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STORM® 360GT SEARCHBAIT™ COVERS MORE WATER, UNCOVERS MORE FISH

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Stingy fish staying hidden? Tie on a search party. Throw ‘em the Storm® 360GT Searchbait, an ultra-versatile new bait the world’s most respected professional anglers trust to deliver strike after strike in nearly any scenario.

“A searchbait is a lure designed to be retrieved horizontally, imparting fish-attracting action over a large area in which fish have many places to hide,” explains legendary Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame angler Al Lindner. “You basically cast and retrieve the bait to cover lots of water and when you find fish, it allows you to slow down your presentation to make the most of your opportunities. That’s what fishing a searchbait is all about.”

Once rigged, the Storm 360GT Searchbait didn’t take long to earn a top shelf in Lindner’s tackle box, proving its searching stripes and living up to the promise “GT” provides in its name.

“This is truly a ‘Go To’ bait,” Lindner says. “This is the closest thing that I could think of to what you’d call a universal bait. Fish love it. Love it, love it!”

Expert and novice anglers alike will love it too.

“I’m always looking for a searchbait that I can throw out there that looks realistic and can cover a lot of water,” says Jacob Wheeler, winner of FLW’s 2012 championship tournament. “The 360GT Searchbait does just that with an amazing, lifelike action. It’s crazy — this bait is in a league all its own.”

1999 Bassmaster Classic Champ Davy Hite agrees.

“This swimbait will catch every fish that swims all over the world,” says Hite, a two-time Bassmaster Angler of the Year.

Creating the ultimate illusion of natural movement, the 360GT Searchbait pairs a lifelike, single-ball rattling jig head with a realistic, phthalate-free soft body with 3D holographic eyes and a toe-in boot tail that elicits incredible action at any retrieve speed.

“The boot tail design does a couple things,” Hite says. “First, it makes the bait vibrate — so the fish can feel it in the water. Second, its slim tail going to the boot makes the bait move side to side, just like a fish trying to propel through the water.”

Additional features include:

•   An exclusive VMC® Coastal Black™ hook with an extended “leg” on the line-tie further enhances the bait’s action.

•   A 60° hook angle on the jig ensures the bait swims in the perfect position, increasing angler’s odds of a successful hook-up.

•   Entrance and exit holes clearly marked on the soft bait’s body make it easy to rig correctly.

Ease of use will ensure this bait becomes the go-to choice for anglers of all skill levels.

“There’s no need to make it pause and jump at things,” Lindner says. “The idea is to cast it out and turn the reel handle — that’s it.”

Not only are 360GT Searchbaits affordable, but anglers don’t need high-end rods and reels to catch fish with them. “Anybody can fish it with any type fishing equipment that you want to throw,” Hite says. “You can fish this bait on spinning tackle, baitcasting, open-faced, closed-face…it really doesn’t matter.”

Just be sure to throw it in all directions until those stingy fish show themselves. “Basically, cast it in any direction — 360 degrees around where you’re standing,” says Storm 360GT Searchbait development lead Mark Fisher, explaining more inspiration for the bait’s name.

According to Wheeler, the 360GT Searchbait should give him an advantage this season in the Bassmaster Elite Series, in which he will compete on diverse fisheries from Florida to New York.

“It’s a bait that’s going to work in many different applications and in many different situations,” he says. “And that’s something that makes it so unique. It’s a bait that flat-out catches ‘em, no matter what you’re doing.”

The 360GT Searchbait is available in 11 color patterns: Chartreuse Ice, Gaga, Herring, Houdini, Hot Olive, Marilyn, Pearl Ice, Smokin’ Ghost, Smelt, Tru Blue and Volunteer. It’s available in three sizes: 3-1/2 inches, 1/8 ounce; 4-1/2 inches, 1/4 ounce; 5-1/2 inches, 3/8 ounce. Each size comes in a handy package containing one pre-rigged bait and two extra bodies.

360gt

“This bait and jig head were all made to be one package — the perfect lure to catch everything that swims,” Hite says. “When you’re ready to cover more water and uncover more fish, tie on a Storm 360GT Searchbait and start searchin’. Throw it anywhere. Catch fish everywhere!”

For more information on Storm’s latest innovation, visit Storm360GT.com.

Shop the Storm 360GT Searchbait

ROSE EXTENDS LEAD ON DAY THREE OF FLW TOUR ON LAKE GUNTERSVILLE PRESENTED BY LOWRANCE

ROSE EXTENDS LEAD ON DAY THREE OF FLW TOUR ON LAKE GUNTERSVILLE PRESENTED BY LOWRANCE

Arkansas Pro takes 4-pound, 12-ounce Lead into Final Day

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GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. (Feb. 4, 2017) –  General Tire pro Mark Rose of West Memphis, Arkansas, caught a five-bass limit Saturday weighing 19 pounds even to extend his lead at the FLW Tour at Lake Guntersville presented by Lowrance. Rose’s three-day total of 61-8 gives him a 4-pound, 12-ounce lead heading into the fourth and final day of competition. The field is now cut to the final 10 anglers in the event that featured 165 of the best bass-fishing anglers in the world competing for a top cash award of up to $125,000.

