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SAN ANTONIO, Texas – In professional sports, there are Dream Teams and All-Stars squads. In bass fishing, there’s Team Livingston.

As the 2015 bass-tournament season gets underway this week with the start of the B.A.S.S. Southern Open, the upcoming Bassmaster Classic on Lake Hartwell and FLW Tour opener on Toho, Livingston Lures is proud to introduce the members of Team Livingston, 2015. The team – consisting of Randy Howell, Andy Morgan, Brent Chapman, Jacob Powroznik, Stetson Blaylock, Hank Cherry and Byron Velvick – shares multiple Angler of the Year titles, a pair of Rookie of the Year trophies, a Bassmaster Classic title and dozens of major-level wins on the Bassmaster Elite Series and FLW Tour.

LOOKING AHEAD IN 2015
Team Livingston heads into 2015 on the heels of the most successful season ever in 2014, and with a new signature line of Team Livingston baits that the seven pros helped design and built. Expanding on the original lineup of Livingston baits, the Team Livingston line features 13 innovative new baits and dozens of new colors enhanced with Electronic Baitfish Sounds MultiTouch Technology™, which allows anglers to customize the sound emitted by the bait with four settings that transmit the sounds of actual baitfish (EBS Craw™, EBS Shad™, EBS Original™ and “stealth” or silent mode).

Team Livingston pros for 2015 include:

RANDY HOWELL, Springville, AL
Howell made history with his miraculous comeback to win the 2014 Bassmaster Classic on Lake Guntersville, AL, but his career as a tournament angler is one of the longest and most successful in the game. Howell has racked up 33 Top 10 finishes, three Top 10 finishes and over $1.5 million in tournament winnings in a 22-year career on the B.A.S.S. circuits. He also notched eight Top 10 finishes and one win fishing on and off for nine years on the FLW Tour.

ANDY MORGAN, Dayton, TN
It would be no stretch to say that Andy Morgan is the most successful tournament angler in the history of the FLW Tour: the Tennessee native has recorded more Top 10 finishes (57) than any angler in FLW history, in addition to back-to-back FLW Tour Angler of the Year (2013 and 2014). Morgan has qualified to fish the Forrest Wood Cup and astounding 17 times in a 19-year career on the FLW Tour, and is frequently in the top three in Bassfan’s World Rankings (he enters 2015 as No. 2).

BRENT CHAPMAN, Lake Quivira, KS
Chapman had one of the best years in the history of professional bass fishing in 2012, when he won the coveted Bassmaster Elite Series Angler of the Year award.  He’s recorded four wins and 32 Top 10 finishes in a 21-year career fishing the B.A.S.S. professional circuits, qualified for four Bassmaster Classic, and racked up over $1.6 million in tournament winnings. Chapman also fished four Forrest Wood Cups, finishing third in that event in 2002.

JACOB POWROZNIK, Port Hayward, VA
Powroznik wasted no time establishing himself as a force on the Bassmaster Elite Series in 2014, winning two events (Toledo Bend Reservoir and the Angler of the Year Championship on Lake Michigan) while walking away with the Elite Series Rookie of the Year title. Before his Elite Series career, though, Powroznik was one of the most consistent, successful anglers on the FLW Tour: he finished in the Top 15 of the AOY standings five times, won two events, and racked up 35 Top 10 finishes.

STETSON BLAYLOCK, Benton, AR
Blaylock established himself immediately on the tournament scene when he became the youngest angler to ever win an FLW Tour event (in 2009 on Lake Norman) on his way to the Tour Rookie of the Year award that season. Since then, Blaylock has rung up five wins and 37 Top 10s on the FLW Tour. Blaylock has qualified for the Forrest Wood Cup every year he’s competed, and narrowly missed claiming the 2013 Angler of the Year (he was second to Team Livingston teammate Andy Morgan).

HANK CHERRY, Maiden, NC
Cherry became a household name in early 2013 when he finished third in the Bassmaster Classic on Grand Lake, OK, and then announced his presence on the Bassmaster Elite Series in 2013 when he won the Toyota Rookie of the Year award, and finished that season by beating out a true “Who’s Who of Bass Fishing” with a win at the Toyota All-Star Week event on Lake Muskegon, MI. Cherry followed that up by weighing in one of the heaviest fish in recent Elite Series history with his 10-pound, 11-ounce Lake Chickamauga monster (the 2014 Carhartt Big Bass of the Year). The North Carolina native has won two events, and finished in the Top 10 five times already in his three-year B.A.S.S. career.

BYRON VELVICK, San Antonio, TX
Long known as one of the best “big-bait” fisherman in the world, Velvick formerly held the record for heaviest three-day limit in a B.A.S.S. tournament (83-5 on California’s Clear Lake in 2000), and has made a career out of throwing swimbaits and crankbaits. After sitting out the 2013 Elite Series season on a medical exemption, Velvick returned with two Top 10s in 2014. Velvick has three wins and three Top 10s in his B.A.S.S. career, and is a two-time winner of the U.S. Open (2001 and 2006).

