BASS Elite Series-Color Coded-Click Here

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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.

photo ESPNoutdoors.com

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

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.)

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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!)

Scott Caterbury trails Bennett by 2-02 as he weighed 12-07 heading into today's final round.

Photo ESPNoutdoors.com

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.)

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.

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-

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.

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.  

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!"

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!"

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!"

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.

Photo ESPN, "The Unknown Camera Dude!"

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.) 

Photo ESPN, "Some Unknown Photographer!"

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.

Photo ESPN, "Some Unknown Photographer!"

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

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!"

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.

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.  

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

02/25/08 Jones Wins In Classic Fashion-

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-

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)

02/23/08 First Time Qualifier, Charlie Hartley Leads Day One-

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.

02/19/08 Short's Real (Tree) Deal-

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

01/26/08 Big Final Day, Delivers Victory For Kenney-

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

01/22/08 Brett Mitchell:  Dollars And Sense?-

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

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

12/24/07 Mark Jeffreys Is ProBassAnglers.com-Person Of The Year For 2007-

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.)

12/13/07 The Sponsor Game-

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.

New Column:  Fishing In The Moment-

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.

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 

Read

The Mitchell Report

Brim Light Product Showcase Interview

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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