The 11th annual Ward Fishing Derby is coming May 18th in Ward, Arkansas at Busby Lake.

The times to remember for the event include:

8:00am - 9:00am       Registration

8:30am - 9:30am       Casting Contest

9:00am - 11:00am     Fishing Time

10:30am - 11:15am   Weigh In

11:30am                    Awards Presentation

This event is a fishing derby for kids age 1-15 years old. Show up early and get your spot at the lake.The earlier you show up the better the chance of a decent parking spot. The event is completely free to enter.

The event is divided into three age groups: ages 1-5, ages 6-10, and ages 11-15. In each age group a winner with the largest fish and largest stringer will win a prize and get a picture taken. An overall event winner will get a plaque presented by Mayor Brooke as well as door prize drawings.

The lake will be stocked this week leading up to the event so there will be plenty of fishing ready to bite. This is a great event to let your kids get out and have a little friendly competition and fun time in the sun. Remember to bring sunscreen to keep everyone from a sunburn, a cooler full of cold drinks, and snacks to stay full.

I can tell from attending last year’s event that kids have a real blast fishing. To see the excitement on their faces when they are reeling in these fish is awesome. Then they get the honor of showing off their catch for everyone to see.

Bring the whole family out to Ward, AR on May 18th to have a fun, free family outing and chance for the kids to win some cool prizes.

This is what happens when the cold weather stays away. #bass #fishing #largemouth #topwater #evening #boat

The week is the first time that the Bassmaster Elite Series has fished the Alabama River in Montgomery, AL in the regular season. The post season event took place on the Alabama River from 2009 - 2011. This makes choosing anglers a little difficult, but not impossible. Thirteen of the anglers fishing this event call Alabama home and at least one are in each bucket. This is the first real river test for these anglers this year. It will be important to load up on anglers who are good at fishing rivers. Also as part of this seasons theme, anglers that can seem to catch a limit each day is important.

Bucket A: Gerald Swindle

It is hard to not pick the three big names leading the Angler of the Year (AOY) standings here at the midway point: Edwin Evers, Kevin VanDam, and Skeet Reese. Even with his recent win Skeet Reese is only owned by 4% of fantasy players. There is a little risk and a lot of reward picking Reese here.

I decided to stay way from the top three and go a little different route. Gerald Swindle is having a solid season sitting 17th in the AOY standings. The ability to bring a limit to the stage each day here at the Alabama River will be important and I expect Swindle to do this. Only being owned by 9% of fantasy players gives the ability to beat most players in this bucket.

Bucket B: Boyd Duckett

Boyd Ducket is have a solid season this year. Ducket will have to do a little bit better the second half of the season to to get into position to qualify for the Bassmaster Classic at Lake Guntersville. For this reason I expect Duckett to have a solid tournament in his home state and stage a second half surge up the AOY standings. Hopefully this week Duckett can l land his first Top 12 finish. Duckett is the third most owned angler in the group, but at 11% there is plenty to be gained here.

I also like Mark Davis and Bill Lowen in this group. Both of these anglers are perfect ownership percentages at less than 6%. Both are solid river fishermen that excel this time of year.

Bucket C: Greg Vinson

Greg Vinson is another angler that needs a solid second half of the season to fish the 2014 Classic in his home state. Sitting 49th in the AOY standings, Vinson still has a shot to move into a Classic position, but it will take some work. The Alabama River offers the perfect opportunity for Vinson to start that move. Vinson is a good river fishermen. Vinson lives close to the Alabama River and I expect that to be important factor in this event. Being owned by 33% of fantasy players is hard to pick, but that still leaves Vinson able to beat 2/3rds of fantasy players if he is best of the bucket in the end.

Other anglers to consider would be Chris Lane and Charlie Hartley. Lane is only owned by 3% of fantasy players and needs to do some work to improve to qualify for the Classic. You know he wants to fish this Classic being he has a tackle shop on the banks of Lake Guntersville. Charlie Hartley is a very good river fishermen and only owned by 0.1% of fantasy players. Essentially Hartley would be all fantasy players if he finishes towards the top of the standings this week.

Bucket D: Russ Lane

Russ Lane is down in 69th in AOY standings and almost certainly needs a win to fish Lake Guntersville in February. This being a home state event, I see Russ Lane going for broke to make it happen. Russ Lane has fished well at home state events in the pasted. The third most owned angler is hard to deal with, but there is still much to be gained.

I expect Tommy Biffle and Randy Howell to also have a big event this week. River fishing typically turns the event into a shallow water, bank beating event. This style of fishing fits perfectly into Biffle’s hand. Also Biffle is very underrated still being down in Bucket D. Howell is having a much tougher season this year than last. Howell needs a solid turnaround and fishing his home state could jump start a strong second half of the season.

Bucket E: Matt Herren

This time of the season it always seems there is a couple anglers that are way undervalued. This season I see Matt Herren as being this angler in Bucket E. Herren will turn his season around this week on the Alabama River. Herren is the second most owned angler at 27%.

Other anglers I like in this group are Kevin Short and Jamie Horton. Kevin Short is an excellent river angler and excels in tough conditions. His first win on the Elite Series came on the northern Mississippi River in high water conditions. This weeks conditions on the Alabama River will be very similar and for this reason I see him doing more than just making a check. Only being owned by 7% of fantasy players makes him a perfect choice. Jamie Horton is another angler that lives close to the Alabama River and 8% of fantasy owners taking Horton leaves lots of upside.