The Bass University is returning their advanced bass fishing class program to Rosemont, Illinois on January 24^th and 25^th at the Chicago Outdoor Sports Show.  Come learn new tactics and reinforce tried-and-true techniques directly from the following TOP professional anglers: Ott DeFoe, Mike Iaconelli, John Crews, Jacob Wheeler, Pete Gluszek, and Jonathon VanDam!    

Please click here for additional class information and to register

This is your chance to rub elbows with the best bass anglers in the world, receive 15% off TackleWarehouse.com, get a loaded tackle gift bag from The Bass University and their sponsors, have a chance to win great prizes, and have FUN with more dedicated bass anglers!

The Bass University’s class will be held in a private, classroom-style room for up to 175 registered attendees from 8:00am to 5:00pm on Saturday and Sunday.  Registrations at the door are welcome and begin at 7:00am. Group rates are available for parties of five or more and must register together at the door.  Group rate discount is 25% off for adults and 50% for students/ youths.

The professional anglers and main presentation topics are as follows*:

January 24^th, John Crews:

• Main Presentation Topic 1:  Know Your Tools Part 2:  Baby D Bomb and Little John MD – Detailing all of the uses for these confidence baits and why knowing your baits in detail is extremely important.
• Main Presentation Topic 2:  Power Finesse Flipping:  How and when to use smaller profile baits such as jigs and soft plastics to power flip with for BIG results!

January 24^th, Jacob Wheeler:

• Main Presentation Topic 1: Deep Water School Made Simple:  How to go to a body of water and quickly break down the deep water to locate bass.
• Main Presentation Topic 2: Top Topwater Tactics:  Jacob shares an inside look at his best topwater presentations and tips to help anglers of all skill levels receive more strikes on top!

January 24^th, Jonathon VanDam:

• Main Presentation Topic 1: Finding & Catching Deep Smallmouth Bass: JVD takes you out on the water, utilizing his electronics to locate prime smallmouth habitat. Once bass are located, Jonathon will then walk you through how to select the best baits for the prevailing conditions.
  • Main Presentation Topic 2: Seasonal Transitions of Smallmouth Bass:  Smallmouth Bass are notorious for their ability to move and become difficult to relocate. Jonathon VanDam’s knowledge of the seasonal movements of smallmouth bass will help you save valuable time on the water so that you can spend less time searching and more time catching big brown bass!

January 25^th, Mike Iaconelli

• Main Presentation Topic 1: Bladed Vibrating Jigs: Mike goes over in full detail why bladed vibration jigs have become a staple in every angler’s arsenal. He will examine the when, where and how to throw this lure along with how to match your vibration jig with the correct trailer and tackle.
• Main Presentation Topic 2: Punching & Plunking: In this seminar, Mike will cover the two hottest techniques around for catching true monster bass under the thickest cover you can find. He will not only go over presentation and rigging tips, but will also dive into choosing the right colors, weights, and size of baits!

January 25^th, Pete Gluszek:

• Main Presentation Topic 1: How to target and pattern fish in giant water/big waves:  Pete Gluszek offers advice for how to effectively target and catch bass on large bodies of water.  Pete will also prepare you for how to fish when the wind picks up and the waves get big!
  • Main Presentation Topic 2: Cold water spring time cranking: When the water temperatures begin to rise in the early spring, cranking can be one of the best techniques for covering water and catching the big female bass that are on their migration to the spawning areas.  Pete Gluszek will share his best tactics and crankbaits for catching these fat female bass.

January 25^th, Ott Defoe:

• Main Presentation Topic 1:  Suspending and Floating Jerkbaits:  How, where, and when to use those great fish-catchers.
• Main Presentation Topic 2:  Cranking:  An in-depth breakdown for fishing with crankbaits from deep to shallow.

Please click here for additional event information and to register

2015 The Bass University Class Schedule:

• January 10-11 in Edison, New Jersey
• January 17-18 in Tulsa, Oklahoma
• January 24-25 in Rosemont, Illinois
• February 7-8 in Boxborough, Massachusetts
• February 14-15 in Columbus, Ohio

*Speakers subject to change

Chicago Outdoor Sports Show<–Click here to learn more about the fun activities, new products, outdoor celebrities, vendors, and much more at the outdoor show this weekend!  Perfect for the entire family, the Chicago Outdoor Sports has everything to offer for fishermen, hunters, boaters, and outdoor enthusiasts!  The sports show begins on Wednesday, January 21^st and ends on Sunday, January 25^th. 

“It’s very exciting, I’m tickled to death,” Gluszek says. “From the Original Floating Minnow to the crankbaits and jerkbaits, Rapala lures are the some of the greatest baits ever designed.”

The Rapala team is equally enthusiastic about Gluszek, with whom its worked previously as a Bass University sponsor.

“Working with Pete over the last few years through The Bass University has given me the opportunity to get to know him and see what he does in the industry,” says Rapala Field Promotions Manager Dan Quinn. “He stays busy, works very hard and is an incredible angler — which all adds up to him being a top-notch representative for Rapala. It’s an honor to have Pete join the Rapala Pro Staff and I look forward to a long and prosperous relationship.”

