Team Skeeter Preps for Final Elite Series Event
Team Skeeter Preps for Final Elite Series Event – Anglers Strategize for Postseason & Classic Berths
KILGORE, Texas, August 10, 2009 – With the final event of the 2009 Bassmaster Elite Series regular season this weekend on Oneida Lake outside of Syracuse, New York, several Team Skeeter anglers are poised for a shot at the top 12 in the Angler of the Year standings, qualifying each for Bassmaster’s inaugural postseason.
Skeeter's Kelly Jordon
Only the top 12 in the final regular-season Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings will move on to the inaugural Bassmaster Elite Series postseason, the Toyota Trucks Championship Week, held Sept. 10-18 on two productive Alabama fisheries – Lake Jordan in Wetumpka and the Alabama River in Montgomery.
Regardless of a postseason berth, there’s still a $100,000 purse on the line for a tournament victory. Last year, Skeeter’s Dean Rojas took the trophy, and though the angler is not in contention for the postseason, he’s fishing for a win, hoping to secure a Bassmaster Classic invitation.
“This is no different than last year, and I feel confident that I can contend for a victory next weekend, and at least a top-10 finish, which will help to get me into the Classic,” says Rojas. “I feel comfortable and know I can get on the right fish,” he added.
Skeeter’s Alton Jones is currently in third place in the AOY standings, and believes this year’s Champion’s Choice winner will need a mix of largemouth and smallmouth bass. “I’m going to concentrate on areas that can produce both species, but I expect all of the AOY contenders to be on their A game,” says the former Bassmaster Classic Champion.
“We should see good bags coming from a variety of different depths, but I believe the shallow water bite, in one-eight feet of water, will ultimately prevail.” Jones makes no secret on his intentions – flipping Booyah jigs and YUM wooly bugs, or using XCalibur’s twitchbait.
Skeeter’s Mark Menendez is another angler who has compiled a stellar 2009 season. Currently in 11th place in the AOY standings, Menendez knows the Bassmaster Classic is in-hand, but fishing a clean event will put him into the postseason. “Anything above a top 40 finish on Oneida gets me into the postseason, and I’ve been practicing hard to ensure both of these goals,” says the angler. “I have nothing to lose and everything to gain, thus making it easier to change patterns and gamble a little.”
Skeeter's Dean Rojas
Also currently in the top 25 in the AOY race are Skeeter’s Kelly Jordon; last year’s AOY runner-up, Todd Faircloth; Cliff Pace; Elite Series Tennessee Triumph winner, Bobby Lane, and Rookie of the Year leader, Matt Herren.
Herren, who has almost maintained a wire-to-wire lead in the Rookie of the Year race, has some company in the standings, with Skeeter’s Greg Vinson and Mark Burgess in third and seventh places respectively.
Burgess, who hails from the Northeast, lists Oneida Lake as one of his favorites. “I have a good understanding of the largemouth vs. smallmouth equation, and have been working on a strategy that I feel extremely confident about,” says Burgess. Following the Champion’s Choice tournament, Burgess will head to Lake Champlain the following weekend to compete in the Northern Open, seeking a Bassmaster Classic bid.
“Most folks have a love/hate relationship with Lake Champlain, because one poor day of fishing in a tournament and you’re out of contention. Lake Champlain is one of the nation’s leading largemouth/smallmouth fisheries, yet it’s a big body of water, and a place where the weather has tremendous influence on fishing conditions.”
Fellow rookie Vinson knows that after this tournament he is no longer a “newbie,” and the bar will be raised. “To qualify for the Classic in my first year of the Elite Series would prove that I can compete at the highest level,” says Vinson. He knows the wild card at Oneida will be the largemouth bite. “It’s a high risk, high reward lake. I have kept a map of the lake with me at all times since mid-season to remind me of the importance of this event.”