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ESCANABA, Mich. (Sept. 22) — With only one goal in mind throughout the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship event this weekend on Bays de Noc, Pro angler David Walker qualified for the 2015 Bassmaster Classic.

“It’s going to be my 10th Classic,” Walker said. “For me to qualify for 10 of them, that’s a goal I really wanted to get to. The Classic is my favorite tournament that I’ve ever got to fish.

“I just can’t stand not being in that tournament. Maybe I put too much pressure on myself. I worry about every little point instead of worrying about each tournament and letting the chips fall where they may.

“I feel great about qualifying though. I don’t know anything about that body of water, but the cool thing about the Classic is it’s quite a ways off, so you have time to prepare for it. That’s what I’m going to be doing, preparing for my 10th Classic.”

Walker, along with the other 49 Elite Series anglers in Escanaba, was faced with a unique situation when extreme winds shortened the season finale to two days. Initially fishing Thursday, the Cabela’s/GEICO For Your Boat Elite angler had to wait three more days before he could seal his Classic fate when the tournament wrapped up Monday.

“I think it did affect me,” Walker said. “I’ve never fished a tournament where you fish one day and it’s four days later before you’re out there on the water again. Many times fish will move around and change what they’re doing. That seemed to be the case this weekend. Where I left them at, they didn’t seem to be at anymore today.

“I had to re-locate them and even change up what I was doing a little bit. I was hoping that wasn’t the case but it turned out it really was. It would have been nice to pick up right where I left off Thursday but that didn’t happen. It was definitely one for the record books.”

Wanting to ensure his spot in the 2015 Classic, Walker finished the Angler of the Year event with an overall 12th-place finish after an 18-pound, 10-ounce bag on Day 1 and a 19-pound, 8-ounce bag on Day 2. Ending his season on a high note, Walker jumped to 20th overall in the 2014 Bassmaster Elite Series points standings.

“If you asked me, I’d rather it be two days,” Walker said. ” Even today it was just so rough out there. It wasn’t supposed to be but it was. It was a good event though. Getting out on the water is a pain because it’s such big body of water, but once you get out there and it’s a good day, you can catch these really big smallmouths they have here. It’s actually a lot of fun because smallmouth bags at 20 pounds consistently are pretty rare. I don’t know anywhere else in the United States that you can catch that many big smallmouths.

“It’d be more fun though if it wasn’t under such circumstances. That’s the difference when you’re at a tournament like this where fishing is really good, you know everyone’s going to catch them, not just you. You have to do well just to maintain. I’m happy with the way it came out though. I feel like I did what I set out to do — mission accomplished.”

Cabela’s/GEICO For Your Boat angler David Walker secured his spot in the 2015 Bassmaster Classic, the 10th of his career.

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Please visit www.Cabelas.com and www.GEICO.com for more information.

For three days, strong wind, unsafe waves, and subsequent canceled competition days have placed Greg Hackney’s dreams on hold here on the northern shores of Lake Michigan. Finally, Hackney and his fellow Bassmaster Elites are back on Lake Michigan for the last day of the 2014 season to decide whether he’ll indeed get to capture pro bass angling’s most coveted and respected title – the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year.

 

As Hackney stood on the front deck of his boat waiting in the darkness of pre-dawn inside the harbor at Escanaba’s Ludington Park, a bevvy of thoughts ran through his mind on a gorgeous but finger-nipping 37 degree morning as the sun began to rise on the biggest day of his professional angling career.

Think Like a Smallmouth: “There was ice on my boat cover this morning,” says Hackney. “If it were largemouth, you’d probably want to fish extremely slow on a real cold post-front day like this, but smallmouth tend to get more aggressive as the water temperatures cool, it should fire ‘em up today.”

No time for Finesse: It’s common to see spinning tackle dominate smallmouth tournaments, but Hackney had six Quantum EXO baitcasters on the front deck, versus only two Quantum spinning reels. “You hook a big smallmouth on spinning tackle and you’re in for a long fight, and that’s just more of a chance for them to get off your hook.”

First Lure: When asked what lure he’d make his first cast with, Hackney said it would be a Strike King spinnerbait.

With a Little Help from My Friends: Speaking of Strike King, moments before blast-off, his Strike King teammates James Niggemeyer and Keith Combs each parked their boats alongside Hackney’s to offer some lead tube weights that Hackney feared he was in short supply of.

Feels like He Needs a Big Limit: “I really feel like I have to go out and catch a big sack, like 20-pounds or more, to assure myself a chance of wrapping this thing up.”

Enough Warm Clothes: Hackney is a strong family man, and he’s been fortunate to have wife Julie and two of their four children here this week. They met him on the dock in the dark cold air this morning. “Do y’all have enough warm clothes on?” he asked with a loving grin.

Only one way to Know: “The three day delay in this tournament has given these fish a chance to rest, but also to reposition. So the only way to know for sure what they’ve done the past three days is to go fishing for them today.”

A Special Unexpected Phone Call: “I’ve got so many clothes on that I never heard my phone ring, but I saw later that I had missed a call from KVD at like 5:30 this morning,” said Hackney.  “So I called him back and asked, ‘what do I owe this honor to?’ and he told me he just wanted to wish me good luck, he’s definitely a class act.”

BENTON, Ky. (Sept. 20, 2014) – Professional Anglers Association (PAA) announced the final details of the 2014 PAA Tournament Series this week.

Three outstanding fisheries will be the scene of some of the best competition the industry has to offer when the 2014 PAA Tournament Series visits Douglas Lake, Dandridge, Tennessee; Kentucky Lake, Gilbertsville, Kentucky; and Toledo Bend Reservoir, Hemphill, Texas.

