KVD Joins MINN KOTA TEAM

Check out the video announcement of KVD. 

Tim Frederick Wins 2018 FLW Tour Lake Okeechobee with 85-04lbs!

Johnstons finish 9th and 10th.

By by Sean Ostruszka3

FLW PRESS RELEASE

Last minute 9 pounder seals the deal for Tim.
(Photo: FLW)

Tim Frederick and Bryan Schmitt both caught giant bass in the final minutes. Both thought their fish pushed them over the edge for the win. Frederick’s was bigger, and that was the difference.

With only 10 minutes left to his final day, Frederick knew he needed a giant to have a chance. That chance happened soon after when he stuck a 9-pounder that edged him above Schmitt by little more than a pound to win the FLW Tour presented by Evinrude on Lake Okeechobee.

“I couldn’t be happier,” says the Leesburg, Fla., pro of his first Tour victory. “This is what I’ve always dreamed about.” Frederick’s 19-pound, 14-ounce day four bag brought his total weight to 85 pounds, 4 ounces.

The dream had been steadily turning into a nightmare the longer day four went on. His pattern of target fishing for bedding fish he couldn’t see seemed to be failing him, as he struggled to get bit most of the morning. He finally stuck a 4-pounder around midday, but that still left him well short of the 17 pounds he figured he needed to hold on for the win.

“I was so stressed,” says Frederick. “I didn’t know if I should leave or stay. I figured it was all I had, so I ended up staying. I’m sure glad I day, because then I stuck that 9-pounder with 10 minutes to go, and that was the difference. The biggest key for me all week was patience, and it paid off today.”

Frederick focused his attention during the event on the Spoil Islands area near Harney Pond – an area that actually was inaccessible until Hurricane Irma ripped it open last fall. Once he got in there, he found vast patches of reeds, pads and various targets, which was key as he didn’t cast unless it was at a target, figuring there would be spawning females bedded nearby. That’s where his history as a Florida angler paid off, as he relied on his knowledge of how big females set up on pieces of cover – typically on the points and edges of a patch of cover – to direct his casts.
TOP 10 BELOW

2018 FLW Tour Lake Okeechobee Day 3: Tim Frederick Grads Lead with 65-06lbs!

Cory Johnston 4^th & Chris Johnston 9^th

By by Sean Ostruszka3

FLW PRESS RELEASE
Tim Frederick’s very first tournament during his rookie season on the FLW Tour was on Lake Okeechobee. He finished dead last. Two years later, he has a chance to go from worst to first.

Following a day two that saw six anglers crack 20 pounds and one nearly break 30, Frederick was the lone angler to crack 20 pounds on day three. His 23-3 bag on Saturday jumped him to 65-6 total, which allowed him to overtake Bryan Schmitt by 15 ounces to lead the FLW Tour presented by Evinrude on Lake Okeechobee.

Tim finding beds with big worms.
(Photo: FLW)

 “I have a love/hate relationship with Okeechobee,” says Frederick, who hails from Leesburg, Fla. “The hate is that first tournament, but I’m a Florida power fisherman by nature. So I still love it.”

The ironic part for Frederick is that as much as he’d love to be powerfishing, what has him in the lead is a painfully slow and steady approach.

The pro is target fishing for bedding fish he can’t see. To do that, he’s lining up on isolated clumps of pencil reeds and other targets, putting his poles down, and then methodically casting to specific spots. Frederick says watching him is like watching paint dry, as he’ll take as long as five minutes to complete a cast.

“I can actually feel the bed when I’m dragging my bait through,” says Frederick. “When I do, I really slow down and will make multiple casts.”

The pattern has produced some big bites, though it took a little longer than expected Saturday. He caught one good one early, but it took him awhile to catch a limit. Then the water temp in his area near Harney Pond hit 64 degrees and a 45-minute window opened up where he caught two more giants.

As for the final day, Frederick says he has no intentions of changing.

“I’m going to stick with it,” says Frederick. “The clouds seem to be hurting a little, which is not good for tomorrow, but I have no other choice. I have to stick it out there, win, lose or draw.”

