B.A.S.S. Reporter’s Notebook: December 21, 2011
College Classic set; Clay Dyer gets back into pro fishing; How much gas does a Bassmaster Elite Series pro burn?; Triton sets dates for 13th tournament; and ... See you next year, Happy Holidays!
by B.A.S.S. News
(Dec. 21, 2011 - Celebration, FL.)...
College Classic set:Louisiana State University will have the opportunity to defend its Bassmaster College Classic title on Feb. 26 on Cross Lake in Shreveport, La., B.A.S.S. LLC announced today.
The 2012 College Classic will be in conjunction with the Feb. 24-26 Bassmaster Classic, the world championship of bass fishing. Teams of students will weigh their catches at the CenturyLink Center just before the Feb. 26 finale weigh-in of the Bassmaster Classic.
LSU’s challengers will be Arkansas and LSU Shreveport. Each school will field three teams, and each team will consist of two students fishing from one boat. Working within a five-fish limit, the team with the most combined weight after one day of competition will win the trophy.
In February 2011, the Fishing Tigers of LSU met the Alabama Crimson Tide on Louisiana’s Lake Verret in the 2011 College Classic. LSU took the trophy by more than 8 pounds over then-defending champ Alabama.
LSU junior Doug McClung of Gramercy, La., was on that winning team. He’ll be returning in 2012 to help defend the title.
"I feel honored to represent LSU again," said McClung, who with Travis Laurent won the 2011 LSU Fishing Team of the Year award. "The tournament will be in our home state again, and we expect to put our A game outthere."
This year, he will be facing sister school LSU Shreveport -and one of his best friends, Joe Landry.
"Joe Landry’s been their ace for a while," McClung said. "He’s going to make this a very interesting tournament. They’ve got a small team, but they’re tough."
Arkansas should prove to be just as formidable an opponent, he added.
"Arkansas is one of those schools that goes back to Day 1 in college fishing. They’ve got the history, and it’s a strong, prestigious program."
Clay Dyer gets back into pro fishing: After two years away from competitive fishing, one of theworld’s most remarkable anglers has chosen the 2012 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open circuit for a restart of his angling career.
Clay Dyer, 33, is admired far and wide as the bass fisherman who competes on the water even though he has no legs, no left arm and a partial right arm.
From Hamilton, Ala., Dyer discovered fishing at age 5 on his grandfather’s catfish farm. By 1996, he was entering tournaments, many of them B.A.S.S. Federation Nation events. By 2004, he was into lower-level FLW events. He advanced to compete in the FLW Tour for four seasons, from 2006 to 2009.
Dyer would be in tournaments just because he loves the sport, but he loves the idea of finishing first in the standings more. Thus his goal for his comeback season: win an Open tournament, and secure the Bassmaster Classic seat awarded to an Open’s pro-division winner.
"I fish to win. I’m going out there; I’m going to lay it on the line. I’m going to practice hard and put in my best effort to get to the Bassmaster Classic," he said. "My ultimate goal is to be a world champion. Not to sound outlandish by saying that, but my goal is the same as any other guy competing - but I want towin more than anyone else wants to."
Dyer isn’t driven by desire for fame. He is quite famous already. He’s been interviewed by ESPN, CBS, Newsweek, CNN, and by countless other mainstream media outlets. He’s been on the cover of Bassmaster Magazine, and been featured in other big-name outdoor publications. Scot Laney of BassFan wrote a book about him. Bassmaster superstar Gerald Swindle calls Dyer his hero.
Dyer’s positive spirit leaves people in awe. What’s more, he has a desire to help others overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles.
"If I can, you can" is his motto.
And he can. To compete, Dyer has devised many ways to overcome his limitations - tying knots with his tongue, casting a lure with the rod handle tucked under his chin, for example. He drives a boat. He can land a big fish. (His personal best stands at 9 pounds, 13 ounces, taken on the famed Mexican lake El Salto on a trip with buddies.)
Dyer’s can-do attitude and strong voice put him in high demand as a motivational speaker. He gets bookings from major corporations, military groups, churches, schools and civic organizations. Making the appearances has been his full-time job over the past few years. That, plus the economic downturn, put competitive fishing on the back burner.
"I’d been feeling the fire to get back out there," he said.
The 2012 Southern Opens worked for him on many levels. "I want to compete against the best there is. I’ve always respected B.A.S.S. and appreciated its tournament model."
He liked the Open fisheries. He’s competed on two of the three, Alabama’s Smith Lake and Lake Norman in North Carolina. The season opener on the Harris Chain might be his most challenging because it’s one Florida fishery he’s never been on.
The timing of the tournaments for January, April and October gave him the flexibility to plan competitions and appearances around each other. Some of those appearances will be for his 2012 slate of sponsors: Strike King, Mercury/MotorGuide, Ranger, Power-Pole, Navionics and Abu Garcia. If nottraveling for them or for tournaments, he’ll be on the road in 2012 to fulfill speaking engagements.
"I’ve been blessed," the devout Dyer said. "Angling gives me a platform to share my life story. I’m looking forward to an awesome year, trying to work hard for sponsors and to being a positive example to others."
How much gas does an Elite pro burn? An average of 18.73 gallons of fuel is consumed by aBassmaster Elite Series pro in one day, according to the calculations of Hammonds Fuel Additives, makes of Biobor EB.
The company tracked the fuel usage of Elite anglers Bradley Roy and Cliff Crochet during the 2011 season. Only official practice days and competition days were counted, 44 in all. A review of the data and subsequent extrapolations led to the conclusion that on average, an Elite angler uses 18.73 gallons of gasoline during a day of practice/competition.
Triton sets dates for 13th tournament: Entries are being accepted for the annual Triton Owners Tournament, June 1-2 on Kentucky Lake. It will be the 13th year for the popular family?oriented event.
See you next year:
After two weeks off, B.A.S.S. Reporter’s Notebook will return Jan. 10. Happy Holidays!
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 - comprehensiveBassmaster website, 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, B.A.S.S. Federation Nation events presented by Yamaha and Skeeter Boats 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.