It is fitting that Brandon Card will begin his first Bassmaster Elite Series season this week in Florida with a boat wrap sponsored by a tackle company based in central Florida.
Card landed the deal with Jethro Bait Manufacturing Co. of Lake Wales, Fla., not far from the Elite season opener on the St. Johns River out of Palatka. The wrap is a bold yellow and red design with a dominant circular Jethro logo in the center.
Jethro Baits makes soft plastic lures and terminal tackle, including tungsten weights, stainless steel swivels and various styles of beads. The company is owned by Kevin Stallworth.
“We are very excited about Brandon’s story of fishing his way through college and moving up to the Elite Series,” Stallworth said. “Like Jethro, Brandon started out locally and then moved his way up through the ranks to now compete with the top 100 anglers in the world.”
From Caryville, Tenn., Card qualified for the 2012 Elite Series by finishing second in points in the 2011 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open circuit, and he has a strong background in collegiate fishing. Card captained the University of Kentucky bass fishing team for four years until he graduated in 2009. He and his team competed in what is now the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series, among other college circuits.