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A.R.E. INTRODUCES ROD POD(tm) ROOF-MOUNTED FISHING ROD CARRIERS

 

A.R.E. Rod Pod

A.R.E. INTRODUCES ROD POD(tm) ROOF-MOUNTED FISHING ROD CARRIERS

MASSILLON, Ohio – Leading truck cap and tonneau cover manufacturer A.R.E. introduces the Rod Pod(tm), a uniquely-designed fishing rod carrier created to safely transport fishing rods on the roof rack of any vehicle or truck cap.

The Rod Pod was developed by professional angler Britt Myers, a Bassmaster Elite Series Top 100 Pro and vehicle customization expert, as a solution to transport fishing gear on his tow vehicle throughout the bass pro fishing tournament season.

It can be mounted on any type of roof rack and is built to withstand years of fishing trips and all types of weather. Constructed with durable PVC plastic and corrosion-resistant stainless steel hardware, the Rod Pod is eight feet four inches long and six inches in diameter, and can comfortably accommodate a number of rods. A spring-loaded end cap can accept a padlock to protect the rods stored inside, and the unit is protected by textured black LINE-X elastomeric coating for long-lasting good looks.

The Rod Pod concept grew out of A.R.E.’s participation in the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society’s (B.A.S.S.) Bassmaster professional fishing tournament series featuring the nation’s top bass anglers. A.R.E. is a title sponsor for two of Bassmaster’s Elite Series events and the company also provides support for four Elite Series pro anglers.

“Fishing is one of the top passions of A.R.E. customers, and we wanted to provide fishing enthusiasts with an elite-level way to protect and transport their valuable fishing gear,” said Bryan Baker, director of marketing, A.R.E. “Using our experience with customizing pickup trucks for pro anglers over the past few years, we see the Rod Pod as a great looking accessory for all kinds of anglers.”

The Rod Pod retails for $495 each, which includes stainless steel mounting hardware that works with any existing roof rack.

About A.R.E.
A.R.E. began manufacturing aluminum frame truck caps in 1969 and has become a leading manufacturer of fiberglass truck caps and hard tonneau covers.  At its ISO-9001:2008-certified manufacturing facilities, A.R.E.’s more than 700 employees create the products that are sold through a network of more than 650 independent authorized dealers.  For more information, contact A.R.E. at 400 Nave Rd. S.E., P.O. Box 1100, Massillon, OH 44648, email contact@4are.com, call 330-830-7800 or visit www.4are.com

 

Fish Back Tournament Coming to Clark Hill June 7 by: Jason Sealock

Chris Baxter of Zoom Baits has been touring around most of Georgia and the southeast raising awareness for ovarian cancer after his wife was diagnosed a couple years ago. They have held galas the past few years with the Georgia Ovarian Cancer Alliance (GOCA) to raise money with different giveaways and auctions. Baxter even offered up a fish trip to raise money.

Click Here To Learn More

Upcoming Weekend MAY feel like April

0

Sun

Thursday will be showery with heavier stuff moving in late morning near Claytor Lake to Late Afternoon and evening in Lake Anna. Most places will easily top an inch and the bonus areas will see upwards of 4 inches. Rain clears out before sunrise Friday AM Claytor Lake, by rush hour near SML and by lunch at Lake Anna. The weekend will be very nice, but temps will reflect April norms, not middle of May.

Friday- Rain ends all areas by noon with sunny skies by mid afternoon. High temps 65-70.

Friday Night- Clear and chilly, lows 45-50

Saturday- Sunny, high 65-70 Light NW to W winds

Saturday night, clear and chilly, again- 45-50 for low temps.

Sunday- Sunny, highs 65-70.

 

Great weekend, just temps more in line with Mid April, than Mid May. Moving forward, we **Could** have a cooler type summer with a budding El Nino, first year summers often end up cooler and wetter than normal. We will monitor this week to week, but last El Nino summer (2009) was cool and damp.

