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• Moulton prevails at Cal Delta

  Sunday, May 19, 2013
  

  Jim Moulton weighed a 14-07 sack on Saturday to win the California Delta Western EverStart with a 3-day total of 59-13.

  “This was so much fun!” Moulton exclaimed about his first FLW win. “I just had a great week and can’t express how happy I am.

  “I had a great pre-practice, found a lot of fish and had marked a lot of places. But then on the first day, everywhere I went there was a boat. I was scratching my head, because every spot I had marked was taken, so I had to figure something else out.

  He opted to move away from the bank and fish to the rear of the other boats.

  " I moved about 25 to 30 feet off the bank, targeting grass. It was a grind, though. I only had one or two fish by noon each day. As the tide went out in the afternoon it started to push the fish off the banks and that’s when I started getting steady bites."

  His primary baits were a Revenge Viberator bladed jig and a Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver. Full details of his winning pattern will be published soon.

  Below are the totals for the Top-10 finishers:

  1. Jim Moulton: 59-13
  2. Toshitada Suzuki: 57-02
  3. Benjamin Boyd: 56-07
  4. Stephen Tosh Jr.: 55-13
  5. Miles Howe: 54-05
  6. Timothy Venkus: 54-01
  7. Jeff Michels: 50-15
  8. Vu Au: 50-08
  9. Sean Stafford: 48-01
  10. Aaron Lesieur: 45-02

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• Kilgore hangs on to win at Logan Martin

  Sunday, May 19, 2013
  

  David Kilgore's final-day bag at the Logan Martin Bassmaster Southern Open was one fish short of a limit, but the 12-11 he took to the scale was enough to give him the victory Saturday with a 3-day total of 46-08.

  Heavy rain that lasted through the night following day 2 muddied the lake and rendered many areas unfishable. Seven of the Top 12 still managed a limit, but none of those stringers outweighed Kilgore's four-fish haul as he outdistanced runner-up Greg Vinson by 5-09.

  Kilgore's 1st-place prize package includes a berth in next year's Bassmaster Classic. He focused on docks in 10 to 15 feet of water where shad were spawning and threw a bladed jig. All but one of the fish he weighed were spotted bass.

  Full details of his winning pattern will be published soon.

  Here are the totals for the anglers who advanced to the final day.

  1. David Kilgore: 46-08
  2. Greg Vinson: 40-15
  3. David Walker: 40-11
  4. Paul Elias: 38-09
  5. Ott DeFoe: 37-13
  6. Tim Hurst: 37-03
  7. Michael Reid: 36-06
  8. Hank Cherry: 36-02
  9. Tim Frederick: 34-15
  10. Alvin Shaw: 31-07
  11. Chris Lane: 31-02
  12. Bill Weidler: 29-09

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• Another FLW blowout

  Sunday, May 19, 2013
  

  Just in the last year and a half, BassFans have witnessed four of the biggest victory margins in FLW Tour history, including Randall Tharp's record 23 1/2-pound beatdown at the Lake Okeechobee Tour Open to kick off the 2012 season.

  Randy Haynes added his name to the history books today with an 11-pound win at Lake Eufaula. It ranks as the eighth-largest winning margin and ran the total number of 10-pound wins to 12. Here's a rundown of the most lopsided wins in FLW Tour competition:

  1. Randall Tharp: 23-09 (Lake Okeechobee – 2012)
  2. Brett Hite: 20-04 (Lake Toho – 2008)
  3. Paul Elias: 17-03 (Lake Guntersville – 2011)
  4. Phil Marks: 16-05 (Sam Rayburn Reservoir – 2012)
  5. Brent Ehrler: 13-02 (Table Rock Lake – 2010)
  6. Ray Scheide: 13-00 (Lake Okeechobee – 2004)
  7. Mark Rose: 12-10 (Wheeler Lake – 2012)
  8. Randy Haynes: 11-00 (Lake Eufaula – 2013)
  9. Chris Daniels: 10-12 (Lake Okeechobee – 1997)
  10. Mike Wurm: 10-10 (Lake Murray – 1999)
  11. Steve Kennedy: 10-01 (Kentucky Lake – 2003)
  12. Jason Christie: 10-00 (Lake Hartwell – 2011)
  

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• Tosh sacks 23 to grab Cal Delta lead

  Saturday, May 18, 2013
  

  Former FLW Tour pro Stephen "Bub" Tosh Jr. moved into the lead Friday at the California Delta Western EverStart as his 23-00 sack gave him a 2-day total of 48-04. He holds a lead of just under 2 pounds over Jim Moulton, who boated a day-best 26-02 for a 45-06 aggregate.

