THE LATEST NEWS
Light up your Ride – Ashmore says LEDs Make Everything Brighter
Bass fishermen are tinkerers. Whether adding a couple of suspendots to a jerkbait or dipping the tail of a brush hog in some chartreuse dye to get just the right look, bass maniacs have always attempted to apply their unique style to the sport.
In recent years however, tinkering has expanded rapidly out of the rod, reel, and lure arena and into angler’s boats and tow-vehicles. Pro anglers are given free rein to design their jerseys, boat wraps, and tow-vehicles to best represent their sponsors and individual personalities, making a trip to a tour-level event these days a spectacle reminiscent of P.T. Barnum.
There are a million things an angler can do to put his or her personal touches on their rig, and Bassmaster Elite Series angler Scott Ashmore has experience with most. Since he joined the Elites in 2010, Ashmore has been a pioneer in tricking out boats. He was the first to integrate an Ipad into his dash, and his vivid wrap designs and bold color choices were unique on the tour until very recently.
One particular accessory Ashmore has helped pioneer is the integration of LED lighting, something that until a couple years ago only a handful of anglers were doing. “I started doing the lighting thing about four years ago, and there weren’t really any others on the tour that were doing it. Now, I’m pretty sure every angler out there has at least some LED lighting somewhere on their boat, and several boat manufacturers are now offering it as an option.”
Ashmore’s gets his LEDs from his title sponsor, Blue Water LED. Blue Water LED is a pioneer in the development and installation of high performance LED lighting systems for a variety of outdoor industries including boats, trucks, motorcycles, and atv’s.
To Ashmore, LEDs are a no brainer over previous lighting options. “LEDs are brighter, waterproof, never need new bulbs, and draw an insignificant amount of current to run. They obviously do a great job lighting just about any space, but they also increase your on-water visibility and make low-light and nighttime operation safer.”
As great as it would be if we could all afford to install LED lighting on every square inch of our boats like an Elite Series Pro, but the reality is; most of us are working on limited budgets. To that end, I recently caught up with Ashmore and asked him to make an “LED Priority List”, of the five places he recommends installing LEDs to not only look great, but increase your safety and efficiency on the water.
- 1. Front and Rear Decks: Ashmore thinks that installing LED lights on the casting decks of a boat not only provide the most aesthetic impact, but they also greatly increase the safety of a boat, saying “Tournament anglers are frequently operating in the dark. LED’s on the deck make navigating around the boat a lot safer. I’ve seen people trip on tackle bags, step on rods or baits, and even fall out of boats in the dark. I can set my deck lights to the perfect brightness, and I’ve had marshals comment on how much easier they can move around my boat in the dark.”
- 2. Storage Compartments: It might be a no-brainer, but adding lights to the compartments is a huge benefit; one that Ashmore definitely appreciates during the rigors of an Elite event. “I’m often working on tackle until well after dark on tournament weeks. I am a lot more efficient because all my compartments are well-lit and I can easily find what I am looking for. I can do an hours’ worth of tackle prep in half the time.”
- 3. Livewells: It might seem odd to install lights in your livewells, but Ashmore says they even benefit you during the day. “In really muddy or dirty water, having livewell lighting makes finding fish in the livewell and culling a lot easier. My Legend Alpha 211 has a huge 47 gallon livewell, so illuminating the fish from below can be helpful even during the day.”
- 4. Under the Console: Lights under the console illuminate the seating area and floor of the boat. “I think the lights under the console are another great way to increase safety and efficiency in a boat. Have you ever dropped something in the bottom of your boat in the dark? Most bass boats come with insufficient lighting in the seating area and it can also be a safety concern if you or a co-angler has gear or clothing stowed down there.”
- 5. On the Trailer: “I didn’t realize until I started doing the LED thing how much it would help me with visibility while trailering.” Ashmore says, continuing “I turn on my trailer lights at the ramp in the morning, and I can easily see the ramp, potential obstacles, and any people that might be walking by. Bluewater even makes special strips for reverse lighting as well that will really light up the bottom of a small ramp. LED lights are waterproof, so I can easily load my boat in the dark and the lights will show me where the bunks are.”
