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LEESBURG, Fla. (March 12, 2017) – Rookie pro Bradley Dortch of Atmore, Alabama, brought a five-bass limit weighing 22 pounds, 2 ounces to the scale Sunday to win the FLW Tour at the Harris Chain of Lakes presented by Ranger Boats. Dortch’s four-day total of 20 bass weighing 73-9 gave him the win by a narrow 1-pound, 12-ounce margin over second-place pro J.T. Kenney of Palm Bay, Florida, and earned him $100,000 in a dramatic finale to the four-day tournament that featured 163 of the best bass anglers in the world.
“This is something that I’ve been dreaming about and working towards for years,” said Dortch, who had one prior career win in FLW competition – a Costa FLW Series event on Wheeler Lake. “It really hasn’t even set in yet, I cannot believe it. When you’re sitting in the middle of J.T. Kenney, John Cox, Bryan Thrift, and my name is being mentioned with those anglers – wow.
“It’s kind of crazy to think about, but the key for me this week was my Day One boat draw,” Dortch continued. “I had a late boat draw on Day One and that caused me not to go to Lake Griffin, which is where I had spent the majority of my practice. I was boat 121, so I decided to stay in Lake Harris for an hour or so and let the lock clear. While I was waiting, I caught two 4-pounders and that kind of told me that I should hang around.”
The decision paid off for Dortch, as he spent all four days of the tournament fishing in Lake Harris and Little Lake Harris. He said he caught most of his fish throughout the week on a chrome and blue-colored Rat-L-Trap and a junebug-colored NetBait Salt Lick worm. He also caught a few fish on Sunday with a junebug-colored NetBait Big Bopper worm.
“I used to live down here, so I’m pretty familiar with Florida and how the fish like to set up,” Dortch said. “I knew what I needed to look for – green, crispy hydrilla growing out in front of spawning pockets. I figured the spawn would be pretty much over by now and that those postspawn fish would probably be the deal.”
With his tournament win, Dortch has now earned 500 total Angler of the Year points on the season and is in second place in the coveted Rookie of the Year (ROY) race. Justin Atkins of Florence, Alabama, the current ROY leader, is one spot ahead of Dortch with 502.
The top 10 pros finished the tournament on the Harris Chain of Lakes:
1st: Bradley Dortch, Atmore, Ala., 20 bass, 73-9, $100,700
2nd: J.T. Kenney, Palm Bay, Fla., 20 bass, 71-13, $30,000
3rd: Mud Hole Custom Tackle pro John Cox, DeBary, Fla., 20 bass, 69-1, $25,000
4th: Shane LeHew, Catawba, N.C., 20 bass, 66-1, $20,100
5th Matt Reed, Madisonville, Texas, 20 bass, 64-14, $19,000
6th: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 20 bass, 64-9, $18,000
7th: Chris Whitson, Louisville, Tenn., 20 bass, 62-14, $17,000
8th: Joshua Weaver, Macon, Ga., 20 bass, 57-10, $16,000
9th: Aaron Britt, Yuba City, Calif., 20 bass, 56-3, $15,000
10th: Rusty Trancygier, Hahira, Ga., 20 bass, 54-14, $14,000
For a full list of results visit FLWFishing.com.
Overall there were 50 bass weighing 149 pounds, 10 ounces caught by pros Sunday. All of the final 10 pros weighed in five-bass limits.
Robert Crosnoe of Inverness, Florida, won the co-angler division and $25,000 Friday with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 33 pounds, 1 ounce, followed by Tyler Woolcott of Port Orange, Florida, who finished in second place with 10 bass weighing 30 pounds, 9 ounces, worth $7,550.
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 326 anglers competes Thursday and Friday. Co-angler competition concludes following Friday’s weigh-in, while the top 20 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.
Throughout the season, anglers are also vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2017 Forrest Wood Cup, the world championship of professional bass fishing. The 2017 Forrest Wood Cup will be on Lake Murray in Columbia, South Carolina, Aug. 11-13.
The FLW Tour at the Harris Chain of Lakes presented by Ranger Boats was hosted by Lake County, Florida. The next event for FLW Tour anglers will be the FLW Tour at Lake Cumberland presented by T-H Marine, April 6-9 in Somerset, Kentucky.
Television coverage of the FLW Tour at the Harris Chain of Lakes presented by Ranger Boats will premiere in high-definition (HD) on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) May 3 from 12:30 p.m.-1:30 p.m. EDT. 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, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.
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 2017 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW conducts more than 274 bass-fishing tournaments annually across the United States and sanctions tournaments in Canada, China, Mexico, South Africa and South Korea. 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.
