Possible Cheating Allegations at 2015 TOP BASS Classic!

By Luigi De Rose

IBASSIN.com has been in discussion with Top Bass and they will be releasing an official statement regarding allegations of cheating, specifically caged bass, at this weekend's Classic. One of the most important factors in this situation is the matter of proof.

Please stay tuned for the official press release!

2015 TOP BASS CLASSIC Balsam Lake Day 1: Guard and Cook Lead Tight Race with 16.83lbs.

Ounces Making the Difference!
By Luigi De Rose

Cold, wet and windy weather greeted the top 75 teams to end the season on Balsam Lake, Ontario. Despite the weather, the bass bit and the race is super tight. Here are the top five:

1. Bill Guard & Craig Cook 16.83lbs
2. Tim Fernandes & Mike Quesnell 16.45 lbs
3. Greg Scott & Jeff Barton 16.20lbs
4. Mike Williams & Duane Jacobs 16.10lbs
5. Bernard Balian & Pat O'Connor 16.06lbs

Stay tune to see you wins.

B.A.S.S. announces expanded Elite Series schedule for 2016

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Some of America’s top-ranked bass fisheries — plus a new wrinkle in tournament formats and an extra event — await the nation’s top professional bass anglers competing in the 2016 Bassmaster Elite Series. The lineup will take anglers to 10 fisheries in nine states, and it includes 10 Elite events, an increase from nine Elite tournaments in 2015.


The world’s premier bass tournament circuit kicks off in Tulsa, Okla., March 4-6, when the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro, widely known as the “Super Bowl of Bass Fishing,” unfolds on Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees.
Two weeks later, the Elite Series gets underway on Florida’s St. Johns River, a hugely popular stop for veteran professionals. From there, the circuit winds through eight more states before concluding in the $1 million Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship in mid-September at a site to be announced later.

Testing a Prototype Topwater Frog Bait with Luigi De Rose and IBASSIN

One of the cool things being an outdoor writer is the people you meet. I got the chance to be the first to test a prototype frog lure that should be at ICAST 2016. It walks, pops and glides very well and is very snag proof. I couldn't offer any close ups because it is still very secret. It should be available in 8 colours and in stores by December of next year. 

Erik Luzak and Tom Hardy Win the 2015 CSFL Classic XIX with 50 Pounds!

The winning catch. (Photo: Erik Luzak)

Congrats to Erik Luzak and Tom Hardy for winning back to back CSFL Classics. They did it in grand style with a last day push that netted them 18.25 lbs that vaulted them into the winner's circle with a three day total of 50.9lbs!

Position	Angler	Co-Angler	Regional	Classic D1	Classic D2	Total Weight
1	Erik Luzak	Tom Hardy	14.35	18.3	18.25	50.9
2	TJ Lacey	Travis Vivian	18.5	14.9	15.75	49.15
3	Garry Mansholt	Pat Wong	10.25	15.95	20.6	46.8
4	Gary Miller		15.05	11.55	19	45.6
5	Dan Miguel	Bryan Low	16.75	12.8	13.85	43.4
6	Kirk Sullivan	Kevin Sullivan	14.7	15.2	13.1	43
7	Cory Johnston	Chris Johnston	16.8	15	9.75	41.55
8	Greg Roth	Bob Switzer	12.55	15.75	12.65	40.95
9	Chris Little	Cam Neville	10.35	18.55	11.85	40.75
10	Peter Marrocco	Pat Marrocco	13	13.95	12.75	39.7

See below for the full standings.

TJ Lacey and Travis Vivan Lead the CSFL Classic on Day 2

With one day to go on Sturgeon Lake, Ontario, the team of Lacey and Vivian have a slight lead with 33.4lbs  The CSFL National  Classic XIX winners will be crowned tomorrow.

