THE LATEST NEWS
Trigger Strikes from Fall Bass Now
Throwing a crankbait will only work as well as you work it! Here is a great tip to trigger bass into striking with furious authority…SPEED UP! If you find yourself in a situation where you know you are on bass and they are not biting, or perhaps they seem to be smashing Shad all around you but you can’t get one to go…Speed Up. Crank that lure as hard as possible, I mean burn it! You see its simple; don’t give them time to think about it. Let the EBS Sound Technology and speed of your retrieve do the work for you, drawing an instinctual reaction strike that flips the switch for big bites. Especially when those fish have plenty of meal options directly around them this late in the year. This theory can be applied to schooling Bass in the Fall, post-spawn patterns and even some pre-spawn patterns. Speed is good! It can be the difference in transforming a tough day into a great day. Teamed up with the (EBS™) Electronic Baitfish Sound Technology, you have the ultimate one-two punch for creating bites as the leaves begin to change, and the lake begins to cool.
The same principles should be applied to choosing the right equipment for job. Trying to throw a large deep-diving crankbait with a short rod and a standard size reel may start to feel like a work out. When I’m fishing my Livingston Dive Master 20 I’m always going to be throwing it as far away from the boat as I can get it and I’m going to do it on an extra-long heavy action crankbait rod, in the range of 7’6 or 8′. There are many different brands of rods on the market that will let you throw these big crank baits with ease! I prefer using a high speed reel (6.4:1 or 7.1:1 gear ratio) for this application. It allows me to get that bait moving with speed through the strike zone. Casting your bait as far away from the boat is also important because it will allow your bait to be in the strike zone longer.
For smaller crankbaits, like my Primetyme SQ 2.0, CB 1.5 and even the Bassmaster Classic winning Howeller Dream Master Classic, I choose to go a little shorter and find 7′-7’3” medium action rods are a great starting point. I want a softer rod with a parabolic bend (preferably fiberglass) for this because these smaller crankbaits have much smaller treble hooks and I don’t want to rip them out of the mouth by using a rod with too much backbone. I want the rod to absorb the shock of the strike and let the fish take the bait. Remember you are dealing with aggressive reaction style bites and you want as much in your favor as possible. These fish are going to show up in a big way and give you one heck of fight, so be ready! Once you get that big girl on remember to keep your rod tip low or even in the water as you ease her to the boat. You aren’t flipping heavy cover and if she jumps and you get some slack in your line, she can throw the hooks. So keep it low and tight as you try to land that fish of a lifetime.
Remember hooksets are free and always have fun. After all, its fishing!
~Joe Ford
Professional Guide
T-H Marine Acquires Rights to Z-LAUNCH Watercraft Launch Cord
Huntsville, AL – October 26, 2015 — T-H Marine Supplies, Inc., of Huntsville, Alabama, and Aaron Beshears Enterprises, of Van Buren, AR announce they have entered into an agreement granting T-H Marine the exclusive global manufacturing and distribution rights for the Aaron Beshears Enterprises product line – including the patented Z-LAUNCH™ Watercraft Launch Cord. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
T-H Marine’s president and CEO, Jeff Huntley, stated “We are very proud to announce that are going to be able to offer the Z-LAUNCH™ product to all of our aftermarket and OEM customers. Aaron Beshears developed a great watercraft launch cord that really makes it easy and safe for one person to launch a boat. We strive to bring products to the boating community that make their day on the water safer, easier, and more fun. We know this product fits that mission. Aaron could barely keep up with demand, so we can bring our full breadth of capabilities to the product and make it available to everyone in the market. We already have ideas for expanding the Z-LAUNCH™ product lines with more models for even more uses.”
Aaron Beshears, owner and president of Aaron Beshears Enterprises, stated, “I am really happy to partner with T-H Marine to help Z-LAUNCH™ meet its full potential. The product has been so well received and I just want every boater to be able to get their hands on one. I am excited to hand this product off to T-H Marine so that they can get it fully distributed to everyone. T-H Marine makes a lot of great products that I use as a fisherman and boater. So I am proud for them to build and sell my invention. I know they will do it right and take care of the customers.”