Lake Anna Mid Month Lake Report by Chris Craft – May 14th 2014

recent catches 2014 074

BASS- Now that the lake is back to normal pool and the water has really cleared up, the fish have the feed bags on! It is now TOP WATER time! The Blue Back Herring are starting to spawn and can be found around shallow rocky points, rip rap, bulk heads and boat docks. Look for the bass to be chasing them early in the mornings (sometimes all day long). My top three baits for this is the Paycheck Baits Repo Man, Damiki MTB Noisy Buzz Bait and North Anna Bait Company CC MINNOW’s and POP R’s.Look for Blue Gill beds as well, the post spawn females are lurking somewhere near them. Cast a blue gill colored crankbait right into the beds to scatter the Gills and fire up the bass. Cast Pop R’s beyond the beds and get aggressive with it.Once the sun gets high, it is time to switch over to plastics. Carolina rigged lizards,Shakey Head’s and wacky Worms will get you many bites throughout the day. You do not need to fish to deep though, I would keep the bait in the 2-10 foot range. Skip the Shakey Heads and Wacky Worms underneath boat docks, the further you can go back……the better.Uplake in the North Anna arm, the water is still stained from the rains. The emerging willow grass is finally starting to green up. Cast buzz baits, CC Minnow’s, Tiger Shad Spinnerbaits, swim baits and jigs to the grass. Cover as much water as possible, there will be long stretches without a bite. But once you do get bit, it will more than likely be a good fish.

REMEMBER THE FISH ARE VERY TIRED FROM THE RIGORS OF THE SPAWN. IF YOU DO NOT NEED TO PUT THEM IN THE LIVE WELL, TAKE A PHOTO AND GET THEM BACK IN THE WATER AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

CRAPPIE- The Specks are about 90% finished with the spawn and are headed to deep water for the summer. Deep brush piles, boats docks with at least 10 feet of water on the ends of them and bridge pilings. Small minnows rigged on a number 1 or 2 Gold Aberdeen hook under a slip bobber with have the best results.

STRIPER- The Striper have made their run up into the rivers and are headed back down lake. Mid Lake is going to turn on very soon as they will be chasing spawning Herring. Look for the around the splits to the 208 bridge. Top water walking baits, swim baits and soft jerk baits are all working at the current time. Trolling will pick up the Memorial Day weekend, Deep Diving Redfins, DD 22’s and LEC 15’s are all good choices. Stop by Fish Tales and I will get one rigged up for you with a buck tail trailer.

Lake Level- FULL POOL

Water Clarity
Down Lake- CLEAR
Mid Lake- CLEAR
UP Lake- STAINED

Water Temps
Down Lake- upper 77-80
Mid Lake- 75-78
Up Lake- 76-81

 

Chris Craft
CCBASSN Guide Service
www.ccbassnlakeanna.blogspot.com
ccbassn@aol.com
540-894-6195
540-895-5770
540-895-5900 ext5
TEAM LEW’S PRO STAFF
www.lews.com
NORTH ANNA BAIT COMPANY PRO STAFF
www.northannabaitco.comPAYCHECK BAITS PRO STAFF
www.paycheckbaits.com

BULLDOG CUSTOM RODS PRO STAFF
www.bulldogrods.com

ARSON JIG’S PRO STAFF
www.arsonjigs.com

RHINO TUFF CUSTOM CRANKBAITS PRO STAFF
 www.rhinotuffcc.vpweb.com

 

IZORLINE INTERNATIONAL PRO STAFF
www.izorline.com                                        
EYE SURRENDER PRO STAFF
www.eyesurrendernow.com

Fish in the NOW by Jason Houchins

IMG_4972

 

