Walmart FLW Tour - FLW Tour Majors Day 2: David Dudley Controls Champlain

29.Jun.2012 by By David A. Brown
FLW Press Release

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The calm, cooperative Lake Champlain that treated anglers to downright fun fishing on day one morphed into angry, wind-whipped waters on day two. Nevertheless, day-one leader David Dudley hunkered down, made some key decisions and retained his top spot at the FLW Tour Major event.
The Castrol GTX pro from Lynchburg, Va. returned to the same general area that, a day earlier, produced the event's heaviest sack – 24 pounds – and found the fish a little less aggressive. Today, he caught a limit that went 18-15, pushed his total to 42-15 and expanded his lead to 3-13. When it came to location and specific baits, Dudley held his cards low, but he was forthcoming about how his day required careful attention to stealth and a strong mental effort.

David can smell the Angler of the Year title.
(Photos: FLW)

"Wind always makes things tougher just because of boat control and casting ability, but does the wind make them stop biting? I don't know," he said. "With (windy conditions) you make a lot of noise like the trolling motor (coming out of the water in the waves). Those bass can hear you from a long distance away.
"With the water so clear, it doesn't help things, but wind helps a lot of things in fishing. There are a lot of different factors and I can't weigh one heavier than the other."
On the mental game, Dudley noted that changes in weather like today's addition of 20-mph winds will test an angler's ability to interpret the cause-and-effect riddle and take the appropriate action.
"You have to do the best you can do and manage the best you can manage," he said. "That's what separates a lot of anglers from other anglers – how you handle wind, how you handle rain, how you handle decisions on the water. You have to be able to do that."

2012 Bassmaster Elite Series Green Bay Challenge Day 2: Dean Rojas Reaches Top

By Ken Duke

Jun 29, 2012

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Four-time Bassmaster tournament winner Dean Rojas has taken the lead at the Bassmaster Elite Series Green Bay Challenge. Rojas, who was in second place coming into today's round, added a limit of five bass weighing 17 pounds, 14 ounces to his tally, for a total of 37-12. First round leader Aaron Martens caught 16-15 today and trails Rojas by 13 ounces.

Rojas working on bedding smallmouth.
(Photos: James Overstreet BASS)

Rojas, who is widely regarded as the best topwater frog angler in the world, denied earlier reports that he was catching big smallmouth bass on his signature bait.
"The first day, I caught every bass sight-fishing," Rojas said. "Today I had to completely change what I was doing. I caught them all deep — 9 to 20 feet — on a drop shot rig."
Rojas is rotating between three different soft plastic baits for his catch, including a lure from Big Bite Baits and a couple of custom hand pours. His drop shot weight is 3/8 ounce. Beyond that, he doesn't want to elaborate on his methods until the tournament is over.
"I'm fishing in the middle of a bunch of boats," Rojas said. "I'm in the right area, and I think it'll hold up, but I'm sharing the spot with Terry Scroggins."

IBASSIN RULES #3

RULES #3 looks at spinnerbaits for smallmouth. Don't just think finesse, big gaudy spinnerbaits can be the ticket for big smallmouth. Plus, they're so fun to fish.

2012 Bassmaster Elite Series Green Bay Challenge Day 1: A-Mart Hits Lead with 20 Pounds!

By Ken Duke

Bass Press Release

Jun 28, 2012

Aaron Marten takes a solid lead.
(Photos: James Overstreet BASS)

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Bassmaster Elite Series event that was billed for months as the "Mystery Lake" tournament is still something of a mystery to many of the best bass anglers in the world. The 2006 Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year, Aaron Martens, leads the way at the Green Bay Challenge with a five-bass limit of smallmouth that weighed 20 pounds. His closest competition, Dean Rojas, is just two ounces back, but a third of the field is knotted between 11 and 14 pounds.
“Everyone’s basically fishing in the same area,” Martens said, describing a 3 or 4 mile stretch of Lake Michigan on the west side of the lake, not far from Sand Bay. “I’m concerned that all the fishing pressure might affect the bite and make things tough tomorrow.”
David Walker, currently sixth with 17-13, estimated that there were as many 80 boats in a 3-mile section of the lake. “In places, the boats are just 50 feet apart.”
Though the anglers are customarily closed-mouthed in the early stages of a tournament, several commented that many of the bass being caught are bedding smallmouth between 5 and 10-feet deep. Soft plastic baits fished on jigheads and drop

User Fees to Fish? Come On!