  Western points leader Jeff Michels weighed more than 21 pounds for the second straight day and moved into 3rd with 43-01.

  Here are the totals for the anglers who'll compete on day 3:

  1. Stephen Tosh Jr.: 48-04
  2. Jim Moulton: 45-06
  3. Jeff Michels: 43-01
  4. Toshitada Suzuki: 41-07
  5. Vu Au: 39-08
  6. Sean Stafford: 39-02
  7. Benjamin Byrd: 38-13
  8. Aaron Lesieur: 37-13
  9. Miles Howe: 37-06
  10. Timothy Venkus: 37-04

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• Kilgore moves to top at Logan Martin

  Saturday, May 18, 2013
  

  David Kilgore caught a 17-06 bag of spotted bass Friday to take over the lead at the Logan Martin Lake Bassmaster Southern Open with a 2-day total of 33-13. He supplanted Chris Lane in the top slot as the 2012 Bassmaster Classic champion dropped to 5th with a 10-03 stringer.

  “The morning bite was slow yesterday,” Kilgore said. “Today I had all the bass I weighed in by 7:30 (a.m.).”

  Kilgore left his key areas after that and concentrated on largemouths. He caught five of those, but nothing big enough to cull anything from his initial limit. On day 3 Kilgore plans to hammer his best spotted-bass water all day.

  Former FLW Tour pro Alvin Shaw jumped three spots to land in 2nd place with a 15-07 bag. He's fishing an area that he believes the spotted bass moved into during the high water of the previous week.

  “They haven’t moved out yet,” he said. “I’m hoping they stay 1 more day.”

  Here are the totals for the 12 anglers who'll be back on the water for day 3:

  1. David Kilgore: 33-13
  2. Alvin Shaw: 31-07
  3. David Walker: 30-15
  4. Tim Hurst: 29-14
  5. Chris Lane: 28-13
  6. Michael Reid: 28-08
  7. Greg Vinson: 28-04
  8. William Weidler: 27-12
  9. Paul Elias: 27-11
  10. Tim Frederick: 27-05

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• Yamamoto signs another Classic champ

  Friday, May 17, 2013
  

  Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits announced that it's added 2007 Bassmaster Classic champion Boyd Duckett to the company’s pro staff. He joines Larry Nixon and Jay Yelas as the third former Classic winner to sign with the company this year. In addition to the company’s soft plastics, Duckett will promote an additional line of products that will be introduced at this year’s ICAST show.

  I have admired Boyd Duckett for many years,” said company founder Gary Yamamoto. “He’s a successful businessman of the highest integrity and he’s also extremely articulate and opinionated. Most importantly, though, he’s a proven winner at the highest levels of professional fishing.”

  Said Duckett: “I don’t need to align myself with any company at this point in my career, but the opportunity to combine forces with Yamamoto was too great to pass up. I’ve used their soft plastics for years with great success, and when the new items come to market later this year I think that they will really turn some heads. I look forward to continuing to win high-level tournaments with these lures and feel that they give me a substantial edge over those anglers who don’t use them.”
  

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• Christie doubles up on Weigh to Win bonuses

  Friday, May 17, 2013
  

  Jason Christie had an April full of tournament success that was more like a dream than reality. In back-to-back weeks, the former college basketball player won two professional tournaments.

  First he won the Walmart FLW Tour event on Beaver Lake in Arkansas, then headed 120 miles east to Bull Shoals Reservoir and won the Bassmaster Elite Series event. His winnings totaled more than $225,000 in about 8 calendar days.

  Thanks to BoatUS Angler’s “Weigh-to-Win” cash bonus program, Christie is still cashing-in. He picked up $500 for each of his professional victories to add an extra thousand bucks to his April to remember.

