2025 Pro-Guide Batteries Bassmaster Elite at the Upper Mississippi River Day 3: Kuphall On Verge of Wire to Wire Win!

Canadians: Cory Johnston 6th, Gallant 9th & Chris Johnston 19th

Wisconsin's Caleb Kuphall maintains the lead on Day 3 of the Pro-Guide Batteries Bassmaster Elite at Upper Mississippi River with a total of 50 pounds, 12 ounces. (Photo: Seigo Saito/BASS)

BASS Press Release

LA CROSSE, Wis. — Conditions changed, but Caleb Kuphall’s game plan did not.

Sticking with a technique he employed the previous two days, the pro from Mukwonago, Wis., tallied a three-day total of 50 pounds, 12 ounces and remained atop the Pro-Guide Batteries Bassmaster Elite at Upper Mississippi River.

Kuphall, who claimed a wire-to-wire win at the 2021 Bassmaster Elite at Lake Guntersville, took the Day 1 lead at the Upper Mississippi River with a limit of 18-15. Following with 17-3, he maintained his position by a margin of 1-13 over Bryan Schmitt, who won the 2022 Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Mississippi River.

On Semifinal Saturday, Kuphall added 14-10 and heads into Championship Sunday leading Schmitt by the same amount.

“I would love to win this tournament,” Kuphall said. “It would absolutely be incredible. I have a ton of family and friends that would make the trip up. I want to win it for them, for sure.”

All week, Kuphall has been fishing the middle of Pool 8 and targeting undercut banks where big fish move up to feed. Having learned this pattern over 20 years ago, Kuphall has systematically worked through particular areas where he knows the scenario occurs.

He’s mostly working in depths of 3 feet or less and, while the fish could be on any section of the undercut banks, he has found that isolated details such as a laydown tree, a weed clump or a small point tend to be most consistent.

After relatively calm conditions on Days 1 and 2 brought early action, Kuphall endured a slow Day 3 start. That was likely the result of the third day's 15- to 20-mph winds and changing river level.

“Falling water and wind pretty much wrecked my day, compared to what I’d been catching,” Kuphall said. “I think I caught one or two fish off the stuff I had been hitting. My biggest fish came the previous day’s area.

2023 Acedemy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic Day 2: Jeff Gustafson Continues to Lead with 35-11lbs!

Canadians Cory Johnston 7th, Chris Johnston 31st & Cooper Gallant 52th.

Five more to go! Is what Canadian Jeff Gustafson needs to close 
out the 2023 Classic. (Photo: James Overstreet/BASS)

By Brain Brasher 
BASSMASTER PRESS RELEASE

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Since the opening moments of the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Toyota, Jeff “Gussy” Gustafson has been counting down.

Not to a five-bass daily limit, but to the three-day limit of 15 he needs to be crowned a Classic champion. 

After Saturday, he can say, “Ten down, five to go.” 

Using the same moping technique he used to win a regular-season Bassmaster Elite Series event here on the Tennessee River in 2021 — and to take the lead in this Classic on Friday with 18 pounds, 8 ounces — Gustafson added five more smallmouth Saturday that weighed 17-3 and now holds a commanding lead with a two-day total of 35-11. 

His closest competition going into Championship Sunday will be Florida largemouth specialist John Cox, who sits almost 6 pounds back in second with 29-15. 

“I’ve just got to go out and get it done tomorrow,” said Gustafson, who has now led all six days of the two tournaments he’s fished here on Fort Loudoun and Tellico lakes. “I don’t have any good backup plans. I just need to keep doing what I’ve been doing.” 

2022 Bassmaster Elite Series Event On Mississippi River Day 3: Chris Johnston Continues Lead!

Canadians Gustafson 26th & Cory Johnston 52th.

