Tracy Adams beats the odds: Tracy Adams knows some impressive math: Compete in 12 Bassmaster events, get into the Bassmaster Classic two times. That’s one Classic berth for every six tournaments.
Sure, two isn’t Kevin VanDam’s 22 consecutive appearances in the world championship, nor Rick Clunn‘s 32 total – but still very, very good for Adams.
Adams earned his second Classic berth April 7 by winning the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open on Lake Norman. Part of the Open winner’s prize package is an instant-in for the upcoming Classic 0 provided the winner competes in all three of the division’s events.
So Adams has hold of only a corner of a ticket to the 2013 Classic. He will need to fish out the Southern Open season, which concludes Oct. 6 on Alabama’s Smith Lake. Not much would keep him away from Smith Lake, he said Monday, still elated about his victory.
If he has a secret Classic-qualifying weapon, he wasn’t ready to reveal it. He does recognize that he beat the odds: “Pretty awesome, isn’t it? I don’t know how I did it, but I did it.”
Getting into the Classic guarantees nothing, as he found out as a competitor in 2011 on the Louisiana Delta. He finished 49th of 50 anglers.
“I’m looking for a little redemption on that,” he said.
He doesn’t mind holding on until October to secure his second chance. “I’m going to do the Northern Opens between now and then, and some local stuff, so I’ll have plenty to do,” he said.
From Wilkesboro, N.C., Adams had a home water advantage last week on Lake Norman. And he had momentum. The week before the Central Open, he won a one-day derby on Norman in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Weekend Series operated by American Bass Anglers.
Familiarity with Lake Norman helped him take his second Classic seat. His first Classic entry, back when the berths were awarded by points, he earned his spot in the Northern division’s stops on Lake Champlain, Detroit River and Chesapeake Bay. He did well in all three: third, 33rd and sixth, respectively. Under the points system of 2010, the top two anglers at the end of the Open season earned Classic spots, and he was No. 2.
“It was such a blast, that first Classic,” Adams said. “I’ve fished several FLW Championships, and they were good too, don’t get me wrong, but the Classic’s different, it’s just different. I’m really looking forward to it.”
When he isn’t competing, Adams, 38, works with his father in a tackle and grocery store. It’s what he went back to when he qualified in 2010 for the 2011 Bassmaster Elite Series, along with the 2011 Classic. Now, if he can qualify a second time, he said he will again consider moving up to the Elite level.
Elite spots are awarded on the points system. A slow start (95th) in Florida pushed Adams to the bottom of the list, but his April 7 win leveled him out to 29th place in points. He would need another strong finish on Smith Lake to land another invite.
No bull in Bull Shoals (and not many shoals either): As Bassmaster Elite Series pros travel this week to Bull Shoals Lake in Arkansas for the April 19-22 TroKar Quest, they are likely to be thinking about the big impoundment.
But would their thoughts hover for even a second over the lake’s unusual name? Maybe. Probably not; they’ve heard them all. But Bull Shoals is one of those names that get you wondering about its origin.
After all, Bulls Shoals is not a particularly shallow impoundment, and in fact is hundreds of feet deep at the dam. And while it is possible that male bovines are known to wade in low water, that explanation also seems unlikely.
Some reference to a rising market, perhaps?
Clarity comes via the online Encyclopedia of Arkansas, a digital endeavor of the Central Arkansas Library System and a collaboration of state government, historical organizations and private citizens.
According to the encyclopedia, the “Bull” in the lake name is derivative of “boill,” the word used by early French hunters and trappers to describe springs that appeared to bubble up in shallow spots of the White River (long before it was dammed to form deeper lakes). When an English-speaking settler picked up the word, he pronounced it “bull.” Thus, the waterway became known as Bull Shoals. The name stuck when the lake was formed in 1951.
Today, a state park provides an expansive view of Bull Shoals Lake, Bull Shoals Dam and the White River below the dam. Famous for its rainbow and brown trout fishery, the racing river could still, in places, be said to “bull.”