  “To be honest, as a professional angler, any tournament bonus program gets my attention and the chance to win extra cash through Weigh-to-Win is the biggest reason I originally signed up for a membership with BoatUS Angler,” said Christie. “But the added benefit of knowing if I blow a trailer tire or have mechanical issues, that I can dial the toll-free number on this key chain and BoatUS will send somebody to help me fix it or get off the highway safely, is worth way more than the $38 it cost to sign-up.”

  Simply said, it pays to buy a highly affordable BoatUS Angler membership regardless of which B.A.S.S., FLW, LBAA, College Bass or PAA events you compete in, especially when you’re registered for the “Weigh-to-Win” cash tournament bonus program. That’s why hundreds of anglers have already signed up.

  To make sure you're eligible, just dial (918) 742-6424 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. CST Monday through Friday. To learn more, click here.

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• A tricky little Devil

  Friday, May 17, 2013
  

  The Mike Iaconelli-designed Berkley Havoc Devil Spear created some waves within the industry when it was released a couple of years ago due to its unique shape and multiple rigging options. Now the company has produced a smaller version that's suitable when the fish are a bit more finicky.

  To learn more about it, click here to visit the Catch More Fish page.
  

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• Stafford's 28-12 leads at Cal Delta

  Friday, May 17, 2013

  The California Delta kicked out 13 stringers that exceeded 20 pounds Thursday as the third Western EverStart Series of the season got under way.

  Leading the way is Sean Stafford, who caught 28-12. He's 3 1/2 pounds clear of Stephen Tosh, Jr., who bagged 25-04. Miles Howe is 3rd with 23-15.

  Here's how the Top 10 looked after day 1:

  1. Sean Stafford: 28-12
  2. Stephen Tosh Jr: 25-04
  3. Miles Howe: 23-15
  4. Benjamin Byrd: 23-09
  5. Aaron Cole: 23-06
  6. Vu Au: 23-04
  7. Mike Saso: 23-01
  8. Kent Brown: 21-12
  9. Andy Scholz: 21-10
  10. Bob Cepek: 21-05

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• In The Boat: Don't be afraid to downsize

  Friday, May 17, 2013
  

  In the newest BassFan "In The Boat" tip, Bassmaster Elite Series angler Jared Lintner talks about why he'll downsize his baits and tackle when targeting bedding bass.

  To check out the video, click here.

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• Lane early leader at Logan Martin

  Thursday, May 16, 2013

  Chris Lane was the lone angler to catch 18 pounds today as the Logan Martin Lake Southern Open got under way.

  Lane's 18-10 stringer was good enough for a 2-plus pound lead over David Kilgore, who caught 16-07. Stephen Browning, who won the Red River Central Open a few weeks ago, is tied for 3rd with Alvin Shaw after both bagged 16-00. Ott DeFoe is 5th with 15-12.

  Here's how the Top 12 aligned after day 1:

  1. Chris Lane: 18-10
  2. David Kilgore: 16-07
  3 (tie). Stephen Browning: 16-00
  3 (tie). Alvin Shaw: 16-00
  5. Ott DeFoe: 15-12
  6. Patrick Pierce: 15-03
  7. Mike Garrett: 15-03
  8 (tie). Michael Reid: 15-01
  8 (tie). William Weidler: 15-01
  10. Tim Hurst: 15-00
  11. Greg Vinson: 14-15
  12. James Cross: 14-14
  

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• Crews' autism jersey on auction block

  Thursday, May 16, 2013

  The specially-designed jersey worn by John Crews during the month of April to raise awareness about autism is now on the auction block.

  The jersey, which features colorful interlocking puzzle pieces, a symbol for autism, has been signed by Crews and is up for bid on eBay (click here).

  The entire amount of the winning bid will be donated to Autism Speaks, a national autism organization.

  "The jersey has gotten a lot of interest and created a lot of positive feedback," Crews said. "The purpose of creating awareness for autism definitely was done. Now it is time to generate as much money as we can to donate to autism. (Bassmaster emcee) Dave Mercer wants to start the bidding on the jersey so people will likely have to outbid him.”

  Also, Crews' Missile Baits company will be donating $522.53 to the Commonwealth Autism Service, which helps train people on how to educate children with autism. This figure was based on a percentage of all Missile Baits sales during the month of April.

