by JD on February 15, 2007
So, today’s a big day for Orange County Choppers’ Big Fred Contaoi, who begins his quest for fame and fortune on the FLW Wal-Mart Pro Tour at Lake Travis in Austin, TX. In this event, the first tour stop of the season, he’s up against 199 other pros all vying for the $125K first prize.
It’s a 4-day deal…after 2 days, however, the field gets cut down to 10. Fred said that the weather’s been brutally cold (in the 20′s) and windy lately (see steelheaders aren’t the only masochistic anglers out there…what’s the wind chill when you’re going 70 mph in a bass boat in that kind of weather? -190 degrees?).
Anyway, I talked with him last night and he was in good spirits and was feeling really confident. Fred said that the bass in Travis are small and a couple 4 pounders like the one in the photo (caught a couple days back during practice) will put him in the $$.
Stay tuned, I’ll pass along his results later today as he hits the weigh-in stage…
by JD on February 13, 2007
An angler who identified himself as simply: “The Dark Overlord” submitted this photo to our Smoker of the Year Contest. A little shy about revealing his hot spot, D.O. said he managed this miserable catch in the waters “somewhere between the Gulf of Alaska and the Columbia River.” Nice job, D.O.! Click on the Smoker of the Year category on the homepage to see all the other entries.
by JD on February 11, 2007
After the tournament in Florida’s Lake Okeechobee last month, our man Big Fred Contaoi, “The Bass Pimp,” pointed his home on wheels to the West and is now harassing the bass in Texas’s Lake Travis (near Austin).
His next tourney (Feb. 15-18) is the first regular-season event in the FLW Wal-Mart pro tour and has a first place purse of $125,000. He’ll be competing against 200 pros from all over the world, so it’s not going to be easy, but we’ve got faith in Big Fred.
This nice largemouth is one he caught while practicing the other day…hey, man, save those for the tourney!
As always, we’ll keep you posted on Big Fred’s exploits. Stay tuned!
by JD on February 5, 2007
Okay kiddies, here’s our first installment in a little game we like to call “Name that Fish,” in which you can, by correctly identifying the fish pictured above, win…well…nothing. The lack of prize money and vacation packages aside, it’s still fun (honest). Read on to see if you know what this guy is…
This week’s mystery fish is one that a guide buddy of mine calls the “Brown Turd.”
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by JD on February 4, 2007
You know it had to happen…
NFL licensing has found its way into the tackle stores and you can now be the very proud owner of team lures such as this fine 3/8-ounce Chicago Bears spinnerbait — perfect for largemouth bass and coastal reds (ebay item number: 120082647121) or, if you’re a Colts fan, check out the Indy Spinner, which should work well for lakers (the fish, not the basketball team), pike and steelies (ebay item number: 120082967799).
What’s that you say…your team didn’t make it to the Super Bowl? No worries, mate!
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by JD on February 2, 2007
Orange County Choppers’ Big Fred Contaoi (aka “The Bass Pimp”), our favorite roving pro basser, just took delivery of his new home on wheels, this fine looking Chevy. Currently, he’s driving his home away from home from his last stop at Ranger Boat HQ in Flippin, AR, to the Texas hill country, where his next tourney is set for later this month. The tournament at Lake Travis is the first stop on the FLW Wal Mart pro tour for Big Fred.
Of course, we’ll keep ya posted on his progress. And if you see Fred and his new ride out on the highways and byways, say hi…of course, the big red and flamed OCC Ranger boat will be in tow.
