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RANGER BOATS EXTENDS PARTNERSHIP WITH FLW

RANGER BOATS EXTENDS PARTNERSHIP WITH FLW

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MINNEAPOLIS (Aug. 10, 2017) – Fishing League Worldwide (FLW), the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, and Ranger Boats, America’s most iconic boat brand, announced Thursday that Ranger has signed an extension of its exclusive boat sponsorship of FLW and its premier tournament trails, highlighting a lengthy relationship that continues to emphasize the rewards of fishing while opening doors of opportunity for all anglers.

FLW and Ranger have enjoyed the longest-running boat sponsor relationship in the sport, with a history that dates back to FLW’s formative years in the early 1980s as Operation Bass. Operation Bass was purchased in 1996 by Minneapolis businessman Irwin Jacobs and renamed FLW in honor of Ranger Boats founder Forrest L. Wood.

“FLW and Ranger Boats have been together since the beginning, and we have enjoyed growing together and building the sport of professional bass fishing into the exciting and marketable products they are today,” said Trish Blake, FLW President of Marketing. “They have been an extremely valued partner of FLW, and we look forward to building upon our past successes.

“Ranger Boats’ innovations are the perfect vehicle for today’s tournament anglers and offer unmatched safety and design features for recreational anglers, while being tough enough to stand up to the rigors of life on the FLW Tour,” Blake added. “We are thrilled to announce that Ranger Boats has chosen to extend this partnership.”

Per terms of the agreement, Ranger Boats will receive exposure at more than 258 FLW-sanctioned bass fishing tournaments and Expos, and through multiple FLW media channels, which include FLWFishing.com and FLW Bass Fishing magazine. Ranger Boats will continue its lucrative Ranger Cup program, offering Ranger owners valuable contingency awards in FLW tournaments. For detailed information regarding Ranger Cup contingency payouts in FLW competition, visit RangerCup.com.

“We are very excited to continue our partnership with FLW,” said White River Marine Group President Les Crawford. “The Ranger name has long been synonymous with competitive fishing.  We are very proud to be aligned with the competition, camaraderie and sportsmanship brought to the sport by FLW.”

Ranger Boats is the exclusive boat sponsor across all of FLW’s media platforms, including tournaments and Expos, websites, social media, FLW Bass Fishing magazine and the “FLW” television show. For more information about FLW, their tournaments and sponsors, visit FLWFishing.com. To learn more about Ranger Boats visit RangerBoats.com.

A look back at ICast 2017 Part 3 with Mr Ken Duke of FTR – Bass Cast Radio

In this episode of BCR, we sit down with Mr. Ken Duke of Fishing Tackle Retailer & pick his brain on Icast 2017. Ken gives us a look at the industry his thoughts on the future & more. A great episode

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A conversation with Rick Morris – A look Back at his Win on the James River – Bass Cast Radio – August 9,2017

A look back at his Win on the James River & his thoughts on Fishing the 2018 Bassmaster Classic. We hope that you enjoy this great episod eof Bass Cast Radio.

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A look Back at Icast 2017 Part 2 with Zee Bait Co. Bass Cast Radio

Hunter Grogan the founder come on & gave us an in-depth look at the company. His thoughts on the past as well as the future. What a great interview

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A look Back at Icast 2017 with Doomsday Tackle

Part 1 of a three part series we recorded earlier with the men from Doomsday Tackle.

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PENNSYLVANIA’S GORRELL WINS T-H MARINE FLW BASS FISHING LEAGUE NORTHEAST DIVISION EVENT ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN

PENNSYLVANIA’S GORRELL WINS T-H MARINE FLW BASS FISHING LEAGUE NORTHEAST DIVISION EVENT ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN

New Jersey’s Tracy Earns Co-angler Title

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TICONDEROGA, N.Y. (Aug. 7, 2017) – Dale Gorrell of Hatfield, Pennsylvania, caught a five-bass limit weighing 21 pounds, 4 ounces, Saturday to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Northeast Division tournament on Lake Champlain. Gorrell pocketed $6,852 for his catch.

Gorrell said he spent his day fishing a region of Lake Champlain known as The Narrows.

“I ran some patterns early in the day that I had found in practice, but couldn’t really get anything going,” said Gorrell, who earned his second-career victory in BFL competition. “I switched to a smaller lure in black and blue and really started catching them. The water was a bit muddier than it was in practice, so I think that was the key adjustment.”

Gorrell said he caught everything he brought to the weigh-in scale using a Black and Blue Flake-colored Z-Man Finesse T.R.D. on a Ned rig.

“I worked through a 200-yard stretch of backwater that had a cliff and a 10 to 12 foot hole,” said Gorrell. “There was also a grass flat between where I was fishing and the main-river channel. The bigger fish related to a couple trees that had fallen from the cliff into the water, while the smaller fish were up next to the cliff in chunk rock.”

