Tournament News Powered By Lake Drive Marine
Wednesday, May 06, 2026
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By Al McGuckin
Terry “Big Show” Scroggins
The first time Florida bass fishing legends Terry “Big Show” Scroggins and Peter “T” Thliveros met, Scroggins was 10 years old and mowing the lawn at Ditto lure company where Thliveros worked as a teen pouring Ditto’s famous Fire Claws, and Gator Tail worms.
Both youngsters had dreams of fishing for a living, but it’s doubtful they imagined back in 1979 that Peter “T” would later create a unique finesse Carolina Rig that would put thousands of dollars in their pockets as pros.
Yes indeed, credit the “Petey Rig” for a portion of the $4 million dollars the two best buddies have won as pros, including Scroggins’ Bassmaster Open win at Lake Toho, and Thliveros’ victory at the 2007 Bassmaster Memorial at Onondaga Lake near Syracuse.
“Yup, I’ve known Pete for 42 years. And anytime you’re struggling to get a bite, that Petey Rig he came up with will save your butt,” insists Scroggins who also shares a love of cooking and grilling with Thliveros.
So, what exactly is a Petey Rig?
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By Josh Lantz, Traditions Media
Cody Hahner of Wausau, Wisconsin with a nice smallmouth
For most bass anglers, crankbaits are just flat-out fun to fish. Designed to fish on a constant (or near-constant) retrieve while maintaining contact with and deflecting off structure, crankbaits provide the angler with tons of feedback.
“The main reason I like it is because you’re actively cranking and you’re feeling what the bait is doing the whole time,” says Addison, Alabama tournament angler and MLF competitor, Jesse Wiggins. “You feel exactly what that bottom or piece of structure is, and there’s no mistaking when the fish actually eats the bait. Plus, crankbaits help you cover a lot of water.”
FLW pro and northern river specialist, Cody Hahner of Wausau, Wisconsin, agrees. “Crankbait fishing is one of the more exciting ways to fish. It’s an amazing way to cover water for sure, but what’s more important to me is how I’m able to feel the bottom and the contours of the structure,” he says. “I can feel the sweet spots and I can feel how a crankbait reacts over certain types of structure. I’m not partial to any hard bait brand, so I can say openly that every crankbait reacts differently to the type of structure you fish. You could line up four crankbaits that all run four feet deep, but one will work best in gravel, one in sand to rock, one in timber, and one in busted concrete. It’s almost like finding the right soft plastic for the current situation. At this time of year, I’ll have at least 5 different crankbaits on my deck.”
For Hahner, “this time of year” – late September through October – is his absolute favorite time to throw a crankbait for river smallmouth. “In the north country our summer is over and the fall transition is in full swing. The first major cold snap will cause river smallmouth to get fidgety and begin the move to their winter pools,” he says. “Much like us northerners gathering firewood, these smallmouth are preparing to deal with winter, too.”
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By Clay Gaillard, Mercury Report
Aaron Martens
It’s tempting to think of Aaron Martens as an unlucky guy.
The Mercury Pro Team member has finished second in the Bassmaster Classic a record four times, after all, and has never walked away with the crown. Once he missed it by the weight of a modest hamburger patty.
Then, of course, he had a massive seizure while fishing in the spring of 2020, which revealed the presence of two brain tumors. Since then, Martens has had two brain surgeries and has endured almost constant chemotherapy for a year and a half.
Yeah, he’s had some hard days.
But if that’s all you see, you’re most assuredly missing a lot.
By any measure, Martens, 49, of Leeds, Alabama, is among the most accomplished bass anglers of this or just about any generation. True, he’s famously come up just short at one of the sport’s single biggest tournaments four times, but that also means four times he’s traded blows with the other giants of the sport atop the Classic leaderboard, a spot most elite anglers dream of being in just once in a career. And if you’re concerned about a lack of titles, rest assured he’s got those, too. Besides being a three-time champion of the prestigious WON BASS U.S. Open tournament, he also earned the title of Bassmaster Angler of the Year in 2005, 2013 and 2015.
If that makes him lucky, so be it. But Martens has the kind of luck that comes from putting in the work, and one could argue that it’s that kind of fortitude that makes him uniquely positioned to conquer glioblastoma, one of the toughest-to-fight cancers that’s ever cursed our species.