Chris Johnston of Otonabee, Ontario, is leading after Day 3 of the 2022 Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Mississippi River with a three-day total of 48 pounds, 10 ounces. (Photo: Seigo Saito/ BASS) 

BASS PRESS RELEASE

LA CROSSE, Wis. — Chris Johnston believed in his sweet spot enough to give it a second chance, and that call paid off in a big way, as the pro from Otonabee, Ontario, tallied a three-day total of 48 pounds, 10 ounces and maintained the lead on Day 3 of the Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Mississippi River.

 

After tying for fourth place on Day 1 with a limit of 16-4, Johnston added 15-10 on Day 2 and took over the top spot. He entered Semifinal Sunday 2 ounces ahead of Texan Keith Combs — and with a third-round limit of 16-12, Johnston now heads into Championship Monday with an advantage of 1-13 over Combs.

 

“I ran to a spot that I’d fished in the morning, but I never got a bite because it was raining,” Johnston said. “There was a lot of bait in the area, and I think the rain had the bait all pushed down to the bottom and the fish weren’t active.

 

“I stopped there again with about 15 minutes to go because I know there’s a lot of fish in there. It’s just hard to get them to bite.”

 

Johnston said he usually has to see fish blowing up (surface feeding) in the spot’s matted grass, but his first cast drew a bite. He missed that fish, but five casts later he caught a 3 1/4-pound largemouth a little before 2:30 p.m.

 

“It was hard because the wind was blowing in, but they were in these little pockets,” Johnston said. “The wind had my frog kind of going across sideways, but that (3 1/4-pounder) grabbed a hold of it and that was huge.”

 

Johnston’s key spot comprised a break in the vegetation with sand next to a current edge. The week’s rainfall has raised the water level, and Johnston said that has expanded the spot’s opportunity.

 

2022 Bassmaster Elite Series Event On Mississippi River Day 2: Chris Johnston Score 1 Ounce Lead!

Canadians Gustafson 13th & Cory Johnston 52th.

Chris Johnston of Otonabee, Ontario, is leading after Day 2 of the 2022 Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Mississippi River with a two-day total of 31 pounds, 14 ounces. (Photo: Seigo Saito/ BASS) 

BASS PRESS RELEASE

LA CROSSE, Wis. — Chris Johnston owns a well-documented reputation for smallmouth savvy, but drawing on his largemouth bass roots helped the pro from Otonabee, Ontario, take over the lead on Day 2 of the Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Mississippi River with a total weight of 31 pounds, 14 ounces.

 

Johnston caught 16-4 on Day 1 and tied fellow Canadian Jeff Gustafson for fourth place. Then, despite an hour storm delay and dim, rainy conditions, Johnston added 15-10 today. He heads into Semifinal Sunday with a 1-ounce margin over Day 1 leader Bryan Schmitt and a 2-ounce lead over Keith Combs of Huntington, Texas.

 

Johnston, who won the 2020 SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River, said the Upper Mississippi River’s shallow, weedy habitat presented very familiar scenarios. This week’s success has come through applying the engrained techniques of his Canadian youth.

 

“Believe it or not, I grew up fishing largemouth; flipping reeds and milfoil and frogging,” Johnston said. “For the first 20 years of my life, it was all largemouth fishing. The smallmouth didn’t take off in our area until I was about 17 to 18 years old.

 

“I love this style of fishing; putting on 65-pound Seaguar Smackdown braid and just going and having fun. I did mix in a few smallmouth. They’ve been good to me lately, so I couldn’t ignore them.”

 

Ike takes it all on the James River

Ike finally bests James River
By David A. Brown
BASS PRESS RELEASE

Molix Lover, jig and crankbait key to big win.
(Photo: BASS)

Mike Iaconelli knew his fate depended on low water, so the Pitts Grove, N.J., pro made a key decision during Saturday’s final round of the Basspro.com Bassmaster Eastern Open on the James River.

After placing sixth in Thursday’s opening round with 15 pounds, 2 ounces, Iaconelli repeated that weight Friday and took the lead with 30-4. Then Saturday, for the third day in a row — while much of the field ran far downriver to the James River tributary, the Chickahominy River — Iaconelli stayed closer to the main river take-off site so he could take advantage of the morning tide schedule.