Fish in the NOW
Its overcast and the temperatures are falling along with the water. Water levels were a foot higher, fish were on beds, and I am totally confused. Last week has become a distant memory, it’s totally opposite from the last time I made a cast. I guess I will have to fish in the now, make all our decisions based on what the current conditions are.
What does that mean, fish in the now? Well here the “now” can change every hour and what worked this morning seems to fizzle in the afternoon. Or it could mean that I fish the same stretch of bank over and over again and expect different results. This one has also happened to me, I always catch them here this time of year so this is where I go. Kerr Lake has made me a much better fisherman over the years and has taught me to fish in the “now” more than any other body of water. I hope I can explain some things about this concept that will help you no matter where you call your home lake.
After a recent tournament I had someone call me and let me know that they knew where the winning bag came from and what they were using. I told them that if they wanted to help, let me know where the winning bag will be caught this weekend and what we need to throw. It’s hard to resist to take that kind of information, but really what good can it do? I’m not saying you shouldn’t get information, which would be stupid in this day and age. But I do think you need to take what you get and form your own opinion about it and see how it fits with what you were doing at that time. Then maybe it can be useful at some point, maybe this week, maybe next year. But only time will tell when and if it’s usable.
For the most part I really do fish for what the current conditions call for on a given day or days. I’m not saying I have no clue what I’m going to do when I start, I’m only saying I will change to fit conditions for that day. I pretty much have a basic plan of what I will do and that’s what I believe is the best for the overall day, but I will change somewhat to suit the conditions. For example, I’ve been killing them on a shallow crank the last couple times out, so that’s what I hope to do. Although the wind is going to pick up with some overcast later on, I bet I will have a spinnerbait close by to. It’s not always this drastic change from black to white, it can be very subtle yet pay big dividends.
I look back to a BFL I won here on Kerr in 2007 where I was catching fish real good on shad raps. I was catching 3 lbers, the kind of fish that can keep you in a tournament. On tournament day the wind was supposed to pick up a bunch and temperatures were really going to rise fast. Knowing that the shad rap was lite and already hard to cast, I knew I was going to have to do something different. Banking on the wind and the warmer air making the fish more active, I switched to a rattle bait. Once the wind got greater a switched to a spinnerbait and a speed trap crankbait, making 2 key culls late in the day. Without those key changes during the day I may have went home empty handed. So willing to adjust during the day is huge, as conditions change you need to adjust.
It’s so easy to tell you about the times when things work out, there are plenty of times when they don’t. This is all a part of the learning experience of fishing, trying to fit each piece of the puzzle. I hope the next time you head out you will look at the current conditions closer and consider all factors before you start the day. This can help you make better decisions on the water as the day unfolds. Who knows maybe you can master fishing in the Now.

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BOATS UNLIMITED NC TEAM TOURNAMENT BASS TRAIL QUALIFIER #6 RESULTS – May 10th 2014

510-141st1st Place: Billy Bledsoe & Brian McDonald of Fayetteville & Hope Mills…5 bass…27.68

510-142nd2nd Place: Chuck Byrd & Seth Ellis of Sanford & Lillington…5 bass…27.61 lbs

 

BOATS UNLIMITED NC TEAM TOURNAMENT BASS TRAIL QUALIFIER #6 RESULTS
Saturday May 10, 2014 ~ Falls Lake ~ Ledge Rock Wildlife Ramp

Had a beautiful Saturday for the Boats Unlimited NC Team Tournament Bass Trail qualifier #6 at Falls  Lake. 73 teams enjoyed the beautiful weather, a great day of catching bass and great fellowship! It was about  67 degrees that morning with hardly no wind and around 87 that afternoon with 10 to 15 mph winds out of the
SSE. Water temps ranged from 74 to 78 depending on the area fished.
The team of Billy Bledsoe & Brian McDonald, bladed their way to the winners circle catching 5 bass  weighing 27.68 lbs. The seasoned team won $1,300 for 1st, TWT 1st place of $1,015 and the Boats Unlimited  NC 1st Place Bonus of $750 for a grand total of $3,065. McDonald said most of their fish were caught on
spinnerbaits. The winning team edged out the 2nd place team by only 7 one hundreths of a pound!!

Chuck Byrd & Seth Ellis took 2nd with 5 bass weighing 27.61 lbs winning $795, 2nd Place TWT of $435 and  1st Place Big Fish (7.75 lbs.) money $1,008 for at nice $2,238 in earnings! 232 fish were weighed in for a total of 736 pounds for an average of over 3 lbs. each. We had numerous fish  over 6 lbs. and all the fish looked very healthy. Hot baits for the day were spinnerbaits, worm rigs & shallow  running crankbaits. Most of the fish were caught in less than 6′ of water.
I want to thank all the anglers that participated and all our sponsors that support this trail. The next
Boats  Unlimited NC Team Tournament Bass Trail tournament will be at Jordan Lake on May 31st, out of  Flemingtown Landing Wildlife Ramp. This will be the final qualifier for the Boats Unlimited Spring Trail.
All the information on our tournaments can be found at http://piedmontbassclassics.com/

