Aaron Hastings
Hastings keeps gettin it done!
Zamora, Spain, September 22, 2007:
5,000 miles away from home, young Maryland FLW pro, Aaron Hastings traveled half way across the world to compete in the 5th annual Latin and EuroBass cup. “I was honored when I received the call to fish the tournaments.” Hastings said. “At first I thought they called the wrong person, but they said they’ve had there eye on me since my 1st FLW Tour win this year at lake Travis.” They, meaning Cidalia and Javier Galiana, responsible for organizing and promoting the Eurobass and Latin Cup in Spain, these events which 12 champions from the U.S. (6 from the FLW Tour and 6 from the Bass Elite Series) compete against 12 European champions. Head to head, not for hundreds of thousands of dollars, just for a trophy, “It was just fishing at its purest form.” Said Hastings, while there was no big payday, the competition was fierce: Americans (Darrel Robertson, John Sappington, O.T. Fears III, Rob Kilby, Greg Gutierrez, Ray Scheide, Aaron Hastings, Kevin Worth, Terry Seagraves, Charlie Youngers, Keith Phillips and Charlie Hammack. Europeans(David Espax, Benigne Ampaud, Pedro Felix, Javier Guillen, Jose Manuel Iglesias, Frederic Jullian, Sergio Longas, Jose Luis Lopez, Francisco Perez, Jose Perez, and Rui Carreina. All champions at one time for a true international showdown. “It was a little hard to get by the language barrier at first, but one language we all had in common was bass!!” And get by that barrier the young Maryland pro seamed to do with ease, finishing the first tournament in 2nd place, mere ounces behind 1st and winning the second tournament by 2 ˝ pounds. Not bad for a lake where a 2# bass is a good one. “It feels great!” Hastings said “To come so far away from home, competing against this kind of competition and come out on top makes me feel like I can do anything!” “My hat’s off to the anglers that travel to the U.S. to compete. Now I can truly say I’ve walked in there shoes.” His tackle this week consisted of: Berkley Elite Tech rods, Berkley Vanish fluorocarbon, Abu Garcia reels, Kinami Cutails and a B-10 crankbait from Brain’s Crankbaits. From the beginning of the year at Lake Travis, to half way around the globe, it’s true, Hastings keeps gettin it done!”
Tracy Adams
Eric Weir