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January 24, 2014 01:01:05
Posted By The Bass Hog
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South Florida Warming Trend Could Produce Record Stringers
CLEWISTON, Fla. (Jan. 22, 2014) – The 19th season of the major
leagues of bass-fishing, the Walmart FLW Tour, kicks off Feb.
6-9 with the Walmart FLW Tour on Lake Okeechobee presented by
Mercury. Hosted by Roland & Mary Ann Martin’s Marina & Resort
and the Hendry County Tourism Development Council, the
tournament will feature 180 of the world’s best bass-fishing
pros and 180 co-anglers casting for top awards of up to $125,000
cash in the pro division and up to $25,000 cash in the co-angler
division.
“If the weather gets right, it could be the perfect storm
like it was in 2011 when they broke all of the records,” said
Mercury pro Drew Benton of Panama City, Fla., who won this event
last season. “It’s been too cold and the major spawn hasn’t
happened yet. It all depends on the weather, but we could easily
see a four-day total of 100 pounds again.”
Straight Talk pro J.T. Kenney of Palm Bay, Fla., shared
Benton’s enthusiasm.
“Even though it really screws up the fishing, it takes
these cold fronts to trigger those big giant schools of fish
that live out in the main lake and are uncatchable to move into
the grassy areas and spawn,” Kenney said. “That’s the time of
year when we can see the big 30-pound stringers. I really
believe that if we hit a warming trend before the Tour event,
it’s going to be lights out.
“When it happens, it’ll be pretty quick,” Kenney
continued. “Water temperatures right now are pretty cold – I’ve
seen the lower 50s. Once that water temperature gets back up to
60 to 63 degrees, they’re coming.”
Kenney said that the weather will also play a huge role in
how the tournament anglers fish.
“If it warms up, we’re going to see more of the feeding-
type baits. Swimbaits will be really popular. Weightless stick
baits and ribbontail worms will catch a lot of fish. But, if it
stays cold, then reaction baits are going to be the way to go. I
like to flip the mats with a heavy weight, or use lipless
crankbaits and jerkbaits.”
“There’s endless opportunities on Okeechobee right now, and
I think you’re going to be able to catch them any way you want
to,” Benton said. “I think the jig bite is going to get better
on the outside. Sight-fishing might come into play. You can find
them on the outside of the grass on a spinnerbait or a swimjig.
From what I saw a few weeks ago, there aren’t as many mats to
flip as in years past. I think the winner is going to have to be
versatile, because I don’t see anyone being able to strictly
punch mats for four days and win on that alone.”
Both anglers said that if the water temperatures warm by
tournament time, they expect to see the winning mark top 100
pounds.
“If it’s stays cold, I think that the winner will probably
be in the low- to mid-70-pound range,” Kenney said. “It really
depends on the weather. Either way, Lake Okeechobee is a great
place to be the first week of February.”
In FLW Tour competition, anglers are also vying for
valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2014 Forrest Wood
Cup, the world championship of bass fishing. The 2014 Forrest
Wood Cup will be in Columbia, S.C., Aug. 14-17 on Lake Murray
and anglers could win as much as $500,000 – the sport’s biggest
award.
Anglers will take off from Roland & Mary Ann Martin's
Marina & Resort located at 920 E. Del Monte Ave. in Clewiston,
Fla., at 7:30 a.m. the first two days of competition. On the
last two days takeoff will be at the Clewiston Boat Basin at
7:30 a.m. Thursday and Friday’s weigh-ins will be held at Roland
& Mary Ann Martin's Marina beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday and
Sunday’s final weigh-ins will be held at the Walmart located at
1005 W. Sugarland Highway in Clewiston beginning at 4 p.m.
Fans will also be treated to the FLW Outdoors Expo at the
Walmart on Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. prior to the
final weigh-ins. Courtesy of FLW Outdoors.
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January 24, 2014 01:01:05
Posted By The Bass Hog
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MINNEAPOLIS (Jan. 23, 2013) - FLW, the world’s premier
tournament-fishing organization, and Lew’s, maker of high-
quality rods and reels, have announced a sponsorship agreement
through the 2014 season. Financial terms of the deal were not
disclosed.