Now here are the full results:

1st Place: Billy Bledsoe & Brian McDonald of Fayetteville & Hope Mills…5 bass…27.68 lbs…$1,300
2nd Place: Chuck Byrd & Seth Ellis of Sanford & Lillington…5 bass…27.61 lbs…$795
3rd Place: William Small & Jules Cameron of Raleigh & Rolesville…5 bass…21.82 lbs…$565
4th Place: Ben Cannon & Chad Craven of Apex & Raleigh…4 bass…21.63 lbs…$515
5th Place: Bryce McClenney & Michael Christie of Cary & Fuquay Varina…5 bass…20.90 lbs…$458
6th Place: Kevin Woodall & William Tobias of Angier…5 bass…20.06 lbs…$400
7th Place: James Williams & Jerrick Fowler of Raeford…5 bass…19.93 lbs…$345
8th Place: Randy Fisher & Donnie Lowe of Hillsborough & Mebane…5 bass…18.19 lbs…$288
9th Place: Roger Clary & Justin Rhew of Butner & Durham…5 bass…18.07 lbs…$234
10th Place: Steve & Horton Upchurch of Raleigh…5 bass…18.02 lbs…$234
11th Place: Phillip Johnson & Geno McCree of Durham…5 bass…17.42 lbs…$178
12th Place: Dennis Reedy & Jeffrey Thomas of Siler City & Broadway…5 bass…17.12 lbs…$178
13th Place: Jeff Clifton & William Richards of Rolesville & Wendell…5 bass…16.85 lbs…$125
14th Place: Eric & Jennifer Christian of Graham…5 bass…16.50 lbs…$125
15th Place: Stewart Adams & Scott Dunn of Four Oaks…5 bass…15.93 lbs…$100

1st Place Big Fish..2nd Place Team above…7.75 lbs…$1,008
2nd Place Big Fish..7th Place Team above…7.74 lbs…$432

1st Place TWT..1st Place Team above…27.68 lbs…$1,015
2nd Place TWT..2nd Place Team above: 27.61 lbs…$435

Boats Unlimited Skeeter Boat Owner Bonus: Phillip Johnson of Durham…$250
Tow Boats US Award: Jerrick Fowler of Raeford: $50
Boats Unlimited 1st Place Bonus: 1st Place Team Above…$750


Contact Information:
Phil McCarson…Tournament Director—922 Valetta Rd.—Durham, NC 27712
Home: 919-471-1571 Cell: 919-971-5042
email: philsflags@msn.com            http://piedmontbassclassics.com/index.html

BOATS UNLIMITED NC TEAM TOURNAMENT BASS TRAIL QUALIFIER #6 RESULTS – May 10th 2014

510-141st1st Place: Billy Bledsoe & Brian McDonald of Fayetteville & Hope Mills…5 bass…27.68

510-142nd2nd Place: Chuck Byrd & Seth Ellis of Sanford & Lillington…5 bass…27.61 lbs

 

BOATS UNLIMITED NC TEAM TOURNAMENT BASS TRAIL QUALIFIER #6 RESULTS
Saturday May 10, 2014 ~ Falls Lake ~ Ledge Rock Wildlife Ramp

Had a beautiful Saturday for the Boats Unlimited NC Team Tournament Bass Trail qualifier #6 at Falls  Lake. 73 teams enjoyed the beautiful weather, a great day of catching bass and great fellowship! It was about  67 degrees that morning with hardly no wind and around 87 that afternoon with 10 to 15 mph winds out of the
SSE. Water temps ranged from 74 to 78 depending on the area fished.
The team of Billy Bledsoe & Brian McDonald, bladed their way to the winners circle catching 5 bass  weighing 27.68 lbs. The seasoned team won $1,300 for 1st, TWT 1st place of $1,015 and the Boats Unlimited  NC 1st Place Bonus of $750 for a grand total of $3,065. McDonald said most of their fish were caught on
spinnerbaits. The winning team edged out the 2nd place team by only 7 one hundreths of a pound!!

