BASSMASTER ELITE SERIES MOVES ON TO KENTUCKY LAKE
Nation’s Top Anglers Will Enjoy Quality, Mixed-Bag Bass Fishery
The hits just keep on coming as the CITGO Bassmaster Elite Series moves on to another big-time bass fishery at a prime time of year — Kentucky Lake in Kentucky Dam Village, Ky., on June 15-18 — for the Bluegrass Brawl.
Elite Series stop No. 7 promises to be another memorable big-bass contest with lots of limit catches, thanks to the Elite Series’ formula that combines the nation’s best anglers with high-quality bass lakes at optimal times of the year. This time, it will be Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley during the height of post-spawn season, when the resident largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass will flock to offshore ledges and likely be especially cooperative.
“The fishing is going to be great,” said red-hot rookie Steve Kennedy of Alabama, who is leading the Toyota Rookie of the Year race and is third in the CITGO Bassmaster Angler of the Year race. “I’m just drooling thinking about it.”
Kentucky Lake is home to an impressive largemouth and smallmouth fishery. Created in 1944 when the 8,700-foot-long Kentucky Dam formed a permanent roadblock for the mighty Tennessee River, it is the largest and youngest reservoir in the Tennessee Valley Authority system.
At 184 miles long, Kentucky Lake is one of the largest man-made lakes in the world. It has 160,300 surface acres, 2,064 miles of shoreline and is connected by a navigable canal to 118-mile long Lake Barkley, an impoundment of the Cumberland River, which adds another 58,000 surface acres.
“It’s an incredible time of year to be there,” said Kennedy, who has won two national tournaments on Kentucky Lake in the last three years. “It’s incredible how many fish are in there. And when they stack up on those ledges in June, it’s a lot of fun.”
Daily launches and weigh-ins are free and open to the public at Kentucky Dam Village, 113 Administration Drive, in Gilbertsville, Ky. Anglers launch at 5:30 a.m. CT and weigh-in at 3 p.m. CT.
Also, the Kentucky BASS Federation Nation will hold a CastingKids competition in conjunction with the weigh-in at noon on June 17. At 6 p.m. on that Saturday, Elite angler Marty Stone will meet fans and sign autographs at the Advance Auto Parts, 3324 Irvin Cobb Drive, in Paducah. Fishing fans can catch the action from the Sooner Run on the CITGO Bassmasters on Saturday, June 24 at 10 a.m. ET on ESPN2.
For more information, contact BASS Communications at (407) 566-2208 or visit http://www.bassmaster.com.
PANASONIC TEAMS UP WITH KSA TO PRESENT KENTUCKY UNBRIDLED SPIRIT AWARD AT DEW
Panasonic and the Kentucky Sports Authority are proud to introduce the inaugural Unbridled Spirit Award. This award will be presented to the Dew Action Sport Tour athlete who best exhibits his “Unbridled Spirit” through excelling beyond expectations in the competition, overcoming major obstacles to compete, or by displaying uncommon valor and/or sportsmanship during the competition.
The winner will receive a $5,000 cash award provided by Kentucky Department of Tourism and a 42” flat panel plasma TV provided by Panasonic.
The Unbridled Spirit Award will be presented at the conclusion of the Panasonic Open Sunday, June 25th.
The Dew Action Sports Tour will be at the Kentucky Expo Center in Louisville June 22nd-25th.
COUNTDOWN TO THE DEW ACTION SPORTS TOUR
The Dew Action Sports Tour will kick off its second season, June 22-25, with the Panasonic Open in Louisville, Ky at the Kentucky Expo Center. The Panasonic Open will host 260 of the top professional action sports athletes including last season’s champions Kenny Bartram (Freestyle Motocross), Jamie Bestwick (BMX Vert), Ryan Guettler (BMX Park and BMX Dirt), Bucky Lasek (Skateboard Vert) and Ryan Sheckler (Skateboard Park).
Schedule of Events
Ticket Information
Thursday, June 22 tickets - Half price $7.50/advance, $8.50/day of
Pre sale tickets for Friday-Sunday : Adults - $15/advance, $17/day of; Kids - $7.50/advance, $8.50/day of
Four-day pass - $40/adults, $20/kids includes a six-month subscription to TransWorld Skateboarding
Tickets to the Panasonic Open are available via Ticketmaster, Ticketmaster.com, and charge by phone and Kentucky Expo Center box offices.
TV Schedule 
Friday, June 23: 12:00-1:00 am USA Network
Saturday, June 24: 4:00-6:00 pm NBC Sports; 12:00-1:00 am USA Network
Sunday, June 25: 3:00-6:00 pm NBC Sports
Background
Owned by NBC Universal and Live Nation, the Dew Action Sports Tour debuted in June 2005, and consists of five major, multi-sport events with a cumulative points system, a $2.5 million competitive purse - the largest in action sports - and an additional $1 million bonus pool based upon year-end standings. NBC and USA Network will combine for exclusive Dew Action Sports Tour coverage with the largest combined network and cable commitment in action sports. The Tour features skateboarding (park and vert), BMX (park, vert, and dirt) and freestyle motocross, and at season’s end, the Tour awards champions in the six combined disciplines with the Dew Cup. Key lifestyle elements at each Tour event’s festival village includes live cutting-edge music, video gaming, and interactive events.
Feature Athletes
BMX
Ryan Guettler , 22-year-old Australian concluded a historic season in BMX Dirt and BMX Park, winning Dew Cups in both disciplines and was the Tour’s top money winner collecting more than $250,000.
Dave Mirra , 32, of Greenville, N.C. competes in BMX Park and Vert and is the most accomplished athlete in the history of action sports. Last season, Mirra finished in the top five in both disciplines.
Skateboard
Shaun White , 19, of Carlsbad, Calif. won Olympic Gold for Snowboarding in 2006. His first pro skateboarding win took place last season at the Panasonic Open in Skateboard Vert competition.
Bucky Lasek , 33, of Carlsbad, Calif. won the 2005 Dew Cup in Skateboard Vert and is considered one of the world’s most consistent Vert skaters.
FMX
Kenny Bartram , 27, of Stillwater, Okla., and Jeremy Stenberg, 24, of Winchester, Calif. were separated by only 13 points going into the final stop of the 2005 Dew Action Sports Tour. While Bartram took the Dew Cup, Stenberg finished second in the season ending standings only 38 points behind.
