2019 BASS Elites

[fishballer06]

2019 Bassmaster Elite Series Field 

 

BASS just released the 2019 elite series field. Some fresh faces on here, and a few coming over from the FLW it seems. 

1.        Matt Arey                                 Shelby, N.C.
2.        Todd Auten                              Lake Wylie, S.C.
3.        Drew Benton                            Panama City, Fla.
4.        Stetson Blaylock                      Benton, Ark.
5.        Scott Canterbury                      Odenville, Ala.
6.        Quentin Cappo                         Prairieville, La.
7.        Brandon Card                           Knoxville, Tenn.
8.        Tyler Carriere                           Youngsville, La.
9.        Hank Cherry                             Lincolnton, N.C.
10.     Gary Clouse                               Winchester, Tenn.
11.     Rick Clunn                                 Ava, Mo.
12.     Brandon Cobb                            Greenwood, S.C.
13.     Keith Combs                              Huntington, Texas
14.     Drew Cook                                 Midway, Fla.
15.     John Crews Jr.                            Salem, Va.
16.     Clent Davis                                 Montevallo, Ala.
17.     Rob Digh                                    Denver, N.C.
18.     Greg DiPalma                             Millville, N.J.
19.     Seth Feider                                 Bloomington, Minn.
20.     Micah Frazier                             Newnan, Ga.
21.     David Fritts                                Lexington, N.C.
22.     Chris Groh                                 Spring Grove, Ill.
23.     Jeff Gustafson                            Keewatin, Canada
24.     Skylar Hamilton                        Dandridge, Tenn.
25.     Ray Hanselman                         Del Rio, Texas
26.     Jamie Hartman                          Newport, N.Y.
27.     Matt Herren                               Ashville, Ala.
28.     Dale Hightower                         Manford, Okla.
29.     Harey Horne                              Bella Vista, Ark.
30.     Derek Hudnall                           Newport, N.Y.
31.     Mike Huff                                  Corbin, Ky.
32.     Kelley Jaye                                Dadeville, Ala.
33.     Carl Jocumsen                           Frisco, Texas
34.     Chris Johnston                           Otonabee, Ontario, Canada
35.     Cory Johnston                           Cavan, Ontario, Canada
36.     Steve Kennedy                          Auburn, Ala.
37.     Koby Kreiger                             Bokeelia, Fla.
38.     Robbie Latuso                           Gonzales, La.
39.     Shane Lehew                            Charlotte, N.C.
40.     Brandon Lester                         Fayetteville, Tenn.
41.     Shane Lineberger                      Lincolnton, N.C.
42.     Lee Livesay                              Longview, Texas
43.     Ed Loughran III                        Mechanicsville, Va.
44.     Bill Lowen                                Brookville, Ind.
45.     Mark Menendez                        Paducah, Ky.
46.     Yusuke Miyazaki                      Forney, Texas
47.     Kyle Monti                                Okeechobee, Fla.
48.     Chad Morgenthaler                   Reeds Spring, Mo.
49.     Rick Morris                               Lake Gaston, Va.
50.     Brock Mosley                            Collinsville, Miss.
51.     Paul Mueller                             Naugatuck, Conn.
52.     David Mullins                           Mount Carmel, Tenn.
53.     Luke Palmer                             Coalgate, Okla.
54.     Garrett Paquette                       Canton, Mich.
55.     Chad Pipkens                           Lansing, Mich.
56.     Clifford Pirch                           Payson, Ariz.
57.     Brett Preuett                             Monroe, La.
58.     Cliff Prince                               Palatka, Fla.
59.     Tyler Rivet                                Raceland, La.
60.     Bernie Schultz                          Gainesville, Fla.
61.     Hunter Shryock                         Newcomerstown, Ohio
62.     Brian Snowden                         Reeds Spring, Mo.
63.     Randy Sullivan                         Breckenridge, Texas
64.     Caleb Sumrall                           New Iberia, La.
65.     Jesse Tacoronte                         Orlando, Fla.
66.     Frank Talley                             Temple, Texas
67.     Patrick Walters                         Summerville, S.C.
68.     Bill Weidler                              Helena, Ala.
69.     Clark Wendlandt                       Leander, Texas
70.     Brad Whatley                            Bivins, Texas
71.     Jake Whitaker                           Fairview, N.C.
72.     Jason Williamson                     Wagener, S.C.
73.     Jay Yelas                                   Lincoln City, Ore.
74.     Chris Zaldain                            Laughlin, Nev.

[A-Jay]

Nice List ~ 

Who else believes Mr Rick Clunn may be feeling a little extra veteran-ish right about now ?

A-Jay

[EGbassing]

Why is KVD not on there? 

[Scott F]

56 minutes ago, EGbassing said:

Why is KVD not on there? 

He, and 79 other former BASS and FLW pros are now on the BPT (Major League Fishing) tour.

[Way north bass guy]

1 hour ago, A-Jay said:

Nice List ~ 

Who else believes Mr Rick Clunn may be feeling a little extra veteran-ish right about now ?

A-Jay

I’m wondering if he’s got a few more wins to go now that some of the bigger guns have left the elites, should be an interesting year to see who can maybe rise to the top a little more than they’ve been able to the last few years. Also, maybe a bit biased but I’m rooting for Gussy and the Johnston boys to give em heck this year too. ??

