AnglersChannel

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.

by AnglersChannel

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

by AnglersChannel

Brown Earns Victory at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on Lake Ouachita

Boater Kevin Brown of Hot Springs, Arkansas, and Strike-King co-angler Billy Rusher of Lincoln, Arkansas

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:

1^st:          Kevin Brown, Hot Springs, Ark., 15 bass, 40-13, $68,200
2^nd:         Mike Brueggen, La Crosse, Wis., 15 bass, 33-10, $10,000
3^rd:         Brian Bean, Hot Springs, Ark., 15 bass, 32-10, $5,000
4^th:         Mike Reid, Greenville, Texas, 15 bass, 29-3, $3,000
5^th:         Taylor Johnson, Texarkana, Ark., 13 bass, 29-0, $2,000
6^th:         Hunter Litchfield, Macomb, Ill., 15 bass, 27-12, $1,800

Rounding out the top 10 boaters were:

7^th:         Charles Long, Denham Springs, La., 13 bass, 27-1, $1,600
8^th:         Harmon Davis, Marlow, Okla., 15 bass, 26-8, $1,400
9^th:         Barret Robinson, Jasper, Texas, 13 bass, 26-4, $1,200
10^th:       Brandon Bolton, West Point, Miss., 15 bass, 25-7, $1,000

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:

1^st:          Billy Rusher, Lincoln, Ark., 15 bass, 25-9, $50,000
2^nd:         James Menold, Amory, Miss., 13 bass, 22-4, $5,000
3^rd:         David Ondria, Elmhurst, Ill., 14 bass, 20-13, $2,500
4^th:         Clint Horton, Falkner, Miss., 15 bass, 20-11, $1,500
5^th:         Patrick Weir, Park Hill, Okla., 15 bass, 20-7, $1,000
6^th:         Alan Hill, Ada, Okla., 15 bass, 20-6, $900

Rounding out the top 10 Strike King co-anglers were:

7^th:         Zachary Barnes, Franklinton, La., 13 bass, 19-14, $800
8^th:         Jason Swanson, Waterloo, Iowa, 15 bass, 19-4, $700
9^th:         Scott Smith, Blanchard, Okla., 13 bass, 17-14, $925
10^th:       Greg Dennis, Fort Worth, Texas, 12 bass, 17-8, $500

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.

by AnglersChannel

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 10^th, 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.

by AnglersChannel

David Lowery Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on St. Johns River

David Lowery of Milledgeville, Georgia, and Strike-King co-angler Randy Paquette of Sarasota, Florida

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:

1^st:          David Lowery, Milledgeville, Ga., 15 bass, 62-15, $68,000
2^nd:         Christopher Chavis, Guyton, Ga., 14 bass, 59-7, $10,000
3^rd:         Robert Crosnoe, Inverness, Fla., 15 bass, 58-8, $5,000
4^th:         Matt Henry, Milledgeville, Ga., 15 bass, 57-5, $3,000
5^th:         Justin Kimmel, Athens, Ga., 14 bass, 52-6, $2,500
6^th:         Laker Howell, Guntersville, Ala., 15 bass, 49-11, $1,800

Rounding out the top 10 boaters were:

7^th:         Nathan Thomas, Weirsdale, Fla., 15 bass, 47-11, $1,600
8^th:         Levi Crossway, Jacksonville, Fla., 15 bass, 47-1, $1,400
9^th:         Kevin Izzi, Smithville, Texas, 15 bass, 41-7, $1,200
10^th:       Mickey McHenry, Eatonton, Ga., 11 bass, 38-1, $1,000

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:

1^st:          Randy Paquette, Sarasota, Fla., 11 bass, 31-10, $50,000
2^nd:         Kenneth Hunnicutt, Jacksonville, Fla., 12 bass, 30-7, $5,000
3^rd:         Samuel Jones, Fuquay Varina, N.C., 13 bass, 30-0, $2,500
4^th:         Steven Obester, Palatka, Fla., nine bass, 24-1, $1,750
5^th:         Harold Addison II, Columbia, S.C., 11 bass, 23-0, $1,000
6^th:         Chandler White, Covington, Ga., seven bass, 22-6, $900

Rounding out the top 10 Strike King co-anglers were:

7^th:         Chris O’Bryan, Harned, Ky., 10 bass, 21-2, $800
8^th:         Ernie Thompson, Anthony, Fla., 11 bass, 20-10, $700
9^th:         Will Thomas, Madison, Ga., 10 bass, 19-15, $600
10^th:       Giovanni Pizza, Boca Raton, Fla., seven bass, 19-11, $500

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.

by AnglersChannel

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.

by AnglersChannel

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

RANK	SCHOOL/CLUB NAME/CITY	ANGLER NAME	BASS	WEIGHT
1^st*	William Blount High School, Maryville, Tenn.*	Hunter Stewart, Friendsville, Tenn. Austin Gredig, Maryville, Tenn.	5	12-5
2^nd*	Elizabethton High School, Elizabethton, Tenn.	Zeb Roberts, Roan Mountain, Tenn. Jacob Oliver	5	10-6
3^rd*	Alcoa High School, Alcoa, Tenn.	Landon Myers, Maryville, Tenn. Hunter Olivet, Maryville, Tenn.	2	7-4
4^th*	Greenbrier High School, Evans, Ga.	Henry Garrett, Evans, Ga. Jacob Hodge, Evans, Ga.	3	7-3
5^th*	Rhea County High School, Evensville, Tenn.	Will Travis, Dayton, Tenn. Colton Teffer, Spring City, Tenn.	2	6-10
6^th*	South Forsyth High School, Cumming, Ga.	Jeremy Zyck, Cumming, Ga. Christian Ruotsalainen, Cumming, Ga.	3	6-3
7^th*	East Jessamine High School, Nicholasville, Ky.	Ridge Rutledge, Nicholasville, Ky. Ryan Sponcil, Nicholasville, Ky.	3	6-3
8^th*	Campbell County High School, Jacksboro, Tenn.	Bryson Dotson, LaFollette, Tenn. Holden Pistello, LaFollette, Tenn.	3	5-13
9^th*	Edinburg Township High School, Edinburg, Ill.	Levi Kohl, Edinburg, Ill. Lane Argo, Edinburg, Ill.	2	5-9
10^th*	Sale Creek High School, Sale Creek, Tenn.	Banks Shaw, Harrison, Tenn. Westin Moss, Jasper, Tenn.	2	5-8

*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

EVENT	DATE	LOCATION	HOST
2022 U.S. Army High School Fishing National Championship & World Finals	June 22-25, 2022	Pickwick Lake & Wilson Lake	Florence-Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau

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.
Full schedules and the latest announcements, photos and articles are available at HighSchoolFishing.org and MajorLeagueFishing.com.

by AnglersChannel

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-schedule.

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.

by AnglersChannel

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.

by AnglersChannel

Carson-Newman University Makes History, Wins Largest MLF Abu Garcia College Fishing Tournament of All-Time at Lake Chickamauga

DAYTON, Tenn. (Oct. 24, 2021) – The Carson-Newman University duo of Ben Cully of Rockwall, Texas, and Hayden Gaddis of Seymour, Tennessee, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Friday weighing 18 pounds even to win the Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI at Lake Chickamauga. The victory earned the Eagles bass club $2,000 and qualified the duo to compete in the 2022 College Fishing National Championship.

Hosted by Fish Dayton and the Rhea Economic & Tourism Council, the field of 278 teams competing broke an MLF record as the largest Collegiate Fishing tournament of all-time. The previous record was set in March of 2018, when 276 teams competed in a Southeastern Conference event at Lake Guntersville.

According to post-tournament reports the duo caught their fish on an unnamed frog, targeting weedy areas.

TOP 10 RESULTS*

RANK	COLLEGE NAME	ANGLER NAME/HOMETOWN	BASS	WEIGHT	AWARD
1^st	Carson-Newman University	Ben Cully, Rockwall, Texas Hayden Gaddis, Seymour, Tenn.	5	18-0	$2,000
2^nd	Columbia State Community College	Hunter Jones, Mount Pleasant, Tenn. Ryan Prince, Mount Pleasant, Tenn.	5	15-14	$1,000
3^rd	Emmanuel College	Cy Casey, Evans, Ga. Tanner Hadden, Evans, Ga.	5	15-0	$500
4^th	Florida Gateway College	Seth Slanker, Lake City, Fla. Jackson Swisher, Lake City, Fla.	5	14-14	$500
5^th	Florida Gateway College	Tommy Dunaway, Havana, Fla. Seth Jones, Havana, Fla.	5	14-8	$500
6^th	Georgia College	Noah Campbell, Madison, Ga. Troy Harris, Watkinsville, Ga.	5	14-1
7^th	University of North Alabama	Walker Sahagun, Trussville, Ala. Kyle Zainitzer, Palm City, Fla.	5	13-11
8^th	University of Montevallo	Tyler Cain, Bessemer, Ala. Cole Dodson, Gardendale, Ala.	5	13-10
9^th	University of Montevallo	Andrew Howell, Pisgah Forest, N.C. Tommy Sendek, Tucson, Ariz.	4	13-9
10^th	Kentucky Christian University	Lafe Messer, Warfield, Ky. Matt Messer, Warfield, Ky.	5	13-7

*Top 27 teams advance to the 2022 College Fishing National Championship

Complete results for the entire field can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

2021 QUALIFICATION OPPORTUNITIES

EVENT	DATE	LOCATION	HOST
Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI National Championship Presented by Lowrance	March 29-31, 2022	Fort Gibson Lake, Wagoner, Okla.	Wagoner Area Chamber of Commerce

The event was the third and final qualifying tournaments for Southeastern Conference anglers.

Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI teams compete in regular-season qualifying tournaments in one of five conferences – Central, Northern, Southern, Southeastern and Western. The top ten teams from each division’s three regular-season tournaments and the top 20 teams from the annual Abu Garcia College Fishing Open advance to the following year’s Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI National Championship.

For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Abu Garcia College Fishing presented by YETI on MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

by AnglersChannel

Bradley Roy’s 9th Annual High School Open presented by Covercraft

Jamestown, Kentucky

The 2021 Bradley Roy High School Open presented by Covercraft was likely one of the most challenging installments of the tournament’s nine-year history.

139 high school teams and 34 junior teams (6-8th grade) competed October 9th on Lake Cumberland, and the Top Five fished the following day on Cedar Creek Lake in Stanford, Kentucky.

The tournament is an officially sanctioned high school event by the Kentucky Bass Nation. Two spots in the 2022 Bassmaster High School National Championship were awarded to Saturday’s top finishers: Jaydon Coggins and Chloe Hollon of Southwestern High School, and Ridge Rutledge and Ryan Sponcil of East Jessamine High School.

Saturday’s winning team included the first female angler to finish in the top 5 of the Bradley Roy High School Open, Southwestern’s Chloe Hollon.

The winners weighed a bag of five fish totaling 9.45 pounds. The runners-up weighed in a bag of three fish for 9.05, which included the big fish of the event, a 4.16-pound largemouth.

3rd place – Brayson Claunch/Cameron Owens - Boyle Co.: 6.24
4th place – Alex Wells/Braedon Stringer - Lake Cumberland HS Bass Club: 5.40 5th place – Hunter Shelton/Jordan Hampton - Trigg Co.: 5.11

Following the weigh-in, Roy gathered the top five teams and immediately cut off any information gathering from other teams about any surrounding lakes or Lake Cumberland. He then prepared all teams for a fish-off on Sunday at a mystery lake to be disclosed early Sunday morning.

The five remaining teams were housed at the Riverside Inn and geared up for a Major League Fishing Cup-style tournament the next day. The Bass Pro Tour angler convened the group in the parking lot at 4:30 CDT on Sunday morning and informed the group that the final day would again be fished on Cedar Creek Lake in Stanford, Kentucky.

“I picked Cedar Creek again this year as our mystery lake because it’s unexpected that we would return two years in a row,” said Roy. “We had only one top 5 team returning from last year, and I believe they were even surprised.”

The convoy made their way 77 miles up to Cedar Creek and prepared for “lines in” at 8:15 EDT. Each team was assigned boat officials trained by Roy and provided two sets of MLF-supplied scales. Teams were given thirty minutes to ride around on the 950-acre lake.

Roy streamed commentary on his social media pages as he covered the action. The teams fished two 2.5-hour sessions, with a thirty-minute break in between.

The conditions on Cedar Creek were sunny and unseasonably warm, creating an even greater challenge for the young anglers. Roy commented on his live stream that due to the tough conditions and fish seemingly still being in a summertime pattern, one big bass could catapult a new team into the lead in the late going. Despite catches in the final minutes from the Lake Cumberland and Boyle County teams, Trigg County’s lead was insurmountable. Trigg County clinched victory with a final weight of 5 pounds 4 ounces.

After confirming scores from all teams, Roy interviewed winners Jordan Hampton and Hunter Shelton. Roy asked Hampton if he thought they would be able to pull it off; he responded by saying, “Honestly, not with three fish. We didn’t think we would. But when we caught our first ones with a jig and then a Carolina rig, that’s what we’re used to back home, and we were going to fish it.” He went on to say that they planned to fish their strengths win or lose, Shelton agreed.

Following the event, Trigg County’s boat captain, Gary Houha, was very complimentary of the young anglers. Houha said, “I can’t say enough about them; both of these guys work very hard and have excellent support groups. They raised all of the money to allow them to fish various state and national tournaments, including this one.” He added that a big motivation for fishing this event for the third time was the opportunity to earn scholarships and fish at the college level.

Both team members from the top two teams were offered four-year, $10,000 scholarships to attend Campbellsville University by head coach Pete Hedgepath. Kentucky Christian and Drury University also offered four-year scholarships to teams in the Top Five. In all, the potential scholarships were close to $740,000.

Significant general scholarships for all teams were made possible by Covercraft, Farmers National Bank, First Southern National Bank, A Few Good Men Fishing Tournament, LCR Contracting, City of Jamestown, and Angler’s Outpost and Marine.

Additional prizes from sponsors of the event and Bradley Roy included: Ark Fishing, Bass Pro Shops, Railblaza, Solar Bat, Prym1, The Cain Pole, Land Big Fish, Seaguar, D&L Tackle, and Grundens.

“I am very happy we were able to make this event a success again for the ninth year. It is a huge highlight of my year to be able to showcase the talent Kentucky has on the high school level. One of the best things we’re able to do year after year is to reward our top anglers with college scholarships. I am very thankful to have relationships with colleges and sponsors that are invested in these young people as anglers but, more importantly, as students. I hope to see these anglers take advantage of the opportunities that they’ve earned and for this event to be as impactful as it is memorable,” said Roy.

Covercraft contributed to the scholarship fund and provided event decals for all anglers, coaches, volunteers, and family members.

“We are so proud to be the title sponsor for this event again this year. This event gives high school anglers an experience similar to what the pros have on the Bass Pro Tour, as well as earning awesome scholarships for their future. Covercraft not only gave the top finishers products we hope they enjoy but also contributed to the college scholarships that were given out. We proudly support high school fishing and this great event,” said Jeff Jegelewicz, Director of Marketing at Covercraft.

“We were thrilled to be able to host the Bradley Roy High School fishing tournament again and allow our local Bass Fishing team and other students around Kentucky to compete for scholarships,” said Nick Shearer, Russell County Chamber of Commerce, and the Mayor of Jamestown.

For a video of the event, visit -- https://youtu.be/Tor0PrC8BV8
Media contact: J.D. Blackburn | jd@profishingmanagement.com| (615) 479-7991

For full tournament results, visit www.kybassnation.org.
For more information on Bradley Roy, visit www.BradleyRoy.com.
For more information on Covercraft, visit www.Covercraft.com.

by AnglersChannel

LeBrun Surges To Victory In Bassmaster Central Open Finale On Grand Lake

Nick LeBrun, of Bossier City, La., has won the 2021 Basspro.com Bassmaster Central Open at Grand Lake with a three-day total of 50 pounds, 2 ounces.
Photo by Dalton Tumblin/B.A.S.S.

October 23, 2021

GROVE, Okla. — Nick LeBrun’s strategy of “go big or go home” carried him to a dominant victory in the Basspro.com Bassmaster Central Open at Grand Lake with a three-day total weight of 50 pounds, 2 ounces.

Hailing from Bossier City, La., LeBrun placed third on Day 1 with 17-12, then improved to second with Friday’s limit of 15-3. Championship Saturday saw him sack up the day’s heaviest catch — 17-3, which helped him edge Day 1 leader Kenta Kimura of Japan by 4-6.

Along with the top prize of $47,833, LeBrun earned a spot in the 2022 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk, which is scheduled for March 4-6 on South Carolina’s Lake Hartwell.

“Money spends, but going to the Classic is a childhood, manhood, everything dream,” Lebrun said. “It’s going to take a while for that to sink in.”

LeBrun, who placed second at the Central Open on Alabama’s Smith Lake two weeks ago, caught all of the fish he weighed this week on a Whopper Plopper and another plopper-style bait. He started throwing the 110 size bait in practice, but windy conditions prompted him to upsize to the hefty 130, which holds its own in blustery conditions.

As it turned out, LeBrun’s big bait was a good match to the giant gizzard shad his fish were targeting. With fall bass intent on filing their bellies, many anglers were keying on the smaller and more common threadfin shad. Locating areas thick with big gizzards proved foundational to LeBrun’s success.

“Anytime you see those big gizzard shad up on the bank in this part of the country, it’s time to pick up that plopper and keep it in your hand all day,” LeBrun said. “You don’t get many bites, but the ones you get are usually big."

All week, LeBrun stayed in the mid-lake region, between Shangri-La and Horse Creek. His ideal scenario comprised short pockets with docks. He named the waypoint for his most memorable spot “Big” because he had a 5-pounder bite his hookless practice bait. This spot would produce the kicker that sealed his win.

After a somewhat slow start, Championship Saturday suddenly took an encouraging turn when LeBrun entered the “Big” pocket and found his biggest fish of the day — a 5 3/4-pounder — around 9 a.m.

“I had one little 2-pounder in the box and was easing up to this dock at the mouth of a little pocket,” LeBrun said. “I heard the fish blow up behind me, so I turned around and cast in that direction. She came up and smoked it.

“When I landed that fish, I felt like I’d won. That doesn’t always hold true, but you have to have that winning moment. It’s not over ’til it’s over, but it certainly was an awesome feeling.”

Considering that inconsistent fall conditions had most competitors junk fishing their way through the days, LeBrun’s single-minded strategy was a legitimate oddity.

“I’m pretty overwhelmed right now,” he said. “Throwing a big bait like that in a field this size with the caliber of anglers competing, it’s very rare that something like that works out for three days.

"Normally, you have to mix it up. But the good Lord blessed me this week because every fish I weighed in was doing what I wanted to do. I felt like I was fishing to win and you can’t ask for anything better.”

Kimura placed second with 45-12. The Bassmaster Elite Series pro set the first-round mark by catching 21-14 — the event’s biggest bag. He added 11 pounds on Friday and finished with 12-14 Saturday.

“I was pretty excited about this morning because of the wind,” Kimura said. “I thought I was going to get 20 pounds, but the 4-pounders never showed up.”

Kimura fished a Deps 1/2-ounce wobble head with a Deps creature bait around rock with brushpiles and a 3/8-ounce Deps flipping jig with a creature bait around docks. He also fished a Japanese finesse rig.

John Pilcher of Kansas, Okla., finished third with 43-13. On Day 1, he tied Matt Pangrac of Bixby, Okla., for 16th place with 14-0. On Friday, he reached the final round in eighth place with a limit of 14-15 and gained five more spots with Saturday’s 14-14 limit.

“It was really junk fishing for me; I was catching fish deep and catching fish shallow,” Pilcher said. “I was buzzbaiting bluffs and gravel flats. I caught some fish on offshore gravel flats with rockpiles and brush and then I caught some fish offshore on ledges. The buzzbait and a BassX jig were my main baits.

“All three days, sticking with it was important because all three days I caught a big fish within the last 30 to 40 minutes. Today, I caught my two biggest fish in the last hour.”

Jacob Walker of Alabaster, Ala., won the $500 Phoenix Boats Big Bass prize with his 6-9.

As part of the Yamaha Power Pay program, LeBrun took home an additional $1,000 while John Soukup of Sapulpa, Okla., claimed an additional $500 for being the second-highest placing entrant.

Cody Huff of Ava., Mo., finished first in the Central Opens standings with 565 points. Jay Przekurat of Stevens Point, Wis., finished second with 558, followed by Jacob Powroznik of North Prince George, Va., with 546, Joseph Webster of Winfield, Ala., with 544 and John Garrett of Union City, Tenn., with 543. Huff, Przekurat and Webster earned invitations to fish the 2022 Bassmaster Elite Series while Powroznik earned an invitation to fish the Elites by winning the Falcon Rods Bassmaster Opens Angler of the Year title.

2021 Basspro.com Bassmaster Central Open at Grand Lake 10/21-10/23
Grand Lake O' the Cherokees, Grand Lake OK.
(BOATER) Standings Day 3

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

1. Nick LeBrun Bossier City, LA 15 50-02 200 $47,833.00
Day 1: 5 17-12 Day 2: 5 15-03 Day 3: 5 17-03
2. Kenta Kimura Osaka JAPAN 14 45-12 199 $23,733.00
Day 1: 5 21-14 Day 2: 4 11-00 Day 3: 5 12-14
3. John Pilcher Kansas, OK 15 43-13 198 $16,400.00
Day 1: 5 14-00 Day 2: 5 14-15 Day 3: 5 14-14
4. John Soukup Sapulpa, OK 14 42-15 197 $13,667.00
Day 1: 5 19-01 Day 2: 5 15-10 Day 3: 4 08-04
5. Brock Mosley Collinsville, MS 15 40-06 196 $11,890.00
Day 1: 5 14-14 Day 2: 5 14-11 Day 3: 5 10-13
6. Masayuki Matsushita Tokoname-Shi JAPAN 14 39-09 195 $10,933.00
Day 1: 5 15-03 Day 2: 5 16-11 Day 3: 4 07-11
7. Sam George Athens, AL 14 38-03 194 $10,250.00
Day 1: 5 17-08 Day 2: 4 09-05 Day 3: 5 11-06
8. Cody Huff Ava, MO 14 38-00 193 $9,567.00
Day 1: 5 16-11 Day 2: 5 14-15 Day 3: 4 06-06
9. Vance Montgomery Claremore, OK 14 35-13 192 $7,517.00
Day 1: 5 15-04 Day 2: 4 11-03 Day 3: 5 09-06
10. Harvey Horne Bella Vista, AR 12 33-08 191 $6,150.00
Day 1: 5 12-01 Day 2: 5 17-14 Day 3: 2 03-09

by AnglersChannel

Soukup Takes Lead On Day 2 Of Bassmaster Central Open On Grand Lake

John Soukup, of Sapulpa, Okla., is leading after Day 2 of the 2021 Basspro.com Bassmaster Central Open at Grand Lake with a two-day total of 34 pounds, 11 ounces.
Photo by Dalton Tumblin/B.A.S.S.

October 22, 2021

GROVE, Okla. — Astute observation and timely adjustments proved essential for Oklahoma pro John Soukup, who leads Day 2 of the Basspro.com Bassmaster Central Open at Grand Lake with 34 pounds, 11 ounces.

After placing second on Day 1 with 19-1, Soukup added 15-10 Friday. He enters Championship Saturday with a margin of 1-12 over Nick LeBrun of Bossier City, La.

Starting his day near takeoff, Soukup ran as far as 25 miles and fared best with a mobile game plan. Noting that he fished a variety of habitat in 1 to 50 feet of water, Soukup said his electronics were essential.

“I had my Garmin LiveScope on all day and the key to where I was catching fish was 100% bait oriented,” Soukup said. “If you can’t see the bait, you should probably get out of there.

“It was just an environmental study. You’d look down there and it’s full of bait, but they weren’t flickering. That’s the key — if the bait is flickering, that tells you to fish something high in the water column. If they’re not, that tells you to slow down and fish deeper.”

Soukup anchored his bag with a 5-5 that bit around noon. His most aggressive bite, by far, this fish started his only flurry of the day.

“That 5-pounder nearly ripped the rod out of my hand,” Soukup said. “It literally came out of my hand; I had to grab it and that was the hook set — just hold on!

“That was around noon and I only had two fish, but I put that one in the boat, caught another two really quickly and continued to fish around that area because I caught two good ones there yesterday and two today.”

Soukup said the scattered nature of fall denied him any more consistency. He fished bluffs, flat banks and docks and caught bass on a buzzbait, a Zara Spook, a squarebill crankbait and a jig.

“One thing would be on fire for an hour or two and then another one would be on fire,” he said. “The last 15 minutes of the day, I just fished off my gut and caught three fish doing three different things.

“It’s just typical fall stuff. You have (several) rods on your deck, you see a place that looks good and it’s right, but you try to repeat it on 20 different places and it’s not right.”

LeBrun is in second place with 32-15. He placed third on Day 1 with a limit of 17-12 and gained a spot Friday by adding 15-3.

Capitalizing on a particular pattern he established on Day 1, LeBrun said he had to work harder Friday. He’s fishing multiple spots and working a reaction bait with what he described as an atypical presentation.

“I had to cover a lot more water and I never had a big one,” LeBrun said. “I just had some good ones. The ones I had weren’t that aggressive and I think that was because of the lack of wind.”

Day 1 leader Kenta Kimura of Osaka, Japan, is in third with 32-14. After opening with 21-14 — the event’s biggest bag — he struggled to add 11 pounds Friday.

On Day 1, Kimura fished in the last of 18 flights. On Friday, he was the first to weigh in, so his day was significantly shorter. Also, he needed more of the wind that delivered a huge Day 1 afternoon.

