The Brush Pile

Pro Tour News

On The Water (Radio Show)

Features

Contests

UltimateLureSaver "Saves The Day" Contest

Bass Club of The Year

9/16/05

Kenney who has shown before that he can dominate any body of water from Southern Florida to upstate New York, had the day's 2nd biggest limit at 20-01, finished the first round just one ounce ahead of Pennsylvania angler Brian Bylotas who weighed in a 21-00 limit vaulted into the top 10 cut after being back in the pack yesterday.

“I think I was done fishing even quicker today than I was yesterday,” noted Kenney, who said that he stopped fishing at 9 a.m. Wednesday. “

“I’m just throwing two spinnerbaits, a ½-ounce L’il Hustler spinnerbait, and I’m using two colors. I’ll use a perch-colored skirt with gold blades when the sun’s out, and when it’s overcast I’ll throw all chartreuse, the skirt and blade. They’ve been hitting that spinnerbait so hard all week; I’ve got bruises on my side from hitting myself with the rod because they hit it so hard.”

The weights will be zeroed for the start of the championship round.

9/16/05

Craig Nels, of Baldwinsville, New York took the lead with five fish that weighed 17-09 on day one of the BASS Open event on Lake Oneida.  Fishing the edge of weeds and some isolated humps with a spinner bait and tube, Nels, a 23 year old rookie, caught a limit of small mouth bass and holds an 11 ounce lead over David Marion of Cold Spring, New York.

There will be a top 50 cut after two days, but the anglers will keep their weights all throughout the tournament.

Anglers qualified for this event by having the largest single day weight of each of the tour days this season.  Here are the pros and how they got here:

    
Morizo Shimizu, 30 lbs. 5 oz.   Lake Guntersville, Ala.
Edwin Evers  27 lbs. 15 oz.  Lake Guntersville      
Gerald Swindle  27 lbs. 15 oz.  Lake Guntersville, Ala.
Jim Bitter 26 lbs. 12 oz.  Harris Chain of Lakes, Fla.    
Frank Ippoliti  26 lbs. 7 oz.   Clarks Hill, Ga.       
Kevin VanDam  24 lbs. 2 oz.   Lake Lewisville, Texas 
Scott Rook   22 lbs. 8 oz.   Harris chain of Lakes, Fla.    
Zell Rowland  22 lbs. 6 oz.   Lake Guntersville, Ala.
Brent Chapman   22 lbs. 5 oz.   Table Rock Lake, Mo.   
Guy Eaker  20 lbs. 7 oz.   Clarks Hill, Ga.       
Greg Hackney   16 lbs. 9 oz.  '04 CITGO Open Champ.   
Ed Cowan 20 lbs. 6 oz.   2005 CITGO Fed. Champ.     
Jimmy Mize 6 lbs. 2 oz.    2005 CITGO Bassmaster Classic  

9/15/05

Fall is falling fast in the Northeast and yesterday heavy winds made the fishing tough, and survival a challenge.  Still, despite the wind, 68 anglers brought five fish limits to the scales.  Bill Chapman of Salt Rock, West Virginia had a five fish limit that weighed 18-11 and he leads after day one.  Chapman, reported catching as many as 40 fish, most of which came from within eye sight of the launch ramp.  Dave Lefebre is a close second with 18-09 and Mitch Pierson of New Jersey has 17-15 for third.

It looks like it will take about 33 pounds to make the cut.  many anglers wanted to make the long run to the Southern end of the lake, a region known for it's large mouth fishing, however yesterday's winds made that run a risk.  It will be interesting to see how many anglers make that run today.

8/28/05

Methodically fishing green pumpkin tube jigs in 20 feet of water produced a four pound average over the last two days as Gliebe "smoked" the competition.  For Gliebe, he wins the 49th boat of his career that have spanned four decades.  Gliebe is something of a legend, perhaps the best kept secret that professional bass fishing has ever produced.  For years he dominated Western Circuits before moving East a couple of years ago.

