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Jacob Wheeler Charges Ahead At Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest On Lake Travis
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Casey Ashley Talks Willie and Swimbaits at Texas Fest
Casey Ashley caught a solid limit amid Thursday’s sweltering heat to sit near the top of the leaderboard. The always easy-going 2015 Bassmaster Classic Champ took a minute prior to Friday’s launch to talk about Lake Travis, Toyota Trucks, swimbaits, and even a mention of Texas native Willie Nelson.
Q: What was the biggest surprise amid Day 1 of competition here at Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest to benefit Texas Parks and Wildlife Department?
Casey: The biggest surprise was that I actually caught a decent limit, because while you may catch 100 fish a day here, the randomness of catching a big one is truly an unknown.
Q: Your biggest fish yesterday was a 4 pound 5 ounce largemouth. How did you catch it?
Casey: I caught it on one of my absolute all time favorite lures – a green pumpkin Zoom trick worm rigged on a Casey Ashley Shaky Head from Greenfish Tackle.
Q: This week’s tournament is title sponsored by Toyota, and you’ve bought a bunch of Tundras. How many Toyota Tundras have you owned throughout your Elite Series career?
Casey: I’ve bought five Tundras, and my daddy has bought two as well – so seven Tundras total between the two of us.
Q: You’re a music man. You recorded a demo CD in Nashville a few years back, and you’ve sang the National Anthem on a handful of occasions before blast-off at an Elite Series tournament. What song is stuck in your head this morning?
Casey: Kenny Chesney’s “Lucky Old Sun” – which is pretty fitting for the hot weather we’re having here, and the fact it features Texas native Willie Nelson singing along with Kenny.
Q: Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest helps raise money that Texas Parks and Wildlife uses to fund urban youth fishing initiatives. You have a youth angler of your own – a 5-year-old son named Troy. Tell us about fishing with him?
Casey: I’ve learned from taking Troy fishing that size and species don’t matter. It’s all about getting a bite. And still there are times when I can be catching one crappie after another, and he’ll still lose interest. So when they tell you they’re done, don’t make them stay, or you’ll ruin the experience.
I will say here at Lake Travis would be a great place to take a kid fishing, because there’s so many fish in here. I’d just tie on a little 3” swimbait for him, and let him cast and wind it on a Zebco reel. And as many little 12 to 13” bass that swim here – I’ll promise ya he’d have a real good chance of catching one.
The Mer-Guck Report from Lake Travis Day 2
Here is your day two Mer-Guk Report from Lake Travis.
Haynes Out in Front after Day One of FLW Tour at Kentucky Lake
GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. (May 17, 2018) – Pro Randy Haynes of Ripley, Mississippi, weighed a 26-pound, 3-ounce, limit of bass Thursday to take the early lead at the FLW Tour at Kentucky Lake presented by Costa Sunglasses. Haynes’ limit – tied for the third largest single-day limit ever caught on Kentucky Lake in FLW Tour competition – will pace the field heading into Day Two of the four-day event that features the world’s most best bass-fishing professionals and co-anglers casting for top awards of up to $125,000 cash in the Pro Division and up to $25,000 cash in the Co-angler Division.
Right behind Haynes is second-place pro Jason Lambert of Michie, Tennessee, a fellow ledge-fishing expert who was the 2016 FLW Tour at Kentucky Lake Champion. With Haynes and Lambert both catching their fish out deep and separated by less than 2 pounds, the stage could be set for a potential offshore shootout.
“My first five holes were tough, but I hit a good one and stayed there most of the day. I caught a couple, left for a little while, came back and culled a couple more times,” said Haynes, who is seeking his second career win in FLW Tour competition. “It was pretty tough out there – I only had six keeper bites all day. I’m very fortunate to have what I did. It’s kind of wide open out there right now. I can fish anywhere I want to, and I like that.”
Haynes said he counted 10 bass in his primary location, six of which he put in the boat. He said it took most of the day to put together his limit.