“I still caught a couple the first thing in the morning when there was no wind at all, but then it just completely shut down,” Kimura said. “I knew it was going to happen, so I just tried to catch my limit the rest of the day.”

Jacob Walker of Alabaster, Ala., is in the lead for Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors with his 6-9.

Scott Hill of Saint Louis, Mo., won the co-angler division with a two-day total of 14-12. He placed second on Day 1 with 8-14 and added 5-14 Friday.

Bill Benford of Phil Campbell, Ala., won Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors among co-anglers with a 6-4.

Cody Huff of Ava., Mo., leads the Central Opens standings with 568 points. Jay Przekurat of Stevens Point, Wis., is in second with 558, followed by Jacob Powroznik of North Prince George, Va., with 546, Joseph Webster of Winfield, Ala., with 544 and John Garrett of Union City, Tenn., with 543.

Powroznik won the $10,000 Falcon Rods Basspro.com Bassmaster Opens Angler of the Year award with 1,547 points. Committing to all three divisions, he notched three Top 10 finishes, including a win on Smith Lake, an eight at the season opener on Florida’s Harris Chain and 10th on New York’s Oneida Lake.

Powroznik, who never finished below 59th, achieved his goal of qualifying for the 2022 Bassmaster Elite Series. For his Smith Lake win, he qualified for the 2022 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk on Lake Hartwell.

He attributed his success to a disciplined game plan.

“Catch five a day, that was my plan throughout the whole deal — to catch five a day,” Powroznik said. “A lot of guys came in with two or three (in some events) and that hurt them.

“There were a lot of nerves and emotions that I had to go through this week, but it’s been a blessing. It’s something I worked hard for. Any kind of dream you have, if you put your mind to it, dreams do come true. I guess the good Lord wanted me to be back on the Elites, so that’s where I’m headed.”

Jon Jezierski of Troy, Mich., won the Falcon Rods Basspro.com Bassmaster Opens Co-Angler of the Year award with 1,380 points. Jezierski receives paid entries to fish as a pro or co-angler in the 2022 Bassmaster Opens.

Saturday’s takeoff is scheduled for 7:15 a.m. CT at Wolf Creek Park. The final weigh in will be at the Bass Pro Shops in Broken Arrow, Okla., at 4:45 p.m.

The final day’s action will be available on Bassmaster Opens LIVE presented by Bassmaster Fishing 2022, the Official Video Game, starting at 7 a.m. CT on FS1, Bassmaster.com and the FOX Sports digital platforms.

by AnglersChannel

Kimura Overcomes Slow Start To Lead Bassmaster Central Open On Grand Lake

Kenta Kimura, of Osaka, Japan, is leading after Day 1 of the 2021 Basspro.com Bassmaster Central Open at Grand Lake with 21 pounds, 14 ounces.
Photo by Seigo Saito/B.A.S.S.

October 21, 2021

GROVE, Okla. — It was a tale of extremes for Japanese pro Kenta Kimura, whose limit catch of 21 pounds, 14 ounces leads Day 1 of the Basspro.com Bassmaster Central Open at Grand Lake.

After spending the first half of his day in a painfully unproductive drought, the Bassmaster Elite Series pro shifted gears and tallied a huge second half. Kimura was the only competitor to break the 20-pound mark.

“I had a really good day, but I only had one keeper until 1 o’clock and then I just figured it out,” Kimura said.

Starting his day on the lake’s lower end, Kimura tried to find a big bite offshore. Fishing in about 10 feet of water, he thought he could get a jump on the day by targeting rock structure.

“I didn’t have a good practice, so I just kept looking around,” he said. “I fished all over this lake, up and down, but it just didn’t work out.”

Abandoning his offshore ambitions, Kimura switched to a shallower game. He spent the final hours of his day rotating between various hard targets.

“I fished docks, rock and wood,” he said. “I got them on a little bit of everything. I was mainly looking for baitfish, but sometimes I couldn’t see it on my Garmin LiveScope because the spot was so shallow.”

Continuing the premise of extreme differences, Kimura said he caught his fish on fast-moving reaction baits and slow presentations. He kept his bait specifics confidential but said his slow presentations included a specialized Japanese technique.

“I would take almost 20 minutes on each cast,” he said.

Kimura said he often tried both presentation styles on the same spot. His strategy was to show the fish multiple looks.

“I caught my biggest one by fishing really slow and my second-largest one on a reaction bait,” Kimura said. “It really didn’t matter, I was just trying to fish each spot the way I know how.”

Kimura fished in the last of 18 flights Thursday. With the take-off order reversing for Day 2, he said he’s hoping he can get the ball rolling early.

“I really don’t know what I’m going to do tomorrow, I’m probably going back to where I caught them,” he said. “It looks like I’m going to have a short day, so I’ll really have to think about it.”

John Soukup of Sapulpa, Okla., is in second place with 19-1. Noting that he started his day power fishing and then switched to finesse baits, Soukup said the key to his success was covering water. Around 2 p.m., his fast-paced presentations yielded a 4-7 kicker.

Using his Garmin LiveScope all day, Soukup said he fished from 1 to 50 feet deep. While he’s fished Grand many times and competed in a recent tournament, he decided to enter this event with a clean slate.

“I wanted to come up here and fish off my instincts and that’s what today was about,” Soukup said. “It was all instinctual; watching the wind, running the wind.

“The big deal was how much wind and current was hitting a spot and from what direction. Also, where the little and big drop-offs were at.”

Nick LeBrun of Bossier City, La., is in third place with 17-12. Enjoying a quick start, LeBrun started his day with a 5-8.

“I had that big one about 8 o’clock, then I caught a 2 1/2- and a 3-pounder really quickly,” LeBrun said. “I really just got in a flurry and I had four in the first hour of fishing.”

LeBrun said one bait presented in a unique manner in a specific scenario was the key to his success. He held his cards low, but noted that the setup he sought was so dependable he could practically expect a bite.

“It’s definitely conditions-related and I do need wind,” he said.

Jacob Walker of Alabaster, Ala., is in the lead for Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors with his 6-9.

Cole Boyd of Springfield, Mo., leads the co-angler division with 10-10. Boyd anchored his bag with a 5-3 that he caught around 9 o’clock.

“I was just following my pro (Bassmaster Elite) Carl Jocumsen and he was throwing a big swimbait, so I was throwing a Yo-Zuri jerkbait up shallow,” Boyd said.

Boyd caught his other keepers on a brown football jig with a Berkley Chigger Craw trailer. He fished the jig around docks and a chunk rock point with wood.

Bill Benford of Phil Campbell, Ala., holds the Phoenix Boats Big Bass lead among co-anglers with a 6-4.

Cody Huff of Ava., Mo., leads the Central Opens standings with 568 points. Walker is in second with 541, followed by Daisuke Aoki of Japan with 531, Jacob Powroznik of North Prince George, Va., with 529 and Masayuki Matsushita of Japan with 522.

Powroznik leads the Falcon Rods Bassmaster Opens Angler of the Year standings with 1,530 points.

Friday’s takeoff is scheduled for 7:15 a.m. CT at Wolf Creek Park with the weigh-in back at the park at 3:15 p.m. Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at the Bass Pro Shops in Broken Arrow, Okla., at 4:45 p.m.

by AnglersChannel

Who is the World's Best Bass Angler

Courtesy of Vance McCollough

“I’ve always said you can tell more about a person through their avocation than their vocation.”

- Shaw Grigsby from his book Bass Master Shaw Grigsby: notes on fishing and life

Who is the world’s best bass angler?

Not the best known. Not the one you initially think of with all the trophies and titles. Not the one you’ve watched on TV for years.

No, the best.

The one the world will never know. The one floating on some obscure lake or wading a tiny creek and casting not for glory or cash prizes but for pure and simple love of the sport.

Pure and simple.

‘Pure and simple’ seem to have gone out of style. With the 24-hour news cycle and an internet that never sleeps it seems that we’ve developed a two-pronged obsession with both, giving our loyal spectatorship and seeking personal attention. Consider the ancient riddle: ‘If a tree falls in the woods and nobody hears it did it make a sound?’ Now compare the modern equivalent: ‘If I catch a fish but don’t post a picture to social media, did it ever really happen?’

And the best place to show off our skills is the tournament scene, be it the local Tuesday night wildcat tourney beneath bugs circling an overhead streetlamp or the spot-lighted stage of the Bassmaster Classic amid thunderous applause and rapturous music.

Not to down tournament fishing. Not at all. Tournaments are, perhaps, the greatest laboratories ever for exploring fish and fishing techniques. They’re even better laboratories for exploring human behavior, the character of contestants against the weather, the clock and other contestants.

And against the fish.

The fish as adversary. This may be the biggest stumbling block to growth for many anglers. I believe the best anglers look at the fish as partners in a dance rather than something to be mastered, which will never happen anyway. The greatest among us have developed an acute awareness of natural rhythms and cycles, changing weather, cues as to how fast to dance, when to slow the tempo and how to get the fish to dance along with them. A Pied Piper of bass. Have you ever seen such? Many of us have watched someone touch greatness for minutes or maybe hours. Surely, the best angler would be able to reach such a state more often than anyone else and stay there longer, but since nobody pays us to actually fish, professional status matters little. It’s about time on the water. After all, ‘love’, for any person or any thing or any activity is spelled ‘T-I-M-E’.

So where is that greatest angler? I met some good ones in Cuba. A wonderful thing about America is that anyone can pursue practically any dream. A guy can make his livelihood by fishing here where sponsors poor money into the sport. They come from around the world to do so – Italy, Japan, South Africa, even Canada.

But in Cuba, the one thing you know about a fisherman is that he does not pursue his game for fortune or fame. These don’t exist in Cuba. Not for the angler. The angler in Cuba does what he does for sheer joy and love of the pursuit. True, they are fishing for food too, but my friends down there who kick their way to the blue water three miles offshore in nothing but old tire innertubes to cast jigs on cheap spinning rods are as eat up with their sport as anybody I know, anywhere. In this way, they are the purest of all anglers. And theirs is the purest pursuit.

Pure and simple.

The Cuban angler is destitute. Yet he fishes still. Then again, there’s not much else to do. And there is so much water in which to do it.

Many in the US risk financial brokenness to chase their finned dreams. That’s dedication. But what happens when the dream chaser goes broke? Does his threadbare soul continue to fish in threadbare clothes? If fishing fails to provide his living, does he continue to fish? Alone? For sheer joy? If so, he continues to grow closer to the fish; to deepen his understanding of them.

And that’s what the greatest angler possesses – not mastery but understanding.

More than what he possesses, the greatest thing any angler can give is a shared love of the outdoors. We can be great stewards, not only of the fish but of the next generation who can then enjoy and pass along our sport, creating a common thread to reach up through the generations and connect us in a meaningful way to a future that will outlive us. The greatest will instill in others a reverence for the magic that swims through all places watery and wild along with the common sense to protect these places and the things that live there.

Keep it pure. And simple.

The world will never meet him, though more than a few fish have, and if you said you knew his name, I’d call you a liar because nobody knows who the greatest angler alive is. He is likely fishing now. Or practicing his vocation to financially support his avocation. Fishing need not be expensive, but tournament angling is prohibitively so. Therefore, the odds that we’ve ever seen what people are capable of on the water are correspondingly small. And so, he fishes on in anonymity needless of the cheers and approval, the trophies or the money.

He has already won.

by AnglersChannel

Thibodaux Claims Overall Title At Inaugural Bassmaster High School Combine

Lane King of Harrison, Ark., (Casting Distance), Justin Frey of Landisburg, Pa., (Casting Accuracy), Levi Thibodaux of Thibodaux, La., (Overall) and Kyle Smith of Richland, Mich., (Knot Tying) took home awards at the inaugural Abu Garcia Bassmaster High School Combine.

Photo by Kyle Jessie/B.A.S.S.

October 21, 2021

Thibodaux Claims Overall Title At Inaugural Bassmaster High School Combine

Levi Thibodaux-sized.jpgDECATUR, Ala. — Talented high school anglers from across the U.S. gathered for the inaugural Abu Garcia Bassmaster High School Combine on Wheeler Lake in Decatur, Ala., for a weekend combining skills challenges and recruiting visits in hopes of reeling in college fishing offers. After three challenges — Casting Distance, Knot Tying and Casting Accuracy — the combine’s overall points winner was Levi Thibodaux of Thibodaux, La.

Thibodaux edged out second-place finisher Jeremy Radford of Huntly, Va., by just four points and notes that the deciding factor in his performance was consistency throughout each of the three disciplines.

“(Leading up to the combine) I practiced evenly in every category prior to the event,” said Thibodaux. “You can ask anyone who has ever won an Angler of the Year title or multiple-day event, constancy in the sport of bass fishing is the key that separates luck from skill.

“I'm not one to be overconfident, I'm just thankful I got the chance to attend this event and be a part of this inaugural combine. I'm ready to start my career in college and see how I stack up against those guys. Fishing is my passion and being around others that share that passion is an incredible feeling.”

Thibodaux was also one of several anglers who signed with colleges during the weekend, inking an offer to fish for the Louisiana State University Shreveport Pilots and Coach Charles Thompson.

“By Sunday morning, my decision was clear,” said Thibodaux. “LSUS was the perfect fit for me. The recent standings prove that the LSUS program is headed in the right direction, and with a coach like Mr. Charles they will continue to see success. I'm glad that I'll get a chance to make my mark on the program, and I am proud to fish on the collegiate level and represent my home state of Louisiana.”

Awards were also handed out to each of the skills challenge discipline winners. Justin Frey of Landisburg, Pa., took home the victory in Casting Accuracy with a perfect score of 50 completed in 1 minute 22 seconds. Kyle Smith of Richland, Mich., won the Knot Tying technical challenge, completing the discipline in 1 minute 16 seconds with a perfect score of 50. It took a tiebreaker for Lane King of Harrison, Ark., to take home the trophy for Casting Distance. After the first round of competition, King and Thibodaux went head-to-head to determine a winner.

Just like in a tournament, weather played a factor in testing the anglers’ skills as winds over 15 mph buffeted Ingalls Harbor where the event was taking place.

“I like that the wind was a factor; it added some real-world factors to the events,” said King. “The main thing for the casting competitions was to cast the bait into the wind from the side of the target in order to let the wind carry the bait back. My first long throw was timed perfectly where the wind died down just enough for me to bomb the cast. I had to play the wind exactly right to get my casting in bounds. The best way for me to get the long cast was to sweep the rod from behind around to the right of my body to keep it as close to the ground as possible.”

In addition to the three skills challenges, anglers spent portions of the weekend meeting with college coaches. After the first day, colleges could select anglers for a “second look” to further explore everything that angler has to offer and see if they would be the perfect fit for their fishing program.

“I connected with two universities during the combine that both have fantastic programs at an elite level,” said Frey. “What separated them the most in my mind was that both coaches were awesome, caring individuals. I was ecstatic and very blessed to sign with an athletic scholarship from Bethel University thanks to Coach Garry Mason. I can’t wait to get started; it’s been a dream come true.”

Prior to the combine, Frey was not being recruited by Bethel University, which was the first college in America to offer bass fishing scholarships and has claimed 11 national titles.

Only colleges offering bass fishing scholarships were invited to attend and a full recap of commitments and scholarship offers is expected at a later date.

For more information on the 2022 Abu Garcia Bassmaster High School Combine as it becomes available, visit Bassmaster.com/high-school.

by AnglersChannel

Six Bassmaster Elite Series Berths To Be Awarded At Grand Lake

Jacob Powroznik will try to lock up the Falcon Rods Bassmaster Opens Angler of the Year title and an Elite Series berth when Oklahoma's Grand Lake hosts the Basspro.com Bassmaster Central Open Oct. 21-23, 2021.

Photo by Seigo Saito/B.A.S.S.

October 20, 2021

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — After weigh-in on Day 2 of the 2021 Basspro.com Bassmaster Open at Lewis Smith Lake earlier this month, Jacob Powroznik felt good about his chances at maintaining his spot in the Top 3 of the Falcon Rods Bassmaster Opens Angler of the Year standings.

Entering the tournament with the lead in the overall points, Powroznik posted two bags over 11 pounds on a stingy Smith Lake to secure his third Top 10 of the season. The North Prince George, Va., native then went out on Day 3 and caught 14-5 to win the event, earning a berth to the 2022 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk and putting himself in a great position to secure a spot in the 2022 Elite field.

While Powroznik holds a 70-point lead in the AOY standings over second-place Tommy Williams heading into the final event of the season this week, the 2021 Basspro.com Bassmaster Open at Grand Lake in Grove, Okla., he has not mathematically secured his spot and there is still plenty left to decide in the overall and Central Opens point standings.

Here are the overall Falcon Rods Bassmaster Opens Angler of the Year standings heading into Grand Lake:

Jacob Powroznik, 1371 points
Tommy Williams, 1,301 points
Daisuke Aoki, 1,269 points
Masayuki Matsushita, 1,251 points
Sam George, 1,230 points
John Garrett, 1,203 points
Matt Pangrac, 1,160 points
These seven anglers are mathematically still in contention for the three Elite Series berths offered in the overall standings. Powroznik and Aoki have won events this season, Powroznik at Smith and Aoki at Douglas Lake in the second Southern Open of the season. Meanwhile, Williams hasn’t posted a finish worse than 86th this season and has posted six Top 50s in eight events. His best finish of the season was at the James River, where he finished 7th.

Only 18 points separate Aoki from fellow Japanese angler Matsushita, who has finished in the Top 60 in seven of the eight Opens in 2021 but stumbled at the St. Lawrence River with a 138th-place finish. Meanwhile, George and Garrett have both made one championship cut throughout the season, George with a third-place finish at Oneida Lake and Garrett with a third-place at Pickwick Lake.

The two young anglers will need strong finishes at Grand to climb into the Top 3 and will likely need one or two of the anglers in front of them to stumble as well.

While Pangrac has the highest hill to climb in the overall standings, the Oklahoma native and Bass Talk Live cohost has spent countless hours on Grand Lake and that history could prove invaluable in a fall transition type of tournament.

In the Central Opens standings, there are 20 anglers separated by 50 points or less, and with an unpredictable fall bite, there could be a lot of moving and shaking at Grand Lake. After two events, Joseph Webster leads the points standings with 381 points with a fifth-place finish at Pickwick and a 16th-place finish at Smith. Jay Przekurat and Brandon Lester are tied for second with 378 points.

As an Elite Series veteran, Lester has already secured his spot in the 2022 field. If he finishes in the Top 3 in the Central Opens standings, his spot would roll down to the fourth-place finisher, which is currently Aoki with 376 points. If Aoki were to double-qualify for the Elites, he would earn his Elite spot through his placement in the overall standings, and his qualification spot in the Central Opens standings would roll down to the next angler.

Jesse Wiggins, a former Elite Series angler, is currently sitting in fifth place in the Central standings and within striking distance of requalifying for the top circuit; however, Wiggins has opted not to compete this week.

Former Bethel University angler and Bassmaster Classic qualifier Cody Huff sits behind Wiggins in sixth-place with 372 points followed by Powroznik in seventh with 370, Lake Pickwick Central Open winner Joey Nania in eighth with 364, Garrett in ninth with 357 and University of Montevallo angler Wesley Gore in 10th with 351.

All of this will be decided Oct. 21-23 on Grand Lake with takeoffs from Wolf Creek Park at 7:15 a.m. CT. Weigh-ins the first two days will be at the park at 3:15 p.m., with the final day’s weigh-in shifting to the Bass Pro Shops in Broken Arrow, Okla., at 4:45 p.m.

by AnglersChannel

Elite Series Anglers Share How To Reel In A Win In Bassmaster Fishing 2022

October 20, 2021

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Join Elite Series anglers Scott Martin, Hank Cherry and Carl Jocumsen for a video Q&A featuring expert tips and tricks to help anglers reel in a victory in the new Bassmaster Fishing 2022 video game. Plus, see their reactions to being three of the game’s 10 playable characters.

In this new video hosted by Dovetail Games, developer and publisher of Bassmaster Fishing 2022 and other authentic sports simulation titles, Martin, Cherry and Jocumsen offer their thoughts on how they look in the digital world as well as favorite locations to fish from the eight real-world venues that players will be able to fish when the title releases next week. Each angler also has some tips for players, whether they’re new to fishing or are longtime fans, on how to make a career in bass fishing or how to set themselves up for success in the adrenaline-pumping Bassmaster Royale multiplayer mode.

For those who can’t wait to see these anglers in action in-game, Jocumsen is fishing the Basspro.com Bassmaster Central Open on Oklahoma’s Grand Lake this weekend.

Dovetail Games continues its support for the B.A.S.S. tournament trail by sponsoring Bassmaster Opens LIVE coverage on Championship Saturday. The final day’s action will be available on Bassmaster Opens LIVE presented by Bassmaster Fishing 2022, the Official Video Game, starting at 7 a.m. CT on FS1, Bassmaster.com and the FOX Sports digital platforms. Attendees at the weigh-ins will also be able to catch Jocumsen talking about the game.

Bassmaster Fishing 2022 will be available beginning Oct. 28 in North America and Europe 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. The game is available for preorder now on PlayStation, and Playstation®Plus members get a 10% discount.

For regular updates and more information, please visit Bassmasterthegame.com.

by AnglersChannel

Martin Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on the Potomac River

Strike King Co-angler Victory Goes to Gaines’ Eldred

MARBURY, Md. (Oct. 19, 2021) – Pro Jarrett Martin of Westerville, Ohio brought a three-day total of 14 bass to the scale weighing 47 pounds, 7 ounces to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship Presented by T-H Marine at the Potomac River Presented by THE BASS UNIVERSITY TV . For his victory, Martin earned $62,500, including a Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard and $10,000, along with lucrative contingency awards, including up to an additional $7,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus. Martin 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.

Martin said he mined a stretch of mats in Pohick Creek most of the event, which is where a majority of the other contenders fished as well.

“Pre-fishing was a little bit rough,” said Martin. “I tried to go run a lot of the patterns I’ve run in the past – I’d been there twice and had caught a couple of fish on docks – but I couldn’t get a solid run going like I have before. So, it resulted in going into and really dissecting the creeks. I fished nonstop but really never found anything in practice until the last day, when I finally went up into Pohick.”

In Pohick, Martin said he immediately started to get quality frog bites. Though he didn’t catch any, he had a good starting spot, and said when he found the area during practice, no one else was around.

“I pulled in the first morning of the tournament, and there were already six boats all over the entire flat,” said Martin. “So, I went into the corner where I had caught them and started going back and forth, on like a 100-yard stretch. I just went back and forth on it all day. When the tide was wrong, the fish would come up and hit it, but they’d never actually eat it until that tide got right.”

As Day 1 continued, Martin said he figured out that the tide needed to be at a certain level for the fish to bite, but whether it was rising or falling didn’t seem to matter.

“I figured out that a 1.9-foot tide was the best tide,” said Martin. “Regardless of it going up or going down, for some reason, right there in that spot I was in, once 1.9 hit you could see big red crawdads come up to the surface and start flicking around in that scum, and man, they just started eating. You’d get a 30-minute window where they would just eat.”

On Day 1, Martin only caught 14-5 all day. On Day 2, he hit the tide just right and put the biggest bag of the tournament on deck first thing.

“On Day 2, I rolled into that spot – first cast, 4-pounder,” said Martin. “I looked back at the tide, and it was at 1.8. I was like, ‘Alright, it’s coming up, these fish are about to go off.’ And they did. It was unbelievable, I had all my fish by 8:45 a.m. that morning. I just sat in that spot with a flipping rod in my hand and protected it all day.”

On the final day, however, Martin said he was thrown a significant curveball by the weather. With most of the top anglers also fishing in Pohick, adjusting wasn’t an easy task.

“On Day 3, I rolled into the same location, and the wind was blowing in there. I pulled in, and looked at my waypoints, and I’m already 20 yards past my waypoints, going to the mats. I was sitting where the fish were. I was like ‘This is bad, this is not ideal.’”

After scratching out one keeper early on, Martin got dealt another round of bad luck. The fish in Pohick started biting, but for the anglers who were fishing alongside him – not where Martin was.

“For some reason, those fish started to fire off to the right,” said Martin. “As soon as those fish fired, everybody kind of circled up and tried to get in on the action. I was pretty much blocked out and didn’t want to go in there. So, I pulled the plug around 10:30 or 11, and ran to the other side and caught a 3-pounder and put it in the box.”

Around 11:30, with just two in the box and his main area wrecked from the wind, Martin said he knew things were slipping away.

“Luckily, my co-angler [John Martin] had caught some good ones in Mattawoman,” said Martin. “At probably 11:30, we decided to send it on back there. So, we run back, start fishing this mat, and like the fifth cast, I catch a 4-pounder. We go a little farther, another 20 minutes, and I catch a 3-pounder. That was all I could get, so thank goodness for him having caught some fish there the day before.”

Four fish on the final day ended up being enough to get the job done, sending Martin home to Ohio with the biggest payday of his career, all while catching literally every one of his fish on a frog. Doing most of his work with a SPRO Bronzeye 65 in black, Martin said he also caught a few on a BOOYAH Pad Crasher in cricket frog. For his tackle, he rolled with a Shimano Curado, a 7-foot, 3-inch, heavy power Daiwa Tatula Elite and 65-pound Sufix 832 braid.

A Project Engineer at Thomas Door Controls, Martin said he has won before in college and fished live on the final day of the National Championship, but this was his biggest win to date.

“I don’t think it’s really fully processed yet,” said Martin. “I drove 8 hours home, right after the tournament, and I had tons of phone calls and texts. I just answered the phone the whole time, I never listened to music or anything. I couldn’t believe it. This is what we work for – this is what everybody works for. There are so many factors that go into creating success on tidal water, so pulling out the win and making the All-American is definitely a dream come true. I think the All-American is one of the most coveted tournaments out there, and I never thought I would be in this position.”

