2019 BASS Elite Lake Tenkiller Day 1: Blaylock Leads with 15-09 lbs!

Cory Johnston 6th, Chris Johnston 26th & Gustafson 36th

By David A Brown

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Heat wave and summer transition makes Tenkiller tough but
Blaylock ekes out lead.
(Photo: BASS)

Stetson Blaylock loves a tough tournament, and pushing through Thursday’s tough conditions delivered a 15-pound, 9-ounce limit that leads Day 1 of the Cherokee Casino Tahlequah Bassmaster Elite at Lake Tenkiller.

Daytime highs reached into the 90s, while a declining lake level, which has lost about a foot and a half since practice, left fish displaced and finicky. Fishing the mid- to lower lake, Blaylock caught a mixed bag of largemouth, spotted bass and smallmouth bass. His catch, which included a 4-pound smallmouth, was a welcome performance, considering his expectations.

“Everybody said practice was bad, but I literally caught six keepers the entire practice,” the Benton, Ark., angler said. “I just like this style of lake. When they pulled that water down, it didn’t help the bite, but I was able to slow down and not think about whether I need to flip bushes because I knew the water was falling out of there. So, I just went out with no care and threw.

“I knew if I just caught a bass, that I would be in (the Bassmaster Classic) easy. My very first cast, I caught a 12-inch spotted bass and I was like ‘Well, my day’s made.’ So I just slowed down.”

Blaylock demonstrated his toughness earlier this season with a hard-fought win at the Winyah Bay Bassmaster Elite Series event in April. Acknowledging the similarities, he notes two major differences: First, he stayed in a much smaller area on the South Carolina tidal fishery; moreover, his 2020 Classic berth was far from secure at Winyah.

Jamie Hartman Wins 2019 Bass Elite Cayuga Lake with 80-13lbs!

Gussy just 10 ounces short, Cory Johnston 7th.
By Bryan Brasher
BASS PRESS RELEASE

New York native Hartman captures 2 Elite victories in the last 3 events.
(Photo: BASS)

On Sunday afternoon, for the second time in three tournaments, Jamie Hartman claimed a Bassmaster Elite Series victory.

Both were special. But he couldn’t deny this one meant just a little more.

Fishing in his home state of New York, Hartman caught five bass that weighed 22 pounds, 4 ounces Sunday and jumped from fourth place into the winner’s spot at the SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at Cayuga Lake with a four-day total of 80-13.

After all the bass had been weighed, Hartman carried the blue trophy into a boisterous crowd of fans who were eager to hug and high-five their hometown favorite. It was a stark contrast to the celebration he was basically denied when he earned his first victory two months ago at Lake Guntersville and a severe thunderstorm rolled through just as he was handed the trophy.

“It just couldn’t be any better than this,” Hartman said. “For it to happen right here in my home state with all of my family here, it’s incredibly special.

“This is where my heart is. It’ll be hard to top this — ever.”

Hartman was one of the few anglers all week whose trajectory was consistently headed upward. He caught 16-14 Thursday, 19-9 Friday, 22-2 Saturday and 22-4 Sunday.

2019 Bassmaster Elite Lake Hartwell Day 2: Brandon Cobb Continues to Lead with 31-01lbs

Canadians Gustafson 7th, Cory Johnston 13th & Chris Johnston 38th
By Bryan Brasher
BASS PRESS RELEASE

Wacky worm and spawning bass working for Cobb.
(Photo: BASS)

Brandon Cobb has been driving about an hour every morning this week to the takeoff site for the Bassmaster Elite at Lake Hartwell.

It’s a little farther than he’d normally want to drive for an Elite Series event, but he says it’s been worth it to get the full benefit of his home-field advantage.

The Greenwood, S.C., pro, who has been sleeping in his own bed and eating home-cooked meals with his wife, Amy, while other anglers in the field stay at hotels and campgrounds, caught five bass today that weighed 17 pounds, 8 ounces and maintained the lead for the second straight day.Cobb’s two-day total of 37-1 puts him just ahead of second-place Georgia pro Micah Frazier (35-12) and Florida angler Drew Cook, who caught a tournament-best limit of 20-6 in today’s second round and rose from 25th place to third with a two-day mark of 34-10.

“Yesterday, I ran around a little bit more and fished some different areas, and I didn’t catch as many as I expected,” said Cobb, who took the opening-round lead Thursday with 19-9. “So, I (mostly) stayed in one area today.”

Heavy rains fell on Lake Hartwell during the first few hours of fishing today, and it seemed to change the way the bass bit for the former Clemson University bass angler. Cobb relied heavily on boat docks for his first-round catch, but only caught small fish off of docks today.

Fortunately for him, one of the final bass he caught today was a 5-7 spawning largemouth that made the difference between maintaining the lead and starting Saturday’s semifinal round playing catchup.

