunglasses for finishing 10th, and the Big Bass of 4 pounds 6 ounces was good enough for $1,000 in Carhartt gear.
But greater than any prize is the value of fellowship experienced at this annual event.
And this year’s winners would be among the first to stand and testify to that, as a coworkers’ crankbait led them to $5,000 and memories for a lifetime.
David Lowery Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on St. Johns River
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David Lowery of Milledgeville, Georgia, and Strike-King co-angler Randy Paquette of Sarasota, Florida
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Strike King Co-angler Victory Goes to Florida’s Paquette PALATKA, Fla. (Oct. 25, 2021) – Boater David Lowery of Milledgeville, Georgia, brought a three-day total of 15 bass to the scale weighing 62 pounds, 15 ounces to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship Presented by T-H Marine at the St. Johns River . For his victory, Lowery earned $68,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard and $10,000, along with the lucrative $7,000 Phoenix MLF contingency bonus. Lowery also received automatic entry into the 2022 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American Championship, June 2-4, at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, as well as priority entry into the Toyota Series – the pathway to the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit and ultimately the Bass Pro Tour. “The key to my victory this week was just keeping my head down and fishing,” said Lowery, who earned the seventh BFL victory of his career. “Catching 33-12 on the first day really helped the cause as well. I really had a bad practice, so I just put my head down and went. I had eight bites on that first day, and landed all of the ones that counted on top and that is very rare.” Lowery said he caught his fish on a Spro Bronzeye Poppin’ Frog (Killer Gill and Rainforest Black) and a Big Bite Baits Tour Toad Buzzbait. “I caught most of my fish within sight of the boat ramp, going south towards Lake George,” Lowery went on to say. “I also caught several key fish just north of Lake George, on seawalls.” The top six boaters that qualified for the 2022 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American were: 1st: David Lowery, Milledgeville, Ga., 15 bass, 62-15, $68,000 Rounding out the top 10 boaters were: 7th: Nathan Thomas, Weirsdale, Fla., 15 bass, 47-11, $1,600 A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com. Lowery took home an extra $7,000 as the highest finishing Phoenix MLF Bonus member. Boaters are eligible to win up to an extra $7,000 per event in each Phoenix Bass Fishing League tournament if all requirements are met. More information on the Phoenix MLF BIG5 Bonus contingency program can be found at PhoenixBassBoats.com. Randy Paquette of Sarasota, Florida, weighed in 11 bass over three days totaling 31 pounds, 10 ounces to win the top Strike King co-angler prize package of $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard.
The top six Strike King co-anglers that qualified for the 2022 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American were: 1st: Randy Paquette, Sarasota, Fla., 11 bass, 31-10, $50,000 Rounding out the top 10 Strike King co-anglers were: 7th: Chris O’Bryan, Harned, Ky., 10 bass, 21-2, $800 The Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine Regional Championship on the St. Johns River was hosted by the Putnam County Tourist Development Council. It featured the top pros and Strike King co-anglers from the Bulldog, Choo Choo, Gator and South Carolina divisions. The 2021 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine consisted of 24-divisions devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season and five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, advance to one of six Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championships. The top six finishers in each regional will qualify for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American, which will be held June 2-4 at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, hosted by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and Visit Hot Springs. The top boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each Phoenix Bass Fishing League division will also earn priority entry into the Toyota Series, the pathway to the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit and ultimately the Bass Pro Tour. For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine on the MLF BIG5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. |
OneWater Marine Inc. Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire T-H Marine
OneWater Marine Inc. Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire T-H Marine, a Leading Provider of
Branded Marine Parts and Accessories for OEMs and the Aftermarket
Transaction Highlights:
Advances OneWater’s growth and diversification strategy, expected to more than double the size of the
services, parts & other sales, adding a highly complementary portfolio of marine parts and accessories
Provides opportunity to gain “share of wallet” with a more robust offering while enhancing profitability
Expected to be immediately accretive to top-line growth, operating margins and earnings per share
BUFORD, Ga., October 21, 2021 - OneWater Marine Inc. (NASDAQ: ONEW) (“OneWater” or “the Company”)
announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire T-H Marine, a leading provider of
branded marine parts and accessories, for approximately $185 million. The transaction is expected to close in
the calendar fourth quarter of 2021.
“With its comprehensive product portfolio, reputation for innovation, omni-channel sales strategy, and ability to
acquire and integrate niche category leaders, we look forward to welcoming Jeff Huntley Sr., and his team into
the OneWater Marine family,” said Austin Singleton, Chief Executive Officer for OneWater. “We believe T-H
Marine represents a strong, natural fit with our service, parts & other sales business and meaningfully increases
our addressable market for marine parts and accessories. With a track record of increasing financial
performance, we believe the addition of T-H Marine will further enhance our long-term growth strategy as we
continue to scale the business and drive value to our shareholders.”