The top six boaters that qualified for the 2022 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American were:

1^st:           Jarrett Martin of Westerville, Ohio, 14 bass, 47-7, $62,500, including Phoenix 819 Pro boat w/200-hp outboard
2^nd:          Jim Vitaro of Wooster, Ohio, 15 bass, 46-10, $10,000
3^rd:          Ryan Powroznik of Hopewell, Va., 15 bass, 44-6, $5,000
4^th:           Christopher Helfer of Baltimore, Ohio, 15 bass, 44-1, $3,000
5^th:           Brody Campbell of Oxford, Ohio, 15 bass, 44-1, $2,000
6^th:           Michael Duarte of Baltimore, Md., 15 bass, 43-10, $1,800

Rounding out the top 10 boaters were:

7^th:           Josh Smith of Hamilton, Ohio, 15 bass, 43-3, $1,800
8^th:           Cody Salzmann of Clarkston, Mich., 15 bass, 42-5, $1,900
9^th:           Bryan Elrod of Mechanicsville, Va., 15 bass, 41-1, $1,200
10^th:        Dick Shaffer of Rockford, Ohio, 15 bass, 39-9, $1,000

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Martin took home an extra $2500 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.

Evan Eldred of Gaines, Michigan weighed in 14 bass over three days totaling 35 pounds, 15 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:

1^st:           Evan Eldred of Gaines, Mich., 14 bass, 35-15, $50,000, including Phoenix 819 Pro boat w/200-hp outboard
2^nd:          Max Meister of Atco, N.J., 13 bass, 30-2, $5,000
3^rd:          Steve Sorrell of Beavercreek, Ohio, 15 bass, 30-1, $2,500
4^th:           B.K. Kelley of Chester, Va., 11 bass, 29-2, $1,500
5^th:           Brian Short of Oxford, Ohio, 11 bass, 27-14, $1,000
6^th:           John Martin of Ridley Park, Pa., 11 bass, 24-10, $900

Rounding out the top 10 Strike King co-anglers were:

7^th:           Adam Simpson of Gaithersburg, Md., 12 bass, 24-7, $1,050
8^th:           Samuel Jones of Fuquay Varina, N.C., 10 bass, 24-3, $700
9^th:           John Lane of Findlay, Ohio, 11 bass, 24-3, $600
10^th:        Lavon Raber of Wolcottville, Ind., 11 bass, 23-12, $500

The Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine Regional Championship on the Potomac River was hosted by the Charles County Board of Commissioners. It featured the top pros and Strike King co-anglers from the Buckeye, Michigan, Northeast and Piedmont divisions.

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.

by AnglersChannel

Crossland Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on Lake Murray

Strike King Co-angler Victory Goes to Mountain Rest’s Guinn

PROSPERITY, S.C. (Oct. 19, 2021) – Pro Johnathan Crossland of Chapin, South Carolinabrought a three-day total of 15 bass to the scale weighing 43 pounds, 12 ounces to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship Presented by T-H Marine at Lake Murray. For his victory, Crossland earned $61,500, including a Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard and $10,000, along with lucrative contingency awards, including up to an additional $7,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus. Crossland 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.

“Leading up to the off-limits the offshore bite was really good,” said Crossland. “I was catching 15 to 18 pounds pretty easily. But come practice, it got really tough as you can see from the results.

“Traditionally, Murray can get tough in October. I think there was some turnover happening in parts of the lake, but it’s also just that transition where they’re moving off the brush towards the bank, following bait. They’re just in a funk.”

Weather didn’t help matters and heavy rains leading up to the Regional had Crossland, along with other competitors, looking for other ways to get bit across the lake.

“One thing that messed the offshore bite up a little bit was that the water came up,” said Crossland. “We got all that rain up north of us and it came down the Saluda River and blew it out for the most part.

“I knew I was going to fish offshore on brush piles and things like that, so I wanted to look for something else. I looked up shallow and found grass on some deeper points – the first one I caught was like a 4-pounder and I had four more blowups. The river crested just before the tournament and was starting to fall, so I knew I was going to get one day of trying to catch a few on a frog.”

By the time the tournament got rolling on Day 1, Crossland said it didn’t take long for him to realize that offshore fishing was going to be key.

“I had one blow up by 9 o’clock on Day 1 and from there I committed to the offshore thing,” said Crossland. “I ran to a brush pile about 9:30 and it was the first one I stopped on and I got bit – at that point I was committed.”

Fishing drops, brush and points in around 20 feet of water from Buffalo Creek to the dam for the entirety of the event, Crossland said he made about 50 stops the first day but was able to narrow it down a bit over the final two days.

“I burned a lot of fuel and did a lot of running,” said Crossland. “It was a timing deal – sometimes they were there and sometimes they weren’t. I was using Garmin LiveScope, so that gave me the confidence to come back to areas where I didn’t catch a fish simply because I could see they were down there.”

Getting just five keeper bites on Day 1, and six keeper bites on days 2 and 3, Crossland said he knew each bite would count.

“On the final day I was nervous because the wind was supposed to blow bad and when it blows that hard for me it doesn’t usually work out well. I didn’t have a keeper by 9:30 and the wind was already starting to blow good. I pulled up to a brush pile and I caught my biggest fish of the final day. From there, I just got in my rotation and had a limit by about 12 o’clock.”

Opting for a topwater to call fish up from their offshore haunts, Crossland said he put a Castaic Cowboy in his hand all day, every day. He threw it on a 6-foot, 9-inch medium-action Bulldawg Rod spooled with 12-pound Berkley Trilene Big Game.

Winning a tournament of this caliber on his home pond certainly means a lot to the South Carolina boater, but it meant even more with his friends and family watching.

“I lost my father-in-law, Mike Patsolic, on August 17 to COVID,” said Crossland. “It’s been almost two months but to know he was there with me and proudly watching means a lot. My friends and family were also there, so I had a crowd rooting me on. It’s hard to put into words what it feels like. It still hasn’t really even set in.”

Having a good support system is vital to any tournament angler and Crossland said he is looking forward to representing them all at the All-American next year.

“The All-American is the hardest tournament to qualify for in bass fishing, in my opinion,” said Crossland. “The things you have to do to get there and all the locals you have to beat, it’s just a dream come true.”

The top six boaters that qualified for the 2022 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American were:

1^st:           Johnathan Crossland of Chapin, S.C., 15 bass, 43-12, $61,500, including Phoenix 819 Pro boat w/200-hp outboard
2^nd:          Chase Stewart of Ware Shoals, S.C., 15 bass, 40-10, $10,000
3^rd:          Andy Wicker of Pomaria, S.C., 13 bass, 39-4, $5,000
4^th:           Scott Browning of Franklin, N.C., 11 bass, 37-12, $3,000
5^th:           Hunter Eubanks of Inman, S.C., 15 bass, 35-10, $2,000
6^th:           David Bright of Mooresville, N.C., 14 bass, 35-0, $1,800

Rounding out the top 10 boaters were:

7^th:           Jack Dice of Lynchburg, Va., 13 bass, 34-4, $1,600
8^th:           Corey Brooks of Louisville, Tenn., 15 bass, 33-7, $1,400
9^th:           Chris Dover of Blacksburg, S.C., 13 bass, 32-5, $1,200
10^th:        Rodney Bell of Salisbury, N.C., 13 bass, 31-11, $1,000

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Khris Williams of Mount Holly, North Carolina 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.

Cory Guinn of Mountain Rest, South Carolina weighed in 12 bass over three days totaling 27 pounds, 2 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:

1^st:           Cory Guinn of Mountain Rest, S.C., 12 bass, 27-2, $50,000, including Phoenix 819 Pro boat w/200-hp outboard
2^nd:          Pop Catalin of Cookeville, Tenn., 12 bass, 20-7, $5,000
3^rd:          Randy Hudson of Columbus, N.C., seven bass, 18-8, $2,500
4^th:           Carl Whipple of Manassas, Va., seven bass, 16-15, $1,500
5^th:           Harrison McCall of Salisbury, N.C., six bass, 15-9, $1,000
6^th:           Kyle Rogers of Cleveland, Ga., seven bass, 15-3, $900

Rounding out the top 10 Strike King co-anglers were:

7^th:           Travis Ruff of Connelly Springs, N.C., five bass, 14-0, $800
8^th:           Justin Beaty of Flowery Branch, Ga., seven bass, 13-12, $700
9^th:           William Bensel of Abbeville, S.C., six bass, 12-11, $600
10^th:        Andrew Starnes of Chapin, S.C., six bass, 12-6, $500

The Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine Regional Championship on Lake Murray was hosted by the Capital City lake Murray Country Regional Tourism Board. It featured the top pros and Strike King co-anglers from the North Carolina, Savannah River, Shenandoah and Volunteer divisions.

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.

by AnglersChannel

Hawk Man Cometh!

This week with everyone back on the Zoom Machine, The boys welcome in WON BASS US Open Champ Roy Hawk to the show to talk about his recent win in the West's most illustrious tournament and how he became a two-time champ. Chris catches up with DX on his Pure Michigan visit and they took a look at the week ahead.

by AnglersChannel

Counce to Host Toyota Series Championship on Pickwick Lake

400 Bass Anglers Set to Compete for a Total Event Purse of $679,000

COUNCE, Tenn. (Oct. 19, 2021) – The 2021 Toyota Series Championship Presented by Guaranteed Rate at Pickwick Lake will take place next week in Counce, Tennessee, Oct. 28-30, where the nation’s best bass-fishing pros and top international anglers will compete for up to $235,000 cash. The three-day, no-entry-fee event, hosted by the Hardin County Convention and Visitors Bureau, is the culmination of the 2021 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, paving a path to the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit and ultimately the Bass Pro Tour.

“We are thrilled to welcome anglers who qualified for the 2021 Toyota Series Championship on Pickwick Lake and to display the scenic outdoor lifestyle and rich history of our area,” said Beth Pippin, Tourism Director of Hardin County Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Hardin County is well-known for our world-class smallmouth fishing and the consistency and reliability we bring to sportsmen, both on and off the water. We feel honored to continue our partnership with Major League Fishing by hosting this championship and are looking forward to a fantastic week.”

Pro Jimmy Washam of Covington, Tennessee, said he felt fortunate to be fishing the championship on his home lake and is excited to see how the tournament unfolds.

“There’s not as much vegetation on Pickwick Lake as we normally have this time of year, and the fish haven’t made a push to the bank yet,” said Washam. “However, the cooler weather coming in should help them get out of suspension mode and start biting. The bigger fish are already getting easier to catch, and we should see a lot of healthy fish in the 3- to 4-pound class, so it’s setting up to be a fun event.

“I expect to see some junk fishing, but I think moving baits will play a big role with the cooler weather and cooler water temperatures, and fish should really start keying in on bait. Depending on what type of water release schedule we have, there will be some traditional tail water baits in play, but I expect there to be a surface bite and a pretty good moving bait bite that will either be full-blown or will develop throughout the event.”

Washam said he anticipates it will take an average of 19 pounds per day to win the championship, and approximately 17½ pounds per day to get into the Top 10.

“I’m planning to enjoy myself at this event because there’s no stress for me – whether I finish first or last, I’ve had a great year, and I couldn’t be more thankful for it,” said Washam, who won the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit TITLE Championship in August, taking home the prestigious TITLE belt and $200,000 cash. “The TITLE win was amazing, but my family wasn’t with me, so I’m excited to have my wife and my son and a lot of friends from the Memphis area at this event.”

The Toyota Series Championship at Pickwick Lake marks the third time Washam has qualified for the championship in the five years he has fished the Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E.

“My greatest accomplishment, outside of the TITLE win, was winning the 2021 Toyota Series Angler of the Year in the Central division,” said Washam. “To me that’s one of the hardest accomplishments to get, because you’re fishing against a lot of great fishermen on their home water. The Toyota Series is the perfect place to prove to yourself whether or not you can make it to the next level, because if you can be successful in that series, then you can fish at any level beyond that.”

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-ins Thursday and Friday from 1-3 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 will 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 field 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 .

by AnglersChannel

High school football helped make Swindle a 2-time AOY

Courtesy of Alan McGuckin - Dynamic Sponsorships

Fishing fans know 2-time Bassmaster Angler of the Year, Gerald Swindle as “G Man” – but folks around Blount County, Alabama football fields back in the 1980s might have heard Coach Dean call him “Termite.”

“I was about 160 pounds soaking wet with my cleats on, fairly shifty, played a lot of positions, and Coach knew I’d chew through wood if he asked me to, so he called me Termite,” grins Swindle with fond reflection.

Shifty is one way to put it. Ultra-competitive and highly athletic fit well too in describing the lanky kid from Locust Fork who wore jersey #15 and played everything from running back and cornerback to kick returner, and field goal kicker too.

“Coach was working with an almost empty bottle of ketchup. He didn’t have a whole lot of kids or talent to work with, so he just kind of added water to the bottle and spread the ketchup around a little further,” laughs bass fishing’s funniest man.

There was nothing funny about getting your butt kicked most Friday nights though. And that happened on all but two Fridays during Swindle’s senior season. Often outnumbered and of lesser athleticism, the Hornets found themselves on the losing end often – but losing is what ultimately made Swindle a winner.

“Coach would tell us before the game, “They’re bigger, faster, and better than us, so just try not to embarrass your family out there tonight.,” says Swindle. “That may sound harsh, but man, he was right, and so you learned to compete for pride, not necessarily wins, by leaving it all on the field.”

Ultimately, that mindset was a tremendous tool in carving Swindle into a perfectly-suited pro bass fishing competitor – a career in which losing is way more common than winning.

“Countless times I’ve found myself 2-pounds out of making a check with one day left to compete, my knees aching, elbows sore, and no true chance to win, but that’s where Locust Fork High School football shaped me,” says Swindle.

“I know how to jog back to that huddle – dig a little deeper – and play for pride. And in bass fishing, that will make you a lot of paychecks even if you don’t win,” he explains.

While Swindle never came close to playing for a high school football state championship, his perseverance-rich soul ultimately led to both the 2004 and 2016 Bassmaster Angler of the Year titles.

Only 11 men in history have ever achieved the coveted AOY title more than once, and he’s also qualified for 19 Bassmaster Classics, placing him again in very rare company.

Ultimately, 34 years later, the tough lessons learned on a challenging Locust Fork Hornet football field back in 1986 landed him in Blount County, Alabama’s highest ring of honor – as part of the Blount County Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2020. Not so much for what he achieved as “Termite” but because the heart and soul that was shaped beneath jersey #15 made “G Man” one of the greatest bass anglers of all time.

by AnglersChannel

Kaneland High School Wins U.S. Army High School Fishing Open at Lake of the Ozarks

OSAGE BEACH, Mo. (Oct. 19, 2021) – The Kaneland High School duo of Jake Mantovani of Napierville, Illinois, and Carter Pjesky of Sugar Grove, Illinois, won the U.S. Army High School Fishing presented by Favorite Fishing Open at Lake of the Ozarks Presented by Googan Baits on Saturday in Osage Beach, Missouri. The victory advanced the winning team to the 2022 U.S. Army High School Fishing presented by Favorite Fishing National Championship.

According to post-tournament reports, the duo caught their fish targeting bridges and rocks in deep water with an underspin, a Heddon Zara Spook, a Ned rig and a drop-shot rig.

TOP 10 RESULTS

RANK	SCHOOL/CLUB NAME/CITY	ANGLER NAME	BASS	WEIGHT
1^st	Kaneland High School, Maple Park, Ill.*	Jake Mantovani, Napierville, Ill. Carter Pjesky, Sugar Grove, Ill.	5	12-8
2^nd	Lincoln County Lunkers*	Alec Davidson, Troy, Mo. Ronin Picker, Moscow Mills, Mo.	5	12-6
3^rd	Bradleyville High School*	Wyatt Marler, Oldfield, Mo. Brock Rogers, Bradleyville, Mo.	4	12-1
4^th	Bolivar High School*	Ryder Hall, Bolivar, Mo. Logan Welch, Bolivar, Mo.	5	11-15
5^th	Clearwater High School, Piedmont, Mo.	Caden McAlister, Piedmont, Mo. Brayden Wilson, Piedmont, Mo.	5	9-14
6^th	Timberland High School, Wentzville, Mo.	Nick Dawson Wentzville, Mo. Austin Smith, Wentzville, Mo.	3	8-9
7^th	Aurora Central Catholic High School, Aurora, Ill.	Adam Bartlett, Aurora, Ill. Michael Cooper, Aurora, Ill.	2	8-9
8^th	Carthage High School, Carthage, Mo.	Tristan Beck, Carthage, Mo. Colson Brust, Carthage, Mo.	3	8-7
9^th	Eureka High School, Eureka, Mo.	Nate Bridges, Eureka, Mo. Grant Priesmeyer, Eureka, Mo.	2	6-11
10^th	Newton Community High School, Newton, Ill.	Kyson Bradley, Newton, Ill. Ian Fehrenbacher, Ingraham, Ill.	3	6-8

*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 can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

2022 UPCOMING QUALIFICATION OPPORTUNITIES

EVENT	DATE	LOCATION	HOST
2022 U.S. Army High School Fishing National Championship & World Finals	June 22-25, 2022	Pickwick Lake & Wilson Lake	Florence-Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau

Full schedules and the latest announcements, photos and articles are available at HighSchoolFishing.org and MajorLeagueFishing.com.

by AnglersChannel

McKendree University Takes Win at Abu Garcia College Fishing Tournament at Lake of the Ozarks

OSAGE BEACH, Mo. (Oct. 19, 2021) – The McKendree University duo of Bailey Bleser of Burlington, Wisconsin, and Nathan Doty of Decatur, Illinois, brought five bass the scale weighing 14 pounds, 4 ounces to earn the victory Friday at the Abu Garcia College Fishing presented by YETI at Lake of the Ozarks. The victory earned the Bearcats bass club $2,000 and qualified the duo to compete in the 2022 College Fishing National Championship.

According to post-tournament reports the duo caught their fish on a River2Sea Whopper Ploppers, targeting docks and chunk rock.

TOP 10 RESULTS*

RANK	COLLEGE NAME	ANGLER NAME/HOMETOWN	BASS	WEIGHT	AWARD
1^st	McKendree University	Bailey Bleser, Burlington, Wis. Nathan Doty, Decatur, Ill.	5	14-4	$2,000
2^nd	Greenville University	Cordell Beckmann, Breese, Ill. Dru Johnson, Bartelso, Ill.	5	14-2	$1,000
3^rd	Drury University	Brock Bila, Overland Park, Kan. Dylan Chambers, Nixa, Mo.	5	13-12	$500
4^th	McKendree University	Jaxson Freeman, Loda, Ill. Nicholas Holtgrave, Trenton, Ill.	5	13-12	$500
5^th	McKendree University	Tyler Christy, Bolingbrook, Ill. Trey Schroeder, Crestwood, Mo.	5	13-9	$500
6^th	Greenville University	Trevor Davis, East Palatka, Ill. Keaton Roadman, Greenville, Ill.	5	13-0
7^th	Arkansas Tech University	Ethan McMahan, Batesville, Ark. Parker McMahan, Batesville, Ark.	5	12-14
8^th	McKendree University	Trey Budach, Lebanon, Ill. Colton Hill, Patoka, Ill.	5	12-11
9^th	Murray State University	Jacob Autry, Beaver Dam, Ky. Braiden Koerber, Abbeville, Ala.	5	12-8
10^th	University of Iowa	Kaden Darby, West Branch, Iowa John Hatfield, West Branch, Iowa	5	12-0

*Top 10 teams advance to the 2022 College Fishing National Championship

Complete results for the entire field can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

2021 QUALIFICATION OPPORTUNITIES

EVENT	DATE	LOCATION	HOST
Abu Garcia College Fishing presented by YETI National Championship Presented by Lowrance	March 29-31, 2022	Fort Gibson Lake, Wagoner, Okla.	Wagoner Area Chamber of Commerce

The event was the third and final qualifying tournaments for Central Conference anglers.

Abu Garcia College Fishing presented by YETI teams compete in regular-season qualifying tournaments in one of five conferences – Central, Northern, Southern, Southeastern and Western. The top ten teams from each division’s three regular-season tournaments and the top 20 teams from the annual Abu Garcia College Fishing Open advance to the following year’s Abu Garcia College Fishing presented by YETI National Championship.

by AnglersChannel

Chad Foraker, Kemp, TX, Tops over 1200 anglers from 24 states at 16th Annual Berkley Big Bass on Fork

Heaviest "Under"
Henry Jones - 3.16 lbs

CHAD FORAKER

Kemp

10.89

Skeeter ZX 200 YamahaSHO Skeeter Built Trailer

HENRY JONES

Hosston

3.16

Skeeter ZX 150 YamahaSHO Skeeter Built Trailer

CHAD FORAKER

Kemp

10.89

$1000.00

JUSTIN STOKES

Rockwall

7.00

$1000.00

HENRY JONES

Hosston

3.16

$1000.00

DON PENICK

Alba

2.96

$1000.00

CURTIS DANIELS

Alba

2.86

$1000.00

HENRY JONES

Hosston

2.80

$1000.00

JAMES MOORE JR

Lampasas

2.78

$1000.00

DINO PUSATERI

Allen

2.70

$1000.00

BRANDON FEAGAN

Merkel

2.70

$1000.00

RANDY WILLIAMS

Hickory Creek

2.65

$1000.00

WAYNE GODWIN

Yantis

2.64

$1000.00

BILLY DAVIS

Royse City

2.63

$1000.00

RICK YOUNG

Garland

2.54

$1000.00

DWIGHT MONTGOMERY

Abilene

2.52

$1000.00

AARON VON ROSENBERG

Alba

2.79

$500.00

RICK WRIGHT

Rowlett

2.69

$500.00

RANDY WILLIAMS

Hickory Creek

2.69

$500.00

SAMUEL BYRD

Tahlequah

2.67

$500.00

CLAY CARPENTER

Joyce

2.66

$500.00

MIKE PICHA

Decatur

2.62

$500.00

KEEGAN HOPSON

Cleveland

2.61

$500.00

RAYMOND MALONE

Quitman

2.58

$500.00

JERRY ARCHER

Poetry

2.57

$500.00

KENNETH PAGE

Yantis

2.49

$500.00

TYLER HERRICK

Rockwall

2.44

$500.00

JERRY LUTTERMAN

Bossier City

2.38

$500.00

RANDY GREEN

Hot Springs

2.37

$500.00

MO HERRING JR

Emory

2.34

$500.00

RICK POWELL

Lake Dallas

2.68

$350.00

RONALD JENSEN

Corinth

2.67

$350.00

MICHAEL NANTZ

Lindale

2.64

$350.00

KEEGAN HOPSON

Cleveland

2.61

Junior Division Winner

MARCUS BRISTER

Balch Springs

2.60

$350.00

LANCE AWE

Van Alstyne

2.56

$350.00

JORDAN GILBERT

Midlothian

2.53

$350.00

MICHAEL HARP

Linden

2.53

$350.00

JAKE MCWHIRTER

Burleson

2.50

$350.00

CHRISTINA KIMERY

Bixby

2.48

Ladies Division Winner

ANDY HOWARD

Mexia

2.48

$350.00

BRADLEY DASSONVILLE

Longview

2.43

$350.00

BOB POOL

Murphy

2.31

$350.00

THOMAS KING JR

Alba

2.28

$350.00

DAVID MULLINS

Nevada

2.22

$350.00

DEBBIE ELLEDGE

Van Alstyne

2.38

$325.00

DON STAPLETON

Yantis

2.38

$325.00

PAUL LOWKE

Arlington

2.65

$300.00

DOMINIC FALCINELLI

Denton

2.56

$300.00

SAM MCCOLLUM

Corsicana

2.54

$300.00

by AnglersChannel

Rick Scheen & Mike Harman top a record field of 300 teams at Championship presented by Yamaha on O.H. Ivie.