In second place is Bryan Thrift of Shelby, North Carolina, who weighed in five bass totaling 17-4 Saturday for a three-day cumulative weight of 15 bass worth 56-12. Hometown favorite Alex Davis of Albertville, Alabama, brought a five-bass limit to the scale weighing 20-2 – the largest limit of the day – to move into third place with a three-day total of 54-6.

“I was pleased with how my day went,” said Rose, who is seeking his third career Tour-level victory. “I’m not getting that many bites – one here, one there – but they’re coming. I feel like I’ve got a few things figured out and hopefully we can pull this thing off tomorrow.”

Rose said that he fished around 10 different areas throughout the day Saturday, cycling through some spots along with mixing in a few new ones. He said he caught eight keepers on a little Strike King jig, an old Strike King Flat Side crankbait and a vibrating jig.

‘I’m using the weather to dictate where I fish and what baits I’m throwing,” Rose said. “I’ve been saving one little area that I’m going to go hit tomorrow afternoon, when I feel like the conditions are right. I won’t be changing anything up tomorrow. I’m going to be doing the same thing that I have been doing, so the nerves won’t be too bad.”

The top 10 pros advancing to the final day of competition on Lake Guntersville are:

1st:          General Tire pro Mark Rose, West Memphis, Ark., 15 bass, 61-8

2nd:         Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 15 bass, 56-12

3rd:         Alex Davis, Albertville, Ala., 15 bass, 54-6

4th:         Scott Suggs, Alexander, Ark., 15 bass, 51-11

5th:         Yamamoto Baits pro Shinichi Fukae, Palestine, Texas, 15 bass, 51-5

6th:         Christopher Brasher, Longview, Texas, 15 bass, 51-4

7th:         Livingston Lures pro Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., 15 bass, 49-7

8th:         Brandon Cobb, Greenwood, S.C., 15 bass, 48-10

9th:         Justin Atkins, Florence, Alabama, 14 bass, 48-10

10th:       Chris McCall, Palmer, Texas, 15 bass, 47-0

Finishing in 11th through 20th are:

11th:       Power-Pole pro Cory Johnston, Cavan, Ontario, Canada, 15 bass, 46-1, $12,000

12th:       Darrel Robertson, Jay, Okla., 15 bass, 45-14, $12,000

13th:       Jason Reyes, Huffman, Texas, 13 bass, 42-14, $12,000

14th:       Randy Blaukat, Joplin, Mo., 13 bass, 41-5, $12,000

15th:       Bradley Dortch, Atmore, Ala., 14 bass, 40-7, $12,000

16th:       David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., 11 bass, 39-2, $12,000

17rd:       Barry Wilson, Birmingham, Ala., 11 bass, 38-5, $12,000

18th:       Todd Hollowell, Fishers, Ind., nine bass, 36-2, $12,000

19th:       Jeff Sprague, Point, Texas, 10 bass, 34-11, $12,000

20th:       Jordan Osborne, Longview, Texas, eight bass, 33-11, $12,000

For a full list of results visit FLWFishing.com.

Overall there were 74 bass weighing 237 pounds, 8 ounces caught by pros Saturday. Eleven of the final 20 pros weighed in five-bass limits.

Jeff Ragsdale of Gardendale, Alabama, won the co-angler division and $20,000 Friday with a two-day total of nine bass weighing 30 pounds, 6 ounces, followed by Benjie Seaborn of Guin, Alabama, who finished in second place with eight bass weighing 24 pounds, 9 ounces worth $7,500.

In FLW Tour competition, pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat movement and competing against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other co-anglers. The full field of 330 anglers competes Thursday and Friday. Co-angler competition concludes following Friday’s weigh-in, while the top 20 pros based on their two-day accumulated weight advance to Saturday. Only the top 10 pros continue competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from the four days of competition.

Throughout the season, anglers are also vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2017 Forrest Wood Cup, the world championship of professional bass fishing. The 2017 Forrest Wood Cup will be on Lake Murray in Columbia, South Carolina, Aug. 11-13.

The final 10 anglers will take off at 7 a.m. CST Sunday from the Guntersville City Harbor located at 201 Blount Ave., in Guntersville. Sunday’s championship weigh-in will be held at the Guntersville City Harbor but beginning at 4 p.m.

