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Walker uses Northern Open No. 2 to Prep for Elite Series Return
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (Aug. 1) — With the long summer break in the Bassmaster Elite Series schedule finally drawing to a close, pro angler David Walker took to the water a week before the next Elite event at the Northern Open No. 2 on Lake Champlain.
The Cabela’s/GEICO For Your Boat Elite angler started off the tournament with a solid first day, bringing in a full limit of five fish weighing 14 pounds, 14 ounces, a nice stringer that gave him plenty of local knowledge. 
“We’re up here on Lake Champlain and it’s really a famous fishery for a couple reasons,” Walker said. “One reason is for the amount of fish in it, both large and small mouth. The other reason is for how rough the water can get. It’s an extremely big lake, Great Lake-style, and it’s big enough to support sea monster life. You come up here and expect a couple things to happen: One is to catch fish, and the other is to probably get roughed up a little bit.
“For me, I got both. I got a lot of fish and just got plain beat up. I was running 75 miles one way, and in a bass boat that’s not bad to do when it’s calm. When it’s rough, we’re talking about a couple hours of not just driving into waves but dodging them as well. You’re always trying to maneuver through them. It’s sort of like what the motocross guys do on a dirt track, you’re just jumping waves instead. After a couple hours of battling those conditions, you’ve really had enough.”
While waters were a bit calmer today on Lake Champlain, Walker didn’t fare as well when he weighed in for the second day of competition, bringing in two fish at 5 pounds, 14 ounces. His total two-day weight for the tournament was 20 pounds, 12 ounces, leaving him outside the final cut mark.
“I made the same 75-mile run today but saw very few other boats compared to the first day,” Walker said. “I think after the beating so many of the other anglers took yesterday, they opted out of that game plan. I wanted to go back though because I felt like that is where I needed to be to catch a big stringer to win the tournament. That’s what the Bassmaster Open tournaments are all about, winning.
“There’s a cliché about swinging for the fences, and while most people just throw that out there, I find it to not really be true. But in this case, I went to where I knew I had the best chance of catching the biggest fish. It wasn’t where I caught the most fish but I knew historically that that was the best place to be. I just plain struck out today, but it happens.”
Walker will continue to put in some valuable fishing time before the next Bassmaster Elite tournament, Aug. 7-10, on the Delaware River in Philadelphia.
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Cabela’s/GEICO For Your Boat angler David Walker caught 20 pounds, 12 ounces of fish over two days of action at the Northern Open No. 2.
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Daiwa Zillion Press Conference
See Ish Monroe, Brent Ehrler, Randy Howell, Andy Montgomery, Takahiro Omori, and Yusuke Miyazaki discussing the new Daiwa Zillion reels and Season 2 of Daiwa Project T. At ICAST 2014
Siller Thriller Continues On Lake Champlain
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. — Scott Siller took one step closer to the thrill of victory by catching another heavyweight limit in the Bass Pro Shops Northern Open presented by Allstate on Lake Champlain.
The Milwaukee, Wis., angler bagged a 19-pound, 2-ounce limit today to retain the lead in the pro division with 39-2. “Yesterday was a really awesome day after the weigh-in to be on the top of a Bassmaster leaderboard,” Siller said. “It was like a birthday all day long, so I almost didn’t want today to come around.”
Now he is glad today did come around because he kept the lead and is in position to win his first Bassmaster event. “It was a tough day,” he said. “I had a couple of fish I wished I could have culled out.”
The 44-year-old police officer caught a two keeper bass early on a jig, but when he couldn’t get any more bites, Siller switched to a square bill crankbait. On the second cast, he caught a 5-pounder. “I stuck with that for a while, and then went back to the jig; I just mixed it up a bit to try to figure out what would trigger the fish to bite,” he said.
Siller didn’t throw the square bill in practice but he felt like it was a good option to get some bites after the fish stopped hitting the jig Friday. “I am not a big crankbait fisherman, but the conditions and the cover and structure I was fishing pointed toward a crankbait,” he said.
For the second straight day, Siller had his limit in his first hour of fishing. “But I had one that was over 5 and the other four were under 3 pounds,” he said. “Two of them were around the 2-pound mark, and I culled both of them out with some decent fish.”
Fishing pressure has been nil in Seller’s area, but he did have some observers around today. “There is a club tournament tomorrow in that area, and I probably had about half a dozen bass boats that were watching me fish for most of the day,” he said. “I went to three of four areas, and they followed me everywhere I went. So I don’t know if they were watching as spectators or if I am going to have company tomorrow.”
Touring pro Shin Fukae moved into second place with 38 pounds. The Palestine, Texas, angler fished for largemouth again today and caught a small limit in the morning. He later added two 4-pounders while rotating between three spots. “Most of my fish though came from one spot,” he said.
Rounding out the Top 5 in the pro division are Dave Wolak, Wake Forest, N.C., in third place with 37-2; Mike Iaconelli, Pittsgrove, N.J., fourth, 36-15; and Aaron Martens, Leeds, Ala., fifth, 36-2.
Watervliet, N.Y., angler James Schneider moved into the co-angler lead with 20-13. The 49-year-old orthopedic surgeon said he has fished Champlain about 20 times. “I am very familiar with what the bass want to eat here,” said Schneider, who disclosed he has caught all of his smallmouth both days on Li’l Hustler spinnerbaits.
