crankbait - Bass Fishing Florida

FLW Outdoors Returns to Versus

FLW Outdoors Returns to Versus October 3

MINNEAPOLIS (Sept. 29, 2010) – The 2010 FLW Tour season finale took place on legendary Lake Guntersville in northern Alabama. But two North Carolina fishermen stole the spotlight. While Damiki pro Bryan Thrift claimed the prestigious Angler of the Year award, his buddy Brent Long pinned down his first FLW Tour victory. Complete coverage of the event will air Oct. 3 from 12:30-1:30 p.m. ET on VERSUS as part of the weekly “FLW Outdoors” program.

Thrift’s incredible 2010 season included five top-10 finishes and a victory on his home lake – Lake Norman. At Guntersville, Thrift demonstrated the remarkable consistency that led to his Angler of the Year title. On day one he wasted little time – sacking nearly 20 pounds in the first hour of the day en route to a 22-pound, 1-ounce stringer. On day two he managed another 21 pounds and on day three he clinched AOY with over 18 pounds.

Long fished all four days and each one of them he spent probing the depths of one particular ledge, located at the intersection of Siebold Creek and the main-river channel. His two main baits were a Norman DD22 crankbait and a hand-tied Ernest Langley 3/4-ounce football head jig with a Zoom Fat Albert Twin-Tail grub. Unlike most competitors, Long burned the crankbait as fast as possible to generate reaction strikes from suspended fish. When the bass were schooling and chasing bait, he’d mix in a Strike King Shadalicious swimbait.

With a total weight of 95 pounds, 7 ounces, Long earned $125,000. To add to the moment, his wife and two daughters drove from North Carolina to be in attendance.

In second place with 87 pounds, 4 ounces was Marion, Ark., pro Mark Rose. Over the past few years, Rose has become an excellent TVA ledge fisherman. He too used a variety of baits but his best was the Strike King 6XD crankbait. He’d take a rattling 6XD and make precise casts to the deepest sides of the ledge corner. He’d then follow up with the same 6XD only in the Silent Stalker model. Rose’s second-place finish earned him $36,077.

David Fritts of Lexington, N.C., took third and earned nearly $30,000 with a total weight of 87 pounds, 2 ounces. Fritts alternated between throwing a Rapala DT20 and Carolina rigging a Zoom Brush Hog, depending on the conditions.

VERSUS Country broadcasts “FLW Outdoors” in high-definition (HD) Sundays from 12:30-1:30 p.m. ET. FLWOutdoors.com also provides an online guide listing upcoming episodes of “FLW Outdoors.” In addition, each episode of “FLW Outdoors” will be available on demand in its entirety on FLWOutdoors.com.

ABOUT FLW OUTDOORS
FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world offering anglers worldwide the opportunity to compete for millions over the course of 189 tournaments in 2010. FLW Outdoors has also taken fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing awarding the largest prizes in the history of fantasy sports. FLW Outdoors memberships are available featuring numerous benefits including Player’s Advantage. For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing, visit FantasyFishing.com.

http://www.flwoutdoors.com/

Media Contact
Jeff McCoy, Director of Public Relations & Communications, (612) 337-1945 (w), (612) 360-1375 (m) or jeff.mccoy@jacobs-mgmt.com

Bass University

I was very fortunate to spend the first weekend in February attending the final session of the Bass University school year.

The BU was revived by Mike Iaconelli & Pete Gluszek and included some of the biggest names currently on the Bassmaster Elite circuit. To say that the weekend was an eye and brain opening expeerience would be an understatement. It’s one thing to read all the books and magazine articles, watch the videos and fishing shows on T.V. but to be able to get up close and personal in a classroom setting was truly unique. Each day was comprised of 3 classes in the morning and 3 classes in the afternoon. Each round of 3 classes was followed by a roundtable Q & A session where any type of question could be asked.

