Tournament News Powered By Lake Drive Marine
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BASS Report
2019 Toyota Bassmaster AOY Championship Will Be Held On Lake St. Clair
HARRISON TOWNSHIP, Mich. — The Bassmaster Tournament Trail has visited Lake St. Clair six times since the early 1990s, including twice for high-stakes Elite Series events.
But the stakes have never been higher than they’ll be when the trail returns to the massive 275,000-acre fishery in late September.
B.A.S.S. officials announced today that Lake St. Clair will serve as the host venue for the 2019 Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship on Sept. 26-29. The tournament, which carries a whopping $1 million total purse, will decide the 2019 Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year winner, the 2019 DICK’S Sporting Goods Rookie of the Year and the bulk of the lineup for the 2020 Bassmaster Classic.
“B.A.S.S. has had some great events at Lake St. Clair, and the people there have always been enthusiastic and supportive fans,” said B.A.S.S. CEO Bruce Akin. “This has already been one of the most exciting years we’ve ever had on the Bassmaster Elite Series, and I can’t think of a better place for it to end than on a great smallmouth fishery like St. Clair.”
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R&B Report
Randy Ramsey (Battle Creek) and Trevor Jancasz (Sturgis)
Randy Ramsey (Battle Creek) and Trevor Jancasz (Sturgis) slowly worked finesse lures to boat a mix of largemouth and smallmouth bass to win the R&B Circuit Open on Lake Wawasee last weekend.
The event attracted 40 teams.
The winners caught 10 keepers with their five best that weighed 12.45 pounds, most of which came during the rain and from water deeper than eight feet. They declined to offer details on the lures they used. They won $620.
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Rick Morrison (Niles) and John Gipson Jr. (Battle Ground, Ind.) - 1st Place
Rick Morrison (Niles) and John Gipson Jr. (Battle Ground, Ind.) won the Casting Couples Open at Lake Maxinkuckee last weekend.
The winners ($440) had 14.09 pounds caught early in the morning on jerkbaits.
Steve Prange and Gary Price (Goshen) - 2nd Place
Steve Prange and Gary Price (Goshen) were second ($220) with 12.43 pounds. They used blade baits.
Clay Sterling and Drew Coffel (Bremen) were third ($150) with 11.69 pounds caught on blade baits in 10 feet of water.
Phil Strakowski (LaPorte) won the big bass pot ($125) with a 3.30-pound smallmouth caught on a jerkbait.
The tournament drew 27 teams. The water temperature ranged from 38-42 degrees and most fish were caught in 10 feet or less and seven teams had five-fish limits.
The next Casting Couples Open will be on the St. Joseph River at 6-Span April 13 from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Entry fee is $50 with optional $5 big bass pot. For more information, call Rick Kedik 269-240-4917.
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Grand Valley State Duo Wins Bassmaster College Series Event On Alabama’s Smith Lake
Lucas Murphy and Mitchell Gunn of Grand Valley State University win the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series at Smith Lake presented by Bass Pro Shops out of Cullman, Ala., with a three-day total of 52 pounds, 7 ounces. Photo by Chris Mitchell/B.A.S.S.
CULLMAN, Ala. — When the Smith Lake bass began transitioning into spawning stage earlier this week, many of the teams competing in the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series tournament presented by Bass Pro Shops switched their fishing tactics hoping to keep pace.
Lucas Murphy and Mitchell Gunn of Michigan’s Grand Valley State University, however, stuck to their original plan, which was to throw swimbaits underneath docks hoping to land prespawn spotted bass.
It was a risky move, especially as the weather steadily grew warmer and bass headed for the shorelines to spawn. But Murphy and Gunn were consistent through all three days of the tournament, and that was enough to win on this 21,000-acre fishery here in north central Alabama.
The duo caught 15 bass in three days for a total weight of 52 pounds, 7 ounces. They were in second place heading into Saturday’s final day of fishing, but an 18-2 limit vaulted them past Day 2 leaders JT Russell and Porter James of the University of Montevallo, which is located about 90 minutes south of Smith Lake.
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DeFoe Claims Classic Championship
Photo courtesy B.A.S.S. James Overstreet
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — For decades, it seemed almost impossible for an angler to win the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods in his home state.
Now it’s happened four times in six years.
Tennessee pro Ott DeFoe, who makes his home in Knoxville, caught five bass Sunday from the Tennessee River that weighed 18 pounds, 14 ounces to win the Super Bowl of Bass Fishing and the $300,000 prize that goes with the iconic trophy.
His three-day total weight of 49-3 helped him slip past second-place angler Jacob Wheeler before a raucous home crowd at the University of Tennessee’s Thompson-Boling Arena.
The world-championship bass tournament drew a record-total attendance of 153,809 to tournament venues, including daily weigh-ins in Thompson-Boling Arena, the Bassmaster Classic Outdoors Expo consumer show presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods in the Knoxville Convention Center and World's Fair Exhibition Hall, and morning takeoffs at Volunteer Landing. Attendance counts, including as many as 6,500 at Saturday’s early-morning takeoff, were provided by officials at each of the venues.
“This is a dream come true — a dream I’ve had since I was a 9-year-old kid,” said DeFoe, who now has six career victories with B.A.S.S. “When we came over here and did the walk-through the day before the tournament, I actually imagined hearing my name after the words ‘Bassmaster Classic champion.’