Blue Water LED is an American owned, faith based company located in Kentucky, right in the center of bass country. Their LED lighting and accessories come with an industry exclusive lifetime warranty, the only dimmable system components, and they will go out of their way to create a custom lighting system for any application. Pre-selected LED kits are available at many retailers, but their entire catalog can be seen at www.bluewaterled.com
Tim Horton High School Challenge
There are numerous college scholarships available to students, but few are as much fun to win as those that will be awarded to student anglers in May.
The 2nd annual Timmy Horton High School Bass Anglers Challenge offers $20,000 in scholarships to students at public, private and home schools, in grades 7-12. The youths, who fish from boats piloted by an adult volunteer, compete in two divisions, grades 7-9 and 10-12. The adult is not allowed to fish.
This year’s tournament is May 24 on Pickwick Lake out of Rose Trail Park, west of Cherokee. Entry fee is $25 per angler.
The tournament was created by Horton, a professional angler and outdoors television personality from Muscle Shoals, as a way to help student anglers continue their education after high school.
“The tournaments are loads of fun for the students,” Horton said. “Pickwick Lake is one of the best bass lakes in the country. The kids will have a chance to catch some huge largemouth and smallmouth. Best of all, they have a chance to earn money to help pay for college.”
Anglers in the Timmy Horton High School Bass Anglers Challenge are not required to be a member of a fishing team at their school to enter the tournament.
A limited number of volunteer boat captains will be available for students who do not have an adult to take them fishing.
Last year’s tournament received rave reviews from students and parents.
Adam Neill of Florence, a freshman at the University of Alabama, said the $3,000 scholarship he received for winning the senior division of the 2013 tournament, was a big help for paying his tuition.
“In this economy, every dollar you can get to help pay for college is a huge help,” Neill said.
Neill shared a boat in the tournament with Ethan Rickard of Florence, who finished third in the senior division and caught the largest bass weighed-in during the tournament..
Rickard, a freshman at Northwest-Shoals Community College in Muscle Shoals, said the $2,000 in scholarships he won have been a godsend.
“It helped a great deal,” Rickard said. “It allowed me to take more hours than I could have taken this year without that extra money.”
Andrew Warbington of Northport, a freshman at the University of West Alabama, who finished fourth, went home with a $700 scholarship and many fond memories.
“I had the time of my life at that tournament,” Warbington said, “Though I did not win, it was an incredible learning experience.”
Horton said it’s a thrill to be able to help students attend college.
Susann Hamlin, executive director of the Colbert County Tourism an organizer of the tournament, said it’s a great opportunity for students to use their talents as anglers to earn money for college.
More details about the tournament and entry forms are available online at FishPickwickLake.com, by calling Colbert Tourism at 256-383-0783 or by email at colberttourism@comcast.net.
Chad Morgethaler’s Tour Journal
Prior to this tournament I hadn’t spent a whole lot of time on Toledo Bend, and given the time of year I expected the dominant pattern to involve a post-spawn structure bite and crankbaits or jerkbaits. Fortunately, I got on something altogether different within the first hour of practice that carried me the entire week, all the way to my best tour-level finish so far.
The water was unusually high and when I launched the boat I was pleasantly surprised to see that there was lots of visible grass everywhere. There was “hay” style grass with 6 to 8 feet of water in front of it and milfoil with at least 5 feet of water in front of it. I was in heaven, because I knew that’s where I wanted to focus, much as I would in Florida. In fact, I never had to pull my cranking rods out.
The first morning of practice we had a big thunderstorm roll through that forced me off the water for a while, but before it did that I had 45 minutes of the best fishing I’ve ever experienced. I caught one fish on a frog that was over 11 pounds, maybe pushing 12, and caught eight more solid keepers on a ¾ ounce Lunker Lure jig. In that short time, I knew what I was going to do during the tournament. I spent the rest of Monday and all of Tuesday trying to expand upon it. The particular area is known to have a population of big fish, and on a big lake like Toledo Bend with lots of standing timber it can be hard to get around, so I didn’t want to spread myself too thin by checking other areas. Making it even better, there was a wide range of water clarities in my area, so I knew that I could adjust with the conditions.
