2018 Bassmaster Elite Mississippi River Day 1: Chad Pipkins Leads with 17-15lbs!

Heavy rain no problem for Elites

By Thomas Allen

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Chad all smiles with 5-8 pound largemouth.
(Photo: BASS)

Nonstop soaking rain, increasing river levels and heavy limits of big smallmouth and largemouth bass were of hot discussion after Thursday’s opening round of competition at the 2018 Bassmaster Elite at Mississippi River presented by GO RVing.

The tough conditions didn’t keep the Mississippi River bass from eating, however.

Thirty-four-year-old pro Chad Pipkens of Lansing, Mich., took control of the top spot after an impressive five-bass limit that weighed 17 pounds, 15 ounces.

The derby pays $100,000 to the top-scoring angler, and the dandy 5-8 largemouth has Pipkens also in charge of the Phoenix Boats Big Bass award. That fish could earn him an extra $1,500 once the event wraps up.

Drew Benton Wins 2018 Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest on Lake Travis!

Benton grabs Classic spot!
Thomas Allen
BASS PRESS RELEASE

Big time win for 1st time Elite winner Benton!
(Photo: BASS)

Drew Benton of Panama City, Fla., capped off an impressive week with a Championship Sunday five-bass limit that weighed 16 pounds, 15 ounces to win first place and $100,000 at the 2018 Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest benefiting Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
 
The third-year pro finished in fourth place at his first tournament as a Bassmaster Elite Series contender; today he bested the Top 108 bass anglers in world with a four-day weight of 67-15.
 
Benton’s final day didn’t start out as planned.
 
After a minor rule infraction, he had to endure a 15-minute delay at take off, which he feared would impact his morning bite.
 
“It was a stupid mistake on my part,” he said. “But over the past couple of days, I was catching my best fish during the first 15 to 20 minutes of the morning in a marina up Lake Travis. I was sharing water with Marty Robinson, and he graciously agreed to let me have that area to myself, even after I sat in the penalty box for 15 minutes. That was huge, and I'm grateful he worked with me.”

Benton was sure to acknowledge Robinson’s generosity and sacrifice, although he later found out that due to the cloudy, rainy weather the action in his marina had faded.
 
“I’m confident the weather this morning really suppressed the shad activity that had the bass feeding so heavily during the previous mornings,” he said. “The weather also kept the pleasure boaters off the water, which allowed me to fish some areas that were otherwise unfishable.”
 
The 30-year-old angler had two different patterns going: One in the morning and one in the afternoon.
 
“I found some fish during practice that helped me throughout this tournament,” he said. “But I really didn’t put it together until later in the day on Day 1. I was using a walking topwater presentation that was working well throughout the day, even in the hot sun and clear skies. I decided to give it an hour during the first day, and it paid off.”

Benton was using a 7-foot, 1-inch Phenix Rods Feather casting rod paired with a Lew’s Team Pro Magnesium Speed Spool baitcaster in a 7.5:1 gear ratio loaded with 65-pound Smackdown Seaguar braid.
 

2018 Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest Lake Travis Day 3: Drew Benton Captures Lead with 51lbs.

Low light key to leaders
Thomas Allen
BASS PRESS RELEASE

Benton focused on marinas to sack big bass early.
(Photo: BASS)

Drew Benton of Panama City, Fla., caught an impressive five-bass limit that weighed 20 pounds, 4 ounces during today’s semi-final round to take command of the top spot at the 2018 Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest benefiting Texas Parks and Wildlife Department at Lake Travis.
 
Benton, the 2016 Bassmaster Elite Series Rookie of the Year, pushed his three-day total weight up to 51 pounds.
 
With $1 million in total payout, $100,000 of which to be paid to the top finisher, the tournament champion will also earn a coveted berth in the 2019 Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods in Knoxville, Tenn.
 
Benton said he’s focusing on the Lake Travis bass and not the blue championship trophy or the paycheck.
 
At least not yet.

“I’ve still got a full day of fishing ahead of me, so I can’t afford to think about how much winning would mean to me at this point,” Benton said. “Don’t get me wrong, I know how hard it is to win on the Elite Series, and I want it badly. It’s just important that I stay focused throughout the day.”
 
Benton said he was able to isolate a couple of productive fishing patterns over the past three days of competition — both time-of-day dependent.
 
“The low-light action early in the morning has been critical to my limits,” he said. “The morning bite has been lasting longer each day, and with a chance of rain and cloud cover likely all daytomorrow, I think my early pattern could stay strong for quite a while.”
 

2018 Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest Lake Travis Day 1: Hanselman Captures Lead with 21-05lbs!

Cliff Pace with 10 pounder!
BASS PRESS RELEASE

Morning bite key to big bass success.
(Photo: BASS)

A heavy, 21-pound, 15-ounce limit of largemouth bass, anchored by an impressive 7-9 big fish, put Ray Hanselman Jr. of Del Rio, Texas, in the lead after the opening round of competition at the 2018 Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest benefiting Texas Parks and Wildlife Department on Lake Travis.
 
Texas Fest offers fans a unique format under which the majority of the fish are caught, weighed and immediately released. Each pro is allowed to keep one big bass that measures more than 18 inches.
 
