Month: February 2019

February 1, 2019 KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Photo courtesy of BASS

The 2019 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods, scheduled for March 15-17 on the Tennessee River, will feature the usual mix of established pro fishing superstars and hungry young pros who are destined to be the stars of tomorrow.

The 52 anglers converging on Knoxville will be gunning for the largest share of the $1 million prize fund, and they’ll be aiming to establish their angling legacy by winning the most important title in professional fishing.

Among the field are eight former Classic winners, including four-time champion Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich., and defending champion Jordan Lee of Grant, Ala., who last year became one of only three anglers to claim back-to-back wins in the event.

Seven of the pros have hoisted the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year trophy, including 2018 AOY winner Justin Lucas of Guntersville, Ala., and Aaron Martens of Leeds, Ala., who has claimed the award three times.

“The Classic is a showcase for some of the most accomplished bass anglers in the world,” said B.A.S.S. CEO Bruce Akin. “You’ll have veteran pros out there who’ve experienced the huge stage that is the Classic and excelled in that environment in the past. But you’ll also have some young guys who are just chomping at the bit to make a name for themselves.

“That’s one of the most exciting things about the Classic — it literally will change someone’s life forever.”

Anglers hungry for first-time Classic glory include Florida’s Drew Benton, Tennessee’s Brandon Lester and Arizona’s Clifford Pirch — just to name a few.

Whoever wins the event, the immediate effects will be easy to see.

There’s the world-famous Classic trophy, which weighs more than 40 pounds and is easily the most coveted piece of hardware in professional fishing. Then there’s the $300,000 first-place check and the chance to stand before an arena full of screaming fans as confetti cannons set the stage for the accomplishment of a lifetime.

This year’s weigh-ins will be held in Thompson-Boling Arena on the campus of the University of Tennessee. The arena, which seats 21,678, has served as the site for some incredible sporting moments, including Tennessee women’s basketball coach Pat Summitt’s historic 1,000th career victory on Feb. 5, 2009.

As always, the Classic will be held in conjunction with the fan-favorite Bassmaster Classic Outdoors Expo presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods. Known as the most important consumer show in the bass fishing world, the Classic Expo will be held in the Knoxville Convention Center and the adjacent World’s Fair Exhibition Hall.

Companies from across the fishing industry use the Expo annually to debut new products, and fans will be able to purchase many types of lures, rods, reels and accessories for the first time anywhere.

There will be a special one-hour Expo preview for B.A.S.S. members from 11 a.m.-noon March 15. Then the regular times for the event will be March 15 from noon-7 p.m., March 16 from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and March 17 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Doors will open to the arena for weigh-ins each day for B.A.S.S. Life and Nation members at 3 p.m. and to the general public at 3:15 p.m.

“I’m especially excited for this event because I grew up in Knoxville and fished Fort Loudoun and Tellico as a kid,” said B.A.S.S. Director Chase Anderson. “Some of the most avid sports fans in the world live right there — and when you combine that kind of passion with an event as spectacular as the Bassmaster Classic, it’s going to be an incredible experience for everyone who attends.”

January 31, 2019Bassmaster Elite Series Anglers Are Looking For Giant Bass In Season Opener On St. Johns RiverPALATKA, Fla. — Photo courtesy of BASS

The St. Johns River has been a familiar destination for the Bassmaster Elite Series since the circuit first visited there in 2011.

But this year’s Elite Series visit will be different than all the rest.

Really, really different.

The 2019 Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River is scheduled for Feb. 7-10 with daily takeoffs at 7:30 a.m. ET from Palatka City Dock and Boat Ramp and weigh-ins at 4:10 p.m. each day at Palatka Riverfront Park.

It will be the season opener for the new-look Elite Series, which now features a smaller field of 75 anglers — down from more than 110 in years past — and a new payout scale that assures every competitor in the field will leave with a check.

The anglers will also find a new-look fishery, since much of the eelgrass the St. Johns River has long been famous for was decimated by Hurricane Irma last summer and has yet to return.

“To say that I’m excited for this tournament would be an understatement,” said Cliff Prince, a Palatka, Fla., resident and an eight-year Elite Series veteran. “Not only am I starting the season on my home water, but this is also a whole new ballgame, a whole new Elite Series. B.A.S.S. has given us an opportunity to really showcase what we can do — and I can’t wait!”

With that said, Prince knows the wealth of knowledge he’s acquired from living on the fishery may not help as much as it has in year’s past when he finished sixth, 56th and 16th in three previous Elite Series events on the river.

The hurricane changed things in ways that might force many anglers with experience on the fishery to start from scratch.

“In 2016, there was a lot more grass up and down the river from one end of it to the other,” Prince said. “When that storm came through last year, it just dumped so much rain. What grass didn’t get torn up by the storm got shaded out by the high water.

“This river was as high as I’ve seen it in my lifetime, and it stayed that way for a long time. Our tides are really just now getting back to normal.”

During past Elite Series events on the St. Johns, anglers who couldn’t find a solid pattern elsewhere could almost always rely on the tremendous number of bass that spawn in Lake George. But even that once-dependable area will require a different approach.

“Lake George is just not in good shape,” said Bernie Schultz, a Gainesville, Fla., angler who has fished the Elite Series since its inception in 2006. “There’s plenty of dollar weed — those little, small lily pads that grow in about 2 feet of water. But that won’t filter the water like it needs to.

“Eelgrass is a great filter. That’s why bass go to it —good cover, good filtration, lots of oxygen and it’s an ideal place to spawn.”

The number of bass that are spawning could play a major role in how much weight it takes to win the event’s $100,000 first-place prize.

Temperatures in the region have been colder than normal for the past 10 days. But a warming trend is predicted for this weekend, and several warm days could raise the water temperatures enough to send a wave of fish to the spawning areas.

