American Bass Anglers Febuary 2005 Issue

1 AmericanBassAnglers.com

On the cover: A Lunker from the Budweiser ShareLunker Program operated by the

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens, TX

American Bass Anglers Tournament Trail MagazineAmerican Bass Anglers Tournament Trail Magazine2005 Early Spring Issue2005 Early Spring Issue

American Bass Anglers Tournament Trail Magazine ispublished for the members of American Bass Anglers.

The American Bass Angler Tournament Trail is 30years old and offers approximately 985 tournaments ayear across the US. The American Bass Angler DrawTrail is specially designed for the weekend angler, witha $55.00 entry fee and choice of 985 tournaments inwhich to compete. In the Draw Trail only the best 4one-day tournaments + the best two-day tournamentcount toward angler of the year. This allows our mem-bers to put a bad tournament behind them.

American Bass Anglers is Sponsored by: Triton Boats,Mercury Marine, Gander Mountain, Bayou Outdoors,Lowrance, Anglers Advantage Insurance, ProBassNetworks, Diamond Cut Jeans,The Boat House, BillHeard Cheverolet, Strike King, and Motorguide.

American Bass Anglers (headed by Morris Sheehan) iscommitted to making the Draw Trail the best in thecountry. Our approach is to offer a tournament trailwithout having so many different qualifying levels thatso many trails have today. Compete in your district, beconsistent, and you will go to the national event whereyou can earn big prizes. Where else can you competein a draw trail for new boats with an entry fee of $55.00

without going through extensive qualifying levels.

NATIONAL AND MAGAZINE STAFF

PRESIDENT: Morris Sheehan

VICE PRESIDENT: David Hagood

OFFICE ADMIN: Ellen Phillips

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR:Barbara Laubenthal

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR:Micheal Dorne’

SENIOR STAFF WRITER:Jimmy Yarbrough

SENIOR STAFF WRITER:Jeremiah Bagwell

MEMBERSHIP: Sharon Behel

MEMBERSHIP: Denise Lee

MEMBERSHIP: Sherri Bundy

PHOTO EDITING: Chris Hagood

INTERNET COMMUNICATIONS:RC Barker/Kathy Barker

ADVERTISING SALES:Greenwave Marketing

For membership inquires or change of addresswrite to: American Bass Anglers, PO Box 475Athens, AL 35612 or call toll free 1-888-203-6222.Also, visit American Bass Anglers online at

www.americanbassanglers.com

American Bass Anglers MBAA since 1975,Tournament Trail, Military Bass AnglersAssociation, and ABA are all registered or pendingcollective membership or service marks ofAmerican Bass Anglers, Inc. All rights reserved.

American Bass Anglers invites it’s members to send in articles, photos and useful informa-tion. We try to print information that is informative for the members of American BassAnglers. Contact us at 1-888-203-6222 or write to: American Bass Anglers PO Box 475Athens, AL 35612 We always enjoy hearing from the members!

22 Supporting ABA Sponsors Supporting ABA Sponsors

33 Texas Stocks Bass And It Works!!Texas Stocks Bass And It Works!!

1111 Practical Knowledge For Anglers Practical Knowledge For Anglers FromThe ShareLunker ProgramFromThe ShareLunker Program

1313 Four Budweiser ShareLunkers In TwoFour Budweiser ShareLunkers In TwoDays From Lake Alan HenryDays From Lake Alan Henry

1515 TRITON TRITON T O U G H ! ! !T O U G H ! ! !2222 ""THE PROFESSORTHE PROFESSOR"" - SONAR/GPS- SONAR/GPS2323 Top 50 Triton Boat Owners National RankingTop 50 Triton Boat Owners National Ranking

2525 Tournament Spotlight - District 53Tournament Spotlight - District 53Lake Sam RayburnLake Sam Rayburn

2727 Do I Need A Cover?Do I Need A Cover?

2929 ABA National Standings ABA National Standings

3333 ABA Service Team StandingsABA Service Team Standings

3333 Adventure Sweepstakes - Monthly Winner Adventure Sweepstakes - Monthly Winner

3737 An Introductory Guide To Swimming JigsAn Introductory Guide To Swimming Jigs

3939 C.A.S.T. StandingsC.A.S.T. Standings

4040 ABA Sponsor ProgramsABA Sponsor Programs

4040 ABA Member Helps Develop ABA Member Helps Develop Needed Safety Unit For TowingNeeded Safety Unit For Towing

41 41 Strike King - New Product ReviewStrike King - New Product Review

41 41 Top 5 Big Bass and Strings in 2005 SeasonTop 5 Big Bass and Strings in 2005 Season

43 43 Why is Attendance At Boat Shows Why is Attendance At Boat Shows Declining?Declining?

NEXT ISSUE:NEXT ISSUE:- - What You Need To Know About Pickwick What You Need To Know About Pickwick Lake Lake

“2005 Triton Boat Owners Tournament”“2005 Triton Boat Owners Tournament”- - First Look at the “Red River 2005 Championship”First Look at the “Red River 2005 Championship”

- - Slot Sizes and Creel LimitsSlot Sizes and Creel Limits

- - Tournament Highlights and Angler ProfilesTournament Highlights and Angler Profiles

FFEATURESEATURES

2AmericanBassAnglers.com

Whether it is bass fishing, hunting, or other pastimes weenjoy, there are sponsors making these pastimes not onlypossible, but rewarding. It should make all of us sit up andtake notice of what companies are sponsoring these eventsand support them in return.

How do we as anglers reward these companies that are soinvolved with the competitive fishing that we all enjoy? Ofcourse, the best way is buy their products. There is alsoanother way to reward our sponsors. Before you buy a com-peting brand simply take a close look and try our sponsor'sproduct for yourself. If it is a boat, take a test ride; if it is lurebrand, try one; if it is a rod, pick it up and get a feel for it; if itis a pair of jeans, try a pair on. Find out first hand what oursponsor's product offers you, the consumer. I really believewhat all sponsors want is for the consumer to take a closelook at their product before making a buying decision.

To me this is not only a good way to reward our sponsors,but it is a great way for sponsors to benefit from their spon-sorship. If their product lives up to the company's marketing,then it is much more likely that you will purchase their prod-uct.

Many ABA sponsors offer special promotions for ABA mem-bers. Anglers Advantage Insurance not only offers a greatdeal for tournament fisherman, but also offers ABA membersa 10% discount. Triton Boats offers the Triton Gold program.Pat Anderson the 2004 national champion, not only earnedsome Triton Gold in the 2004 ABA National Championship,but will be invited to the Triton Gold Championship. DiamondCut Jeans have the most comfortable jeans you will ever tryon. ABA members save $10.00 per pair on their jeans and in2004 qualified for a big year end award with their lodging andentry fee for the 2004 National paid and a potential bonus.Bill Heard Chevrolet offers not only the best prices and largestselection of Chevrolets in the world, but will pay all of yourentry fees for an entire season including your entry into thenational. ProBass Networks offers special deals for ABAmembers for web sites.

These special promotions that our sponsors offer are toreward the angler for being loyal to their products. So notonly is buying our sponsor's product good for the sponsor, it isalso rewarding for you, the angler.

We remember well, as do many of you, how Lowranceshowed how much they appreciated ABA members beingtheir loyal customers by their support at the 2003 and 2004National Championship. A Lowrance support crew (DougO'Hara and Wilson Frazier) showed up and helped ouranglers with any Lowrance unit issue. This happenedbecause ABA members supported Lowrance by purchasingtheir products.

The Triton support staff has been at the last 3 nationalchampionships to help their loyal customers. They do thisbecause they know how many Triton Boats ABA members arebuying and was at the 2002, 2003 and 2004 NationalChampionships.

We have been so proud of what many sponsors have toldus about receiving personal letters from ABA members just tosay "thank you" for their sponsorship. One sponsor tell usthey never hear from anglers unless they want something.And they get literally 100's of calls and letters daily fromanglers soliciting sponsorships or just freebies. It really struckme when they mentioned that they have received letters fromABA members on a consistent basis just saying THANKS!We would have thought this was an isolated incident, but wehave heard this from other sponsors.

At a meeting this fall at Triton Boats a letter was slid acrossthe table to us. To our pleasant surprise it was a letter from anABA member that not only thanked Triton for their support ofAmerican Bass Anglers, but informed Triton he had recentlypurchased a new Triton Boat.

Then you get that ABA member that just makes you proud.I got a call from a member recently and he told me: "AlrightDave I did it, I bought a new Triton boat with a Mercury Motor,Motor Guide trolling motor, Lowrance Electronics and calledAnglers Advantage Insurance for a quote while sitting in myDiamond Cut Jeans." By the way, he also informed me hehad the sponsors Rods in the boat with the right reels readyto go. Now that is what I call supporting the ABA sponsors!This angler not only supported the sponsors, but he receivedreally great products and services in return.

ABA is very proud to have such great sponsors that work sohard to support our favorite pastime of bass fishing. Also, weare very proud of our members that are supporting our spon-sors.

Anglers Advantage InsuranceAnglers Advantage Insurance: Pays a $100 Big Bass

Bonus if that winner's boat is currently insured by AnglersAdvantage insurance and the winner is wearing the AAIPpatch that comes with your policy.

Bill Heard ChevroletABA member can purchase vehicles from Bill Heard

Dealerships across the country and save big bucks.Additionally, they will receive a one year sponsorship on theAmerican Bass Angler Tournament Trail.

V and M Lures (Bayou Outdoors)V&M will be inviting one lucky ABA member to join the

V&M Pro Staff with Sponsorship for the 2006 ABATournament Trail just for using their product.

Triton GoldTriton Boats pays a $1,000 bonus to Triton Boat Owners

that win ABA tournaments with 60 or more boats.

Get involved and support our ABA sponsors and let themknow much you appreciate their support. Reward our spon-sors by taking a closer look at their products. Not only willyou get great products and services, but can also earn somevaluable rewards.

For information on any sponsor program call ABA toll free(888) 203-6222

Supporting ABA Sponsors andSponsor Programs for 2005

by: David Hagood

3 Jason Reyes of Humble, Texas donates a 15.1 pound Lunker

Fisheries management is a very complex and controversial

subject. There is a great deal of disagreement among the

fisheries departments in various states about how best to

handle their fish resources. Size limits, slot limits, the stocking

of stripers and hybrids and closed seasons are just a few of

the areas that can get anglers and biologists upset. Perhaps

the most controversial of all fisheries management topics is

that of stocking. Some states don't stock at all in existing

waters. Others carry on an aggressive stocking program.

Who's right?

The Texas Parks and Wildlife

Department (TPWD) is without a

doubt conducting the most

active, aggressive and benefi-

cial public water stocking

program in the US. Texas

operates five inland hatch-

eries that are working to

stock public waters, not

private waters. They are

the A.E. Wood Fish

Hatchery, San Marcos

(built in 1949), the Dundee

Fish Hatchery, Electra (built in

1927), the Jasper Fish

Hatchery, Jasper (built in 1932), the

Possum Kingdom Fish Hatchery,

Graford (built in 1950) and the Texas Freshwater Fisheries

Center, Athens (built in 1996).

You might wonder why so many hatcheries and why are

they so aggressively stocking lakes? Texas has 150 large

reservoirs, all man made except Caddo Lake. Texas is obvi-

ously accustomed to not only building public lakes, but under-

stands the need to pursue a vigorous and quality stocking

program. They not only stock new or renovated lakes, but

stock older lakes as well. They have several documented rea-

sons for this aggressive stocking campaign.

Of course, they stock new lakes to start a population, but

there are more reasons. They stock if there is an issue deal-

ing with the natural reproduction or decline of a species or

simply to increase the diversity of species on a lake. There

are other reasons to stock like a catastrophic loss of fish in a

lake. Then there are community lakes and educational oppor-

tunities for younger fisherman like at a boys and girls ranch.

TPWD pays special attention to enhancing the genetic make-

up of the fish population in their lakes by, for example, stock-

ing Florida largemouth bass. Sometimes they simply want to

take advantage of a change in the habitat of a lake, like

increased water levels or new or increased vegetation.

Attainable stocking records show Texas has stocked more

than 48 million largemouth bass in public waters. The records

do not cover every year and do not go back into the early

days of the fisheries programs. The surprising part of these

records is that the stockings were not just of fingerlings, but

stockings of adult largemouth bass as well. Now this num-

ber is just for largemouth bass and does not include

any other species which they also aggressively

stocked.

A Major question is who makes the decision

and how are the decisions made to stock or re-

stock fish in a lake? Texas has 15 field offices

and fisheries biologists make these decisions,

not politicians. The fisheries biologist’s deci-

sions are based on months or even years of

study with many factors used in the decision

making process.

The ShareLunker Program

There is more to the story than just stocking fish in public

waters. The TPWD started a very special program called

ShareLunker back in 1986. The ShareLunker program is set

up to take donated Florida largemouth

bass and use them for research

and spawning bass for stocking.

To qualify for the program, an

angler must legally catch a large-

mouth in Texas waters over 13 lbs

during the time period of October 1

to April 30.

TPWD's stocking of

Florida largemouths in

the 1970's had made

possible an explosion

of lunkers being

caught across the

state. The first fish

donated to the pro-

gram was by Mark

Stevenson and was a

17.86 pound hawg

caught on

Lake Fork.

Since then,

Texas Fisheries Stocks Bass And It WorksTexas Fisheries Stocks Bass And It WorksBy: David HagoodBy: David Hagood


over 360 lunkers have been donated to the program. These

fish were caught in 52 public reservoirs and 11 private lakes.

This program allows the TPWD the opportunity to not only

spawn largemouth from large strong adult females, but it also

allowed them to start studying the genetics of big mature

largemouth bass. The basis of the program is simple: take

lunker bass and use their offspring for a stocking program of

genetically superior bass.

The knowledge being gained from the program is being

used to enhance the process and the program itself. The

TPWD tracks the genetics of the fish in the program. Using

highly skilled professional fisheries biologists and the latest

DNA equipment, the biologists take tissue samples of all the

bass in the ShareLunker program. This allows the tracking of

offspring and they can be identified back up the line to the

male and female used in the program.

The male largemouth bass being used in spawning activi-

ties are from the program itself. These pedigree males are

now used for all of the ShareLunker spawning. Some of the

males are even descendents of that first ShareLunker fish

Mark Stevenson donated in 1986.

To date, 359 largemouth bass have been donated to the

ShareLunker program. The number of bass accepted into the

program differs from year to year with a high of 36 entries in

1995 to a low of 5 entries in 2001. In the 2004 season, 15

fish were donated to the program. Counting the fish in each

year of the program, the numbers work out to an average of

almost 20 largemouth bass donated each year.

A logical question is: "Does the program work"? A controlled

study has been performed on a selected lake where all the

stocked largemouth bass came from the ShareLunker pro-

gram. In May of 2002 the first collection was made on the

lake and the average length was 11.38 inches with an aver-

age weight of 0.8 pounds with a maximum length of 13.94

inches and 1.5 pounds. In May, 2003 the same study was

performed and the results were promising. The average

length had increased to 15.2 inches and the weight had

increased to 1.9 pounds with largest in the study being 17.8

inches and the weight of 3.2 pounds. In another study made

the same year in December, the average length increased to

17.5 with an average weight of 3.8 pounds with the largest

being 20.1 inches long and 6.4 pounds.

Florida largemouths have the genetic potential to grow

larger than their northern strain cousins. Certain individuals of

the Florida strain have the genetic potential to outgrow their

brothers and sisters. It is logical that if you cross lunker

females with large males, the offspring should also have that

ability to reach larger sizes. The Texas program is proving

this to be true.

As you might imagine, this program is expensive and with-

out sponsors and facilities this type of program would most

likely not survive for long. Budweiser became a sponsor of

the ShareLunker program in 1996 and remains so today.

They provide over $300,000 in funding for both the selective

breeding program and a DNA fingerprinting program.

The program hit a new high in 1996 when the Texas

Freshwater Fisheries Center was constructed and opened in

Athens, Texas in November. The emphasis of the center is

not just the production of fish, but it is also the best educa-

tional fisheries center in the US. For the visitor, the center is

all about education and demonstrates the waters and differ-

ent species one might encounter in lakes, rivers and streams

across the state of Texas. Visitors can even see fish spawn-

ing in one of lakes with viewing windows in the spring and

get a real view of the process.

