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BASS
Elite Series-Color Coded-Click Here
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Angler Of the Year Race For 2008 Is Now Updated! Click
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photo
ESPNoutdoors.com
05/17/08
Morris Leads Elite Series Event, Ten Make The Big
Show At FLW Event-Rick
Morris of Virgina Beach, VA has been the model of consistency
so far at the Elite Series event on Lake Murray, South
Carolina. Morris, with 18-00 on day one and 17-07 on
day two has the lead going into Saturday with 35-07.
Mike McClelland, who is making a serious run at BASS AOY
this season is in second place with 34-13 and Grant Goldbeck,
who led the event after day one with 20-04, (the only 20
pound bag so far,) is third with 34-04
The
Blueback Herring are spawning and most of the field is
targeting bass that are feeding on the small bait fish up on
main lake points. So far, a daily average of 17-12 is
needed to lead this event, (Rick Morris.) The top 12
requires 14-10, (Skeet Reese, 29-04,) and to make the top
50, a two day average of 11-11 to make the top 50, (Jon
Bonday, 23-05.)
The
FLW event at Beaver Lake in Arkansas has its final ten
established going into the start of today's final
round. Alvin Shaw has 26-02 after the two days of
qualifying.
The
top 10:
- 1.
Alvin Shaw 26-02
- 2.
Sam Newby 25-08
- 3.
Mark Pack 25-00
- 4.
Matt Arey 24-14
- 5.
Kyle Marby 24-02
- 6.
Dan Morehead 23-04
- 7.
Mike Hawkes 22-12
- 8.
Richard Strother 22-10
- 9.
Greg Bohannan 22-08
- 10
George Cochran 22-04
The
weights for this event will be zeroed, so it will be
anybody's ball game. |
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ESPNoutdoors.com 05/05/08
Hill Gets Over The Top, Final Day Bag Seals The Deal-Kenyon
Hill started the final day of the BASS Elite Series event at
Clark's Hills trailing Edwin Evers by just 1-03. He
made up that difference and a lot more when he brought 18-02
to the scales on the final day, which included a 7-01 kicker
that turned out to be tied for the biggest fish in the
tournament. Hill, with a total of 68-00, caught most
of his fish carolina-rigging a trick worm, mentioned that he
also caught swim bait fish, as well as top water fish.
Davy
Hite pulled into second place, weighing 12-09 on the final
day. Hite's total of 59-08 allowed him to slip ahead
of Edwin Evers, the day two and three leader who weighed
57-01. Evers, picked a bad day to have his poorest
showing of the week, weighing just 3 fish for 6-0.
Todd
Faircloth leads the BASS AOY standings after Clarks Hill
with 1267 points. Mike McClelland is second with 1240
and Skeet Reese, the 2007 AOY is third with 1204. To
see color coded results of the 2008 Elite season, click
here. |
photo
ESPNoutdoors.com 05/04/08
Evers Still Leads, Hill Trails By Only 1.03-Kenyon
Hill narrowed the gap between himself and Edwin Evers on
Saturday. Hill's 18-01 was the day's second biggest
stringer, and promises to set up a good old fashion shootout
as he trails Edwin Evers by just over a pound.
Day
two leader, Edwin Evers brought a very respectable 17-03 to
the scales on day three for a total of 51-01 to hold onto a
very slim lead. Hill's 49-14 sets the stage for what
should be a dramatic day four.
The
final twelve going into today's fishing are a "who's
who" of professional fishing. Former Anglers Of
the Year, Classic Champions and former tour stop winners are
packed top to bottom in the standings.
- 1st
Edwin Evers 51-01
- 2nd
Kenyon Hill 49-14
- 3rd
Davy Hite 46-15
- 4th
Peter Thliveros 44-04
- 5th
Timmy Horton 42-11
- 6th
Casey Ashley 42-04
- 7th
Skeet Reese 41-13
- 8th
Kevin VanDam 41-10
- 9th
Denny Brauer 41-05
- 10th
Alton Jones 40-15
- 10th
Todd Faircloth 40-15
- 12th
David Smith 40-12
The
winning weight average, (Edwin Evers,) is 17-003. To
make the top 12 cut that average is 13-04, (David
Smith.) The top 50 money cut average is 8-15, (David
Sherrer, 26-13.) |
photo
ESPNoutdoors.com 05/03/08
Evers Takes The Day Two Lead-Edwin
Evers had the biggest weight of day two (18-13) and has
taken the lead at the BASS Elite Series event at Clark's
Hill with a two day total of 33-14. Evers who started
day two in 12th place says he is catching his fish in
shallow water, (three to four feet.)
Kenyon
Hill, a fellow Oklahoma pro added 14-13 to his first day
total of 17-00 and is second place with 31-13.
Day
one leader, Denny Brauer caught only 9-12 on day two after a
tournament bets 22-00 on day one. Brauer fell to third
place with a total weight of 31-12
The
cut weight for 12 place is 27-07, (Peter Thliveros) which
works to a 13-10 average over the first two days, figuring
that it will take about 31-05 to make the top 12.
The
money cut, (50th place) is 21-02, (Jim Murray and Ish
Monroe,) which is a 10-09 average. |
Photo
Dan O'Sullivan 04/27/08
Hoernke Finishes What He Started-Magnolia,
Texas pro, Sean Hoernke caught his second straight 13 pound
limit to win the FLW Tour event at Lake Norman. Hoernke
whose lowest weight of the week was a 12-11 limit that he
caught on the second day of qualifying was on solid fish all
week. He finishes with 27-00, more than a 5 pound
advantage over second place pro, Jim Moynagh who weighed
22-09 over the final two days.
The
big news continues to be Andy Morgan's amazing start to the
2008 season. Morgan, who has fished three Tour events
and two Eastern Series and has placed in the top 20 of each
of those events, has pulled in a cool $91,000 without
winning an event. Morgan's 11th place finish, adds
another 48 points to his ProBassAnglers.com, Angler Of the
Year lead. |
|
04/20/08
Team Jordon Wins At Lake Fork-One-of-a-Kind
Event Donates $250,000 to Texas Parks & Wildlife
The
Toyota Texas Bass Classic, held April 18 – 20,
successfully wrapped up on Sunday evening. The unique team
angling competition awarded $750,000 in prize money,
including $250,000 to the winning team of Kelly Jordon,
Lance Vick, David Smith and David Walker. In addition, a
generous donation of $250,000 was given to the Texas Parks
& Wildlife Department (TPWD).
