August 17, 2009 – bassmaster.com
The inaugural Toyota Trucks Championship Week needed to start with a bang, and the Bassmaster Elite Series pros have made sure of that.
At Sunday’s conclusion of the regular season at Oneida Lake, the top 12 Elite Series pros in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings officially qualified for BASS’ first two-event postseason. And before the postseason begins, there’s already a shootout at the front of the pack.
Reigning 2008 Angler of the Year Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich., is just one point ahead of 2009 Bassmaster Classic champion Skeet Reese of Auburn, Calif., and the two highly competitive pros look to ignite the first Elite Series postseason with a battle royal along with 10 other pros for the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year trophy and its accompanying top prize of $200,000.
Although Reese was ahead of VanDam in the regular-season Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings, VanDam earned two points by virtue of his Smith Mountain Lake Elite win, moving him ahead of Reese. Each competitor who scored an Elite victory earned two bonus points after the top-12 field was set.
Right behind them is 2008 Bassmaster Classic winner Alton Jones of Waco, Texas. The field also includes 2006 AOY and 2003 Classic winner Mike Iaconelli of Runnemede, N.J. (11th); 1989 and 1993 AOY Gary Klein of Weatherford, Texas (seventh); and, squeaking in at the last second, 2004 AOY Gerald Swindle of Warrior, Ala. (12th).
“Even Iaconelli and Swindle, being in 11th and 12th, have got a great shot,” VanDam said. “The drama is definitely going to be there. All through the season it’s been different because we knew about this postseason coming. The intensity was there from Day 1, the first day of competition.
“Everybody’s talking about Skeet and I making it so close, because the last couple of years we fought it out to the end. But the other 10 guys in this are just as able to win it as we are, and that’s the thing about it that’s so much different. This right here is going to be a shootout. These guys are the best anglers in the world. You look at the field and they’re all guys with a lot of wins, a lot of Classics, a lot of AOY titles. It’s going to be awesome.”
The inaugural Toyota Trucks Championship Week kicks off with the Trophy Chase, set for Sept. 12-13 on Lake Jordan out of Wetumpka, Ala.; the finale, the Evan Williams Bourbon Trophy Triumph, is slated for Sept. 17-18 on the Alabama River from Montgomery.
VanDam said he’s looking forward to getting started with practice on Lake Jordan, a fishery he has visited only once. He likes the manageability of it in size and predicts that two practice days will give everyone a solid read on the lake.
BASS Communications / Seigo Saito
Skeet Reese
He has fished a few BASS tournaments on the Alabama River, and he said the two fisheries are extremely different and should prove an excellent test of the world’s top 12 bass anglers.
“The big thing there is — I’ve fished the Coosa River a lot — I know how important current is to the activity level of the fish. That’s going to be critical. If we get some rains in the fall, we’ll get some current and it’ll be a full-on shootout. If it’s hot and slick, it’s going to be a grind.
“You want to go in and get off to a good start. And I’m not exactly sure how I need to compete different, because this is new territory. But I’m excited to get going. There’s several people in the field who have a lot of experience on those lakes and the rest of us don’t who may have an advantage — but that can be a disadvantage, too. You just never know.”
Someone who might know is Swindle, an Alabama native who had to wait until the last day of the regular-season finale, the Ramada Champion’s Choice, to find out that he would be fishing in his home state for a shot at his second AOY title.
“This was a ninth-inning rally here,” Swindle said Sunday. “I just got momentum, I fished well this year in the early tournaments — I just didn’t have any high finishes. A little later in the year, it seemed like I was getting the bigger bites, getting in a rhythm physically and mentally.”
Swindle was 17th in the AOY standings coming in to the event at Oneida and had a lot of ground to cover to make the postseason. He punched his postseason ticket with a ninth-place finish and an overall four-day weight of 56 pounds, 4 ounces.
