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Scottsburg’s McClain and Noblesville’s Drake Earn Wins at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Double-Header on Lake Monroe presented by Fish-Intel

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Scottsburg’s McClain and Noblesville’s Drake Earn Wins at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Double-Header on Lake Monroe presented by Fish-Intel

Co-angler Victories Go to Evansville’s Gish & Kentucky’s Bays

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (June 29, 2020) – It was a double-header for bass anglers this past weekend in Bloomington with the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine on Lake Monroe events presented by Fish-Intel. FLW, the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, rescheduled the events after the coronavirus pandemic forced the organization to pause competition in mid-March.

Boater Frank McClain of Scottsburg, Indiana, brought five bass to the scale totaling 20 pounds, 7 ounces to win Saturday’s event and earn $4,271, while boater Bob Drake of Noblesville, Indiana, brought in four bass weighing 16 pounds, 12 ounces, on Sunday to earn the win and $4,155.

The top five boaters on Saturday were:

1st:       Frank McClain of Scottsburg, Ind., five bass, 20-7, $4,271

2nd:      Mike Quinlin of Mooresville, Ind., five bass, 20-6, $2,636

3rd:       Russell Sproessig of Columbus, Ind., five bass, 19-9, $1,424

4th:       Blake Knies of Jasper, Ind., five bass, 17-4, $997

5th:       Lee Mills of Columbus, Ind., five bass, 17-0, $854

Complete results for Saturday can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Barry Gunter of Trafalgar, Indiana, brought a 6-pound, 2-ounce bass to the scale to win Saturday’s Boater Big Bass award of $595.

Quinlin was the highest-finishing FLW PHOENIX BONUS member and took home an extra $500. Boaters are eligible to win up to an extra $7,000 per event in each Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine tournament if all requirements are met. More information on the FLW PHOENIX BONUS contingency program can be found at PhoenixBassBoats.com.

Brant Gish of Evansville, Indiana, won the Co-angler Division and $2,136 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 19 pounds, 1 ounce.

The top five co-anglers Saturday finished as follows:

1st:       Brant Gish of Evansville, Ind., five bass, 19-1, $2,136

2nd:      Roger Seitzinger of Lawrenceville, Ill., five bass, 17-4, $1,216

3rd:       Remington Gill of Mitchell, Ind., five bass, 16-2, $860

4th:       Tim Knight of Bargersville, Ind., five bass, 14-8, $498

5th:       Lincoln Bowen of Crothersville, Ind., five bass, 13-2, $427

Gill caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division Saturday, weighing in at 6 pounds, 9 ounces, to earn the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $148.

According to post-tournament reports, Sunday’s boater winner Bob Drake caught his fish with a Marten’s Madness-colored Roboworm on a drop-shot rig on the main lake, about 3 to 4 miles from the takeoff site.

The top five boaters on Sunday were:

1st:       Bob Drake of Noblesville, Ind., four bass, 16-12, $4,155

2nd:      Kyle Sears of Lebanon, Ohio, five bass, 15-6, $2,078

3rd:       Brad Hostetler Jr. of Franklin, Ind., five bass, 15-3, $1,383

4th:       Chris Martinkovic of Hamilton, Ohio, five bass, 14-10, $1,170

5th:       John Melton of Corydon, Ind., five bass, 13-9, $831

Complete results for Sunday’s event on Lake Monroe can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Mike Quinlin of Mooresville, Indiana, brought a 6-pound, 1-ounce bass to the scale Sunday to earn the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $570.

Lenny Bays of Dayton, Kentucky, won the Co-angler Division and $2,078 Sunday after catching five bass weighing 12 pounds, 7 ounces.

The top five co-anglers Sunday finished as follows:

1st:       Lenny Bays of Dayton, Ky., five bass, 12-7, $2,078

2nd:      Darren Green of Muncie, Ind., five bass, 10-7, $1,039

3rd:       Shane Thomas of Bedford, Ind., three bass, 10-4, $691

4th:       Gary Owens of Columbus, Ind., four bass, 9-10, $485

4th:       Jason Skipworth of Aurora, Ind., three bass, 8-6, $416

Bill Smith of Columbus, Indiana, caught Sunday’s largest bass in the Co-angler Division, weighing in at 7 pounds, 3 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $285.