Place

RICK SCHEEN
AUSTIN , TX

MIKE HARMAN
BASTROP , TX

11.32

49.77

SKEETER FXR20 YAMAHA SHO250+$950 SureLife,BigBass

WENDELL RAMSEY SR
SAN ANGELO , TX

WENDELL RAMSEY JR
PFLUGERVILLE , TX

43.18

SKEETER ZX 225 YAMAHA SHO225

SHANE MOORE
ARGYLE , TX

BRET STAFFORD
TEMPLE , TX

42.88

$8500.00 with Skeeter Bonus Cash

LOWELL BENNETT
HEWITT , TX

CHARLES REAGAN
THORNTON , TX

36.77

$5000.00

PHILLIP MASSOLETTI
BURNET , TX

NOEL LOWE
BURNETT , TX

7.30

36.73

$5000.00 with Skeeter Bonus Cash

MARTIN ELSHOUT
ABITA SPRINGS , LA

MARK PRICE
RUSTON , LA

8.67

36.11

$3000.00

TYLER WOODS
MANSFIELD , TX

MATTHEW ANTHONY
FT WORTH , TX

36.02

$2000.00

ANDREW GOLDEN
CENTER , TX

JOHN BARRERA
MILAM , TX

35.09

$1800.00

JACOB JOHNSON
LAKE CHARLES , LA

SHANE CORMIER
RAGLEY , LA

34.86

$1700.00

BUBBA HARALSON
DEL RIO , TX

JERRY GREEN
BRECKENRIDGE , TX

33.33

$1600.00

STEVE TRIMBLE
DUNCANVILLE , TX

DAKOTA TRIMBLE
KAUFMAN , TX

32.99

$1500.00

ROGER RITCHIE
WICHITA FALLS , TX

RICHARD RITCHIE
BENTON , AR

11.31

32.75

$7850 w/ SkeeterBonus Cash,JamesWoodMotors,BigBass

RONNY MAYNARD
GEORGETOWN , TX

ERIC CRUMLEY
LEANDER , TX

6.98

32.59

$6500.00 with SPARK ENERGY Cash

NOLAN JACKSON
ROYSE CITY , TX

DREW SLOAN
SCURRY , TX

9.96

30.14

$1500.00

BRADLEY HILLEBRANDT
FLORIEN , LA

JORDAN BREAUX
LAKE CHARLES , LA

29.67

$1500.00

NICK BROWN
LINDALE , TX

CHAD THEDFORD
TYLER , TX

29.61

$1500.00

BYRON BIONDI
TERRELL , TX

JASON GREENFIELD
KENNEDALE , TX

7.55

29.30

$1500.00

CHARLES GUTHRIE
CONROE , TX

COLE BREWER
LEESVILLE , LA

28.59

$1500.00

RANDY SPENCE
TERRELL , TX

BOBBY BADARACK
FT WORTH , TX

28.25

$1500.00

JOHNNIE FRANKS
HEMPHILL , TX

CHET SLAYDON
DE RIDDER , LA

28.24

$1500.00

CLIFF BROWN
HARKER HEIGHTS , TX

SCOTT MEADS
KILLEEN , TX

27.64

$1500.00

BRENT SMITH
BERTRAM , TX

WILLIAM FESLER
LAMPASAS , TX

27.03

$1500.00

DEVIN BUSHLAND
ALLEN , TX

SONTUS MITCHELL
RUSTON , LA

7.19

26.51

$1500.00

CHANCE ARCENEAUX
LAKE CHARLES , LA

KENNETH FAIRLY
LOCKHART , TX

25.33

$1500.00

TONY COBURN
LAKE CHARLES , LA

RICKY TRAHAN
LAKE CHARLES , LA

7.86

25.21

$1500.00

SAM HUCKABEE
SHREVEPORT , LA

TOBY JOHNSON
WASKOM , TX

24.83

$1200.00

LAMARCUS MCCRAY
HOUSTON , TX

JAMES ROZELL
NEW CANEY , TX

24.58

$1200.00

SCOTT WHITTEN
SPRINGTOWN , TX

MATTHEW BIEHL
BELLEVUE , TX

24.30

$1200.00

MIKE BATES
CANYON LAKE , TX

GERALD DELAFUENTE
CASTROVILLE , TX

7.63

24.14

$1200.00

DAVID CHILES
WACO , TX

KYLE ROWE
WACO , TX

24.03

$1200.00

RUSTY NELSON
AZLE , TX

GINO NAPOLI
WEATHERFORD , TX

24.00

$1200.00

JEFF MCBRIDE
WINNSBORO , TX

DAKOTA MCBRIDE
WINNSBORO , TX

23.91

$1200.00

LEE YOWELL
ENNIS , TX

MARK CROW
PALMER , TX

23.67

$1200.00

RORY LAYNE
EMORY , TX

BRIAN JACKSON
ALBA , TX

8.39

23.44

$1200.00

LEE LEONARD
MARTINDALE , TX

SCOTT BRONDER
FALLS CITY , TX

23.34

$1200.00

BRIAN HALL
BRONTE , TX

JACOB BECK
STERLING CITY , TX

23.24

$1000.00

KEN SMITH
RICHARDSON , TX

TERRY HAWKINS
CORSICANA , TX

23.18

$1000.00

JEFF CADE
MCKINNEY , TX

GREG FLEMING
HOLLY LAKE RANCH , TX

23.02

$1000.00

SAM MCCOLLUM
CORSICANA , TX

PAUL MCCOLLUM
CORSICANA , TX

22.96

$1000.00

RUSSELL LEE
SACHSE , TX

JODIE HONZA
ENNIS , TX

22.88

$1000.00

TIM WILCOXSON
ROCKWALL , TX

ERIC ELDER
SCROGGINS , TX

22.34

$1000.00

DEAN ALEXANDER
GEORGETOWN , TX

THOMAS MARTENS
CEDAR PARK , TX

22.20

$1000.00

SEAN MECHE
LAKE CHARLES , LA

RODNEY OWENS
RAGLEY , LA

22.19

$1000.00

MATT HILL
JONESTOWN , TX

BARRY MOTT
LIBERTY HILL , TX

21.88

$1000.00

DALE HUGHES
SAN ANGELO , TX

BARRY STUARD
CANYON LAKE , TX

21.85

$1000.00

DAVID WENCIL
BUCHANAN DAM , TX

JEFF WHITEHEAD
SLATON , TX

21.64

$1000.00

TED PRIESING
DALLAS , TX

VIRGIL CHANEY
JASPER , TX

21.49

$1000.00

DOUG MCCAIN
LAKE CHARLES , LA

MASON MCCAIN
LAKE CHARLES , LA

21.24

$1000.00

TONY FERDINANDO
SPICEWOOD , TX

MATT COOPER
SMITHVILLE , TX

21.21

$1000.00

WILLIAM BLAINE
SAN ANGELO , TX

ROSS JEWELL
SAN ANGELO , TX

20.84

$1000.00

JUSTYN PARRISH
LAGO VISTA , TX

LUCAS LARSON
HUTTO , TX

20.67

CALEB HAND
ANNA , TX

CHAD OWEN
CELESTE , TX

20.57

WAYNE ORENDER JR
PFLUGERVILLE , TX

TOM NILSSEN
NEW BRAUNFELS , TX

6.68

20.45

RYAN AUTERY
RICHARDSON , TX

20.31

ANDY WILBURN
ROYSE CITY , TX

JOEL CHAPMAN
WYLIE , TX

20.30

JAY STIDHAM
CHINA SPRING , TX

CHARLIE GANTENBEIN
TEMPLE , TX

20.22

WESLEY PULLIG
WALL , TX

MASON PULLIG
WALL , TX

20.19

DANNY LASHLEY
ALEXANDRIA , LA

MICHAEL IVEY
OTIS , LA

20.10

DAVID UNDERWOOD
WACO , TX

CHARLES SIMMONS
WACO , TX

19.85

TRENT ERXLEBEN
ROUND ROCK , TX

DERON MUELLER
ROUND ROCK , TX

19.85

WESTON BROWN
HOUSTON , TX

DAVID DOONAN
CALDWELL , TX

19.81

MARK BIONDI JR
BURLESON , TX

MARK BIONDI SR
BURLESON , TX

19.78

KENT SIKES
ROANOKE , TX

DARRELL CAMPBELL
ALBA , TX

6.73

19.16

JUSTIN KELLEY
JOSHUA , TX

RAY BOSQUEZ JR
FORT WORTH , TX

19.06

EDDIE HALL
CADDO MILLS , TX

BRANDON BREWER
CADDO MILLS , TX

19.04

LEE BEUERSHAUSEN
MARBLE FALLS , TX

RANDY GROUNDS
HORSESHOE BAY , TX

18.99

DENTON COOPER
SMITHVILLE , TX

DANIEL HARRIS
SMITHVILLE , TX

18.87

JOHN MADDOX
LUFKIN , TX

JEFFERY WISE
LUFKIN , TX

18.72

ANDREW RICKMAN JR
CANTON , TX

MIKE CRAIN
AZLE , TX

18.59

MIKE REID
ANDREWS , TX

MICHAEL REID
ANDREWS , TX

18.47

ERIC WASHBURN
GATESVILLE , TX

ZANE WASHBURN
GATESVILLE , TX

18.26

EARL ARMSTRONG
DEL RIO , TX

GARY SCHMITT
MIDLAND , TX

18.14

GROVER MANSFIELD
BROOKELAND , TX

CORTLAND WESTON
BAYTOWN , TX

18.09

BUSTER JOHNSON
KRUM , TX

ZACH PARKER
DENTON , TX

17.39

KURT KLOSOWSKI
PLANO , TX

TOM MOCNY
LITTLE ELM , TX

16.89

RONNIE CHARANZA
BROWNWOOD , TX

WESLEY FLETCHER
BROWNWOOD , TX

16.59

JAMES BIGGERSTAFF
LINDALE , TX

BRADLEY BIGGERSTAFF
FAIRFIELD , TX

9.03

16.43

WILL CARSTENS
ALEXANDRIA , LA

ROSS BRYANT
ALEXANDRIA , LA

16.33

BRANDON BLAYLOCK
BROWNWOOD , TX

ADAM MIRANDA
BROWNWOOD , TX

16.26

BENJI DUMAS
MINDEN , LA

JIMMY DUCK III
CENTER , LA

16.14

JUSTIN TUNNELL
RICHARDSON , TX

PATRICK TUNNELL
HAWKINS , TX

16.07

ALLEN SHELTON
FARMERS BRANCH , TX

STRIDER BROWNING
TIMPSON , TX

16.00

JOE SMITH
FORNEY , TX

KENNETH GERECHT
PALMER , TX

15.92

RUSTY REEDY
SPRING BRANCH , TX

15.74

GREG MIRANDA
BROWNWOOD , TX

ROGER SOTO
BROWNWOOD , TX

15.71

JORDAN LOGAN
FORT WORTH , TX

CHASE KELLEY
ALEDO , TX

15.70

SAMMY CHRISTIAN
LUMBERTON , TX

ALLAN SHIVERS
JASPER , TX

15.63

JUSTIN DUBOSE
PARADISE , TX

STEVE LYNAM
SOUTHLAKE , TX

15.60

JEFF NORRIS
DECATUR , TX

RONNIE NORRIS
BOYD , TX

15.49

KEVIN DRITSCHLER
PROSPER , TX

TIM BROCKWAY
KAUFMAN , TX

15.44

DON STAPLETON
YANTIS , TX

CHUCK RIZUTO
ALBA , TX

15.40

JASPER HUNTER
JARRELL , TX

JEFFERY HUNTER
JARRELL , TX

15.35

JEFFREY JONES
SAN ANTONIO , TX

FRANKIE BENITEZ
SAN ANTONIO , TX

15.35

SCOTTY GALBREAITH
WEATHERFORD , TX

JASON GALBREAITH
BURLESON , TX

8.49

15.33

JACOB SHANNON
ARLINGTON , TX

JAMES SHAMBURGER
MABANK , TX

15.25

BILLY BREWER
HEWITT , TX

L J CASTILLO
WACO , TX

15.22

STEVE MAGNELIA
AUSTIN , TX

MICHAEL TENNANT
PFLUGERVILLE , TX

15.19

MICHAEL GRIMES
GEORGETOWN , TX

TRAVIS OWEN
GEORGETOWN , TX

15.15

CLAY DARDEAU
RAGLEY , LA

CRAIG BEAN
LAKE CHARLES , LA

14.82

100

GARY WEIMER
LEANDER , TX

JEREMIAH WAFFORD
CEDAR PARK , TX

14.81

101

CHAD BLACK
CANYON LAKE , TX

CHUCK BLACK
LOGAN , NM

14.57

102

CHANCE HUNDLEY
CASTROVILLE , TX

CODY HUNDLEY
RIO MEDINA , TX

14.54

103

CHARLES HICKMAN
HUNTINGTON , TX

TERRY HICKMAN
KINGWOOD , TX

14.49

104

BRENNAN FERTIG
BELLVILLE , TX

JAMES BEAUCHAMP
SUNRISE BEACH , TX

14.41

105

BRANDON JONES
FAIR OAKS , TX

THOMAS WEIMER
CEDAR PARK , TX

14.40

106

SHAWN TAYLOR
ABILENE , TX

DUSTIN WALTON
ABILENE , TX

14.36

107

GARY JOHNSON
BELTON , TX

DON SCHUETZE
TEMPLE , TX

14.28

108

TIM FLOWERS
MIDLAND , TX

BRIAN ANKRUM
HONDO , TX

14.26

108

JAMES STANLEY
SAN ANTONIO , TX

ANTHONY SKOUBY
CIBOLO , TX

14.26

110

JEFFREY PIEL
CANYON LAKE , TX

KASEN PIEL
CANYON LAKE , TX

14.14

111

DEAN LEWIS
NATCHITOCHES , LA

JOHNNY COSTELLO
BOSSIER CITY , LA

14.00

111

CHRIS BACHTA
GRAPEVINE , TX

CHARLIE JOHNSON
DECATUR , TX

14.00

113

JOHN MCDIFFITT
GRANBURY , TX

STEPHEN WELLS
MARSHALL , TX

13.93

114

THOMAS DAVILA
MIDLAND , TX

ROGER MONTEJANO
DEL RIO , TX

13.78

115

TIM CLINE
SHERMAN , TX

CHRIS TILTON
WYLIE , TX

13.73

116

MARK RHODES
ODESSA , TX

EVAN MULLEN
ODESSA , TX

13.71

117

JJ LARSON
LEANDER , TX

JASON LARSON
LEANDER , TX

7.65

13.60

118

MIKE BURNS
ALLEN , TX

ROB BURNS
PLANO , TX

13.37

119

MARK WYLIE
KELLER , TX

MARK PARKER
GRAPEVINE , TX

13.19

120

COREY NEWBY
ALLEN , TX

BRANDON LEHMER
GUNTER , TX

13.18

121

ANTHONY SMITH
ATHENS , TX

WILLIAM THORNTON
EDGEWOOD , TX

12.96

122

TIM WILCOXSON
EDGEWOOD , TX

JERAMY MARINELLI
ROYSE CITY , TX

12.87

123

MIKE REID
GREENVILLE , TX

RON ROGERS
ROCKWALL , TX

12.76

124

TOM GRIDLEY
WIMBERLEY , TX

DEREK ROGERS
MALAKOFF , TX

12.53

125

TERRY PEACOCK
ROYSE CITY , TX

SCOTT DEAN
TERRELL , TX

12.45

126

MIKE PICKWELL
DRIPPING SPRINGS , TX

CHUCK EBBINGHAUS
WIMBERLY , TX

12.39

127

DIRK SMITH
FARMERSVILLE , TX

BRYON HARRISON
QUINLAN , TX

12.32

127

BRENDON KENNELL
BOERNE , TX

JIMMY SHELTON
GRANBURY , TX

12.32

129

DON PEARSON
CEDAR PARK , TX

JUSTIN KING
BRYAN , TX

12.31

130

SHAWN BROOKS
BOYD , TX

MICHAEL HARVEY
TULSA , OK

12.24

131

DEREK MONG
MANY , LA

TAMMY MONG
MANY , LA

11.93

132

BRETT CASSIDY
PASADENA , TX

MICHAEL BELVIN
ALVIN , TX

11.84

133

COLE STEWART
HEMPHILL , TX

11.82

134

KENNETH MOORE
RED OAK , TX

KEITH GLASBY
OVILLA , TX

11.64

135

TANNER SPURGIN
MCKINNEY , TX

TYLER HOLMES
RICHARDSON , TX

11.45

136

JOHN FORSTER
CENTER POINT , TX

CLAYTON FORSTER
CENTER POINT , TX

11.19

137

JAMES DORTLON
MARTHAVILLE , LA

LAYNE LACAZE
ROBELINE , LA

11.18

138

TOM CAUTHEN
INGRAM , TX

RONNY GAZAWAY
KERRVILLE , TX

10.99

139

DANNY BENNETT
HUNTSVILLE , TX

MICHAEL BENNETT
PARIS , TX

10.89

140

MATT MORTON
DALLAS , TX

MICHAEL BURNSIDE
ANNA , TX

10.68

141

MARK MCWHIRTER
ARGYLE , TX

ZEB STRICKLAND
TIOGA , TX

10.52

142

MARK MAYBEN
PLANO , TX

JOHN MAYBEN
DALLAS , TX

10.51

143

RANDY MILLENDER
TEAGUE , TX

KENNETH NICHOLS
TEAGUE , TX

10.21

144

JOHN NEMECEK
FRIENDSWOOD , TX

BRADLEY PAGE
FRIENDSWOOD , TX

10.02

145

ZACHARY WYMER
HALTOM , TX

MATT CARR
SCURRY , TX

9.81

146

LANCE SILVERTOOTH
KILGORE , TX

CHARLIE BROWN III
FLINT , TX

9.71

147

DAVID THOMAS
MELISSA , TX

KYLE ROBINSON
ANNA , TX

9.64

148

CASEY FRIDAY
LAPORTE , TX

MICHAEL CLEMENTS
SANTAFE , TX

9.57

149

CHARLIE FORSTER
CENTER POINT , TX

MIKE BINGHAM
KERRVILLE , TX

9.56

150

TRENT MENEES
NORTHLAKE , TX

TERRY BOLLOM
FRISCO , TX

9.48

151

ZACH BROWN
GEORGETOWN , TX

MIKE RICHARDSON
THORNDALE , TX

9.35

152

DANIEL HICKMAN
HUNTINGTON , TX

DUSTIN ALEXANDER
HUNTINGTON , TX

9.21

152

BRANNON MIRE
BLOUSSARD , LA

DENNIS NARCISSE
ST MARTINVILLE , LA

9.21

154

SCOTT BARNETT
MANSFIELD , TX

BRIAN CLARK
HALTOM CITY , TX

9.18

155

TOM MCELROY
NORTH RICHLAND HILLS , TX

CHERYL SPEAR
NORTH RICHLAND HILLS , TX

9.09

156

TERRY JOHNSON
FATE , TX

TODD JOHNSON
FORNEY , TX

8.89

156

STEVE SIMS
SANGER , TX

RONNIE SIMS
LEWISVILLE , TX

8.89

158

KEITH TAYLOR
ROCKWALL , TX

LARRY LADNIER
ROCKWALL , TX

8.81

158

COREY WALDROP
FT WORTH , TX

CRAIG WALDROP
BENBROOK , TX

8.81

160

MATTHEW WRIGHT
ORANGE , TX

CAMERON MALLETT
BUNA , TX

8.80

161

ROBERT BROWN
ROUND ROCK , TX

CHARLES PURSELL
AUSTIN , TX

8.78

162

KELVIN HOGG
ARLINGTON , TX

BRIAN ROUSSEL
ARLINGTON , TX

8.74

163

MARK DOREMUS
EARLY , TX

TIM MANLEY
BROWNWOOD , TX

8.71

164

STEVE SCHMIDT
MIDLOTHIAN , TX

BILLY RYAN
MANSFIELD , TX

8.61

165

ELENO BALBOA JR
DEL RIO , TX

ELENO BALBOA III
DEL RIO , TX

8.60

166

LEE BATSON
HEATH , TX

JOHN FLEMING
COMBINE , TX

8.50

167

PATRICK ANDERSON
BUDA , TX

DOUG HAMILTON
LAKEWAY , TX

8.39

168

NATHAN BYRD
MIDLOTHIAN , TX

JOE BYRD
SPRING , TX

8.35

169

TAYLOR DARDEN
LOMETA , TX

JOEY WYNN
EARLY , TX

8.10

170

RYAN WARREN
GATESVILLE , TX

JASON DERRICK
VALLEY MILLS , TX

8.00

171

KEITH IVY
PONDER , TX

TOMMY MURRAY
BEDFORD , TX

7.94

172

JARED TALBERT
CHINA SPRING , TX

JESSE RAWLS
LORENA , TX

7.93

173

ROCKIE MARTIN
ROCKWALL , TX

CLINT NOWELL
FORT WORTH , TX

7.54

174

DUANE PITTMAN
PRAIRIEVILLE , LA

DWIGHT MINOGUE
KEITHVILLE , LA

7.44

175

BUDDY BOONE
SAN ANTONIO , TX

RALPH CELEDON
ALAMO , TX

7.23

176

MIKE COON
KERRVILLE , TX

WESLEY GRAHAM
WINNSBORO , TX

7.20

177

WAYNE JACKSON
RIO FRIO , TX

JASON SCHNEEMANN
D'HANIS , TX

7.04

178

ROBERT LOPEZ
DEL RIO , TX

JEFF BUTTERS
DEL RIO , TX

6.60

179

DEVIN GIBSON
GONZALES , TX

ROBERT PRESCOTT
SEGUIN , TX

6.35

180

LON SHIPE
LEAGUE CITY , TX

FARREN MOUNTS
PRESCOTT , AZ

6.19

181

MICHAEL HUTTON
EMORY , TX

6.16

182

DENNIS COURTNEY
LAKE CHARLES , LA

GRADY MAYEAUX
RAGLEY , LA

6.10

183

JOHNNY UNDERFUSSER
DENISON , TX

RON SAUCEMAN
COLLINSVILLE , TX

5.96

184

BLAINE BUTLER
CEDAR PARK , TX

HANK GRAVES
LAGO VISTA , TX

5.92

185

KEVIN UNGER
SMITHVILLE , TX

TIM GOETZ
SMITHVILLE , TX

5.90

186

BRAD DRAKE
IRVING , TX

JOHN MCCALMONT
ROCKWALL , TX

5.88

187

JOHN BYLER
ARGYLE , TX

5.58

188

CHRIS DUROY
KINGSTON , OK

BOE FOSSETT
KINGSTON , OK

5.50

189

JOE ROME
FLOWER MOUND , TX

JOEL MCBRIDE
CORINTH , TX

5.48

190

DELL BROWN
ARLINGTON , TX

MARK MCCLURE
NORTH RICHLAND HILLS , TX

5.39

191

KEITH HONEYCUTT
TEMPLE , TX

SAM JONES
ROGERS , TX

5.20

192

CODY NIX
PLANO , TX

CORY NIX
CELINA , TX

5.14

193

BASIL WILSON
COMFORT , TX

JEFF WILSON
COMFORT , TX

5.09

194

KEVIN ALLEN
JEWETT , TX

BRANDON BROSSETT
GROESBECK , TX

5.07

195

BEN FALLIS
MIDLOTHIAN , TX

BILLY MULLEN
WILLOW PARK , TX

5.05

196

MICHAEL ZIBERT
GARDEN RIDGE , TX

5.00

196

KRISTOPHER PICKETT
COUSHATTA , LA

CHRISTOPHER GORDON
CLARENCE , LA

5.00

198

GEORGE GLASS
DERRIDER , LA

KANE BASS
DE RIDDER , LA

4.82

199

RICK SHOCK
VICTORIA , TX

TED SPRENCEL
PORT LAVACA , TX

4.80

200

STERLING MARTIN
COMFORT , TX

COURTNEY BEHREND
COMFORT , TX

4.72

201

WESLEY BAXLEY
CYPRESS , TX

AUSTIN WOODDELL
CYPRESS , TX

4.66

201

RICHARD CREMO
LAREDO , TX

ROBERTO GONZALEZ
LAREDO , TX

4.66

203

CODY MORRISON
PILOT POINT , TX

BARRETT MCCLENDON
DENTON , TX

4.64

204

CHRIS SNYDER
CIBOLO , TX

STEVE WADE
SAN ANTONIO , TX

4.62

204

JAMES SCOGIN
AUSTIN , TX

ROLAND LOERA
AUSTIN , TX

4.62

206

MIKE STANFORD
NEW BRAUNFELS , TX

BRADY STANFORD
MIDLAND , TX

4.45

207

PAT LESIAK
TROPHY CLUB , TX

TYLER LESIAK
TROPHY CLUB , TX

4.40

208

ROB MEDDERS
CELINA , TX

ROB WILSON
SHERMAN , TX

4.37

209

DANIEL BARNES
BELTON , TX

TANNER BARNES
BELTON , TX

4.36

209

JONATHAN CLICK
CHRISTOVAL , TX

4.36

211

TYLER WALKER
BURTON , TX

STEVEN WALKER
BURTON , TX

4.30

212

ROBERT KESSLER
SPRING , TX

RUSSELL KESSLER
LA VERNIA , TX

4.26

213

DALE READ
LEANDER , TX

JIM SUNVISON
PFLUGERVILLE , TX

4.21

213

CODY BURDINE
BRIDGEPORT , TX

BOBBY POINTER
ALVORD , TX

4.21

213

JOHN PRICE
LA GRANGE , TX

DUSTY FRANK
WEST POINT , TX

4.21

213

BRINTON HASKINS
NEW BRAUNFELS , TX

MICHAEL ATKINS
NEW BRAUNFELS , TX

4.21

217

GARY KINARD
FORNEY , TX

JACOB KINARD
ROCKWALL , TX

4.19

218

SHELBY SHAW
HUNTSVILLE , TX

WESLEY LEWIS
KIRBYVILLE , TX

4.18

219

JERRY MCKNIGHT
WELLS , TX

QUINTON MCKNIGHT
WELLS , TX

4.15

220

JERRY DAVID II
PILOT POINT , TX

JACOB DAVID
PILOT POINT , TX

4.14

221

RICKY CRUZ
NATCHEZ , LA

WESLEY HOLT
OTIS , LA

4.10

222

CECIL TUBB
DIKE , TX

SAM HOOTEN
WINNSBORO , TX

4.09

223

DEREK SWINDLER
WAXAHACHIE , TX

STEPHEN HAMPTON
WILLS POINT , TX

4.02

224

ALFONSO HERRERA
ALAMOGORDO , NM

ALEJANDRO RAMIREZ
ALMOGORDO , NM

4.01

225

GARY WAFFORD
CEDAR PARK , TX

GREG WAFFORD
CEDAR PARK , TX

4.00

226

COLT DIETZ
AUSTIN , TX

JOHN WARDEN
DRIPPING SPRINGS , TX

3.99

227

RANDY DESPINO
COLFAX , LA

WILLIAM DOWDEN
ANACOCO , LA

3.94

228

RUSTY CLARK
JASPER , TX

BRYAN LOHR
LUMBERTON , TX

3.93

229

GEORGE SHIPPEY
MT PLEASANT , TX

RICHARD FAULKNER
PROVIDENCE VILLAGE , TX

3.92

230

GENE BAGLEY
BEAUMONT , TX

MITCH STEPHENSON
BEAUMONT , TX

3.90

231

CHARLES HICE
BURNET , TX

CHRISTOPHER STANLEY
MARBLE FALLS , TX

3.88

232

RICKY MADOLE
MANY , LA

RONNIE MADOLE
SHREVEPORT , LA

3.86

233

BILL GARZA JR
SAN ANTONIO , TX

GABRIELLE GARZA
SAN ANTONIO , TX

3.85

234

JEFF PITRUCHA
GREENVILLE , TX

GARY COOPER
COMBINE , TX

3.82

235

MIKE HITT
CRANDALL , TX

KEVIN BROWN
GRAND SALINE , TX

3.81

236

MATT TALLAS
CANTON , TX

ERNIE SISTRUNK
WILLS POINT , TX

3.79

237

GARRETT GILL
TEMPLE , TX

ROBERT GILL
BELTON , TX

3.69

238

DAVID REYNOLDS
MCKINNEY , TX

ROBERT BROCK JR
MCKINNEY , TX

3.68

239

DAVID HESSKEW
BLANCO , TX

VICTOR STEPHENS
LEANDER , TX

3.66

240

MICHAEL GROSSMAN
DALLAS , TX

JAY KENDRICK
IRVING , TX

3.62

241

TOBY JONES
STONEWALL , LA

CARL JONES
DAYTON , TX

3.61

242

MARK CHILD
ARLINGTON , TX

ANDY SALLEE
NRH , TX

3.60

243

RICKY PIERCE
THORNDALE , TX

RHETT PIERCE
THORNDALE , TX

3.52

244

CHUCK BISHOP
SANGER , TX

JUNIOR MITCHELL
KRUGERVILLE , TX

3.40

245

GEORGE ESCAMILLA
SAN ANTONIO , TX

BRANDON KITCHENS
CANYON LAKE , TX

3.32

246

JOHNNY HOMANN
KYLE , TX

J. HESS
LOCKHART , TX

3.31

247

CRAIG CRIM
VICTORIA , TX

DANIEL RODRIGUEZ
NEW BRAUNFELS , TX

3.24

248

BOBBY BURKEEN
CARLSBAD , NM

BRANDON BURKEEN
CARLSBAD , NM

3.22

249

BEAU SULLIVAN
FORT WORTH , TX

JOE SWANEY
GAINESVILLE , TX

3.18

249

KEVIN DAVIS
FLORESVILLE , TX

JIM HARCROW
MCKINNEY , TX

3.18

251

JOSHUA RHODES
SAN ANTONIO , TX

DAVY CRANDAL
HONDO , TX

3.13

252

JACOB BAKER
TERRELL , TX

MATTHEW KIRKLIN
HOLLY LAKE RANCH , TX

3.08

253

CODY ROBERSON
EMORY , TX

DON BAILEY
SAN ANTONIO , TX

3.07

254

CHASE WELCH
CRANDALL , TX

CHASE WOOD
COMBINE , TX

3.02

255

WILLIAM PALMER
MIDLOTHIAN , TX

JERAMIE BYRD
MIDLOTHIAN , TX

2.96

256

CHRIS EAVES
PORTER , TX

ROBERT SCOTT
LIVINGSTON , TX

2.83

257

GEORGE RIDDLE
MCKINNEY , TX

ROCKY EPPS
BEDFORD , TX

2.67

258

SHAWN TEMPLE
KRUGERVILLE , TX

COLE TEMPLE
FORT WORTH , TX

2.48

259

CHRIS CLEMENTS
ROUND ROCK , TX

CHRIS WOEHL
CEDAR PARK , TX

1.96

260

PERRY POWELL
ALBA , TX

WILLIAM TAYLOR
SOUTHLAKE , TX

1.60

261

ROBERT HATCHETT
HOUSTON , TX

CHRIS BERRY
HOUSTON , TX

1.18

262

DEAN TRUDELL
HIGHLAND VILLAGE , TX

MIKE KUBANEK
HIGHLAND VILLAGE , TX

0.00

262

GENE FUESSEL
AUSTIN , TX

GERALD MUELLER JR
HUTTO , TX

0.00

262

CHRIS COLE
BELLS , TX

0.00

262

ROY STEGER
BELTON , TX

CHET SUTTON
SALADO , TX

0.00

262

J BRAD KOEHLER
BROKEN ARROW , OK

DWAYNE LIKENS
MILLS , TX

0.00

262

RYLON GANEY
PINEVILLE , LA

JARED GANEY
PINEVILLE , LA

0.00

262

LARRY DEAN
HUMBLE , TX

TERRY MORGAN
BUNA , TX

0.00

262

MIKE LOTT
MONTGOMERY , TX

JIMMY ROZELLE JR
PORTER , TX

0.00

262

JIM CULP
TULSA , OK

THOMAS BOWDEN SR
LAFAYETTE , LA

0.00

262

BRIAN MATER
AUSTIN , TX

PHILLIP WARREN
AUSTIN , TX

0.00

262

JEREMY LAMBERT
DECATUR , TX

BRANDEN HOLLINGSHEAD
AZLE , TX

0.00

262

CHRIS GILROY
FRISCO , TX

MICHAEL FULLER
BLUE RIDGE , TX

0.00

262

STEVEN PITCOX
KINGSLAND , TX

BRANDI PITCOX
KINGSLAND , TX

0.00

262

JORGE BENITEZ
WALLIS , TX

JOE GARCIA
HOBSON , TX

0.00

262

ADAM DUNN
HOUSTON , TX

JOSHUA WARE
NEW CANEY , TX

0.00

262

BRANDON DAVIDSON
LITTLE ELM , TX

JIM FURR
HEMPHILL , TX

0.00

262

ED BLACKBURN
GRAND PRAIRIE , TX

RONNIE HAMBY
AURORA , TX

0.00

262

LARRY BENCH
DENISON , TX

HI HILLBURN
COLBERT , OK

0.00

262

TIMOTHY LOUPE
HUFFMAN , TX

WILLIAM BRIGGINS
HUFFMAN , TX

0.00

262

MONTE REAGAN
BURLESON , TX

LANCE KENNY
NORTH RICHLAND HILLS , TX

0.00

262

MARSHALL HOSEA
BROADDUS , TX

BUD PRUITT
HOUSTON , TX

0.00

262

DARRELL WUENSCHE
THRALL , TX

0.00

262

MATTHEW BENEFIELD
HUFFMAN , TX

LARRY BENEFIELD
HUFFMAN , TX

0.00

262

JD LAUGHERY
ROCKWALL , TX

STAN LAWING
POETRY , TX

0.00

262

RAYMOND NEWTON
JUNCTION , TX

STEVEN CRAVEY
JUNCTION , TX

0.00

262

CHRISTOPHER SULLIVAN
EARLY , TX

ROBBIE DUDLEY
BROWNWOOD , TX

0.00

262

RICARDO CARRILLO
LAREDO , TX

SUSAN CARRILLO
LAREDO , TX

0.00

262

WADE MEHAFFEY
NEW BRAUNFELS , TX

WESTIN MEHAFFEY
NEW BRAUNSFELS , TX

0.00

262

RYAN CRAWFORD
GATESVILLE , TX

TULLY WILLIAMS
GATESVILLE , TX

0.00

262

KENT WITCHER
NEED INFO

ERIC TAUER
KIRBY , TX

0.00

262

CHRIS MOORE
ROCKWALL , TX

KY MARTIN
GRANDVIEW , TX

0.00

262

AARON WALKER
MT VERNON , TX

STEVEN STROMAN
SCROGGINS , TX

0.00

262

JUSTIN KEITHLEY
ARLINGTON , TX

JOSH KEITHLEY
FORT WORTH , TX

0.00

262

DAVID LAINE
BRYAN , TX

0.00

262

TREY GROCE
DRIPPING SPRINGS , TX

CHARLES WHITED
SAN MARCOS , TX

0.00

262

JUSTIN KETCHUM
LIBERTY HILL , TX

SEAN CLAMPITT
ROUND ROCK , TX

0.00

262

CRAIG MIRANDA
BROWNWOOD , TX

BRANDON LOFSTROM
BRADY , TX

0.00

262

WILLIAM BRUNSON
LIBERTY HILL , TX

RORY LAYNE
EMORY , TX

0.00

262

DAVID REID
CANYON LAKE , TX