Chuck Byrd & Seth Ellis took 2nd with 5 bass weighing 27.61 lbs winning $795, 2nd Place TWT of $435 and  1st Place Big Fish (7.75 lbs.) money $1,008 for at nice $2,238 in earnings! 232 fish were weighed in for a total of 736 pounds for an average of over 3 lbs. each. We had numerous fish  over 6 lbs. and all the fish looked very healthy. Hot baits for the day were spinnerbaits, worm rigs & shallow  running crankbaits. Most of the fish were caught in less than 6′ of water.
I want to thank all the anglers that participated and all our sponsors that support this trail. The next
Boats  Unlimited NC Team Tournament Bass Trail tournament will be at Jordan Lake on May 31st, out of  Flemingtown Landing Wildlife Ramp. This will be the final qualifier for the Boats Unlimited Spring Trail.
All the information on our tournaments can be found at http://piedmontbassclassics.com/

Now here are the full results:

1st Place: Billy Bledsoe & Brian McDonald of Fayetteville & Hope Mills…5 bass…27.68 lbs…$1,300
2nd Place: Chuck Byrd & Seth Ellis of Sanford & Lillington…5 bass…27.61 lbs…$795
3rd Place: William Small & Jules Cameron of Raleigh & Rolesville…5 bass…21.82 lbs…$565
4th Place: Ben Cannon & Chad Craven of Apex & Raleigh…4 bass…21.63 lbs…$515
5th Place: Bryce McClenney & Michael Christie of Cary & Fuquay Varina…5 bass…20.90 lbs…$458
6th Place: Kevin Woodall & William Tobias of Angier…5 bass…20.06 lbs…$400
7th Place: James Williams & Jerrick Fowler of Raeford…5 bass…19.93 lbs…$345
8th Place: Randy Fisher & Donnie Lowe of Hillsborough & Mebane…5 bass…18.19 lbs…$288
9th Place: Roger Clary & Justin Rhew of Butner & Durham…5 bass…18.07 lbs…$234
10th Place: Steve & Horton Upchurch of Raleigh…5 bass…18.02 lbs…$234
11th Place: Phillip Johnson & Geno McCree of Durham…5 bass…17.42 lbs…$178
12th Place: Dennis Reedy & Jeffrey Thomas of Siler City & Broadway…5 bass…17.12 lbs…$178
13th Place: Jeff Clifton & William Richards of Rolesville & Wendell…5 bass…16.85 lbs…$125
14th Place: Eric & Jennifer Christian of Graham…5 bass…16.50 lbs…$125
15th Place: Stewart Adams & Scott Dunn of Four Oaks…5 bass…15.93 lbs…$100

1st Place Big Fish..2nd Place Team above…7.75 lbs…$1,008
2nd Place Big Fish..7th Place Team above…7.74 lbs…$432

1st Place TWT..1st Place Team above…27.68 lbs…$1,015
2nd Place TWT..2nd Place Team above: 27.61 lbs…$435

Boats Unlimited Skeeter Boat Owner Bonus: Phillip Johnson of Durham…$250
Tow Boats US Award: Jerrick Fowler of Raeford: $50
Boats Unlimited 1st Place Bonus: 1st Place Team Above…$750


Contact Information:
Phil McCarson…Tournament Director—922 Valetta Rd.—Durham, NC 27712
Home: 919-471-1571 Cell: 919-971-5042
email: philsflags@msn.com            http://piedmontbassclassics.com/index.html

Us Angler's Choice VA Division – Chickahominy River – Final Results

Chickahominy River – Rte 5 Bridge-Chickahominy Park
5/10/2014
Final Results

-5-10-14-chick1st place fish1st Linwood Boltz & Mickey Anderson

-5-10-14-chick2nd place fish2nd Kelly Pratt & Jerry Brit

Click Here To See Full Results

Boltz and Anderson cash in on the Chickahominy

Richmond Marine Center’s AC Tournament Trail Virginia Division third event of the year took place on Saturday May 10th on the Chickahominy River. We had 21 teams in the event today launching from Riverfront Park. This may sound like a broken record, but once again the weather gods were at it again. We were expecting clouds with up to a 60% rain and the wind blowing 10-20 mph from the SSW. Similar to the last event on Gaston, the weatherman was a little off. We did have cloud cover for most of the day and the winds did blow, but we dodged the rain, until the weigh in was completed and them it all broke loose. As a result, we had another successful event and the fishing proved that the weather had little impact on the anglers catch Thank you to several anglers who stayed to help with the take down before the bottom dropped out.

