2017 Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest Day 1: Ehrler Take Early Lead

Fishing great on Day 1
BASS PRESS RELEASE

Brent looking for his 2nd TTBC win!
(Photo: BASS)

Brent Ehrler used a strange term to describe the way he fished Sam Rayburn Reservoir during Wednesday’s first round of the Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest benefiting the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
 
“The fish are confused,” he said. “And you have to fish confused.”
 
The tactic worked, as the California pro caught 25 pounds, 6 ounces of bass to take the lead in an event that features a $100,000 first-place prize and an automatic berth into the 2018 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods.
 
His five-bass catch was anchored by a 9-1 largemouth that gave him the lead in the race for Toyota Big Bass of the week. The angler who claims that title will take home a Toyota Tundra pickup truck valued at $50,000. Total payout is $1 million.
 

Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest Starts Today on San Rayburn

Big bass action coming!
By Luigi De Rose

2016 Champ Matt Herren ready to win a second on Rayburn!
(Photo BASS)

The merger of BASS and Toyota Texas Bass Classic is aimed to create one of the most exciting tournaments of 2017. Anglers will have their catch measured and weighted on the spot and then quickly released throughout each day of the event. Pro anglers will be allowed to bring only 1 bass over 21 inches to share with the crowd. Stay tuned to IBASSIN.com as we will have all the action right here.

The EverGreen / Z-Man Jackhammer Chatterbait Unboxing!

The EverGreen JACKHAMMER Chatterbait lures was IBASSIN.com's #1 searched post in 2016 and for good reason. A cloud of interque grew as BASS Elite angler Brett Hite scored numerous Top 10 in Elite tournaments with a secret Japanese lure. The mystery grew deeper as it was declared illegal to sell in North America due to Z Man's patent. Everyone wants what they cannot have so as demand intensified smarter heads prevailed and the two companies joined forces. As of 2017, Z Man and EverGreen USA have developed the most refined chatterbait ever.

Videos
https://www.zmanfishing.com/cms/chatter/introducing-chatterbait-jack-hammer/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xx-Ixg8TLEs

Z-Man Site
https://www.zmanfishing.com/cms/chatter/introducing-chatterbait-jack-hammer/

Let's review its many quality features.

The patented coffin style blade is thin, tough and perfectly cut from stainless steel.
Available in brilliant silver and green pumpkin
which is Brett's most favourite blade colour. 

Just look at that hook! A wide, heavy wire Gamakatsu hook
with 2 wire prong trailer keepers is amazing. The original chatterbaits
had smaller, cheaper hooks. This thing is a beast. The trailer is a huge part
of the chatterbait's success. Fighting to keep it on is a drag.
This should easily take care of that problem.

A sleek fish shaped head is very compact. It will slip through cover with ease.
I really love that the weight of the bait is labelled on the head of each bait.
Always hated trying to determine which size I was fishing.  The bottom of the head
is white with a splash of red for dark and light coloured skirted jigs.
MORE BELOW

Happy Mother's Day!

Wishing all those special women a very
Happy Mother's Day!

Fishing and Hunting Big Engine for the Economy!

The next time someone asks you, "what do anglers and hunters to help?" feed them some of these facts. The fine people of Southwick Associates generated these finding through an extensive survey and some good research. Here's the key points:

Key findings of the report include: 

• Outdoor recreation is a powerful economic sector. At $887 billion spent annually, it is larger than education ($278 billion), gas and fuels ($304 billion), household utilities ($313 billion) motor vehicles and parts ($465 billion) and pharmaceuticals ($466 billion).
• Supporting 7.6 million jobs, outdoor recreation creates more jobs than real estate, rentals and leasing (2.1 million) and education (3.5 million) combined. It also supports more jobs than the food and beverage industry (4.7 million), finance and insurance (6 million), construction (6.4 million) and computer technology (6.7 million).
• Outdoor recreation generates $65.3 billion in federal tax revenue a year and $59.2 billion in state and local tax revenues.
• More American jobs depend on recreational motorcycling and off-roading (867,000) than lawyers in the United States (779,000).
• Nearly 331 million people visit U.S. national parks each year-that's nearly one visit for every American.

Beyond the numbers, the report touches on the health and societal benefits of outdoor recreation including evidence that suggests that investments in outdoor recreation and programming could significantly reduce crime rates, improve educational outcomes for many children and actually lower long-term individual and public health care costs by reducing stress and obesity rates.

 

"The benefits of outdoor recreation far exceed mere numbers, though the numbers are impressive," says Rob Southwick, president of Southwick Associates. "From helping people reduce stress, exercise more and overall improve their health, the tangible benefits of providing an abundant of outdoor activities go far beyond dollars and cents."

Ledge Fishing! Brad Knight with the new Strike King Bull Worm

The Bull Worm from Strike King is a great bait for pulling over ledges. Rig it Texas or on a jighead it works either way. FLW CUP Champ, Brad Knight explains why you need to buy some packs of these worms.

Advanced Jerkbait Fishing with Megabass Pro Nick Cousvis!

Jerkbait fishing is one of the best lures ever invented. Learning to fish one is more difficult than you think. Learn from expert angler and Megabass pro Nick Cousvis. He knows his stuff. Nick explains how to adjust the leader length to get greater depth, more action and how to target giant smallmouth bass. Jerkbaits work well on both smallmouth and largemouth. You simply have to know how to fish them.

Dustin Connell Wins 2017 BASS Elite Ross Barnett Event with 64-13lbs!

Big storm didn't phase rookie Connell
BASS PRESS RELEASE

Rookie Connell outlasts Van Dams
(Photo: BASS)

Severe storms may have caused the postponement of the final round of fishing Sunday, but nothing could stop Bassmaster Elite Series rookie Dustin Connell of Clanton, Ala., from claiming victory in the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Elite at Ross Barnett.

Connell caught a five-bass limit weighing 12 pounds, 15 ounces today, pushing his four-day total to 64-13 and holding off a late-charging veteran Kevin VanDam, who ended with 62-10.

Hoisting the coveted first-place trophy overhead — and pocketing the $100,000 that goes with it — has been Connell's dream since childhood.

Johnny McCombs Wins 2017 Walmart FLW Tour Beaver Lake with 47-01lbs!

McCombs outlast flood and anglers to take title. 

by Curtis Niedermier

FLW PRESS RELEASE

Life tests us in many ways – some tests being more significant than others.

Bass fishing, for instance, is a test of concentration, strategy and an understanding of Mother Nature’s ways.

Professional tournament fishing in the kind of extreme conditions we saw this week at the FLW Tour presented by General Tire at Beaver Lake, which included a lake-level rise of more than 12 feet, more than 9 inches of rain on Saturday alone, flash floods and thunderstorms, might be the toughest kind of bass fishing test.

Johnny ran topwater over flooded shorelines to win.
(Photo: FLW)

For Johnny McCombs, the result at Beaver Lake was a passing score and a $100,000 paycheck. McCombs won the tournament with a four-day catch of 47 pounds, 1 ounce.

Still, the challenges of this week were minor compared to the ways that life has tested McCombs off the water. His success is significant not because of how he caught his fish, but because of what he’s managed to overcome to have this opportunity.