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HENSLEY WINS WALMART BASS FISHING LEAGUE HOOSIER DIVISION OPENER ON LAKE MONROE

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April 30, 2015

Todd Hensley of New Albany, Indiana, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 15 pounds, 11 ounces Saturday to win the first Hoosier Division tournament on Lake Monroe and a check for $4,584. (FLW)

HENSLEY WINS WALMART BASS FISHING LEAGUE HOOSIER DIVISION OPENER ON LAKE MONROE

McWhorter wins co-angler title

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (April 28, 2015) – Todd Hensley of New Albany, Indiana, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 15 pounds, 11 ounces Saturday to win the first Walmart Bass Fishing League Hoosier Division tournament of 2015 on Lake Monroe. For his victory, Hensley earned $4,584.

“It was a great day for a fishing tournament,” said Hensley. “The fish were active and my strategy paid off.”

Hensley said he flipped a green pumpkin-colored Lunker Lure jig along the bushes and willow trees in the main-lake area.

“The lake was flooded, so I wanted to concentrate on the bank line,” said Hensley. “I couldn’t believe how active the fish were in the shallower water.

Hensley originally had three spots he wanted to target, but ended up catching his biggest fish at one particular location.

“I hit one spot near Fairfax Marina and caught two 4-pounders and one 5-pounder in the first 90 minutes,” said Hensley. “I switched up to a green pumpkin-colored Reactions Innovation Sweet Beaver but didn’t find any success so I finished off the day with the jig.

“I only had six bites, but I ended up catching five of them. Luckily they were the ones I needed,” Hensley said.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1^st: Todd Hensley, New Albany, Ind., five bass, 15-11, $4,584

2^nd: Luke Foli, Fishers, Ind., four bass, 14-1, $2,292

3^rd: Mike Quinlin, Mooresville, Ind., four bass, 11-13, $1,529

4^th: Terry Dillon, Danville, Ind., four bass, 11-3, $1,070

5^th: Frank McClain, Scottsburg, Ind., three bass, 11-2, $917

6^th: Lee Mills, Columbus, Ind., three bass, 10-8, $840

7^th: George Brown, Camby, Ind., three bass, 9-10, $726

7^th: Jimmy Shepherd, Indianapolis, Ind., three bass, 9-10, $726

9^th: Roger Hahn, Fairfield, Ohio, three bass, 9-2, $611

10^th: Calvin Davidson, Plainfield, Ind., three bass, 7-12, $535

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Steve Caudill of Morehead, Kentucky, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division, a fish weighing 6 pounds, 1 ounce and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $675.

James McWhorter of Hamilton, Ohio, weighed in two bass limit totaling 6 pounds, 1 ounce Saturday to win $2,288 in the co-angler division.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1^st: James McWhorter, Hamilton, Ohio, two bass, 6-1, $2,288

2^nd: Jeremy Arnold, Austin, Ind., one bass, 5-13, $1,144

3^rd: Jared Robinson, Vallonia, Ind., one bass, 5-8, $762

4^th: Jim Betts, Fort Wayne, Ind., two bass, 4-14, $534

5^th: Justin Clift, Indianapolis, Ind., one bass, 4-12, $458

6^th: Heath Kohlmeier, Oakland City, Ind., one bass, 4-7, $419

7^th: Marshall Lachecki, Indianapolis, Ind., one bass, 4-6, $381

8^th: Ryan Sykes, Hamilton, Ohio, two bass, 4-5, $343

9^th: Gary McClure, Churubusco, Ind., two bass, 4-4, $305

10^th: Charles Hardin, Evansville, Ind., one bass, 4-3, $267

Arnold caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $332.

The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 15-17 Regional Championship on Kentucky Lake in Gilbertsville, Kentucky. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.

The BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 120 tournaments throughout the season, five in each division. The top 50 boaters and co-anglers from each division qualify for a regional tournament and compete to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the Walmart BFL All-American. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Rayovac FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.

FLW COLLEGE FISHING NORTHERN CONFERENCE OPENER SET FOR SMITH MOUNTAIN LAKE

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April 30, 2015

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FLW COLLEGE FISHING NORTHERN CONFERENCE OPENER SET FOR SMITH MOUNTAIN LAKE

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HUDDLESTON, Va. (April 30, 2015) – FLW College Fishing is headed to Smith Mountain Lake May 9 for the first of three regular-season stops in the Northern Conference. A full field of college teams will be competing for a top award of $2,000 and a berth in the Northern Conference Championship tournament.

“Smith Mountain Lake always fishes well this time of year,” said Walmart pro David Dudley, of Lynchburg, Virginia. “Fish are spawning and postspawn so there’s opportunities for anglers to utilize an array of techniques.”

