Grant Goldbeck on Advanced Spy Bait fishing

This is one of our most popular videos in August. Spy baiting has gotten a lot of attention this summer. Here is a great video from Grant Goldbeck of DUO REALIS. Grant will clue you in on some uncommon uses of the spy bait. Ideal for largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass, spy baiting can help you add more bass to your tournament limit. You don't have to be a bass pro to use this simple lure. Listen as BASS Elite angler and DUO REALIS fishing pro Grant Goldbeck explains how-to utilize a spy bait into your fishing. 

Mark Hicks Wins Costa FLW Northern Series Potomac River with 48-10lbs!

Topwater key for Hicks

By Jody White

FLW PRESS RELEASE

Mike Hicks is nearly always good for a check when FLW comes to the Potomac, but this week he put it all together. The Costa FLW Series presented by Plano hit the Potomac when it was fishing wicked tough, but Hicks stayed steady all week. All told, the Goochland, Va., pro put together limits of 17 pounds, 14 ounces, 13-14 and 16-14 on the final day for a total of 48-10 and a payday of $42,200.

Hicks wins last Northern event.
(Photo: FLW) 

Hicks is a Potomac River veteran, and he showed it this week, running a diverse game plan and adapting every day.

On day one, Hicks mined the grass in front of Aquia Creek and the far back of Potomac Creek for his limit, landing just seven keepers on the day. On day two, Hicks started in front of Aquia, essentially fishing the same stretch of grass Casey Smith won off last year, and landed three keepers to start. Then, the back of Potomac failed him, and he was forced to scramble north to Pohick to fill his limit.

For the final day, Hicks decided to spend some more time at Aquia, figuring that his best odds for a big bag were there.

Jason Christie Wins BASS Elite Lake St. Clair with Tournament with 88-08lbs!

Windy last day scatters leaderboard
BASS PRESS RELEASE

Second win on St. Clair for Christine who adjusted expertly on final day.
(Photo: BASS)

Catching a drum isn't usually much of a reason for a bass fisherman to get excited. They don't count in a bass tournament, and they can waste valuable fishing time while the angler fights and lands them.

But it certainly excited Jason Christie this week — mostly because every time he'd catch one, the smallmouth bass in the area would get excited, too.

Christie caught five smallmouth that weighed 22 pounds on Championship Sunday to push his four-day weight to 88 pounds, 8 ounces. It was enough to win the Advance Auto Parts Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair and keep the Oklahoma angler in contention for the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year title.

The drum were one of the keys to his week.

"Everything is lying on the bottom, and they were all eating crawdads," said Christie, who is now a five-time B.A.S.S. winner. "I can't tell you how many times I've caught a drum here this week — and as the drum was coming up, it would be spitting out crawdads. There would be smallmouth out there below them, just eating everything they could get their mouths on."

2017 BASS Elite Lake St. Clair Day 3: Classic Champ Lee Leads with 69-13lbs!

St. Clair fishing better ever!

BASS PRESS RELEASE

The only certainty after three days of the Advance Auto Parts Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair is that no lead is safe.

Jordan Lee's 25 lbs creel vaults him into lead!
(Photo: BASS)

Jordan Lee, the reigning champion of the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK'S Sporting Goods, caught five bass that weighed 25 pounds, 9 ounces, Saturday to push his three-day total to 69-13. That moved him from fifth to first place and made him the third leader in as many days.

"I'm not really figuring anything out," said Lee, who qualified for his third Top 12 cut on the Bassmaster Elite Series this season. "I've really fished the same water every day. I don't know when I'm getting my next bite.

"I don't really understand it. You just have to keep fishing and be ready for them."

Lee said there have been times when he's gone more than three hours without a bite. But the good news is, when a bite comes, it's usually a bass that will help his cause.

On Friday, he caught two 5-pounders off one spot. Then Saturday, on the same spot, he caught a 6-13 that gave him the lead in the race for Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the week and another bass that topped the 6-pound mark.

With so much downtime between strikes, the key, he said, is being focused enough to execute when they finally do bite.

"You've really got to fish and just be calm and say, 'I don't know how many bites I'm going to get, but it may not be many,'" he said. "You just have to know that going in and keep fishing.

"I missed one fish today. But besides that one, I've caught them all this week."

Though the fishing has been slow in his area, Lee said he has no plans to change for Championship Sunday.

"Literally, if I only have one bite there tomorrow, I will have no shame," he said. "I've caught two huge bags there. You have to fish there all day and wait on one to bite."

Oklahoma angler Jason Christie, who has been hanging around the Top 10 all week, caught 23-11 — his biggest bag of the event — to jump from sixth into second with 66-8.

