2023 Folds of Honor Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River Day 1: Pipkens Rips Lead!

Canadians: Chris Johnston 45th, Cory Johnston 60th, Gallant 83rd & Gustafson 96th

Chad Pipkens of DeWitt, Mich., is leading after Day 1 of the Folds of Honor Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River with 14 pounds, 7 ounces. (Photo: Seigo Saito/BASS)

BASS PRESS RELEASE

ORANGE, Texas — Chad Pipkens of DeWitt, Mich., broke with two of his historical patterns and sacked up a 14-pound, 7-ounce limit to lead Thursday’s opening round of the Folds of Honor Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River.

 

On a fishery where limits are never assumed and only 11 anglers eclipsed 10 pounds, Pipkens heads into Day 2 with a lead of 1-5 over Hunter Shryock of Ooltewah, Tenn. Suffice it to say, Pipkens has positioned himself well to end a streak he’d rather forget.

 

“It’s about time Sabine River!” Pipkens happily exclaimed. “I have fun at this place, but I have gotten my teeth kicked in every time I come here. This is the fifth time I’ve fished here and the good news is I think I can fish Saturday without catching a fish.

 

“I’m going to go out tomorrow and have some fun and try to put a few in the boat. We’ll see what happens.”

 

As Pipkens explained, breaking his streak of Sabine disappointment was the result of abandoning his previous preference.

 

2023 Marathon Bassmaster Elite at Lake Murray Day 2: Drew Benton Jumps into Lead!

Canadians: Cory Johnston 36th, Gallant 58th, Gustafson 59th & Chris Johnston 63th

Drew Benton of Panama City, Fla., is leading after Day 2 of the Marathon Bassmaster Elite at Lake Murray with a two-day total of 46 pounds, 9 ounces. (Photo: BASS) 

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COLUMBIA, S.C. — Drew Benton had never fished a tournament on Lake Murray before this week, but the conditions are making him feel right at home.

 

With the bass right in the middle of their spawning cycle, Benton has fished his strengths and took the lead Friday in the Marathon Bassmaster Elite at Lake Murray with a two-day total of 46 pounds, 9 ounces. After landing in second with 23-0 on Day 1, the Panama City, Fla., pro added 23-9 on Day 2 and holds a slim lead over Tennessee angler Hunter Shryock, who is second with 45-14.

 

“If I spent time on (a bedding bass), I caught it today,” said Benton, who earned his only career Elite Series victory on Lake Travis in Texas in 2018. “Yesterday I spent a lot of time on a couple I didn’t get to catch. You have to find them in the right mood. It isn’t just, go down the bank and you see one and catch it. A lot goes into it, and I was really fortunate today.”

 

Anglers once again fished under warm and sunny conditions on Friday, with winds picking up as the afternoon progressed. That allowed several of the competitors to see the cruising bass they were targeting.

 

Though there was also plenty of schooling activity across the lake, Benton has ignored schoolers for the most part this week. Instead, he’s cruising around the shallows looking for bass that are locked on bed. According to BassTrakk, he caught 11 total bass and made important culls throughout the day.

 

2019 Bassmaster Elite Winyah Bay Day 1: Jason Williamson Bags 15-11lbs and Lead!

Cory Johnston 13th, Jeff Gustafson 43rd and Chris Johnston 53rd.

By Bryan Brasher

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Long runs and short fishing time story of the day.
(Photo: BASS)

Forgoing a long run to the presumed big-bass “promised land” of the Cooper River, South Carolina’s Jason Williamson remained close to the takeoff site and found the right bites to amass a five-bass limit of 15 pounds, 11 ounces which leads Day 1 of the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Elite at Winyah Bay.

While over half the field committed to a hour-plus run south along the Intracoastal Waterway, through Charleston Harbor and into the Cooper River and surrounding waterways, Williamson stayed in the Waccamaw River and played his time-management strategy to perfection. Essential to his plan was a thorough and persistent approach.

