THE LATEST NEWS
Big Bass Secret Crankbait Hacks
Watch Fat Cat show you how to customize your lures to catch monster bass.
.themify_builder .video-19715-0-0-1.module-video .video-content { }
.themify_builder .video-19715-0-0-1.module-video .video-title { }
.themify_builder .video-19715-0-0-1.module-video .video-title a { }
.themify_builder .text-19715-0-0-2.module-text { }
Uribe Wins Rayovac FLW Series Western Division Finale, AOY Title On Clear Lake
LAKEPORT, Calif. (Oct. 17, 2015) – Joe Uribe Jr., of Surprise, Arizona, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 22 pounds, 2 ounces Saturday to win the Rayovac FLW Series Western Division event on Clear Lake presented by Evinrude with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 66 pounds, 10 ounces. For his victory, Uribe earned $28,851 and a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard motor.
The win also clinched the FLW Series Western Division Strike King Angler of the Year (AOY) title for the Arizona pro, who led the closely-contested race coming in to this third and final event. After winning the first tournament of the year on Lake Havasu in February, Uribe backed it up with a sixth-place finish on the California Delta in May. With his win today, Uribe clinched the title and the $2,000 AOY prize package. In just three tournaments, the man known by many competitors as “Little Joe” racked up more than $160,000 in earnings, including two new boats.
“I am on cloud nine right now,” said Uribe. “Jody (Jordan) had a huge day today and I truly thought that he was going to win. To get the win by just one ounce, wow. I am absolutely blessed – God is good.”
Uribe said that all of his fish throughout the week came shallow – from 2- to 6-feet of water – and that he ran new water each day. He found a productive bank on the first day that produced more than 20 pounds, but only managed to catch one bass off of that spot on day two. Forced to scramble, Uribe said that he fished slower and much more methodically than he normally does.
“I usually like to fish shallow, burning the bank and covering a lot of water,” Uribe said. “This tournament I had to fish much slower, often making the exact same cast multiple times, very precisely.”
Uribe said that his primary baits throughout the week were Lucky Craft RC 1.5 crankbait and a Lucky Craft LV 500 lipless crankbait, but that he was forced to slow down today with a Texas-rigged Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver to upgrade a small limit and catch enough weight to earn the win.
“I had a small limit shallow cranking, but I really slowed down this afternoon and was able to upgrade my limit with the Sweet Beaver,” Uribe said. “The bass were really keying in on the color orange, so the Big Texan-colored beaver was very important. In the last 45 minutes of the tournament I caught a 7-pounder.”
Uribe will now begin preparations for the Rayovac FLW Series Championship, held in just two weeks on the Ohio River in Paducah, Kentucky. Although he has never fished there before, Uribe said he does have some experience fishing river systems and that he is looking forward to competing against some of the best anglers in the sport.
“I’ve got a lot of work to do to get ready for the championship,” Uribe went on to say. “I’ve got to get my boat cleaned and ready to go, and then a friend is going to drive it to Kentucky for me. I’ll fly out there next week and try to get some practice time in. I’m really excited for this tournament and you can bet I’ll be ready.”
The top 10 pros on Clear Lake were:
1st: Joe Uribe Jr., Surprise, Ariz., 15 bass, 66-10, $28,851 + Ranger Z518C with 200-horsepower outboard
2nd: Jody Jordan, Vacaville, Calif., 15 bass, 66-9, $11,180
3rd: Mark Crutcher, Lakeport, Calif., 15 bass, 62-9, $8,655
4th: Jim Hawkes, Apache Junction, Ariz., 15 bass, 59-15, $7,213
5th: Bryant Smith, Castro Valley, Calif., 15 bass, 58-15, $6,492
6th: Jimmy Reese, Witter Springs, Calif., 15 bass, 55-4, $5,770
7th: Kerry Harris, San Jose, Calif., 15 bass, 55-3, $5,049
8th: Marco Valdez, Gilbert, Ariz., 14 bass, 52-8, $4,328
9th: Chris Franks, Petaluma, Calif., 15 bass, 52-6, $3,606
10th: Carl Keller, Hidden Valley Lake, Calif., 13 bass, 49-8, $2,885
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Ricky Shabazz of Rialto, California, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division Thursday – a fish weighing 8 pounds, 14 ounces – that earned him the day’s Big Bass award of $174.
