2018 BASS Elite Angler of the Year Championship Day 1: Justin Lucas Jumps Way Ahead!

James Elam Leads Tournament
BASS PRESS RELEASE

Lucas gains big lead as Bertrand stumbles.
(Photo: BASS)

Justin Lucas openly admits he’s been a nervous wreck.
 
He hasn’t been sleeping well. He’s been waking up in the middle of the night with his mind racing about this week’s Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship.
 
But after Thursday, he should rest a little better — and with two more days just like it, he’ll probably get some of the best sleep of his life.
 
Lucas, who finished the regular season as the leader in the AOY standings, caught five bass that weighed 13 pounds, 6 ounces during Thursday’s opening round of the AOY Championship on Lake Chatuge. That stretched his lead in the standings from nine points to a whopping 53 over second-place angler Josh Bertrand — and put him in prime position for a major career boost and the $100,000 bonus that goes with it.
 
“I just want that AOY trophy,” Lucas said emphatically. “You know I want to win this tournament this week. But I’d be 100 percent satisfied with a Top 8 finish. I’d be 100 percent satisfied if I finish eight points ahead of Josh.
 
“That AOY trophy is all I care about.”
 
As with past years, the AOY Championship is basically two events in one. First and foremost, it’s designed to bring closure to a nine-event Bassmaster Elite Series schedule that began in February on Alabama’s Lake Martin. It pays $1 million to the 50 AOY qualifiers based on their points totals at the end of the event, except for $25,000 going to the winner of the tournament.
 
Lucas, who grew up in California and now lives in Alabama, built his regular-season lead with five Top 12 finishes, including four in a row to end the season. He rode that momentum into Thursday’s first round and managed a double-digit weight despite tough fishing conditions on Chatuge.
 
The fishery, which is known for its giant populations of spotted bass and blueback herring, has proved difficult for the anglers since the official practice period began Monday. It was particularly tough Thursday for Bertrand — an Arizona native and a longtime friend of Lucas.

B.A.S.S. Redefines 2019 Elite Series in Response to Bass Pro Tour Payouts!

After 50 years of setting the world standard for professional bass tournament competition, B.A.S.S. made historic changes to the Bassmaster Elite Series on Monday, which will elevate the sport to levels never seen before. Elite Series pros will begin the 2019 season with a smaller field of competition, vastly increased payouts, dramatically reduced entry fees and the promise of more exposure through the company’s industry-leading media platforms.
 
“We just celebrated our 50th anniversary at B.A.S.S., and made the decision to create an environment second to none in the world of professional bass fishing,” said Bruce Akin, CEO of B.A.S.S. “Our anglers have been loyal to the Elite Series, and we want to not only reward that loyalty, but also redefine what it means to be a professional angler. We feel the new Elite Series format accomplishes these goals, and also provides bass fishing fans with more of the content they crave.”
 
First, the 2019 Elite Series field size will be based on 80 anglers, down from 110 last year. This reduction in the number of competitors will not only allow the pros to get more exposure through B.A.S.S. media platforms, but also will improve their odds of winning and qualifying for the Bassmaster Classic.
 
The new format features three no-entry fee events that will payout $1 million each: Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest benefiting Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship and the Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods, bass fishing’s crown jewel. Additionally, the eight regular-season Elite Series events will now pay the entire field of anglers, a first in the world of professional fishing. First-place prize will remain $100,000, but now the last-place angler will earn $2,500.
 

Z-MAN Drop Shot Baits Dominating Elites

MDJ credits his first Elite with to Z-MAN.. Roughly twelve years prior to his top 5 finish at the recent Bassmaster Elite Series event at the St. Lawrence River, professional angler David Walker cast his first ElaZtech® bait. At the time, Walker and a number of his colleagues viewed the new material mostly as a fad, a bait trend that wouldn’t last. Turns out, with an increasing number of victories to its credit, the “alternative” softbaits might be more analogous to high-performance superlines and the way anglers once viewed them relative to monofilament. “When I first fished some of the early ElaZtech baits, I remember having a hard time believing how soft and yet how durable they were,” recalls Walker. “It took a bit of experimenting with rigging, and trying the different shapes and bait styles. But pretty much right away I realized just how deadly these baits could be—particularly as a jig or swimbait trailer.” For Walker and other anglers, however, the big revelation occurred following early trials with a dropshot rig. “The more you fish ElaZtech on a dropshot, the more you appreciate just how much the baits elevate your game. I mean, you’re not supposed to do things like catch over a hundred bass on a single softbait.”