Day one started off with Ish Monroe covering all of the finer points of using a large weight in pitching and flipping to punch thru heavy mats to get at those lunkers lying in wait below. His second class involved advanced frog fishing techniques along with all the tricks and tactics he uses on tour. Pete Gluszek followed by talking about shallow cranking – using a tight or wide wobble and lipless baits. He discussed the strategies he uses in adjusting size, color and vibration of the crankbaits in all types of conditions. His next class involved spinnerbait strategy. Blade combinations, colors and sizes used for different conditions and depths were explained. He added a short discussion on the Mop head jig, when and where to use this bait to generate strikes from the “big” ones. Fred Roumbanis rounded out the first day talking about the proper use of wake baits and some different modifications you can make. Fred finished out day one outlining how to put together a simple, straight foward tournament plan.

As if it couldn’t get any better, Day 2 started off with one of the “godfathers” of the swimbait technique – Byron Velvick. Byron began with a history of the swimbait technique, starting off as a west coast only method and then spreading across the bass fishing landscape like a wildfire. In his second lecture, he broke down all you needed to know about rigging, retrieve, shapes, colors, sizes and equipment. Next up to the plate was Peter T. Thilveros. Peter T. opened up with an advanced presentation on the utilization of the many types of soft plastics available. He then brought the students up to speed on the latest methods of using two traditional standbyes – the Texas and Carolins rigs. The weekend’s finishing kick was provided by none other than bass fishings wildman – Mike Iaconelli. Mike opened up with an animated presentation on the employment of using advanced finesse fishing strategies when the fishing sucks. Using the Flick Shake, Shaky head, tail weighted french fry and the wet noodle rigs to name a few. Ike closed out the weekend session talking about how to initiate reaction strikes from inactive bass. He detailed in depth the use of the football head jig and the Laserlure crankbait.

It goes without saying that the weekend was an experience beyond all expectations. I highly recommend that anyone wanting to expand their bass fishing knowledge and experise to attend a future seminar. Check out www.thebassuniversity.com for further details.

Short Takes Opening Day Lead

Short Takes Opening Day Lead at Elite Series on Pickwick Lake

Kevin Short was sick of hearing about swimbaits and Thursday, he did his best to change the conversation. Kicking it “old school”, Short of Mayflower, Arkansas, tied on two comfort choices – a jig and a crankbait – and toted 20 pounds, 3 ounces, of Pickwick Lake bass to the scales at the Alabama Charge, enough to hold off Cliff Pace of Petal, Miss., by 10 ounces.

Short was mired in 74th place in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the year standings heading into this week – indicative of his lack of affinity for the swimbait – and needed a shot in the arm here. The first leg of the Elite Series has been dominated by swimbaits as Skeet Reese and Byron Velvick won with the frustrating technique in the previous two events.

But Short knew he was getting back to his strengths with the schedule focusing on Tennessee River impoundments that fish more traditionally. And Short cashed in, reversing his sliding trend after a rough stretch to begin the season.

“I’ve been so discombobulated lately and I knew I just needed to get my brain in the right place to start catching fish,” said Short, who scored his first Elite Series victory last year on the Mississippi River. “I needed to get back on track and I needed to stick to what I know best. So far, it’s working”

Bassmaster.com will follow the Charge each day with BASSCast, BASSCam, real-time leaderboards during weigh-ins, photo galleries, daily results, and Hooked Up with ESPN Outdoors personalities Mark Zona and Tommy Sanders. Live, streaming video will be carried by ESPN3.com. Click here closer to tournament time for a complete coverage schedule.

Short started attacking shallow early, keying in on strictly largemouths. As the day progressed, Short moved to deeper water, following where he felt the fish were going. By 10 a.m., he boated three decent bass, which gave him the opportunity to relax and expand on his areas.

With a bevy of 2- and 3-pounders saturated in his area, Short figured out a way to only target the bigger bass. While he has limited boat traffic in his area, he said none of the other competitors have figured out how to catch the largemouth like he has.

“I just feel comfortable fishing like this,” said Short. “I’m just happy to get away from that darn swimbait.”

There are two polarizing decisions that anglers have to make this week. One, they risk losing valuable time by locking through to Lake Wilson — the move can pay off in spades – or play it safe in Pickwick. Secondly, once a location is established, anglers have to quickly decide to target largemouth or smallmouth as both species are in play this week. While Short is married to the largemouth bite, Pace is working the smallies.

