Stratos Boats Unveils "2X Double Your Winnings" Contingency Program
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (April 16, 2008) –  Capitalizing on the enormous popularity of team tournaments across the country, Stratos Boats recently announced the new 2X Double Your Winnings contingency program.  Designed to reward Stratos owners with serious cash, the program will run from April 15 to December 31, 2008 and will double first-place tournament winnings from any qualified tournament, up to $10,000. 

With no signup fee or membership dues to pay, the Stratos 2X Double Your Winnings program is available to owners of any 2007-2009 model Stratos boat and makes no restrictions on individual models or motor pairings. In fact, with the Stratos Boats 2X Double Your Winnings program, anglers simply fill out an affidavit within 30 days of a first-place finish in a qualified tournament and Stratos Boats will double the winnings by matching the first place prize, no matter how many qualified tournaments an angler might win in a year.

For more information on the Stratos Boats 2X Double Your Winnings contingency program, or to find a list of qualified tournaments and download a copy of the affidavit, go to www.stratosboats.com. 

Support Sought For Angler-Friendly MPA Proposal
Alexandria, VA—Sportfishing’s trade association, the American Sportfishing Association (ASA), and the Partnership for Sustainable Oceans (PSO), are asking anglers around the country for help in supporting Proposal 2XA, as the preferred alternative when California considers the establishment of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) along its North Central Coast.

MPAs are marine reserves that are closed to recreational fishing, and have been the source of great friction among government officials, conservationists and sportfishermen in other areas where they’ve been established, including elsewhere in California.

Proposal 2XA, according to PSO and ASA, is designed to enhance local fisheries populations, most specifically groundfish (rockfish) and roundfish (lingcod, cabezone, greenling), the very species that will benefit most from MPAs. Yet, it calls for them to be placed in areas where they will have the least impact on recreational anglers.

The Marine Resources Protection Plan, which the PSO originally proposed in October 2007, is the foundation of Proposal 2XA. The proposal strategically establishes MPAs to achieve broad-based conservation of marine resources while minimizing unnecessary closures to recreational fishing, thus ensuring that sustainable recreational activities will be available to the public now and into the future.
 
A Blue Ribbon Task Force, formed under California’s Marine Life Protection Act, will meet April 22 and 23 to vote on which proposal to forward to the California Fish and Game Commission (FGC) as the “preferred alternative.” Both the ASA and PSO are asking anglers to send a letter to the Blue Ribbon Task Force , asking its members to endorse Proposal 2XA and forward the proposal to the FGC.

Lowrance Announces Free Digital Map Offer
Tulsa, Okla. – Lowrance, a world-leading brand in marine electronics since 1957 and GPS navigational systems since 1992, announced today a limited-time, free digital-map promotion. Individuals who purchase a color Lowrance LMS sonar/chartplotter combo or 5” color GlobalMap® chartplotter from an authorized Lowrance dealer between April 10th and July 7th, 2008 will have a choice of a free plug-and-play Lowrance Fishing Hot Spots® PRO or Lowrance LakeMaster® ProMaps mapcard, or a Lowrance NauticPath™ USA coastal chartcard — redeemable with a mail-in coupon and proof of purchase. A $99 product value, mapcards and chartcards appeal to both inland and offshore boaters, and offer rich detail to help maximize the functionality of their Lowrance systems and get the most out of every boating excursion.

“With wide coverage areas and detailed contour information, our maps are the perfect complement to our LMS and GlobalMap lines,” said Gordon Sprouse, director of marketing, Lowrance. “This offer provides significant savings to our customers and gives them a free gift they can really use.”

Lowrance LMS sonar/chartplotter combos and color GlobalMap chartplotters are available at authorized Lowrance dealers and distributors throughout the United States and Canada. The free digital map mail-in coupon is available upon request at participating retailers or online at www.lowrance.com. For more information on this limited-time, digital-map promotion, the LMS and GlobalMap products, or the entire line of Lowrance marine electronics, please visit www.lowrance.com or call toll-free 1.800.324.1356 in the USA or 1.800.661.3983 in Canada.

Mann’s pro sets all-time 4-day weight record and wins $100,000
Eufaula, AL – Paul Elias shattered the records books with his win at the Bassmaster Elite Series Falcon Lake, Texas tournament.  When the scales stopped Paul’s 4-day total weight was an astonishing 132 pounds 8 ounces for 20 bass—just over a 6-½ pound average per fish.  The weight eclipsed Steve Kennedy’s prior record of 122 pounds 14 ounces from California’s Clear Lake in 2007, a record that many thought would never be broken. 

Elias is best known as a deep-structure crankbaiting specialist. True to form, he caught the majority of his key fish on a Mann’s 20+ crankbait and back-up Carolina-rigged 12-inch watermelon-red Jelly Worm.

“I had the best day on the water that I’ve had in 32 years of tournament fishing,” said the 56-year-old, Laurel, Miss., resident.  “‘Ol Homer’, my nickname for the 20+ that I used is actually a color (chartreuse with green tiger stripes) that Mann’s custom painted for me in the late 80’s.  This particular color has never been a regular item or appeared in Mann’s catalogs, but it has always been one of my go-to baits for big fish.”    

RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. (Friday, April 4, 2008) - True to the spring break spirit, there is one group of college students that has been spending its get-away time on the water, but doing so in bass boats instead of in the stereotype beach party setting. 

The group is college anglers and they have been busy taking full advantage of recent spring tournaments being held especially for them. The latest event was the Arkansas Tech University College Bass Invitational held last weekend on nearby Lake Dardanelle. It was filmed by Careco Multimedia and will air this fall as part of the BoatU.S. National Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship (NCBFC) series on the Fox College Sports network.

