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Shimano Report
Shimano Expands Scholarship Programs for High School and College Anglers
Logan Parks (left) from Auburn, Ala., and Patrick Duran (right of check) from Cherry Hill, N.J. both won Shimano Varsity Program scholarships in 2017. Here they are with Shimano’s Youth Fishing Director Frank Hyla accepting their award at last year’s B.A.S.S. High School Championship event at Paris Landing, Tenn.
Expanding the qualifications to include both graduating high school seniors and those already enrolled in undergrad and graduate programs, Shimano North American Fishing, Inc. will now award up to $30,000 in scholarships as part of its ‘Shimano Varsity’ program.
The expansion of the program was officially announced to state DNR professionals and bass club leaders by Shimano Youth Fishing Director Frank Hyla at the biannual B.A.S.S. Conservation Summit held in conjunction with the recent Bassmaster Classic.
“The scholarships provide needed financial assistance to future leaders in conservation, fisheries and wildlife sciences and management,” said Hyla,
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By Al McGuckin
Six Bassmaster Classic Questions with Casey Ashley
The Basssmaster Classic returns to Casey Ashley’s home waters of Lake Hartwell this week where he won the 2015 Classic, and the easy-going country boy with a thousand dollar smile was kind enough to invite us into his home for a brief conversation just days before bass fishing’s biggest event.
Q: How are you doing this week before the Classic, as compared to where your head and heart were a few days before the 2015 Classic?
Casey: “Well, I’d like to tell you I’m more relaxed, but that really isn’t the case, because all the variables I didn’t want to happen like rising water, a lot of warm weather last month, and warmer water temperatures, have all happened, so the fish are kind of in an in-between state and it’s gonna be a grind.”
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Traditions Media Report
ChatterBait Bladed Jigs Dominate Early Tournaments
Pretty compelling when someone wins a bigtime bass tourney with a super cool bait off the mainstream radar. But when five of the top ten anglers single out this same exceptional lure, including the top 3 finishers, it could be fairly classified as a big deal.
The plot thickens even more when none of the winning anglers are sponsored by the lure manufacturer in question. Call that a big statement.
Just such a scenario played out at the recent FLW Tour event at Florida’s Harris Chain of Lakes, where all the top finishers seemed to be giving props the same lure, a Z-Man ChatterBait brand bladed jig. Eventual champion Chris Johnston edged his buddy and fellow Ontario resident Jeff Gustafson by a mere two pounds, using the same ½-ounce, white Z-Man / Evergreen ChatterBait JackHammer™ vibrating jig Gustafson gave him on the eve of the final day.