Dudley said the winners will primarily focus on the upper end of the Blackwater and Roanoke River arms.

“In the morning competitors are going to find a strong shad bite. The shad are spawning, so anglers who can imitate them the best are going to find bass who are feeding. Sight-fishing will also come into play. The water is fairly clear and some fish will still be on the beds even though they are well into the spawning phase.

“Fishing under and between docks will be a huge factor as well. Docks produce all season long on Smith Mountain,” continued Dudley. “This is where the anglers who are willing to try different techniques in a one-day tournament will excel.”

Dudley said wacky-rigged worms and shad-colored Heddon Zara Spooks will be favored by anglers in the morning while green- pumpkin jigs and natural-colored shaky-head rigs will produce better in the afternoon.

“With the lake fishing as good as it is right now, I could see the winners bringing between 18 and 19 pounds to the scale,” Dudley said. “Whoever splits their time most efficiently between the shad bite and flipping docks is going to come out on top.”

Anglers will take off from the Parkway Marina ramp located at 16918 Smith Mountain Lake Parkway in Huddleston at 6:30 a.m. Saturday. Weigh-in will be held at the marina beginning at 2:30 p.m. Takeoff and weigh-in are free and open to the public.

Schools are allowed to register up until the morning of the tournament. Entries may be made either by phone or at CollegeFishing.com. Schools currently registered to compete in the Smith Mountain Lake tournament, which is hosted by the Bedford Tourism & Welcome Center, include:

Carnegie Mellon University – Eric Bykowsky, Columbia, S.C., and Ro Reynolds, Lutherville, Md.

Central Michigan University – Brandon Carman, Remus, Mich., and Hayden Gosen, Sanford, Mich.

Christopher Newport – Tanner Knecht, Fredericksburg, Va., and Taylor Godsey, Chester, Va.

Fairmont State University – Landon Paul and Ryan Houser, both of Fairmont, W.Va.

Mansfield University – Alec Engleman, Milton, Pa., and Bryan Rupp, Archbald, Pa.

Ohio State University – Jeremy McLaughlin, Wheelersburg, Ohio and Kain Fadeley, New Philadelphia, Ohio

Ohio State University – Tom Csepe, Copley, Ohio, and Sidney Hoover, Findlay, Ohio

Penn State University – Anthony Kashiwsky, Aliquippa, Pa., and Ben Barcaskey, Moon Township, Pa.

Penn State University – Sean Cummins, Huntington, Pa., and Maurice Hudson, Broomall, Pa.

Ramapo College – Marc Concato, Wayne, N.J. and Andrew Zapf, Whippany, N.J.

Ramapo College – Mike Concato, Clifton, N.J., and Andrew Annuzzi, Oldbridge, N.J.

Rhode Island Institute of Technology – Jason Karol and John Henderson, both of Rochester, N.Y.

Roanoke College – Joe Maciejewski, Virginia Beach, and Cullen Cash, Salem, Va.

Shepherd University – Chance Younker, Hagerstown, Md., and Brock Dinch, Bowie, Md.

Slippery Rock University – Gage Schilling, Hermitage, Pa., and Billy Hines, Erie, Pa.

Slippery Rock University – Kyle Brown, Wexford, Pa. and Tyler Sheppard, Hermitage, Pa.

State University of New York – Caleb Konrad, Brooklyn, N.Y., and Lukas Matt, Syracuse, N.Y.

University of Southern Maine – Peter Kyros, Falmouth, Maine, and Nick Deering, Portland, Maine

Virginia Commonwealth University – Alexander Miller and Donnie Miller, both of Midlothian, Va.

Virginia Tech University – Dylan Cooper and Cory Fox, Both of Luray, Va.

West Liberty University – Karissa Duke and Alex Vannest, both of Wheeling, W.V.

Xavier University – Alex Vaisvil, Saint Charles, Ill., and Stephen Todd, Cary, Ill.

FLW College Fishing teams compete in qualifying tournaments in one of five conferences – Central, Northern, Southern, Southeastern and Western. The top fifteen teams from each regular-season tournament will qualify for one of five Conference Championship tournaments. The top ten teams from each of the five Conference Championship tournaments will advance to the 2016 FLW College Fishing National Championship.

College Fishing is free to enter. All participants must be registered, full-time students at a college, university or community college and members of a fishing club recognized by their college or university.

For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow College Fishing on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing. Visit FLWFishing.com to sign up or to start a club at your school.

FLW COLLEGE FISHING WESTERN CONFERENCE HEADS FOR CALIFORNIA DELTA

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April 30, 2015

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FLW COLLEGE FISHING WESTERN CONFERENCE HEADS FOR CALIFORNIA DELTA

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OAKLEY, Calif. (April 28, 2015) – FLW College Fishing is headed to the California Delta May 9 for the second of three regular-season stops in the Western Conference. A full field of college teams will be competing for a top award of $2,000 and a berth in the Western Conference Championship tournament.