Learn more about the Bull Shoals-White River State Park at http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/.
The quest to be Elite: Last Saturday, with two of the three 2012 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open events in the books, the points standings took shape. After the season’s three events, the top five pros will automatically qualify for a spot in the 2013 Bassmaster Elite Series.
If the Opens were to end now, the five at the top would be: 1) Clifford Pirch, Payson, Ariz., 376 points; 2) Kevin Hawk, Guntersville, Ala., 372 points; 3) Jason Williamson (a 2012 Elite pro), Aiken, S.C., 361 points; 4) Greg Vinson (a 2012 Elite pro), Wetumpka, Ala., 357 points; and 5) Kelly Jaye, Dadeville, Ala., 345 points.
Under a revised points system for 2012, pros receive 1 point for every place achieved within the field. In a field of 184 (the actual number of pros in last week’s Open), the winner receives 184 points, second place 183 points, and so on.
In the case of double-qualifiers, B.A.S.S. would work down the Opens points list to offer the Elite spot to the next-highest ranking pro.
The latest Carhartt Big Bass and Luck “E” Strike Heavyweight awards: Tracy Adams scored a $250 bonus in the form of a Bass Pro Shops gift certificate for the biggest one-day bag of all the pros in the April 5-7 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open on Lake Norman.
Adams of Wilkesboro, N.C., produced a five-fish limit that weighed 20 pounds, 13 ounces, on Day 1. He went on to win the event.
Glynn Goodwin of Marietta, Ohio, won the Luck “E” Strike Heavyweight award on the co-angler side for his Day 2 bag of 9-9, a three-fish limit. Goodwin picked up the $250 Bass Pro Shops gift certificate.
Carhartt Big Bass awards rewarded both the pro and co-angler with a $500 bonus.
Pro Matthew McBee of Concord, N.H., brought in his division’s largest single fish. Caught on Day 2, it was 6 pounds, 5 ounces.
On Day 1, co-angler Tom McDermott of Madison, N.C., weighed in a 4-11, his division’s largest bass.
Smith Mountain on the Horizon for College Anglers: At 20,600 acres, Smith Mountain Lake is the largest reservoir entirely contained in Virginia. So anglers participating in the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series East Super Regional on April 13-14 will have a lot of territory to cover.
With record-breaking catches at the March 2012 event on Lake Guntersville, a new crop of collegiate teams look to make a statement of their own.
Water temperatures have been steadily rising recently, and that should entice bass to the shallows and allow anglers to sight fish. Pre-spawn fish may linger in staging areas leading to the spawning flats.
Virginia Tech’s Carson Rejzer knows the fishery and said it’s shaping up to be a tournament with multiple patterns.
“It’s really one of those lakes where you can do anything you want,” Rejzer said. “There’s clear, deep water, deep brush, deep rock and muddy moving water. It’s just a lake that can play to your advantage.”On Guntersville, pre-spawn areas prevailed, and several teams targeted shallower water. Smith Mountain tends to be aligning similarly. Water temperature and moon phases are important factors in how bass behave.
“They’re pre-spawn still with the water being at 53 degrees,” Rejzer said. “So nothing moved up on the last moon, but some buck bass are moving up and cruising, but the majority of everything is staging and waiting to move up.”
Warming trends across the country could move fish into a spawning mode in a hurry. Anglers need to be ready to adapt.
“The A-rig is going to play a factor in any tournament that allows you to throw it,” Rejzer said, “but as far as I’m concerned you don’t have to throw that to win. You can catch them on a lot of other things.”
Rejzer says the Alabama Rig will be over-shadowed by other techniques on Smith Mountain. On Guntersville, a number of anglers threw umbrella rigs, but those anglers didn’t bring in record sacks. Rattle traps decided the event for the majority of teams, including the winners.