“A lot of guys are running the bank and flipping. You have some fish that are spawning supershallow. You have some postspawners that are done. And you have some that haven’t spawned yet,” Williamson said. “What I’m doing is trying to get the best of all three worlds in one area.

“I’m fishing shallow, I’m backing out and fishing deeper and I’m doing some midrange stuff too. A lot of guys are buzzing through an area, catching what’s aggressive and then going. I caught what was aggressive, then I backed out and got a few more bites. Adjusting throughout the day was key for me today.”

Williamson threw a mix of flipping baits, topwaters and finesse baits. The right area, he said, was one with greater depth than surrounding backwater spots. This allows the fish comfortable postspawn habitat, which keeps them in the area longer.

“Some of these backwaters have 12 to 15 feet of depth, and those fish move up and down with the tide; they adjust throughout the day,” Williamson said. “I was able to move with them in one area.”

Ott DeFoe Wins 2017 BASS Northern Open on Douglas Lake with 50-03lbs!

Jet boating to French Broad River seal win.
By John Neporadny, 
BASS PRESS RELEASE

Custom boat and hometown knowledge for win and 2018 Classic berth.
(Photo: BASS)

Bassmaster Elite Series pro Ott DeFoe sealed the deal today with his second Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Northern Open victory on Douglas Lake.

The Knoxville, Tenn., pro went wire-to-wire to win on his home lake in this event and received the top prize of a Triton 19 TrX/Mercury 200 Pro XS rig valued at $45,000, along with $5,291 in cash. He weighed in a 15-pound, 9-ounce limit to finish with 50-3. DeFoe also won a Bassmaster Northern Open on his home waters in May 2014.

DeFoe ran up the French Broad River again with his Tracker tunnel hull aluminum boat that produced 17-4 limits the first two days, but he struggled early today and caught only five keepers all day. However it was enough to clinch the victory. "The water has not been stable all week," DeFoe said. "I was thinking today could be really, really good, just because the French Broad had been falling but there was some extra flow in the Pigeon River this morning and it seemed to kind of throw the fishing off a little."

The local favorite caught his first fish of the day on a bladed jig and his second keeper flipping a black-and-blue 1/2-ounce Terminator Pro Jig with a Bass Pro Shops Elite Chunk. Switching to a Texas-rigged Bass Pro Shops Bull Hog, DeFoe caught his next two keepers and still had three hours to catch his fifth bass. He went to a bank where he had caught big fish in the past and boated a 4 1/2-pounder on the Terminator Jig that clinched the victory. All of his fish throughout the tournament came from 1 to 3 feet of water.

John Cox Wins 2017 BASS Southern Open on Lake Chickamauga with 68-03lbs!

Cox Newest Classic qualifier

By Andrew Canulette

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John Cox is one of the more laid-back professional anglers you’ll find. But from the start of the Bass Pro Shops Southern Open #2, he was confused.

Cox mines shallows instead of popular ledges for win.
(Photo: BASS)

He was perplexed by Chickamauga Lake and the way fishing conditions seemingly changed on him from hour to hour. He ran countless miles to find clean water, and fought for quality catches as his bites were infrequent each day. He got so worked up at times that he stopped for breaks to regroup and regain focus.

The hand wringing may have been tough for him on the water, but it all proved worthwhile on Saturday during the final weigh-in at the Bass Pro Shops location just outside of Chattanooga. Cox finished with a three-day total of 68 pounds, 3 ounces to win the Open championship.

Cox, who hails from Debary, Florida, picked up a contingency berth in the 2018 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’s Sporting Goods with the victory. Fishing all three Southern Opens this season will solidify that berth. He also won more than $8,000 in cash, as well as a Triton 19 TrX and Mercury 200 Pro XS boat/motor package worth $40,000.

Jesse Wiggins Wins 2017 BASS Southern Opens on Harris Chain of Lakes with 59-04lbs!

Off-shore wins sight fishing match

By Andrew Canulette

BASS PRESS RELEASE
If Jesse Wiggins is going to keep winning fishing tournaments, someone is going to have to put a rush order on his pro fishing jersey.

