Jacob Wheeler Wins 2026Bass Pro Shop REDCREST Presented by Mercury & Lowrance!

Jacob Wheeler won his first REDCREST title in seven tries on Table Rock Lake. Photo by Rob Matsuura. Angler: Jacob Wheeler.

By Mitchell Forde, 

Bass Pro Press Release

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — With 2 1/2 hours left to fish in Bass Pro Shops REDCREST Presented by Mercury & Lowrance, Jacob Wheeler sat on the front deck of his bass boat and made a phone call. Trying to distract himself from the fact that the $300,000 prize and REDCREST trophy that had long eluded him were within reach, Wheeler FaceTimed his wife, Alicia, and their two children, Olivia and Hudson, during the final period break.

At that point, Wheeler led his nearest pursuer by more than 17 pounds. With postfrontal conditions making for a tough bite on Table Rock Lake, just about everyone knew that the title that had long seemed inevitable was now imminent – including Olivia. The 7-year-old asked, “Daddy, you’re going to win, right?”

“I’m just like, ‘Honey, I’m going to try, but it’s not a guarantee,’” Wheeler said with a laugh. “’It’s OK if I don’t. We’re going to try our hardest.’”

Was that Wheeler trying not to get ahead of himself? Sure. But he had good reason not to get too excited. Since winning the Forrest Wood Cup in 2012 at age 21, Wheeler has accomplished just about everything there is to accomplish in tournament bass fishing: 11 Bass Pro Tour wins, a Bassmaster Elite Series win, four Fishing Clash Angler of the Year titles. But despite four top-six finishes, he had yet to win Major League Fishing’s championship event. 

Sunday, he finally got it done.

After pulling away from the rest of the Championship Round pros early, Wheeler cruised to a 51-pound, 11-ounce total on 21 scorable bass. That topped runner-up Takahiro Omori by 13-3 and earned Wheeler the one piece of hardware he’s been missing – the REDCREST trophy.

“It’s just been the thorn in my side,” Wheeler said. “I’ve had some really close calls. The ball has not bounced my way in these tournaments.

“It means the world. It really does.”

Here’s how the Top 10 pros finished the Championship Round:

1. Jacob Wheeler – 51-11 (21)
2. Takahiro Omori – 38-8 (15)
3. Zack Birge – 32-15 (12)
4. Brent Ehrler – 29-7 (12)
5. Drew Gill – 28-1 (12)
6. Alton Jones Jr. – 24-14 (9)
7. Mark Daniels Jr. – 23-14 (10)
8. Spencer Shuffield – 20-9 (8)
9. Jeff Sprague – 17-3 (7)
10. Dustin Connell – 12-8 (5)

Full results

Cody Stahl Wins 2026 Turtlebox Bassmaster Open at Kissimmee Chain Presented by Battery Tender

By David A. Brown

BASS Press Release

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Intuition plus determination plus execution equalled a dominant victory for Cody Stahl, who tallied a three-day total of 74 pounds, 6 ounces and earned the wire-to-wire victory in the Turtlebox Bassmaster Open at Kissimmee Chain presented by Battery Tender.

“That is one heckuva way to start the season,” Stahl said. “It was just an unbelievable week.”

With all due respect to Stahl’s Top 10 competitors, the Barnsville, Ga., pro could’ve slept in this morning and still won the event, as he caught a Championship Saturday limit of 17-13 and finished with a 22-1 margin over second-place Stephen Browning.

En route to that enviable position, Stahl took the Day 1 lead with the event’s heaviest bag — a limit of 28-9. He’d back up that strong performance with an even 28 pounds to hold the lead and head into the final round with a 19-pound, 7-ounce advantage.

“If you would’ve told me I’d be sitting in first place with a 19-pound lead going into the third day, I’d put every single dollar in my bank account on saying that’s not possible,” Stahl said. “Ultimately, things just worked out and God blessed me with an amazing week.”

Clearly, Stahl would’ve lost that bet, but being wrong meant adding $38,731 to his account — and receiving an invitation to fish the 2027 Bassmaster Classic.

All week, Stahl focused on a prespawn staging area at the south end of Lake Toho. A good mix of grass species provided what he believed would offer appealing habitat that would attract the right size fish.

Stahl located this area in practice and, even though he caught only small male bass prior to the event, he believed the week’s weather and the approaching full moon (Feb. 1) would invite the larger prespawn females.

