THE LATEST NEWS
Power-Pole to Celebrate 20th Anniversary at ICAST 2019
TAMPA (June 27, 2019) – In honor of two decades of Power-Pole Shallow Water Anchors, JL Marine Systems is throwing a party during this year’s ICAST in Orlando, Fla. and attendees, members of the media and exhibitors are invited.
To celebrate their official 20th anniversary, Power-Pole will unveil its latest addition to its line of innovative anchors on Wednesday, July 10 in booth No. 2520.
Power-Pole will have live music and free beverages in the booth during the exhibition “Happy Hour.” Nashville recording artist and Power-Pole pro staff angler Tom Jackson will be playing live from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. where he will debut his new Power-Pole-inspired song “Poles Down. Trophies Up.”
Along with the new product, Power-Pole will be featuring the C-Monster GATEWAY, which allows for immediate adoption of the wireless CM2 protocol by existing devices currently using NMEA2000 technology, that was officially introduced in March 2019. Event attendees are also encouraged to check out a special display in the booth chronicling the company’s history, including video tributes from members of the Power-Pole family.
ICAST 2019, the nation’s largest outdoors and fishing industry trade show, will be held in the North/South Building of the Orange County Convention Center July 9 to 12. The annual event has become the premiere showcase for the latest in fishing gear, accessories and apparel.
About JL Marine Systems, Inc.
JL Marine Systems, Inc. is the developer and manufacturer of the original Power-Pole® Shallow Water Anchor – the industry’s leading shallow water anchoring system for small skiffs, bass boats, flats boats, bay boats and more. Since their introduction in 2000, Power-Pole anchors have been celebrated among professional anglers and everyday fishermen.
JL Marine Systems offers four Power-Pole anchor models in addition to spikes, anchor accessories, apparel and gear. With a relentless focus on customer service, JL Marine Systems is revolutionizing the industry with the development of technology solutions for total boat control – completely changing the fishing experience at the push of a button. Proudly made in the USA at the JL Marine Systems headquarters in Tampa, Fla., Power-Pole products are available from over 3,500 dealers, retailers and boat manufacturers worldwide.
To learn more about Power-Pole products, visit www.power-pole.com, or follow us on Facebook and on Instagram at @power.pole.
Wheeler Dominates, Evers Claims Crown in Elimination Round 2 at Stage Eight
NEENAH, Wis. – Another day, another “Jacob Wheeler is leading the round” headline. The Tennessee pro added another first-place finish in Friday’s Elimination Round at the Bass Pro Tour Evinrude Stage Eight Presented by Tracker Off Road.
To say that Wheeler has been on fire and is fishing with confidence (no matter what lake he’s on) is an understatement.
However, several exciting storylines overshadowed his cruise-control day on Winnebago. And as we always see during the Elimination Round, there was plenty to pay attention to.
We had a down-to-the-wire battle for the Points Championship, we had REDCREST qualifications minted, and we and also some slipping through anglers’ fingers. And oh yeah, we had the chance to move on to the Knockout Round on Lake Butte des Morts.
Wheeler Cruises
Wheeler began the day in first place and held that position all day long. This marks the fifth time in the last six competition days that he has finished up as the leader.
He had a two-day total of 55 bass for 84 pounds, 15 ounces, with 22 bass for 33 pounds, 11 ounces coming during today’s competition.
As the focus shifts to Lake Butte des Morts, he will still be one to watch as he is a favorite on any lake in the country right now.
Evers vs. Sprague Battle
Ends With as many Knockout and Championship Round appearances these two have had this season, it’s a surprise that the Bass Pro Tour Points Champion title was settled so early this week.
After the dust settled, Sprague had finished in 25th place in Elimination Group B, four spots below where Evers ended up yesterday. Evers finishes the season with 510 points to Sprague’s 500, earning the first-ever Bass Pro Tour Points Championship.
It’s the first time this year that neither will compete in the Knockout Round. Evers had made six of eight, while this was the first time Sprague did not advance.