Fans
on Sunday were treated to exciting tournament fishing as the
final five teams jostled for the top spot. Team #20,
captained by Jordon, certainly had the crowd’s support
though. Jordon and Vick are both nearby Mineola, Texas
residents and have both served as fishing guides on Lake
Fork. Jordon has lived in Mineola for 12 years and was a
full-time guide for seven years. He was instrumental in the
founding of the event, along with TPWD commissioners Dan
Friedkin and Donato Ramos. Vick has lived in Mineola for 14
years and has served as a guide that entire time, and still
does to this day.
“I
can’t say enough about how exciting it is to win on my
home lake, in front of my family, and I’ve had a
tremendous amount of support from the people of East
Texas,” said Jordon.
Team
#9, captained by Bobby Lane, charged into the lead late
Sunday afternoon and held the lead with only 45 minutes
remaining in the flight. However, a last minute charge by
Jordon’s crew gave his team the 2008 title. The winning
team caught 54 fish weighing a total of 228 lbs. over the
three days. The runners-up finished only 8 lbs. 4 oz.
behind. Their totals were 48 caught for 219 lbs. 12 oz.
Lane
did however capture the Lucchese Big Bass Award with an 11
lb. 12 oz. catch. He won a 2008 Lucchese Edition Toyota
Tundra, a pair of custom-made Toyota Texas Bass Classic
Lucchese boots and a Stetson hat.
Chad
Morganthaler’s Team #16 finished in third with 183 lbs.
Defending champion Terry Scroggins, Team #8 captain,
finished in fourth place with 180 lbs 4 oz..
Over
the course of three days, 581 fish were caught and recorded
totaling 2,141 lbs.
The
unique bass fishing tournament grouped 104 professional
anglers into teams of four. The event combined the
conservation aspects of Lake Fork’s slot limits with
certified observers and on-the-water scales, allowing
anglers to weigh fish normally not allowed on a slot-limit
lake. The field was cut to the top five teams after two days
of fishing, and the remaining competitors fished Lake Fork
for four hours in the morning and afternoon.
The
event was created to highlight the unique conservation
methods of the TPWD on Lake Fork. The donation from the
Toyota Texas Bass Classic will be spread throughout several
TPWD initiatives including their Neighborhood Fishing
Program, the Texas State Fish Art Contest and “How to
Fish” videos.
The
Toyota Texas Bass Classic is sanctioned by the Professional
Anglers Association with technical assistance and support
from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Inland
Fisheries Division. The Professional Anglers Association
oversaw Tournament regulations and operations. The Toyota
Texas Bass Classic benefits the Texas Parks and Wildlife
Department and its outdoor recreation programs. Title
sponsor for the event is Toyota. Tournament partners include
Bass Pro Shops, Nitro, 96.3 KSCS and 96.7 the Texas Twister.
For additional information, visit www.toyotatexasbassclassic.com.
|
Photo
ESPNoutdoors.com 04/14/08
Faircloth Comes From 8 Pounds Back To Win At Amistad-Leading
on the only day that counts, Todd Faircloth of Jasper, Texas
weighed the day's biggest limit, 29-14 to capture the 4th
Elite Series event of the season. Faircloth's 76-15
was just enough to squeeze by Clark Reehm who boated 21-09
on day three for a total of 76-03. Faircloth led the
event only after the final fish had been put down on the
scales, stealing a page from Paul Elias' victory last week
at Falcon Lake, proving once again, you don't have to lead
the whole time, just the right time.
Faircloth's victory hinge on two big fish he caught
within the last hour of fishing, one, an 8-13 brute was the
day's big fish.
Kevin Short finished where he started day three, in third
place with an impressive 75-10.
The event was shortened to just three days after high
winds on day one, and a forecast for even higher winds,
forced BASS officials to cancel the first day of fishing.
Mike McClelland who finished the event in fifth place,
takes over the lead in BASS Angler Of the Year standings
with 1017, 22 points ahead of Todd Faircloth who moves
into 2nd place in the overall standings. |
Photo
ESPNoutdoors.com 04/13/08
Williamson Delivers On Day Two. Race Still Too Close
To Call-Jason Williamson
had his fifteen minutes of fame a fortune on day two of the
BASS Elite Series Event at Lake Amistad. The South
Carolina Pro hefted 29-13 pounds of Amistad's finest to the
scales and has taken the lead with one day to go in the
weather shortened event. Williamson's 55-12 is 1-02
better than Clark Reehm's 54-10 (2nd place.)
Mike McClelland is tied for third, (53-03) with Kevin
Short who brought the tournament's biggest bag of 31-06 to
the scales. Edwin Evers in 5th place has also cracked
the 50 pound mark for two days, he has 50-02.
It took an average of 22-05 to make the top twelve cut,
(Kurt Dove and Denny Brauer 44-10) and it took a two day
average of 16-08 (Bryan Hudgins 33-00,) to make the top 50
cut.
Big fish of the day was Greg Hackney's 11-11, the sixth
straight double digit big bass in Elite Series events.
The Top 12 at Amistad:
- 1st-Jason Williamson 55-12
- 2nd-Clark Reehm 54-10
- 3rd-Mike McClelland 53-03
- 3rd-Kevin Short 53-03
- 5th-Edwin Evers 50-02
- 6th-Billy Brewer 49-13
- 7th-Greg Hackney 48-09
- 8th-Gary Klein 48-00
- 9th-Todd Faircloth 47-01
- 10th-Kotaro Kiriyama 45-05
- 11th-Kurt Dove 44-10
- 11th-Denny Brauer 44-10
|
Photo
ESPNoutdoors.com 04/11/08
Amistad Delivers Better Than Most Thought It Would, Dove
"Lonesome" With Only 30 Pound Bag-While
not the same as last week's impressive event at Falcon Lake,
Lake Amistad did not disappoint as 27 pros brought 20 pound
or better bags to the scales on day one of the BASS Elite
Series event. Fairfax, Virginia Pro, Kurt Dove leads after
day one with 30-08.
