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ESCANABA, Mich. — Virginia’s Jacob Powroznik, 36, is the 2014 Bassmaster Rookie of the Year. Though a veteran of other professional bass circuits, Powroznik was new to the Bassmaster Elite Series and was in contention for bass fishing’s most prestigious prize — Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year — until the final day of competition Monday in the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship.

Powroznik posted top 32 finishes in every Elite event but one in 2014 and became just the sixth rookie to win an Elite tournament when he outpaced the field at Toledo Bend Reservoir in May. The win earned him a six-figure payday and his first Bassmaster Classic berth.

“That’s the Super Bowl of Bass Fishing,” he said. “I’ve worked for sponsors at the Classic Expo, but never qualified to fish it. Sitting in that arena and watching all those people lit a fire under me. I was like, ‘Hey, I don’t want to be in that crowd anymore. I want to be walking across that stage.’”

Powroznik defeated one of the toughest rookie fields in history to claim ROY, and he’s well aware of the accomplishment and statement it makes about his talents.

“It means a lot. It’s something I’ll probably remember my whole life.”

Powroznik was awarded the ROY trophy during the final weigh-in of the Angler of the Year Championship on Bays de Noc in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Although he caught more pounds of bass in the weather-shortened event than anyone else, Powroznik finished third in the AOY race behind Greg Hackney and Todd Faircloth.

His bonus for third place in the Toyota Bassmaster AOY standings was $38,500, which boosted his winnings on the Bassmaster Elite Series circuit to $204,000 for his rookie year. See complete standings below.

2014 Bassmaster Elite Series Official Sponsors: Toyota, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Evan Williams Bourbon, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Skeeter Boats, Triton Boats, Yamaha

2014 Bassmaster Elite Series Supporting Sponsors: Booyah, Carhartt, Diet Mountain Dew, Livingston Lures, Lowrance, Plano, 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, Bassmaster High School Series presented by Carhartt, Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by Diet Mountain Dew and GoPro.

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Media Contact: Helen Northcutt, 205-313-0944, hnorthcutt@bassmaster.com or Dave Precht, 205-313-0931, dprecht@bassmaster.com.

2014 Points Report

PROFESSIONAL

ELITE SERIES

as of 22-Sep-2014
Angler Points Total Winnings
1. Greg Hackney Gonzales, LA 741 $101,250*
2. Todd Faircloth Jasper, TX 727 $55,000
3. Jacob Powroznik Port Haywood, VA 723 $38,500*
4. Aaron Martens Leeds, AL 721 $35,750*
5. Mark Davis Mount Ida, AR 716 $30,750*
6. Keith Combs Huntington, TX 705 $25,000
7. Skeet Reese Auburn, CA 702 $24,000
8. Jared Lintner Arroyo Grande, CA 696 $23,000
9. Dean Rojas Lake Havasu City, AZ 669 $22,000
10. Casey Ashley Donalds, SC 644 $21,000
11. Justin Lucas Guntersville, AL 638 $20,000
12. Chris Lane Guntersville, AL 637 $19,000
13. Randall Tharp Port Saint Joe, FL 627 $18,000
14. Gerald Swindle Warrior, AL 624 $17,000
15. Jason Christie Park Hill, OK 622 $16,000
16. Matt Herren Ashville, AL 621 $15,000
17. Brandon Palaniuk Hayden, ID 618 $14,000
18. Chad Morgenthaler Coulterville, IL 615 $14,000
19. John Crews Salem, VA 613 $14,000
20. David Walker Sevierville, TN 613 $14,000
21. Scott Rook Little Rock, AR 602 $14,000
22. Edwin Evers Talala, OK 599 $13,000
23. Paul Elias Laurel, MS 595 $13,000
24. Cliff Crochet Pierre Part, LA 594 $13,000
25. Michael Iaconelli Pitts Grove, NJ 587 $13,000
26. Mike McClelland Bella Vista, AR 586 $12,000
27. James Niggemeyer Van, TX 585 $12,000
28. Brandon Lester Fayetteville, TN 585 $12,750*
29. Randy Howell Springville, AL 585 $12,000
30. Morizo Shimizu Osaka, JPN 585 $12,000
31. Brett Hite Phoenix, AZ 580 $12,000
32. Bill Lowen Brookville, IN 576 $12,000
33. Bobby Lane Lakeland, FL 574 $12,000
34. Brian Snowden Reeds Spring, MO 567 $12,000
35. Andy Montgomery Blacksburg, SC 565 $12,000
36. Clifford Pirch Payson, AZ 563 $12,000
37. Ott DeFoe Knoxville, TN 563 $12,000
38. Takahiro Omori Emory, TX 562 $12,000
39. Kevin Short Mayflower, AR 561 $12,000
40. Cliff Prince Palatka, FL 560 $12,000
41. Marty Robinson Lyman, SC 558 $12,000
42. Tim Horton Muscle Shoals, AL 557 $12,000
43. Bernie Schultz Gainesville, FL 552 $13,250*
44. Davy Hite Ninety Six, SC 545 $12,000
45. Alton Jones Lorena, TX 544 $12,000
46. Chris Zaldain San Jose, CA 536 $13,000*
47. Jeff Kriet Ardmore, OK 525 $12,000
48. Casey Scanlon Lanexa, KS 524 $12,000
49. Terry Scroggins San Mateo, FL 519 $12,000
50. Steve Kennedy Auburn, AL 517 $12,000