Since Lew’s reemergence into the fishing market, they
have been building reels with a commitment to excellence and
innovation, following the trail blazed by Lew Childre, the man
who invented the low-profile baitcaster so common on boat decks
today. In addition to making top-notch baitcasting and spinning
reels, Lew’s has introduced a variety of pro-designed rods to
pair with them. Lew’s and FLW are a great fit, as passionate
anglers from the BFL level all the way up to touring pros like
Terry Bolton, Glenn Browne, Jason Christie, David Fritts, John
Murray, Mark Rose, Peter Thliveros, Andrew Upshaw and Jay Yelas
depend on their Lew’s equipment to perform day in and day out.
Lew’s will receive exposure across all of FLW's platforms,
including its tournaments and Expos, multiple websites, FLW Bass
Fishing magazine and the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show on
NBC Sports Network. "FLW" is broadcast Sundays in high-
definition (HD) to more than 564 million households worldwide,
making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports
television show in the world.
Lew’s rods and reels will also be the official fishing
equipment used for the public casting ponds held in conjunction
with many FLW events, allowing visitors the opportunity to enjoy
a quality casting experience with tournament-proven spinning and
baitcasting gear.
ABOUT FLW
FLW is the industry’s premier tournament-fishing organization,
providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete
for millions in prize money nationwide in 2014 over the course
of 229 tournaments across five tournament circuits, four of
which provide an avenue to the sport’s richest payday and most
coveted championship trophy – the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW
tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW"
television show and is broadcast to more than 564 million
households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed
weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world. FLW is
committed to providing a lifestyle experience that is the “Best
in Fishing, On and Off the Water.” For more information about
FLW visit FLWOutdoors.com and look for FLW on Twitter, Facebook,
Pinterest and YouTube.
Courtesy of FLWOutdoors.com
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January 24, 2014 12:47:13
Posted By The Bass Hog
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KISSIMMEE, Fla. — It’s not often that an angler leads the first
day of a Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Open presented by Allstate
with less than a limit of five bass, but Todd Auten of Lake
Wylie, S.C., is doing just that. After Day 1 at the first
Southern Open of 2014 on Lake Tohopekaliga in Central Florida,
he finished the round with four bass weighing 22 pounds, 10
ounces.
Auten’s catch was anchored by the early leader for Carhartt Big
Bass honors, a 9-7 largemouth that struck an Xcalibur Xr75
lipless crankbait.
“I was covering a lot of water and throwing the Xr75,” Auten
said, though he elected not to share more information.
The Florida subspecies of the largemouth bass is known for
being finicky in cold weather. Simply put, they don’t like it,
so the recent cold fronts have done nothing at all to help the
fishing. On Day 1, bites were few and far between. The great
fishing the anglers enjoyed before the fronts arrived is now
long gone, and many reported that the fish they located in
practice had “disappeared.”
Not everyone struggled, though. In second place is Bassmaster
Elite Series pro Kotaro Kiriyama of Moody, Ala., with a limit of
five bass weighing 19-2.
“It wasn’t easy today,” Kiriyama said. “I only had six bites,
and none of them came until 1:40 this afternoon.”
Kiriyama played his cards close to the vest, not disclosing his
location or bait of choice, but he did say that his fish
were “really, really shallow.”
Trevor Fitzgerald, winner of the 2010 Southern Open on Lake
Seminole and owner of Fitzgerald Rods, had a tough day,
finishing with a limit weighing 12-2 that put him in a tie with
three other anglers for 30th place.
“I caught 15 or more on an Xcalibur Xr50 (chrome with a blue
back), but they were small. The bite was good when the wind was
blowing, but slowed when it calmed down,” Fitzgerald said.
To add to his challenges, Fitzgerald lost a huge bass late in
the day while punching a mat close to the weigh-in site.
Last year’s champion, Rich Howes of nearby Oviedo, Fla.,
struggled in the first round. He has been battling vertigo for
several months, and a relapse right before this event has made
fishing a physical challenge. Howes weighed in three small bass
on Day 1 for 4-1 and sits in 144th place.
At stake are cash and prizes and a berth in the 2015 Bassmaster
Classic on Lake Hartwell, S.C., for the winner who fishes the
full series of three Southern Open events.
On the co-angler side, Bryan Jones of Zephyrhills, Fla., leads
the way with a three-bass limit weighing 16-8. “My fish came
from six to seven feet of water on a spinnerbait. I was slow
rolling it. The action was pretty slow — just a bite now and
then.”
