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Articles by Bryan Brasher
Manufacturing good: Nonprofit started by 2 Hoover firefighters steers young men into productive lives
Quindarius Johnson was 17 years old and just out of A.H. Parker High school, preparing to move in with a few of his childhood friends, when his mother, Sherese Phillips, put her foot down. Recognizing the dangers of a young man trying to make his way through inner-city Birmingham, she worked through Common Thread Community Church to align her son with a nonprofit called Magic City Woodworks that was started by two Hoover firefighters.
SEC Baseball Tournament settles into new skin
After sweeping changes at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium last season, fans at the 2026 Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament will see few differences in this year’s terrain. “We just finished a three-phase renovation project that made for a much better fan experience,” said Erin Colbaugh, parks and recreation director for the city of Hoover.
Cheeriodicals CEO shares company story with Vestavia Hills chamber
The Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce luncheon tour made a stop at Vestavia Hills Baptist Church on Tuesday, sharing the story of a Birmingham-area company that combines corporate team building with social responsibility.
Cheeriodicals CEO shares company story with Vestavia Hills chamber
Gary Parisher and his wife, Mary Martha, 15 years ago started a company called Cheeriodicals as an easy online solution for people looking to send personal, unique and useful gifts to people in need, such as patients at Children’s of Alabama, veterans’ hospitals across the country and others around the globe. Since putting his original idea into motion in 2011, Parisher has made the concept available to large corporations as a “team building” exercise.
Regions Tradition returns with earlier spring start
The annual Regions Tradition golf tournament is coming back to Greystone Golf & Country Club a little earlier this year, with festivities set to take place April 29 to May 3. As usual, the tournament — one of five major championships on the PGA Tour Champions men’s professional senior golf tour — will be a weeklong community celebration, with proceeds going to Children’s of Alabama.
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Louisiana native stirs the pot for Hope for Autumn Crawfish Boil
As a Louisiana native and lifelong crawfish connoisseur, John Hein won’t even venture a guess about how many crawfish he’s boiled through the years. “Goodness,” he says, laughing at the enormity of the question. “I couldn’t even give you a ballpark number.” What Hein does know is it would be measured in tons — and he’ll be boiling 2½ more tons for this year’s 18th annual Hope for Autumn Crawfish Bowl.
Johnston Goes Wire-to-Wire to Win Tackle Warehouse Invitational Stop 6 at the St. Lawrence River
Canadian pro smashes limit weighing 24-9 Sunday to slam the door on tournament and win $80,000 top prize MASSENA, N.Y. (July 27, 2025) – Canadian pro Chris Johnston continued his strong track record on the St. Lawrence River with an impressive wire-to-wire victory Sunday at Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Stop 6 Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches. Johnston weighed in 76 pounds, 1 ounce over three days, making long runs nearly to Lake Ontario each day to seal the win in dominant fashion.
Grigsby announces retirement from pro fishing By Bryan Brasher
Grigsby announces retirement from pro fishing By Bryan Brasher Shaw Grigsby has spent the bulk of his professional fishing career teaching us all that it’s OK to smile and have fun while competing at the highest level. For those of us who appreciate the technical side of the sport, the Florida native also taught lessons about sight fishing for bedding bass that blew us all away. And while he may not be done imparting wisdom, he’s officially done applying that wisdom to professional competition.
Tips for fishing summertime tournaments on lakes crowded with pleasure boaters
Tips for fishing summertime tournaments on lakes crowded with pleasure boaters By Bryan Brasher During this scorching hot period of the summer when many anglers’ favorite lakes get a little overcrowded, they take the path of least resistance: They simply move to another lake. But for a tournament angler, that’s simply not an option. So, through years of trial and error — and perhaps a few choice words under their breath — they develop strategies for what can feel like fishing in a washing machine.
American Bass Sets Itself Apart from Alabama’s Troubled ABA Amid Fishing Industry Turmoil
Western-based American Bass wants distinction from Alabama-based ABA By Bryan Brasher During a period of unrest in the competitive fishing industry, Craig Sutherland wants you to understand which organization he does work for. More importantly, he wants you to know which one he doesn’t work for. Sutherland is president of American Bass — a 42-year-old tournament organization that holds more than 200 events each year in 11 states, all in the western region of the country.
God bless the high road
Welcome to NewsBreak, an open platform where diverse perspectives converge. Most of our content comes from established publications and journalists, as well as from our extensive network of tens of thousands of creators who contribute to our platform. We empower individuals to share insightful viewpoints through short posts and comments.