2017 BASS Elite Lake St. Clair Day 2: Brock Mosley Take Lead with Monster Limit!

AOY race super tight! 

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Mississippi pro Mosley becoming smallmouth king
(Photo: BASS)

Brock Mosley caught five bass Friday that weighed 25 pounds, 8 ounces, pushing his two-day total to 45-13 and taking the lead in the Advance Auto Parts Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair.

A near miss earlier this season seems to have been just the motivation he needed.

"I finished second to Kevin VanDam at the St. Lawrence River (in July)," said Mosley, a second-year Elite Series pro from Collinsville, Miss. "When you beat everybody except Kevin, that's pretty good. But coming so close really did motivate me for the rest of the season."

After placing second at St. Lawrence, Mosley placed 42nd and earned a $10,000 check in the next Elite Series event on Lake Champlain. During Thursday's opening round, he caught 20-5 and landed in 13th place at Lake St. Clair.

Then on Friday, everything went right.

2017 BASS Elite Lake St. Clair Day 1: Bradley Roy Leads with 23--03lbs!

Palaniuk's 6.8 lber is big bass
BASS PRESS RELEASE

Roy's big bag crucial to Classic qualify.
(Photo: BASS)

On a day when all eyes were on the most experienced anglers in the sport, a 26-year-old pro from Kentucky stole the show.

Bradley Roy, who has never finished higher than third in a Bassmaster Elite Series event, caught five bass that weighed 23 pounds, 3 ounces, during Thursday's first round. It was good enough to take the lead in the Advance Auto Parts Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair.

Missouri angler Chad Morgenthaler is just 1 pound behind in second with 22-3, and Alabamian Matt Lee is third with 21-13.

"I had a good practice," said Roy, who finished seventh at this year's GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK'S Sporting Goods. "I was seeing a lot of quality fish in a lot of different areas. But this morning, I don't know if they just didn't bite or if they moved out of some of those areas.

"I fished several places and just didn't get bit."

Lake St. Clair smallmouth bass have a reputation for roaming — and Roy decided to roam in search of them.

2018 Costa FLW SERIES Season Schedule

FLW PRESS RELEASE
The 2018 Costa FLW Series schedule, which will consist of three events in each of the five divisions – Central, Northern, Southeastern, Southwestern and Western – along with the no-entry-fee Costa FLW Series Championship to be held on Lake Guntersville in Guntersville, Ala.

The top 40 pros and co-anglers in the final point standings in each division after three qualifying tournaments will advance to the 2018 Costa FLW Series Championship, provided they fished all three qualifiers in a division.

The highest-finishing pro from each of the five Costa FLW Series divisions based on final results at the 2018 Costa FLW Series Championship qualifies for the Forrest Wood Cup, along with the highest-finishing pro from the championship’s International Division. A total of six Costa FLW Series pros will advance to the 2019 Forrest Wood Cup.

Complete rules and entry dates will be announced soon.

2018 COSTA FLW SERIES SEASON SCHEDULE

All division below

Climpson and Santoro Win B1 Port Colborne Bass Tournament!

2 cancelled days result in Sunday Shootout
By Luigi De Rose

Eric and Cal win on angry Erie!
 (Photo: B1) 

Deferred by 2 days of high winds, the 2 Day B1 Port Colborne bass tournament became a 1 day event on the eastern portion of Lake Erie. Under rough seas, the 65 two-person teams ventured out onto the big lake. While a brave few ventured far into Erie on both the American and Canadian sides looking for smallmouth gold, a majority of the teams decided to play it safe and focus on fishing current breaks along the Upper Niagara River. Cal Climpson and Eric Santoro bested them all with a 5 bass limit weighing 24.06lbs. For their efforts they took the grad prize of a 2017 Ranger bass boat powered by a Mercury motor. With 22.93lbs, Neil Deleeuw and Terry Monaghan took second followed by Denis Kreze and Brent Cook who has 21.91 for third.

2017 B1 Port Colborne Lake Erie Tournament Cancelled Due to High Winds!

Due to inclement weather, the B1 Port Colborne event will be postponed to Saturday August 19th & 20th.

Hot Spring Arkansas to Host 2018 Forrest Wood Cup

Cup back to Hot Springs
FLW PRESS RELEASE

FLW, in conjunction with Visit Hot Springs and the State of Arkansas, announced Saturday that Hot Springs, Ark., will host the 2018 Forrest Wood Cup on Lake Ouachita Aug. 10-12.