“I can’t even put into words what it means to come back,” said Swindle, who had a rough time coping in the offseason with the fact that he didn’t fish well enough in 2008 to make the 2009 Bassmaster Classic. “I know the 2004 Angler of the Year Gerald Swindle is still there. He just had a rough year — and the year before that wasn’t my best year, either.
“I think I’m back, and that’s what you’re looking for, freedom on the water and peace of mind.”
Swindle said being among the stacked postseason field of 12 is an honor, but that the AOY trophy does have a Swindle bull’s-eye on it.
“I knew better than to pre-fish,” he said, “but fishing at home will give me a lot of confidence.
“When we get there, it’s man on man and even if I go in at 12th, I’m going to be trying to rally. Hey, if you’re going to have a fight, have a good one.”
2009 Bassmaster Elite Series Toyota Trucks Championship Week standings
Name, Hometown Postseason Points
1. Kevin VanDam, Kalamazoo, Mich. — 205
2. Skeet Reese, Auburn, Calif. — 204
3. Alton Jones, Waco, Texas — 198
4. Kelly Jordon, Mineola, Texas — 182
5. Todd Faircloth, Jasper, Texas — 180
6. Randy Howell, Springville, Ala. — 180
7. Tommy Biffle, Waggoner, Okla. — 180
8. Mark Menendez, Paducah, Ky. — 180
9. Gary Klein, Weatherford, Texas — 179
10. Cliff Pace, Petal, Miss. — 177
11. Mike Iaconelli, Runnemede, N.J. — 175
12. Gerald Swindle, Warrior, Ala. — 174
August 16, 2009 – bassmaster.com
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Thirty-two-year-old Chad Griffin caught his first bass at 22 years old and instantly became addicted.
Ten years later, the Cresson, Texas, resident who grew up in Alaska — a state reportedly with no largemouth bass population — cashed in on a dream at the regular-season finale, the Ramada Champion’s Choice on Oneida Lake on Sunday.
Griffin, an Elite Series rookie, worked Oneida for both relevant species — largemouth and smallmouth — and tallied 65 pounds, 10 ounces, enough to hold off hard-charging Jeff Kriet of Ardmore, Okla., by more than 2 pounds.
He credited his versatility, a must on Oneida, to his years of toiling in grassroots and lower-level tournaments in various states. His main bait for the final two days was a white XCalibur Zell Pop with chartreuse. Heading into the final day, Griffin carried a stout lead of 4-plus pounds and got off to a blazing start Sunday. But as the day progressed, so did his troubles — including battery issues and a few missed fish. “I thought I blew the tournament. I was really worried,” said Griffin, who moved up to 42nd in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings. “Honestly, I’m not sure what the heck I just accomplished. This means the world to me.”
While growing up in Alaska, Griffin followed The Bassmasters and idolized anglers like Kevin VanDam through hellacious winters. He said his passion was so strong that he used to tell family members that he was going to be a pro.
Seizing the lead Friday, Griffin didn’t waiver, catching the biggest bass of the tournament, a 5-pound, 8-ounce largemouth. It helped him land the biggest limit of the tournament of 18 pounds, 8 ounces..
He wiped out two less-than-perfect days with two stellar days in the four-day event. On Thursday he failed to cash in on what he thought could have been more than 20 pounds, and Sunday he failed to land several fish that struck his lure. In the end, Griffin’s Friday and Saturday performances were enough.
Throughout the tournament, he executed a pattern developed in practice — targeting smallmouth in the grass. It was something he has never done, on a lake he had never before seen. But the one-time BASS winner has spent considerable time in Texas scouring Lone Star fisheries, where an abundance of grass also exists, and that helped his cause in New York.
The victory netted Griffin $100,000 and peace of mind. Perhaps most important, after struggling through his rookie year, Griffin gained confidence in addition to the financial security.
“It certainly takes some pressure off,” he said. “It’s nice to be able to tell my family that it finally happened. I always wanted this so bad. It’s just really special.”
