Friday, August 31, 2018

New Strike King 3.25" Rage Swimbait with Shaw Grigsby

Shaw Grigsby is a legendary angler who knows his stuff. Listen as he explains the new Strike King Rage Swimmer Swimbait. Largemouth, smallmouth or spots all eat shad and minnows and this swimbait looks like all of these. Great for jigheads or drop shotting for all bass.

Wednesday, August 29, 2018

2019 Costa FLW Series Schedule Announced

FLW announced today the 2019 Costa FLW Series schedule. It will consist of three events in each of the five divisions – Central, Northern, Southeastern, Southwestern and Western – along with the no-entry-fee Costa FLW Series Championship to be held on Lake Cumberland in Burnside, Ky.
The top 40 pros and co-anglers in the final point standings in each division after three qualifying tournaments will advance to the 2019 Costa FLW Series Championship, provided they fished all three qualifiers in a division.
Complete rules and entry dates will be announced in early October.

2019 COSTA FLW SERIES SCHEDULE


Central Division
Date                           Fishery                                  City                                      Local Host
April 4-6                     Kentucky Lake                      Gilbertsville, Ky.                   Kentucky Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau      
May 9-11                   Table Rock Lake                    Branson, Mo.                       Explore Branson                  
Oct. 10-12                  Lake of the Ozarks               Osage Beach, Mo.              Lake of the Ozarks Tri-County Lodging Association         

Northern Division
Date                           Fishery                                  City                                      Local Host
July 18-20                  Lake Champlain                    Plattsburgh, N.Y.                 City of Plattsburgh/Adirondack Coast Visitors Bureau   
Aug. 22-24                 Potomac River                      Marbury, Md.                       Charles County Board of Directors
Sept. 19-21                St. Lawrence River               Massena, N.Y.                     Town of Massena     


Monday, August 27, 2018

Josh Bertrand Wins 2018 BASS Elite St. Lawrence with 95-03lbs!

Bertrand also leads AOY!
By Thomas Allen
BASS PRESS RELEASE
BASS PRESS RELEASE
Drop shotting Berkley MaxScent key to big win.
(Photo: BASS)
After what he claimed was a tough day, Josh Bertrand of San Tan Valley, Ariz., mastered the New York smallmouth bass and produced a giant five-bass limit that weighed 23 pounds, 1 ounce to take home his first Bassmaster Elite Series championship today.
                                                                                                                                
Bertrand’s four-day total was 95-3, which earned him an impressive $100,000 payday in the Huk Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River presented by Black Velvet and valuable Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year points.

The derby was the final regular-season event before the Top 50 pros in the points race advance to the AOY Championship at Georgia’s Lake Chatuge in mid-September.
 
Bertrand will begin the championship in second place in points, but taking home the coveted blue Bassmaster trophy at Waddington is a great way to cap off an extraordinary season.
 
“It’s hard to put into words how I feel right now,” he said. “I am so happy to have finally won one of these, and I’m excited to extend my season into the AOY Championship. But right now I’m going to let this victory sink in.”
 
The 29-year-old angler said the fishing on Championship Sunday was tougher than the previous three days.

“As it usually does, things were more of a struggle today, despite weighing over 23 pounds,” Bertrand said. “The key for me was confidence in my presentation. All week I’ve been catching my fish on a Berkley MaxScent Flat Worm, and I knew it was going to keep on producing — I just had to stick with it until the final minutes.”

That’s exactly what he did, and it paid off big time.
 

Sunday, August 26, 2018

Josh Bertrand Wins 1st Elite!

Josh Bertrand wins with 95-03lbs!
All the info coming Monday!

2018 BASS Elite St. Lawrence River Day 3: David Walker Takes Lead with 72-05lbs!

Walker leads by 3 ounces.
By Thomas Allen
BASS PRESS RELEASE

David Walker drop shotting his way into the lead.
(Photo: BASS)
For the third day in a row, David Walker of Sevierville, Tenn., stayed consistent with huge smallmouth bass to take the top spot heading into the final round of the 2018 Huk Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River presented by Black Velvet.
 
Walker caught a five-bass limit that weighed 22 pounds, 15 ounces to push his three-day total to 72-5 — giving himself a legitimate shot at the $100,000 first-place prize.
 
The last time the 12-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier took home top honors was in 2011 during an Elite Series derby on Alabama’s Wheeler Lake.
 
“It’s been way too long since I won on this tour, and I’m itching to take home another trophy,” Walker said. “It’s so hard to win at this level, so I know better than to take good days for granted, and the last couple of days were nothing short of magical. I sure hope I can keep the consistency going for one more day.”

Walker started Thursday’s opening round in second place, remained the same on Friday, and now he is in the lead by only 3 ounces. Arizona’s Josh Bertrand is in second after he weighed 23-9 for a three-day total of 72-2.
 
Just like most of the Top 50 anglers at this event, Walker has been moving often from spot to spot, drifting a dropshot across assorted types of structural elements. But he feels his presentation is different enough that it’s continuing to appeal to larger smallmouth bass.
 
“I shared a few spots with other anglers this week, but tomorrow I think I’ll have most of them to myself, which should only help me,” he said. “I know it sounds strange, but I know of too many places to catch a quality limit. I really had to focus on what I felt were the best locations today. I have no plans to change my game plan tomorrow. It’s been working wonders, why fix what isn’t broken?” 
 
This derby is the final regular-season event before the Top 50 pros in the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year race will advance to the AOY Championship event at Georgia’s Lake Chatuge in mid-September.
 

