Friday, April 29, 2022

Rojas: Frog Fishing Gear


Who doesn't love to frog fish? Everyone has their own preferences when it come to gear. MLF Tour angler and frog fishing expert Dean "The Machine" Rojas has some tips for you. He'll help you become an expert.

Wednesday, April 27, 2022

Tacoronte Exits Elites To Focus On Family


BASS PRESS RELEASE

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — After missing the 2021 Bassmaster Elite Series season with a medical hardship, Florida pro Jesse Tacoronte is withdrawing from the Elites to take care of his family.

“I’ve gotta call it quits because family comes first. End of story,” said Tacoronte, who also owns Enigma Fishing. “I have two elderly parents at my home on hospice and a 12-year-old nephew to take care of. I've got a lot of stuff on my plate. Family is absolutely first.”

It has been a trying year for the Tacorontes as tragedy struck multiple family members around the Elite Series opener in early February.

Tacoronte’s mother was hospitalized prior to passing away Feb. 13. Just days before that, Shane Platter, who manages sales and shows for Enigma, suffered a heart attack. Platter, unconscious for some time at his home, is currently in a rehabilitation home with no short-term memory — some long-term memory is just returning. Tacoronte and his wife, Danielle, are caring for his 12-year-old son. About that same time, Tacoronte’s mother-in-law, who suffers from severe lung issues and has needed multiple treatments, was in and out of the hospital. The Tacorontes are overseeing her care as well as his 84-year-old father’s care at their Orlando home.

Monday, April 25, 2022

Jon Canada Wins 2022 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit on Pickwick!


MLF PRESS RELEASE

COUNCE, Tenn. – Pro Jon Canada of Helena, Alabama, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Sunday weighing 20 pounds even – his biggest limit of the event – to win Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Lithium Pros Stop 3 at Pickwick Lake Presented by Covercraft in Counce, Tennessee. Canada edged out the second-place angler Abu Garcia pro Justin Lucas of Guntersville, Alabama, by 1 pound, 2 ounces to earn the top payout of $100,000. 

After ending Day 1 in 74th place with only 12 pounds, 13 ounces, Canada weighed in the largest limit of Day 2 – five bass totaling 19-15 – to catapult into seventh place. He brought another solid limit of 17-8 to the scale on Day 3, putting him in third place and qualifying him into Championship Sunday. 

“This win is just the good Lord above, I don’t know what else to say – it was just meant to be,” Canada said. “I came here and practiced for two days when the water was down, idling up and down this thing – marking every stump, shell bed, everything you can think of on a 5- to 8-mile stretch of the river and I ended up catching them in some of the areas where I did my homework. 

“I spent most of the event fishing around the same areas as Lucas and (Andrew) Loberg, just fishing a little bit of grass and isolated stumps,” Canada said. “I caught two of the biggest bass I’ve ever caught on Pickwick in this one area during pre-practice for another tournament – a 7-pounder and an 8-pounder.

“I only had two fish at lunchtime on Day 2 and decided to change it up and run out to that spot. I’m not typically a drop-shot guy; but if it works, I’ll do it. I pitched the first couple stumps and had 19 or 20 pounds within 40 minutes, and I knew there was something special going on.” 

With weights zeroed on the final day, the tournament was anyone’s to win, but Canada found himself trailing behind Lucas in the No. 2 spot on the unofficial leaderboard throughout most of the day.

“I felt like the stumps I’d been fishing had a little extra pressure yesterday,” Canada said. “I could see the fish, but they wouldn’t bite and just kept running around and picking at my worm. I decided to idle to a new spot today that I’d never fished before, marked about 20 stumps and caught two big ones.” 

This last-minute move upriver proved very profitable for the Alabama pro, who caught a good kicker fish in the final hour of Championship Sunday to finally push him over the top.  

“Catching that fish this afternoon absolutely saved my tail,” Canada said. “I didn’t realize it was the winning fish, and knew it was going to be close, but I also knew that it definitely put me in contention for the top spot.”

Canada said most of his fish were caught on isolated stumps in 4- to 8-feet of water.