Prior to the weigh-ins Sunday, FLW will host a free Family Fishing Expo at Guntersville City Harbor from noon to 4 p.m. The Expo is a chance for fishing fans to meet their favorite anglers, enjoy interactive games, activities and giveaways provided by FLW sponsors, and learn more about the sport of fishing and other outdoor activities.

The tournament is hosted by the Marshall County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.

Legendary rod builder St Croix builds relationships with student anglers

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College Bass is Booming

Legendary rod builder St Croix builds relationships with student anglers

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Park Falls, WI (February 4,, 2017) – College sports are big business. Once a junior-league for the pros, many college athletic programs have surpassed the popularity and fan base of neighboring professional teams. In fact, some parts of the country are devoid of professional sports franchises due, in part, to the inability to compete with college.

When we think of college athletics, most of us picture chilly autumn tailgates or buzzer-beater finales in March. Yet, a new college sport is catching on at a pace unseen in comparable expansions: tournament bass fishing.

There’s been a buzz behind college fishing since it’s inception in the mid-90’s, however, recent backing from the nation’s largest professional tournament trails has transformed the sport.

The numbers speak for themselves: in 1995, a handful of college bass teams existed and competed. Today, that number has swelled to well over 600 programs, some of which have grown to varsity level, offer sizable scholarships and recruit young anglers from across the country to join.

The Bassmaster and FLW tournament trails, undisputed leaders in the professional bass fishing space, took note early, and now each offer full tournament schedules for college anglers. Retail and insurance giants Cabela’s and Boat US operate an additional trail, giving college athletes a third opportunity to fish at a national level. Television coverage is included at major events for all three trails, as well as real-time exposure online.

So why such massive expansion? Because competitive fishing, unlike many other college sports, can be played by anyone. Fishing doesn’t discriminate by gender or physical size. It can be adopted by anyone willing to learn. And it can never be mastered.

As society continues to recognize the benefits of the outdoor lifestyle, more young people are grasping the principle, and eager to try their hand at bass fishing. Competition just increases interest within the college demographic.

In addition, continued expansion of the professional fishing tours and heavy exposure on premium television networks has brought competitive bass fishing into the living rooms of millions of Americans. Slowly, it’s being recognized by mainstream culture as a legitimate sport.

Sponsors have taken note of the youth movement. Today, many college bass programs have travel budgets for their players, allowances for rods, reels and tackle; some even provide the use of modern bass boats for stand-out athletes. Nearly all of these products are donated or deeply discounted by the leading manufacturers in the fishing market.

St. Croix Rods, the iconic brand manufactured in northern Wisconsin, seized the opportunity to introduce their product to a new generation, as well as support the cause. As sponsors of both the Bassmaster and FLW college fishing programs, and by offering scholastic programs with a variety of benefits for athletes, St. Croix is dedicated to supporting collegiate fishing organizations and the anglers themselves.

St. Croix’s involvement is one of grass-roots, “in the trenches” support. Representatives are on-hand at collegiate events to specifically determine the needs of college anglers, and build long-term relationships that are the foundation of successful sponsorships.

All St. Croix rods are handcrafted in North America. All are backed with the best warranty and service in the business. And all are available to college tournament bass competitors for the pursuit of their dreams.

The Passing of T.J. Stallings By Ken Duke February 2, 2017

Two days ago, you lost a friend. Whether you knew him or not, if you fish or work in the tackle industry, T.J. Stallings was your friend. He was just 59 years old and died of complications from cancer.T.J. grew up in the tackle business with his brother Ron, hanging out at their father’s retail store—Tim’s Tackle Box in Central Florida—and eventually helping to run the place. As he grew older, he did just about everything you could do in the tackle business—public relations, marketing, manufacturing, repping, design, consulting and whatever else anybody does to sell a hook or a bobber or a spool of line.

ROSE LEADS DAY TWO OF FLW TOUR ON LAKE GUNTERSVILLE PRESENTED BY LOWRANCE

ROSE LEADS DAY TWO OF FLW TOUR ON LAKE GUNTERSVILLE PRESENTED BY LOWRANCE

Alabama’s Ragsdale Wins Co-angler Title, $20,000

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GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. (Feb. 3, 2017) – General Tire pro Mark Rose of West Memphis, Arkansas, caught a five-bass limit weighing 20 pounds, 4 ounces Friday to capture the lead after day two of the FLW Tour at Lake Guntersville presented by Lowrance with a two-day catch of 10 bass totaling 42-8. Rose will bring a 3-pound lead into day two of the four-day season-opening event that features 165 of the top bass-fishing anglers in the world competing for a top cash award of up to $125,000.

“I was fishing mostly grass today and I caught them fairly shallow,” said Rose, a 10-time Forrest Wood Cup qualifier with six career wins and more than $2 million in career earnings. “Somebody usually catches a big bag off of the bridges, but I don’t like to do that. I’ve had two second-place finishes and a third – all early in the year – and I’ve been beat on a bridge each time. That might be the deal to win it, but I’m just as comfortable doing what I’m doing – scratching and clawing.”

