Prouty Conquers The St. Johns River

By Mike Whatley

Deland, FL, April 4, 2009 – In only his forth day ever fishing the St. Johns River, Jeremy Prouty, of Vero Beach, FL was able to figure out a very tough bite where most of the field struggled to take top honors at the third qualifying event of the Florida, Division 6, Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Weekend Series.  His First Place victory earned him the guaranteed $5,000 purse plus 200 points toward his qualifying for the Year-end Championship worth over $200,000 and a slot in the prestigious “Bassmaster Classic”.

With post frontal conditions bringing dead calm waters and a reverse flow to the tidal river system, anglers found the Florida Strain Bass to be very lethargic and un-willing to cooperate. Prouty, however, was able to put together a 5 fish limit that weighed in at 16.81 pounds to best his closest competition by nearly two pounds. Jeremy located fish hanging on ledges in the river where the water went from 4-7 feet into 15 feet or deeper. His two primary lures being a Spro Popping Frog in a Bullfrog pattern and Gamblers Giggy Head (a shakey head comparative) tipped with a Gambler Red Bug Sweebo trick worm in. In a later conversation, Jeremy acknowledged his belief that the Carrot Stix rods he uses, made by E21, spooled with 8 pound Seaguar Fluorocarbon line was what made the difference in boating 25 fish during his day on the water. Jeremy is also eligible for an additional $1000 from the Triton Black Gold Contingency Program, having purchased a 2008 Triton Boat, Mercury Outboard and Motorguide Trolling Motor from Advanced Marine, based out of St. Cloud, FL.

Big Bass on the Boater side went to the 2008 and current points leader, John Cox, with a 5.52 pound bass worth $210.

The remaining top five boaters were: Second Place, John Cox of DeBary, FL, (5 bass, 14.40 pounds, $1055); Third Place, Ben Todd of Pierson, FL (5 bass, 11.04 pounds, $703); Forth Place John Kremer of Pierson, FL (5 bass, 10.87 pounds, $492) and Fifth Place Ryan Remington of Summerfield, FL (5 bass, 9.85 pounds, $422).

On the Co-Angler Side, Auburndale, FL angler David Glenn bested the “Back of the Boat” field by bringing in a 3 fish limit that weighed a total of 5.85 pounds. Glenn utilized a soft jerk bait in Green Pumpkin to catch his sack. David cashed a check for $1009 for his hard won win.

First time Bassmaster Weekend Series angler, Len Litwiniec, of DeLeon Springs, FL took Big Bass honors with a 3.33 pound fish worth an additional $95.

The remaining top five co-anglers were: Second Place, Floyd Edenfield of Folkston, GA, (3 bass, 5.25 pounds, $505); Third Place, Cody Pinchin of Middleburg, FL (3 bass, 5.12 pounds, $336); Forth Place, Brian Miller of Kissimmee, FL (3 bass, 4.77 pounds, $236) and Fifth Place,  Keith Carson of DeBary, FL (3 bass, 4.58 pounds, $202).

The Florida, Division 6, anglers will have one last opportunity to qualify for the two day Division Championship when they meet again on May 9, launching from Venetian Gardens on the Harris Chain of Lakes in Leesburg, FL. The Two Day Championship will be held on the St. Johns River, once again, but this time leaving from the Palatka City Docks, in Palatka, FL on Sept 20-21,2008. Anglers must fish a minimum of two of the single day qualifying events to advance to the two day Championship tournament.

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