MN angler wins BASS Central Open

Started by CraigP83, February 09, 2014, 09:29:03 PM

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CraigP83


By Craig Lamb
FEB 9, 2014
DEL RIO, Texas — Lake Minnetonka, Minn., is nearly 2,000 miles away from Lake Amistad. Tapping into a technique on his home water was one of several keys to winning for Andy Young at the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Central Open presented by Allstate.

Here are three standout keys of the win that extend beyond his basic pattern: 

Key #1: Cold weather is his friend
Unusually cold weather plagued the tournament field until the final day. That's when more seasonal weather broke through with sunny skies and high temperatures in the low 70s.

Sleet and freezing rain greeted the anglers on Day One. The temperature struggled to make it past the freezing mark.

Anglers lamented over frozen reels, iced rod guides and any number of cold-weather nuances. Wind was an issue. It hindered boat positioning and generally made the day even more miserable.

Day Two wasn't any better. The wind subsided some but the cold, cloudy weather made for another challenging day of fishing.

The bottom line is that you could say the cold weather was a mental distraction for many anglers.

Young is from Minnesota. This time of year he's accustomed to enjoying a day of ice fishing in temperatures with wind chill indexes in the range of 30 below zero.

"We're all grown men out here and used to fishing in cold weather, adverse conditions," he said. "But it can preoccupy your mind. Mine was focused on fishing because I'm very acclimated to the cold."

Key # 2: Packing a homegrown technique
Young spent the week before the competition becoming acclimated to the layout of Amistad, a desert impoundment on the Rio Grande River. It's nothing like his home water of Lake Minnetonka, right?

The geographical division only runs skin deep.

"Believe it or not this lake fishes very much like Minnetonka," he observed. "Both of them have deep rocks and we fish a lot of finesse baits when the fishing gets tough."

It got really tough on Amistad. Young won the tournament with 39 pounds, a weight that could be doubled under normal Amistad conditions.

Young put his finesse tactics to good use. He fished a Biovex Kolt Fish Tail dropshot rig in a strike zone between 20- and 30-feet of water. Alternatively, he fished a Hog Farmer Bait Co. umbrella rig with Outkast Tackle Money Jigs.

"I connected the dots during practice when I found those fish on the rocks in deep water," he added.

Just like home.

Key # 3: Persistence
Young shunned the cold weather and tapped into a familiar technique to set the course for the win. It also took persistence in an opportunistic field of play.

"The tough bite really leveled the playing field and that helped," he said. "The local guys here are strong and the fish weren't where they normally would be this time of the year."

Young left his ice-fishing tip up rigs at home and headed to west Texas to escape the chill. It was no vacation. His scouting missions began at sunup and ended after sunset.

"I came here to win, just like everyone else," he said. "I was just able to connect all the dots and scratch out a win."
 

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CraigP83

Young Ekes Out Victory At Amistad   Print   E-mail
Written by Bassmaster News      
Monday, 10 February 2014 16:35
DEL RIO, Texas — Minnesota angler Andy Young topped the hard-charging Stephen Browning to win the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Central Open presented by Allstate on Lake Amistad by a mere 1 ounce.

The day started with Young in second place behind Shreveport, La., angler Randy Allen, who has a ranch 25 miles north of Del Rio and frequently fishes Amistad. "I thought I was fishing for second," said Young. "The local hammer (Allen) had 18-pounds each day, and I was about 11 pounds behind. I just went out and did the best I could."

The best he could do ended up being a 13-pound, 10-ounce limit that gave Young the winning total of 39-6. While Allen caught only one keeper and dropped to third place with 37-12, Browning caught the heaviest limit of the day (14-6) and climbed into second with 39-5.

"This is a lifelong dream," said Young of his victory and qualifying for the 2015 Bassmaster Classic if he fishes the two remaining Central Opens. "I have been telling all my friends back home that I am living a dream, and I am afraid someone is going to pinch me and wake me up." Young also won the top prize of a Triton/Mercury rig worth $40,000 and $7,083 in cash.

The Minnetonka Lake guide made his dream come true on Saturday by catching three of his biggest fish on a Hog Farmer Bait Company Alabama Rig adorned with Big Bite Baits Cane Thumpers. He caught his other two keepers on a drop shot rig with a Biovex Kolt Fish Tail. He fished the Alabama rig 12 to 15 feet deep and the drop shot 21 to 25 feet deep along rocky humps and points.

Browning followed up a tough first day with a 20-14 limit the second day to jump back into contention. "I had two stinking bites after Day 1, and I didn't tuck my tail and run," the Bassmaster Elite Series pro said.

The Arkansas competitor caught all of his keepers on an Alabama rig with Z-Man ElaZtech DieZel Minnowz on main lake flats 35 to 45 feet deep. "I was throwing it out and waiting for it to hit bottom and then just really slow reeling it," he said. "I think the key for me was using 20-pound Gamma Fluorocarbon rather than braided line like I usually do."

Rounding out the Top 5 in the pro division were Cody Ryan Greaney of Texas in fourth place with 34-3 and Jordan Lee of Alabama in fifth with 31-9,

Texas angler Joe Lee caught a three-fish 6-13 limit to win the co-angler division with 26-1. He took home a Skeeter/Yamaha rig valued at $25,000. All of Lee's keepers bit either a Texas-rigged Zoom Trick Worm or a finesse worm on a drop shot rig.

Another highlight of this tournament featured Jordan Lee and Matt Lee competing in the pro division Top 12 on the final day. The two brothers both fished for the Auburn University team and gained valuable tournament experience in the Carhartt College Series.

Allen earned the Carhartt Big Bass award of $500 for catching the largest bass (10 pounds, 1 ounce) of the event.

Winning the Livingston Lures Leader Award of $250 for finishing as the top pro on Day 2 was Allen. The Day 2 leader on the co-angler side, Joe Lee, earned a Livingston Lures gift pack worth $250.

The angler who advances the most places up the leaderboard from Day 1 to Day 2 receives the "Allstate Good Hands, Great Day" award. Pro division angler Jason Lieblong of Conway, Ark., picked up $250 by jumping 94 places from 121 to 27. Co-angler Jonathan McDougald of New England, Ark., took home $150 by climbing 63 places from 83 to 20.

Toyota Bonus Bucks paid $1,500 to Young, who was the highest placing eligible pro angler entrant and $1,000 to the second highest placing pro, Browning. On the co-angler side, the top eligible entrant received $300, and the second highest placing eligible co-angler gets $150.

2014 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Series Title Sponsor: Bass Pro Shops

2014 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Series Presenting Sponsor: Allstate

2014 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Series Official Sponsors: Toyota, Berkley, Evan Williams Bourbon,

Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Skeeter Boats, Triton Boats, Yamaha

2014 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Series Supporting Sponsors: Boat U.S., Booyah, Carhartt, Diet Mountain Dew, Livingston Lures, Lowrance, Plano, Power-Pole, Rigid Industries, Shimano

About B.A.S.S.
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earldogg

Good for him, its so rare to see a Minnesota guy do well at higher level events, very cool.