Rick Grover of Trabuco Canyon, California, won the co-angler division and a Ranger Z117C with an Evinrude or Mercury outboard motor, with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 55 pounds, 5 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers on Clear Lake were:
1st: Rick Grover, Trabuco Canyon, Calif., 15 bass, 55-5, Ranger Z117C with 90-horsepower outboard
2nd: Glenn Wolfgang, Solvang, Calif., 13 bass, 48-14, $3,666
3rd: Daniel Leue, Colusa, Calif., 15 bass, 47-15, $2,933
4th: Tim Nokes, Riverton, Utah, 15 bass, 43-15, $2,566
5th: Chris Rains, Soledad, Calif., 14 bass, 43-7, $2,199
6th: John Toscano, Lancaster, Calif., 14 bass, 40-9, $1,833
7th: Kevin Gross, Claremont, Calif., 14 bass, 39-11, $1,466
8th: Casey Dunn, North Highlands, Calif., 14 bass, 37-14, $1,283
9th: Paul Buccola, Elk Grove, Calif., 15 bass, 35-0, $1,100
10th: Gayle Janes, Bermuda Dunes, Calif., 14 bass, 34-10, $916
The Rayovac FLW Series on Clear Lake was hosted by the Konocti Vista Casino Resort & Marina. It was the third and final regular-season Western Division tournament of 2015. The next Rayovac FLW Series tournament will be the Rayovac FLW Series Championship, held Oct. 29-31 on the Ohio River in Paducah, Kentucky. For a complete schedule, visit FLWFishing.com.
The Rayovac FLW Series consists of five divisions – Central, Northern, Southeast, Texas and Western. Each division consists of three tournaments and competitors will be vying for valuable points in each division that could earn them the opportunity to fish in the no-entry-fee Rayovac FLW Series Championship.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow FLW on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.
ABOUT FLW
FLW is the industry’s premier tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2015 over the course of 240 tournaments across five tournament circuits, four of which provide an avenue to the sport’s richest payday and most coveted championship trophy – the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show 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 more information about FLW visit FLWFishing.com and look for FLW on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
Couple Drives 68 Hours to Fish 1-Day Toyota Bonus Bucks Owners Tournament
When New Hampshire’s Wayne England needed a team tournament partner a few years ago, his bride Lyn graciously volunteered to do what she’s done throughout their 26 year marriage – she stood by her man – this time, on the deck of their bass boat – with a spinning rod and drop shot rig in hand.
Lyn likely never expected, that four years later, they’d tow their Nitro 36 hours from New Hampshire to famed Toledo Bend Reservoir on the Texas-Louisiana border.
“We’re tired, traffic was busy in places, we left home at 3:30 a.m. yesterday morning, and it took us 36 hours to get here with a couple naps and two quick stops for breakfast,” said Wayne, sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with Lyn on a picnic table, awaiting the rules briefing conducted by B.A.S.S. on the eve of the 4th Annual Toyota Bonus Bucks Owners Tournament on Toledo Bend.
Two days of travel, and time off from Wayne’s job at the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, and Lyn’s role as an Employee Services Manager at a bank, didn’t even allow the soft spoken couple time for practice on the massive 185,000 acre reservoir.
And yet, they seemed unconcerned. Clearly this wasn’t about winning – but instead, something deeper – sharing an adventure together – through fishing.
“Yep, we’re here for the adventure – that’s the biggest reason we signed up for this – and we just love to fish,” grinned Lyn.
“It’s our first year to be registered for Bonus Bucks,” explained Wayne. “Our 2014 Tundra Crew Max only has 22,000 miles on it. We used to tow with an F-250, but I really think this Tundra tows better and offers way more comfort.”
While Wayne struggled to only name one thing that he likes best about his Tundra, there was no hesitation when asked what lure they favored most. “Drop Shot for sure,” said Lyn. “I like a chartreuse worm from Bitter Baits.”
Finesse tactics indeed proved best for Team Wayne in the 4th Annual Bonus Bucks Tournament the next day. “Lyn caught two keepers on a shaky head, and I caught two keepers dead-sticking a weightless Senko,” said Wayne.
Four less-than-weighty bass later, the Englands enjoyed a trip across the B.A.S.S. stage, ate a free lunch courtesy of Toyota, and began the 32-hour trek from East Texas back to New Hampshire.
“It was a blast. The tournament was so well run, the pros were awesome to talk to, it was all great,” says Wayne.
“When we met Jordan Lee at the Carhartt booth, he was so impressed by the drive we had made to be there, that he gave Lyn his business card, and told her if we ever wanted to come to Guntersville, he’d take us fishing on a free guided trip,” said Wayne.
“I’m pretty sure we’ll take Jordan up on his offer, and I’d drive that far all over again to attend another Bonus Bucks Tournament,” he concluded.