Founded in 1975, and headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama, T-H Marine has transformed from a predominantly
OEM supplier of parts into an industry leading omni-channel marine platform. It serves the expanding aftermarket
parts and accessories market through its e-commerce site, various marine and big box retail sites and marine
distribution channels. The transaction will advance OneWater’s growth and diversification strategy and is
expected to more than double the size of its service, parts & other sales business with a highly complementary
product portfolio of marine parts and accessories.
“Our history of accretive acquisitions is not only complementary to OneWater’s business model and growth
strategy, but also provides an additional platform for expansion. We look forward to working with the OneWater
team to scale the business through organic investments and acquisitional growth,” said Jeff Huntley Sr., Chief
Executive Officer for T-H Marine. “Joining OneWater will allow us to further enhance our strategy of acquiring
and growing businesses to serve all of our aftermarket and OEM customers with even more amazing products.”
The combination is expected to further reduce OneWater’s exposure to the cyclical nature of new boat sales,
providing the Company with a more robust and complete offering, at the same time, improving overall gross
margins.
OneWater will be using a combination of cash and approximately $7 million in stock to fund the acquisition. In
conjunction with the transaction, the Company has received a commitment from Truist Securities to expand its
current term facility by $200 million. The Company expects its net debt-to-Adjusted EBITDA ratio to be in the
range of 1.2x to 1.7x after the transaction. The closing of the transaction is anticipated during the fourth quarter
of calendar 2021 and is subject to usual and customary closing conditions as well as regulatory review and
approval.
Stifel acted as the exclusive financial advisor to OneWater, while Truist Securities will be providing committed
financing for the transaction. Citizens M&A Advisory is serving as the exclusive financial advisor to T-H Marine.
Maryville’s William Blount High School Wins U.S. Army High School Fishing Open at Lake Chickamauga
| DAYTON, Tenn. (Oct. 25, 2021) – Maryville, Tennessee’s William Blount High School duo of Hunter Stewart of Friendsville, Tennessee and Austin Gredig, of Maryville, Tennessee, won the U.S. Army High School Fishing presented by Favorite Fishing Open at Lake Chickamauga Presented by Googan Baits on Saturday in Dayton, Tennessee. The victory advanced the team to the 2022 High School Fishing National Championship, scheduled for June 2022 at Alabama’s Pickwick and Wilson lakes.
According to post-tournament reports, the duo caught their fish targeting laydowns in 3 to 5 feet of water with a Z-Man ChatterBait and a Strike King KVD 1.5 squarebill crankbait. TOP 10 RESULTS
*National Championship Qualifier. The top 10% of teams advance to the 2021 U.S. Army High School Fishing presented by Favorite Fishing National Championship Complete results from the event will be posted at MajorLeagueFishing.com. 2022 UPCOMING QUALIFICATION OPPORTUNITIES
U.S. Army High School Fishing presented by Favorite Fishing tournaments are free, two-person (team) events for students in grades 7-12 and are open to any MLF and Student Angler Federation-affiliated high school club. The top 10 percent of teams at each Open event along with the TBF High School Fishing state championships will advance to the 2021 U.S. Army High School Fishing presented by Favorite Fishing National Championship. The U.S. Army High School Fishing national champions will each receive a $5,000 college scholarship to the school of their choice. The first 25 high school teams that enter each U.S. Army High School Fishing presented by Favorite Fishing tournament will receive a free Favorite Fishing package, including one Favorite Fishing casting rod and reel, one Favorite Fishing spinning rod and reel, six packs of Googan Baits and two Favorite Fishing hats, a total package value of $230. Most tournaments are also hosted by a Bass Pro Tour angler or Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit angler, giving high school students the chance to meet the sport’s top pros. As an added bonus, the winning team at each tournament will receive a guided fishing trip with their pro angler host. In addition to the U.S. Army High School Fishing National Championship, all High School Fishing anglers nationwide automatically qualify for the world’s largest open high school bass tournament, the 2022 High School Fishing World Finals, held in conjunction with the National Championship. More than $2.8 million in scholarships and prizes were offered at the 2021 World Finals. |
Major League Fishing Academy Sports + Outdoors Heritage Cup Wraps Production in Knoxville
Bass Fishing Event Completes Week-Long Television Shoot in Knoxville Area with 24 Pro Anglers Competing to Win Prestigious Heritage Cup Championship
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (Oct. 25, 2021) – Major League Fishing (MLF) and 24 of the world’s best pro anglers wrapped production Sunday at the MLF Academy Sports + Outdoors Heritage Cup presented by Magellan Outdoors event in Knoxville, Tennessee. The event, hosted by the Visit Knoxville Sports Commission and Jefferson County, Tennessee, and filmed entirely for television broadcast, was shot over six days this week and featured anglers competing for the prestigious Heritage Cup championship.