Hot Springs has previously hosted four Forrest Wood Cup championships – one on Lake Hamilton (2005) and three on Lake Ouachita (2007, 2011 and 2015). The 2018 Forrest Wood Cup will again feature the most successful anglers from the FLW Tour, Costa FLW Series, T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League, YETI FLW College Fishing and The Bass Federation.

“Our whole city is excited by the fact that FLW has chosen Hot Springs for the fifth time as the host for the Forrest Wood Cup,” says Steve Arrison, CEO of Visit Hot Springs. “Hot Springs has established a wonderful relationship with FLW, and our audiences for the Cup and other FLW events have been large and enthusiastic. I know the 2018 Cup will find the same level of enthusiasm and warm hospitality that FLW has come to associate with the great fishing in Hot Springs.”

Chris and Cory Johnston Win 2017 Renegade Bass 1000 Islands Open Tournament with 79-09lbs!

Andy Kinstler & Scott Lecky score big bass with 7.29lb smallmouth
By Luigi De Rose 

Cory Johnston (L) and brother Chris display part of their winning limit.
(Photo: Derek Strub)

The St. Lawrence River and eastern basin of Lake Ontario are proving to be the best smallmouth bass fishery in the world. Brothers Chris and Cory Johnston are becoming two of the very best at the game here. With 15 bass weighing an astonishing 79-09lbs they easily claimed the $15 000 grand prize. The brothers distant themselves by seven pounds from father and son team Brian and Brian Jr. Bylotas who sacked 72-77lbs. Third place was claimed by Scott Nagy and Denny Andrade who landed 71-96lbs.

Over the three day event the weather was fairly stable with Sunday being the windiest. These ideal conditions allowed anglers to jet from spot to spot staying on biting pods. Overshadowed by the countless big smallmouth were scores of largemouth that helped teams fatten their weigh-in bags.

The Renegade Bass 1000 Island Open event is becoming a premier tournament for big bass anglers in the north.

For more infomraiton on Renegade Bass and the full results click here.

Justin Atkins Wins 2017 FLW CUP Championship with 59-04lbs!

Topwater and schoolers key to win. 

By Jody White

FLW PRESS RELEASE

Saves biggest limit for last day!
(Photo: FLW)

Justin Atkins weighed 21 pounds, 5 ounces on day one of the 2017 Forrest Wood Cup at Lake Murray to take the early lead. After a brief stumble of “only” 15-14 on day two bumped him back to second place, the young Alabama pro stormed back on Sunday with the largest bag of the tournament, a whopping 22 pounds, 1 ounce, to earn the first win of his career.

With a total of 59-4, Atkins earned $300,000 and the title of Forrest Wood Cup Champion, handily making up for near misses in the T-H Marine BFL All-American, where he finished third, and the FLW Tour Rookie of the Year race in which he finished runner-up.

Starting the year at Lake Guntersville, near home in Florence, Ala., Atkins made a top 10 in his first-ever Tour event. From there, he competed all year long for the Rookie of the Year title and capped a stellar season with one of the most superlative Forrest Wood Cup performances in recent memory. Atkins fished for Mississippi State in college, and has come up through the ranks with a herd of other young pros. All season, he said he was living his dream, doing what he was meant to do.

“When I say I feel like this is what I’m meant to do I don’t mean that in any kind of arrogant way,” says Atkins. “I just went out on a limb of faith this year. I didn’t have the money to fish the full Tour when I started. I had enough money to fish about four events, and I was hoping I would make it. I felt like God had a plan, and that’s what I was supposed to be doing. I just went out there and fished, and today signed off that I was supposed to be there.”

 All week long, Atkins targeted cane piles and the fat blueback herring-eating largemouths that hung around them, but his success story actually started back in college, when he fished in consecutive College Bass National Championships on Lake Chatuge, a spotted bass fishery in north Georgia and North Carolina. There, Atkins learned some hard lessons, but in the post-game, he was able to pick up some herring skills from fellow competitors Brad Rutherford and Patrick Walters.

“They did really well, and they were catching them on top and calling them out of brush,” says Atkins. “I didn’t have a clue what I was doing. I was friends with them before the tournament ever started, but learning from them how they managed to succeed, that taught me a lot.”

Because of that, Atkins was prepared to look for cane-dwelling largemouths in practice, but he was the one to put it together, demonstrating just how quickly today’s pros can master a bite.

Atkins had about 60 to 80 waypoints on cane piles he liked, and he accumulated most of them after some early struggles in pre-practice.

