Monday, November 29, 2021

Logan Parks and Tucker Smith Bass Fishing's Newest Millionaires!

Abu Garcia Sponsored Team of Logan Parks and Tucker Smith Wins 1st Place and $1 Million at Bass Pro Shops US Open


Logan Parks and Tucker Smith take home the grand prize on Table Rock Lake supported by top collegiate sponsor, Abu Garcia.

The Bass Pro Shops US Open was hosted in Missouri on Table Rock Lake from November 19th to November 21st with the winning team bringing home a grand prize of $1 million dollars and a trophy, with each also winning a truck and boat combination as well.
 
The Bass Pro Shops US Open is a three-day team championship style event with the top 50 competitors making the third and final day with all weights zeroing, making it anyone’s game. On the third and final day, with a weight of 16.41 pounds, Logan Parks and Tucker Smith bested the 50-team field and took first place winning the grand prize.
 
Parks and Smith were tournament partners on the Auburn University bass fishing team this past year. Being fresh in their fishing careers, Parks was quick to add, “This win means everything. It gives us the confidence to know that we can do this for a living. In 2022, I plan on fishing all nine Bassmaster Opens in hopes of qualifying for the Bassmaster Elite Series, and this win gives me the means to chase my dreams.”

At Table Rock Lake, Parks and Smith found success chasing schools of bait and caught most of their fish by swimming a Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Flatnose Minnow on a jighead with a 6’10” Medium Light Abu Garcia Zenon spinning rod paired with a size 20 Abu Garcia Zenon spinning reel.
 
Parks mentioned, “We only had half of a day for practice, so we decided to keep it simple and just keep moving until we found bait. We noticed a lot of birds diving and saw the schools of bait being chased by bass on forward-facing sonar. We would let our baits fall through the school and we would watch the bass come up and crush the MaxScent Flatnose Minnow.”

Friday, November 26, 2021

2022 Bassmaster Elite Series Field Features 13 New Anglers

2022 Bassmaster Elites field at 94 anglers. 
(Photo: BASS)

After an exciting 2021 Bassmaster Elite Series season that crowned seven first-time champions and drew over 12 million viewers to coverage of Bassmaster LIVE on FOX and the FOX Sports channels, B.A.S.S. announced the new field for the 2022 Elite Series today.

Joining the ranks of the most recognized circuit in sportfishing are 12 qualifiers from the hotly contested Bassmaster Opens as well as the TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation champion.

“2021 was a season of big catches, big drama and big excitement — all playing out on Bassmaster LIVE for millions of fans who tuned in to FOX Sports or streamed online,” said B.A.S.S. chairman and CEO Chase Anderson. “Now our team is eagerly looking forward to starting the 2022 season! Anglers across the world dream and work for years to earn a coveted Elite Series invitation, and we’re excited to welcome 13 incredibly talented anglers onto the biggest stage in fishing.”

This list of returning anglers includes Hank Cherry, who reached legendary status as just the fourth angler ever to win back-to-back Bassmaster Classics. Seth Feider notched four Top 10s en route to winning 2021 Angler of the Year honors, while Josh Stracner had to climb over four other anglers in the final event on the St. Lawrence River to win Rookie of the Year. 2021 Elite Series champions Jason ChristieJeff GustafsonTaku ItoCaleb KuphallLee LivesayWes LoganBill LowenBryan New and Bryan Schmitt will all be back again to do battle on some of the country’s best bass fisheries.  

They will be joined by a talented crop of rookies that includes Japanese anglers Masayuki Matsushita and Daisuke Aoki, who finished second and third respectively in the Falcon Rods Bassmaster Opens Angler of the Year overall points race. The rookie anglers who qualified through the Central Opens are former Bassmaster College Classic Bracket winner Cody Huff of Ava, Mo., Jay Przekurat of Stevens Point, Wis., and Joseph Webster of Winfield, Ala. Another former Bassmaster College Classic Bracket winner, Jacob Foutz of Charleston, Tenn., and Josh Douglas of Isle, Minn., qualified via the Southern Opens. Jonathan Kelley of Old Forge, Pa., and Alex Redwine of Blue Ash, Ohio, earned invitations through the Northern Opens to round out the rookie class of Opens anglers.

