2025 Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork Day 3: Fujita Lead with 100lbs for 15 bass!

Canadians Chris Johnston 15th, Cory Johnston 17th & Gallant 30th 

Japan's Kyoya Fujita maintains the lead heading into Championship Sunday of the Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork with a three-day total of 100 pounds, 10 ounces. (Photo: Seigo Saito/ BASS) 

BASS Press Release

YANTIS, Texas — Kyoya Fujita is a man on a mission and he made a clear statement to that effect by catching a Day 3 limit of 35 pounds, 10 ounces and maintain his lead at the Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork.

Placing fourth on Day 1 with 31-0, Fujita added a second-round limit of 34-0 and took over the lead by a 2 1/4-pound margin. Semifinal Saturday saw him catch the event’s largest bag and boost his cumulative total to 100-10.

“I am very happy,” Fujita said. “I’m having a good week.”

The Bassmaster Century Club recognizes anglers who reach the 100-pound mark in a four-day Elite event. Those who achieve that feat receive the coveted Century Club belt.

Fujita’s amazing accomplishment is only the fourth time an Elite angler has reached 100 pounds in three days of competition. The 2008 Elite tournament at Falcon Lake saw three competitors, the late Aaron Martens (109-8), Mark Davis (102-1) and Byron Velvick (101-12) reach that mark.

“One hundred in three days — very good,” Fujita said.

Since Day 1, Fujita has committed to a section of Caney Creek not far from takeoff. He’s using forward facing sonar to aggressively hunt down large bass amid submerged timber. Selectively casting to quality fish, Fujita’s not catching a lot, but he’s more concerned with quality than quantity.

Consistent with his week’s pattern, Fujita started off catching 3-pound class fish, with his better weights coming mid-morning through early afternoon.

After a late-morning round of trading the (unofficial) lead with Paul Marks, Fujita took over the top spot with a 6-pounder around noon. An hour and a half later, he set the hook on a 9-pound Lake Fork giant that had him noticeably animated.

That big fish — the day’s largest — did not make life easy on Fujita, who was fishing a finesse bait on a spinning rod.

2024 Minn Kota Bassmaster Elite at Lake Murray Day 2: Patrick Walters Remains in the Lead!

Canadians Cory Johnston 11th, Chris Johnston 17th, Gustafson 41st & Gallant 55th. 

By David A. Brown

BASS Press Release

PROSPERITY, S.C. — Patrick Walters admitted he missed his goal by a few ounces, but you wouldn’t know it from the Day 2 standings.
After turning in an opening-round limit of 25 pounds, 8 ounces — the tournament’s heaviest bag — the pro from Eutawville, S.C., added 19-13. Tallying 45-5, Walters leads rookie J.T. Thompkins by 4-15, as the Top 50 anglers head into Semifinal Sunday of the Minn Kota Bassmaster Elite at Lake Murray. (severe weather postponed the event’s scheduled start by one day).

“I knew it was going to be a slower day,” Walters said of the day’s calm, sunny conditions, which contrasted Friday’s cloudy, windy makeup. “The goal was to just survive and get 20 pounds, but I was just a few ounces shy of that.
“The sunny skies don’t bother me, but it means the bite is probably going to end quicker. At 9:30, it shut off for me and I felt like it did for the whole lake.”
At the day’s beginning, Walters knew he was facing a do-or-die scenario. With no time to dally, he went to work on the blueback herring spawn.

Justin Hamner Wins 2024 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Jockey Outdoors on Grand Lake!

Canadians Cory Johnston 6th, Gallant 12th & Chris Johnston 25th

By Bryan Brasher

BASS PRESS Release

When most anglers win the Super Bowl of Bass Fishing, they at least pretend like it came as the biggest surprise of their lives.

But not Justin Hamner.

The fourth-year Bassmaster Elite Series pro from Northport, Ala., said openly that he “just had a feeling” coming into this year’s Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Jockey Outdoors that he was going to win — and in three days on Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees, he turned that feeling into a hard-core reality.

Hamner completed an assault on B.A.S.S. history with a Championship Sunday limit of five bass that weighed 15 pounds, 13 ounces, and pushed his three-day total to 58-3. He became only the 10th angler in the 54-year history of the event to lead all three days.

“I have no idea what’s been going on, but this past month has been pretty dang good,” said Hamner, who earned $300,000 and the coveted Ray Scott trophy. “I can’t explain it, but I really did feel like I had a good chance to win.”

That feeling wasn’t exactly reinforced during a tough practice when Hamner said the best bass he caught was a 3-pounder. But he started the tournament on the spot where he caught that fish and used a shad-colored, deep-diving jerkbait to put together a limit that weighed 22-6 and gave him the Day 1 lead.

He went back there for Day 2. But, just like in practice, he couldn’t replicate a pattern and was forced to redirect.

“The wind was blowing a ton of bait into the pocket I was fishing,” he said. “When all of that bait got in there, those fish were keyed in on the bait and they wouldn’t bite my jerkbait. I couldn’t make them bite it, and I still can’t really explain it.”

That’s when Hamner relocated again and started using Garmin LiveScope to target largemouth in brushpiles. He quickly caught two 5-pounders that pushed him to a 20-pound limit and helped him maintain the lead going into the final day.

Despite being in the most visible spot a professional angler can hold, Hamner said he never got nervous until around 1 p.m. on Championship Sunday. At that point, he said he lost four big bass, but he couldn’t say if nerves caused him to lose the fish or if losing the fish caused the nerves.