Kriet nearly toppled Griffin on Sunday with an 18-pound, 2-ounce limit. Despite some obvious disappointment in the finish, Kriet sewed up a qualifying berth into the 2010 Bassmaster Classic — his sixth — set for Feb. 19-21 on Lay Lake out of Birmingham, Ala.
Kriet strictly targeted smallmouth — despite the tournament being won on largemouth in previous visits. He said his bite didn’t really turn on until Sunday, when he boated the event’s second-largest catch. He was throwing jigs and a drop-shot rig to suspended fish in the grass.
Second is a familiar position for Kriet, who has failed to land an Elite Series win despite being in contention numerous times.
“Sometimes I scratch my head and wonder why I haven’t won one of these yet,” said Kriet, 40. “I sure would like to. But I have been working it out, and when I win one of these I think the door is going to open and I’m going to get a few.”
Last year’s Oneida champion Dean Rojas of Lake Havasu City, Ariz., was third with 59 pounds, 3 ounces. Home-state favorite Matthew Sphar of Pavilion was fourth with 58 pounds, 14 ounces, while Jason Quinn of York, S.C., rounded out the top five with 57 pounds, 8 ounces.
Gerald Swindle of Warrior, Ala., finished ninth, which was good enough to sew up the final berth in the inaugural Bassmaster Elite Series postseason.
Toyota Trucks Championship Week is set for Sept. 10-18 on two productive Alabama fisheries. The first of the two postseason tournaments, the Trophy Chase, will take place Sept. 12-13 on Lake Jordan out of Wetumpka; the finale, the Evan Williams Bourbon Trophy Triumph, is slated for Sept. 17-18 on the Alabama River from Montgomery. A full story about the race to qualify among the top 12 can be found here.
Terry Butcher of Talala, Okla., sewed up his first Bassmaster Classic berth by way of his 10th-place finish at Oneida. A full story on the Classic qualifiers is available here.
http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/tournaments/elite/news/story?id=4403309August 16, 2009 – espnoutdoors.com
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — One of the final scenes from yesterday’s third day weigh-in at the Ramada Champion’s Choice found Arkansas pro Billy McCaghren hoisting the Rookie of the Year trophy above his head while the raucous applause of fans and fellow anglers alike thundered in the background.
While the fans may end up cheering current leader Chad Griffin at the end of today’s drama, there are four veteran anglers who’d like nothing more than for the Texas rookie to stub his toe and drop down the score sheet.
Griffin’s three daily limits have totaled an even 50 pounds, and his nearest competitor, Greg Hackney, is 4-04 back with 45-12. But after that, the weights tighten up. Four veteran anglers — Jeff Kriet, Gerald Swindle, Jason Quinn and Bernie Schultz — are within 14 ounces of Hackney.
Those four anglers have another thing in common: none of them has ever won a tour-level event with BASS.
Kriet (3rd, 45-04), who hungers for an Elite Series win, said that he’s “not going to say that it looks great, but stranger things have happened.” He takes solace in what happened to his traveling partner Mike McClelland last year at the Harris Chain of Lakes in Florida. Entering the final day of that tournament, Missouri’s Brian Snowden held a nearly 10-pound lead, but suffered through a miserable last day and allowed McClelland to escape with the win.
Gerald Swindle (4th, 45-00) has an Angler of the Year trophy on his mantle but believes he may be on the verge of a more dubious honor. “I’m flirting with being the first guy in BASS history to win a million dollars without winning a tournament.” Heading into this tournament he was at $939,529, and would gladly forego that achievement should the opportunity present itself.
“Marty (Stone) said that I’m going to get to $995,000 and then win one to pull me over the top,” Swindle said.
Despite a lengthy list of career achievements, Bernie Schultz (6th, 44-14), who made the final day cut this week for the third time in three tries at Oneida, has never finished higher than third place in BASS competition. He entered today’s competition in 41st place in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year race, so he’s dealing with the twin pressures of moving into the Classic cut and trying to overtake the remaining field.
