Norman, Okla. – There’s an old professional bowling saying that “Strikes are for show and spares and for dough.” In other words, the big shots may garner the most attention, but it’s the less noticeable but still effective efforts that pay the bills at day’s end.

Whether that applies to professional fishing in general and the Elite Series in particular is debatable. Sure, a bunch of 30th and 40th place finishes earn valuable points, and can easily propel an angler to a place in the Bassmaster Classic, or even in the top twelve for the year. At the same time, the really big points, and the chance at big money, are reserved for those who fish through to Sunday. So too is the big time exposure – typically only those who make the top twelve get any meaningful time on ESPN2. Read More

WACO, Texas -- It's no secret that University of Texas quarterback Colt McCoy is an accurate passer, but just how accurate was the question as he stood on the shore of Lake Whitney, grinning.

"I'm just trying to determine how fast they're going to be coming at me," McCoy said. "I mean, this would be like Randy Moss running a 3.2 40-yard dash. We'll see how this works out."

Sitting on the deck of a boat a quarter-mile down the bank was McCoy's best friend, roommate and No. 1 receiver, Jordan Shipley. Behind the wheel of the Skeeter bass boat with a 250-horsepower Yamaha engine was 2008 Bassmaster Classic champion Alton Jones. Full Story

BASS Communications / Seigo Saito

Career stats – Twelve Classic appearances with one victory, five Forrest Wood Cup appearances, 28 Top 10s and five wins. Currently ranked 4th in the world. Finished 24th at the Alabama River in 2004 and 19th in 2003.

Insight – An AOY title has always eluded him, and he made the title an intense focus this year. His intensity level should peak at Championship Week. It's somewhat ironic that the last time he was in contention for the title, he battled for it at the exact same venue – the Alabama River and Lake Jordan in 2003. Complete Story

I have two of these stories. One is in the more distant past, and one is a wound that has almost healed.

The older one is less painful now, only because it has been overshadowed by another lost fish, but it haunted me for a while. It was back in 2004 on the Harris Chain of Lakes down in Florida. It was a late January event, so the big fish were on beds. On Day 3 I was back in a residential canal and there was about five minutes of fishing left before I had to go in. I had just found a good group of fish that would've held me over the next day. Just before I had to go in I hooked into an honest-to-goodness 10-pounder. Read More