2009-07-01 11:48:24

Jeff Coble Captures First Place on Kerr Lake

By Joe Angelone

South Hill, VA - June 27, 2009 - Jeff Coble from Manson, NC barely edged out Brandon Gray by .42 pounds to take first place and take home a $5,000 check in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Weekend Series. Jeff, who lives on Kerr and fishes it quite often, mentioned that he did not have a consistent practice and was not able to put together a solid pattern. He started the day fishing deeper water, thinking that with the 84 degree water temp, the fish would be on deeper structure. By 10 in the morning he only had 2 fish in the boat. He then made the decision to move a little shallower in 6 to 10 feet of water, and was able to get four more bites, which proved to be the difference in the tournament. Jeff has been fishing tournaments for 29 years and enjoys it very much. His winning weight was 13.60 lbs. By supporting our sponsors, Jeff will also receive cash bonuses from Mercury and MotorGuide.

2009-06-30 10:25:50

Hurst Wins Again

By Lisa Talmadge

Gadsden, AL.....June 27, 2009.....Tim Hurst of Oxford, AL is one step closer to the Bassmaster Classic with his first place victory in the Alabama North division earning $5,000 in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Weekend Series bass tournament held on Neely Henry Lake.  Hurst`s five bass limit weighed in at 19.81 pounds and was secured by the big bass of the tournament.

2009-06-26 10:26:35

Drenching Rain for Chautauqua Lake Opener

With soaking rains, occasional high winds and the threat of thunder storms, Steven Hughes of Rimersburg, PA, took the first place prize of $5000.00 by putting together the winning pattern in the New York West division opener on Lake Chautauqua. Steven brought to the scales an impressive weight with his 5 fish limit of 21.71 lbs. He also had a monster smallmouth at 6.32 lbs. for his big fish kicker, which was big bass of the tournament Steven loves fishing Chautauqua Lake - he has been doing so for about 10 years. He came to the lake Friday and checked out several areas and found some quality fish. He wasn’t sure if that pattern would hold because of the changing weather conditions.

The previous day, Hughes had seen a lot of fish cruising the flats but couldn’t get them to bite. Steven concentrated on weed edges, throwing soft plastics and a jig to bag his limit. He caught 10 fish all day and was able to cull out 3 of his smaller fish. His big fish came on a jig. Steven has been married for 24 years and has 2 sons, one of whom fished the tournament as well and finished in 9th place on the co-angler side of the competition. In closing, I asked Steven if his wife supports his fishing. With a big smile on his face he said she does, as long as he keeps bringing home the checks.  He also wanted to thank his sponsor Consumer Discount Sports, for their support.

2009-06-23 11:09:35

Morrow Wins Third Tennessee Central Division Qualifier

By Lisa Talmadge


Gallatin, TN...June 20, 2009...Sam Morrow of Smyrna, TN is one step closer to the Bassmaster Classic with his first place victory in the Tennessee Central division earning $5,000 in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Weekend Series bass tournament held on Old Hickory Lake.  Morrow`s five bass limit weighed in at 13.70 pounds and was secured by the big bass of the tournament.  The key to his victory was the fish he found in practice.  Sam used a swimbait to fish shallow grass early in the morning to get three quality bites.  The winner then proceeded to “junk fish” searching shallow, mid depth, and deep to finish out his limit.  He managed to cull six times en route to his winning weight.  Morrow ran his livewells on manual all day to keep his fish alive which proved to be the deciding factor.

2009-06-22 05:45:57

Weir and Wright Win on Wylie

By Mike Whatley

Rock Hill, SC – June 20, 2009 – Eric Weir, of Belmont, NC took the final one day qualifier for the North Carolina Division of the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Weekend Series on Lake Seminole with a 5 fish limit that weighed in at 19.71 pounds.  His 1st Place victory earned him the guaranteed $5,000 purse plus 200 points toward his qualifying for the Year-end Championship worth over $200,000 and a slot in the prestigious “Bassmaster Classic”.

A local angler of 40 years on Lake Wylie, Weir used his knowledge of natural rock locations and a very astute use of topwater baits and a hand tied jig to put together his winning sack. Having a limit in the boat early, Eric stayed with the topwater pattern catching his fish in 1 ½ to three feet of water, until 11:00 before switching to the jig, which was responsible for his largest fish which included a 4.50 pound largemouth. Weir is also eligible for an additional $500 in Mercury Contingencies, being the registered owner of a 2007 Mercury Outboard, bringing his total earnings for this event to $5,500.