“It took me two days to get my graphs dialed in,” says Atkins. “That cane is hard to see. It’s real narrow. So I had to sit there and play with settings. I was here an afternoon and a full day before I finally found one pile. I went over it, and I saw it on the sonar and marked it, and I could barely see it on my down-view – just a little bit. I ended up graphing for a while and fishing some and never found any. The next morning I went to that spot and went around and around and around that pile. I turned my sensitivity up, my contrast and all that, until I finally got to where I could see it and knew what it was on my side-scan. After that I probably found 100 piles in my next six days of practice.”

Besides cranking up his sensitivity and contrast, Atkins also sped up his chart speed, which made the narrow cane piles appear larger and much more visible. Once he was dialed in, Atkins could mark cane piles up to 100 feet out to either side of his boat.

After some success in pre-practice, Atkins started on an innocuous pile on the first day of official practice and caught a 3-pounder on his first cast. Once he’d marked plenty of fish, he committed almost solely to the cane-pile pattern and continued to expand on it throughout practice.

Most of the piles topped out about 8 to 10 feet below the surface, rising up from about 20 or 22 feet deep. The fresher and “bushier” the pile was, the more fish were in it.

Of the 15 bass Atkins weighed, every one of them came on an ima Little Stick 135 in chrome, fished with a 7:1 gear ratio Abu Garcia reel, 30-pound-test braid and a 7-5 medium-heavy composite rod. Mostly he fired over and roughly around his cane piles, but he did catch some fish that were actively schooling near the piles. He figures he weighed in 11 bass that he “called up” and four that were actively busting.

2017 FLW CUP Championship Lake Murray Day 2: Brandon Cobb Leads with 39lbs!

Schoolers key to best limits. 

By Jody White

FLW PRESS RELEASE
Cracking another 19-pound bag on day two of the Forrest Wood Cup on Lake Murray, Brandon Cobb moved into the lead with a total of 39 pounds even. Staying steadier than anyone else in the top group has helped the young South Carolina pro make his third straight Forrest Wood Cup top 10, and he is now driving hard for his first FLW win above the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League level. In second place, Cobb’s roommate Justin Atkins fell off the lead and is 1 pound, 13 ounces behind.

Cobb and roommate Atkins are 1,2 in standings.
(Photo: FLW)

Growing up on Clarks Hill and Lake Hartwell, Cobb has plenty of experience fishing for bass that chow down on blueback herring. That experience, along with his love of August fishing and a surprising ability to deal with the high pressure of the Cup, has Cobb on the hunt in a big way this week.

“Today actually seemed bad. I know 19 pounds doesn’t seem bad, but I kinda got in a bad rotation today,” says Cobb. “I got behind Justin [Atkins], and I got behind somebody else, and I felt like I was fishing spots right after they left. I felt like I was in the right place at the wrong time all day today.”

After an early morning change to his routine, Cobb started to get going, and though he only caught about seven keepers on the day (with one lost 4-pounder), he caught plenty of quality.

Throwing three different topwater baits and a Zoom Fluke, Cobb says he hit about 40 different places, 20 of which he counts as his “prime” spots. Mostly, Cobb is running from one cane pile to the next on the lower end of Murray, but he’s also fishing some more subtle drops and rock features where he’s located schools of herring-eating bass.

TOP 10 BELOW

2017 Renegade Bass 1000 Island Open Day 2: Johnston Brothers Grab Lead with 53.63lbs!

Brothers sack another 27 pound bag!
By Luigi De Rose

Johnston brothers lead by 3 pounds.
(Photo: Cory's facebook) 

The 1000 Island and Lake Ontario prove again why this might be the greatest place on earth for smallmouth bass fishing. Even with weights down compared to Day 1's slugfest the fishing was stellar. Chris and Cory Johnston grab the lead with a 2 day total of 53.63lbs for 10 bass. Second place is the father/son team of Brian Bylotas and Brain Jr who scored a 26.10lb limit anchored with a 5.95lb bass. Their two day total is 50.79lbs. Third place goes to regional heroes Charles Sim and Nigel Touhey who have 49.93lbs.  The final day weigh-in will be live on Renegade's Facebook page today at 4pm.

2017 FLW CUP Championship Lake Murray Day 1: Justin Atkins Leads with 21-05lbs!

Schooling bass key to many leaders
By Jody White
FLW PRESS RELEASE

Calm, cloudy morning key to many of the leader's success.
(Photo: FLW)

Sacking up a monumental catch of 21 pounds, 5 ounces, Justin Atkins of Florence, Ala., established a slim 4-ounce lead over Anthony Gagliardi on day one of the Forrest Wood Cup at Lake Murray. Atkins finished runner-up in the Rookie of the Year race on the FLW Tour in 2017 and third in the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League All-American this summer. Now, the 27-year-old pro is leading the race for one of the biggest titles in fishing.