“I spent the first two days swimming a jig with a Reactions Innovations Twerk on the back of it, white-colored with chartreuse tipped ends, then I flipped a Reaction Innovations Spicy Beaver. I caught a lot on the first day doing that,” Canada said. “When I went offshore, I threw a shaky head with a Reaction Innovations Flirt Worm, green-pumpkin colored, and caught a 4-pounder. I decided to switch to a drop-shot because it was faster and allowed me to work the stumps more quickly and thoroughly.” 

Canada said he’s been fishing pretty good this year, but everything just finally came together during this event. 

“The win hasn’t really sunk in yet,” Canada said with a laugh. “It feels great to finally win one. This has been a long time coming.”

The Top 10 pros at the Lithium Pros Stop 3 on Pickwick Lake finished:

  • 1st:           Jon Canada of Helena, Ala., five bass, 20-0, $100,000
  • 2nd:          Justin Lucas of Guntersville, Ala., five bass, 18-14, $30,000
  • 3rd:          Mitch Crane of Columbus, Miss., five bass, 15-14, $25,000
  • 4th:           Ron Nelson of Berrien Springs, Mich., five bass, 15-3, $20,000
  • 5th:           Nick Hatfield of Greeneville, Tenn., four bass, 14-4, $19,000
  • 6th:           John Hunter of Shelbyville, Ky., five bass, 13-12, $18,000
  • 7th:           John Cox of DeBary, Fla., five bass, 11-10, $17,000
  • 8th:           Andrew Loberg of Rocklin, Calif., four bass, 9-15, $16,000
  • 9th:           Nick LeBrun of Bossier City, La., four bass, 7-10, $15,000
  • 10th:        Troy Stokes of Trenton, Mich., zero bass, 0-0, $14,000

Saturday, April 23, 2022

2022 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Lake Pickwick Day 2: Italian Gallelli Retains Lead!


SEAN OSTRUSZKA • 
TACKLE WAREHOUSE PRO CIRCUIT

COUNCE, Tenn. – When you’re in a good groove, you can seemingly do nothing wrong. Well, Jacopo Gallelli is definitely in a groove at Lithium Pros Stop 3 on Pickwick Lake Presented by Covercraft.

The Day 1 leader of the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by Fuel Me event admitted today that he felt he had burned up his best spots and had almost resigned himself to just trying to coast to a check.

Turns out, he was wrong on both fronts.

While a number of top pros from Day 1 struggled mightily on Day 2, the Italian pro continued to follow his gut and brought in the sixth-largest bag of the day, 16 pounds, 15 ounces, to extend his lead with 39-15 total for two days.

“Honestly, I was hoping to stay top 20 today,” Gallelli said. “So, to still be leading is as awesome as can be. And I feel I deserve to be because I had very sharp intuition today. Three of my fish were just intuition. Things that make you feel like you know what you’re doing.”

Part of the reason for that feeling is that he feels he finally is doing something he does best – finesse.

In all his events he’s fished since coming to the United States, including the Pro Circuit event he won last year on the Potomac River, Gallelli says he’s never been able to find a way to fish like he does back in Italy. Yet, this event, he finally found a pattern that’s just like what he does back home.

Now it’s just a matter of if that pattern will hold up, or even if he wants it to for Saturday, at least.

Thus far, he’s done the bulk of his damage from a key starting spot that produced a kicker smallmouth and even a large spotted bass today. From there, he’s been running a second pattern to get some kicker largemouth. That pattern produced a 5-pounder today, but he says he committed 3 hours of his day to catch that one fish, and he doesn’t feel he would have the luxury to do that on Sunday.

Fortunately, with him holding an 8-pound-plus lead over 10th place and the weights zeroing on the final day, Gallelli says he will actually try and lose the lead tomorrow in order to spend more time practicing for another solid pattern.

Friday, April 22, 2022

2022 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Lake Pickwick Day 1: Italian Gallelli Drops 23lbs for Lead!

Italy’s Jacopo Gallelli Leads Day 1 of Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Lithium Pros Stop 3 Presented by Covercraft

SEAN OSTRUSZKA • TACKLE WAREHOUSE PRO CIRCUIT

COUNCE, Tenn. – Things are finally starting to stabilize on the Tennessee River. Which, ironically, means chaos seems about to break loose at Lithium Pros Stop 3 on Pickwick Lake Presented by Covercraft.