Linwood Boltz and Mickey Anderson topped the field of anglers with 5 bass weighing an eye popping 22.25 lbs. The team concentrated on the James River catching their fish on top water all day using buzzbaits and Pop R’s for their catch. Boltz and Anderson anchored their catch with a 6.88 lb beauty to take the win. With the first place prize the team took home $1,073 in winnings.

Second Place honors went to the team of Kelly Pratt and Jerry Brit with 5 bass for a total weight of 22.25 lbs For Pratt and Brit, the total weight was a tie with the winners, however they lost the tie breaker by big fish. Their big bass was 6.29 lbs and really shows how close they were to capturing the win. Kelly stated they caught their fish on shallow wood with a small plastic worm. Pratt and Brit took home $656 for their efforts.

Finishing third from their Mercury powered Legend Alpha 211 was the team of Don Warren and Robert Whitus. Warren and Whitus have been on a roll this season with their 3rd top 3 finish in the first 3 events. The season points leaders weighed in 5 fish for a total weight of 19.24 lbs. Their limit was anchored by a 5.61 lb bass. The team caught their weight fishing jigs in the pads and had success all day on multiple locations on the Chickhominy River. Warren and Whitus took home $401 for their 3rd place finish. They were also the winners of the AC Tournaments Decal Contingency Award and will receive an additional $100 from AC tournaments.
The events big bass honors went to the team of Mike Hicks and Keith Lupo with an awesome bass that weighed in at 6.98 lbs. Hicks stated the team caught the fish in a Chatterbait on a marsh bank. For their catch they took home $200.

The Virginia Division also offers the Missile Baits “Boost Award” to the team that finishes the first spot out of the money in each event. The Missile Bait “Boost Award” winning team for the Chickahominy River event was the team of Mike Hicks and Keith Lupo with a total weight of 17.48 lbs. The team will receive $50.00 in Missile Baits products of their choice. Congratulations!

For the event, we had a total of 96 fish brought to the scales for a total weight of 240.04 lbs for an average of 2.50 lbs per fish. With the water temperature ranging from 68-76 degrees, the river is producing fish in all phases of the spawn.

Richmond Marine Center’s AC Tournament Trail Virginia Division could not exist without great sponsors. We would like to thank Richmond Marine Center for logistics and organizing the set up and take down for the event. If you are looking for a new bass boat or need service on your current rig, give Ben Gibson a call, they will take great care of you and your equipment.

A big thank you goes out to Hopkins Gun and Tackle located in Mechanicsville, VA for the awesome weigh-in trailer that provided us protection during the terrible weather conditions. If you have not visited their store, make plans to do so soon. They carry everything a bass fisherman could want and need for their tournament success.

We would like to thank these other great sponsors, Missile Baits, ALX Rods, Optima Batteries, Jethro Baits, Lowrance Electronics, All Terrain Tackle, Propeller Dynamics and Sqwincher.

AC Tournament Trail National Sponsors: Legend Boats, Mercury Outboards, Motorguide, Rayjus, SolarBat, TFO Rods, Lunker Lure, Fishidy, SureLife, EGO S2 Slider and Bass Tackle Depot.

Our next event will be on The Chick River at Route 5 Riverfront Park. If you have questions about the upcoming events or the tournament trail, please feel free to give me a call. Jeff Salmon 804-221-7653

Us Angler’s Choice VA Division – Chickahominy River – Final Results

Chickahominy River – Rte 5 Bridge-Chickahominy Park
5/10/2014
Final Results

-5-10-14-chick1st place fish1st Linwood Boltz & Mickey Anderson

-5-10-14-chick2nd place fish2nd Kelly Pratt & Jerry Brit

Click Here To See Full Results

Boltz and Anderson cash in on the Chickahominy

Richmond Marine Center’s AC Tournament Trail Virginia Division third event of the year took place on Saturday May 10th on the Chickahominy River. We had 21 teams in the event today launching from Riverfront Park. This may sound like a broken record, but once again the weather gods were at it again. We were expecting clouds with up to a 60% rain and the wind blowing 10-20 mph from the SSW. Similar to the last event on Gaston, the weatherman was a little off. We did have cloud cover for most of the day and the winds did blow, but we dodged the rain, until the weigh in was completed and them it all broke loose. As a result, we had another successful event and the fishing proved that the weather had little impact on the anglers catch Thank you to several anglers who stayed to help with the take down before the bottom dropped out.