There is only today
Welcome to NewsBreak, an open platform where diverse perspectives converge. Most of our content comes from established publications and journalists, as well as from our extensive network of tens of thousands of creators who contribute to our platform. We empower individuals to share insightful viewpoints through short posts and comments.
Kenora’s Jeff “Gussy” Gustafson Wins 2023 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic - NetNewsLedger
Canadian pro Jeff “Gussy” Gustafson’s bass refused to play fair on the final day of the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Toyota on the Tennessee River. But fortunately for him, the bulk of his work was already done.
Christie conquers the Bassmaster Classic!
The drain was good to Christie the first two days. But when he arrived there early on Sunday, he found what he described as a “ghost town.” A spot that had produced half of his weigh-in fish during the week produced only one on the final day — and even though it was his biggest bass of the day, a 4-11 largemouth, he admittedly started thinking, “Here we go again.” Luckily, his shallow-water technique paid off big-time.
Revisiting the Ice Bowl
The very first event I covered as an employee of B.A.S.S. was the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk on Lake Hartwell in 2015. When I showed up for takeoff well before daylight on Day 1, I wondered for a moment why guys who fished for a living were having such a hard time just launching their boats at the ramp. Then Jim Sexton, our vice president of digital communications at B.A.S.S., told me the reason for it: The boats were actually frozen to the trailers.
5 happy thoughts from Harris Chain Elite
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5 happy thoughts from St. Johns Elite
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The growing threat of hypocrisy in bass fishing
In a wonderful piece published last month on Bassmaster.com, B.A.S.S. Conservation Director Gene Gilliland detailed what he believes are the five biggest threats to the future of bass fishing. Being a supersmart scientific guy, he listed things like water policy, loss of public access, pollution and habitat loss — all of which are indeed critical concerns. But one growing threat he didn’t touch on is the infighting that occurs every day between the people who enjoy the sport.
Three years of Elite changes
Scott Canterbury, an Alabamian who is inarguably one of the best anglers on the planet, must have scanned the 2022 Bassmaster Elite Series field when it was announced and thought about just how much things have changed since the dominant 2019 season when he won his Bassmaster Angler of the Year title. Though a lot of the names are the same, so many of them are all grown up now — and the new ones on the list, in many cases, aren’t so new at all.
A Nation of friends
A funny thing happened to Canadian angler Danny McGarry on his way to take part in the TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Championship on the Ouachita River back in November. It wasn’t “ha-ha” funny, mind you. It was more of a “laugh-to-keep-from-crying” situation.
OK … who’s next?
When Seth Feider first came on the Bassmaster Elite Series scene back in 2015, he was a lanky, long-haired Northern outsider who, by his own admission, fished timidly in hopes of simply earning a check at every event. He evolved first, into a confident angler who was willing to swing for the fences once in a while and finally, into the runaway Bassmaster Angler of the Year with a swagger so unmistakable it’s made him arguably the most popular angler on the planet.
Ike ponders next move
There's no arguing that New Jersey pro Michael Iaconelli is one of the more colorful characters in the history of professional bass fishing. He’s been known to pull a prank or two in his life. But in spite of all that, he insists he’s not goofing around by making us all wait to see if he’ll accept an invitation to fish the 2022 Bassmaster Elite Series. In fact, he wishes he knew the answer because it would make his life a lot easier.
The Mercer effect
The people I work with here in the office at B.A.S.S. have heard me talk a lot about a good friend named Beau Partee. He sounds a little like an imaginary friend. But he’s an actual person, whose name really is a distorted version of the word “party” — and believe me, he lives up to the name. He’s the life of the party, the center of attention — and when you show up wherever he is, he makes you the center of attention.
Hank Cherry’s wisdom
All of a sudden, Hank Cherry is all grown up. The former Bassmaster Rookie of the Year, who was known for the longest time as that guy who lost the winning fish right at the boat during the 2013 Bassmaster Classic, is an icon. But we all know that by now. We know he’s just the fourth angler in history to win the Classic in back-to-back years. We know he’s an incredible jerkbait fisherman. The whole world knows ... a lot of things.
Field notes: Lake Champlain
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. — The run Minnesota pro Seth Feider is putting together toward a possible Bassmaster Angler of the Year title has featured many fascinating layers. After placing fourth at last week’s Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Lake Champlain, Feider now has four Top 10s in eight events. Notching Top 10 finishes in 50% of the events is amazing enough.