The REDCREST Shuffle
There are 30 spots available for the league’s inaugural championship event, and coming into this week, 18 of those spots had been claimed. That left 12 places and 26 anglers still mathematically alive to qualify.
That number has shrunk, and there are still 10 anglers vying for the final four spots.
Here’s what we know based on estimated calculations:
The following seven have qualified: Bradley Roy, Mike Iaconelli, Zack Birge, Wesley Strader, Brandon Palaniuk, Casey Ashley, Fred Roumbanis, and Greg Vinson.
GILL Reveals Revolutionary Eyewear at ICAST
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Buford, GA (June 27, 2019) – Whether you’re talking eye protection, spying gamefish below the surface, or making sure sun, wind, and weather are managed-out, nothing beats a first-class pair of sunglasses on and around the water. The problem with most fishing sunglasses, however, is they form a cumbersome block around the eyes that is far from aerodynamic when zipping across the lake, river or ocean. Along with that, most lenses take on water spray, ultimately spotting, which marginalizes optics. |
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Enter GILL’s new Corona sunglasses, eyewear sure to impress anglers and boaters everywhere. Featuring a saltwater-tested design, the Corona’s are shaped to direct airflow around the eyes and face. Specially designed cutouts on both sides of the temples direct airflow around (and through) the frames themselves. The Corona’s also feature polarized and hydrophobic lenses for awesome views of what’s below the surface, and so water spray goes away. And since Gill’s new Corona sunglasses are engineered for aquatic activities…they also float. |
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Gill Corona sunglasses come in three colors (Dark Blue/Smoke; Silver/Smoke; and Matte Black/Amber) and have an MSRP of $89.95. To learn more about Gill’s rainwear, fishing apparel, sunglasses and marine accessories, visit www.gillfishing.com. |
About Gill
Gill was an idea first born on British waters in 1975 by founder Nick Gill, a keen sailor who wanted to create a range of sailing product without compromise; the best fabrics, the best features, the best quality.
Now trusted for over 40 years, Gill has grown into an established technical marine apparel brand meeting consumer needs both on and off the water and continues to combine innovative design with the latest fabric technology to increase the performance of its range.
Distributed around the world to 37 countries and more recently through a global Ecommerce platform Gill remains the number one marine glove brand and its comprehensive product range driven by the well-known Race Ocean jacket (0C1) as well as global best seller the Offshore jacket (0S2) continue to set it apart. More recently Gill introduced the highly successful FG21 Tournament Suit with vortex hood to the North American Fishing market.
Stewart Leads after Day One of FLW Tour Event on Lake Champlain
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (June 27, 2019) – Pro Tyler Stewart of West Monroe, Louisiana, caught a five-bass limit weighing 22 pounds, 3 ounces to sit atop the leaderboard after day one of the FLW Tour at Lake Champlain presented by T-H Marine. Tied for second place with 20-7 are pros John Voyles of Petersburg, Indiana, and Tom Redington of Royse City, Texas. The full field of 163 anglers, who are casting for a top award of up to $125,000, will continue competition Friday on day two, with just the top 30 fishing Saturday and the final 10 competing Sunday.
“On the first day of practice, I spent the whole day [focusing] on largemouth. On day two, I tried smallmouth, but just really couldn’t anything going,” said Stewart, a second-year FLW Tour pro. “On the third day of practice I focused on largemouth again and got a little something going, and that’s kind of what I ran with today.
“It started happening pretty quick [this morning]. I caught my weight by like 10:30 [a.m.],” continued Stewart. “I had a 2-pounder in my livewell, and at 11, I caught a 4-pounder that culled, then I left. I’m keeping a flipping stick in my hand all day. I only have a couple of small areas and that’s basically what I’m doing – flipping them up in pretty shallow water.”
Stewart said he caught around 10 keepers throughout his day. He did weigh one smallmouth, a fish he caught after leaving his primary areas.
“I ended up making a quarter-pound cull, which could be pretty crucial,” said Stewart.
