| Get5Bass.com "Covering the Arkansas Bass Fishing Tournament Scene" |
News: 05/05/08
Ultimate Match Fishing Comes to Lake Dardanelle!!!!
Joe Thomas (Ultimate Match Host) and Mark Randolph (Ultimate
Match Referee) have brought Ultimate Match Fishing To
Russellvile!!!
Ultimate Match Fishing, one of the highest rated fishing shows on the
Outdoor Channel, has come to Russellville and Lake Dardanelle!!! The
show puts professional anglers from the Bassmaster Elite Series and FLW
Tour in the same boat and has them fish head to head. The elimination style
format started at Georgia's Lake Lanier, but the second round will take
place on Lake Dardanelle!!! In the end, the Ultimate Match Fishing
Champion will win the $50,000 first place prize. This season will air
beginning in late June on the Outdoor Channel, so don't miss it!!
Get5 caught up with the show's creator and host, Joe Thomas, at Rush
Sporting Goods in Russellville. Here is our interview with Joe:
Get5: Tell us a little about Ultimate Match Fishing, how it got started, and where
it has gone to this point:
Joe Thomas: Year's ago, there was a show called "Challenge Match Fishing" - 25
or 30 years ago when I was a kid. I remember watching that show, and I always
thought that it was the most exciting format for a fishing tournament that I have
ever seen. I've been with the Outdoor Channel for 5 or 6 years now, and I told
them (Outdoor Channel) that there's a format out there that I would love to bring
to TV. They gave me the chance about 4 year's ago, and we decided to call the
show Ultimate Match Fishing (UMF). The first season was a tremendous success
and it has gotten better and better, we've gotten more refined and we've gotten
some big sponsors come on board. We've got Bridgestone Tires, Polaris, and Stabil
- The show just keeps on getting bigger and better. It's kind of like a dream, you
know, wake me up because it's better than I imagined. I get to watch the best
pro's in the country week after week - It's a dream job for me!
Get5: Tell us about this year's format - I believe the first round was at Lake
Lanier?
Joe Thomas: Yeah, The first round was on Lake Lanier. We really try to divide it
up - Lanier is a clear water lake with a lot of spotted bass and Dardanelle is a
river with big largemouth. We eliminated the first 6 guys at Lanier, and we now
have brought the next 6 guys to Lake Dardanelle. Ultimately, we will wind up with
one angler who will win $50,000.
Get5: Give us a preview of how the fishing was on Lanier.
Joe Thomas: It's going to hard to top last year on Kentucky Lake, But I think
this year is going to live up to it. We had big catches of largemouth and spotted
bass on Lanier. I would say that the fishing on Lanier was a solid 8 - maybe a
nine, and from what I seen today on Lake Dardanelle, I think it's going to live up
to it's expectations as well.
Get5: Tell us a little about how Lake Dardanelle got selected:
Joe Thomas: There's a lot of criteria that goes into selecting a site for the show.
One is that in UMF you are limited time wise, so you have to have a good fishery
and go there at a good time of year. Lake Lanier was a natural because even
though the water was down, it was fishing extremely well. As far as Lake
Dardanelle, I actually got to fish Lake Dardanelle last year in the FLW Series,
and I was very impressed with the Lake. It had big fish, a lot of fish, and plenty of
shallow water - It was a complete reversal of Lake Lanier. But to be honest with
you, The biggest factor was the community. The city of Russellville was
tremendously receptive, they rolled out the red carpet for us and they gave us the
tools we needed to get it done. Anytime you have a good fishery and a community
to back it up - You can't go wrong and we are just tickled to be here.
Get5 also caught up with BassCat pro Andy Morgan. His interview will be posted in
the "Pro Scene" Column on Friday.
Ultimate Match Fishing Comes to Lake Dardanelle!!!!
Joe Thomas (Ultimate Match Host) and Mark Randolph (Ultimate
Match Referee) have brought Ultimate Match Fishing To
Russellvile!!!
Ultimate Match Fishing, one of the highest rated fishing shows on the
Outdoor Channel, has come to Russellville and Lake Dardanelle!!! The
show puts professional anglers from the Bassmaster Elite Series and FLW
Tour in the same boat and has them fish head to head. The elimination style
format started at Georgia's Lake Lanier, but the second round will take
place on Lake Dardanelle!!! In the end, the Ultimate Match Fishing
Champion will win the $50,000 first place prize. This season will air
beginning in late June on the Outdoor Channel, so don't miss it!!
Get5 caught up with the show's creator and host, Joe Thomas, at Rush
Sporting Goods in Russellville. Here is our interview with Joe:
Get5: Tell us a little about Ultimate Match Fishing, how it got started, and where
it has gone to this point:
Joe Thomas: Year's ago, there was a show called "Challenge Match Fishing" - 25
or 30 years ago when I was a kid. I remember watching that show, and I always
thought that it was the most exciting format for a fishing tournament that I have
ever seen. I've been with the Outdoor Channel for 5 or 6 years now, and I told
them (Outdoor Channel) that there's a format out there that I would love to bring
to TV. They gave me the chance about 4 year's ago, and we decided to call the
show Ultimate Match Fishing (UMF). The first season was a tremendous success
and it has gotten better and better, we've gotten more refined and we've gotten
some big sponsors come on board. We've got Bridgestone Tires, Polaris, and Stabil
- The show just keeps on getting bigger and better. It's kind of like a dream, you
know, wake me up because it's better than I imagined. I get to watch the best
pro's in the country week after week - It's a dream job for me!
Get5: Tell us about this year's format - I believe the first round was at Lake
Lanier?
Joe Thomas: Yeah, The first round was on Lake Lanier. We really try to divide it
up - Lanier is a clear water lake with a lot of spotted bass and Dardanelle is a
river with big largemouth. We eliminated the first 6 guys at Lanier, and we now
have brought the next 6 guys to Lake Dardanelle. Ultimately, we will wind up with
one angler who will win $50,000.
Get5: Give us a preview of how the fishing was on Lanier.
Joe Thomas: It's going to hard to top last year on Kentucky Lake, But I think
this year is going to live up to it. We had big catches of largemouth and spotted
bass on Lanier. I would say that the fishing on Lanier was a solid 8 - maybe a
nine, and from what I seen today on Lake Dardanelle, I think it's going to live up
to it's expectations as well.
Get5: Tell us a little about how Lake Dardanelle got selected:
Joe Thomas: There's a lot of criteria that goes into selecting a site for the show.
One is that in UMF you are limited time wise, so you have to have a good fishery
and go there at a good time of year. Lake Lanier was a natural because even
though the water was down, it was fishing extremely well. As far as Lake
Dardanelle, I actually got to fish Lake Dardanelle last year in the FLW Series,
and I was very impressed with the Lake. It had big fish, a lot of fish, and plenty of
shallow water - It was a complete reversal of Lake Lanier. But to be honest with
you, The biggest factor was the community. The city of Russellville was
tremendously receptive, they rolled out the red carpet for us and they gave us the
tools we needed to get it done. Anytime you have a good fishery and a community
to back it up - You can't go wrong and we are just tickled to be here.
Get5 also caught up with BassCat pro Andy Morgan. His interview will be posted in
the "Pro Scene" Column on Friday.
