Category Archives: Tournament Fishing

Kyle Welcher Crushes Two AOYs on Two Tours in Two Years

Wins 2024 NPFL title with four top tens in six events and won the BASS AOY last year

Alabama bass pro Kyle Welcher, fresh off a dominant 2023 Angler of the Year campaign on the Bassmaster Elite Series, likewise ruled the roost at the National Professional Fishing League in 2024. His second AOY effort included four top-ten results in six events, and he never finished below 18th.

“It felt very similar to 2023,” he said. “I was able to fish intuitively. I’d show up on Day One of practice and quickly get a good sense of what was going on. It was another one of those amazing seasons when I was able to get in a flow state, using my instinct to make things happen. The most important thing was to just get out of my own way and let my brain tell me what was going on. It was important not to overthink it.”

AOY Is Always the Goal

During Welcher’s AOY season at BASS, he ripped off three top 20 finishes to start the year – 13th at Okeechobee, 15th at Seminole and 18th at Murray. This time around, he upped the ante. In the 2024 NPFL season opener, he finished 7th. Then at Hartwell, he was 3rd, followed by 5th at Pickwick. He closed out the season with a 4th at Murray. In between, he finished 19th at Saginaw Bay and 11th at Lake of the Ozarks. The former could have been better had he not suffered mechanical issues. 

From his days of playing poker for a living, Welcher understands the mathematical realities of life on tour.

“My goal every single time is Angler of the Year,” he said. “And I know that there are a finite number of points in play, so I try to get as many as I can every day. It doesn’t matter if it’s the first day of the season or the final day of the final Elite, they all count the same.”

Indeed, in addition to being a strong starter, he’s proven himself a closer, too. This year he finished 4th in the last derby to claim the NPFL title. Last year he came in 5th at the St. Lawrence to do the same on the Elites.

Better Tools Produce Better Results

Welcher held off fellow Elite Series pro, Drew Cook, by a slim 8 points in the NPFL AOY race, and as he thought back over his exceptional season, he was buoyed by the good finishes, and also by the times when he maximized his points.

The tour visited Lake of the Ozarks at “probably the worst time we could be there, so you had to grind each day.” On Days Two and Three he fell one fish short of a limit and felt that an additional keeper on one or both days could’ve provided valuable points. That’s how razor-thin the margins were. But there’s also the flip side of that – having the right tools to catch four a day, instead of three or two or fewer, allowed him to salvage a hard-earned 11th-place result.

Knowing that he had the best lures for tough situations provided him with the confidence to charge forward.

“During every single tournament I weighed in some or most of my bass on CrushCity™ or Rapala® Lures,”  he said. “At Logan Martin, I caught fish on a #5 Shad Rap® and then on a Pigstick™ on shallow wood cover. On Hartwell, I started off with a 6-pounder and a 3-¾ pounder on a 3” Mayor. At Lake of the Ozarks, I caught them on a Freeloader® and a new prototype CrushCity™ bait. At Saginaw Bay, I used the Ned BLT® and the Mooch Minnow™. And then at Murray, I caught over half of my fish on the Mooch.”

He’s not giving up the goods when he talks about how many top pros are using both The Mayor® and the Mooch Minnow™. The results speak for themselves. Nevertheless, he’s fully aware of why he can depend on them when times are tough.

“Ever since COVID, there’s been a ton of pressure on our fisheries,” he explained. “More realistic lures make a big difference. The Mayor® has a lot of things going for it when bites are tough. It doesn’t have a lot of tail action, but it has a subtle tail kick and a good body roll. The Mooch Minnow has a subtle corkscrew small tail kick. On forward-facing sonar, you’ll see a lot of fish swim up to your lures and they don’t get it. With the Mooch Minnow™, you can get those followers to bite.”

He doesn’t think it’s coincidental that the peak period of his career so far has coincided with his partnership with Rapala® and CrushCity™.

“I’m proud to be associated with the most prominent name in hard baits,” he stated. “You always want to be aligned with quality products that have a good reputation. CrushCity™ has been riding a wave for the past couple of years. I get so many questions about them and it just makes everything more fun because of the hype they’ve been generating.”

Two Tours Make Him Better

The drawn-out nature of the NPFL season meant that Welcher was “in contention for 11 months.” Oftentimes, an otherwise competitive angler has his AOY dreams squashed by one bad tournament. Welcher never had that. He was able to bite off each one as it came, allowing him to focus on the task at hand.

The spread-out nature of their schedule also allowed him to compete on two tours without burning the candle at both ends. He said he still feels like he’s at “the learning stage” of his career, and each additional event on a major tournament fishery allows him to hone his skills better and refine the instincts that have carried him this far.

The 31-year-old champ is thrilled to add more hardware to his mantel, but in some respects, he’s also relieved: “I have a ton of respect for all of my competitors. After two titles I feel like I proved that the first one wasn’t a fluke.”

“Overall the goal is to win more trophies,” he concluded. “But I also know that I’m still learning every time I go out. I feel like I need to get better, to make better decisions, and to be more efficient.”

MOOCH MINNOW

THE MAYOR

PIGSTICK

NED BLT

SHAD RAP

Share

B.A.S.S. Announces Elite Angler Advisory Board and More

  • Tournaments

B.A.S.S. Announces Elite Angler Advisory Board, Modifications To Payouts, Enhanced Angler Services

  • By The Fishing Wire

Birmingham, AL — In an effort to facilitate better communication and collaboration with Elite Series anglers, the Bassmaster Elite Angler Board of Professionals (ABP) has been created, B.A.S.S. announced today. The Advisory Board consists of six Elite anglers who were voted on by their peers and who will speak on behalf of the entire field in communicating with B.A.S.S. in order to provide a more direct and efficient way of discussing any current challenges and future opportunities.

