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Scott Clift Punches Final Ticket To Bassmaster Classic Through Team Championship
Scott Clift of the Joe Bass Team Trail in Missouri is the winner of the Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship Classic Fish-Off on Kentucky Lake with 30 pounds, 10 ounces. This wins earns Clift a berth in the 2017 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro to be held on Lake Conroe in March.
Photo Ronnie Moore/B.A.S.S.
PARIS, Tenn. — Saturday’s wintry weather, combined with a slack bite and a hard charge by his closest competitor, threatened what only a day earlier appeared to be Scott Clift’s imminent victory in the Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship Classic Fish-Off.
But despite the adversity, Clift indeed was able to finish what he started, and he’s going to the 2017 GEICO Bassmaster Classic as a result.
The 39-year old Dadeville, Mo., resident staked a big lead for himself Friday in the first round of the fish-off on Kentucky Lake. His five-fish limit of 17 pounds, 8 ounces gave him more than a 7-pound lead on the other five anglers competing in this tournament, and he was imbued with the confidence needed to win an event of this magnitude.
Clift struggled to find the early bite on Saturday that aided his cause a day before. By midmorning Saturday, he only had two bass in the livewell, and Georgia’s Barron Adams (who entered the final day in second place) was surging with an early limit of bass.
But Clift called an audible on his bait of choice, and was able to boat two keepers around 10 a.m. Saturday, which gave him four bass weighing in the 10-pound range. He followed it up with a 3-pounder in the final hour of fishing Saturday, and by the time he made it to the scales, he had another limit of 13-2.
That gave him a two-day total of 30-10, which was enough to stave off Adams, who caught 14-3 on Saturday and finished second overall in the fish-off with 23-5. Trevor Prince, Adams’ teammate on the Chattanooga Bass Association Trail, had the biggest sack of the day (16-8) and finished third overall with 21-4 over two days.
“This is awesome, just awesome,” Clift said of the fish-off victory, which netted him the final slot in the Classic, which will be held in March on Lake Conroe in Texas.
What he did was thank his fishing partner (and brother-in-law Ashley Medley) who teamed with Clift on Wednesday and Thursday to finish second in the team championship portion of this event. It was Medley culling up nearly 8 pounds of fish in the final minutes on Thursday that vaulted the Joe Bass Team Trail tandem from 15th place after Day 1 to only a few ounces from the lead. That was enough to get both men into the fish-off, and it provided the chance for Clift to fulfill a lifelong dream of fishing in the Bassmaster Classic.
“I may be going to the Classic, but we came as a team,” he said, pointing to Medley, who finished fourth in the fish-off with a 19-2 total over two days. “We found our fish as a team; we shared our fish in this deal. If it weren’t for (Ashley), I wouldn’t be here.”
Clift primarily fished with a Megabass Elegy Bone jerkbait for the first three days of competition and found success around channel swings and on flats when the sun shined. But with no luck under cloudy skies and frosty temperatures (in the upper 30s on Saturday morning), Clift opted for a stickbait with a green back, some silver on the side and a touch of purple on the tail.
Saturday’s limit was boated at the mouth of the Big Sandy River.
“Once I made the switch, I got a couple of bites, so I stuck with it,” Clift said. “I wasted about three hours in the morning sticking with what I knew worked the first three days. It seemed like I had to twitch that stickbait in front of them forever to get them to bite. It was very methodical. I only had eight keeper bites all day.”
Still, when the early bite didn’t produce, Clift didn’t get nervous. Entering the final day of fishing with a 7 1/2-pound lead helped his keep his cool.
“I knew if I could just scratch out a limit, I would probably be in good shape,” Clift said.
Adams applied pressure, though. He lost a fish he estimated in the 5- or 6-pound range in the final minutes of fishing on Friday. His early limit on Saturday (coupled with Clift’s early struggles) gave Adams more weight at one point than the eventual champion.
Adams was making a 45-minute run south to the New Johnsonville area and was fishing in 2 to 5 feet of water with a Rat-L-Trap.
“I should have had about the same weight yesterday (when he caught 9-2,) that I did today,” Adams said. “It’s going to haunt me.”
Colorado anglers Ty Faber and John Gardner won the team portion of this tournament, but both struggled in the fish-off. Faber finished fifth overall with a two-day total of four bass weighing 13-15, and Gardner placed sixth with one bass weighing 1-14. Both men fish on the Ultimate Bass Team Trail.