*NOTE: Some winnings listed include bonuses for Carhartt Big Bass awards. See below.

Carhartt Big Bass – Brandon Lester $500 6-4 Day 1
Carhartt Big Bass – Mark Davis $500 6-4 Day 2
Carhartt Big Bass Bonus – Brandon Lester $250
Carhartt Big Bass Bonus – Mark Davis $250
Livingston Leader – Jacob Powroznik $500
Carhartt Big Bass of the Year 1 – Hank Cherry, Chickamauga Lake $2,000 10-11
Carhartt Big Bass of the Year 2 – Bernie Schultz, Lake Seminole $1,250 10-10
Carhartt Big Bass of the Year 2 – Greg Hackney, St. Johns River $1,250 10-10
Carhartt Big Bass of the Year 3 – Chris Zaldain, Toledo Bend $1,000 8-12
Carhartt Big Bass of the Year 4 – Aaron Martens, Table Rock Lake $750 8-0
Carhartt Big Bass of the Year 5 – Zell Rowland, Lake Dardanelle $500 6-10

ESCANABA, Mich. (Sept. 23) — With his Bassmaster Elite Series win earlier in the season at Table Rock earning him a spot in the 2015 Bassmaster Classic, Pro angler Mike McClelland ensured his berth in the tournament by double qualifying during the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship event on Bays de Noc.“Double qualifying was one of the goals I set out to accomplish,” McClelland said. “I had to maintain the opportunity in my finish to do that and hopefully help someone else get into the Classic. The last thing you want to do is be that guy that wins an event and then truly doesn’t qualify by the points.

“I feel like I was fishing really well this year and had a solid season. I’ve had some blunders this year and GEICO has had to step in and take care of my boat. I have had two lower units, including this weekend, that I’ve broke this year. It’s great to have folks behind me like GEICO and Cabela’s who allow me to go out here and continue to do what I love to do.”

Continuing to improve his position in the points standings throughout the entire season, the Cabela’s/GEICO For Your Boat Elite angler propelled himself to 26th overall, well into the cutoff to qualify for the Classic.

“I was pretty happy with how the event ended, even though I didn’t make the top 15 and qualify for the Texas Bass Classic,” McClelland said. “I just didn’t really have an exceptional practice. I caught a lot of fish throughout practice; I just never found where the big ones were. I would catch a limit of fish, but I just never caught the right quality of fish. Honestly, I think what I caught the first day and the second day were a little bit better than I thought I would have caught in the areas I was fishing.

“I fished really clean this week and I had a great time. This festival was a great opportunity to be able to catch smallmouth bass, which are my favorite fish in the world to fish for.”

McClelland put himself in position for a good finish in the Angler of the Year event in Escanaba, Mich., after his 15-pound, 11-ounce bag on Thursday. Even when weather postponed fishing action for three days, he was able to improve his overall weight to 33 pounds, 5 ounces after he culled his way to a 17-pound, 10-ounce bag Sunday to finish the tournament 28th overall.

“It’s tough when you have a plan and have things dialed in and then you sit on the bank,” McClelland said. “I don’t care what kind of sport you play. When you’re put in that situation where you get up that morning and you’re ready to go and they press the stop button, it’s tough to recover.

