Pro Web Live, an Inside View

No doubt you've heard the buzz about Pro Web Live, which delivers live seminars by top pros like Aaron Martens, Jason Christie and Edwin Evers into your living room, and maybe you've visited the site and seen the list of pros and schedule of seminars.

A couple of weeks ago, I got a closer look that gave me a sense of just how cool and personal these sessions will be. I sat in on an early testing and training session that was designed to help the pros learn how the whole thing will work and to gain feedback from visitors using various types of browsers and computers and with internet connections of all speeds. Several similar sessions are planned because site administrators are determined to work out any bugs and to make certain presenters have a full understanding of all they are able to do before any sessions begin.

Martens, Christie, Dave Lefebre, Shaw Grigsby and Ott Defoe were all "in the room" during that session, and it was pretty cool how much it felt like we were all sitting together because of functions like a chat room, attendee list and question-and-answer area. I mostly stayed in the shadows, just watching to see how everything worked so that I could offer feedback, but I did chime in briefly after Lefebre noted that I was signed in.

The session I attended included no seminar. Instead, they were talking about all the options the pros would have for putting illustrations on the screen, sharing documents, linking to products they discussed and interacting with attendees, and it looks to me like each seminar will be a seriously cool experience. Seems ideal for a handful of friends to sign up for together and put on a big screen, timed perfectly, of course, for the session to begin shortly after the steaks come off the grill.

Below is a cool little teaser. Visit the Pro Web Live website to learn more about how it all works and too see the list of speakers, topics and dates.

Something New Coming

Here's all I know, and it comes from FLW Tour pro Dave Lefebre:

"Something fresh and all new is coming to the fishing world very soon! On this Thursday, Jan 2, a brand new company will launch what it is calling a win-win-win for everyone involved and long overdue. A win for the pro anglers, a win for the angler's sponsors, and a huge win for you, the fans of the sport!" This announcement will involve several of the top professionals from the BASS Elite Series and the Wal-Mart FLW Tours, including current BASS Elite Series AOY, Aaron Martens, the current #1 Ranked Angler, Jason Christie, FLW Tour standouts, Brent Ehrler and Dave Lefebre, BASS sticks, Edwin Evers, Brandon Palaniuk, and Ott DeFoe, not to mention a popular TV personality or two."

I don't even know who is making the announcement, but I suspect you could begin with Dave or any of the other names listed and watch their Facebook pages or Twitter accounts on Thursday, you can stay ahead of the game. I'll share more when there's more to tell, but I may be fishing on Thursday, so I'm guessing you can get the news faster by watching for it directly!

Double Dose of Douglas

The PAA season opener began yesterday morning, and bright sunshine and warming water caused the lake to produce very well for many anglers. PAA photo.

East Tennessee's Douglas Lake is spending two weeks in the national tournament spotlight, hosting the the PAA season opener right now and a Bassmaster Southern Open next weekend. Quite a few pros will fish both events, so it will be interesting to see how much the two tournaments have in common in terms of the patterns that dominate and the names that top of the leaderboard.

One significant difference in rules that could affect that very question is that BASS does not allow multi-rigs such as an Alabama Rig, and those are apt to play a big role with the water still cold in a steep, clear lake. It's also spring, and conditions are changing quickly, so the fish are apt to be moving and changing behavior almost daily. The PAA pros practiced in snow and very cold temperatures, but yesterday was sunny and fairly warm and the next week or so is supposed to include highs ranging form the high 50s to the 70s.

Douglas produced well yesterday. Day 1 leader Timmy Horton brought an impressive 28.04 pounds to the scales, and Brian Snowden and Ott Defoe are close behind, each with 27 and change. The top 12 all weighed in more than 20 pounds on Day 1. Stories I read this morning suggest that the leaders are moving a lot, running patterns, not fishing key spots.

Douglas, which remains low from winter drawdowns, is a deep, clear lake with steep rocky banks that sits at the edge of the Smoky Mountains. It's water is fairly fertile for a mountain lake, and it supports a great bass population. Largemouths predominate, but a strong population of smallmouths make a heavy showing during the cooler months. That said, lake regulations only allow one smallmouth with an 18-inch minimum in a daily bass bag, so the smallies add kickers but cannot be primary targets.

And Then There Were Four

Edwin Evers was the top finisher in the first round of All Star Week. B.A.S.S. photo by Seigo Saito.