JUSTIN WOJCIK
BULVERDE , TX

0.00

by AnglersChannel

Big Bass Tour Berkley Lake Breakdown - Smith Mountain Lake

Crews Says Smith Mountain Lake Anglers Should Prepare for Giants

By Pete Robbins

Veteran Bassmaster Elite Series pro John Crews has plenty of things going on in his life, including his career on tour, a busy family, and a thriving business, but lately the Virginia angler hasn’t ben able to take his eyes off of the tournament results from nearby Smith Mountain Lake.

“Smith Mountain has been fishing really well all year,” he said. “The tournament weights haven’t dropped at all since the spring. I don’t ever remember them being this consistently good, in terms of overall weights, big fish, everything.”

That bodes well for the field fishing the Big Bass Tour event on the Blue Ridge lake from October 22^nd through 24^th. Results at Smith Mountain have been exceptional for the BBT over the past several events, and Crews thinks that past marks could be shattered. This past spring, Chris Markin won the overall title there with an 8.08 brute, followed by a pair of 7-plus magnums and a handful of bass over 6 pounds. Last fall, the winner was a nearly-as-impressive 7.39 pound largemouth and there were five more over 6 pounds brought to the scales.

“There are a ton of 4- to 6-pound bass in the lake now,” Crews explained. “That’s a combination of a few different things. There’s a good forage base, with more blueback herring than ever before, and some of the bass they stocked a few years ago might be getting up into that range now.”

The fall is a time of transition, and Crews expects that there will be a number of different patterns at play. He’d try to feed the biggest fish a topwater – it’s been a prime producer of both largemouths and smallmouths lately.

“You can get train wrecked,” he said. “And you can do it a couple of different ways. It’s not just a buzzbait thing or a walking bait thing and it’s definitely not going to get worse. It’s the most fun and obvious way to catch a big fish and it’s going on all over the lake right now. I talked to a guy the other day who caught them on a topwater way up the river, and then I talked to another guy who did the same thing down by the dam.”

He’d cover water until he found active fish and would then hunker down in key areas, staying until the action subsided.

While the surface bite would be his first choice, Crews added that “there’s been a deep water pattern that’s been good all summer” and it shows now sign of abating. It has been the constant and unflappable choice of anglers winning weeknight wildcat tournaments, where it almost never takes less than a 4-pound average to win a four or five hour tournament with a three fish limit, and “some took a five pound average.” He’d focus on a variety of soft plastics presentations in the 15 to 25 foot depth range.

For anglers who dislike fishing in the clearer sections of the lake, it’s possible to search out a little bit of stained water and put a crankbait to use, too. He’d spend time looking for populations of shad up shallow, and then he’d match the hatch with a crankbait.

Of course, Smith Mountain’s countless docks and brush piles will also play a role for both hourly and overall top prize contenders, as will both smallmouths and largemouths. That means this already-expansive lake will fish even bigger than normal. Crews said that will benefit the entire field and the results should be tremendous.

by AnglersChannel

American Bass Anglers Announces 2022 Top 150 Solo Tour

October 12, 2021, Athens, AL. American Bass Anglers today announced the 2022 Top 150 Solo Tour details. The 2022 season will incorporate a few new features including a scaled championship and will also feature a wildcard end-of-the-season event.

The Top 150 Solo Tour is a boater-only tour with an entry fee of $600 for all events. For 2022 there will still be two divisions. One is based in the southeast and the other is based in Texas. Each division will hold 3 qualifying events. The top fifteen (15) anglers per division by points after their final qualifying event will advance directly to the Top 150 Solo Championship.

An additional wildcard event will be held after all qualifying events are completed. From this wildcard event the top five (5) by place of finish will advance to the Top 150 Solo Championship. These five additional wildcard slots will bring a total of thirty-five (35) anglers to the Top 150 Solo Championship.

As an additional incentive, at the Championship the top five (5) angler by place of finish from each division will advance to the 2023 Ray Scott Championship.

Registration will begin Monday, October 18, 2021, at 8 AM CT for package anglers that competed in the 2021 season. Open Package registration will begin October 19, 2021, at 8 AM CT. Rules and additional registration information is available at www.americanbassanglers.com/Top150

2022 Schedule

Southeast Division

Date	Lake	Ramp
3/4-5/2022	Eufaula AL	Lake Point Resort State Park
5/6-7/2022	Guntersville AL	Goose Pond
6/17-18/2022	Chickamauga TN	Chester Frost

Southwest Division

Date	Lake	Ramp
3/18-19/2022	Texoma, TX	High Port Marina
4/22-23/2022	Eufaula, OK	South Port
6/17-18/1/2022	Rayburn, TX	Cassels Boykin

Wildcard Event

Date	Lake	Ramp
9/9-10/2022	Ross Barnett, MS	Madison Landing

Championship

Date	Lake	Ramp
TBA	Kentucky Lake, TN	Paris Landing

by AnglersChannel

Black Rain Ordnance partners with Bass Pro Tour Angler James “Worldwide” Watson

Black Rain Ordnance, Inc. is a precision firearms manufacturer specializing in the modern sporting rifle design. Founded in 2009 with a benchmark to only manufacture weapons that they would personally be proud to own and operate. Seeking out the best machinists to turn their ideas into reality with a goal of creating something any gun enthusiast would be gratified to not only own but to put on display as well. Black Rain Ordnance only uses American metal so that each of their products is truly an authentic American creation.

Mike Colahan, Marketing Manager at Black Rain Ordnance states “We are excited to welcome James Watson to the Black Rain team. As a U.S. Army Veteran, successful businessman, and a champion angler, we felt that James would be a great ambassador for Black Rain. This partnership was a great parallel between the hunting and fishing industry and we look forward to working together.”

James Watson, Bass Pro Tour Angler says “As a US Army Veteran I spent my time defending our Second Amendment and personal rights to own a firearm, I’ve owned a few of these awesome AR’s for some time and to me a great firearm is a valuable investment. If you are in the market for a new firearm you need a trip to Black Rain Ordnance. Plus they offer courses for all gun owners at all skill levels from total beginner to seasoned professional with P.O.S.T. certified instructors.”

James “JMFW WORLDWIDE” Watson is known for his quick wit and knack for jokes on the water. The real-estate mogul has used his success in residential real estate sales to fuel his passion for fishing. As a self-made angler and former United States Army Drill Sergeant he equally enjoys balancing the competition and the business sides of the bass community.

From a BASS Open victory to the Bassmaster Classic and a win at Lake Norris during the FLW Invitational, Watson promotes fishing on a WORLDWIDE level. Additionally, James has qualified for the Forrest Wood Cup and the Texas Toyota Bass Classic during his duration fishing the FLW Tour (now known as Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit), BASS Opens, PAA and Major League Fishing.

He is also a member of the US Bass Team and has competed in the Black Bass Championship in 2017 in South Africa and in 2018 in Mexico. Bringing home the gold medal with the team in 2018 and plans to compete at Lake Murray in 2022.

In 2018, he received the Forrest L. Wood Sportsmanship and Community Leadership Award per his involvement in FLW Community Outreach.

He prides himself on his personality, often gaining him media attention, which positively promotes his sponsors. All eyes are watching where James “WORLDWIDE” Watson will go with his professional fishing career.

You can find James fishing Major League Fishing’s Bass Pro Tour as well as attending charity events when it fits his schedule.

Follow along with James and his partnership with Black Rain Ordnance to see all the excitement:

James Watson Professional Angler:

jameswatsonfishing.com

Facebook: James Watson Professional Angler

Instagram: @therealjameswatson

YouTube: JMFW Worldwide

Black Rain Ordnance:

blackrainordnance.com

Facebook: Black Rain Ordnance

Instagram: @blackrainordnance

PICTURED: Charlie Spires, Vice President of Black Rain Ordnance and James Watson

by AnglersChannel

X Zone Lures 3.5" Adrenaline Craw Jr Released!

Since the release of the 4.25" Adrenaline Craw in early 2021, we have had great demand for a smaller version. We went straight to the drawing board to develop the 3.5" Adrenaline Craw Jr.

After looking at it and debating whether any changes should be made, we came to the conclusion that we should not change a thing! We simply scaled the regular version down proportionally for a smaller profile.

Click here to see all the colors available in this great new product release.

by AnglersChannel

Lake Ouachita Readies to Host Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship

Top Prize of $60,000 and a Shot at the 2022 All-American Championship up for Grabs, Four-Hundred Boaters and Co-anglers Head to Mt. Ida

Mt. Ida, Ark. (Oct. 14, 2021) – The Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine’s Cowboy, Great Lakes, Mississippi and Okie divisions will finish out their 2021 season next week in Mt. Ida, Arkansas, Oct. 21-23, with the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship Presented by T-H Marine at Lake Ouachita . The three-day regional championship – hosted by Visit Hot Springs – will feature the top 45 boaters and co-anglers plus tournament winners in all four divisions, battling it out for a top prize of $60,000, including a Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard and $10,000, along with lucrative contingency awards, including up to an additional $7,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus. Strike King co-anglers will compete for a top prize of $50,000, including a Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard. Winners will be determined by the heaviest three-day catch.

Anglers will take off daily at 7:30 a.m. CT from Mountain Harbor Marina in Mt. Ida. Weigh-ins will also be held at the marina and will begin at 3:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend the event or follow the action online through the “MLF Live” weigh-in broadcasts at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

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.

by AnglersChannel

Bassmaster Opens Will Feature Nine Events In Nine States During The 2022 Season

The 2022 Bassmaster Opens Series will feature nine tournaments in three divisions covering nine states.

Photo by James Overstreet/B.A.S.S.

October 14, 2021

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — B.A.S.S. officials announced the slate for the 2022 Bassmaster Opens Series, with nine tournaments in three divisions covering nine states as the pathway to some of the most-coveted invitations in all of professional bass fishing.

After starting late in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Opens schedule will return in 2022 to a late-winter start date with the first tournament, a Southern Division event, set for Feb. 3-5 on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes in Kissimmee, Fla.

From there, the Opens will wind through Tennessee, South Carolina, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, New York and Maryland.

“Interest in the Opens from both anglers and fans has been at an all-time high the past few seasons,” said B.A.S.S. chairman and CEO Chase Anderson. “The excitement is only growing as Opens anglers enjoy success on the Bassmaster Elite Series. In fact, 2020 Opens Angler of the Year Bryan New won his first Elite event in February this year on the St. Johns River. The competition has been intense, and we’re thrilled to spotlight the future stars of our sport.”

The winners of all nine Opens will earn a berth into the 2023 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk, provided they have fished all three events in the division where their win occurred. In addition to Classic berths, the Top 3 anglers in every division and the Top 3 in the Falcon Rods Bassmaster Opens Angler of the Year overall standings will receive invitations to fish the 2023 Bassmaster Elite Series.

“Twelve anglers will earn the right to fish professionally — to live their dreams on the most prestigious professional tour in bass fishing,” Anderson said. “And just like Chris Jones, who finished third at this year’s Bassmaster Classic as an Opens qualifier, nine anglers will have a chance at instant stardom in the Classic.

“Those are the things that will be on the line every time anglers take off for an Open.”

Starting the season in Florida has become a tradition for most of the major trails at B.A.S.S., and the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes has been a favored destination of late. The organization’s most recent visit there was for a 2020 Eastern Open that was won by New.

After Kissimmee, the Southern Division will visit Cherokee Lake in Jefferson County, Tenn., March 31-April 2, and Lake Hartwell in Anderson, S.C., Oct. 6-8.

B.A.S.S.’s most recent visit to Cherokee was for a 2020 Eastern Open won by Kentucky pro Matt Robertson, while Hartwell is a common B.A.S.S. destination that is scheduled to host the iconic Bassmaster Classic for the fourth time, March 4-6, 2022.

In the Central Division, events will be held on Ross Barnett Reservoir in Ridgeland, Miss., April 28-30, the Red River in Shreveport-Bossier, La., Sept. 22-24, and Sam Rayburn Reservoir in Jasper, Texas, Oct. 20-22. It’ll mark the first visit to Ross Barnett since 2018 and 35th time B.A.S.S. has held a major event on Sam Rayburn, dating back to 1968.

The trip to the Red River will be the first one for B.A.S.S. since the 2018 Central Open won by South Carolina pro Patrick Walters. Most notably, the fishery was the site of the Bassmaster Classic in 2009 and 2012.

“Shreveport-Bossier City is excited to host the 2022 Bassmaster Open on the Red River,” said Kelly Wells, executive director of the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission. “We look forward to providing world-class hospitality for anglers and their families here in Sportsman’s Paradise! We also want to give a special thank you to the Red River Waterway Commission for co-hosting this incredible event.”

The Northern Division slate will include visits to the James River in Richmond, Va., April 14-16, Oneida Lake in Syracuse, N.Y., July 7-9 and the Upper Chesapeake Bay in Cecil County, Md., Sept. 8-10. The latter tournament will mark B.A.S.S.’s first visit to the Chesapeake since a 2015 Elite Series event won by Alabama pro Aaron Martens.

“We are thrilled to be hosting a prestigious Bassmaster Open tournament in Cecil County’s Upper Bay waters,” said Cecil County Executive Danielle Hornberger. “We consider Bassmaster anglers to be VIPs and look forward to showcasing the best of Cecil throughout their visit. Competitors and fans can expect to find beautiful scenery, vibrant small towns and fabulous Chesapeake Bay inspired cuisine while exploring Cecil County, Maryland.”
As in the past, the full field will compete the first two days before the boater side is cut to 10 anglers on Championship Saturday. The co-angler champion will be crowned after the Day 2 weigh-in.

Entry fees will remain the same for the 2022 Opens circuit. Pro anglers will pay $1,800 per event with an $800 deposit due up front, while co-anglers will pay $475 per event with a $200 deposit. Online registration for both pro and co-anglers will begin Nov. 9 for B.A.S.S Nation and Life members and B.A.S.S. members Nov. 11.

“It’s always nice to have a good mix of fisheries that are familiar to us and places we haven’t been to in a while,” said Opens Tournament Director Chris Bowes. “We definitely have that with the 2022 schedule — and we have a diverse collection of fisheries that will test the versatility of our anglers.

“That always makes for a great tournament season.”

In 2022, FOX Sports will continue to broadcast live coverage from Championship Saturday of each of the division final tournaments on FS1 and the FOX Sports digital platforms.

by AnglersChannel

Mobility And Diversity Will Be Key For Bassmaster Central Open On Grand Lake

Oklahoma's Grand Lake will host the Basspro.com Bassmaster Central Open Oct. 21-23, 2021.

Photo by Andy Crawford/B.A.S.S.

October 14, 2021

GROVE, Okla. — Bassmaster Elite Series pro Jason Christie has seen just about every inch of Grand Lake and he’s making two predictions for the upcoming Basspro.com Bassmaster Central Open: anglers can catch fish just about anywhere, but they won’t be able to win in any one spot.

Competition days will be Oct. 21-23 with takeoffs from Wolf Creek Park at 7:15 a.m. CT. Weigh-ins the first two days will be at the park at 3:15 p.m., with the final day’s weigh-in shifting to the Bass Pro Shops in Broken Arrow, Okla., at 4:45 p.m.

“It’s really wide open in the fall,” said Christie, who won’t be taking part in this event. “That’s one of the things that has made Grand so good: it can be won from one end to the other and it can be won from 30 feet to on the bank.

“I don’t think there’s any way to win off one spot. An angler will need multiple spots and probably multiple areas. The fish will be moving. We haven’t had enough cold water to have them funneling through one area.”

Properly named, Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees, this Grand River (lower Neosho River) impoundment stretches 60 miles down to the Pensacola Dam and covers approximately 46,500 surface acres. A mostly rocky, wood-strewn lake, Grand will offer anglers plenty of opportunities and, according to Christie, the wise will consider them all.

“I think you’re going to have some lingering summer patterns and then you’re going to have a lot of fall patterns working,” Christie said of his home lake. “It’s just that time of year when anything could happen.

“You’re going to see someone catch them 30 feet deep and you can see someone catch them on the bank. It’s probably going to be a mix of a lot of that stuff. You may have guys fishing deep and shallow patterns in one day.”

Common Grand Lake shallow patterns include throwing topwaters, jigs, spinnerbaits, shallow-diving crankbaits, swimbaits, and bladed jigs around boat docks, points, rocks and laydowns. Offshore targets include drop-offs, brushpiles and bait schools spotted on forward-facing sonar. Likely baits include deep-diving crankbaits, football jigs and 1-ounce tandem willow-leaf spinnerbaits.

“The problem with deep is that it’s inconsistent; you’ll catch a big bag one day and nothing the next because those fish moved according to the bait,” Christie said. “Typically, when you see those giant bags of 20 to 25 pounds, 90 percent of the time, they came from deep.

“You’re not going to have giant schools, but you can have enough to where you can live off of it for a day. That’s the problem, it’s hard to make it work for three days.”

Similarly, Christie said that shallow success demands mobility. Limits shouldn’t be terribly difficult, but finding those key bites will make the difference.

“You have to be able to run enough water to cover enough high-percentage targets to catch some. A big one — 5 pounds or bigger — will give you a high finish. A couple of big ones each day will give you a chance to win.”

A week and a half before the tournament, Grand’s water level stood at 743.02 feet — about a foot below the full pool mark of 744. With no major rains over the summer, the water has been fairly stable for a couple of months and clarity is about where it should be for fall.

The stage is set for a good event, but Christie said the lake is never a cakewalk — especially during the dynamic fall period. Opportunity abounds, but only the open-minded will excel.

“It’s been consistent and local tournament results have been really good,” Christie said. “Weights have been a little above average, but October fishing is hit or miss on Grand. I’ve seen days when somebody will catch a big bag and then the next day, not catch anything.