“Somebody can catch him for sure,” Schultz said of Griffin. “I’m going to start in an area I haven’t been starting in. There are fish in that area that are the right quality.”
Jason Quinn (5th, 44-15) agreed with Schultz that Griffin shouldn’t be making any plans for the $100,000 top prize just yet. “He kind of slipped yesterday,” Quinn said, subsequently explaining that “he had been catching mostly largemouths, but yesterday he caught smallmouth. Maybe his largemouths have dried up.”
Quinn entered the tournament in 55th place in the TTBAOY standings, but thanks to his high finish, has achieved the goal of moving inside the cut for his fifth Classic. With that achievement wrapped up, he’s ready to take a shot at his first Elite Series win.
“Eighth is like 12th to me,” Quinn said, then adding that he’s saved a big school of quality smallmouth for the final day. “Nothing is going to be held back today.”
He knows that the chances of passing Griffin are probably slim, but nevertheless he holds out hope. “If we make it, we do, but if not, we’re going to scare the hell out of him.”
As Kriet said: “All I can do is put myself in position to win.” He keeps telling himself that “It will happen. It’s going to happen. And when it does, I’m not going to win just one.”
Stone thinks that the same thing will happen to Swindle and told him that when he wins one, he’ll probably “win two or three in a row.”
Apparently, the first one is the hardest, and, whether it’s Griffin or one of the veterans, there’s a substantial chance that there will be one less member of the zero-win club when the scales close today.
August 15, 2009 – espnoutdoors.com
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Don’t let the Cresson, Texas, mailing address fool you. Chad Griffin, leading the Ramada Champion’s Choice on Oneida Lake as the remaining 50 anglers head out for the third day of competition, is truly a northerner.
In this case, north doesn’t mean New York, Wisconsin or even Montana. We’re talking serious latitude — he spent the first two decades of his life in the great white north of Alaska. He fished, but the quarry was typically salmon and trout.
“I didn’t bass fish until I was 22 years old,” he said.
Despite his late discovery of the sport, something must’ve clicked because in the past decade he’s risen to the top echelons of the sport. As a result, he finds himself a few credits shy of his bachelor’s degree.
“I finished three years of college but I didn’t finish up because it was tough to go to class when the fish were spawning,” he said.
Despite the lack of a diploma, his education hasn’t stopped. On his first trip to Oneida, and only his second time fishing in New York, he finds himself with a murderer’s row of bass pros nipping at his heels. Griffin has a one and a half pound lead over second-place contender Bernie Schultz of Florida. In a tournament where the weights are tight, he finds himself with a comparatively monstrous lead of over four and a half pounds over the angler in 12th, Virginia’s John Crews.
Griffin is fishing an EZEE Jig of his own design and manufacture. The color is “Conroe Craw,” which is “a peanut butter and jelly kind of skirt, with brown and purple strands,” he explained. He’s tipping it with a “Sprayed Grass” colored Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver. The combination of the two resembles a bluegill, he believes.
“These fish are feeding on brim,” he said. “They’re all very healthy.”
He fished a 1½-ounce jig the first two days, but also had a 1-ounce model on the deck today. While he’s apparently taken a shine to fishing in New York, the technique is straight-up Lone Star state.
“I can relate it to Choke Canyon or Amistad,” he said, referring to two well-known south Texas fish factories. “I’m not really flipping it as much as dropping it.”
http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/tournaments/elite/news/story?id=4401007August 15, 2009 – espnoutdoors.com
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Leaders beware, once again, Dean Rojas lurks in the wings ready to take home the title in the Ramada Champion’s Choice on Oneida Lake.
Dean Rojas chats with Don Barone on the docks before the launch of Day Three of the Ramada Champion’s Choice.