A fan pointed this possible by-law for the famed Trent-Severn Waterway in Southern Ontario. Its worth a read. Its seems that everyone needs extra money and anglers will have to open their wallets.

http://www.intelligencer.ca/2012/06/18/mps-like-user-fees-for-trent-severn

Todd Faircloth Wins 2012 Elite Series Mississippi River Rumble

By Deb Johnson

Bass Press Release

JUN 24, 2012

Faircloth win the Rumble!
(Photos: BASS)

Faircloth was right. He closed on his third Bassmaster Elite Series win Sunday by 1 pound, 4 ounces. It was a big margin compared to every other day of the Rumble, when only ounces separated leaders from the pack, and each place from another.

Faircloth’s 62-pound, 4-ounce total was enough to finish ahead of Cliff Pace of Petal, Miss., who had 61-0.

Pace ended with his second consecutive runner-up spot of the month. For Faircloth of Jasper, Texas, the win was his first since 2008.

IBASSIN Rules. Rule #2 Skipping

IBASSIN Rules. Rule #2 Skipping Finesse baits. Its a great method of catching bass. Learn on this how-to video to use a Senko and Tube to reach bass once though untouchable. This series of videos will make you a better bass angler

2012 Elite Series Mississippi River Rumble Day 1: Kyle Fox Leads on Busy River

By Deb Johnson
BASS PRESS RELEASE

Jun 21, 2012

LA CROSSE, Wis. — Florida native Kyle Fox must have some Northern blood coursing through his angler veins.
As he led the Mississippi River Rumble on Thursday with 16 pounds, 8 ounces, the Bassmaster Elite Series rookie from Lakeland, Fla., was reminded that he tied down his Elite qualification in 2011 by excelling on northern fisheries like Lake Erie and New York’s Lake Oneida.

Fox figured out how to catch the big ones.
(Photos: James Overstreet BASS)

Fox, 24, added the Mississippi River to that list by beating 97 other anglers on a river he’d never before competed on, and first saw three days ago.
“I think I am so limited with what I know about a place I fish the first time, I have to go with what I do best,” he said. That, he said, was to hit the river’s shallow grassy backwaters, not so unlike what he was weaned on in Florida.
Fox led the Rumble by 3 ounces over Aaron Martens of Leeds, Ala., in second place with 16-5. Fox was ahead of the Top 5 by less than 1 pound: Grant Goldbeck of Boerne, Texas, with 16-0; Billy McCaghren of Mayflower, Ark., with 15-11; and Greg Hackney of Star City, AR., with 15-10.
The spread between first and 49th place — the cutoff after Day 2 — was even tighter. Just 3 pounds, 11 ounces, separated Fox from 49th place, a position shared by five pros.
Davy Hite of Ninety Six, S.C., who sat about midway in that Top 49 mix with 13-13, summarized the situation with his on-stage comment: “Ounces are going to be everything.”
The leader said he had a five-fish limit within 20 minutes of Thursday’s start.

I have heard of mall rat but mall shark?

The collapse of a shark tank at The Scientific Center in Kuwait.
It's probably the only time in your life you will see something like this.

Plano and Frabill Unite

Plano Molding Co. and Frabill Inc. have announced that they are joining forces, uniting two iconic fishing tackle brands that have been serving anglers and outdoor enthusiasts for more than 70 years. The transaction, whereby Plano will acquire Frabill, brings together under one roof the worldwide leader in fishing tackle storage systems and the North American leader in live bait storage, landing nets and portable ice fishing shelters and related accessories.