The 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine Double-Header on Lake Monroe presented by Fish-Intel was the first and second of five qualifying events in the Hoosier Division.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the Hoosier Division based on point standings, along with the five winners of each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 15-17 Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on the Mississippi River in La Crosse, Wisconsin, hosted by Explore La Crosse. Boaters will compete for a $60,000 prize package, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new 18-foot Phoenix bass boat with a 200-horsepower outboard.

The 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American.

The 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American will be held Nov. 11-13 at Lake Hartwell in Anderson, South Carolina and is hosted by Visit Anderson. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers plus tournament winners from each Phoenix Bass Fishing League division earn priority entry into the FLW Series, the pathway to the FLW Pro Circuit and ultimately the MLF Bass Pro Tour, where top pros compete with no entry fees.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

Occoquan’s Pirowski Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event on Potomac River

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Occoquan’s Pirowski Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event on Potomac River

North Carolina’s Robertson Wins Co-angler Division

MARBURY, Md. (June 29, 2020) – Boater Alex Pirowski of Occoquan, Virginia, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Saturday weighing 17 pounds, 3 ounces to win the 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine event at the Potomac River in Marbury, Maryland. For his victory, Pirowski earned a total of $5,337.

The tournament was the second of five events in the Shenandoah Division presented by A.R.E. Truck Caps.

“It was tough for most of the day, but I couldn’t be happier with how it all turned out,” said Pirowski, who earned his first career victory in FLW competition. “I ran south and fished main-river docks and wood. The bite was pretty hit-or-miss, so I rolled into Potomac Creek for a little bit and managed to pick one up there as well.”

Pirowski said that he caught his fish on a Texas-rigged black-and-blue NetBait Paca Craw.

“The key was sticking with areas that I knew had fish, even though they weren’t biting at the time,” Pirowski went on to say. “I just had to wait the tide out.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament as follows:

1st:       Alex Pirowski of Occoquan, Va., five bass, 17-3, $5,337

2nd:      Bryan Elrod of Mechanicsville, Va., five bass, 16-3, $2,326

3rd:       Chris Daves of Spring Grove, Va., five bass, 15-11, $1,551

4th:       Kermit Crowder of Matoaca, Va., five bass, 14-8, $1,086

5th:       Paul McGinley of Bowie, Md., five bass, 13-14, $930

6th:       Ben Reynolds of Callands, Va., five bass, 13-13, $814

6th:       Terry Olinger of Louisa, Va., five bass, 13-13, $814

8th:       Dan Rodriguez of Monkton, Md., five bass, 13-9, $659

8th:       Jim Jarvis of Timberville, Va., five bass, 13-9, $659

10th:     Cody Pike of Powhatan, Va., five bass, 13-8, $1,043

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Pirowski also earned the day’s $685 Boater Big Bass award with his largest fish, a 6-pound, 4-ouncer.

Pike took home an extra $500 as the highest finishing FLW PHOENIX BONUS member. Boaters are eligible to win up to an extra $7,000 per event in each Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine tournament if all requirements are met. More information on the FLW PHOENIX BONUS contingency program can be found at PhoenixBassBoats.com.

Mark Robertson of Henderson, North Carolina, earned the win in the Co-angler Division Saturday after catching a five-bass limit weighing 13 pounds, 8 ounces. Robertson earned $2,326 for his victory.