Last year at this time, Rojas was in second place behind Mike Iaconelli. By the time Day Three came to a close, he had taken a 3-pound lead and was well on his way to victory. This year he sits a little bit farther back, in sixth place with 30 pounds, 7 ounces, but that hasn’t dampened his confidence that he can make a move.
“I’m right where I want to be,” Rojas said. “Not in the lead, but close to striking distance. I was trailing Ike last year when his fish started to run out after Day Two. Those fish move around so much, but the fish I’m targeting are pretty much committed.”
Last year, Iaconelli caught a 20-pound bag of largemouth from Oneida to take a slim lead over Rojas. On Day Three, when the majority of the rest of the anglers struggled, Rojas smashed an 18-pound, 3-ounce stringer of shallow largemouth and ran away with the tournament.
Rojas’ strategy for the first two days of competition this year has been focused on conserving the fish he has found. He hasn’t hit a stretch of water two times in a row, but instead covers water as he alternates through different spots.
“I’m keeping the same approach as last year, alternating between the areas I have,” Rojas said. “You have to manage them well because there are so few fish. You kind of go down a bank breezing through it because you have to conserve what’s there.”
The good news for Rojas is that he will have significantly less company on Day Three when the field was cut from 98 to 50.
“Today will be a lot better because there are only 50 boats out there,” Rojas said. “Yesterday, some of the guys went shallow to risk getting a bigger bite because they were farther back and they won’t be there today.”
The biggest surprise for Rojas is that he has yet to catch a 17-pound bag, something he did last year on Day Three on his way to the win. With days of 14 pounds, 8 ounces and 15 pounds, 15 ounces, he has been consistent, but over 3 pounds back of the leader, he needs to put more weight in the boat if he hopes to repeat.
http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/tournaments/elite/news/story?id=4401069August 14, 2009 – bassfan.com
Chad Griffin caught the biggest fish that came to the scale on day 1 of the Oneida Bassmaster Elite Series in New York. On day 2 he caught the biggest bag that’s been weighed on either day and took over the lead at the halfway point.
The Texas rookie, who has his water all to himself, sacked 18-08 today for a 2-day total of 33-11. He divulged that he’s catching everything on a flipping stick.
He’s a pound and a half up on Bernie Schultz, who’s 2nd with 32-03. The Florida veteran weighed 16-12 today, all largemouths, and doesn’t know whether he can catch another limit of green fish – or even one – on day 3.
South Carolina’s Jason Quinn boxed 16-05 today and climbed seven spots up to 3rd with a 31-12 total. He said he’s working a pattern that might be unique, at least among the leaders.
Day-1 leader Randy Howell of Alabama came in with 13-08 today and slipped three spots to 4th with 31-10. He said he had the bites to boat another big sack, but couldn’t convert.
Recent Forrest Wood Cup winner Greg Hackney caught the day’s third-biggest stringer (17-04) and jumped from 37th to 5th with 30-11. He said his carefree approach to the regular-season finale is helping him make the right moves at the right times.
Here’s a peek at the current Top 12, with red numbers in parentheses indicating deficit margin from the leader:
1. Chad Griffin: 33-11
2. Bernie Schultz: 32-03 (1-08)
3. Jason Quinn: 31-12 (1-15)
4. Randy Howell: 31-01 (2-10)
5. Greg Hackney: 30-11 (3-00)
6. Dean Rojas: 30-07 (3-04)
7. Takahiro Omori: 29-15 (3-12)
8. Pete Ponds: 29-12 (3-15)
9. Matt Sphar: 29-10 (4-01)
10. Terry Butcher: 29-07 (4-04)
11. Jeff Kriet: 29-05 (4-06)
12. John Crews: 29-02 (4-09 )
The Top 3 slots are occupied by anglers who’ve had little to shout about up to this point in the season. Griffin, who’s made three 50-cuts but has had no finish higher than 32nd, came in at No. 66 in the Toyota Tundra Angler of the Year race. Schultz and Quinn were 55th and 56th, respectively.