There is very little wiggle room at the top, as weights
are bunched up tight. Seven anglers are within three
pounds of the lead. Mike McClelland, winner of the
Harris Chain event earlier in the season, trails Dove by
1-03 as he weighed 29-05. Clark Reehm is third with
28-14 and Ish Monroe, who won the 1st ever Elite Series
event on Amistad is tied with Jami Fralick for fourth place
with 27-12.
Randy Howell managed a 10-08 brute to weigh the fifth
straight double didgit big fish in Elite Series Events.
The 12th place cut weight is 25-12, (Billy Brewer,) and
the top 50 position is 17-01, (Preston Clark.) |
Photo
ESPNoutdoors.com 04/07/08
Friendships Tested, Martens Slips, Elias Wins-Byron
Velvick and Aaron Martens are friends from way back in their
western tour days, however that friendship has been severely
tested this week at Falcon Lake in Texas. The two
western pros shared a stretch of water that was crammed full
of big, hungry bass, that yielded an estimated 400 pounds of
fish the first three days (counting co-angler weights and
culled smaller fish.) On day four however, the
friendly competition became "stained" as each pro
pushed the envelope, trying to win the BASS Elite Series
Event. On day four it is clear that the spot Martens
shared with Velvick was drained of big fish as Velvick got
his, (30-03 for a four day total of 131-15 and 3rd place,)
however Martens couldn't get his, weighing only 19-15 for a
four day total of 129-07 and a disappointing 4th place.
In the end however, it was Paul Elias of Laurel,
Mississippi, winner of the the 1982 Bassmaster Classic, who survived
a quarrel of his own over water this week, (with Ish
Monroe,) who prevailed and shocked the crowd attending the
weigh in. Elias, whose big day two, (39-01) jumped him
up among the leaders, had a strong day four, (37-11) to
finish with 132-08, just .04 ahead of Terry Scroggins who
weighed the biggest bag, (44-04) of the tournament, and also
the second biggest in the history of BASS.
Elias, like most of the top finishers carolina rigged big
plastic worms, but he credited his deep diving crank bait
for the majority of kicker fish that he weighed this week.
Elias' winning weight, 132-08, easily establishes a new
BASS Tournament record, crushing Steve Kennedy's 122-11,
that he caught at Clear Lake last season. Elias'
winning weight tipped the scales for an incredible daily
average of 33-02. Scroggins day four weight included
three 10 pound bass, including the day's big fish of 10-06. |
| 04/07/08
Bennett Has The Spots, Wins At Smith Lake-Weighing
only five keepers on the final day, California Pro, Michael
Bennett made sure he caught the right fish, weighing 12-15
for a two day total of 27-08 to win the 2nd FLW Tour Event
of the Season at Alabama's Smith Lake. Bennett
targeted pre spawn spotted bass with finesse gear to win the
event.
Scott Caterbury finished second with 24-05 for the final
two days, while FLW veteran pro, Koby Kreiger weighed 22-00
to finish third. |
Photo
ESPNoutdoors.com 04/06/08
Martens Slows Down, (only 29-11,) Extends Lead To Seven-To
get an idea about how amazing the fishing has been at Falcon
Lake this week, Aaron Martens descirbed his day three
performance as "making him sick," because he was
not able to weigh in a 30 pound bag. After weighing
42-00 and 37-13 on days one and two, Martens managed only
29-11. All of the "poor old me's" aside,
Martens still managed to extend his to 7-07 over Mark Davis
who slid into 2nd place with his third straight 30 pound bag
of the week. Davis has gone 35-04, 33-09 and 33-04 for
a three day total of 102-01.
Bryon Velvick fell to third place with 25-03 on day
three for a three day total of 101-12. Velvick, who
said that the fish he and Martens have been sitting on for
the last three days, says he may have to try some back up
spots on day four, as the bites are starting to get smaller
for him in his good water.
There were seven 30 pound bags on day three, (17 on day
one and 12 on day two. Big fish of the day went to
Casey Ashley who weighed one in at 10-05. If the day
four big fish is over ten pounds, it will be the fourth
straight double-digit big fish of the event. 50th
place took 71 pounds, for an average of 23-06, (Jim Murray
71-00,) 12th place is Terry Scroggins 88-00, (average of
29-06!) |
| 04/06/08
Bennett Gets Them When It Counts-Michael
Bennett of Roseville California caught 14-09 to take the
second round lead of the FLW Tour stop at Smith Lake.
Bennett caught his limit of spotted bass fishing deep,
prespawn areas.
Scott Caterbury trails Bennett by 2-02 as he weighed
12-07 heading into today's final round. |
Photo
ESPNoutdoors.com 04/05/08
Martens, Velvick On Pace To Break 150!-Now
it's getting just plain silly. The BASS Elite Series
Event at Falcon Lake in Texas has become a bass tournament
from another planet. First day leader, Aaron Martens
didn't break forty on day two but he did weigh 37-13 giving
him a two day total of 79-13, (yes that was a two day
total.) On pace to push the 160 pound mark, Martens is
averaging a hair under 40 pounds per day, and could break
the the BASS four day weight record of 122-13 in three days
if his hot spot stays hot!
With all of that said, Martens "clings" to the
lead by a mere 3-04 as Byron Velvick announced his presence
with the day's biggest weight of 41-11, giving him a two day
total of 76-09. Martens and Velvick are said to be
fishing the same stretch of water and together along with
their co-anglers have weighed over 300 pounds of fish from
that stretch in the two days of fishing.
Quietly slipping into third place, Mark Davis has been
the measure of consistency weighing two consecutive
mid 30 pound limits. Davis weighed 33-09 on day two
giving him 68-13 for his total. Trailing Martens by
11-00, it is consevable that Davis could take the lead with
two more days. Davis' big fish on day two was an 11-00
brute.
Paul Elias pushed the 40 pound mark on day two, weighing
39-01. Elias moves into 4th place with 67-06.
Gary Klein sits in the top 12 cut position with 57-15, an
incredible average of 29-00 is what it will take to make the
top 12 cut after fishing today! The top 50 cut average
is 24-13, (Todd Faircloth 49-14.) |
photo
by The BassZone04/05/08
Day Two On Smith Lake, Top Ten Finalized-If
it's an FLW Tour stop, expect some changes at the top.