Position	Angler	Co-Angler	Regional	Classic D1	Total Weight
1	TJ Lacey	Travis Vivian	18.5	14.9	33.4
2	Erik Luzak	Tom Hardy	14.35	18.3	32.65
3	Cory Johnston	Chris Johnston	16.8	15	31.8
4	Kirk Sullivan	Kevin Sullivan	14.7	15.2	29.9
5	Dan Miguel	Bryan Low	16.75	12.8	29.55
6	Chris Little	Cam Neville	10.35	18.55	28.9
7	Greg Roth	Bob Switzer	12.55	15.75	28.3
8	Dan Risorto	Frank Perciasepe	14.9	13	27.9
9	Wayne Misselbrook	Dave Kennedy	14.3	13.35	27.65
10	Justin Woolacott	Jay Taylor	13.2	14.45	27.65

Click to view full standings.

Fabio Testa and Guy Amoruso Win 2015 Top Bass Tri-Lakes #2!

Another Win for Testa and Amoruso
By Luigi De Rose

Tri-lakes, in late August, can be a challenged for any angler but the 88 teams that came to play displayed their skills last Sunday.  Luckily, a warming trend had the bass on the bite. The team of Fabio Testa and Guy Amoruso took top honours with 19.56 pounds of bass. First place paid a cool 3600 bucks and big bass went to Burns and Macdonald who landed at 5.85lb beast.

POS	Weight	Big Bass	Captain, Surname	Captain, Given	Partner Surname	Partner, Given
1	19.56	0	TESTA	FABIO	AMORUSO	GUY
2	18.99	5.51	CUCIUREAN	PETER	CUCIUREAN	DEBBIE
3	18.81	0	COCKS	GERRARD	DEAN	JARROD
4	18.71	5.86 BF	BURNS	SCOTT	MACDONALD	JAY
5	18.09	4.14	BENNETT	TY	BENNETT	MARK
6	16.71	4.02	JACOBS	MARC	IRONS	FRED
7	16.64	5.38	WEILER	FOREST	FORLER	TIM
8	16.21	0	GUARD	BILL	COOK	CRAIG
9	16.21	0	CORNER	DOUG	CORNER	DAN

Click here to see full results

Summer Frog Fishing Fun!

The heat of summer had us out in a marshy bay with plenty of lily pads. The bass were eat and we were trying our best to keep them on the hook. Barry bought a silent auction fishing trip with me at the Ontario Chinese Anglers Association at their Christmas and awards dinner last year. Richard was Barry's guest and we had a great time whipping frogs over the pads. 
The hot frogs this day were: Lunker Hunt, Live Target, Spro and a Horny Toad. I didn't want to use a frog so I casted a Trigger X Buzz tail worm and other Speed worms along the surface. 
We all got action and surprisingly all the topwater fish were over 3 pounds.
Overall, a fun frog fishing day!

Gerrard Cocks and Jarrod Dean Win 2015 Top Bass Tri-Lakes #1 Event with 20 pounds!

Big bass abound as weather stables.
By Luigi De Rose
Rocked by a windy, cool and cloudy week of practice, 120 Top Bass teams were greeted to a pleasant Saturday. The team of Cocks and Dean once again proved why they are tops in Ontario by edging out the competition with 20.65lbs bag of bass. Scores of five pounders came across the weigh-in stage but  none were larger than the second place team of Vince Jacobs and Troy Jacobs.

POS	Weight	Big Bass	Captain, Surname	Captain, Given	Partner Surname	Partner, Given
1	20.65	5.54	Cocks	Gerrard	Dean	Jarrod
2	20.38	5.67 BF	Jacobs	Troy	Jacobs	Vince
3	19.83	5.03	Pilkey	Ron	Martin	Jay
4	19.16	5.21	Gaspar	John	Restivo	David
5	17.39		West	Ian	Hornyak	Marley
6	17.2	4.91	Homes	Scott	Kazimierczu	Richard
7	17.06	5.26	Richardson	Curtis	Timleck	Todd
8	16.57	5.37	Williams	Mike	Jacobs	Duane
9	16.34		Earl	Matt	Clarke	Darcy
10	16.15	5.6	Monahan	Doug	Culp	Matt