Tucker Smith Wins 2025 Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork!

 

BASS Press Release

YANTIS, Texas — It’s said that timing is everything and Tucker Smith proved as much en route to tallying a four-day total of 127 pounds, 8 ounces in the Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork.

Smith opened his campaign with a limit of 25-4 that put him in 20th place. Picking up the pace, he added 34-5 on Day 2 and rose to fourth.

A Semifinal Saturday limit of 33-1 sent Smith into Championship Sunday in the No. 3 spot and his best bag of the week — 34-14 — sealed the deal with a total weight that ranks seventh largest in Elite history.

“It’s unbelievable; I feel like I’m in a dream right now,” said Smith, who anchored his Day 4 bag with a 7-14. “This was one of the best days I’ve ever had on the water.

“It’s really special to win on Mother’s Day with my mother (Mallory) here. She and I fish together a lot and the most important thing she’s taught me is to just be happy.”

Smith edged his roommate and fellow rookie Paul Marks by 13 ounces. Notably, Smith finished second to Marks by 14 ounces two weeks ago at the Whataburger Bassmaster Elite at Lake Hartwell.

A 3-time Bassmaster High School National Champion and the 2023 College National Champion, Smith collected the $100,000 top prize, along with his first Bassmaster Century Club Belt. The Bassmaster Century Club recognizes anglers who reach the 100-pound mark in a four-day Elite event.

Smith kicked off his final round with a big catch in the first hour of competition.

“This morning, I wasn’t getting bit much, so I pulled up to a place and decided to sidescan and look at some new stuff on my Humminbird APEX,” Smith said. “I saw a bunch of birds on the bank, so I picked up a Picasso swim jig and caught a 6-4.

2025 Champion Power Equipment Bassmaster Elite on Lake Okeechobee Day 3: Palaniuk Holds Commanding Lead!

Canadians Chris Johnston 33rd & Gallant 36th 

Idaho's Brandon Palaniuk leads the Champion Power Equipment Bassmaster Elite at Lake Okeechobee in Okeechobee, Fla., with a three-day weight of 81 pounds, 1 ounce. (Photo: Seigo Saito/BASS) 

BASS Press Release

OKEECHOBEE, Fla. —  Compared to Friday’s phenomenal performance, Brandon Palaniuk had a slow Day 3. However, his previous heroics, paired with a solid third-round effort kept the Rathdrum, Idaho, angler atop the standings for the Champion Power Equipment Bassmaster Elite at Lake Okeechobee with a three-day total of 81 pounds, 1 ounce.

 

Palaniuk, a five-time Progressive Bassmaster Elite winner and two-time Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year, placed third on Day 1 with 23-7. A day later, he electrified the weigh-in by catching 34-10 — his personal best and the heaviest bag weighed in a Bassmaster Elite at Lake Okeechobee.

 

Carrying a lead of 9-12 into Semifinal Saturday, Palaniuk caught 23 pounds and expanded his lead to an incredible 18-3 advantage over Day 1 leader Greg DiPalma. He’s making no assumptions, but Palaniuk acknowledged a notable comparison to his first Elite Series trophy.

 

“What an unreal week it’s been,” Palaniuk said. “The very first Elite Series event I won (Bull Shoals Lake, 2012), they were dropping the water. It had dropped 7 feet in like two weeks, and I caught them on a deep crankbait.

 

“The water has been dropping here for almost seven weeks and I’m catching a lot of them on a crankbait. The irony in that is incredible.”

 

Palaniuk committed his day to the same spot he’s camped in since the start. Palaniuk’s running north of the takeoff site and fishing a canal off the Kissimmee River where a dam spillway creates feeding opportunities.

2025 Champion Power Equipment Bassmaster Elite on Lake Okeechobee Day 2: Palaniuk Break Records as Leader

Canadians Chris Johnston 21st, Gallant 42th , Kung 51th, Gustafson 81th & Cory Johnston 86th

Idaho's Brandon Palaniuk leads the Champion Power Equipment Bassmaster Elite at Lake Okeechobee in Okeechobee, Fla., with a two-day weight of 58 pounds, 1 ounce.
(Photo Seigo Saito/ BASS) 

BASS Press Release 

OKEECHOBEE, Fla. —  Big Florida bass are notorious for making you wait for their feeding windows. Brandon Palaniuk knows the game, and his patience paid huge dividends with a phenomenal day that moved him atop the leaderboard for the Champion Power Equipment Bassmaster Elite at Lake Okeechobee with a two-day total of 58 pounds, 1 ounce.

