FPT anglers look to New Melones to fill Classic Dreams

ANGELS CAMP, Ca. – Hope will come alive and someone’s dreams are certain to come true as anglers who have logged solid performances throughout a long and grueling year, prepare in earnest for the final leg of a journey that will surely be their biggest challenge to date – the Thunder Valley Outdoors/Future Pro Tour Classic.

And Classic competition this year will, as always, be both stiff and diverse, as wily veterans and bright-eyed newcomers to the Tour provide a dramatic backdrop for this 8th annual championship event to be held November 7th through 8th at New Melones Lake in Angels Camp California.

For this is an invitational affair, and one in which only seventy-five of the over four-hundred teams that have participated in Future Pro Tour events during the 2009 season, will have the opportunity to participate in and be given the chance to lay claim to the most coveted title in amateur-level bass fishing. Also at stake for those competing in this fall classic, is a prize like no other - the keys to a 2010 Ranger 188vs, powered by an Evinrude 150 E-Tec, Minn Kota Pro-Maxx 101, Humminbird Electronics with NAVIONICS mapping technology.

Placing odds on which team holds the winning advantage in this Classic event is a job that even the most astute sports book agencies in Vegas would not envy in that New Melones during the fall, can yield unpredictable results for even the most seasoned of anglers. And it is not uncommon during this “fall turnover” period for the shad to “school up” and create opportunities for 20-pound plus limits on this central valley foothill lake to become a reality. For it is well known that just two years ago, at a championship event on New Melones, at this same time of year, that one team came to the scales with a five fish limit of bass that went just shy of twenty-nine pounds!

So what should these qualifiers look for when they converge on California’s 4th largest man-made lake? We spoke to a few of our Pro-support staff members who commented directly on that subject:

Alan Fong

FPT Tournament Competition Committee member, Lure developer, Fishermen’s Warehouse Mgr “If we get any kind of weather, it will push the bait up and big swimbaits could rule the day, noted Alan who himself is a swimbait aficionado and creator of the “Al-E-Baby” swimbait which is well-known to produce monster bass. I would go to the various rock piles and fish the edges adjacent to deep water and hold on!”

Robert Lee

4-time B.A.S.S Open Champion, and FPT Pro-support staff member “New Melones is a HUGE lake. And at this time of year you can get into “wolf packs” of good fish. I like to throw big jigs in the woody areas up the river arms. If you find this pattern, and it is working well, you can best believe it will work all over the lake – which gives you a lot of area to work with”.

Ish Monroe

2-time, B.A.S.S Champion, 6-time Bassmaster Classic

"My strategy for this event would be simple: Be aggressive, and throw big baits for big bass. This is the Classic with a new $35,000 Ranger boat on the line. Nobody cares who took second in this event, and a small limit won’t put you in the winner’s circle. Get your mind right, focus and fish hard every minute you are out there”.

On Friday, the evening prior to the event Classic qualifiers will enjoy a gourmet banquet at the FPT Classic Celebration dinner hosted in the Heritage Room at the world-class Ironstone Vineyards in Murphys. Ironstone Vineyards is a 5-star winery that hosts headliner concerts, elegant weddings, as well as the annual Concours d’Elegance vintage auto show each fall. In addition to the fine wine and first-class cuisine on tap, qualifiers will have the opportunity to celebrate together - before the “battle” begins, and meet with Future Pro Tour Pro-Support staff members such as Robert Lee, Jeff Huth, Charlie Almassey, as well as officials and VP’s from NAVIONICS, ROCKSTAR Energy Drinks, Toyota Motor Corp, Ranger Boats, and Piranha Propellers to name a few.

How this event will play out, and which team will walk away with all the gold and glory is anyone’s guess, but you can best believe that all of these Classic qualifiers will have held nothing back when the last bag of fish come to the scales during the final day weigh-in on Sunday afternoon.

One thing we do know is that the victors will have persevered through a full year’s worth of tough challenges, and for their efforts finally see their dreams become a reality and be crowned the 2009 Future Pro Tour Classic champions…the best amateur team in the west.

See you all at the Classic!

FPT
www.futureprotour.net