Dudley leads Lake Champlain FLW Tour Major for third straight day  David Dudley 2012 Angler of the Year 30.Jun.2012
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Earlier in the season, Castrol pro David Dudley told the crowd attending the Walmart FLW Tour at Beaver Lake to “watch out at Lake Champlain.” Dudley’s prophetic statement seems to have come true as he led the field for the third straight day at the Walmart FLW Tour on Lake Champlain, presented by Chevy.
Dudley also cemented his third Walmart FLW Tour Angler of the Year title in five years Saturday. With the title, Dudley becomes the first pro to win back-to-back AOY crowns. The title is awarded to the pro who accumulates the most points over the six FLW Tour Majors over the course of the season. Dudley earned $100,000 plus a berth in the 2013 Forrest Wood Cup in addition to the AOY title.
Dudley, who won previous Angler of the Year titles in 2011 and 2008, started the 2012 FLW Tour Major season with a 24th-place showing at Lake Hartwell. He followed that up 59th at Table Rock Lake. He went on a tear after that and won at Beaver Lake, finished third at the Potomac River and then posted a 14th-place finish at Kentucky Lake.
 Dudley Holds Day 1 Lead in Walmart FLW Tour Major PLATTSBURGH, NY - The best professional bass anglers from all over the world began their four-day battle for a top cash award of up to $125,000 at the Walmart FLW Tour Major on Lake Champlain presented by Chevy on Thursday. Just a few short weeks after an incredible event on Kentucky Lake, the pros were anticipating a hot bite at the popular angler destination. Lake Champlain didn't disappoint them.
Castrol pro David Dudley of Lynchburg, Va., who went into the Champlain event with a one-point lead in the FLW Tour Angler of the Year race, weighed a five-bass limit for 24 pounds even to take the early lead in the tournament. Dudley now holds a 3-pound, 4-ounce lead over Walmart pro George Cochran of Hot Springs, Ark., and Snapple pro Jacob Powroznik of Prince George, Va., who both caught five bass weighing 20-12.
"They were biting," Dudley said. "It's Lake Champlain in June. They bite.
"The lake was calm," Dudley added. "It's Lake Champlain. You can go anywhere and do anything you want to do."
 Alabama pro leads Elite Series field on Great Lakes fishery after one day GREEN BAY, WI. - The Bassmaster Elite Series event that was billed for months as the "Mystery Lake" tournament is still something of a mystery to many of the best bass anglers in the world. The 2006 Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year, Aaron Martens, leads the way at the Green Bay Challenge with a five-bass limit of smallmouth that weighed 20 pounds. His closest competition, Dean Rojas, is just two ounces back, but a third of the field is knotted between 11 and 14 pounds.
"Everyone's basically fishing in the same area," Martens said, describing a 3 or 4 mile stretch of Lake Michigan on the west side of the lake, not far from Sand Bay. "I'm concerned that all the fishing pressure might affect the bite and make things tough tomorrow."
David Walker, currently sixth with 17-13, estimated that there were as many 80 boats in a 3-mile section of the lake. "In places, the boats are just 50 feet apart."
Social Circle, Ga-- Two law enforcement agencies are teaming up to maximize resources and coverage of Lake Lanier. Georgia Department of Natural Resources' Wildlife Resources Division and Gwinnett County Police Department are launching a Boating Safety Initiative, which will increase law enforcement presence on the lake and help address issues such as Boating Under the Influence (BUI).
"With limited budgets and personnel numbers, our two agencies have created an innovative way to increase the number of patrol boats and law enforcement officers on Lake Lanier," explains Col. Eddie Henderson, Georgia DNR. "Police officers will be paired with rangers in DNR patrol boats. This will allow us to put more boats on the water year-round for high-traffic weekends, holidays and special events."
Social Circle, GA - As a result of South Carolina's recently revised fishing laws, development of a new reciprocal agreement with Georgia was necessary and will go into effect July 1.
Georgia and South Carolina's reciprocal freshwater fishing license agreement allows anglers to fish on border waters with a valid fishing license from either state. Border waters include the Chattaooga River to Lake Hartwell and downstream waters such as lakes Russell and Clarks Hill, and the Savannah River.
BENTON, Ky. (June 21, 2012) - Four current members and veterans of the fishing industry have been elected to serve on the Professional Anglers Association Board of Directors.
Scott Burns of Texas, Johnny Grice of Texas and Kelly Power of Missouri join the board as the newest board members. Returning for another term on the board is Brian Snowden of Missouri. Snowden has served on the board for three years previously and also has served as Secretary of PAA from 2011-2012.
 Kyle Fox with 16 pounds, 8 ounces LA CROSSE, Wis. - Florida native Kyle Fox must have some Northern blood coursing through his angler veins.
As he led the Mississippi River Rumble on Thursday with 16 pounds, 8 ounces, the Bassmaster Elite Series rookie from Lakeland, Florida, was reminded that he tied down his Elite qualification in 2011 by excelling on northern fisheries like Lake Erie and New York's Lake Oneida.
Fox, 24, added the Mississippi River to that list by beating 97 other anglers on a river he'd never before competed on and first saw three days ago.
"I think I am so limited with what I know about a place I fish the first time, I have to go with what I do best," he said. That, he said, was to hit the river's shallow grassy backwaters, not so unlike what he was weaned on in Florida.
Fox led the Rumble by 3 ounces over Aaron Martens of Leeds, Ala., in second place with 16-5. Fox was ahead of the Top 5 by less than 1 pound: Grant Goldbeck of Boerne, Texas, with 16-0; Billy McCaghren of Mayflower, Ark., with 15-11; and Greg Hackney of Gonzales, La., with 15-10.
 PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. - The Walmart FLW Tour on Lake Champlain presented by Chevy will visit Plattsburgh, N.Y., June 28-July 1 for the final major of its 17th season. Hosted by the City of Plattsburgh and the Adirondack Coast Visitors Bureau, the tournament will feature the world's best bass pros and co-anglers casting for top awards up to $125,000 cash in the Pro Division and up to $25,000 cash in the Co-angler Division.
"This is going to be wide open, really," said Chevy pro Luke Clausen of Spokane, Wash. "The largemouth there are a force to be reckoned with. There's a really good chance the tournament will be won on largemouth most likely down south. It will all depend on the weather.
The Umbrella rig, also known as the Alabama rig, was used to win a large bass fishing tournament in Alabama in October 2011. This is now one of the most sought-after pieces of tackle in the bass-fishing community both here in Ontario and throughout the United States.
The rig consists of a hard body with a line-tie followed by five wire strands in a fan design, each with a snap swivel at the end. Anglers can attach a variety of lures to each swivel for a look that is meant to imitate a school of baitfish.
In Ontario, it is illegal to fish with a line that has more than four hooks attached. The original Alabama rig with five hooks or lures attached is not permitted for use in the province, but one modified to four strands or arms to accommodate only four hooks is allowed.
RALEIGH, N.C.- Wildlife officers with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission will be reaching out to as many people as possible this weekend about the hazards of boating while impaired as part of Operation Dry Water 2012.
The annual nationwide campaign will have law enforcement officers from local, state and federal agencies out in force June 22-24 to remind boaters that it is unsafe, as well as illegal, to operate a boat under the influence of drugs or alcohol. In North Carolina, penalties upon conviction include a maximum $1,000 fine and possible jail time.
Recreational boating fatalities last year jumped to their highest levels since 1998 and operating while impaired was the leading contributing factor, according to the U.S. Coast Guard's report, 2011 Recreational Boating Statistics.
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