 

Palaniuk, the five-time Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series winner and two-time Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year from Rathdrum, Idaho, placed third on Day 1 with 23-7. Following a 90-minute Day 2 fog delay, Palaniuk returned to the canal spillway he fished a day earlier and sacked up 34-10 — his personal best and the heaviest bag weighed in a Bassmaster Elite at Lake Okeechobee.

 

Palaniuk heads into Semifinal Saturday with a lead of 9-12 over Day 1 leader Greg DiPalma.

 

“This is the most epic day I’ve ever had — pure insanity,” Palaniuk said. “I caught seven bass today.”

 

Palaniuk’s mega sack comprised two bass over 9 pounds, along with a 7 1/2, a 4-0, and one nearly 3 1/2.

 

“It was an absolute incredible day,” Palaniuk said. “It’s not like I caught a bunch. I had seven bites all day; I just had the right ones. All week I’ve been saying, ‘High hopes, low expectations.’

 

Jeremiah Kindy Wins 2024 St. Croix BASS Open on Lake Ouachita with 52-03lbs!

Canadian Evan Kung finishes 9th!

Christopher Decker

BASS Press Release 

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. — Jeremiah Kindy has bass fished on Lake Ouachita since he could walk. In fact, he caught his first jig bass as a toddler around a set of islands 2 miles from Brady Mountain Recreation Area fishing with his dad and brother.

It was the Benton, Ark., native’s first Bassmaster Open appearance since the 2002 Central Open, which was also held at Ouachita.

“This is definitely the most important tournament I’ve ever won,” Kindy said. “It means the world. Just being able to compete and have so many family and friends here. Even if I wouldn’t have won, it would have been awesome. But to get this win is freaking amazing. For three days, I was the best angler on this lake. That’s pretty important.”

With bags of 19-7, 16-5 and 16-7, Kindy outlasted fellow Arkansan Matt Baker, who finished second with 46-13 and third-place Andy Newcomb who finished with 45-12. Although he isn’t currently signed up for the next two Opens in Division II, Kindy plans on fishing both of them, which will make him eligible for the 2025 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Jockey Outdoors, scheduled for March 21-23 in Fort Worth, Texas.

Since he began fishing tournaments as a teenager, Kindy has earned a reputation from fellow anglers as one of the best anglers on Lake Ouachita. With nearly 200 of the best anglers in the country coming to his home lake, many of whom planned on LiveScoping out deep, he knew he would have to do it his way if he wanted a shot at the win.

“The only way I thought I could win this tournament was to fish to my strengths, and that’s what I did,” he said. “I knew I couldn’t compete with the guys out in the middle of the lake. It set up right. The way we had them two warm days, some females moved up and I got fortunate enough to catch enough of them.”

2024 Mercury BASS National Qualifier on Lake Eufaula Day 1: Canadian Jamie Bruce Secures Lead!

Christopher Decker

BASS Press Release

EUFAULA, Ala. — Jamie Bruce got a taste of redemption on Day 1 of the Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Qualifier at Lake Eufaula presented by Lowrance by catching a limit weighing 20 pounds to lead the field of 152 boaters.  

Bruce has a 15-ounce advantage over his Wisconsin roommate Adam Rasmussen, while Alabama’s Allan Glasgow is third with 18-7. Glasgow also landed the Big Bass of the Day, a 6-6 largemouth. 

It was a beautiful day, but the fishing was stingy, as just 43 limits were weighed in by boaters and only 11 limits were recorded by non boaters. Temperatures will continue to rise during the tournament with calm conditions expected for Day 2. 

Lake Eufaula was responsible for Bruce’s second-worst finish of his Bassmaster Opens Elite Qualifiers slate in 2023, an event that likely kept him from punching his ticket for this year’s Bassmaster Elite Series. With a baby on the way, Bruce knew he couldn’t compete in the EQ race this year, but he wanted to make a trip south to give him a break from the cold Canadian winter. 

“I had never really missed the boat on anything that much before that tournament,” Bruce said. “I fished that one with no LiveScope. It was broken and I couldn’t get a replacement. So I fished that one with no front graph, went shallow and got my teeth kicked in. 