Dallas Baptist University Wins Southern Conference Championship On Grand Lake
GROVE, Okla. (Oct. 18, 2015) – The Dallas Baptist University team of Zackery Hines of Clyde, Texas, and Reed Foster of Combine, Texas, won the FLW College Fishing Southern Conference Championship on Grand Lake Sunday with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 25 pounds, 3 ounces. The victory earned the club $4,000 and advanced the team to the 2016 FLW College Fishing National Championship.
“To get the win after the after the tournament that we have had is just amazing,” said Hines, a senior majoring in Marketing. “Yesterday morning we launched and ran about 10 minutes from takeoff when we lost our lower unit. I felt the outboard lose power and knew immediately what had happened.”
The duo used their trolling motor to pull into the first cut that they could and ended up fishing there for the entire day.
“Losing the lower unit turned out to be one of the reasons that we won the tournament,” said Foster, a junior majoring in Nursing. “Many of our competitors were fishing fast with crankbaits and spinnerbaits and they seemed to be struggling. Normally, we’d be fishing fast right alongside them. Losing the lower unit forced us to really slow down and fish with more finesse.”
The adjustment turned out to be key for the Texas duo as they caught a solid seven keepers on the day. FLW College Fishing rules state that as long as one of the team members stays with the disabled boat, the other team member is allowed to hitch a ride to the landing to weigh in their fish. After all teams had weighed in, Hines and Foster’s 10-pound, 5-ounce five-bass limit had them starting day two in fifth place.
“Our teammates didn’t make the top-15 cut, so they let us use their boat today,” Hines said. “We started right back in the same cut that we were in yesterday and caught two keepers early. We were able to move around the lake much more today and caught 12 to 15 keepers today.”
The Dallas Baptist club said that their key bait was a watermelon-red-colored Yamamoto Senko, fished Texas- or wacky-rigged. They caught all of their fish on the first day using the Senko, as well as the majority of their fish on the second day. On day two they also caught a few keepers on a Mexican Heather- and Kathy’s Bluegill-colored Santone Lures jigs.
“This is our second year fishing together as a team,” Foster went on to say. “We didn’t qualify for the National Championship last year, but we seem to have worked our kinks out and we ended up having an awesome season.”
The University of Arkansas duo of Drew Porto and Colten Hutson had already qualified for the 2016 College Fishing National Championship via their win earlier this year at the inaugural FLW College Fishing Open tournament on Kentucky Lake. Because they finished in third place, the 11th-place duo of John Ledet and Justin Cooper from Northwestern State University will also advance to the National Championship.
The top 11 teams that advanced to the 2016 FLW College Fishing National Championship are:
1st: Dallas Baptist University – Zackery Hines, Clyde, Texas, and Reed Foster, Combine, Texas, 10 bass, 25-3, $4,000
2nd: University of Central Oklahoma– Brock Enmeier, Enid, Okla., and Colten Hutson, Edmond, Okla., nine bass, 22-7, $2,000
3rd: University of Arkansas – Drew Porto, Colleyville, Texas, and Zachary Pickle, South Lake, Texas, 10 bass, 19-15, $1,000
4th: Stephen F. Austin State University – Shelby Hutchens, Spring, Texas, and Brian Blades, Terrell, Texas, nine bass, 19-0, $1,000
5th: Southeastern Oklahoma State University – Dwight Camp, Talihina, Okla., and Jonathan Furlong, Bixby, Okla., nine bass, 17-14, $1,000
6th: Colorado Mesa University – Josh Worth, Grand Junction, Colo., and Kennedy Kinkade, Alpine, Utah, eight bass, 17-7
7th: Texas A&M University – Josh Bensema, Willis, Texas, and Matthew McArdle, College Station, Texas, seven bass, 16-10
8th: Tarleton State University – Jacob Beyer and Dakota Ebare, both of Stephenville, Texas, seven bass, 15-12
9th: University of Oklahoma – Charles Vang, Tulsa, Okla., and Landon Dixon, Hinton, Okla., seven bass, 14-10
10th: Henderson State University – Michael Gross, Gurdon, Ark., and Cobey Wingfield, Malvern, Ark., six bass, 12-14
11th: Northwestern State University – John Ledet, Natchitoches, La., and Justin Cooper, Pelican, La., six bass, 12-8
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
The FLW College Fishing Southern Conference Championship was hosted by the Grand Lake Association.