After a week of fluctuating weather and water levels, Day 1 of the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by Fuel Me event saw conditions mellow out for what looks like the foreseeable future. And that seemingly has put the spring transition into hyperdrive.

Pros caught fish in all stages of the spawn today, but with so much happening in such a condensed timeframe, it was the pros who capitalized early in the day that did the best. Pros like leader Jacopo Gallelli, who had 19 pounds before 9 a.m. and ended up with 23 pounds to set the pace.

“I cannot be more happy,” Gallelli said. “I just got lucky. I had a place I’d fished in the past but didn’t go over to in practice. I felt I’d give it a try this morning because I was so desperate. Within 15 minutes I had a 3-pounder. Then I caught a 5-pounder, and I was like, ‘OK. There’s something here.’ So I fished really slow and came out of that spot with over 20 pounds.”

His story was hardly the only one like it, as nearly every pro in the Top 10 mentioned they sacked up the majority of their weight within the first hour or so, with many mentioning a shad spawn. What set Gallelli apart, though, was that he had three kicker smallmouth.

Pickwick is known as one of the best smallmouth fisheries in the Southeast, so seeing some giant brown fish brought to the scales is no shock. But what is surprising is that none of the big bags featuring smallmouth came from the famed tailraces below the Wilson Dam.

Thursday, April 21, 2022

3 Soft Stick Bait Rigging Tips with LUNKERHUNT Pro Matt Avry



Soft stick baits (senko style worms) are amazing baits. But, there are a few tricks to make them even better bass baits. Listen to LUNKERHUNT pro and FLW Tour angler Matt Avry as he explains his 3 soft stick bait rigging tips. The LUNKERHUNT's Lunker Stick is a great 5" bait that works anywhere you fish for bass.

Monday, April 18, 2022

Kenta Kimura Wins 2022 Bassmaster Northern Open!


Japanese Elite Pro Kenta Kimura uses buzzbait and cranks to 
claim James River victory.(Photo: BASS) 

BASS PRESS RELEASE 
RICHMOND, Va. — Bassmaster Elite Series angler Kenta Kimura said earlier in the week that he did not know what he was doing on the James River. But now that he’s won the St. Croix Bassmaster Northern Open at James River presented by Mossy Oak Fishing with a three-day total of 65 pounds, his story seems less than convincing.

After a Day 1 limit of 17 pounds put him in 19th place, the pro from Osaka, Japan, added 23-5 a day later and surged into second. Finishing Championship Saturday with 24-11 — the event’s second-heaviest bag — Kimura edged Keith Poche of Pike Road, Ala., by a margin of 3-9.

Thursday, April 14, 2022

Advanced Drop Shot : John Murray Favourite Baits



John Murray is one the original West Coast killers. Being one of the first to use the drop shot here in American, he has developed a lot of tips and tricks on making a drop shot deadly. Listen to BASS Elite angler John Murray as he gives some advanced tips on drop shotting for bass.

Monday, April 11, 2022

Jason Christie Wins 2022 Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite on Chickamauga Lake!

 

Jason Christie of Park Hill, Okla., has won the 2022 Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Chickamauga Lake with a four-day total of 73 pounds, 7 ounces. (Photo: Seigo Saito/ BASS)

BASS PRESS RELEASE

DAYTON, Tenn. — Jason Christie left Dayton Municipal Park on Championship Sunday just 6 ounces out of the lead with a crystal-clear plan for where he wanted to start.

 

But thick fog created by temperatures that had plunged into the 30s overnight changed that plan — and ultimately played a huge role in his eighth career victory with B.A.S.S.

 

To let the fog clear, Christie stopped on a bank he hadn’t fished all week and quickly put a solid limit in his livewell. He culled up a few ounces throughout the day until he reached a five-bass limit of 15 pounds, 12 ounces that helped him win the Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Chickamauga Lake with a four-day total of 73-7.