That decision led to a five-bass limit that weighed 13-12 and pushed him to victory with a three-day weight of 44 pounds. 

The tournament started with a small window of morning low water, with another window on the afternoon change. But with tides advancing an hour each day, the final round saw tournament hours overlapping only the morning low. 

“The low water was the key,” said Iaconelli, who earned $39,000 for his first B.A.S.S. victory since 2014. “I didn’t mind if it was incoming or outgoing, but lower water stages were the key.”

Iaconelli fished what he called a “trout stream pattern,” which basically meant he pushed as far back as most anglers will push — and then kept pushing. Depths were sketchy, but referencing similar scenarios he fishes on his Delaware River home waters, Iaconelli knew he would find two important benefits: The creek’s lowest water and largely unmolested fish.

2019 BASS Northern Open James River Day 1: Bryan Schmitt Scores 20.04lbs!

Big bass vaults Schmitt to lead.

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Bryan Schmitt knows his way around tidal fisheries, but he welcomed a stroke of good fortune that delivered a five-bass limit of 20 pounds, 4 ounces giving him the Day 1 lead of the Basspro.com Bassmaster Eastern Open on the James River.

Schmitt’s catch included a 6-10 largemouth that leads the Phoenix Boats Big Bass competition.

“I got one of those crazy, like pure-luck bites today,” the Maryland pro said. “This place has giants, but they’re not biting. I got one of those today and that made all the difference.”

With much of the field running to the Chickahominy River (a fertile James River tributary), Schmitt spent his day in the James. He fished a lot of water but targeted the same habitat scenario.

Tim Frederick Wins 2018 FLW Tour Lake Okeechobee with 85-04lbs!

Johnstons finish 9th and 10th.

By by Sean Ostruszka3

FLW PRESS RELEASE

Last minute 9 pounder seals the deal for Tim.
(Photo: FLW)

Tim Frederick and Bryan Schmitt both caught giant bass in the final minutes. Both thought their fish pushed them over the edge for the win. Frederick’s was bigger, and that was the difference.

With only 10 minutes left to his final day, Frederick knew he needed a giant to have a chance. That chance happened soon after when he stuck a 9-pounder that edged him above Schmitt by little more than a pound to win the FLW Tour presented by Evinrude on Lake Okeechobee.

“I couldn’t be happier,” says the Leesburg, Fla., pro of his first Tour victory. “This is what I’ve always dreamed about.” Frederick’s 19-pound, 14-ounce day four bag brought his total weight to 85 pounds, 4 ounces.

The dream had been steadily turning into a nightmare the longer day four went on. His pattern of target fishing for bedding fish he couldn’t see seemed to be failing him, as he struggled to get bit most of the morning. He finally stuck a 4-pounder around midday, but that still left him well short of the 17 pounds he figured he needed to hold on for the win.

“I was so stressed,” says Frederick. “I didn’t know if I should leave or stay. I figured it was all I had, so I ended up staying. I’m sure glad I day, because then I stuck that 9-pounder with 10 minutes to go, and that was the difference. The biggest key for me all week was patience, and it paid off today.”

Frederick focused his attention during the event on the Spoil Islands area near Harney Pond – an area that actually was inaccessible until Hurricane Irma ripped it open last fall. Once he got in there, he found vast patches of reeds, pads and various targets, which was key as he didn’t cast unless it was at a target, figuring there would be spawning females bedded nearby. That’s where his history as a Florida angler paid off, as he relied on his knowledge of how big females set up on pieces of cover – typically on the points and edges of a patch of cover – to direct his casts.
TOP 10 BELOW

2018 FLW Tour Lake Okeechobee Day 3: Tim Frederick Grads Lead with 65-06lbs!

Cory Johnston 4^th & Chris Johnston 9^th

By by Sean Ostruszka3

FLW PRESS RELEASE
Tim Frederick’s very first tournament during his rookie season on the FLW Tour was on Lake Okeechobee. He finished dead last. Two years later, he has a chance to go from worst to first.

Following a day two that saw six anglers crack 20 pounds and one nearly break 30, Frederick was the lone angler to crack 20 pounds on day three. His 23-3 bag on Saturday jumped him to 65-6 total, which allowed him to overtake Bryan Schmitt by 15 ounces to lead the FLW Tour presented by Evinrude on Lake Okeechobee.

Tim finding beds with big worms.
(Photo: FLW)

 “I have a love/hate relationship with Okeechobee,” says Frederick, who hails from Leesburg, Fla. “The hate is that first tournament, but I’m a Florida power fisherman by nature. So I still love it.”

The ironic part for Frederick is that as much as he’d love to be powerfishing, what has him in the lead is a painfully slow and steady approach.

The pro is target fishing for bedding fish he can’t see. To do that, he’s lining up on isolated clumps of pencil reeds and other targets, putting his poles down, and then methodically casting to specific spots. Frederick says watching him is like watching paint dry, as he’ll take as long as five minutes to complete a cast.

“I can actually feel the bed when I’m dragging my bait through,” says Frederick. “When I do, I really slow down and will make multiple casts.”

The pattern has produced some big bites, though it took a little longer than expected Saturday. He caught one good one early, but it took him awhile to catch a limit. Then the water temp in his area near Harney Pond hit 64 degrees and a 45-minute window opened up where he caught two more giants.

As for the final day, Frederick says he has no intentions of changing.

“I’m going to stick with it,” says Frederick. “The clouds seem to be hurting a little, which is not good for tomorrow, but I have no other choice. I have to stick it out there, win, lose or draw.”

Top 10 pros

1. Tim Frederick – Leesburg, Fla. – 65-6 (15)

2. Bryan Schmitt – Deale, Md. – 64-7 (15)

3. Mark Rose – West Memphis, Ark. – 61-3 (15)

4. Cory Johnston – Cavan, Ont. – 53-11 (15)

5. Chad Morgenthaler – Reeds Spring, Mo. – 53-0 (15)

6. Brandon McMillan – Clewiston, Fla. – 52-11 (15)

7. Jared McMillan – Belle Glade, Fla. – 51-14 (15)

8. Scott Canterbury – Odenville, Ala. – 51- 12 (15)

9. Chris Johnston – Peterborough, Ont. – 50-0 (15)

10. Christopher Brasher – Longview, Texas – 48-13 (15)

2018 FLW Tour Lake Okeechobee Day 2: Bryan Schmitt Leads with 48-03lbs!

Chris  Johnston 3rd, Cory Johnston 6^th, Gustafson 87^th & Richardson 119th.

FLW PRESS RELEASE

Schmitt leads -Chris Johnston land 28 pound bag.
(Photo: FLW)

Lake Okeechobee is 730 square miles in size; half the size of Rhode Island. But for this tournament, one stretch of water a few hundred yards long and wide has out-produced all the rest.

After two days of the FLW Tour presented by Evinrude on Lake Okeechobee, Harney Pond has been THE place to be, as all of the top six anglers in the standings are fishing that area. With the warming conditions, a wave of giant females seems to be pouring in ready to spawn, and thus far, Bryan Schmitt has been the best at making them bite.

After leading day one with 24-11, the Deale, Md. pro followed it up with 23-8 to hold off Mark Rose for the lead with 48-3 for the tournament.

“There’s no doubt the winning fish are in [Harney Pond],” says Schmitt. “It’s the perfect storm [with the fish moving in there]. I think there is a 30-pound bag in there now that there will be less boats.”