Knoxville and Jefferson County have played host to numerous major five-fish format bass-fishing championship events over the years, including the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American which was held on Douglas Lake in June. However, the Academy Sports + Outdoors Heritage Cup presented by Magellan Outdoors event will mark the first time that MLF has visited Knoxville with an event that showcases the catch, weigh, immediate-release tournament format.
“It’s been a great week showcasing our region for this MLF Heritage Cup, said Chad Culver, Senior Director of the Visit Knoxville Sports Commission. “We are very blessed to have numerous fisheries able to do an event of this magnitude along with our partners in Jefferson County. I look forward to watching the episodes to see who pulled off the victory.”
The six-episode, two-hour series features the professional anglers visiting the Knoxville area to compete on Douglas Lake and different zones of Fort Loudoun Lake on each day of competition. The anglers do not learn where they are competing until they arrive to the launch ramp each morning of competition, creating a reality-based television episode that showcases how the top anglers in the world break down new and unfamiliar waters.
“Knoxville is a world-class city with fantastic venues, but their natural resource in the Tennessee River makes for a great backdrop for the best anglers in the world and the amazing television content that our team produces,” said Michael Mulone, Senior Director of Events and Partnerships for MLF. “Working with Knoxville and Jefferson County for this multi-fishery opportunity, we were so honored how they worked together to welcome MLF and our anglers to the region. These are amazing fisheries, but even better destinations that I know our national audience will enjoy watching.”
The 24 anglers competing in the Academy Sports + Outdoors Heritage Cup presented by Magellan Outdoors are: Adrian Avena, Josh Bertrand, Stephen Browning, Brent Chapman, Dustin Connell, Mark Davis, Ott DeFoe, Brent Ehrler, James Elam, Paul Elias, Todd Faircloth, Anthony Gagliardi, Alton Jones Jr., Andy Montgomery, Andy Morgan, John Murray, Britt Myers, Michael Neal, Mark Rose, Jeff Sprague, Gerald Spohrer, Kevin VanDam, Greg Vinson and Jesse Wiggins.
The MLF Academy Sports + Outdoors Heritage Cup presented by Magellan Outdoors, hosted by the Visit Knoxville Sports Commission and Jefferson County, Tennessee, will air on the Outdoor Channel as six, two-hour original episodes each Saturday afternoon starting Feb. 12, 2022, airing from 2 to 4 p.m. EDT. The full television schedule can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com/tv-
For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
The 2021 Alabama Bass Trail Champs Matthew Hurst and Roy Hurst Jr.
By Jason Duran
October 24, 2021 - Jasper, Ala, Walker County and Lewis Smith Lake was the host for the 2021 Alabama Bass Trail Championship. The top teams from the North and South divisions qualified through five regular season divisional events to fish the two-day, no entry fee event. The purse for the ABT Championship totaled $100,000 with a grand prize of $50,000 in cash going to first place team. First place also claims full bragging rights as the best of the best bass fishing team in the southeast.
After two days of official practice, teams were ready to get to work on day one of the event on Friday. Anglers found the lake conditions to be abnormal for this time of year. Typically, in late October, the water temps have really cooled off which normally pushes fish to the shallows chasing bait. The fall pattern at Smith Lake is also known for schooling spotted bass that can be found in a blueback herring feeding frenzy. Smith Lake is much different than other lakes on the ABT with most of the lake being very clear and very deep. Anglers often break the lake down into three sections: Ryan Creek, Rock Creek and the Sipsey Creek. Teams can spend the whole day just fishing one of these areas and often have little or no fishing pressure around them providing teams the opportunity to fish their strengths. Smith Lake does have a slot limit that requires all bass between 13-15 inches be released. Teams have to learn to navigate the slot limit and do their best to catch as many as they can over the slot limit to really have a solid weight.
The day one leaders were Jason Cannon and Trent Surat. Although they caught a limit quickly, their day started really slow. With only one fish over the slot limit, they pulled up on a point about 1pm and were able to cull out that early limit to get them the 13.77 pounds giving them the lead on day one. Most of their fish were caught using a Green Pumpkin Baby Brush Hog on a Carolina rig mixed in with a shad-colored fluke and a green pumpkin shaky head. They mixed up the deep and shallow water patterns focusing mainly in Ryan creek. Working through about 50-60 spots, they caught roughly 50 fish on day one and started day tow as the leaders. The team shared, “we went out with the expectation of having another afternoon bite, pulled up on our first spot and went to catching them. We caught several and quickly got our limit. After about 9 in the morning, the bite was gone, and we didn’t really get an afternoon bite. We needed the wind on day two, but we didn’t really get any like we did the first day. We were mainly fishing wind-blown points up close to the park in Ryan creek.” Overall, they felt they had a really good event coming up just a little short in the end. “We exceeded our expectations in this event. We really only caught a couple overs in practice and just put our heads down and went fishing both days.” Finishing in 2nd place overall with 23.65 pounds and a $10,000 check and a regular season 4th place in points allows them the chance to represent the ABT in the B.A.S.S. Team Championship at Lake Eufaula and fish for the opportunity to go to the Bassmaster Classic.