The Adirondack Coast Visitors Bureau (www.goadirondack.com) is the host for this week’s Northern Open. The final-day launch, beginning at 5:30 a.m., and the weigh-in, beginning at 2 p.m., will feature the Top 12 anglers in the pro and co-angler divisions and will be held at Dock Street Landing at 5 Dock Street in Plattsburgh.
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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Consistent Limits Put Bethel At Top On Chatuge
YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. — Zach Parker and Matt Roberts are roommates and teammates, and now the two share something else: the lead at the 2014 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series National Championship on Georgia’s Chatuge Reservoir.
The anglers hail from a school that has made a name in bass fishing: Bethel University. In fact, it’s the main reason both competitors chose the small Tennessee school.
Parker and Roberts came in on Day 2 of the tournament with 12 pounds, 15 ounces to add to their 14-6 from yesterday. They have a nearly 3-pound lead over their nearest competitors, Jake Whitaker and Andrew Helms of University of North Carolina-Charlotte.
As the weigh-in wound down and it appeared they would end the day in the lead, rain that had been threatening for hours finally broke, making them consider how they would approach competition on Day 3.
“It’s going to make it a lot tougher,” Roberts said. “But it’s also going to hurt that shallow bite where the big fish are.”
“And we’re not looking for the big fish,” Parker added. “We’re trying to catch a limit of 3-pounders.”
Aiming for the medium-size fish has helped them so far. They finished Day 1 in second place using the same strategy.
Then the pressure was on for Day 2 because only the Top 5 teams will advance to the final day of competition Saturday. The Day 1 leaders, Nathan Martin and Michael Gullette, slipped all the way to the 14th spot; it shows how quickly you can go from the leader to not even having a seat at the table.
“We wanted to get a limit first,” Roberts said of their Day 2 strategy. “But then we only had 8 or 9 pounds by noon, so we fished deeper, and we were able to cull three times.”
The anglers spent most of their practice time earlier this week marking brushpiles rather than fishing, looking for enough to hold them over for several days.
“We haven’t even hit half of our stuff yet,” Parker said.
Having lots of areas to fall back on is good because, at least for two people, this is a six-day tournament. The first three days, July 31-Aug. 2, are for the championship, and the next three — Aug. 2-5 — fall under the 2014 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Classic Bracket. In the bracket, anglers will fish head to head in an elimination tournament that will leave two anglers fishing against each other, still on the same water, on Tuesday, Aug. 5. The winner of that battle will receive an invitation to compete in the 2015 Bassmaster Classic.
If Parker or Roberts makes it all the way until Tuesday, one or both of them will need a whole lot of brushpiles.
Parker and Roberts both earned the Livingston Lures Leader Award worth $250 in Livingston products, which is given to the anglers who lead on Day 2.
The biggest bass of the day was caught by Justin Walton and Brian Redd of the University of West Georgia. The 6-2 was a great catch, for sure, but it won’t win Carhartt Big Bass honors. Two teams brought in bass that weighed 6-7 on Day 1.
The number of fish was down on Day 2 from the first day, even though the average fish weight remained around 2 pounds. Only 16 teams caught limits on Day 2, down from 27 on the previous day. Fourteen teams got skunked, up from 12 on Day 1. Many anglers blamed the blazing sun for tougher fishing.
Only five teams advance to Day 3 Saturday. They are Parker and Roberts; Whitaker and Helms; Brett Preuett and Jackson Blackett, University of Louisiana-Monroe; Robert Giarla and Bentley Manning, Tennessee Tech University; and Tanner Cooper and Memo Nunez, New Mexico State University.
Competition resumes tomorrow at 6:30 a.m. ET for launch at The Ridges Resort and Marina in Hiawassee, Ga. The weigh-in will begin at 2:30 p.m. ET at Young Harris College in Young Harris, Ga., where the 2014 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series national champions will be crowned. Stay tuned to Bassmaster.com for updates.
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.
Dobyns Rods and Sportsman 360 TV Partnership
San Jose, CA – July 31, 2014 – Owen Nolan and Sportsman 360 TV have announced a strategic partnership with Dobyns Rods owner and bass fishing legend, Gary Dobyns. Nolan, an 18-year National Hockey League veteran, five-time All-Star, and Olympic Gold Medalist, launched Sportsman 360 TV program in August, 2013. Nolan’s show, among the most popular outdoor programs out West in just its first season, features a unique lineup of NHL players, professional athletes, bass anglers and other celebrities, set against the backdrop of North America’s most scenic hunting and fishing destinations.
For Dobyns, the partnership is natural.
“Fishing has been the focus of my entire career, but I will admit that not much excites me like pulling the trigger,” said Dobyns. “What is so great about Sportsman 360 TV is that we will be able to share our passion for all the outdoors – both hunting and fishing. That is what makes this partnership such a great fit.”
Said Nolan, “It really is an honor for us to be aligned with a quality company like Dobyns Rods. Gary Dobyn’s angling achievements and dedication to rod building is unparalleled which is why I am thrilled to partner with a guy that shares a similar passion for the outdoors.”
The second season of Sportsman 360 TV, which started on July 30, 2014, airs Wednesdays at 12:30 PM PST / 3:30 PM EST on the NBC Sports Network. Rebroadcasts are available on the World Fishing Network and WildTV in the United States and Canada, in addition to Comcast Sports Net in northern California.