The small ponds each have viewing areas where visitors

can see the tiniest of fish like the darter to the huge and wild

looking alligator gar, some weighing over 100 pounds. One of

the most interesting

fish on display is the

spoonbill, a different

looking and beautiful

fish.

The center also

has, as part of the

DNA from each ShareLunker bass is studied and cataloged

A tag can be scanned to identify fish in the program

Special lakes are used to study effects of the ShareLunker Program


educational side, a museum filled with replicas of fish from all

over the state; most being replicas of state records with infor-

mation about the fish, who, how and where it was caught.

There are many fishing items on display such as antique

lures, rods, reels and even one boat and some very early

model outboards. This is where visitors learn about the

ShareLunker program

and how it started.

There is also a nicely

presented hall of fame

dedicated to people

that have influenced

fisheries in the state

of Texas. A tremen-

dous effort in educa-

tion continues and

remains the focus of

this area of the center.

The center's pride and joy is a blue catfish named "Splash"

which was donated to the center just a year ago and weighed

121.5 pounds when it was caught on Lake Texoma by Cody

Mullennix. A few weeks ago the center had a birthday party

for Splash and more than 700 visitors came to celebrate the

birthday.

The largest tank in the center has a special viewing room

and this tank is Splash's home. Splash is a chicken loving

fish and this is her favorite meal. Divers go into the tank and

hand feed the fish for the viewers and show just how spoiled

these lucky fish are.

The other larger section of the facility is dedicated to hatch-

ery activities. The center does not just work with bass; it also

works with other species. When a ShareLunker fish is donat-

ed, it is placed in what could be called the critical care unit of

the center. It is placed in a large tank alone and is carefully

handled and cared for. This includes medical treatment to

deal with any infections the fish may have and to make sure

they do not develop any infections. The bass are also studied

at this point to determine their age and to take tissue sample

for DNA fingerprinting. A tag that can be scanned is placed

inside the fish's body cavity so the fish's identity can be con-

firmed at any time.

Once the donated fish is strong and healthy, it is moved to a

much larger holding tank and is spoiled beyond belief. This

large tank is stocked with delicacies for the bass to enjoy and

even includes rainbow trout about 6 inches long. A large

piece of structure is in the center of the tank for the bass to

use, not only for shelter, but for an ambush location to feed.

When the fish are ready for spawning, they are taken to

special long spawning tanks. Dividers are placed in these

long tanks so the spawning bass can be kept separate. One

female and one of the pedigree males are placed in one sec-

tion to spawn alone. An Astroturf mat about 18 inches square

is placed on the bottom of the tank in their section. The bass

will spawn directly on the mat which makes harvesting the

eggs much easier.

One of the interesting things

you would learn from the process

is that bass will spawn multiple

times. The bass will spawn again

and again if allowed to. In many

cases, when the eggs are taken

immediately after the spawning

and then the mat replaced the

bass will spawn again and again.

The biologist said one pair of

bass spawned 6 times and would

“Splash”, from Lake Texoma, weighed 121.5 pounds

Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center, Athens, Texas

Intensive care tanks to treat new fish in the ShareLunker program

AmericanBassAnglers.com7

have continued, but they did

not want to stress the fish

any further. Spawning multi-

ple times might be tied to

the male bass not seeing the

fry hatch. Once the eggs

hatch, the male drives the

females from the beds and

the male remains for some-

time. Without seeing the

eggs hatch the male may

not consider the female’s job

complete.

The eggs are immediately

taken, counted and checked

and placed in special hatching

jars. The largemouth fry are placed into specially prepared

well fertilized ponds where they feed on tiny microscopic ani-

mals (zooplankton) until they are large enough to feed on

small minnows. They are not fed fish food like pellets. This

seems to be a very important step for fish that are going to

be stocked in a lake and must be carnivorous to survive.

With its task completed, the female bass from ShareLunker is

released back into its natural waters safely and in better

shape than when it was originally caught.

Time For Other States To Wake Up!

In amazement of the center and the ShareLunker program it

was easy to ask this question: "How did this center get built

and how was it funded"? The city of Athens won the bid to

bring the fisheries center to their town and put up just over 4

million dollars. The federal government put up matching

funds from the Wallop-Breaux Fund for many of the exhibits

at the center. The center has been a huge success and

receives over 70,000 visitors each year. The educational

value alone would be worth every dime spent on this nicely

laid out and perfectly presented fisheries center. Then there

is the additional value of the ShareLunker program and

research being performed from data being collected.

The approach is not astonishing. It makes great sense, but

very few other states use such an aggressive approach and

Alabama is a good example. Several years ago under a pre-

vious administration, a delegation made up of industrial rep-

resentatives and tournament organizations met with the gov-

ernor's staff and the State's Conservation Commissioner. The

meeting was to discuss

the state's current lack of

stocking in public waters.

The current approach in

Alabama is based on

stocking bass in farm

ponds, not in public

waters. These days a mil-

lionaire can build a farm

pond or huge private lake

and the state stock it at a very low cost. On the other hand,

the state does not stock, or maybe its better to say, will not

re-stock many bass in public waters.

One of the first things the delegation was told was that

stocking does not work. The delegation looked at these politi-

cians, knowing they simply didn't have a clue of the fishery

impact or the economic impact. For example, for fiscal year

2003 - 2004 Alabama did stock bass in public waters. They

added bass to 4 Alabama lakes (Smith, Lake Martin, Dallas

Co. Lake, and Washington Co. Lake). Two of the lakes are

small county lakes and the stockings for the most part were

very small, as little as 2,480 bass. However, Alabama did

stock over 1 million stripers and hybrid stripers in public

waters. By their own estimates, they stocked 1 million bass in

private waters such as farm ponds and private lakes. This

may sound like a bashing of the Alabama stocking practices,

but it is not; it is more about the difference in the approach of

stocking. They do not believe stocking in public lakes and

streams helps and Texas does.

Texas uses a totally reversed approach to fisheries. TPWD

does not stock private waters at all and only stock public

waters and as a state agency this only makes sense. In 2004

Texas added largemouth bass to 25 different lakes. They

understand that there are many private companies that do

both pond management and stocking. This is a growing

industry all over the south which should be supported by the

state and allowed to continue to grow without competing

against the state.

There are also economic reasons that make the Texas

approach more productive. The fisherman of today owns

$30,000+ bass rigs, buys tons of tackle and spends lots of

dollars nationally bass fishing. Today's bass anglers fish

lakes and rarely fish farm ponds. There are thousands of

companies that have been built from the freshwater fishing

industry that depend on fisherman and the lakes they fish.

Communities are also a huge beneficiary of quality freshwa-ShareLunker fish being released back in their home lake


ter fisheries.

Tournaments and just

traveling anglers with

families bring much

needed income.

Hotels, restaurants,

gas stations and tack-

le shops are just a few

that receive a positive economic impact.

It is states like Texas that understand the impact, not only

on the fisheries, but the economic impact as well. Texas is

without doubt the leader in building the future of fisheries, not

only for the Texas anglers, but for the fishing industry as a

whole. The knowledge the TPWD is gaining and applying will

be enjoyed by Texas anglers for generations.

There are fishermen involved in this story as well; the

anglers that make that call when they catch a lunker over 13

pounds and donate the fish to the ShareLunker program. In

2004 there were 15 entries: Frank Hardy of Mineola with

a13.32 pound lunker from Lake Fork, Richard Mims of

Laredo had two entries of 13.08 and a 14.64 pound lunker

from Lake Casa Blanca, Jason Reyes of Humble with a 15.1

pound lunker from Quantum Lake, Leroy Crawley, Sr., of

Forsyth, Missouri 13.11 pound lunker from Lake Fork, Alvin

Helms of Wills Point with a 13.02 pound lunker from Lake

Fork, Ross Allcorn of Burleson with a 13.41 pound lunker

from Lake Fork, Jeff Bassinger of Alvarado with a 13.125

pound lunker from Lake Fork, Tony Hill of Murfreesboro,

Tennessee with a 13.08 pound lunker from Lake Fork, John

Martin of Buna with a 13.63 pound lunker from Toledo Bend,

Bruce Butler of Canyon with a 14.8 pound lunker from Lake

Alan Henry, Jeffrey Erpelding of Plainview with a 13.19-

pound lunker from Lake Fork, Roy Greer of Alba with a 13.43

pound lunker from a private lake and T. J. Taylor of Lubbock

with a 13.85-pounder from Lake Alan Henry.

The anglers whose bass were accepted into the

ShareLunker program

are rewarded with a

replica mount of their

fish from Lake Fork

Taxidermy. At the end

of the program year,

these anglers are

invited to an invitation

only banquet in their

honor at the Texas

Freshwater Fisheries Center. Jason Reyes of Humble was

honored for the 2004 season Angler of the Year and received

a Lifetime Texas Fishing license.

You have always heard that things in Texas are much big-

ger and when it comes to fisheries and their management

this is very true. Lakes like Sam Rayburn, Lake Fork, and

Toledo Bend continue to rank as the top lakes in the country

each year.

There may be other contributing factors in the success of

the Texas Freshwater Fisheries stocking programs but the

largest contributing factor is the hard work of the biologist

and workers in the Texas Freshwater Fisheries department

with the support of sponsors like Budweiser.

For more information about the ShareLunker program and

the Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens, Texas write to

Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center, 5550 FM 2495, Athens,

Texas 75752 or call (903) 676-BASS

ShareLunker Coordinator David Campbell

Frank Hardy ofFrank Hardy of

Mineola with aMineola with a

13.32 Lunker13.32 Lunker


By: Jimmy Yarbrough

The heart and soul of the Texas Parksand Wildlife Department's ShareLunkerProgram is biologist David Campbell.When the program began in 1986, he

was appointed the project coordinator. Ithas been David that has gone to retrievemost of the lunkers used in the program.From October1 - April 30 biologists areready day or night to hook to a trailerespecially prepared to transport thehawg back from the location where itwas caught to the Fisheries Center inAthens, TX.

David firmly believes that the quickerthey get the fish, the better its chancesof survival. Sometimes, if possible, hewill have a biologist in another part ofthe state pick up the fish and David willdrive to meet him. They have learned agreat deal about how to improve the sur-vival rate of bass, especially large bass,which will be shared later.

The Fisheries Center has a toll freenumber that can be used on week daysand a pager number for nights andweekends for anyone in the state ofTexas that catches a largemouth weigh-ing at least 13 pounds if they want todonate the fish to the program. The fishwill be spawned one time and thenreturned to its home lake. The anglercan donate the fish permanently to theprogram.

When the Texas fisheries biologist first

began to seriously study the genetics ofthe Florida largemouth strain, theybrought in fish from Florida, California,Cuba, and their own state to determine ifthey were true Florida strains or inter-grades-crosses between Florida andnorthern strains. They ended up withCuban Floridas, Florida Floridas,California Floridas and Texas Floridas.These fish produced the future broodfishfor hatcheries across the state.Stockings of offspring from these fishproduced a boom of lunkers across thestate and the first fish used in theSharelunker Program.

Mating BehaviorMating Behavior

David has observed the mating behav-ior of bass on numerous occasions. Hebelieves the female releases apheromone when she is ready to releaseher eggs that excites the male. Apheromone is a chemical released byone animal that influences the behaviorand/or physiology (chemical processes)of another animal. The male begins tobump the female in the pelvic area andbites her. He pulls on her anal fin. Davidsays this is the reason females caughtby anglers right after spawning are redin the pelvic area and their fins are torn.

Amazingly, David has seen male basskill females attempting to get them tospawn. He believes that if numerousspawning bass are in a small area, thepheromone from a female spawningnearby might confuse a male trying tospawn with a different female that isn'tready yet. This might lead to an aggres-sive male killing the not ready female.For this reason, the hatchery does notuse hormones to induce spawning, butlets it occur naturally.

The only male fish donated to the pro-gram was a 6.5 lber. David says this isthe largest male he has ever seen.Reports of 7 and 8 lb. males haveproven to be old females whose ovarieshad atrophied.

This huge male was caught on LakeFork by Troy Johnson along with afemale over 13 lbs. They were spawned

and returned to Lake Fork.The interesting part of this story is that

after these two fish spawned and the fryhad reached the point of getting mouth-parts, David cut off the lights in the tankand allowed the fry to settle to the bot-tom. He then siphoned the fry from thetank.After the female spawns, the male dri-ves her away from the bed. The femalewas still in the tank and they spawnedagain the next day. This routine wasrepeated 5 more times and was onlystopped out of fear of harming the par-ents. David refers to this huge male fishas "the Troy Johnson fish" and male off-spring from this fish are used to matewith the Sharelunker females.

David confirms that female bass aremultiple spawners. They will spawn sev-eral times per year. He has never seen afemale release all the eggs in herovaries at one time. More than onefemale will sometimes lay her eggs in asingle nest.Once the fry hatch they are placed in

special ponds that have been well fertil-ized and inoculated with zooplankton forthe fry to feed on. One inch fry are can-nibalistic. For this reason, they don't putfry together that are more than 2 daysdifferent in age.

What happens to the offspring of theShareLunker fish? Five per cent are keptfor future use and study. Ten per centare kept for Operation World Record, anew program designed to raise a bassthat will beat the current world record of22lbs. 4 ozs. The rest are returned topublic waters. A small percentage havebeen stocked in ponds or lakes of indi-viduals that donated Sharelunker fish.Thirteen Sharelunker fish have comefrom private waters.

How To Catch A LunkerHow To Catch A Lunker

Catching a fish over 13 pounds is notsheer luck. You do need to be in theright place at the right time using theright lure. This program has shed somelight on how best to do that.

Lake Fork has produced nearly 60 %

PPRACTICALRACTICAL KKNOWLEDGENOWLEDGE FFOROR AANGLERSNGLERS FFROMROM TTHEHE

SSHAREHARELLUNKERUNKER PPROGRAMROGRAM

David Campbell (left) interviews anangler about his catch and entry into

the ShareLunker Program


of the ShareLunker entries (214 out of363), followed by Sam Rayburn with 20.March is the best month for a lunker.February is second and April third. This, ofcourse, strongly suggests that these arespawning fish. Do most of these large fishonly come to the shore to spawn andspend the rest of their time suspended inopen water feeding on shad?

The largest fish of my fishing career camefrom a lake stocked with Floridas. As Ifished the dam area, which had the deep-est water in the lake, I kept on noticing onmy depth finder large schools of shad withbig fish under them. I tried deep divingcrankbaits and worms to no avail. Finally, Itied on a deep suspending jerkbait. On mythird cast, while pausing the bait, a fishnearly took the rod out of my hands. WhenI got her in, she weighed right at 12 lbs.The California lunkers caught on swimbaitsalso suggest this suspending behavior.Maybe anglers need to spend more timefishing for these difficult to catch suspend-ing fish.

Plastics have produced the most lunkers.Lizards, floating worms, tubes, and crea-ture baits all have been highly successful.This is what you would expect for spawn-ing fish. Jigs are the second leading bait.

How To Handle A LunkerHow To Handle A Lunker

The Texas Parks and WildlifeDepartment has several suggestions forhandling fish, especially really big fish.Don't use a net with a mesh size largerthan one-quarter of an inch. Wet the netbefore using it. Avoid excessive handling ordropping the fish while removing the hook.They go so far as suggesting placing thefish in the livewell while removing thehooks with longnose pliers. Hold the fishby the lower lip while it is in the water so

that the total weight of the fish doesn't reston the lower jaw. Never bend back thelower lip in an effort to paralyze the fish. Itis very easy to dislocate the jaw of a bigfish, making it nearly impossible for it tofeed later on.

If you are going to weigh the fish on cer-tified scales, get there as soon as possibleafter catching the fish. Try to have every-thing ready before weighing the fish. Wetyour hands before touching the fish. Usechemicals in your livewell like Catch andRelease that will sedate the fish.Rejuvenade is a great chemical and I high-ly recommend it for most uses, but it stimu-lates the fish and you wouldn't want to useit in the case of a huge fish you were goingto weigh on certified scales. Try to use acooler filled with your livewell water tocarry the fish to the scales in.

