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Preuett, Parker Face Off For Classic Berth
HIAWASSEE, Ga. — The saying that one would rather be lucky than good applies to many situations, especially so in fishing. Brett Preuett of the University of Louisiana at Monroe endured a string of bad luck today, but managed to knock out opponent Bentley Manning of Tennessee Tech. Preuett lost several keeper-size bass, but most notable was the fact that he fished more than four hours with two hooks from a 2/0 treble hook lodged firmly in the back of his neck after an errant cast. The hooks had to be removed by a doctor.
“I tried to make a long cast in a hurry, but left too much line out and snagged myself in the neck. It hit so hard that it straightened out the split rings,” he said. “But, I wouldn’t stop fishing for anything. If I had a toe cut off I’d probably try to keep fishing because I love it so much.”
It’s that drive that’s gotten Preuett this far, put a limit weighing 9-5 in his boat today, and got him past the bad luck he endured today, but his fiercest competition comes tomorrow.
“I’ve got to catch ’em much better than I did today; it’s going to be a battle,” he said. “I know that B.A.S.S. made (the championship and bracket) this hard for a reason; it’s got to be tough to make it to the Classic. Zach’s a great fisherman, so it should be tight tomorrow.”
Preuett said that the most difficult obstacle for him to overcome tomorrow is execution.
“I’ve got to capitalize on my bites and put fish in the boat,” he said. “That’s been hurting me, and I know Zach’s going to catch ’em tomorrow, so I’m going to have get each bite into the boat.
“Everything’s on the line, and I know I’m on the right fish to win this thing, so that makes me feel better,” he said. “No matter what, I know everyone’s proud of me, but I do want to win for all the people sending thanks and prayers, and I just want to come through for everybody.”
Preuett sent Manning packing today, but Manning says that he’ll be back since he still has several years of eligibility left. Manning weighed two fish for 4-11 today.
“I didn’t lose a fish today and put every one that bit in boat. Two were short, and I did everything I could. I fished quite a bit of new water today because I thought I figured something out yesterday, but apparently I didn’t,” he said. “But, the whole experience has been awesome. This has been one of the toughest lakes I’ve fished on, and the first couple of days me and my partner whacked ’em, but the last few days have been hard.”
Opposite of Preuett’s bad luck has been Bethel University’s Zach Parker. He’s not lost a fish for several days, and everything has gone his way so far. His 5-fish limit of 9-9 bested Tennessee Tech angler Robert Giarla’s single fish that weighed 1-5.
“I only got six keeper bites, and I think I’m going to change some stuff up tomorrow,” Parker said. “I saw some stuff today that I think will help me tomorrow if I can adjust to it. The lake is changing a lot, and I think it’s changing right now, so I’ve got to make some adjustments to keep it going.”
His early morning spot has been key the last two days, and the hole seems to keep replenishing overnight. His biggest decision tomorrow will be whether or not he stays the course and start there, or take a new approach to an ever-toughening Chatuge.
“I didn’t let up today, I fished hard all day and everything just fell into place,” he said. “The Lord blessed me with my fish, and hopefully tomorrow will be another good day.”
He stressed that zigging when Chatuge zigs is paramount.
“Tomorrow, the most important thing will be making adjustments. I had two fish over 3 pounds blow up on my topwater and that hasn’t happened all week, so even not catching those fish tells me that if I get bit, it’s going to be a bigger one.
“You can’t be worried about anything. You’ve just got to go out there and fish your best. It’s whoever can figure those fish out that day,” he said. “This afternoon, having those fish blow up gave me some confidence in throwing that topwater tomorrow.”
Unlike Parker’s inexhaustible honey hole, Giarla seined shallow water but came up short.
“This has been a dream come true, because I never thought I’d ever get here, so to have it happen is amazing. Hopefully my run here gives Tennessee Tech’s fishing team some credibility and maybe even a new sponsor,” he said.
Like Preuett, Giarla had a good run of bad luck today, but couldn’t recover.
“I had two fish spit the bait, one of ’em I never connected with, and basically everything that could’ve gone wrong today went wrong,” he said. “I had five keeper bites, and when you don’t connect this happens. But, I’m not holding my head down one bit. This has been awesome.”
Like Manning, Giarla has a few years of eligibility left and plans on making a return next year.
The conclusion of the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Classic Bracket is tomorrow, where either Preuett or Parker will be crowned bracket champ and earn a Classic berth.
2014 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Title Sponsor: Carhartt
2014 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Official Sponsors: Toyota, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Skeeter Boats, Triton Boats, Quantum, Yamaha
2014 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Supporting Partners: Booyah, Diet Mountain Dew, Livingston Lures, Lowrance, Motorguide, Plano, Power-Pole, Rigid Industries, Shimano
2014 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Proud Partner: Mustang Survival
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, B.A.S.S. Nation events, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series, Bassmaster High School Series, 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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New fishery Could Produce Good Results for McClelland in Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA (Aug. 5) — A long break in the Bassmaster Elite Series has pro angler Mike McClelland more than ready to hit the water again for the Aug. 7-10 tournament at Delaware River.
