May 17th, 2012 - Bass King Pro Team Angler Justin Rackley in action.  Filmed on Lake Fork in Texas.

B.A.S.S. Elite Series Pro and Bass King Pro Team member, Randy Howell, has always been one of the most consistent anglers in the field.  The 2012 B.A.S.S. season is turning out to be no different.  After finishing 5th overall at this past weekend’s Elite Series Douglas Lake Challenge in Dandridge, TN, the ten-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier took the reins at the top of the 2012 Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year race.

Howell started the season off on the right foot by sprinting (literally) into the top 12 to fish the final day of the St. Johns River Showdown in Palatka, FL.  Howell didn’t expect to make the final cut based on where he stood in the standings and how many more anglers were waiting to weigh-in behind him.  Randy was actually loading his boat onto his trailer when he heard his name announced in the final twelve, which is where his sprinting came in to take his place up on stage.  He ended up finishing 9th at the Showdown – a solid start, and perhaps a sign of things to come.

Howell went on to finish 14th in both of the next two Elite Series events at Lake Okeechobee and Bull Shoals, before taking his season-best 5th place at Douglas Lake.  With that finish Randy also surpassed the $1 million mark in his career B.A.S.S. earnings.

According to Howell, his decision making and following his gut instincts are paving the way for his successful season thus far.  Randy has been known to favor fishing the shallows and has had decent success with this tactic.  However, this year, and especially at this past event, he has not given in to the urge to move inside.

In an interview with Bassmaster.com after the final weigh-in at Douglas, Howell mentioned, "My nature was saying to go fish shallow, but my gut was saying not to sell out."

One other reason that is playing a factor Randy’s AOY rising stock is that, currently anyways, no one else is stringing together an off-the-charts season.

"I've had some good years," Howell said. "But every time I've done it, it has been those years that (Kevin) VanDam or Skeet Reese got on a big roll.”

He went on to say, "This year it's all happening right, both for me and all those other key people that usually dominate. VanDam has had the most marvelous stretch of AOY titles and Bassmaster Classics, and I don't think anybody will ever match that.  But he's still human. He may not catch them as good here or there this year."

At the half-way point through the 2012 B.A.S.S. Elite Series season, there is still a lot of fishing to be had and four more events to be held.  So far though, Randy Howell has proven to be the most consistent angler of them all, something that has always been a staple of his professional bass fishing career.

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Bass King Facebook Giveaway (May 7th, 2012): Please come up with a caption for this photo of BK Pro Kevin Mattson with a solid Largemouth in one hand and a Rattlesnake (yes, Rattlesnake) in the other.
 
PRIZE: Bass King Core Logo Tee
 
RULES: Come up with the best caption for this photo and WIN!!! Winner will be chosen based on the discretion of Bass King Clothing Co. and will be named Wednesday (5/9/12) at 10:00 AM PSD. We will accept entries up until 9:59 AM Wenesday morning. Please post your entries in the comment section below.
 
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Don’t Give Up On Jerkbaits
by Trevor Knight

All anglers know how deadly a jerkbait can be in the winter and early spring.  However, once the bass move up on the beds to spawn, most anglers put these baits away, never to see the light until the leaves fall at the end of the year.  These anglers are missing out on the best jerkbait fishing of the year. 

The post-spawn period can produce some of the biggest stringers of the year on jerkbaits for anglers that know they are year-round baits.  After the spawn, big female bass move to staging areas between their spawning beds and eventual summer haunts.  Typically, these staging areas are the first drop in depth from the spawning areas with some type of cover to sweeten the spot.  Docks with deep water along the front, grasslines, brush piles or stumps on ledges, and rockpiles on long tapering points are prime examples of these staging areas.  The time period that bass use these staging areas can vary from several days to a couple of weeks. 

The common theme between all of these areas, is that they provide stressed out bass a place to easily ambush large calorie meals such as shad and bluegills.  The jerkbait is a perfect imitator of these prey species.  The main difference between fishing jerkbaits in cold water and warm water is an increase in the tempo and a switch to predominantly floating jerkbaits.  Spro McSticks, Rapala Husky Jerks, Lucky Craft Pointers, and suspending Smithwick Rogues presented with occasional twitches and long pauses are the standard cold water tools.  During the post spawn, a switch to floating Smithwick Rogues, Megabass Ito 110s, and Bomber Long As presented with quick jerks and momentary pauses, will trigger bites from hungry post spawn females.

Floating jerkbaits create the illusion of injured baitfish, and those are the types of meals big bass are looking for right after the spawn.  Aggressively fishing jerkbaits around these staging areas allows an angler to cover a lot of water while targeting big bass that hardly ever see jerkbaits this time of year.  Floating jerkbaits can also be great topwater baits in low light situations around isolated shallow cover.  A jerkbait slowly twitched over a bed, will draw vicious strikes from males guarding beds.  Some big bass will stay shallow all year on isolated cover to feed on bluegills and frogs.  A jerkbait twitched on top, can also be a great way to catch these skittish bass in the dog days of summer.

So the next time you reach for your Bass Tech performance gear, make sure you also bring some jerkbaits too.  It can result in some of the best post spawn fishing of the year!

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Bass King Facebook Giveaway (April 25th, 2012): What was the weight of this largemouth caught by Bass King Pro Justin Rackley?  For a BONUS prize, can you correctly name what body of water this fish was caught in?

PRIZE: Bass King Hooked-Up Tee (BONUS PRIZE: Bass King Sunshield)

RULES: Be the first to guess the correct weight of this bass caught by Bass King Pro Justin Rackley and WIN! For a BONUS prize, take a guess where this fish was caught.  The winner will be determined based on the discretion of Bass King Clothing. Please post your entry in the comment section of the photo. The winner will be announced at 10:00 am PSD, Thursday (tomorrow) 4/26/12. Entries are to be posted in the comment section of this photo on FACEBOOK and can be submitted through 9:59 am PSD tomorrow. The winner will be contacted through private message on Facebook.

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Bass King Facebook Giveaway (April 23rd, 2012): Inspired by this photo of Bass King Pro Staffer Chris Mautino and a Largemouth he caught on his birthday, we want to know - what do you think was going through this fish' mind while the photo was being taken?

PRIZE: Bass King Spinner Logo Tee

RULES: Come up with the best and most creative sentence or phrase based on what you think was going through this bass' mind while posing for a photo before release! The winner will be determined based on the discretion of Bass King Clothing. Please post your entry in the comment section of the photo. The winner will be announced at 10:00 am PSD, Tuesday (tomorrow) 4/24/12. Entries are to be posted in the comment section of this photo on FACEBOOK and can be submitted through 9:59 am PSD tomorrow. The winner will be contacted through private message on Facebook.

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