The top 10 boaters after day one on Lake Champlain are:
1st: Tyler Stewart, West Monroe, La., five bass, 22-3
2nd: John Voyles, Petersburg, Ind., 20-7
2nd: Tom Redington, Royse City, Texas, five bass, 20-7
4th: Casey Scanlon, Lake Ozark, Mo., five bass, 20-0
5th: Lowrance pro Kurt Mitchell, Milford, Del., five bass, 19-15
6th: Hensley Powell, Whitwell, Tenn., five bass, 19-14
7th: Daryl Biron, South Windsor, Conn., five bass, 19-12
8th: Lowrance pro Jeff Dobson, Bartlesville, Okla., five bass, 19-9
9th: Tommy Dickerson, Orange, Texas, five bass, 19-8
10th: Kurt Dove, Del Rio, Texas, five bass, 19-5
For a full list of results visit FLWFishing.com.
Ryan Salzman of Huntsville, Alabama, earned Thursday’s $500 Big Bass award after bringing a 5-pound, 12-ounce bass to the scale – the largest fish of the day.
Overall there were 804 bass weighing 2,494 pounds, 3 ounces, caught by 163 pros Thursday. The catch included 157 five-bass limits.
In FLW Tour competition, the full field of 163 pro anglers compete in the two-day opening round on Thursday and Friday. The top 30 pros based on their two-day accumulated weight advance to Saturday. Only the top 10 pros continue competition Sunday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from the four days of competition.
The total purse for the FLW Tour at Lake Champlain presented by T-H Marine is more than $860,000. The tournament is hosted by the City of Plattsburgh and the Adirondack Coast Visitors Bureau.
Throughout the season, anglers are also vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2019 FLW Cup, the world championship of professional bass fishing. The 2019 FLW Cup will be on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Aug. 9-11 and is hosted by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and Visit Hot Springs.
Anglers will take off at 6:30 a.m. EST each day from the Plattsburgh City Marina, located at 5 Dock St., in Plattsburgh. Friday’s weigh-in will be held at the marina beginning at 2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday’s weigh-ins will also be held at the marina, but will begin at 4 p.m.
In conjunction with the weigh-ins, FLW will host a free Family Fishing Expo at Plattsburgh City Marina from 2 to 6 p.m. The Expo is a chance for fishing fans to meet their favorite anglers, enjoy interactive games, activities and giveaways provided by FLW sponsors, as well as learn more about the sport of fishing and other outdoor activities.
Also for youth, the FLW Foundation’s Unified Fishing Derby will be held at Wilcox Dock, located at 90 Cumberland Ave., in Plattsburgh, on Saturday, June 29, from Noon-2 p.m. The event is hosted by FLW Foundation pro Cody Kelley along with other FLW Tour anglers, and is free and open to anyone under the age of 18 and Special Olympics athletes. Rods and reels are available for use, but youth are encouraged to bring their own if they own one. The 1st and 2nd place anglers that catch the most fish will be recognized Saturday on the FLW Tour stage, just prior to the pros weighing in.
Television coverage of the FLW Tour at Lake Champlain presented by T-H Marine will premiere in 2019. The exact air-date will be announced soon. The Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show airs each Saturday night at 7 p.m. EST and is broadcast to more than 63 million cable, satellite and telecommunications households in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean on the World Fishing Network (WFN), the leading entertainment destination and digital resource for anglers throughout North America. FLW television is also distributed internationally to FLW partner countries, including Canada, China, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Portugal, Spain and South Africa.
The popular FLW Live on-the-water program will air on Days Three and Four of the event, featuring live action from the boats of the tournament’s top pros each day. Host Travis Moran will be joined by veteran FLW Tour pro Todd Hollowell to break down the extended action each day from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. On-the-water broadcasts will be live streamed on FLWFishing.com, the FLW YouTube channel and the FLW Facebook page.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the sport’s top anglers on the FLW Tour on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
About FLW
FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money in 2019 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW and their partners conduct more than 290 bass-fishing tournaments annually around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Namibia, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, and Zimbabwe. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show while FLW Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros. For more information visit FLWFishing.com and follow FLW at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
Wheeler Continues Roll, Leads Shotgun Round 2 at Bass Pro Tour Evinrude Stage Eight
NEENAH, Wis. – Jacob Wheeler has picked up right where he left off after winning Stage Seven on Table Rock Lake. Even though the competition has moved more than 700 miles north, he still finds himself in familiar territory after the second Shotgun Round of the Evinrude Stage Eight Presented by Tracker Off Road on Lake Winnebago: on top of SCORETRACKER®.