Each big bass will be brought to the scales, weighed and showed off to the Bassmaster cameras. The bass are then immediately returned to Lake Travis after the weigh-in has concluded.
 
Hanselman grew up in South Texas, and has guided bass fisherman on legendary Lake Amistad for many years. After noticing many similarities between Lake Travis and Amistad, he was confident in what he needed to do.
 
“The water color on Lake Travis is very similar to Amistad. But the biggest difference is there isn’t any grass here,” Hanselman said. “I just clicked with this lake. I’ve fished many of the other lakes in this chain and they are all pretty similar, but overall I don’t have much experience on this particular lake.”
 
The 45-year-old rookie earned an invitation to fish the Bassmaster Elite Series by finishing among the Top 5 in standings for the 2017 Bass Pro Shops Central Opens last year.
 
“The weather has been hot and calm, which makes my morning bite critical,” he said. “I’d feel a lot better about staying consistent if some clouds and wind would move in. It’s harder to fool these bass in water this clear.”
 
Lake Travis is known for its gin-clear water and substantial fishing pressure due to close proximity to Austin, Texas.
 
“Another 20-pound day is sure possible, but getting the right fish to bite at the right time is the challenge,” he said. “I caught my three big bass from the same stretch that was about 250 yards long. After that, I left it alone hoping to save some bigger fish for coming days of the tournament.”
 
Bobby Lane of Lakeland, Fla., managed an impressive 21-2, which will have him starting Friday’ssecond round of competition in second place.
 
“I fished real clean today,” Lane said. “I caught three big fish and I got them into the boat without any problems. That doesn’t always happen, especially when you’re fishing around wires, cables, pipes and docks. Lake Travis is full of those types of things.”
 

2013 BASSMASTER CLASSIC Interview PART 2: Cliff Pace's Classic Winning Strategies

Cliff Pace working on a limit.
(Photo: James Overstreet, BASS)

By Luigi De Rose

Part two of the interview with Cliff Pace, recently crowned 2013 BASSMASTER CLASSIC Champion, we chatted more on tackle, fishing conditions and strategy.  Cliff had laser beam focus throughout the entire three day tournament. He adjusted exceptionally well considering the weather fluctuated from freezing air temps with snow to balmy.  Cliff led the entire tournament and landed two of the heaviest creels of the Classic. By the commencement of the final day, Pace held a six pound lead. Most considered the tournament his to lose.  
(click here for PART ONE of the interview)

IBASSIN

Take the readers through Day 1 and 2.

Cliff Pace

Both days the strategy was almost the same but the bass bit differently on each day. The mornings were cold so I started deep. The deeper areas were best in the morning. My shallower areas got progressively better in the afternoon. That’s when the jerk bait bite was better. I feel those areas improved because the shad moved up in the water column later in the day. That made a difference how I targeted the bass.

The Chronarch proved itself all week.

First thing, I used was a 1/2oz V& M football jig. The jig was dressed with a V& M Twin Tail trailer. I would dye the pumpkin trailer orange to make it more appealing.  It was best for the deeper spots. The bass were holding off the main lake, mostly secondary points in the 10 to 25 foot range. They just were not in one specific depth. I had to determine where they were throughout each day. Usually, I would stick to the jig until 10am.

For the jig, I used a Shimano 7’ 2” Crucial rod in heavy power teamed with a Shimano 200 E Chronarch reel spooled with 15lb test Hi-Seas Fluorocarbon line.

IBASSIN

What type of structure did you focus on?

Cliff Pace

Let me explain what I mean. On the secondary points, there were flatter sections with one deep sloping spot.  The deeper areas, steeper sections, were right on the end of the point. It would fall into much deeper water than the surrounding area. The sections off either side of the point had a gradual taper. These sections were shallower than right off the point. The bass would reposition around each of these areas throughout the tournament day.

2013 BASSMASTER CLASSIC Final Standings

Cliff Pace wins the 2013 CLASSIC!
(Photo: BASS)

The final standings for the 2013 BASSMASTER CLASSIC.
BELOW

2013 BASSMASTER CLASSIC Day 2: Pace Leads by 7 Pounds!

By Deb Johnson

BASS PRESS RELEASE

TULSA, Okla. — A consistent Cliff Pace of Petal, Miss., not only kept his first-day lead in the Bassmaster Classic presented by Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa, he pulled away from the pack by 7 pounds in the second day of competition for $500,000 and the biggest trophy of pro bass fishing.

Pace shook off the angler who tied him for the lead Friday, Michael Iaconelli of Pittsgrove, N.J.

Pace has had two amazing days. Will Day 3 be the same?
(Photos: BASS)

With a Saturday catch that weighed 21 pounds, 12 ounces, Pace has racked up 43-4 over two days of competition on Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees. His second-day weight was 4 ounces more than the 21-8 he brought to the scales Friday.

“I didn’t fish differently today at all,” Pace said. “For me, it’s been all about committing to the way I can catch the big ones. I took a big, big risk to do that. I think I’m doing something that has potential and will hold through tomorrow.”

He said Saturday started slowly for him, with his first bass coming about 10 a.m. He ended up catching the day’s largest bass, a 7-2 largemouth.

The Grand Lake event marks Pace’s fifth Classic appearance, but he’s never won one. He came close in 2008 on Lake Hartwell when he was second to Alton Jones of Texas.