The first two days of the event on Kentucky Lake belonged to Faber and Gardner, but the final two clearly put the spotlight on Clift. His wife, Kendra, made the drive from Missouri when she learned her husband and brother (Medley) made the fish-off. She met Clift onstage soon after he hoisted the championship trophy, and they embraced on stage.
Clift said it will take weeks for him to fathom the tremendous week he had on Kentucky Lake.
“Right now I’m on house money,” he said. “Going down there to fish with those guys in the Classic — I’ve never met them. I only have seen them on TV. It’s going to be an incredible experience.”
The tournament began on Kentucky Lake on Wednesday when 186 two-person teams launched in the 2016 Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship. The field was whittled to the Top 3 duos after Thursday’s weigh-in, and those tandems were separated into six individual anglers whose weights were zeroed. They remaining sextet began the two-day fish-off on Friday morning with the final spot in the 2017 GEICO Bassmaster Classic on the line.
Both portions of the tournament were presented by the Henry County Alliance of Tennessee.
2016 Bassmaster Team Championship Title Sponsor: Toyota Bonus Bucks
2016 Bassmaster Team Championship Premier Sponsors: Mercury, Nitro Boats, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha, Huk, Humminbird, Minn Kota, GoPro
2016 Bassmaster Team Championship Supporting Sponsors: Livingston Lures, Academy Sports + Outdoors, Carhartt, Phoenix Boats, Rapala, Shimano, Shell Rotella
About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S. is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 500,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), television show (The Bassmasters on ESPN2), social media programs and events. For more than 45 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Open Series, Academy Sports + Outdoors B.A.S.S. Nation presented by Magellan, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Costa Bassmaster High School Series presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods, Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the GEICO Bassmaster Classic.
Colorado Anglers Win National Team Bass Championship
Ty Faber (left) and John Gardner of Colorado’s Ultimate Bass Team Trail earn a victory at the Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship on Kentucky Lake with a two-day total weight of 37 pounds, 10 ounces.
Photo Ronnie Moore/B.A.S.S.
PARIS, Tenn. — Ty Faber and John Gardner expected to be deer hunting in Wisconsin by Friday.
There’s been a change of plans.
The Colorado anglers won the Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship on Thursday at Paris Landing State Park here in the northwestern corner of the Volunteer State. They boated a two-day total of 37 pounds, 10 ounces on Kentucky Lake, which not only clinched the team title, but gave each angler a 1-in-6 chance of fishing in the 2017 GEICO Bassmaster Classic next March.
Not long after they hoisted the team championship trophies over their heads, it was time for a reality check.
“This hasn’t sunk in just yet,” Gardner said. “I’m still trying to process it. I have no idea what we’re going to do tomorrow.”
Thursday provided the highlight so far in a whirlwind week. Faber and Gardner drove from Colorado to Kentucky Lake and suffered through a dreary practice session that was accompanied by wind, rain and falling temperatures. They only caught one fish between them during practice, and figured they’d be able to keep their road trip of America alive by heading for Wisconsin Thursday evening after the second day of fishing in the team tournament was complete.
But the duo lit into the bass on Day 1 with a four-fish haul that weighed 22 pounds. They followed up with four more bass on Thursday that weighed 15-10. Though they only landed eight of a possible 10 bass, their total still was enough to hold of the Missouri tandem of Ashley Medley and Scott Clift, who finished second with 37-3. Barron Adams and Trevor Prince of Blue Ridge, Ga., placed third with 36-13.
The Top 3 duos now will be split, and the six individual anglers will fish for two more days with the final berth in the $1 million Bassmaster Classic on Texas’ Lake Conroe on the line.
But first things first, and that involves savoring the team championship.
Faber, 31, and Gardner, 58, won a Nitro Z30 and Mercury 225 Pro XS boat and motor package valued at $41,995. The rig also is outfitted with a Minn Kota trolling motor, Lowrance electronics, and more. Faber also collected a $500 check for landing the big bass on Thursday (a 7-7 lunker he hooked midmorning.)
When anglers win a tournament, they almost always disclose the techniques they used on the path to victory. But with two more days of fishing ahead, Faber was as tight-lipped as a bass on ice. Appropriate, perhaps, given the icy conditions Thursday morning on Kentucky Lake
“Jigs,” he said, cracking a wry smile, when asked what lure attracted the biggest bass.
The 7-7 monster carried the bag, but it was a 1 1/2-pound squeaker they caught with 10 minutes of fishing time remaining that provided the winning edge. They lose that fish, and they’re deer hunting by midday Friday.