That same scenario could unfold April 13-14 as the Carhartt Bassmaster East Super Regional kicks off. All schools entered will fish for a chance to earn more than $7,000 in cash and prizes, as well as a top 50 finish to qualify their school to the National Championship in Little Rock.The top four teams in the June 25-27 event move on to fish the Bassmaster Classic bracket, a head-to-head elimination to determine which college anglers qualifies for the 2013 Bassmaster Classic on Grand Lake in Tulsa, Okla., Feb 22-24.
Registration deadline for the 2012 East Super Regional on Smith Mountain Lake, Va., is Thursday, April 12, at 4 p.m.
Be sure to follow us online at the Bassmaster website/college for live streaming weigh-ins, photo galleries, standings and articles covering the tournament.
B.A.S.S. Fantasy Fishing Presented by Toyota Trucks for real fun and prizes: How’s your fantasy life? Well, if you’re one of the 25 B.A.S.S. Fantasy Fishing presented by Toyota Trucks winners from the Bassmaster Classic or one of 25 from each Bassmaster Elite Series event, your fantasy life is pretty rich. Not only do you have bragging rights among friends and family, you’ve got some pretty good swag, too. Prizes include gift cards from major retailers, angler jerseys, caps, T-shirts and, if you’re the grand prize winner, a Triton-Mercury boat and motor package.
Bassmaster Classic Fantasy Fishing winner Nicholas Drozd of Fremont, Mich., got his season started right. His prowess at picking pros earned him a $5,000 gift card from a major retailer, a custom winner cap and a professional angler’s autographed tournament jersey. The B.A.S.S. Fantasy players who finished second through 10th picking Classic talent won a gear pack valued at $200 plus a custom cap and T-shirt. Those finishing 11th through 25th got the cap and T-shirt.
When the Bassmaster Elite Series season kicked off with the St. Johns River Showdown, Zanesville, Ohio’s Ronald Paxton was ready. No, he didn’t catch a bass in the competition, but he did show off his skills at picking the pros who excelled that week. Paxton won a $5,000 gift card, custom cap and angler jersey.
At the Power-Pole Slam on Lake Okeechobee, Ish Monroe may have caught more than 100 pounds of bass on his way to the win, but it was Ben Fuchs of Manhattan, Kan., who got the Fantasy spotlight, gift card and clothes.
For each Bassmaster Elite Series event, the top 25 Fantasy Fishing players will earn prizes as follows:
1st place – $5,000 gift card from a major retailer, custom cap and angler jersey
2nd – 10th place – $200 gear pack, custom cap and T-shirt
11th – 25th place – custom cap and T-shirt
For the Fantasy player with the top score at the end of the 2012 B.A.S.S. Fantasy Fishing season, the prize is one that’s guaranteed to make you want to get out on the water and catch some bass yourself ? a Triton 18SE bass boat equipped with a Mercury Optimax 150 outboard, a $5,000 gift card from a major retailer and a customer winner cap.
If you’re ready to turn this fantasy into reality, sign up for Fantasy Fishing today at the bassmaster website/fantasy.
About B.A.S.S.
For more than 40 years, B.A.S.S. has served as the authority on bass fishing. The organization advances the sport through advocacy, outreach and an expansive tournament structure while connecting directly with the passionate community of bass anglers through its Bassmaster media vehicles.
The Bassmaster brand and its multimedia platforms are guided by a mission to serve all fishing fans. Through its industry-leading publications ? Bassmaster Magazine and B.A.S.S. Times ? comprehensive Bassmaster website and ESPN2 and Outdoor Channel television programming, Bassmaster provides rich, leading-edge content true to the lifestyle.
The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Open Series, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series, Cabela’s B.A.S.S. Federation Nation events and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Bassmaster Classic.
B.A.S.S. offers an array of services to its more than 500,000 members and remains focused on issues related to conservation and water access. The organization is headquartered in Birmingham, Ala.By: B.A.S.S. News