2022 Fox Rent A Car Stage Six Presented by Googan Baits: Neal Grabs Lead as Fish Continue to Chew on Cayuga Lake

by Tyler Brinks

BASS PRO TOUR PRESS RELEASE

UNION SPRINGS, N.Y. – Following a spectacular kickoff Saturday to the Fox Rent A Car Stage Six Presented by Googan Baits on Cayuga Lake yesterday, Day 2’s results – while still excellent – almost seemed like a breather. That’s how good Cayuga Lake is, where five anglers over the 70-pound mark on the second day means slightly slower action than the day prior.

Six anglers racked up 70 pounds or more the first day of competition, led by Justin Lucas and Jacob Wheeler over the 100-pound mark. But looking past the Top 10 tells the tale of how consistently excellent the largemouth and smallmouth fishing is right now on Cayuga: Chris Lane holds the 20th spot in Group A with 42-12 in Group A and his brother, Bobby, holds the 20th spot in Group B with 36-13.

No matter how you analyze it, the numbers say that Cayuga is showing out.

The action was consistent on Day 2, with plump largemouth and smallmouth steadily ringing up SCORETRACKER® throughout all three periods and red hot Michael Neal taking the lead after catching 21 bass for 83-3.

Neal Continuing Impressive Run

Fresh off his second consecutive Angler of the Year title on the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit, Neal is back in contention for another win. Beside Wheeler, nobody has been able to consistently shine and find themselves at the top of the standings across varied fisheries as much as Neal has in the past few years. Sunday was just another example of that and Neal will carry a nearly 8-pound lead over second place angler Mark Daniels, Jr. going into their group’s next fishing day on Tuesday.

Neal finds himself at the top doing something right in his wheelhouse – fishing offshore and utilizing his electronics. His success Sunday came after an early morning adjustment.

2022 Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork Day 1: Prince Takes Narrow Lead On Windy Lake Fork

BASS PRESS RELEASE

QUITMAN, Texas. — Early success gave Cliff Prince the comfort and confidence to look for the big bites he needed to amass an eye-popping Day 1 limit of 32 pounds, 5 ounces that leads the Simms Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork.

 Hailing from Palatka, Fla., site of the Elite season opener on the St. Johns River, Prince leads last year’s Lake Fork champion, local pro Lee Livesay of Longview, Texas, by 5 ounces.

 

“I had one place when I was working my way to the back of a pocket, and I caught 25 to 26 pounds off of that spot by about 9:30,” Prince said. “I caught everything I had off that first spot in about 20 minutes.

 

“I caught 10 fish there and they were still biting when I left.”

 

Knowing he had positioned himself well, Prince transitioned to a more aggressive strategy. Essentially, he became more discerning, as he sought quality over quantity.

 

Crowding throughout the lake, plus a strong Southwest wind blowing 15 to 20 mph, compelled him to remain in the creek where he started and diligently seek its greatest potential.

 

“Having 25 pounds early allowed me to go find what I found this afternoon,” he said. “I wasn’t in a hurry to go anywhere because I knew the wind was going to wipe out a lot of the stuff. I knew (big fish) live in that creek, and I knew it was the right place to be.

 

“I fished around in that area and tried to find something else and, late this afternoon, I tried to duplicate (my morning spot) and I ran across two other points that had some fish. On the second one I fished, I caught two 7-pounders. That’s what made the difference.”

2022 MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by Fuel Me event on Lake Guntersville Day 1: Shuffield Clocks 25lbs for Lead!

By Joe Sills 

Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit

GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. – Spencer Shuffield is leading the pack at the site of his very first pro tournament, 11 years after his debut in the professional bass fishing ranks. The Arkansas pro turned in a 25-pound, 6-ounce bag to cap Day 1 of the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by Fuel Me event on Lake Guntersville; and he’s hoping to stay ahead of the pack by riding a volcanically hot honey hole to the finish line.

To do so, Shuffield will have to stay ahead of a wolf pack of pros nipping at his heels with a variety of pick-and-pop patterns at their disposal. From spawning fish, to a shad spawn and of course, fish flooding to the ledges, the field can pick their fancy at B&W Trailer Hitches Stop 4 Presented by A.R.E. With several 20-pound bags crossing the scale, Shuffield leads the charge with a 3-4 lead over offshore guru Michael Neal. Behind them sit a plethora of seasoned pros who are biding their time to strike on the famed fishery.