To handle the fish, hold the fish byclamping your thumb on the bottom lip andsupport the fish by placing your other handright behind the anal fin. Don't bend thebottom lip back. Don't keep the fish out ofthe water for more than 30 seconds. Thatmeans having the camera ready.

Benefits Of This StudyBenefits Of This StudyNot only has this program produced

genetically superior fish with the potentialto reach huge sizes, but much has beenlearned about bass behavior, spawning

and rearing techniques,and a lot of informationhas been provided toanglers about how andwhen to catch lunkers.Texas' fisheries staff isto be commended fortheir efforts and hopeful-ly other states willmodel programs aftertheirs. The value ofthese lunker fish is justbeginning to be appreci-ated.

Jimmy Yarbrough showing the correct way to handle a Lunker.

“To handle the fish, hold“To handle the fish, holdthe fish by clamping yourthe fish by clamping yourthumb on the bottom lipthumb on the bottom lipand support the fish byand support the fish byplacing your other handplacing your other hand

right behind the anal fin.”right behind the anal fin.”


by:Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's ShareLunker Program

ATHENS, Texas Jan. 31, 2005 -The water temperature on LakeAlan Henry is only 48 degrees, but the fishing is red hot. Over theweekend anglers pulled four Budweiser ShareLunkers from thelake in two days, the first time in the 19-year history of theShareLunker program for such a feat.

Rickey D. Williams of Lubbock kicked off the action when hehooked a 13.14-pound fish on a spinner bait in eight feet of waterbefore noon on Jan. 29. The 26-inch-long fish had a girth of 20

inches and was up in the river arm of the lake.Later that day Ben J. Kirkpatrick of Wolforth went 40 feet deep

with a black and blue jig to hook a 13.48-pounder that stretched25 inches long and 22 inches around.

Kevin Ray Phillips of Lubbock started day 2 by catching a 13.45-pounder in six feet of water up the river on a Norman DD-14 inTennessee shad pattern. The fish was 25.5 inches long and20.625 inches around.

Just barely making the cut at 13 pounds even was the fish land-ed by Lubbock resident Coy Callison at noon Sunday. Fishing themain lake in six feet of water, Callison used a chartreuse Norman

DD-22 to pull in the 25.25-inch-long, 20.25-inch girth fish. Callisonwas fishing in an American Bass Angler tournament and won bothfirst place and the big bass prize "going away," he says.

Located 45 miles southeast of Lubbock on the Double MountainFork of the Brazos River, Lake Alan Henry's 2,880 acres wereimpounded in 1993. The lake currently stands near its conserva-tion pool level of 2220.

"Florida largemouth bass were stocked in 1993 and 1994 as thelake was filling," says Charles Munger, TPWD Inland Fisheries dis-trict biologist. The 144,000 fingerlings stocked each of those yearswere supplemented with 149 retired adult brood fish in 1993 and351 more in 1994.

"The reservoir is relatively new and has filled slowly," Mungeradds. "This has extended the new reservoir effect and helpedmaintain productivity. The early lunkers (two in 2000 and one in2002) were due to the stocked retired brooders. The recent lunk-ers are likely due to the initial stocking and great growth you getfrom a new reservoir."

The other key to Alan Henry's big bass boom is habitat. "Thereservoir is covered with flooded juniper, mesquite and cactus,"says Munger. "It is very rocky with steep sides. Right now there ishabitat anywhere you look."

Guide T.J. Taylor of Lubbock, who contributed a BudweiserShareLunker from the lake last year, expects the big bass bonan-za to last several more years. "I think a lot of the reason fishgrowth has been so substantial is the lake has been rising slowly,"he says. "I think we have two or three more years of good fishgrowth before it slows down. We have great crappie spawns andthe shad base looks good to me, so there should be plenty of foodfor the fish. Plus we have so many fish and such good quality fish,and catch and release is so strong on this lake, I think the fishingis going to stay good."

Four Budweiser ShareLunkers in Two Days from Lake Alan HenryFour Budweiser ShareLunkers in Two Days from Lake Alan Henry

ABA Member Rickey D. Williams of Lubbock, Texas with a 13.14

Coy Callison caught this giant fishing the new ABA District 109 cen-tered on Lake Alan Henry in Lubbock, Texas

Ray Phillips of Lubbock, Texas with a 13.45

Editors Note: ABA Member Coy Callison (above) stated he waited until about midnightthat Sunday night (1/30/05) for the fisheries biologist to pick the fish up. He waited at alocal tackle store and kept the lunker in a large cool minnow tank with plenty of oxygen.Coy did everything right and protected the lunker and minimized its handling. He evenrefused to let the fish be removed from the tank for pictures till the biologist arrived. Hisonly motive was to assure the fish was entered into the ShareLunker program. A firstreport from the TPWD is that Coy's lunker is doing great and is in excellent health.Mission Accomplished! Anglers like Coy are the reason this program exists today.Records are being checked to see if this is the largest bass caught in an ABA event.


Impressive! Innovative! Rugged! Attractive!Awesome! These were my thoughts as ScottSanders of Triton Boats gave me and two of myfriends a tour of the Triton Boat Aluminum Factoryin Aberdeen, MS. We had come to see a Triton186 Magnum Bass Boat and Scott took us throughthe whole construction process from a roll of onehundred gauge 5052 aluminum to the end product:one of the most striking aluminum bass boats everbuilt.

We were at the factorybecause a close friend ofmine, Jerry Murphy, had comeby the Huntsville Boat Showto see The Boat House's dis-play of Triton Boats. Jerry waslooking for a boat that wasversatile. He is an avid bassfisherman on our TennesseeRiver impoundments, but alsolikes to get up into shallowstump and brush filled waterto pursue bream and crappie.He wanted a boat that couldhandle big waters with asmooth, dry ride while stillhaving a shallow draft thatwould let him get into hisfavorite "skinny" water holes.He didn't want to worry aboutscratches and nicks as he sat

in a tree top crappie fishing.Scott was at the show representing Triton's alu-

minum division. I told Jerry I thought Scott was theman that had the answer to his boating needs.Scott spent over an hour answering Jerry's ques-tions and explaining Triton's line of aluminum bassboats.

Jerry was pretty well convinced that he wanted aTriton 186 Magnum, but we didn't have one instock. That's when Scott surprised both of us by

TRITON TRITON T O U G H ! ! !T O U G H ! ! !

Scott Sanders, Sales coordinator for Triton Boats, is dwarfed by the 96 inch beam Triton 2070SC.

By: Jimmy Yarbrough


offering Jerry an invitation to come to the factoryand watch one being built.

Scott's offer demonstrates Triton's desire toaccommodate their customers in any reasonableway possible. He was also certain that if Jerry sawthe quality of their construction, he would be soldon their product. I asked if I could tag along and sobegan one of the most interesting days of my life.

The FactoryThe Factory

The Triton aluminum factory is located inAberdeen, MS. Scott explained that part of the fac-tory was an old ammunition plant and part hadbeen constructed by Triton. Many of the employeeshad worked at another aluminum boat factorylocated nearby before it had closed, giving a corpsof experienced aluminum workers.

The construction process was simply awesome.It was a combination of the latest computer drivenequipment complimented by skilled human hands.The pride the workers took in their craftsmanshipwas readily evident. The assembly line was cleanand the work exact. The workers were not rushedand took time to do the job right.

ConstructionConstruction

Construction begins with plasma cutters usingCAD drawings fed to the cutters by fiber opticcables, making each piece of the boat exactly thesame each time it's manufactured. The TritonMagnum Series features unibody constructionwhere every-thing is weldedtogether. Thefront deck,floors, backdeck, all themetal in the boatare weldedtogether insteadof using screwsor pop rivets.This ties everything together into one solid piece.

The sides and hull bottom are the same gaugeand are joined together by a special tongue andgroove proprietary keel piece. Welds on the top

and bottom of the keel give a double seal on theseam. Most aluminum bass boats just have the 2halves of the bottom butted together and welded.

All of the Magnum Series boats have a longitu-dinal stringer system just like fiberglass boats. Astep pad and off set transom give great perfor-mance. Some buyers choose to put a jackplate onthe 186 and 197 for added performance.

The transom is given extra strength by kneebraces. The original buyer gets a lifetime warrantyon the seam welds and transom.

The Construction process begins with precision cuts inthe 5052 aluminum by CAD driven plasma cutters.

Triton's unique tongue and groove keel (Close up in insert)

It’s what you don’t see that makes Triton’s aluminum’s so strong.

Knee braces make the transoms rock solid


All Triton aluminums feature upright floatation.They inject foam throughout the whole deck andhull instead of using block foam, giving a solid feeland ride.

The RideThe Ride

After the tour of the factory, we hooked up to a197 Magnum powered by a 200 hp MercuryOptimax engine and headed for Aberdeen Lake. Iwas eager to drive the 197 because I had heard somuch about its performance. Rated for a 200 hpmotor, it has a blistering top end speed in the low70's and outruns most comparable glass boats.

I launched Scott and the appearance of the boatsetting on the water was striking. The two-tonegreen and white paint, sleek design and interiorlayout compared favorably to any of Triton's glassboats. The seats, interior panels, and instrumenta-tion on the fiberglass console were most impres-sive. This was a boat any angler could be proud of.

Another Triton employee had brought one ofTriton's new aluminum deck boats to carry theextra passengers and to allow me to get some

shots of the 197 in action. The deck boat is a sep-arate story. It had a hole shot like a bass boat anda top speed in the 40's with 3 passengers! Quite abit different from riding in a pontoon boat.

Jerry took the first ride with Scott behind thewheel. The boat would run 73 on GPS. Then Scottallowed Jerry to drive. Jerry had never driven ahigh performance bass boat, but quickly learned tohandle the Triton. He was sold on the boat by itssmooth ride and performance.

Finally, I got my opportunity to try out the bigguy. The hole shot was better than any glass boatI've been in. The boat seemed to plane almostinstantly and accelerated rapidly. I honestly could-n't tell I was riding in an aluminum boat. At 4800rpms, Scott and I were cruising at 58 mph on theGPS. The ride was smooth and solid. I made somequick turns and the boat didn't slide. I cut acrossmy wake and that of the deck boat with no jarring.The boat didn't even sound like an aluminum boatas we sped down the lake.

More InformationMore Information

After lunch, I had the opportunity to talk withGary Zittrower, General Manager of the TritonAluminum Factory. Gary is obviously proud of theTriton aluminum line of boats and the quality workof his employees. I had a number of questionsabout Triton aluminums.

ABA: How long has Triton been in the aluminumboat business?Gary: We are going on our 4th year. We are now12th in unit production in the aluminum boat busi-ness after only 3.5 years.

ABA: Why did Triton decide to get into the alu-minum market?Gary: Part of Earl's (Earl Bentz, President andfounder of Triton Boats) vision when he startedTriton was to build boats for all of our customer'sneeds. Our boats range from 12 foot jon boats to25 foot pontoons. We wanted to cover all of thebases. Our aluminum boats are built for a personthat doesn't want a glass boat, either because ofexpense or where they fish. We sell to a lot ofnew customers coming into the market. A lot ofboaters prefer the versatility of aluminums. We are

Every space is filled with pour foam to give upright flotation and a solid feel

Boats are placed into a test tank and pressure tested for leaks.


seeing more and more anglers that use 2 boats, aglass boat for open waters and an aluminum boatfor fishing tough areas.

ABA: How many different aluminums do youbuild?Gary: We now have 100 models. We can add a lotof personal touches. We don't build custom boats,but we give the customer what they want withinreason.

ABA: Why should a bass angler consider buyingan aluminum bass boat?Gary: Cost is a big factor. Our boats have a perfor-mance bottom that runs as well as a glass boat ata little less cost. Durability is another big consider-ation. Our boats have a huge front deck. Largestorage compartments, divided livewells with recir-culation and pump in and pump out, full instrumen-tation, and good stability are other pluses.

ABA: How about the costs of your boats?Gary: We don't profess to be one of the leastexpensive boats, but one of the best. Our boats

have standard features like Lowrance X-51's thatare options on other boats. We want to give ourconsumer a boat to be proud of; one that they canfish out of in comfort and style for a lifetime.

ABA: What kinds of approximate speed are wetalking about?Gary: A 186 with a 150 runs 62 mph. A 197 with a200 will go 70 plus. Another great feature of ourboats is that with our bottom, you can use lowerhorsepower and our boats will still run as well asour competitors with bigger motors. Our 197 willrun about 60 with a 150.

ABA: Tell us about the paint. It looks just likeglass.Gary: Nobody paints like we do. You can look atany boat in the industry and there's not anyonethat paints as well as we do. We use a 2 part auto-motive paint that's baked on. We've got somesecrets I'd rather not mention. Our boats have ahigh gloss wet look that's as close to fiberglass asyou can get.

ABA: How about the safety ladder?Gary: It's standard on our deep-V's used primarilyby our northern anglers. These guys are out oncold water and really need this feature. It's anoption on all of our other boats. We are looking atmaking it standard next year.

ABA: Any other new features?Gary: We now offer a spray- in liner for our duckboats, side and center consoles, and bay boats.It's real soft on the feet and quiet and can just be

The popular Triton Sports Series

Putting the finishing touches on a Triton duck boat.The Magnum Series features a fiberglass console with full

instrumentation including a Lowrance X-51


hosed off. We can put camo on top of it for theduck boats.

ABA: How about anglers usingjet boats?Gary: More and more of the prosare using jet boats to get intounfished areas, to fish acrossshallows. They have used 2 ofour models, the 1860 side con-sole and 1860 center console.You may have seen RandyHowell on TV passing guys onfour wheelers going up a river.These boats only draft 8 to10inches.

ABA: I noticed shrink wrappedboats on your loading docks.Gary: We shrink wrap every boatthat has carpet. We want to keepit clean and pristine for the cus-tomer. Part of Earl's vision forTriton was to keep customers forlife and we try our best. We con-stantly stress to our employeesthat these aren't our boats, butour customers. A lot of our boatshave the customer's name onthem as they go through theassembly line.

For more information on Triton'sFor more information on Triton's

100 models of aluminums, visit100 models of aluminums, visit

your local local Triton dealer oryour local local Triton dealer or

visit Triton’s website at visit Triton’s website at

www.tritonboats.com. I think youwww.tritonboats.com. I think you

will be as impressed as I was.will be as impressed as I was.

Every Triton Aluminum with carpet is shrink wrapped before shipping.

To find the nearest Triton Boat dealer visit To find the nearest Triton Boat dealer visit

www.tritonboats.com or call toll free 888-887-4866www.tritonboats.com or call toll free 888-887-4866


By: David Hagood

In the fishing industry and especiallyin the field of marine electronics, yourarely meet the experts, the guys thatreally understand how a particular prod-uct works. Most of the electronic mas-terminds are in the home office or a lab-oratory and not out in the field wherethe weekend angler or even the prosget an opportunity to pick their brainsabout how to best use a product. Notonly are they not available, but most ofthe electronic gurus are engineers orPhD's that can't relate their knowledgein terms that the averageangler can understand.

This is not the case withLowrance Electronics. Weon the ABA staff and manyof our members have cometo know and appreciate aman that is a true exceptionin the marine electronicsfield. He is at the top of thefield in his knowledge andunderstanding of marineelectronics, but he isn'tstuck in a lab or office! He'sout in the field talking to theanglers that use Lowranceproducts, helping them toget the most out of theirLowrance equipment.

He is now being called aprofessor by many pros andweekend anglers alike. This title isappropriate because this person is awalking textbook on one of the mostvital areas of equipment to the successof any tournament angler and he iseager to share his knowledge in termsthat can be readily understood.

The "Lowrance Professor" is sixty-twoyear old Wilson Frazier who knowsmore about these units that anyone youwill ever have the opportunity to meet.Wilson has been working withLowrance for just over 25 years. He hasseen it all, from the first flashers topaper graphs to LCD screens, GPSunits, to combined GPS/Sonar in full liv-ing color with screens as big as a lap-top.