The ABP was assembled to include competitors who represent every career phase within the Elite Series ranks: rookies, sophomores, multi-year competitors and veterans. The 2025 Advisory Board roster is comprised of Ben Milliken, Alex Wetherell, Lee Livesay, John Crews, Drew Benton and Mark Menendez. See the Bassmaster Elite Angler Board of Professionals photo gallery here.

B.A.S.S. and the anglers who compete in the Elite Series recognize the importance of effective communication between the organization and the competitors in order to advance and promote the sport and better serve the fishing community. Challenges during the 2024 season revealed an opportunity to improve those communication channels, which led to the formation of the ABP.

“B.A.S.S. is the unquestionable leader in professional bass fishing and has been that way for over 50 years,” said veteran Elite angler John Crews. “The professional bass angler has long been the tireless, passionate competitor that simply wants to catch the biggest bass possible. In the past, the competitors and the league have not found a lasting structure to work together to help each other. Until now. The formation of the ABP, Angler Board of Professionals, is an organically created group of Elite Series anglers trying to help B.A.S.S. and the anglers stay in consistent, productive, positive communication. After numerous roles as an angler representative over the years, I am very excited about being selected as the leader of this inaugural group. It’s a truly humbling honor that I do not take lightly.” 

The Advisory Board representatives and B.A.S.S. believe the formation of the ABP will ensure that anglers and the league can understand important topics from each other’s point of view, which will help to restore a foundation of respect and trust. The Advisory Board recently had its first meeting with B.A.S.S. to primarily discuss the recently announced payout structure for the 2025 Elite Series. B.A.S.S. and the ABP agreed on multiple options to be presented to the full field of Elite anglers to vote on, which included boosting the payouts through an angler-determined contribution.

After constructive discussion and multiple rounds of voting, the payout for 2025 (which already included an additional investment of $200,000 from B.A.S.S.), was restructured to better meet the current preference of a majority of Elite anglers. For 2025, the pros decided to make an angler contribution of $10,000 for the season, which will be applied entirely to the Elite Series and Bassmaster Classic payouts. Moving forward, B.A.S.S. and the ABP will discuss if an angler contribution continues to be the preference of the majority of the Elite angler field.  

See the 2025 Bassmaster Elite Series and AOY payout structure and 2026 Bassmaster Classic payout structure.

B.A.S.S. also announced the creation of a new Angler Services program to assist Elite Series pros with marketing, improvement of pitches to sponsors and professional development off the water. Former Elite Series pro and Classic champion Davy Hite has been named angler liaison lead to ensure that communication channels remain open between all Elite anglers and the league. B.A.S.S. Director of Marketing Will Flowers will spearhead the Angler Business Services program designed to provide angler marketing and brand support.

“We are excited to be working with the ABP to ensure consistent and clear communication between B.A.S.S. and the Elite anglers,” said Chase Anderson, B.A.S.S. CEO. “There have been challenges trying to communicate with 103 anglers who, understandably, have 103 different priorities when running their individual businesses. We consider the formation of the ABP an opportunity to build a more constructive relationship with anglers as we work together to advance and grow the sport of bass fishing. We remain committed to being the leader in the sport of bass fishing and believe that working with the ABP will strengthen our leadership position and better prepare us for the future.”

About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S., which encompasses the Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting-edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), TV show, radio show, social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.

The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, St. Croix Bassmaster Opens Series presented by SEVIIN, Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Qualifier Series presented by Lowrance, Strike King Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Strike King Bassmaster High School Series, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Team Championship, Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series presented by Native Watercraft, Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour.

PrevPreviousTATULA Spins Another Web

Fishing Is Inconsistent At Lake Guntersville

    Lake Guntersville is special. On the Tennessee River in north Alabama, it is a grass filled bass factory. The Bass Anglers Sportsman Society ranks it in the top ten bass lakes in the nation most years.

    When big tournaments are held there it is common for five bass limits weighing more than 20 pounds to come to the scales, and catches of five weighing 30 pounds are weighed in most years.

    But there are two sides to this story. Bass clubs in Alabama send in tournament results and the state compiles it in their BAIT report. That report shows Guntersville has a lower percent of anglers catching a keeper bass in tournaments than all but three other Alabama lakes.

    Fishing can be great there but the whole lake looks “fishy.”  When you stop on a point or in a cove and see hydrilla, water willow and eel grass everywhere it is hard to decide where to cast. It looks like a bass could be anywhere, or everywhere.

    The Sportsman Club fished there last weekend and our results are more like the BAIT results than the results of pro tournaments or tournaments fished by local fishermen that know the lake well.

    After fishing from 6:30 AM to 2:30 PM Saturday and 6:30 AM to 1:30 PM Sunday in very hot weather, we brought 21 keeper bass weighing about 45 pounds to the scales.  Nobody weighed in a five fish limit and three of the nine fishermen didn’t have a keeper.

    Guntersville has largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass. The length limit on smallmouth and largemouth is 15 inches and in our tournament a spot had to be 12 inches long.  About 14 of our bass were largemouth, six were spots and one a smallmouth.

    Raymond English had bad/good luck and won and had big fish. His boat motor would not go into gear so he had to fish around the ramp both days, but caught six keepers, four largemouth and two spots, weighing 15.14 pounds for first and his 5.40 pound largemouth was big fish.

    My six, three largemouth, two spots and one mean mouth, weighing 8.80 pounds was second, Zane Fleck had three largemouth weighing 7.97  pounds for third and Billy Roberts had three largemouth weighing 6.13 pounds for fourth.

    I went up on Wednesday and camped at Guntersville State Park, a beautiful facility with good shower houses.  As usual I was shocked at the number of huge motor homes and fifth wheel trailers that came into the campground, were set up and the folks went inside. 

I seldom saw anyone else outside except midmorning when some came out to cook breakfast and then came back out late in the afternoon to cook dinner.  I guess it was just too hot to leave the air conditioning in their home away from home, but I don’t understand driving to campground on a beautiful lake and staying inside almost the whole time.

