If you’re not keeping score at home, Strike King’s latest deep-diving crankbait has won anglers more than $250,000 in B.A.S.S. tournaments alone — in less than two months.
A new Oklahoma state record largemouth bass was caught Friday, March 23, at Cedar Lake in southeast Oklahoma. The fish weighed 14 lbs. 12.3 oz. and was caught by Poteau angler Benny Williams, Jr. while on a camping trip at the 78-acre LeFlore Co. lake.
Williams caught the bass at 11 a.m. on a ¼ oz. Striker King jig. This fish measured 26 inches in length and 22 3/8 inches in girth.
Williams' fish breaks a state record held since 1999 when William Cross caught a 14-lb. 11.52-oz. bass from Broken Bow Lake.
"Catching the state record largemouth bass in Oklahoma is a big deal and catching a fish this large is a big deal," said Barry Bolton, chief of fisheries for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. "It speaks to the quality of fishing we have in Oklahoma and also to the anglers who get out there and fish for them. We congratulate him on his great catch."
WYNNE, Ark. – Almost 36 years to the day, Arkansas’s largemouth bass state record has finally been broken. On Tuesday, Paul Crowder of Forrest City set the new record on Lake Dunn near Wynne. Crowder’s lunker weighed 16 pounds, 5 ounces, breaking the old record by just a single ounce.
Aaron Mardis of Memphis had held the state record since March 2, 1976. Mardis’ 16-4 fish was caught on Mallard Lake near Manilla in Mississippi County.
As he stepped off the 2012 Bassmaster Classic stage on Sunday, Bobby Lane bellowed his brother’s name. Bobby had just been knocked out of contention. He knew Chris still had a good chance.
More than good. Chris Lane of Guntersville, Ala., won the Bassmaster Classic Sunday by more than 3 pounds, fending off hard-charging Greg Vinson. Lane’s victory was his second Bassmaster tournament title of 2012. Each came with a qualification for the 2013 Classic.
Lane brought 51 pounds, 6 ounces to the scales over three days to claim the 2012 crown of professional bass fishing and the $500,000 first-place prize. It was his first Classic win.
Vinson, of Wetumpka, Ala., had a 47-15 total. Finishing third was first-day leader Keith Poche of Pike Road, Ala., with 45-15. Fourth was 2008 Classic champ Alton Jones of Woodway, Texas, whose tournament total was 45-14. Ott DeFoe of Knoxville, Tenn., shot from 15th to finish fifth with 44-14.
LAKE HAVASU CITY, Ariz. (Feb. 25, 2012) – Troy Lindner of Los Angeles, Calif., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 19 pounds, 6 ounces Saturday to win the EverStart Series Western Division event on Lake Havasu with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 49 pounds, 11 ounces. For his victory, Lindner earned $29,665 and a Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard motor.
Saturday, 25 February 2012 00:33 | Written by Brendan | |
Chris Lane WINS the 2012 Bassmaster Classic with 51 lbs. 6 oz! Lane says he committed to fishing for 5 big bites and not focusing on just catching a 10 or 12 pound limit. Chris said that "he remembers watching the classic since he was 4 years old"... now he's living his dream! The big turning point was making the right call and sticking to his key area... he was immediately rewarding with his biggest bass of day.
SHREVEPORT-BOSSIER CITY, La. — No group, not even farmers, talk about weather more than fishermen, especially when big changes are blowing in the wind. So there was lots of weather chatter among the 49 competitors on the day before the Bassmaster Classic begins.
A southwest wind howling up to 30 miles an hour provided the background noise at media day Thursday, as temperatures rose to 80 degrees. When takeoff begins on the Red River at 7 a.m. Friday, the wind will have shifted to north-northwest and the temperature is predicted to be 46 degrees. Wind speeds of up to 25 miles an hour will make it feel colder.
“The weather (Friday) is going to be the biggest thing in this event,” said Mark Tucker of Kirkwood, Mo., who is fishing in his eighth Classic. “The wind is going to dictate everything.
If you’re trying to get to a bass in the Red River, you’ll have to clear more than a few hurdles. From the locks and dams that make commercial navigation possible to the stumpy backwaters that harbor healthy bass populations, numerous obstacles stand between Bassmaster Classic anglers and the winning fish.
“It’s by far the stumpiest place I’ve ever fished,” said Aaron Martens, who finished ninth here in the 2009 Classic. “The first day of practice – even the first hour of practice – you’ll do more damage to your boat than you’ll do all season.”
Martens tore up a $700 propeller during the 2009 Classic on the Red River. He also stuck his boat on a stump in another backwater area.
Tuesday, 21 February 2012 14:07 | Written by FLW Outdoors | |
WILBANKS WINS WALMART BASS FISHING LEAGUE BULLDOG DIVISION ON LAKE LANIER
FLW Outdoors
News Release - 2/20/12
Kirkland wins co-angler title
GAINESVILLE, Ga. (Feb. 20, 2012) – Matthew Wilbanks of Gainesville, Ga., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 21 pounds, 8 ounces Saturday to win the Walmart Bass Fishing League Bulldog Division event on Lake Lanier. For his victory, Wilbanks earned $4,729.
“I gambled, and it paid off,” said Wilbanks. “Lanier is more known for spotted bass, but I fished for largemouth, right out of the gate. You’re not going to get as many bites fishing largemouth as you would fishing for more consistent spotted bass because the bite isn’t nearly as predictable. I figured if I did it all day, I would get one or two good fish and hope I would end up with five. The gamble paid off, and that’s what happened.
Well, we just pulled in to Red River South Marina, our home for the next week and a half. This is actually where the Classic is launching from and it’s nice to be away from traffic and stuff as well as have all of your gear close to the ramp. It’s also convenient for practice; I can launch right here or trailer elsewhere if it’s a long run from here.
LEWISVILLE, Texas – Fittingly for stingy Lewisville Lake, the fish-off Sunday came down to one bite. Brent Chapman got it, Josh Bertrand never did.
Chapman caught a 6-pound, 5-ounce largemouth and captured the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Central Open title in extra innings after the two anglers tied for the lead on Day Three.
The tournament victory came with a berth in the 2013 Bassmaster Classic on his home water: Grand Lake. The pressure is off for this year’s Elite Series, provided Chapman fishes the remaining two Central Open events.
“This is a big weight off my shoulders,” Chapman said. “First, this tournament is over. The bigger reason is that I made the Classic and finally got another win.”
The clinching bass very nearly never made it into the boat. Chapman was fishing a small creek that had warm water from a discharge running into the back of it. When he arrived Sunday morning, the current had disappeared and the water was in the high 40s, a severe temperature drop.
Senkos are great lure but they are very expensive and tear easy, to remedy this use cheap harder plastic tubes and cut them into hollow sections sliding the sections over the body of the Senko. It sure makes them last longer
A new Oklahoma state record largemouth bass was caught Friday, March 23, at Cedar Lake in southeast Oklahoma. The fish weighed 14 lbs. 12.3 oz. and was caught by Poteau angler Benny Williams, Jr. while on a camping trip at the 78-acre LeFlore Co. lake.
WYNNE, Ark. – Almost 36 years to the day, Arkansas’s largemouth bass state record has finally been broken. On Tuesday, Paul Crowder of Forrest City set the new record on Lake Dunn near Wynne. Crowder’s lunker weighed 16 pounds, 5 ounces, breaking the old record by just a single ounce.
SHREVEPORT-BOSSIER CITY, La. — “Go, Chris Lane!”