T-H Marine’s Huntley also stated, “T-H Marine continues to search for more useful inventions and products to add to our product lines. We have the distribution and the relationships throughout the boating and fishing market to help product ideas blossom. We stay very involved at the grass roots level and with the major fishing tournaments to keep in touch with what is happening and what boaters need and want. We have helped many great product ideas become huge successes in the market and we are confident that we will do the same with the Z-LAUNCH™. We are also very excited because the Z-LAUNCH™ is already advertised and endorsed by our good friend Timmy Horton and his Timmy Horton Outdoors television show. We are big believers in Timmy and are sponsors of the THO show, and this will just grow our relationship with them even more.”
T-H Marine is celebrating its 40th Anniversary of business and has grown to be one of the largest manufacturers of boating and fishing accessories in the U.S. T-H Marine provides parts to every boat manufacturer in the country and distributes them thru virtually every major distributor and retailer of boating and fishing products. To learn more about T-H Marine, please visit www.thmarine.com.
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Crews Control: Trip 16 Jackplates
Elite Series pro John Crews talks about a few features of his Atlas jackplate by T-H Marine. If you want to get the best performance out of your rig your going to want to here what John has to say.
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Ott Defoe’s Other Rig
Bassmaster Elite Series Pro Ott Defoe introduces his other rig. An aluminum tracker is the choice when it comes to fishing skinny water. In part 1 we talk about deck space and storage. If your in the market for a bass boat don’t over look the aluminum options.
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McMillan Shines At Seminole Open
Brandon McMillan of Clewiston, Fla., wins the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open #3 presented by Allstate held on Lake Seminole out of Bainbridge, Ga. McMillan brought 9 pounds, 13 ounces to Saturday’s weigh-in, giving him a three-day total of 49-5.
Photo by James Overstreet/Bassmaster
BAINBRIDGE, Ga. — The fishing on the final round of the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open No. 3 presented by Allstate was no different than it was on Thursday and Friday. It was a grind. Although Lake Seminole teems with big bass, October is the toughest month to catch them.
Brandon McMillan of Clewiston, Fla., started the day with 39 pounds, 8 ounces, which put him nearly 7 pounds ahead of Trevor Fitzgerald, of Belleview, Fla., who was in second place. Only the Top 12 of the 166 pros and 166 co-anglers fished on Saturday.
McMillan needed that cushion. At 2 p.m. today, he had only three bass with 90 minutes left to fish. He kept his composure and caught the final two bass that filled his pro limit of five fish. Saturday, his five-fish limit totaled 9-13, which paled in comparison to the 19-pound limits he brought in on Thursday and Friday. However, they gave him enough weight to earn the victory with a total of 49-5.
Every bass McMillan caught came by flipping a Zoom Z Craw that was Texas rigged with a 4/0 Mustad hook and a 1 1/4- or 1 1/2-ounce Elite Tungsten Worm Weight. He horsed his bass from the thick grassbeds he was fishing with a 7-foot, 11-inch, G. Loomis flipping rod sporting a Shimano Core reel spooled with 60-pound Gamma braided line.
For winning the tournament, McMillan received a Skeeter ZX200 bass boat powered by a Yamaha VF200LA along with an additional cash prize. He also earned a berth in the 2016 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro because he fished all three of the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open tournaments in 2015.
If that were not enough, McMillan also earned the most cumulative points in the Bassmaster Southern Open division. Any Bassmaster Opens angler that finishes among the Top 5 in the overall points standings qualifies for the Elite Series.
Elite Series pro Randall Tharp of Port St. Joe, Fla., finished second with 45-6. Tharp failed to qualify for the 2016 GEICO Bassmaster Classic through the Elite Series. Winning this event was his last chance to qualify for the Classic. He nearly pulled it off.