Wilson spends a lot of time working

directly with anglers in the field. At onepoint, he was doing about 14 shows ayear, meeting people and explaining thelatest Lowrance Electronics and theiruse. Now he spends time not only atshows, but at tournament sites as well,helping anglers with their units andattempting to educate them in theprocess.

Many of our anglers have meet orseen Wilson at these events. He hasbeen at the last 3 ABA championships,the Triton Owners tournaments andworked about 25 or more tournamentevents last year.

I recently sat down with Wilson and,as usual, he was kind enough to schoolme on the basics of using the newLowrance Electronics. What I enjoymost about talking with Wilson is hisstraight forward, no nonsense approachto educating people on the latest elec-tronics. He really enjoys talking aboutelectronics with people he meets. Forhim, it's a labor of love. When I askedhim to sit down for this interview, I toldhim I needed him for about 30 minutesand when we finished, we had talkedfor more than an hour and a half.

The first question I asked Wilson was:"What are some really simple thingsanglers can do to take advantage of theLowrance Electronic units today?Wilson is not one to hold back so he

very quickly responded: "It is not teach-ing them how to use this piece of equip-ment. It is unlearning them from whatthey think they know that they don't. It'sgetting them to start looking at themachine for what it is and that is verysimple. The machine only measuresdistance. It does not know bass frombeer cans. It does not know Christmastrees from poison ivy or soft wood fromwhite oak. All the unit knows is how faraway the object is and how hard thesignal came back."

"With that being said, it is actuallyvery simple. Forget all of the stuff you

have seen written, talked abouton TV. This guy says if you turnthe gain way up and the sensi-tivity way up and the ping speedup and sideways and turn thesurface clutter down or up or offand put it on fish ID, in otherwords fiddling with it when youdo not know what you aredoing. The question is why areyou fiddling with it? Because if itwas your company, you wouldmake it work right out of the boxto give the customer the bestpossible performance theycould get without having to fid-dle with it."

ABA: "So Auto is a good thing!"Wilson: "Auto is probably your

best friend."

ABA: "We use to have to set depthsand these days we don't even have toworry about that. It changes automati-cally and you even have split screenswhether it is GPS/Sonar or split screensfor zooming."

Wilson: "The processors now automati-cally adjust when you get in shallowwater and up when you get in deeperwater."

ABA: "So are you saying we should notbe changing many settings?"

Wilson: "There are items in the menu ofyour sonar that I highly advise that younever put your finger on. Don't punch it,

An Interview With Wilson Frazier:"THE PROFESSOR” - SONAR and GPS

Wilson Frazier,"The Professor", gives a seminar at a boat show.


don't turn in on, and don't think youknow what you are doing, because youdon't. One is do not turn on fish IDunless you enjoy watching cartoons.When you turn this on you will depro-gram the unit by 25%. You just elimi-nated 25% of the targets under you.The spread you had (cone angle), youjust drastically reduced it."

ABA: "What is the biggest change youhave seen with Lowrance Units?"Wilson: "Color is the biggest. Since thefirst LCD came out I have told con-sumers and I have still not changed mymind, buy the most pixels with the mostpower. The power levels are all gettingabout the same, but the pixel countskeep going up and up! Screens are get-ting both sharper and bigger in theprocess and that is good for the cus-tomer".

ABA: "What is the biggest misconcep-tion about using a GPS today?"Wilson: "There are 3 big ones. TheGPS only knows where the GPS anten-na is located, not where you are or yourboat. If you are going to mark a spotmake sure you have the antenna righton top of the object. Many people willplace the front of the boat over theobject and not even be close becausethe antenna is on the back of the boat.Another one is marking a spot so youcan return to it. Most people will mark aspot with one way point. You shoulduse two so you can return to the spotaccurately. Using the second way pointallows you to return to the same spot in

the exact same way. The third is mark-ing the spot on the unit itself. Today theLowrance units allow you to zoom inmuch closer to the area where you arelocated. Are you looking at the unitwhen you mark it at a .5 mile or .05miles?"

Wilson then gave me a thirty minutetalk about distance, lining up and properuse of the GPS to reallytake advantage of it whenyou want to get exactly onthe same location. It isabsolutely amazing to mejust how much this manknows about theseLowrance units.

ABA: "How can anglers getsome of this informationyou have?"Wilson: "Well, I am actuallyputting together a book onthis and we are working ona website with more infor-mation as well."

ABA: "How can peo-ple get in touch withyou about this bookwhen you get itready?"

Wilson: "They can see me at variousboat shows across the south givingseminars "It Ain't TV" is one way. Theother is by email at: [email protected] and my web-site will be up soon at:www.itainttv.com. Of course anglers willsee me out at tournaments"

Next time you are at big tournamentand see the Lowrance sign, look forWilson. You will probably notice thepipe smoking professor pretty quick. Heis the one educating an angler on hisLowrance unit.

Many pros now place a GPS unit on both the front and on the console of their bass boats.

“Auto is probablyyour best friend.”

Top 50 Triton Boat Owners National Ranking Top 50 Triton Boat Owners National Ranking (As of 02/08/2005)

Nat. Rank Name Points1 Stanley Williams 7912 Chuck Hemm 7893 Gary Thacker 7885 Jim Holsonback 7878 Frank Derylak 7868 Don Morris 78611 Bobby Clark 78521 Pat Anderson 77928 Dallas Hinkle 77728 Michael L Daniel 77732 Norman Ligon 77538 Quillie Trott, SR. 77339 Craig Maxwell 77241 Sal Riccobene 77149 Ronald Timmer 76853 Joseph C Campbell, JR 76559 Eugene Moment 76260 Robert Blake 761

Nat. Rank Name Points61 Keith Malone 76067 David Willis 75773 Jimmy Yarbrough 75591 John Brannen 75195 John Russell 750106 Joe Angelone 746112 Aron Hicks 744137 Joe VanHooser 724141 Wilson Barrow JR 718146 Chris Bihm 677147 Richard Godwin 657152 Gary Paul 636153 Ronald Yeatts 631164 Robert A. Dean 622167 Norman Foskey 620170 David Andrew Long 619171 Jeremy Bound 618178 Richard Thi Walker 611

Nat. Rank Name Points189 Michael E Fowler 603189 Gary R Lee 603189 Bill Peeler 603202 Larry Graddy 594204 Steve Norrid 593235 Pat Patterson 578245 Bill Shepard 575252 Burnell Haney 573261 A.J. Clare 570279 Joe Thorpe 566288 Edward Razo 564290 Jason Pierce 563290 Alan Cotten 563290 Norman McKinney 563295 John A. Goin 562314 Rick Bystrzycki 556320 Robert C. Watson 554341 Michael L Adams 544


The term "frostbite" comes to mind when thinking about therecent ABA Advantage Tournament on Sam Rayburn. A majorArctic cold front produced some really tough weather condi-tions for ABA anglers and C.A.S.T members with temps rightat the freezing point and strong winds the morning of January23, 2005. They huddled around a fire not complaining, buttalking about fishing and anticipating getting on the water.

At the end of the day DallasMiller from Shreveport,Louisiana had the biggest creelat 19.01 pounds. Dallas onlytraveled about 4 miles from theramp and started catchingbass, so he never moved fromthe spot all day. He caught allof his fish on orange and whiterattle trap(white on top of the

orange).The fish were in about 4 feet of water and were outfrom the bushes on the shore in scattered grass. Dallas runsa TR21X Triton Bass Boat powered by a Mercury 250XS.

Paul Eason of Brookland,Texas brought in the secondlargest stringer at 14.82. Paulwas the only fisherman I talkedto that had a totally differentpattern. He was fishing aCarolina rig tipped with a brushhog type bait and fished it infairly shallow water (4 - 6 feet).He concentrated on dead areas

between the hydrilla and the shore line structure of bushes.He said this is the path the fish use when moving along theshore looking for food.

Paul had as a partnerC.A.S.T. member James Copeof Stephen F. Austin College.James did quite well andbrought in 10.85 in three fish.James said he really enjoyedfishing with Paul and learned alot. Paul even gave Jamessome of the baits he was using

on the Carolina rig. Paul and James both said they had awonderful day on the water fishing together.

J.R. Burt of Benton LA tookthird with 14.26 pounds. J.R.,like Paul and Dallas. did notmake a long run. He caughtmost of his bass on a Texas redrattle trap. The area was similarto that fished by Paul andDallas, fishing adjacent to bush-es around scattered grass.

Ben Dowis also of Louisianahad the biggest bass weighing7.20 and took fourth place with4 bass weighing 14.04. Canyou guess what he caught hisfish on? Yes, it was a rattle trapand it was orange.

Clark Rheem of Leesville, LArounded out the top 5 with 4bass weighing 9.98 pounds.Clark caught his fish workingedges and drop offs, slowrolling a large 1 ounce BigGeorge spinner bait.

The C.A.S.T. school repre-sented was Stephen F. Austin.Club president Ryan Ingramtold us the club was 18 yearsold and had over 20 members.He also said the bass club real-ly liked the C.A.S.T programand was grateful the ABAanglers let them fish with them.

Big thanks to theLocal Tiger Scoutstroop that came to theevent and worked thefish release. It was agreat experience forthese next generationbass anglers.

Sam Rayburn Lake

When bass anglers talk about the top bass lakes in the country, Rayburnis sure to be near the top of the list. This legendary lake was impounded in1965 and has 114,500 surface acres. Rayburn has an abundant amount ofstructure with standing timber and lots of vegetation. The lake's predomi-nant vegetation is hydrilla, but also has an abundance of coon tail and pondweed. The lower half of the lake is much clearer and contains the most veg-etation.

The bass in the lower half of the lake can be found around the edges ofthe vegetation or on the flats, humps and creek channels. The water fluctu-ates 10 feet a year which changes the habitat for the bass. When the wateris high there is more cover with lots of trees, bushes and brush for habitat.

The lake boasts a record 16.8lb largemouth and that is recognized as the7th largest bass caught in the state of Texas. According to the Texas Parksand Wildlife Department, the population of largemouth bass in SamRayburn Lake is very high. Incidentally, a survey study conducted indicatesthat catch rate of 10 pound bass in Texas is 13 times of the rate in Florida.Rayburn also has a population of spotted bass with a lake record of 5.5pounds.

Fall, winter and spring are the most productive times on Rayburnbecause the fish remain active for longer periods during the day due tocooler water.

Tournament Spotlight - District 53 - Sam Rayburn 01/23/2005by: David Hagood


By Edward Guice B.S., Pharm.D.

Several years ago I was

fishing the ABA GrandNationals at Lake Texoma. Afisherman lost his rod and reelin the lake and another fisher-man recovered it. The rod hada rod cover on it that allowedit to float. When I saw the rodcover, I thought it was a goodidea and each one of my rodsshould be in a rod cover. But,as with most good ideas, Iquickly forgot about the rodcovers. The next year at theABA Grand Nationals on LakeWheeler, I noticed one of mypartners carried all of his rodsin cloth rod covers. He said heand his father-in-law hadsewn them together to fit hisrods. After the tournament, Iresearched the types of rodcovers that were available andpurchased several for myrods.

The rod covers were agreat investment as well as atangle free way to store rods.The value the rod covers haveis obvious. They keep rodsfrom knocking against oneanother and other objects,which will protect rod guidesand rod tips from chip-ping or breaking. Rodsdo not get tangledtogether which allows

for easy removal from the bottom of the rod locker.The not so obvious reason for using a rod cover isthe protection of fishing line. Since rods do notknock against one another or other objects the fish-ing line is protected against abrasions. Your line androd are two important tools in landing a fish (espe-cially a really big fish). The least we can do as fish-ermen is protect these tools.

Rod covers come in various shapes, sizes, stylesand materials. Many think a rod cover will cover onerod, however they may vary from a carrying bag toPVC or plastic pipes which protect several rods at atime. There is a long list of types of rod covers fish-ermen have used over the years as well as the

material used to make them. I recently encountered

a new rod cover with added qualities from my current vinylcovers. These new covers are called STICK JACKET(tm)rod covers. The covers behave like the old Chinese fingertrap toy. They grip your rod for snug protection againstunwanted damage to line, rod guides and rod tips. Theserod covers are made from polyethylene filament materialwhich is breathable and will not retain water. It is light-weight, flexible, resistant to mold and mildew and offersUV protection. The cover slides on and off a rod easily,works on rods up to 7-1/2 feet and is available for castingor spinning rods. The most important quality is snaggedhooks are easily removed from the rod cover without hav-ing to cut or rip the cover's material. I am a true believer inrod covers. With rods costing 30 to 400 dollars, the time ittakes to repair damaged rods, not to mention the possibili-ty of losing the largest fish of the season, we need to pro-tect our investments. I hope you will consider using rodcovers on your rods. If you are interested in the STICKJACKET rod covers... availible in four colors... the distribu-tor is offering a limited time introductory price to ABAmembers. A coupon for ABA members is located below.

DO I NEED A COVER?DO I NEED A COVER?

Stick Jacket covers also protect rod eyes from wear.