 

“The fog is why I won,” said Christie, who is a little more than a month removed from winning the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk on Lake Hartwell. “I went through one fogbank at about 25 mph going to where I was going to start. But then I hit another fogbank and I saw a boat wave that I knew didn’t come from one of our guys, so I just immediately peeled off to an area that I fished three or four years ago in another event.”

 

After a warm start on Thursday, Days 2 and 3 were the polar opposite with cloudy skies, temperatures in the 40s and a spattering of rain, sleet and snow. But the low-light conditions played into the hands of Christie, who fished all week with a 1/2-ounce Booyah Covert Spinnerbait (chartreuse, white and blue with a white Yum Swim’n Dinger as a trailer), a bladed jig and the same War Eagle Jiu-Jigsu Jig (green pumpkin) he used at the Classic.

 

Sunday, April 10, 2022

2022 Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite on Chickamauga Lake Day 3: Brock Mosley Claims Lead!

Canadians Gustafson 19th, & Chris Johnston 20th.

Brock Mosley of Collinsville, Miss., is leading after Day 3 of the 2022 Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Chickamauga Lake with a three-day total of 58 pounds, 1 ounce. (Photo: Seigo Saito/BASS) 

BASS PRESS RELEASE

DAYTON, Tenn. — The Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Chickamauga Lake has been anything but your typical early April event in the South.

 

At one point during Semifinal Saturday, anglers were actually sight fishing for bedding bass in 52-degree water with sleet peppering down on them. Any angler will tell you that’s not only an odd scenario, but one of the hardest to figure out.

 

Through it all, though, Mississippi pro Brock Mosley has remained consistent, building a three-day total of 58 pounds, 1 ounce to grab the lead heading into Championship Sunday. He caught 19-6 Thursday, 18-11 Friday and 20-0 Saturday and will now head into the final round with five anglers within 4 pounds of him.

 

“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again,” Mosley said. “I didn’t know if I could catch a fish at all going into the first day of the tournament. I caught five that weighed 17 or 18 pounds early that first day and then laid off of them because I didn’t know if I’d be able to find anything else the second day.

 

“But what I’m doing has pretty much worked every day.”

 

While Mosley has stayed in the same basic areas each day, he has alternated between several lures, including a bladed jig, a lipless crankbait and an assortment of flipping baits. He said it’s been a process of trial and error to figure out which of those offerings the bass want.

 

“Every day they’re in a different mood,” said Mosley, who has 13 Top 10 finishes with B.A.S.S. “The last two days, the flipping bite has been slow. So, it’s been the moving baits that worked. I kind of have to mix it up until I figure out which mood they’re in.”

Saturday, April 9, 2022

2022 Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite on Chickamauga Lake Day 2: Matt Robertson On' Em for Lead!

Canadians Gustafson 14th, Chris Johnston 31nd & Cory Johnston 49th

Matt Robertson of Kuttawa, Ky., is leading after Day 2 of the 2022 Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Chickamauga Lake with a two-day total of 40 pounds, 5 ounces. (Photo:  Seigo Saito) 


BASS PRESS RELEASE

DAYTON, Tenn. — Before this week’s Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Chickamauga LakeMatt Robertson made an important decision.

 

After a tough start to his season, the second-year Elite Series pro from Kentucky came into this week determined to fish more to his strengths — and so far, the strategy has worked well as he’s climbed into the lead with a two-day total of 40 pounds, 5 ounces. He caught 21-13 on Day 1 to open in third place and added 18-8 Friday to move atop the leaderboard heading into Semifinal Saturday.

 

An offshore prespawn pattern has been the ticket for him so far.

 

“I know the fish are still wanting to spawn, so I’m happy we got this little cold snap to slow them down a little bit,” Robertson said. “I’m throwing a lipless bait in grass and then going headhunting with a big swimbait after that.

 

“Yesterday, I was fortunate enough to get a couple of big bites out of the grass, but today I didn’t. That was really the only difference in the two bags.”

 

Robertson’s biggest bass Friday — a 5 1/2-pound largemouth — came on the big swimbait around 11:40 a.m. That was the only difference-making fish the lure produced, but he’s confident in his two-pronged approach.

