2019 Bassmaster Team Championship Lake Hartwell Day 1: Lakeland Team Grab Lead with 17-15lbs!

Top Canadians are Chong and Brownridge in 15th

By Andrew Canulette

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Kris Lockard and Michael Morse said they knew next to nothing about Lake Hartwell heading into the Bassmaster Team Championship, but they made it look like their local favorite spot on Wednesday.

Lockard and Morse, who compete on the Lakeland (Fla.) Bassmaster Team Trail, caught a five-bass limit that weighed 17 pounds, 15 ounces to take the lead on Day 1 of the final event of the 2019 season.

The Florida anglers said they weren’t sure which strategy to employ on Hartwell, so they went “junk fishing” on Wednesday. Their limit (four largemouth and one spotted bass) was heavy enough for a 15-ounce lead over Adam Smith and Jayme Rampey, who live only minutes from Lake Hartwell and know it as well as any tandem in the tournament.

In all, 165 duos from 30 different states and two foreign countries are competing for a total cash purse of $87,200 in the two-day Team Championship portion of this event. The duo with the heaviest two-day total will earn a $20,000 Nitro/Mercury cash prize.

Lockard and Morse put themselves in good position to claim that cash. Their catches were spread throughout the day and covered ample water to entice their bites. That was the case for many teams, who scooted across Hartwell Wednesday, when skies were sunny and temperatures hovered near 50 degrees all day.

“We got lucky fishing this cold and deep water,” Morse said. “We’re from Florida, and there are no buggy whips or lily pads for us to flip here like we have back home. But we found some backwater spots that looked decent and were holding a little bait. We were able to get five good bites.”

B. Lat Moving to BASS!

Brian Latimer is another FLW Tour pro moving to the BASS Opens for 2020. 

Check out his video to his decision for his 2020 season. 

Geigertec Marine Products Team Up with Humminbird

Local company Geigertec Marine Products has teamed up with Johnson Outdoors to develop a mounting solution for their award winning Humminbird MEGA 360 transducer. This universal solution is designed to work on different boat hulls from deep v's to flats boats, as well as being able to mount almost anywhere on the boat including off of the transom. Most current Humminbird 360 users attach their transducer to the trolling motor. This new system allows more mounting options for anglers. Customer purchases a Universal MEGA 360 anywhere in the world there will be a GeigerTec Mega Mount in the box.

Aaron Martens Teams Up with Shimano and G. Loomis!

One of the most consistent anglers in the professional bass fishing ranks, being ‘in the money’ in 75-percent-plus of the more than 250 tournaments he’s competed in, noted angler Aaron Martens will be relying on G. Loomis’ complete line-up of IMX-PRO and NRX bass rods in 2020. Now competing on the Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour, Martens notes that similar to the performance he has with his Shimano Metanium and Stella reels, he’ll be on the water with rods consistent in performance and that can enhance his known natural fishing ability.

“I’ve been a lifetime Shimano reel fan and came to realize I needed that same on-going quality, technology, innovation and performance in my fishing rods,” Martens said. “With the G. Loomis brand being part of Shimano and being aware of how they have taken rod manufacturing to a next level, I had an easy decision once they asked me to fish with all the high-end G. Loomis rods.

With G. Loomis’ expanding rod line-up for the bass fishing market, ‘having someone with Aaron’s credentials from both his fishing expertise and tackle knowledge shows bass anglers our commitment to continue to grow the sport,” notes Blaine Anderson, field marketing manager for all the Shimano brands, including G. Loomis.

Dave Bulthuis as the new President of Pure Fishing North American Operations

Originally posted in Angling International

Pure Fishing has named Dave Bulthuis as the new President of its North American operation

He is the former Vice President of Sales for Costa Sunglasses, where he has served in a number of capacities since 2003. A long-time champion of the sport and industry, Bulthuis has been hired to further establish meaningful relationships with key North American stakeholders, including customers, industry associations and governmental agencies.

Bulthuis was honoured in October 2018 with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Sportfishing Association (ASA) during the organisation’s annual summit, in recognition of his ‘extraordinary’ leadership and lifelong commitment to sportfishing. He has served on the ASA’s Board of Directors for eight years, including a stint as Chairman of the Board in 2015 and 2016.

Prior to 16 years at Costa, Bulthuis served as Director of Sales for several brands in the outdoor industry, including Fin-Nor Fishing Tackle, Jones and Company and several independent rep groups.

Dudley and Thrift Move to MLF; Swindle and Palaniuk Back to Elites in 2020

Recruitment for 2020 already in full swing
By Luigi De Rose

As the G-Man and Palaniuk move back to the Bass Elites, under the legends exemption, MLF welcomes 2019 FLW Cup champ Bryan Thrift and 2019 FLW Angler of the Year David Dudley. Thrift and Dudley join several other top FLW pros who have abandoned the FLW Tour once the announcement that FLW and MLF have joined forces for the 2020 season.  

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing our American fans a Happy Thanksgiving!

Win with Minn Kota!

Since the first time you stepped on an Ultrex™ foot pedal, how has your fishing experience been improved? We want to hear about it directly from YOU! 

Submit a short video telling us what you love about your Ultrex trolling motor and your clip could be featured in an upcoming Ultrex video. 

Don't wait. If you're one of the first 60 entries you'll receive a t-shirt for free. 

LINK OVER HERE

Scott Martin Moves to BASS Opens for 2020!

Scott Martin, a 20 year pro with FLW, decides to join the BASS Opens for 2020. He has not be given a free pass to the BASS Elites, so Scott will try to qualify for 2021 Elite season. The main drive for the move is to win a Bassmaster Classic for his dad Roland.