Around 11 a.m., Gorrell said he caught the largest bass of the event – a 6-pound, 10-ouncer – as well as two 5-pounders on a single pass through the stretch.

“When the water is changing color, it was best to hit the brakes and slow down,” said Gorrell. “It’s hard to do sometimes, but it paid off for me.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1st:          Dale Gorrell, Hatfield, Pa., five bass, 21-4, $4,852 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus

2nd:         John Paul Pelletier, Nassau, N.Y., five bass, 19-8, $1,921

3rd:          Michael Grabo, Burnt Hills, N.Y., five bass, 19-2, $1,282

4th:          Bryan Labelle, Hinesburg, Vt., five bass, 18-13, $896

5th:          Michael Marini, Slingerlands, N.Y., five bass, 17-13, $736

5th:          Joe Labarbera, Montrose, Pa., five bass, 17-13, $736

7th:          Tom Callahan, Moriah Center, N.Y., five bass, 17-9, $640

8th:          Shaun Kucharski, Pittston, Pa., five bass, 17-7, $676

9th:          Andrew Kartesz, Ludlow, Pa., five bass, 17-5, $480

9th:          Anthony Lorefice, Johnson City, N.Y., five bass, 17-5, $480

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Gorrell’s 6-pound, 10-ounce bass also earned him the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $510.

Ronald Tracy of Marlton, New Jersey, caught a five-bass limit weighing 17 pounds, 4 ounces, to win the Co-angler Division and $2,083.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1st:          Ronald Tracy, Marlton, N.J., five bass, 17-4, $2,083

2nd:         Nelson Hares, Millville, N.J., five bass, 16-13, $942

3rd:          David Sokolowski, Brewerton, N.Y., five bass, 15-14, $627

4th:          Sal Messina, Wolcott, Conn., five bass, 15-8, $439

5th:          Steve Cram, Williamstown, N.J., five bass, 15-3, $377

6th:          Travis Gilberti, La Grange, N.Y., five bass, 15-0, $345

7th:          Mark Gebbia, Fair Lawn, N.J., five bass, 14-15, $314

8th:          Jason Pierson, Gaithersburg, Md., five bass, 14-14, $282

9th:          Neil Thomas, Scarborough, Maine, five bass, 14-8, $251

10th:        Kenneth Martin Dixon, Newcastle, Del., five bass, 13-13, $459

10th:        William Allie, Wynantskill, N.Y., five bass, 13-13, $209

Dixon caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division – a fish weighing 5 pounds, 1 ounce – and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $250.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 12-14 BFL Regional Championship on the James River in Williamsburg, Virginia. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.

The 2017 BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the FLW Tour.

For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the BFL on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.

INDIANA’S TRESENRITER WINS T-H MARINE FLW BASS FISHING LEAGUE MICHIGAN DIVISION TOURNAMENT ON LAKE ST. CLAIR PRESENTED BY NAVIONICS

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INDIANA’S TRESENRITER WINS T-H MARINE FLW BASS FISHING LEAGUE MICHIGAN DIVISION TOURNAMENT ON LAKE ST. CLAIR PRESENTED BY NAVIONICS

Dearborn Height’s Sawyer Claims Co-angler Title

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HARRISON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (Aug. 7, 2017) – Lance Tresenriter of Syracuse, Indiana, caught five bass weighing 23 pounds, 6 ounces, Saturday to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Michigan Division tournament on Lake St. Clair presented by Navionics. For his efforts, Tresenriter took home $5,505.

“I spent the majority of the day mid-lake in 16 to 18 feet of water,” said Tresenriter, who notched his first career-victory in FLW competition. “I probably drifted through a half-mile stretch five or six times. The stretch had a lot of grass and perch. If there was a bare spot, there weren’t any bites. The perch were key for me, though.”

Tresenriter said he used a Smoke Purple-colored LureCraft Original “D” Darter on a drop-shot rig, and a Yellow Perch-colored Rapala DT10 Crankbait to catch approximately 10 keepers at his first area.

“I eventually moved to the northern end of the lake to a stop in Anchor Bay,” said Tresenriter. “Again, there was a lot of grass, but not as many perch as far as I could tell. I used a Perch-colored (Rapala) DT6 Crankbait and made two good culls to finish out the day.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1st: Lance Tresenriter, Syracuse, Ind., five bass, 23-6, $3,505 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus

2nd: John Devries, Fishers, Ind., five bass, 22-14, $1,753

3rd: Jeffrey Kindy, Wyandotte, Mich., five bass, 22-2, $993

3rd: Rob Campbell, Trafalgar, Ind., five bass, 22-2, $1,193

5th: Matthew Malmquist, White Lake, Mich., five bass, 21-13, $772

5th: Kyle Greene, Ortonville, Mich., five bass, 21-13, $772

7th: Scott Dobson, Clarkston, Mich., five bass, 21-8, $584

8th: Dan Mittlestat, Woodhaven, Mich., five bass, 20-14, $526

9th: Jerry Arnett, Mexico, Ind., five bass, 20-11, $467

10th: Terry McWilliams, Greenfield, Ind., five bass, 20-3, $409

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Jonathon Dewey of Port Huron, Michigan, caught a bass weighing 6 pounds, 12 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division. The catch earned him the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $440.