Matty Wong of Culver City, Calif., will also join the rookie class after winning the TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Championship on Louisiana’s Ouachita River.

FULL LIST BELOW

Thursday, November 25, 2021

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Wishing all of you and your loved ones a Happy Thanksgiving!

Tuesday, November 23, 2021

How to Extend Marine and Trolling Motor Battery Life



Start a conversation about what deep cycle batteries are best for boats on social media and you’ll get 100’s of different answers about absorbed glass mat (AGM), gel, flooded lead acid, and lithium. (Don't to know what a deep cycle battery is? Check out this article.)  All have their place. All can fail. And they don’t have to be old to take a sudden nosedive. It takes nothing more than improper charging, and their lifespan can be shortened tenfold.


“Basically, you have a battery go bad, and you’re not going fishing; it’s as simple as that,” says Jason Przekurat. The Stevens Point, Wisconsin, angler has been promoting the sport of fishing full time since 2007, starting as a guide and tournament angler in 1995 and now focusing on the latter throughout the Midwest, as well giving seminars and appearing in videos.

Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Kristine Fischer Wins Hobie Bass Open Series Tournament of Champions

Abu Garcia and Fenwick Pro, Kristine Fischer, takes the crown and $35,000 on Lake Eufala, Alabama for the Hobie BOS Tournament of Champions.

The 2021 Hobie Bass Open Series Tournament of Champions, a kayak bass fishing championship event, was held on Lake Eufala, Alabama from Friday, November 12th to Sunday, November 14th. Only the Top 50 anglers in Hobie BOS Angler of the Year standings qualify for this three-day championship style event and the angler with the five longest bass (in inches) on each day will take home the crown and a grand prize of $35,000.
 
Going into day one of the event, Fenwick and Abu Garcia Pro Kristine Fischer mentioned “I had never fished Eufala but the research I did leading up to the event led me to believe the fishing was going to be tough. It was a three-day event, so I wanted to avoid areas that only held resident fish and concentrate more on areas that would reload over the course of the event. I knew Eufala had a reputation of having a great offshore bite, specifically live scoping brush piles, and I knew that would likely play in this event. However, my strengths consist of power fishing shallow, so I was determined to find an area where I could fish my strengths, and not worry about the “dock talk” regarding people catching them good out deep. I covered and eliminated a lot of water and had a tough practice. I was able to get a few bites in practice fishing main lake bank grass, and bank grass around the mouths of the pockets. I knew we had a cold front coming in day two, and a freeze warning for Sunday, so I looked at the east side of the lake knowing the northwest wind would blow in that warmer main lake water. 
 
Fischer grabbed her Fenwick rods, Abu Garcia reels, committed to her pattern on day one and put up 77.00” for her best five fish, putting her in 11th place going into day two.
 
On day two, Fischer continued her pattern of throwing a Berkley Cane Walker in the mornings, punching bank grass once the sun was overhead and committed to fishing new water. Her second day total was 80.50” for her five longest fish, bringing her total to 157.50” and sitting in 3rd place going into the third and final day of competition.
 
Going into the last of competition, Fischer mentioned, “I was fishing new water every single day so I wouldn’t lean too hard on the few stretches of bank grass that seemed to hold fish. Isolated clumps and any subtle point in the grass were key for me. I was lucky enough to have a large area all to myself for the final day.”

Monday, November 15, 2021

Huge Final Day Lifts Zaldain And Rickard To Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship Win


PORT ARANSAS, Texas — Despite a Day 2 letdown, Bassmaster Elite Series pro Chris Zaldain of Fort Worth, Texas, and IFA Redfish Tour angler Ryan Rickard of Brandon, Fla., stuck with their area and put the finishing touches on a winning three-day total of 43 pounds, 4 ounces at the Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter.

