John Canada and Bo Hunter win Alabama Bass Trail Jordan Lake
Pair Clinches Angler of the Year Title with Second Win of the Season  

Wetumpka, Ala. June 4, 2016 – There are times when anglers get on a roll and it seems like nothing can get in their way.  Those times are unique, and they are very special, and the 2016 Alabama Bass Trail South Division season featured a season like that for John Canada and Bo Hunter.

The pair of anglers entered the last event of the season at Jordan Lake in the lead for the Angler of the Year title, and while many teams wilt under the pressure of finalizing that title; they seized it by winning the event and putting an exclamation point on the year.

Canada and Hunter were in a late flight, and were one of the last few boats to weigh-in.  When they did, they bested the 144 boat field with a total weight of 18.37 pounds and took home the winner’s prize purse of $10,000.

The pair reported running upriver towards the Lake Mitchell Dam trying to work on fish that were reacting to the slight amount of current that Alabama Power ran through the dams.  “We got within about four miles of the dam and fished topwaters, Flukes and finesse jigs,” said Hunter.  “We only caught 10 or 15 fish, but we were fortunate enough to catch the right ones.”

They started their morning targeting wooden cover that topped out at the river with walking topwater baits and soft jerkbaits, then turned their attention to deeper water rocks with finesse jigs tipped with Reaction Innovations Sweet Beavers.  “We needed a little more subtle appearance in the clear water,” said Hunter.  “I think the fish were getting too good a look at it, so we had to scale down.”

The team of Brent Crow and Rex Chambers finished the day in the runner up position in both the tournament and the Angler of the Year chase.  They relied heavily on a topwater pattern and a pair of big worms on jig heads.  “We had a hunch early that we could get a few on a shad patterned walking topwater bait, so we tried that and had a limit really early,” they said.  “After that we turned to magnum Shaky Heads paired with Zoom Trick Worms, V&M Chopstick and 6.5-inch Strike King KVD Finesse Worms.”

Crow and Chambers earned the $5,000 prize for second place as well as the $1,000 bonus for being the highest finishers who purchased their Phoenix Boat from Freedom Marine in Albertville.

Third place went to the team of Jeston Anderson and Robbie Robertson, the former ABT South Division Anglers of the Year earned $4,000 for their finish.  The $500, Mountain Dew Big Bass of the day went to the team of Tony Hogan and Vernon Ward, their 4.95-pound largemouth helped them finish in 12th place.

The top 10 in the standings are below – the complete standings can be found at:http://www.alabamabasstrail.org/tournament-series/lj-results/

 

Place	Name	Weight	Big Fish	Winnings
1	Jon Canada/Bo Hunter	18.37	3.88	$10,000
2	Rex Chambers/Brent Crow	18.01	4.62	$5,000
3	Jeston Anderson/Robert Robinson	17.53	3.87	$4,000
4	Radney Atchison/Joe Wikoff	17.38	4.79	$3,000
5	Keith Dees/Tommy Walley	16.19		$2,000
6	Victor Harper/Jeff Gilliam	16.06	4.01	$1,000
7	Andy Leslie/Grant Bennett	15.89		$900
8	Shaye Baker/Ben Weldon	15.58	4.19	$800
9	Chris Rutland/Coby Carden	15.29		$700
10	Ken Walters/Ernie Faulkner	15.22	4.85	$600

As far as the Angler of the Year title, Canada and Hunter finished the season with 1111 points, and a winning margin of 55 points over Crow and Chambers.  Their year included a 13th place finish to open the season at Lake Martin, then followed with a pair of first and second place finishes for the remaining four tournaments of the year.

Hunter said that the Angler of the Year title signifies the achievement of a goal and a lot of work.  “This is a field that has the best anglers in the state, and it means a lot to be here at this point,” he said.  “I guess the best word I can use to describe it is proud; it was a lot of work to be able to be here, and I’m really proud to be able to say I’m the Angler of the Year of a tour this strong.”

That concludes the season for the 2016 Alabama Bass Trail Southern Division. The next event for the division qualifiers will be the 2016 Alabama Bass Trail Championship at Lake Eufaula October 7 – 8, 2016.  For complete South Division standings, see them here – http://www.alabamabasstrail.org/tournament-series/south-division-standings/

The sponsors of the 2016 Alabama Bass Trail include; Bill Penney Toyota, Phoenix Bass Boats, Garmin, Academy Sports & Outdoors, Wind Creek Hospitality – Wetumpka, Wind Creek Hospitality – Montgomery, Alabama Tourism Department, SCA Performance, Mt. Dew, Boat US, T-H Marine Supplies, AllState, TVA, Alabama Power, Fish Neely Henry Lake.com, Lew’s Fishing, Frogg Toggs, Crossed Industries, Alabama Foundation Specialist, Costa, YETI, Leer, E3 Apparel.

For information about Alabama Bass Trail and for complete tournament standings visit www.alabamabasstrail.org.