Richard Lowitzki finishes 2nd behind Gliebe with an astounding two day total of 37-05, clearly enough to win virtually any other event he will fish this year.  Unfortunately for Lowitzki, Gliebe was on one of his many famous roles this week and would not be denied.

Western Pro, Fred Roumbanis is trying to qualify for the FLW Tour, and has vowed to do it one way or the other.  For Roumbains, another way to make the FLW Tour is to qualify via the EverStarts.  Roumbanis was forced to miss the Western EverStarts this year as he was fishing the BASS Tour.  Roumbanis finished 8th in this event, making his second straight cut.  The good news for Roumbanis is that with one event to go, he is in 9th place overall.

8/27/05

Gliebe, survived a poor pre fish to make yesterday's top ten cut.  Today, he put everything together and brought in the top limit of the week, weighing in five for 22-04.  Gliebe is fishing a tube along a slopping island near the launch site.  Today, he credited a decision he made to go to lighter line when he noticed fish were suspended on his graph.  Of no consequence to the rest of the field is the fact that Gliebe claims his spot is loaded with fish.

Not to be out done today, Richard Lowitzki of St. Charles, Illinois, had a good day as well, bringing the second biggest weight of the entire week to the scales.  Lowitzki's 19-06 puts him just under 3 pounds behind Gliebe.  In third place, with 16-11 is Rick Taylor of Holland, MI.

8/26/05

An interesting side note to this event is the Fred Roumbanis story.  You may recall that Roumbanis, a former FLW Tour Pro, is attempting to rejoin the FLW Tour, however, because he fished the BASS Tour this season, he missed two of the Western EverStarts.  Instead, Roumbanis has committed to the Northern EverStart Series where he won the last event on the Mississippi River.

Roumbanis took a major step towards securing himself a spot on the 2006 FLW Tour by making his second straight cut, as he finishd the first round in fourth place with 32-03.

8/22/05

However, he did, (Hall did hold on,) and he did, (win the tournament,) by weighing in 3 fish the final day for 10-11, Michael Hall, held on to weigh 27-07 over the final two days, giving him the victory in just his first EverStart event.

Hall emphasized that he fished very slow in this event, with plastic baits rigged "wacky style."  He basically cast out, and allowed the baits (Yamamoto senkos,) to perform their "magic wiggle," without adding very much action to them, basically dead sticking.

JT Kenny, always a  threat to win on the Potomac, his home water, finished 3rd with ten fish for 23-06.

8/20/05

Hall credits his non-boat partner for reminding him to slow down, as the bite on the Potomac is very slow.  Fishing soft plastics along migratory routes, Hall had 13 keepers yesterday and his non-boat partner, Derek Moyer weighed in 11-05.  To say that Hall is on fish, would be a gross understatement.  The big question:  Will Hall's fish continue to bite, as the Potomac seems to be changing on a daily basis.

As so often happens, the Leader Board Jinx jumped up to bite yesterday's leader Tim Peek, as he flamed out, only catching 3 small fish  for 5-07 and finds himself in 10th place going into today's final round. 

Scott Dameron is in 2nd place with 15-12, only one pound out, and FLW Tour Pro, and Potomac local, JT Kenney is lurking in 3rd place with 12-10 and is poised to pounce should either of the two leaders fall.

8/19/05

Peek, who outweighed 2nd place angler, Mike Hicks (29-14,) is starting close to the launch ramp, and then running tides the rest of the day.  Using a variety of lures including a grass frog, top water lures and flipping, Peek was flawless today in his execution of Bass Fishing's "2 minute drill."

Bo Curry (27-05,) Micahel Hall, (26-06,) JT Kenney, (26-06,) Chris Poole, (26-01,) Rick Morris, (25-14,) Todd Neale, (25-03,) and Scott Dameron, (24-15,) make up the rest of the top ten.  

The weights will be zeroed for the last two days of the tournament.