Interestingly, it wasn’t until 2017 that Z-Man— the principal ElaZtech innovators— released their first dropshot-specific bait. A collaborative design by company confidants, biologists and industry insiders, the Trick ShotZ™ exhibits several radical qualities.

Spiderwire Dura 4 Braided Line with Bobby Lane

BASS Elite angler Bobby Lane is a heavy cover guy. He knows how and went to fish braided line. He's impressed with the new Spiderwire Dura 4 Braided line. Don't know what a 4 carrier line means. Listen as Bobby explains all about it.

Major League Fishing, Bass Pro Shops and Outdoor Sportsman Group announce exciting new fishing competition to grow the sport

New Tour coming

MLF PRESS RELEASE

Major League Fishing (MLF) officials today announced a significant expansion beginning in 2019 with the goal of dramatically growing visibility and participation for the sport of fishing. The plans will help realize the founding partners' original vision for MLF to elevate competitive bass fishing and its top-tier pros to a national exposure level and grow a fan base on par with other top major league sports.

The expanded MLF program includes the addition of the Bass Pro Tour, a premier 80-angler, eight-event tour with a championship and heightened payouts, made possible through enthusiastic support from Bass Pro Shops and Outdoor Sportsman Group (OSG). Both partners are supporting MLF as part of their commitments to the future of the sport through participation and conservation efforts.

Under the visionary leadership of noted conservationist and founder Johnny Morris, Bass Pro Shops has been committed to connecting new audiences to the outdoors and advocating for conservation for more than 40 years. These foundational values directly align with MLF's innovative approach to competitive fishing.

MLF Pro Kevin VanDam (left), Bass Pro Shops Founder Johnny Morris (center) and MLF President and CEO Jim Wilburn are on the same team and same page when it comes to growing the sport of fishing and elevating pro anglers' stature to levels comparable to athletes in other major league sports. (Click to enlarge/download)

"Bass Pro Shops has proudly supported MLF from its inception because we believed in its mission to elevate the sport of fishing. Today we're very excited to take the next step and help showcase this great sport to every household in America," Morris said. "We truly believe this partnership will create many positive and significant new opportunities for kids and families, professional anglers and the sport itself. Equally important to us is leveraging this popular platform to showcase the importance of conservation and promote responsible fishing practices."

Adam Howell & Kyle Healey Win 2018 Renegade Bass Tour Classic with 49-57lbs!

St. Lawrance River smallmouth capital of the world. 
By Luigi De Rose

Easy to smile with Classic Trophies and new Basscat Boat!
(Photo: Renegade Bass Tour)

Rank	Angler Names	Day 1 Weight	Big Fish	Day 2 Weight	Big Fish	Total
1	Adam Howell / Kyle Healey	24.83	5.73	24.74	0	49.57
2	Nolan Leger / Mike Leger	23.15	0	25.92	0	49.07
3	Scott Lefebvre / Mario Formica	21	0	25.07	6.12	45.57
4	Martin Brisson / Patrick Reardon	22.73	0	21.13	6.07	43.86
5	Alex Merkley / Corey Gaffney	22.79	4.96	20.86	5.09	43.65
6	Tony Sleiman / Caleb Alexander	24.09	0	19.41	5	42.5
7	Ben Clapp / Matt Clapp	22.29	0	20.19	0	42.48
8	Jean Morin / Serge Carriere	23.18	5.81	18.83	6.02	42.01
9	Clancy Mulvihill / Jeff List	21.92	5.96	19.7	0	41.62
10	Troy Bresee / Bryan Pollock	20.54	0	20.8	4.82	41.34

FULL RESULTS 

Kyle Hall Wins 2018 Costa FLW Series Northern Division 1000 Islands with 68-11lbs!