"The Frabill product line has achieved significant brand equity in the 29 years of ownership by the Marble family. To accomplish the future growth objectives of the company, we sought a partner that could provide the necessary resources while maintaining the core values of service and quality our customers have come to expect," said Jeff Marble, CEO of Frabill. "Plano's excellent reputation with both fishermen and our retail partners made the decision an easy one. We are extremely excited to become part of Plano and we look forward to what we can achieve together in the years to come."

"Frabill and Plano are a perfect fit - like peanut butter and jelly," said Tom Hurt, Plano president and CEO. "We serve the same customers and our products sit next to each other on the store shelf. More importantly, our companies share common core values, which include world-class customer service and an uncompromising dedication to product quality. Together, we will continue to drive excitement and excellence into our categories by introducing innovative products for many years to come.

"A combination with Frabill advances our long-term strategy of broadening Plano's focus on fishing and hunting storage products with complementary brands and product categories," Hurt added.

Frabill's shareholders were advised by Joe Froehlich of Corporate Financial Advisers and William Soderstrom of Fox, O'Neill & Shannon. Michael Lusk of McGuireWoods LLP acted as legal counsel to Plano.

IBASSIN RULES: Rule #1 Punching Weeds

IBASSIN RULES: New Video Series

Walmart FLW Tour Kentucky Lake Day Winner: Dave Lefebre Win with Swimbait and Jig

FLW PRESS RELEASE

Dave Lefebre charges to win with a single swimbait.
(Photos: FLW Outdoors)

On Saturday, Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes pro Dave Lefebre of Erie, Pa., weighed 23 pounds, 15 ounces of bass — the heaviest limit of fish at the FLW Tour on Kentucky Lake presented by OFF!. Lefebre didn’t duplicate that effort Sunday, but it turns out he didn’t need to. At the end of the day, Lefebre’s five bass worth 19 pounds, 5 ounces gave him a total four-day weight of 77 pounds, 3 ounces as well as a championship trophy and $125,000.
“This feels good,” said Lefebre, who hasn’t won an FLW Tour event since 2004. “I can’t believe it because the Potomac (River) and (Lake) Champlain are the two I look at and say, ‘Those are the ones I have a chance to win.’ And after the Potomac, where I let one get away, this one is a shocker to me.”
Lefebre said he started the final day of competition the way he had previous days — about a mile from the takeoff ramp fishing a swimbait. In past days, he fished that area until he had a limit at about 8:30 a.m., but on Sunday the bite wasn’t as good and he left the spot with three fish at 7:30 and made a 12-mile run to look for more fish. He fished a Tabu 1-ounce brown jig with purple tinsel tipped with a green-pumpkin Yamamoto trailer on ledges and inlets into the main river channel.

2012 Elite Series Toledo Bend Battle Day 4: Chapman is Champ!

By Deb Johnson

Jun 10, 2012

MANY, La. — Brent Chapman will turn 40 in early July. That’s a milestone he didn’t want to celebrate without having ticked the box next to a top career goal: a Bassmaster Elite Series win.

Ready to win!
(Photos: James Overstreet BASS)

Let the party begin. 
Starting at 11th place on Thursday, then jumping up to lead for the next two days, the pro from Lake Quivira, Kan., closed on the Toledo Bend Battle trophy Sunday. His winning weight of 83 pounds, 9 ounces gave him a margin of victory of 4 pounds, 4 ounces over Cliff Pace of Petal, Miss., who tallied 79-5 for second place.
“I feel awesome,” said Chapman. “This is one more check-off on the list of my goals.”
His Elite win was worth $100,000, enough points to take over in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year points race, and a berth in the 2013 Bassmaster Classic.
The Classic qualification was his second of the season; the first one came by winning a Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Open in February. Because he already had the 2013 Classic entry sewn up, it was the Elite victory that made his day. He was never sure he had the win until the scales stopped moving on his Sunday bag.