8/18/05

Annandale, Virginia's (that's right, he is a local,) Michael Hall caught the day's big bag and finds himself leading by a fairly substantial amount after day one.  Hall's 17-10, while only 1-02 in front of second place angler Mike Hicks, (16-08,) is 3-03 ahead of third place angler, Peter Herbst (14-07) and 3-05 ahead of fourth place Tim Peek's 14-05.  Clark Wendlant, on a roll since the end of the FLW Tour season is in 5th place with 14-00.

Hall is catching his fish in five feet of water using soft plastics and "crawling" his baits.  Excited, Hall is quoted as saying "this is probably the biggest one day stringer I have ever caught."  

So, while many struggle, Hall is feeling no pain.  Weather is expected to continue being extremely humid.

In addition to the extremely warm water, much of the river has become choked with sea grass, making lure presentation extremely difficult.  While some rain, earlier in the week caused Potomac water temperatures to fall, it hasn't helped enough.  The field will be cut to 10 after today's round.  

8/08/05

Little did Fred know, nor did he dare dream that he could win one of the Nothern EverStart events.  Not only did Roumbanis make the cut at the Mississippi River in Lacrosse, Wisconsin, but he posted limits of large mouth bass on day one and two of the championship round that weighed 15-14 and 11-04, giving him a slim, 1-09 win over second place finisher Jim Jones.

In winning, Roumbains defeated five local anglers from the Wisconsin area, and the fact that Fred is from California, might have played a big role in his win.  "It turns out that the place I was catching all of my fish was a "local hole."  "Today there was a local event, and there were several competitors on my water, they said the area is popular with local anglers.  I probably wouldn't have fished it, if I had known it was so popular."

Roumbanis did most of his damage with a Snag Proof Frog, fishing it around matted grass, however most of his better bites came as he walked the bait in open water.

Fred has kept a number of ProTourJournals for ProBassAnglers.com.  You can read some of his archives.

6/29/05 Classic Report: "A Two Pounder In This Event Would Be Like A Six Pounder In Others."

When the pro tours fish Lake Champlain and three pound small mouth are everywhere, the guy who finds the 4 pounders is the one who usually wins the tournament.  Next month in Pittsburgh it appears that the angler who can find a population of bass that are 13" instead of the limit sized 12" might be able to sneak away with the Classic Title.

6/28/05 A Cut Above-Iaconelli Earns 6th Cut Of The Season/Hackney Earns 5th.  There are three anglers on the Pro Tours this season that have set themselves in an entirely different category because of their dominance.  Kevin VanDam has earned an incredible 7 Tour Cuts, (3 BASS Tour, 4 BASS E-50 Tour,) this season, and earned two tournament victories while doing it.  He finishes the season in first place of our "how many cuts did you get?" contest.

Mike Iaconelli earned his 6th tour cut of the season, in winning the FLW event on the Potomac River.  Greg Hackney earned his 5th tour cut, while finishing 4th at the Potomac River. 

Each of these Pros did it a little bit different.  VanDam, made his seven cuts, fishing only BASS events, (Tour Stops and E-50's.)  With 10 events to fish between Tour Stops and E-50's, VanDam made an incredible 70% (7 of 10.)  Iaconelli was a two tour Pro this season, he made one BASS Tour cut, 4 BASS E-50 cuts and one FLW Tour cut.  Greg Hackney did not qualify for the E-50's because he has not fished the pro tour enough years, (he just finished his 2nd season.)  Hackney is a two tour pro and qualified for two BASS Tour cuts and three FLW Tour cuts. (view entire list)

6/27/05 Hackney Is ProBassAnglers.com's Angler Of the Year

With several indexes each measuring it's level of performance, the PBA-AOY claims to track the most complete anglers on tour, those who fish both tours.  These are anglers who get less pre fish time, must rely heavily on their bass fishing instincts and must be able to read water better.  The PBA-AOY therefore, is the most complete accounting of which angler proved to be the most consistent pro fishing both tours this season.  

What makes the two tour pros so special?  The two tour pros compete with the single tour pros at a different level.  Travel time puts greater stress and time constraints on the two tour pro, not to mention many other factors that work against these anglers.  Consider this point:  There were 12 Tour Level Events this season, 8 were won by two tour pros.