The Ike Foundation 2017 Scholarship Application
The Ike Foundation would like to remind all high school seniors that the inaugural Ike Foundation Scholarship application deadline is April 1, 2017(post marked). The Ike Foundation will award scholarships to high school seniors pursuing full-time enrollment in a 2-year or 4-year college or university in the United States. Awards are based on academic achievement, demonstrated volunteer commitment (preferably in the fishing or conservation world), and a personal statement of how fishing has impacted your life and prepared you for college.
Each of the five individuals that are awarded scholarships will receive $1,500 after an incredibly successful fundraising effort by everyone that attended our Ike Foundation Scholarship Dinner on January 28. The Foundation’s Scholarship Committee reviews all applications and makes the final decision. Scholarship awards must be applied to tuition, fees, supplies, books, or equipment. To fill out a scholarship or get more information about the application process go to www.theikefoundation.org/2017-scholarship-application.
The Ike Foundation was established in July 2014 by professional bass fishing tournament angler Michael Iaconelli with the main goal of getting more kids involved with the sport of fishing. The Ike Foundation assists civic organizations, youth fishing organizations, and other charitable organizations in sponsoring events and functions that promote fishing to both inner city and rural youth. These events and functions will teach young people the sport of fishing, the ecology of the outdoors and the responsibility each person has in order to maintain our planets natural resources.
For more information please contact Becky Iaconelli at becky@professionaledgefishing.com
Ike’s Lover Buzz SS Junior
After releasing thes Lover Buzz SS, Molix realized, the need for a smaller version. With the help Mike Iaconelli, the Lover Buzz SS Junior was created. Compared to the original, the body and the lip are greatly reduced to obtain an inline buzzbait that geared for light equipment, creating a less invasive approach than a traditional buzz bait. The noise and vibration are less intrusive, than the original but still has the the special “Squeaky” noise that drive fish wild. The New compact lover will be perfect in high pressure situations. Check out what Mike had to say about this new offering.
Cox Extends Lead at Day Two of FLW Tour at Harris Chain of Lakes
LEESBURG, Fla. (March 10, 2017) Mud Hole Custom Tackle pro John Cox of DeBary, Florida, caught a five-bass limit weighing 18 pounds, 15 ounces Friday to extend his lead after day two of the FLW Tour at the Harris Chain of Lakes presented by Ranger Boats with a two-day catch of 10 bass totaling 44-10. Cox will bring a 5-pound, 13-ounce lead into day three of the four-day tournament that features 163 of the top bass-fishing anglers in the world competing for a top cash award of up to $125,000.
“Today was pretty stressful,” said Cox, who won a T-H Marine Bass Fishing League (BFL) tournament on the Harris Chain in 2007. “Nothing was working for me. No fish were moving up, so I just got on the trolling motor and fished all new stuff. Right at the end of the day, around 4 o’clock, I caught two 4-pounders. The game plan has been to go and go until I find something that looks like it’s starting to turn on and today it happened really late.”
Cox said that the spot where he caught the two 4-pounders wasn’t something that he expected to replenish and that he was going to have to continue to cover a lot of water tomorrow.
“Yesterday I caught them on five different baits and today was three,” Cox said. “I’m not on a pattern or anything, I’m just doing what I like doing and looking for them swimming around.”
Despite the field being cut to the final 20 and many areas of the lake expected to see less traffic, Cox didn’t expect that to affect his gameplan.
“I really haven’t seen many other boats, so I don’t think it will make much of a difference for me. But, it could definitely help everybody else.
“Either way, I’m having a blast fishing and I just love being here,” Cox went on to say. “I’ve been dreaming of this tournament for so long. Each day I’ve managed to get a couple where I didn’t think that I was going to catch them. I hope it happens again tomorrow.”
The top 20 pros that made the Buck Knives Cut and will fish Saturday on the Harris Chain are:
1st: Mud Hole Custom Tackle pro John Cox, DeBary, Fla., 10 bass, 44-10
2nd: Shane LeHew, Catawba, N.C., 10 bass, 38-13
3rd: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 10 bass, 36-13
4th: Joshua Weaver, Macon, Ga., 10 bass, 36-9
5th: Bradley Dortch, Atmore, Ala., 10 bass, 36-6
6th: Jim Moynagh, Carver, Minn., 10 bass, 36-2
7th: J.T. Kenney, Palm Bay, Fla., 10 bass, 34-10
8th: Matt Reed, Madisonville, Texas, 10 bass, 33-14
9th: Rusty Trancygier, Hahira, Ga., 10 bass, 33-9
10th: Tim Frederick, Leesburg, Fla., 10 bass, 32-6
11th: Carl Jocumsen, Frisco, Texas, 10 bass, 32-4
12th: Terry Bolton, Paducah, Ky., 10 bass, 31-5
13th: Bryan Schmitt, Deale, Md., 10 bass, 31-1
14th: Aaron Britt, Yuba City, Calif., 10 bass, 30-4
15th: Clark Wendlandt, Leander, Texas, 10 bass, 30-2
16th: Brandon Cobb, Greenwood, S.C., 10 bass, 29-10
17th: Casey Scanlon, Lenexa, Kan., 10 bass, 29-8
18th: Jamie Horton, Centerville, Ala., 10 bass, 29-0
19th: Chris Whitson, Louisville, Tenn., 10 bass, 28-14
20th: Livingston Lures pro Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., 10 bass, 28-11
For a full list of results visit FLWFishing.com.
