This is a must read interview for anyone wanting to learn how to fish swimbaits.
Byron Velvick slings his BV3D swimbait at the Golden State Shootout. (Photo: Seigo Saito / BASS)
If you listen to dock talk among fishermen out West, you will learn that the WON US Open tournament rivals The Bassmaster Classic in terms of prestige out there. Because he won two US Open championships during the 90s, Byron Velvick earned his reputation as a big stick out West. Back East, however, he is known as much for being “that bachelor dude” as anything else. (That “bachelor dude” refers to his appearance on season 6 of ABC’s “The Bachelor” TV show). Read more…
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John Crews used plastics in hydrilla to win the Duel on the Delta. (Photo: BASS / Seigo Saito)
In this chapter of lure chat I talk with Elite Series pro John Crews about his recent win at the 2010 Duel in the Delta. I will ask the reader in advance to forgive my eccentric questions about psychology and statistics in the beginning of the interview—rest assured that we do talk lures and fishing before the interview ends.
As you read this, it is interesting to keep in mind that John had 18 keepers that weighed 72-06, narrowly defeating Skeet Reese who had 20 keepers weighing 72-05. This is one of the few Elite Series tournaments I can remember where the winner did not catch his limit on multiple days. Read more…
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To my knowledge, BassFan is the only organization that ranks anglers from the FLW and BASS in the same ranking. In the BassFan World Rankings, KVD was ranked a solid #1 for a long time. That changed recently when Brent Ehrler took the #1 spot last week. Shortly thereafter Skeet Reese leapfrogged Brent and took the top spot after a strong finish at Clear Lake.
Kevin VanDam is currently ranked #3 in the BassFan World Rankings.
I recently wrote that the BassFan World Ranking formula should be tweaked. ( BassFan has updated their rankings since I wrote that post, but the principle is the same ).
What do you think? Vote in our poll…
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If Bradley Roy is this good at 19 years old, how good will he be in ten years? (Photo courtesy of Seigo Saito / BASS)
Below are the Elite Series AOY standings after the California swing as published on Bassmaster.com. I have highlighted two items of interest.
ALABAMA ANGLERS
Alabama anglers, both natives and imports, are highlighted in blue. The top 36 in AOY standings at the end of the year qualify for the Bassmaster Classic. Statistically, if Alabama anglers pull their weight, we should have 5.03 anglers represent the state at the 2011 Bassmaster Classic via the Elite Series. Read more…
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Kevin VanDam is the reigning BASS Angler of the Year, the reigning Bassmaster Classic Champion, and is quite probably the best angler the sport has ever seen. Yet in the current BassFan World Rankings, KVD’s recent accomplishments rank him second place behind Brent Ehrler.
Yes you read that first paragraph correctly. They have KVD listed as second. KVD is the best that has ever been and he is currently playing at his peak level. How can he only be ranked second? Read more…
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Rookie Keith Poche makes his Elite Series debut today. (Photo courtesy of BASS)
As I am sure many of our readers have noticed, the Armchair Anglers are biased towards Alabama. This was not the original plan when we started this blog and podcast—it just kind of evolved that way.
While visiting our podcast, our friend Kent Brown from Ultimate Bass Radio took a few good natured jabs at our beloved state and the fishermen in it. After that I thought hey, there is nothing wrong with showing a little pride in the hometown heroes.
With that in mind I have to say that it would make me extremely happy to see an Alabama angler win these tournaments in California AGAIN. Import Alabamian Aaron Martens could easily win the Duel in the Delta…AGAIN. Or Native Alabamian Steve Kennedy could win the Golden State Shootout. AGAIN.
What would be even more cool is to see the ultimate underdog from Alabama win. With that in mind I would like to introduce you to the Keith Poche. Keith is the only rookie that calls Alabama home competing on the Elite Series this year. Read more…
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As I type the 2010 Bassmaster Elite Series is beginning on the California Delta. I’ll bet money that the seven rookies competing in their first Elite Series event are tweaked out of their minds right now. Once they get their first fish in the boat, their nerves will settle a little. Once they have their fifth fish in the boat their nerves will settle even more.
There is much about professional bass fishing I’ve learned since starting this little blog and podcast. Chief among the new things I’ve learned is how incredibly hard it is for a new angler to successfully compete on the Elite Series trail. Note the emphasis on the word “successfully”—as many anglers have come and gone over the last five years. Read more…
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Brent Ehrler used these lures to win 125 k at Table Rock. (Photo courtesy of Brett Carlson, FLW Outdoors)
BassFan and Inside Line posted excellent articles covering Brent Ehrler’s recent FLW Tour victory at Table Rock Lake. Brent’s successful tackle and tactics are covered, including the specific lures he used—namely; the 5-inch Single Tail Grub and Swimming Senko made by Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits, and the Pointer 100 DD and RC 2.5 DD made by Lucky Craft.
As many of you are aware, the person lucky enough to win our FLW Fantasy Fishing League will win some of these lures courtesy of the good folks at Tackle Experts. It occurred to me that our readers might find it useful to get some helpful information on how to use these lures.
What follows is an interview I had with Brent as he was making his long commute back to California.
Bo Crawford (bocraw): I’m looking at this picture Rob Newell took of the lures on your deck. Was the grub the lure you caught the most numbers on?
Brent Ehrler (Ehrler): Yep-the grub is what I caught the good majority of the fish on that I weighed in. Each day a higher percentage of the fish came on the grub. The bigger fish I weighed in all week came on the Lucky Craft stuff. I had a 6 ½ on the jerkbait on the second day. On the third day of the tournament I caught a 5 ½ on the crankbait Read more…
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Categories: Fantasy Fishing, FLW, Lure Chats, Tactics
Tags: Brent Ehrler, Fishing a Grub, Joe Thomas, LC 2.5 DD, Lucky Craft, Mike Iaconelli, Pointer 100 DD, Swimming Senko, Table Rock Lake, Yamamoto
Greg Pugh caught an 18-11 sack and leads at Table Rock. (Photo courtesy of Brett Carlson, FLW Outdoors)
Several Alabamians are competing in the FLW Tour tournament on Table Rock Lake that started today. Cullman’s Greg Pugh caught an 18-11 bag and currently sits in first place. Now that the FLW Tour has changed to a cumulative weight format, catching a big sack on the first day is not the tactical mistake it once was.
For those of us who like to pull for underdogs, there are two Alabama rookies who competed in their first FLW Tour event today.
Rookie Mark Stewart of Springville, AL caught 10-06 and is sitting in 20th place. Read more…
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