“The timing of this tournament is perfect,” said Walmart FLW Tour pro Jimmy Reese of Witter Springs, California, who has five top-20 finishes on the Delta in FLW competition, including back-to-back Rayovac FLW Series wins in 2006 and 2007. “Competitors are going to be able to find fish prespawn, spawning and postspawn. The weather will dictate which avenue will be better, but it has been very good lately and if it stays stable we can expect to see some really heavy weights.”

Reese said that tournament competitors would be targeting many different areas on the Delta. Some anglers will choose to target the rock on the main-river channels with jigs and crankbaits. Others will choose to flip and pitch the tules or hyacinth. Shallow-water specialists could also do well if the conditions set up right. Reese also said that swimbaits would be a huge factor in this event.

“There is a Rayovac FLW Series event happening that weekend as well, and a lot of the teams competing will be watching what the winning anglers are doing in that event,” Reese continued. “But, that is a mistake and my advice to teams would be to fish the moment. If you hear that three anglers are fishing in an area and they catch 100 pounds of fish, those fish are now gone. If you try to go back and fish that same spot, you’re doomed.

“The key will be to fish the style that you are confident in, not what you see other teams doing. You need to find your own fish and fish your strengths.

“I think the winning team will bring a limit in the mid- to upper-20-pound range to the scale,” Reese went on to say. “Every once in a while Mother Nature throws us a curveball and we see the 30 to 40 mph winds and that can make the fishing a little tougher. But, I’m confident that anglers are going to hammer them in this tournament.”

Anglers will take off from Russo’s Marina located at 3995 Willow Road in Bethel Island, Calif., at 6:30 a.m. Saturday. Weigh-in will be held at the marina beginning at 1:30 p.m. Takeoff and weigh-in are free and open to the public.

Schools are allowed to register up until the morning of the tournament. Entries may be made either by phone or at CollegeFishing.com. Schools currently registered to compete in the California Delta tournament, which is hosted by the City of Oakley, include:

California Polytechnic State University – Johan Eide, Sebastopol, Calif., and Colton Farquer, Oakdale, Calif.

California State University – Matthiew Grant, Bellflower, Calif., and Rick Zatarain, Long Beach, Calif.

California State University – Seth Myer, Lancaster, Calif., and Via Thao, Long Beach, Calif.

California State University-Chico – Alex Klein, Oroville, Calif., and Jeff Karnthong, Antioch, Calif.

California State University-Chico – Chas Brannon, Santa Maria, Calif., and Michael Woods, Olivehurst, Calif.

California State University-Chico – Frank Tomasello and Jakob Conlan, both of Morgan Hill, Calif.

California State University-Chico – Kevin Chen and Koulton Westbrook, both of Vacaville, Calif.

California State University-Sacramento – Jeff Taluban, Salinas, Calif., and Matt Pagluica, Cameron Park, Calif.

California State University-Sacramento – O’Shea Bennett and Christian Bennett, both of Rocklin, Calif.

California State University-Sacramento – Tanner Austin, El Dorado Hills, Calif., and Ethan Clark, Elk Grove, Calif.

Dixie State University – Mathew Baker, Ogden, Utah, and Nordel Erickson, Saint George, Utah

Oregon State University – Erick Kennedy, Woodland, Calif., and Joseph Billmaier, San Jose, Calif.

Oregon State University – Zach MacDonald, Willits, Calif., and Zach Martinez, Linden, Calif.

San Jose State University – Joey Fortina, Ben Lomond, Calif., and Adam McAndrews, Santa Clara, Calif.

San Jose State University – Manuel Munoz, Hollister, Calif., and Patrick Friedman, Torrance, Calif.

Sonoma State University – B.J. Kendrick, Morgan Hill, Calif., and Landon Moore, San Dimas, Calif.

Sonoma State University – Jake Banuelos, Pinole, Calif., and Brent Nelson, Santa Rosa, Calif.

University of Idaho – Tanner Mort and Austin Turpin, both of Coeur D’Alene, Idaho

University of Nevada-Reno – Jake Tessmann, Minden, Nev., and Bryce Yearman, Sparks, Nev.

University of Oregon – Jacob Wall, Jacksonville, Ore., and Mitchell Cole, Jefferson, Ore.

University of Oregon – Ryan Habenicht, Auburn, Calif., and Riley Russen, Redding, Calif.

FLW College Fishing teams compete in qualifying tournaments in one of five conferences – Central, Northern, Southern, Southeastern and Western. The top fifteen teams from each regular-season tournament will qualify for one of five Conference Championship tournaments. The top ten teams from each of the five Conference Championship tournaments will advance to the 2016 FLW College Fishing National Championship.