To see an explanation of the scoring criteria click here.

To see the season's overall standings, click here.

6/25/05

Iaconelli said that he struggled today, as heavy boat traffic muddied the water in several of his spots.  He has so much knowledge of the Potomac River, that he was able to recall an area where he had some past success, and he was able to catch his final two keepers there, including one that was over four pounds.

Greg Hackney holds on and is named the FLW Angler Of the Year, as he rebounded today with 16-15 (for 27-09 and 4th place.)  Hackney, finishing 4th was one place ahead of Toshinari Namiki who finished the FLW Tour 8 points behind Hackney.

Clark Wendlent officially announced the end of his year long slump.  Finishing 2nd over all and earning $100,000.00, Wendlant appears to be back.

6/26/05 BASS Southern Open: Menendez Finishes The Job.-

His final day total of four fish for 10-06 was anchored by a 4-09 bass, which was his first fish of the day.  Menendez, (14 fish, 36-14) covered a lot of water with a spinner bait, which is how he caught most of his fish at West Point.  The overcast conditions undoubtedly helped the spinner bait bite which ultimately won the tournament for him.

Scott Rook, (15 fish, 29-00,), made a big charge on the final day, moving from 5th place to second.  Rook fished a shallow crank bait and a plastic worm to make his big move.

6/24/05 "Yeah Baby!" Iaconelli Hits A Home Run!

In the Angler Of the Year race, Greg Hackney could only muster five fish for 10-10 today, but Toshinari Namiki couldn't take advantage of Hackney's 10th place position.  Today Namiki caught five fish for 12-00 and finds himself in 9th place.  Namiki, trails Hackney by 7 points in the AOY race and needs to finish eight spots ahead of Hackney to win the honor.  Fans of Pro Bass Fishing events have to love the dog-fight for the top spot.  Tomorrow should be a lot of fun.

6/25/05 BASS Southern Open: "A Feel Good Story:" Menendez Leads At West Point-

Menendez, (10 fish, 26-08) reported catching all nine of his keepers on a Strike King Spinner bait, and fishing finesse lures yesterday.  He  leads 2nd place angler Micahel Johnson of Talking Rock, Georgia who has 10 fish, weighing 22-04.

BASS Open format has the top 50 anglers competing on day three, which means there will be less professional fishing pressure, however, being a Saturday, the pleasure boat traffic could make things interesting.

6/24/05 Potomac River: Chapman Hopes To "Capitalize"

Chapman, (33-10,) with weights of 16-07 on day one and 17-03 on day two, finishes the prelims with a .01 lead over Mike Iaconelli who weighed in 33-09 over the last two days.  Chapman, Iaconelli,  and George Cochran, all in the top ten, fished the BASS E-50 on Lake Wissota in Wisconson just last week and had to put some in serious miles to get to the Potomac.  Iaconelli finished 2nd in that event so he had to stay an extra two days.

A major side note to the leader board is the FLW Angler Of the Year race.  Of those within striking distance, Greg Hackney and Toshinari Namiki are in the top ten.  Hackney, third in the AOY race coming into the Potomac event,  leads Namiki who is fourth in FLW points by 7 points.  No matter how anything else turns out, Hackney must finish within 6 places of Namiki, meaning if Namiki should win this event, Hackney must be seventh to win the AOY.

Fishing on the Potomac is awesome as nearly 90% of the pro field weighed in limits on day one, and nearly the same on day two.

The top 10 round includes:

6/24/05 BASS Southern Open:  West Point Looks Good To Scroggins-

Scroggins reported finding fish over a wide area, however they are tough to catch as he is using several finesse techniques to get his bites.  Fishing is good for non-keeper size fish which adds to angler frustration.  

The Southern Open Series is a three event tour that features events on West Point, Lake Guntersville and Lake Toho.

