BRANDON CARD, 2012 BASSMASTER ROOKIE OF THE YEAR, ANNOUNCES SUZUKI DF250SS WILL POWER HIS NEW RIG
(February 15, 2013 – Brea, CA – Meet Brandon Card, professional angler, Bassmaster 2012 Rookie of the Year and a topcontender in this year’s Bassmaster Classic. He’s got a new boat, a new motor, and a new sponsor – Suzuki.Brandon’s Triton 21HP will be powered by Suzuki’s DF250SS, a 250 horsepower 4-stroke outboard that’s built for speed – andreliability. This 4.0-liter V6 features dual overhead cams, 24-valves and a tuned intake track. Electronic fuel injection provides optimum power and fuel economy, and a sleek lower unit with a 2.08:1 gear ratio slices through the water like a hot knife through butter. Whether he’s got to make a long run to find fish, or power out of the hole when it’s time to make a move, Brandon will be ableto count on his Suzuki to get him to the fish – and to get him back home for the weigh-in. And he knows his Suzuki will deliver. Brandon remembers going fishing with his dad when he was just 4 years old. Their 14’ foot aluminum fishing boat was just perfect for a kid – and the fact that it was powered by a 20-horse Suzuki seemed like a natural fit. That first experience with Suzuki years ago gave Brandon a connection with the brand – and once he started checking out their outboards, he was impressed. “The 250SS is a sweet outboard,” said Brandon. “I’ll be the first angler on the Elite circuit to run a Suzuki and I couldn’t be prouder. And Suzuki’s commitment to me is just as strong,” he added.
Dean Corbisier P: 714-996-7040, x2234 E: Dean.Corbisier@suz.com Rick Hauser P: 805-427-5259 E: rickhauser@rickhausergroup.com MARINE Division Bulletin No: 13-025 Date: February 14, 2013
KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Rich Howes, 39, of Oviedo, Fla., is the winner of the 2013 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes in Florida, but it wasn’t easy and it didn’t happen fast. It took Howes four days to defeat fellow Floridian Daniel Lanier Jr. The two ended tournament regulation (three days) in a tie with 47 pounds, 2 ounces apiece.
B.A.S.S. rules require anglers who are tied for first place on the pro side of a Bassmaster Open to have a fish-off, so Howes and Lanier met again today to decide the title. On the line was the title of champion, $10,000 in cash, a Skeeter bass boat, Yamaha outboard motor and valuable points toward an invitation to fish the Bassmaster Elite Series next year. Perhaps more importantly, there’s a berth in the 2014 Bassmaster Classic for any Open winner who fishes all three events in that division.
Howes and Lanier adopted very different strategies in the fish-off. Howes elected to lock through from the launch site on Lake Tohopekaliga and run to his most productive area on Lake Kissimmee. It would put him on more productive water, but the long run would consume a lot of time — time that was precious in the five-hour fish-off.
Lanier had been fishing Kissimmee, too, but decided to stay on Toho for the fish-off. He felt the extra fishing time would outweigh being on better water.
The winter season has a firm grasp on the region and with it comes tough conditions and stubborn fish right? Not all of the time. How would you like to catch fish cast after cast and often be the only boat on the water? During the cold months, I have found that vertical dropping a drop shot can be one of the most exciting techniques that you can utilize. Some call it video game fishing or sight fishing with your graph but whatever you call it, this technique is a highly efficient yet highly addictive tactic. I’d like to share a few of the tips and tricks that I use to fill the livewell in the wintertime.
First I want to cover the tackle aspect of this technique. I have found through many days on the water watching my Lowrance that leader length can mean the difference between catching a few and loading the boat. I do my best with a longer leader than when I am up shallow and casting the drop shot. I typically have my weight 18-24 inches below my bait while I often go with a leader as short as 6 inches when I am casting. I believe that when you get more separation between your bait and weight, you get more solid hook ups and a higher quantity of bites since you don’t confuse the fish with two moving objects that are in their general line of sight.
Setting your equipment up properly is key when vertically dropping baits. I rig my drop shot on a 6’9” Medium action Quantum Smoke spinning rod loaded with 16lb. Sunline SX-1 finesse braid with a 10-12 foot leader of 6-8lb Sniper flurocarbon. The braid is crucial since it is impervious to line twists that can really make your day on the water miserable once you drop your bait and retrieve it numerous times in a day’s time. Braided lines also increase your sensitivity as well as giving you rock solid hook sets when your bait is sometimes forty-plus feet down.