“It was really good,” said Shuffield of his Day 1 start. “I found four big schools the last afternoon of practice. The first school I found, I pulled up and caught an 8-pounder on it. On that spot there were maybe 100 of them schooling and of them maybe 30 over 6 pounds.”

Shuffield says he didn’t start the tournament on his honey hole but did eventually slide into it after a local angler graciously allowed him to move on.

“It’s the winning spot, no doubt,” Shuffield said. “It’s just a matter of who might be on it the next two or three days.”

Shuffield says his spot contains enough fish for multiple anglers to sustain themselves on for the duration of the event. However, he’s relying on an extremely deep-diving crankbait to target the fish that he hopes will continue to provide him with an edge.

“All of the fish I caught today were on a Hardcore Bullet Crank 7+,” Shuffield said. “We haven’t been anywhere yet that I have been able to throw it. It’s a brand-new bait that gets down to 26 feet on 14-pound fluorocarbon. These fish are at 22 feet. You can throw it so far, and getting that bait down to that depth is the key because they just don’t ever see crankbaits that deep.”

Michael Neal Conquers MLF Bass Pro Tour Stage 7 on Lake St. Clair!

MLF Press Release

ST. CLAIR SHORES, Mich. – Dayton, Tennessee pro angler “The Real Deal” Michael Neal has long been considered one of the best pros in the world without a signature professional win. For nine years, Neal has made a name in the pro bass-fishing world with his consistency – always near the top of the leaderboard, but never ON the top. Wednesday, at the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour CarParts.com Stage Seven at Lake St. Clair Presented by Covercraft in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, Neal finally came out on top.

Neal caught 58 smallmouth bass totaling 168 pounds, 11 ounces – a new Bass Pro Tour Championship Round record for the heaviest one-day weight – to win by a 76-pound, 2-ounce margin over second place – also a new Bass Pro Tour record for the largest margin of victory.

“What a week! I really am not sure what to say at this point,” Neal joked in his post-game interview. “The first win of my career. I won the (Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit) Angler of the Year title earlier this year, but this is my first actual tournament win and it feels really, really good to get the monkey off of my back. I’ve had so many second-place finishes – I finished second this year at REDCREST. I never would have expected my first win would be with smallmouth. I’ve never been a smallmouth guy – I grew up on the Tennessee River fishing offshore. But, I’ll take it.”

Neal caught his fish this week mainly off of one key area near the mouth of the Detroit River in Lake Erie – a spot that he described as a massive grass flat with some high spots, rock and depressions mixed in. He estimated that the flat was about ¾ of a mile long, and loaded with smallmouth.

“I came here in Day 2 of practice, really because I was just sick of fighting the wind,” Neal said. “I doubled up on a crankbait, then caught one or two more, then left. I really had no idea what this area really held. On Day 1 of the tournament, this was actually my fourth stop. And you can see what was here… it was just crazy.

Kevin Van Dam cranks to Victory of the 2021 Bass Pro Tour on Lake Chickamauga!

MASON PRINCE • BASS PRO TOUR

With the illustrious career that Kevin VanDam owns, there aren’t very many “firsts” for him anymore. But one first that has escaped him for the last two-and-a-half years is a Bass Pro Tour victory. Put together Lake Chickamauga, ledge fishing, and a crankbait—that’s a perfect formula for getting the greatest professional angler of all time his first Bass Pro Tour win in convincing fashion.

The Michigan pro was able to hold off Jacob Wheeler and Jason Lambert in the final period, finishing with 25 bass for 70 pounds, 1 ounce. While Wheeler and Lambert were able to make it interesting in the end, there’s no doubting that this tournament belonged to KVD.

KVD’s Period 3 Run the Difference

Heading into the final period on Lake Chickamauga, KVD was in fourth place on SCORETRACKER® with 30-15 and 5-7 behind hometown hero, Michael Neal. The lead had traded hands all day long on Chick, with either Neal, Wheeler, Lambert or VanDam holding the lead at some point in the first two periods. About 30 minutes into the final frame, the G.O.A.T. made his move to the top.

VanDam was able to bring in 14 bass for 39-2 in less than an hour thanks to a Strike King Series 5 XD crankbait in Blue Gizzard Shad. The Strike King pro was able to build a 30-pound lead over the rest of the field in just the blink of an eye, one that he never relented for the rest of the day.