The 2014 PAA Tournament Series schedule will be as follows:

September 22 -27, 2014 – Douglas Lake, Dandridge, Tenn.
October 6 – 11, 2014 – Kentucky Lake, Gilbertsville, Ky.
November 17 – 22, 2014 – Toledo Bend Reservoir, Hemphill, Tex.

Douglas Lake

To kick off the 2014 season, PAA will return to beautiful Douglas Lake in Dandridge, Tennessee.  Hosted by the Town of Dandridge and Jefferson County Tourism, competition days will be September  25 – 27.  Also known as Douglas Reservoir, the lake was created by impounding the French Broad River in the early 1940s. With over 555 miles of shoreline, Douglas Lake offers a variety of structure and is quickly becoming known as a big bass impoundment within the angling world.  Douglas Lake was the host of the PAA Tournament Series opener in March 2013 and saw PAA pro Shinichi Fukae win the event with a whopping 67.73 lbs. over the three (3) day event.

Adele Sensing, Director of Tourism, Jefferson County offered, “The Town of Dandridge is excited to be hosting the best pro tournament anglers on Douglas Lake. We have a community that is excited the PAA is coming to town again and will be showing the anglers true Southern hospitality. We enjoy all the exposure that comes along with a large scale national event like this. This lets the rest of the world know we have great fishing on Douglas Lake.”

Kentucky Lake

The second venue, Kentucky Lake, is new to PAA but it is no stranger to the bass fishing world as it has long been considered one of the top lakes in the United States for bass fishing. Kentucky Lake CVB and the Moors Resort and Marina have joined forces to host event two of the 2014 PAA Tournament Series the week of October 6 – 11, 2014. Competition days will be October 9 – 11.

Toledo Bend Reservoir

To close out the season with a bang, the 2014 PAA Tournament Series will see its first return to beautiful Toledo Bend Reservoir in Hemphill, Texas since 2009.  The 2014 season will close on Toledo Bend the week of November 17 – 22, 2014.  Hosted by Fin and Feather Resort and Hemphill Tourism, competition days will be November 20 – 22.

Entry fees and format remain the same.

Pro division entry fees for the 2014 PAA Tournament Series events will remain at $1,500. Deposits will remain at $500 per tournament and are due upon registration.  The full field of pros will compete on days one and two and we will cut to the tops pros on day three.  A Champion will be crowned at the conclusion of day three based upon the total weight of five fish per day across all three days of competition.

Co-Angler division entry fees will remain at $250 per tournament and deposits will remain at $50. Co-Anglers will fish the first two days of each event. A Champion will be crowned after the day two weigh-in based upon total weight of a three fish per day limit.

Pros advancing to the final day will fish with a non-fishing Observer.

Top three pros in the PAA Angler of the Year race will qualify for the Toyota Texas Bass Classic.

The 2015 Toyota Texas Bass Classic will feature three PAA qualifiers to its coveted world championship event on Lake Fork, Quitman, Texas May 23-25, 2015.  The three PAA qualifiers will be decided following our third and final 2014 PAA Tournament Series event on Toledo Bend. The top three anglers in the 2014 Angler of the Year point standings who have fished all three 2014 events and not previously qualified for the Toyota Texas Bass Classic will earn berths into the 2015 Toyota Texas Bass Classic.

The Toyota Texas Bass Classic, often referred to as the TTBC, is a world championship event pitting the top anglers from the B.A.S.S. Elite Series, FLW Tour and the PAA Tournament Series in head to head competition. It is a no-entry fee event with a guaranteed check.

2014 Rule Updates – Our anglers spoke and we listened.

The 2014 PAA Tournament Series will feature the following updates to it official rules:

• PAA polled its membership in 2013 on the use of umbrella rigs in professional level competition.  Of the 147 members participating in the poll, 96 were against the use of umbrella rigs and 51 were for the use of the umbrella rigs.  Thus, in 2014, PAA has updated its rules regarding umbrella rigs to state:

  Alabama/Umbrella Rigs are not allowed to be used in this event during practice and/or competition days. Only one (1) bait is allowed per cast. The maximum number of accessory arms on any bait is two (2). The maximum length of accessory arms on any bait is 4-1/2”. The maximum number of blades on any bait is four (4) total.  Any bait in question must be approved by the PAA Tournament Director before being used in this event. All lures/baits must comply with the Fish & Game laws for the state in which they are being used during a PAA event. It is each Angler’s responsibility to know those laws.

• Like with umbrella rigs, PAA listened to our anglers at the conclusion of our 2013 series. Our anglers wanted a more simplistic point system for each event and we delivered.  In 2014, points for each event will be calculated as follows.

  At the conclusion of the tournament 200 points will be awarded to the winner in the Pro Division. 2nd place will receive 199 points, 3rd 198, etc, etc. and continuing until all Pros who weighed fish during competition have been awarded points. Pros that fail to weigh a legal fish during competition will receive zero (0) points.

These changes along with some updates to the types of boats that can be used in PAA events (In 2014, all boats used in PAA tournaments must be propeller driven, a minimum of 17 feet in length and have a minimum 150 horse power.) highlight the changes to the PAA Tournament Series rules in 2014.  You can see a complete copy of the rules at http://fishpaa.com/2014-paa-tournament-series-rules/.

Registration Now Open

Registration is now open for all three (3) 2014 PAA Tournament Series events and registration for each event will continue as follows:

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About the PAA

The Professional Anglers Association is a non-profit organization that gives professional anglers a unified voice in order to aid in the growth of the sport of professional bass fishing. The PAA also aims to administer educational programs to the average angler, to increase enjoyment of the sport, and to embrace sound conservation practices to further the future of the sport. Web: www.FishPAA.com