Plying through a ton of bites, Pace found the right five smallmouths to total 19-9. He was working tight, small areas that were home to roaming smallmouth. He stayed on Pickwick, like Short, and targeted shallow water.

He will duplicate his pattern Friday but with weather approaching – rain is in store for later in the day – Pace wouldn’t rule out entirely switching things up.

“Smallmouth generally like to roam and cruise around within their areas,” said Pace, who qualified for the Bassmaster Elite Series Postseason in 2009. “So I was playing to their habits in those pockets. I wasn’t sure I would stick to this pattern all day when I first got on the water but I got a couple of good ones early and that really helped.”

Behind Pace in third was blazing hot Skeet Reese of Auburn, Calif., with 18-15. In his first ever visit to Pickwick, Reese stumbled in practice and was simply looking at not bombing this week in order to keep momentum in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year.

Instead, he finds himself in contention and is threatening to run away with the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year trophy.

“I had zero confidence this week,” said Reese, the 2007 Angler of the Year and 2009 Bassmaster Classic champion. “That weight is certainly not where I expected to be. Coming in this week, I would have been happy with a top 20.”

Edwin Evers, who was tied for fourth in the AOY race heading into this week, was also tied for fourth in the event. Greg Hackney, of Gonzales, La., matched Evers’ with 18-9. Hackney, in second to Reese in the AOY, continues to pile up solid tournaments and has prevented Reese from taking a near-insurmountable lead.

In sixth was Aaron Martens of Leeds, Ala., with 18-3. Five-time AOY Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich., was 24th with 15-2.

BASS has visited Pickwick Lake, a 47,000-acre Tennessee River fishery, for six events, including a 2002 Southern Open won by Boyd Duckett of Demopolis, Ala., with 33 pounds, 8 ounces, through three days. Duckett was ninth.

The Alabama Charge has a top prize of $100,000 and awards valuable points in the 2010 Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year title race. The full Elite field will compete Thursday and Friday, with the top 47 advancing to Saturday’s competition. From there, the top 12 will advance to Sunday for a shot at the trophy and the top prize.

The public is invited to attend the daily launches at 6:10 a.m. CT at McFarland Park, 200 James M. Spain Dr., Florence, Ala., 35630. Also free and open to the public, the daily weigh-ins are set for 3:30 p.m. CT at McFarlandPark.

Local sponsor of the Alabama Charge: Florence/Lauderdale Tourism.

Toyota Trucks Championship Week is set for July 24-31 and will be played out once again on two productive Alabama fisheries. The first leg, the July 24-25 Trophy Chase, returns to Lake Jordan out of Wetumpka. The finale, the Evan Williams Bourbon Trophy Triumph, is slated for July 30-31 on the Alabama River from Montgomery.

Bassmaster Elite Series Official Sponsors: Toyota, Berkley, Evan Williams Bourbon, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Skeeter and Yamaha.

Bassmaster Elite Series Supporting Sponsors: Lowrance and Triton Boats.

About BASS
For more than 40 years, BASS has served as the authority on bass fishing. The organization advances the sport through advocacy, outreach and its expansive tournament structure while championing efforts to connect directly with the passionate community of bass anglers through its Bassmaster media vehicles.

As the flagship offering of ESPN Outdoors, the Bassmaster brand and its considerable multimedia platforms are guided by a mission to serve all fishing fans. Through its industry-leading publications Bassmaster Magazine, BASS Times and Fishing Tackle Retailer; comprehensive Web properties in Bassmaster.com, BASSInsider.com, ESPNOutdoors.com and ESPN3.com, and ESPN2 television programming, Bassmaster provides rich, leading-edge content true to the lifestyle.

BASS oversees the prestigious Bassmaster Tournament Trail, which includes the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bassmaster Opens, BASS Federation Nation and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Bassmaster Classic.

BASS offers an array of services to its more than 500,000 members while spearheading progressive, positive change on issues related to conservation and water access. The organization is headquartered in Celebration,Fla.