2009-06-15 06:03:58

Brown Wins $10,000 on Chickamauga

By Lisa Talmadge

Dayton, TN...June 13, 2009...Rogie Brown of Hixson, TN is one step closer to the Bassmaster Classic with his first place victory in the Tennessee East division earning $5,000 in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Weekend Series bass tournament held on Chickamauga Lake.  He also collected the Triton Black Gold bonus money worth $5000.  Rogie`s five bass limit weighed in at 22.66 pounds..

Brown started his tournament day fishing between 8 and 12 ft deep with good success.  By 9:00 am, the Hixson, TN angler had a limit in his livewell estimated at 21.50 pounds.  Rotating through approximately ten fishing spots, Brown didn`t catch another keeper until 1:30 pm.  With two hours left to fish, he located a giant school of bass in the 20 – 25 ft depth.  He hammered through the school of bass using a swimbait amongst other things with his new 7` 6” Heavy Swimbait/Frog Rod from Nuclear Rods to cull up three times and achieve his winning weight.  Rogie would like to thank his sponsors, Triton Boats, Stealth 1 Charging Systems and Nuclear Rods.

2009-06-15 06:00:45

Jay Gillifillan Wins Final Ohio Qualifier

Jay Gillfillan of Ridgeway, Ohio put together a solid pattern to win the final one day qualifying event in Ohio and take home a check for $5000 with a total weight of 11.23 lbs.  Jay came to the lake on Wednesday and visited some of the spots he had fished the previous year.  He found about a half mile stretch that was holding some quality fish.  The area had grass with occasional bare spots.  He found that with the cloud cover in the morning the fish were somewhat scattered, but as the day progressed and the sun peeked out, the fish moved closer to the cover of the weeds.  Water temperature in the portion of the lake he was fishing was 74 degrees and the depth was anywhere from 3 to 4 feet with subtle one foot depressions.  Jay threw a frog all day long, black seemed to work the best.  The fished turned on when the wind picked up and the water started moving.  Jay’s final comment, with a huge smile on his face, was “here we come, Lake Erie!”  He is really looking forward to fishing the 2-Day Division Championship event on Lake Erie.

2009-06-10 12:54:21

Freeman Makes It Back-to-Back Bassmasters Weekend Series Wins

Story and Photos by Donald Gervais (dongerv@yahoo.com)

Cypress Bend Marina—Glen Freeman took his second win in as many weeks in an American Bass Anglers (ABA) Bassmaster Weekend Series tournament held on Toledo Bend Reservoir on June 6 with a 5-fish limit weighing 24.39 pounds. Mike Huckman took the top honors in the co-angler competition with a 3-fish limit weighing 11.2 pounds. Bill England took the big bass honors for the boaters with a 7.56-poud bass while Randy White caught a 7.35-pound fish for the big bass bragging rights for the co-anglers.

2009-06-08 11:47:31

Anderson Wins Third Kentucky Division Qualifier

By Lisa Talmadge


Eddyville, KY...June 6, 2009...Brent Anderson of Kingston Springs, TN is one step closer to the Bassmaster Classic with his first place victory in the Kentucky division earning $5,000 in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Weekend Series bass tournament held on Barkley & Kentucky Lakes.  Anderson`s five bass limit weighed in at 20.09 pounds.  Anderson was one of many anglers that chose to run a good distance south on Kentucky Lake.  He located a few good schools of big bass two weeks earlier while pre-fishing on main lake ledges.  The winner said between him and his co-angler they boated over fifty keepers fishing three key “sweet spots” within trolling motor distance of each other.  Using a Vanndalizer Custom Tackle crankbait, he probed the 6 – 12 foot depths to catch the majority of his winning weight.  A Strike King 10” Anaconda worm also produced some key bites.

2009-06-08 11:33:35

Tony Woodard Wins on Gaston

By Joe Angleone and Gary Conner

South Hill, VA – June 6, 2009 - As the Bassmaster Weekend Series anglers descended on Lake Gaston expectations were running high. Many of them said there was a good bite during practice, and everyone expected to see lots of fish at weigh in time.  Such was the case when Tony Woodard of Four Oaks, NC, came to the scales.  Tony weighed in a 5-fish limit of 15.40 pounds to take first place honors and a check for $5000.00.  He also had Big Bass honors with a Bass that tipped the scales at 6.24 lbs.