Lucky Craft’s Skeet Reese Crowned
2007 Angler of the Year

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (September 17, 2007) – The Final Charge of the 2007 Bassmaster Elite Series Season ended this week on Lake Toho, as 108 of the world’s best anglers competed against each other for the last time this year. This tournament marks the end of a year full of ups and downs, twists and turns, and close calls.

Lucky Craft’s Skeet Reese was the happiest he has ever been in his professional bass fishing career this weekend as he was crowned the 2007 Angler of the Year (AOY), a title he has dreamed about for the past 18 years.

“This means everything to me,” Reese said. “It validates my career as a professional bass fisherman. Being out here on tour and competing against such a high caliber of fisherman makes it so hard to beat these guys on any given day, much less be on top after 44 days of competition. To come out on top after this many days is priceless for me. I don’t know what it means for everyone else, but for me personally, it’s going to give me a big sense of calm inside to know at least one time in my career, I was number one.”

Reese didn’t just happen upon this award, as he fought hard all season against one of the best in the business, Kevin VanDam. Reese, a California resident, was first in Angler of the Year points going into the tournament on Lake Toho, but it was still anyone’s game as KVD wasn’t too far behind.

With two key baits this week, Reese was able to get the job done and come out on top – but not without hard work and dedication.

“I caught some fish this week on a Carolina Rig in the morning and probably weighed in two or three of my fish in the last two days on that,” explained Reese, still red-faced from the excitement. “My key bait was the SKT Mini DR from Lucky Craft, in Aurora Black – it’s my signature bait. I was fishing it on 30-pound Spiderwire in a river channel, keying in on what little current I could find. I was burning that thing as fast as I could, trying to get reaction strikes. You could definitely throw a worm over this stuff and not get a bite, but while I was throwing the SKT, it just got hammered.”

In the morning, Reese would start on a shallow point catching some keepers on a shell bed in 2-to-3 feet of water, giving himself some breathing room to cull and increase his weight as the day went on. He noticed the fish wouldn’t eat the crankbait in this area and had to resort to dragging a worm to catch them in the morning. He admitted it was nice to have an area he could go to in the morning to catch some decent fish before going for the big ones with the SKT in the afternoon.

After being followed around for three days on the water and bringing in 9 pounds, 11 ounces on day one and 9 pounds, 3 ounces on day two, Reese was still in the lead for the AOY title, but many factors came into play and it was far from over. However, on day three, Reese knew what he needed and when he caught them, he couldn’t hold it in.

“Even if Kevin [VanDam] came in first place in the tournament, four or five pounds on day three gave me the title and I knew that going into Saturday,” Reese said. “That was the benchmark I set for myself and when I caught my fourth fish today, I knew I had achieved a life-long goal. That’s when the emotions really came out.”

Reese finished the tournament in 14th with a total three-day weight of 29 pounds, 3 ounces, and couldn’t say enough about how much the AOY title means to him, as he thanked his family, friends and sponsors for believing in him and sticking by him all season long. Now that he has achieved his goal, he doesn’t plan on backing down anytime soon.

“This is my ninth or tenth year fishing BASS, but I’ve been dreaming about this for much longer than that,” Reese concluded. “And now I’ve accomplished my number one goal. Now it’s time to go after my number two – winning a Bassmaster Classic.”

One Lucky Craft angler who had to wait for the news of his Bassmaster Classic fate was Gerald Swindle, who thought he had to finish in the top 12 at this tournament to fish Lake Hartwell in 2008. A slow practice led to a slow start for the Alabama resident, and after bringing in four fish on day one weighing 5 pounds, 15 ounces, Swindle sat in 51st, not at all where needed to be to keep his Classic hopes alive.

“The only bite I had on the first day of practice was a little 10-inch fish I caught on a worm,” Swindle said. “And that was fishing all day, 14 hours, from daylight to dark. The second day of practice I went down to the river in Kissimmee and tried to get something going, but couldn’t find anything there either.”

On the second evening of practice, Swindle decided to try something different. He picked up the Lucky Craft LVR D-7 in a shad color and started throwing it across some hydrilla. After catching one weighing around 3 pounds and another about 6, he thought there might be something to this pattern after all.