The new Top 12 contains six members who weren’t there yesterday: Griffin, Hackney, 2008 Oneida winner Dean Rojas (from 20th to 6th with 15-15 today), Matt Sphar (67th to 9th, 17-09), Jeff Kriet (32nd to 11th, 15-09) and John Crews (26th to 12th, 15-02). They replaced Dustin Wilks (3rd to 20th, 12-05), Peter Thliveros (4th to 24th, 12-04), 2006 winner Tommy Biffle (5th to 19th, 12-13), Mark Menendez (6th to 26th, 12-07), Gerald Swindle (7th to 15th, 13-04) and Skeet Reese (9th to 17th, 13-04).
It was another warm, calm, sunny day in the Syracuse area and that weather pattern is predicted to hold through the weekend. Tomorrow’s forecast calls for a high temperature of 89 degrees with wind out of the west/southwest to 5 mph.
http://www.bassfan.com/news_article.asp?id=3381August 13, 2009 – basszone.com
Syracuse, NY – The 2009 Bassmaster Elite Series regular season wraps up on New York’s Oneida Lake, a body of water rich in Elite Series history. While smallmouth abound in the 51,000 acre lake, the largemouth have been the ticket to the winner’s circle the last two times BASS visited the lake for a regular season event. In 2006, Tommy Biffle claimed the title with over 63 pounds of green fish, and in 2008, Dean Rojas claimed his first Elite Series victory with 65 pounds of Oneida largemouth.
Both Biffle and Rojas enter the Champion’s Choice with a lot on the line. Biffle currently sits in 13th in the TTAOY standings, just 16 points out of the coveted 12th position and a spot in the Dash for Cash. Rojas, on the other hand, currently sits in 44th place, 65 points out of a guaranteed Classic birth.
However, there are other anglers looking to exercise the demons of a year’s past. In 2008, Todd Faircloth let the Angler of the Year title slip through his fingers with a 93rd place finish at Oneida. Currently sitting 5th in the TTAOY standings, a solid finish will better position him for a postseason run at the title which eluded him a year ago. The current Classic bubble boy, Matt Reed, also must improve from his 2008 Oneida performance, where he finished 86th, if he hopes to fish in the 2010 Classic.
This week, many of the Elite Series anglers began the official practice on Oneida with flipping sticks and frog rods strapped to the front deck, determined to take advantage of the elusive largemouth bite. As Aaron Martens said, “I’m going for largemouth because I’m sick of getting beat by them.”
While the lake looks extremely similar to years past, most of the anglers pointed out that there are a few key differences that could play a critical factor this week. Up shallow, there is a noticeable absence of defined grass clumps but offshore, the grass is thicker than in years past.
There is also an algae bloom taking place in certain areas of the lake, turning the water a green color and greatly reducing water visibility in those areas.
http://www.basszone.com/2009eliteseries/oneida/preivew/story.htmAugust 13, 2009 – espnoutdoors.com
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — As 98 anglers anxiously awaited a foggy Day One blast-off this morning at the Ramada Champion’s Choice, those pros who have something to lose cautiously eyed those who would like nothing better than to leapfrog them in the season-ending standings.
Kevin Short of Arkansas and Brent Chapman of Kansas, for example, are mirror images of each other’s current status.
While both will qualify for the 2010 Bassmaster Classic, Short currently sits two places inside of the top 12 mark in the standings while Chapman is two places outside of 12th. Only the top dozen anglers in the Toyota Tundra Bass Angler of the Year (TTBAOY) standings after Sunday’s weigh-in will qualify for the two-event Toyota Trucks Championship Week in September.
While those anglers at the top of the standings and those at the bottom have an opportunity to “swing for the fences,” those like Short who are holding onto coveted positions by small margins have to decide whether to gamble or play it close to the vest. Short, for one, is taking the latter tact.
“I’m just looking for 13 pounds a day,” Short said. “I’m not worried about winning.”