The top 10 co-anglers finished as follows:

1st:       Mark Robertson of Henderson, N.C., five bass, 13-8, $2,326

2nd:      Cornell Badra of Clarksburg, Md., five bass, 13-4, $1,163

3rd:       Chase Blase of Culpeper, Va., five bass, 13-0, $777

4th:       Chris Whittaker of Waverly, Va., five bass, 12-4, $478

4th:       Matthew Noraas of Pamplin, Va., three bass, 12-4, $478

4th:       Justin Thompson of Marshall, Va., five bass, 12-4, $478

7th:       Matt McCluskey of Ashburn, Va., five bass, 12-3, $368

7th:       Lenny Baird of Stafford, Va., four bass, 12-3, $368

9th:       Rich Knisely of Disputanta, Va., three bass, 12-2, $310

10th:     Steven Schantz of Vienna, Va., five bass, 12-0, $271

Tevinn Rollins of Newport News, Virginia, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 4 pounds, 5 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $171.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the Shenandoah Division presented by A.R.E. based on point standings, along with the five winners of each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 8-10 Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on the James River in Richmond, Virginia, hosted by Richmond Region Tourism. Boaters will compete for a $60,000 prize package, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new 18-foot Phoenix bass boat with a 200-horsepower outboard.

The 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American.

The 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American will be held Nov. 11-13 at Lake Hartwell in Anderson, South Carolina and is hosted by Visit Anderson. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers plus tournament winners from each Phoenix Bass Fishing League division earn priority entry into the FLW Series, the pathway to the FLW Pro Circuit and ultimately the MLF Bass Pro Tour, where top pros compete with no entry fees.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

About FLW

“FLW Fishing” to Premiere on Outdoor Channel Friday, July 3

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“FLW Fishing” to Premiere on Outdoor Channel Friday, July 3

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Tournament Organization to Air 312 Hours of Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit on Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel

BENTON, Ky. (June 29, 2020) – FLW, the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, announced today the 2020 season of “FLW Fishing” will debut on the Outdoor Channel, Friday, July 3 (7 to 9 p.m. EDT).

The 2020 season of “FLW Fishing” features 13 two-hour episodes, showcasing competition during each of the six regular-season Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit events, plus all six days of the Tackle Warehouse FLW TITLE presented by Toyota, the Pro Circuit Championship.

Prime-time episodes of “FLW Fishing” will premiere Friday at 7 p.m. EDT on the Outdoor Channel, with additional re-airings on the Outdoor Channel and Sportsman Channel throughout the subsequent week. FLW will air 312 hours of Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit action on the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel in 2020.

The Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit, professional bass fishing’s premier five-fish limit tournament series, features bass pros from around the world competing for huge prize money across six regular-season tournaments and the Tackle Warehouse FLW TITLE presented by Toyota. Each episode of “FLW Fishing” focuses on the anglers and storylines that emerge from those live sports events, showcasing the dramatic happenings from each day of competition.

2020 “FLW Fishing” Television Premiere Schedule:

  • July 3              Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit at Sam Rayburn Reservoir, Brookeland, Texas
  • July 10            Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit at the Harris Chain of Lakes, Leesburg, Fla.
  • July 17            Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit at Lake Martin, Alexander City, Ala.
  • Aug. 14           Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit at Lake Chickamauga (Ep. 1), Dayton, Tenn.
    *Super Tournament feat. FLW & Major League Fishing (MLF) Pros
  • Aug. 21           Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit at Lake Chickamauga (Ep. 2), Dayton, Tenn.
    *Super Tournament feat. FLW & MLF Pros
  • Sept. 11           Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit at the Mississippi River, La Crosse, Wis.
    *Super Tournament feat. FLW & MLF Pros
  • Sept. 25           Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit at the Detroit River, Trenton, Mich.
    *Super Tournament feat. FLW & MLF Pros
  • Oct. 9              Tackle Warehouse FLW TITLE presented by Toyota (Ep. 1), Massena, N.Y.
  • Oct. 16            Tackle Warehouse FLW TITLE presented by Toyota (Ep. 2), Massena, N.Y.
  • Oct. 23            Tackle Warehouse FLW TITLE presented by Toyota (Ep. 3), Massena, N.Y.
  • Oct. 30            Tackle Warehouse FLW TITLE presented by Toyota (Ep. 4), Massena, N.Y.
  • Nov. 6             Tackle Warehouse FLW TITLE presented by Toyota (Ep. 5), Massena, N.Y.
  • Nov. 13           Tackle Warehouse FLW TITLE presented by Toyota (Ep. 6), Massena, N.Y.