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Media Contact: Doug Grassian at 407-566-2216 or doug.grassian@espn.com

DAY 1 ALABAMA CHARGE STANDINGS

2010 Florence, AL 4/29-5/2
Pickwick Lake, Florence AL.
(PROFESSIONAL) Standings Day 1

Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$

1. Kevin Short Mayflower, AR 5 20-03 305
Day 1: 5 20-03
2. Cliff Pace Petal, MS 5 19-09 295
Day 1: 5 19-09
3. Skeet Reese Auburn, CA 5 18-15 290
Day 1: 5 18-15
4. Edwin Evers Talala, OK 5 18-09 285
Day 1: 5 18-09
4. Greg Hackney Gonzales, LA 5 18-09 285
Day 1: 5 18-09
6. Aaron Martens Leeds, AL 5 18-03 276
Day 1: 5 18-03
7. Tommy Biffle Wagoner, OK 5 18-01 272
Day 1: 5 18-01
8. Zell Rowland Austin, TX 5 18-00 268
Day 1: 5 18-00
9. Boyd Duckett Demopolis, AL 5 17-11 264
Day 1: 5 17-11
10. Rick Morris Virginia Beach, VA 5 17-07 260
Day 1: 5 17-07
11. Wade Grooms Bonneau, SC 5 17-03 257
Day 1: 5 17-03
12. Bill Lowen North Bend, OH 5 17-02 254
Day 1: 5 17-02
13. Casey Ashley Donalds, SC 5 17-01 251
Day 1: 5 17-01
13. Michael Iaconelli Pitts Grove, NJ 5 17-01 251
Day 1: 5 17-01
15. Dennis Tietje Roanoke, LA 5 16-03 245
Day 1: 5 16-03
16. J Todd Tucker Moultrie, GA 5 16-01 243
Day 1: 5 16-01
17. Dave Wolak Wake Forest, NC 5 16-00 241
Day 1: 5 16-00
18. Shaw E Grigsby Gainesville, FL 5 15-15 239
Day 1: 5 15-15
19. Keith Poche Troy, AL 5 15-12 237
Day 1: 5 15-12
20. Mark Davis Mount Ida, AR 5 15-10 235
Day 1: 5 15-10
21. Todd Faircloth Jasper, TX 5 15-08 233
Day 1: 5 15-08
21. Steve Kennedy Auburn, AL 5 15-08 233
Day 1: 5 15-08
23. Brent Chapman Lake Quivira, KS 5 15-04 229
Day 1: 5 15-04
24. Kevin VanDam Kalamazoo, MI 5 15-02 227
Day 1: 5 15-02
25. Mark Menendez Paducah, KY 5 15-01 225
Day 1: 5 15-01
26. Takahiro Omori Emory, TX 5 15-01 223
Day 1: 5 15-01
27. Russ Lane Prattville, AL 5 14-15 221
Day 1: 5 14-15
28. Stephen Browning Hot Springs, AR 5 14-14 219
Day 1: 5 14-14
29. Terry Butcher Talala, OK 5 14-12 217
Day 1: 5 14-12
30. Pete Ponds Madison, MS 5 14-10 215
Day 1: 5 14-10
31. Ish Monroe Hughson, CA 5 14-08 213
Day 1: 5 14-08
32. Mark Burgess Norton, MA 5 14-07 211
Day 1: 5 14-07
32. Matt Herren Trussville, AL 5 14-07 211
Day 1: 5 14-07
32. Dustin Wilks Rocky Mount, NC 5 14-07 211
Day 1: 5 14-07
35. Clark Reehm Russellville, AR 5 14-06 205
Day 1: 5 14-06
35. Brian Snowden Reeds Spring, MO 5 14-06 205
Day 1: 5 14-06
35. Jason Williamson Aiken, SC 5 14-06 205
Day 1: 5 14-06
38. Grant Goldbeck Gaithersburg, MD 5 14-04 199
Day 1: 5 14-04
38. Mark Tucker Saint Louis, MO 5 14-04 199
Day 1: 5 14-04
40. Marty Robinson Lyman, SC 5 14-02 195
Day 1: 5 14-02
41. Jeff Connella Bentley, LA 5 14-00 193
Day 1: 5 14-00
41. Kenyon Hill Norman, OK 5 14-00 193
Day 1: 5 14-00
43. Scott Rook Little Rock, AR 5 13-14 189
Day 1: 5 13-14
44. Britt Myers Lake Wylie, SC 5 13-08 187
Day 1: 5 13-08
44. Terry Scroggins San Mateo, FL 5 13-08 187
Day 1: 5 13-08