  A t-shirt sale is also ongoing in an effort to raise funds for The Autism Society. The shirts are adorned with the phrase "Fishin' With a Mission," and feature the logo of My Little Buddy's Boat. Only 50 shirts were made and they are available through the Missile Baits web site.

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• Balog: Wheeler an interesting study

  Thursday, May 16, 2013
  

  Joe Balog didn't know a lot about Jacob Wheeler's background until he got the opportunity to spend some time with the reigning Forrest Wood Cup champion recently. Much of what he learned surprised him greatly.

  To read the latest edition of Balog's Bass War, click here.
  

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• Sunline Strong Performer – Alabama River

  Thursday, May 16, 2013
  

  A simple bait change or a move to a different area wasn't enough to save Clark Reehm at last week's Alabama River Bassmaster Elite Series. He needed to shift his focus to a different species of bass.

  After weighing 8-09 and sitting in 83rd place after day 1, he doubled up on his weight the following day to move up to 45th place and earn his fourth paycheck in five outings this season.

  "The difference from day 1 to day 2 was I went after largemouth on day 2," he said. "On the first day I chased after spotted bass, and that all stemmed from practice. I caught a 4-pound-plus spot, which was my biggest one ever, and I let that mess with my head.

  "On day 1 I was leap-frogging in the river with guys like Skeet, KVD and Ike, guys who caught them, but I wasn't getting the quality. I don't know if my timing was off or what."

  With nothing to lose on day 2, he opted to pursue green fish, which were basically ignored throughout the event because the big spots were chomping in the rampaging rivers.

  He threw a DUO Realis Popper 64 topwater in grass and lily pads and pitched a Kicker Fish Hightail Lizard around trees to catch his 17-pound stringer. He said he should've backed up that bag with another strong weight on day 3, when he managed just 9-01 and fell one place to finish 46th.

  "I should've had 14 or 15 pounds that day, but I didn't put the bites in the boat."

  The Sunline Strong Performer, which focuses on the angler who makes the most significant single-day move in the standings at each tour-level event, is brought to you by the great people at Sunline.

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• Still time to make TTBC

  Wednesday, May 15, 2013

  In the YouTube video embedded below, Mike McClelland reminds fellow pro anglers that they can still qualify for the 2014 Toyota Texas Bass Classic via the PAA Tournament Series – even if they missed the opener at Douglas Lake.

  One finish out of four will be thrown out in determining TTBC qualifiers, so anglers who fish at Fort Loudoun/Tellico (May 23-25), Table Rock (Sept. 5-7) and Grand (Nov. 8-10) still have a shot.

  
  

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• T-H Marine buys Oxygenator, U2 Pro Formula brands

  Wednesday, May 15, 2013

  T-H Marine Supplies today announced it has acquired the Oxygenator and U2 Pro Formula product line assets of O2 Marine Technologies. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

  “We are very pleased to announce the acquisition of the O2 Marine product line assets," said Jeff Huntley, T-H Marine president and CEO. "We have admired the work of Dennis Clark and the O2 Marine team for many years and are proud to be able to add their great products to ours. Dennis has worked hard building this business from scratch and we are thankful he is going to help us insure a smooth transition for our mutual customers.”

  Huntley noted that T-H Marine and O2 Marine have had many common customers and have both worked to improve survival of bait and sport fish in the recreational marine business for many years.

  “I am very pleased that I am able to hand off these great fishing and conservation products to T-H Marine," said Dennis Clark, president of O2 Marine. "I know my many years of research and development in building these products and this business will be carried on with the T-H Marine team."
  

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• Ingram says hype unwarranted this week

  Wednesday, May 15, 2013
  

  One angler who's generated a fair amount of buzz heading into the Lake Eufaula FLW Tour is Ryan Ingram.

  You won't find his name anywhere in the Angler of the Year standings because he hasn't fished a Tour event this year, or ever, but the chatter amongst other anglers this week and even locals who know the ins and outs of Eufaula indicate he's the odds-on favorite heading into the first Tour event on the Chattahoochee River impoundment since 1997.