Viewers can catch the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit every Friday night when “FLW Fishing” airs from 7-9 p.m. EDT through December 27, 2020 on the Outdoor Channel.

For complete details, full broadcast schedules and updated information on “FLW Fishing”, visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

About FLW

From Deep to Shallow Shane Powell and Tim Fox Dominate on Lake Eufaula with 26.22 By Jason Duran

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From Deep to Shallow Shane Powell and Tim Fox Dominate on Lake Eufaula with 26.22 By Jason Duran

From Deep to Shallow Shane Powell and Tim Fox Dominate on Lake Eufaula with 26.22

By Jason Duran

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Eufaula AL-In recent weeks the Lake Eufaula has seen pressure from some of the best pros in the sport. The lake has produced huge weights time and time again. It was time for the best teams in South East to take their turn at the lake when the Alabama Bass Trail South Division converged on Lake Eufaula. Going against the norm the team of  Shane Powell and Tim Fox did things a little different to win with 26.22 pounds.

Shane and Tim went against the grain and started the morning out deep. They went to work fishing a roadbed. Tim said, “he was really surprised they had the whole spot to themselves.” It is a well know community area that stretches out for a couple miles, but they located a stretch that produced 19 pounds really quick for them. They noticed in practice “the fish were really feeding out deep early.” Making the decision to go deep when a good majority of the field went shallow early was unique. Timing proved to be a deciding factor because they returned later in the morning to check the roadbed again, but it didn’t produce a bite.

Once the sun got up, the bite died down on the roadbed. They then they moved to their second spot. This time they fished out a little deeper to the ledges. Their they used a 10XD and upgraded a few times. Shane said there “were sill large schools of fish still there.”  Shane said they continued to notice “they had areas completely to themselves because guys were still up shallow”

At the end of the day they switched up and moved shallow. Using a white ½ oz War Eagle spinnerbait they target shallow water brush piles. Shane said, “we could see shad busting the surface on the top of the brush piles.”  He felt “with it being so hot the key was to use a smaller bait and get down in the brush pile and the fish would knock slack in their line. The fish didn’t really want a big bait and those two fish in the last hour really catapulted us up to the top”

All together they caught about 40-50 fish. They said, “the key was really mixing it up and fishing deep to shallow.’ They avoided the traffic that way and really fished opposite of the rest of the field. When they showed up in their areas the fish were active, no one was there, and they could really fish it the way they wanted too. Their Key Baits were: Strike King black and blue Pro Model Jig with a Rage Craw Menace; Strike King Natural shad 10Xd Crankbait and a War Eagle ½ oz white spinnerbait with willow leaf blades and a Big Bites white grub as a trailer.

Steve Graziano and Greg Hall finished 2nd with 23.96 pounds. Steve said, “They started early on one of the biggest community holes on the lake called the Potty Hole” and he also said they fished his name sake hole “the Graz hole but that was not where we caught our fish.” They ended up catching fish in about 20 feet of water by fishing “natural lake structure.” They said the key for them was “hard bottom like a shell bed.” Steve said he is “not a brush pile fisherman and prefers to fish the way he did today.”  Greg said “typically this time of year the bush pile bite is fading away and it gives way the way we fished today. But this year has sent been the typical year and everything has been trending later.” Steve said he “felt his areas got better today because they dropped the water about 6 inches today.” They caught most of their fish later in the morning using a “Unnamed dark heavy shaky head and a homemade Brush Puppy jig.” They also threw a Strike King 10Xd but they just couldn’t get the fish to bite using that. Steve is a local guide on the lake, and he said, “that is usually a jinx in these tournaments, but he fished an area that was replenishing quick” and was able to put together enough for second place.