ABA National Standings as of 02/08/05Place Name Home District Service #Events # of Fish Weight Penalty B/F TotWgt Points1 Stanley Williams 23 Army 7 34/34 65.66 3.29 65.66 7912 Chuck Hemm 29 Army 6 20/20 53.87 4.75 53.87 7893 Bruce Noel 28 Associate 5 12/12 47.42 8.38 47.42 7883 Gary Thacker 29 Associate 6 20/20 52.04 5.90 52.04 7885 Jim Holsonback 29 Associate 8 31/31 69.00 4.98 69.00 7875 Scott Peterman 72 Associate 5 20/20 43.64 5.25 43.64 7875 Rick Tilson 72 Associate 9 30/30 53.94 4.16 53.94 7878 Frank Derylak 23 Navy 11 29/29 57.80 6.18 57.80 7868 Fred Rebstock 28 Associate 6 24/23 47.15 0.25 46.90 7868 Don Morris 15 Marine 5 19/19 40.50 2.98 40.50 78611 Bobby Clark 15 Associate 5 15/15 36.73 6.13 36.73 78511 Randall Woodham 72 Associate 4 18/17 39.98 0.25 5.11 39.73 78511 Napoleon Ellis 47 Army 7 29/29 51.40 4.23 51.40 78511 Matt Emerson 49 Air Force 6 19/19 33.38 3.53 33.38 78515 Dallas Miller 48 Army 6 20/20 53.26 5.40 53.26 78315 Bryan Westrick 28 Marine 7 22/22 48.61 4.40 48.61 78317 Charles Orme 23 Navy 5 25/25 63.56 5.51 63.56 78218 John Gorman 49 Army 6 17/17 32.91 1.60 32.91 78118 Milton Keene 26 Army 8 34/34 51.63 3.52 51.63 78120 Ashley Pollard 15 Navy 4 13/13 30.34 5.46 30.34 78021 Richard A. Martens 72 Air Force 4 18/18 36.15 6.67 36.15 77921 Pat Anderson 29 Army 7 25/25 54.38 5.44 54.38 77921 Bob Burgess 40 Navy 4 14/14 31.99 4.30 31.99 77924 Gurnie Ghrigsby 25 Associate 8 33/33 60.29 3.53 60.29 77824 Dale Hart 26 Army 6 30/29 43.20 0.25 3.29 42.95 77824 Brian Geist 28 Associate 5 13/13 43.71 8.69 43.71 77827 Reginald Dennis 33 Army 4 14/14 30.25 3.29 30.25 77727 Dallas Hinkle 28 Associate 7 15/15 41.29 6.47 41.29 77727 Michael L Daniel 85 Associate 8 27/27 51.60 6.17 51.60 77730 Jimmy Matthews 15 Associate 5 12/12 29.76 8.81 29.76 77631 Norman Ligon 85 Associate 5 20/20 23.85 3.83 23.85 77531 Ralph Williams 27 Associate 4 18/18 36.30 6.63 36.30 77531 Jack Leffingwell 30 Marine 4 14/14 41.58 6.79 41.58 77531 John D. Bechtold 28 Army 5 15/15 40.57 40.57 77535 Michael Standridge 47 Associate 5 17/17 34.58 3.30 34.58 77435 Jason Weast 49 Associate 4 11/11 25.80 1.00 4.77 24.80 77435 Robert Maul 20 Navy 8 23/23 43.19 4.12 43.19 77438 Quillie Trott SR. 24 Army 4 19/18 43.30 0.25 5.07 43.05 77339 Michael Tamburello 5 Navy 4 17/17 32.96 3.22 32.96 77139 Galen Bennett 53 Associate 4 12/12 27.37 3.62 27.37 77141 Mike Dimatteo 96 Navy 5 16/16 37.54 7.48 37.54 77041 Eric Braden 33 Army 4 15/15 35.72 4.24 35.72 77043 Terry Bradley 49 Air Force 5 11/11 22.12 1.00 5.06 21.12 76944 Phillip Edgerton 19 Associate 6 11/11 18.17 2.05 18.17 76844 Ronald Timmer 33 Army 4 10/10 20.99 3.96 20.99 76846 Dale Fleenor 33 Army 4 11/11 23.36 3.04 23.36 76646 Sal Riccobene 57 Air Force 4 10/10 17.10 3.47 17.10 76646 Craig Maxwell 21 Air Force 9 24/24 43.60 1.34 43.60 76646 William Peele 15 Marine 5 12/12 21.45 3.25 21.45 76646 Larry Bush 28 Associate 5 11/11 28.62 28.62 76646 H. M. McMackin 20 Navy 5 18/18 31.61 1.00 31.61 76652 Jamie Shay 76 Associate 5 16/15 30.61 0.25 4.47 30.36 76552 Joseph C Campbell JR 23 Associate 5 12/12 24.64 3.65 24.64 76552 Buddy McDuffie 28 Army 4 9/9 47.11 12.85 47.11 76555 Jeff Taylor 27 Associate 4 19/19 28.99 5.10 28.99 76456 Gerald Paulton 47 Air Force 7 15/15 30.99 30.99 76356 John Beckstrom 23 Marine 12 22/22 36.58 4.77 36.58 76358 Eugene Moment 52 Army 8 11/11 20.21 3.12 20.21 76259 Robert Blake 25 Army 6 12/12 18.27 4.21 18.27 76160 Michael Suddoth Sr 32 Associate 5 8/8 14.81 5.09 14.81 76060 Keith Malone 29 Associate 5 20/20 39.49 3.79 39.49 76060 Jake Davis 31 Air Force 4 7/7 14.61 3.10 14.61 76063 Joe Dunihue 28 Army 4 10/10 30.35 2.63 30.35 75963 David Brown 103 Air Force 4 7/7 20.08 4.34 20.08 75963 Rickey Ramey 75 Army 8 14/14 32.70 5.95 32.70 75966 James Stone 94 Associate 4 11/11 21.57 5.16 21.57 75766 David Willis 12 Associate 4 11/11 21.67 4.85 21.67 75766 Steve Kiser 15 Associate 5 7/7 19.56 5.38 19.56 75769 Bruce McRae 50 Army 5 5/5 7.84 1.72 7.84 75669 Donald M. Stewart 2 Coast Guard 5 10/10 17.51 2.21 17.51 75669 Keith Bardolf 19 Army 5 10/10 19.88 6.54 19.88 75672 Bob Hayes 47 Air Force 5 12/12 27.36 5.96 27.36 75572 Frank Cash 76 Associate 5 16/16 26.96 26.96 75572 Jack Crispin JR 12 Associate 5 17/17 40.31 4.85 40.31 75572 Fred Blom 4 Associate 4 20/20 34.61 3.55 34.61 75572 Douglas Emerson 43 Associate 10 12/12 22.92 3.21 22.92 75572 Rodger Riddle 29 Associate 6 16/16 11.38 2.26 11.38 75572 Jimmy Yarbrough 29 Associate 4 13/13 29.53 4.30 29.53 755


ABA National Standings as of 02/08/05Place Name Home District Service #Events # of Fish Weight Penalty B/F TotWgt Points72 Frankie Arnold 24 Associate 4 12/12 19.52 19.52 75572 Pat Leach 54 Air Force 5 13/13 21.29 3.62 21.29 75572 David Dave Holland 72 Army 4 16/16 22.20 22.20 75582 Bobby B Barnett 26 Associate 6 17/16 20.36 0.25 2.02 20.11 75483 Chris Jones 105 Associate 4 13/13 25.18 3.83 25.18 75383 Charles Medley 29 Army 8 14/14 23.40 2.08 23.40 75385 Brook E. Barker 31 Associate 7 8/8 16.04 4.27 16.04 75285 Philex Daniel 29 Associate 6 13/12 16.24 0.25 2.42 15.99 75285 Shane Sizemore 85 Associate 4 11/11 17.89 17.89 75285 Lee C Chavis 47 Associate 5 11/11 21.92 3.10 21.92 75285 Trent Williams 82 Associate 4 12/12 18.23 2.44 18.23 75290 Clemm Parker 27 Navy 4 17/17 23.35 3.72 23.35 75190 Tully Toler 76 Associate 5 15/14 29.37 0.25 3.36 29.12 75190 Kim Eberline 28 Air Force 5 11/11 25.74 9.15 25.74 75190 John Brannen 29 Army 4 10/10 19.22 3.21 19.22 75194 LeRoy David Jones Jr 49 Army 4 5/5 8.85 2.43 8.85 75094 Scott Towry 29 Associate 6 15/15 32.61 4.31 32.61 75094 John Russell 29 Associate 5 14/13 29.17 0.25 2.88 28.92 75097 Randall Rogers 49 Army 4 5/5 8.98 2.26 8.98 74997 Jeff Swearingen 75 Associate 5 11/10 21.70 0.25 3.51 21.45 74999 Phil Morris 96 Associate 6 17/17 22.99 1.75 22.99 74899 Randy Cantrell 94 Associate 4 17/17 19.18 1.55 19.18 74899 Timmy Ezell 28 Marine 5 12/12 23.45 4.17 23.45 748102 Henry Starks 72 Air Force 4 13/13 21.23 2.88 21.23 747102 Dennis Moncus 26 Air Force 7 15/15 21.76 3.87 21.76 747104 Joe Angelone 4 Air Force 4 15/15 21.43 4.39 21.43 746104 J.R. Burt 48 Associate 5 15/15 36.31 5.42 36.31 746104 Dennis Hollis 40 Marine 4 7/7 13.66 3.34 13.66 746104 Michael C. Puckett 47 Associate 5 14/14 24.82 24.82 746108 Donald Kneece 96 Army 4 13/12 18.84 0.25 1.69 18.59 745108 Tony Fleenor 33 Associate 4 7/7 14.63 4.93 14.63 745110 Aron Hicks 82 Army 6 8/8 12.40 2.09 12.40 744110 Fred Martin 47 Associate 4 16/16 22.79 22.79 744112 Barry Scott 76 Associate 8 13/13 20.38 1.89 20.38 743112 Brian Umstead 52 Army 5 9/9 17.77 3.95 17.77 743114 Albert Barnett 26 Marine 6 9/9 14.53 2.96 14.53 742115 Bruce Cupp 33 Army 4 7/7 13.18 1.35 13.18 741116 Steven L. Parker 26 Army 4 13/13 21.68 4.43 21.68 740116 Kenneth G Barber II 76 Army 6 8/8 15.26 2.83 15.26 740116 Mike Mallett 70 Army 4 13/13 27.15 3.14 27.15 740116 Ted Moore 28 Associate 6 11/11 19.70 1.52 19.70 740116 Ben Farmer 35 Associate 5 6/6 9.86 1.97 9.86 740116 Sherbert VanMeter 30 Associate 4 6/6 9.50 1.88 9.50 740116 Mark Ellis 47 Associate 4 12/12 19.98 2.47 19.98 740123 Paul Drewek 21 Associate 5 6/6 8.29 1.46 8.29 739124 Thomas Storm 24 Air Force 4 9/9 12.35 4.57 12.35 737125 James Hewlett 43 Navy 5 7/7 24.25 5.36 24.25 736125 Paul Tyler 35 Air Force 4 6/6 15.53 7.05 15.53 736127 Kenneth Tonks 76 Coast Guard 7 12/12 18.98 1.91 18.98 734127 Ralph K Logan Sr 53 Associate 4 8/8 12.74 1.85 12.74 734129 Sam Lowrey 47 Associate 5 9/9 15.32 1.97 15.32 733130 Sonny Lee 19 Navy 5 12/11 17.47 0.25 3.11 17.22 730131 M. L. Hatten 27 Associate 4 13/13 18.76 3.06 18.76 729132 Jeff Roberts 72 Associate 5 9/9 11.49 1.54 11.49 727133 George Hodges Jr 48 Associate 4 10/10 20.71 5.38 20.71 726134 Jerry A Turner 33 Army 4 5/5 8.24 1.73 8.24 725135 Joe VanHooser 27 Air Force 4 15/15 19.03 19.03 724135 Richard Fetters 27 Navy 4 12/12 17.52 1.50 17.52 724137 Roosevelt Lee Coutee 53 Associate 4 5/5 16.11 5.53 16.11 723138 Michael A Magnus 27 Army 4 8/8 21.14 7.85 21.14 722139 Raymond Olberding JR. 77 Associate 5 4/4 4.91 1.61 4.91 719140 Wilson Barrow JR 27 Navy 4 12/12 16.97 2.15 16.97 718141 Rhonda Ford Brockman 88 Lady Angler 6 7/7 9.98 2.36 9.98 712142 Dale Murphy 48 Air Force 6 10/10 20.29 3.03 20.29 705142 Tommy Hibdon 47 Air Force 6 9/9 14.80 2.82 14.80 705144 Kenneth Kobi 47 Air Force 6 8/8 14.87 1.84 14.87 698145 Chris Bihm 48 Associate 5 5/5 7.99 1.87 7.99 677146 Richard Godwin 48 Associate 6 6/6 8.82 1.68 8.82 657147 Tommy Shuttlesworth 48 Associate 5 7/7 10.36 1.54 10.36 656148 Bryce Thorsen 19 Navy 4 14/13 32.93 0.25 32.68 643149 Chris Nors 50 Associate 4 15/15 31.62 5.26 31.62 642150 Mike Jackson 19 Associate 4 11/11 27.50 4.01 27.50 641151 Gary Paul 76 Associate 5 13/13 31.58 31.58 636152 Ricky Smith 106 Marine 6 7/7 17.31 3.94 17.31 632153 Ronald Yeatts 50 Army 4 10/10 19.78 4.88 19.78 631154 Micah Silverman 23 Associate 6 15/15 31.80 31.80 629154 Terry Bell 28 Associate 5 9/9 25.95 7.01 25.95 629156 Al Hager 7 Marine 5 12/12 20.88 4.32 20.88 627


ABA National Standings as of 02/08/05Place Name Home District Service #Events # of Fish Weight Penalty B/F TotWgt Points157 E. Gunner Grimsley 52 Navy 5 6/6 10.59 2.70 10.59 626158 Mike Taurinski 23 Associate 4 15/15 29.89 3.32 29.89 625159 Kenneth Baker 28 Marine 5 9/9 22.38 4.99 22.38 624159 Jim Koczka 52 Army 4 5/5 8.75 2.90 8.75 624161 Mike Holland 53 Associate 4 7/7 18.58 2.80 18.58 623161 Gary Bowien 52 Navy 6 4/4 8.08 3.38 8.08 623163 John Saleeba 28 Marine 4 9/9 19.51 19.51 622163 Robert A. Dean 83 Navy 4 15/15 20.07 1.70 20.07 622165 Gerald Bartz 27 Army 4 15/15 22.10 22.10 621166 Chris Adams 28 Associate 4 7/7 27.96 11.87 27.96 620166 Norman Foskey 27 Associate 4 14/14 19.63 19.63 620166 Mike Evans 24 Associate 4 10/10 16.14 16.14 620169 David Andrew Long 19 Air Force 4 5/5 15.76 9.05 15.76 619170 Jeremy Bound 25 Associate 4 7/7 6.45 0.69 6.45 618170 Mark A. Pierce 66 Air Force 4 3/3 7.58 3.03 7.58 618172 Russell Scanlan 53 Marine 5 5/5 10.55 2.21 10.55 615173 Jay Greer 78 Associate 4 3/3 4.60 1.73 4.60 614174 Raymond Ketterer 28 Air Force 6 9/9 15.62 2.50 15.62 612174 David Moore 23 Army 4 12/12 22.33 3.02 22.33 612174 John O'Barr 47 Associate 4 9/9 16.90 6.00 3.33 14.62 612177 Kelly Townson 85 Associate 4 12/12 7.85 7.85 611177 Richard Thi Walker 22 Associate 4 12/12 24.80 24.80 611179 Pete Saraf 23 Associate 4 12/12 19.94 19.94 608179 Ronald Booher 49 Navy 9 5/5 13.50 5.82 13.50 608179 Woodrow Taylor 51 Associate 5 5/5 9.72 3.01 9.72 608182 Gregory Croomes 66 Associate 4 3/3 6.04 3.26 6.04 607182 Terry Carlisle 103 Associate 5 3/3 3.89 1.53 3.89 607184 Mike Champion 24 Marine 4 8/8 12.19 2.08 12.19 606185 Chris Oden 29 Associate 4 8/8 11.40 1.75 11.40 605185 Joyce Cornell 23 Lady Angler 6 7/7 14.58 2.07 14.58 605187 Barry Harper 84 Navy 4 6/6 16.22 8.70 16.22 604188 Dale Stevens 23 Associate 4 8/8 15.92 2.31 15.92 603188 Michael E Fowler 72 Associate 4 6/6 11.03 2.56 11.03 603188 Gary R Lee 19 Air Force 4 3/3 6.13 3.42 6.13 603188 Bill Peeler 27 Air Force 4 13/13 15.64 15.64 603192 Timothy Hilbourn 82 Associate 6 5/5 4.74 1.21 4.74 602192 Darrell Lee 29 Associate 4 9/9 21.22 6.94 21.22 602192 Arvin Dorsey 106 Associate 7 5/5 6.14 1.93 6.14 602195 Matt Penton 25 Associate 4 5/5 3.58 0.94 3.58 600196 Jim Lewis 47 Associate 4 4/4 6.91 1.51 6.91 599197 Lee Stalvey JR 19 Associate 3 15/15 37.29 37.29 597197 Cordey Allen 72 Marine 5 6/6 9.78 3.32 9.78 597199 Tim Walters 29 Air Force 4 3/3 8.69 3.95 8.69 596200 Chris Cooper 29 Associate 4 8/8 18.69 3.82 18.69 595201 Richard Szczerbala 17 Air Force 3 12/12 34.99 6.82 34.99 594201 Larry Graddy 70 Associate 4 6/6 11.15 3.62 11.15 594203 Martin E. Smith 67 Associate 4 6/6 13.85 4.52 13.85 593203 Harold Moore 33 Associate 4 3/3 5.46 2.45 5.46 593203 Steve Norrid 28 Associate 4 5/5 9.02 2.12 9.02 593206 Scott Miles 64 Associate 3 14/14 26.32 2.52 26.32 592206 Scott ? Smith 27 Associate 4 10/10 12.34 12.34 592206 Richard Dooley 23 Associate 3 15/15 35.89 35.89 592206 Ron Plate 47 Army 4 5/5 9.66 2.10 9.66 592210 Donald Williams 17 Associate 3 8/8 30.85 7.25 30.85 591210 Graham Williams 17 Associate 3 4/4 28.86 7.49 28.86 591210 Frank Streeter 19 Associate 3 11/11 34.15 5.70 34.15 591213 Harry Merritt 23 Associate 3 15/15 36.63 5.89 36.63 589213 Darwin Yorks 27 Air Force 4 9/9 13.17 3.07 13.17 589213 James Wilder 84 Associate 4 7/7 18.87 6.05 18.87 589213 Tye Bullock 24 Air Force 4 5/5 6.73 1.64 6.73 589217 Sam Richardson 27 Navy 3 15/15 25.80 3.40 25.80 588217 William Flanary 50 Air Force 3 13/13 19.12 19.12 588217 Matt Hults 27 Army 3 15/15 32.70 4.30 32.70 588217 Russell Giudicessi 29 Associate 3 14/14 38.75 4.53 38.75 588217 Terrance Knueppel 66 Air Force 3 8/8 19.84 3.56 19.84 588222 Robert T. Letizi 11 Navy 3 15/15 33.42 3.67 33.42 587222 Ben Greene 29 Associate 3 14/14 31.86 3.97 31.86 587224 Dan Persful 33 Army 3 8/8 18.98 4.34 18.98 586224 Dave Thomas 23 Associate 3 13/11 36.88 0.50 36.38 586226 Doug Larson 13 Associate 3 7/7 20.49 5.47 20.49 585227 Kris Showalter 72 Air Force 3 13/13 24.08 4.67 24.08 584227 Clark Reehm 53 Army 3 11/11 26.66 3.86 26.66 584229 Marc Anderson 48 Associate 3 13/13 27.38 5.34 27.38 583229 Robin Pardun 49 Army 3 5/5 19.43 5.84 19.43 583231 Anthony Coniglario 10 Associate 3 8/8 13.99 3.17 13.99 582232 Dennis Garland 31 Associate 3 8/8 17.45 3.75 17.45 581233 John A. Coleman 48 Army 3 13/13 25.87 3.50 25.87 580234 Pat Patterson 29 Associate 5 6/6 11.87 3.44 11.87 578