Rose sad that he caught eight keeper fish Friday, compared to 10 on Thursday. He said that he was fishing shallow, 4 to 6 feet, and caught fish on four or five different baits.

“I’m flipping and winding, throwing typical pre-spawn stuff,” Rose said. “I’m looking for the typical, good, pretty looking grass where the fish would go into spawn and where I feel like one would stage. That’s what I’m trying to key on all over the lake. The lake is on the verge of being really, really good.

“I would love to win on a lake that has as much history and tradition as Lake Guntersville,” Rose went on to say. “That would mean more to me than anything, knowing that the greats of all-time have won tournaments here and being in that category. A cold weather win, fishing shallow, would mean a lot, too.”

The top 20 pros that made the Buck Knives Cut and will fish Saturday on Lake Guntersville are:

1st:          General Tire pro Mark Rose, West Memphis, Ark., 10 bass, 42-8

2nd:         Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 10 bass, 39-8

3rd:         Barry Wilson, Birmingham, Ala., 10 bass, 36-6

4th:         Justin Atkins, Florence, Alabama, 10 bass, 36-4

5th:         Yamamoto Baits pro Shinichi Fukae, Palestine, Texas, 10 bass, 34-10

6th:         Randy Blaukat, Joplin, Mo., 10 bass, 34-7

7th:         Alex Davis, Albertville, Ala., 10 bass, 34-4

8th:         Jason Reyes, Huffman, Texas, 10 bass, 34-2

9th:         Livingston Lures pro Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., 10 bass, 34-1

10th:       Scott Suggs, Alexander, Ark., 10 bass, 33-13

11th:       Jordan Osborne, Longview, Texas, eight bass, 33-11

12th:       Chris McCall, Palmer, Texas, 10 bass, 33-8

13th:       Todd Hollowell, Fishers, Ind., eight bass, 33-7

14th:       Jeff Sprague, Point, Texas, nine bass, 32-10

15th:       David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., nine bass, 32-6

16th:       Christopher Brasher, Longview, Texas, 10 bass, 32-1

17th:       Darrel Robertson, Jay, Okla., 10 bass, 31-15

18th:       Power-Pole pro Cory Johnston, Cavan, Ontario, Canada, 10 bass, 31-12

19th:       Brandon Cobb, Greenwood, S.C., 10 bass, 30-5

20th:       Bradley Dortch, Atmore, Ala., 10 bass, 29-15

For a full list of results visit FLWFishing.com.

Jim Dillard of West Monroe, Louisiana, earned the Big Bass award on the pro side Friday, weighing a 7-pound, 10-ounce largemouth to win the $500 prize.

Overall there were 444 bass weighing 1,335 pounds, 12 ounces caught by 142 pros Friday. The catch included 39 five-bass limits.

Jeff Ragsdale of Gardendale, Alabama, won the co-angler division and $20,000 Friday with a two-day total of nine bass weighing 30 pounds, 6 ounces, followed by Benjie Seaborn of Guin, Alabama, who finished in second place with eight bass weighing 24 pounds, 9 ounces worth $7,500.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:          Jeff Ragsdale, Gardendale, Ala., nine bass, 30-6 $20,100

2nd:         Benjie Seaborn, Guin, Ala., eight bass, 24-9, $7,500

3rd:         J.P. Sims, Cookeville, Tenn., nine bass, 23-10, $5,000

4th:         Cody Hammontree, Flat Rock, Ala., eight bass, 22-7, $4,050

5th:         Rod Huff, Monterey, Tenn., five bass, 20-7, $3,000

6th:         Brian Hutcheson, Russellville, Ky., six bass, 19-13, $2,500

7th:         Keith Honeycutt, Temple, Texas, seven bass, 19-12, $2,000

8th:         Allen Armour, Cumming, Ga., seven bass, 19-12, $1,800

9th:         Scott Towry, Lawrenceburg, Tenn., six bass, 18-13, $1,700

10th:       Wataru Iwahori, Palestine, Texas, six bass, 18-8, $1,600

Tim Cales of Sandstone, West Virginia, earned $250 for the Big Bass award in the co-angler division with a 5-pound, 4-ounce largemouth.

Overall there were 178 bass weighing 518 pounds, 6 ounces caught by 91 co-anglers Friday. The catch included four five-bass limits.

In FLW Tour competition, pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat movement and competing against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other co-anglers. The full field of 330 anglers competes Thursday and Friday. Co-angler competition concludes following Friday’s weigh-in, while the top 20 pros based on their two-day accumulated weight advance to Saturday. Only the top 10 pros continue competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from the four days of competition.