  He's the definition of a decorated local angler with a half-dozen wins at Eufaula combined in FLW and B.A.S.S. competition. The Phenix City, Ala., native paid the deposits to fish all six Tour events with the intention of only fishing the Eufaula tournament.

  "I was going to fish this tournament and maybe one other one, but probably just this one," he said, "which I think they're frowning upon now."

  Asked if he meant FLW or other anglers, he said, "I think it's a little bit of both, but it's per their rules. The rules say if you pay your money, you can fish one of them or all of them."

  He said he should be the least of everyone's worries this week as he called his practice session "terrible," and he guesses he'd have a difficult time catching a limit if the tournament were to start today.

  "Little do they know they don't have much to worry about with me," he said. "I didn't catch them at all. The water's 2 1/2 feet higher than it usually is, the water's 12 degrees cooler than it normally is and the shad are still spawning a month later than usual. I'll have been lucky to catch a limit, let alone a big limit.

  "It's so far from ideal it's awful for me. I'm trying to make the fish be somewhere they're not. I'm not a good shallow-water fisherman and I don't practice that way. I guess the egg's on my face this time."

  He said he'd much rather be targeting shallow ledges this time of year and maybe some brush piles, of which he's said to have planted hundreds around the lake, but that's more of an early-spring pattern.

  "That's a March and April deal to win on," he said. "If the shallow fish turn on like I'm scared they are going to with the water stabilizing and the temperatures warming up and the south wind, which is always better for shallow fishing, it doesn't look good at all for me. As bad as they want me out of this tournament, I wish someone would walk down this dock right now and offer to buy me out. I'd come real cheap."

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• Big Bite Lookback – Alabama River

  Wednesday, May 15, 2013
  

  A couple of fish that never made it into the boat on day 3 cost Jared Miller an opportunity to advance to the final day of the Alabama River Bassmaster Elite Series. The second-year pro's 13th-place showing was nonetheless his best to date and marked the third time he's finished in the money this year after cashing just one paycheck during his rookie campaign.

  He spent the tournament upriver near the Jordan Dam. Third-place finisher Steve Kennedy was within sight most of the time and runner-up Brent Chapman was about a half-mile downstream.

  He missed out on advancing to the final day by a little over a pound.

  "I lost a 4-pounder (on day 3) and I broke one off that I never saw," he said. "I caught about 20 drum a day the first 2 days, but none that day after the water went down, so I don't think (the fish that broke off) was a drum."

  Like Chapman and Kennedy, he threw a big spinnerbait and a swimbait attached to a jighead. Fellow Oklahoman Kenyon Hill, who won a Bassmaster Tour event on the Alabama in 2003, clued him in on what he needed to be doing.

  "I was throwing the spinnerbait on 50-pound braid. I was throwing it on 25, but I figured that the current was so strong it didn't matter."

  The Big Bite Lookback, which focuses on the angler who's first out of the final cut at each tour-level event, is brought to you by the great folks at Big Bite Baits.

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• Vision 110 family welcomes Jr. version

  Wednesday, May 15, 2013
  

  The reputation of the Megabass Ito Vision 110 family of jerkbaits is well-deserved and for some anglers it's unmatched. It's long been a standard for anglers looking to fool pressured bass with its tantalizing roll and erractic darting action. Well, the family just welcomed a new addition in the form of the Vision 110 Jr.

  The scaled-down version measures 3.85" and weighs in at 3/8 ounce, making it about a half-inch shorter and 1/8 ounce lighter than the regular Vision 110. Armed with the multi-way moving balancer system, it still produces long-distance casts despite its petite footprint and will be a deadly bait for fish that are keying on smaller forage.

  In this latest BassFan "In The Boat" feature, Bassmaster Elite Series pro Aaron Martens talks about when the 110 Jr. is a useful tool and even shows off its castability.

  
  

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• Taylor didn't see rally coming

  Tuesday, May 14, 2013

  Rick Taylor had not been able to fish any of the first three Southeast EverStart Series tournaments this season due to various personal reasons. He finally got a chance to compete last week at Wheeler Lake and put on a memorable final-day rally that saw him erase a 5 1/2-pound deficit and come from 10th place to capture the victory.

  To read about how the Michigan native pulled it off, click here.

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