It took 22.71 for third place. The team of Kenny Smith and Rj Thompson found a stretch on the main lake that was holding fish early and they put together a good limit before 8am.  Kenny described the area as a “main lake shallow bank with grass.” The key stretch was a few hundred yards long. When asked what was holding the fish there shallow, they answered “blue gill.” They spent most of their day flipping that area with a Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver in Green Pumpkin color. RJ said he also “caught one of their bigger fish on a brim color Dirty Jigs swim jig with a Skinny Dipper Trailer.”  The plan for them was to stay shallow all day.  Kenny said he spend a lot of time graphing out deep in practice and found some good brush piles but “that’s just not who we are we like to go to the bank” This 3rd place finish moved them to 34th in points going in to the final event on Lay Lake.

The top ten standings are below, and for a full list of results visit: https://www.alabamabasstrail.org/tournament-series/le-results/

Download and listen to the ABT Podcast on your favorite Podcast app by searching for “Alabama Bass Trail Podcast.”  The Podcast is released each week on Tuesday.

The sponsors of the 2020 Alabama Bass Trail include; Phoenix Bass Boats, Bill Penney Toyota, Garmin, Academy Sports & Outdoors, America’s First Federal Credit Union, Sweet Home Alabama, Alabama Tourism Department, Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association, T-H Marine Supplies, Wedowee Marine, Strike King, Buffalo Rock, Mountain Dew, Jack’s, Fish Neely Henry Lake.com, Alabama Power Company, Lew’s Fishing, Berkley, YETI, Power Pole, Big Bite Bait Company, E3 Apparel and Hydrowave.

For information about Alabama Bass Trail and for complete tournament standings visit www.alabamabasstrail.org.

 

 

Phillip Anderson & Russ Padgett Win CATT Lake Wateree, SC June 27, 2020

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Phillip Anderson & Russ Padgett Win CATT Lake Wateree, SC June 27, 2020

Next Lake Wateree Summer Qualifier is July 11th at Clearwater Cove Marina!

Phillip Anderson & Russ Padgett brought in 5 bass at 16.64 lbs to take 1st Place worth $1,597.00! They also weighed in the Academy BF at 4.21 lbs and received an Academy Gift Card valued at $25!!

John Paul George & Jason Quinn finished 2nd with 15.76 lbs!

Kevin & Jacob Compton took 3rd with 14.76 lbs!

Cody Johnson & Vinson Blanton with some fat Lake  Wateree bass!

21 Teams BF Weight Winnings Points
Phillip Anderson – Russ Padgett 4.21 16.64 $1,597.00 110
John Paul George – Jason Quinn 4.07 15.76 $538.00 109
Kevin Compton – Jacob Comptom 3.59 14.76 $200.00 108
Todd Butler – Mack Kitchens 3.13 13.61 $140.00 107
Mike King – Mike Traynum 3.51 13.60 $147.00 106
Vinson Blanton – Cody Johsnon 3.10 13.48 105
Brett Collins 3.49 13.25 104
Jeff Knight – Alex Griffin 3.27 13.16 103
Chad Rabon – Walt Almond 3.29 12.87 102
Ray Dowey – Chanon Dowey 3.58 12.69 101
Jess Williams – Jim Smoak 3.24 12.66 100
Gary Michaud – Dustin Compton 3.18 12.22 99
Tim Haven – Craig Haven 3.42 10.25 98
Allen Fletcher – Tanner Fletcher 3.44 9.90 97
Scott Floyd 3.01 7.75 96
Paul Wells 0.00 0.00 95
Gabe Hopkins – Tal Lucas 0.00 0.00 95
Randy Robson 0.00 0.00 95
Steve Phillips 0.00 0.00 95
Jay Adams – Tony C 0.00 0.00 95
Total Entrys $2,520.00
BONUS $ $475.00
Total Paid At Ramp $2,475.00
Wateree 2020 Summer Final Fund $420.00
2020 CATT Championships $50.00
2020 Wateree Summer Final Fund Total $420.00
2020 CATT Championship Fund Total $3,775.00

Travis Gatling & Grant Powell Win CATT Cooper River, SC June 20, 2020

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Travis Gatling & Grant Powell Win CATT Cooper River, SC June 20, 2020

Next Cooper River CATT Qualifier is July 18 and this will be the last of the Spring Qualifiers! You only have to enter 1 Cooper River Qualifier to be eligible to enter the Cooper River Final! Date coming for the Final!