However, unaccustomed to the Delaware River, the Cabela’s/GEICO For Your Boat Elite angler knows how important this entire week of practice is going to be for his success in this tournament. 
“Usually when we come off of this long break we go to a fishery that a lot of us are familiar with, where we know the fishing is really good,” McClelland said. “We’re definitely all going to be challenged this week. None of us really know a whole lot about the Delaware River to begin with, and based on the way practice has gone so far, it’s going to be a real grind for everyone.
“There’s so much water, but in this situation it’s really unpredictable where the fish really live. That’s what we’re going to be faced with this week, the unfamiliarity of the area. Truthfully, I don’t know if there is even a big population of largemouth bass.”
After practicing this week, McClelland will look toward using his knew knowledge of the Delaware River when he and the rest of the Elite Series anglers launch from Frankford Arsenal Boat at 6:15 a.m. each day and weigh in at 3:15 p.m. at Great Plaza-Penn’s Landing.
“It’s going to be a scenario where we’re just not familiar with it enough to say, ‘This is where I’m going to catch the big one,’ ” McClelland said. “It’s one of those situations where it’s going to be a grind just to catch a decent bag of fish, let alone try to pinpoint bigger fish.
“It is an interesting environment due to the fact that we are right in the middle of New Jersey and Philadelphia, so there is a lot of industry surrounding us. You really don’t know if some of the things coming into the water are keeping fish away from some of the places that would normally be encouraging to fish. All I know is it’s going to be a grind and a challenge this entire weekend.”
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Cabela’s/GEICO For Your Boat angler Mike McClelland has practiced extensively to prepare for this weekend’s Bassmaster Elite Series event at Delaware River.
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Mississippi River SPRO Frog Open Results
The second Annual SPRO Frog Open on the Upper Mississippi River was a tremendous success. The tournament had 65 boats and everyone had a great time on the water. Rick Miller and Gary Schreiner took home the first place prize of $1850 dollars. SPRO would like to thank all of the anglers that participated to make this another great event.
Shinichi Fukae Shines At Lake Champlain
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. — Lake Champlain has been good to touring pro Shinichi Fukae.
The Palestine, Texas, pro earned his first B.A.S.S. victory at Champlain today by taking first place in the pro division of the Bass Pro Shops Northern Open presented by Allstate with a three-day catch of 56 pounds, 13 ounces. He earned the top prize of a Nitro Z9 bass boat/ Mercury 225 Pro XS outboard rig worth $40,000 and $7,595 in cash.
He caught all of his fish on two baits — a Gamakatsu shad-shaped worm on a drop shot rig and a 4-inch Senko attached to a 3/16-ounce wacky rigged jighead. The drop shot rig worked best for smallmouth while the wacky rig coaxed bites from quality largemouth. Fukae noted the drop shot is his key bait whenever he fishes Lake Champlain because he can “catch so many fish on it.”
The Texas pro disclosed he had both deep and shallow patterns working during this event. “I caught the big largemouth in shallow water — not too shallow though — (about 10 feet),” he said. “I had three or four key spots where I was fishing shallow and then deep back-and-forth. When I fished shallow too much they wouldn’t bite, so I would leave for a couple of hours and then come back there.“ The deep pattern produced smallmouth for him each day.
The victory fulfills Fukae’s dream of fishing a Bassmaster Classic since he will earn a berth in the 2015 Classic to be held on Lake Hartwell in Greenville, S.C., if he competes in the final Northern Open. “I’ll be happy when I fish the Bassmaster Classic,” Fukae said.
Latham, N.Y., angler Sean Wilkes caught the heaviest bag of the tournament today to climb into second place with 54-15. He caught his limit of largemouth today flipping a black-and-blue 1/2-ounce jig in shallow grass.
“That was my Plan D. My first plan was to fish a grassbed that had fish all over it, but when I got down there I wasn’t catching them,” he said. “I found out that one of the locals had ripped apart the grass before I got there. So I went to Plan B and that didn’t work out. Plan C didn’t work out either. Plan D was actually my kicker plan.”
The other Top 5 pro division finishers included Mike Iaconelli, Pittsgrove, N.J., in third, 53-8; Sam George, Athens, Ala., fourth, 52-3; Micah Frazier, Newnan, Ga., fifth, 52-0.
James Schneider of Watervliet, N.Y., won the co-angler top prize of a $25,000 Triton 17 Pro bass boat/Yamaha F115LA outboard with a three-day total of nine bass weighing 32-1. He caught all of his fish the first two days on a Li’l Hustler spinnerbait, but today he had to mix up his presentations with the spinnerbait and a tube bait.
Scott Siller, Milwaukee, Wis., and RC Cooper, Nashua, N.H., tied for the Carhartt Big Bass of $500 as both anglers caught 5-15 largemouth.