Day two of the Smith Lake Tour stop brought the expected
lead changes.
The top 10 is now final:
- 1st-Glenn Browne 27-06
- 2nd-Scott Caterbury 26-12
- 3rd-Greg Pugh 26-05
- 4th-Darrel Robertson 25-10
- 5th-Brandon Courlter 25-05
- 6th-Michael Bennett 25-01
- 7th-Dany Pierce 23-01
- 8th-Koby Keriger 22-15
- 9th-Jason Christie 22-11
- 10th-Luke Clausen 22-07 *tie breaker (Mark Pack also
weighed 22-07, however Clausen's first day weight of
12-05 was bigger than Pack's weight of 11-03)
The top ten will compete over the next two days.
Weights will be zeroed. |
Photo
ESPNoutdoors.com 04/04/08
Martens Boats 42 Pounds! Let The Games Begin-So
imagine you are Grant Goldbeck and you just put 20-03 on the
weigh in scales. Pretty happy right? Except that
this BASS Elite Series event is being fished at Falcon Lake
in South Western Texas, and your 20-03 is good for only 80th
place.
On a day when a 30 pound bag lands you in 18th place,
(Gary Klein, 30-01) Aaron Martens brought 42-00 pounds to
the scales to take a scant 6-04 pound lead over 2nd place
angler, Scott Rook who weighed in 35-12. The first day
of the BASS Elite Series event at Falcon Lake delivered what
it promised: Lots of big bass.
Martens, who anchored his 42-00 pound bag with an 11-01
brute didn't even weigh in the day's big fish. That
honor went to Scott Campbell, (33-15, 7th place,) who tipped
the scales with a lunker weighing 13-02.
The interesting thing about Falcon on day one was that
the conditions were not optimal. High winds shut down
any possibility of a site fishing bite. Most big
stringers came from 20 to 40 feet, as pros targeted pre
spawn fish.
12th place cut weight is 32-09, (Bernie Schultz.)
Top 50 cut weight is 24-11, (Mark Menendez.) |
04/04/08
Baksay Shows How It's Down On Smith-With
Smith Lake's Largemouth set to go off on the spawn, much of
the field at the FLW Smith Lake Tour Stop is beating the
banks. So what did first day leader, Terry Baksay of Connecticut
do? He caught 14-14 pounds worth of Smith Lake
Spotted bass in open water. Baksay who said he was
finesse fishing slowly in deep water leads the first round
after day one with a 1-01 advantage over 2n place angler,
Brandon Coulter who put 13-13 on the scales.
The air temperature has been in the 80's and the water
has warmed up to the mid 60's and the first major wave of
spawning appears to be taking place. Poor weather is
expected for today's 2nd round which could hamper site
fishing. Baksay says that he doesn't expect poor
weather to hurt his bite.
10th place cut position is 12-13, (Michael
Bennett.) The top 50 check weight is 9-12, (Jim Tutt.) |
|

04/02/08
Angler Works To Create Awareness For His Cause-By
now much of the Bass Fishing World is at least aware of who
Eli Delaney is. He's the guy with the multi-colored,
puzzle piece boat wrap who has been on this web site as well
as others talking to just about anyone who will listen about
Autism. Delany, a regional angler in New England, is
on a personal crusade to raise awareness to the affliction
known as Autism. Luke, Delany's six year old was
diagnosed as being on the Autism Spectrum at a young age and
has been receiving special training since he was three years
old. Delany's quest is to reach others like himself
who may need help coping with the demands of Autism, finding
out the latest in Autism Research, understanding what kinds
of therapy is available or just finding a network of
support. He also wants to make sure that as a society,
we are acutely aware that reported cases of Autism have
grown at an alarming rate over the last ten years, and is
quickly becoming a global issue.
Delany recently captured the attention of the boating
world when his Autism Awareness Wrapped, 21 foot Stroker
bass boat with a Mercury 250 XS engine captured Bass And
Walleye Boats Magazine, "Hottest Rig Of the Year"
Award for 2007. The Stroker/Mercury combination pushed
102 MPH on a radar gun! That
honor and corresponding magazine write up, has captured
the attention of several nationally known corporations both
in and out of the fishing industry. It is this new
found attention, that Delany feels will add exponentially to
his ability to promote his cause.
Delany's plans for 2008 include a weekly radio pod cast,
his own tour of sport shows with his Autism Awareness
Promotional Booth, an upcoming article in Bassmaster
Magazine and a fund raising effort to benefit several
different Autism related charities. Eli Delany is one
who has recognized his ability to promote, and has taken it
upon himself to become a one man crusade.
|
| 03/29/08
Colson Catches Fire, Wins FLW Eastern Series Event At
Wheeler-It doesn't matter
how long you lead an event, it only matters who is leading
when the event is over, and today, Ramie Colson Jr. led when
he had to, after the final angler weighed in. That
final angler today, was yesterday's leader, Scott Lunsford,
who brought just 3-12 to scales to fall to 8th place with
46-13.
Colson didn't have one the spectacular 18 pound days that
walked across the weigh in stage during the four day event,
however he did put 17-02 on the scales today for a four day
total of 59-02.
Brad Hallman of Oklahoma finishes 2nd with 59-01.
Hallman had the day's biggest weight of 19-05, yet fell only
.01 short of Colson.
Dan Morehead finishes 3rd with 56-09.
Andy Morgan finishes this event in 5th place with 55-13,
giving him three straight top ten finishes to start the
season.
|
| 03/27/08
Deeds Leads, Morgan Still Hot, Hot Hot!-While
an FLW Tour Rookie leads, an FLW Tour veteran continues to
announce he will be a force to reckon with this season.
Day two of the FLW Eastern Series at Alabama's, Lake Wheeler
concluded yesterday and Tour Rookie, Jake Deeds showed that
he is no fluke. For the second day in a row, Deeds
weighed an impressive bag and holds precariously on to the
lead with a two day total of 32-09. After taking the
day one lead with 18-03, Deeds followed up with 14-06.
Deeds is dragging a 1/2 ounce jig around off shore boulders
and chunk rock.