Travis Gatling & Grant Powell win with 13.99 lbs! 

Wayne Crosby with some good ones!

20 Teams BF Weight Winnings Points
Travis Gatlin Grant Powell 6.82 13.99 $900.00 110
Matt Baker Andrew Baker 0.00 12.90 $215.00 109
Michael Craven Skeeter Wayne Crosby 0.00 12.54 $110.00 108
Scott Perrine Brian Nordyke 0.00 12.03 $60.00 107
Matt Judy Corey Casey 0.00 11.99 106
Austin Odum 0.00 11.98 105
David Murdaugh Sr. Grant Lusk 0.00 11.69 104
Griffin Crane 0.00 10.47 103
John Campbell Kyle Welch 0.00 10.36 102
Lonnie Causey Chris Mcdonald 0.00 8.43 101
Ron Brown 0.00 8.30 100
Henry Mueller Chris David 0.00 7.48 99
Johnny Brinson James White 0.00 6.73 98
Terry Silliman Ron Ronald Young 0.00 6.38 97
Eddie Punchak Michael Dibello 0.00 6.07 96
Michael Smigel Cody Wilson 0.00 5.60 95
Darrel Knies 0.00 5.58 94
Casey Leach Charlene Leach 0.00 4.19 93
Winky Waterford 0.00 0.00 92
Dale Lovelace 0.00 0.00 92
Total Entrys $1,000.00
BONUS $ $400.00
Total Paid At Ramp $1,285.00
Cooper River 2020 Spring Final Fund $105.00
2020 CATT Championship Fund $10.00
Cooper River 2020 Spring Final Total $370.00
2020 CATT Championship Fund $3,725.00

Mother Nature Knows Best: 3 Clues In Wildlife That Will Lead You To More Bass

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Mother Nature Knows Best: 3 Clues In Wildlife That Will Lead You To More Bass

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Paying attention to nature signs can turn a dismal bass fishing outing into a productive trip. Picking up clues from various terrestrial or aquatic sources can help you determine what the bass are doing on your favorite waters.
Awareness of water and weather conditions and what your lure is doing are keys to bass fishing but awareness of what is going on in the surrounding outdoors can also be a super key.

When fishing in an area you should be aware of whether it is “live” or “dead” water. Telltale signs of dead water include a lack of shad, minnows, and sunfish in the shallows, and the absence of birds hanging around the shoreline. Live water will have plenty of baitfish and bird activity in the area.

Here are some signs from Mother Nature that will help you catch more bass:

Using Natural Signs To Pattern Bass

lake travis sunset image

The touring bass pros have noticed all wildlife tends to get active around the major feeding periods. They have observed countless times when they are catching fish that land animals such as turkeys have been gobbling or a lot of squirrels have been running around on the bank.

A nature reading tip from the late Bassmaster Classic Champion Guido Hibdon helped salvage one of my fishing trips a few years ago. After more than five hours of pitching and casting a variety of lures resulting in only a couple of bites, it seemed a strong possibility that my fishing buddy and I were going to be blanked on our home waters.

As we worked down an undeveloped bank, I noticed a flock of turkeys feeding at the edge of the woods and squirrels rummaging around on the ground. As we passed this wildlife activity, my buddy suggested we should take our licks and go home. Seeing those feeding turkeys and squirrels made me recall when Hibdon once told me he could tell bass were going to start biting whenever he saw deer, squirrels and other wildlife get active. So I told my buddy about Hibdon’s theory and we decided to try one more spot. When he moved to a row of docks, we discovered the bass had turned on as my buddy caught a keeper on the first dock and missed a 5-pounder at the next boathouse. In the next hour and a half we boated eight keepers with our best five fish weighing about 17 pounds.

Checking out dogwood trees in the spring can help you figure out patterns for bass. If the dogwoods are blooming then bass are probably going to be on spawning beds. So blooming dogwoods are a good indicator that bass will be shallow on your favorite fishery.

