Starks Notches First Elite Win, Scalish Talks Smallies

Jeremy Starks claimed his first Bassmaster Elite Series Tour win on Lake Wheeler in fairytale fashion. Not only was he able to out fish Kevin Van Dam on day 4, but he survived a bout of food poisoning and competition from a stubborn local angler. Jeremy details the techniques he used to pull big largemouth bass off his magic “spot on a spot.”

Frank Scalish is a well-known authority on finding and catching smallmouth bass. Especially the impressive specimens that call Lake Erie home. Frank his here to share the details of a specialized deep jerkbait technique that he developed to catch roaming smallies on both sides of the spawn. He also has some offers some priceless insight into the important differences between the spawning patterns of smallmouth bass and their largemouth brethren.

Scroggins Leads With 22lbs.

Until the first day of competition at the Bassmaster Elite Series event at Alabama’s Wheeler Lake, Terry Scroggins wasn’t fond of the picturesque body of water. The versatile veteran from Palatka, Fla., has previously struggled on the Alabama fishery, but he broke through Thursday, boating a limit weighing 22 pounds, 3 ounces, to lead the 107-angler field in the Southern Challenge presented by Advance Auto Parts, the seventh Elite Series event of the 2008 season.

With a victory, Scroggins would earn $100,000 and earn considerable points in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings. With four events remaining after Wheeler in the “Trail to the Trophy” and a $250,000 top prize at stake, Elite pros are focused on the all-important rankings. Fishing fans can catch all of the action from Wheeler on The Bassmasters, which airs Saturday, June 14, on ESPN2 at 9 a.m. ET. Additionally, live, streaming video of the daily weigh-ins, photo galleries and analysis can be accessed at http://www.Bassmaster.com. Trailing Scroggins were Todd Faircloth of Jasper, Texas, in second with 20 pounds, 9 ounces, Dave Wolak of Wake Forest, N.C., (19-4), Kotaro Kiriyama of Moody, Ala., (19-0) and Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich. (18-8). Not only had Scroggins struggled on Wheeler in the past, his poor practice period gave him no indication that he would succeed in the event. But the 40-year-old caught more than 40 keeper-sized bass and found a pattern that he believes will hold up. “I always struggle on Wheeler. And I mean I really struggle,” said Scroggins, who has earned more than $1 million in BASS tournaments. “But today I started to figure it out. The fish are starting to move out and it seemed like every 15th cast or so, I would catch a big one.” The five-time BASS winner rotated a few baits but felt most confident with a Booyah football jig, which produced the majority of weight. While boat traffic is a major problem for many of the competitors fishing the Decatur Flats, a popular area for tournament anglers, Scroggins has his general area mainly to himself. “I had no idea I would be able to catch more than 20 pounds,” said Scroggins, who is 24th in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings. “It was just an awesome day.” Faircloth, who was second in the Angler of the Year standings heading into the tournament, trailing only Arkansas’ Mike McClelland, also had no indication that his day would go well after practice. He caught his limit early Thursday morning and culled throughout the day. He is keying on grass in the Decatur Flats. If his finish holds, Faircloth stands to gain significant ground on McClelland, who is in 40th place after Day 1 at Wheeler. In the co-angler division, Steven Wisdom of Birmingham, Ala., took the Day 1 lead with 15 pounds, 9 ounces. Co-anglers are vying for a top prize of $25,000 in a three-day competition. Trailing Wisdom was Jimmy Dudley of White, Ga., and Brian Hickey of Cadiz, Ky., who were tied with 14 pounds, 2 ounces. With 1,063 miles of shoreline, Wheeler is the largest of three Alabama lakes that connect with the Tennessee River. It has been the host of nine BASS events, including the 1974 Bassmaster Classic. Daily weigh-ins and launches at the Southern Challenge are taking place at Ingalls Harbor, 701 Market St. NW, Decatur, Ala. Launches Friday-Sunday begin at 6 a.m. CT and weigh-ins begin at 3 p.m. Activities at the Southern Challenge include a musical performance by artist Chadd Bradford at noon Saturday and Sunday. There will be a Berkley Beginner fishing class at 1:30 p.m. and a “Boat Performance with Skeeter” class daily at 2 p.m. both days, as well as Skeeter boat demo rides from noon to 2 p.m.