Lake Murray has a reputation as a fickle fishery in the summertime, but today the schooling and offshore bite on the lower end of the lake shined bright, with Atkins, Gagliardi and most of the rest of the top 10 pros taking advantage of willing bass feeding on blueback herring.

Atkins fished for schooling bass some, but a lot of his fish came from fairly specific places that didn’t take many casts to cover. He says he caught all his fish on a topwater, but tossed a worm and a few other baits as well.

TOP 10 BELOW

2017 Renegade Bass 1000 Island Open Day 1: Nick Cousivis and Fab Marchese Lead with 26.79lbs!

38 Teams with over 20lb limits
By Luigi De Rose 

Ready to go! (Photo: Renegade Facebook)

Humid and fairly calm seas allowed the competitors to showcase what a world-class fishery the 1000 Islands and eastern Lake Ontario really can be. The team of Cousivis and Marchese took the lead with an incredible 26-79lb limit anchored by a 5.87lb bass. Second place goes to FLW Tour pros Chris and Cory Johnston who sacked 26.16lbs. Sitting in third is Troy Bresee and Nick Laninga with 24.98lbs.

Big bass honours went to Kinstler and Lecky with a 7.29lb brute.

Friday's weather is scheduled to have winds around 14kms but with a chance of a thunderstorm. The key to big water bass tournaments are having good weather and reasonable winds. 

Top 40 Below

3 Scorching Hot Bass Tactics for Right Now!

Here's the video that explains in detail my article in July's issue of Ontario OUT OF DOORS magazine. If you love smallmouth and largemouth but hate the heat, if we ever get some, then this is for you. Learn how to target the shadows and use the blinding sun to heat up your trophy bass fishing.

Rapala Ripstop Unboxing

Here is my first unboxing! Check out what came to the door from Rapala Canada. Thanks guys!!

Rick Morris Wins the 2017 BASS Northern Open James River with 43-15lbs!

Veteran wins first BASS event!
BASS PRESS RELEASE

A worm and experience helps Morris win.
(Photo: BASS)

Thirty years of fishing the James River paid off for Virginia pro Rick Morris, who won the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Northern Open No. 2 on Saturday.

The Lake Gaston, Va., angler weighed in a 16-pound, 11-ounce five-bass limit and finished with a three-day total of 43-15 to clinch the pro division title. Morris received the top prize of a $45,000 Skeeter bass boat/Yamaha outboard rig and $6,784 in cash. He also qualified for the 2018 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods, contingent upon him fishing the Northern Open finale at Douglas Lake in September.

Spybaiting Simplied!

There is a lot of press on the spy baits and how to fish them. Simplicity is key to making the most out of your spy baiting. Teamed up with a medium to medium light spinning rod and mono or fluorocarbon line cast these baits along flats, points, bars or at targets. They excel in clear water and with smallmouth but they work well in most situations where cover is sparse.

Shimano's Curado K Baitcaster Reels

THE MUST HAVE REEL FOR EVERY DAY, EVERY WEEKEND

With a new look and technology focused on reliability and durability, Shimano’s all-new Curado 200 K series baitcasting reels are ready for anything from hardcore tournament use, to day-after-day, weekend-after-weekend performance. The new Curado series was just introduced at the tackle industry’s annual trade – ICAST – where it took ‘best new freshwater reel’ honors in the event’s ‘New Product Showcase’ awards. Starting the week of July 17, select tackle retailers will already have these award-winning reels available for anglers.

A long-time favorite among bass anglers and also for coastal saltwater use, the six new Curado 200K reels – both left- and right-hand retrieve models offered - include the 200K and 201K with 6.2:1 gear ratios, the 200KHG and 201KHG with 7.4:1 gear ratios, and the 200KXG an 201KXG with 8.5:1 gear ratios. Each now features a host of new innovative Shimano baitcasting reel technology, most notably MicroModule gears, SVS Infinity braking system, and a smaller platform ergonomic shape.  

For smoother and sensitive rotation, Shimano’s MicroModule gearing provides more gear engagement between the drive gear and pinion gear. Shimano’s upgraded SVS Infinity centrifugal brake system – introduced on the Aldebaran reels - offers both adjustable internal brakes and a wider adjustment range with the external dial. It allows the new Curado reels to cast everything from light to heavy lures without opening the sideplate. The new compact Hagane Body – 10-percent smaller than past versions - is easier to palm and yet has a wider spool opening.