He figures that if he can achieve that target it will be enough to hold his position and put him into the postseason.
Perhaps surprisingly, Chapman, on the other side of this high fence, is approaching the tournament in a rather similar fashion.
“I’m going to be a little more conservative than I usually am,” he explained.
Here conservative typically means chasing the more prolific smallmouths instead of the largemouths that have comprised the winners’ creels in past Elite Series tournaments on Oneida. Short intends to pursue smallmouths exclusively while Chapman will likely target both species.
But this year there seems to be a slight hitch in the accepted logic that it takes at least some largemouths to do well.
“The average largemouth is a little smaller than the average smallmouth,” Chapman said. “So if you swing for the fences you might catch a four-pounder and then go two hours and not get another bite. But if that one largemouth happens to be a 14-incher, you’ve wasted a lot of time.”
Fred Roumbanis, like Chapman, intends to pursue both green and brown bass, and said that Oneida Lake is the perfect lake for that strategy.
“It’s an easy lake to bounce around on,” he said, so he’ll “get smallmouth and move on.”
Roumbanis is in 30th place in the TTBAOY standings, inside the Classic cut, but not comfortably. He characterized the two months off since the Genuity River Rumble on the Mississippi River in Iowa as “brutal,” and despite the long wait he was pleased to wait a little longer and to be in the last flight today.
“That extra time will help me relax more,” he said. “The extra time is critical.”
The top 36 finishers in the TTBAOY race are guaranteed slots in the Classic, and since last year’s Champion Skeet Reese is firmly rooted within that group, there will be 37 automatic berths from the Elite Series. Double-qualifiers from the Southern, Northern and Central Open circuits may push that number even higher.
Unlike Roumbanis, who is on the inside of the Classic cut looking out, Alabama’s Timmy Horton is in 39th. Were he to hold onto that position after this tournament it might be enough to get him into his 11th consecutive Classic, but he’ll have to move up if he wants to be certain.
“I definitely want to make the Classic, but not in a stressful way,” said Horton, who plans to start on smallmouths but added that to finish high anglers will almost certainly “have to spend some time largemouth fishing each day.”
While Horton claimed not to be stressed about the TTBAOY standings, he knows that each point will be critical to his fate, and in this tournament huge points will be determined by narrow margins. One spit-up crawdad, one culling mistake or the wrong lost fish could be the difference between whether an angler makes it to Saturday, to Sunday or to Lay Lake for the Classic in February.
“I hope to have over 12 pounds,” he said. “It’s funny here. There’s such a difference between 11 pounds and 13 pounds. Every ounce is a big deal.”
Even those anglers with no chance of making the Top 12 or the Classic cut have something to shoot, whether it is a victory, a check or just some restoration of their bruised pride.
Rookie Mark Burgess, currently in 86th, has nothing to lose and everything to gain. He’s put together a plan that he characterized as a “make the cut on Sunday type of deal,” but still wants to play it safe in some respects. To quote an oft-used cliché of the pros, the tournament can’t be won on the first day, but it certainly can be lost.
“There are two schools of thought (on how to win),” Burgess said. “You can go for largemouths 100 percent from start to finish or you can try to fish for smallmouths early, when they’re really biting.”
He’s elected to take the latter approach.
In a manner similar to the explanation provided by Roumbanis, Burgess said that having five smallmouths in the boat will make the shorter time spent fishing for largemouths more productive.
“It will allow me to slow down and catch a big fish if I have a good limit in the boat,” he said. “It’s all about being a lot slower and more methodical.”
Burgess added that today’s fishing will be “informational,” an opportunity to see whether eight weeks of waiting, punctuated by three days of practice, will play out as expected. But now it counts. As Roumbanis put it, “It’s do or die here.”
http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/tournaments/elite/news/story?page=b_elites_shakers_moversAugust 13, 2009 – espnoutdoors.com
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Randy Howell has treated Oneida Lake much like a complex puzzle.
