HOOTERS Bass Fishing Season Starts Strong

HOOTERS Magazine - Bass Report by Brad D. Wall

Jul/Aug 2008 - Issue 70

The 2008 season is going to be another explosive year for HOOTERS Bass Fishing. HBF is fishing the FLW Tour, BASSMASTER Southern Opens, PAA, Ohio BASS Federation, USA Bassin and many charity events.

...The first day of the 2008 Classic was not too friendly for the traditional HBF rendezvous on the water. With umbrellas in hand, HBF and the HOOTERS Girls headed down to the blast-off to show our support for the Classic from the launch site. We hung around for the live ESPN Mike and Mike show from the outdoor pavilion...

HBF rolled down to Palatka, Florida in January for the BASS Southern Open’s first tournament of the season on the legendary St. Johns River. HBF had a respectable showing catching good weight both days of the competition. We were pleased with the results since we had never fished in this area and only had a day and a half to practice. HBF gained good points despite the cold fishing conditions.

Thanks to Gainesville HOOTERS Restaurant manager Nick and his beautiful entourage of HOOTERS Girls the event got a lot warmer. Nick and the gals showed up for the weigh-in on Friday and passed out over two hundred HOOTERS Magazines along with gear and fun stuff for the kids, fans and friends.
HBF would like to thank Ohio BASS Federation’s state president Todd Thompson, along with Mike White and Paul Mullins. Todd, Mike and Paul traveled and practiced with HBF on this trip and it wasn’t too hard to talk them into joining HBF on four visits to some awesome HOOTERS Restaurants during our travels. Thanks, too, to the Gainesville, Chattanooga, Kissimmee and Lexington locations for all the hospitality and T-shirts!

Our second destination for the 2008 tournament season took HBF all the way down to Choke Canyon Reservoir in Three Rivers, Texas, well below San Antonio. Holy Road Trip! This runs was over fourteen hundred miles one way! Choke Canyon is the best largemouth bass location HBF has seen to date and was the qualifying location for the PAA’s Toyota Bass Classic held at Lake Fork.

HBF set two personal best records at this event. First, our largest five-fish one-day limit weighed nearly nineteen pounds. This put HBF in the top twenty-five after day one! Secondly, a two day total of thirty-four pounds! HBF caught every bass on Reaction Innovations baits.

HBF would personally like to thank the PAA for all of their outstanding efforts as well as our two new friends and two great sportsmen, Hector and Dario, who graciously volunteered for observation duties during the pro only event and chaperoned the HOOTERS boat for the two days of competition.
Our next stop was the 2008 BASSMASTER’s Classic at Lake Hartwell in Anderson, South Carolina. Although the weather was cold, wet and raining on the first day of competition, the overall event was outstanding

The week started with a huge Classic party at the HOOTERS of Greenville location. Chris Bowes (tournament director for BASS) called HBF to schedule this event, the same as they did last year in Birmingham. This party has become tradition for all the BASS, ESPN and factory support staff. Thank you to the Greenville HOOTERS Restaurant and especially the manager Kim for all the hospitality.

The first day of the 2008 Classic was not too friendly for the traditional HBF rendezvous on the water. With umbrellas in hand, HBF and the HOOTERS Girls headed down to the blast-off to show our support for the Classic from the launch site. We hung around for the live ESPN Mike and Mike show from the outdoor pavilion. The show’s Mike Golic took time to say hello and take some great photos with HBF and the Girls. Later, seven HOOTERS Girls from Anderson and Greenville helped HBF crash the Classic Expo show. Holy Train Wreck! What a huge and overwhelming response from HBF’s industry supporters and the public at the show.

HBF and seven of South Carolina’s finest HOOTERS Girls passed out more than two hundred HOOTERS Magazines and HBF autograph cards. We couldn’t walk more than ten feet without friends, fans, and supporters stopping for some gear and photos. Kim and the Greenville HOOTERS Restaurant were overwhelmed by the patronage shown at their restaurant. Over the next three days, it was standing room only. Awesome!

HBF would personally like to thank John Bolt and ZEP from the Anderson HOOTERS Restaurant and all the gals who made the 2008 Classic one to remember. Thanks as well to Mr. Ryan Raley from Columbia, South Carolina. Mr. Raley provided the beautiful accommodations on Lake Hartwell and said he had the time of his life being the camera guy and official promo liaison for HBF. Mr. Raley expresses his eternal gratitude to HOOTERS for a Classic experience of a lifetime.

Thanks. Enjoy. Fish On!