Bassmaster Elite Series angler Keith Phillips of Alabama has the Hottest Rig Running, as determined by BASS members and fishing fans who participated in the Hottest Rig Running contest at Bassmaster.com. Phillips’ boat outdid 107 other anglers’ designs.
His boat – featuring a wrap that promotes Pursuing a Dream, a charity that helps disabled people in the U.S. participate in outdoors activities – garnered almost 50% of all votes cast in the final round, earning him the grand prize of $10,000 cash.
Phillips became associated with the cause after he met Destin Ware, a physically challenged child, at a celebrity hunting event. Ware is pictured on Phillips’ boat wrap.
“I've dedicated the 2007 season to the disabled people of this country and the work of Pursuing a Dream,” Phillips said. “There are nearly 55 million disabled people in the U.S. Too many of them have the desire to get outdoors, but are not connected with organizations like Pursuing a Dream that can facilitate a trip.”
For more information on Pursuing a Dream, click here.
John Crews, with his Advance Auto Parts design, was the runner-up in the rig contest. He received more than 11% of votes in the final round.
Rounding out the Top 5 were Denny Brauer’s Strike King wrap in 3rd; Shaw Grigsby’s Dick’s Sporting Goods wrap in 4th; and Matthew Sphar, whose wrap promotes the movie, The Alphabet Killer, in 5th.
The contest featured a different group of Elite Series pro boats each week for 12 weeks. The boat design receiving the highest vote in each group advanced to the final round, and the boats with the second-highest number of votes went into a second-chance round. One final round of fan voting determined Phillips as the winner.
More than 10,000 votes were cast in the contest, which began April 20 and ended July 12. Other finalists were James Kennedy, Russ Lane, Rick Morris, Zell Rowland and Byron Velvick.