The team of Matthew Hurst and Roy Hurst Jr., known by their friends and family as #TeamHurst, weighed in 11.56 on day one landing them in 13th place. They spent the first day fishing bluff walls in Ryan Creek primarily targeting walls with chunk rock and deep water. They also fished shallow boat docks near deeper water in the afternoons. With the day one weights being really close, #TeamHurst was only 2.21 pounds out of the lead, so they approached day two expecting some of the teams ahead of them to slip up some. Going into day 2 with the mindset to “fish big,” they started in the same spot as day one where they caught a very nice size keeper over 3 lbs. When they put it in the box, they said to each other, “with this fish, we know we caught the day one leaders. Oh man! We might have something special here.” They spent about two more hours working on getting the five bass limit. About 10:30, they had their limit and felt they were on the right path. They continued to rotate between their four spots two of which seemed to hold the fish for them. The bluff wall was in 50 feet of water, and they used a Zoom green Pumpkin Trick worm with a 3/16 oz Picasso Shaky head on 12lb Seaguar Invizx on a med-heavy rod 3/8 oz Predator live rubber football jig with a Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed C raw trailer in watermelon candy on 17lb Seaguar Abrazx. After casting, they let these baits sink down slowly. The bite was really slow and most of the time the bites came on the fall. On day two they caught around 20 keepers allowing them to cull up to 13.56 pounds giving them a two-day total of 25.12- more than enough to capture the lead all the way from 13th place.
Day one top ten leaders were held back to weigh last on day 2 leaving #TeamHurst as the last team to weigh in before the leaders came across the stage. After they weighed-in they were seated in the Phoenix Boats hot seat while the other teams crossed the stage with the hopes to knock them off the hot seat. As team after team continued to fall short, #TeamHurst began to feel the reality sink in. When the final team to weigh-in was unsuccessful at beating their total #TeamHurst was all smiles expressing thankfulness for their family support and how honored they were to have done so well against such a great field of anglers. This was the first year for #TeamHurst to fish the ABT, and they took home over $50,200 in cash and bonuses and the title of ABT 2021 Champs. They said the key to winning this event was “consistency.” They were the only team that was able to have a good weight on both days.
The 3rd place team of Tyler Smart and Bret Harrell had a two-day total of 23.60 and took home $5,000. They were in 6th place after day one with 12.16 pounds and spent their time in Rock Creek targeting fish in pockets early in the morning using a buzzbait, a River2Sea Rover in a shad color and a Whopper Plopper. In the afternoons, they would work their way back out towards the main creek channel using a homemade shaky head with a green pumpkin Zoom Trick Worm. They felt the key for them was targeting fish in the shade using the topwater. On day two they ran the same pattern but found the shaky head bite really went away, so they went back to the pockets and caught a few more fish using the River2Sea Rover. “The wind really changed today and blew from a direction that hurt us. When you are throwing a 3/8 oz weight, it’s hard to feel the bite in the wind.”
This concludes the 2021 Alabama Bass Trail North and South Division. 19 Teams are headed to the B.A.S.S Team Championship on Lake Eufaula, with the hope to hold onto the trophy one more year and send another angler to the Bassmaster Classic.
The top ten standings are below for a complete list see: https://www.alabamabasstrail.org/tournament-series/lsl-results/
Download and listen to the ABT Podcast on your favorite Podcast app by searching for “Alabama Bass Trail Podcast.” The Podcast is released each week on Tuesday and will feature the winners #TeamHurst this week.
The sponsors of the 2021 Alabama Bass Trail include: Phoenix Boats, Academy Sports, Alabama Power, America’s First Federal Credit Union, Berkley, Big Bite Baits, Bill Penny Automotive, Black Rife Coffee Company, Buck N’ Bass, Anheuser – Bush, Inc., E3 Sports Apparel, Fish Neely Henry Lake.com, Garmin, Hydrowave, Jack’s, Lew’s, Mtn Dew, Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association, Power-Pole, Strike King, Sweet Home Alabama, T-H Marine, Wedowee Marine, YETI Coolers.