College Fishing is free to enter. All participants must be registered, full-time students at a college, university or community college and members of a fishing club recognized by their college or university.

For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow College Fishing on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing. Visit CollegeFishing.com to sign up or to start a club at your school.

WALMART FLW TOUR PRO OLLIVERSON WITHDRAWS FROM TOUR

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April 30, 2015

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WALMART FLW TOUR PRO OLLIVERSON WITHDRAWS FROM TOUR

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MINNEAPOLIS (April 28, 2015) – Walmart FLW Tour pro Eric Olliverson of Lampe, Missouri, informed FLW of his decision to withdraw from the remaining three regular-season FLW Tour events in the 2015 season due to personal reasons. The FLW Tour tournament field will be trimmed to 153.

Olliverson joined the Tour in March after he was called up from a waiting list to replace Troy Gibson. Olliverson fished two events – a 105^th-place finish at Lewis Smith Lake and a 68^th-place showing last week at Beaver Lake.

In FLW Tour competition, anglers are also vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2015 Forrest Wood Cup, the world championship of bass fishing. The 2015 Forrest Wood Cup will be in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Aug. 20-23 on Lake Ouachita and is hosted by Visit Hot Springs. The Forrest Wood Cup Champion could win as much as $500,000 – professional bass-fishing’s richest prize.

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.

SYLACAUGA MAN WINS $5,000 PLAYING FLW FANTASY FISHING

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April 30, 2015

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SYLACAUGA MAN WINS $5,000 PLAYING FLW FANTASY FISHING

MINNEAPOLIS (April 30, 2015) – Johnathan Johnson of Sylacauga, Alabama, correctly picked four of the top 10 anglers in last week’s Walmart FLW Tour event on Beaver Lake presented by Rayovac. For his picks, Johnson won $5,000 by playing FLW Fantasy Fishing, held in conjunction with the FLW Tour bass-fishing tournament.

“I’ve been playing Fantasy Fishing for many years now and have never won a prize like this,” said Johnson. “To win $5,000 online in a free game is absolutely unreal.”

Johnson said that he used the FLW website and its angler history functions to do the majority of his research.

“I went down the list and looked for anglers who had done well in the past at Beaver Lake,” said Johnson. “I especially looked for anglers who had logged multiple top-10 finishes. When it comes to the consistent guys, sometimes you pick them and sometimes you don’t. This time I happened to choose the right combination.

“The Beaver Lake tournament can be difficult to pick for, because a wide variety of anglers have won their in the past,” Johnson continued. “Sometimes, you just have to go with your favorites.”

Johnson went to say that he plans on using some of the winnings to help his son with his college expenses.

“He’s got one more year left until he graduates, so it’s going to be nice to be able to contribute,” Johnson said.

Finishing in second place on the fantasy side for the Beaver Lake event was James McMullen of Quakertown, Pennsylvania, who won $1,000, and in third place was Rodney Harris of Texarkana, Arkansas, who won $500. Several other winners from across the globe took home prizes including cash, ShopFLW gift cards, hats and baits.

The 2015 Fantasy Fishing season consists of seven tournaments surrounding the Walmart FLW Tour regular season as well as the season-ending Forrest Wood Cup, the world championship of bass fishing. Fans compete for more than $7,000 in cash and prizes from each of the six tournaments and a top prize of $5,000. The cumulative grand prize for the highest ranked player at the end of the season is $10,000.

To begin playing, visit FantasyFishing.com and sign up. Select a team of 10 anglers against an allocated $200 salary cap and select your guess for the tournament winning weight as a tiebreaker. Create a league to play against your friends and compete for bragging rights. Player’s modifications to their teams must be finalized by 11:59 p.m. ET the night prior to the tournament.

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.