The Livingston Lures Leader Award of $250 for finishing as the top pro on Day 2 was given to Scott Siller. The Day 2 leader on the co-angler side, James Schneider, received a Livingston Lures gift pack worth $250.
Anglers in both divisions who advance the most places up the leaderboard from Day 1 to Day 2 receive the “Allstate Good Hands, Great Day” award. Pro division angler Chris Zaldain received $250 by jumping 68 places from 107th to 39th. Co-angler Marvin Stith Jr., earned $150 by climbing 72 places from 115th to 43rd.
The Toyota Bonus Bucks paid $1,500 to Mike Iaconelli, who was the highest placing eligible pro angler entrant for the award.
2014 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Series Title Sponsor: Bass Pro Shops
2014 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Series Presenting Sponsor: Allstate
2014 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Series Official Sponsors: Toyota, Berkley, Evan Williams Bourbon, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Skeeter Boats, Triton Boats, Yamaha
2014 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Series Supporting Sponsors: Boat U.S., 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, B.A.S.S. Nation events, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series, Bassmaster High School Series, 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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UNC Charlotte Wins College Championship On Chatuge
YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. — Chatuge Reservoir behaved exactly the way Jake Whitaker and Andrew Helms expected, which led to the University of North Carolina Charlotte team’s win at the 2014 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series National Championship.
“It’s tough fishing out here,” said Whitaker, who grew up only 2 hours from Chatuge and has fished it multiple times.
“The way to do it is to commit to getting big bites, even if you don’t get very many,” he added.
The plan worked for the college duo. They caught 11 pounds, 12 ounces on the first day, followed it up with 12-11 on Day 2, and closed out the competition with their biggest bag, 14-2.
“I’ve never worked harder in my life,” said Whitaker, after he weighed his catch. “We should have more, but I lost two 3-pounders.”
And right here is where we would tell you how they caught their overall weight of 38-9, but that’s information they’re not yet willing to divulge. Anglers guard their secrets well when competition is still on the line, and while the championship has concluded, the 2014 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Classic Bracket looms — on the same fishery, beginning tomorrow.
During the bracket, they will be fishing solo in a series of head-to-head elimination brackets, made up of anglers in the Top 4 teams of the championship. The competitor left standing at the end of the day on Aug. 5 earns a berth in the 2015 Bassmaster Classic.
“It’s going to affect me for sure,” said Whitaker, crediting Helms with the first fish of every competition day so far. Both anglers are planning to employ the same undisclosed pattern that they’ve used each day, but now they’ll be doing it separately.
The last three years, the Classic Bracket has resulted in teammates fishing against each other on the final day. In 2011, it was Stephen F. Austin’s Andrew Upshaw and Ryan Watkins. In 2012, it was Auburn University’s Matt and Jordan Lee (teammates and brothers). And in 2013, it was Jordan Lee again versus his teammate, Shane Powell.
If it comes down to that for Whitaker and Helms, they plan to be extremely supportive of each other.
“I’d like for him to win it as much as I’d like to win it,” said Whitaker. Helms said the same of his teammate.
The solo fishing and elimination format will make the next few days tough on them and the students from Bethel University, University of Louisiana Monroe and Tennessee Tech University, who also qualified.
“It makes you work for it,” said Whitaker. “The one who brings in a double-digit limit every day is going to be the one who wins.”
Double-digit limits on Chatuge the last several days have been hard to come by, at least more than one day in a row. On the final day of the championship, only two teams out of the five that fished caught more than 10 pounds. Several anglers reported losing key bites, and one — Brett Preuett of University of Louisiana Monroe — spent a solid 3 minutes trying to horse in what he thought was a huge bass. “But then it turned out it was a striper,” he said with a laugh, while showing off a bloody scrape on his leg that he obtained during the fight.
The anglers from all five teams that competed on the final day of the championship thanked their teammates and college clubs for backing them.
“Look out there,” said an emotional Zach Parker of Bethel University while he was on stage, gesturing toward the crowd. “They all came out here to support us. This team is awesome.”
Preuett said that his University of Louisiana Monroe team is so good because everyone supports each other. “We drive each other to do better,” he said. “We work as a team, and we really want each other to do well.”
For the new national champions at UNC Charlotte, it’s exciting to bring this type of recognition to their school’s burgeoning program.
“This is big for us,” said Helms. “We only have about 15 members. Maybe this will get more people interested and our club will grow.”
It’s no doubt that UNC Charlotte’s bass fishing team got a big boost with Helms and Whitaker’s win. For an entire year, the small club will own the title of 2014 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series National Championship winners.
2014 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Title Sponsor: Carhartt
2014 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Official Sponsors: Toyota, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Skeeter Boats, Triton Boats, Quantum, Yamaha
2014 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Supporting Partners: Booyah, Diet Mountain Dew, Livingston Lures, Lowrance, Motorguide, Plano, Power-Pole, Rigid Industries, Shimano
2014 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Proud Partner: Mustang Survival
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, B.A.S.S. Nation events, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series, Bassmaster High School Series, 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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