Deeds cannot relax however as Lonnie O'Neal from
Valdosta, Georgia brought 18-13 to the scales on day two,
giving him 32-02 for his two days of fishing, just .07
behind Deeds. Keith Combs from Texas, is third with
30-05.
The big story is that FLW Veteran, Andy Morgan continues
his hot streak. Morgan finds himself in 7th place with
a two day total of 27-07. Morgan has done very well so
far this young season. Starting at Lake Okeechobee in
January, Morgan finished 8th in the first FLW Eastern Series
event, and he followed that up with a 4th place at the FLW
Tour's first event at Lake Toho in February. Morgan,
who led the ProBassAnglers.com-Angler Of the Year race for a
short time and currently finds himself 44 points behind
leader, Brett Hite, is poised to retake the lead, if he can
continue to fish well the last two days of this event.
|
Photo
ESPN, "The Unknown Camera Dude!"03/17/08
Weights Down On Final Day,
VanDam Wins Third Elite Series Event-On
a day that he thought he surely had let the win slip through
his fingers, Kevin VanDam instead celebrated as his final
day weight of only 10-06 was still enough to get past Ray
Sedgwick. In the end, VanDam, (59-07) was 1-11 better
than Sedgwick who weighed 11-08 for a four day total of
57-12.
VanDam caught the majority of his
fish on a Strike King, lipless crankbait in a tournament
that ended up being a power fishing slug fest. Never
weighing one of Toho's famed 20 pound plus limits, VanDam
never the less maintained good weights each day, and took
over the lead when the sight fish that had dominated the
event in the early rounds, seemed to go away, (actually
windy conditions made sight fishing difficult on the last
two days.
The final 12 standings:
- 1st Kevin VanDam 59-07
- 2nd Ray Sedgwick 57-12
- 3rd Scott Rook 56-07
- 4th Kenyon Hill 54-02
- 5th Bill Lowen 53-03
- 6th Alton Jones 52-10
- 7th Bobby Lane 52-09
- 8th Bryan Hudgins 52-07
- 9th Kelly Jordon 51-07
- 10th Terry Scroggins 49-02
- 11th Jeff Scroggins 49-02
- 12th Rick Morris 44-12
|
Photo
ESPN, "The Unknown Camera Dude!"03/16/08
Jordon Falters, VanDam Stumbles Into The Lead-The
top six at The Lake Toho BASS Elite Series event are a study
in differences. Kevin VanDam took the lead going into
today's final round, although his day three was very
difficult, and his weight, 13-06, significantly off of the
near 18 pound average he had for the first two days.
In fact, if it were not for a seven pound fish in his limit,
he would have weighed significantly less than his three day
total of 49-01.
Scott Rook is in 2nd place, with three solid days of
19-14, 13-12 and 13-06. Rook trails VanDam by only
1-15, the size of a keeper that most of these guys would
want to cull out of their limits.
Ray Sedgwick recovered on day three, a day when much of
the field struggled due to high winds, catching 18-04, after
a near disastrous day two where he managed to bring only
10-14 to the scales. Sedgwick is in third place, 2-13
out of the lead.
Bill Lowen has been the most consistent of the top six,
weighing between 13 and 16 pounds over the first three days.
Lowen's total, 43-07, places him in fourth place 5-10 out of
the lead.
Kelly Jordon, the day two leader with two consecutive 20
pound bags zeroed on day three. Without the ability to
see the sight fish he had been stocking up on, he left those
fish trying to scratch a ten or twelve pound limit. He never
got a bite and fell to fifth place with the same 44-03 he
had on day two.
Bryan Hudgins had a miserable day two, bringing just
three fish for 5-04 to the scales. After a solid day
one, (17-09,) Hudgins fell to 34th place on day two, yet was
able to catch the biggest weight of day three, (20-10) and
moved all the way up to 6th place with a three day total of
43-00.
It took 40-13 to make the top 12, an average of 13-05 per
day, (Jeff Reynolds.)
|
Photo
ESPN, "The Unknown Camera Dude!"03/15/08
Jordon Sees The Light, Takes Lead With Second
Straight 20 Pound Day-Kelly
Jordon typically wins one Elite Series event each year, and
on day two of the BASS Elite Series Event at Lake Toho in
Florida, he served notice that he is "fixin" to
win again. Jordon, (44-03,) caught the day's second
biggest stringer, weighing 21-05 and has opened up a lead of
7-13 over day one leader, Byran Velvick who weighed 11-06 on
day two and is in second place with 36-06.
Kevin VanDam had his second straight solid day weighing
17-11 for a total of 35-11. VanDam moves into third
place 8-08 out of the lead. Terry Scroggins is fourth
with 34-13, and Scott Rook is 5th with 33-10.
Day two was moving day for a number of anglers. Jay
Fuller, started day two in 75th place with a disappointing
7-02. Friday was better for the tour rookie however,
as he bagged the day's biggest weight, 22-08 and moved into
13th place with 29-10. Mark Davis, in 42nd place after
day one with only 10-02, caught the day's 3rd biggest bag,
(20-03,) and moved up to 9th place with 30-05. Zell
Rowland moved from 28th place on day one into 11th place
with a day two limit of 17-13, giving him 29-14 after two
days.
The top 12 cut average is 14-12, (Steve Kennedy, 29-11.)
The top 50 cut weight was 19-10, (Guy Eaker.) Big fish
of the day was a 10-03 caught by Oklahoma pro, Kenyon Hill.
Sight fishing again played an important role, as Jordon
was able to look at the fish he caught. Others however
are seeing their sight fish dry up. It is expected
that sight fishing will play less and less of a role as the
weekend progresses with heavy winds being expected for
Central Florida.
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Photo
ESPN, "The Unknown Camera Dude!"03/14/08
Velvick Calls Them As He Sees Them, Leads At Toho-When
the bass are in a spawning mode, there are few better at
catching visible, bedding fish, than Bryan Velvick, the
"California, moved to Texas Pro." On day one
of the BASS Elite Series event at Florida's Lake Toho, sight
fishing conditions were perfect and Velvick served notice to
the rest of the field that he would have to be contended
with this week. Velvick caught a day one limit
weighing 25-00, which consisted of two fish over seven
pounds and another that weighed just over six.