Boom Goes the Dynamite by Tim Grein

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April 30, 2015

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Boom Goes the Dynamite

By Tim Grein

Any good fisherman will tell you to listen to what the bass are telling you. Every bite whether it is big or small is a clue. Last weekend was no exception. I had a team tournament on back to back days on the same lake. I caught them pretty good in practice, but Saturday arrived and there were at least a hundred thousand bass boats on the water. Ok, maybe not a hundred thousand, but I kid you not, when I arrived at my first spot, I was boat #5 to arrive into the back of a small creek. There were over 200 boats, in our tournament and we were boat 20, so that tells you how many other tournaments were on the lake. I promptly turned around and left my first spot.
We kept hunting around and caught 1 here and 1 there, but every pocket I went into, there were 2-3 boats, and not many keepers. The fish told me, there was just too much pressure in this area. I locked my rods down, and ran 20 miles in the opposite direction. I put the trolling motor down, flipped into a willow tree and boom started catching them. Just 1 problem, there was only an hour left in the tournament. We proceeded to cull a couple of times, but only had 10.5lbs which was good enough to finish in the middle of the pack.
I’m not proud of Saturday, but I will say this, it gave me a good idea of what to do Sunday. What a different day Sunday was. Sunday morning, I ran some new water looking for a shad spawn, but never could find anything. I think I was a tad too early. Once I quit looking for a shad spawn, I really only needed 1 rod the rest of the day. My flipping stick, a 13 Fishing, 7’6” Heavy action Envy paired with a 8.1:1, 13 Fishing Concept E spooled with 20lb P-Line Flourcarbon, and a Missile Baits D Stroyer tied to the end of it. That’s it. That’s all I needed, because from that point forward, I put the hammer down and didn’t let up until I walked to the front and collect our check for winning. The first couple of spots really didn’t produce much, which had me wondering about our willow bite, but then I caught one close to 4lbs. The next stop produced a 5lber, then one over 6lbs. We were rolling. We ended up with 5 that weighed right at 21lbs and won by a wopping .03 of a pound. It was close.
No doubt the thing that won this tournament for us, is I listened to the fish. Every time, we went into a pocket, we wouldn’t get bit, but every time, we fished out towards the main lake, we would catch one. We also couldn’t get bit in the wind, it had to be call. Had we not noticed the things a really paid attention to the areas that we were fishing and were going to next, there is no doubt we wouldn’t have won. So, next time you’re on the water, pick up your 13 Fishing Flipping stick, rig up a Missile Baits D Stroyer, and go flipping, because as soon as a good one eats it, and it won’t take long…. Boom Goes the Dynamite!!

Elite Series Pros Ready To Keep On Rolling To Havasu

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April 30, 2015

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Elite Series Pros Ready To Keep On Rolling To Havasu

Bassmaster Elite Series pro Dean Rojas heads to his home water of Lake Havasu next week as the Elite Series makes its fourth stop at the Bassmaster Elite at Lake Havasu presented by Dick Cepek Tires & Wheels May 7-10 out of Lake Havasu City, Ariz.

Photo by Seigo SaitoBassmaster

April 30, 2015

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Elite Series Pros Ready To Keep On Rolling To Havasu

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The 112 anglers taking part in this week’s Sacramento Bassmaster Elite at Sacramento River won’t get much time to recuperate before the next Elite Series event.

As soon as things are done in California, they’ll make the nine-hour drive to Lake Havasu City, Ariz., for next week’s Bassmaster Elite at Lake Havasu presented by Dick Cepek Tires & Wheels.

Two tournaments in 11 days is a rigorous schedule, but many anglers actually prefer it that way.

“I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I would rather do back-to-backers,” said Dean Rojas, an Arizona native who has a home on Lake Havasu. “When you’re in the fishing groove, it’s really all you want to do. I’ve been doing this long enough now that I know how to pace myself, how to take care of my body. This is the way I like it.”

The tournament is scheduled for May 7-10 with daily takeoffs at 6:15 a.m. MT from Arizona State Park in Lake Havasu City and weigh-ins back at the park each day at 3:15 p.m. MT.

Despite the quick turnaround, anglers expect excellent fishing with most of Havasu’s bass population in postspawn mode. The 19,300-acre impoundment, which forms a portion of the border between California and Arizona, should produce plenty of largemouth and smallmouth bass for the Elite pros.

“There may still be a few fish spawning, but the majority of the fish are going to be spawned out,” said Elite Series pro Brett Hite, who lives in Phoenix, Ariz. “It’s going to be mostly a postspawn tournament with maybe a few fry guarders.”

Though many think of Havasu as a deep-water finesse lake, Hite said that’s not necessarily the case.

“The lake actually fishes relatively shallow,” Hite said. “It’s one lake on the Colorado River where they actually hold water. It fluctuates only 5 feet or so — unlike Lake Powell and Lake Mead, which fluctuate maybe 100 or 150 feet.

“Havasu is consistent, and they’ve done a great job with their habitat program. That makes it fish a lot shallower.”

The Lake Havasu Fisheries Improvement Program, which began in 1992, has helped build artificial reefs in 42 places around the lake.

“You can cut down a tree at your house and take it to this facility, and they’ll bundle it up for you,” Hite said. “They gather them up in big piles and then dump them in the lake. It’s made a big difference.”

Anglers won’t have as much time to scout prime areas on Lake Havasu as they’re used to having for a normal Elite Series event.

A new rule instated for this year will shorten the official practice period to just Tuesday and Wednesday instead of the usual Monday through Wednesday. Monday is scheduled as an off day to make travel easier for anglers who qualify for the Top 12 cut on Sunday in Sacramento.