“We’d have been excited before this tournament if you had told us we’d have caught eight fish,” Faber said.
As Gardner said, neither he nor Faber have a plan for Friday’s competition. After all, they consider themselves lucky to be fishing another day anyway.
“We ran out of fish,” Gardner said. “We really don’t have a plan. We’re just going to go fish and see what happens.”
But first, they’ll have to ask some friends they’re staying with in the Paris, Tenn., area if it’s okay to hang around a few more days.
“Hopefully, they’ll keep cooking us dinner,” Faber joked.
Faber is a plumber by trade, and Gardner a taxidermist. They’ve fished together on the Ultimate Bass Team Trail in Colorado for six years. But for the next two days, they’ll be competitors.
“I came here for him,” Gardner said, throwing his support behind Faber. “No way had I thought I’d be standing here talking to you about a chance to fish in the Bassmaster Classic. We’ll have to figure out what we’re going to do. We may share a spot. It’s OK. We’ll just share it.”
And win or lose, come Saturday they’ll be heading to Wisconsin to hunt deer. For now though, they’re hunting a bigger prize — the final spot in the 2017 GEICO Bassmaster Classic.
In all, 186 two-person squads from 31 states and Canada were represented in the Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship. The next 36 teams behind Faber and Gardner won cash prizes, including $7,000 each for Medley and Clift (who fish on the Joe Bass Team Trail,) and $5,000 each for Adams and Prince (who are part of the Chattanooga Bass Association.)
Alabama’s Mark McCaig and Tim Hurst caught the Carhartt Big Bass of the tournament. That 8-3 lunker boated on Wednesday netted $1,000 in cash awards. Nearly $116,000 in cash and merchandise was awarded in the team championship.
The six anglers competing in the Bassmaster Team Championship Classic Fish-Off will launch from Paris Landing State Park at 6:30 a.m. CT on both Friday and Saturday. Weigh-in is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT both days. All weights were zeroed after Thursday’s weigh-in, so each individual angler has equal opportunity to earn a Classic berth.
2016 Bassmaster Team Championship Title Sponsor: Toyota Bonus Bucks
2016 Bassmaster Team Championship Premier Sponsors: Humminbird, Minn Kota, GoPro, Mercury, Nitro Boats, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha, Huk
2016 Bassmaster Team Championship Supporting Sponsors: Phoenix Boats, Rapala, Shimano, Shell Rotella, Livingston Lures, Academy Sports + Outdoors, Carhartt
About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S. is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 500,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), television show (The Bassmasters on ESPN2), social media programs and events. For more than 45 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Open Series, Academy Sports + Outdoors B.A.S.S. Nation presented by Magellan, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Costa Bassmaster High School Series presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods, Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the GEICO Bassmaster Classic.
Thompson And Weese Take The Lead In National Team Bass Fishing Championship
Brad Weese (left) and Ken Thompson lead Day 1 of the Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship on Kentucky Lake with 24 pounds, 10 ounces.
PARIS, Tenn. — When soaking rains and cold temperatures moved across western Tennessee earlier this week, people wondered how the changing weather would affect fishing in the Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship on Kentucky Lake.
On Wednesday at Paris Landing State Park, Ken Thompson and Brad Weese provided the answer.
Though the duo has only fished together less than a year, they looked like lifelong partners. The team from the Angler’s Choice Team Trail boated a five-bass limit that totaled 24 pounds, 10 ounces and gave them a solid lead after the opening round of the national team championship.
Weese, who is from Petersburg, W.Va., caught the two biggest bass of their creel; each weighed approximately 6 1/2 pounds. Thompson, of Raysburg, Pa., provided the rest of the weight with a 4-pounder and two 3 1/2-pound bass. They didn’t catch many fish in practice rounds when the weather was extremely disagreeable, but found three spots today that lit up after they ditched their initial fishing area earlier in the morning.
“We complement each other in that we both like fishing the same style,” Thompson said. “If I’m doing something, I know he can do it. And if he has something working, I can fish the same way. We’ll hit those same spots tomorrow. There are fish out there.”
Thompson and Weese comprised one of only four two-person teams weighing-in more than 20 pounds of bass on Wednesday. Mark McCaig and Tim Hurst of the Sylacauga Big Bucks Buddy Trail in Alabama are in second place with a limit of 22-8. They are closely followed by Ty Faber and John Gardner of the Ultimate Bass Team Trail in Colorado, third with 22-0, and Derrick and Dustin Compton of the (South) Carolina Bass Challenge Team are fourth with 20-3.