FLW College Fishing teams compete in qualifying tournaments in one of five conferences – Central, Northern, Southern, Southeastern and Western. The top fifteen teams from each regular-season tournament will qualify for one of five Conference Championship tournaments. The top ten teams from each of the five Conference Championship tournaments will advance to the 2016 FLW College Fishing National Championship.
College Fishing is free to enter. All participants must be registered, full-time students at a college, university or community college and members of a fishing club recognized by their college or university.
For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow College Fishing on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing. Visit CollegeFishing.com to sign up or to start a club at your school.
ABOUT FLW
FLW is the industry’s premier tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2015 over the course of 240 tournaments across five tournament circuits, four of which provide an avenue to the sport’s richest payday and most coveted championship trophy – the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show 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 more information about FLW visit FLWFishing.com and look for FLW on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Sets Sights On New Venues For 2016
The 2016 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series tournament season will feature all-new tournament destinations, beginning with the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Southern Regional on Lake Martin out of Alexander City, Ala., Feb. 4-6. Photo by Shaye Baker/Bassmaster
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops will make stops at all-new tournament destinations in 2016. The regular season will span five months, visit five regions of the country and challenge competitors in a three-day tournament format.
The Carhartt Bassmaster College Series continues to produce high caliber anglers. The last three Bassmaster College Series Classic Bracket champions have qualified for the Bassmaster Elite Series via the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens presented by Allstate. Brett Preuett of Monroe, La., is the most recent example. The 2014 champion just qualified for the Elites through the Central Opens in fall 2015.
College Series anglers are going on to fish with Bassmaster Elite Series pros, and the challenging fisheries they face in the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series is paving the way.
“We always strive to select great venues for our college anglers,” said Hank Weldon, B.A.S.S. College Series tournament manager. “We look for venues and fisheries that can handle the growing field size, as well as provide great fishing and dramatic competition.”
The season begins in February as the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series heads to Lake Martin out of Alexander City, Ala., for the Southern Regional, Feb. 4-6. The 41,150-acre man-made lake hosted the 2002 Bassmaster Southern Open, won by Coby Carden of Shelby, Ala., with 36 pounds, 7 ounces. The Costa Bassmaster High School Southern Open was held here in February 2015. The Tennessee team of Cole Stewart and Josh Powers brought in 14-4 during the one-day derby. The local host for the event is Alexander City.
The Central Regional isn’t far behind on Feb. 25-27 on Louisiana’s Atchafalaya Basin. This swampy fishery has earned its place on Bassmaster Magazine’s 2015 Best Bass Lakes list at No. 98 and will also host the first Central Open in the 2016 Opens Series. The event will be held out of Houma, La., and the local host is Nicholls State University.
Lake Mead in Henderson, Nev., will play host to the Western Regional, April 2-4. This historic fishery was home to the very first Bassmaster Classic in 1971. Bobby Murray weighed in 43 pounds, 11 ounces over three days to earn the inaugural Bassmaster Classic trophy. The local host is the Nevada B.A.S.S. Nation.
The Eastern Regional, May 19-21, will be held on the James River out of Richmond, Va. It was on this fishery in 2013 that Alabama’s Randy Howell qualified for the 2014 Bassmaster Classic — which he won. Howell weighed in three consecutive limits of more than 15 pounds, totaling 47-11 to win the James River Open. Virginia Commonwealth University is the local host for the event.
The final regular-season event of 2016, the Midwestern Regional, will take place on Illinois’ Clinton Lake, June 2-4, in conjunction with the third and final Costa Bassmaster High School Open on June 5. The tournament will be hosted by Forsyth/Clinton, Ill., and in partnership with the Illinois B.A.S.S. Nation.
“College teams are competing for a chance to fish in the national championship through these regular-season events,” Weldon said. “And, there is also a 2017 GEICO Bassmaster Classic berth on the line. Each year, we get to see a young, aspiring angler’s dream come true and that’s always an unforgettable moment.”
The top anglers from each regional qualify for the 2016 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series National Championship, to be held at a date and location to be announced later. For competitors who do not qualify for the championship through their regional, the Wild Card tournament gives them another opportunity. The Wild Card will be held at a date and location to be announced at a later date.
2015 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Title Sponsor: Carhartt2015 Bass Bassmaster College Series Presenting Sponsor: Bass Pro Shops
2015 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Official Sponsors: Toyota, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, GoPro, Humminbird, Mercury, Nitro Boats, Skeeter Boats, Triton Boats, Yamaha
2015 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Supporting Partners: A.R.E. Accessories, Dick Cepek Tires, 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 presented by TNT Fireworks, Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro.