2018 BASS Elite St. Lawrence River Day 3: David Walker Takes Lead with 72-05lbs!

Walker leads by 3 ounces.

By Thomas Allen

BASS PRESS RELEASE

David Walker drop shotting his way into the lead.
(Photo: BASS)

For the third day in a row, David Walker of Sevierville, Tenn., stayed consistent with huge smallmouth bass to take the top spot heading into the final round of the 2018 Huk Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River presented by Black Velvet.
 
Walker caught a five-bass limit that weighed 22 pounds, 15 ounces to push his three-day total to 72-5 — giving himself a legitimate shot at the $100,000 first-place prize.
 
The last time the 12-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier took home top honors was in 2011 during an Elite Series derby on Alabama’s Wheeler Lake.
 
“It’s been way too long since I won on this tour, and I’m itching to take home another trophy,” Walker said. “It’s so hard to win at this level, so I know better than to take good days for granted, and the last couple of days were nothing short of magical. I sure hope I can keep the consistency going for one more day.”

Walker started Thursday’s opening round in second place, remained the same on Friday, and now he is in the lead by only 3 ounces. Arizona’s Josh Bertrand is in second after he weighed 23-9 for a three-day total of 72-2.
 
Just like most of the Top 50 anglers at this event, Walker has been moving often from spot to spot, drifting a dropshot across assorted types of structural elements. But he feels his presentation is different enough that it’s continuing to appeal to larger smallmouth bass.
 
“I shared a few spots with other anglers this week, but tomorrow I think I’ll have most of them to myself, which should only help me,” he said. “I know it sounds strange, but I know of too many places to catch a quality limit. I really had to focus on what I felt were the best locations today. I have no plans to change my game plan tomorrow. It’s been working wonders, why fix what isn’t broken?” 
 
This derby is the final regular-season event before the Top 50 pros in the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year race will advance to the AOY Championship event at Georgia’s Lake Chatuge in mid-September.
 

Justin Patti Wins the 2017 WON Bass U.S. Open

Arizona pro survives late charge from Brett Hite to win in Wire-to-Wire Fashion 
WON BASS PRESS RELEASE

The discussion leading up to the 35th Anniversary edition of the WON Bass, Bass Cat / Mercury U.S. Open were the changes. The addition of Bass Cat Boats as a key partner, and the change of dates to October were the hot topics.

Change became the focus of discussion on the third and final day of the event.

While the first two days of the event featured bright, bluebird skies with light breezes, day three brought high clouds that made for darkened, calm conditions. The result was tougher conditions as the fish scattered a bit more, making it harder for the field to relocate the fish that had served them over the first two days of the event.

2017 WON Bass U.S. Open Day One Pro Standings

Place	Name	Hometown	Weight	Big Fish	Total
1	Justin Patti	Phoenix AZ	36.30	3.87	36.3
2	Brett Hite	Phoenix AZ	35.79	3.75	35.79
3	Mike Williams	Mesa AZ	34.07	3.21	34.07
4	Steve Tosh, Jr.	Modesto CA	34.05	4.59	34.05
5	Nick Salvucci	Paso Robles CA	32.93	3.44	32.93
6	Kyle Grover	Trabuco Canyon CA	31.23	3.84	31.23
7	Travis Jewell	Sandy UT	31.05	2.92	31.05
8	David Kemper	Tempe AZ	30.25		30.25
9	Cody Murray	Nampa ID	29.79	3.18	29.79
10	David Baca	Prescott Valley AZ	29.55	4.01	29.55

No matter the conditions, good anglers will always figure out a way to overcome difficulties, and someone is always going to win. The angler that was able to master the conditions well enough over the three-day event to earn the title of 2017 WON Bass U.S. Open Champion was Phoenix, Arizona's Justin Patti, who won the event in wire-to-wire fashion with a total weight of 36.30 pounds.

