|
Bassmaster Elite Series
BASS Reporter’s Notebook: November 25, 2009
|  |
| by BASS Communications / BASS |
(Nov. 25, 2009 - Celebration, FL.)... Bassmaster Elite Series pros Kevin Wirth of Crestwood, Ky., and Zell Rowland of Austin, Texas, will go public on weekly ESPN2 minishows about their very tough and personal struggle to quit smoking.
The 12 American Legacy "Become An Ex" minishows, which began Sunday, Nov. 22, and continue through Feb. 13 (full schedule below), feature Wirth and Rowland guided by a smoking cessation program called the EX Plan.
EX is a collaborative public health campaign presented by the National Alliance for Tobacco Cessation (NATC), a partnership of the nation’s leading public health organizations and states. The free program is available at the BecomeAnEX website. It strives to teach smokers how to relearn their lives at home, at work and at play without cigarettes.
The two Elite pros also are supporting each other in the effort through a friendly little bet, according to Rowland.
"I bet Kevin $500 he wouldn’t make it as long as me," said Rowland, who smoked his last cigarette Nov. 13. "I figured that would fire him up a little. All the guys - they interviewed 12 of the Elite guys for the show - said I’d make it. Kevin’s rising to the challenge."
Rowland, who said he quit for three years about six or seven years ago, wants to cut cigarettes out of his life for good. "I’m just at that time in my life," said Rowland, a five-time BASS winner and 16-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier who turned 52 last May.
He said what helps him the most is staying busy, having one morning cup of coffee instead of the three or four he used to have with cigarettes and staying away from people who smoke.
"I am making it," he said. "I fished two days last week without smoking. I quit once before, so I know the first 30 days is the killer. If you make it to 30 days, you’re pretty much home free."
He has turned to the EX program several times for a boost to his willpower.
"This program has a lot of different avenues a person can take. It offers a lot of support and information. All of that is important, especially if a person’s never tried to do it before. It can get pretty hard."
For Wirth, a 47-year-old former Kentucky Derby jockey and avid golfer, quitting tied in with getting into shape to compete in the 40th Bassmaster Classic, Feb. 19-21 on Lay Lake out of Birmingham, Ala. It will be Wirth’s 11th Classic appearance.
"We commend them for taking on this challenge and showing their fans that they too can live smoke-free lifestyles," said Cheryl G. Healton, DrPH, president and CEO of American Legacy, creator of the EX campaign and a founding NATC member.
"Become An Ex" minishows on ESPN2 will track the progress of the two Elite pros each week at 9:56 a.m. ET on Sundays, Nov. 29-Dec. 27. In 2010, the show will air at 8:56 a.m. ET on Saturdays, Jan. 2-Feb.13.
The shows will re-air at 5:56 a.m. ET on Saturdays, Nov. 28- Dec. 26, and, in 2010, at 6:56 a.m. ET on Sundays, Jan. 3-Feb. 14.
SALUTE IN BIRMINGHAM: Bassmaster Elite Series pro Gerald Swindle was part of the Nov. 11 Veterans Day parade in Birmingham, Ala., host city for the Feb. 19-21 Bassmaster Classic.
With his family, he rode in a bass boat with a patriotic wrap, towed by a Toyota Tundra. Besides honoring the area’s veterans, the boat "float" promoted the upcoming Classic. The Swindles live in Warrior, just north of Birmingham.
PLAN ON IT: The 2010 BASS Daily Planner & Fishing Guide is now available at the Bassmaster website.
At 160 pages, this year’s edition includes week-at-a-glance appointment pages with expanded writing space, money-saving fishing tips, more fishing log pages than ever before, and many extras, such as peak fishing times and daily moon phases. The planner is $14.95, plus $4.95 S&H.
THREE WEEKS OUT: The 51 qualifiers for the Feb. 19-21 Bassmaster Classic have just three more weeks to scout Alabama’s Lay Lake.
Beginning Monday, Dec. 14, Lay Lake will be off limits to the Classic competitors. They will be allowed back on the water for four official practice days, Feb. 12-14 and Feb. 17, before the tournament begins.
At this point, Classic anglers are faced with a Goldilocks-type decision: What amount of scouting time is best for a Bassmaster Classic angler? Weeks and weeks? Just the four official days? Is there a "just right" fit for a Classic contender?
Probably not, said Russ Lane of Prattville, Ala., one of eight Bassmaster Elite Series pros from Alabama who qualified for the 2010 Classic.
"I don’t think there’s a right or wrong answer, you just have to go with your gut," said Lane, whose two prior Classic appearances include the 2007 Lay Lake event, in which he finished 24th. "I’m trying to go up there one or two days a week. I live only 40 miles away. I’m trying to get back in the groove of fishing tournaments on the Coosa lakes, like I did before I joined the Elite Series."
To keep his fishing in tune during "off limits" (from Dec. 14 to Feb. 11), Lane said he can always hit Lake Jordan or Lake Mitchell, two Coosa River impoundments that fish similarly to Lay and are even closer to his home base.
Like the other seven Alabamans in the Classic, Lane certainly has a logistics advantage over, say, defending champion and Elite pro Skeet Reese of Auburn, Calif. Reese doesn’t feel handicapped, and he isn’t known for heavy pre-practice sessions.
"I’ll just use the four days prior to the Classic," Reese said. "That’s how I’ve been doing it for quite a while. That, to me, gives the most current conditions you’re going to get. I don’t like going into tournaments with too many preconceived notions and thoughts and ideas. For the guys who live around there, yeah, it’s an easy jump to get there, get some information or whatever they’re looking for.
"When we were there (Lay Lake) in 2007, I finished second to Boyd Duckett, and I didn’t pre-fish then, I just showed up and went fishing. Same deal with Louisiana (in 2009), no pre-practice there, I showed up and won. I’ll stick to my normal routine ... and hopefully make the right decisions when I get there."
The host city for the 40th Bassmaster Classic will be Birmingham, Ala. The tournament will receive more than 10 hours of television coverage on ESPN2 during the three days of the event.
BONA FIDE: "You get my whiskers mounted in a professionally designed display case - enclosed in glass - along with an official Certificate of Authenticity." - Elite pro Michael Iaconelli of New Jersey, who will donate proceeds from the eBay auction of his recently shorn beard to benefit the New England Center for Children
About BASS
For more than 40 years, BASS has served as the authority on bass fishing.The organization advances the sport through advocacy, outreach and its expansive tournament structure while championing efforts to connect directly with the passionate community of bass anglers through its Bassmaster media vehicles.
As the flagship offering of ESPN Outdoors, the Bassmaster brand and its considerable multimedia platforms are guided by a mission to serve all fishing fans. Through its industry-leading publications Bassmaster Magazine, BASS Times and Fishing Tackle Retailer; comprehensive Web properties in the Bassmaster, BASSInsider, ESPNOutdoors and ESPN360 websites, and ESPN2 television programming, Bassmaster provides rich, leading-edge content true to the lifestyle.
BASS oversees the prestigious Bassmaster Tournament Trail, which includes the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bassmaster Opens, Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Women’s Tour, BASS Federation Nation and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Bassmaster Classic.
BASS offers an array of services to its more than 500,000 members while spearheading progressive, positive change on issues related to conservation and water access. The organization is headquartered in Celebration, Fla. |
|
|