I spent Thursday and Friday riding around looking for deep fish on ledges on my electronics. Guntersville is famous for its deep ledges as well as its grass beds. I found many schools of fish but could not get them to bite. One local guide told me they were inactive and would not feed unless current was moving from power generation, and there was no current the whole time I was there.

Saturday morning I started on a grassbed a guide had suggested, and caught two short bass and one barely 15 inch long keeper.  At about noon I was fishing down a bluff bank, mainly keeping my boat in the shade, and caught a keeper spot. Then a little later on another bluff bank a good keeper largemouth it my small jig in a treetop. Those three put me in third the first day.

Sunday the grassbed produced only one short fish so I headed to my shady bank early.  I caught an unusual looking fish, it looked olive green, not green like a largemouth and not brown like a smallmouth.  I looked it up and it was a cross between a spot and a smallmouth, called a “meanmouth.”  It had a patch of “teeth” on its tongue like a spot and, according to what I found on the internet on my phone and a text to a local guide, it was considered a spot for size limits so I could weigh it in.

I stayed on that shady bank the rest of the day and lost a keeper spot and caught two short spots. Then, with ten minutes left to fish, I caught a keeper spot.  At 1:17 I thought to myself I could make two more cast before running in. That cast produced a hit on my small jig and I landed a barely keeper largemouth, giving me second place. 

I didn’t have time left to make my last cast!

Tanner Hadden Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional

Georgia’s Hadden Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional on Watts Bar Lake Presented by recteq
Boater winner Tanner Hadden of Appling, Georgia, and Strike-King co-angler winner Corey Smith of Hazard, Kentucky.
Kentucky’s Smith Tops Strike King Co-Angler Division

SPRING CITY, Tenn. (Oct. 21, 2024) – Boater Tanner Hadden of Appling, Georgia, caught a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 47 pounds even to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine Regional on Watts Bar Lake Presented by recteq . The tournament, which was hosted by the Rhea County Department of Tourism – Fish Spring City, concluded Saturday. For his win, Hadden earned a prize package valued at $65,805, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard, $10,000 and the lucrative $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus.

The Watts Bar event served as Regional championship for BFL Region 5. Originally scheduled for Clarks Hill Lake in Appling, Georgia, the event moved due to the impacts of the recent hurricanes. The field included the top 45 boaters and co-anglers based on point standings, plus each of the tournament winners, from the 2024 Choo Choo, Music City, Piedmont and Volunteer divisions. The top six boaters and co-anglers have qualified for the 2025 BFL All-American, which will be held on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, May 29-31.

Hadden is a senior business management major at the University of South Carolina-Union. He actually signed up to fish the entire Choo Choo Division for the first time this year just for a shot at making this Regional, since it was originally scheduled for nearby Clarks Hill. Obviously, the storms changed the plans, but that didn’t slow down Hadden.

“It all worked out in the end,” he said.

Getting the W started with adapting to conditions.

“From all the flooding, a lot of the lake was blown out,” he said about Watts Bar. “There were only a few areas of the lake that were clean. One of them was by the boat ramp, so I pretty much figured I’d stick around in that area.”

In addition to the muddy water, anglers had to deal with a cold front – a tough combo anywhere, anytime of year. The cold, muddy conditions pushed the fish off the bank. Hadden relocated them about 50 feet out suspended on the edge of some grass over about 15 feet of water. Schools of bait were suspended in these areas, too.

“I fished two half-mile banks for three days pretty much,” he said. “That was it. And they were in the same pocket. I pretty much fished one creek arm all week.”

Hadden used Garmin LiveScope to find and target his fish with a white jerkbait and a Greenfish Tackle Bad Little Dude (BLD) Jig.

The mornings were slow all week. In fact, most days the fish didn’t turn on until after 11. On day two, it was closer to 1 p.m. The most interesting part was how defined the bite window was each day. Hadden saw fish on his sonar all day long, but they just wouldn’t bite until after the sun got up and something triggered them to get active. Each day, he experienced a similar flurry of activity.

“At 11 the first day I went through one stretch and caught three 4-pounders within like 30 minutes to an hour,” he said. “And then the second day, I struggled until 1. They didn’t start biting until 1 because it got colder the second day. At 1 o’clock, I caught two 3 1/2-pounders back to back off that same stretch.

“The third day it was like 11 o’clock when I got on one stretch and just started catching them. I caught pretty much everything I caught in like 15 minutes. It was a timing deal.”

Hadden’s limits included a mix of species. Day one, he weighed four largemouths and a 4 1/4-pound smallmouth as part of his 18-pound, 11-ounce limit. Day two, his three biggest keepers were three different species – largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass. Hadden weighed 14-11. The final day, he weighed in a 13-10 limit of five largies to move into first place for the win and his shot at the 2025 All-American.

The top six boaters who qualified for the 2025 All-American finished:

1st:        Tanner Hadden, Appling, Ga., 15 bass, 47-0, $65,805 (includes $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
2nd:       Dustin Dyer, Johnson City, Tenn., 15 bass, 45-3, $9,805
3rd:       Jeremy York, Conyers, Ga., 14 bass, 45-1, $5,829
4th:        Nathan Reynolds, Nashville, Tenn., 15 bass ,45-0, $3,642
5th:        Dillon Falardeau, Hixson, Tenn., 12 bass, 44-14, $1,761
6th:        Parker Batts, Dandridge, Tenn., 13 bass ,44-8, $1,585

The rest of the top 12 finished:

7th:        Jonathan Dagley, Wartburg, Tenn., 15 bass, 43-5, $1,409
8th:        Vince Botts, Bluff City, Tenn., 15 bass, 43-0, $1,233
9th:        Josh Womack, Gallatin, Tenn., 15 bass, 42-10, $1,057
10th:     Jake Gardner, Lenoir City, Tenn., 15 bass, 42-8, $969
11th:     Hunter Bouldin, McMinnville, Tenn., 15 bass, 42-6, $881
12th:     Riley Faulkner, Jacksboro, Tenn., 14 bass, 37-14, $881

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The top-finishing boater from each division (not including the winner) earned a $1,000 bonus for placing highest in the event. Those anglers included:

Music City:       Nathan Reynolds, Nashville, Tenn., 4th Place, $1,000
Choo Choo:      Jeremy York, Conyers, Ga., 3rd Place, $1,000
Piedmont:        John Wiese, Charlotte, N.C., 24th Place, $1,000
Volunteer:       Dustin Dyer, Johnson City, Tenn., 2nd Place $1,000

Matt VanMeter of Grant, Alabama, won the Berkley Big Bass boater award and earned the $1,000 prize.

Corey Smith of Hazard, Kentucky, won the Strike King co-angler division Saturday after bringing a three-day total of 13 bass weighing 39 pounds, 1 ounce, to the scale. His $50,000 prize package included a new Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard.

The top six Strike King co-anglers who qualified for the 2025 All-American finished:

1st:        Corey Smith, Hazard, Ky., 13 bass, 39-1, $50,000
2nd:       Ernest Stephens, Orrum, N.C., 12 bass, 38-13, $4,946
3rd:       Dewayne Drummonds, Gray, Ky., 11 bass, 30-2, $2,719
4th:        Luke Shrader, Monticello, Ky., 11 bass, 30-0, $1,984
5th:        Brad Sampson, Knoxville, Tenn., 11 bass, 29-8, $889
6th:        Cy Matlock, Crump, Tenn., nine bass, 27-11, $1,300

The rest of the top 12 finished:

7th:        Wayne Crouch, Jamestown, Tenn., 10 bass, 26-14, $811
8th:        Konnor Sweet, Abingdon, Va., 11 bass, 26-13, $622
9th:        Kenny Botts, Alvaton, Ky., 10 bass, 23-15, $533
10th:     Darren Kelly, Wartburg, Tenn., six bass, 23-11, $489
11th:     Justin Stephenson, Jasper, Ala., eight bass, 23-10, $945
12th:     Joshua Green, Cartersville, Ga., seven bass, 19-14, $445

The top-finishing co-angler from each division (not including the winner) earned a $500 bonus for placing highest in the event. Those anglers included:

Music City:       Luke Shrader, Monticello, Ky., 4th Place, $500
Choo Choo:      Cy Matlock, Crump, Tenn., 6th Place, $500
Piedmont:        Corey Smith, Hazard, Ky., 2nd Place, $500
Volunteer:       Dewayne Drummonds, Gray, Ky., 3rd Place $500

Justin Stephenson of Jasper, Alabama, won the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award and earned the $500 bonus.

The 2024 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7 Brew Coffee, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, General Tire, GSM Outdoors, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, PowerStop Brakes, REDCON1, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters and YETI.

For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at FacebookInstagram, and YouTube.

About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
 

Is Forward Facing Sonar Unfair?

A meme on social media shows a fisherman with his head hinged opened and his brain on the floor. The caption reads “I don’t need you anymore, I have Forward Facing Sonar (FFS).”

    Every time something new comes out many fishermen condemn it as something that gives the fisherman an unfair advantage. Of course they mean it gives “other” fisherman an unfair advantage.  It’s fine when they learn to use it.

    Forward facing sonar is amazing. It will show you everything within its range under the water, much like having a video camera under the water. It is directional, sending out a “wedge” of sonar blips covering about one foot wide for every three feet of distance, so at 30 feet the wedge is about 10 feet wide.

It takes a little time and effort to learn what the sonar returns look like on the screen.  The screen looks much like an ultrasound screen at the doctors office.  Fish look like little dots moving around but you can see the limbs of a tree or brush pile and even individual fish in a school of crappie.

A muskie tournament trail has banned FFS in their tournaments and some other tournament trails like BASS are actually discussing what to do. It does give an angler that studies and learns how to use it an advantage, but it does not make the fish bite.  I have had one for three years and it has helped me catch some fish, but many more times I have wasted too much time watching fish follow my bait and not hit it.

I can only hope every fisherman I compete with that has FFS quits using their brain.

A Good Example Of Why I Have Problems With High School Tournaments

I was told “90 percent of our boat captains are safe.” In a 200 boat tournament that means that diretor knows there are about 20 dangerous boats out there!!

At Lanier the second weekend in November, on Saturday when a clerk at Hammonds told me there was an 80-boat high school tournament the next day I instantly wondered what dangerous, stupid and inconsiderate actions I would witness.


On Sunday I didn’t see many boats, I guess most stayed up the river due to the cold wind.

BUT – I had gone back to Balus Creek to finish up the day. I was fishing the bluff bank past the ramp at 1:00, about 3/4 way out to the point. I had been fishing there for about 15 minutes, slowly working out toward the point fishing a jig.

A bass boat came out of the cove on the other side of the ramp with one kid riding illegally in the butt seat up on the front deck and the other illegally in the chair on the back deck.

The “captain” was at that speed where the front of the boat stays way up, half on plane and making the biggest possible wake. And no way he could see ahead of the boat with the kid up there, too.

If I had been tournament director, they would have been disqualified for illegal and dangerous boating.

They came by me about 100 feet away, rode past me halfway into the cove, made a U turn without slowing down, passed me a second time and stopped on the point ahead of me and started casting. I guess I was fishing where they wanted to fish.

I had to hang on to the butt seat to not get thrown out of my boat from their wake.

I don’t know what they caught, but when I got to the point where they stopped and started casting ahead of me, I caught my third keeper and two 13.5-inch throwbacks.

    I try to support youth and high school fishing teams, but things like this are all too common and make it difficult.  I don’t blame the kids, the adult boat captains drive the boat and make the decisions where to fish so safety and courtesy are up to them. But too many of them are teaching the kids bad habits.

I fear it is “when” not “if” there is a serious problem.

Pursuing The American Dream With Japanese Angler Masayuki Matsushita

Japanese Angler Masayuki Matsushita

from the Fishing Wire

Masayuki Matsushita just finished up his second year on the Bassmaster Elite Series where he qualified through the Bassmaster Opens in 2021. He also won the 2020 Bassmaster Central Open at Sam Rayburn Reservoir which qualified him for the 2021 Bassmaster Classic. These are great accomplishments, but they take a lot of sacrificing as a Japanese angler. During the tournament season, he resides in a self-built home in the bed of his Toyota Tundra. There are lots of unique features he added such as air conditioning, a microwave, a mini fridge, storage shelving, and hydraulics that lift the camper shell for extra room.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Qk0VAs615Qg%3Ffeature%3Doembed

Matsushita was taught how to fish by one of his junior high school classmates and he fell in love with it ever since. Influenced by fishing magazines, he developed a deep longing to visit America, the birthplace of bass fishing. He quit high school at 19 years old and went to Dallas where he visited Bass Pro Shops every day for a week straight and never got tired of it. This excitement that he experienced fanned the flame of his burning passion to move to America. After returning to Japan, Matsushita became a bass fishing guide on Lake Biwa and purchased his first bass boat at 21 years old. He claims that he almost gave up on his dream many times as it was hard to make a living as a guide and was even doubted by people around him that told him he could never make it to America, but then he was inspired by anglers like Ken Iyobe and Morizo Shimizu.

Masa Vlog
Pursuing The American Dream With Japanese Angler Masayuki Matsushita 1

Matsushita’s life in America is not easy as he is away from his family for most of the year. He returns to Japan twice during the tournament season and once during the off-season to spend time with family. During the season, he stays in campgrounds where the average price is about $25 per night. For food, he usually buys “SUSHI” rice at Walmart and cooks it with vegetables and meat. During tournaments, he likes to get up at 4:30 am to make onigiri (rice balls). Living in America has allowed Matsushita to develop long-lasting friendships like with his friend Calvin whom he met while competing in the Bassmaster Opens. Matsushita states, “We went to a few more tournaments together, developing a strong friendship that extended to include his family. I’ve known his children since they were babies, so they’ve become like a second family to me. They are a big part of my success in America”.

One of the most challenging experiences that Matsushita has had on the Elite Series was shortly after his 3rd place finish to start off his rookie season. After that event on the St. Johns River, he was in a hurry to head straight to the next event on the Harris Chain. Without fully locking his pop-up camper, he headed down the road. About 10 minutes later, a tremendous wind blew the camper top off the bed of his truck into the middle of the road. A passerby who had heard Matsushita’s speech on stage in the previous tournament was kind enough to bring a trailer to load up the roof for him so that he could compete at the Harris Chain. There are other challenges that occur like break downs with the truck or boat, and Matsushita says that it can be extremely stressful since he can’t speak fluent English to ask for help. However, he knows that he must adjust his mindset and stay positive to be successful. A good thing about Japan is that you can easily call a nearby friend for help, but America is too big for that as he travels all over the country. On a positive note, however, he claims that many Americans have been willing to lend a helping hand when he is in trouble.

When Matsushita was in his 20s, some older people told him that his dream to live as a bass pro was over. Now he is in his 40s, and although it has taken some time, he believes that anything is possible if you truly have a dream. Matsushita states, “If you keep challenging yourself at your own timing and pace you will make it happen. You don’t need reasons why you can’t do it, but you can think of reasons why you can do it and will do it. In doing this, your dream will become true one day”. He strongly recommends that Japanese anglers see America at least once, but he also feels that it is important to be successful in Japan before expanding. Despite his struggles, Masayuki Matsushita is in love with America. He explains, “I have experienced many things in America that I couldn’t in Japan. There was no mistake in my decision to come to America, and I want to continue it for the rest of my life. There are many struggles, and each moment is tough, but overall, I find joy in it. America, which I have dreamed of for 20 years, is where I truly belong”.

KVD ANNOUNCES HIS FINAL SEASON AS A TOURING PRO

MAYBE THE GREATEST BASS TOURNAMENT FISHERMAN OF ALL TIME, KVD ANNOUNCES HIS FINAL SEASON AS A TOURING PRO

KVD Announces His Final Season as a Touring Pro

Columbia, S.C. – All good things must come to an end. Kevin VanDam’s last season as a professional touring pro will end after this year’s 2023 Bass Pro Tour season. Arguably the greatest tournament angler ever, has decided this years Bass Pro Tour season will be his last as a tournament angler. “This being my 33rd season as a touring pro, at the age and my place in life and career, I have decided I can be more impactful in the industry I love very much,” Kevin said. “I still have a lot to give back to the sport I am so passionate about.” Kevin is the most decorated tournament angler of all time with records that may never be broken. Seven BASS AOY Titles and an FLW AOY title; 4 Bassmaster Classic wins; 25 total BASS wins and 4 MLF wins. What’s more, KVD has competed in over 320 BASS events and owns 121 top-10 finishes (183 top-20’s). Amazingly, he has scored a top 10 in 35-percent of the BASS events he has ever entered.

Kevin is known as a loyal and committed partner to his sponsors. “I have a long history with the brands as a competitive angler. Brands like Strike King and Quantum have been with me since the beginning and Lew’s, along with Strike King and Quantum, have been invaluable partners that helped get me to where I am. The people at these brands are like family, and I look forward to being a better ambassador in the future and being even more involved,” Kevin proclaimed. Rather Outdoors CEO Ken Eubanks reminisces on the impact Kevin has had throughout the years. “Kevin’s impact on this business has been profound, and among those who contribute to the success of Strike King and Lew’s, he is simply without peer. Yet, when Kevin walks through the shop at Strike King, or sits at the table with the Lew’s team, we don’t see him as a business collaborator, or a pro we sponsor; we see him as family,” shares Eubanks.