“When the water temperature reaches the high 50s, there will be some fish go to the bank,” Prince said. “So there will be some fish caught sight fishing, I’m sure. In Florida, in February, you can’t afford not to at least look for them.”

With the absence of eelgrass, anglers will likely turn to dollar pads, wood, reeds, lily pads and even boat docks. Despite all the changes, Prince said he expects the usual tactics to play — topwater lures, bladed jigs, swim jigs, lipless baits, swimbaits and even standard Texas-rigged worms.

One thing he doesn’t expect, however, is the signature five-bass limits of big bass that have anchored the four-day weights of past winners.

“In 2016, Rick Clunn had a 31-pound bag and then three more good, solid days that helped him win,” Prince said. “That’s usually the way it works here. But if you look at the results from tournaments around here since the grass has disappeared, we just haven’t been having those 30-pound days.

“If you have a 25- to 27-pound bag and then back it up with a 20-pound bag and a couple of 15-pound bags, that’s gonna be strong.”

The St. Johns tournament, like all Elite Series events, is a free, family-friendly celebration of bass fishing, with activities for all ages.

The Elite Series Expo at Palatka City Ramp will be open Saturday and Sunday starting at 10 a.m. ET. Fans will have a chance to take a demo ride in a Nitro, Skeeter or Triton boat, look over the newest Toyotas, develop fishing skills in the Berkley/Abu Garcia Experience trailer, and win prizes and check out new products from leading companies in the fishing industry.

Fans can meet the Elites at Angler Alley on Saturday from 1 to 3 p.m., and on Championship Sunday, they can join the Elite LIVE Watch Party and hang out with anglers and other special guests as they watch the final hours of Bassmaster LIVE. Elite angler clinics will be held onstage from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, which is also Military and First Responder Appreciation Day.

January 28, 2019B.A.S.S. Airs Week Of Programming To Preview 2019 Elite SeriesBIRMINGHAM, Ala. —

Fishing fans who just can’t wait for the official kickoff of the 2019 Bassmaster Elite Series Feb. 7 on the St. Johns River, Florida, can get a sneak preview of the fishing action during a special “Bassmaster LIVE Preview Week” on Bassmaster.com every day through Friday.

“Since we introduced live-streamed, on-the-water tournament coverage to the world in 2015, bass fishing fans have clamored for more,” said Mike McKinnis, vice president of media content for JM Associates and producer of Bassmaster LIVE and The Bassmasters TV show. “We are expanding LIVE coverage from 18 to 24 hours for each Elite event this season, and we’re adding more cameras to cover more anglers.

“We think fans will appreciate getting a taste of what’s in store for them this year through this week-long push of LIVE and pre-produced content served on all B.A.S.S. social and digital media outlets.”

The special programming is designed to entertain and educate fans and will be anchored by the Dream Team of tournament broadcast coverage — Tommy Sanders, Mark Zona, Davy Hite, Dave Mercer, Ronnie Moore and Mike Suchan — along with a host of players from the Toyota Bassmaster Studios and from throughout the country.

The special programming kicks off today with the “2019 Bassmaster Elite Series Preview,” a one-hour studio show featuring video and special reports on each of the nine regular-season Elite tournaments, including video, graphics and interviews with Elite Series anglers. Long-time B.A.S.S. members will want to tune in for a special guest appearance by Bob Cobb, the former editor of Bassmaster Magazine and founding producer of The Bassmasters.

The parade of big-bass lakes begins with Elite No. 1 on the St. Johns River at Palatka, Fla., Feb. 7-10, and continues the following week with a visit to Gwinnett, Ga., and Lake Lanier, renowned for its big spotted bass.

The season takes a break for the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods in Knoxville, Tenn., March 15-17, and the Classic is the focus of Tuesday’s preview show, airing on Bassmaster.com at 11 a.m. ET. The program incorporates historical footage of memorable Classics, along with video of Knoxville and the Tennessee River fishery, plus interviews with some of the 52 Classic contenders.

Fans of Fantasy Fishing will want to tune in to Wednesday’s show, “Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing 2019 — Meet the Pros,” debuting at 11 a.m. ET. With a number of rookies and other newcomers this year, the field will be harder to handicap without insights from the Bassmaster LIVE crew and other experts.

Registration for Fantasy Fishing is now open on Bassmaster.com. The top scorer of each Elite event will earn a $2,500 gift card to Bass Pro Shops, and the overall winner will receive a fully rigged Triton/Yamaha boat-and-motor combo valued at more than $35,000.

Thursday features a fun-filled competition, the “B.A.S.S. Brawl,” during which Zona and Hite are paired with Elite anglers Drew Benton and Drew Cook for a four-hour live-stream team competition on Bassmaster LIVE. The show will be streamed from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET and will be hosted from the Toyota Bassmaster Studios.

And on Friday, “Zona LIVE” presents a fun-filled fishing trip with Zona and Benton as they cut up on the water and preview the upcoming Elite No. 1 on the St. Johns River. “Zona LIVE” is a spinoff of the hugely popular Zona’s Awesome Fishing Show on the Outdoor Channel.

“We’ve adopted the theme — ‘Big Bass. Big Stage. Big Dreams.’ — for our 2019 Bassmaster Elite Series season,” noted Bruce Akin, B.A.S.S. CEO. “Fans who tune in for our special ‘Bassmaster LIVE Preview Week’ will quickly understand why that theme is so fitting.

“We hope they’ll follow the Elite anglers throughout the year as they try to catch the heaviest limits of big bass and fulfill their dreams of grabbing the spotlight on the biggest stages in bass fishing — the Elite Series and the Bassmaster Classic.”