Kevin Van Dam

Bassmaster Classic qualifications

September 18, 2007 – espnoutdoors.com

Mark Menendez might want to start checking eBay for a deal on a Rolex for Terry Scroggins.

It has been 11 tournaments over seven months, and the final Angler of the Year chips have fallen in place, officially placing some anglers in — and some out — of the 2008 Bassmaster Classic.

Here are the bare bones of how the Bassmaster qualifications are dealt out: 37 go to the top 37 in the Toyota Angler of the Year standings on the Elite Series; six are split among the three leaders in the Central and Southern divisions in the Bassmaster Opens; six go to the top finisher from each of the six regions of the Federation Nation in the Federation Nation Championship; and the final spot goes to the Bassmaster Weekend Series champion.

It seems pretty straightforward, but there is one rule that would allow more Elite Series anglers into the biggest event in bass fishing — a rule that Menendez thinks is spot on.

Since the Bassmaster Opens are just that — open — anybody, including Elite Series anglers, can pay their money and fish.

BASS rules state that if an Elite Series angler qualifies for the Classic through the Opens, he enters the Classic as an Open qualifier, not as an Elite.

Terry Scroggins has won both of the Bassmaster Southern Opens, and won’t need much in the final Open to finish in the top three. But since he had already qualified on the Elite Series, and since the pro schedule is a grueling stretch of 11 tournaments (14 for Scroggins, as he qualified for all three Majors), there was no guarantee that the Florida pro was even going to bother with final open.

Matsubu makes television history

September 17, 2007 – espnoutdoors.com

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Ben Matsubu made televised bass fishing history Sunday, in addition to winning the $100,000 first-place check in the Sunshine Showdown, presented by Allstate Boat Insurance.

You will undoubtedly soon see Matsubu land an 8-pound, 13-ounce bass on ESPN broadcast television.

And the bass appeared to be much larger than its official weight.

Jerry McKinnis, longtime host of ESPN’s “The Fishin’ Hole” and founder of the JM Associates television production company, was one of the first to congratulate Matsubu after his victory at Lake Toho, mentioning it was one of the best video clips ever captured at a Bassmaster tournament.

Matsubu’s mule of 8-13 gives him 14-1 victory in final Elite event

September 17, 2007 – espnoutdoors.com

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — In a week of decidedly un-Florida-like weights, Ben Matsubu finally showed what the Sunshine state is capable of as the 2007 season wrapped up.

The American-born angler of Japanese heritage threw a monster 25-pound, 5-ounce pound sack on the rain-soaked scales, crushing the field by 14-1 on the final day of the Sunshine Showdown, presented by Allstate Boat Insurance.

Matsubu, who pocketed $111,000 for his week’s effort, worked the sweetest of sweet spots for the majority of the week, tallying 66-8 in four days of fishing, anchored by an 8-13 pound giant: a long skinny fish most learned observers believed would weigh nearly 13 pounds in a healthy pre-spawn stage.

Additionally, the hidden grassy point put Mary Delgado into co-angler contention on Day Two (14-7 pounds) and closed the deal for co-angler Harry Potts’ title run (14-11 pounds).

“It was the spot,” Matsubu said. “Along the whole two-mile stretch of matted grass, there were only two small areas where the scattered grass made a point. I still haven’t really figured out if the fish are coming in from the open water, or coming out of the mats.”

Matsubu said he marked the submerged grass clumps with his Humminbird side imaging electronic system.

Toho giants have come at a premium, but Matsubu still hopeful

September 16, 2007 – espnoutdoors.com

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — A warm, windless dawn greeted the final dozen anglers of the 2007 Elite Series this morning as Day Four of the Sunshine Showdown presented by Allstate Boat Insurance got under way. The Lake Toho/Kissimmee complex has been stingy with its bites this week, but enough central Florida giants have been caught to make at least one of the primary contenders a little nervous.

“All three days have depended on one key bite and I think that’ll be the case today. You’ve got to watch those guys flipping under the mats,” said second place Ben Matsubu (41-3), who is just one pound behind Brent Chapman.

The weather forecast calls for increasing winds and lower temperatures today as a weak cold front makes its way into the Orlando area. Most anglers were taking a wary approach to that forecast as they hydrated themselves and made last minute preparations for the final day of competition in the 2007 season.

Chapman talked about a Day Four strategy that sounds more akin to that of a beat-up city reservoir than one of the best big fish lakes in the country. But that’s what has gotten him the lead and he sees no reason to change now.

“I’m just going to go out and try to catch five fish first. Then I’m going to worry about size,” said Chapman. “That’s been the strategy all week and each day I’ve been fortunate enough to get several good fish while I’m doing that.”

The Give and Take

September 16, 2007 – espnoutdoors.com

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — It always pays to have friends: Someone to watch your back. Even a smiling face after a rough day. But during the Day Three of the Sunshine Showdown, presented by Allstate Boat Insurance, having friends for Brent Chapman and Ben Matsubu could spell the tournament title and its $100,000 payday.

Looking to claim his first Elite Series win, Chapman held onto the top spot again on Day Three with a 12-pound, 9-ounce day and 42-3 total pounds for the tournament.

Ben Matsubu returned to form after Saturday’s action as well, with a 17-8 pound stringer boosting him into second place. Glenn DeLong now sits in third place with a 12-3 day, while Day One leader Bill Smith, Jr., slipped a few spots to the fourth spot. Rounding out the top Five was Bradley Hallmanm who now finds himself in fifth place after a 13-2 Day Three.

“I really owe everything here to Alton Jones,” Chapman said from the stage Saturday. Chapman explained how he and Jones had shared some general notes all week long, and how it had paid off when both men identified one particular hole.