Major League Fishing President and CEO Boyd Duckett noted, “Today is both a sad day and a time for celebration in our sport. Kevin VanDam, the greatest professional angler of all time, announced that he is retiring at the end of the season. Kevin has been an integral part of Major League Fishing from our very beginning and has been a pioneer in helping develop this league. There has never been a more unselfish angler when it comes to helping grow the sport of bass fishing, for the anglers or the fans.” Dave Mercer, long time emcee of the Bassmaster Elites Series, said, “Kevin VanDam is without a doubt, the greatest professional angler in history. Not only does his list of accomplishments dominate almost every single category of the record books, he changed & reinvented all aspects of the sport – both on and off the water. One of the most over used quotes in the world today is ‘The GOAT,’ but Kevin VanDam truly is the Greatest of All Time. Thank You Kevin!”

We at Rather Outdoors congratulate Kevin on his retirement from competitive tournaments and look forward to continued collaborations in the future.

 About Rather Outdoors

Rather Outdoors is a global outdoors corporation uniting some of the most recognizable brands in the fishing space. With historic and iconic brands such as Lew’s, Strike King, Quantum, Zebco, Fox, Matrix, Salmo and Fox Rage, Rather Outdoors provides a wide assortment of fishing products worldwide in an effort to enhance angler’s success and the enjoyment of outdoor pursuits. To learn more about the Rather Outdoors brands, visit www.ratheroutdoors.com.

Flint River Bass Club Rules

The Flint River Bass Club was formed around 1970 and suggested rules were received from the Bass Angler Sportsman Society. These rules were developed from them and have been adjusted over the years. They serve the club well as they are now.

The Spalding County Sportsman Club rules differ in several ways.

The Flint River Bass Club was formed around 1970 and suggested rules were received from the Bass Angler Sportsman Society. These rules were developed from them and have been adjusted over the years. They serve the club well as they are now. The rules for the Spalding County Sportsman Club were developed locally and are a little different. See them at the link to the right.

Rules of the Club

Meetings:

Date of meetings:

  1. The Flint River Bass Club, Inc. will hold a regular scheduled meeting on the first Tuesday of every month, unless changed by the membership. Special meetings may be called, at any time by the President. The Board of Directors will meet when requested by the President.

Membership Limit:

  1. On April 2, 1974 the membership limit shall be expanded to and held at thirty five (35) members.

Membership Annual Dues:

  1. The annual membership dues shall be twenty dollars $20, payable before fishing a tournament.

Tournaments:

Qualifications to fish a tournament:

  1. All tournament participants must be a member in good standing of the club prior to fishing their first tournament. (An exception to this rule is a member may bring a guest to a tournament. The guest can fish one tournament (annually) before joining the club. They will pay the same tournament fees as regular members and receive any money they win. A Guest must fish with a club member.) (A guest cannot take part in Progressive Big Fish Pot.) A person may join the club at the tournament site. POINTS FOR GUESTS DELETED

Insurance Requirements:

  1. All members using their boats in any club tournament or any related club function will be required to have in force a liability insurance policy in the amount of three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000.00) or $100,000 plus a one million dollar umbrella policy that cover liability on the boat.

Tournament Fees:

  1. Tournament fee shall be twenty ($25.00) per tournament. All tournament fees will be paid prior to the start of the tournament, unless a contestant is late for the tournament. If a participant pays his tournament fee and for any reason other than being disqualified for a rules violation, is unable to fish in the tournament, his money will be refunded.

There will also be a voluntary Big Fish Pot at each tournament. The fee is $5 and the total pot will be awarded to the member or guest weighing the heaviest bass in the tournament.

A voluntary Cumulative Big Fish Pot will also be collected. It is $5 at each tournament and will be awarded to any club member that is current in the pot weighing a bass at 6.0  pounds or more.  Once the pot is broken it will start over. At the end of the year, if the pot has not been broken during the year, or since it was broken, the club member with the heaviest bass weighed in will win the pot if current in it.  A member must be paid up in the pot when their fish wins the pot, you can not pay at the end of the tournament to win it.

A Voluntary Points Pot of $5 will also be collected at each tournament. At the end of the year the points winner will receive half of the money collect if current in the pot. The remaining half will be awarded to the winner of a drawing to be held at the January meeting among all the members current in the pot from the previous year. To get into the Points Pot, members have until March to get in it or stay out.  New members may catch up by paying all previous months if they get into the pot no later than the meeting after their first tournament.

Distribution of tournament fees:

  1. All entry fees from the tournament shall be divided as follows and distributed as follows: Four places will be paid in this order, first place – 40%; second place – 30%; third place – 20%; fourth place 10%.

Late for Tournament:

  1. A late constant will launch his boat and proceed to find another tournament participant before doing any fishing. He must pay his tournament fee, have his live well checked, confirm the tournament weigh-in time with a member who has already paid his entry fee and is fishing the tournament, and check his watch before he is officially in the tournament. A tardy contestant will not be allowed to make up for lost time.

Choosing a Partner:

  1. All tournament contestants will have the option to draw for a partner, choose a partner, or go alone, except for designated draw tournaments.

Boat Problem Prior to Start of Tournament:

  1. In an emergency, if a boat is totally inoperable prior to the start of a tournament, the contestants in the disabled boat may be placed in another tournament boat by invitation. On two day tournaments they may be placed in the same boat or a different boat by another invitation.

Safety:

  1. It is required that all tournament participants wear a securely fastened, USCG approved, chest type life preserver anytime the combustible engine is operating and boat is on plane. Safe motoring conduct must be observed at all times by the tournament participants. Caution and good judgment, on tournament starts, must be observed. Every boat must have all required Coast Guard safety equipment.

