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DAYTON, Tenn. — The modern era of bass fishing was jumpstarted in the late 1960s when a team of professional bass fishermen joined Ray Scott’s B.A.S.S. Seminar Trail and traveled the United States, teaching advanced fishing techniques to thousands of knowledge-hungry anglers.

Those seminars were the forerunners of the Bassmaster University presented by Nationwide, which will be in session at this summer’s BASSfest in Dayton, Tenn., Friday, June 13.

Professional anglers competing in the Bassmaster Elite Series will serve as “professors” sharing their knowledge, tips and techniques on such topics as Crankbait Techniques for Tennessee Reservoirs, High Tech Ways to Hunt Bass, Swimbaits for Trophy Bass, Frogging for Summertime Bass and many more.

Deciding whether to attend Bassmaster University is easy; deciding which of the concurrent sessions to check out in five tent-enclosed classrooms will be the hard part. Classes will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in conjunction with BASSfest and all seminars are free, as are the daily weigh-ins, expo, morning takeoffs and other activities during the five-day festival of fishing on Lake Chickamauga.

The centerpiece of BASSfest is the Bassmaster Elite Series on Lake Chickamauga, which features 107 Bassmaster Elite Series pros along with 33 of the top anglers in the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Series presented by Allstate. The 107 Elite anglers in the field will be vying for Toyota Angler of the Year points, and all 140 competitors will be competing for cash and an invitation to compete in the 2015 Bassmaster Classic in Greenville, S.C.

Adding to the excitement is the fact that Chickamauga is one of the hottest bass lakes in America, ranking No. 7 on the Bassmaster Magazine’s 100 Best Bass Lakes list for 2014.

In addition, the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Eastern Regional tournament will be held on nearby Watts Bar Lake, just upstream on the Tennessee River, on Friday and Saturday, June 13-14. A special “High School Experience” available to high school students who register in advance will be offered on Saturday, June 14. The experience gives aspiring pros a chance to rub shoulders with Elite Series professionals and to learn about tournaments and fishing from the pros and from B.A.S.S. staff.

Instructors at the Bassmaster University will be selected from the Top 50 anglers in the BASSfest tournament, so a list of pros won’t be available until shortly before the seminars begin. But “students” can be assured they’ll have access to some of the most knowledgeable and skilled bass anglers in the world.

Among other topics to be covered at the Bassmaster University are “Don’t Overlook Prop Baits,” “How To Take a Novice Fishing,” “Fishing Deep Structure,” “Ph.D. in Spinnerbaiting” and “Bass Tech — Motors.”

Visit Bassmaster.com/bassfest for more information about the event and Bassmaster University.

Bassmaster University Presenting Sponsor: Nationwide

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, 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.

Lucky Craft pro Kelly Jordon reviews his Lake Dardanelle performance. The KJ FLAT Series is another high quality Lucky Craft bait. Featuring a circuit board lip the KJ FLAT Series is extremely effective with short casts because it starts moving immediately when entering the water. A tighter, faster action than the round-side series makes the Flat Series perfect for the moving water of rivers and tidal systems.
Veteran Texas pro, Kelly Jordon, is gradually enlarging his crankbait “garage.” Like most pros, he’s used square bills such as the Lucky Craft LC and SKT Series as the workhorses on tour for many years, but as fisheries get tougher and pressure increases, he frequently finds himself reaching for something a little bit more subtle and sporty: the flat-sided Lucky Craft KJ Flat. “If the square bill is a pickup truck, then the flat side is more like a Ferrari. It’s a very close brother to a square bill. You fish it in the same type of water, at approximately the same depth. It’s not as much of a brush buster because it doesn’t deflect off of wood like laydowns and stumps, but it shines in cold water, post-frontal conditions, and pressured situations.” Often, he’d use the more aggressive square bill to locate fish in practice and then the KJ Flat to take out every last bite possible.

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