Florida Pro, Terry Scroggins, an odds on favorite to win
this week, blasted a bag weighing 23-02 and trails Velvick
by 1-14 in second place. Scroggins is also sight
fishing.
There were four twenty pound bags on day one, Texas Pro,
Kelly Jordon is in third place with 22-14, and Jeff Reynolds
weighed 20-12 and is in 4th place. It should be noted
that Scott Rook's 19-14 is also right in that mix of twenty
pound bags.
Big bass of day one was an 8-13 brute caught by Jared
Lintner who was flipping grass matts when his big fish bit.
17-02 is the top 12 cut weight, (Ray Sedgwick,) while the
top 50 cut position is 9-07, (Bernie Schultz.)
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Photo
ESPN, "Some Unknown Photographer!"03/10/08
McClelland Wins Classic "Tortoise And Hare"
Battle-While Brian Snowden
set the standard this week, consistently catching 16 pound
plus bags, Arkansas pro, Mike McClelland was consistently
catching 13 to 15 pound bags. Victory Snowden, right?
Wrong! Even though Brian Snowden jumped out to a near
ten pound lead after three days, the Hare took a nap on day
four, allowing McClelland, "The Hare" to steal the
show.
Snowden's zero on day four, coupled with McClelland's
15-00 final day limit, allowed McClelland to overtake
Snowden and win the first Elite Series event of the season
at Florida's Harris Chain Lakes. McClelland's final
total weight of 59-02 came dead sticking trick worms on very
light weights around clumps of pads where bass were bedding.
While he never had a double digit monster during the week,
he caught 3 and 4 pounders each day.
Snowden, heart broken, noted that he lost two fish in the
four pound range, plus a couple of two pound fish, it was
simply a case of not getting good hook sets.
Water temperatures fell eight to ten degrees overnight, as
the region had frost on Saturday night. Snowden noted
that his fish just didn't bite as well as they had all week.
The win for McClelland is his third Elite Series victory,
adding the Harris Chain to his wins at Clark's Hill
and Grand Lake.
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Photo
ESPN, "Some Unknown Photographer!"03/09/08
Snowden "Home Run" May Have Sealed
It!"-While it is
certainly possible to erase a ten pound deficit in Florida,
it still seems unlikely that anyone will be able to catch
Missouri pro, Brian Snowden. Snowden, (54-00) put
together his third straight solid day with a five fish limit
weighing 16-13 to take a commanding lead of 9-14 into the
final day of the BASS Elite Series event at the Harris
Chain.
It is becoming apparent that consistency this week means
catching double digit weights. Mike McClelland has
done that, however his weight has not been on par with
Snowden. McClelland has gone 15-13, 15-04 and 13-01 on
the way to his 2nd place weight of 44-02.
Bobby Lane has had to small limits on either side of his
monster day two where he weighed 26-09. Today's 8-11
has him holding in third place with 42-10.
Several big moves occurred on day three. Stephen
Kennedy charged into the top 12 from 45th place with a limit
weighing 16-09. Kennedy sits in 7th place going into
the final day.
The final 12:
- 1. Brian Snowden 54-00
- 2. Mike McClelland 44-02
- 3. Bobby Lane 42-10
- 4. Dean Rojas 42-06
- 5. Chris Lane 41-03
- 6. Mark Menendez 39-01
- 7. Stephen Kennedy 38-01
- 8. Morizo Shimizu 37-03
- 9. Rick Ash 37-00
- 10. Kenyon Hill 35-05
- 11. Todd Faircloth 34-15
- 11. Bradley Hallman 34-15
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Photo
ESPN, "Some Unknown Photographer!"03/08/08
Snowden Consistent, Takes Lead At Harris Chain-So
far it has been hit or miss at the season's opening Elite
Series event at the Harris Chain in Florida.
Missouri's Brian Snowden, (37-03) has put back to back
limits weighing 17-03 and 20-00 together to take a 2-06 lead
into day three.
Mark Menendez's 7-07 brute anchored an impressive 24-09
limit giving him a two day total of 34-13, as he moved all
the way up into 2nd place. Day two was moving day for
several pros. Florida's Bobby Lane had the
tournament's biggest limit with his impressive 26-09 bag on
day two. Lane, (33-15) moves into third place all the
way from 85th place on day one.
Day one leader, Bill Lowen of Ohio, lost a fish he
estimated to be in the eight pound class on day two.
After weighing in 21-10 to take the day one lead, Lowen
managed just 9-04 on day two and falls into sixth place.
12th place cut weight average is 14-07, (Dean Rojas with
28-13.) Top 50 cut weight is 21-07, (Chris Lane.)
|
photo
by The BassZone, "Those guys rock!"
03/03/08 Hite
Finishes The Job-With
nearly a twelve pound lead going into the final day of the
FLW Lake Toho event, Brett Hite could have taken the day
off. He didn't, yet still out fished the field
weighing a very respectable 13-07 on day four to give him a
championship round weight of 38-09, 20-04 pounds better than
second place finisher, Carl Svebek's 18-05.
Hite was on fish all week, weighing in the day's big
weight on three of the four days. Fishing a
"vibration jig," (chatterbait type lure,) down
lanes of grass, Hite had his way with the fish all week.
The twenty pound plus margin of victory is impressive,
especially when you consider that was only over the final
two days.
Svebek's 2nd place weight of 18-05 paled in comparison to
his weights the first two competition days when he averaged
17-09 each day.
In 3rd place, Ron Shuffield with 15-13.
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| 03/02/08
The Fish Can Run But They Can't Hite: Arizona
Pro Back On Top!-After a
very slow day two, Arizona Pro, Brett Hite is back on top of
the FLW Tour Event at Florida's lake Toho. Hite, back
on his "grass shoots" pattern, weighted in an
astounding limit weighing 25-02 on the first day of the
final round, opening up a lead of 11-13 over second place
pro, Dan Morehead.
Morehead, (13-05) acknowledge that he is pretty much
fishing for second place in this event. Carl Svebek
weighed in a modest limit of 9-10 after averaging 17-09 over
the first two days.
Fishing generally got tougher on day three as only two
anglers weighed in double digit weights, only half the field
weighed in limits.
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photo
by The BassZone, "Those guys rock!"