Throughout the season, anglers are also vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2017 Forrest Wood Cup, the world championship of professional bass fishing. The 2017 Forrest Wood Cup will be on Lake Murray in Columbia, South Carolina, Aug. 11-13.

The total purse for the FLW Tour at Lake Guntersville presented by Lowrance is more than $800,000, including $10,000 through 50th place in the Pro division.

Anglers will take off at 7 a.m. CST each day from the Guntersville City Harbor located at 201 Blount Ave., in Guntersville. Saturday and Sunday’s weigh-ins will be held at the Guntersville City Harbor but beginning at 4 p.m.

Prior to the weigh-ins Saturday and Sunday, FLW will host a free Family Fishing Expo at Guntersville City Harbor from noon to 4 p.m. each day. The Expo is a chance for fishing fans to meet their favorite anglers, enjoy interactive games, activities and giveaways provided by FLW sponsors, and learn more about the sport of fishing and other outdoor activities.

Also for youth, the FLW Foundation’s Unified Fishing Derby will be held at Guntersville City Harbor on Saturday, Feb. 4 from 9-11 a.m. The event is hosted by FLW Foundation pro Cody Kelley along with other FLW Tour anglers, and is free and open to area youth 15 years of age and younger and Special Olympics athletes. Rods and reels are available for use, but youth are encouraged to bring their own if they own one.

The tournament is hosted by the Marshall County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.

KENDRICK LEADS DAY ONE OF FLW TOUR ON LAKE GUNTERSVILLE PRESENTED BY LOWRANCE

KENDRICK LEADS DAY ONE OF FLW TOUR ON LAKE GUNTERSVILLE PRESENTED BY LOWRANCE

Tennessee’s Huff Leads Co-Anglers

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GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. (Feb. 2, 2017) – Hometown favorite Jay Kendrick of Grant, Alabama, drew cheers from an appreciative crowd Thursday when he crossed the weigh-in stage at Guntersville City Harbor with a five-bass limit weighing 25 pounds, 12 ounces to lead day one of the FLW Tour at Lake Guntersville presented by Lowrance. Kendrick now brings a 3-pound, 8-ounce lead into day two of the four-day season-opening event that features 165 of the top bass-fishing anglers in the world competing for a top cash award of up to $125,000.

“It’s just the first day, and this is a marathon, but at least I’m out of the starting blocks,” said Kendrick, who won a Costa FLW Series tournament on Lake Guntersville in 2015. “I have a lot of experience on this lake. I know what I’m looking for and I know when I see it. There is a technique to fishing those bridges and once you figure it out you can go in amongst those other boats and catch those fish.

“The problem is that the other boats can get in your way in how you need to present your bait,” Kendrick continued. “I’m looking for a certain thing and then once I find it I’m presenting the bait a certain way and it’s triggering those fish to bite. I’ll be happy to talk more about it after the tournament is over.”

Kendrick said that he caught three fish off of a bridge, then filled his limit in another area. He said that he caught seven keepers throughout the day on two different baits.

“I wasn’t trying to manage any fish on the bridge, I just caught everything that I could catch there and burned it up, so I won’t go back,” Kendrick said.

“There is more than one pattern going on right now,” Kendrick said. “I may not even fish bridges tomorrow. I’ve got some other stuff that I wanted to fish today and I just ran out of time. I only got to fish two places. When you’ve got 600 waypoints on your unit and you’re trying to figure out which one to go fish, that’s hard.”

The top 10 pros after day one on Lake Guntersville are:

1st:          Jay Kendrick, Grant, Ala., five bass, 25-12

2nd:         General Tire pro Mark Rose, West Memphis, Ark., five bass, 22-4

3rd:         Stephen Patek, Dallas, Texas, five bass, 21-4

4th:         Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., five bass, 20-13

5th:         Todd Hollowell, Fishers, Ind., five bass, 20-12

6th:         Yamamoto Baits pro Larry Nixon, Bee Branch, Ark., five bass, 20-9

7th:         Jordan Osborne, Longview, Texas, three bass, 19-10

8th:         Clark Reehm, Huntington, Texas, five bass, 18-12

9th:         Cody Meyer, Auburn, California, five bass, 18-10

10th:       David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., five bass, 18-9

10th:       Livingston Lures pro Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., five bass, 18-9

For a full list of results visit FLWFishing.com.

Nixon earned the day’s $500 Big Bass award in the pro division thanks to an 8-pound, 6-ounce largemouth.

Overall there were 545 bass weighing 1,671 pounds, 3 ounces caught by 155 pros Thursday. The catch included 66 five-bass limits.