 

After placing third on Day 1 with 14-10, Zaldain and Rickard held that spot on Day 2 but saw the effects of a minor front dwindle their productivity to 11-5. Championship Sunday served up nearly perfect conditions — light south wind, warm and calm — and the anglers put on a bona fide shallow-water redfish clinic that yielded their best bag of the event — 17-5.

 

Zaldain and Rickard’s final-round catch was the day’s second largest, behind the second-place team of Bassmaster Elite Derek Hudnall of Baton Rouge, La., and IFA Redfish Tour veteran Ron Hueston of Naples, Fla., who caught the event’s heaviest limit — 18-3. Edging Hudnall and Hueston by a margin of 2-12, Zaldain and Rickard won $50,000.

 

“We figured out a pattern really late on our last day of pre-fishing,” Rickard said. “We had to stick with it for three days. Yesterday it bit us a little bit, but it panned out today.”

 

A seven-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier, Zaldain won the 2015 Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship tournament. Rickard, a seasoned redfish tournament pro, notched his first career victory.

Thursday, November 11, 2021

Lest We Forget

 

November 11 is always an emotional day. Remembering the ones who served over 100 years ago or who are still on active duty, it is time to reflect, acknowledge and take pride that so many of us have not experiences war first hand because so many fought to preserve peace. 

Wednesday, November 10, 2021

Ike Returns to the Elites!



After many fake alerts and promises, Mike "IKE" Iaconelli finally come clean and announces that he is returning to the Bassmaster Elites for the 2022 season. 

Listen to his show where he makes the official announcement and honours the award winning Aaron Martens. 

Monday, November 8, 2021

Remembering Aaron Martens - A Bass Fishing Legend

 


Aaron Martens passed on November 4, 2021. The outpour of sadness, admiration and respect highlight a life well lived. Though, far too short, Aaron had a remarkable career in fishing. To honour this legend, Bassmaster has created a video on skilled and much loved Martens. 

Friday, November 5, 2021

Aaron Martens Passes at 49

Glioblastoma claims one of the best in professional angling


Aaron Martens and family celebrate his 2017 Elites Series win on Lake Champlain. (Photo: BASS) 

By Luigi De Rose

Aaron Martens, a fun loving, innovative angler who embraced all aspects of being a professional angler passes surrounded by family.  

After blacking out while fishing in Alabama in 2020, tests relieved brain tumors. Aaron, one of the physically strongest athletes on tour, focused on recovery and kept on fishing. His tenacity was fierce as he continued to compete even after surgeries and treatments. During his last MLF event, Aaron’s vision wasn’t strong, so he had a friend pilot his boat so he could still complete.  Cancer became too overpowering and Aaron passed after a 19-month battle with Glioblastoma.

Lesley, his wife wrote in a Facebook post, “We are heartbroken beyond words. I can’t imagine life without him but we take solace in knowing that he’s walked into glory - the only glory that truly matters. Thank you to everyone that supported us during the past 19 months through texts, posts, phone calls, visits, and fundraisers. Your kindness, prayers, and love encouraged us every day and Aaron and I wholeheartedly felt your love.

Groomed at a young age, Aaron spent years along side his mother competing in California and neighbouring western States. During the 1990s, he was part of the second wave of western anglers who descended upon BASS and dominated.

Considered one of the most successful professional bass anglers of all time, Aaron Martens captured three Bassmaster Elite Series Angler of the Year awards (2005, 2013, 2015), 11 wins, more than 80 Top 10s and over $3.6 million in career earnings. Martens last win was at the 2019 Bass Pro Tour Stage Six on Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri. Aaron has also won the US WON Open a record three times and scores of regional and state tournaments.

Martens’ strength was finesse. Proudly displaying his talents, he schooled southern anglers with proven Japanese and West Coast techniques. Aaron’s natural ability to catch bass, particularly big bass, was uncanny making him a fan favourite and granted himself the name the “Furious Hog Snatcher”.