Remember to get your fantasy picks in for this event. A $2,500 gift card to Bass Pro Shops is up for grabs again along with a season ending prize for the overall best fantasy player.

The 2013 Fantasy Fishing season is well underway and it is time to start making a move back towards the top. After a horrible first tournament my fantasy team has slowly but surely been gaining against other players. This week the top 100 anglers take to West Point Lake in LaGrange, GA. The last time the Elite Series stopped at West Point Lake was 2011 and Stephen Kennedy walked away the the big trophy. The way the fantasy buckets line up this year, it is possible to get an angler that finished in the Top 12 in 2011 in each bucket. For this tournament I used the 2011 results, the current Angler of the Year (AOY) standings, and fantasy percentage ownership numbers.

Bucket A: Edwin Evers

Edwin Evers was the runner up at West Point in 2011 and the current AOY points leader. Evers fishing style matches up well to catch bass however necessary this time of year on West Point. Evers is the third most owned angler in Bucket A at 17%, but offers a great chance to gain points in the overall fantasy standings.

I also like Terry Scroggins and Kevin VanDam in this bucket. These two guys are tied for second in AOY standings and both managed a solid finish at West Point in 2011. Scroggins ownership is only 4.7% which gives him great upside in the bucket if he can beat the top bucket choices. KVD is the top pick and a strong threat to win in the bucket like he always is.

Bucket B: Stephen Kennedy

Stephen Kennedy is the highest owned angler in Bucket B and for good reason; Kennedy won at West Point in 2011 and has fished this lake all his life. Kennedy was able to take his Kanami Flash and a special swimbait and keep the trophy at home. If the conditions change like they have at each Elite event so far this season, Kennedy will know where he needs to be to catch the winning fish. Kennedy’s fantasy ownership is 17% which still leaves a solid opportunity to beat most of fantasy players.

I also like Alton Jones and Dean Rojas. Jones finished in the Top 12 at West Point in 2011 and sitting in 21st place in AOY standings. A 9% fantasy ownership does not hurt either. Rojas finished 20th at West Point and 28th in the AOY standings.

Bucket C: Bill Lowen

Bill Lowen finished 12th here in 2011 and needs a big event to turn his season around. He is currently 46th in AOY standing and needs a couple strong events to get back to the Classic. Lowen also only had a 4% fantasy ownership mark right now so a big finish will gain me a lot of point over other anglers in this bucket.

I also really like Ott Defoe and Mark Davis for this bucket. Defoe finished 11th and Davis finished 14th here in 2011. Both excel at this time of the season. The reason I am not taking Defoe is because his ownership is very high at 27%. This is the time of year that Davis really starts to excel, so I would not be surprised if he has a Top 12 finish. Davis’s fantasy ownership is only 3% so there is a lot of upside to picking him here.

Bucket D: Nate Wellman

Nate Wellman is surprisingly only owned by 2.5% of fantasy players. Wellman pulled of a 5th place finish here in 2011. He is also the third highest ranked angler in fantasy points for this bucket. I hope he can figure out the lake as he did two years ago and come away with another Top 12 finish.

Other anglers to consider in this bucket are Jared Lintner and Greg Vinson. Lintner is another surprise after finish 4th at West Point in 2011, but is only owned by 4.5% of fantasy players. Vinson finished 16th in 2011 and is only owned by 6% of fantasy players. Most people are sticking with Michael Iaconelli. These three anglers give you a chance to beat almost half the fantasy players if they finish better Iaconelli.

Bucket E: Andy Montgomery

Andy Montgomery is my choice for the last bucket because he finished 9th here in 2011 and also is only owned by 9% of fantasy players. Montgomery has had a rough start to his season and almost certainly needs a win to qualify for the 2013 Classic. For this reason I see Montgomery giving it is his all to have his best finish of the season.

Also in the group I like Davy Hite and Brandon Palaniuk. Both managed to finish in the Top 50 and take home a check in 2011. I like Hite’s 11% fantasy ownership more thank Palaniuk’s 38%.

The event starts Thursday, May 2nd so do not forget to get your fantasy picks in. If you have not setup a team just go to Bassmaster.com and click the fantasy fishing tab. It is free to play and the person with the highest point total each week wins a $2,500 gift card to Bass Pro Shops. 

They are loving the wacky worm. This fish was bulldogging and did not want to come up.#fishing #bass #largemouth #wackyworm #boat #lake #strikeking #ocho #cloudy

The bigger crappie are starting to move up and bite! #fishing #crappie #bassproshops #crappiejig #stumpjumper #spring #cloudy #microlite #spinningreel #spawn #papermouth #slab

Looks like the crappie are ready to start biting. #fishing #crappie #bassproshops #jig #ultralight #lunchbreak #spring #lake

Not the biggest if the day but pulled hard. #fishing #bass #paddleboat #windy #spinnerbait #strikeking

Not real big, but nice for a lunch break. #AbuGarcia #bass #fishing #Quantum #strikeking #veritas #smoke #redeyeshad #vicious #lunchbreak

Hanging with the buffalo. #buffalo #shelbyfarms #memphis #tennessee (at Shelby Farms)