Lady angler loves Bonus Bucks

Meet Martha Goodfellow. Her husband introduced her to fishing about 25 years ago, and after gaining confidence fishing with him, she branched out to lady and team tournament trails. Martha’s been competing in the Lady Bass Anglers Association Women’s Pro Bass Tour since 2011, and she’s won multiple Toyota Bonus Bucks awards while fishing LBAA. “I sincerely appreciate Toyota’s support of this women’s bass tour,” Martha said.

Martha recently upgraded to a 2017 Toyota Tundra, and her favorite new feature is the lumbar support in the passenger seat. “I am absolutely over-the-top impressed with the lumbar support on the passenger front seat,” Martha said. “It’s a huge, huge improvement.”

Martha Goodfellow and her husband have owned multiple Toyota Tundras, but the 2017 model stands out above the rest because of its great gas mileage. “It’s so much more conveinent to not have to stop and fill it up,” Martha said.

Martha’s favorite memory in her old Tundra was taking her 2 grand children on a road trip from Oregon to Yellowstone National Park. “Iâm looking forward now to teaching my grandkids to fish. They are our next students to teach.”

Martha and her husband Don run the South Carolina Division of the American Bass Anglers Couples’ Series. The first fishing trip for their 2017 Tundra was to an event for the series. “We packed up everything we needed to run a tournament and a whole lot of prizes, as well as everything we needed to fish the tournament, Martha said. “It was amazing. It held it all.”

“The best part of bass fishing is when you get the bite,” Martha said. But she also loves meeting people through bass fishing, “Fishing is more than just fishing. “

From tournaments to home, work and play, Bonus Bucks anglers depend on their Toyotas in all aspects of their lives. Weâre teaming up with Toyota to give you an inside look at the lives of Bonus Bucks anglers of all types. Weâll update this gallery with more photos of Bassmaster Elite Series anglers as well as College Series, Nations and weekend anglers who depend on their Toyotas to help them with their tournament fishing.

Before Jordan Lee won the Bassmaster Classic and drove his Toyota on a victory lap around Minute Maid Park, he gave us a tour of his truck.

A professional angler since he graduated college in 2014, Jordan Lee is driving a 2017 SR5 Tundra on the Bassmaster Elite Series tournament trail this year.

Jordan Lee added a few customizations to his 2017 SR5 Tundra, including leather seats. “I travel with my dog a bunch, and she sheds everywhere,” Lee said. “It’s a lot easier to vacume up with the leather seats.”

Jordan also had Britt Meyers’ customization company add a 6-inch lift kit, 20-inch Fuel Off Road Wheels, heated seats, and a A.R.E. Rod Pod and Truck Cap.

“I chose this model so I could have a bigger bed, where I can put more of my tackle and things I need for the road” Lee said. “I carry a lot of my fishing gear with me when I’m going to tournaments. In the cab it’s just me, Kristen and my dog, or just myself, so I don’t need a big back seat.”

After winning the 2013 College Series Classic Bracket, Jordan Lee took home his first Toyota. The truck, wrapped in Auburn colors, took Jordan to his first Bassmaster Classic in 2014. “I had just graduated from college, and I ended up placing 6th. I caught an 8 and a half pound bass the second day, and that’s one of my favorite moments of my fishing career.”

Jordan Lee’s favorite feature of his 2017 SR5 Tundra is the gas mileage. “It’s got a 38-gallon tank, so when we’re driving long distances, it’s really nice to have nice tank. I can drive for long periods of time without stopping. I feel like they’re accommodating to fishermen with the bigger, standard, gas tank.”

As a Toyota owner, Jordan is a Bonus Bucks angler, and he recommends other tournament anglers take advantage of the program. “I’ve made money the past several years, and that has helped me pay for my vehicles. You don’t have to be an Elite angler, and you don’t even have to win the tournament. It’s a program for any angler to look in to,” Lee said.

Jordan Lee and his girlfriend, Kristin, basically live out of his Toyota Tundra most of the year, and when they’re not on the tournament trail, they take the truck on vacation. “We can put pretty much everything we own in the back of the truck and go on vacation,” Lee said.

The thing that drew Jordan Lee to Toyota trucks is their towing capabilities. “All we do is tow a boat, and the Tundra pulls the boat really wel, especially for being a gas truck and not a diesel. It outdoes other gas trucks with its towing power,” Lee said. “That’s a big thing, obviously, when you’re driving lond distances, and you don’t have to worry about the boat back there.”

Jordan Lee often travels with his girlfriend Kristen, but when she’s not in the cab he has this photo to remind him of her.