Tharp also flipped soft plastic baits into dense grassbeds to catch his bass. His 7-foot, 11-inch extra heavy action Halo Twilite rod was paired with 60-pound Gamma braided line. Two lures were his workhorses, Zoom’s Z Craw and Z Hog. One was rigged with a heavy Reins tungsten sinker and the other with a Reins Punch Shot Tungsten weight. The latter weight features a collar to which Tharp attached a skirt.
With a total weight of 44-10 Chad Grigsby of Maple Grove, Minn., claimed third place. On Thursday, Friday and most of today, Grigsby caught his bass with a FlippinBug soft plastic lure from Charlie’s Worms. He rigged the bait with a 1 1/2-ounce tungsten weight, 65-pound test Seaguar braided line spooled on a Lew’s baitcasting reel mounted to a 7-foot, 11-inch Halo flippin’ rod.
However, at 2 p.m. today, Grigsby had only two bass. He switched to a Zara Spook topwater plug and promptly caught three more bass, the biggest of which weighed 5 pounds.
Travis Kelehan of Broussard, La., won the co-angler division with a weight of 22-9. His prize was a Triton 179 TrX bass boat with a Mercury 115 Pro XS outboard.
“I fished with three outstanding pros this week,” Kelehan said.
Did he ever. He fished with Randall Tharp Thursday, Elite Series pro Greg Hackney Friday and Timmy Reneau on Saturday. All three of these anglers excel at fishing thick grass, which was just what Kelehan wanted.
Elite Series pro Chad Morgenthaler of Coulterville, Ill., caught the biggest bass on the pro side of the tournament with a largemouth weighing 8-12. He earned the Bass Pro Shops Big Bass award worth $750.
The 6-10 bass caught by Eugene Stinson of Dry Branch, Ga., was the biggest among the co-anglers. Stinson earned a $250 Bass Pro Shops Big Bass award.
For leading the tournament on Friday, McMillan received the $250 Livingston Lures Leader Award. Bailey Boutries of Daphne, Ala., claimed the co-angler Livingston Lures Leader Award, which is worth $250 in merchandise.
The $250 Allstate Good Hand Great Day Award went to Brent Bonadona. Larry Beauboeuf received the $150 Allstate Good Hand Great Day Award for the co-angler.
2015 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Series Title Sponsor: Bass Pro Shops2015 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Series Presenting Sponsor: Allstate
2015 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota
2015 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Series Premier Sponsors: A.R.E. Accessories, Berkley, Evan Williams Bourbon, GoPro, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Skeeter Boats, Triton Boats, Yamaha
2015 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Series Supporting Sponsors: Carhartt, Dick Cepek Tires & Wheels, Huk Performance Fishing, Livingston Lures, Lowrance, Power-Pole, Rigid Industries, Shimano
About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S. is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport. 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 presented by Allstate, Old Milwaukee B.A.S.S. Nation events, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Costa Bassmaster High School Series, Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro.
2015 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open – Lake Seminole Presented by Allstate 10/22-10/24
Lake Seminole, Bainbridge GA.