The Tennessee pro caught 33 fish for 51 pounds, 4 ounces, finishing the second day of competition on top of Group B. Leading Bass Pro Tour rounds has become a theme for Wheeler this year. In fact, he’s been in first place after four of his last five competition days, and is proving that the MLF format is tailor-made for his fishing style.
Wheeler has a chance to become the Bass Pro Tour’s first two-time champion and first back-to-back winner if he can continue his hot streak.
The fishing on Winnebago proved to be more difficult on Wednesday’s anglers as only four anglers topped 40 pounds as opposed to eight yesterday. The first Elimination Round on Thursday will show if it was just the conditions or if the fishing is getting tougher.
Even with the lower weights, 664 bass weighing 1,046 pounds were brought in today. The fish are still biting here in Wisconsin.
Wheeler Rolls Through Shotgun Round 2
Wheeler did most of his damage midmorning during Period 2, and once he took over the lead, he never looked back.
“I started in the morning with a pattern that I thought would be good and caught a few, but it didn’t work out as planned,” Wheeler said. “Mid-morning is when I started to make the transition and started to figure things out. It was a good mixture of shallow and deep and both largemouth and smallmouth. I feel like if I can catch another 10 pounds or so during the Elimination Round that I should be able to make it to the Knockout Round.”
He will carry a 3-pound lead over second place and a 26-pound lead over the 20th place spot heading into the Elimination Round.
Tak Stands in Second
Takahiro Omori had an excellent day and held the lead or top two spots for most of the day with 31 bass for 47-14. His catch count was buoyed by a strong morning.
After Period 1, Omori was in the lead by over 5 pounds over Bobby Lane. He stayed near the top the entire day and is in an excellent position to qualify for the REDCREST. He came to Winnebago in 29th and helped his cause tremendously today.
Points Watch
After Group A’s Shotgun Round, Edwin Evers found himself in 26th place. After the Shotgun Rounds, Jeff Sprague sits in 25th. These two continue to match each other blow for blow, and Evers’ slim lead is now down to two points over Sprague in the race for the title of Bass Pro Tour Points Champion. Each fish is always crucial in this format, but it will be magnified the rest of the week.
Looking Ahead
Group A will return to Lake Winnebago tomorrow as the weather prediction calls for partial clouds in the morning with scattered showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon.
Daily Winners
Shotgun Round 2 daily awards were:
The Berkley Big Bass of the day was Jeff Sprague’s 5-0 largemouth.
Jacob Wheeler won the Berkley Catch Count award with 33 bass on the day.
Wheeler also earned the Phoenix Boats Daily Leader award with 51-04.
Looking Ahead
Thursday starts the Elimination Round for Group A, and Group B will compete in this round on Friday. From there, the Top 20 from each group will move on to Saturday’s Knockout Round on Lake Butte des Morts – weights will be zeroed, making the Knockout a one-day scramble on a new fishery.
The Top 10 anglers in the Knockout Round will advance to the Championship Round on Sunday, June 30.
How, When, Where to Watch
Competition continues Thursday at 7 a.m. CT, with live, official scoring available via SCORETRACKER® on MajorLeagueFishing.com and on the MLF app. The MLF NOW! live stream begins at 9:30 a.m. CT with Chad McKee, JT Kenney, Marty Stone and Natalie Dillon.
The Postgame Show Presented by Berkley will begin at approximately 4:30 p.m CT. If you’re in the area, come see us at Shattuck Middle School in Neenah.