Rod Huff of Monterey, Tennessee, leads the co-angler division with four bass weighing 16 pounds, 9 ounces, followed by Keith Honeycutt of Temple, Texas, and Jeff Ragsdale of Gardendale, Alabama, who are tied for second place with 14 pounds, 15 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers after day one on Lake Guntersville are:

1st:          Rod Huff, Monterey, Tenn., four bass, 16-9

2nd:         Keith Honeycutt, Temple, Texas, five bass, 14-15

2nd:         Jeff Ragsdale, Gardendale, Ala., four bass, 14-15

4th:         Benjie Seaborn, Guin, Ala., five bass, 14-14

5th:         Timothy Curran, Huntsville, Ala., five bass, 14-12

6th:         Cody Hammontree, Flat Rock, Ala., five bass, 14-10

7th:         David Wootton, Collierville, Tenn., five bass, 14-4

8th:         Dan Hamdorf, Lowden, Iowa, four bass, 13-14

9th:         Logan Thomas, Calvert City, Ky., three bass, 13-9

10th:       J.P. Sims, Cookeville, Tenn., five bass, 12-5

Jeffrey Clark of Hoover, Alabama, earned $250 for the Big Bass award in the co-angler division with a 7-pound, 4-ounce largemouth.

Overall there were 216 bass weighing 622 pounds, 10 ounces caught by 114 co-anglers Thursday. The catch included six five-bass limits.

In FLW Tour competition, pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat movement and competing against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other co-anglers. The full field of 330 anglers competes Thursday and Friday. Co-angler competition concludes following Friday’s weigh-in, while the top 20 pros based on their two-day accumulated weight advance to Saturday. Only the top 10 pros continue competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from the four days of competition.

Throughout the season, anglers are also vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2017 Forrest Wood Cup, the world championship of professional bass fishing. The 2017 Forrest Wood Cup will be on Lake Murray in Columbia, South Carolina, Aug. 11-13.

The total purse for the FLW Tour at Lake Guntersville presented by Lowrance is more than $800,000, including $10,000 through 50th place in the Pro division.

Anglers will take off at 7 a.m. CST each day from the Guntersville City Harbor located at 201 Blount Ave., in Guntersville. Friday’s weigh-in will be held at the Guntersville City Harbor beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday’s weigh-ins will also be held at the Guntersville City Harbor but will begin at 4 p.m.

Prior to the weigh-ins Saturday and Sunday, FLW will host a free Family Fishing Expo at Guntersville City Harbor from noon to 4 p.m. each day. The Expo is a chance for fishing fans to meet their favorite anglers, enjoy interactive games, activities and giveaways provided by FLW sponsors, and learn more about the sport of fishing and other outdoor activities.

Also for youth, the FLW Foundation’s Unified Fishing Derby will be held at Guntersville City Harbor on Saturday, Feb. 4 from 9-11 a.m. The event is hosted by FLW Foundation pro Cody Kelley along with other FLW Tour anglers, and is free and open to area youth 15 years of age and younger and Special Olympics athletes. Rods and reels are available for use, but youth are encouraged to bring their own if they own one.

The tournament is hosted by the Marshall County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.

Mild Winter Could Give Bassmaster Elite Series Anglers Multiple Options at Cherokee

Bassmaster Elite Series pro and Knoxville resident Brandon Card will be one of 110 competitors at the Bassmaster Elite at Cherokee Lake out of Knoxville/Jefferson County, Tenn., Feb. 9-12. Cherokee Lake is the first stop on the 2017 Bassmaster Elite Series tour.

Photo by Gary Tramontina/Bassmaster

Feb. 2, 2017

Mild Winter Could Give Bassmaster Elite Series Anglers Multiple Options at Cherokee

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KNOXVILLE/JEFFERSON COUNTY, Tenn. — When B.A.S.S. announced it would be holding its first Bassmaster Elite Series event of the 2017 season on Cherokee Lake in the mountains of eastern Tennessee in February, some anglers wondered if they might need ice suits and heaters on the front decks of their boats just to stay focused on fishing.

But Brandon Card, an Elite Series competitor from Knoxville, said the area simply hasn’t had that kind of weather this year.

Card said it’s been one of the mildest winters he can remember — and when the anglers begin the event, scheduled for Feb. 9-12 with takeoffs and weigh-ins at Cherokee Lake Dam and TVA Boat Ramp, they’re likely to have multiple options for catching big fish.

“I have a lot of experience on Cherokee,” Card said. “But we’ve never had a winter this crazy, just in terms of how mild it’s been. I think we’ve just got to expect the unexpected in this one. Fish are going to be so scattered. They’ll be all over the place.”

Though some anglers dread frigid temperatures, Card said local anglers like him could have actually benefited from those conditions.

“I think if it had been one of those brutal winters, it would have definitely played into the east Tennessee guys’ hands,” he said. “But now, it kind of opens it up to anybody and everybody. There’s going to be a few fish in those predictable wintertime haunts, but that’s not going to be the winning pattern.

“Fishing history isn’t going to do much for you.”