6/23/05 FLW Tour Stop Potomac River: Williams Leads, AOY Race Heats Up

One of the pros with 18 pounds, (18-04,) is Greg Hackney. Hackney, currently in third place in the Angler Of the Year standings, trails JT Kenny by 16 points and Anthony Gagliardi by 14 points. Both Kenny (12-14, 70th place,) and Gagliardi, (14-06, 34th place,) would really have to mount impressive comebacks to have a chance at making the top ten cut, putting Hackney in the driver seat for the Angler Of the Year title.

Not so fast however, because a check of the Angler of the Year standings shows Toshinari Namiki only seven points behind Hackney, 4th place overall in the AOY standings. Namiki had a good day yesterday and is in 13th place with 16-06. Matt Herren, 5th in AOY points, trails Hackney by 36 points and he is in 19th place, with 15-08 at the Potomac, and Dave Lefebre is in 6th place in the AOY standings and he is in 6th place, with 17-12 after day one.

Today is cut down day and it figures that Hackney, as well as other Angler Of the year hopefuls, will not take any chances about making the top ten.

6/21/05 Get The Point? Kenny And Gagliardi Shoot It Out In DC, Hackney Lurking In The Shadows. 

The Potomac River, site of this week's FLW event provides a strong home water advantage for JT Kenny.  As a Maryland resident, Kenny has spent many hours on the River and understands how it works, perhaps better than any other pro in the field.  "How it works is that it is a tidal water way which means the water moves every six hours.  Knowing which tide produces the best bite is going to be crucial to success.  The Potomac has a lot of well known spots, however, knowing the right time to be on those spots is even more important then knowing where they are," remarked Kenny on a recent "On The Water with Keith Nighswonger.  

Kenny said he will "chase tides," which means, moving constantly to stay ahead of the tide he wants to fish.  The tide change is fairly slow, so moving in a bass boat, an angler can actually be fishing the desired tide all day long.

The event gets under way on Wednesday, and promises to hold a lot of attention.  Invitations to FLW's Tour Championship will be handed out after this event.  A lot on the line in DC this week.

ProTourNews Archives 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16-17-18-19-20-21-22-23-24

FLW Tour

• 66th at Okeechobee,
• 39th at Toho,
• 20th at Ouachita River
• 46th at Beaver Lake
• 4th at Wheeler Lake
• 4th at Potomac River

• 4th at Okeechobee,
• 104th at Toho,
• 1st at Ouachita River
• 68th at Beaver Lake
• 5th at Wheeler Lake
• 5th at Potomac River

• 24th at Okeechobee,
• 59th at Toho,
• 27th at Ouachita River
• 34th at Beaver Lake
• 17th at Wheeler Lake
• 37th at Potomac

• 63rd at Okeechobee,
• 21st at Toho,
• 2nd at Ouachita River
• 25th at Beaver Lake
• 100th at Wheeler Lake
• 13th Potomac River

• 26th at Okeechobee,
• 27th at Toho,
• 4 2nd at Ouachita River
• 98th at Beaver Lake
• 21st at Wheeler Lake
• 17th at Potomac River

BASS Tour

• 2nd at T-Rock Lake, 
• 16th at Lake Norman, 
• 22nd at Clarks Hill,
• 14th at Guntersville, 
• 6th at Harris Chain, 
• 88th at Toho 

• 13th at T-Rock Lake, 
• 11th at Lake Norman, 
• 36th at Clarks Hill,
• 16th at Guntersville, 
• 36th at Harris Chain, 
• 26th at Toho 

• 14th at T-Rock
• 49th at Lake Norman,
• 19th at Clarks Hill, 
• 32nd at Guntersville, 
• 40th at Harris Chain, 
• 5th at Toho

• 10th at T-Rock Lake, 
• 12th at Lake Norman, 
• 13th at Clarks Hill,
• 39th at Guntersville, 
• 82nd at Harris Chain, 
• 24th at Toho 

• 1st at T-Rock Lake, 
• 4th at Lake Norman, 
• 23rd at Clarks Hill,
• 73rd at Guntersville, 
• 66th at Harris Chain, 
• 37th at Toho