“I felt like Monday with the wind changing like it did it affected me. It blew from almost every direction it could blow from this week. When I was fishing Monday, it affected me in a negative way in the numbers of fish that I caught, but the quality of fish that I caught were actually a little better.”

Cabela’s/GEICO For Your Boat angler Mike McClelland ensured his spot in the 2015 Bassmaster Classic thanks to his efforts at the season finale on Bays de Noc.

ESCANABA, Mich. — Louisiana’s Greg Hackney, 41, is the 2014 Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year (AOY). Over nine events, Hackney outpracticed, outstrategized, outfished and ultimately outlasted the other 107 Bassmaster Elite Series anglers who started the season.

Hackney finished 24th in the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship on Bays de Noc Monday after weather forced the postponement of the second (and final) round for three days. It was enough to lock up his first career AOY title.

Along with the sport’s most prestigious title and trophy, Hackney earns $100,000 as bass fishing’s best angler in 2014. The other 49 competitors earned shares of the rest of the $900,000 purse, based on their rankings in Angler of the Year points.

His season was solid right out of the gate. He finished a respectable 38th in the opener on Lake Seminole and followed it up with Top 16 finishes at the St. Johns River (16th), Table Rock Lake (third), Lake Dardanelle (third) and Cayuga Lake (first). His worst finish of the season was 48th at the Delaware River. He was the only angler in the series to earn a prize check (Top 50 finish) at every tournament.

Hackney entered the championship with a 15-point lead over defending AOY Aaron Martens and a 17-point margin over Todd Faircloth. Hackney knew that if he finished in the Top 15 at Bays de Noc, no one could catch him. Though he fell short of that mark, he was strong enough to hold off his challengers.

“I started thinking about Angler of the Year after the Lake Dardanelle tournament,” Hackney said. “I felt like I had a chance to do it. It didn’t change my approach to the tournaments, but it motivated me and made me fish harder.”

This was not Hackney’s first brush with the AOY title. In 2004, he finished second to Gerald Swindle as a rookie, earning Bassmaster Rookie of the Year honors in the process. He was also fifth in 2005 and eighth in 2010. He is the first Louisiana resident to win AOY, and the fourth angler to claim AOY honors with both B.A.S.S. and FLW (along with Denny Brauer, Kevin VanDam and Jay Yelas). A Bassmaster Classic victory would make Hackney the first angler in history to complete the Grand Slam of professional bass fishing — winning both AOY titles, the FLW Forrest Wood Cup (which he won in 2009) and the Classic.

The rest of the 2014 AOY Top 5 are Todd Faircloth, Jacob Powroznik, Aaron Martens and Mark Davis, respectively.

For the event, Jacob Powroznik took first place with two five-bass limits weighing 47-6. In addition to prize money earned for his rank in the Angler of the Year race, Powroznik won $500 and the Livingston Lures Leader Award which is given to the angler leading on the second day of the event.

Powroznik completed one of the greatest rookie seasons in B.A.S.S. history. Not only did he win the Rookie of the Year award, but he also became the first newcomer to the Elite Series to win two Elite events and the first angler of any classification to win two Elite tournaments in the same season since Skeet Reese in 2010.

Ironically, Reese came in second at this event with 46-2, and Mark Davis was third with 44-13. Brandon Lester and Mark Davis shared the Carhartt Big Bass Award with identical 6-4 smallmouths. Lester caught his on the first day; Davis on the second. For their lunkers, Lester and Davis share $1,000. A $500 bonus will be awarded to one or both if they were wearing Carhartt clothing.

As expected, Bays de Noc revealed itself to be one of the finest smallmouth bass fisheries in the world. Almost all of the competitors recorded five-bass limit catches in both rounds, and the average bass weighed 3 1/2 pounds.

In addition to AOY, Bays de Noc was also the final battle ground for dozens of berths in the 2015 Bassmaster Classic on Lake Hartwell out of Greenville, S.C., Feb. 20-22. For more information, visit Bassmaster.com.

2014 Bassmaster Elite Series Official Sponsors: Toyota, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Evan Williams Bourbon, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Skeeter Boats, Triton Boats, Yamaha

2014 Bassmaster Elite Series Supporting Sponsors: Booyah, Carhartt, Diet Mountain Dew, Livingston Lures, Lowrance, Plano, 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, Bassmaster High School Series presented by Carhartt, Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by Diet Mountain Dew and GoPro.