46. Peter E Thliveros St Augustine, FL 5 13-06 183
Day 1: 5 13-06
47. Kevin Wirth Crestwood, KY 5 13-06 181
Day 1: 5 13-06
48. Morizo Shimizu Osaka JAPAN 5 13-05 179
Day 1: 5 13-05
49. John Crews Salem, VA 5 13-04 177
Day 1: 5 13-04
50. Alton Jones Waco, TX 5 13-03 175
Day 1: 5 13-03
51. Charlie Hartley Grove City, OH 5 13-01 173
Day 1: 5 13-01
52. Jeff Kriet Ardmore, OK 5 13-00 171
Day 1: 5 13-00
53. Timmy Horton Muscle Shoals, AL 5 12-15 169
Day 1: 5 12-15
54. Cliff Crochet Pierre Part, LA 5 12-14 167
Day 1: 5 12-14
54. Pat Golden High Point, NC 5 12-14 167
Day 1: 5 12-14
54. Bobby Lane Lakeland, FL 5 12-14 167
Day 1: 5 12-14
57. Denny Brauer Camdenton, MO 5 12-13 161
Day 1: 5 12-13
57. Bradley Hallman Norman, OK 5 12-13 161
Day 1: 5 12-13
59. Fred Roumbanis Bixby, OK 5 12-11 157
Day 1: 5 12-11
60. Derek Remitz Grant, AL 5 12-10 155
Day 1: 5 12-10
61. Paul Elias Laurel, MS 5 12-09 153
Day 1: 5 12-09
62. John Murray Phoenix, AZ 5 12-05 151
Day 1: 5 12-05
63. Randy Howell Springville, AL 5 12-04 149
Day 1: 5 12-04
63. James Niggemeyer Van, TX 5 12-04 149
Day 1: 5 12-04
63. Jason Quinn Lake Wylie, SC 5 12-04 149
Day 1: 5 12-04
66. Chad Griffin Cresson, TX 5 12-01 143
Day 1: 5 12-01
66. Bradley Roy Lancaster, KY 5 12-01 143
Day 1: 5 12-01
66. Gerald Swindle Warrior, AL 5 12-01 143
Day 1: 5 12-01
69. Gary Klein Weatherford, TX 5 11-14 137
Day 1: 5 11-14
70. Byron Haseotes Centerville, MA 5 11-08 135
Day 1: 5 11-08
71. Matt Greenblatt Palm Beach Gardens, FL 5 11-04 133
Day 1: 5 11-04
71. Jared Lintner Arroyo Grande, CA 5 11-04 133
Day 1: 5 11-04
73. David Smith Del City, OK 5 11-03 129
Day 1: 5 11-03
74. Kelly Jordon Mineola, TX 5 11-02 127
Day 1: 5 11-02
75. Jami Fralick Martin, SD 5 11-01 125
Day 1: 5 11-01
75. Greg Vinson Wetumpka, AL 5 11-01 125
Day 1: 5 11-01
77. Mark Tyler Vian, OK 5 10-13 121
Day 1: 5 10-13
78. Matt Reed Madisonville, TX 5 10-09 119
Day 1: 5 10-09
79. Kotaro Kiriyama Moody, AL 5 10-08 117
Day 1: 5 10-08
79. Billy McCaghren Mayflower, AR 5 10-08 117
Day 1: 5 10-08
81. Guy Eaker Cherryville, NC 5 10-04 113
Day 1: 5 10-04
82. Scott Ashmore Broken Arrow, OK 5 10-03 111
Day 1: 5 10-03
83. Mike McClelland Bella Vista, AR 5 10-02 109
Day 1: 5 10-02
83. Yusuke Miyazaki Forney, TX 5 10-02 109
Day 1: 5 10-02
83. Dean Rojas Lake Havasu City, AZ 5 10-02 109
Day 1: 5 10-02
86. Vince Fulks Purcell, OK 5 09-12 103
Day 1: 5 09-12
87. Jeremy Starks Charleston, WV 5 09-01 101
Day 1: 5 09-01
88. Byron Velvick Del Rio, TX 5 08-14 99
Day 1: 5 08-14
89. Bernie Schultz Gainesville, FL 5 08-11 97
Day 1: 5 08-11
90. Davy Hite Ninety Six, SC 5 08-08 95
Day 1: 5 08-08
91. Chris Lane Guntersville, AL 5 08-04 93
Day 1: 5 08-04
92. Marty Stone Fayetteville, NC 5 08-00 91
Day 1: 5 08-00
93. Rick Clunn Ava, MO 5 07-09 89
Day 1: 5 07-09
———————————————————————–
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 93 465 1257-06
———————————-
93 465 1257-06