Twenty-five teams are within 10 pounds of Thompson’s and Weese’s lead. In all, 159 of the 186 teams registered in the Bassmaster Team Championship caught at least one bass today, and 58 of them had limits.
Surprisingly, Faber and Gardner, who currently are in third place, were without a limit. They caught four bass on all day, two of which came among their first casts of the day. One of the throws boated a 6-10 lunker to boost the bag.
“This is our first time here, so we don’t know the lake at all,” Gardner said. “So this was good fishing for us today. There were a lot of fish (on our spot,) and we literally stayed on it all day.”
With 160,000 acres to explore, Kentucky Lake offers plenty of territory for anglers to cover. But Faber and Gardner may have found what some pundits said would be the key to success in this tournament — a spot that replenishes itself throughout the day.
“When you don’t have another spot to go to, you stay where you are,” Faber joked.
“So we’ll start in the same spot again tomorrow, for sure,” Gardner said.
McCaig and Hurst had the big bass of the day — an 8-3 lunker that Hurst said was caught on a crankbait following the shad bite on Kentucky Lake. Both men said they didn’t catch much in practice, but felt like it would take at least 20 pounds a day to make the cut after Thursday’s action.
“This is the Tennessee River, so you know it’s going to take a good weight to win,” McCaig said. “The first place we started today, we caught an 8-pounder, then a 4-pounder. So why leave?”
“We had three spots in mind, we hit one, and it produced,” Hurst said. “Hopefully we can do it again tomorrow.”
Rain Monday and Tuesday gave way to partly cloudy skies, 50 degree air temperatures, and slack winds on Wednesday. Conditions are supposed to be significantly colder for Thursday’s fishing, after which the team champions will be crowned.
The Top 3 teams will qualify for the Bassmaster Team Championship Classic Fish-Off to be held on Friday and Saturday, also on Kentucky Lake. In that event, each angler fishes individually, teammate against teammate. The competitor who brings in the heaviest daily catches will earn the final available space in the 2017 GEICO Bassmaster Classic when it is held in March on Lake Conroe outside of Houston, Texas.
This week’s event marks the third year B.A.S.S. has held a team championship. The tournament is composed of winning pairs from team trails throughout the U.S. that are sanctioned by B.A.S.S.
In all, 194 teams from 31 states and one Canadian province are represented.
The Day 2 launch will begin at 6:30 a.m. CT at Paris Landing State Park, and weigh-in will follow at 2:30 p.m.
The Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship is hosted by the Henry County Alliance.
2016 Bassmaster Team Championship Title Sponsor: Toyota Bonus Bucks
2016 Bassmaster Team Championship Premier Sponsors: Mercury, Nitro Boats, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha, Huk, Humminbird, Minn Kota, GoPro
2016 Bassmaster Team Championship Supporting Sponsors: Livingston Lures, Academy Sports + Outdoors, Carhartt, Phoenix Boats, Rapala, Shimano, Shell Rotella
About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S. is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 500,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), television show (The Bassmasters on ESPN2), social media programs and events. For more than 45 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Open Series, Academy Sports + Outdoors B.A.S.S. Nation presented by Magellan, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Costa Bassmaster High School Series presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods, Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the GEICO Bassmaster Classic.
Rookies Join Bass Fishing Legends In 2017 Bassmaster Elite Series Field
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The 2017 Bassmaster Elite Series roster has been set at 111 and will include at least 13 newcomers to the prestigious bass fishing circuit, B.A.S.S. announced today. The new tournament year, which begins in February, also marks the return of legendary angler David Fritts of Lexington, N.C., to B.A.S.S. competition.
“We have seen less attrition among the current Elite anglers and a higher rate of acceptance from Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens qualifiers than ever before,” said Trip Weldon, B.A.S.S. tournament director.
B.A.S.S. guidelines permit up to 15 top Opens competitors — five each from the three divisions — to join the Elite Series each year. This year, 13 of the 15 accepted invitations, compared to 12 in 2015.
In addition to the two declines from the Opens, two Elite Series anglers dropped out after the 2016 season’s end. Former GEICO Bassmaster Classic champion and Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Davy Hite is retiring to become a commentator on Bassmaster TV and “LIVE” programs, and rookie Fabian Rodriguez chose not to return.
Those spots were filled from the current Elite Series roster based on final Angler of the Year points standings.