Edwin Evers and Ott DeFoe continued to roll on day two of  B.A.S.S. All Star week and easily took the top two spots in the first round of the event. Third and fourth places went to Aaron Martens and Gerald Swindle. The other eight All Stars are finished.

Except for determining match-ups, the order of the top four doesn't matter today. They begin with a clean slate as Evers goes against Swindle and DeFoe goes against Martens in an elimination round. Tomorrow the two winners will compete head to head in the championship round. Patterns and spots the pros have had working also don't matter because they are fishing a different lake for the remainder of the competition.

The Bassmaster Blog is a great place to log the action as it unfolds today and tomorrow.

Edwin Evers Takes Early Lead

Edwin Evers brought the lone limit to the scales from Day 1 of B.A.S.S. All Star Week and took an early lead in the competition. B.A.S.S. Photo by Seigo Saito.

With the first round of B.A.S.S. All Star Week halfway in the books, Edwin Evers and Ott DeFoe (who places 2nd and1st in last year's all stars) have stepped ahead of the pack. Evers and DeFoe weighed 13-1 and 11-3, respectively, yesterday, with the other 10 competitors each bringing 7-7 or less to the scales. All 12 All Stars will fish again today at Illinois' Lake Shelbyville, and then only the top four will move on to Lake Decatur, where they will fish head to head in a two-day seeded elimination tournament. Tomorrow's semi-final round will include two one-on-one match-ups, and the two winners of those matches will compete for the All Star title on Sunday.

Neither Evers nor DeFoe opted to say much about yesterday's patterns. Today's competition is on the same waters, which fished tough yesterday. Evers brought in the lone limit, and only DeFoe and Aaron Martins, who is currently in 3rd place, brought in four fish. Six of the 12 anglers brought in one or less fish from the first day of competition.

B.A.S.S. All Stars Begin Today

Tennessee pro Ott DeFoe, who won last year's All Star Week event, qualified again this year and therefore will get the opportunity to defend his title.

Twelve All Stars, two lakes, four days and a unique format that includes head-to-head elimination rounds. On Sunday one All Star champion will be crowned. The action begins in a little less than three hours.

The field of 12 includes the top eight finishers in the 2012 B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year standings, plus four anglers chosen by fan voting, and it's definitely a star-studded cast and promises plenty of drama.

Top eight includes last year's All Star champ and the 2011 Rookie of the Year Ott DeFoe, so he has the opportunity to defend. Other pros who made the event by virtue of season standings were 2012 Angler of the Year Brent Chapman, Terry "Big Show" Scroggins, Todd Faircloth, Randy Howell, Matt Herron, Kevin VanDam and Edwin Evers.

No surprises in the fan picks -- Mike Iaconelli, Gerald Swindle, Skeet Reece and Aaron Martens. In fact, if you somehow could have removed  the Top 8 from consideration and held the vote before the first tournament was even held this year and without any of the angler campaigning for votes, I suspect the results would have been exactly the same. Those guys have earned fan favor and respect over the years.

The split venue of Illinois' Lake Shelbyville for the semi-finals and Lake Decatur for the finals provides plenty of mystery for pros and fans alike. Although both are locally popular waterways that host a lot of tournament, neither has much of a name nationally nor has played  host to such a marquis event. Tweets and facebook posts I've seen from the competitors suggest that it's fishing pretty tough. We'll know more soon!

Major League Fishing & More

Major League Fishing?

Yep. Major League Fishing. The MLF roster contains a short list of very big names in competitive bass fishing, and the format is unlike anything else ever tried. The league was spearheaded by Boyd Duckett and is privately owned by the anglers themselves, and major TV appeal is the No. 1 objective. Interesting stuff, not doubt. Read all about it on BassFan.

Meanwhile, the Forrest Wood Cup begins next week, with 58 of the nation's top pros competing for a first prize of 1/2 million dollars and the title of Champion on Arkansas' Lake Ouachita.

On the B.A.S.S. side, the All Star event concluded last weekend. Congratulations to Tennessee pro Ott DeFoe, who capped of a tremendous rookie season by winning the unique year-end event. DeFoe, who ran away with the Rookie of the Year award during the regular season, had to beat Mike Iaconelli, Gerald Swindle and Edwin Evers in head-to-head competition on back-to-back-to-back days to win the All Stars and the $100,000 check that went with the event. Quite a start to a very promising pro career!