“It turned out to be an incredible spot,” Chapman said.

Even though the Kansas native found the fishing there a bit disappointing on Day Three, it was enough to do the trick and he intends to return there early on Sunday.

Chapman’s vacation delayed

September 14, 2007 – espnoutdoors.com

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Brent Chapman’s goal this week at Lake Toho was to catch one bass to solidify his berth in the Bassmaster Classic, then start a family vacation at the beach with his family on Sunday.

Those plans were put on hold Friday when Chapman caught a five bass limit of 18 pounds, 12 ounces and moved to the top of the leaderboard in the Sunshine Showdown, presented by Allstate Boat Insurance.

“I was starting a vacation Sunday,” said the 35-year-old father of two from Lake Quivira, Kan. “If I’m going to be here, I might as well try to win the tournament.”

Chapman moved from ninth place Thursday to first Friday with his total of 29-10, saying it was a dream day on the lake.

“It was just one of those days where everywhere you went, you got a quality bite,” Chapman said.

Bill Smith Jr., on the other hand, realized he made a mistake Friday.

The Day One leader with 18-6 dropped into second place with 10-2 for a total of 29-2. Smith left the area Friday morning where he’d caught all his fish Thursday, but came back to it Friday afternoon — and probably won’t leave it Saturday.

Toho as tough as predicted

September 13, 2007 – espnoutdoors.com

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — You should look at the bottom, not the top, of the leaderboard to understand how tough the bass fishing was at Lake Toho Thursday, on the first day of the Sunshine Showdown presented by Allstate Boat Insurance.

Of the top 12 Bassmaster Elite Series points leaders for the year, six of them were in 82nd place or lower in the 108-angler field. Jared Lintner, who is in third place in AOY points for the season and has had possibly the most consistent year of anyone, stood in 101st place after weighing in one 15-ounce bass.

As predicted, Day One indicated this 2007 finale of the Elite Series could be the toughest tournament of the year.

And, no matter how tough the fishing gets, at least a few of these pros figure out how to catch bass. Thursday the best at doing that was Bill Smith Jr. of Somerset, Ky., with a five-bass limit weighing 18 pounds, 6 ounces.

In second was one of the favorites in this event, Terry Scroggins of Palatka, Fla., with 17-13; he was followed by Ben Matsubu with 16-1, rookie Glenn DeLong with 15-7 and Bernie Schultz with 14-5.

“I’m tickled to death with (17-13),” said Scroggins, who is fishing his home waters. “I could come in tomorrow and not have anything. The bites are coming so far apart, you never know when you’re going to get a bite.

“You don’t know IF you’re going to get a bite.”

The sun is up over Toho for Day One of the Sunshine Showdown

September 13, 2007 – espnoutdoors.com

KISSIMMEE, FLA. — As the Sunshine Showdown presented by Allstate Boat Insurance got under way in the heart of Florida bass country, a series of small thunderstorms off the east coast and the corresponding array of hues served to give the blast-off of the final event of the Elite Series a visual appeal.

The appeal was grounded in other things for local favorites, who believe adverse weather from such storms could go a long way in anglers securing good bags.

“The water is so hot right now — there are places where it’s 90, 92 degrees — that a good storm could drop the water temperature enough to really fire the fish up,” said Preston Clark from Palatka, Fla. “It’s a tough bite out there, but this place has got ‘em. Somebody’s going to bring in a 20-pound bag.”

Clark endured a tough start to the season and is coming off of a solid 19th-place showing on the Potomac River last month at the Capitol Clash. He says the best scenario would be for the area to receive four to five inches of rain, necessitating an opening of the flood gates. The subsequent current would do wonders for the quality and quantity of bites, but more realistically, a good strong storm is what’s really needed to shake the fish out of their late summer doldrums.

“It’s just really slow right now. The fish are not chasing anything right now like they normally do this time of year. If we get a good rain that lasts long enough to drop the water temperature, you’d get a frog bite going, a spinnerbait bite, a Rat-L-Trap bite,” said Clark. “Right now the only reaction bite you’ve got is a flipping bite when you just happen to drop it right on top of his head.”

Ain’t No Sunshine

September 12, 2007 – espnoutdoors.com

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Half of Terry Scroggins’ face was an ear-to-ear grin as he bounced around Anglers Alley, less than 24 hours before the start of the Sunshine Showdown presented by Allstate Boat Insurance — the final event on the 2007 Elite Series.

Scroggins is always smiling, but there was a little extra something about him as he greeted fans and signed autographs. Not only is he fishing the first Elite Series event in his home state, but he won a BASS Southern Open on this exact chain of lakes in March of this year.

Most of the anglers perusing the Alley said the fishing was tough, if not impossible, but surely Scroggins would have something nice to say. Without breaking his smile, the pro summed up the fishing conditions in one word.

Limits The Goal, But No Guarantees At Tough Toho

September 12, 2007 – bassfan.com

The Bassmaster Elite Series field launched onto familiar waters this week – Lake Tohopekaliga and the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes – but under a different set of circumstances.

Toho is a traditional winter or spring stop, but this time, the field faces a late-summer fishery. That spells tough.

The fish reportedly haven’t made their move to fall feeding patterns, and water temperatures still hover in the mid-80s. It’s made for an overall tough bite so far, as the pros have hunted and pecked through the first 2 days of practice.

Reports paint a fairly bleak picture. Keeper bites are a challenge, and concentrations of fish are a rarity. In fact, more than three bites in a single area is all but gold right now.

Before more about the current state of the bite, here’s more about the lake itself.