03/01/08 "Swack
Attack!" Svebek Takes First Round Lead At Toho-Arkansas
Pro, Carl Svebek, known for his "wack worm"
expertise has given a two day seminar on the method thus far
in the first FLW Tour event of 2008 at Lake Toho.
Svebek cruised through the first two days, weighing 17-10
and 17-08 for a two day total of 35-02.
Svebek leads a field of ten pro anglers who will start
today with zeroed weights, and will fish the next two days
for the title of Lake Toho Champion. Following Svebek
into the final two days are
- 2nd Ron Shuffield 31-08
- 3rd Randy Hadden 30-05
- 4th Shinichi Fukae 30-03
- 5th Brett Hite (day one leader) 28-14
- 6th Pat Fisher 27-04
- 7th Bryan Thrift 26-11
- 8th Shad Schenck 26-06
- 9th Andy Morgan 23-10
- 10th Dan Morehead
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02/25/08
Jones Wins In Classic Fashion-Alton
Jones entered the final day of the 2008 Bassmaster Classic
with less than a two pound lead. Fishing on day three
of the Classic was tougher compared with the first two days,
so when he only had three fish in the middle of the day, he
had to wonder if he could make it happen. Two late
fish that added about five pounds to his final bag clinched
fishing's greatest championship, as Jones weighed in a very
respectable final day weight of 13-07 giving him a
three day total of 49-07 and the victory in the 40th
Bassmaster Classic.
Jones fished a football head jig in cuts around deeper
trees to grind out the vicory.
In 2nd place, Cliff Pace finished with a very respectable
weight of 44-05 to lock up 2nd place and Kevin VanDam,
always in the hunt when the money is on the line finished
third with a three day total of 43-08.
|
02/24/08
Jones Jigs His Way To The Lead-Texas
Pro, Alton Jones took over the lead on Day Two Of The
Bassmaster Classic in South Carolina on Saturday.
Jones' weight of 18-11 allowed him to claim the top spot
with a two day total of 36-00.
In second place is first day leader, Charley Hartley who
fell short of his first day 21-01 limit, weighing 13-12 to
give him a two day total of 34-13. The contrast in two
days will be determined on day three, as Hartley will
certainly need to be closer to his day one weight to have a
shot at winning.
Cliff Pace continues to hang around. On day two his
14-11, has kept him in the game with 33-05 overall, however
he will also need to duplicate his day one weight of over 18
pounds to have a shot.
Kevin VanDam may have fished his way out of this event.
Weighing only 11-14 on day two, he is still in 4th place,
however he is 3-15 behind Jones. If anyone can make up
that distance, VanDam can, however it will take a stumble by
the top three to allow VanDam to claim his third Classic
Crown.
Jeff Kriet (31-11) brought the day's biggest weight to
the scales at 18-12. Rumored to have lost a fish in
the six pound class, Kriet was heard to complain that he had
ignored his honey hole on day one. Kriet is one to
watch on day three as he intends to go back to his day two
water.
The top 25 cut weight was 23-08, (Tommy Biffle)
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02/23/08
First Time Qualifier, Charlie Hartley Leads Day One-Virtually
every pro fishing this week's Classic will agree, "if I
can't win, I hope Charlie Hartley does." Hartley,
known as the Tour's "good natured guy," took the
day one lead at the 2008 Bassmaster Classic with five fish
limit weighing 21-01. Hartley started out with a limit
of bass weighing around ten pounds by fishing deep. He
said he had his limit by 10:00 AM. Knowing he would
need more, he made a 20 mile run to area with off color
water. In a two hour period, Hartley had culled all
five fish in his live well.
Arkansas pro, Scott Rook weighed five for 20-13 and
second place. Kevin VanDam, no stranger to the top 5
in any Classic is third with 20-03, Terry Scroggins is
fourth with 20-03, and Cliff Pace is 5th with 19-03.
Todd Faircloth had the day one big fish, weighing in a
brute that pushed the scales to 6-02.
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02/19/08
Short's Real (Tree) Deal-Yeah,
that's a lot of pink, but what would you expect from an
angler dubbed "The Pink Vanther?" Kevin
Short describes the details on his new Real Tree truck and
boat wrap today in our news room.
Fishing his first Classic this week, Short appears to
have taken full advantage of the platform, as he unveils his
"Pinkest" venture yet. Read
Here
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01/26/08
Big Final Day, Delivers Victory For Kenney-JT
Kenney came roaring back today, bringing an amazing 19-00 to
the scale giving him a four day total of 68-13 in route to
winning the first FLW Eastern Series event of the 2008
season.
Kenney, who has had a career fishing events on the Big O,
took over the lead on day two when he brought 23-02 to the
scales, and he never looked back. Kenney claims the
$100,000.00 first place prize, his second major victory at
Lake Okeechobee.
In second place, Jimmy McMillian (18-02 on day four,)
scored a four day total of 64-08, while Tommy Biffle weighed
in 17-14 on day four, giving him 62-08 for the week and 3rd
place.
The Final Results:
- 1st JT Kenney 68-13
- 2nd Jimmy McMillian 64-08
- 3rd Tommy Biffle 62-08
- 4th Greg Hackney 61-11
- 5th Mark Rose 61-08
- 6th Russell Lane 60-13
- 7th Chad Grigsby 60-07
- 8th Andy Morgan 59-14
- 9th Takahiro Omori 56-07
- 10th Greg Pugh 55-00
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01/22/08
Brett Mitchell: Dollars And Sense?-Most
of us sit around and wonder what it would be like to live
the life of a professional tour angler. South
Carolina's Brett Mitchell is doing something about it.
Mitchell has the BASS Elite Series in his scope and was on
the verge of making it in 2007, until a sub par showing in
the BASS Wild Card event. He is back for 2008, and
more determined than ever, having had a look at what might
have been.
Mitchell is chronicling his season on ProBassAnglers.com.
From the first event, starting on January 17th, all year
long, you can read about his long, strange trip. Along
the way, Mitchell will add insight to the techniques anglers
are using these days, he will talk about his struggles to
land financial backing and he will show you some of the
things that go on both on and off the water that you
wouldn't ordinarily get a chance to hear about.
Be sure to check in daily for Brett Mitchell's reports.
The Mitchell Report: no steroids here, we promise....Does
that mean we will be going to Washington DC in the future?