Patti withstood a late event charge from fellow Phoenix resident and Bassmaster Elite Series pro Brett Hite, who caught an 11.66-pound limit on the final day to weigh 35.70 pounds for the event to finish second.

2017 US Won Bass Open Day 2: Justin Patti Leads on Lake Mead with 27.71lbs!

Bigger Weights on Day 2

WON BASS PRESS RELEASE

Justin Patti extends lead. (Photo WON BASS)

A little over a year ago, Justin Patti left Callville Bay Marina on the second day of the WON Bass U.S. Open in the lead. By the end of the day, he had succumbed to the wild swings that Lake Mead's fishing is known for.

2017 has proven to be a different year for the Arizona pro.

After opening the event with a stellar 14.71-pound limit, Patti took last years' experience and made all the right moves to post a 13.00-pound limit that pushed his two-day weight to 27.71 pounds. His second consecutive strong day increased the margin of his lead to nearly three and a half pounds over second place pro Kyle Grover of Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.

His performance helped him nearly match the goal weight he set for himself for the three day event - in two days. "I started this event hoping to catch 10 pounds a day to have a shot to win," he said. "I didn't expect to be catching this quality of fish, I've had two great AAA partners, and we've worked really well together to make it happen."

2017 WON Bass U.S. Open Day One Pro Standings

Place	Name	Hometown	Weight	Big Fish	Total
1	Justin Patti	Phoenix AZ	27.71	3.87	27.71
2	Kyle Grover	Trabuco Canyon CA	24.25	3.84	24.25
3	Brett Hite	Phoenix AZ	24.13	3.47	24.13
4	Travis Jewell	Sandy UT	22.99		22.99
5	Sean Coffey	Mesa AZ	22.73	3.57	22.73
6	Cody Murray	Nampa ID	22.65	3.18	22.65
7	Carl Jocumsen	Reseda CA	21.55		21.55
8	Steve Tosh, Jr.	Modesto CA	21.51	4.59	21.51
9	Marvin Barellano	Monterey Park CA	21.46	2.88	21.46
10	Clayton Meyer	Henderson NV	21.36	2.9	21.36

The EverGreen / Z-Man Jackhammer Chatterbait Unboxing!

The EverGreen JACKHAMMER Chatterbait lures was IBASSIN.com's #1 searched post in 2016 and for good reason. A cloud of interque grew as BASS Elite angler Brett Hite scored numerous Top 10 in Elite tournaments with a secret Japanese lure. The mystery grew deeper as it was declared illegal to sell in North America due to Z Man's patent. Everyone wants what they cannot have so as demand intensified smarter heads prevailed and the two companies joined forces. As of 2017, Z Man and EverGreen USA have developed the most refined chatterbait ever.

Videos
https://www.zmanfishing.com/cms/chatter/introducing-chatterbait-jack-hammer/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xx-Ixg8TLEs

Z-Man Site
https://www.zmanfishing.com/cms/chatter/introducing-chatterbait-jack-hammer/

Let's review its many quality features.

The patented coffin style blade is thin, tough and perfectly cut from stainless steel.
Available in brilliant silver and green pumpkin
which is Brett's most favourite blade colour. 

Just look at that hook! A wide, heavy wire Gamakatsu hook
with 2 wire prong trailer keepers is amazing. The original chatterbaits
had smaller, cheaper hooks. This thing is a beast. The trailer is a huge part
of the chatterbait's success. Fighting to keep it on is a drag.
This should easily take care of that problem.

A sleek fish shaped head is very compact. It will slip through cover with ease.
I really love that the weight of the bait is labelled on the head of each bait.
Always hated trying to determine which size I was fishing.  The bottom of the head
is white with a splash of red for dark and light coloured skirted jigs.
MORE BELOW

Humminbird® Introduces 360 Imaging for the New Minn Kota Ultrex

360 Imaging is a Humminbird innovation that gives anglers a 360-degree, detail-rich view of the underwater world. Previously, this bow-mount technology was only compatible with Minn Kota’s Fortrex™ and Maxxum™ trolling motors. But now, anglers can combine Humminbird 360 full-surround sonar imaging with all the advantages of Minn Kota’s Ultrex trolling motor – including power steering, Spot-Lock and i-Pilot® Link™.
 