Saturday, August 25, 2018

2018 BASS Elite St. Lawrence River Day 2: Lester Leads with 50-01lbs!

Huge flip flop of the leader board!
By Thomas Allen
BASS PRESS RELEASE

In dramatic Bassmaster fashion, a new leader took the helm during the second round of the Huk Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River presented by Black Velvet. 
 
Lester keeping consistent key to lead.
(Photo: BASS)
The fishing slowed down overall on the second day, but a staggering 52 limits exceeding 20 pounds on Day 1 will be hard to top. However, 34 limits were caught Friday that surpassed the 20-pound mark. 
 
Thanks to a five-bass limit of smallmouth bass that tipped the scales at 25 pounds, 13 ounces, Brandon Lester of Fayetteville, Tenn., took charge going into Saturday’s semifinal round. ester’s two-day total is 50-1.
 
The 107-angler field has been cut to the Top 50, and the 30-year-old Lester is looking to claim the $100,000 first-place prize money and notch his first Bassmaster Elite Series title with two days to go.
 
“Today was a lot of fun, and I'm super thankful for the big bass I was able to bring to the scales,” he said. “But it was a tougher bite. I caught a lot more little bass, which tells me there aren’t as many dominant, big smallmouth bass on each spot as there were yesterday.”

While still confident, Lester expects the weights to continue to decrease — a regular occurrence during multi-day bass tournaments.
 
“It’s no secret that almost everybody is catching bass on a dropshot, but I’m doing something a little bit differently with my presentation, which seems to be getting more attention from the larger bass,” Lester said. “My plan won’t change much, and I’m confident the right fish are still using the spots I’m focusing on.

"I’m excited to get back out there and hopefully catch another 20 pounds or more tomorrow.”
  

Friday, August 24, 2018

2018 BASS Elite St. Lawrence River Day 1: Matt Lee Smashes 27lbs!

52 limits of bass over 20 Pounds!
By Thomas Allen
BASS PRESS RELEASE
Matt Lee on coarse to breaking 100lbs.
(Photo: BASS)
Giant limits of smallmouth bass exceeded expectations during Thursday’s opening round of competition as Matt Lee of Guntersville, Ala., weighed a tremendous 27-pound, 12-ounce limit of smallmouth bass to take an early lead at the Huk Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River presented by Black Velvet. 
 
Lee’s staggering limit, anchored by a behemoth 6-7 smallmouth, is the heaviest single-day smallmouth limit in Bassmaster Elite Series history. 

With so many big smallies coming in, it’s worth mentioning that a four-day total consisting of only smallmouth topping the 100-pound mark has never been caught during an Elite Series event. That record could be set at Waddington this week as 52 five-bass limits exceeding the 20-pound mark were brought to the scales Thursday, and seven of them topped 25 pounds.

That’s an unprecedented number — and nothing short of impressive. 
 
A first-place prize of $100,000 will go to the winner after four days of competition — and since Lee has never claimed an Elite Series victory, he is looking to expand his lead during Friday’s second round. He can also earn more valuable points in the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year race.

This tournament marks the conclusion of the 2018 regular Elite Series season. The Top 50 anglers in the points race will advance to the AOY Championship scheduled for mid-September on Georgia’s Lake Chatuge.
 
“What an amazing day,” Lee said. “Things literally went perfectly for me today, and that seldom happens in this sport. On every spot I fished today I caught a big one, and plenty of them. It was amazing.”
 

Thursday, August 23, 2018

Win with Conservation!

OFAH Salute to Fish Hatchery Volunteers.

Fishing wouldn't be what it is today without volunteer-run fish hatcheries.
Members of the OFAH proudly stand behind hatchery volunteers and fish culture professionals who help make our fishing experiences possible.
In 2017, the OFAH welcomed the partnership support of Honda Canada. Get your chance to win a Honda dream outdoors package valued at $18,341.03.
Support Ontario stream restoration, fish stocking and fisheries improvements by buying 
an I AM CONSERVATION Raffle ticket.

Tuesday, August 21, 2018

ICAST 2018: LUNKERHUNT Yappa Series Topwaters with Matt Arey



The crawler style topwater works wonders on bass. LUNKERHUNT has come out with 3 distinct designs with their Yappa Series of topwater baits. Listen as FLW Tour pro Matt Arey explains the Yappa series of topwater baits and why you need one of each.

Monday, August 20, 2018

Erik Luzak and Ashley Rae Win 2018 FLW CANADA CUP!

Top team moving closer to 2019 Forrest Wood Cup!
By Luigi De Rose 

Ashley and Erik cash 10 grand and move closer to FLW Cup.
(Photo: Margaret Garnier/facebook)



Position

PRO
CO-ANGLER
DAY 1
DAY 2
DAY 3

TOTAL















1

ERIK LUZAK
ASHLEY RAE
20.55
18.55
16.45

55.55

2

COOPER GALLANT
DANNY MCGARRY
21.55
18.25
12.45

52.25

3

DAVE MACDONALD
MIKE BRAYFORD
16.1
17.55
16.9

50.55

4

BOB IZUMI
DARREN IZUMI
15.45
18.35
15.85

49.65

5

PETE GARNIER
BOB DECKERT
15.65
15.1
18.5

49.25

6

DEREK GOLDIE
STEVER ERIC-MARKOVIC
17.5
15.45
14.95

47.9

7

PHIL CURTIS
BRENT VALERE
16.25
16.85
14.55

47.65

8

SCOTT BURNS
GORD ROGERS
17.65
16
12.95

46.6

9

PAUL TSIGARUS
TERRY HICKEY
14.95
17.7
13.7

46.35

10

DAN RISORTO
GERARD COCKS
20.75
12.9
11.95

45.6

Full results