Elite Series 2006 CITGO Bassmaster Wildcard 11/16/06 - 11/18/06 Harris Chain of Lakes, Leesburg, Fla. Place. 1.   Ben Matsubu $45,693

Costa Mesa, Calif. (November 28, 2006) – It was a no-brainer for Texas resident, Ben Matsubu once he threw the Lucky Craft RC 2.5 in the water. He knew what he would be using all three days of the Bassmaster Elite Series Wildcard Qualifier on Florida’s Harris Chain of Lakes… and it worked.

Matsubu began practice for the Qualifier using a spinnerbait, but soon found that something else would be key to winning the tournament.

“I started throwing it (a spinnerbait) because this time of year is one of the best times to throw them in Florida,” Matsubu said. “But after I caught a few on the spinnerbait, I thought that maybe the fish would eat a crankbait pretty well too. So I pulled out the Lucky Craft RC 1.5 and caught a few more fish on it. A friend of mine caught a bass and it spit out a bluegill that was a little bigger than I thought, so I switched to the RC 2.5 – and that pretty much ended it right there.”

Matsubu continued with the RC 2.5 (Chartreuse Perch) in practice, going down a bank and catching 14 keepers. After that, it was pretty simple.

“After catching all those keepers in practice, I decided right then and there to throw the RC 2.5 all three days of the tournament and fish everything I could,” Matsubu said.

Winning the tournament with a 7.5-pound margin over his closest competitor was an exciting achievement, and accomplishing such a feat with only one lure made it all the more impressive.

“I caught one fish on a worm, but the rest of my fish this weekend came on the Lucky Craft RC. It was great.”

When asked why he likes Lucky Craft’s RC series so much, Matsubu had two words – plastic and square-billed.

“I have a lot of confidence in plastic, square-billed crankbaits, because they dive faster than wood,” Matsubu explained. “I often use the RC series because I’ve caught so many bass on them. It is hard to put that bait down.”

Utilizing his time wisely, Matsubu spent most of his time on Lake Eustis, fishing four sections of bank where the crankbait bite was fierce.

“I was fishing super shallow water, around two feet deep,” Matsubu said. “I was concentrating on hydrilla and eel grass with a pretty fast retrieve. The fish were very aggressive and it was great.”

Because of his win in Florida, Matsubu will be granted entry into the 2007 Bassmaster Elite Series and all of his entry fees will be paid in full.

Lucky Craft is very proud to hear of anglers accomplishing such great achievements with Lucky Craft product. The Lucky Craft RC series baits are available for purchase through Bass Pro Shops and online at basspro.com. Congratulations to Ben Matsubu and thank you for your continued support of Lucky Craft products.