The announcement of the tournament date and location — combined with a B.A.S.S. rule change that will now allow Elite Series anglers to use rods up to 10 feet long — led many to wonder if a finesse technique known as float-and-fly could be a big part of the event. The method allows anglers to fish a small jig on a long leader under a bobber to target suspended fish.

But Card said the mild winter may take that out of the equation as well.

“I don’t think it’s going to be as much of a factor as it might have been,” he said. “I’m sure there will be fish caught that way, but you could probably go down that same stretch of bank and catch them on a spinnerbait. So why would you want to watch a bobber if the water temperature is in the low 50s and you can catch them in other ways a lot faster.”

Regardless of how the fish are caught, those who know the lake well expect a close tournament from start to finish.

“Cherokee is so good, and there are going to be so many fish caught that to distance yourself, it’s going to take some good fortune,” said Brandon Coulter, another Elite Series angler who calls Knoxville home. “The situation won’t really benefit the local anglers, because everybody’s going to catch them.”

Coulter said that could make for some exciting daily weigh-ins.

“I really think 13 or 14 pounds probably won’t put you in the position you want to be in, but 16 will,” Coulter said “It’s going to be more like one of those northern tournaments – like the one we had on Cayuga Lake last year when 16 wouldn’t get you a check, but 17 would.

“I think the guys are going to have a blast. I think they’re going to catch them from 1 to 40 feet and everywhere in between.”

That’s the kind of tournament the host organizations are certainly hoping for – especially considering this is only the second trip to Cherokee for B.A.S.S. and its first since 1981.

“Cherokee Lake will prove its reputation as an outstanding bass lake in terms of both size and numbers of fish,” said Adele Sensing, director of tourism for the Economic Development Alliance of Jefferson County, Tenn. “The smallmouth are good and plentiful. The number one reason that a tournament wants to come to an area is great fishing, and Cherokee Lake will deliver.”

“We are grateful for our ongoing relationship with the B.A.S.S. organization. When they bring the top pro anglers to our community we gain publicity for our lakes and are hopeful people want to come fish where their heroes compete.”

Kim Bumpas, president of Visit Knoxville, agreed.

“Having a top-tier sporting event like this is great for Knoxville as a whole,” Bumpas said. “To be on that national stage with some of the best anglers fishing our waters shows people who might just be a weekend angler that they will have a great time in Knoxville.”

In Recognition of an American Rodcrafter St. Croix

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In Recognition of an American Rodcrafter

St. Croix Rod Honored with 2016 Golden Glow award for Corporate Excellence by the Association of Great Lakes Outdoor Writers

Park Falls, WI (February 2, 2017) – Being handed a plaque is one thing. Being selected by a pool of your peers for the highest achievable award is quite another. Humbly embracing the latter, St. Croix Rod was recognized at the 60th annual conference of the Association of Great Lakes Outdoor Writers (AGLOW) held in Chautauqua, New York when they were bequeathed the media organization’s utmost award, The Golden Glow for Corporate Excellence.

St. Croix’s history reads like the pure definitions of hard work and determination. In the late 1940’s, Brothers Bob and Bill Johnson hatched the idea of making cumbersomely long cane poles portable. They cut the poles into three shorter lengths and fitted them with brass ferrules. A local hardware merchant immediately ordered 500 rods, and the St. Croix Rod Company was born…

St. Croix’s ongoing commitment to the sport is evidenced by the company’s support of college and high school fishing teams.

St. Croix began manufacturing a variety of goods that were essential to the company’s development, not to mention the maturation of the broader fishing industry. Solid and tubular rod blanks were sold to companies the likes of Zebco. Private brand rods were created for Orvis, L.L. Bean, Cabela’s, South Bend, Cortland and many others. The fabricating of sundry items like shocking rods and landing nets for fisheries, pool cues and marine antennas all contributed to the company’s early success and path to longevity.

However, by the mid-1970’s, low-priced foreign manufacturing and higher costs at home left St. Croix in serious trouble. At the time, the only solution appeared to be moving production to Japan. St. Croix would be reduced to a label on a foreign-made rod. Its workers, mostly women who were part of low-income families, would be out of jobs. So members of the Park Falls, Wis. Chamber of Commerce reached out to past CEO, Gordon Schluter for help.

Technologically advanced bamboo? The Johnson brothers took cane-poling to a whole new level.

Gordon Schluter couldn’t imagine driving by a boarded-up St. Croix factory. He, along with two partners, purchased St. Croix Rod. Gordon poured his life’s saving into the company and risked everything at a time when he could have easily ridden off into the sunset of retirement. As his first executive order, Gordon decided the plant would focus solely on fishing rods. They began improving the quality of the rods and sourcing new components and investing in innovation. In the early 1980’s, Gordon became the sole owner of St. Croix.