Read
The Mitchell Report
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12/26/07 Woodstock-Like
Event, Biggest Story For 2007-The 2007 Story Of
the Year is the PAA's inaugural event at Lake fork, Texas.
Billed as The Toyota Bass Classic the event proved without a
doubt that the Professional Anglers Association had arrived
and would be a force in the bass fishing world.
Officially started in March of 2005, when anglers voted
for the original slate of officers, the PAA was a fledgling
group, struggling for an identity in it's early months.
PAA Executive Director, Gene Ellison spent countless hours
on the road, in conference calls and in board rooms, as did
PAA Board Of Directors, as the organization gained its
roots, slowly but surely.
Capped off by the announcement in 2006 that the
organization would attempt to hold it' first stand
alone.....read
story here
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12/24/07
Mark Jeffreys Is ProBassAnglers.com-Person Of The
Year For 2007-No single person affected the sport
of professional bass fishing during the year 2007, more than
BassZone.com's Mark Jeffreys. Jeffreys joins
professional angler and PAA Founding Father, Kevin VanDam,
(2005 PBA POY) and BassFishingHomePage.com's Gerry Lebing
(2006 PBA POY) as the third winner of this title created in
the inspiration of Time Magazine's Man Of the Year.
While Jeffreys will be quick to remind you that he has
help which includes semi-retired tournament veteran, Harold
Allen and a series of behind the scenes reporters, it is
Jeffreys' vision that has pushed the standard bar higher and
higher with his continued reporting from inside the game of
professional fishing.
Jeffreys remains the only independent embedded
reporter.....(click
to finish reading.)
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12/13/07
The Sponsor Game-ProBassAnglers.com has provided
numerous inside tips and ideas about how to attract fishing
sponsors. Doug Cavin of http://dougcavin.com
checks in
with a very cool "how to create numbers" article
that you will not want to miss. Add this to our other
angler promotional articles and the savvy angler, just got
smarter.
The
truth of the matter is that many of our readers are already
doing the things that Doug talks about in "Making An
Impression," however, just like fishing, it is a
combination of little things that matters, Doug shows you
how to account for all that you do.
Making
An Impression, required reading this holiday season.
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New
Column: Fishing In The Moment-OK, so it is just a
coincidence that ProBassAnglers.com has three employees
named "Keith," and yeah, it is a little strange
that each has the same last name, "Nighswonger,"
but there are plenty of businesses in this great land of
ours that have a couple of "John Smiths," or
"William Robert Joneses" working for them, so why
not three "Keith Nighswongers?"
Fishing In The Moment is actually a series of "make
you think" commentaries that center around actual
fishing situations. ProBassAngler, Keith Nighswonger
shares his wealth of information in a manner that
"can't make you feel, but it can make you think."
Have you ever caught a fish off of a spot and felt that
you should have caught more? Try this systematic
approach to maximizing a fish holding spot's potential.
Fishing
In The Moment: The Multiplier Effect.
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photo
by mike picou
4/17/07
Team Scroggins-The Scroggins Team caught an
unbelievable 119-12 on the final day to claim the 1st place
prize money in the PAA's inaugural event at Lake Fork Texas.
The key to victory was working deep diving crank baits along
a "magic" 50-yard long underwater point near
a channel bend, Terry Scroggins and partner Chris Daves led
Scroggins’ team to a come-from-behind victory in the
Toyota Texas Bass Classic, with a final three day total of
244 pounds, 12 ounces.
The team found the
spot earlier in the week, and alternated through it with
their teammates, James Niggemeyer and Frank Ippoliti.
It was the same spot where Niggemeyer and Ippolitti boated
more than 40 pounds of fish on day two.
Be sure to read
Keith Nighswonger's week long account, by clicking
Texas
BASS Classic Blog, to a behind the scenes look at the
PAA's inaugural event. "There is a lot of buzz
here in East Texas, if nothing else, you are going to have
Denny Brauer, Larry Nixon, Luke Clausen, Jay Yelas, Mark
Davis, Kevin Vandam, Mike Iaconelli, Dean Rojas, Kelly
Jordon, Timmy Horton, the list goes on and on. All on
the same water fishing for a whole bunch of money.
Be sure to check in
all week, as Nighswonger will update you, and post live
radio interviews, as only Nighswonger can. click
here
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Read
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The
Mitchell Report
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Brim
Light Product Showcase Interview
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05/15/08
Move Over Morgan, Here Comes Erhler-Brent Erhler, the
Redlands, California FLW Tour Pro has taken over the lead in
the ProBassAnglers.com, Angler Of the Year Race.
Erhler who posted a fourth place in the recent Lake Mead FLW
Western Series event at the Southern Nevada reservoir, took
the lead by 27 points over Morgan who has lead the PBAAOY
for the last 8 weeks! The
PBAAOY points race figures to heat up this week as both FLW
Tour Pros and Elite Series Pros are back at it, as the FLW
Tour fishes Beaver Lake, and the BASS Elite Series is
fishing Lake Murray.
New scoring criteria this season promises
to make this a balance between FLW and BASS Super stars.
To check out the scoring criteria, click
here.
Past winners were Skeet Reese in 2007,
Steve Kennedy in 2006 and Greg Hackney in 2005. If the
first event is an indication, it will take both FLW and BASS
events to win the 2008 title! Click
to see full standings.
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Angler |
Points
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| 1 |
Brent Ehrler |
380 |
| 2 |
Andy Morgan |
353 |
| 3 |
Greg Pugh |
262 |
| 4 |
Kenyon Hill |
257 |
| 5 |
Greg Hackney |
241 |
| 6 |
Todd Faircloth |
240 |
| 7 |
Brett Hite |
220 |
| 8 |
Casey Ashley |
207 |
| 9 |
Kevin VanDam |
205 |
| 9 |
Scott Canterbury |
205 |
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Other
ProBass Properties
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SouthWestBassReport.com
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ProBassGardner.com
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ProBassAntiques.com
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ProBassDogAndPonyShow.com
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ProBassInflatedStatistics.com
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ProBassWhether(YouLikeItOrNot).com
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| Note-If
you are not transferred to the above property web sites,
continue to click on the links, over and over again.
We can use the "hits" to boost our statistics! |
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