Linwood Boltz and Mickey Anderson topped the field of anglers with 5 bass weighing an eye popping 22.25 lbs. The team concentrated on the James River catching their fish on top water all day using buzzbaits and Pop R’s for their catch. Boltz and Anderson anchored their catch with a 6.88 lb beauty to take the win. With the first place prize the team took home $1,073 in winnings.

Second Place honors went to the team of Kelly Pratt and Jerry Brit with 5 bass for a total weight of 22.25 lbs For Pratt and Brit, the total weight was a tie with the winners, however they lost the tie breaker by big fish. Their big bass was 6.29 lbs and really shows how close they were to capturing the win. Kelly stated they caught their fish on shallow wood with a small plastic worm. Pratt and Brit took home $656 for their efforts.

Finishing third from their Mercury powered Legend Alpha 211 was the team of Don Warren and Robert Whitus. Warren and Whitus have been on a roll this season with their 3rd top 3 finish in the first 3 events. The season points leaders weighed in 5 fish for a total weight of 19.24 lbs. Their limit was anchored by a 5.61 lb bass. The team caught their weight fishing jigs in the pads and had success all day on multiple locations on the Chickhominy River. Warren and Whitus took home $401 for their 3rd place finish. They were also the winners of the AC Tournaments Decal Contingency Award and will receive an additional $100 from AC tournaments.
The events big bass honors went to the team of Mike Hicks and Keith Lupo with an awesome bass that weighed in at 6.98 lbs. Hicks stated the team caught the fish in a Chatterbait on a marsh bank. For their catch they took home $200.

The Virginia Division also offers the Missile Baits “Boost Award” to the team that finishes the first spot out of the money in each event. The Missile Bait “Boost Award” winning team for the Chickahominy River event was the team of Mike Hicks and Keith Lupo with a total weight of 17.48 lbs. The team will receive $50.00 in Missile Baits products of their choice. Congratulations!

For the event, we had a total of 96 fish brought to the scales for a total weight of 240.04 lbs for an average of 2.50 lbs per fish. With the water temperature ranging from 68-76 degrees, the river is producing fish in all phases of the spawn.

Richmond Marine Center’s AC Tournament Trail Virginia Division could not exist without great sponsors. We would like to thank Richmond Marine Center for logistics and organizing the set up and take down for the event. If you are looking for a new bass boat or need service on your current rig, give Ben Gibson a call, they will take great care of you and your equipment.

A big thank you goes out to Hopkins Gun and Tackle located in Mechanicsville, VA for the awesome weigh-in trailer that provided us protection during the terrible weather conditions. If you have not visited their store, make plans to do so soon. They carry everything a bass fisherman could want and need for their tournament success.

We would like to thank these other great sponsors, Missile Baits, ALX Rods, Optima Batteries, Jethro Baits, Lowrance Electronics, All Terrain Tackle, Propeller Dynamics and Sqwincher.

AC Tournament Trail National Sponsors: Legend Boats, Mercury Outboards, Motorguide, Rayjus, SolarBat, TFO Rods, Lunker Lure, Fishidy, SureLife, EGO S2 Slider and Bass Tackle Depot.

Our next event will be on The Chick River at Route 5 Riverfront Park. If you have questions about the upcoming events or the tournament trail, please feel free to give me a call. Jeff Salmon 804-221-7653

US Anglers Trail VA Division Lake Gaston – Eaton's Ferry marina 4/19/2014 Final Results

Lake Gaston – Eaton’s Ferry marina
4/19/2014
Final Results

Gaston Winner 2014_3911st Place Don Warren & Robert Whitus

Gaston 2nd place 2014_3852nd Place Howard Midkiff & Dwight Dixon

Click Here To See Full Results

Warren and Whitus set personal best on Lake Gaston

Richmond Marine Center’s AC Tournament Trail Virginia Division second event of the year took place on Saturday April 19th on Lake Gaston. We had 22 teams in the event today launching from Eaton Ferry Marina. Once again the weather forecast was not looking good. We were expecting a 70% chance of rain with NE winds at 10-15 mph. However, unlike our season opener, the weatherman was a little off on this one. We really dodged a bullet with rain only causing you to wear your rain suite all day just to keep warm. With morning temps in the low 40’s and afternoon highs in the mid to upper 50’s, the moisture in the air and the NE wind made it feel a lot colder. Regardless of the unfavorable conditions, the fishing was excellent.