Justin Sawyer of Dearborn Heights, Michigan, caught five bass weighing 20 pounds, 11 ounces, to win the Co-angler Division and $1,973.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1st: Justin Sawyer, Dearborn Heights, Mich., five bass, 20-11, $1,973

2nd: Alex Newman, Wapakoneta, Ohio, five bass, 20-7, $876

3rd: Vickie Maisch-Rumer, Lima, Ohio, five bass, 19-15, $685

4th: Mike Raber, Wolcottville, Ind., five bass, 19-7, $409

5th: Curtis Hall II, Battle Creek, Mich., five bass, 18-8, $336

5th: Eric Polenz, Maybee, Mich., five bass, 18-8, $386

7th: J.J. Smith, Avon Lake, Ohio, five bass, 18-3, $292

8th: Olivia Sheely, Brooklyn, Mich., five bass, 18-2, $263

9th: Dewayne Eck, Angola, Ind., five bass, 18-0, $234

10th: Mark Saunders, Medina, Ohio, five bass, 17-12, $204

Sawyer also caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division – a fish weighing 5 pounds, 6 ounces – and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $220.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 12-14 BFL Regional Championship on the Barren River in Scottsville, Kentucky. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.

The 2017 BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the FLW Tour.

For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the BFL on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.

OHIO’S BISSONETT WINS T-H MARINE FLW BASS FISHING LEAGUE BUCKEYE DIVISION TOURNAMENT ON OHIO RIVER

OHIO’S BISSONETT WINS T-H MARINE FLW BASS FISHING LEAGUE BUCKEYE DIVISION TOURNAMENT ON OHIO RIVER

Sall Takes Co-angler Title

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MAYSVILLE, Ky. (Aug. 7, 2017) – Clint Bissonett of Beavercreek, Ohio, caught five bass weighing 8 pounds, 4 ounces, Saturday to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Buckeye Division tournament on the Ohio River. For his efforts, Bissonett took home $3,918.

“I stayed within four or five miles of the takeoff ramp to catch my fish,” said Bissonett, who earned his second career-win in BFL competition – both on the Ohio River. “I bounced between two or three creeks that had gotten me bites in practice, and ended up fishing each three or four times during the tournament. If I caught anything during a pass, I’d let the area replenish.”

Bissonett said his initial catches were shallow, in less than 2 feet of water, and that his key bait was a Texas-rigged dark-colored Zoom Z-Craw.

“The biggest factor for me was keeping track of the water level,” said Bissonett. “Each time I rotated through the creeks, I noticed that the water was getting higher. After it was up more than 8 inches, I knew I would be able to fish a new spot – a place that was normally too shallow for me to get to. I ran to the area at about 2:30 (p.m.) and caught two 2-pounders with only minutes left to fish.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1st:          Clint Bissonett, Beavercreek, Ohio, five bass, 8-4, $3,918

2nd:         Ron Hiles, Piketon, Ohio, five bass, 7-8, $1,548

2rd:         Jim Vitaro, Wooster, Ohio, five bass, 7-8, $1,848

4th:          Bob Robinson, Lebanon, Ohio, five bass, 6-13, $805

4th:          Cody Seeger, Lewistown, Ohio, five bass, 6-13, $905

6th:          Keith Wheelock, Springboro, Ohio, five bass, 6-11, $682

7th:          David Spivey, Hamilton, Ohio, five bass, 6-10, $620

8th:          Kyle Weisenburger, Ottawa, Ohio, five bass, 6-8, $558

9th:          Mike Pickett, Brandenburg, Ky., four bass, 6-7, $496

10th:        Josh Smith, Hamilton, Ohio, five bass, 6-5, $434

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

John Wayne Cole of Hamersville, Ohio, caught a bass weighing 3 pounds, 7 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division. The catch earned him the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $485.