According to B.A.S.S. tournament rules, the Top 70 in AOY points automatically requalify for the following season. They are joined by up to 15 from the Opens and one qualifier from the B.A.S.S. Nation. Newcomers to the Elites are given a “grace season” should they fail to requalify after the first year. The remaining spots needed to achieve a full field of 108 are awarded based on AOY rankings for each year of an angler’s career, after dropping the lowest score.
“Unfortunately, demand for berths in the Elite Series is greater than the number of spots available, so nine of our Elite anglers were unable to requalify,” Weldon said. “The anglers were offered priority entry into 2017 Bassmaster Opens, in the event they wished to try to qualify for the Elites again.”
Special exemptions added three to the field, bringing the total to 111. One Elite angler, Nate Wellman, is returning from a medical exemption, and two former Classic winners — Paul Elias and Fritts — are taking advantage of a new “Legend Exemption” offered to icons of the sport. Elias, the 1982 Classic winner, has fished the Elite Series since its inception in 2006. Fritts left B.A.S.S. competition in 2005 but expressed elation at being able to return next year.
“I’m really looking forward to getting back to B.A.S.S. and fishing the Elites,” Fritts said. “I used to fish the Top 100s, but when they started the Elites I, ‘semiretired.’ Now, every time I attend the Classic, it brings back memories. It’s a way of life for me, and something I’ve missed out on.”
After winning the Bassmaster Classic in 1993, Fritts, who will be 60 when the 2017 series gets under way, was Bassmaster Angler of the Year in 1994. He also won the Forrest Wood Cup in 1997.
In addition to the legends and veterans, 11 rookies will compete on the 11-event Elite Series trail, including 10 from the Opens and one, Darrell Ocamica of Fruitland, Idaho, who accepted the invitation offered to one of the three top finishers in the 2016 Academy Sports + Outdoors B.A.S.S. Nation Championship presented by Magellan.
Two of the Opens qualifiers, Stetson Blaylock of Benton, Ark., and Jacob Wheeler of Indianapolis, Ind., were highly successful competitors on the FLW circuit and are considered “newcomers” instead of rookies. Another non-rookie, Chad Pipkens of Holt, Mich., requalified for the Elites as one of the Top 5 in performance points on the Northern Opens circuit.
The 2017 Elite Series kicks off with the Bassmaster Elite at Lake Cherokee in Knoxville and Jefferson County, Tenn., Feb. 9-12. Anglers will compete again two weeks later at Lake Okeechobee, Florida, and then take a break for the 2017 GEICO Bassmaster Classic in Houston, Texas, March 24-26. The Classic and two other marquee tournaments in the Series — Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest benefiting the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship — each offers a purse of at least $1 million.
Following are the anglers registered to compete in the 2017 Bassmaster Elite Series:
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A Partnership of Epic Proportions
Collierville, Tenn. (Dec. 1, 2016) – Three iconic brands have joined forces, as partners in marketing, across their respective industries. Strike King, a staple name among anglers for over 50 years is excited to announce that they are teaming up with Orion Coolers and their parent company, Jackson Kayaks. This partnership will include sponsorship of Jackson’s namesake, Eric Jackson as he competes on the FLW Tour. Eric is the godfather of kayaking and has worked very hard to bring kayak fishing to the forefront of the fishing industry.
“We recognize the growth in kayak fishing. It is arguably the fastest growing segment of our market and just like Jackson and Orion, we intend for Strike King to be the brand of choice among kayak anglers” says Doug Minor, VP of Sales and Marketing for Strike King. “We are excited to partner with Eric and his brands as he competes professionally and we strive to fulfill the needs of our customers. The combination of our knowledge and skill sets should translate into some pretty exciting future projects”, Minor adds.
“Teaming up with Strike King was a no-brainer. On a personal level, their products are all that I use and need in FLW competition. In regards to Jackson Kayak and Orion Coolers, it will be an awesome avenue to educate consumers on our brands and products through sponsoring Pro Team Journal and Fish Hard” affirms world-renowned kayaker and professional Angler, Eric Jackson. “We believe that the same customers who purchase Strike King products for their quality and value will benefit from understanding the same principles are at the core of our brands as well.”
Look for more from Strike King, Jackson Kayaks and Orion Coolers as new episodes of Pro Team Journal by Strike King and Strike King’s Fish Hard beginning airing during the first quarter of 2017.
More information, please go to www.strikeking.com, www.jacksonkayak.com, and www.orioncoolers.com.