Aaron popularized obscure techniques like Scrounger jigs, underspins, shaky heads but he’s best known for drop shotting. Bassmaster Magazine once wrote an article titled, Aaron Martens Drop Shots Better Than You! They were correct. He was the best.

He is survived by his wife Lesley, his two chiildren and his mother Carol.

Rapala Expands Bassmaster Partnership, Inking Multiyear Deal As Premier Sponsor


Minnesota-based Rapala, maker of premium lures and other fishing tackle and accessories, is expanding their partnership with B.A.S.S., signing a three-year deal as a premier sponsor after serving as the title sponsor of the ultrapopular Fantasy Fishing program and as a supporting sponsor of the Bassmaster tournament trail for the past two years. Additionally, Rapala’s new Monster Bag prize will pay $7,000 to the angler with the heaviest single-day bag during the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk.

“We are excited to take our fantastic partnership with Rapala to the next level as we work together to build excitement among the anglers and fans across the Bassmaster tournament trail,” said B.A.S.S. chairman and CEO Chase Anderson.

Rapala will be a premier sponsor for the Bassmaster Classic, Bassmaster Elite Series, Bassmaster Opens Series, Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School Series presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors, Bassmaster Team Championship and the grass-roots TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation regional and championship tournaments.

Additionally, Rapala will be highlighted during Bassmaster LIVE, which is streamed on Bassmaster.com and broadcast Saturday and Sunday mornings on the FOX Sports platforms, and will enjoy exposure in Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times magazines and across various industry-leading social media platforms.

Wednesday, November 3, 2021

Japan's Best Keep Secret


Japanese lures are very well known but a lot of secrets have yet to be revealed. Check out this new IBASSIN.com video as we discuss swim jigs. We highlight a few jigs and what sets them apart from jigs found in the American or Canadian markets.

Swim jigs are a great year round bait. They're more finesse than a chatterbait. More weedless than a spinnerbait and offer way more bulk and vibration than a worm.

Monday, November 1, 2021

Brent Crow Wins 2021 MLF Toyota Series Championship on Lake Pickwick!


Canadian Barry Graves wins International Title

MLF PRESS RELEASE

COUNCE, Tenn. – Fishing below the Wilson Dam, Brent Crow of Hartselle, Alabama, came out swinging on the final day of the Toyota Series Championship Presented by Guaranteed Rate at Pickwick Lake. Tallying 23 pounds, 1 ounce before 9 a.m., Crow moved from 10th to first with a 52-2 total. For the win, Crow earned $247,500 with the MLF Phoenix Bonus and other contingency money for a total payout of nearly a quarter-million dollars.

But the win isn’t something he just magically stumbled upon, it’s almost as if it was destiny. Crow is a guide on Pickwick, so he had this event circled on his calendar since it was announced. The only issue for him, however, was the stars couldn’t align if he wasn’t qualified for the event.

Enter the Northern Division.

“I’m not trying to make a living as a professional,” Crow says. “I make a living fishing and I like to fish and if the schedule suits me I fish. When the championship was announced it was going to be here in the fall I thought, ‘Oh, I got to make that.’ I had some conflicts, so I couldn’t fish some of the divisions and I didn’t like the Southern Division schedule. But I’ve been to Champlain before and I love St. Clair, so I love the north. Then I saw 1000 Islands and heard how good it was so I thought I’d go up there.

“It worked out perfect because it’s our slow time down here. July, August there’s not much guiding, or the fishing’s not that good here, so I went up north and was able to make it. I put more effort into making this championship than I have any of them. It worked out.”

While the Champlain event didn’t go as planned, Crow made a Top 10 at the St. Lawrence and survived the Potomac with an 18th-place showing to easily qualify for the Championship. With his ticket punched, all Crow had to do was sit back and wait for practice to start.

“I planned to fish below the [Wilson Dam] tailrace, that’s what I do,” Crow says. “I’ve been fishing here for years and years and I guide, so in the fall I usually fish below the dam in the tailrace. I didn’t want to go up there in practice for a lot of reasons, I didn’t want people to see me up there or know if they’re biting good.”