“A lot of it’s based on the weather. If you get some colder days and colder nights, that seems to help the fishing. When summer lingers on, it can get pretty tough.”

A cold front the weekend before the tournament will send overnight lows into the mid-40s and hold daytime highs in the low 70s. The weather should serve up several pleasant days on the water, but most importantly, it should crack the whip on fall feeding.

“That’s what those tournament anglers are going to need — some cooler weather to get these fish moving; get them headed toward the bank and get those shad up in the water column,” Christie said. “We have some chilly weather coming and that should do nothing but make it better.”

Christie said he expects 14 1/2 pounds a day to make the Top 10 cut for Championship Saturday. He believes it will take a three-day total of approximately 52 pounds to win.

“Getting a big bite will be key,” he said. “There are a lot of fish in the lake and guys can get caught up in catching 2- to 2 1/2-pounders, but getting that big bite is what will make a difference. It could come out of 2 feet of water, or it could come out of 20.”
The tournament will decide the final Central Opens points standings, with Elite Series invitations going to the top three finishers. Prior to the event, Joseph Webster leads the race with 381 points, followed by Jay Przekurat with 378 and Brandon Lester with 378. Lester is double-qualified as a current Bassmaster Elite angler, leaving the door open for another angler to earn an Elite spot. Currently, Daisuke Aoki (376), Jesse Wiggins (375) and Cody Huff (372) round out the Top 6.

The final Open event of the season will also decide the Falcon Rods Bassmaster Opens Angler of the Year race.

Veteran Virginia pro Jacob Powroznik all but locked up that title with a win at the Central Open on Smith Lake last week. Powroznik leads with 1,371 points, followed by Tommy Williams with 1,301 and Aoki with 1,269.

The Top 3 from the overall Opens standings will also receive invitations to fish the 2022 Bassmaster Elite Series.

The full field will compete the first two days before the boater side is cut to the Top 10 anglers for Championship Saturday. The co-angler champion will be crowned after the Day 2 weigh-in.

Bassmaster Opens LIVE presented by Bassmaster Fishing 2022, the Official Video Game, kicks off with the leaders Saturday morning at 7 a.m. CT on FS1, Bassmaster.com and the FOX Sports digital platforms.

by AnglersChannel

Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship Set for St. Johns River

Four-Hundred Boaters and Co-anglers Descend on Palatka to Compete for $60,000 and Their Shot at the 2022 All-American Championship

PALATKA, Fla. (Oct. 14, 2021) – The Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine’s Bulldog, Choo Choo, Gator and South Carolina divisions will finish out their 2021 season next week in Palatka, Florida Oct. 21-23, with the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship Presented by T-H Marine at St. Johns River . Hosted by the Putnam County Tourist Development Council, the three-day regional championship will feature the top 45 boaters and co-anglers plus tournament winners in all four divisions, battling it out for a top prize of $60,000, including a Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard and $10,000, along with lucrative contingency awards, including up to an additional $7,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus. Strike King co-anglers will compete for a top prize of $50,000, including a Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard. Winners will be determined by the heaviest three-day catch.

Anglers will take off daily at 7:30 a.m. ET from Palatka Riverfront Park in Palatka. Weigh-ins will also be held at the park and will begin at 3:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend the event or follow the action online through the “MLF Live” weigh-in broadcasts at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

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.

by AnglersChannel

For the Love of Lures

Courtesy of Vance McCollough

Some lures are too pretty to fish with

"If I fished only to capture fish, my fishing trips would have ended long ago."

-Zane Grey

I knew it was all wrong. But the clackity-clack racket of the buzzbait was mesmerizing so I continued to throw it, knowing I wouldn’t get a strike.

Is it wrong to love a lure just because it’s fun to play with?

I think not. And I believe many of you out there join me in fishing your favorites, occasionally even when conditions dictate a different approach. I mean, unless you’re in a tournament, the whole point of recreational fishing is to have fun. Right?

Bass fishermen love lures. I have dozens that are basically artwork – I won’t even fish with them. Some are special because of who gave them to me, a spinnerbait from Kevin Van Dam, cut right off his line, a swimjig Fred Roumbanisused in the Bassmaster Classic, a crankbait I lifted out of my dad’s tackle box as a boy.

Some are special because I did use them. Well. A football jig with which I caught a heavy limit behind Denny Brauer. And he congratulated me for it. A big, beautiful worm and a homely flipping tube hang together on my wall, reminders of the giant bass they helped me catch.

Some are just cool to look at. I have swimbaits so big that I don’t even have appropriate tackle to toss them. But man, they look awesome!

Then there are the toys. The lures I’ll cast under any condition because they are fun to fish and even more fun when they do produce a strike. Most are topwaters or swimbaits. Many make noise. Poppers and Whopper Ploppers are tops. There are times when bass just want that high pitch squeal from a buzzbait. They’re going to have to tell me so because I am starting out with the blade bent down so it hits the head and sounds like tin cans dragged behind a car. Hey, it’s my trip, a slice of my time and I’ll fish it as I dang well please.

So there I was, cranking the handle on my baitcaster, meditating on keeping that rod tip in the right position, lost in the rhythmic din of that magical buzzer, not needing the validation that came anyway when a 3-pound bass arrested the intruder in a froth of white. A momentary pause, I struck back, each of us shocked to see the other across the tight line.

I mean, yeah, fishing lures are cool. Especially when they lure fish.

by AnglersChannel

Field Announced For 2021 Redfish Cup Championship

October 13, 2021

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The 10-team field has been set for the revived Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter. A combination of all-star teams and redfish champions will do battle for a top prize of $50,000 Nov. 12-14 on Texas’ Port Aransas.

The six all-star teams featuring Bassmaster pro anglers paired with redfish pros are:

Eight-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier and former Texas Bass Classic champion Matt Herren and Elite Pro Redfish Tour Championship qualifier Chad Manning
Bassmaster Classic qualifier Derek Hudnall and former IFA Redfish Tour and FLW Redfish Tour winner Ron Hueston
Elite Series champion Mark Menendez and veteran multispecies pro Ricky Bort
Seven-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier Chris Zaldain and veteran IFA Redfish Tour angler Ryan Rickard
Basspro.com Bassmaster Opens angler Trait Zaldain and 30-year veteran pro Matt McCabe
Elite Series champion Patrick Walters and former FLW Redfish Championship winner Dwayne Eschete
“For the first time, fans will get to witness the top pros from perhaps the two most popular sportfishing realms in the U.S. come together as one,” said Hudnall, an Elite Series pro who grew up chasing redfish in southern Louisiana. “Our industry as a whole has never been more popular than it is today. Now, this unique format will not only increase the interest of the biggest bass and redfish fans, but will also cater to the many multispecies anglers.

“I have never fished with my partner, Ron Hueston, but know of his success in the professional redfish circuits. I cannot wait to put our skills together and chase down the Redfish Championship trophy.”

Joining these all-star teams will be four teams from the Elite Redfish Tournament Series and Power-Pole Pro Redfish Tour. Multiple tour championship angler Travis Land and former IFA Redfish Tour Team of the Year angler and NFL tight end Nicky Savoie along with two-time 2021 tournament champions Glenn Vann and Thomas Barlow will represent the Elite Redfish Tour. Competing from the Power-Pole Pro Redfish Tour are its Top 2 in the 2021 Team of the Year standings Jeremy Heimes, a five-time Team of the Year angler, and decorated veteran Mickey Gibbs and the multievent championship team of Chris Cenci and Chris Kennedy, who has won nine tournaments in his career.

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. CT each day on Bassmaster.com and the FOX Sports digital platforms. FS1 will broadcast live Nov. 13-14 from 7-10 a.m.

“We handpicked this fishery, so we think it should be exciting and all 10 teams should be in contention all the way to the end of the third day,” said tournament director Hank Weldon. “We’re expecting Port Aransas to prove its reputation as the ‘Fishing Capital of Texas.’”

by AnglersChannel

Bassmaster High School Combine Tests Anglers’ Skills With Three Challenges

High school anglers from 28 states will participate in a series of three skills challenges at the inaugural Abu Garcia Bassmaster High School Combine Oct. 15-17 in Decatur, Ala.

October 12, 2021

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — When 85 of the country’s most talented young anglers gather this weekend for the inaugural Abu Garcia Bassmaster High School Combine in Decatur, Ala., they will be showcasing their skills for championship-caliber college coaches in a series of three skills challenges.

“College coaches have told us time and again that it’s hard to judge high school anglers based on tournament results, so each of the three skills tests at the High School Combine was designed to create a fair method to compare the skills and techniques of the anglers,” explained Hank Weldon, senior manager of the B.A.S.S. College and High School program.

Each of the three disciplines — Casting Distance, Knot Tying and Casting Accuracy — will operate on a point system and be timed by an official judge. Each angler will accumulate points to determine an overall winner.

Anglers will have three casts from a platform on a B.A.S.S.-provided Abu Garcia rod and reel combination in the Casting Distance challenge with the judge scoring their longest cast. Moving on to the Knot Tying discipline, anglers will showcase their technical skills by tying one line-to-lure knot and one line-to-line knot in the allotted time. Anglers will be scored on both knot accuracy and strength. In their third Casting Accuracy skills test, anglers will earn points for hitting a series of targets using B.A.S.S.-provided equipment.

The participating anglers are ready to take advantage of the level playing field to see how they stack up against other anglers in hopes of reeling in college offers.

“Fishing is a sport of constantly changing circumstances, conditions and variables,” said Kyle Smith, a senior from Richland, Md. “Every high school angler has a very unique set of skills and circumstances that are not always easy to see and recruit during a fishing tournament. However, this event allows anglers to show their skill, talent and passion to college coaches in a way that a regular tournament does not allow.”

In addition to the three skills challenges, Day 1 will be spent meeting with college coaches. After the first day, colleges will have the opportunity to select anglers for a “second look” where they can further explore everything that angler has to offer and see if they would be the perfect fit for their fishing program.
Only colleges offering bass fishing scholarships were invited to attend, and coaches from 20 schools will be on-site recruiting during the inaugural Abu Garcia Bassmaster High School Combine.

For more information, visit Bassmaster.com/high-school.

by AnglersChannel

Marbury to Host Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on the Potomac River

Top Prize of $60,000 and a Shot at the 2022 All-American Championship Up for Grabs as Four-Hundred Boaters and Co-anglers Head to Marbury

MARBURY, Md. (Oct. 12, 2021) – The Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine’s Buckeye, Michigan, Northeast and Piedmont divisions will finish out their 2021 season this week in Marbury, Maryland, Oct. 14-16, with the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship Presented by T-H Marine at the Potomac River Presented by THE BASS UNIVERSITY TV . The three-day regional championship – hosted by the Charles County Board of Commissioners – will feature the top 45 boaters and co-anglers plus tournament winners in all four divisions, battling it out for a top prize of $60,000, including a Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard and $10,000, along with lucrative contingency awards, including up to an additional $7,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus. Strike King co-anglers will compete for a top prize of $50,000, including a Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard. Winners will be determined by the heaviest three-day catch.

Anglers will take off daily at 7:30 a.m. ET from Smallwood State Park in Marbury. Weigh-ins will also be held at the park and will begin at 3:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend the event or follow the action online through the “MLF Live” weigh-in broadcasts at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

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.

by AnglersChannel

Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship Set for Lake Murray

Four-Hundred Boaters and Co-anglers Head to Prosperity to Compete for $60,000 and Their Shot at the 2022 All-American Championship

PROSPERITY, S.C. (Oct. 12, 2021) – The Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine’s North Carolina, Savannah River, Shenandoah and Volunteer divisions will finish out their 2021 season this week in Prosperity, South Carolina, Oct. 14-16, with the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship Presented by T-H Marine at Lake Murray . Hosted by the Capital City Lake Murray Country Regional Tourism Board, the three-day regional championship will feature the top 45 boaters and co-anglers plus tournament winners in all four divisions, battling it out for a top prize of $60,000, including a Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard and $10,000, along with lucrative contingency awards, including up to an additional $7,000 Phoenix MLF BIG5 Bonus. Strike King co-anglers will compete for a top prize of $50,000, including a Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard. Winners will be determined by the heaviest three-day catch.

Anglers will take off daily at 7:30 a.m. ET from Dreher Island State Park in Prosperity. Weigh-ins will also be held at the park and will begin at 3:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend the event or follow the action online through the “MLF Live” weigh-in broadcasts at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

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.

by AnglersChannel

Smith Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on Wheeler Lake

Strike King Co-angler Victory Goes to Indiana’s Johnson

DECATUR, Ala. (Oct. 12, 2021) – Tyler Smith of Selma, Alabama brought a three-day total of 14 bass to the scale weighing 43 pounds even to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship Presented by T-H Marine at Wheeler Lake . For his victory, Smith earned $60,000, including a Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard and $10,000, along with lucrative contingency awards, including up to an additional $7,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus. Smith 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.

With just one previous experience on Wheeler, Smith said he committed to the upriver section in practice.

“That’s where I was going to live or die,” he said. “I only had two days of practice, so I thought I’d learn as much up there as I could.

“The first day of the tournament, I went where I had practiced and the water was chocolate milk from all the rain the night before,” said Smith. “I stayed up there until about 12 o’clock, and finally I had to do something different. I just ran down the lake and fished some obvious stuff, pulled up to a bridge and saw some fish busting behind me. As I was trolling to them, I looked down at the depth finder and thought ‘That looks like fish on the ledge.’ I picked up my crankbait, turned around, made a cast, and that’s how I found the magical spot.”

That spot turned out to be a shell bed in about 12 feet of water on the edge of a ledge that he was able to Spot-Lock on and cast along, bringing his bait down with the current parallel to the break. On Day 1, Smith managed four keepers off it in the last 45 minutes of fishing and rode it the rest of the way.

Starting there on Day 2, Smith tallied up a pair of 4-pounders, a 3-pounder and a keeper before it went dead and he ran up the river to catch his fifth keeper.

Smith clinched the win on Day 3, but it didn't come easily.

“I went out and told myself the fish are on that shell bed to win,” said Smith. “I started there the last day, and they weren’t really there. I caught one 4-pound smallmouth on the jig, and that was really it. I couldn’t get any more bites.”

After running up the river again and catching a tiny keeper in the back of a creek, Smith said he knew he needed to be down on his main spot to have a shot at a win.

“I ran all the way back down there, and about 30 minutes later I caught a 2 ½-pound smallmouth,” said Smith. “At 2:45, I caught a 5 ½-pound smallmouth. At 2:50, I caught a 6-pound smallmouth on my last cast. I got it in the boat, put it in the livewell, and I didn’t want to take a chance being late. It literally came down to the last cast for me.”

Catching eight smallmouth, four spotted bass and two largemouth on the week, Smith won by more than 3 pounds but needed every fish to do it. His key bait was a chartreuse and blue Strike King 3XD, fished on 12-pound Bass Pro Shops Excel mono, which he burned the first few days and fished a little slower for his final afternoon flurry.

“That is the only thing I could get them to bite on that ledge, except for that one jig bite,” said Smith of his crank. “Other than that, I couldn’t get them to hit a jerkbait, come up on topwater, hit a shaky head, I couldn’t even get a bite on a drop-shot. The only thing they would touch was that crankbait, and they were absolutely eating it.”

Leaving college after about a year, Smith started fishing BFL events and working at the family electrical business. Now, he’s earned a sterling win after three days against some of the stiffest competition the BFL level can offer.

“I’m still speechless, I’ve talked to family, and that’s all I can say,” said Smith of the win. “It’s something I’ve dreamed of and worked hard at for a long time, and to watch it come true, I feel fortunate, because I know there are a lot of people that have worked, if not harder than me, at least longer than me, and still have not been able to accomplish something like this. I feel very blessed.

“I was still using my dad’s boat, the one he let me use since high school,” said Smith. “The first thing I said to him when he hugged me at weigh-in was, ‘I don’t have to use your boat anymore.’ My wife and I had just been looking at buying a boat – everything that has happened lately has just been a dream come true, that’s the best way I can explain it.”

The top six boaters that qualified for the 2022 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American were:

1^st:           Tyler Smith of Selma, Alabama, 14 bass, 43-0, $60,000, including Phoenix 819 Pro boat w/200-hp Mercury outboard
2^nd:          Sean Wieda of Walton, Ky., 15 bass, 39-6, $10,000
3^rd:          Chris Wilkinson of Farmersburg, Ind., 15 bass, 37-5, $5,000
4^th:           Taylor Parker of Lake View, Ala., 15 bass, 35-7, $3,750
5^th:           Preston Henson of College Grove, Tenn., 15 bass, 35-0, $2,000
6^th:           George Brown of Camby, Ind., 15 bass, 33-6, $1,800

Rounding out the top 10 boaters were:

7^th:           Roger Stegall of Iuka, Miss., 15 bass, 32-15, $1,600
8^th:           Adam Wagner of Cookeville, Tenn., 15 bass, 32-9, $1,400
9^th:           Brandon Edel of Hendersonville, Tenn., 15 bass, 31-9, $1,200
10^th:        David Wesson of Southside, Ala., 15 bass, 30-3, $1,000

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Parker 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.

Jeffery Johnson of Austin, Indiana weighed in 15 bass over three days totaling 27 pounds, 13 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:

1^st:           Jeffery Johnson of Austin, Indiana, 15 bass, 27-13, $50,000, including Phoenix 819 Pro boat w/200-hp Mercury outboard
2^nd:          Gilbert Jolley of Livingston, Tenn., 14 bass, 25-5, $5,000
3^rd:          Luke Schmits of Alexandria, Ky., 10 bass, 24-8, $2,500
4^th:           Eric Eden of Hartsville, Tenn., 11 bass, 24-8, $1,500
5^th:           Andy Vance of Danville, Ind., 11 bass, 22-11, $1,000
6^th:           Brad Smith of Montevallo, Ala., 10 bass, 21-11, $1,025

Rounding out the top 10 Strike King co-anglers were:

7^th:           Todd Mowery of Madison, Ala., 12 bass, 19-15, $800
8^th:           Teddy Baggett of Nashville, Tenn., nine bass, 19-12, $700
9^th:           Zach Smith of Flatwoods, Ky., 14 bass, 19-6, $600
10^th:        Barry King of Liberty, Ky., 11 bass, 18-10, $500

The Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine Regional Championship on Wheeler Lake was hosted by Decatur Morgan County Tourism. It featured the top pros and Strike King co-anglers from the Bama, Hoosier, Mountain and Music City divisions.

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.

by AnglersChannel

Kell Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on Norfork Lake

Strike King Co-angler Victory Goes to Manchester’s Stuart

MOUNTAIN HOME, Ark. (Oct. 12, 2021) – Brad Kell of Benton, Kentucky brought a three-day total of 15 bass to the scale on Saturday, weighing 34 pounds, 15 ounces to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship Presented by T-H Marine at Norfork Lake . For his victory, Kell earned $60,000, including a Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard and $10,000, along with lucrative contingency awards, including up to an additional $7,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus. Kell 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.

While Kell is a far cry from a Norfork local, he said he’s certainly no stranger to the area.

“I’ve been to the area quite a few times as a kid,” said Kell. “But I’ve always been trout fishing on the Norfork and White rivers. I’ve been down to [Norfork] for half days of bass fishing in some Bass Cat tournaments, but this was the first week I’ve spent full days bass fishing on it.”

Kell started practice chasing the topwater bite, but with rain coming in on the second practice day, he said he knew that wouldn’t hold up throughout the event.

“I started looking for brush piles and in two hours I found two of the biggest schools of bass I’ve ever found in my life – and I have found some on Kentucky Lake that had 400 or 500 in it. These schools were that size, but just smaller than a normal Kentucky Lake bass.”

After discovering two mega schools, Kell said he was uneasy about what the tournament day would bring, but when things got rolling on Day 1, it didn’t take long for him to start putting on a show.

Weighing 11-8 on Day 1 to sit in 10th, Kell picked up right where he left off on Day 2 after a two-hour fog delay.

“I went to my second area on Day 2 and they were there, but I didn’t catch them as good,” said Kell. “I felt good though because I had 12 pounds with the fog delay and the shallow water guys just didn’t catch them.”

Taking the lead after Day 2, Kell went back to his second school on the final day, but things weren’t going as smoothly.

“I was stressing on the final day because I culled the wrong fish twice,” he said. “I was catching them so fast, and they all looked identical, but I was culling the wrong fish. Around noon I started thinking I should have more weighed than I did and when I looked in the livewell I still had one that weighed 1-7.

“I got my plug hung in a brushpile and I was shaking it when I got right on top of it and a 2 ½- or 2 ¾-pounder ate it and I flipped it in the boat and that’s when I knew some things you can’t stop from happening.”

To target his schools of fish, which were in anywhere from 13 to 22 feet of water, Kell said a Strike King 6XD and 10XD did the heavy lifting for him throughout the tournament. He also caught several fish on a Mark Kirby spinnerbait and a ¾-ounce All Terrain Tackle jig with a Strike King Rage Craw trailer, with his two biggest fish coming on a 5-inch Ignite Swimbait.

With this being just his second season fishing the LBL Division, Kell has made the Regionals two years running. Though he’s late to the party, he said he’s happy to finally have accomplished one of his fishing goals.

“This feels great,” said Kell of his win. “When the fishing went downhill on Kentucky Lake, I knew this would be the time to go try and make the All-American. I’m 43 and I started fishing [BFLs] when I was 41, so this was the time to do it. My kids are old enough, my wife is super supportive, so I started fishing [with MLF].

Kell said he was worried he wouldn’t even make the Regional this year, due to missed opportunities at the Super-Tournament and schedule conflicts with fishing the Wild Card Regional.

“However, everything worked out perfectly. It just fell into place, and I think I might fish the Toyota Series next year and see how that goes,” said Kell.

The top six boaters that qualified for the 2022 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American were:

1^st: Brad Kell of Benton, Ky., 15 bass, 34-15, $60,000, including a Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat w/200 hp Mercury outboard

                  2^nd: Connor Cunningham of Springfield, Mo., 15 bass, 32-8, $10,500
3^rd: Drew Tabor of Harrison, Ark., 15 bass, 32-7, $5,000
4^th:           Brien Vaughn of Branson, Mo., 15 bass, 31-2, $3,000
5^th:           David Rice of Galena, Mo., 15 bass, 30-14, $2,000
6^th:           Brad Jelinek of Lincoln, Mo., 15 bass, 29-0, $1,800

Rounding out the top 10 boaters were:
7^th:           Corey Cook of Lebanon, Mo., 13 bass, 28-8, $1,600
8^th:           Wesley Rogers of Thayer, Mo., 15 bass, 28-7, $1,400
9^th:           Michael Harlin of Sunrise Beach, Mo., 15 bass, 28-5, $1,200
10^th: Kyle Presley of Harrison, Ark., 12 bass, 27-9, $1,000

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Cunningham 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.

Tyler Stuart of Manchester, Missouri weighed in 15 bass over three days totaling 25 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:

1^st:           Tyler Stuart of Manchester, Mo., 15 bass, 25-10, $50,000, including Phoenix 819 Pro boat w/200-hp Mercury outboard
2^nd:          Brian Choate of Conway, Ark., 11 bass, 20-5, $5,000
3^rd:          Danny Robinson of Fairland, Ind., 12 bass, 18-12, $2,500
4^th:           Andrew Wooley of Little Rock, Ark., 12 bass, 18-3, $1,500
5^th:           Randy Allen of Russellville, Ark., nine bass, 17-5, $1,200
6^th:           Drew Cress of Highland, Ill., eight bass, 16-0, $800

Rounding out the top 10 Strike King co-anglers were:

7^th:           Dennis Taylor of Murray, Ky., nine bass, 14-15, $800
8^th:           Brayden Schaben of Westphalia, Mo., eight bass, 13-2, $700
9^th:           Wes Oxley of Murryville, Ill., eight bass, 12-13, $600
10^th:        Ethan Sutton of Hot Springs, Ark., seven bass, 10-9, $500

The Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine Regional Championship on Norfork Lake was hosted by the Mountain Home Area Chamber of Commerce. It featured the top pros and Strike King co-anglers from the Arkie, Illini, LBL and Ozark divisions.