Thanking God for this Hawg.

“I truly felt I needed 20 pounds today to have a shot at winning this,” he added. “I had a lot more than I thought I did.”
The Sunday scales settled on 23-11. The icing on the weight was a last-hour bass that almost offered itself to him.
“I throw my spoon out, go to reel it in, and I see the spoon at about 5 feet from the boat — and a 4-pounder is behind it. I ‘killed’ the spoon — kind of dropped it — and the bass sucked it in. I just whipped it into the boat. When stuff like that happens, I think, ‘Maybe I am supposed to win this deal.’”
Throughout the week, the winner’s focus went much deeper. He worked several spots, but particularly one area that held schools of big bass 25 to 30 feet deep. He used a 5-inch, 1 1/4-ounce flutter spoon with a silver finish modified with a 2/0 Lazer TroKar treble, or worked a Tightlines green-pumpkin UV Hog on a 3/4-ounce football jig.
The spoon was a lure he picked up at a tackle store, and it had no brand name, Chapman said. A lover of fishing banks

Walmart FLW Tour Kentucky Lake Day 3: Baumgardner Leads on Fickle Day

09.Jun.2012 by Jennifer Simmons
MURRAY, Ky. – It was a battle of the haves and the have-nots today on day three of Walmart FLW Tour competition on Kentucky Lake presented by Off!. Strong winds wreaked havoc on most pros’ game plans with two notable exceptions – leader Chris Baumgardner and No. 2 Dave Lefebre.

Chris is fishing in Barkley and not fighting the crowds.
(Photos: FLW outdoors)

Of the top 20 pros, only three did not have their worst day of the tournament, and only two had their best day – the aforementioned Baumgardner and Lefebre. Baumgardner, the Snickers pro from Gastonia, N.C., leads the pack with 58 pounds, just a scant 2 ounces ahead of Lefebre, the Kellogg’s pro from Erie, Pa., who will enter the final day with 57 pounds, 14 ounces to his credit.
Lefebre wowed the crowd with the heaviest stringer of the tournament so far – an incredible five-bass limit weighing 23 pounds, 15 ounces. A few minutes later, Baumgardner came to the scales with a personal tournament-best 22 pounds, 15 ounces, and the race was on.
Baumgardner and Lefebre may be neck-and-neck, but they left the pros behind them with a lot of work to do. Jim Moynagh of Carver, Minn., led day two but sits more than 4 pounds behind Lefebre in third, and 11 pounds, 10 ounces separate the leader from No. 10 pro Todd Hollowell of Fishers, Ind. Hollowell knocked local pro Terry Bolton out of the final round by only an ounce.

2012 Elite Series Toledo Bend Battle Day 3: Chapman Conquers Another Day

By Deb Johnson

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Jun 9, 2012

MANY, La. — On Saturday Brent Chapman returned to the school of bass that produced 25 1/2 pounds for him early Friday.

Fishing off shore with a spoon is the key for Chapman.
(Photos: James Overstreet BASS)

He milked it again for 16 pounds, 5 ounces, and the lead for another day in the Bassmaster Elite Series Toledo Bend Battle.

He’s hungry to nail down his first Elite Series win.
But his 59-pound, 14-ounce total over three days left him anything but certain it would come Sunday. Even if Marty Robinson was not just 1-5 behind him in second place with 58-9, and even if he had a bigger cushion than the 10 pounds he does have on the angler sitting in 12th place, Chapman was not feeling easy.
He knew what Tim Horton’s 27-9 sack of Saturday meant.
“This tournament is going to come down to the guy who catches a big bag of fish tomorrow, and I just hope that’s me,” said the pro from Lake Quivira, Kan. “Anybody in the top 10, maybe the top 12, is going to have a shot at winning this thing.”