Top 10 pros

1. Tim Frederick – Leesburg, Fla. – 65-6 (15)

2. Bryan Schmitt – Deale, Md. – 64-7 (15)

3. Mark Rose – West Memphis, Ark. – 61-3 (15)

4. Cory Johnston – Cavan, Ont. – 53-11 (15)

5. Chad Morgenthaler – Reeds Spring, Mo. – 53-0 (15)

6. Brandon McMillan – Clewiston, Fla. – 52-11 (15)

7. Jared McMillan – Belle Glade, Fla. – 51-14 (15)

8. Scott Canterbury – Odenville, Ala. – 51- 12 (15)

9. Chris Johnston – Peterborough, Ont. – 50-0 (15)

10. Christopher Brasher – Longview, Texas – 48-13 (15)

2018 FLW Tour Lake Okeechobee Day 2: Bryan Schmitt Leads with 48-03lbs!

Chris  Johnston 3rd, Cory Johnston 6^th, Gustafson 87^th & Richardson 119th.

FLW PRESS RELEASE

Schmitt leads -Chris Johnston land 28 pound bag.
(Photo: FLW)

Lake Okeechobee is 730 square miles in size; half the size of Rhode Island. But for this tournament, one stretch of water a few hundred yards long and wide has out-produced all the rest.

After two days of the FLW Tour presented by Evinrude on Lake Okeechobee, Harney Pond has been THE place to be, as all of the top six anglers in the standings are fishing that area. With the warming conditions, a wave of giant females seems to be pouring in ready to spawn, and thus far, Bryan Schmitt has been the best at making them bite.

After leading day one with 24-11, the Deale, Md. pro followed it up with 23-8 to hold off Mark Rose for the lead with 48-3 for the tournament.

“There’s no doubt the winning fish are in [Harney Pond],” says Schmitt. “It’s the perfect storm [with the fish moving in there]. I think there is a 30-pound bag in there now that there will be less boats.”

2018 FLW Tour Lake Okeechobee Day 1: Bryan Schmitt Leads with 24-11lbs!

Cory Johnston 7^th, Chris Johnston 38^th, Gustafson 38^th & Richardson 131th.

By by Sean Ostruszka

FLW PRESS RELEASE

Schmitt's 24 pound bag great start on difficult Big O!
(Photo: FLW)

There’s no denying the effects Hurricane Irma had on the Big O.  Massive sections of vegetation and reed lines are gone, torn away by the storm. Throw in heavy winds throughout the winter churning up most of the lake, and it’s little surprise that doom-and-gloom was on everyone’s lips during practice for the FLW Tour Event presented by Evinrude on Lake Okeechobee.

If you listened to the dock talk, you’d have thought the anglers were fishing the Dead Sea. Fortunately, changes aside, Lake Okeechobee still can produce like few other fisheries, and she certainly showed off Thursday on day one of the 2018 FLW Tour’s kickoff event, as nine anglers cracked the 20-pound mark, with leader Bryan Schmitt of Deale, Md., weighing in a 24-pound, 11-ounce bag.

“This was not expected,” says Schmitt. “I never caught a good fish in practice, but the final afternoon I found an area where I got a ton of little bites. Apparently, those fish grew up today.”

Starting off, however, the fishing didn’t come easy. It wasn’t until he made a key bait switch after an hour and a half that the “lightbulb went off.” Then it was game on, with his bag eventually being anchored by twin 6-pound, 13-ounce fish.

As pleased as he is with his first day of fishing for the season, there is cause for concern. The forecast for day two calls for more heavy winds and a direction shift. That shift, if it comes true, could force a lot of muddy water into Schmitt’s area.

“I don’t know if [the area] will be toast or not,” Schmitt says. “It’ll be close, as the wind today was just scraping it. If it switches it may be done.”

Schmitt still figures he has to start there Friday based on what it produced, but if it gets trashed, he’ll be forced to make a tough decision, as his only other productive area is so far away it makes him question if he’ll have enough gas to fish both.