In the past, those anglers would have been forced to fish all day Sunday and then drive late into the night to reach the next venue in time for practice Monday.

“We’re going be worn out from this event,” said Cliff Pirch, an Arizona native who had his first career Top 10 finish with B.A.S.S. in a Western Open on Lake Havasu in 2003. “So, when you drive nine hours and get ready to start again, it’s nice to have a day in between.”

Of course, there could also be drawbacks to the new rule.

“Guys from other parts of the country who haven’t spent as much time on the lake as I have would like to have that day,” Pirch said. “I deal with it all the time when I head out East where everybody’s grown up fishing. When I’m there, I certainly want that extra day. So, I know where they’re coming from.”

Despite the shortened practice period, Pirch expects a great tournament.

“There’s all kinds of stuff over there,” Pirch said. “There are so many different types of fishing. You’ve got river fish, lake fish, backwater fish — a little bit of everything. [You’ve] really got kind of whatever you want to go do over there.

“There will be a lot of fish caught.”

WALMART FLW TOUR SET FOR RETURN TO LAKE EUFAULA

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April 30, 2015

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Walmart FLW Tour pro Randy Haynes of Counce, Tennessee, won the $125,000 top prize when the FLW Tour last visited Lake Eufaula in 2013.

WALMART FLW TOUR SET FOR RETURN TO LAKE EUFAULA

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Multiple Patterns in Play for Tournament Anglers

EUFAULA, Ala. (April 30, 2015) – The fourth tournament of the 20^th anniversary season of the Walmart FLW Tour, the most competitive Tour in professional bass-fishing, kicks off May 14-17 with the Walmart FLW Tour at Lake Eufaula presented by Quaker State. Hosted by the Eufaula Barbour County Chamber of Commerce, the tournament will feature 153 of the world’s best bass-fishing professionals and co-anglers casting for top awards of up to $125,000 cash in the pro division and up to $25,000 cash in the co-angler division.

“Lake Eufaula has been fishing really well over the past few years and I expect this tournament to be a great event,” said Quaker State pro Scott Canterbury of Springville, Alabama, an eight-time Forrest Wood Cup qualifier. “There will be many different ways to catch bass at Eufaula this time of year.

“I really believe that targeting the early morning shad spawn and then a few good deep spots as the day progresses will be a combination that could end up winning,” Canterbury continued. “I think swimjigs and swimbaits will be good early and crankbaits will work well later in the day.”

Fellow Quaker State team angler Matt Arey of Shelby, North Carolina, who just won the $125,000 top prize at Beaver Lake in April, agreed with Canterbury.

“I think this tournament will most likely be won out deep, offshore, but the opportunity will be there for shallow-water anglers,” Arey said. “The fish are going to be schooling and finding spots to feed throughout the summer, so if you can find them and stay ahead of them you are going to do well.

“Shallow anglers are going to be using frogs and pitching Texas-rigged soft plastics in the grass, matted vegetation and around docks,” Arey continued. “Offshore anglers are going to be using swimbaits, deep-diving crankbaits and big magnum soft plastics and big worms. A big spoon will also be a good option offshore.”

Arey and Canterbury also had very similar winning four-day cumulative weight predictions.

“I feel like if somebody can catch 18 pounds a day, they are going to have as good of a chance as anybody to win,” Arey said.

“I have not been there since the last Tour event was held there in 2013, but I have fished the lake many times over the years,” Canterbury said. “It’s early now, but I suspect the winner will bring more than 70 pounds to the scale.”

In FLW Tour competition, anglers are also vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2015 Forrest Wood Cup, the world championship of bass fishing. The 2015 Forrest Wood Cup will be in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Aug. 20-23 on Lake Ouachita and is hosted by Visit Hot Springs. The Forrest Wood Cup Champion could win as much as $500,000 – professional bass-fishing’s richest prize.

Anglers will take off from the Lakepoint Resort State Park Marina located at 104 Lakepoint Drive in Eufaula at 6:30 a.m. each day of competition. Thursday and Friday’s weigh-ins will be held at Lakepoint Resort State Park beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday’s final weigh-ins will be held at Walmart, located at 3176 S. Eufaula Ave., in Eufaula beginning at 4 p.m.

Fans will also be treated to the FLW Expo on Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. at Walmart prior to the final weigh-ins. The Expo includes a Ranger boat simulator, the opportunity to interact with professional anglers, enjoy interactive games, activities and giveaways provided by sponsors, and learn more about the sport of fishing and other outdoor activities. All activities are free and open to the public.

Coverage of the Lake Eufaula tournament will be broadcast in high-definition (HD) on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) October 19 from 7 p.m.-8 p.m. ET. when Season 20 of “FLW” returns this fall. The Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show airs on NBCSN, the Pursuit Channel and the World Fishing Network and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world.