Jeremiah Sall of Wintersville, Ohio, caught four bass weighing 8 pounds even to win the Co-angler Division and $2,080.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1st:          Jeremiah Sall, Wintersville, Ohio, four bass, 8-0, $2,080

2nd:         Alfie Bricker, West Portsmouth, Ohio, five bass, 6-10, $1,120

3rd:          Kenny Mitchell, Franklin, Ohio, five bass, 6-6, $612

4th:          Brian Short, Oxford, Ohio, five bass, 6-1, $479

5th:          Colton Lindsey, Raymond, Ohio, four bass, 5-10, $368

6th:          Brent Jones, Okeana, Ohio, three bass, 4-15, $337

7th:          Tyler Waller, Coal Grove, Ohio, three bass, 4-12, $307

8th:          Gary Hoffman, Stoutsville, Ohio, three bass, 4-9, $276

9th:          Ryan Sykes, Hamilton, Ohio, three bass, 4-8, $245

10th:        Mark Wedan, Freetown, Ind., two bass, 4-4, $215

Sall also caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division – a fish weighing 4 pounds, 5 ounces – and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $240.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 12-14 BFL Regional Championship on the Barren River in Scottsville, Kentucky. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.

The 2017 BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the FLW Tour.

For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the BFL on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.

To Cut or Not to Cut By Bruce Callis August 7,2017

To Cut or Not to Cut

By Bruce Callis

August 7,2017

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The Bassmaster Elite at Champlain Presented by Dick Cepek Tires & Wheels is in the books. The Elite Pros rolled into their 8th event this year, just 3 days after completing stop number seven down the road at the St. Lawrence River. And what an event this tournament turned into. Day 1 was canceled due to high winds, causing day 2 to become day 1 and day 3 to become day 2. It also set up Championship Sunday to become the rare occasion where 50 anglers qualified to fish the final day. If it had not of happened that the first cut became the final cut, Aaron Martens would have been left watching onshore instead of becoming the winner.
Day 1 saw the winds pick up to much and B.A.S.S. decided that boater and spectator safety was too important and made the call to cancel the days fishing. This left the anglers with that rare day to relax and plan, or is it panic and rework everything? So on Day 2 that was now day 1 of the tournament, Todd Faircloth took the lead with an impressive bag of 21 lb 1 oz. Alton Jones came in 2nd, just 6 ounces out of first place. Jeff Kriet found himself sitting in 3rd place, 13 ounces back of the leader. Brandon Lester sat in 4th and Jason Christie rounded out the top five. There was also a shortage of marshals for the event, so 30 to 35 anglers went out with no official in their boat for day 1 and 2. This also meant that the Live updates that we watch closely so that we have an idea of who might be leading, did not have any reports from their boats.
On day 2, the boats came roaring out to start the day, but for 14th place Chris Lane, he sat still in the penalty box, waiting for the second flight to leave. It seems that Chris had made a mistake and blew through a bridge and its no wake zone. While this may sound terrible, it is also just, and the Elite anglers believe in it. The alternative would be the lost of the days catch, which seems excessive for a minor infraction. Blowing through the no wake zone is a big issue, but not so big to warrant losing the day’s catch. While it didn’t hurt him, it didn’t help either.
Day 2 found Jacob Wheeler moving up to take the lead with 38 lb 8 oz, and a 1 pound lead over 2nd place Seth Feider. Steve Kennedy moved into 3rd with Matt Lee and Brandon Lester dropping one spot to 5th place.
Championship Sunday found anglers fishing for the win that otherwise may not have had the opportunity. BASS cuts down roughly to 1/3 the field for the 3rd day and then to the top 1/4 for Championship Sunday. Jacob Wheeler went out with the lead and while BASS makes sure every angler has the correct license for the tournament, it doesn’t mean that the local authorities will not stop them and make sure, and Jacob had it happen to him by the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation. But the big story was Aaron Martens, who caught an impressive 23 lb 5 oz bag of bass and overcame a 3 lb 1 oz deficit to win. No one thought anyone could make up that much weight, including Aaron. He edged out 2nd place finisher Seth Feider by just 14 ounces. Brandon Palaniuk finished 3rd and Jacob Wheeler ended up in 4th place. Kelly Jaye rounded out the top five.
Which leads to the question, why does BASS not make the championship cut bigger? If you cut the field by roughly 1/3 to get the 3rd day field, why do you change it to 1/4 for Championship Sunday? Why not the Top 15, with 16.67 being the 1/3 percentage? I can tell you that Brandon doesn’t think it should be changed. But wouldn’t it be fair to keep the cut at the same rate as the other cuts? Think how this might have changed things for those anglers who missed the cut by 1 ounce. Or worse, lost out by a tie breaker. Or am I just wrong?

A look back At ICast 2017 With Zee Bait Co,Doomsday Tackle & Ken Duke – Bass Cast Radio August 6,2017

What a great conversation with some of the best new Bait & Tackle company Zee Bait Co & Doomsday Tackle. Each gave us a look at the past & their thoughts on the future. Plus we spoke with Bass Fishing Media Legend Ken Duke. What an awesome show.