Media Contact
Doug Grassian at 407-566-2216 or doug.grassian@espn.com

Bassmaster Elites Return to Lake Guntersville

Sticking around BASS’ home state of Alabama for a while longer, the Bassmaster Elite Series will head south from the Alabama Charge at Pickwick Lake this weekend to Lake Guntersville for the May 6-9 Synergy Southern Challenge out of Guntersville.

Guntersville has been the site of 20 top-level BASS events, including the 1976 Bassmaster Classic, won by Elite Series pro Rick Clunn of Ava, Mo. The Elites competed at the fishery in 2009, when the top four overall weights for the four-day tournament crashed the scales at more than 100 pounds. Elite anglers caught nearly 1,300 fish and more than 5,300 pounds over the course of four days.

Aaron Martens of Leeds, Ala., took home the $100,000 first-place prize and the Southern Challenge trophy for his fifth career BASS victory. With 107 pounds, 8 ounces, through four days, Martens stayed ahead of 2007 Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year Skeet Reese of Auburn, Calif., for the win by just more than 3 pounds.

Fishing fans can catch all of the on-the-water action from the Southern Challenge on The Bassmasters, which airs Sunday, May 16, at 10:30 a.m. ET on ESPN2 (re-airs Sunday, May 30, 11 a.m. ET). The daily weigh-ins for all regular-season Elite events and the two postseason events will air live on ESPN3.com.

In the 2009 competition on Guntersville, after a productive first three days, Martens struggled on Day 4 as local fishermen were in his key spots early in the day. He recovered by switching locations and patterns, going with a deep-diving crankbait and a worm.

Martens said the best spots were those with grass and shell beds. In those spots, he would retrieve the crankbait erratically – similar, he said, to the method of retrieving a jerkbait. He said his retrieve was key to enticing the bigger bass.

While Martens is a Guntersville expert, Clark Reehm of Russellville, Ark., fished his first BASS event on Guntersville in 2009. After a subpar first day, Reehm figured things out, playing to the current. He eventually finished in 38th place on the strength of his near 30-pound limit on the second day.

“You might see something similar to last year in terms of weights,” said Reehm, who has qualified for three straight Saturday cuts to begin the Elite season. “If they turn on the generators, it could get ugly and guys will really smoke them.”

Reehm said that lipless crankbaits would be an obvious lure choice and that the early morning bite would be important to capitalize on. Additionally, he said the shad spawn should be starting at just the right time for pros to capitalize on schooling bass.

Reehm estimated that it could take anywhere from 80 to 100 pounds to get the victory on Guntersville.

“On a big-bass lake, it’s really hard to pinpoint how much it will take to win,” said Reehm, who was in the middle of his three-day practice period on Pickwick. “Targeting those schooling fish where the good-sized bass are wadded up is the best approach. It’s such a phenomenal lake. You can go through nearly 50 4-pounders on Guntersville and it’s considered just an average day.”

