FLW Tour Potomac River Day 1: Vetern Larry Nixon Takes Command!

Nixon, Vatalaro share overall lead during wind-swept opening round of FLW Tour competition on the Potomac

02.Jun.2011

by Gary Mortenson

FLW PRESS RELEASE



Larry "The General" Nixon takes command.
(Photos by Gary Mortenson FLW)

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – Heading into Thursday’s opening round of competition on the Potomac River, anglers had an idea that they would have to battle some type of wind. However, when all was said and done, most competitors seemed to be caught off guard by just how fiercely today’s wind actually blew. With regular wind speeds clocking in at 18 to 20 mph, anglers were forced to deal with giant swells as well as a heavy dose of mud which darkened waters and messed with the anglers’ prime fishing locations all day.

In the end though, Larry Nixon of Bee Branch, Ark., and Vic Vatalaro of Kent, Ohio, managed to put enough pieces of the Potomac River puzzle together to muster identical limits weighing 20 pounds, 2 ounces – enough to grab the overall lead in one of the tougher opening tournament rounds in recent memory.

“With the way the wind and tides were today, it made fishing very fickle,” said Nixon. “A lot of anglers had some pretty good areas in practice that really got messed up today. I got a little lucky and had a pretty good backup area where the wind was just right so I could fish it. And that really helped. But a lot of other guys weren’t so fortunate.”

Nixon said another key to his successful outing, in addition to have a stellar backup plan, was lack of fishing pressure.

“I really didn’t have much pressure in my area. I think I saw only one or two other boats there,” said Nixon. “And I was kind of excited about that.”

While Nixon didn’t want to divulge too much regarding bait choices and fishing locations, he did say that he targeted grass “all day long.”

“I fished two or three different baits and caught all of my big fish pretty much fishing one way,” he said. “Overall, I feel really good about what I’m doing and where I’m at. I’m doing what I like to do.”

FLW Tour on Red River Day 1: John Cox Rocks with 14-10

Florida pro leads FLW Tour Red River event on day one, McDonald leads Co-angler Division

19.May.2011

by Patrick Baker

(FLW Press Release)

John Cox with a nice pair.
(Photos by Patrick Baker FLW)

SHREVEPORT/BOSSIER CITY, La. — How low can you go? For Debary, Fla., pro John Cox, the answer was low enough to skim through a shallow underpass that led to his Red River hot spot – one that produced a five-bass limit weighing 14 pounds, 10 ounces and put him in first place on day one of the Walmart FLW Tour Major.

“We knew about it from a long time ago,” Cox said of his honeyhole in Pool 4, one lock downstream from the takeoff site at Red River South Marina, adding that he became aware of the backwater area after a 2009 tourney in which he didn’t fare well. “We brought a push-pole; I lightened the boat up completely.”

A few more details about just what it took to achieve Cox’s limbo underneath the road above: a 2-by-4 for a push-pole; a 17-foot aluminum Crestliner powered by a 75-hp Mercury four-stroke engine for maximum flotation with minimal weight; the least amount of tackle possible; and a single battery that he also used to power his trolling motor when he made it through.

Even with the herculean effort to mimic a water bug, it wasn’t easy for Cox and his co-angler partner (Timothy Sisk – 2nd) to pass through the tunnel. In fact, they saw another boat get temporarily stuck trying to thread the same needle.

“I was hoping to catch the water drop just like we did,” Cox said of the falling water level in Pool 4, which helped set off the bite in his area. “I caught a limit in like five flips.”

Cox was fishing a jig made by his friend Andy Scholz, also an FLW Tour co-angler. He fished the ½-ounce Dandy Baits jig with a green-pumpkin/green-glitter skirt in 6 to 7 feet of water. He said he was “just dropping it in, and they were yanking the rod out of my hands.”

Mike Iaconelli's Secret Spinnerbait from Bass Master Elite Lake Murray Tournament

MOLIX: Ike's Secret Spinnerbait
By Luigi De Rose

Checked out BASSAMSTER.COM and it's on the water vids? This past weekend had Mark Zona in the boat with Mike Iaconelli on Day 4 of the Lake Murray Elite tournament in South Carolina. Zona was showing viewers Ike's cool spinnerbait. Never seen one like that before?  Well, here it is and it's a Molix. Molix is an Italian company with a distinct line of baits with a clear Japanese zibe. Molix is slowing organizing itself to make a huge splash in North America. Their line of baits include hard baits, spinnerbaits, jigs and soft plastics. IBASSIN.com met with Stefano and Paolo at last year's ICAST show. 
www.molixfishing.com

Paolo with two nice ones.

Here is a peak at two spinnerbaits. Hopefully, they'll be in a tackle store near you.

