Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Berkley® Expands its Cast for Cash 2020 Bait Contingency Program!

 Berkley's® Cast for Cash will expand in 2020, bringing the successful tournament contingency program to even more anglers and more tournament circuits. On the heels of its successful 2019 launch, the Cast for Cast program will add nearly 300 new tournaments across 13 different tournament trails, including bass, walleye and bass kayaking competitions. Cash rewards for semi-professional and loyal weekend tournament anglers will be awarded to the top two finishers at each qualifying tournament. 
To participate, anglers must be a member of the Berkley Cast for Cash program. Memberships for 2020 are $29.99 and come with an exclusive 2020 Berkley Pro Pack valued at $50. The Pro Packs include Berkley hard and soft baits, as well as a 2020 Cast for Cash hat and boat decal.
Prizes ranging from $100 to $1,000, depending on the tournament, will be awarded to the two top finishers at each Berkley Cast for Cash-eligible event, regardless of their place of finish. There is no cap as to how many times one can win. 
"We recognize the pass for tournament fishing and want to do our part to reward anglers who put their trust in the science behind Berkley baits to help them catch more fish," said Jon Schlosser, Berkley VP of Marketing. "We saw success during the 2019 tournament season and, we are excited to expand the program for the 2020 tournament season.”


Monday, December 16, 2019

Busby Wins 2019 Bassmaster Classic Team Championship Fish-Off

Last Classic spot filled
By Andrew Canulette
BASS PRESS RELEASE

(Photo: BASS)
Josh Busby had dreamed of this moment since he was a young boy.
So on Saturday, when he won the Bassmaster Classic Team Championship Fish-Off and secured the 53rd and final spot in the 2020 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk, he was overcome by the moment.
Busby pumped his right fist into the air, let out a holler and hugged a fellow angler. Then he fell to his knees on the Bassmaster stage, covered his eyes, and wept.
Such is the raw emotion that goes with earning entry into the biggest bass fishing tournament in the world. And the excitement is only beginning for the Rogersville, Mo. resident who is a 36-year old food scientist by trade, but now will go head to head against some of the world’s best bass anglers when the Classic takes place on Lake Guntersville and in Birmingham, Ala. on March 6-8.
Busby fishes with the Ozark Mountain Team Trail, and he caught a five-bass limit Saturday on Lake Hartwell that weighed 16 pounds, 7 ounces. That was the heaviest bag of the two-day fish-off, and when coupled with the 10-5 limit he caught Friday, it gave him a 26-12 total.

Thursday, December 12, 2019

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.”

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

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. 

Sunday, December 8, 2019

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.

Thursday, December 5, 2019

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.

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

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.

Sunday, December 1, 2019

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.