| __________________________________________________ AUGUST 10, 2002 - VOL. 3 NO. 28 __________________________________________________ MAJOR SPECIALTY BAIT TOURNAMENTS ARE BACK! Major scale specialty bait tournaments will make a fresh splash in our sport this coming weekend August 18th when the Snag Proof Bass Tournament launches out of Big Break Marina on the California Delta. Billed as "Turning Frogs into Toads," only frog lures made by Snag Proof may be used to entice wily Delta toads, as big bass are called there. An estimated 125 to 150 or more boats are signed up as of last week, and new entrants are wanting to sign up daily. That is, if a cut-off point for a full field hasn't been reached already. "In the late eighties in Texas, I hadn't bass fished more than a few times, when I made up my mind that I wanted to learn how to participate in this fine sport," says 2002 Bass Masters Classic contender and Team Yamamoto pro, Charlie Hammack. "The tournament circuit I signed-up for was a designated bait circuit. This format provides for anglers to compete with specific baits only. It was jigs and spinnerbaits only at one tournament, worms only at another event, and crankbaits and topwater baits only on another lake. This format is an excellent way to teach anglers how to fish specific baits, as this is all they can fish with during the tournament," says Charlie. Indeed, the new series of specialty bait tournaments starting this season will focus on teaching anglers. Free seminars hosted by the Snag Proof pro staff will be provided for all, including Bobby Barrack & Gary Dobyns, two top Delta froggers. Bobby Barrack and another top Delta frogger, 2001 Bass Masters Classic contender Robert Lee are featured in this article on frogging in the July/August issue of the Inside Line magazine. Written by Brian Sak, one of the West's best bass writers and photographers, you can click here to read how Barrack and Lee fish: FROGS AND RATS ON TOP by Brian Sak http://www.insideline.net/2002/0708.html Please note for those contending in the Snag Proof Bass tournament, that the tips and tactics in the above article are not necessarily written in accordance with the rules for the tournament this weekend. For one thing, the tip to follow-up a missed hit on a frog by tossing back in with a bulky worm isn't eligible. But for everyone else across the nation, all these frogging tips in Brian's article are fair game for you this weekend wherever toads lurk under grass mats. On Saturday, November 23, the Yamamoto Tour Tournament Series will also get started on Lake Oroville, California where only soft baits by Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits may be used. After official pre-fish on Friday, Team Yamamoto pros plan to give presentations about the baits and how best to use them in competition the next day on Oroville, plus sample baits will be given out. In early 2003, the Yamamoto specialty tour will make three more tournament stops in Florida, Alabama and Louisiana/Texas. Jimmy Jeansonne who has been fishing tournaments in the Louisiana/Texas area over 30 years says, "I have served as a director in the huge Oilfield tournaments we have here (up to 800 teams). In the mid 1980's there was a circuit in Texas called "Specialty Bass" which operated under this same concept, except they had several lure companies and each tournament you were limited to a specific company's lures. Examples were Stanley, Jawtec, Mann's, etc. For one tournament you could only use Stanley products, the next only Jawtec products, etc. They were very popular tournaments that averaged 150-200 boats. So I think that your concept here will work very well, and will expose many tournament anglers to Yamamoto products who otherwise would not have been exposed," says Jimmy. So that's a little bit of specialty bait tournament history in Texas, plus some bright new prospects for renewed specialty tournament participation in 2002/2003. With both Snag Proof Frog and Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits for starters, who knows where specialty tournaments will go from here? Hopefully, specialty bait tournaments will become increasingly popular with manufacturers and anglers. Best to you. Regards, Russ Bassdozer __________________________________________________ FOR MORE INFORMATION For more information on specialty bait tournaments presented by U.S. Angler's Choice, please visit: http://www.anglerschoice.com For more information on Snag Proof Frogs, please visit: http://www.snagproof.com For more information on the California Delta, visit: http://www.ncbf.com For more great bass articles by great bass writers, you really should subscribe to the Inside Line magazine at: https://yamamoto.baits.com/subscribe.html __________________________________________________
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