Dortch earned the Big Bass award on the pro side Friday, weighing a 7-pound, 6-ounce largemouth to win the $500 prize.
Overall there were 744 bass weighing 1,625 pounds, 15 ounces caught by 159 pros Friday. The catch included 128 five-bass limits.
Robert Crosnoe of Inverness, Florida, won the co-angler division and $25,000 Friday with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 33 pounds, 1 ounce, followed by Tyler Woolcott of Port Orange, Florida, who finished in second place with 10 bass weighing 30 pounds, 9 ounces, worth $7,550.
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: Robert Crosnoe, Inverness, Fla., 10 bass, 33-1, $25,000
2nd: Tyler Woolcott, Port Orange, Fla., 10 bass, 30-9, $7,550
3rd: Chris Ferguson, Wittensville, Ky., nine bass, 27-8, $5,000
4th: Trey Shaw, Dunnellon, Fla., nine bass, 25-15, $4,250
5th: Richie Eaves, Nauvoo, Ill., 10 bass, 25-6, $3,000
6th: Dave Patchell, Green Cove Springs, Fla., 10 bass, 25-5, $2,500
7th: Steven Hatala, Saint Clair Shores, Mich., 10 bass, 24-5, $2,000
8th: Tyler Meredith, Oliver Springs, Tenn., 10 bass, 23-11, $1,800
9th: Jeffrey Mathews, Maitland, Fla., 10 bass, 23-6, $1,700
10th: Mark Schlarb, Atwater, Ohio, 10 bass, 22-15, $1,600
David Oelschlager of Braidwood, lllinois, earned $250 for the Big Bass award in the co-angler division with an 8-pound, 3-ounce largemouth.
Overall there were 474 bass weighing 854 pounds, 5 ounces caught by 137 co-anglers Friday. The catch included 51 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 326 anglers competes Thursday and Friday. Co-angler competition concludes following Friday’s weigh-in, while the top 20 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.
Throughout the season, anglers are also vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2017 Forrest Wood Cup, the world championship of professional bass fishing. The 2017 Forrest Wood Cup will be on Lake Murray in Columbia, South Carolina, Aug. 11-13.
The total purse for the FLW Tour at the Harris Chain of Lakes presented by Ranger Boats is more than $800,000, including $10,000 through 50th place in the Pro division. The tournament is hosted by Lake County, Florida.
Anglers will take off at 7 a.m. EST each day from the Venetian Gardens, located at 201 E. Dixie Ave., in Leesburg. Saturday and Sunday’s weigh-ins will be held at the Venetian Gardens beginning at 4 p.m.
Prior to the weigh-ins Saturday and Sunday, FLW will host a free Family Fishing Expo at the Venetian Gardens from noon to 4 p.m. each day. The Expo is a chance for fishing fans to meet their favorite anglers, enjoy interactive games, activities and giveaways provided by FLW sponsors, 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 the Venetian Gardens on Saturday 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 area youth 15 years of age and younger and Special Olympics athletes. Rods and reels are available for use, but youth are encouraged to bring their own if they own one.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.
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 2017 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW conducts more than 274 bass-fishing tournaments annually across the United States and sanctions tournaments in Canada, China, Mexico, South Africa and South Korea. 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.
Cox Leads Day One of FLW Tour at Harris Chain of Lakes
LEESBURG, Fla. (March 9, 2017) Mud Hole Custom Tackle pro John Cox of DeBary, Florida, caught a five-bass limit weighing 25 pounds, 11 ounces to take the lead on opening day of the FLW Tour at the Harris Chain of Lakes. The event, presented by Ranger Boats, features a field of 326 of the world’s 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.
The weather conditions in central Florida were near perfect Thursday, and anglers experienced warm, sunny conditions with a minimal northwest breeze. Although the majority of the bass on the Harris Chain are now in their postspawn phase, there were still quite a few largemouth found on beds by the FLW Tour anglers.
“I think the fish in the canals are pretty much done, but we’re still seeing that last wave of bass come up from the main lake,” said Cox, the reigning Forrest Wood Cup champion with more than $930,000 in career earnings. “I caught three today looking at them. The others I caught casting.