With 89 anglers, representing 19 schools and involving a total of 46 teams, it turned out to be one of the largest college tournaments held to date in the young but rapidly growing sport of collegiate bass fishing. While many of the participants were from Arkansas and surrounding states, several teams also traveled farther including the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Purdue, Alabama, Nebraska, Eastern Kentucky and Murray State, also from Kentucky.

The success by nearly all of the teams over the two-day event, held on a Friday and Saturday, served as proof that these college students were here for the competition and not a big spring break party.

The Northwestern State University (La.) team of Jeff Rich and Nathan Fields finished top of the class with an impressive total weight of 37.24 pounds for 10 bass. The second place Murray State team of Dan Langhorn and Don Winters also weighed a five fish limit on both days for a total of 35.06 pounds.

"This was an awesome tournament," said Fields after the win. "Recent rains had the water high and muddy, but we found some really good fish. We caught 20 or so on red Rat-L-Traps the first day, including three in the 4-5 pound range. On the second day, a cold front hit with high winds and rain that kind of messed things up. We made a long run as our time was running out and ended up catching three big fish, including a 6.3 pounder, in 22 minutes on V&M tubes and jigs, before having to rush to weigh-in."

Rounding out the top five spots were, 3rd place - Purdue's (Ind.) Aaron McAlexander and Alex Lowe with 34.82 pounds, 4th place - Stephen F. Austin's (Texas) Kendall Wieczyk and Ben Newsom with 31.8 pounds, and 5th place - Arkansas Tech's Chris McKinney and Joey Potts with 31.19 pounds. Each of the top 26 teams had final weights of more than 10 pounds.

While the competition is more about the school rivalries and warming up for the national championship later in the year, there were some prizes earned by the top finishing clubs and anglers. First place was awarded a check for nearly $600 to take back to its club, and second and third place also won cash prizes. Merchandise awards were items from Abu Garcia rods and reels, Berkley line, Sperry Top-Sider sport shoes, Costa Del Mar sunglasses and others.

The final roster of participating schools and the number of teams from each included: Arkansas Tech with six, University of Arkansas with six, Ouachita Baptist University (Ark.) with three, Stepen F. Austin with four, Northwestern State University (La.) with two, University of Louisiana - Lafayette with one, Murray State (Ky.) with three, Eastern Kentucky with two, Purdue with three, Wabash College (Ind.) with one, Alabama with three, Kansas State with three, Pittsburgh State (Kan.) with one, Drury University (Mo.) with one, University of Illinois with one, Nebraska with one, Wisconsin-Whitewater with one and Oklahoma with one.

In this and most college bass fishing formats, a "team" consists of two persons fishing from the same boat. One angler can fish alone when circumstances affect a partner's participation, pending approval by the tournament director.

"This was our third annual event and each year they just get bigger and better," said Christy Austin, an adjunct instructor at Arkansas Tech and the faculty advisor to the school's fishing club. "We're fortunate to have so many people that believe in the program and work hard to make it a success, including this year's club president Joey Potts." 

Robert Chandler, executive producer of the NCBFC for Fox College Sports, said, "The amazing response from Arkansas Tech has shown the nation the unbelievable level that college fishing has achieved with Fox College Sports' unwavering support to take college fishing to the next level."

Another spring collegiate tournament was also recently held on Lake Belton in Texas to coincide with that state's spring break schedule for many of its universities. It, too, was well attended. Winning at Belton was the Texas A&M team of Justin Rackley and Kenny Stuart.

"Both the Arkansas and Texas spring tournaments were wonderful events with lots of support from the respective communities and public," said Mike Hastings, representing Careco Multimedia. "Even the mayor of Russellville really got into all the excitement while attending registration, and came back for the take-offs and weigh-ins on both days. College bass fishing is fun stuff for everyone concerned."

Many of the same teams from the Arkansas and Texas events will also compete in the 2008 NCBFC scheduled for this fall on Texas' Lake Lewisville. The NCBFC is made possible by support from BoatU.S., BoatU.S. Angler, Cabela's, Ranger Boats, Yamaha, Garmin, Costa Del Mar, Pioneer Beef Jerky, Abu Garcia, Berkley, Fenwick, Anglers' Legacy, Stearns, EGO Nets, Sebile, American Rodsmiths, Aviva Fishin' Buddy, Biosonix, Bill Lewis Lures, Gene Larew Lures, Nemire Lures, Sperry Top-Sider, Power Pole, City of Lewisville, Sneaky Pete's Marina and Fox College Sports.

For more information about college bass fishing and other upcoming regional tournaments, visit www.collegiatebasschampionship.com.

Twenty-five fish daily limit takes effect July 1 in Lake Erie waters west of Huron
COLUMBUS, OH - Lake Erie anglers fishing in Ohio waters west of Huron will face a reduction this summer in the daily bag limit for yellow perch, following action by the Ohio Wildlife Council on Wednesday.

Beginning July 1, the daily bag limit for yellow perch will drop from 30 to 25 fish per angler, but only in waters west of Huron.  The daily bag limit will remain at 30 fish per angler in Ohio waters from Huron eastward, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife.

In additional action, the wildlife council:
1) Approved a reduction in the statewide daily bag limit for muskellunge from two fish to one fish.
2) Allowed access to several lakes owned by the Division of Wildlife to motorboats greater than 10 horsepower as long as they operate at idle speed. These lakes include Knox Lake in Knox County, Lake La Su An in Williams County, Oxbow Lake in Defiance County, and Rupert Lake in Vinton County.
3) Allowed 10-horsepower motors on Greenfield Lake and Rockmill Lake in Fairfield County, and Zepernick Lake in Columbiana County.