Horton was third with 58-1; Day 1 leader Cliff Pace was fourth with 57-12; and Matt Herren was fifth with 56-11.
The field was cut to the Top 12 for Sunday’s competition. The prize is $100,000 and a Bassmaster Classic entry in 2013.
Chapman had hoped for another 25-plus pounds like he had on Friday, but conditions changed. He wasn’t sure exactly why more of the big bass in the deep school he’s been working didn’t bite Saturday.
“My theory is that maybe they’re generating electricity on a weekday, and that allows those fish to bite a little better, and on a weekend it doesn’t,” he said.

Walmart FLW Tour Kentucky Lake Day 2: Moynagh Moves to First

08.Jun.2012 by Jennifer Simmons
FLW PRESS RELEASE
GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. – It was another slugfest on day two of Walmart FLW Tour competition on Kentucky Lake, but even with limits and big bass being weighed in left and right, Jim Moynagh of Carver, Minn., still managed to open up a 3-pound, 8-ounce lead heading into day three with a two-day total of 40-6.
Moynagh’s day-one catch of 18 pounds, 11 ounces put him in the top five, but his day-two limit of 21 pounds, 11 ounces – the heaviest of the day and the only stringer on day two to exceed 20 pounds – put him atop the leaderboard.
Competitors have their choice of fishing Kentucky or Barkley lakes – both of them rather massive bodies of water – and Moynagh chose to hit Kentucky today.

The Football jigs is working for Jim.
(Photos: FLW Outdoors)

“This lake’s got a biomass of fish,” Moynagh said. “When you idle over these points, there’s always stuff on my graph.”
Moynagh found the spot in practice, and it continues to pay dividends.
“These fish are relating to a little drop on a gravel bar,” he said. “I happened to wander along this ledge, and lo and behold, I caught a couple.”
The spot has continued to yield fish after heavy fish for the M&Ms pro, who nonetheless says he cannot be sure it will hold up tomorrow.
“I hope it does,” he said.
Moynagh said he’s been catching the majority of his bass on an All-Terrain Tackle football-head jig.

2012 Elite Series Toledo Bend Battle Day 2: Chapman Takes Tournament and AYO Lead!

Ready for WAR!
(Photos: James Overstreet BASS)

By Deb Johnson
BASS PRESS RELEASE
MANY, La. — Talk about a dynamite two-for-one deal: Brent Chapman’s Friday performance in the Toledo Bend Battle yielded five lunker bass that pushed him into first place in the event standings, while also pushing him toward recapturing first place in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year points race.
“They were all off one spot, within about one cast of each other,” he said of the five that weighed in at 25 pounds, 8 ounces. “These fish are feeding first thing in the morning, and I was there for that.”
The pro from Lake Quivira, Kan., had his Friday weight secure in his livewell by 8 a.m.

Catching them deep.

Combined with a first day of 18-1, Friday’s catch gave him a two-day total of 43-9 in the Bassmaster Elite Series’ fifth event of the season. He overtook first-day leader Cliff Pace of Petal, Miss., who fell to third with 39-12. “It’s an amazing spot, and I just hope it holds up,” said Chapman, who tapped into the 50-by-50 sweet spot the first day without as much success — 11th place with 18-1 — but got more out of it Friday.
“Hopefully, it will continue to produce,” he said. “It seems to be replenishing itself and the bigger ones moved up today.”
Chapman, who started his season with a lower-level win before following up with three Top 5 Bassmaster Elite Series finishes, leads the Top 50 who qualified to advance to the Battle’s semi-finals.
After Saturday’s round, the field will cut to the Top 12 for Sunday’s finals. The Elite pros will compete for a first prize of $100,000 and a 2013 Bassmaster Classic berth.
About 1 1/2 pounds behind Chapman on Friday was Matt Herren of Trussville, Ala. Herren’s daily weights have been even — 20-0 on Day 1 and 22-0 on Day 2 for a 42-0 total — but both days on the water have been anything but even for him.