“I caught that fish off of the bed,” Cobb said. “It only took about four casts, so I was pretty fortunate. That was the last fish I culled with.”

As for sleeping in his own bed — and fishing a lake he grew up on while others in the 74-angler field have traveled from far-away locales like Oregon, Texas, and Australia — Cobb said it’s a rare treat.

“It’s so nice,” he said. “I go home, and my wife will either have dinner ready or we grill something. It’s been nice staying at home. You sleep better, too. “Now, I just need to keep finding that big bite every day.”

Frazier has stayed on Cobb’s heels by using bits and pieces of several patterns each day. Today, he benefited heavily from a pocket he discovered while competing in the 2018 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods on Lake Hartwell.

“I didn’t practice there, and I didn’t fish it yesterday either,” said Frazier, a three-time Classic qualifier. “Today, I ran back in there and caught a big one on a boat dock. Then on the other side of the pocket, I caught one that was about 3 1/2 pounds.

“I’ll definitely make a pass through there tomorrow.”

2019 Bassmaster Elite Lake Lanier Day 1: Jeff Gustafson Grabs Lead with 19-02lbs!

Chris Johnston 27th & Cory Johnston 57th
By Bryan Brasher
BASS PRESS RELEASE

Gustafson fishing like back home!
(Photo: BASS)

Jeff Gustafson said coming into this week that Lake Lanier on the historic Chattahoochee River was probably his favorite fishery in the lower 48 United States.

Thursday didn’t do a thing to change his mind.

The 36-year-old first-year Elite Series pro from Keewatin, Canada, caught five bass that weighed 19 pounds, 2 ounces and took the lead in the Toyota Bassmaster Elite at Lake Lanier. He said the lake reminds him of home — even though he is more than 2,000 miles away, fishing for green spotted bass instead of brown smallmouth.

“Obviously, today was a lot more fun for me than last week when I had two fish to start out my Elite Series career in Florida,” Gustafson said. “I’m not catching a lot of fish, but I got some good ones today.”

Gustafson learned to love Lake Lanier last year when he finished seventh here in an FLW Tour event. He said that prior knowledge told him what was swimming in the lake — but not how to catch them this week.

“It’s completely different this year,” he said. “I didn’t catch fish off any of the places that I did last year.

“But I like fishing for spots. These things act a lot like the smallmouths do up at Lake of the Woods, where I live.”

Gustafson’s two biggest fish — both spotted bass in the 4-pound range — were the first two he put in his livewell. His finesse tactics included a jerkbait, a swimbait and other lures he said were “really no secret.”

His biggest obstacle of the day was the light line he’s using to target fish in the clear water. He said he broke off two bass in brushpiles that could have helped him eclipse the 20-pound mark.

Gustafson’s bag topped a day that was dominated by healthy spotted bass that looked like they had all swallowed footballs. David Mullins of Mount Carmel, Tenn., was second with 17-12, followed by Virginia pro Rick Morris with 17-6 and Californian Chris Zaldain with 16-15.

Like Gustafson, Mullins said his experience with smallmouth — albeit on Tennessee’s Cherokee Lake — played a role in his Day 1 success.

“This lake fishes a lot like home, where you have a window in the morning for about an hour and half to two hours and then it kicks back up in the evening,” Mullins said. “It’s the same way at home — and if you have wind, it seems like they’ll bite all day long.

“The wind just didn’t blow much today.”

BASS Elite Angler Jeff "Gussy" Gustafson Joins Z-Man Team!

You might call it the ultimate tackle testimonial.

Long before Jeff "Gussy" Gustafson flashed the Z-Man logo—or cashed a sponsor check from the cutting-edge South Carolina tackle company— the versatile tournament angler was already boating big sacks of bass with ChatterBaits and other Z-Man creations, under the radar.

Actually, at the March 2018 FLW Tour event at Florida's Harris Chain of Lakes, Gussy made no secret of the fact he and fellow Ontario angler Chris Johnston wielded identical Z-Man ChatterBait JackHammers to finish 2nd and 1st, respectively. (In truth, Johnston' tourney-winning ChatterBait came from Gustafson's personal stash.) At the time, neither angler was sponsored by the company whose lure earned them a cool, collective $155,000.

The lure Gustafson calls the 'crankbait of grass fishing'.

On the heels of the 2019 season, Gustafson's first in the Bassmaster Elite Series, Z-Man has legitimized the alliance, inking an endorsement deal with the popular Canadian angler.

"Formally linking up with Z-Man is especially cool because I've been friends with these guys and have fished their baits for years," said Gustafson, while packing for inaugural Elite Series events, two-thousand miles from his Keewatin, Ontario home. "These days, you almost have to fish ElaZtech softbaits and ChatterBaitsto stay competitive. Z-Man makes some high-level stuff that helps a lot of guys cash checks."