Boats will take off Friday at 7 a.m. local time from Big Toho
Marina, 101 Lakeshore Blvd., Kissimmee, FL 34741. The weigh-in
on Day 2 will be held at the same location. On Saturday, the
final weigh-in will be held at Bass Pro Shops, 5156
International Dr., Orlando, FL 32819.
To follow the action, visit Bassmaster.com.
Courtesy of BASS Communications.
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Categories:
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Jonathan Marlow,
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Opens
January 15, 2014 10:27:08
Posted By The Bass Hog
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A spin-off of the successful Bassmaster Elite
Series Marshal program, the new Elite Experience offers intense
instruction and personal coaching by Elite pros — and the
opportunity for fans to actually go fishing with one.
Offered in conjunction with the 2014 Bassmaster Elite Series
season, most Elite Experience sessions will happen Saturdays and
Sundays.
Saturdays will be filled with seminars and workshops conducted
by Elite pros. The next day will be a pro-am tournament in which
two Elite Experience participants will be paired with an Elite
pro to form a three-angler team.
Each team will compete against all other Elite Experience pro-
am teams on a body of water near the concurrent Elite event’s
fishery. Each team can weigh in five bass. The heaviest bag will
determine the winner.
Prizes will be awarded, with payouts based on the number of
entries. In addition, the one angler with the largest bass will
win a prize.
The height of the Experience will be when the winning team
members are brought up on the Bassmaster Elite Series stage and
recognized for their accomplishment.
“The Elite Series Marshal program has been so successful, we
decided to expand on the opportunities for fan-pro interaction,”
said Bruce Akin, CEO of B.A.S.S., owner of the Elite
Series. “Intense instruction followed by applying what was
learned can only add up to a well-spent — and fun — weekend.”
As the B.A.S.S. tournament director, Trip Weldon has steered the
Marshal program, which pairs a fan with a pro as the official
observer during competition. He’s heard firsthand the stories
about how much marshals learn when riding along with the pros.
“But in the boat, actually fishing alongside an Elite pro, Elite
Experience participants are going to come away with a lot more
of those stories to tell their families and friends,” Weldon
said. “Elite pros are excited about this opportunity. We’ve had
excellent buy-in from them on this new idea.”
The structure of the seminars and workshops, said Weldon, will
allow participants to move from pro to pro to learn what makes
them successful. Topics will cover a wide range of tournament
tactics. The format will give each Elite Experience angler a
chance to “learn from many experts what makes them Elite pros,”
Weldon said.
Six Elite Experience sessions are planned for 2014. They are:
Saturday, March 8 – Lay Lake, Alabama (tournament only)
Saturday and Sunday, March 22-23 – Rodman Reservoir, Florida
Saturday and Sunday, April 5-6 – Bull Shoals, Arkansas
Saturday and Sunday, May 17-18 – Piney Creek, Arkansas
Saturday and Sunday, June 14-15 – Nickajack Lake, Tennessee
Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 23-24 – Onondaga Lake, New York
For more information about the program, or to register after
Feb. 3, contact the B.A.S.S. tournament department at 205-313-
0900.
About B.A.S.S.
For more than 45 years, B.A.S.S. has served as the authority on
bass fishing. The organization advances the sport through
advocacy, outreach and an expansive tournament structure while
connecting directly with the passionate community of bass
anglers through its Bassmaster media vehicles.
The Bassmaster brand and its multimedia platforms are guided by
a mission to serve all fishing fans. Through its industry-
leading publications — Bassmaster Magazine and B.A.S.S. Times —
comprehensive website Bassmaster.com and ESPN2 and Outdoor
Channel television programming, Bassmaster provides rich,
leading-edge content true to the lifestyle.
The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the Bassmaster Elite
Series, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Open Series, Carhartt
Bassmaster College Series, B.A.S.S. Nation events and the
ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Bassmaster
Classic.
Courtesy of BASS Communications.