Don Warren and Robert Whitus broke the code today and topped the field of anglers with 5 bass weighing an outstanding 24.52 lbs. The winning team also captured the Big Bass award for the tournament with a Virginia beauty weighing 8.20 lbs. This was a personal best for Warren as he was finally able to break the 20lb barrier in a tournament in the process. Warren and Whitus concentrated on pre-spawn fish with jigs, texas rigged creature baits and a Yum Flash Mob Jr. The team was fishing main lake stumps and rocks with current breaks from the recent rains and capitalized on the aggressive activity the conditions provided. The tournaments Big Bass was caught on a ½ oz green pumpkin jig and trailer. With the first place prize and big fish the team took home $1,336 in winnings.

Second Place honors went to the team of Howard Midkiff and Dwight Dixon with 5 bass for a total weight of 18.28 lbs. The team concentrated fishing shallow diving crankbaits in stained water for spawning and pre spawn bass. They took advantage of the cloud cover and wind to cover water for their catch. This team proved you do not need a high dollar fiberglass rig to compete on this level. They fished from their aluminum jet drive that they use on the upper James River to find their creel. They also had the events 2nd big fish weighing in at 5.90 lbs. The team took home $688 for their efforts.

Finishing third from their Richmond Marine Center Legend Alpha 199 was David Allen and Clayton Mullins with 5 bass tipping the scales at 17.54 lbs. Team Allen and Mullins started the morning site fishing for fish they had found in practice. The conditions would not allow them to actually see the bass, but rather make repeated cast to the beds they knew were there from practice. The team was able to finish their limit and upgrade throughout the day fishing and All Terrain Jig in the Moyna Magic color and a Livingston Lures Dive Master Jr. in Chartreuse Sunrise Shad on rip rap around bridges. Allen and Mullins took home $421 for their 3rd place finish. They were also the winners of the AC Tournaments Decal Contingency Award and will receive an additional $100 from AC tournaments.

The Virginia Division also offers the Missile Baits “Boost Award” to the team that finishes the first spot out of the money in each event. The Missile Bait “Boost Award” winning team for Lake Gaston event was the team of Keith Joyce and Doug Washburn with a total weight of 16.02 lbs. The team will receive $50.00 in Missile Baits products of their choice. Congratulations!

For the event, we had a total of 92 fish brought to the scales for a total weight of 268.16 lbs for an average of 2.91 lbs per fish. With the water temperature ranging from 52-64 degrees, the lake is producing fish in all phases of the spawn.

Richmond Marine Center’s AC Tournament Trail Virginia Division could not exist without great sponsors. We would like to thank Richmond Marine Center for logistics and organizing the set up and take down for the event. If you are looking for a new bass boat or need service on your current rig, give Ben Gibson a call, they will take great care of you and your equipment.

A big thank you goes out to Hopkins Gun and Tackle located in Mechanicsville, VA for the awesome weigh-in trailer that provided us protection during the terrible weather conditions. If you have not visited their store, make plans to do so soon. They carry everything a bass fisherman could want and need for their tournament success.

We would like to thank these other great sponsors, Missile Baits, ALX Rods, Optima Batteries, Jethro Baits, Lowrance Electronics, All Terrain Tackle, Propeller Dynamics and Sqwincher.

AC Tournament Trail National Sponsors: Legend Boats, Mercury Outboards, Motorguide, Rayjus, SolarBat, TFO Rods, Lunker Lure, Fishidy, SureLife, EGO S2 Slider and Bass Tackle Depot.

Our next event will be on The Chick River at Route 5 Riverfront Park. If you have questions about the upcoming events or the tournament trail, please feel free to give me a call. Jeff Salmon 804-221-7653