Bassmaster Elite Evan Williams Bourbon Carolina Clash Day 4

Casey croons at Clash

Ashley triumphs at home in South Carolina

By Deb Johnson

Official Bass Press Release

May 15, 2011

COLUMBIA, S.C. —  Casey Ashley of Donalds, S.C., won the Evan Williams Bourbon Carolina Clash on Sunday with a total weight of 61 pounds, 3 ounces.

Casey's limit bumps Ike and Hite for a win. Mike and Davy
were tied for second and a fish off was pending.
(Photo: James Overstreet BASS)

The leader on Day Three, Ashley closed the deal with a fourth-day catch of 15-5. He won with a 3-pound, 2-ounce margin over fellow South Carolinian Davy Hite and New Jersey’s Michael Iaconelli, who tied for second place at 58-1.
 Ashley’s prize was $100,000 and an instant entry into the 2012 Bassmaster Classic.
 It was Ashley’s second Bassmaster Elite Series win. His first was in 2007, his rookie year. The two wins feel very different, he said.
 "The win at Smith Mountain Lake was special because it was my first, and in my first year on tour. I really didn’t know then what it meant to win,” he said.  "Now I know they’re hard to come by. I’m glad I won, but I’m real glad I won in South Carolina with all my family and friends.”
 Two 3-pounders in the last 45 minutes of fishing put Ashley over the top. He took both on a shaky head rig after deciding that finesse techniques was what he had to do to correct a day that began slow and shut down quickly.
 He had started fishing Sunday in what he said turned out to be the wrong choice of spots.

Lake Muray Champ!
(Photo: James Overstreet BASS)

 “The fish were there, but they just wouldn’t bite,” he said.
 About two hours into his day, he made an adjustment by going to a new spot that got him going with a 3-pounder. He left it, came back, then lost a big one, and came back to catch another fish.
 “And then it was over,” he said. “I had to go totally to finesse fishing after that.”

Bassmaster Elite Evan Williams Bourbon Carolina Clash Day 3

Local Boy Ashley Lead Day 3


By Luigi De Rose

Casey's on top.
(Photos: James Overstreet BASS)

The Bassmaster Elite anglers had a rough ride today. The highs were high but the lows were very low. Many who did very well the last two days barely qualified for the Top 12. South Carolina's Casey Ashley took the lead after Day Three on Lake Murray. His charming grin said it all when he placed his limit on the scales and claimed first place. Being a local might be his saving grace as he understands the moods of schooling largemouth bass.

Look carefully to see the double white flukes.

He seems to be doing most of his damage on a double fluke rig. This employs tandem Texas rigged soft jerkbaits. Jerked on the surface or just below it, bass envision fleeing bait fish and attack. Many are using this technique but Casey has the timing down. He is also been using topwaters and hard swimbaits but he has been tight lipped about confirming or denying specifics.

TOP 20
Place/name/day 3 weight/total
1 Casey Ashley 15-13  45-14
2 Michael Iaconelli 16- 6  43- 5
3 Jeff Connella 14-11  42- 4
4 Kevin Wirth 15- 3  42- 1
5 Tommy Biffle 16- 7 42- 0
6 Jami Fralick 14-15 41- 4
7 Davy Hite  11-12 41- 3
8 Brian Snowden 12-12 41- 1
9 Edwin Evers  18- 8 39-12
10 Rick Clunn 11-13 39- 9
11 Chris Lane 14- 9 39- 0
12 Fred Roumbanis 7-14 38- 7
13 Morizo Shimizu 12-12 38- 3
14 Marty Robinson 11- 8 37-13
15 Clark Reehm 13-11 37-10
16 John Crews 15-10 37- 7
17 Bradley Roy 14-13 37- 5
18 Dustin Wilks  11-13 37- 5
19 Matt Reed  14-15 36-14
20 David Smith 11-11 36- 8

Bassmaster Elite West Point Summary



Evers fishing everything to get a bite.
(Photo: James Overstreet BASS)



Late Spring

By Luigi De Rose

The recent Bassmaster Elite tournament on West Point Lake in Georgia is a prime example of late spring fishing. The previous tournaments on the Elite circuit have all typified fishing around the spawn. The two stops in Florida were classic bed fishing battles and many anglers who did well know the nuances of bedding bass. This past weekend was a whole different style and mind frame of fishing.