I was glad that I maximized my time those first two days because Wednesday was pretty much a washout due to heavy winds.
On the first morning of the tournament I started off sight fishing and throwing a Senko and I had a limit pretty quickly, which gave me the luxury to continue to learn the area as I went on. At about 10:30 I hit one good stretch where I culled three times – with a 7 pounder, a 4 pounder and a 3 ½ — all in the course of about 10 minutes. From 11:30 to 2 I continued to cull with my jig and eventually got up to 18-15, which had me in 19th place. There was about a two to three hour period each day when they bit particularly well. I’m still not sure if it was because of a waning shad spawn or some other condition, but I knew that I needed to be in my best spots when that time rolled around.
I also knew that I needed to spend as much of Day Two with a jig in my hand as possible because that’s the lure that was producing the better fish. It was critical to be on my best stretches at the best times. Shortly after takeoff I had three or four fish in the box, once again sight fishing and throwing the Senko, but at 11 o’clock I had another awesome 10 minute flurry and landed an 8, a 5 and a 4 to cull three times. After that I never laid the jig down and continued to catch them, all the way until I had 24-13 in the box, enough to move up 16 places to 3rd.
Unfortunately, after making the 50 cut we had to deal with weekend boat traffic and there were a lot of local tournaments on the lake on Saturday. There’s nothing you can do about that. I knew that I was fishing differently than most of them, but all of that pressure repositions the fish and makes it tough to get into a rhythm. I stuck with the jig all day, but I only had about half as many bites as the previous day, and I never got a big bite. My limit weighed 11-12 and I fell seven spots, but still managed to make the final day cut in 10th.
With nothing to lose and everything to gain on Sunday, I committed to the jig all day. At about 11am that seemed like a bad decision because I only had one fish in the livewell. At that point I returned to my primary area and about noon I started catching fish again. It wasn’t fast and furious, but it was one here and one there and they were the right size, cookie-cutter footballs. In just a few hours, I went from potential disappointment all the way up to 21-14, the best bag of the day, while many other great fishermen faltered. At weigh-in I spent a lot of time on the hot seat and survived scares from Jared Lintner and Randall Tharp, but the one bullet I couldn’t dodge was eventual winner Jacob Powroznik. He beat me by 2 pounds, but I wouldn’t do anything differently. I did everything I could do, fished a really clean tournament, and I’m proud of my effort.
As often seems to be the case, the key bait was a black and blue ¾ ounce Lunker Lure jig paired with a Zoom Big Salty Chunk trailer. I fished it on two different reels – a Lew’s Super Duty and a Shimano Core – both spooled with 55 lb. Toray braid. The one change to my presentation is that I flipped it on a 7’11” Denali Jadewood extra-heavy flipping stick, which I’m sure enabled me to land fish that might’ve gotten away previously. I watched video of my performance after the tournament was over and saw that the rod’s unique action enabled me to get a hook into bass even when I was out of position to make the hook set. I’m excited about that – it’s going to mean more fish in the livewell just about every time out.
The other piece of equipment that made a huge difference was my 112 pound thrust Minn Kota trolling motor. I never stopped moving the whole tournament and I never had to worry that the grass would be too thick or that I’d run out of power.
After a short break, next up is Dardanelle, another shallow grass fishery. That suits me just fine – where’s there’s grass, there’s bass. We’re at the halfway point of what so far has been a fantastic season. I’m in 5th place in the AOY race but it’s too early to count my blessings. There’s a lot of fishing left to go, including some fisheries I’ve never seen, but I’m in a good frame of mind and ready to keep on casting.
Powroznik Wins LEER Cover Cash
Jacob Powroznik carried his big blue 1st place Bassmaster Elite Series trophy across the boat ramp parking lot at Toledo Bend on Sunday evening, placed it securely in his Tundra, and grinned, “Okay boys, let’s head to the Toyota Texas Bass Classic – I love that event.”