“I just grinded it out and the bites I got were the right ones,” said Haynes. “The spot is burned to the ground now so I’m going to have to go out there and start over tomorrow. It’s all about finding them right now – finding the fresh ones. That’s the whole deal right now.”
The top 10 pros after day one on Kentucky Lake are:
1st: Randy Haynes, Ripley, Miss., five bass, 26-3
2nd: Jason Lambert, Michie, Tenn., five bass, 24-6
3rd: Quaker State pro Scott Canterbury, Odenville, Ala., five bass, 21-5
4th: Lowrance pro Austin Felix, Eden Prairie, Minn., five bass, 19-13
5th: Josh Douglas, Isle, Minn., five bass, 19-10
6th: Bradley Hallman, Norman, Okla., five bass, 18-6
7th: Polaris pro David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., five bass, 18-5
8th: Scott Martin, Clewiston, Fla., five bass, 17-14
8th: Tom Redington, Royse City, Texas, five bass, 17-14
8th: Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., five bass, 17-14
For a full list of results visit FLWFishing.com.
Anthony Gagliardi of Prosperity, South Carolina, earned the $500 Simms Big Bass award in the Pro Division Thursday thanks to a 6-pound, 15-ounce bass.
Overall there were 641 bass weighing 1,804 pounds, 13 ounces, caught by 169 pros Thursday. The catch included 76 five-bass limits.
Ronny Webb of Dyersburg, Tennessee, leads the Co-angler Division with five bass weighing 17 pounds, 7 ounces, followed by Keith Gunsauls of El Cajon, California, who weighed five bass totaling 15-2, good for second place.
The top 10 co-anglers after day one on Kentucky Lake are:
1st: Ronny Webb, Dyersburg, Tenn., five bass, 17-7
2nd: Keith Gunsauls, El Cajon, Calif., five bass, 15-2
3rd: Greg Ravitsky, Ashburn, Va., five bass, 14-10
4th: Mike Gabel, Saint Charles, Ill., five bass, 14-4
5th: Michael Yoder, Texarkana, Ark., five bass, 14-1
6th: Rex Jaeger, Hamilton, Ohio, five bass, 13-11
7th: Chatfield Smith, Minnetonka, Minn., five bass, 13-8
8th: Roger McQueen, Eagar, Ariz., four bass, 13-4
9th: Craig Middleton, Harrodsburg, Ky., four bass, 11-12
10th: Michael Weimann, Murfreesboro, Tenn., four bass, 11-9
Christopher Kanute of Clover, South Carolina, earned $250 for the Simms Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division with a 6-pound, 1-ounce bass.
Overall there were 292 bass weighing 769 pounds, 10 ounces caught by 137 co-anglers Thursday. The catch included nine five-bass limits.
In FLW Tour competition, pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat movement and competing against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other co-anglers. The full field of anglers competes in the two-day opening round. Co-angler competition concludes following Friday’s weigh-in, while the top 30 pros based on their two-day accumulated weight advance to Saturday. Only the top 10 pros continue competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from the four days of competition.
The total purse for the FLW Tour at Kentucky Lake presented by Costa Sunglasses is more than $930,000. The event is hosted by the Kentucky Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Anglers will take off at 6:30 a.m. CDT each day from Kentucky Dam State Park, located at 7792 U.S. Highway 641 N. in Gilbertsville. Friday’s weigh-in, May 18, will be held at the State Park beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday’s weigh-ins, May 19-20, will also be held at the park, but will begin at 4 p.m.
Prior to the weigh-ins Saturday and Sunday, May 19-20, FLW will host a free Family Fishing Expo at Kentucky Dam State Park from noon to 4 p.m. The Expo is the perfect opportunity for fishing fans of all ages to meet their favorite anglers, enjoy interactive games, activities and giveaways provided by FLW sponsors, meet characters from the “Paw Patrol” children’s television show, and learn more about the sport of fishing and other outdoor activities.