After four consecutive years of working the spacious fishery and building his knowledge base, the Springville, Ala., Elite pro inched closer to completing the puzzle with the Day One lead Thursday at the Ramada Champion’s Choice.
Howell’s 17-pound, 9-ounce limit, a mix of smallmouth and largemouth, was nearly a pound better than that of Texas’ Takihiro Omori, who was second with 16-11.
Last year at Oneida, Howell finished 20th but missed a few key bites he said would have propelled him into the top 10. Through his mistakes he learned, changing to stronger line and sharper hooks this week. Aided by a bit of luck — Howell boated a few accidental largemouth — and Howell takes a strong lead into Day 2 of the four-day event.
“Everything clicked today,” said Howell, 35. “I just listened to my instincts. I have had a lot of close calls here and I have learned every year. I head into this tournament every year tweaking some of my approach, and it paid off this year.”
Howell landed 18 keepers on the day. He was targeting areas around grass lines that contained a high concentration of baitfish. After catching a healthy weight of smallmouths throughout the day, Howell decided to hit two areas that were home to largemouth.
He ended up catching a 3-pounder, and after bowing to a gut feeling he landed a largemouth at more than 4 pounds by flipping a tree in a community area. Even with the mixed bag, Howell said he would stick with the same principal pattern working smallmouths — Friday. He did say the weather could dictate a change but he wasn’t sure whether it would come into play the rest of the weekend.
Heading into Oneida, Howell was in decent position (ninth) to qualify for the inaugural Bassmaster Elite Series postseason. The season-ending event, Toyota Trucks Championship Week, will feature the top 12 anglers in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings, determined after this weekend. The clutch performance for Howell put him in prime position to qualify.
While his areas were key, Howell felt that the bait and the technique were most important to landing the biggest bass.
“I didn’t lose a fish today, and anytime that happens you have to feel really good,” said Howell, a one-time BASS winner. “I just feel very confident right now.”
In contrast to Howell, Omori strictly targeted largemouths on a successful day. The 2004 Bassmaster Classic champion caught the majority of his weight on one small grass line, which held a sizable school of largemouth. He used the rest of his day to move around the lake and explore new water.
Omori, too, is looking to qualify for a marquee event. But his 25th position in AOY points heading into Oneida puts him virtually out of postseason contention. Instead, Omori will settle for a nice backup prize, a 2010 Bassmaster Classic berth, with a decent finish here. The top 37 anglers in the AOY standings will earn entry into the 2010 Classic.
http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/tournaments/elite/news/story?id=4397867July 28, 2009 – espnoutdoors.com
Keith A. Clark of Peculiar, Mo., has been charged with receiving stolen property in the first of what authorities anticipate will be several arrests of a theft ring that has stretched through parts of Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
Clark was apprehended with “tens of thousands of dollars worth of rods, reels, tackle, electronics, batteries and rain gear — all of it high end stuff,” according to Sgt. Jay Pragman of the Missouri State Water Patrol. Pragman, who has been working on the case since 2000, anticipates there will be more changes as the investigation continues.
Major Jodi Hughes of the Water Patrol estimated the value of the items confiscated at Clark’s home and in a vehicle on his premises at between $180,000 and $250,000 and noted that most of it cannot be returned to its rightful owners since it was not marked.
Clark allegedly disposed of the take at swap meets, over the internet, at yard sales, in pawn shops and through classified advertisements. Both Hughes and Pragman noted that the investigation is still underway.
Pragman warned that the secondary market for fishing equipment is entirely made up of other anglers and that anglers should take great care to conspicuously mark their equipment so that it can be identified later in case of theft. He also advised that serial numbers of items such as electronics be recorded and that extra care be taken to lock all valuables away whenever possible.
Pragman also suggested that anglers purchasing used equipment be especially wary of sellers they do not know well and who are selling items at below market value.
http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/bassmaster/news/story?page=b_fea_news_20090724