2014 #Bassmaster Rookie of the Year Jacob Powroznik is regarded as one of the most talented, up-and-coming anglers on the Bassmaster Elite Series. We toured his 2016 Toyota Tundra Limited Edition provided by his sponsor Priority Toyota.

For Powroznik, who entered his first tournament when he was 10 years old, the best part about being a professional bass angler is meeting the fans.

âThe fans and the kids,â Powroznik said. âI love kids to death, and I love people following the sport. Having a fanbase and watching a little kid come up to you and ask for your autograph, that would have to be the best thing about being a professional bass angler. You see a little kid, and remember that you were a little kid and had the same ideas that heâs having right now about become an angler. When he walks up to you to and asks for your autograph, thatâs the best accomplishment of being a professional angler.

“It’s a sporty truck that I get to drive around the country,” Powroznik said. “Plus I look good in it.”

Powroznik uses his Tundra for everything. From going out on dates, to duck hunting, to bass and saltwater fishing. âItâs just an all around truck,â Powroznik said.

âItâs just an all around truck,â Powroznik said. âEven with my 23-foot saltwater boat, when I stop it stops. Itâs built for that. At home, I do a little work with my cousin, and he has a bobcat and other equipment that we need to pull around. Now with the new braking system, where you can turn up your gain or lower your gain on your Toyota brakes throughout the truck, makes it just so much easier when youâre pulling heavy equipment, your bass boat or your saltwater boat.â

In a year, Powroznik puts about 28,000 miles on his Tundra, and he is often mistaken for a racing driver. âWeâll be pulling a bass boat, right at a lake, and people will ask âWhen does the race startâ,â Powroznik said. âIt happens at least three times on the road for every tournament.â

Meet College Series angler Austin Chapman. The 21-year-old angler is a senior at McKendree University, and heâs majoring in Environmental Science. Weâre touring his 2008 Toyota Tundra SR5.

âI grew up watching The Bassmasters on TV,â Chapman
said. âSeeing the Elite Series pros driving Tundras made me want to own one.â

He keeps the boat num- ber chip from his first tournament win in the truck for good luck.

The McKendree University Bass Fishing Team came together in 2013, and Austin Chapman often fills his Tundra with his teammates to go to tournaments or to the grocery store. âThereâs a lot of stories that have been told in this truck going to and from tournaments. I canât tell how many hours Iâve spent in this truck driving to and from tournaments with my partners.â

Chapman converted his coach Jon Rinderer from a âDodge guyâ to a Tundra owner. Chapman took his coach for a ride in his Toyota truck one day, and his coach fell in love with it. âI like to ice fish a lot and hunt on my farm.â Rinderer said. âThis Tundra has the best four-wheel drive of any truck Iâve owned. It has the smoothest ride of any truck Iâve ever owned.â

For Chapman, the best part of tournament fishing is the camaraderie. âYou can go to a tournament and there are hundreds of other anglers there that all have the same pas- sion for the sport that you do. And you can just instantly connect with anybody, and talk about fishing.
I have made a lot of friends that I will have for a long time, that I would never have met if it wasnât for college fishing.â

Chapmanâs Tundra has taken him to tournaments all over the country. âIâve taken it to Wisonsin, Alabama, Tenessee, Kentucky, Oklahoma. Iâve taken it all over the U.S., and Iâve never had a single problem with it.â Chapman said. âI love how much horsepower it has. Itâs a fast truck, and it has a lot of torque, that
way itâs able to tow my boat all across the country.â

Chapman started fishing competitively in his freshmen year of high school

Bassmaster Elite Series angler John Crews is a nine-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier, and heâs the Bassmaster Elite Series Champion of the 2010 Duel in the Delta. We explored his Crew Max version of the 2016 Toyota Tundra.

âI love the Tundra. I feel like itâs a heavier duty version of a half-ton truck than most,â John said. âIf I thought there was a better truck out there that would give me any kind of advantage over this one, I would get it.â

In February, John Crews traveled to Ohio to do a Bassmaster University event. As snow started to fall, John realized he needed to get out before he was stuck. âI drove 300 something miles back home that evening. Iâll venture to say that over 80 percent of that drive was on snow, not on pavement. The truck did fantastic just driving through that snow. It definitely made a believer out of me with the tires in conjunction with the anti-slip traction control system that they have in this truck. Itâs really good on unstable surfaces like that. I didnât feel like my truck was going to be out of control at all, and it wasnât. And I got home safely.â

John Crews puts 35,000 miles on his Toyota in a year between tournaments, promotions and tackle shows.