Along with the top prize of $100,000, the Southern Challenge awards valuable points in the 2010 Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year title race. With 885 points after four events, Reese leads the AOY standings after winning the April 15-18 Blue Ridge Brawl on Virginia’s Smith Mountain Lake. Trailing him are Greg Hackney of Gonzales, La., in second with 798 points, and Dean Rojas of Lake Havasu City, Ariz., in third with 730 points.

The public is invited to attend the daily launches at 6 a.m. CT at Lake Guntersville State Park, 1155 Lodge Dr., Guntersville, Ala., 35976. After Day 2’s competition Friday, the field will be cut to the top 50 anglers for Day 3. Only the top 12 will go on to compete in Day 4. Also free and open to the public, the daily weigh-ins are set for 3:30 p.m. CT at Lake Guntersville State Park.

Local sponsor of the Southern Challenge: Marshall County Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The top 12 pros in the AOY standings at the end of the regular season will advance to the 2010 Bassmaster Elite Series postseason, in which the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year will be determined. With the completion of the Southern Challenge, the 2010 regular season will have just three events remaining.

After Guntersville will be the May 20-23 Pride of Georgia on Clarks Hill Lake out of Evans, Ga.

Bassmaster Elite Series Official Sponsors: Toyota, Berkley, Evan Williams Bourbon, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Skeeter and Yamaha.

Bassmaster Elite Series Supporting Sponsors: Lowrance and Triton Boats.

Media Contact
Doug Grassian at 407-566-2216 or doug.grassian@espn.com

Wolak, Reehm join Custom Lures Unlimited pro-staff

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina lure manufacturer Custom Lures Unlimited has added Bassmaster Elite Series pros Clark Reehm of Arkansas and Dave Wolak of North Carolina to its CLU Pro Squad.

Wolak and Reehm will join pro anglers Jeffrey Thomas, Randy Howell, and Mike Iaconelli on the 2010 CLU Pro Squad.

CLU has become a leader in wooden crankbait production over the last few years and gained national notoriety when Mike Iaconelli won the 2008 Kerr Lake Northern Stren on a CLU crankbait, the IKON, that he and CLU owner Kelly Barefoot collectively designed.

CLU is best known for its old-school wooden crankbait designs that have the realism of high-end Japanese baits. Late last year CLU also introduced the first scale patterns to the wooden lure market.

“We’re excited to have Dave and Clark as part of the team for 2010,” Kelly Barefoot, owner of CLU, said. “We look forward to building the customized tools that will help them succeed on the tournament trail this year.”

Said Reehm: “As an up and coming Elite Series angler, I like having the opportunity to give feedback on research and development, which doesn’t come easy with large tackle companies that have super star pro staffs. In this economy with sponsorship deals coming few and far between, you might as well go with the best companies you can and those that you truly believe in. It’s easy for some to chase bigger money, but at the end of the day I’d rather get the best baits available. CLU fits my fishing style. Their hand crafted crankbaits are the highest quality and any angler that likes to run and gun won’t be able to find any better.”

Added Wolak: “I’ve used CLU’s baits in the past and love Kelly’s attention to detail. I know Ike has been using them for a few years and they’re a superior wooden bait, which is hard to find anywhere in the country. They’re a way beyond the one or two custom baits like they offered in the past. Year’s ago Kelly only did custom paint jobs and such but now he’s taken his popular colors and made them more available to the masses along with incorporating those colors in his new wood baits. The other thing is I live in Raleigh, the headquarters of CLU, and it makes it so easy for me and Kelly to bounce thoughts and concepts off each other. I can’t wait to work with Kelly and CLU in the future.”

CLU produces both wooden and plastic custom lures that are individually geared for specific tournament needs and water conditions. For more information go to www.customluresunlimited.com.

FLW Outdoors Returns to Versus

Bass University

Short Takes Opening Day Lead

Bassmaster Elites Return to Lake Guntersville

Wolak, Reehm join Custom Lures Unlimited pro-staff

Lake Toho

Butler Chain of Lakes

Current Orlando Fishing Reports