Buddy Gross Wins 2022 Bassmaster Elite on Harris Chain of Lakes!

Gross Earns Second Career Victory In Bassmaster Elite At Harris Chain

Buddy Gross, of Chattanooga, Tenn., has won the 2022 SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at Harris Chain with a four-day total of 77 pounds, 11 ounces.

(Photo: BASS) 

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LEESBURG, Fla. — A chance encounter on Day 1 directed Tennessee pro Buddy Gross to an unexpected finding that delivered four days of limit catches and propelled him to victory with a total weight of 77 pounds, 11 ounces at the SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at Harris Chain.

 

Gross, who also won the 2020 Elite event on Lake Eufaula, placed third on Day 1 with 22-12, then took over the Day 2 lead by adding 17-11. Semifinal Saturday tested Gross’ resolve, as he found only 14-14 and slipped to sixth, but a Championship Sunday limit of 22-6 pushed him across the finish line.

 

Edging Drew Benton of Blakely, Ga., by 2-10, Gross earned the $100,000 top prize.

 

“This snuck up on me; I had a terrible practice, but I stuck to my guns and stuck to my strengths,” Gross said.

 

Except for brief Day 2 visits to lakes Beauclair and Eustis, Gross spent the majority of his tournament on the east side of Lake Harris. He did most of his work in Banana Cove, but also fished a point across from the cove on Day 4.

 

“The first day of the tournament, I went over to this spot where I thought I could catch a couple of keepers just to get me going and then I’d go to the grass and weed through them,” Gross said. “When I stopped that morning, I caught 30 or 40 — I had some other anglers around me so I didn’t stop.”

 

Gross said that once he’d tallied 20 pounds on that initial spot, he started seeking similar scenarios. With opportunity blossoming, he realized he’d found a pattern with winning potential.

 

“As I was looking for new spots, I started catching more fish,” he said. “Some of those spots started turning into bigger fish and then they turned into bigger schools.

 

“Every day I’ve caught them in different places. I could never relocate a school. I just got blessed enough to find enough of them on different places. The fish just kept coming. If I busted them up, I could come back and catch them again.”

2022 Bassmaster Elite on Harris Chain of Lakes Day 3: Hanselman Snags Lead!

Canadians: Cory Johnston 39th & Jeff Gustafson 47th.

Ray Hanselman Jr., of Del Rio, Texas, is leading after Day 3 of the 2022 SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at Harris Chain with a three-day total of 58 pounds, 1 ounce. (Photo: BASS)

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LEESBURG, Fla. — His target zone shrunk, but Texas pro Ray Hanselman Jr., made the right adjustments and moved into the lead on Day 3 of the SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at Harris Chain with a three-day total of 58 pounds, 1 ounce.

 

A steady performer with an upward trajectory, Hanselman caught a 22-pound limit on Day 1 and placed fourth. He weighed 17-4 on Day 2 and added a Semifinal Saturday limit of 18-13 to edge second-place angler Kenta Kimura by 7 ounces.

 

Hanselman repeated the game plan he’s followed since Day 1 — diligently prospecting the 3- to 7-foot grass flats of Banana Cove on the east side of Lake Harris. He caught a 6-pounder around 10:45 a.m., but with several boats sharing the area, he saw his overall opportunity level decline.

 

“There were like three schools where you could get bit in a football field-size area, but now it’s down to about 1 1/2 (schools),” Hanselman said. “The others are depleted and we’re starting to crowd one another.

 

“You never know what can show up. Those fish know that the grass is there — it’s the only grass in the lake. The baitfish are there and they’ve been trying to have a shad spawn. It could recharge or it could be that’s what’s there.”

 

Hanselman described his area as a staging spot for fish that were coming and going from the spawn.

2022 Bassmaster Elite on Harris Chain of Lakes Day 2: Buddy Gross Leaps into Lead!

Canadians: Cory Johnston 19th, Gustafson 42th & Chris Johnston 63rd.

Buddy Gross of Chattanooga, Tenn., is leading after Day 2 of the 2022 SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at Harris Chain with a two-day total of 40 pounds, 7 ounces. (Photo by Seigo Saito/B.A.S.S.)

BASS PRESS RELEASE

LEESBURG, Fla. — Regrouping after an early disappointment and then replicating a specific scenario allowed Tennessee pro Buddy Gross to lead Day 2 of the SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at Harris Chain with a two-day total of 40 pounds, 7 ounces.

 

After placing third on Day 1 with 22-12, Gross added 17-11 Friday. He will head into Saturday’s semifinal round with a lead of 1-3 over Ray Hanselman, but Gross said reaching this point was no easy task since the pattern he relied on for Day 1 vanished.

 

“Today, I had to work and run a lot of the lakes,” Gross said. “I went to Beauclair, Eustis and I stayed in Harris for a long time today. Yesterday, I stayed in Harris, but today that was not the case.

 

“I don’t know whether it was the cloudiness or they just moved. I think I was catching postspawners and they were schooled up yesterday. Today, I caught one fish off somewhere I could fish yesterday; everything else came off something new.”

 

Since Wednesday’s full moon coincided with a warming trend, many predicted an all-out spawning event. But while some anglers reported finding bass on beds, Gross said the lack of significant spawning activity did not hurt his game plan.

 

“I never do the spawning thing, if I can keep from it,” he said. “I’ll always try to find one or two in case I need them, but I’m not going to go to a tournament and just (focus on) spawning.”

 

Admitting that he was “winging it today,” Gross said he had two keepers at noon, four at 1:45 p.m. and finished his limit at 2:30. Gross held his cards low on that second pattern, but he said he believes it exists in many areas.

 

“I was still throwing reaction baits; I just changed up where and how,” he said. “I think it’s something I can take elsewhere, I just have to move around a little bit more tomorrow.

 

“It’s about a combination of three things. It has to have a little bit of those things for me to get bit. I’ll fish 10 places like that and won’t catch a fish, and then I’ll stop on one and catch three in five casts.”

 

Gross said he’ll begin Day 3 fishing the spots he identified Friday, but he suspects he’ll need to find more. With the field cut from 94 to 47 for Saturday, Gross will be able to fish more aggressively.

 

“Tomorrow I think I’ll be a little more specific and target places where I think I can catch a bigger bite and just swing,” Gross said. “Now, we’re in the Top 47 cut, so I have to try and stay in the Top 10 and that’s going to take some weight tomorrow.”

 

Hailing from Del Rio, Texas, Hanselman, is in second with 39-4. He placed fourth on Day 1 with 22 pounds and gained two spots with Friday’s limit of 17-4

 

Hanselman said success required fast, aggressive presentations that triggered bites. He accomplished that with a Strike King Hybrid Hunter, a rattling crankbait designed for an enticing action and a 5-inch Strike King Shadalicious swimbait.

 

“I rigged the swimbait on a 3/8-ounce belly-weighted hook, and I put a 3/8-ounce bullet weight on the front so I could keep it down and just grind it through that grass,” Hanselman said. “I used an 8-foot Power Tackle moderate swimbait rod for long casts, (efficient) hook sets and the power to rip that bait through the grass.