According to Humminbird brand manager Ray Schaffart, “The new Humminbird 360 accessory for the Minn Kota Ultrex trolling motor allows owners to locate fish, cover, structure and drop-offs in any direction – while trolling or sitting still – without spooking fish. Multiple viewing options deliver the 360-degree image results onto compatible Humminbird fishfinders. It’s the best-of-the-best in boat control and imaging paired into one fluent system.”

2017 BASS Elite Toledo Bend Day 1: Jacob Wheeler Grabs Lead with 25-01lbs!

Toledo Bend fishing strong

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Wheeler lead big day on Toledo Bend.
(Photo: BASS)

For the second time in three tournaments this season, Jacob Wheeler is sitting atop the leaderboard.

The Indiana pro caught five bass that weighed 25 pounds, 1 ounce during Thursday's first round of the Bassmaster Elite at Toledo Bend presented by Econo Lodge.

Wheeler, who won the season's first Elite Series event on Tennessee's Cherokee Lake in February, leads Arizona pro Brett Hite (24-11) by 6 ounces. But the field has three days left to fish on a lake that has topped the list of Bassmaster Magazine's 100 Best Bass Lakes the last two years.

"I don't have much experience here, which might have helped me a little bit or might have hurt me," said Wheeler, who made the move to the Elite Series this year after a successful career on the FLW Tour. "I spent two days here in the fall one time, five or six days in pre-practice and then practice this week — and that's it.

"But I know there are a lot of big fish here, and everything worked out for me today."

With so much fishing left to do, Wheeler was tightlipped about how he caught his fish Thursday. He only said that he managed to catch a few good fish early to calm his nerves.

When to Fish a Bladed Jig or a Spinnerbait with Brett Hite.

Bladed jig or spinnerbait? Which one is the best to fish where? BASS Elite angler Brett Hite is a master at both. Learn as he explains when to fish the bladed jig and when to use a spinnerbait. Brett won his first Elite tournament with a bladed jig. Brett helped create the Evergreen Jackhammer Chatterbait which just got released to the North American market.

Z-MAN’S NEXT SHOWSTOPPER IS HERE—NEW CHATTERBAIT® JACK HAMMER™ CUSTOM BLADED JIG TO BE UNVEILED ON WORLD’S PREMIERE BASS FISHING STAGE

Evergreen International Co., Ltd. and Brett Hite to launch the most premium 
ChatterBait lure ever built in conjunction with the 

2017 GEICO Bassmaster Classic

Z-Man Fishing Products, manufacturer of Original ChatterBait^® brand bladed swim jigs and 10X Tough ElaZtech^® soft plastics, is pleased to announce the release of its next game-changing bait—the new ChatterBait Jack Hammer custom bladed jig—on March 24^th at the Bassmaster Classic Outdoors Expo. A free, open-to-the-public event that showcases the latest and greatest in fishing and outdoor products, this year’s Expo will be held at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, TX.

As with its ChatterBait Freedom^™ release at the 2016 Bassmaster Classic, the ChatterBait Jack Hammer reflects Z-Man’s willingness to partner with another forward-thinking tackle company—in this case, leading Japanese lure maker Evergreen—to offer anglers more bladed jig options based on its patented, tournament-winning design. Built in Evergreen’s factory, the Jack Hammer will be marketed and distributed exclusively by Z-Man in the United States.