Bad weather forces anglers to river only. 

by Kyle Wood

FLW PRESS RELEASE

With the top 10 confined to the St. Lawrence River for the final day of the Costa FLW Series Northern Division event at the 1000 Islands, the fishing was much tougher than days one and two. That didn’t matter much to Kyle Hall, who weighed another 18 pounds, 10 ounces to finish off a wire-to-wire win with a total of 68-11. Presented by Navionics, the last event of the Northern Division season paid the young Rio Vista, Texas, pro $45,700 for his efforts.

Hall’s summer vacation up north couldn’t have worked out any better. After fishing in the Bassmaster Open a month ago at Champlain, his friend Dakota Ebare convinced him to stay north and hop in the FLW Series event. Now, the 1000 Islands is his new favorite place.

“I can’t believe that happened,” Hall says of the win. “I put a lot of work in for this tournament and it feels awesome to win.”

While Hall’s extended time in the north country no doubt helped him find the juice, it was also pivotal for learning how the fish set up in the river.

“I put most of my time in on the river,” says Hall. “I knew there would likely be a day like today where the lake would be off-limits and I really thought the river was more consistent. I could get bit on the lake and it would be a 5-pounder, but the rest of the school would leave. On the river, I could catch a 5-pounder and there’d be more with it.

“Learning how the fish would set up in the current was huge,” continues Hall. “I found a school of fish in practice and I would go back to them every day to see how they set up in different wind directions and different weather. It showed me they wouldn’t leave the spot, but they may slide deeper or shallower.”

Current breaks along the main river channel in anywhere from 20 to 40 feet were the deal for Hall. He fished about 20 different breaks, sometimes hitting certain ones multiple times throughout the day. Additionally, he says he hit at least 15 spots in the lake on day two – which can be chalked up to nerves getting the best of him.

Steve Clark and Dave Norgrove Win 2018 COMPETITIVE SPORT FISHING LEAGUE NATIONAL CLASSIC XXII with 45-75bs!

Wicked weather no match for Classic anglers
By Luigi De Rose

The first weekend in September is always one of change. This CSFL Classic event was no different. Day 3 teams were greeted with a stiff wind and chilly temperatures.  Balsam Lake is a wide, open lake that offers little cover for anglers to hide from the elements. Even under poor fishing conditions, Steve Clark and Dave Norgrove's 12-06lbs limit was enough to hold of the fast charging team of Dan Risorto and Frank Perciasepe who rallied the last day with a limit of 15-02lbs. Clark and Norgrove's 45-75lbs 3 day limit vaulted them to the winner's podium.

POSITION	ANGLER	CO-ANGLER	DAY 1	DAY 2	DAY 3	TOTAL WEIGHT
1	STEVE CLARK	DAVE NORGROVE	17.1	16.05	12.6	45.75
2	DAN RISORTO	FRANK PERCIASEPE	17.75	11.2	15.2	44.15
3	PAUL DIPASSIO	RON COLUCCI	15.7	13.5	14.2	43.4
4	PATRICK LARMOUR	WAYNE LARMOUR	15.05	14.25	12.35	41.65
5	PETER WOROSZ	MATT SCHNEIDER	16.2	11.35	14.05	41.6
6	VIC MORRIS	TIM HARPER	14.9	14.85	11.3	41.05
7	BILL TODD	BRIAN MOORE	14.75	12.65	13.35	40.75
8	JAY SHORT	RYAN CROWLEY	16.15	11.3	11.8	39.25
9	SEAN PALMER	SCOTT PRIMO	15.9	14.35	8.35	38.6
10	JORDAN MCINTYRE	COREY MOREAU	17.7	16	4.8	38.5

Full results