Co-founded by Gluszek and fellow Rapala pro Michael Iaconelli, Bass University offers numerous educational programs, including on-water training and weekend-long bass-fishing classes taught by leading bass pros. Students meet and talk with the pros to learn proven bass-fishing secrets, tactics and techniques,.

In addition to his work with The Bass University this year, Gluszek will fish the Bassmaster Northern Opens, competing on Virginia’s James River, New York’s Oneida Lake, and Lake Erie, launching out of Sandusky, Ohio.

“It’s going to be a lot of smallmouth fishing this year,” he says. “So Rapala baits will be a huge factor for me, from the X-Rap® to a new bait that will be unveiled at the Bassmaster Classic. I can’t wait to get that one on the water!”

A ten-year veteran of top-tier tournament bass fishing, Gluszek has competed in three Bassmaster Classics and one Forrest Wood Cup. He won a Bassmaster Northern Open on New York’s Cayuga Lake in 2012 and owns an FLW Stren Series record for the heaviest winning margin, having finished almost 18 pounds ahead of the runner-up. Although known as a river and tidal-water specialist, he can catch ‘em anywhere in the country.

In and around his home state of New Jersey, you’ll often find Gluszek slinging a Rapala Shad Rap — especially in the winter and spring. “It’s got to be one of the greatest-all-time cold-water baits ever designed,” he says.

One of his favorite smallmouth baits is Rapala’s X-Rap. “It’s an amazing tool,” he says. “I call it a ‘power jerkbait,’ because you can make it dart back and forth in a really erratic fashion. In the right conditions, that’s a huge trigger for smallmouths.”

In addition to fishing for smallmouth and largemouth bass in tournaments, Gluszek fun-fishes for striped bass on the Upper Chesapeake Bay, the largest freshwater estuary in the world.

“I love stripers,” he says. “I live near the Upper Chesapeake Bay and spend a lot of my free time chasing them. … The majority of the stripers on the East Coast migrate into the Chesapeake every year to spawn.”

Come spring, Gluszek will have to make room in his tackle box for Saltwater X-Raps, a go-to bait on the East Coast for linesides. But for now, he’s stuck on the bank, anxiously awaiting the melting of ice that’s locked up local lakes this winter.

“Some years, we can fish all year long up here,” he says. “But this winter, we’ve got a lot of ice on the lakes. Worst-case scenario, I’ll be fishing in March. And the first bait I tie on after ice-out will be a Rapala.”

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For years, Randall Tharp has used a Rapala® knife and cleaning table to prepare dinners of fish caught fresh from the sea. Now he’ll rely on the iconic brand to put food on the table in another way — throwing Rapala baits to win prize money in Bassmaster tournaments. The 2013 Forrest Wood Cup champion has joined Rapala’s pro-staff.

“Previously some of my favorite Rapala products were not even baits,” says Tharp, an Alabama native now living in Florida. “Down where I live, I clean fish with a Rapala fillet knife on a Rapala cleaning table almost every day. That’s how I prepare my dinner!”

Still, Tharp adds, he’s used Rapala baits “long before the last couple of years to put fish in my boat.” His favorites are “the whole DT® Series” of crankbaits and the Original Floating Rapala. The floater is one of his “all-time favorite” lures. “I’ve caught more bass on that little original Rapala balsa floating minnow lure than probably any other lure in my tackle box,” he says.

Tharp is the second Forrest Wood Cup champion on Rapala’s pro-staff. 2012 Cup Champion (and 2013 runner-up to Tharp) Jacob Wheeler signed with Rapala in 2012. Wheeler fishes on the FLW Tour. In 2014, Tharp fished both the FLW Tour and the Bassmaster Elite Series. As a B.A.S.S. rookie, he finished 13th in the Angler of the Year race and qualified to fish in the 2015 Bassmaster Classic Feb. 22-24 on South Carolina’s Lake Hartwell.

“Randall is one of the most talented anglers in the game right now, both on and off the water,” says Rapala Field Promotions Manager Dan Quinn. “He understands the promotional side of fishing as much as he knows how to catch ‘em, which makes him an excellent member of the Pro Staff.”

Tharp says “it’s an honor,” to represent such a well-respected company as Rapala, with such a huge catalog of baits and terminal tackle, which includes VMC, which he signed on last year to represent.

“It was really cool over the last season to learn more about an already great company in the fishing industry and I’m honored to part of the team,” he says. “It’s a big deal for me.”

The Rapala team is equally complimentary of Tharp.

“Randall showed what he could do this past year for VMC,” Quinn says. “and with Rapala lures being his confidence baits throughout his career, it was a natural progression to make him a part of the Rapala family. I look forward to a bright future with Randall and couldn’t be happier to be working with him!”

All the Rapala baits Tharp has long treasured — Original Floating Rapalas and DT-series crankbaits — are made from Rapala’s signature material, balsa. It’s what makes them so much better at catching fish than copycat baits made to look similar, he says.

“That’s one thing that separates Rapala baits from all other competitors on the market,” Tharp says. “Even as the company’s evolved, they’ve kept that balsa body as a key part of the arsenal. It definitely sets the baits apart. The buoyancy that balsa has, the things you can make a bait do when it deflects off of cover and stuff, it’s second to none.”