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FLW Outdoors Fishing Report 14 (June 17): How tournament boats got flashy logos

WKMS | By Matt Markgraf

Published June 17, 2011 at 3:39 PM CDT

By Scott Ellison

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkms/local-wkms-973980.mp3

Murray, KY – This week on the FLW Outdoors fishing report, Scott Ellison gives us some details on the big fishing tournament on Kentucky Lake this weekend, and we learn how the tournament boats get their flashy decals.

Scott Ellison for FLW Outdoors here, with the weekly fishing report.

Say the word "rap" around some people and it brings to mind entertainers like Eminem. Say "wrap" around fishermen, though, and all it means is a boat that's wrapped with the brightly colored decal showing the logos of the owner's tournament sponsors.

You'll see a lot of them this week if you're on or near Kentucky Lake. The Walmart FLW Tour event sponsored by Kellogg's in ongoing there through the weekend .

Through Friday, the pros take off and weigh-in at Kentucky dam marina. On Saturday and Sunday, they take off from Kenlake State Park Marina and then weigh in at the CFSB Center in Murray beginning at 4. The free outdoor expo also opens Saturday and Sunday at noon each day.

Working in the tournament world for the past three years, I've seen a lot of boats and trucks with brightly colored wraps. As far as colors and good looks are concerned, some of my favorites are the National Guard boats, snickers and diet mountain dew. But my all-time favorite is the Kellogg's Frosted Flakes boat. Not only is the design great, but because Frosted Flakes are my all-time favorite cereal. Tony the Tiger is "Grrrrreat" and the fisherman who runs the boat is pretty darn amazing, too. That's Dave LeFebre of Union City, Pennsylvania, one of the all-time best on the Walmart FLW Tour.

If you see a Chevy-wrapped boat this week, it might be fishing superstars Larry Nixon or Jimmy Houston. Last year's angler of the year, Bryan Thrift, also is in a Chevy boat, as is Dion Hibdon and Luke Clausen, who just won the Potomac River open. Paducah's Dan Morehead is in the Prevacid ranger, and another local favorite, Terry Bolton, will be in the brightly colored Off! boat.

Here's a trivia tidbit you might find interesting. Up until about 15 years ago, sponsor wraps were mostly restricted to Nascar, but then a former Nascar employee named Bart Shadd went to work for Ranger Boats. He talked to our FLW Outdoors CEO, Irwin Jacobs, about the feasibility of wrapping boats and got permission from Mr. Jacobs to try it.

Now boats of all sizes are wrapped with sponsor decals. But it all started with Ranger Boats and FLW Outdoors.

If you're planning to do more fishing than boat-watching this week, you're also in luck. Fishing is good, with the ledges holding a lot of white bass as well as largemouths and smallmouths. Tailspinners, roostertails and the like are accounting for good catches of whites. Just let them sink on the ledges, then hop them back in. Crankbaits are accounting for good catches of bass on the ledges, and also around creek mouths, main-lake points and the riprapped points near bridges and marinas. If crankbaits won't work for you, try Carolina rigs with soft plastic creature baits or plastic worms. Set your boat up so you can cast into a ditch or creek channel, then drag the rig up the side. If you're fishing a point, first cast across the outer end of it and work your way in.

Finally, folks are still catching a lot of crappies around stake beds and cove ledges on live minnows or small jigs fished vertically.

That's it for now. I hope to see you at the CFSB Center Saturday and Sunday as we crown a winner of the 2011 Walmart FLW Tour Kentucky Lake Event.

This is Scott Ellison signing off til next week.

Scott Ellison is a lifelong fisherman and FLW Outdoors College Fishing Promotions Manager.