2015 Bassmaster Classic on Lake Hartwell Day 2: Mid-day Report

Leaderboard Flip Flops as Clouds Scatter Fish
By Luigi De Rose

The weather has warmed but the clouds have rolled in this Saturday morning and many of yesterday's leaders are suffering. Here are some elements that should dramatically affect the anglers: locals say docks in cold water will not replenish. Anglers who are targeting docks might zero today or tomorrow simply because they will run out of bass to catch. Another factor is the weather. Surprisingly, the below zero temps on Friday didn't hurt everyone but many good anglers did very poorly and might not have the opportunities to challenge the leaders.  Many anglers are hoping the stormy weather that will roll into Lake Hartwell this afternoon might trigger a few monster bites. One big bite might vault an angler who has a decent limit well up the leader board. For any of the top 5 leaders, a good limit with a big kicker bass might seal the deal for this Classic.
Here is the unofficial Top 5 as of 11:55am.

1. Mike Iaconelli 30lbs 7oz
2. Dean Rojas  28lbs 10oz
3. Casey Ashley  27lbs 3oz
4. Brett Hite  26lbs 6oz
5. Jacob Wheeler 25lbs 4oz

Day 1 of ICAST 2014: Photos

By Luigi De Rose

Here are photos from the first day. Want more join our facebook page.  Link here

Brett Hite Wins the 2014 Bassmaster Elite Lake Seminole Event

Hite wins his first Elite event!

By Deb Johnson

bass press release

Sunday, Hite won the first Bassmaster Elite Series event in which he’s competed, the Dick Cepek Tires Bassmaster Elite at Lake Seminole presented by Hardee’s.

Hite uses his trademark vibrating jig to win at Lake
Seminole. This is Hite's second Tour win in one month.
(Photo: BASS)

The Phoenix, Ariz., pro’s name is now alongside Derek Remitz’s in the history books as the only Elite Series rookie who walked away with the trophy in his debut event.

Hite’s prize was $100,000 and an automatic berth in the 2015 Bassmaster Classic on Lake Hartwell, South Carolina.

“I’m pretty excited because Lake Hartwell is one of my favorite lakes,” Hite said. “Going into this season, getting to Lake Hartwell was a goal. But I’m still going into the rest of the season by putting my head down and practicing hard and fishing hard.”

With a four-day total of 97 pounds, 10 ounces, Hite’s margin of victory was a whopping 13 pounds heavier than the runner-up, Todd Faircloth of Jasper, Texas, who posted an 84-10 total.

2014 Bassmaster Elite Lake Seminole Day 3: Brett Hite Leads by 10lbs!

Hite waiting for day 4. He left a pod of big bass.

By Deb Johnson

bass Press Release

BAINBRIDGE, Ga. — Lake Seminole bass fishing could not be setting up any better for Brett Hite: big prespawn bass traveling on “highways” to beds.

Hite casting a vibrating jig to pre-spawn bass.
(Photo: BASS)

Knowing how to target prespawners is one of his main strengths, said the Phoenix, Ariz., pro who is a Bassmaster Elite Series rookie, but prefers to call himself “young veteran” as a tip of the hat to his almost 13 years competing in big-name tournaments.

Saturday, Hite proved his experience by repeating his Friday lead in the Dick Cepek Tires Bassmaster Elite at Lake Seminole presented by Hardee’s.

And what a lead. Heading into Sunday’s championship round, Hite had 9 pounds, 12 ounces over his closest threat, Mark Davis of Mount Ida, Ark.

Hite’s total over the event’s first three competition days was 71-11. A consistent Davis, with a tally of 61-15 — 20 pounds and change each of three days — reached second place, up from seventh.

2014 Bassmaster Elite Lake Seminole Day 2: Brett Hite Takes Lead on Fog Delayed Day

Rookie takes lead in Elite season opener

By Deb Johnson

BASS Press Release

BAINBRIDGE, Ga. — Brett Hite’s first catch Friday was a 4-pounder. On his next cast, a largemouth just as big came back to the boat.

Brett Hite is on a roll. On the back of his
resent FLW win, Hite bags another 20lb plus day.
(Photos: Darren Jacobson BASS)

“That got things rolling, and gave me a lot of confidence in what I’m doing,” said Hite, the Bassmaster Elite Series rookie who moved up from fourth place into Friday’s catbird seat in the Dick Cepek Tires Bassmaster Elite at Lake Seminole presented by Hardee’s.

The Phoenix, Ariz., pro ended his day with 20 pounds, 11 ounces. Added to his 24-11 already on the board, Hite had the lead in his first Elite appearance. His 45-6 total gave him a 14-ounce jump on Bernie Schultz of Gainesville, Fla.

Schultz held fast to his second-place standing achieved the first day, when a 10-pound, 10-ounce behemoth made his weigh-in bag sag. His 17-10 of Friday brought his weight to 44-8.

2014 Bassmaster Elite Lake Seminole Day 1: Grigsby Bounds into Lead with 30lb Bag!

Shaw Grigsby Lets Everyone Know Who is King of the Spring. 

by Deb Johnson

BASS Press release

BAINBRIDGE, Ga. — If bed fishing’s the game, Shaw Grigsby’s the name.

And that’s just how it went Thursday, the first day of the Dick Cepek Tires Bassmaster Elite at Lake Seminole presented by Hardee’s. Out of Bainbridge, Ga., the event is the 2014 Elite Series season opener.

Shaw has won here twice before and is looking
to make it a hat trick.
(Photos:BASS)

Well-known for his talent of enticing big bass on or near beds to take his bait, Grigsby led the 108-pro field by 3 pounds, 7 ounces, with a 30-pound, 5-ounce day’s total.