Scan down the list of top finishers and ask what they used and prepare to be surprised. The range of lures is mind blowing. Steve Kennedy used swimbaits and a Kinami Flash stick bait. Second place Edwin Evers flipped a Yum Wooly Bug. Ish Monroe, the leader on Day 3 used a topwater, flipped a Warmouth to bedding bass and a Brush Hog to trees. On day 4 he cranked a Team Diawa crankbait. Kevin Van Dam who fell to 7^th but was second for a while during the tournament used a popper, along with a Strike King Shadalicious Swimbait, Strike King Caffeine Shad, Strike King Spinnerbait. Another top angler who ran out of fish on Sunday was Andy Montgomery who machine gunned docks with a Shooter jig and Z-man’s Chatterbait.

The point being made is that top anglers during the late spring have to adapt and use their confidence baits to excel. West Point is a difficult fishery that requires anglers to hunt for fish. Many ran out of fish by Sunday like Van Dam and Montgomery but others like Gerald Swindle and a few others couldn’t ride the wave of consistency and fell from the top.

What can be learned from West Point? Late spring is a time to hunt. Find active fish and stick with them. Don’t fall in love with any one technique or spot. Steve Kennedy the eventual winner knows this lake well and seems to have had fished almost all of it to win. Watching videos on Bassmaster.com or viewing photography of the event, we witnesses angler after angler driving with the big motor with the trolling motor still in the water. It’s was an attempt to save time while covering water. (We at ibassin.com don’t recommend doing it because I’ve seen what a trolling motor shaft looks like when it hits something hard.)  

Fish quick but thorough this time of year is the name of the game. Good Luck you'll need it.

Bassmaster Elite Pride of Georgia West Point Lake: Day 1 story

Edwin Evers Day 1 Leader with 22-04

Evers Took Day 1

By Deb Johnson
May 5, 2011
BASS Press Release

LAGRANGE, Ga. -- Steve Kennedy’s deep and wide West Point Lake history stood him well Thursday, but Edwin Evers went 1 ounce better to take the lead on the first day of the Pride of Georgia.
Evers, of Talala, Okla., weighed 22 pounds, 4 ounces to Kennedy’s 22-3. They have more than a few ounces as a cushion over David Walker, in third with 21-3; Dustin Wilks in fourth with 20-3; and Bobby Lane with 18-4 claiming fifth place.
Ninety-nine Bassmaster Elite Series pros are competing on West Point Lake for a first-place prize that includes $100,000 and an instant entry in the 2012 Bassmaster Classic.
Anglers are also trying to earn points that count toward three coveted prizes: the 2011 Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year crown, 2011 postseason berths, and 2012 Classic qualifications.
Evers already has a Classic berth in hand. He came from behind in March to win the season’s second event, the Power-Pole Citrus Slam on the St. Johns River.
Evers played it close to the vest Thursday, giving nothing away in hopes he can keep an advantage and score win No. 2 for the year.
“You have to keep it to yourself -- these guys are too good,” he said.
He did reveal that his day started so slowly, he scrapped his initial game plan and “went fishing.”
“Man, that worked out really good,” he said, adding that he was covering “a bunch of water,” and burned 26 to 27 gallons of gas, jumping from spot to spot and blowing through his arsenal to try to isolate a bait, technique or a pattern that worked.

Bassmaster Elite TroKar Battle on the Bayou Day 4: Rojas Wins by an Ounce!

Dean Rojas Hangs onto TroKar Battle by a Sniff. 

Possibly the bass the won it.
(Photo: James Overstreet BASS)

By Luigi De Rose

MANY, La. -- Dean Rojas outsmarted the wind and the fish to hang onto a wild week of fishing. His reward is the blue Elite trophy for winning the Battle on the Bayou tournament Toledo Bend. G-Man Swindle, who consistently climbed the leader board every day finished an ultra close second. Swindle's 18-14 catch was the largest of Day 4 but not enough to dethrone Dean who lead this tournament wire to wire.


Top 5
1 Dean Rojas 70-15
2 Gerald Swindle 70-14
3 David Walker  70- 2
4 Chris Lane  67- 3
5 Fred Roumbanis 67- 1
More detailed coverage coming up.

Bassmaster Elite TroKar Battle on the Bayou Day 3: Rojas Still Reins

Dean Rojas Still Standing Strong on Wind Whipped Day 3
By Deb Johnson
B.A.S.S. Communications
MANY, La. -- He has led for three days running, amassing 57 pounds, 7 ounces of Toledo Bend bass, so there's no reason Dean Rojas shouldn't believe he can close the deal Sunday in the TroKar Battle on the Bayou.
And believe he does.

"I need one more big bite to finish this thing off tomorrow, and I know I can do it," he said Saturday after weighing 14 pounds and 9 ounces for a lead of more than 4 pounds over runner-up David Walker, who had 53-6.
Rojas won a Bassmaster tournament on Toledo Bend in 2001, but it wasn't a Bassmaster Elite Series victory, and that's what Rojas wants now. It would be his fourth win, and second since 2008. He claims not to be thinking about the instant qualification for the 2012 Bassmaster Classic, and not even about the $100,000 he'd get for a win.