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.

by AnglersChannel

Two for One Special

This week Chris and Kenneth welcome in National Professional Fishing League Grand Lake Champ Taylor Watkins to the show to talk about his incredible win last week. Your NPFL Angler of the Year Keith Carson also stops by to talk about his incredible year and what its like to be the first ever TNPFL AOY.

by AnglersChannel

Big Bass Tour Douglas Results

Top Weights

Rank	Name	Weight
1	KEN VICCHIO	5.36
2	SHANNON RALEY	5.32
3	DANNY WILLIAMS	5.24
4	DAVID MUNDY	5.23
5	TIM HOLT	4.98
5	JOHN SIMPKINS	4.98
7	STEVEN HEADY	4.91
8	MIKE COMBS	4.86
9	JEFF JOHNSON	4.84
10	MARK OWNBY	4.81

Friday 8-9

Rank	Name	Weight
1	KEN VICCHIO	5.36
2	SHANNON RALEY	5.32
3	BRANDON HUBBARD	3.94
4	WILLIAM MARTIN	3.71
5	SAM RUSSELL	3.59
6	ADAM MILES	3.31
7	JEREMIAH CARR	2.99
8	PRESTON MAYES	2.97
9	DAVID GREGORY	2.85
10	ISAAC DAVIS	2.83
11	MARK TEETS	2.71
12	MARK OWNBY	2.61
13	SHERIDAN TAYLOR	2.27
14	ANTHONY HOOKS	2.00

Friday 9-10

Rank	Name	Weight
1	MARK OWNBY	4.81
2	NICK BARNETT	4.19
3	CASEY LEAMON	4.11
4	JAKE LOGAN	3.99
5	SCOTT GARDNER	3.83
6	JESSIE LYNCH	3.62
7	DANNY WHALEY	3.49
8	CURTIS DOTSON	3.35
9	AUSTIN HAGER	3.01
10	AUSTIN PLANK	2.93
11	RICHARD PARKER	2.46
12	CHRIS DOGGETT	2.37
13	EDGAR CASE	2.23
14	RYAN ROGERS	2.21
15	SHERIDAN TAYLOR	2.08
16	BILL GARNER	1.71
17	JASON LAWSON	1.40

Friday 10-11

Rank	Name	Weight
1	DANNY WILLIAMS	5.24
2	MIKE FISHER	3.83
3	CODY BURKHART	3.61
4	GREG HORNER	3.53
5	JOSH MILLER	3.52
6	CLINT BARKER	3.18
7	PHILLIP BATTS	2.99
8	JOSH RICHARDSON	2.98
9	GARRY SMITH	2.96
10	TODD SINCLAIR	2.84
11	BRAYDEN IVY	2.58
12	BEN PARKER	2.54
13	STEPHEN VICK	2.53
14	JUNIOR DARNELL	2.27
15	ERIC JOHNSON	1.82

Friday 11-12

Rank	Name	Weight
1	DAVID MUNDY	5.23
2	NATHAN NASH	3.88
3	WILLIAM SMITH	3.64
4	CLINT BARKER	3.29
5	MARTY BUCKNER	3.25
6	CODY SEAGLE	3.20
7	HARLEY BUCHANAN	3.13
8	KENNY HOLT	3.09
9	JOSH MILLER	3.00
10	BEN PAINTER	2.94
11	ERIC JOHNSON	2.80
12	DUSTIN DANNIELS	2.56
13	JIM EDMONDS	2.53
14	JIMMY LACY	2.45
15	DARRYL OLIVER	2.38
16	HAROLD HACKNEY	2.31
17	WILLIE BRYAN	2.27
18	CHARLES MAYOL	2.24
19	JOHN SIMPKINS	2.22
20	MCKENZIE LOWER	1.80

Friday 12-1

Rank	Name	Weight
1	JOHN SIMPKINS	4.98
2	RANSOM BOONE	4.25
3	LARRY LAWSON	3.70
4	JAMEY KEATHLEY	3.17
5	JIM WRIGLEY	3.12
6	EDDIE CINNIAMON	3.03
7	ADAM BLACK	2.96
8	DANIEL PADGETT	2.93
9	CHARLES BRANTLEY KINCH	2.90
10	RYAN ROGERS	2.89
11	TORY FERRELL	2.77
12	CODY MELTON	2.76
13	MIKE HOBBY	2.67
14	NATHAN NASH	2.65
15	MICKEY HAMMONDS	2.63
16	KENNY HOLT	2.59
17	JAMES RAMSEY	2.49
18	JOSH ROARK	2.48
19	BRODY JONES	2.39
20	STEVE BYRD	2.35
21	TIM HOLT	2.15
22	FRED ROBERTS	2.13
23	BRANDON HOBBS	1.69
24	LARRY WHALEY	1.48

Friday 1-2

Rank	Name	Weight
1	MONTY CONLEY	4.67
2	BILL COFFEY	4.36
3	CHRIS SEXTON	4.23
4	CODY BURKHART	4.07
5	RALPH THOMAS	4.05
6	HOMER RYANS	3.60
7	JIMMY BOLDON	3.44
8	GARY BAKER	3.37
9	MICHAEL COLE	3.18
9	ADAM SHEPHERD	3.18
11	ADAM SPIVEY	3.16
11	ERIK CADDELL	3.16
13	JAMES PALMER	3.00
14	BOYD HAYNES	2.92
15	RICHARD BURRIS	2.91
16	DAVID WICE	2.86
17	BOB OSTMANN	2.79
18	THOMAS GREDIG	2.63
19	MIKE HOBBY	2.52
20	WAYNE COOPER	2.49
21	DONNIE HOUSEHOLDER	2.47
22	SCOTT BURNETT	2.31
23	JERRIOD HOUSEHOLDER	2.19
24	JOHN WICE	2.15
25	TIM LAWSON	1.85
26	ERIC JOHNSON	1.73
27	JAMEY KEATHLEY	1.71
28	TRACY DULANEY	1.66
29	BARRON STARGEL	1.56

Friday 2-3

Rank	Name	Weight
1	STEVEN HEADY	4.91
2	MARK TEETS	3.94
3	DEAN ISLES	3.70
4	DANIEL BUSH	3.50
5	STEVEN CHAFIN	3.46
6	DUSTIN DANIELS	3.34
7	PARKER BATTS	3.21
7	BOB DARNELL	3.21
9	KASEY HUNLEY	3.12
10	TONY ALLGEIR	3.02
11	MALCOLM GOINS	2.98
12	GREG IRESON	2.94
13	JASON HORNER	2.90
14	TRACY DULANEY	2.88
15	ROGER CRISWELL	2.86
16	BRODY JONES	2.83
16	JAMEY KEATHLEY	2.83
18	DUSTIN SUTTON	2.82
19	MONTY CONLEY	2.81
20	JONATHAN DARNELL	2.80
21	ADAM MILES	2.79
21	RALPH LOVEDAY	2.79
23	JEFF GIBSON	2.72
23	KEVIN ROBINSON	2.72
25	GARY THURMAN	2.66
26	KENNY LODWICK	2.65
27	GREG CUMING	2.62
28	JOHN HYATT	2.55
29	BEN TULLOCK	2.54
30	JIMMY BOLDON	2.51
31	ARLIE MESSER	2.34
31	SAM RUSSELL	2.34
33	DARRYL OLIVER	2.13
34	BRETT KEATHLEY	1.52

Saturday 8-9

Rank	Name	Weight
1	BRANDON NEWTON	4.40
2	KELLY ALLEN	3.95
3	DARIN BLEDSOE	3.58
4	MIKE HOBBY	3.31
5	BRADLEY NEWSOME	3.21
6	ISAAC DAVIS	3.15
7	MICHAEL CARTER	3.12
8	DUSTIN TURNER	3.11
9	DONNIE HOUSEHOLDER	3.09
10	AUSTIN STILTNER	2.97
10	JOHN LACY	2.97
12	GEORGE WELLS	2.78
13	HEATH BARKER	2.59
14	KASEY HUNLEY	2.51
15	CHRIS BURNS	2.33
16	TIM HENSLEY	2.11
17	BRYAN ELAM	2.07
18	DAMIEN WYATT	2.03
19	RUSTY KILLEBREW	1.85
20	GREG SEEGER	1.83
21	DONAVAN HENLEY	1.76

Saturday 9-10

Rank	Name	Weight
1	JEFF JOHNSON	4.84
2	ADAM BLACK	3.98
3	SCOTT GARDNER	3.80
4	COREY TAYLOR	3.69
5	BRIAN FRITTS	3.40
6	STEVE ADDINGTON	3.20
7	GARY BAKER	3.04
8	EDDIE ROBINSON	3.03
9	ERIC MESSER	2.65
10	GEORGE WELLS	2.27
11	DUSTIN TURNER	2.25
12	STEVEN HEADY	1.92
13	PHILLIP HOSKINS	1.73

Saturday 10-11

Rank	Name	Weight
1	JAROD GIBSON	4.10
2	CHAD ULLERY	3.93
3	GARRY SMITH	3.71
4	KEVIN DAVIS	3.52
5	MATT SORAH	3.27
6	STEVEN HEADY	3.24
6	ANDREW LONG	3.24
8	MARK TEETS	3.18
9	JOHN FALLER	3.00
10	CHRIS SHARPE	2.97
11	JOSH RICHARDSON	2.94
12	EDDIE RIDDLE	2.81
13	TIM HENSLEY	2.57
14	MARK WILSON	2.33
15	TOM KOUNS	2.18
16	DANNY MULLINS	1.88

Saturday 11-12

Rank	Name	Weight
1	MIKE COMBS	4.86
2	ARLIE MESSER	3.86
3	EDDIE FLOYD	3.57
4	MICHAEL CARTER	3.50
5	BOBBY HICKS	3.49
6	NATHAN NASH	3.47
7	CHEYANNE THEOPHILE	3.31
8	JOHNNY LYTLE	3.15
9	JEFFERY LONG	2.93
10	MARVIN HEATHERLY	2.92
11	BOBBY CARDWELL	2.73
12	SHANE ALVEY	2.69
13	LEE LANDS	2.64
14	JOHN ANDERSON	2.59
15	STEVE BUSHORE	2.42
16	GREG HORNER	2.27
17	BEN TULLOCK	2.24
18	TIMMY CONKIN	2.17
19	THOMAS LOGAN	2.16

Saturday 12-1

Rank	Name	Weight
1	JOHNNY ADKINS	4.22
2	DAN HENDRIX	4.18
3	CLARENCE KNIGHT III	3.84
4	CAITLIN CLARK	3.43
5	KASEY HUNLEY	3.11
6	TERRI TAYLOR	3.10
7	HUNTER PRICE	3.03
8	JAMIE DE VERA	2.89
9	JAMIE HATFIELD	2.88
10	KENNY HOLT	2.77
11	RYAN ROGERS	2.75
12	RODNEY WILLIAMSON	2.67
13	CHRIS COOK	2.64
14	ISAIAH TUCK	2.61
15	DUSTIN RIDDLE	2.59
16	JUNIOR DARNELL	2.49
17	ANTHONY HAMMONDS	2.44
18	CODY SEAGLE	2.27
19	BOBBY STEVENS	2.26
20	STEVE BYRD	2.22
21	DAVID DAMRON	1.72

Saturday 1-2

Rank	Name	Weight
1	BENNY THOMPSON	4.56
2	STEVE REDMOND	3.86
3	GARRY SMITH	3.73
4	MARK MARSHALL	3.72
5	MATTHEW HUGHES	3.46
6	TOMMY MCKINNEY	3.38
7	CHRIS COOK	3.27
8	ADAM CARVER	3.25
9	GREG BYRD	3.14
10	TIMMY CONKIN	3.08
11	SPENCER BROWN	2.96
12	DANIEL ALDRIDGE	2.94
13	SCOTT FRANKLIN	2.88
14	ARLIE MESSER	2.36
15	JOSH GILLESPIE	2.12
16	JAMEY KEATHLEY	2.06

Saturday 2-3

Rank	Name	Weight
1	RICHARD MARKLAND	4.32
2	MICHAEL CARTER	3.85
3	BOBBY DRINNON	3.73
4	JEFF GREGORY	3.57
5	EDGAR CASE	3.45
6	BENNY THOMPSON	3.18
7	MALCOLM GOINS	3.16
8	BRYAN MORTON	3.15
9	ALLEN BUTLER	3.11
10	JOHN ANDERSON	3.06
11	DREW FEZELL	3.05
11	JIMMY CRUM	3.05
13	JOHN SEIBEL	3.02
14	DENNIS CARVER	3.00
15	MARTY JEFFERS	2.91
16	KONNOR SWEET	2.83
17	BLAKE LEATH	2.75
18	CHRIS SEXTON	2.69
19	FRED MARKLAND	2.67
20	GREG SEEGER	2.66
20	KEVIN ROBINSON	2.66
22	MORGAN HOOD	2.64
23	ERIK CADDELL	2.53
24	MIKE HOBBY	2.51
24	STEVE BUSHORE	2.51
24	JIM SHEPHERD	2.51
27	JASON LAWSON	2.44
28	CAMPBELL HALL	2.39
29	TODD HENSELY	2.35
30	BRANDON HUBBARD	2.30
31	CHAD HARKLEROAD	2.24
32	TIM LAWSON JR	2.20
33	MARK WILSON	2.09
34	MALINDA HOLLEY	2.00
35	TRACY DULANEY	1.68

Sunday 8-9

Rank	Name	Weight
1	TIM HOLT	4.98
2	GREG HORNER	4.27
3	BRITT REECE	4.06
4	DAVY FLOYD	3.01
5	BRECK HAMMOND	2.97
6	BRADLEY FRANKLIN	2.94
7	CARSON BLEVINS	2.92
8	JOHN HYATT	2.79
9	ROBBIE LESTER	2.75
10	JIMMY CLARK	2.62
11	TIMOTHY BYRD	2.51
12	EDDIE FLOYD	2.41
13	MIKE HOBBY	2.25
13	DAMIEN WYATT	2.25
15	ERIC JOHNSON	2.03
16	TONY SKEEN	1.94
17	WILBERT CORDWELL	1.92
18	MICHAEL SAMMONS	1.91

Sunday 9-10

Rank	Name	Weight
1	BRYAN WRIGHT	3.44
2	TODD BROWN	3.28
3	TATE WALLACE	3.14
4	TYLER BLACK	3.08
5	ROBERT HANEY	3.06
6	ADAM SHEPHERD	2.99
7	ROBERT MAY	2.96
8	JAMES THOMPSON	2.94
9	JASON YATES	2.87
10	RYAN YATES	2.82
11	CODY SEAGLE	2.68
12	DONOVAN HENLEY	2.59
13	LUCAS GRIGGS	2.54
14	STEVE BYRD	2.50
15	BRADLEY FRANKLIN	2.49
16	JOHN HYATT	2.45
17	MIKE FISHER	2.44
18	RUSTY JUDE	2.34
19	JASON STURGILL	2.32
20	ETHAN QUILLIN	2.19
21	TIM HENSLEY	2.11
22	WILLIAM SMITH	1.91
23	ZACH THOMPSON	1.90
24	MCKENZIE LOWER	1.24

Sunday 10-11

Rank	Name	Weight
1	ANTHONY HOOKS	4.27
2	WAYNE MOYHER	3.81
3	JOHN WICE	3.59
4	CHARLIE ROSE	3.46
5	KELLY ALLEN	3.26
6	MICHAEL KNAPP	3.10
7	DAVID LOWE	3.06
8	JOEY BOLING	3.05
9	NED BAILIFF	2.90
10	TOM SOLOMON	2.75
11	MARK OWNBY	2.67
12	MARK COLLINS	2.46
13	BRANDON HUBBARD	2.42
14	WILLIE COLLINS	2.39
15	HOPE FORRESTER	2.14
16	MCKENZIE LOWER	1.39

Sunday 11-12

Rank	Name	Weight
1	NED BAILIFF	4.18
2	TIM LAWSON JR	3.61
3	JASON STURGILL	3.54
4	TRAVIS COGDILL	3.31
5	WAYNE MOYHER	3.28
6	MICAH MELIN	3.01
7	CHRIS COOK	2.83
8	SAM RUSSELL	2.80
9	JOSH GILLESPIE	2.77
10	BOYD HAYNES	2.63
11	JAKE MCCRAY	2.62
12	BOB PAYNE	2.39
13	THOMAS THACKER	2.31
14	THOMAS GREDIG	2.28

Sunday 12-1

Rank	Name	Weight
1	JUSTIN HARRIS	4.34
2	BILL COFFEE	4.05
3	GARAN GIBBONS	3.50
4	RYAN CLARK	3.35
5	MICHAEL COLE	3.34
6	RONALD HALE	3.21
7	SONNY OAKS	3.03
8	BOYD HAYNES	2.94
9	JOSH LAMBERT	2.67
10	CHRIS TAYLOR	2.64
11	WAYNE COOPER	2.57
11	MATT GOINS	2.57
13	JACKIE SMITH	2.41
14	SAM RUSSELL	2.35
15	ADAM BAILEY	2.26
16	JON GENTRY	1.93
17	BRIAN MOREY	1.92
18	ZACH THOMPSON	1.67

Sunday 1-2

Rank	Name	Weight
1	JOSH SPEARS	4.41
2	STACY CHRISTIAN	4.40
3	ADAM SHEPHERD	3.65
4	RANDY BROWN	3.23
5	AUSTIN STILTNER	3.06
6	OLIVER HALOUMA	3.02
7	JORDAN DAVIS	2.94
8	RYAN OAKLEY	2.92
9	DANIEL BUSH	2.89
10	CAMPBELL HALL	2.74
11	JOE RIDDLE	2.70
12	CHRIS TAYLOR	2.65
13	JIMMY CRUM	2.64
14	ADAM SPIVEY	2.61
15	WILBERT CORDWELL	2.60
16	MICHAEL COLE	2.55
17	RONALD HALE	2.49
18	ERIC JOHNSON	2.42
19	AALIYAH PICKRON	2.17
20	JAMIE HATFIELD	2.06
21	BRANDON HOBBS	1.74
22	CLIFFORD HENSLEY	1.73
23	JOHN MURRAY	1.33

Sunday 2-3

Rank	Name	Weight
1	BOBBY DRINNON	4.67
2	KEVIN GIBSON	3.81
3	JOSH GREENE	3.80
4	BRANDON HUBBARD	3.72
5	NED BAILIFF	2.87
6	JEFF TROUT	2.85
7	CLAY WELCH	2.84
8	DIONE LOUDEN	2.73
9	CHRIS TAYLOR	2.72
10	CHRIS COOK	2.68
10	BRECK HAMMOND	2.68
12	MONTY CONLEY	2.66
13	JIMMY CRUM	2.64
14	JERRY GIRDNER	2.59
15	JAMEY KEATHLEY	2.54
16	RAY LANE	2.46
16	RICHARD PLOWMAN	2.46
18	CLIFFORD HENSLEY	2.44
19	MORGAN HOOD	2.43
20	BRADLEY FRANKLIN	2.42
21	ROBBY TAYLOR	2.41
22	BOO HAGER	2.38
23	JASON TOLLIVER	2.28
24	NOEL BOWSER	2.24
25	ROBBIE LESTER	2.18
26	JOSEPH ROSE	2.05
27	ERIC JOHNSON	2.02
28	WILLIAM SMITH	1.98
29	SHAWN WATKINS	1.88
30	JEFF MULLINS	1.87
31	AALIYAH PICKRON	1.80
32	MCKENZIE LOWER	1.11

by AnglersChannel

TEAM MARKLEY FINDS SUNSHINE ON A CLOUDY DAY

CLEWISTON, FL — Welcome to the Sunshine State. Well, usually. Seems Mother Nature decided to throw our anglers a little curve for Qualfier #3 of the Roland Martin Marine Center Series presented by HUK. Sorry Mom, you’re going to have to try a little harder to throw these sticks off their game.

Our anglers knocked the rust off their bilge pumps and got down to work on legendary Lake Okeechobee on Saturday with hopes of filling the well and padding their bank accounts. As it turns out, the winning team shares the same account.

With a 24.7 pound limit, the husband and wife team of Adam and Melinda Markley collected the winner’s check along with half of the other contingency awards. The happy couple was even happier with quite a payday for their second trip to the winner’s circle in the series history.

“We caught about 10 flipping before we decided to head in early,” Adam said. “We waited but never went back out.”

So what’s it like as a husband and wife team on the tournament trail?

“It’s great,” admitted Adam. “I don’t have to split anything, it just all goes to her.”

The couple didn’t pre-fish and didn’t even risk heading back out with the remaining time in the afternoon to pad their weight. As it turned out, they didn’t need it. All they needed was a calculator to add up the winning checks.

The first place check netted them $6,100. The highest finishing angler to cross the stage in HUK Gear added another $250. The top Lady Anglerearned Melinda $100 from Mary Ann Martin. A kicker in the bag weighing 7.94 ended up being the US Sugar Big Bass of the tournament and added another $500. That left the couple singing in the rain to the tune of $6,950.

The second place team of William Bennion and Kenny Harris bagged 22.95 pounds. They lost one that might have given them the edge but were comforted with a $3,100 second place check. Harris also added another $250 as the highest finisher with a Mercury under warranty.

“We were about 15 from the locks,” Harris said. “We were flipping all day. We caught one on a trap, but for the most part, we were flipping.”

Rounding out the top three was the team of Mike Keyso and John Perry. A prolific team that always seems to be a top resident on the leaderboard. Even with Perry doing his best while on crutches with a broken leg.

“We had the winning fish on,” Keyso Said. “We had it near the boat and he (Perry) ended up falling in trying to net it.”

The team admitted it was a grind all day but they managed 22.64 for a 3rd place finish and a check for $1,550.

Despite the weather, a majority of the field still brought a limit to the stage and battled for the remaining checks the Markley’s didn’t already have their name on.

As the highest paying team tournament trail in Florida, the payouts extended to the top 26 places. Additional contingencies kept the rewards coming. The 17-year-old angler, Conner Swindle, collected $100 from Mercury as the Highest Fishing Youth Angler. 2nd Big Bass awarded the team of Val Osinksi and Todd Scherr $100 Gambler Bucks for their 7.89 bass (the only fish they weighed). Gilbert Chevrolet, with feature vehicles on display at the weigh-in from the South Florida Chevy Dealers, awarded the highest finishing Gilbert Chevrolet vehicle owners, Rick Wilhelm and Dell Hatfiled $500 for their ride. And last but not least. Well, actually it was the least. The team of John Tavano and Doug Caldwell collected $300 from AV Inspection for the smallest limit.

That puts a wrap on Qualifier #3 with one more on November 20th before the 2-Day Championship December 11-12. Teams must fish 3 of the 4 qualifiers to qualify for the Championship. So make sure you don’t miss out on what’s gearing up to be another record payout for the Series Championship. Register today and we’ll see you in November.

by AnglersChannel

Scroggins feeds finicky bass a Petey Rig

Courtesy of Alan McGuckin - Dynamic Sponsorships

The first time Florida bass fishing legends Terry “Big Show” Scroggins and Peter “T” Thliveros met, Scroggins was 10 years old and mowing the lawn at Ditto lure company where Thliveros worked as a teen pouring Ditto’s famous Fire Claws, and Gator Tail worms.

Both youngsters had dreams of fishing for a living, but it’s doubtful they imagined back in 1979 that Peter “T” would later create a unique finesse Carolina Rig that would put thousands of dollars in their pockets as pros.

Yes indeed, credit the “Petey Rig” for a portion of the $4 million dollars the two best buddies have won as pros, including Scroggins’ Bassmaster Open win at Lake Toho, and Thliveros’ victory at the 2007 Bassmaster Memorial at Onondaga Lake near Syracuse.

“Yup, I’ve known Pete for 42 years. And anytime you’re struggling to get a bite, that Petey Rig he came up with will save your butt,” insists Scroggins who also shares a love of cooking and grilling with Thliveros.

So, what exactly is a Petey Rig?

It’s sort of a finesse Carolina Rig without a glass bead or 2-way swivel. Scroggins throws it on spinning tackle. He first slides a 1/8 to 3/8-ounce worm weight on his line, then adds not one, but two bobber stoppers immediately behind.

He keeps about 18” of line between the bobber stoppers and the hook – to which he most often attaches either a 5” Zoom Super Fluke or a Big Show Kicker Tail worm. Of course, you can adjust the distance between your worm weight and the lure by simply sliding the bobber stoppers up or down your line.

The main line on Scroggins’ spinning reel is 10-pound braid, but he ties it to a 10-pound fluorocarbon leader.

Year round, and all three species – just Don’t fish it fast

“You’d think since we’re Florida boys this would be a warm water largemouth rig, but it’s not. It’ll catch smallmouth and spotted bass too. In fact, some of Pete and I’s best days with the Petey Rig have been up north around aquatic vegetation,” says Scroggins.

Scroggins says it really seems to shine in the fall of the year around vegetation, but he can’t emphasize enough that much like a shaky head or drop shot, the Petey Rig is an all seasons rig from north to south, hydrilla to rocks – anytime you need a bit of finesse to make ‘em bite.

“The whole key is to not get in a hurry. The best way to get bites is to leave it dead still for a couple seconds between every short hop or drag. If you fish it slow and let that Fluke or Kicker Tail sit still for a couple seconds, that’s where the magic is,” he emphasizes.

But what about the grub, bub?

Thliveros worked as chef for years in the family restaurant when not on the road competing, and Scroggins has been featured in his own grilling blog series. Neither men ever lack for a healthy appetite. Scroggins says Pete can even cook a wild hog on a rotisserie that is “off the chain delicious.”

But when bass seem to lack an appetite you can bet both these veteran Florida pros will serve up a Petey Rig as the featured menu item.

by AnglersChannel

Pinell & Knowles From LSU Win the 2021 AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open

RUSSELLVILLE, AR (October 10, 2021) – The first Association of Collegiate Anglers event of the season is in the books as the scales are closed and prizes have been awarded for the 2021 AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open on Lake Dardanelle. 432 of the top collegiate anglers in the nation competed for two days in hopes of claiming their share of the more than $20,000 in prizes & contingencies that were on the line, as well as double points towards the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia. Heath Pinell and Taylor Knowles from Louisiana State University claim first place honors with a two-day total weight of 24.89 pounds. Robert Gee and Luke Byerly from the University of Tennessee take second, and Griffin Fernandes and Zach Manneback from Adrian College finish the event in third.

View the Final Tournament Standings here.

Heath Pinell and Taylor Knowles from LSU surged up from back in the standings to claim the school’s first-ever major victory out on the collegiate trail. Pinell and Knowles entered Day 2 in 18th place after weighing in 10.74 pounds on the first day of competition. The duo rallied to weigh in the second biggest bag brought to the scales on Day 2 with 14.15 pounds. Their two day total of 24.89 pounds bests second place by just under one quarter of a pound.

For their first place overall finish, Pinell and Knowles earn a $1,000 Bass Pro Shops gift card, a $50 AFTCO gift card, two HydroWave H2 units, a Rapala tackle package, and a 13 Fishing prize package. Along with the long list of prizes, the team from LSU also earns $1,000 in contingencies. This includes $500 for the ACA logo contingency, as well as an additional $500 for the Yamaha ACA Contingency Bonus. The team’s Top 5 finish also earns them automatic qualification to compete in the 2022 BoatUS Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops at Pickwick Lake. 1,250 points will also be awarded to LSU for the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia.