AmericanBassAnglers.com 32

ABA National Standings as of 02/08/05

ABA Members national point

standings are based on their 4

best one-day tournaments plus

their 2-day tournament. One

day events are worth 200

points to first place with a one

point separation per place. The

best total possible from one-

day events is 800 points. Two-

day district championships are

worth 400 points to first place

with a 2 point separation per

place. Anglers can fish as

many events as they wish but

only their 4 best one-day

events and their best 2-day

event are used for their nation-

al standings. To see the latest

standings and more informa-

tion on the ABA visit


Or Call the Weekend AnglerHotline at 888-203-6222

8am - 5pm CST

Place Name Home District Service #Events # of Fish Weight Penalty B/F TotWgt Points235 Byron W Hale 25 Associate 3 9/9 13.07 2.16 13.07 577235 Rodney Edwards 49 Associate 3 10/10 15.07 1.30 15.07 577235 Ned Miller 37 Navy 3 10/10 17.22 3.63 17.22 577238 Robert Chancey 72 Associate 3 10/10 19.73 3.68 19.73 576238 Russell Awad 10 Associate 3 9/9 15.33 2.94 15.33 576238 Harold Troutt 31 Navy 3 10/10 17.48 17.48 576238 Dennis E. Stodghill 26 Army 5 4/4 5.25 1.69 5.25 576238 Gary Bradford 19 Army 3 13/13 24.87 24.87 576238 Scott Jackson McDaniel 72 Associate 3 10/10 19.79 3.45 19.79 576244 Randy Lee Taylor 30 Army 3 13/13 22.37 22.37 575244 Pat Bittinger 25 Associate 3 10/10 17.84 6.18 17.84 575244 Peter Schuricht 27 Army 4 3/3 5.51 2.64 5.51 575244 Rick Hall 23 Associate 3 11/11 26.64 26.64 575244 Bill Shepard 23 Coast Guard 3 14/14 26.27 4.86 26.27 575249 Dean Hesse 33 Army 3 6/6 12.92 4.29 12.92 574249 David Stephens 19 Navy 3 13/13 23.07 23.07 574251 Jeff Emens 25 Associate 3 11/11 11.39 11.39 573251 Stacy Peck 25 Associate 3 9/9 12.30 2.78 12.30 573251 Mark Kirkpatrick 58 Air Force 3 6/6 10.41 3.06 10.41 573251 Burnell Haney 4 Army 3 15/15 27.74 4.06 27.74 573


ABA Service Team Standings as of 02/08/05Army Service Team Standings

Pl Name Dist Pnts1 Stanley Williams 23 7912 Chuck Hemm 29 7893 Napoleon Ellis 47 7854 Dallas Miller 48 7835 Milton Keene 26 7815 John Gorman 49 7817 Pat Anderson 29 7798 Dale Hart 26 7789 Reginald Dennis 33 77710 John D. Bechtold 28 77511 Quillie Trott SR. 24 77312 Eric Braden 33 77013 Ronald Timmer 33 76814 Dale Fleenor 33 76615 Buddy McDuffie 28 76516 Eugene Moment 52 76217 Robert Blake 25 76118 Rickey Ramey 75 75918 Joe Dunihue 28 75920 Keith Bardolf 19 75620 Bruce McRae 50 75622 David Dave Holland 72 75523 Charles Medley 29 75324 John Brannen 29 75125 LeRoy David Jones Jr 49 75026 Randall Rogers 49 74927 Donald Kneece 96 74528 Aron Hicks 82 74429 Brian Umstead 52 74330 Bruce Cupp 33 74131 Kenneth G Barber II 76 74031 Steven L. Parker 26 74031 Mike Mallett 70 74034 Jerry A Turner 33 72535 Michael A Magnus 27 72236 Ronald Yeatts 50 63137 Jim Koczka 52 624

Pl Name Dist Pnts38 Gerald Bartz 27 62139 David Moore 23 61240 Ron Plate 47 59241 Matt Hults 27 58842 Dan Persful 33 58643 Clark Reehm 53 58444 Robin Pardun 49 58345 John A. Coleman 48 58046 Dennis E. Stodghill 26 57646 Gary Bradford 19 57648 Randy Lee Taylor 30 57548 Peter Schuricht 27 57550 Dean Hesse 33 57451 Burnell Haney 4 57352 Joseph Rahuba 31 57252 Robert Bird 49 57254 Matt Eisenbacher 64 56855 Barton Butts 4 56756 Joe Thorpe 33 56657 David Jenkins 26 56558 Edward Razo 33 56459 Norman McKinney 24 56360 Derrick Dorsey 33 56261 Steve O'Connell 94 56062 Milton Webber 26 55963 Lawrence Owens 29 55464 Carl Thomason 12 55265 David W Andrews 72 54766 Joseph Curley 23 54067 Rodney Phelps 27 52067 Philip Pearcey 27 52069 Sonny Landry 48 51969 Albert Clark 27 51971 Jean Brosset 48 51872 Anthony Cassity 23 49172 Mike R. Havlik 53 49174 Vic H Burgess 23 48275 Terry Taylor 66 48176 Wendell L. Smith 15 478

Pl Name Dist Pnts77 Wally Dee 15 47778 Gary Smock 53 47479 William Getz 49 47380 Dean B Jones 64 47081 Steve Cochran 32 46682 Bob Babcock Sr 52 44882 Thomas Borish 32 44884 Daren Grimes 32 44185 Kenneth Stivason 17 43985 Edgar Bulala 12 43987 Ronnie Green 48 43687 Michael L. Willis 12 43687 Bob Decker 23 43690 Bill Yell 106 43491 Sam Steen 19 43292 Stephen Derby 49 42993 George Kunkle III 51 42693 Hilton Glover 16 42695 Jeremy M. Harris 51 42096 C. M. Wiedemann 33 41997 Robert Baldwin 84 41898 Jimmy Smithee 24 41799 Loyd Kelley 33 41699 James West 33 416101 Lowman Gwin 29 407

Navy Service Team Standings

Pl Name Dist Pnts1 Frank Derylak 23 7862 Charles Orme 23 7823 Ashley Pollard 15 7804 Bob Burgess 40 7795 Robert Maul 20 7746 Michael Tamburello 5 7717 Mike Dimatteo 96 7708 H. M. McMackin 20 7669 Clemm Parker 27 75110 James Hewlett 43 73611 Sonny Lee 19 73012 Richard Fetters 27 72413 Wilson Barrow JR 27 71814 Bryce Thorsen 19 64315 E. Gunner Grimsley 52 62616 Gary Bowien 52 62317 Robert A. Dean 83 62218 Ronald Booher 49 60819 Barry Harper 84 60420 Sam Richardson 27 58821 Robert T. Letizi 11 58722 Ned Miller 37 57723 Harold Troutt 31 57624 David Stephens 19 57425 A.J. Clare 19 57026 John Gillis 17 56827 Alan Cotten 18 56327 Bill Weaver 19 56327 David Brantley 63 56330 William Jasper 40 56030 Tommy Taylor 30 56032 Ronald Holston 33 55632 Rick Bystrzycki 83 55634 Joseph A. Heiney 23 55534 Steve Gadient 19 55536 Thurman Smith 63 55437 John J. Ibarreche 19 46538 Tim Woodard 29 45139 Kenneth Shikle 28 42940 Scott George 19 42641 Ed Hodge 13 42441 Timothy Endris 76 42443 Doug Moon SR 28 420

The AdventureSweepstakes Winner

for January

Jeffery Nelson ofNew Brighton

Minnesota

Jeffery wins a one-dayentry fee to anyAmerican Bass

Anglers regularlyscheduled one-day

Tournament.Entry is not valid for Advantage

Series events or two-day dis-trict championships.


ABA Service Team Standings as of 02/08/05Navy Service Team Standings

Pl Name Dist Pnts44 Ken Warren 73 41945 Michael Dyer 19 41746 Timothy McDonald 4 41647 Robert Lowman 27 40548 William Finger Jr 40 40049 Robert Boggs 17 39449 Bill Johnson 83 39451 Todd Mowrey 19 39351 Herbert Nelson 20 39353 Ron Crum 13 38754 Tyrone Brown 26 38455 Richard Welch 63 38355 Roger Helm 19 38357 Thomas Deacon 9 38258 Derrick Stafford 104 37959 Jeff Riley 63 37759 Noah Leggett JR. 15 37761 Brian Metcalf 41 37361 Earl Stacher 63 37361 Peter M Baumgartner 13 37364 Edward Metzger 23 36965 Richard Hahn 83 36766 David Caschera 70 36467 James Booth 94 33768 David L Welch 48 33169 Terrance Jajo 27 31970 Calvin L Plienis 106 29071 Randy McLean 19 28872 Eugene Bearden 28 28273 Jerry Uhrich 83 24974 David Driggers 18 24875 Benny Gregg 29 24676 Roger Bolander 58 24477 Gregory J. Banta 11 24377 Tommy Thomas 15 24377 Joseph Currier 5 24380 Stephen Feigel 10 24281 Anthony Roberts 13 24182 Darryl Witwer 13 24083 Raymond Pierce 17 23984 Mike Pryor 19 23885 George McNeil 5 23786 Robert B Morrow Jr 90 23687 Curtis Arthur 72 23488 Mike Knapp 13 19988 James Mitch Welch 13 19990 Tom Melton 106 19890 Scott Mohr 10 19892 Tom Traylor 74 19793 Michael Campbell 27 19493 Stephen Sharland 4 19495 John E Whitfield 83 19395 Tim Redick 86 19395 Don Adams 47 19398 Jimmy Wilburn 11 19299 John Barrow 11 191100 Don Morrison 26 190100 Keith Blain 21 190100 Scott Arnett 83 190

Air Force Service Team Standings

Pl Name Dist Pnts1 Matt Emerson 49 7852 Richard A. Martens 72 7793 Terry Bradley 49 7694 Sal Riccobene 57 7664 Craig Maxwell 21 7666 Gerald Paulton 47 7637 Jake Davis 31 760


Pl Name Dist Pnts8 David Brown 103 7599 Pat Leach 54 7559 Bob Hayes 47 75511 Kim Eberline 28 75112 Henry Starks 72 74712 Dennis Moncus 26 74714 Joe Angelone 4 74615 Thomas Storm 24 73716 Paul Tyler 35 73617 Joe VanHooser 27 72418 Dale Murphy 48 70518 Tommy Hibdon 47 70520 Kenneth Kobi 47 69821 David Andrew Long 19 61922 Mark A. Pierce 66 61823 Raymond Ketterer 28 61224 Bill Peeler 27 60324 Gary R Lee 19 60326 Tim Walters 29 59627 Richard Szczerbala 17 59428 Darwin Yorks 27 58928 Tye Bullock 24 58930 Terrance Knueppel 66 58830 William Flanary 50 58832 Kris Showalter 72 58433 Mark Kirkpatrick 58 57334 Michael Paul Woods 53 57135 RON SNIDER 47 54336 Eric M Brown 72 53937 David Gurzynski 72 53738 Daniel M Savage 48 51039 Ray Templeton 58 49340 Daniel L Leggett SR 15 47941 Robert Rose 84 46541 Brad Graves 74 46543 James Poirrier 16 44244 Roger Brugger 31 43245 Pat Vance 18 43146 Kyle Ramsey 23 43047 Rich Walter 19 42948 Toby Hicks 72 42849 Terry Foskey 27 42450 Albert Phillips 28 42251 Fred Darnell 28 42051 Terri Rose 50 42053 Bill Menz 47 41554 William White 49 41455 Tony Douglas 27 40456 Tommy Hudnall 24 39657 Tony Romano 47 39358 Charles D Buck 74 39159 Matt McCord 66 39060 Steven Marshall 36 38760 Gary Coe 18 38762 Thomas Simpkins 48 38463 George Perez III 48 38363 Henry Tidd 24 38365 Mark Cory 51 38265 Kenneth B. Holland 18 38267 Val Bagnani 24 38167 Billy E. Sanders 32 38169 Jeff Routch 18 38069 Jay Novak 18 38069 Larry F. Clark 20 38072 Robert Eckle 54 37873 David Fox 72 37774 Billy J. Crocker 83 37674 Stan West 76 37676 David M. Patterson 54 37577 Charles Stewart 51 37477 James L Marksberry 83 374


Pl Name Dist Pnts79 Kenneth McCue 24 37279 Robert Medeiros 5 37281 Dewey L Stokes 83 37182 Rich LaChance 5 37083 Gary Conner 13 36983 Jeffery W Armes 19 36985 James Browning 33 36885 Marvin Howard 72 36887 Chuck Gates 47 36488 Darrell Barker 50 34989 Thomas Bachner 17 33890 Robert Ogle 17 33691 Anthony Fofi 17 29992 James Bowden 27 29693 Bryan Thomas 47 28994 Eric Ostendorf 47 28895 Carl Ray Smith 48 28696 E R Rowe 48 27097 Gary Labrie 5 25098 ROGER GUNSELL 58 24998 Frank Smith 24 24998 Robert Stokes 74 249101 Billy Carlisle SR. 45 247

Marine Service Team Standings

Pl Name Dist Pnts1 Don Morris 15 7862 Bryan Westrick 28 7833 Jack Leffingwell 30 7754 William Peele 15 7665 John Beckstrom 23 7636 Timmy Ezell 28 7487 Dennis Hollis 40 7468 Albert Barnett 26 7429 Ricky Smith 106 63210 Al Hager 7 62711 Kenneth Baker 28 62412 John Saleeba 28 62213 Russell Scanlan 53 61514 Mike Champion 24 60615 Cordey Allen 72 59716 Jerry Wigginton 27 54317 Jason Theis 15 49318 Matthew Kroes 15 48919 Albert McCoy 47 47920 Lee Marshall 40 46521 Carrol Scooter Hicks 19 46022 Anthony Kaylor 74 43323 Brandon Brewer 74 43123 Ken Arp 50 43125 Michael Colbert 15 42426 Ben Moore 47 40627 Kevin Pennington 107 39028 Robert Fretwell 29 38729 Paul S. Malley 27 38330 Matthew M. Smith 11 38231 Douglas Cripple 24 38132 Brian Akers 83 38033 John Glenn 103 37833 Richard Hofmann 15 37835 Louis Palminteri 10 37736 Barry Meehan 5 37136 Douglas Hewitt 90 37136 Dennis Coplen 15 37136 Joel Warwick 83 37140 Jim Montgomery 51 37041 Carlton Poulsen 15 36942 Todd Schnakenberg 50 29343 John Morris 49 281


