Hello All,
It’s been a long winter but it is just about over and we’ll all be fishing soon if you haven’t been out already. It has been a long time since my last newsletter so I wanted to take a few minutes and let everyone know of the new promotions going on this year and to say hello to those of you that are new. Interest is up for the ABA again this year and the website and my phone has been busy.
The first new promotion and probably the most exciting comes from Anglers Advantage Insurance. They not only have very competitive rates and good service the will be paying $100 to the angler that catches the big bass in every ABA tournament if the angler uses AA insurance and is wearing the AA patch on their shirt. If we’ve had this last year I’d have made $300, which would have paid my insurance for the year. This is enough incentive for me to switch. Anglers Advantage beat the great rate I had at State Farm by 20%! So take a look at them and don’t forget to let them know you are ABA member and you’ll get a 10% discount and the patch to wear when you sign up.
For you that were members last year you’ll remember that I offered this before and a few of you took advantage of it. I’ll pay the big bass entry for any member that brings in a new member. The only requirement is that the angler must have been an ABA member for at least 30 days. The new member must sign-up at the ramp paying both the tournament entry and membership that morning. This will be available to all of you and you can take advantage once for every new member. I know this is not a huge deal but it is just my way of saying thank you for spreading the word.
As most of you know I’ll be running two districts this year. The older one will be on pools 11,12, &13 just like last year and the new one will be on pools 18 and 19 around Burlington, Ia. Remember one of the benefits of the ABA is you are not tied down to a single district. If you fish other districts the points still count toward the national standings and qualification for the National Tournament in October on the Red River in Louisiana.
This year we will have some significant prizes for Angler of the Year for both districts provided by our sponsors. Most of these are still to be determined but Navionics has committed to providing some mapcards for your GPS units. These retail for around $200 alone.
I happy to announce to those of you that tried some of the Strictly Bass Lures, that these are now available at K&K Hardware in the QC area and in Cedar Rapids at 5 Season’s Bait. As always, if you need some custom work done for your spinnerbaits or jigs you can ask me and I do my best to get what you want. I’ve agreed to work as a rep for Strictly Bass in Iowa as well as for Bag-Em Products and BassMedics. If you need anything from these companies let me know. I think this relationship will help bring extra prizes to the districts. Strictly Bass has a new product, which has really created a stir this year at the shows. It is called the Water Mutt and had a nice feature in Bassin’ magazine this year. It is a swimming jig with twin spinners. It is hard to describe so here is a picture. And you can check out the Bassin’ review here. http://strictlybasslures.com/bassin05.html The blades are held on via a titanium wire that easily moves out of the way to expose the hook just like the normal fiberguard.
OK that is about enough for now. Just a reminder to watch the district website for any changes, additions, etc. These normally don’t occur but if they do that will be the first thing I update. Don’t forget the season is ready to begin again and here is a list of the first few tournaments.
April 23 Dist. 108 Oquawka, IL Pool 18 $55.00
April 24 Dist. 46 Loud Thunder Pool 16 $55.00
April 30 Dist. 73 Palisades Pool 13 $100.00 Advantage Series
If you haven’t kept up this year the Advantage Series Tournaments have all the same rules and point as normal tournaments but with an increase entry and higher payout. If we get 29 anglers 1st will pay over $1000.00!
Please give me a call if you need anything. ABA related or not. Hope to see you all soon.
Thanks,