Keep An Eye On The Birds In The Sky

You can also pay close attention to birds for clues on the mood and location of bass. The pros claim bass seem to bite better when birds are singing and owls are hooting.

Terns and gulls feeding and ducks flying are also good indications that bass are biting. If you notice a lot of ducks flying and circling that is a great time to catch bass so if you are fishing a spot and not catching anything that usually indicates bass are not there. This aerial activity is a signal to speed up your presentation and go into a search mode to find active fish elsewhere.

Cormorants are always good to look for when you are hunting for bass. It doesn’t necessarily have to be on that exact spot where you see them, but if you see a lot of cormorants in a bay or in a certain part of the lake that is where you will find a lot of bass. Cormorants have to fish for a living, so they know where the shad are and they eat a lot of gizzard shad that bass also eat.

During the postspawn, if you start seeing blackbirds on riprap rocks it is a sure sign that the shad are starting to spawn. You can go to the riprap then and catch bass gorging on spawning shad then.

Natural Clues Living Below The Surface

frog fishing bass

If you see any of the bass’ food (shad, minnows and bream) has moved shallow in the morning or afternoon you can usually catch a few bass shallow no matter what time of the year it is.

Croaking frogs are also a good indicator of “live” water. When you pull into a cove and hear the frogs croaking it is a good sign that the area holds active bass.

Scanning the water’s surface for turtles will help you find brush piles that are usually bass magnets. The turtles usually rise from the brush piles and then dive back down into the cover to feed. Some of the pros have said they rely on rising turtles to help them find underwater logs and brush in a hurry when fishing vast flats on reservoirs. Whenever I have seen a turtle on the surface I have thrown my lure close to the terrapin and have felt my lure bump into brush on many occasions.

Concentrating on your line will help you detect more strikes, but there are times when nature watching becomes a key to catching more bass.

Jessie Cofflin & Larry Witt Win CATT leesville lake June 28th 2020

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Jessie Cofflin & Larry Witt Win CATT leesville lake June 28th 2020

Photos taken by Alicia Matherly

CLICK HERE TO SEE FULL RESULTS

3 Weird Ways to Use a Treble Hook By Shaye Baker

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3 Weird Ways to Use a Treble Hook By Shaye Baker

t’s pretty tough trying to come up with different stuff to talk about in bass fishing. And I don’t mean difficult in the grand scheme of things, as life could be much worse. But I mean difficult like trying to tell the difference between the “eggshell” and “off-white” paint swatches your wife brought home. So it’s still difficult. Just in a different way.

A recent brainstorming session got me to thinking about some of the weird little tricks that my dad has taught me over the years. Stuff we don’t use all the time, but when we do use it, it’s extremely effective and helpful.

Several of these little tweaks actually involve treble hooks. If you stick with me through this piece, I really think you’ll catch some more fish this year. So let’s dive in.

Wheeler Wins Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Super Tournament at Lake Chickamauga

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Wheeler Wins Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Super Tournament at Lake Chickamauga

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Link to HD Video of Wheeler’s Winning Moment
Link to HD Video of Wheeler’s Post-Tournament Media Scrum

DAYTON, Tenn. (June 26, 2020) – Major League Fishing (MLF) pro Jacob Wheeler of Harrison, Tennessee, caught a final-day five-bass limit weighing 21 pounds, 6 ounces to win $125,000 in the $1.3 million Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Super Tournament at Lake Chickamauga. Wheeler topped his closest competitor, Cole Floyd of Leesburg, Ohio, by 11 pounds, 13 ounces to earn the win in the event that featured a field of 204 anglers competing from FLW and MLF in Dayton, Tennessee.

“It’s been an unbelievable week,” said Wheeler, who notched his fifth major win since the start of the 2019 season. “I put more time in (practice) for this event than any other event that I’ve fished. To get the win here means so much to me. On my home lake. In front of my best friends and family. With FLW, the organization that I started with and the people that watched me grow up. This one means the world to me.”