ALL BOATS MUST BE EQUIPPED WITH A FUNCTIONAL IGNITION KILL SWITCH, AND THE BOAT OPERATOR MUST HAVE THE KILL SWITCH ATTACHED TO HIS PERSON WHENEVER THE COMBUSTION ENGINE IS RUNNING. AND THE BOAT IS ON PLANE.

Tackle and Equipment:

  1. Only artificial lures may be used. No live bait or prepared bait will be permitted, however, pork or pork type strips, rinds, etc., may be used. All bass must be caught live and in a conventional sporting manner. Only casting, spin casting, or spinning rods and reels may be used. All other types are prohibited. Only one rod may be used at a time.

13Boat Operation and Expense:

A full discussion should be held between the two partners prior to the tournament start as to a schedule of boat operation. A schedule must be set that permits each partner equal time to fish from the front of the boat and operate the trolling motor so he may select his choice of fishing locations. In the event that one contestant elects not to operate the trolling motor and such election is satisfactory to his partner, the contestant waiving the right to operate the trolling motor shall have the right to choose the fishing spots one half of the time. Any contestant found operating the boat in an obvious and deliberate manner so as to handicap, his partner shall be disqualified. Trolling with a gasoline motor as a method of fishing is prohibited.

Daily fishing partners are expected to work out satisfactory arrangements between themselves as to which partner will furnish the boat and motor, this should equal at least twenty dollars ($20.00) on one day tournaments.

Official Checkpoints:

  1. Tournament headquarters shall be in the launch site area. All fishermen must start and end each tournament day in this area. The official weigh-in station shall also be in this area. Contestants must not leave the boat to land a fish.

Permitted Fishing Locations:

  1. Fishing is permitted any place on the tournament waters, except within fifty (50) yards of another contestant’s boat that was first anchored at a location. All fishing must be done from the boat. Contestant’s must not leave the boat to land a fish.

Determination of Tournament Winners (Scoring):

  1. Placement in each tournament will be determined by pounds and hundredths of a pound. Tournament winners will be determined by the total pounds and hundredths accumulated during the time of the tournament. Only black, largemouth, spotted or smallmouth bass may be weighed. There will be a five (5) bass per day limit. Each contestant will be responsible for keeping his bass separate from his partners. The contestants with the highest total weight will be declared the tournament winner, with the next highest weight being second place, etc., until each contestant has been ranked. At the end of each tournament, Tournament Director will total each contestant’s total weigh and announce the top ten (10) places for the tournament.

Awarding of Bonus Weight 17. Deleted

Awarding of Points for Determining Club Standings:

  1. A point system will be used to rank members in the club. The points will be accumulated throughout the year to determine the end of the year standings, points will be awarded to the membership in the following manner:
  2. Meetings: All members present for the monthly meeting will be awarded ten (10) points each. Questionable attendance will be decided by the Board of Directors.
  3. Tournaments: All contestants will receive twenty (20) points for participating in each Tournament. In addition, placement points will be awarded on a decreasing scale with first place receiving one hundred (100) points, second place ninety (90) points, and decreasing by ten (10) points each place through tenth place which will receive ten (10) points. Participants weighing a fish but not placing in the top ten places will be awarded five (5) points. At least one fish must be weighed-in to receive any placement points.

Size Limits and Measurement of Fish:

  1. All bass must be a minimum of twelve (12) inches in length in order to be weighed-in. Other size limits shall be as per state regulations governing that specific lake or body of water. (A spotted bass will be determined by checking for a patch of teeth on the tongue. If the teeth are present it will be considered a spot.) All questionable fish will be measured on the official measuring board. As a penalty, One Pound for each undersized bass brought to the weigh-in station will be subtracted from that contestant’s total weight and the short fish will not be weighed. Official measuring board will be used for official measuring only. All Game and Fish laws that apply to length or size of fish apply to each individual lake regardless of the above rules. (You may not bring more than the club limit to the scales. The penalty for above the limit is eliminating the heaviest fish until the limit is reached. All fish brought to the scales will be considered for the above rules.)

Late Penalty:

  1. Contestants must be represented at the official weigh-in area on time. (In the ramp area and not fishing.) Any contestant (s) not reporting in by weigh-in time will forfeit three (3%) of his weight for each minute he is late. After fifteen (15) minutes he will lose all weight. This also applies to any Big Fish award. Each represented contestant will be given ample time to weigh-in his fish. Exact fishing hours will be announced at the registration time. If a tournament participant leaves a tournament early he must notify another participant on the lake or leave a note on the Tournament Directors vehicle. If you leave the tournament early you may leave your fish with another contestant who can weigh in for you.

In Case of Ties:

  1. In case of tie the places in question will be combined and the money will be divided equally by the two (2) contestants and tournament points for the highest place will be awarded to both contestants.

Protests:

  1. The Tournament Director must be notified of any protest within fifteen (15) minutes after the contestant wishing to protest has weighed-in his fish. A written protest must then be submitted to the tournament Director within thirty (30) minutes of the notification. The Tournament Director will then turn the written protest over to the Board of Directors for a resolution of the matter.

GENERAL RULES:

Severe Weather Conditions:

  1. In case of severe weather conditions if a tournament is postponed it will be canceled and there will not be a makeup tournament.

Selection of Lakes, Launch Sites and Tournament Times:

  1. A tournament committee shall be appointed each year consisting of the top six (6) fishermen from the previous year. The top fisherman from the previous year will be appointed as Tournament Director for the year. One tournament shall be held each month on the first weekend after the monthly meeting when possible. Tournament sites for the year will be selected by the tournament committee prior to the January meeting. This slate of tournaments for the year will be voted on by the membership at the January meeting. Once adopted this schedule can only changed by following the procedure for a by-law change.