“It was a perfect day,” said Grigsby, who caught the entire 30-plus pounds by 10 a.m., and then sat back and ate cold chicken. “One of those great days — amazing.”

Grigsby took the first step toward duplicating his 2011 season-opener victory in Florida, the ninth and most recent win of his storied Bassmaster career. Two of those titles were taken at Lake Seminole.

Grigsby’s 3-7 lead was over Bernie Schultz, who weighed 26-14. A largemouth of 10-10 was the jewel of Schultz’s bag — and the largest single bass brought to the scales Thursday.

Rapala Day at Toronto Sportsmen Show

Friday February 7^th for the first inaugural Rapala Day at the Toronto Sportsmen’s Show!

Come get your FREE Rapala depth chart to make sure you’re runnin’ your Rapala’s at the right level to clinch those biggies you’ve been dreaming about.  We will also be hosting a Sufix Photo Contest at the giant orange Rapala booth all weekend.  Visit our Booth, take your picture with our funny/serious props and drop us a line for your chance to win a Rapala Prize Pack.  Over $1500 in prizes to be won, not to mention the FREE water bottle giveaway just for entering our contest!  Don’t miss your chance to see the newest in the Rapala collection, including Live Demos of the most erratic lure we’ve ever made, let’s just say it’s a game changer…

See below details on what the consumer can expect for Rapala Day at the Toronto Sportsmen’s show:

1.       Free Rapala Depth Chart when you walk in the door (Look for the Rapala girls)

2.       Free Water Bottle at our booth for taking your picture in our photo booth. We will have props and the funniest/best pictures will be awarded prizes at the end of the show; 1^st=$500 | 2^nd=$300 | 3^rd=$200

3.       Sufix Giveaways at the Photo Booth as well

4.       iPad Kiosk – Enter to win $500 Rapala Prize Pack

5.       Live lure demos in the Rapala Action Pond located in our booth

6.       Talk to our Pros and get all your questions answered

7.       New separate Rapala ice booth located right beside the main booth

More info here: http://www.torontosportshow.ca/rapala_day_friday_february_7th/

Drew Benton 2013 Walmart FLW Lake Okeechobee Champ!

FLW PRESS RELEASE

Consistent week helps Benton on
cold front last day.
(FLW Photos)

CLEWISTON, Fla. – Twenty-four year-old rookie Drew Benton of Panama City, Fla., was fishing in his first event as a professional this week and caught a 7-pound kicker bass with only seven minutes to spare to win the Walmart FLW Tour on Lake Okeechobee presented by Mercury on Sunday. That fish pushed Benton’s day 4 weight to 13 poounds, 4 ounces and his total four-day weight to 75 pounds, 7 ounces and was enough to best 174 of the top bass anglers in the world to earn him a $100,000 paycheck. Finishing in second place was Keystone Light pro Brent Ehrler of Redlands, Calif., who weighed in 20 bass totaling 70 pounds, 8 ounces.

“Fishing in my first ever Tour event, I never expected this,” said Benton, whose previous high finish was a 14th-place effort in EverStart competition on Lake Seminole. “I have to pay my entry fees all on my own, so this is such a big step for me. Now I can actually relax and fish for the rest of the year and not have to worry about just making a check.”

Like Saturday, Sunday’s fishing conditions were windy and tough. Benton made several runs back and forth to areas in South Bay and Turners Cove and burned through ¾ of a tank of gas by scrambling to try and catch enough weight.

“It was such a grind,” Benton said. “I started the day in South Bay, then went to Turners. Nothing was happening there, so I went back to South Bay and checked it again. I fished there for three hours and was only able to catch two keepers. So, I ran back to Turners and was able to finish out a small limit. I didn’t catch my limit of fish until 1:45 p.m. I told the camera man that I had to run and try and catch a big one. So I made the run back down to South Bay, and that’s when I got the kicker.”

Benton said the kicker – a 7-pound Okeechobee behemoth – came while throwing an entirely different bait than he had used all week.

“I had thrown a PGM Lures bladed swimjig all day and not had one bite on it,” Benton said. “I decided to try a Hildebrandt white and gold-bladed spinnerbait, and it bit.”

2012 BASS Northern Open Cayuga: Gluszek Swept Tournament

By Ken Duke

BASS Press release

AUG 18, 2012

Seneca Falls, N.Y. — New Jersey’s Pete Gluszek hasn’t fished a Bassmaster Classic since 1999, but he’ll be back in 2013 after winning the Bass Pro Shops Northern Open on New York’s Cayuga Lake. Gluszek went wire-to-wire at the event, posted the best catches in the field on each of the first two days and a finishing with a three day total of 56 pounds, 1 ounce. It was good enough to outdistance second-place finisher Stephen Browning of Arkansas by 4-12.

Victory!
(Photos: James Overstreet BASS)

Gluszek fished two patterns to catch his bass — starting deep and finishing shallow, contrary to conventional bass fishing wisdom.

“Early in the morning I was flipping and pitching milfoil in 10 to 16 feet of water,” Gluszek said. “I was using a black 5-inch Yamamoto Senko behind a 1/2-ounce Round Valley tungsten sinker. Later in the day, as the sun came up, lots of bass were moving shallower and I caught them by skipping a weightless black Senko underneath boat docks.”

Gluszek focused his attentions on a 15-mile stretch of water in the central part of Cayuga Lake. He made the switch from his deep pattern to his shallow water pattern at about 11:00 each morning.

For the win, Gluszek earned $4,800 in cash and a Triton/Mercury boat and motor package worth more than $45,000, but the automatic berth in the 2013 Bassmaster Classic on Oklahoma’s Grand Lake has him excited, too. He last fished the championship in 1999 when he finished 31st on the Louisiana Delta.