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Categories:
BASS,
Boating,
Fishing,
Tournaments,
Bass Hog,
Jonathan Marlow,
Outdoors,
News,
Sports,
Bassmaster,
Elite
January 12, 2014 12:41:23
Posted By The Bass Hog
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Jaeger wins co-angler title
OKEECHOBEE, Fla. (Jan. 11, 2014) – Keith Fels of Ocala, Fla.,
weighed four bass totaling 7 pounds, 15 ounces Saturday to win
the Rayovac FLW Series Southeast Division event presented by
Power-Pole on Lake Okeechobee with a three-day total of 14 bass
weighing 54 pounds, 15 ounces. For his victory, Fels earned
$40,000 and a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or
Mercury outboard motor.
Fels notched his seventh career top-10 FLW finish on Lake
Okeechobee in grand style, banging out a 10-pounder on the
second day of the tournament to build an insurmountable lead
over the rest of the field. “I figured out something on
Okeechobee I guess,” said Fels. “It’s something different I do
with it. I don’t know, it’s kind of a secret.
“I was just pitching to holes in the hydrilla,” continued
Fels. “It was probably a foot or a foot and a half deep, really
pretty shallow. The fish moved in there yesterday; they weren’t
in there today. The wind changed directions. It moved them, I
guess.”
“She (the 10-pounder) hit it and I missed it. I thought it
felt like a good one, so I flipped back in and she got it,” said
Fels. “Then she got down in the hydrilla and I was pulling up
like 50 pounds of hydrilla, and I got it right to the boat and
my line broke right by the reel. The line fell down and coiled
up by the hydrilla, so I reached down and wrapped it around my
hand and pulled it in. My co-angler was freaking out; he
said, ‘Oh my God, that’s a 12-pounder!’
“Slowing down was the key,” finished Fels. “I wasn’t
getting bit during practice. I was probably fishing too fast. I
slowed way down and let the bait sit and the fish just came and
picked it up.
Fels said he caught most of his big fish on a jig with a
Gambler MegaDaddy or a Why Not on it, and also did some punching
with those same baits and a 2-ounce weight.
Mike Evans caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-
angler division Thursday – a 10-pound, 8-ounce bass – that
earned him the day’s Rayovac FLW Series Big Bass award of $200.
The Rayovac FLW Series consists of five divisions –
Central, Northern, Southeast, Texas and Western. Each division
consists of three tournaments and competitors will be vying for
valuable points in each division that could earn them the Strike
King Angler of the Year title, which allows them to fish the
2015 Forrest Wood Cup.
This was the first Rayovac FLW Series event of the 2014
season. The next Rayovac FLW Series Southeast Division
tournament will be Mar. 14-15, at Santee Cooper in Manning,
S.C., and is hosted by the Clarendon County Chamber of Commerce.
For complete details and updated information visit
FLWOutdoors.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news
and more, follow FLW on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and
on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWOutdoors.
Courtesy of FLWOUTDOORS.COM
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January 10, 2014 12:15:09
Posted By The Bass Hog
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ATHENS, Ala. (Jan. 9, 2014)
(A link to the video announcement:
http://new.livestream.com/accounts/6406405/events/2676579)
The Weekend Bass Series Championship has been renamed the Ray
Scott Championship, announced American Bass Anglers officials
who conducts the largest and most prestigious tournament
trail for weekend anglers.
“I am both honored and humbled that this great weekend angler
championship will be named after me,” said Scott, a bass
fishing legend. “My heart has always been with the weekend
bass angler from the very first days of this great sport. I
like the format used in the Weekend Bass Series because it
really tests the mettle of the angler in fair and honest
competition and it will be exciting to watch the best anglers
rise to the top and take this championship.”
Most people know Ray Scott as the founder of the Bass Anglers
Sportsman Society and for his involvement with promoting
professional bass fishing over the past 45 years. However,
he has also been honored many times for his influential work
in conservation, boating safety and the fishing environment.
He received the prestigious Horatio Alger award and was named
by Field and Stream magazine as one of “Twenty Who Have Made
a Difference” in the American outdoors during the 20th
century along with people like Theodore Roosevelt and Aldo
Leopold.
“Ray Scott is a true living legend who created B.A.S.S. and
the sport of bass fishing as we know it today,” said Morris
Sheehan, president of American Bass Anglers, Inc. “We are
extremely excited to have him in this position. Ray has been
a very strong supporter of ABA and will serve as the official
spokesman for ABA activities. He will do personal appearances
on behalf of ABA and membership promotions throughout the
year. This will be the most prestigious award ever given in
bass fishing history. It is exciting that the first-ever Ray
Scott Championship will crown the best weekend bass angler in
the country in Ray’s home state.”