Jesse wins Classic spot fishing off-shore with crank bait.
(Photo: BASS)

While most professional anglers are outfitted in fishing jerseys adorned with more sponsors than you can count, the Elite Series rookie sported a plain red T-shirt on Saturday when he climbed from fourth place to the top spot in the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open No. 1.

In many ways, the simple red T-shirt is symbolic of Wiggins’ meteoric rise in professional fishing – it’s straight talk, and no frills. The clothing choice was even more appropriate though, considering the only insignia on it (besides that of a B.A.S.S. patch over his right breast) was a Jenko Fishing logo flanking it to the left.

After all, Jenko is the maker of the crankbait Wiggins used to win the first Bassmaster tournament of the 2017 season here on the Harris Chain of Lakes. The 27-year old Cullman, Ala., native caught a three-day total of 59 pounds, 4 ounces to win his second Open in as many years.

Wiggins won a package including cash and a Nitro boat valued at $51,400. He also earned the first berth in the 2018 Bassmaster Classic, even before the location has been announced.

2017 BASS Southern Open Harris Chain of Lakes Day 2: Justin Lucas Take Lead with 43-09lbs!

Field cut to Top 12 for Saturday. 

By Andrew Canulette

BASS PRESS RELEASE
The sun was about to slip below the horizon by the time Justin Lucas came to the stage for Friday's weigh-in of the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open No. 1.

Lucas leads with back to back 21 pound limits.
(Photo: BASS)

At that point, about 360 of the 400 anglers already had weighed their bass in front of a healthy crowd at Venetian Gardens. If you had asked just about any of them, they probably would have said it was practically certain that Thursday's leader, Marty Robinson, would hold onto the top spot heading into Saturdays' final day of fishing on the Harris Chain of Lakes.

But Lucas had other plans.

The Guntersville, Ala., resident and California native swooped in at the 11th hour with a five-fish limit that weighed 21 pounds, 14 ounces. That gave Lucas a 43-9 total for two days, and has him more than 2 pounds ahead of Robinson heading into the final round.

Lucas was the only angler of the 200 in the pro division who caught 20-pound bags the first two days of the tournament. He's never won an Open, and he told the crowd he's itching to add to his trophy collection.

"I already have two on the mantle from the Elite Series," Lucas said, referencing his wins on the Potomac River in 2016 and the Sacramento River a year earlier. "But no Open trophies ... We want them all."

2017 BASS Southern Open Harris Chain of Lakes Day 1: Marty Robinson Takes Lead over 200 Pros.

Star studded field descend on Florida

By Andrew Canulette

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Florida bills itself as the “Fishing Capital of the World,” and the Harris Chain of Lakes is one of its crown jewels.

Robinson leads with 23-11lbs on Day 1.
(Photo: BASS)

On Thursday in the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open No. 1, the acclaimed Florida fishery showed off a bit – for mid-January, at least.

From the time Alabama pro Deron Patrick started the 3 1/2-hour weigh-in with a 16-pound, 2-ounce limit, until the last of the field of 400 checked in, a steady stream of fish came across the stage. It made for an impressive display and for a momentous first day in the first Bassmaster tournament of the 2017 season.

Bassmaster Elite Series pro Marty Robinson of Lyman, S.C., had the heaviest bag among the 200 boating anglers, with five bass that weighed 23-11. The total gave him a narrow lead in the three-day tournament being held on this 80,000-acre network of lakes.

But he wasn’t the only one who was successful Thursday. Thirty-three pro anglers boated at least 15 pounds of bass, and eight of those bags weighed more than 20 pounds. Closest to Robinson are Hunter Shryock (second place, 22-1) and former Elite Series pro Ken Iyobe (third, 21-14). Others catching 20 pounds or more were fishing legend Paul Elias (fourth, 21-12); Justin Lucas (fifth, 21-11); Jordan Lee (sixth, 21-0); John Pollard (seventh, 20-11); and Chris Heath (eighth, 20-8).