On the business end of my line, I like to keep things very simple. I typically either rig a 1/0 Rebarb hook made by Gamakatsu or a 1/0 Gamakatsu split shot/drop shot hook coupled with a drop shot weight that ranges from 1/8oz to 1/4oz. To top this off, I have found that a 4 ½ inch Big Bite Baits Shakin’ Squirrel worm in the Sunrise color or a 3” Big Bite Trick Stick in Pearl/Silver flake are two very good baits for this technique.
As important it is to have the proper rod/reel/line/bait set up is, it is absolutely worthless if you do not have a graph that is fully functioning and dialed in. For that reason, I run a Lowrance HDS8 that I set to traditional sonar so I can “watch” my bait as I drop it down to fish that I have located. I am a firm believer that the new electronics can be run on “Auto” settings for most applications but I do increase the ping speed to 100%. This is very important since it allows for a clearer picture on your graph and will allow you to follow your bait better.
Now that we have everything set up, we can finally start having some fun! Once I locate a group of fish on my graph, I drop my drop shot as close to the head of the trolling motor as possible. This is more important than you may think since that is where the transducer is located and it allows you to see your bait throughout it’s whole decent. Why is it so important to watch your bait fall on the screen you might ask? The reason why this is critical is because most of the fish you will run into this time of the year will be following bait fish and won’t be relating to anything on the bottom. You will need to allow your bait to fall until it is in the face of your targeted fish so if you can’t see it then you are just guessing as to where it is in relation to the fish you are trying to catch.
Once your bait gets to where you have spotted the fish you are hoping to catch, the hard part begins. You have to do NOTHING but hold your bait in front of their face. This should get most of the fish to bite but if that does not work, I will give it very slight shakes. You have to keep in mind that the water is cold and everything in that watery world is not going to be moving very fast so if you are jerking and hopping your drop shot, it will not be nearly as effective.
So instead of camping out on the sofa all winter long, get out on the lake and enjoy some of the best fishing the year has to offer. You might just end up getting addicted to watching your locator as you sight fish in the winter!
Special thanks to my sponsors Skeeter Boats, Yamaha, Spro, Gamakatsu, Sunline, Big Bite Baits, and Lowrance. Check out Will’s sponsors at WillPettyFishing.com to learn more about these products mentioned.
KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Florida bass are fickle. Just ask Daniel Lanier. Yesterday, he was the King of the Kissimmee Chain. Today, Rick Howes of nearby Oviedo took the throne. He leads 198 professionals with 32 pounds, 8 ounces going into the final round of the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open. For Saturday, the field will be cut top 12 professionals and top 12 co-anglers.
Howes rode a limit catch of five bass weighing 20-2 to grab the lead. He ended Day 1 in 29th place with 12-6 and credited “better execution” for his success. “I lost an 8-pounder yesterday,” he said. Today he fished “clean,” making few errors and losing no key fish.
“I’m flipping and pitching isolated cover with soft plastics,” Howes said. “Most of my fish are coming from 5 to 7 feet deep.”
Howes believes the prognosis for the final round is good. “I only made one pass through my key area today, so I think I have a real chance at another 20 pounds.” His catch today was the only one that eclipsed 20 pounds.
KISSIMMEE, Fla. — He wasn’t wearing track shoes, but Daniel Lanier Jr. of Winter Springs, Fla., is running away from the rest of the field at the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes in Central Florida. He leads 197 other pros with 27 pounds, 11 ounces. His closest challenger is two-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier Tracy Adams of North Carolina who is more than nine pounds back with 18-7.
Dreams of 30-pound catches and a new BASS three-day catch record are mostly out the window after a cold front passed through the night before competition began. Water temperatures dipped, the wind blew and the water muddied. The result? Fishing was challenging; catching was downright difficult.
“I caught ‘em early,” said Lanier, whose best finish in six previous Bassmaster Opens was fifth on the same body of water in 2011. “Most of my best fish came out of four or five feet of water on topwater baits.”
KISSIMMEE, Fla. — He wasn’t wearing track shoes, but Daniel Lanier Jr. of Winter Springs, Fla., is running away from the rest of the field at the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes in Central Florida. He leads 197 other pros with 27 pounds, 11 ounces. His closest challenger is two-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier Tracy Adams of North Carolina who is more than nine pounds back with 18-7.
Dreams of 30-pound catches and a new BASS three-day catch record are mostly out the window after a cold front passed through the night before competition began. Water temperatures dipped, the wind blew and the water muddied. The result? Fishing was challenging; catching was downright difficult.
“I caught ‘em early,” said Lanier, whose best finish in six previous Bassmaster Opens was fifth on the same body of water in 2011. “Most of my best fish came out of four or five feet of water on topwater baits.”