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.

Lake Anna May 2015 Lake Report by Chris Craft

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April 30, 2015

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The pics are of my client Susie Hust…..

Lake Anna May 2015 Lake Report by Chris Craft

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As we say goodbye to April and welcome May into our lives, we can look forward to warming water temps, post spawn top water fish and more good days than bad on the water. Look for the bass and crappie to be in all 3 phases of the spawn this month. As the spawn winds down, the top water bite will heat up and multiple fish days are not that uncommon. Even 20 and 30 fish days can be expected when everything goes right.

There are several events scheduled this month at Fish Tales. The Big Fish Contest will be held in May as well, Anna Point Marina will pay $100 or a Yearly Ramp Pass to the angler that catches and weighs the largest bass, crappie and striper for the month of May. Here are the VERY SIMPLE rules……..

1- Must launch from Anna Point Marina/Fish Tales. Either pay the $8 daily or be a yearly ramp pass holder.

2- If fishing with a guide or an employee, the $8 ramp fee must be paid before the outing.

3- Live or Artificial bait is allowed.

4- Tournament caught fish are eligible, however they must be weighed on the porch scales at Fish Tales.
Mark your calendar for Saturday May 9. This is the annual Anna Point Marina/Fish Tales Youth Fishing Tournament and Family Day. This great event will run from 9am-1pm and the youth anglers can either fish from the shores of Anna Point Marina or from a Boat. There will be three age groups (3-9) (10-12) (13-17). The anglers will will compete for the largest bass, crappie, sunfish and catfish in their age group. There will also be a Grand Champion Award to the angler that catches the largest overall fish during the tournament. There will be cash, prizes and trophies for the winners of each division. The entry fee for this event is $10 per participant. There will be food and drinks for everyone after the tournament and during the awards ceremony. If you are attending and would like to bring a covered dish, please do so. We want everyone to have a full belly when they leave.

The Saturday and Sunday Morning Bass Series will also pick up from the slow start we have had this year so far. These popular bass tournaments will be from 6am-11am every Saturday and Sunday Morning. The entry fee is $100 per team (including the big fish pot) For more information on these tournaments please get in touch with Chris Craft or Dave Fauntleroy at 540-895-5900 ext5.
Bass- The bass throughout the lake have made their move to the shallows and are taking a variety of baits. The cold fronts this past week have pushed them back slightly, but with the warm stable weather in the forecast, thy will move back up in a hurry. At the current time we have all 3 stages of the spawn going on and I believe it will continue for just about the entire month.

Look for fish around stumps, rocks, beaver huts, laydown trees and willow grass all month long. On cloudy days, moving baits will put them in the boat, My two favorite search baits this time of year are a Dave’s Tournament Tackle Tiger Shad Spinnerbait and a Damiki Armor Shad soft Jerkbat. My personal preference for the Tiger Shad is a 1/4oz Double Gold Willow Combination in either Purple Tiger or Blue Back Herring colors. Put these baits in the willow grass and retrieve them just under the surface above the grass, when you get to thin pockets, holes or on the edge of the grass, kill the bait and let it flutter down into it. This triggers a reaction that the bass cannot resist. Fish the Armor Shad in the same places at the spinnerbait and do the same thing in order to get that reaction strike. On Sunny days, I like to stay with more natural colors like Pro Purple & Pro Blue, on overcast days I like White Pearl and White Silver Flake. Rig them weightless TEX-POSED on a 4/0 Gamakatsu Hook, let the fish tell you what cadence they want. Start off with a twitch-twitch-pause and let the bait sink completely out of sight before twitching it again.

On bright sunny days, slow down and pitch plastics in, around and under grass and boat docks. The Deep Creek Lures Stump Thumper and Jr. Razor Beetle are two of my favorites. Rig them on a shakey head or Texas rigged. Arson 3/8oz Arky Head Jigs are another great choice to entice bites from fish that are not very aggressive.

By the end of the month, top water walking baits like the Damiki Rambler and Paycheck Baits Repoman baits will put post spawn fatties in the boat. Dmiki MTB Noisy Buzzbaits will also start to play a role in my choices. The bluegill will start to spawn by the end of the month, 1.5 and 2.5 squarebill crankbaits in BLUEGILL patterns are always ties onto my IZORLINE this time of year. The bass will cruise these beds and wait in ambush around bot docks or anything else they can hide around and like a lightning bolt, they will pick one bluegill out of the pack and strike through the bed and give a little payback.

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT THE FEMALE BASS ARE GOING TO BE VERY TIRED FROM THE RIGORS OF THE SPAWN, PLEASE RELEASE THEM AS SOON AS POSSIBLE IN ORDER FOR THEM TO RECOVER.

