THE BUSINESS NEWS OF FISHING.
Best on Tour brings you interesting news from the fishing industry in a weekly email.
1. Stat of the Day
PRESENTED BY: Sunline
The growing success of college fishing is undeniable. FLW and Bassmaster have vibrant college programs, and now MLF is offering some select college events as well. The first college events came from the Collegiate Bass Championship . They featured big bass style events like the upcoming Bass Pro Shops Big Bass Bash on Kentucky Lak e , or five fish events like the upcoming AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open on Lake Dardanelle.
2. Money Matters
PRESENTED BY: Big Bite Baits
Lure Sold For Over $100,000
While most avid tournament anglers flinch at the thought of spending $100 or more on a pre Rapala Wiggle Wart or a Roman Made Negotiator, antique lure collectors take their tackle budget to an entirely different level. In 2003 the Giant Haskel Minnow sold for $101,200, becoming the highest-priced fishing-related collectible ever sold at auction. Bassmaster Elite Series pro Bernie Schultz is a collector of antique lures and often offers great insight into the subject in his column on the Bassmaster website.
3. Behind the Scenes
PRESENTED BY: SPRO
For professional level anglers like Jeff Kriet neck and back problems can often times be the cost of doing business on the water. Kriet recently underwent neck surgery to repair damaged discs, that resulted in a pinched nerve causing him excruciating pain. While surgery was the eventual answer for Kriet, the Oklahoma pro wishes he had changed his on the water footwear earlier in his career. "I was a guy who typically wore flip flops while I was on the water. When I really started having back and neck pain I discovered the Hoka One One running shoes and they made a huge difference in my comfort level. I'm in no way sponsored by the company, and have taken a lot of grief from my fellow competitors on how goofy they think the thicker soled shoes look, but believe me I wish I had discovered them earlier in my career." concluded Kriet.
4. Anglers Tribune
Former Elite Series Pro Simonton Starts New Venture

Since stepping away from the professional ranks in 2014 former Bassmaster Elite Series Pro Michael Simonton has been keeping busy teaching school, and guiding clients on the fertile Smallmouth waters of Lake Erie. Simonton began pouring a few drop shot baits and swimbaits in his spare time to reduce the costs of running his guide service, and that hobby quickly turned into Venture Lures . " I originally wanted to create a few drop shot baits and a swimbait to reduce the costs of running my guide service on Lake Erie. I’ve been building baits for many years, but 5-6 years ago pouring soft plastics became interesting to me when I did a couple “how to” videos for one of my old sponsors. All of my baits are hand carved and I make every single mold. I now have five drop shot baits and a swimbait called the Steady Swimmer.  All of my baits were used on my guide trips, some for two years before I decided to sell them. Due to the success I was having with the baits it gave me the confidence to release them to the public. The drop shot baits have sold well, but my swimbait is probably the bait that actually has the potential to be a big deal and be sought out by tournament anglers. When I started working on the swimbait I wanted a small swimbait with a lot of thumping action that could catch fish in off colored water that we see on Lake Erie’s western basin in the spring time, after it blows hard for a couple days. I started carving it in a way that I thought would give it the most thumping action, and truly believe that I got lucky because it thumps just like I wanted it to. It has a unique mid section wiggle, doesn’t role over to far, and has a hard thumping tail. I also designed a custom ball head jig that has either a small 2/0 or 3/0 Gamakatsu hook. The smaller hooks are key to give the bait more action. I personally like the 2/0 better. The hooks also don’t flex much so you can catch tons of fish on them before they start to bend. The Steady Swimmer has now caught multiple smallmouth in the six pound class and too many to count between 3-5 pounds on my guide trips. Customers are reporting back that the Steady Swimmer is out performing some of the most popular swimbaits out there, and that they are shocked at how much action such a small bait can have. I’m really enjoying building baits right now, it’s turned into a great hobby." Simonton concluded.
5. Baits Not Being Talked About
Since 2004, David Ryan has been making, repairing and fishing custom balsa square bill crankbaits Many anglers and a number of companies have tried to replicate the action of the old brass line tie balsa baits. His Black Market Balsa crankbaits are hand carved, custom painted and individually hand tuned to insure they run perfectly when purchased. See all the sizes and colors available here.
6. What We're Watching & Listening To
PRESENTED BY: Gamakatsu
Derek Hudnall Goes All In At St. Lawrence
7. Jersey Watch
PRESENTED BY: Denali
A proven winner on a new Tour this year
Clark Wendlandt moved to the Bassmaster Elite Series in 2019 and brought with him an impressive resume of accomplishments and sponsors. He has three FLW Angler of the Year Titles, 4 FLW Tour wins and 17 FLW Cup appearances. His sponsors include big brands like Bass Pro Shops, Ranger, Evinrude, Strike King, Garmin and Sunline . He enters this week's event on Cayuga in 45th place in the AOY standings, currently just below the projected cut line to qualify for the 2020 Bassmaster Classic.
Photo courtesy of Bassmaster.com.
8. Regional Recommendations
Sportsman's Factory Outlet is the place to be if you are in Springfield,MO. They have everything you could ever need if you are a bass, or pan fisherman. Offering all of the latest equipment and lures, they are on the cutting edge when it comes to the newest trends in fishing The store manager is an avid angler, and always has the latest information on what is going on at the lake around the Springfield area. Being that Sportsmans Factory Outlet is owned by Lews they offer a wide range of all the Lews products in store, and even have an onsite Bass Fishing Museum.
9. Best for Last
PRESENTED BY: AFTCO
If you've ever watched FLW Cup champion Bryan Thrift fish you might have noticed he typically moves at an extremely fast pace. During his recent win at Lake Hamilton crankbaits played a major role in Thrift's formula for success. What might surprise you is the fact that Thrift cranks year round with an Abu Garcia Revo Winch , which features a 5:4:1 gear ratio. Many professional anglers vary the gear ratios of their cranking reels based on the season and water temperature, while some like Aaron Martens rarely go below a 7:4:1 no matter the conditions. Thrift's theory seems to be based less on conditions and more on the mental side of the equation. In FLW's Day 5 feature Thrift explained that his reasoning for using the slower gear ratio reel while cranking was to "Know that he is fishing slow making the same cast over and over, but in his mind feel like he is blazing down the bank, because he is winding the reel so fast." Playing tricks with his own mind has seemed to work out well for Thrift, as he surpassed the $3,000,000 career earnings mark with his recent victory.
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