âIt has a really nice interior,â John said. âThe interior of this truck is huge, which is nice because I do a lot of business in the truck.â

John Crews loves customizing his trucks.

âEvery Tundra Iâve gotten I have had Britt Myers customize it in some form,â John said. âLift, stereo, cab, Iâve always customized the vehicles that Iâve had. The Tundraâs are very customizable. You can do a lot of different things with them as far as lift, suspension. Thereâs a ton of after-market products. To me, thatâs the coolest thing about the truck, figuring out what I want to do to the next one.â

For John Crews, bass fishing is about the challenge of the sport and the friends you have on tour. âIn the sport of bass fishing, variables change by the minute,â John said. âYouâre chasing a fish thatâs not held in one place by gravity like an animal would be on the ground. They can make just a little swish of their tail, and theyâre 15 â 20 feet down. Thereâs just so many different variables that can change in bass fishing, thatâs one of the things that I like about it, and the other is the friends that I travel with. Ish Monroe and Mike Iaconelli are kinda like my brothers. We have a great time when weâre at the events. We work our butts off, but we enjoy each otherâs company. And weâre like family.â

One of John Crewsâ favorite truck memories happened in his first Toyota truck. The truck, which had a two-inch lift in the front, was only a few months old, when his wife Sonja reluctantly took it to the grocery store. She carefully parked away from all the other vehicles at the store, but when she came out a car was parked on the right side of the truck. As she drove away, she went over the top of the hood of the car next to the truck and pulled the vehicle a few feet. When Sonja called to tell John she crashed the truck, John could hear his daughter in the background saying, âI think it will be OK. Daddy can just get a new sticker on his truck it will be OK.â There was only minor damage to the truck, but his wife is still paranoid to drive it.

A retired fireman, home builder and tournament angler, George Crain knows a lot about trucks and hauling equipment.

The B.A.S.S. Nation angler and #ToyotaBonusBucks participant owns two Toyotas. “I think it’s one of the best trucks you can fish with,” George said.

We talked to George about how he uses his Toyotas on the bass fishing tournament trail and on the construction site.

His search for the best brakes on a truck brought George Crain to Toyota. Unhappy with having to special order and constantly change the brakes of his old truck, George began to investigate different models. “I saw that their brakes were heavier than anybody else’s, and they came standard four wheel disc instead of two,” George said. “That’s the reason I started with them, was just the brakes, being able to stop, and I’ve never looked back.”

“I saw that their brakes were heavier than anybody else’s, and they came standard four wheel disc instead of two,” George said. “That’s the reason I started with them, was just the brakes, being able to stop, and I’ve never looked back.”

With nearly $22,000 in Toyota Bonus Bucks Contingency cash, George Crain is one of the top Toyota Bonus Bucks winners for the B.A.S.S. Nation. “It costs nothing to register, and if you fish a good bit then sooner or later there’ll be extra money in your pocket is all I can say.”

While his Toyota Sequoia joins him on the tournament trail, George’s Tundra works with him on the job site. He uses it to pull heavy machinery like his 5,500 pound bobcat. “To get the kind of motion you need started at a red light, going up hill, you need some torque. The Toyota’s so strong and response, and of course the four-wheel drive helps a tremendous amount because I go off road quite a bit. “

âThe 4-wheel drive has always pulled me through,â George Crain said as he recalled a rainy day at his job site. âWe had not had any trouble getting in our out. But there was an electricianâs truck, a panel van and another truck down there, and they were sliding all over the place. I had to pull the electricianâs truck out with the Toyota because he didnât have 4-wheel drive, and evidentially it didnât have limited slip on the rear-end.â

George Crain’s love of bass fishing is spiritual. “I think it gets you closer to God,” he said.

Next weâll explore the 1794 Toyota Tundra owned by Bobby Lane. The Bassmaster Elite Series angler has fished professionally for about 11 years, and heâs been to the Bassmaster Classic 9 times.

âThe whole truck in itself is amazing. I would not change one thing about it,â Bobby Lane said.

Bobby Lane puts between 35 and 45 thousand miles a year on the truck, and he keeps photos in the cabin to remind him of his family while heâs out on the road.

Bobby Laneâs Toyota Tundra is full of reminders of home, including these lizards that represent his children, and the lure signed by his daughter.

“It has all the room in the world. It’s a short cab, but it’s still huge inside. I can put all of my luggage, all of my tackle inside. It’s amazing how much stuff you can actually put in the vehicle. I can literally pack my whole entire garage and half my house in there and hit the road, and it still has no drag and the gas mileage is just the same,” Bobby Lane said.