(BOATER) Standings Day 3
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Brandon McMillan Clewiston, FL 15 49-05 200 $52,333.00
Day 1: 5 19-14 Day 2: 5 19-10 Day 3: 5 09-13
2. Randall Tharp Port St. Joe, FL 15 45-06 199 $17,321.00
Day 1: 5 17-08 Day 2: 5 12-15 Day 3: 5 14-15
3. Chad Grigsby Maple Grove, MN 14 44-10 198 $12,616.00
Day 1: 5 17-04 Day 2: 4 12-05 Day 3: 5 15-01
4. Kelley Jaye Dadeville, AL 13 42-09 197 $11,288.00
Day 1: 5 18-04 Day 2: 4 09-02 Day 3: 4 15-03
5. Timmy Reneau Del Rio, TX 12 38-14 196 $9,849.00
Day 1: 5 16-07 Day 2: 4 12-14 Day 3: 3 09-09
6. Trevor Fitzgerald Belleview, FL 12 35-06 195 $8,411.00
Day 1: 5 15-01 Day 2: 5 17-09 Day 3: 2 02-12
7. Bobby Lane Jr. Lakeland, FL 13 35-04 194 $7,083.00
Day 1: 5 20-06 Day 2: 3 04-11 Day 3: 5 10-03
8. Scott Luster Prattville, AL 15 33-06 193 $5,644.00
Day 1: 5 11-01 Day 2: 5 15-13 Day 3: 5 06-08
9. George Kapiton Inverness, FL 11 33-02 192 $4,205.00
Day 1: 4 11-03 Day 2: 5 17-11 Day 3: 2 04-04
10. Jim Murray Jr Arabi, GA 15 32-14 191 $3,873.00
Day 1: 5 15-09 Day 2: 5 09-06 Day 3: 5 07-15
11. Kyle Fox Lakeland, FL 14 30-01 190 $3,541.00
Day 1: 5 12-00 Day 2: 5 12-13 Day 3: 4 05-04
12. Rich Howes Oviedo, FL 9 27-01 189 $3,320.00
Day 1: 4 11-00 Day 2: 5 16-01 Day 3: 0 00-00
BASS PRO SHOPS BIG BASS
Chad Morgenthaler Coulterville, IL 08-12 $750.00
———————————————————————–
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 48 449 1003-05
2 34 360 848-01
3 6 45 101-07
———————————-
88 854 1952-13
2015 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open – Lake Seminole Presented by Allstate 10/22-10/24
Lake Seminole, Bainbridge GA.
(NON_BOATER) Standings Day 3
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Travis Kelehan Broussard, LA 8 22-09 200 $30,000.00
Day 1: 2 07-13 Day 2: 3 05-04 Day 3: 3 09-08
2. Bailey Boutries Daphne, AL 6 18-07 199 $5,423.00
Day 1: 3 06-01 Day 2: 3 12-06 Day 3: 0 00-00
3. Scott Kirsch Edgewater, FL 8 16-15 198 $4,095.00
Day 1: 3 06-10 Day 2: 3 08-04 Day 3: 2 02-01
4. Jarrod Anderson New Iberia, LA 8 16-11 197 $2,767.00
Day 1: 2 02-04 Day 2: 3 09-02 Day 3: 3 05-05
5. Douglas Workman Cleveland, GA 9 16-05 196 $2,545.00
Day 1: 3 05-04 Day 2: 3 04-14 Day 3: 3 06-03
6. Marty Spears Tallahassee, FL 5 15-01 195 $2,435.00
Day 1: 3 10-11 Day 2: 1 03-03 Day 3: 1 01-03
7. Judy Reneau Del Rio, TX 7 14-07 194 $2,324.00
Day 1: 3 06-06 Day 2: 3 05-08 Day 3: 1 02-09
8. Luke Koch Campbellsport, WI 6 13-09 193 $2,213.00
Day 1: 3 08-04 Day 2: 2 03-15 Day 3: 1 01-06
9. Eugene Stinson Dry Branch, GA 3 12-03 192 $2,353.00
Day 1: 1 06-10 Day 2: 2 05-09 Day 3: 0 00-00
10. Joe Thompson Clayton, GA 5 11-01 191 $1,881.00
Day 1: 2 06-12 Day 2: 3 04-05 Day 3: 0 00-00
11. Larry Mullikin Lauderhill, FL 3 10-08 190 $1,660.00
Day 1: 3 10-08 Day 2: 0 00-00 Day 3: 0 00-00
12. Mike Spears Jasper, AL 4 10-02 189 $1,549.00
Day 1: 1 01-14 Day 2: 3 08-04 Day 3: 0 00-00
BASS PRO SHOPS BIG BASS
Eugene Stinson Dry Branch, GA 06-10 $250.00
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Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 22 156 331-11
2 17 124 274-14
3 3 14 28-03
———————————-
42 294 634-12