Crappie- The first wave of the spawn is over for the mature females, the second way is just days away and we will be able to catch numbers of these tasty vittles for a few more weeks shallow before they return to deep water for the summer. The males are protecting nests and are very aggressive right now, they can be caught in a variety of locations on a variety of baits. Beaver huts, willow grass, laydowns and boat docks in 2-10 feet of water will be best locations. Small minnows & Kalin 2″Curly Tail Grubs are my choices, colors like John Deere Green, Wally World, Green Weenie and Black/Blue Chart Tail are my top choices rigged on a 1/16oz Mizmo Jighead.

After the spawn is finally over, look for them to be on bridge pilings, deep brush piles, deep boat docks with lots of shade, At this time, Small Minnows rigged on a slip bobber will be your best choice to catch fish.

Striper- The linesides are making their way back down lake from their springtime spawn run. Live bait like Blueback Herring and Gizzard Shad are producing numbers of fish for the folks willing to get up early and catch their bait. For those of us that prefer to cast to them, Broken Back Redfins casted to shallow flats and points will produce very violent strikes from the hearty fish. Damiki Anchovy Shads rigged on a 1/4oz Jig Head slowly retrieved will also put them in the boat for you.

Lake Level- Full Pool

Water Clarity

Up Lake- Stained

Mid Lake- Clear

Down Lake- Clear

Water Temps

Up Lake- 62-67

Mid Lake- 61-70

Down Lake- 63-71

Dike 3- 67

Chris Craft
CCBASSN Guide Service
www.ccbassnlakeanna.blogspot.com
[email protected]
540-894-6195
540-895-5770
540-895-5900 ext5

Chris Craft
CCBASSN Guide Service
www.ccbassnlakeanna.blogspot.com
[email protected]
540-894-6195
540-895-5770
540-895-5900 ext5TEAM LEW’S PRO STAFF
www.lews.comPAYCHECK BAITS PRO STAFF
www.paycheckbaits.com

BULLDOG CUSTOM RODS PRO STAFF
www.bulldogrods.com

ARSON JIG’S PRO STAFF
www.arsonjigs.com

IZORLINE INTERNATIONAL
www.izorline.com

EYE SURRENDER PRO STAFF
www.eyesurrendernow.com

Humminbird® ChartSelect™ Expands

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April 30, 2015

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Humminbird^® ChartSelect™ Expands

ChartSelect™ has added more new lakes available as individual downloads

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EUFAULA, AL (April 29, 2015) – ChartSelect™ is the latest digital cartography product available from Humminbird. With ChartSelect you can now select, purchase, and download individual lake maps. Choose from over 1300 High Definition, 1 foot contour maps, with full access and compatibility for all the exclusive LakeMaster features:

Lake Level Offset
Depth Highlight
Shallow Water Highlight
iPilot® Link™ Follow the Contour

Get the latest survey data faster! Once a lake is complete you’ll be able to download it instantly. Now you don’t have to wait around for LakeMaster to issue an updated region. More maps will continually be added.

Learn more below or by checking out chartselect.humminbird.com

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ChartSelect: SouthEast States

13 newly added High Definition lake maps including:

Strom Thurmond/Wilson, Lauderdale (GA/AL)
Wheeler, Limestone (AL)
Mitchell, Coosa (AL)
Cave Run, Rowan (KY)
Enid, Yalobusha (MS)
Grenada, Grenada (MS)
Harris Chain, Lake (FL)

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ChartSelect: MINNESOTA

21 NEWLY ADDED HIGH DEFINITION lake maps including:

Ballantyne, Blue Earth
Black Hoof, Crow Wing
Budd, Martin
Fawn, Crow Wing
Ida, Becker
Loon, Cass
Placid, Morrison
Sisseton, Martin
Little Spirit, Jackson (MN / IA)
Spirit lake, (MN / IA)

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ChartSelect: Western States

12 newly added High Definition lake maps including:

Medicine, Siskiyou (CA)
Flatiron Res., Larimer (CO)
McClure Res., Santa Fe (NM)
Lookout Point, Lane (OR)
Lost Creek, Jackson (OR)

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ChartSelect: Wisconsin

25 newly added High Definition lake maps including:

Beaver Dam, Barron
Big Round, Polk
Big Sand, Burnett
Big Sissabagama, Sawyer
Dairlyand, Rusk
Holcombe Flowage, Chippewa
Nebagamon, Douglas
Spooner, Washburn
St. Croix Flowage, Douglas
Tiger Cat Flowage, Sawyer

Compatible Fish Finders

View “Supported Plotters” for the most current list of ChartSelect compatible* Humminbird models. Be sure to follow all instructions and read the ChartSelect FAQ’s before downloading your own individual lake maps.

*A software update may be required for your model.

View Online Version

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