[NittyGrittyBoy]

Rootin for Micah Frasier, only Ga boy on there!!

[A-Jay]

2 hours ago, Way north bass guy said:

I’m wondering if he’s got a few more wins to go now that some of the bigger guns have left the elites, should be an interesting year to see who can maybe rise to the top a little more than they’ve been able to the last few years. Also, maybe a bit biased but I’m rooting for Gussy and the Johnston boys to give em heck this year too. ??

Somewhere on that list, hiding & buried in relative obscurity, is a name - a name we will all get to know quite well.

So well in fact that his face will appear on packages of lures, line & assorted tackle of all kinds. And let's not forget the rods & reels that will also bare his name.  Perhaps even on tires and Truck caps, bass boats & cereal boxes.   

Who is it you ask ?

Only time will tell - but it will happen.

It always does ~ It's the dream.

A-Jay

 

[tander]

I wish all of them the best. I really like the BASS format better than the MLF. Time will tell.

[J.Vincent]

Bunch of Cajuns and Canadiens ! 

[volzfan59]

I had the opportunity to go to dinner with #54, Garrett Paquette a year ago. Super nice guy and very knowledgeable. I wish him, and the others well.

[flyfisher]

Wow i see a guy from my town on the list...gonna have to look him up.  There was a guy in my old neighborhood that had a fully wrapped boat, Costa i believe.  I wonder if it is him....

[TnRiver46]

Pretty impressive list of anglers considering what went down 

[fishballer06]

I'm just wondering how I'm going to manage my fantasy team this season with all these fresh faces around.

 

And I totally agree with A-Jay here. There's going to be 2-3 names on there that we may not know right now, but by the end of the season we're going to be saying "Whoa, this guy is the real deal."

[BassNJake]

So much for qualifying to get into the Elite Series .....

But hey got to do what you've got to do to stay competitive.

 

Watch out for the Johnston boys, they can catch em' anywhere.

 

It'll be a fun year learning the new guys and watch who takes advantage of this golden opportunity.

[bowhunter63]

There is some really good Fisherman on there,Could be some really good ones coming up.Never know.

[Jrob78]

Next year is going to be a lot different but I will still follow as closely as I ever have. I like the smaller field and the addition of some of the FLW guys. I'm happy to see Carl Jocumsen back too. 

[RichF]

On 11/8/2018 at 8:45 AM, fishballer06 said:

 

And I totally agree with A-Jay here. There's going to be 2-3 names on there that we may not know right now, but by the end of the season we're going to be saying "Whoa, this guy is the real deal."

Unfortunately, I can see a lot of fans saying..."that guy only did well because he's not fishing against KVD and co."  I hope that's not the case because there are some really good anglers on that list.  

[TOXIC]

Congrats to my friend  Yusuke Miyazaki   getting back into the Elites.  Besides being a Yamamoto pro, he and his family have become friends.  Yusuke is a grinder and between his lure designing for major manufacturers and the time he spends back in Japan promoting the sport and guiding, I hope he has a successful run.  I met him through one of my sponsors (SPRO) when I lived in Florida and he stayed with me for 2 weeks prefishing.  Gave me some real insight to the day in and day out work these guys put in.  He and his family also stayed with me here in Virginia (wife and 3 kids) while he prefished the Potomac and I stored his boat while he and the family went back to Japan.  Great guy, great family and a fantastic ambassador for the sport.  Looks like I get house guests again.  Pics are of his boat at my house in VA and him fine tuning some cranks in my pool in FL.  

[Troy85]

30 minutes ago, RichF said:

Unfortunately, I can see a lot of fans saying..."that guy only did well because he's not fishing against KVD and co."  I hope that's not the case because there are some really good anglers on that list.  

Someone Should organize a cross tour world championship.  The top 10 from each of the pro tours: Elites, MLF and FLW.

[OCdockskipper]

It looks like the Elites are going to be 75 anglers instead of 80, either because BASS couldn't find 5 more anglers or they felt the quality of angler would be slipping if they chose whatever remaining anglers there were.  I think that may end up being a positive, because by definition, Elite should be something scarce.  You should have to prove yourself to make it.

 

There is talk of how the Elite series is minor league now with the angler changes.  I think that is wishful thinking, for participants don't determine whether a league is minor or major, rather the other way around.  Leagues, through attrition, determine which participants are considered major league versus minor league.  As proof, ask yourself why those pros like Wheeler, Ehrler, Tharp and others who started & made money elsewhere became household names (as much as fishermen can) only after they joined the Elite series?  All these guys have always have had top notch talent, but it wasn't until they made the major leagues (Elite Series) that they became known to the more casual observer.  Most casual anglers did not know who Jordan Lee or Justin Lucas were five years ago.  All that has really happened over the past few months is a bunch of the anglers have basically gone on strike & formed another league and a new set of anglers have taken their place in the Elite Series.  Attrition at a steroid, artificial level. 

 

Now, if BASS screws up and makes changes that diminish their league, then they may end up becoming minor league.  MLF has an opportunity to surpass them as the premier league, but it won't because who they have attracted, it will be based on how their organization operates.  We will find that out over the next 5-10 years, but in the meantime, the Elite Series still is the major league of bass fishing.  IF it wasn't, I don't think Johnny Morris would have hedged his bet by signing a new sponsorship deal with them.