Thanks to his registration in the LEER Cover Cash program, “J Pow” has $500 cash to buy all the boat gas needed to practice and compete on famed Lake Fork once he gets there.
And frankly, he says he can’t imagine life as a tournament angler without his LEER.
“I love my LEER because I can pack for a four or five week road trip, and have everything I need packed-in here in a dry and safe place,” says Powroznik. Sure enough, when he shared a look inside, it was obvious that he doesn’t leave much at home. “Look, I’ve got life jackets in here, outboard props, spare depth finders, clothes, a boat cover, and dang near every lure I own.”
Becoming eligible for the Cover Cash program is simple. Purchase or own a LEER Truck Cap or Tonneau Cover for your primary tow vehicle, sign-up for the free Cover Cash program at LeerCoverCash.com, be the highest finishing participant in any of the over 300 approved tournaments and you’ll win the cash.
Better yet, you don’t have to win the tournament to win the Cover Cash. You just need to be the highest finishing eligible angler in the following supported trails: B.A.S.S., FLW, TBF, ABA Weekend Series, and LBAA. The following team trails are also eligible: Alabama Bass Trail, Bass Champs, Nichols Marine Tournament Series, Platinum Team Trail, Priority Fishing Team Series, Skeeter XFL, Texas Team Trail and the Bassmaster Team Championship.
It’s free to sign-up for Cover Cash, and it will generously support over 300 individual tournament events and offer a variety of payouts ranging from $150 to $1,000. For example, the Bassmaster Open will pay a single award of $300 on the boater side, and $150 to the highest placing non-boater. Team trail events will offer $150 to both the highest finishing and second highest finishing eligible angler in a regular season event.
LEER has also made it easy for anglers to save money on their initial purchase of a new truck cap or tonneau cover by making exclusive angler coupons available. Simply carry the coupon into your local LEER dealer, save money up-front, and then get ready to win additional funds when you do well in supported tournaments – but you have to sign-up either on line at LeerCoverCash.com, or by calling (918) 742-6424.
5,4,3,2,1 with Casey Ashley
With a million dollar smile, and a voice that Nashville saw worthy of recording a couple of years ago, there’s never really a bad time to be Casey Ashley.
But right now, on a string of top finishes, starting with the Bassmaster Classic three months ago, a $100,000 win in March, and most recently, a Top 5 this past weekend at Toledo Bend – it’s an especially good time to be Casey Ashley.
Here’s a look at life for the music loving, jig fishing, simplistic, 30-year-old from tiny Donalds, SC.
FIVE lures Casey relies on most, noting that he takes a very simple approach to lure selection. He admits he’d prefer to fish a 1/2 –ounce Shooter Lures jig everyday if he could. 1) 1/8-ounce Shaky Head with a green pumpkin Zoom trick worm; 2) Lucky Craft 2.5 DD crankbait that runs 8 to 10’ deep on 15 pound line; 3) a homemade ½ ounce double willow spinnerbait with an unpainted head that he makes himself; 4) Shooter Lures ½-ounce jig for docks, laydowns and also swimming around vegetation; 5) Mop Jig, always in brown with a Zoom green pumpkin Super Chunk, for casting on points – and when he’s searching for a big bite.
FOUR things we found in the cab of his Tundra. It’s fair to say he nearly lives out of his truck. He’s been home a total of eight days since March 9th. 1) A pack of toilet paper; 2) a can of coffee; 3) lots of Zoom worms; 4) his guitar, he plays it two to three nights a week for fellow pros and roommates.
THREE artists he listens to most, and it’s worth noting, that even though he’s fairly young, he still buys CDs, just to read the liner notes: 1) Kenny Chesney; 2) Willie Nelson’s “Stardust” album 3) Eric Church
TWO pros he spends the most time with on tour are Marty Robinson and Jonathon VanDam. He and Marty have been roommates for 12 years, encompassing their entire pro careers, and are extremely close friends.
ONE reason he believes 2014 has been so good to him: 1) Momentum. “For whatever reason, any year that I have a good Bassmaster Classic in February, it seems like I fish well the rest of the year, and I had a great Classic this year.”