Schmitt stays on top heading into Championship Sunday
He’ll lead a field of 10 qualifying anglers into Championship Sunday with a chance to claim his first Elite Series victory and a $100,000 first-place prize. But of course, he sounded less than confident about his chances. “I don’t even know how we got it done today, to be honest with you,” Schmitt said. “Tomorrow’s the day. Whoever catches the big bag tomorrow.
Look past the obvious
Here in my hometown of Birmingham, Ala., there is a 1,050-acre impoundment called Lake Purdy, from which the surrounding areas draw their drinking water. The lake is accessible only by rental boat, and the maximum-size outboard allowed is 9.9 horsepower. I live within an hour of three Coosa River fisheries that are known for producing big spotted bass.
The odds are stacked
Just as production for the June issue of Bassmaster Magazine was finished, a small group from B.A.S.S., including folks from the digital realm, all the good people from the editorial department and folks from Go Out{side}, gathered with one impossible task on our to-do lists. We had to determine the order of the annual Odds Gallery for the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk on Lake Ray Roberts.
Cherry conquers the 2021 Classic!
FORT WORTH, Texas — Hank Cherry now occupies some rare air in the sport of professional bass fishing, and he has the bank statements to prove it. The Lincolnton, N.C., pro, caught five bass Sunday that weighed 13 pounds, 1 ounce and won the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk with a three-day total of 50 pounds, 15 ounces. He is only the fourth angler in the 51-year history of the Super Bowl of Professional Bass Fishing to win the event in back-to-back years.
Field notes: Lake Guntersville
While it may have seemed like Wisconsin pro Caleb Kuphall came out of nowhere to win last week’s Berkley Bassmaster Elite at Lake Guntersville, that wasn’t necessarily the case. Kuphall has been making noise for three years now, especially in Alabama. He’s in his second year on the Bassmaster Elite Series since qualifying through the Basspro.com Bassmaster Central Opens in 2019.
Bless the bank beaters
I see a lot of comments on social media these days suggesting B.A.S.S. should explore the idea of banning forward-facing, real-time electronics like Garmin LiveScope, Lowrance LiveSight and the much-rumored Humminbird MEGA Live. I disagree with that sentiment — and it’s too late anyway. That genie is out of the bottle and it’s unlikely it’ll ever be back in.
Field notes: Sabine River
After two years away, veteran angler Jason Christie began his return to the Bassmaster Elite Series in rocky fashion with a 63rd-place finish at the season opener on the St. Johns River back in February. But since then, the Oklahoma pro has looked ready to make a run at the Bassmaster Angler of the Year title. After finishing fifth at the Tennessee River and a respectable 32nd at Pickwick Lake, Christie claimed his sixth career B.A.S.S. victory at the Sabine River last week.
New challengers await
Hardcore baseball fans are no doubt familiar with the story of Wally Pipp. Pipp was a standout first baseman for the mighty New York Yankees from 1915 through the early 1920s. But then one day in 1925, he decided to take a day off. He was replaced in the starting lineup by a guy named Lou Gehrig — and more than 2,000 straight games later, Gehrig was still manning first base for the Bronx Bombers. Pipp has become the poster child for not letting up.
Field Notes: Pickwick Lake
Obviously, the most significant part of the standings for the Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Pickwick Lake was the name at the top. After 159 events, dating back to his very first Bassmaster Open on Ohio’s Sandusky Bay in 2005, 13-year Elite Series Bill Lowen finally found the winner’s circle — and it must have been all the more sweet, considering how many times he’d been close in the past.
Back to a warm Classic
Earlier this year, B.A.S.S. officials announced that the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk, originally scheduled for March 19-21, will be held instead on June 11-13. The hope is that the COVID-19 pandemic will have lost some steam by then, allowing for the kind of Classic bass fishing fans have come to expect. The venues won’t change. Fishing will still be on Lake Ray Roberts in northern Texas with weigh-ins and the annual Classic Outdoors Expo in Fort Worth.
Taku Ito: What’s a pound?
When the competitors on the Bassmaster Elite Series were notified before the season that the angler who comes closest to accurately estimating his pounds and ounces total on BassTrakk at each event will receive $1,000, second-year pro Taku Ito had an interesting question: What’s a pound? Oh, and a quick follow-up question: What’s an ounce? A native of Chiba, Japan, Ito didn’t learn pounds and ounces as his weight metrics in school like his fellow competitors from the United States.