“The final day of practice I flipped some grass but nothing came of that,” Swindle continued. “I came back in and, before I put my boat away, I decided to fish some grass areas with the lipless crankbait [LVR] and caught one weighing almost 6 pounds again. Catching two 6 pounders led me to believe something was going on with that bait, so I decided that would be my go-to in the tournament.”

However, on day one of the tournament Swindle admitted he never had a good bite, putting him outside the cut and leaving his chances for a Classic berth in the dust, or so he thought.

Things came together a little better for Swindle on day two, as he weighed in a limit of 10 pounds, 9 ounces, moving him up to 25th and allowing him one more chance to fish on Saturday and give it all he had. If he wanted to make the cut, he knew he had to increase his weight on Saturday.

“Today looked like it was going to be a repeat of Thursday,” Swindle said. “I couldn’t get a bite, so I decided to pick up a worm and try that. In about two and a half hours, I caught five fish, which offered me a little freedom and comfort. I took off and went to the area where I had two big bites in practice and caught two big ones back-to-back.”

Swindle’s key baits were the Lucky Craft LVR D-7 and a Zoom Speed Worm, and after a scary three days on the water, Swindle ended up with a three-day total weight of 29 pounds, 14 ounces and sat in 13th. With 36 anglers advancing to the 2008 Bassmaster Classic, Swindle thought he had just missed his chance – but he was wrong. Swindle fought hard against the odds all weekend, and fished his way back into the Classic. His 13th-place finish on Lake Toho put him in 36th in Angler of the Year points and he will be fishing the Classic in South Carolina next year.

“I’m so excited,” Swindle said. “It was very close, but I worked extremely hard to pull it out and make the Classic here. I accomplished that goal and can’t wait to fish Lake Hartwell in the Classic next year. I had to hang out and wait after Saturday to see if I had made it, and that was an agonizing night. I thought I needed a top 12 finish, but 13th got it done for me, and I’m so glad.”

Making the top-50 cut and fishing for three days of the four-day tournament was Lucky Craft’s Takahiro Omori, who finished 44th and fought his way into the 2008 Bassmaster Classic, much like teammate Swindle.

After a rough practice, Omori was struggling to catch two or three keepers a day, catching nothing bigger than 2 pounds. Admitting practice was really tough for him, Omori did happen to find one key area the last hour of practice.

“I found one area, around where winner Ben Matsubu was fishing, where I was finally able to catch some decent keepers,” Omori said. “I was throwing a Carolina Rig on the outside edges of grass lines, and that is how I decided to start my first day of the tournament, as well.”

Omori weighed three fish on Thursday for a total weight of 6 pounds, 13 ounces. He fished some of the same areas on day two and increased his weights for the day, bringing in an 8-pound, 5-ounce bag. With his fate for the Classic sealed after making the top 50, Omori breathed a big sigh of relief and decided to relax a bit on Saturday.

“The bottom line is my goal for the whole year was to make the 2008 Classic, and I did it,” Omori said. “I didn’t win any tournaments this year, but I did accomplish my number one goal. Today [Saturday], I still fished hard, but enjoyed watching Ben [Matsubu] catch fish all day long.”

Omori thanked his sponsors, including Lucky Craft, for helping him all year long, and he plans to spend some time with friends and rest in the off season before heading to South Carolina in February for the Bassmaster Classic – a tournament he is so happy to be competing in.

Lucky Craft’s Marty Stone, optimistic despite adversity, had a rough tournament this weekend, finishing tied for 100th. After a so-so practice, Stone was still looking forward to the tournament, as he thought he had enough key bites to do very well on Lake Toho.

“I didn’t get a lot of bites in practice, but I got just enough to be very optimistic,” Stone began. “The second day of practice I only had four bites, but every one of them was more than four pounds. I thought I had really figured something out that might win this tournament. Even if you struggled and only caught two of those fish, you’d make a good check. I’ve had practices this year where I thought I could be competitive or even have a shot at winning. It has been a recurring theme for me this year.”