“I had around 10 to 15 fish on beds marked during practice that I went to today, but they were gone,” Cox continued. “Luckily, the wind wasn’t blowing today and it opened up a few areas that were unfishable during our practice time. I just went fishing. I started off near takeoff and just worked my way around most of the chain. I didn’t go through any locks, but I ran the whole tank of gas out.”
Cox said that his history on the Harris Chain definitely helped him on Day One.
“I’ve been fishing here forever. I remember my mom driving me out here with the jon boat and dropping me off at the pier. It is awesome to be here, at a major event, fishing on the lake that I grew up on.
“I really struggled at the first two events this year and I wanted to just get five in the boat today and I was lucky to get five good ones. Now I’m going to go home and try to figure out how to do it again tomorrow.”
The top 10 pros after day one on the Harris Chain are:
1st: Mud Hole Custom Tackle pro John Cox, DeBary, Fla., five bass, 25-11
2nd: Shane LeHew, Catawba, N.C., five bass, 23-15
3rd: Jim Moynagh, Carver, Minn., five bass, 23-9
4th: Tim Frederick, Leesburg, Fla., five bass, 21-15
5th: Livingston Lures pro Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., five bass, 21-13
6th: Carl Jocumsen, Frisco, Texas, five bass, 20-12
7th: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., five bass, 19-10
8th: Matt Wittekiend, Angleton, Texas, five bass, 18-15
9th: Andrew Upshaw, Tulsa, Okla., five bass, 18-4
10th: Rusty Trancygier, Hahira, Ga., five bass, 18-2
For a full list of results visit FLWFishing.com.
Cody Bird of Granbury, Texas, earned the day’s $500 Big Bass award in the pro division thanks to a 7-pound, 14-ounce largemouth.
Overall there were 769 bass weighing 1,888 pounds, 11 ounces caught by 162 pros Thursday. The catch included 142 five-bass limits.
Chris Ferguson of Wittensville, Kentucky, leads the co-angler division with five bass weighing 20 pounds, 1 ounce, followed by Trey Shaw of Dunnellon, Florida, who weighed five bass totaling 19-10, good for second place.
The top 10 co-anglers after day one on the Harris Chain are:
1st: Chris Ferguson, Wittensville, Ky., five bass, 20-1
2nd: Trey Shaw, Dunnellon, Fla., five bass, 19-10
3rd: Tyler Woolcott, Port Orange, Fla., five bass, 18-0
4th: Kevin Thomas, Miramar, Fla., five bass, 17-1
5th: Tyler Meredith, Oliver Springs, Tenn., five bass, 16-11
6th: Steven Hatala, Saint Clair Shores, Mich., five bass, 15-12
7th: Jeffery Mathews, Maitland, Fla., five bass, 15-8
8th: Robert Crosnoe, Invernes, Fla., five bass, 15-5
9th: Jeffrey Clark, Hoover, Ala., four bass, 14-9
10th: Melissa Young, Tavares, Fla., five bass, 14-8
Shaw earned $250 for the Big Bass award in the co-angler division with an 8-pound, 13-ounce largemouth.
Overall there were 546 bass weighing 996 pounds, 10 ounces caught by 154 co-anglers Thursday. The catch included 66 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 326 anglers competes Thursday and Friday. Co-angler competition concludes following Friday’s weigh-in, while the top 20 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.
Throughout the season, anglers are also vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2017 Forrest Wood Cup, the world championship of professional bass fishing. The 2017 Forrest Wood Cup will be on Lake Murray in Columbia, South Carolina, Aug. 11-13.
The total purse for the FLW Tour at the Harris Chain of Lakes presented by Ranger Boats is more than $800,000, including $10,000 through 50th place in the Pro division. The tournament is hosted by Lake County, Florida.
Anglers will take off at 7 a.m. EST each day from the Venetian Gardens, located at 201 E. Dixie Ave., in Leesburg. Friday’s weigh-in will be held at the Venetian Gardens beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday’s weigh-ins will be held at the Venetian Gardens but will begin at 4 p.m.
Prior to the weigh-ins Saturday and Sunday, FLW will host a free Family Fishing Expo at the Venetian Gardens from noon to 4 p.m. each day. The Expo is a chance for fishing fans to meet their favorite anglers, enjoy interactive games, activities and giveaways provided by FLW sponsors, 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 the Venetian Gardens on Saturday 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 area youth 15 years of age and younger and Special Olympics athletes. Rods and reels are available for use, but youth are encouraged to bring their own if they own one.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.
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 2017 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW conducts more than 274 bass-fishing tournaments annually across the United States and sanctions tournaments in Canada, China, Mexico, South Africa and South Korea. 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.