Vicious Elite Team members Kevin Short of Arkansas and Gerald Swindle captured 2010 Bassmaster Classic berths, a spot in the Bassmaster Elite Series post-season chase and one victory during the recently-completed season while Vicious Elite anglers are still seeking team titles on three other circuits.

Swindle earned a Classic berth and a shot at the Toyota Tundra Angler of the Year title in September during the Elite Series post-season. Short also qualified for the Classic and gutted out a hard-fought win in the Genuity River Rumble on the Mississippi River in June. The Classic will be held on Lay Lake next February and based in Birmingham, Ala. … right in the heart of Vicious Country.

Short’s victory was the culmination of a week’s efforts when it seemed nothing could go wrong for him. He threw spinnerbaits, crankbaits and flipped shallow cover with 20-, 17- and 14-pound test Vicious Ultimate co-polymer and Vicious Fluorocarbon.

“Every once in a while you have one of those days, one of those weeks, one of those years or whatever where everything just works right,” Short said. “Everything, all the little pieces fit together, and everything comes out rosy. That was one of those weeks where everything just clicked.”

Swindle had to fish there

Swindle qualified for the Bassmaster Classic and Elite Series post-season by catching a late bass at Lake Oneida on Day 3 of the final regular-season tournament. Fishing instinctively near a bridge on a line of matted grass, he repeatedly threw a topwater frog on 40-pound Vicious Braid until catching the largemouth.

“I had a feeling that I had to go there to free my mind and fish it with a frog,” he said. “I dug out a frog and tied it on the braid, idled into the dirt and after a few casts I saw the mat hump up. I knew that was a bass. It took 11 casts in a rapid-fire pace before he sucked everything down. When he hit the floor of my Triton I was screaming and high-fiving the marshal because I knew I had made the Sunday cut and was 99 percent sure about the post-season.

“Just being with Vicious, to me, is more than having a great line. When you work with companies that are like family it’s a different stress level. Actually, there is none. I’m with people now who truly believe in me and I believe in them.”

Swindle’s go-to lines in the Vicious lineup are 14-pound mono, 20-pound fluorocarbon and 40-pound test braid.

“I think simplicity is peace of mind when you’re fishing,” he said. “I know the 14-mono can winch in anything and the 40-pound braid can haul in an 8-pounder at Guntersville or a big one at Oneida over the slop when you need it. I was reeling that fish at Oneida with all that grass slop like a second grader at the pencil sharpener.”

Vicious is tough all over

Bass anglers aren’t the only ones making waves in the fishing world as the Vicious Elite Team has shined in saltwater, panfish, walleye and musky tournaments all year.

Mat Haag and Scott Hughes are tied for second place in the Redfish Nation “Team of the Year” standings with one tournament remaining. Haag and Hughes have amassed 135 points in three tournaments and trail the leaders by just seven points. The title will be awarded after the tournament Aug. 27-30 in Biloxi, Miss.

Veterans Jim and Barbara Reedy of Missouri lead the Crappie Masters Team of the Year standings with one tournament remaining. They are one of four Vicious teams among the Top 12 in the standings.  Missouri’s Charles and Travis Bunting captured the 2009 Mississippi State Championship on Tunica and Arkabutla Lakes.  The father/son team used 16 foot BnM poles, 10 lb Vicious Panfish and ¾ oz. weights fishing in 23 foot of water on Arkabulta.

With one tournament left in the Professional Musky Tournament Trail, Vicious Elite Team pro Tom Dietz and his partner, David Foor, both of Ohio, lead the points race by a slim margin. Dietz and Foor have 312 points and are just two ahead in the standings with one event left, Sept. 12-13 in Minnesota.

Dan Stier of South Dakota captured the hardware at Leech Lake in Minnesota earlier this season on the FLW Walleye Tour. Stier fished minnows on contour changes from 13-38 feet deep.

About Vicious: Vicious Fishing, a division of JBS Fishing based in Dora, Ala., includes Vicious-branded monofilament, fluorocarbon and braided fishing lines for freshwater bass, catfish, panfish, walleye, musky and saltwater species, along with casual lifestyle apparel. JBS Fishing is dedicated to performance and reliability, and strives to ensure that our top quality fishing products will always perform better than you expect.