Chris Miller Wins 2025 St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Sam Rayburn Reservoir presented by SEVIIN

Canadian Joey T. grabs 11th! 

By Andrew Canulette 

BASS PRESS RELEASE

JASPER, Texas — Foul weather trimmed the St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Sam Rayburn Reservoir presented by SEVIIN from a three-day tournament to a one-day derby. So, before competition even began, the 233 competing anglers knew they’d have to go big if they wanted to go home a winner.

Chris Miller of Spirit Lake, Iowa, found the right bites Friday, weighing a limit of five bass totaling 28 pounds, 10 ounces. That clinched the win for the 37-year-old homebuilder who’d fished in only eight B.A.S.S. events prior to his victory at Rayburn.

Miller collected a hefty $52,086 cash prize with the win, part of a $345,850 cash purse split among the top 45 anglers competing on the 114,500-acre reservoir in east Texas. 

Ranger Boat's Shake Up Results in Bass Boat Sponsorship Switcheroo

Ranger cancels contracts

By Luigi De Rose

Takahiro Omori joins Bass Cat as scores of 
other Ranger Boat pros move on. (Photo: Facebook) 

Has the penny finally dropped? With the acquisition of Rangers boats by White River Marine Group in 2014, fans and pros alike wondered how that would change the face of bass fishing. Immediate change never transpired but under the strain of Covid, a changing market place and an upsurge in popularity in fishing and boating, 2021 has become the year of change. Ranger Boats has always held the largest pro-bass boat team in the industry. That still holds true but to the shock of many fans and pros alike, there has been a shake up. Surprisingly, some of the most popular and successful Bassmaster, MLF/ Bass Pro Tour, Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit were not shielded. 

Boat companies cannot take the brunt of the blame for change. Engine companies hold tremendous power and money. Competitive anglers must go with whom is willing to feed them. Much like boat companies, the engine market is ruled by a few key figures. Mercury is king. Yamaha is a strong second with Honda and Suzuki grabbing slivers of the market share from these two giants.  

Keep a look out for your favourite angler on social media as they might be sporting a new boat title sponsor for the upcoming season.

Here is the current list of anglers as of January 27, 2021

Takahiro Omori: Ranger to Bass Cat

Bill McDonald: Ranger to Bass Cat

Scott Suggs: Ranger to Bass Cat

Cody Meyers: Ranger to Blazer

John Murray: Ranger to Caymas

James Watson: Ranger to Charger

Luke Clausen: Ranger to Charger

Charles Sim: Ranger to Falcon

Tom Redington: Ranger to Pheonix

Ish Monroe: Ranger to Skeeter

Scott Martin: Ranger to Skeeter

Brett Hite: Ranger to Vexus

Jared Lintner: Ranger to Vexus

Jason Christie: Ranger to Xpress Boats

 

Non-Ranger Pros who have switched

Fletcher Shryock: Nitro to Caymas

 Carl Jocumsen: Bass Cat to Falcon

Brandon Coulter: Triton to Falcon

Keith Poche: Triton to Gator Trax Boats

2018 Bassmaster Elite Kentucky Lake Day 1: Chris Zaldain Jumps into the Lead with 24-03lbs!

Swindle & Pipkens land 7-7 for daily big bass tie
BASS PRESS RELEASE

Fishing to win. Zaldain in it to win it.
(Photo: BASS)

Chris Zaldain knew what he wanted to do, he knew why he wanted to do it and he got the job done to the tune of a 24-pound, 3-ounce limit of bass that leads the first round of the Berkley Bassmaster Elite at Kentucky Lake presented by Abu Garcia.
 
“A few days ago, I got some bad news about my mom’s (Rose) health, she’s battling cancer,” said Zaldain of Laughlin, Nev. “The last few days have been rough, so I came into this event to win it for my mom.
 
“I really want a chance to go into Sunday and win this event. I feel like my career needs it. I feel like my family needs it.”
 
Zaldain said he’s fishing such a specific pattern that he couldn’t divulge many details. However, he did note that a very specific integration of three distinct factors — some habitat, others conditional — were essential to his success.
 
“I practiced with one thing in my mind, pretty much one bait, one approach and it paid off big time today,” Zaldain said. “The second day of practice, I caught almost 30 pounds, no joke. Kentucky Lake has got ’em.
 
“A lot of people are complaining about the Asian carp, but the bass still live here. You just have to fish where the carp aren’t.”
 
Noting that he fished a purely prespawn pattern, Zaldain knew his day would be one of quality over quantity. His biggest was a 6-pounder, which made it to the Bassmaster blog feed with Zaldain’s handwritten dedication note to his mother.
 

MERRY-G GEECRACK Alabama rig with IBASSIN

The Alabama rig has evolved into many forms. Check out this quick change version from GEECRACK. It solves the problems of conforming to local laws and storage issues.

Feathered Hooks for Jerkbaits

Last week, I explained how the feathered hook make all the difference on finicky smallmouth. I was planning on tying up a batch myself but didin't find the time. I popped by the local tackle shop and saw these hanging on the rack. Not having the time, patience or feathers I bought them. The Mustad treble has white with a hint of chartreuse. It also offered a red treble which was all the rage a few years back. The VMC came all white, red or in the VMC Sureset treble. I stuck to the standard treble in white. If you're as lazy as myself, stop by your local store and pick a few up.