The latest example of Z-Man’s commitment to continually evolving, improving, and expanding a bait that’s unmatched in its ability to deliver a crankbait action, jig profile, and spinnerbait flash, the ChatterBait Jack Hammer raises the bar on premium construction and detail, yet again. Built around a heavy duty black nickel Gamakatsu^® flipping hook, the Jack Hammer’s head shape—equipped with lifelike 3D eyes—facilitates a low center of gravity for balance and easy skipping. It also touts a super-strong, snag-resistant Decoy^® Egg Snap line tie, and hard and thin, stainless steel hexagonal ChatterBlade^®. Additionally, its dual-wire trailer keepers hold all types of soft plastic trailers more securely than ever before. To round things out, the Jack Hammer features hand-tied silicone skirts in patterns that have been personally designed and selected by ChatterBait pro and bladed swim jig guru Brett Hite, in addition to highly detailed, color-matched head and blade paint schemes.

2017 BASS Elite Lake Okeechobee Day 1: DeFoe Grabs Lead with 31-03lbs!

Tyler Carriere Day 1 Big Fish winer with 9-05lbs. 
BASS PRESS RELEASE

Two beast leaps Ott atop of field.
(Photo: BASS)

Florida’s famous big-bass factory showed off during the first day of the A.R.E. Truck Caps Bassmaster Elite at Lake Okeechobee, as Tennessee native Ott DeFoe caught a huge five-bass limit that weighed 31 pounds, 3 ounces.
 
DeFoe’s impressive catch put him more than 4 pounds ahead of Stephen Browning of Hot Springs, Ark., who is in second place with 26-13.
 
Anchoring his limit with two giant bass that weighed 8-6 each, the 31-year-old DeFoe knew he had located quality fish during practice on the lake, but he didn’t realize just how good they were.
 
“I had a lot of bites during practice, but I wasn’t catching very many fish over 2 1/2 to 3 pounds,” DeFoe said. “But, a few of those fish were in one area that seemed to have all the right ingredients to justify a return trip once the tournament began.”
 

Justin Lucas Wins the 2016 BASS Elite Potomac River with 72-14lbs!

Lucas rocks around the docks. 
By Bryan Brasher

BASS PRESS RELEASE
If professional bass fishing fans didn’t know it before, they know it now.

Justin Lucas is a force to be reckoned with — and it doesn’t matter which coast he’s fishing on.



West coast drop shot is winner on the East coast bass. (Photo: BASS)

The California native, who now lives in Alabama, caught five bass Sunday that weighed 19-13 to win the Bassmaster Elite at Potomac River presented by Econo Lodge. His four-day total of 72-14 was more than 4 pounds better than second-place angler Jason Christie (68-7), who finished strong himself with 23-1 Sunday.



It was Lucas’s second career victory on the Bassmaster Elite Series and the first away from his native West Coast waters. The 30-year-old pro picked up his first win last season on the Sacramento River.



KVD Wins Niagara Bracket Event, Third Win in 2016!

Victory Stands!

BASS PRESS RELEASE

In the final round of the Bassmaster Classic Bracket event on the upper Niagara River, Michigan’s Kevin VanDam collected his 23rd B.A.S.S. win in a dramatic ending to this first-of-its-kind tournament.

Jerkbait, drop shot and stamina key to Van Dam win!
(Photo: BASS)

 In today’s championship match, VanDam was pitted against Brett Hite of Arizona, and fans were able to watch live on Bassmaster.com as the two Elite Series anglers clashed rods for a berth in the 2017 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro and a $10,000 first-place payday. Unlike the first two elimination brackets of this derby — and traditional Elite Series tournaments — where a five-fish limit was the goal, every legal-size bass caught today was weighed and counted.

VanDam, who was worried about the change in format after it was announced Thursday, had no issues locating and catching enough fish to eliminate Hite, as he landed 11 bass that weighed-in at 20 pounds, 3 ounces.

ICAST 2016 Ever Green's CR Crankbaits with Brett Hite

Brett Hite loves his crankbaits and EverGreen International makes some of the best out there. The new CR Crank, called the Combat Crank in Japan, offers a full line of baits that run from shallow to deep.

Kevin Van Dam Wins 2016 BASS Elite Cayuga Lake Event with 71-13lbs!