Also for youth, the FLW Foundation’s Unified Fishing Derby will be held at Kentucky Dam State Park on Saturday, May 19, from 9-11 a.m. The event is hosted by FLW Foundation pro Cody Kelley along with other FLW Tour anglers, and is free and open to youth (18 and under) and Special Olympics athletes (all ages). Rods and reels are available for use, but youth are encouraged to bring their own if they own one. The 1st and 2nd place anglers that catch the biggest fish will be recognized Saturday on the FLW Tour stage, just prior to the pros weighing in.
Throughout the season, anglers are also vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2018 Forrest Wood Cup, the world championship of professional bass fishing. The 2018 Forrest Wood Cup will be on Lake Ouachita in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Aug. 10-12 and is hosted by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and Visit Hot Springs.
Television coverage of the FLW Tour at Kentucky Lake presented by Costa Sunglasses will premiere in high-definition (HD) on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) June 27 from Noon-1 p.m. EST. The Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show airs on NBCSN, the Pursuit Channel and the World Fishing Network and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the sport’s top anglers on the FLW Tour on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat.
About FLW
FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money in 2018 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW and their partners conduct 286 bass-fishing tournaments annually around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Portugal, South Africa and Spain. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show, broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, while FLW Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros. For more information visit FLWFishing.com and follow FLW at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat.
Iaconelli and Texas Fest Hooking Kids on Fishing
Mike Iaconelli sat eating his traditional sausage, egg and cheese croissant in the dawn’s early light of Day 1 at the Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest to benefit Texas Parks and Wildlife Department showing off a Molix spinnerbait and a swimbait he hoped would lead to a fast limit of bass during the early morning shad spawn, and then a chance to upgrade his weight throughout the day.
Iaconelli is a grinder. Always believing that even amid a stellar career that includes a Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year title and a Bassmaster Classic Championship that he has to work harder than a lot of pros in order to stay competitive. So the over-the-top 14 hour practice days he logged in the 90-degree Central Texas heat this week comes as no surprise.
It’s also no surprise that amid bites of breakfast sandwich and the obvious stress that arises from contemplating the day’s challenges – like bright 96 degree sunshine over Lake Travis’ clear water – that Iaconelli’s thoughts always seem to center on getting more kids involved in fishing.
Along with the love he has for his wife Becky, his four children, old school hip hop music, collecting antique glass bottles, and Philadelphia sports teams – is an absolute passion for introducing youth anglers to the sport he loves.
“Lake Travis is a fun lake. It’d be the perfect place to take kids bass fishing, because there’s so many bass swimming here, you know they’d get a bite,” says “Ike” with excitement. “One day of practice here at Travis, I caught 120 bass. Now look, only 10% of those were keepers. But still, 120 bass in one day! That’s phenomenal!”
Speaking of numbers, two days before traveling to Texas, “Ike” hosted over 250 kids at Haddon Lake near his New Jersey home as part of the Ike Foundation Hook ‘Em Early Kids Event.
“It was awesome, man. We stocked bass, catfish and bluegill, and gave every kid a free Flambeau tackle box, plus a free Abu Ike Dude rod and reel combo. And every fish they caught counted, because we awarded prizes for total inches of fish caught in three age divisions,” he reflected. “And the best part … roughly 40% of the kids who attended had never been fishing before!”
Iaconelli’s passion couldn’t have been expressed on a more fitting morning, because the very focus of Texas Fest is to raise money that is ultimately funneled to fund Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s youth fishing initiatives in 11 major metro areas.
The effort is estimated to introduce roughly 50,000 new anglers per year to the sport Iaconelli and everybody within sight of the giant American flag hanging over Jones Brothers Park Boat Ramp on Lake Travis Thursday morning loves so soulfully.
“My hope is that we can take our Ike Foundation tournaments to a lot more locations, and use them as an opportunity to do supplemental stocking in those small lakes. That way the kids that come to our events catch lots of fish, have a great experience, and become anglers for life. Plus we leave those lakes in better condition than we found them,” he concluded with passion and purpose.
The same exact passion and purpose shared by all those involved with Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest to benefit Texas Parks and Wildlife Department this week on Lake Travis.