Set for Nov. 12-15, 2014, the first Ray Scott Championship
will be held on Wheeler Lake in Decatur, Ala. The no-entry
fee championship will be awarded to the first-ever Ray Scott
Champion. The Boater Division winner will receive $100,000 in
cash and possibly more than $100,000 in contingency bonus
money from sponsors. The Co-Angler Division champion will
also win a big payout including $50,000 in cash and possibly
more than $50,000 in contingency bonus money from sponsors.
As a special Ray Scott Championship bonus, the Boater
Division and Co-Angler Division champions will each receive
entry fees and sponsorship into the one of two professional
bass fishing series of the angler’s choice. The sponsorship
includes entry fees into three professional events and
sponsorship support. This sponsorship will put the champion
within striking distance of one of two professional bass
fishing championships.
The Weekend Bass Series’ 2014 season kicks off on Lake Murray
near Columbia, S.C. on Jan. 18, 2014. The anglers will run
out of Dreher Island State Park, located at 3677 State Park
Road in Prosperity, S.C. For more information about the
Weekend Bass Series or the Ray Scott Championship, visit
www.weekendseries.com
About American Bass Anglers:
The Weekend Bass Series provides weekend anglers a
professionally operated competitive tour with a path to
professional bass fishing. American Bass Anglers commitment
is to provide low-cost, close-to-home tournaments for the
weekend angler and at the same time offer each competitor an
upward path for individual angler progression. For more
information about American Bass Anglers and the American
Fishing Tour, The Weekend Bass Series, the American Couples
Series or the annual Military Team Bass Tournament, visit
www.americanbassanglers.com. For more information about Ray
Scott and the history of bass fishing, visit
www.rayscottbassretreat.com.
Courtesy of ABA/David Hagood
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January 4, 2014 09:57:57
Posted By The Bass Hog
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OKEECHOBEE, Fla. — Kyle Oliver and Hunter McKamey of the
University of Central Florida overcame an unexpected cold front
to win the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Southern Regional
on Lake Okeechobee with a two-day total of 39-12. The duo held
on to a Day 1 lead and brought 20 pounds, 13 ounces of bass to
the scales on Saturday to clinch the win.
In practice, the record field of 130 college teams enjoyed
clear skies and 80-degree weather, but frigid temperatures the
night before competition changed the bass bite and the anglers’
plans. On Friday, winds at 25 miles per hour prevented half the
field from reaching the spots they found productive in practice,
but those conditions, including the 40-degree temperatures,
actually helped the UCF winners.
Fishing a vast pad field with Zoom Speed Worms and Gambler
Burner Worms, Oliver and McKamey caught fish that were preparing
to spawn, as well as bass moving out of the spanwing areas due
to the cold.
“The weather benefited us more than anybody else,” said
McKamey. “We saw that everybody was flipping in our area in
practice. We tried flipping but didn’t catch much.”
The UCF Knights decided to use moving baits instead. After
catching a 2-pounder and a 3-pounder in the area by reeling
worms, they left the spot to save it for Day 1 of competition.
“The spot we were fishing had pre-spawn fish coming in, and the
cold weather made the fish that were in the reeds come out,”
said Oliver. “So all those fish merged in our spot. We probably
caught 30 fish today and 40 fish yesterday.”
Jake Gipson and Charlie Hurst of the University of Alabama
brought in the biggest bag of the event on Saturday, weighing 24-
15 and moving into second place. Their biggest bass, an 8-7
lunker, tied fellow Crimson Tide anglers John B Davis and Payton
McGinnis, who brought in a bass of the same size on Friday. The
two teams tied for the Carhartt Big Bass award.
Kyle Smith and Shelby Concon of the University of Florida
finished in third place with a two-day total of 35-15.
The Top 18 teams qualify for the 2014 Carhartt Bassmaster
College Series National Championship, which will be held this
summer. For more information, visit Bassmaster.com.
Courtesy of BASS Communications.
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Categories:
BASS,
Boating,
Fishing,
Tournaments,
Bass Hog,
Jonathan Marlow,
Outdoors,
News,
Sports,
Bassmaster,
College
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