In 1990, at the age of 69, Gordon officially retired; his four children purchasing the company. The St. Croix story now belongs to the next generation of Schluters. Together, they share a commitment to their father’s mission to deliver the highest-quality products for true fishing enthusiast

The Golden Glow award stands as testimony to a family’s commitment to excellence and continual investment in a devoted domestic workforce.

To this day, St. Croix adheres to the same principles of “Sold Direct to Dealers Only” and “One Price for All” that the company was founded on.

 

 

 

 

 

NEW PLANO PLASTIC WORM STOWAWAYS PROVIDE EFFICIENT, DIMENSIONAL AND TRANSPARENT STORAGE FOR BULKY SOFT PLASTICS

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FISH CLEAN. FISH CLEAR.

NEW PLANO PLASTIC WORM STOWAWAYS PROVIDE EFFICIENT, DIMENSIONAL AND TRANSPARENT STORAGE FOR BULKY SOFT PLASTICS

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Plano, IL (February 2, 2017) – Soft plastic baits come in an ever-expanding array of styles, shapes and colors. What’s more, these affordable and versatile artificials can be rigged and presented to nearly every species that swims in seemingly endless ways. It’s no wonder they’re so popular with anglers.

But the popularity of plastics brings some substantial tackle storage challenges. The small, re-sealable bags they typically come in can really pile up, putting organized anglers on a never-ending quest for the ideal storage solution. How does one effectively store these bulky bags so that the right bag can be located quickly and easily? To Plano, the answer is clear. No, really… that’s their answer… clear.

NEW Plano Model No. 371610 3700 Plastic Worm StowAway

It seems like everyone is talking about the importance of transparency these days, and when it comes to the angling public, the tackle storage pros at Plano certainly don’t have anything to hide. To the contrary, they’ve created two all-new Plastic Worm StowAway® utility boxes – a 3600-size and a 3700-size, specifically designed to contain and manage copious quantities of soft plastic bait bags beneath transparent lids so anglers can see what they’ve got and get what they need… fast. Best of all, these two new StowAways come in industry-standard 3600 and 3700 footprints to fit neatly in almost any aptly-sized Plano soft tackle bag.

Both 3600- and 3700-size Plastic Worm StowAways share a dual-sided design, sporting clear lids on each side for fast and easy visual confirmation of the good stuff inside. Angled main compartments feature molded-in clips to keep individual bags of plastics in place in a stair-stepped configuration, further aiding in the quick identification of contents.

The 3700-size Plastic Worm StowAway is all about speed and bulk storage, taming the totality of anyone’s soft plastics collection with two angled storage compartment per side, each comfortably holding four for a total capacity of at least 16 bags.

The nimble 3600-size Plastic Worm StowAway holds fewer bags than the 3700, but ups the ante with additional storage for terminal tackle. It comfortably holds at least eight bags of plastics in a total of two compartments: one on each side. Additional storage for hooks, weights, beads, pliers, scent or other items is provided in separate, fixed compartments: four smaller compartments on one side and one large compartment on the other.

NEW Plano Model No. 361610 3600 Plastic Worm StowAway

NEW Plano Model No. 361610 3600 Plastic Worm StowAway

  • Dual-sided StowAway design
  • Transparent lids for quick and easy identification of contents without opening
  • Comfortably holds a total of eight bags of soft plastic baits
  • One angled plastics compartment per side (each comfortably holds four bags)
  • Two sets of clips per compartment to secure bags of soft plastics in place
  • Four shallow, fixed-divider compartments for terminal tackle
  • One deep compartment for scents, pliers or bulk items
  • Depth of 1.5 standard 3600 StowAways fits neatly in most 3600-size bags
  • Exterior Dimensions: 11.00” x 7.50” x 2.50”

MSRP $7.99

NEW Plano Model No. 371610 3700 Plastic Worm StowAway

  • Dual-sided StowAway design
  • Transparent lids for quick and easy identification of contents without opening
  • Comfortably holds a total of 16 bags of soft plastic baits
  • Two angled plastics compartment per side (each comfortably holds four bags)
  • Two sets of clips per compartment to secure bags of soft plastics in place
  • Depth of 1.5 standard 3700 StowAways fits neatly in most 3700-size bags
  • Exterior Dimensions: 14.00” x 9.00” x 2.83”

MSRP $9.99

Affordable and effective, soft plastic baits have become a reliable staple for casual and die-hard anglers alike. And nobody provides more options for their efficient and effective storage than Plano. From Worm Files, Binders, Wraps and Speedbags, to the affordable new Plastic Worm StowAways that allow fast identification of contents and merge perfectly with almost any 3600- or 3700-size Plano Tackle bag, Plano has your worms, lizards, paddletails, flukes and creatures covered, so you can fish clean. Learn more at www.planomolding.com.