Stone caught his fish flipping and pitching a 1-ounce weight and a 5-inch tube, fishing outside grass on Lake Kissimmee. He had a couple days in practice when he didn’t see any fish, but when he did see one, it was four pounds or better and that fact made him stay in the area and keep at it.

“I thought if I found the right 50-yard stretch, I could win this thing,” Stone said. “It just never happened for me. I had all the time in the world and ran new water every day. There’s no telling how many miles I covered. Each day I’d only get two bites. I lost one yesterday [Thursday], but I don’t even think it was a keeper and I lost a 2 pounder today. Those are the only two fish I lost, so I never even got the bites I needed. The fish are there, but I think these fish feed really heavy at night, and it’s just a matter of getting in the right places and making them bite. It just never happened for me.”

After weighing in a single fish on day one weighing 1 pound, 9 ounces and one fish on day two weighing 1 pound, 11 ounces, Stone finished in 100th. He now had to face the realization that he did not make the Classic next year, and also may not have re-qualified for the Elite Series next year.

“That’s reality right now,” Stone said. “I might not re-qualify for the Elite Series next year. You’re looking at a guy who has spent his entire life chasing this thing around and doing this for a living, giving back to the sport, the fans and providing for my family. I look at the reality that, this fall, that could all be taken away from me. I’ve always said what we all do out here is a privilege not a right, and my performance this year could cause me to lose that privilege.”

Stone placed no blame, and even after admitting it has been his worst year as a professional bass fisherman, he said it had been a good year and explained why.

“It’s been a tough year, but I can say it’s been a good year for one reason,” Stone added. “When everything is going good for you, everyone is ready to jump on the bandwagon and ride along. But this year, my sponsors, my friends and most importantly, my family, have stood behind me all the way. When it’s going bad and you have that kind of support, it’s a very humbling experience. I’ve learned a lot about myself this year, and I tell you what… If I have a chance to come back out here next year, it will be with a hunger unlike anyone has ever seen before.”

Rounding out the tournament for Lucky Craft was Kelly Jordon, finishing in 106th with a two-day total of 14 ounces. The Texas resident admitted it was tough on Lake Toho, but he came down ready to give it all he had and swing for the fences. Knowing he already made the Classic and didn’t quite have a shot at Angler of the Year, Jordon felt like he had nothing to lose.

“It was really tough this weekend, and the fish aren’t biting very well at all,” Jordon said. “In Florida, there is a lot of grass and matted hydrilla, but the water quality is really bad. I’ve never seen it this off-color in Lake Toho this time of year.”

Jordon explained he could have chosen to do several things this weekend, including looking for shell beds, currents, outside grass lines and schooling fish, but none of that was really working for him as well as he wanted it to. Deciding to go against the grain this weekend and see what happened, Jordon flipped mats for two days, trying to catch the big fish and win a tournament in 2007.

“I had the bites in practice,” Jordon said. “I didn’t get a whole lot but had about six or 10 a day, and the bites I had were really good ones. I thought if I could catch three to five of those fish a day, I could definitely do well.”

However, when the tournament rolled around, Jordon was left scratching his head, as the bite seemed to completely shut down.

“It got to where I wasn’t catching them at all, so I had two choices,” Jordon said. “I could back off and go to the areas where the other guys were catching small limits, or I could go areas where the mats were even thicker to get the fish that had moved way back in there. I decided to do the latter, but they just weren’t there. Sometimes mat fish, for some reason, work that way. They just quit biting. I’ve never seen it in the summer though, so I’m still confused as to exactly what happened.”

Although disappointed it didn’t work out this weekend, Jordon was comforted by the fact he sat 19th in AOY points and comfortably made the Classic next year. There’s no rest for the weary however, as Jordon’s calendar is full until the season starts again in February 2008.

Bass Pro angler Rick Clunn finished tied for 63rd with a total weight of 11 pounds, 3 ounces, and admitted practice was tough and the tournament was about the same.

Clunn was throwing the Lucky Craft RC 1.5 and 2.5, fishing the edges of grass lines and hydrilla. He was optimistic after the second day of practice because he had about 14 pounds on the bait, with one 4 pounder and one 8 pounder, along with two small ones.