Selection of Top Six (6) Team Members: Deleted

  1. The club team for the Georgia Bass Chapter Federation (GBCF) and the Georgia BASS Nation Top Six Tournament shall be elected at the first meeting in January of each year. This team shall be selected from the club standings from the previous year (Jan.-Dec.), starting at the top of the list and continuing down until the team and the alternate (s) who elect to participate. The three boats listed for use in the federation tournament will be determined by the order of the participants’ final standings.

Club Responsibilities to Top Six (6) Team Members: Deleted

  1. The club shall furnish the total entry fee in the Bass Federation Nation (BASS) for the top six (6) if there are funds in the treasury.

Awards for Top Club Fishermen:

  1. At the end of the year, trophies, plaques or cash shall be awarded to the top fisherman and as follows: first runner-up, and for largest fish caught during the previous season in club tournaments. Plaques of recognition will be awarded to third through sixth place. The value of each type award shall remain relatively the same each year.

Responsibilities of Board of Directors on These Rules:

  1. Anything not covered in these rules shall be turned over to the Board of Directors for a decision. The decision by the Board of Directors shall be final and binding for this time and matter only. The board of directors shall be made up as: President, past president, vice president, sec. treasurer, and tournament director.

Method of Amending These Rules: 29. These rules may be amended by a majority vote of members present at any regular meeting, provided notice of the proposed change was stated in the monthly bulletin prior to the meeting calling for a vote. The procedure for an amendment to these rules are as follows:

  1. A motion and a second for a proposed amendment, stating the proposed amendment must be made at a regular monthly meeting. B. Discussion of the proposed amendment will follow. C. Vote on motion to propose the amendment. If motion passes the proposed amendment will be published in the next monthly bulletin and voted on at the next monthly meeting. If the motion to propose the amendment fails no further action will be necessary
  1. TOURNAMENT COMMITTEES AND OFFICERS

Officers of the club shall be President, Vice President, and Secretary/Treasurer – they shall be elected each year from and by the membership of the club at the December meeting. The tournament chairman will be the top fisherman in the club point standings from the year before.

  1. Tournament committee shall be comprised of the executive officers and the top six fishermen. This committee will rule on all decisions. its decisions shall be final in all tournament matters.
  2. The tournament committee shall plan the dates and locations of all tournaments. The schedule will be presented for a vote by the club membership at the January meeting each year. After adoption, the schedule can only be changed by following the rule for a by-law change. Tournaments can be canceled by the tournament director due to dangerous conditions. NO canceled tournament will be rescheduled.
  3. Recorder shall be the same as the club tournament director. Duties shall consist of keeping complete tournament records and enforcing tournament rules.
  4. Tournament director will receive and distribute any tournament money.

Hot July Tournament At Bartletts Ferry

 The first Sunday in July eight members of the Flint River Bass Club fished our June tournament at Bartletts Ferry. We also had one youth fish the tournament.  The club has a special category for youth; they fish with an adult club member or family member and there is no entry fee for them. If they catch a keeper fish they win a prize package of fishing lures. We do not give participation prizes! 

    After eight hours of casting, we weighed in 27 12-inch keeper bass weighing about 31 pounds. There were three five-bass limits and one fisherman didn’t have a keeper.   

Lee Hancock won with five bass weighing 7.87 pounds and Doug Acree placed second with three weighing 5.74 pounds. Doug also had big fish with a 3.41 pound largemouth.  My five weighing 4.96 pounds was third and Niles Murray placed fourth with five at 4.80 pounds.  

Fishing with Lee Hancock, Jett Collins won the youth division with four bass weighing 3.57 pounds, enough to place fifth in the regular tournament.   

I started out pretty good with a keeper spot on a buzzbait within five minutes of our start at 6:00
AM. Then just over an hour later I got a keeper largemouth on a weightless worm under dock. Two in the livewell in less than two hours gave me hope. 

At noon the hope was about gone. It was miserably hot with no breeze to cool me off. And the lake had gotten really rough from pleasure boaters by 9:00 and it was dangerous to sit out in open water fishing. Too many folks do not pay attention to where they are going when driving a boat.  

Even halfway back in coves I thought I was going to get run over twice, once by a pontoon boat full of folks cruising the shoreline and once by a big wake boat pulling two little kids. 

At noon I decided to go to an area with some docks that have produced some keeper fish in June for me in the past.  My first cast with a shaky head hit a post and I got hung. Rather then go in and get it and mess up the fishing, I put that rod down, picked up a rod with a whacky rigged Senko on it and skipped it under the dock. 

A keeper spot grabbed the bait as it sank and I was able to pull it away from the post and land it.  Then on the next dock my first cast produced a keeper spot then another keeper spot, giving me my limit.  Then the same dock produced a spot too short to weigh. 

That was it. I fished docks for the last two hours and caught a couple more short fish, but no more keepers.  

The hot summertime is not the best time of the year for bass fishing.  Many bass go to deep water to avoid the heat and bright sun, and others get as far back into cover like docks for the shade. They are hard to cast to and even harder to land. 

It can be dangerous, too. Way too many folks get in boats and run around without a clue there are rules on driving a boat, just like a car.  I can’t count the times I have been meeting a boat going in the opposite direction and they insist on going to my right to try to pass me, the exactly opposite of the law. 

I prefer fishing at night this time of year, it is more comfortable, the fish bite better and there are fewer boats out there. The clubs used to have night tournaments in the summer but some members don’t like them so they got them ended rather than just not fishing them. 

It can be dangerous at night, but no more dangerous than during the day, and with fewer boats there is less dangerous.   

Bigger lakes offer places to hide from the pleasure boaters.  Fishermen can go way up creeks and rivers where stuff in the water keeps some pleasure boats out.  But skidoos seem to thrill in running such places and making them tough to fish. 

There are a few ways to cool off. I try to fish shady banks as much as possible. And dipping a cap full of water and dumping it over my head helps. Riding on plane in my boat creates a nice breeze, but the water is often so rough that is no fun. 

Even with all the problems, I would rather be out there fishing rather than sitting at home at a computer wasting time!