2017 Walmart FLW Mississippi River Day 2: Andy Morgan Leads with 31-4lbs!

Gustafson 102th, Chris Johnston 104th, Cory Johnston 105th,  and Richardson 141st.
by Rob Newell 
FLW PRESS RELEASE

Morgan takes lead as river keeps rolling. (Photo: FLW)

A river is a river.
That’s the simple philosophy Andy Morgan of Dayton, Tenn. used to capture the lead on day two of the FLW Tour presented by Evinrude on the Mississippi River.
Morgan cut his angling teeth fishing the “pools” along the Tennessee River – pools with names like Chickamauga, Nickajack and Guntersville. Though he’s never fished this part of the Mississippi River, in his mind pools 7, 8 and 9 are not much different than the “pools” he fishes back home in Tennessee.
Friday he relied on his river-reading skills to sack up 14 pounds, 9 ounces of bass, giving him a two-day total of 31 pounds, 4 ounces.

“A river is a river,” Morgan says. “They rise. They fall. They have a main channel. They have backwaters. These pools up here are somewhat like little tiny versions of the lakes on the Tennessee River.”
TOP 1O BELOW

2016 BASS Northern Open Lake Champlain Day 2: Schmitt Take Lead with 40-15lbs!

Schmitt's on big smallmouth

John Neporadny Jr.

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Bryan Schmitt had planned on catching a mixed bag of largemouth and smallmouth bass on Lake Champlain, but he strictly targeted smallmouth Thursday to take the lead in the pro division of the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Northern Open #3.

Two 20lb limits key as leaderboard flip flops.
(Photo: BASS)

When the lake' surface turned slick in the afternoon, Schmitt knew what to do. He knew Lake Champlain smallmouth liked to feed on calm, sunny days.

"So I leaned on the smallmouth as hard as I could and that really helped me out," said Schmitt, who took over the lead with 40 pounds, 15 ounces.

"I had a lot of fun out there and hopefully I have one more day of it." The Deale, Md., angler caught a five-fish limit of smallmouth bass weighing 20-6 today, while on Wednesday he weighed in a mixed bag of largemouth and smallmouth totaling 20-9.

The first morning Schmitt concentrated on largemouth and caught a couple of keepers but had to switch over to a smallmouth pattern that he ran the rest of the day to complete his limit. Thursday he decided to stick with brown bass especially when the weather turned favorable for a smallmouth bite.

2016 Walmart FLW Tour Lake Champlain Day 3: Scott Martin Continues to Dominate!

Chris Johnston falls to 5th. 
FLW PRESS RELEASE

Scott working his northern spots to continue the lead.
(Photo: FLW)

Unexpected mechanical issues, complications and difficulties can easily derail a pro angler’s day – especially if that pro angler is leading a Walmart FLW Tour event.

But when tournament leader Scott Martin encountered mechanical issues this morning, forcing him to obtain an official restart from FLW Tour Tournament Director Bill Taylor, Martin never missed a beat. He took it all in stride and kept his composure. As the old saying goes, “cooler heads will prevail,” and Martin demonstrated that perfectly today.

Despite his setback of nearly two hours in fishing time, Martin salvaged his day with a 16-pound, 5-ounce catch that kept him in the lead of the Walmart FLW Tour presented by General Tire on Lake Champlain with a total of 58 pounds, 10 ounces.

2016 Walmart FLW Tour Lake Champlain Day 2: Scott Martin Extends Lead with 42.05lbs.

Martin loves Champlain!

by Rob Newell

FLW PRESS RELEASE

At halftime in the Walmart FLW Tour event on Lake Champlain, which is presented by General Tire, Scott Martin of Clewiston, Fla., has comfortably settled into the pole position going into the weekend. Martin is now the only pro to reach the 20-pound mark two days in row, giving him a total of 42 pounds, 5 ounces and a 3-pound, 9-ounce lead over Bryan Schmitt going into Saturday.

On path for his third win on Champlain.
(FLW Photo)

Martin, who already has two FLW Tour wins at Lake Champlain, is the model of composure when it comes to fishing on the New York-Vermont border. It’s as if the waters in Champlain were custom-made to suit his fishing styles.