ABA Service Team Standings as of 02/08/05Marine Service Team Standings

Pl Name Dist Pnts44 Rick Ohlson 13 24645 Philip E Buchinger 15 24346 Darryl C Jackson 72 24147 Earl Nocon 5 23147 Joe Wiles 58 23149 CLARK WYLDE 15 22750 William Gallagher 9 19451 Michael Fish 20 19252 Kevin Porche 27 19153 Jerry Driskill 23 18853 Wayne Heaney 15 18853 Joe Law 3 18856 Rhett McReaken 43 18756 Edward Thielen 15 18758 Joseph Swader 4 18659 Roger Schearf 26 18560 Paul G. Dunn 11 18361 Jerry Mohler 34 18262 Dale R Littou 58 17863 Cecil Walker 47 17664 Mark H. Stone Jr. 5 17465 Michael Stanley 19 17266 Billy Thomas Burks 48 16767 Ira Loveday 106 15067 Paul Kondrk 29 15069 Clark Walker 19 10069 Dwayne Mills 15 10069 Lawade Ferguson 48 100

Coast Guard Service Team Standings

Pl Name Dist Pnts1 Donald M. Stewart 2 7562 Kenneth Tonks 76 7343 Bill Shepard 23 5754 Ken Langford 21 4655 Dave Sheffield 76 4206 Ricky Davis 76 3917 George Kyriacos 36 2328 Frank Toti 5 1949 Tim L. Schmitz 7 1919 Thaddeus Dubois 27 19111 Richard Bates 72 18712 Robert J. Harlacher 15 18313 Frederic Kopcak 5 10014 Chris Lide 39 50

Non Military Service Team Standings

Pl Name Dist Pnts1 Bruce Noel 28 7881 Gary Thacker 29 7883 Jim Holsonback 29 7873 Scott Peterman 72 7873 Rick Tilson 72 7876 Fred Rebstock 28 7867 Bobby Clark 15 7857 Randall Woodham 72 7859 Brian Geist 28 7789 Gurnie Ghrigsby 25 77811 Michael L Daniel 85 77711 Dallas Hinkle 28 77713 Jimmy Matthews 15 77614 Norman Ligon 85 77514 Ralph Williams 27 77516 Michael Standridge 47 77416 Jason Weast 49 77418 Galen Bennett 53 77119 Phillip Edgerton 19 768

Non Military Service Team Standings

Pl Name Dist Pnts20 Larry Bush 28 76621 Jamie Shay 76 76521 Joseph C Campbell JR 23 76523 Jeff Taylor 27 76424 Keith Malone 29 76024 Michael Suddoth Sr 32 76026 Steve Kiser 15 75726 James Stone 94 75726 David Willis 12 75729 Frankie Arnold 24 75529 Jimmy Yarbrough 29 75529 Rodger Riddle 29 75529 Frank Cash 76 75529 Jack Crispin JR 12 75529 Fred Blom 4 75529 Douglas Emerson 43 75536 Bobby B Barnett 26 75437 Chris Jones 105 75338 Trent Williams 82 75238 Brook E. Barker 31 75238 Shane Sizemore 85 75238 Philex Daniel 29 75238 Lee C Chavis 47 75243 Tully Toler 76 75144 Scott Towry 29 75044 John Russell 29 75046 Jeff Swearingen 75 74947 Phil Morris 96 74847 Randy Cantrell 94 74849 Michael C. Puckett 47 74649 J.R. Burt 48 74651 Tony Fleenor 33 74552 Fred Martin 47 74453 Barry Scott 76 74354 Mark Ellis 47 74054 Ted Moore 28 74054 Sherbert VanMeter 30 74054 Ben Farmer 35 74058 Paul Drewek 21 73959 Ralph K Logan Sr 53 73460 Sam Lowrey 47 73361 M. L. Hatten 27 72962 Jeff Roberts 72 72763 George Hodges Jr 48 72664 Roosevelt Lee Coutee 53 72365 Raymond Olberding JR. 77 71966 Chris Bihm 48 67767 Richard Godwin 48 65768 Tommy Shuttlesworth 48 65669 Chris Nors 50 64270 Mike Jackson 19 64171 Gary Paul 76 63672 Micah Silverman 23 62972 Terry Bell 28 62974 Mike Taurinski 23 62575 Mike Holland 53 62376 Mike Evans 24 62076 Norman Foskey 27 62076 Chris Adams 28 62079 Jeremy Bound 25 61880 Jay Greer 78 61481 John O'Barr 47 61282 Kelly Townson 85 61182 Richard Thi Walker 22 61184 Woodrow Taylor 51 60884 Pete Saraf 23 60886 Terry Carlisle 103 60786 Gregory Croomes 66 60788 Chris Oden 29 60589 Michael E Fowler 72 60389 Dale Stevens 23 603

Pl Name Dist Pnts91 Arvin Dorsey 106 60291 Timothy Hilbourn 82 60291 Darrell Lee 29 60294 Matt Penton 25 60095 Jim Lewis 47 59996 Lee Stalvey JR 19 59797 Chris Cooper 29 59598 Larry Graddy 70 59499 Martin E. Smith 67 59399 Harold Moore 33 59399 Steve Norrid 28 593102 Scott Miles 64 592102 Scott ? Smith 27 592102 Richard Dooley 23 592105 Frank Streeter 19 591105 Donald Williams 17 591105 Graham Williams 17 591108 Harry Merritt 23 589108 James Wilder 84 589110 Russell Giudicessi 29 588111 Ben Greene 29 587112 Dave Thomas 23 586113 Doug Larson 13 585114 Marc Anderson 48 583115 Anthony Coniglario 10 582116 Dennis Garland 31 581117 Pat Patterson 29 578118 Byron W Hale 25 577118 Rodney Edwards 49 577120 Robert Chancey 72 576120 Scott Jackson McDaniel 72 576120 Russell Awad 10 576123 Rick Hall 23 575123 Pat Bittinger 25 575125 Stacy Peck 25 573125 Jeff Emens 25 573

Lady Angler Service Team Standings

Pl Name Dist Pnts1 Rhonda Ford Brockman 88 7122 Joyce Cornell 23 6053 Margaret A Lesinsky 63 5494 Linda Paul 76 4755 Lisa Craig 48 4106 Robbie Filburn 33 4067 Lisa Sternard 32 3808 Laura Gober 26 3749 Amy Gates Smith 7 35310 Crystal Stevenson 48 34311 Kimberlee Striker 25 24612 Jennifer Helgren 39 23213 Debbie Watson 47 20014 Cory Killorin 26 18815 Kristine Sardisco 41 18616 Mary M. Rebstock 76 18117 Becky Minor 58 17518 April Young 48 16719 Sharon Gentry 49 100

What is a Service Team? American BassAnglers recognizes members that served

in the US Arm Forces. This allows forpoints to be tracked for each service team

to include each of the Military Servicebranches as well as Non-Military Men and

Lady Anglers. The top 5 point holdersfrom each Service Team after the nationalchampionship receive special awards and

recognition for this achievement.


By Jeremiah T. Bagwellwww.BagwellsBassTactics.com Powered by the Pro BassNetworks

If you were paying closeattention to exactly whatwas being said on theweigh-in stage at dozens oftournaments held during thelast few years, you mayhave heard the words"Swimming" and "Jigs" usedin conjunction with oneanother. To most anglers,this isn't a regular combina-tion. To others, it is one

money making, fish catching technique.For several years, the technique of swimming Jigs was

kept quiet by some of the best anglers in the world. It wasthe advantage they held over most of their competition. Thedays of secrecy have long since passed and this populartechnique is now available to anglers all over the country.

In most scenarios, the Jig is used to resemble a crawdad.This is not the case when you are swimming Jigs. Swimminga Jig requires a slightly different approach. Ideally, your pre-sentation should be a close imitation of a wounded shad orsome other baitfish that is indigenous to that particular bodyof water. To achieve these results you need to select theproper bait and use the appropriate retrieval speeds.

Who says looks aren't everything?Who says looks aren't everything?

Although you can use just about any jig to perform this tac-tic, there are certain models that seem to work a lot betterthan others. Models that have a more "in-line" or "aerody-

namic" line tie typically produce the most favorable results.This line tie position will allow the lure to slide more freelythrough weeds and other types of cover. It will also give thelure a more horizontal stature in the water. What you are

attempting to mimic is the horizon-tal motion and the often erraticcadence in which shad travel.These creatures don't simply swimin a straight line, at the samedepth, in the same direction andat the same speed all day. Theyare scared little morsels, fleeingfor their lives. In order to act as areplica, your Jig should adoptsome of the same mannerisms.Slight raises, twitches, pauses,side-to-side movements and errat-ic speed changes help mimic

these attributes and will often trigger strikes. The color selection for swimming Jigs is a lot less confus-

ing. In most cases, the number one color choice is white orsome form of white. The reason being, most shad have awhite or silver hue in the water. White Jig skirts with a few iri-descent blue, red, chartreuse or purple strands mixed in canbe awesome offerings in clear to stained water. In certaincases, other colors like Watermelon, Pumpkin or Black/Bluemay be more productive. Generally speaking, white will bemore effective. The trailer should be a very similar color so itmatches the Jig. Rather than using a chunk or a crawdad fora trailer, like you would when flipping or pitching a Jig, add agrub to the back of your bait. The 5" single tail (18 series)grub from Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits is one of the singlebest trailers used when swimming Jigs. If you need to do amore effective job of "matching the hatch" you can switch the4" single tail (40 series) or the larger 6" single tail (19 series)

An Introductory Guide to Swimming Jigs An Introductory Guide to Swimming Jigs

Longtime Mississippi River Bass Expert Arnie KingLongtime Mississippi River Bass Expert Arnie King


grub. Insert the hookpoint in the head ofthe grub and slidethe trailer all the wayup the hook until itreaches the head ofthe Jig. Position thecurled portion of thegrub so that it is fac-ing the oppositedirection of the Jighook. By doing so,your bait will havemore action when itis scurrying throughthe water.

Sink or Swim?Sink or Swim?

Just like flipping style Jigs, Swimming Jigs can be fishedright along laydowns, in standing timber and through brushpiles, but these aren't the only areas in which they excel.These Bass seeking missiles are absolutely incredible whenthe fish are schooled up in their spring and fall feeding pat-terns. Making long casts and ripping the bait just below thesurface is often a tournament winning pattern. They are alsovery effective when targeting fish that are relating to riprap,lilly pads, weed-lines and grass-beds.

Position the boat in a way that will allow you to keep yourbait in the strike zone the longest. Cast towards your targetand let the Jig sink to the desired depth. Once you haveachieved this depth, start your retrieve. More often than not,your retrieve will be similar to that of a Crankbait orSpinnerbait. Experiment with different speeds and cadencesuntil you can establish the exact rhythm that the fish prefer.The key to success is developing the ability to run the Jig justclose enough to cover or structure that your bait occasionallymakes contact with it. This slight impact will throw the tempoof the retrieve off enough to entice the bass into devouring it.Theses minimal changes give the impression that the bait isinjured.

Ideal TackleIdeal Tackle

To swim Jigs you don't necessarily need a 7 ½ foot Flippin'stick, unless you are fishing in some nasty cover. More oftenthan not, a good 6 ½ to 7 foot Medium or Medium Heavypower rod will be ideal. Using a rod in this class, such as thePflueger Trion or the All Star Titanium Series, will allow you tocast the lure a good distance and provide the sensitivityneeded to feel the Jig as it taps the cover. PfluegerPresidents or other good quality, high-speed retrieve baitcast-ing reels are a must for this technique. You need a reel thatcan not only keep up with the fish as they are comingtowards you at a fast rate, but to be able to cast and retrieve

all day with minimal fatigue. In stained to dirty water, usingbraided line is acceptable, but in clear water, PowerPro linewill be very visible. In such cases, you want to use a fluoro-carbon or monofilament line. Shakespeare Supreme and redCajun Line are awesome in clear water situations and havenearly invisible qualities. They make the bait appear to beswimming along on its own.

As with any Jig fishing tactic, you will need to practice a lot.Don't hesitate to try this technique the next time you are onthe water. Stick with it and you may very well be on your wayto Shreveport for the National Championships.

Some jigs are custom made for swimminglike this half ounce Booyah Swimming Jig.


C.A.S.T National StandingsC.A.S.T National StandingsPlace Name District #Evnt Fish Wgt Pnlty B/F TotWgt Points1 Cole Winn 96 5 12/12 17.13 2.61 17.13 7842 Dave Leicht 43 4 3/3 4.45 1.60 4.45 4983 Nathaniel Overbey 87 2 3/3 6.91 3.14 6.91 3984 Dusty Randall 58 2 3/3 12 3.88 12 3925 Benjamin DeBlois 43 5 1/1 1.62 1.62 1.62 3486 Frederic Zeno Jr 74 4 2/2 6.15 3.10 6.15 3007 Kyle Crager 33 3 1/1 2.78 2.78 2.78 2507 Corbin L. Marshall 33 3 5/5 5.77 5.77 2509 Andrew Houser 54 3 1/1 1.62 1.62 1.62 2499 Louis Gutierrez II 53 2 1/1 2.64 2.64 2.64 24911 James Garrett Cope 53 1 3/3 10.82 10.82 20012 Ross Rogers 53 2 1/1 3.15 3.15 3.15 19913 Bradley Stephens 87 1 1/1 1.75 1.75 1.75 19814 Miles G. Thompson 61 1 5/5 8.58 3.02 8.58 19714 Michael Cooper 87 1 1/1 0.81 0.81 0.81 19716 Bradford A Taylor 66 1 4/4 4.9 4.9 19616 Chris Hill 29 1 1/1 2.36 2.36 2.36 19618 Roberto Carriedo 43 4 0/0 0 0 15018 Casey Sobczak 53 3 0/0 0 0 15018 Ryan Alan Ingram 53 3 0/0 0 0 15018 James Hervey 53 3 0/0 0 0 15022 Ryan Matthew Patterson 43 2 0/0 0 0 10022 Branson Werner 43 2 0/0 0 0 100

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Top 5 Big Bass in 2005 Season

District Date Location Name BigFish109 1/30/2005 Alan Henry Coy Callison 13.0128 1/22/2005 Istokpoga Buddy McDuffie 12.8528 1/8/2005 Istokpoga Chris Adams 11.8720 1/22/2005 Harris Vernan Kemp 11.2474 1/9/2005 Cedar Creek Robert Stokes 11.24

Top 5 Big Strings in 2005 Season

District Date Lake Name Fish Total51 11/14/2004 Amistad Del Rio Robert Ballard 5 29.0920 1/22/2005 Harris Vernan Kemp 5 29.0628 1/22/2005 Istokpoga Buddy McDuffie 3 27.6248 12/4/2004 Caddo Ben Clemens 4 21.114 10/17/2004 Canadaigua Barton Butts 5 20.56


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by: David Hagood

ABA Member Darryl Witwer of Richmond, Virginia has developed something very specialthat any serious fisherman needs if they pull a boat in the pre- daylight hours or after dark.The Tow-Light is a unique invention because it deals with not only safety and could savethe owner money in a law suit. The Tow-Light developed in the 90's by Darryl is a speciallight that is placed on your motor while you are in tow. This allows other motorists to seethe lower unit on your motor and stay at a safer distance. Boaters using the device havenoticed vehicle behind them staying back a much safer distance.

The idea for this invention did not just hit Darryl one day; watching an angler get the rearof his boat creamed gave him the inspiration. In 1990 Darryl was sitting at a traffic lightone night and witnessed a boat in tow that was sitting next to him get plowed from therear at about 35 mph. The incident destroyed the guys outboard motor and did severetransom damage to the boat.

The problem is that at night it is much harder to properly judge distance. Drivers seeyour trailer lights but the motor is exposed and is not visible to other drivers until it is toolate and they are too close.

I've been fishing tournaments since 1980. I've always had the feeling of adding some-thing to the lower unit to increase visibility. But like so many others do and did, I justhoped no one would ever hit me. I had a couple of friends rear- ended through the years.A couple during a.m. boat launches at ramps and a couple while traveling.

Concerned about the same thing happening to him, Darryl started at first using brightorange tape. Then he made a plastic prop cover and painted it orange. The cover was okand it was more visible, but was just not visible enough at night. He then started to experi-ment with different ways to mount a light on the lower unit itself.