Regardless, the shallow grass fisherman from the Potomac River says he was due to finally have a day like Friday.

“The last two times I’ve been here I called my wife after practice to tell her to buy plane tickets to get down here, because I thought I’d found the mother lode,” says Schmitt. “Then this lake burned me both times.

“This time I thought the fishing was terrible and it wasn’t. It was a great change. I’ll take it.”

Top 10 pros

1. Bryan Schmitt – Deale, Md. – 24-11 (5)

2. Mark Rose – West Memphis, Ark. – 24-0 (5)

3. Christopher Brasher – Longview, Texas – 22-0 (5)

4. Britt Myers – Clover, S.C. – 21-8 (5)

2018 FLW Tour Starts Today!

Lake Okeechobee the site of the start of the 2018 FLW Tour season.
Get all the tournament info and results right here! 

Rojas, Pirch, Card,Pipkens and Aveda Move to Suzuki Motors in 2018!

Suzuki Motor of America, Inc. is proud to announce their roster of pro fishermen for the 2018 Bassmaster® Elite Tournament Series. “Suzuki is back in 2018, bigger and better than ever,” said Gus Blakely, vice president of sales for Suzuki Marine. “We’re eager to see our guys compete on the Elite circuit – all powered by Suzuki’s 250SS 4-stroke outboard.”

Suzuki stalwarts Brandon Card, Chad Pipkens and Clifford Pirch, will welcome Dean Rojas, Gerald Spohrer and Adrian Aveda to the team in 2018.

Dean Rojas

Suzuki welcomes veteran Arizona bass angler Dean Rojas to the team. Dean is a four-time winner on the Bassmaster® Elite Series tour and has 47 career Top 10 finishes. In addition, Rojas still holds the all-time B.A.S.S.® one day record catch of 45.2 pounds. With winnings totaling over $2 million dollars as a professional angler, Rojas brings a wealth of experience to the Suzuki team.

”I’m super-pumped to have a Suzuki on the transom of my new Blazer bass boat this year,” said Rojas. “I’ve watched Suzuki come alive over the past couple seasons and couldn’t be prouder to be on the team.” Look for Dean to be in the spotlight in 2018, as he campaigns for the first time with Suzuki Power.

Gerald Spohrer

Next up is Gerald Spohrer, a US Navy vet from Gonzales, LA. After starting out on the FLW Tour, Gerald moved to the Elite series last year. He was the Bassmaster® Central Open Angler of the Year in 2016 and broke into the Top 10 at last year’s Elite tournament on Lake St. Clair.

2018 holds a lot of promise for Spohrer. “Having a new Suzuki on my Bass Cat will be a first for me,” said Spohrer, “but not a first for Bass Cat. I can’t wait to get out on the water again and give ‘er a go.”

Adrian Avena

Adrian Avena also moved up to the Bassmaster® Elite Series after starting out on the FLW Tour and boasts career winnings approaching half a million dollars. Adrian grew up in New Jersey and counts the Chesapeake Bay as his home lake. Needless to say, he’s comfortable on big water.

Swindle's Giant New Sponsor

 To start the 2018 season on the Bassmaster Elite season, Gerald Swindle has inked a new mega deal with Rapala. Here's the G-Man himself talking about his move to Rapala.

2018 Pan American Black Bass Championship: Team Canada Set!

Look out Okeechobee the Canadians are coming!
By Luigi De Rose 

The 8 team roster is set. Team Canada will be competing for glory and gold in Florida on February 4- 9, 2018 on Lake Okeechobee. 

Team Canada 1 Bob Izumi -Team Captain / Darren Izumi

Team Canada 2 Dave Chong / Rob Lee

Team Canada 3 Dave Bairstow / Matt Hubble

Team Canada 4 Brian Hughes / Anais Chaves

Team Canada 5 Cole Bailey / Bruce Leeson

Team Canada 6 Phil Hegarty / Stephen Hegarty

Team Canada 7 Joey Ford / Shawn McCaul

Team Canada 8 Spiro Agouros / Fern Campeau