KVD is King again!
By Bryan Brasher

BASS PRESS RELEASE

KVD is BACK! (Photo BASS)

A little over six weeks ago, many professional fishing fans were wondering out loud, “What’s wrong with Kevin VanDam?”

Now those same fans must be wondering just how many gigantic moments VanDam has ahead of him.

After recording his 21st career victory at Louisiana’s Toledo Bend Reservoir in May, VanDam won again Sunday, coming from behind to claim the $100,000 first-place prize in the Busch Beer Bassmaster Elite at Cayuga Lake. After going five years between victories, the Michigan superstar has now won twice in seven weeks.

VanDam, went into Sunday’s final round in third place, almost 2 pounds out of the lead. But a final-day catch of 15 pounds, 7 ounces put him over the top with a four-day mark of 71-13. Jordan Lee, a 24-year-old Alabama angler who led going into the final round, finished second with 70-12.

“You just never know how things are going to go out here,” said VanDam, who extended his own B.A.S.S. record with his 22nd career win. “I’ve said it many times before. It’s really hard to win against these guys.

“I feel pretty lucky today, for sure. I didn’t have a great day today.”

Unlike Toledo Bend, which he described as the “toughest tournament he ever won,” VanDam went into the Cayuga Lake event with a lot of confidence based on what he’d seen in practice. He used a variety of patterns throughout the week and exploited the lake’s solid populations of both largemouth and smallmouth bass.

2016 BASS Elite Cayuga Lake Day 2: Jordan Lee Jumps into Lead with 40-08lbs.

Lee Marches to Top.
By Bryan Brasher

BASS PRESS RELEASE
Like many of the anglers taking part in the Busch Beer Bassmaster Elite at Cayuga Lake, Jordan Lee found plenty of bedding smallmouth bass in practice.

Jordon grabs his first lead.
(BASS Photo)

The young Alabamian relied on those smallmouth during the first round for a solid catch, and he planned to do the same during Friday’s second round.

But a couple of hours after takeoff Friday, Lee could tell things just weren’t working out. So he went looking for largemouth and put together a catch of 21 pounds, 7 ounces that pushed his two-day total to a tournament-best 40-8.

Lee’s plan for Saturday is now clear.

“I’m done with the smallmouth,” he said. “I’m just going to go fish largemouth all day tomorrow.”

Lee, who is six days shy of his 25th birthday, keyed on one small grassy area of the lake. He said he was surprised to find as many fish there as he did.

In practice, the area only produced a handful of bites. But a change in weather conditions made the area easier to fish Friday.

Brett Hite's New JackHammer Vibrating Jig from Evergreen.

Chatterbaits are king in spring!

By Luigi De Rose

Brett Hite with the new JackHammer. (Photo: James Overstreet)

The chatterbait has now claimed its second Bass Elite victory in a row and doesn't seem to be losing any steam. Any vibrating jig sporting a coffin shaped blade has been filing livewells across the south for over two months. When bass swim shallow its chatterbait time.

One angler who has built a career on the back of a vibrating jig has been Arizona angler Brett Hite. Hite needed to learn how to compete on grass lakes so he decided to learn the chatterbait. This investment had claimed both his FLW wins and another two victories on the BASS Elite Tour. Brett almost grabbed another win this past weekend at Winyah Bay but was edged out by Britt Myers who also fished a chatterbait to claim his first BASS trophy.

In the courts, Z-Man lures has received the rights to manufacture the Chatterbait and has laid claim to any versions of this popular lure. Choices have become very limited. Elite pro Brett Hite has turned to Japanese based Evergreen International, one of his sponsors, to craft his own version called the Jackhammer. We know almost nothing about this bait. All that has been released is that Morizo Shimizu and Brett Hite teamed up to create it and for many that is all that is needed to give it a seal of approval.

Don’t expect to find the JackHammer at your local bait shop. This is a web only purchase for now. If you like fishing something new or different than this is a great springtime purchase.