Walmart FLW Tour - Kentucky Lake Day 1: Todd Hollowell Claims Top Spot

TOP 20
Place / Name / Hometown / Total (#bass)

1	TODD HOLLOWELL	FISHERS, IN	19-05 (5)
2	TERRY BOLTON	PADUCAH, KY	19-03 (5)
2	JACOB WHEELER	INDIANAPOLIS, IN	19-03 (5)
4	JOHN COX	DEBARY, FL	18-15 (5)
5	JIM MOYNAGH	CARVER, MN	18-11 (5)
6	JT KENNEY	PALM BAY, FL	18-10 (5)
7	JAY YELAS	CORVALLIS, OR	18-07 (5)
8	TIM GRIGGS	PADUCAH, KY	18-04 (5)
9	KEVIN HAWK	GUNTERSVILLE, AL	17-14 (5)
9	ANDY MORGAN	DAYTON, TN	17-14 (5)
11	BRYAN THRIFT	SHELBY, NC	17-12 (5)
12	RON SHUFFIELD	BISMARCK, AR	17-11 (5)
13	SHANE LONG	SPRINGFIELD, MO	17-05 (5)
14	JT PALMORE	BLACKSTONE, VA	17-02 (5)
15	JEFF CLOUD	LUBBOCK, TX	16-15 (5)
15	RANDALL THARP	GARDENDALE, AL	16-15 (5)
17	DAVID DUDLEY	LYNCHBURG, VA	16-13 (5)
18	STETSON BLAYLOCK	BENTON, AR	16-10 (5)
18	CLENT DAVIS	MONTEVALLO, AL	16-10 (5)
18	PAYDEN HIBDON	SUNRISE BEACH, MO	16-10 (5)
21	KYLE MABREY	MCCALLA, AL	16-09 (5)

2012 Elite Series Toledo Bend Battle Day 1: Pace out Paces

TOP 20

Name /Day 1 FishTotal/ Weight 1 Cliff Pace 5 23- 2 2 Denny Brauer 5 22- 8 3 Brandon Palaniuk 5 21- 2 4 Casey Ashley 5 20-13 5 Mark Davis 5 20- 3 6 Matthew Herren 5 20- 0 7 Paul Elias 5 19-12 8 Fred Roumbanis 5 18-11 9 Yusuke Miyazaki 5 18- 3 10 Bradley Roy 5 18- 2 11 Brent Chapman 5 18- 1 12 Todd Faircloth 5 17-14 13 Ott DeFoe 5 17- 9 14 Greg Hackney 5 17- 8 15 Edwin Evers 5 17- 3 16 Brandon Card 5 16-13 17 Timmy Horton 5 16- 7 18 Terry Butcher 5 16- 1 18 Chris Zaldain 5 16- 1 20 Britt Myers 5 16- 0

Walmart FLW Kentucky Lake

Fishing in a Crowd Part 3: The Change Up.

The Change Up

The recent Walmart FLW tournament on the Potomac River was classic community weed flat fishing.  Large areas held wads of bass. Anglers quickly realized the bounty and pounded it for all its worth. Scott Martin, the winner and leader each and every day of the event used skill to keep atop the leader board.

Pitching craws is a standard grass technique. Scott switched to a paddle tail worm. This isn’t old school thinking but more of a Florida standard that doesn’t get a lot of play. The tail provides pulsing vibration plus it’s slim profile slips through cover with ease. Sometimes offering a different profile is in order.

Recently, Florida tournaments, especially on Lake Okeechobee, have been dominated by black blue jigs. For years, Florida was the domain of soft plastic worms. Now, the jig is catching on in popularity. Someone must have figured it out. Consider the popularity of the chatterbait, drop shot, Alabama rig and Senko. Each has a local following until anglers started experimenting. Now these baits are sold across the globe.