Finishing the event in second place overall are Robert Gee and Luke Byerly from the University of Tennessee. The Day 1 leaders stumbled slightly on Day 2, weighing in just 7.51 pounds for a combined two-day total of 24.76 pounds. Gee and Byerly caught their Day 1 weight by locking down on the Arkansas River system. Today, their time down there was cut short by barge traffic moving through the lock. The team had four fish when they locked back through, and failed to catch a fifth keeper fish. Second place earns them valuable prizes, 1,240 School of the Year points, and qualification into the 2022 ACA Championship.

by AnglersChannel

Big Morning Lifts Hollen And Clark To Bassmaster Junior Championship Win

Bo Hollen and Ari Clark, of West Virginia's Mon Valley Bassmasters, have won the Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster Junior National Championship at Carroll County 1000 Acre Recreational Lake with a two-day total of 19 pounds, 11 ounces.

Photo by Emily Hand/B.A.S.S.

October 9, 2021

HUNTINGDON, Tenn. — A double dose of early excitement set Bo Hollen and Ari Clark of the Mon Valley Bassmasters on course to winning the Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster Junior National Championship on Carroll County 1000 Acre Recreational Lake. They had a two-day total of 19 pounds, 11 ounces.

Starting their day on a windward mid-lake point that went from about 7 to 25 feet, the anglers threw Carolina rigs with 1-ounce weights, 3-foot leaders and green pumpkin Strike King Space Monkey baits.

“We caught our first big one (an 8-pounder) around 7:20,” Clark said. “Then the 5-pounder was at 7:45, so they were near each other. We knew we’d get in the Top 10, but I told myself ‘We need to catch another one at least 4 pounds if we’re going to get first.’

“We tried; we didn’t get it, but we still won.”

After placing 28th on Day 1 with a four-fish bag of 3-8, the anglers from West Virginia more than quadrupled their productivity by turning in a final-round limit of 16-3 — the event’s heaviest catch. For their efforts, Hollen and Clark will split a $2,000 scholarship.

Hollen said the point they fished was a place they had visited during a previous Bassmaster Junior National Championship event. Patient presentations were the key.

“We made long casts and reeled it kind of slow,” Hollen said.

Hollen and Clark caught a few fish — including their first keeper of the day — on a drop shot. They fished this finesse rig with 4- and 6-inch Roboworms in the morning dawn color.

Hollen, who had plenty to say on stage, was nearly speechless when he lifted his trophy. Clark shared the enthusiasm and noted that catching a pair of kickers sweetens the experience.

“I’m shocked because I don’t get to see bass that big a lot,” he said. “The fact that I got to see an 8- and 5-pounder just blows my mind.”

Clayburn Reed and Gavin Gooding of Academy at the Farm finished second with 16-7. After placing 11th on Day 1 with a 5-pound limit, the Florida anglers added a four-fish bag of 11-7, which included a 6-12. Reed and Gooding earned a $1,000 scholarship.

“We changed things up today after we figured something out yesterday,” Reed said. “Today, we figured we should fish topwaters shallow in the morning. We were mostly fishing offshore yesterday, but we saw some bigger fish moving up shallow.

“This morning, we went to a cove and fished shallow and caught (that big fish) on a Yo-Zuri Pencil Popper in a translucent shad color.”

Gooding said he and his partner caught the other three keepers on a Texas-rigged pink stickworm. They fished that bait around shallow trees and offshore grass.

Brooks Hibbit and Grant Buzard of the Hartley’s Hawgs Youth Fishing Club finished third with 16-3. Catching an 8-1 gave them a big Day 1 lead with a 12-1 limit. Today, they could manage only 4 fish for 4-2.

“If we hadn’t caught that big fish (on Friday), we probably would have had only 8 pounds (total),” Hibbit said. “We weren’t on them today. It kind of started like it did on Day 1; about two hours in, no fish.

“But we got three fish in like 10 to 15 minutes. It was probably 10 casts, but that was the only hot action we had. We probably moved back and forth across the lake three or four times, just looking for spots, but it didn’t work that well.”

Sticking with their Day 1 strategy, Hibbit and Buzard slow-rolled Carolina-rigged green pumpkin Venom Trench Hogs. They used 4-foot leaders to allow the bait to float up as the weight impacted bottom structure.

For their third-place finish, Hibbit and Buzard won a $500 scholarship. They also took home the $200 Big Bass scholarship for their 8-1.

2021 Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster Junior National Championship 10/8-10/9
Carroll County 1000 Acre Recreational Lake, Huntington TN.
(BOATER) Standings Day 2

Angler Club/School Pts

1. Bo Hollen - Ari Clark Mon Valley Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 4 03-08 Day 2: 5 16-03 Total: 9 19-11
2. Clayburn Reed - Gavin Gooding Academy at the Farm 0
Day 1: 5 05-00 Day 2: 4 11-07 Total: 9 16-07
3. Grant Buzard - Brooks Hibbit Hartleys Hawgs Youth Fishing Clu 0
Day 1: 5 12-01 Day 2: 4 04-02 Total: 9 16-03
4. Trey Richardson Iii - Reid Luckett Free State Bass 0
Day 1: 5 04-15 Day 2: 5 11-00 Total: 10 15-15
5. Parker Adair - Jackson Miller Arkansas Youth Anglers 0
Day 1: 2 09-05 Day 2: 5 05-04 Total: 7 14-09
6. Wes Warnock - Ryan Seitz Southeastern Bass Anglers 0
Day 1: 2 01-15 Day 2: 5 12-02 Total: 7 14-01
7. Drew Lee - Cole Mcausland American Christian Academy 0
Day 1: 5 04-09 Day 2: 4 08-07 Total: 9 13-00
8. Luke Stewart - Austin Craze Clay Co Middle School and Clay C 0
Day 1: 5 04-14 Day 2: 5 08-00 Total: 10 12-14
9. Nolan Savage - Jake Paradis LA Jr Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 5 08-04 Day 2: 5 04-09 Total: 10 12-13
10. Nolan Holloway - Jackson Fanning Morgan County Middle School 0
Day 1: 5 09-08 Day 2: 3 02-09 Total: 8 12-01
11. Milam Mcillwain - Landon Lewis CREEKWOOD FISHING 0
Day 1: 3 03-01 Day 2: 5 07-02 Total: 8 10-03
12. James Barkley - Tanner Moulton New Hampshire Junior Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 5 05-08 Day 2: 5 04-11 Total: 10 10-03
13. Dominic Bianchi - Ethan Haley Rochester Bassmaster 0
Day 1: 5 08-15 Day 2: 1 01-02 Total: 6 10-01
14. Chase Black - Cayden Collins South side middle 0
Day 1: 5 05-10 Day 2: 4 03-15 Total: 9 09-09
15. Lucas D'angelo - Drew Hinzman Elkins 0
Day 1: 4 03-10 Day 2: 5 05-13 Total: 9 09-07
16. Presley Lannom - Preston Maddux Mt Juliet Fishing 0
Day 1: 5 04-05 Day 2: 5 05-02 Total: 10 09-07
17. Kent Falls - Colby Falls York Middle School 0
Day 1: 4 03-01 Day 2: 5 06-01 Total: 9 09-02
18. Jackson Rogers - Caden Sellers Jr. Southwest Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 5 04-08 Day 2: 5 04-07 Total: 10 08-15
19. Tate Reynolds - Blane Smith Russell County High School 0
Day 1: 4 03-04 Day 2: 3 05-09 Total: 7 08-13
20. Caleb Hildenbrand - Ethan Denu Port City Jr. Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 5 04-08 Day 2: 5 04-05 Total: 10 08-13
21. Jase Johnson - Keaton Coe Anoka Ramsey Jr Bassers 0
Day 1: 5 04-08 Day 2: 5 03-15 Total: 10 08-07
22. Aiden King - Dillyn Dill Shelby County Jr Anglers 0
Day 1: 1 00-13 Day 2: 5 07-07 Total: 6 08-04
23. Connor Kennedy - Hayden Johns Mulberry High School 0
Day 1: 5 06-08 Day 2: 2 01-11 Total: 7 08-03
24. Rhiauna Switzer - Abigail Panak Pretty Water Junior Bass Club 0
Day 1: 5 03-09 Day 2: 5 04-06 Total: 10 07-15
25. Murphy Childers - Ryder Colee 0
Day 1: 1 00-12 Day 2: 5 07-00 Total: 6 07-12
26. Charles Klug - Brock Huebner PJ Jacobs Junior High 0
Day 1: 1 06-13 Day 2: 1 00-15 Total: 2 07-12
27. Alexander Tyler - Briley West McKeel Junior Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 5 07-07 Total: 5 07-07
28. Wyatt Massey - Leland Pageler Phoenix Junior Bass Masters 0
Day 1: 5 04-01 Day 2: 4 03-05 Total: 9 07-06
29. Lainie Holbert - Sarah Swindle Riverside Bass Team 0
Day 1: 3 02-06 Day 2: 5 04-06 Total: 8 06-12
30. Cameron Prokop - Tom Shumowsky New Age Bass Fishing Club 0
Day 1: 5 04-05 Day 2: 3 02-07 Total: 8 06-12
31. Alex Meland - Carter Michalek Eastern Iowa Jr Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 5 05-03 Day 2: 3 01-08 Total: 8 06-11
32. Nathan Chiasson - Evan Breaux Lafourche Junior Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 2 01-07 Day 2: 3 05-03 Total: 5 06-10
33. Ty Magargle - Quintin Bergey Wildcat Fishing 0
Day 1: 5 04-12 Day 2: 2 01-09 Total: 7 06-05
34. Cole Bowen - Tate Bowen Mecklenburg 0
Day 1: 5 04-06 Day 2: 2 01-15 Total: 7 06-05
35. Terryn Boland - Wyatt Becker West Salem 0
Day 1: 5 03-13 Day 2: 2 01-15 Total: 7 05-12
36. Cassidy Sawyer - Vaughn Mckay L A Junior Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 1 00-11 Day 2: 5 04-06 Total: 6 05-01
37. Caleb Moore - Joseph Siegel Off The Hook IL Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 2 01-09 Day 2: 2 03-08 Total: 4 05-01
38. Parker Eubanks - Garrett Evans Plainview Jr. Bass Club 0
Day 1: 5 03-09 Day 2: 1 01-00 Total: 6 04-09
39. Boots Burleson - Brady Mikes Texas Bass Nation 0
Day 1: 1 00-15 Day 2: 4 03-06 Total: 5 04-05
40. Cameron Mcdonel - Trenton Zoellner Swatara and CD Middle 0
Day 1: 1 01-00 Day 2: 3 03-04 Total: 4 04-04
41. Cason Redwine - Bo Helms Bear Creek Anglers 0
Day 1: 1 01-14 Day 2: 2 02-01 Total: 3 03-15
42. Justin Waggener - Eli Pauley Burgin Independent School 0
Day 1: 3 03-14 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 3 03-14
43. Brayden Vallie - Easton Fett Fruitport 0
Day 1: 2 01-15 Day 2: 2 01-11 Total: 4 03-10
44. Beau McQuade - Elijah Ambrose Jr. Potomac River Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 2 01-12 Day 2: 2 01-14 Total: 4 03-10
45. Jack Meiser - Blake Meiser Eureka 0
Day 1: 3 02-03 Day 2: 1 01-00 Total: 4 03-03
46. Lucas Sheafer - Steele Smith Louisburg Middle School 0
Day 1: 2 02-02 Day 2: 1 00-13 Total: 3 02-15
47. Avery Bowen - Laiken Emanuel Jefferson West High School 0
Day 1: 1 00-10 Day 2: 2 02-03 Total: 3 02-13
48. Carter Gaines - Charlie Brekke Poudre School District 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 2 02-12 Total: 2 02-12
49. Princeton Jordan - Peyton Jordan Marshfield Blue Jays 0
Day 1: 3 02-11 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 3 02-11
49. Troy Watson - Shockley Hiatt Mount Airy Middle School - Maybe 0
Day 1: 3 02-11 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 3 02-11
51. Tyler Camp - Kason Carmichiel Pine Grove 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 3 02-11 Total: 3 02-11
52. Jonathan Jarvis - Tanner Trawick Seminole Co. Middle High School 0
Day 1: 2 02-03 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 2 02-03
53. Connor Krech - Landon Bizal Anoka Ramsey 0
Day 1: 1 00-09 Day 2: 2 01-10 Total: 3 02-03
54. Nicholas Syrett - Landon Homrich Howell Highlander Way Middle Sch 0
Day 1: 1 01-00 Day 2: 1 00-15 Total: 2 01-15
55. Grant Rees - Keegan Carnicle West Delaware 0
Day 1: 1 00-11 Day 2: 1 01-03 Total: 2 01-14
56. Leo Yonkman - Drew Wagner Southside Junior Anglers 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 1 01-02 Total: 1 01-02
57. Mackenzie Muntz - Jacob Muntz Gibsonburg 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 1 01-00 Total: 1 01-00
58. Austin Evans - Trevor Wallace Mecklenburg Youth Bass Masters 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 1 00-15 Total: 1 00-15
58. Levi Sowell - Maggie Miller Broaddus 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 1 00-15 Total: 1 00-15
60. Nikolas Foster - Massachusetts BASS Nation 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
60. Kaleb Harris - Dakota Power Ark-La-Tex Bassmaster 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
60. John Pharr - Collin Pharr 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00

by AnglersChannel

Powroznik Storms Back To Win Bassmaster Central Open On Lewis Smith Lake

Jacob Powroznik, of North Prince George, Va.., has won the 2021 Basspro.com Bassmaster Central Open at Lewis Smith Lake with a three-day total of 37 pounds, 9 ounces.
Photo by Dalton Tumblin/B.A.S.S.

October 9, 2021

JASPER, Ala. — Jacob Powroznik had one goal in mind when he signed up for the entire 2021 Basspro.com Bassmaster Opens schedule: requalify for the Bassmaster Elite Series.

Saturday was another major step toward accomplishing that goal, as Powroznik rallied in the final round to win the second Central Open of the season, on Alabama’s Lewis Smith Lake, with a three-day total of 37 pounds, 9 ounces.

After catching 11-12 on Day 1 and 11-8 on the second day, the North Prince George, Va., native landed 14-5 of spotted bass on the final day, propelling him past Days 1 and 2 leader Nick LeBrun, who caught just three keeper bass on the final day to finish with a three-day total of 33-6.

Not only does Powroznik maintain his lead in the Falcon Rods Bassmaster Opens Angler of the Year standings, but he also punches his ticket to the 2022 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk at Lake Hartwell. The win is his fifth in Bassmaster competition.

“It is a dream come true. That is what you fish for,” Powroznik said. “My best friend Hank (Cherry) has won it two years in a row, so now I’ve got something to shoot for. I put myself in to requalify for the Elite Series, and then to be able to come here and win this tournament is a blessing.

“It all kind of came together and I can’t wait to get to Hartwell. God is good and I love bass fishing.”

Powroznik’s pattern all week centered around standing timber in deep water areas where suspended spotted bass were feeding on blueback herring. Some of the trees he was fishing were in over 100 feet of water, but the bass were suspended only 20 feet deep.

“I was fishing in ditches that run into pockets and they had to have standing timber that was taller than anything else,” he said. “The thermocline was at about 35 feet this week, so those bass would never go below that.”

After experimenting with several techniques in practice, Powroznik settled on a V&M Drop Shad rigged on a 3/16- or 1/4-ounce jighead paired with a Quantum Smoke spinning outfit and 10-pound High Seas braid and an 8-pound fluorocarbon leader. He added his Lowrance Active Target units were essential as he could watch how the bass reacted to the bait as it fell to them.

“The technique is called tight-lining,” he said. “When I know it is going to fall right to them, I’ll hold my rod and it will pendulum down. It looks like a dying shad or a herring, whatever they are after. They didn’t want anything with a paddletail, they wanted it kind of clean and one of them was going to get it.”

Powroznik noticed distinct feeding windows for the spotted bass.

“They would bite right off the bat and then there would be an hour or two lull,” he said. “Once it got to be around noon, that’s when they clustered around those trees a whole lot better. And then they would slack off toward the end.”

While there had been a couple of striper fishing boats in his areas throughout the tournament, Powroznik didn’t have very much fishing pressure around him throughout the week. When he arrived at his spot Saturday, there were a few more boats, but he was able to find success.

“I don’t ever say this, but I told my buddy that I might have found the winning bag of fish,” Powroznik said. “I ended up catching a big one right off the bat and then I caught another one. I am never sitting still, so I moved around and ended up catching another big one. They were bigger than the ones I had been catching all week.

“Being around the striper fisherman, they know what is in there and the stripers feed on herring and so do the big spots.”

After leading through the first two days with 15-2 on Day 1 and 12-13 on Day 2, LeBrun weighed in just three bass for 5-7 to drop into second place.

“It was a great week,” LeBrun said. “Something changed with those suspended fish. It was tough to get bites and when they did they were small and I hadn’t had that problem all week. It seemed like the bait was up at the surface a lot more and I think that was due to the lack of boat traffic. When the fish were busting, I couldn’t catch them.”

Hometown favorite Jesse Wiggins finished in third with 33-3, jumping up from fifth place with a Day 3 bag that weighed 10-10.

“Overall, I’m not satisfied but I’m pleased,” Wiggins said. “It could have been a lot worse. I know how fickle it is and it could have been a really bad deal. I’m excited to be in the Top 10. It was a tough week and this lake doesn’t handle boat pressure really well, especially during a tough time of year.”

After a tough Day 1, Wiggins went all in on a largemouth pattern on Day 2 to catch 12-6 to get to the final day.

“The water cleaned up a little and I was able to grind out 10 pounds on Day 1,” Wiggins said. “I started on my river stuff Day 2 and they were biting. I caught them all on a Jackall Firecracker Buzzbait and then one on a squarebill.

“Today I went back up there and caught a few on a buzzbait and a couple on a shaky head and my second biggest one on a squarebill.”

With a 5-15 largemouth on Day 1, Brandon Ackerson won the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the Tournament and earned $750.

With 1,371 points, Powroznik leads the Falcon Rods Bassmaster Opens Angler of the Year standings. Tommy Williams is second with 1,301 and Daisuke Aoki is third with 1,269.

Joseph Webster leads the Central Opens standings with 381 points while Jay Przekurat and Brandon Lester are tied for second with 378.

The final Central Open is scheduled for Grand Lake in Grove, Okla., Oct. 21-23. The final three Central Opens Elite Series invites will be awarded at the conclusion of that tournament as well as the invites from the overall Opens standings.

2021 Basspro.com Bassmaster Open at Lewis Smith Lake 10/7-10/9
Smith Lake, Jasper AL.
(BOATER) Standings Day 3

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

1. Jacob Powroznik Day 1: 5 11-12 2. Nick LeBrun Day 1: 5 15-02 3. Jesse Wiggins Day 1: 5 10-03 4. Kyle Austin Day 1: 5 10-04 5. Cody Huff Day 1: 5 11-04 6. Tom Frink Day 1: 5 14-02 7. Jay Przekurat Day 1: 5 13-03 8. Cody Bird Day 1: 5 14-10 9. Allen Stewart Day 1: 5 09-11 10. Robin Erb Day 1: 4 08-08 North Prince George, VA 15 37-09 200 $50,400.00
Day 2: 5 11-08 Day 3: 5 14-05
Bossier City, LA 13 33-06 199 $24,480.00
Day 2: 5 12-13 Day 3: 3 05-07
Logan, AL 15 33-03 198 $17,280.00
Day 2: 5 12-06 Day 3: 5 10-10
Ridgeville, SC 15 31-08 197 $14,900.00
Day 2: 5 10-10 Day 3: 5 10-10
Ava, MO 14 28-15 196 $12,528.00
Day 2: 5 09-10 Day 3: 4 08-01
Cedartown, GA 10 27-08 195 $11,520.00
Day 2: 5 13-06 Day 3: 0 00-00
Stevens Point, WI 10 24-15 194 $10,800.00
Day 2: 4 10-02 Day 3: 1 01-10
Granbury, TX 10 23-06 193 $10,080.00
Day 2: 4 07-07 Day 3: 1 01-05
Lakeview, AR 11 23-00 192 $7,920.00
Day 2: 5 11-14 Day 3: 1 01-07
Crane Hill, AL 9 20-14 191 $6,480.00
Day 2: 5 12-06 Day 3: 0 00-00

by AnglersChannel

LeBrun Maintains Lead At Bassmaster Central Open On Lewis Smith Lake

Nick LeBrun, of Bossier City, La., is leading after Day 2 of the 2021 Basspro.com Bassmaster Central Open at Lewis Smith Lake with a two-day total of 27 pounds, 15 ounces.
Photo by Dalton Tumblin/B.A.S.S.

October 8, 2021

JASPER, Ala. — Nick LeBrun has been using Lowrance Active Target for nearly a year to target crappie in deep water back in his home state of Louisiana. During that time, he has learned he often has one opportunity to make the perfect cast and lead those fish to the bait.

LeBrun has used that same mindset to catch quality spotted bass this week and lead both days of the 2021 Basspro.com Bassmaster Central Open at Lewis Smith Lake. He caught 12 pounds, 13 ounces Friday to increase his total weight to 27-15.

“I fished a pro circuit event here in February and had the bites to do really well and couldn’t get them in the boat and kind of stubbed my toe,” said LeBrun, a Bossier City resident. “It feels good to come back here when it is tough against so many top-notch anglers and catch them two days in a row.”

After weighing a mixed bag of 15-2 Thursday, LeBrun’s Friday bag contained all spotted bass that he saw using his Active Target units. Using a Damiki rig — a Hayabusa Ball Head jig rigged with a V&M Drop Shad — he caught all the spotted bass suspended over 50 feet of water.

The main difference between his crappie tactics and his spotted bass approach was when the bass would eat his bait.

“You have one shot to make one perfect cast and then you marry the fish and the bait on screen,” LeBrun said. “But every one I caught today, while the bait was falling 10 feet above their head, they would come up and smoke it.

“If it gets down to them, they won’t eat it. But if you can get them to come up at it, that increases your chances.”

LeBrun said the larger groups of fish were more likely to eat the bait while little packs of four or five would only look at it.

While there was a short period of fog early, sunny skies soon prevailed and LeBrun said that shut down his largemouth bite.

“The lack of cloud cover hurt me on the power fishing thing and on my largemouth tactic,” he said. “I only caught one short doing that and I know I reeled that bait on some good banks and behind some good docks. I just could never get a bite on it. The lack of clouds shut them down.”

Tom Frink of Cedartown, Ga., jumped from fourth to second with a 13-6 limit on Day 2 after securing 14-2 on the first day. With a two-day total of 27-8, he trails LeBrun by only 7 ounces heading into the final day.

With a later boat draw Friday, Frink decided to stay close to the ramp to take advantage of the morning bite and it paid off with three keepers in the first hour. From there, Frink weeded through several nonkeeper bass before filling his limit around noon.

“Thirty minutes later I caught a 2 3/4-pounder and culled a 2-pounder,” he said. “I think I caught eight keepers and around 25 fish today. This afternoon they just started biting kind of funny.”

After about 2 p.m., Frink decided to scout some new water in hopes of finding some areas that might produce on Championship Saturday.

Covering as much water as possible has been important for Frink this week. Each day he has found new water to fish as well and caught most of his weight in areas where he hadn’t previously made a cast.

Despite landing only four keepers for 10-2, Wisconsin native and two-time Bassmaster Open co-angler winner Jay Przekurat moved into third place with a two-day total of 23-5. After landing in sixth place on Day 1 with 13-3, Przekurat struggled to find bites Friday, landing his first keeper largemouth around 9:30 a.m.

He did not land another keeper until he hit an early-afternoon flurry when he landed a 3-pound spotted bass, a 2-pounder and another keeper. His fifth bite never came.

“Today was way tougher. The blue-bird skies and the post-front conditions absolutely shut down the fishing,” he said. “I hardly saw any fish busting or anything. It’s not a great day and you can tell by the weights.”

Although he battled tough conditions on Day 2, Przekurat said he is excited to head back to the water Saturday for a chance to potentially win his first trophy on the boater side after a 17th-place finish at the first Central Open earlier this year at Pickwick Lake.

“Anytime you are fishing on the final day, you have a chance at a big bag,” he said. “This is my first Top 10 as a pro in my first year as a pro. This is great.”

Although he stumbled on Day 2, Brandon Ackerson still holds the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the tournament on the boater side, a 5-15 largemouth he landed on Day 1.

Kelly Townson of Hartselle, Ala., took home the nonboater title and just over $16,000. He landed 5-0 on Day 2 to increase his two-day total to 11-13, edging out second-place Justin Stephenson by over a pound.

Townson said he used a buzzbait and a shaky head primarily on Day 1, while the shaky head was the biggest producer on the final day.

Jeffrey Jennings of Lanett, Ala., took home the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the Tournament on the co-angler side with a 4-9 he caught on Day 2, earning $250.

With a two-day total of 23-4, Jacob Powroznik jumped into the Top 10 cut, maintaining his lead in the Falcon Rods Bassmaster Opens Angler of the Year standings with 1,368 points. Tommy Williams is second with 1,301 and Daisuke Aoki is third with 1,269.

In the Central Open standings, Przekurat jumped into the top spot with 382 points. He leads second-place Joseph Webster (381) by just one point while Brandon Lester is third with 378.

The Top 10 boaters earned a spot to compete on Championship Saturday and will takeoff from Smith Lake Public Boat Ramp starting at 6:30 a.m. CT and return for check-in at 2:30 p.m. Saturday’s weigh-in will be held at the Bass Pro Shops in Leeds, Ala., and is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. CT.