Wendlandt maintains slim lead in Elite AOY points race
Texas bass pro Clark Wendlandt of Leander is sitting pretty in the 2020 Bassmaster Elite Series Angler of the Year points race.
Wendlandt, 54, is currently in the lead for the coveted points title. But not by much. Only seven points separate Wendlandt from Japan’s Taku Ito and Connecticut’s Paul Mueller is only eight points off the mark. Further down the line, Buddy Gross of Georgia holds down the 10th spot with 369 points, just 54 points behind Wendlandt.
With four qualifying event still remaining, Wendlandt knows it is way too early in the game to take his foot off the gas. One bad tournament could rock his chances of staying in contention for a title trophy that every bass pro would live to have on their mantle.
“What I love about this sport is there’s no resting on your laurels,” Wendlandt told bassmaster.com. “If you have a bad tournament everyone forgets about you. To have a chance at AOY you have to fish every tournament well.”
Wendlandt is no stranger to the winner’s circle. He won the FLW Tour AOY title three times, won four events in that league and qualified for the Forrest Wood Cup 18 times before jumping ship to the Elite Series in 2019.
Wendlandt has fished four Bassmaster Classics and has earned more than $2.5 million on the two tours.
—Matt Williams
Prescribed burn grants available in East Texas
The Texas A&M Forest Service is accepting grant applications through Sept. 30 to offset the cost of prescribed burning on private lands for Central and East Texas landowners. More than $488,715 in grant funds are available for eligible landowners having prescribed burns conducted on their property by certified and insured prescribed burn managers.
Prescribed fire is an effective and controlled method to reduce wildfire risk by eliminating brush, weeds, dried vegetation and downed trees. Most of the available funds are set aside for wildfire hazard mitigation, and the applications that get selected in these programs will be thosethat protect the most homes and communities. Some of the programs also focus on habitat restoration, because prescribed fire also benefits native species of plants and animals, watershed health, reduction of invasive plants, and restoration of soil nutrients.
Texas A&M Forest Service does not conduct the prescribed burns. Grant recipients will select a certified and insured prescribed burn manager to reimburse costs from $15 to $30 per acre, depending on program eligibility.
Application deadline is Friday, Sept. 30. Apply online at http://texasforestservice.tamu.edu/cppgrant/.