Wheeler said he used a variety of baits to catch his fish this week, including Rapala DT-20 (Citrus Shad) and DT-16 (Big Shad) crankbaits, an 8-inch green-pumpkin-colored worm, a 5/8-ounce white hairjig, a scrounger with a soft-plastic jerkbait trailer, a jig, an unnamed topwater bait, and a vibrating jig.

“I knew that I had to keep an open mind and I couldn’t get locked into one particular bait,” Wheeler said. “There was no magical bait. That’s why I had so many different rods on my deck each day. I was able to trigger some of those really good bites by rotating through them.”

Wheeler estimated that he fished around 50 spots throughout the week but had three areas that were really key for him. While many pros focused solely shallow or deep, Wheeler constantly switched between the two over the course of the event.

“Each place was so unique,” Wheeler said. “The areas were completely different. It’s not like it was a pattern. It was just finding places that were a little bit less obvious was really what it came down to. Those fish weren’t as pressured and easier to get to bite. That was my game plan the whole week.

Wheeler opened the tournament Tuesday in first place with five bass weighing 24-9. He slipped to second place Wednesday with a five-bass catch weighing 22 pounds, 1 ounce to advance into the top 50 cut with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 46 pounds, 10 ounces. On Thursday, Wheeler caught five bass weighing 25-12 to reclaim his lead and advance to the final day of competition in first place. Wheeler added another five bass weighing 21-6 to his final-round total Friday and earn $125,000.

The top 10 pros on Lake Chickamauga finished:

1st:       Jacob Wheeler of Harrison, Tenn., 20 bass, 93-12, $125,000
2nd:      Cole Floyd of Leesburg, Ohio, 20 bass, 81-15, $35,500
3rd:       Jason Reyes of Huffman, Texas, 20 bass, 76-12, $30,000
4th:       Cody Meyer of Auburn, Calif., 20 bass, 72-13, $25,000
5th:       Alex Davis of Albertville, Ala., 20 bass, 72-12, $22,000
6th:       Miles Burghoff of Soddy-Daisy, Tenn., 20 bass, 71-3, $21,000
7th:       John Cox of DeBary, Fla., 20 bass, 70-1, $19,000
8th:       Joshua Weaver of Macon, Ga., 20 bass, 65-10, $18,000
9th:       David Williams of Maiden, N.C., 20 bass, 65-0, $17,000
10th:     Alton Jones of Lorena, Texas, 20 bass, 61-4, $16,200

Complete results for the entire field can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Overall there were 50 bass weighing 149 pounds, 14 ounces caught by pros Friday. All of the final 10 pros weighed in five-bass limits.

Television coverage of the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit at Lake Chickamauga will premiere at 7 p.m. EDT, Aug. 14 on the Outdoor Channel. Beginning July 3 and running through Dec. 27, FLW will air 312 hours of Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit action on the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel. Episodes have been expanded to two hours long, allowing each show to go in-depth to break down the final rounds of regular-season competition. Each episode will premiere in Friday night primetime slots on the Outdoor Channel, with additional re-airings on the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel.

The Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit at Lake Chickamauga was hosted by Fish Dayton and the Rhea Economic & Tourism Council.

In Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Super Tournament competition, the full field of 204 pro anglers competed in the two-day opening round on Tuesday and Wednesday. The top 50 pros based on their two-day accumulated weight advanced to Thursday. Only the top 10 pros continued competition on Friday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from the four days of competition.

FLW anglers are vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the Tackle Warehouse FLW TITLE presented by Toyota, the Pro Circuit championship. The 2020 Tackle Warehouse FLW TITLE presented by Toyota will be held on the St. Lawrence River in Massena, New York, Aug. 24-29.

MLF pros competing in the Pro Circuit Super Tournaments will fish for prize money only. No points will be awarded toward any championship or title to MLF competitors. Only the original Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit anglers will compete for the AOY title throughout the remainder of the season. AOY points in the final events will be awarded based on Pro Circuit anglers finishing order. The top-finishing FLW pro will receive “first-place points” regardless of where he finishes in the overall standings, and so on.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

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