For Bobby Lane, being a Toyota Bonus Bucks angler is a no brainer. âFrom Southern Opens to Bassmaster Classics to the Elite series, you can make money just owning the truck. Even if I wasnât bass fishing I would still buy a Toyota Tundra, I love them that much. It seems like every year or every other year, you make 5 to 10 thousand dollars just owning your truck. You can look at that and say âwow, you know, I made my truck payment just owning my truck,â he said.

Bobby Laneâs favorite part of his Toyota Tundra is the chrome finishes. âThe 1794 comes tricked out pretty slick with the super chrome front and all the chrome all the way to the bottom. Thereâs not many trucks out there that have a front end like the 1794,â he said.

âTo me bass fishing is one word, but the outdoors is summed up in the whole scheme of bass fishing. I was taught at a young age that the green fish are fun to catch. To enjoy the outdoors as much as we get to is another thing. To look at your surroundings when youâre at a body of water or somewhere and remember that. Because in 2 to 3 years from now the body of water could change, there might be 100 docks where now thereâs 100 Cyprus trees. Remember to enjoy the outdoors more than the fishing when youâre out there. If youâre having a bad day on the water you just got to remember youâre out here doing what you absolutely love and the fish arenât cooperating but you could be sitting behind a desk or working behind a counter making peanuts, and you actually get to enjoy what you do every day and be out in the outdoors. In something that God has created for all of us to enjoy. I think itâs a wonderful sport and Iâm 100% glad I get to be a part of it,â Bobby Lane said.

âItâs the most comfortable truck that Iâve ever been in, especially having the 1794 edition,â Bobby Lane said. âItâs got all of the Red Rock interior. So itâs wonderful having that to drive around in. Itâs got every bell and whistle on it.â

The Toyota Tundra supports Bobby Lane at tournaments with its ‘phenomenal turnability.'” “I can whip it in and whip it out of every parking spot. Even with the boat on the back you can put it right between two cars if you need to. They pull like a dream. It’s the best pulling vehicle I’ve ever been in in my life. You can’t even tell the boat’s behind it,â he said.

Bobby Laneâs favorite memory in his Tundra is driving home from the 2016 Bassmaster Classic with his three children in the backseat. “They were all sitting back there having the time of their life,” Bobby recalled.

Meet Jason Forsgren. Heâs a Tennessee native and lifelong angler, who loves bass fishing and Toyota.

âIâve been fishing since Iâve been walking. My grandfather pretty much taught me everything I know. Toyota is easy to back. Iâve never had anything go wrong with my Toyota trucks,â Forsgren said.

Jason Forsgren and his wife Kris share a love of the outdoors and going out on the water together.

They were married by a Tennessee Wildlife officer on the water during a spur of the moment wedding ceremony.

His wife tells the story best: âThat Tuesday morning it was pouring down rain, and Jason asked me to marry him that day. I said, âYes, I would marry you in the rain.â He went off to work wearing his Toyota shirt,â she said. Kris called her best friendâs husband, the Tennessee Wildlife official, and everyone met up on a little island near the Watts Bar Reservoir, where the couple had their first date. When Derek arrived, still in his Toyota shirt, the rain stopped, and they tied the knot.

Jason Forsgrenâs favorite feature on his 2016 Tundra SR5 is the backup camera. He says itâs âabsolutely amazingâ and keeps him from having to get in and out of the truck while parking or backing up his boat.

The question Jason Forsgren gets asked the most is: âDo you have any clothes other than Toyota?â He wears their T-shirts and hats 3 to 4 days a week. âTheyâve been good to me, so I should be good to them,â Jason says.

Jason Forsgrenâs love of bass fishing comes from never knowing what will happen with each cast. âItâs just so exhilarating. With every cast you donât know if youâre going to catch a one pounder or a ten pounder, and then to fight the thing on the boat and land it. You really canât put words to it to do it justice.â

For Jason, the best part of the truck is the space available inside the vehicle. âIf I canât get everything in my room, I can put it in the caddy of that truck. You can put 8 foot rods in there all day long. The storage in that crew cab, itâs the biggest back seat. I could put a monthâs worth of supplies in there and go at it,â Forsgren said.

âThe truck is by far the most comfortable and easiest to drive. The thing drive likes a Cadillac. It doesnât drive like a truck at all. Itâs easy to maneuver itâs easy to back the features are just amazing,â Forsgren said.