 

“Tomorrow, I’m gonna do the same thing, just fishing for five bites,” he said. “I don’t care if I catch a fish, I’m going to fish how I want, do what I want. If I come in with no fish tomorrow, that’s fine because I’m fishing how I want.”

 

After picture-perfect weather on Thursday, the temperature dropped 20 degrees Friday and the winds blew 10 to 20 mph all day with occasional light rain and even some sleet.

 

While the conditions might not have been pleasant for many on the lake, Robertson said they helped in multiple ways. Besides the cold weather possibly delaying the approaching spawn, the wind also gave him a boost. 

 

“Whenever that wind blows, the fish bite — especially on a lake with this kind of pressure,” he said. “The only thing that equalizes the pressure is the weather. I wanted it to blow hard.”

 

Friday, April 8, 2022

2022 Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite on Chickamauga Lake Day 1: Jocumsen Score Lead!

Canadians Gustafson 17th, Chris Johnston 32nd  & Cory Johnston 82th

Carl Jocumsen of Toowoomba, Australia, is leading after Day 1 of the 2022 Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Chickamauga Lake with 24 pounds, 12 ounces. (Photo: Seigo Saito BASS)


BASS PRESS RELEASE

DAYTON, Tenn. — Despite living just 15 minutes from Chickamauga Lake, Carl Jocumsen insists he doesn’t have a true home-field advantage on the fishery because he spends so much time traveling the country with the Bassmaster Tournament Trail.

 

But he sure seemed to feel at home Thursday.

 

Jocumsen, an Australian pro who relocated to Tennessee a few years back, caught five bass that weighed 24 pounds, 12 ounces to take the opening-round lead in the Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Chickamauga Lake. He holds a narrow advantage over Japanese pro Daisuke Aoki (23-12) and Kentucky pro Matt Robertson (21-13) in an event where the conditions seem destined to change by the day.

 

“I might not get a bite tomorrow,” Jocumsen said. “A few of those bites I got today, I sort of knew I was going to get. Now, they’re not there anymore, and I’m gonna have to continually adjust.

 

“With the way the weather is shaping up, the fishing is not going to get better as the week goes on. It’s going to get harder.”

 

The 94-boat field was treated to a typical spring day on Thursday with sunny skies and an afternoon high of 65 degrees. As a result, there were 30 bags of 15 pounds or more brought to the scales and 14 bass over 5 pounds, including the 10-5 that helped Wisconsin pro Pat Schlapper win Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the Day.

Wednesday, April 6, 2022

Japan's Best Keep Secret with IBASSIN


Japanese lures are very well known but a lot of secrets have yet to be revealed. Check out this new IBASSIN.com video as we discuss swim jigs. We highlight a few jigs and what sets them apart from jigs found in the American or Canadian markets.

Swim jigs are a great year round bait. They're more finesse than a chatterbait. More weedless than a spinnerbait and offer way more bulk and vibration than a worm.

Monday, April 4, 2022

Cooper Gallant Wins 2022 BASS Southern Open on Cherokee Lake!

Canadian Jamie Bruce nets 3rd!
Gallant score 1st American win with 36-01lbs!
(Photo: Andy Crawford/BASS) 
By Christopher Decker, BASS
JEFFERSON COUNTY, Tenn. — Sticking with a deep bite for smallmouth bass,
Cooper Gallant of Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada, caught 18 pounds, 9 ounces on Championship Saturday and won the St. Croix Bassmaster Southern Open on Cherokee Lake presented by Mossy Oak Fishing.

He finished with a two-day total of 36-1.

The 24-year-old Gallant, who called the victory the biggest of his career so far, earned $52,533 and qualified for the 2023 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk. “I’m thankful for the win and I couldn’t do it without my friends, family and the support from my sponsors,” Gallant said. “I’m excited for the Classic and excited to get on the road to the (next Open at) James River.”Gallant, who is also attempting to qualify for the Bassmaster Elite Series, is now in seventh place in the Southern Open standings after two events.
“After Florida, I figured I would need a Top 20 in this one and another Top 20 on Hartwell in October,” he said. “To come into this one and actually win the thing, it sets me up really well for Hartwell. If I can get a Top 15 or 20 on Hartwell, I will have a good shot at making the Elites.”