"Right now, I'm just fishing for the win," he said.
"I'm in position, I'm just going to go for it. I've been fishing relaxed the last three days -- it's been really weird," he said. "Whatever happens, happens. I know I'm doing the best I can do, and I know I'm fishing for the right fish to win with."
Rojas said his third day of competition didn't go quite as planned -- he wanted one more bass to widen the margin -- but it was close. Like Friday, Saturday started slowly for him, with the bite picking up about 11 a.m. He continued to target spawning fish, moving to new areas each day. He has plenty more fish to go to and wrap it up, he said.
"I saw 20 pounds of bass today, just swimming around," he said.

Walker working the wood.
(Photo: James Overstreet BASS)

Four pounds back, Walker is still in range to catch Rojas. On Toledo Bend, 4 pounds is one decent fish. Besides, Walker has already discovered where one break can get you: On Day Two, thanks to a 24-pound bag, he moved from a dismal 53rd place into fourth.
"It was a grind today," he said. "I tried to not let the demons tell me, 'You need to go do this, you need to go do that.' I knew I was doing the right thing to catch the bigger fish, and I stuck with it."
The "right thing" was flipping, his strength.
"With the wind laid down, I could do it, make better casts. All it takes is one cast -- Ish Monroe proved that yesterday (with his 10-15)."
Gerald Swindle improved two places Saturday, from fifth to third with 52-0. He said he stuck with what he did the first two days -- throwing a square-lipped crankbait, jerkbait, chatterbait, and covering a lot of water.
Wind is his friend. He's been picking out windblown points. More specifically, he's hitting the section of the point that has the most wind on it.
"A couple of my primary spots, guys are finally figuring out where they are, but there's nothing I can do about that so I'm having to dig for nhim into the cut as No. 7.ew water."

Bassmaster Elite TroKar Battle on the Bayou: Toledo Bend getting Wild

Toldeo Bend: A Wild Finish
By Luigi De Rose

Wind was whipping before Day 3 started.
(Photo: James Overstreet BASS)

Toledo Ben Lake is a famed east Texas fishery. Part of the Sabine river that straddles Texas and Louisiana, it is an immense impoundment. Its encompasses an area of 185,000 acres and is the largest man-made body of water in Texas and the fifth largest (surface acre) in the United States. Anglers have always flocked to the great fishing here but it can be difficult to fish. This place is a maze of flooded stump fields and timber. Much of the old timber has decayed  but remnants of the trees make driving this lake a bit of a nail biter. Making matter worse, this spring the lake is very low.

What's Happening
The lake is low but there is plenty of cover to keep the fish positioned around targets. Elite pro are in two schools of though: spawning or post spawn fishing. Many anglers felt that the shallow bass would be too spooky and unreliable due to the low water levels. They might be right.
Targeting the many off shore ditches, creek channels and  lanes in the stumps fields with cranks, Carolina rigs and jigs is a strong pattern. Success should be good but post spawn bass can be fickle. One problem is navigation. Anglers simply cannot jump from spot to spot  which is so common to off shore fishing. Countless minutes are eaten up idling around dangerous stumps. Many complain that they cannot fish enough spots to make their milk runs truly successful.

Tournament WeekToledo Bend is wide and long. Wind can whip up from any direction making fishing and running difficult. Ish Monroe on day 2 speared a wave racing back to the weigh-in  and wash away all his rods off the deck. Heart broken of his $10 000 loss, he make it back with not time to spare to capture big bass honours with a 10-15.
Wind will hurt almost everyone fishing. Luckily, this lake has thousands of nooks to hide a bass boat. With strong winds predicted for all of Saturday and maybe Sunday, anglers will have to account for the wind.  Takahiro Omori, in 7th, stated that the wind will only make him change his fishing style. The stronger the wind will mean more of a reaction bait and the calmer means more flipping. As long as the angler can adjust, fishing should be good.
Mid April is still spawning time. Dean Rojas, the tournament leader both days stated in an interview with Bassmaster.com that, “we are in a full moon so they (bass) know its time to get it done.” Dean also alluded to the quality of the fish that are being caught on beds. “there’s not a whole bunch up there (spawning bass) but there are a few big ones.” If Rojas is correct and he can find the beds  he might be able to lead this event  wire to wire.
The weather will play a huge role this weekend and whom ever can adjust will win. Toledo Bend bass can be caught almost anyway you wish as long as the wind doesn’t get to wild.