A familiar path in 2021
There will be a time for change and exploration in professional bass fishing. There’ll be a time to visit new lakes, forge new partnerships and establish new venues as important pieces of B.A.S.S. history for years to come. Unfortunately, 2021 is not that time. As we were all warned for most of November and December, the simple flip of the calendar on New Year’s Eve 2020 didn’t rid the world of the historic problems created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Martin’s plan on track
I’ll give it to Scott Martin: he’s a man of his word. When I talked to him back in November 2019, Martin told me the two main goals he had left in an already-storied pro fishing career were to qualify for the Bassmaster Elite Series and win the Bassmaster Classic. In a little more than a year’s time, he’s already halfway there.
A breath of fresh air
I’m not even gonna sugarcoat it. The first time I saw Matthew Robertson, I was not impressed. This long-haired kid, who had qualified for the 2019 Bassmaster Classic through the Bassmaster Team Championship, strutted to the Classic stage in Knoxville wearing some sort of leopard-print, faux-fur coat. When he reached the microphone, he splashed himself with a bottle of water, let out a Ric Flair-style “WOOOOO” and then weighed in two bass for 3 pounds, 5 ounces.
Take a hike, 2020
What will you be doing when the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve? Will you simply lift a glass of champagne before smooching your significant other as always? Will you finally have someone explain to you what the heck “Auld Lang Syne” means as you pretend once again to know all the lyrics to that tired, old song? Or will you light your 2020 calendar on fire and dance around it with a group of friends and family members while flipping the middle finger to the craziest year of our lives?
History still matters
Inside the laptop bag I take to every Bassmaster Elite Series tournament is the current copy of the B.A.S.S. Media Guide. Along with vital information on all of the current Elite Series anglers, the handy-dandy little book has a timeline listing tournament trail and organization highlights from the 1960s through present day. It has records for all of B.A.S.S.’s top tournament trails and a long list of winners for every major event B.A.S.S. has ever held.
Lessons of the fall
For decades, savvy bass anglers have looked forward to fall as that magical time of year when bass become more and more vulnerable as they begin feeding up for a hard winter and an even harder spring spawning season. More importantly, we’ve looked forward to it as a time when a whole bunch of people scram. Fall bass fishing is certainly no secret.
Always fear the closers
Back in May of 2002, I was covering the Bassmaster Tour event (during the pre-Elite Series days) on Lake Eufaula, and they had just finished the Day 3 weigh-in when another writer remarked to me that it “looks like Ron Shuffield may actually win this thing.” And while it was true Shuffield seemed to be hitting his stride in the tournament, I cautioned my fellow scribe to be wary of Missouri legend Denny Brauer in fourth place.
Talley finishes strong for Guntersville victory
SCOTTSBORO, Ala. — Frank Talley has dreamed of winning a top-level professional bass tournament his entire life. But with three small children at home, he kept that dream in his back pocket for two decades in favor of coaching youth sports teams, fishing local tournaments and just being a good husband and dad.
Logan leads Day 3 at Guntersville Elite
SCOTTSBORO, Ala. — The good news for Wes Logan is that he’s leading the NOCO Bassmaster Elite at Lake Guntersville heading into Championship Saturday. The bad news is he says he’s fresh out of ideas. The rookie from Springville, Ala., caught five bass that weighed 16 pounds, 2 ounces during Friday’s semifinal round, pushing his three-day total to 49-0 and giving him little more than a 1-pound lead. As for what Saturday holds? He couldn’t say.
Cobb takes Day 2 lead
SCOTTSBORO, Ala. — Professional bass anglers are some of the most notorious poor-mouthers on the planet. Even on their best days, they’re likely to tell you the fishing was tough. But at this week’s NOCO Bassmaster Elite at Lake Guntersville, they may actually be telling the truth — even the ones who seem to be doing well.
Welcher leads at Guntersville
Alabama pro Kyle Welcher takes the early lead at the NOCO Bassmaster Elite at Lake Guntersville with a limit weighing 19-5. Kyle Welcher is technically an “in-state angler” during this week’s 2020 NOCO Bassmaster Elite at Lake Guntersville. But since the rookie from Opelika, Ala., lives four hours away from the famed Tennessee River fishery, he had very little experience on Lake Guntersville before the official practice period began Sunday — and he thinks that might have been a good thing.
Dewing the right thing
With many inside businesses shut down — everything from bowling alleys to restaurants to movie theaters — during spring and early summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many people decided to spend their leisure time outside. Some for the first time ever. Fishing license sales surged more than 40% in some states, as some learned how rewarding it can be to have fun and take a breath of fresh air all at once. Recognizing what a great thing it was, Mountain Dew did something remarkable.
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