Darryl modified an old aluminum crutch, shaping a v shaped section of the crutch and aflat cross bar and mounting 2 12-volt light bulbs in it. He started with just running lightsand brake lights.

Taking it on the road back and forth between Richmond and Memphis, he was gettingapproached by anglers when he was filling up with gas about the light and where theycould get one and they were offering 50 to 70 dollars. He was a little shocked and told hiswife about it and she said you should start making them.

A good friend and long time ABA member, Tom O'Bryant, was Darryl's fishing partner foryears. Darryl showed the light to Tom who at the time was fishing the MBAA and BASS.Tom got really excited about the light and wanted to get involved. Together, Tom andDarryl decided to attempt to design and manufacture the light system. Tom talked withanother friend, Jim Huffman, and they got Darryl in touch with a great electrical engineer,Jim's son, Scott Huffman. Darryl worked with Scott for sometime with pictures and ideas.Darryl, Tom, and Jim, Scott and Mark Huffman founded Tow-Light Co. Inc. Scott continueddeveloping the concept and experimenting with different materials, shapes and designs.

A year later they all met in Knoxville and worked on ideas. Scott was instrumental withthe shape of the unit. The shape allows it to be placed on any lower unit using the closedcell foam of the mount. You simply slip it on or above the cavitation plate of your motorand secure it with the safety strap that comes with the unit The foam also would float thelight if you accidentally launched your boat with the tow light still attached. Also a non-marring light was developed for the unit. More ideas like the unit needed a storage boxand the side lights for better side visibility were all talked about and discussed at this

meeting.The Tow-Light has 8 LED lights that

should last for 100,000 hours, so youdon't have to worry about replacingbulbs. Everything you need to installthe system comes with the light and itscarrying case. The Tow-Light functionsas a brake light, running light andflashing light when the turn signals areactivated.

This meeting was the basis for thefirst shot at manufacturing the first unit.First, the provisional patent was filedand then the process to get the manu-facturing was started. Continued Pg 44

ABA Member Helps DevelopABA Member Helps Develop

Needed Safety Unit For TowingNeeded Safety Unit For Towing

Tow Light uses bright LEDs that are more visable


By Steve Smith ABA District 39

Strike King Lure Company ofCollierville, Tennessee, a leader in thefishing lure industry, has developedsome exciting new products for 2005.

I recently chatted with Chris Brown,Sales and Marketing Assistant, PR andPro-Staff Manager of Strike King LureCompany, regarding their new productsfor 2005. Strike King is once againleading the way in new lure designsbased on the success of theirBleeding™ Spinnerbait.

Bleeding Spinnerbait & Skirts:

Strike King has twonew spinnerbaits for2005. These are theBleeding Mini -King, a1/8 ounce lure, andthe "Bleeding PremierElite Spinnerbait",which features the"Bleeding Bait Hookand a Blood TrailSkirt". This new spin-nerbait has a redstainless wire and ahead designed withred 3D holographiceyes and a red tab on

the trailing blade to better give off the"Bleeding" effect.

According to Chris, while the BleedingMini -King was originally designed forpanfish and crappie fisherman, bassfishermen are also seeing results "whenyou need to downsize your presenta-tion, especially on heavily fishedwaters."

Bleeding Tubes:

Strike King decid-ed to expand theBleeding Bait lineinto its soft plastictube baits. "Thetubes feature ared inner cavity"and in some

instances red flakes in the tube body,while keeping the base color on the out-side. The red flash helps simulate theblood trail of a wounded baitfish. Theyare incorporating this feature into their12 most popular colors.

I asked Chris what led to the design ofthe Bleeding Tube and he informed methat "the need was brought to our atten-tion by anglers and no one else wasdoing it". Chris also informed me thatKevin VanDam and Denny Brauer, twomembers of the Strike King Pro Staff,field tested these baits. The suggestedretail price is $2.99 for a 10pk.

Crankbaits/Jerkbaits FeaturingBleeding Bait Hooks:

Strike Kinghas added 6new colors totheircrankbaits

and Wildshiner Jerkbait line that havethe Bleeding Bait Hooks. The lure bod-ies have red accent paint and are

offered in a variety of models and col-ors. The Wildshiners will be available inthe suspending model. These alsoincorporate the 3D holographic eyes.The crankbaits will continue to be avail-able in the 1, 3 and 5 body styles. Thesuggested retail price is $3.99

Redeye Mini-King:

Strike King is introducing the Redeye

Mini-King,which is a1/8ouncespinnerbait.This is basedon their Mini-King; howev-er, it also

has a holographic blade that "producesan enhanced illusion of a bait fish andthe red eyes give the predator fish atarget to key on". This lure was actuallydeveloped in April 2004 and introducedto the market this past fall and comes ina variety of colors. The suggested retailprice is $2.99

Premier Pro-Model Jigs withBleeding Bait Hooks:

Strike King isalso introduc-ing the newDenny BrauerPremier Pro-Model Jigs.

These jigs, which were developed byDenny Brauer, come in 3 sizes that notonly have red skirt strands, but alsoinclude a red weed guard and red eyes.

According to Strike Kings press releas-es, as noted by the folks at TTIIndustries,originators of the Bleeding Bait redhook innovation: "Research has shownthat a red blood trail triggers the naturalfeeding response in predator fish."Strike King has developed these newlines of lures with this in mind, to helpimprove the angler's ability to catchmore and bigger fish.

I asked Chris if there were currentlyany plans to incorporate the super-floatant technology into the skirts ortubes. As someone who likes to usespinnerbaits and tubes, the thought ofdead killing a spinnerbait, then havingthe skirt slowly lift off the bottom, or of atube that starts to float up by the tenta-cles, would be of great interest.Unfortunately, Chris stated that thetechnology currently involved will notallow the production of such a lure; wecan only hope that in the future that a

Strike King Lure Company New Products for 2005Strike King Lure Company New Products for 2005


cyberflex type model tube bait will be available.

Chris says these baits and lures are available at tacklestores nation wide. I visited local tackle store this past week-end and while I found the bleeding tubes, the new jig andnew crankbaits and jerkbaits weren't available. They said thatthey probably won't have them in the stores until February.

If you'd like more information onthese baits or to find a Strike Kingdealer near you go tohttp://www.strikeking.com/Good luck and good fishing to all.Remember to practice catch and release

ABA Scrap BookABA Scrap Book

NNAPOLEANAPOLEAN EELLISLLIS, K, KIPPIPP FFREEMANREEMAN, J, JAMESAMES MMORRISORRIS, ,

LLANCEANCE PPYLEYLE, D, DISTRICTISTRICT 4747

BBARTONARTON BBUTTSUTTS WITHWITH 2 N2 NICEICESSMALLIESMALLIES

LEFTLEFT WASWAS 5.70 5.70 ANDAND THETHE RIGHTRIGHT WASWAS 4.914.91

BBARTONARTON BBUTTSUTTS, F, FREDRED BBLOMLOM, J, JASONASON PPIERCEIERCE, B, BURNELLURNELL

HHANEYANEY, M, MARKARK MMOTHERSELLOTHERSELL - D- DISTRICTISTRICT 44

CCHRISHRIS NNORSORS OFOF DISTRICTDISTRICT 50 50 WITHWITH 15.47 15.47 TOTALTOTAL WEIGHTWEIGHT

ANDAND AA 5.26 5.26 BIGBIG BASSBASS

EEDD BBULALAULALA OFOF DISTRICTDISTRICT 50 50 TOOKTOOK SECONDSECOND WITHWITH 13.5613.56

TOTALTOTAL WEIGHTWEIGHT ANDAND AA 5.10 5.10 BIGBIG BASSBASS

DDONON KKINNEYINNEY OFOF DISTRICTDISTRICT 4 4 WITHWITH AA 4.90 4.90 BIGBIG BASSBASS

TTERRYERRY KKNUEPPELNUEPPEL, R, RONON JJENKINSENKINS, , ANDAND JJIMIM PPEOPLESEOPLES

DDISTRICTISTRICT 5858

RRANDYANDY HHADDENADDEN, K, KEITHEITH BBARDOLFARDOLF, F, FRANKRANK DDERYLAKERYLAK


11STST - R- RALPHALPH WWILLIAMSILLIAMS, 2, 2NDND - G- GARYARY BBROWNROWN, 3, 3RDRD - S- SAMAM

RRICHARDSONICHARDSON - D- DISTRICTISTRICT 2727

NNATHANIELATHANIEL OOVERBEYVERBEY CCASTAST MMEMBEREMBER


DDIRECTORIRECTOR RRICKYICKY SSMITHMITH, D, DISTRICTISTRICT 106106

JJOEOE LLOCKARDOCKARD - D- DISTRICTISTRICT 8787


by: David Hagood

Today's boat shows need to change! Thenumbers of attendees at boat shows havesteadily declined over the last 10 yearsand it is not because of the exhibitors.Seeing the latest in boats and motors andother products dealing with our favoritepast time is why anglers and boaters go tothese shows. However, today, the showpromoters have drained the participationfrom these events with their quest for thealmighty dollar.

The price at the door now tops $8 - $10per person. Even serious boat ownersknow they can just show up at the dealer'sshowroom and it is free. It makes no senseat all to even charge at the door unlessyou are simply into it for the money. Ninetyper cent of the potential bass boat cus-tomers will most likely have a boat theywant to trade. This means they have tocome to the dealership anyway. Theexhibitors are already paying outrageoussums for floor space at shows and on topof that, the attendance continues dropping.

Promoters are so concerned about thedollar some now have very strict policiesabout solicitation as they call it. For exam-ple, there is a (at one time) very largeshow in Virginia. The promoter of the eventran off one of the ABA directors working abooth with a Triton Dealer. The promotersaid he could not give out any ABA fliersbecause ABA did not buy a booth. Theonly concern of the promoter was themoney. This show, like many across thecountry, has seen very sharp declines inattendance. Talking with one of the ven-dors at this same show, it is obvious thatattendance againdropped significantlythis year.

There are still someexcellent shows acrossthe country and anglerscan get in most cases agreat deal on a newboat and motor.However, the showsthat seem to do thebest are run by a non-profit group that is notso driven by the dollar.For example, theGeorgia WildlifeFederation, which is anot-for-profit 501(c) 3organization. The GWFruns a couple of showsin the winter in Georgia. It

is easier for anglers to pay an entrance toa group that is not for profit and is raisingmoney for a good cause.

There was a day when boat showsacross the southeast were huge inexhibitors and visitors. The Huntsville,Alabama boat show is a great example ofthis. In the 80s and early 90s the showtook up the entire civic center. There weretwo huge exhibit halls, plus the coliseumfloor was used. The show was packedeven on the Friday, which normally has thelowest attendance, and is the first day ofthe show. Today, with the exorbitant pricesat the door, the show is down to one hall(large room) and the traffic is not evenworth the price the exhibitors pay for floorspace.

What the heck is up with the exhibitorsselling kitchen utensils and other items thathave nothing to do with fishing, boating oroutdoors? I hate going to a boat show andwading through the real estate, cell phone,paint ball guns, as seen on TV wire strip-per guy, jewelry cleaner and that ole slicerdicer Ginzu booth. If I wanted to go themall to shop then that is what I would havedone. If it doesn't apply to fishing or boat-ing or the outdoors then it should not be

there! Well, except for that jerky guy or theexhibitor selling those candy pecans andalmonds, they can stay! But if you buyjerky or the great smelling almonds youare destine to buy one of those $3 - $4drinks.

Recently at a show a promoter as theyoften do came by our booth and told usabout the show he was having this spring.He gave me a nicely printed brochurewhich stated 30,000 visitors were estimat-ed to attend his show. The gate pricewould be $10 per person but senior citi-zens would get a real break and only pay$8 and kids would get a real deal at $5.00.Aren't these getting close to amusementpark prices? I wouldn’t pay this much tosee Shania Twain in concert! Ok maybe Iwould. Also, this promoter stated theywould have over 200 exhibitors who pay$525 each for a 10x10 booth. If the pro-moter does what he says, he can cash inon $400,000 in booth and ticket sales. Theticket sales will most likely not be evenclose what the promoter says. However,the exhibitors will bring in an estimated$105,000.

There have been a few reasons thathave been given for high door prices. Oneof the most common is the price is to bringin only the serious buyers. This is a totalcrock! Even the serious buyer is cautiousabout their money. So, the serious buyerwants to take his family to the showbecause, lets face it, buying a new bassboat today is a family decision. If he bringshis wife and 2 children they will most likelypay $8 to $10 per head and maybe $4 to$6 for the kids. So just walking into thedoor, they could pay $30.00 and that does

not include parking, whichis normally $5.00. The fami-ly also better hope none ofthe kids are hungry. Theprices for food or drink atthese shows, like any sport-ing event, are simply outra-geous! Can you imaginepaying $3.00 or even $4.00for a soft drink? You mightwant to let little Johnny andSarah share a drink!

These shows are forboat dealers to display andsell their boats to boaters.This means when you meetsomeone at a show itwould be great if theanglers you meet are in abuying mood. Well, firstthey are hit at the door for

Why Is Attendance At Boat Shows Declining?Why Is Attendance At Boat Shows Declining?

At many shows there are more workers than attendees

Aren't these gettingclose to amusementpark prices? I wouldn’tpay this much to seeShania Twain in concert!Ok, maybe I would.


$25.00; then they get thirsty and get hit again and the kids wantto fish in the fish pond intended to let them become inspiredabout fishing and costs 3 to 5 dollars to fish for three minutes.Yeah, this will really make the customer happy! By the time theangler walks around looking at the boats, motor and tackle, theyare so frustrated about what they just spent that you can imaginehow hard it to talk about boat payments.

The boat shows today are still great to go to, but it is importantto know that it is not the boat dealer that has come up with thesecosts to the public; it is the promoters. The Fort Worth Texasshow is a show scheduling makes more sense. It is stretchedover 2 weekends so today's busy families have the time to attend.Most shows today are a one weekend deal and if there is bad

weather the attendees stay home and if the weather is pretty theymaybe on the lake. It is time for boat show promoters to realizethat they are pricing themselves out of business and ignoring thepurpose of the show: to give potential customers a view of thedealer's products in a family friendly atmosphere. It's sad andironic that in their quest for the dollar, they are draining the atten-dance that would bring in more money for them and more poten-tial customers for the boat dealers.

Captain Steve Jordan and I had time for a full back and foot massagewaiting for attendees to pay us a visit at a recent show.

Exhibitors spend a lot of time, money, and effort meeting attendees

Scott owns Graywacke Engineering and they would be the manufacturer.The group made an initial large investment to get this project off the groundand get units into production. The first units were completed and the groupstarted selling them for $64.95 each.After several months the group madesome changes to the design, including a red lens and other enhancementsto improve visibility. Changes to designs always means more money and thegroup had to make another large investment to continue manufacturing theunit with the new changes. At this point, Tow-Light has a full patent and thesystem is easy to use and works great.

The interesting thing about the Tow-Light is that it works for more thingsthan just your lower unit. It can be used when towing or carrying canoes,ladders, and other items.

Darryl pointed out that most states have a law that an object cannotextend more than 26-36 inches beyond the rear lights of your vehicle withouta red flag in the day and a red light at night. Our motors do. One ABA mem-ber in Arkansas was hit from behind at a traffic light and went to court andlost because his motor stuck out further than state law permitted. His insur-ance company had to pay for the damage to the car that struck him!

The current unit is today made in the USA and sells for $49.95 and comeswith a 12 month manufacturer's warranty. ABA members get a $5.00 dis-

count per unit whichthe group does as acourtesy for ABAmembers. The Tow-Light comes neatlypacked in a plasticcase and with verysimple to followinstallation instruc-tions and everythingyou need for installa-tion. You can pur-chase Tow-Lightsdirectly from theirweb site at www.tow-light.com or order it

by phone at 866-497-2260 or use the order form provided here. It is great to see an ABA member invent something that provides a needed

safety feature when towing your rig down the road.

ABA Member Helps Develop Needed Safety Unit For TowingABA Member Helps Develop Needed Safety Unit For Towing(continued)(continued)

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American Bass Anglers Febuary 2005 Issue

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Transcript of American Bass Anglers Febuary 2005 Issue