“I knew that the afternoons were when I really needed to capitalize this week,” VanDam said. “With the TVA drawing the water out at the dam in the afternoon, I knew that if I could get that school fired up with the current I would have a special day. I found that school in practice and knew it had the potential to get me a win, I’m just glad I was able to catch enough of them.”

Wes Logan Wins 2021 Bassmaster Elite Whataburger on Neely Henry with 57-09lbs!

Local Pro Wes Logan Gets First Bassmaster Elite Series Victory At Neely Henry Lake

BASS PRESS RELEASE

(Photo: BASS)

GADSDEN, Ala. — Wes Logan said memories came flooding back to him throughout the Whataburger Bassmaster Elite at Neely Henry Lake.

That’s bound to happen when you’ve fished a place since you were 5 years old.

Logan now has countless new reasons to think fondly of his home water after claiming the tournament title here on Championship Monday. The 26-year-old from Springville, only a 30-mile drive from the Gadsden City Boat Docks, caught a four-day total of 20 bass weighing 57 pounds, 9 ounces. He capped the competition with a 14-1 limit Monday, the third-heaviest of the day.

Logan earned $100,000 for the win, his first in 26 B.A.S.S. events.

The second-year Elite Series angler charged into the lead on Day 3 with a 16-15 bag that tied for the heaviest of the tournament. That made him the last man to weigh in Monday and the only one with a chance to knock Connecticut pro Paul Mueller from the hot seat.

Logan peeked silently at the scale while his bass were weighed. When his winning total flashed on screen, he let out a victorious yell and pumped his right fist over his head. Then he hugged Mueller and hoisted his first blue trophy for his home-based fans to see.

“I started tournament fishing with my dad when I was 5,” Logan said. “We’d come here, Logan Martin and Weiss … I went into practice trying to not put pressure on myself. I wanted to fish like I’d never seen the place before. I wanted to figure out a pattern.”

Having an open mind, even on water he knows so well, was critical this week. Neely Henry was a difficult read for most of the 98 anglers who started the tournament on Friday, postponed by a day because of heavy rains earlier in the week. The storms sent the water table rising and shot sediment throughout the lake. The Elites scrambled to find stable water, many relying on junk fishing to see which lures and techniques produced the best bites.

A trio of lures worked best for Logan — a 5/8-ounce Dirty Jigs Matt Herren flipping jig (black/blue skirt) with a Zoom Big Salty sapphire blue Chunk; a Dirty Jigs No Jack swim jig with a Zoom Super Speed Craw trailer; and a frog, which he used to fill his Day 3 limit.

Logan started the tournament strongly, putting 14-1 on the board Friday, good enough for ninth place. He caught 12-8 on Day 2, climbing to eighth and surviving the cut to 48. He made his move on Day 3 with the 16-5 haul, pointing to a pair of unusual catches as the turning point.

2021 Bassmaster Elite Whataburger Neely Henry Lake Day 3: Logan Leads with 43-08lbs!

 Canadians Cory Johnston 20, Gustafson 34th & Chris Johnston 36th 

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Wes Logan, of Springville, Ala., is leading after Day 3 of the 2021 Whataburger 
Bassmaster Elite at Neely Henry Lake with a three-day total of 43 pounds, 8 ounces.
(Photo: BASS)

GADSDEN, Ala. — Wes Logan grew up fishing this 11,200-acre Coosa River fishery, so it’s no surprise his intimate knowledge of the lake helped him climb to the top of the leaderboard on Day 3 of the Whataburger Bassmaster Elite at Neely Henry Lake.

But with the Neely Henry bass still adjusting to extremely heavy rains last week, Logan admits he’ll have to lean on every bit of his experience if he’s to win his first B.A.S.S tournament Monday.

Logan has three consecutive limits for a total weight of 43 pounds, 8 ounces. He was in eighth place after Day 2, but a 16-15 bag on Sunday tied for the tournament high and vaulted him into the pole position at Neely Henry.

Despite his know-how on Neely Henry, Logan is leery of all nine of the remaining competitors. That’s mostly because the lake has been a mystery since the extreme storms trained across the area last week. The water level soared, the lake muddied and the bass scattered to some unusual places. It was a combination that tested the Elites from the start, Logan included.

“The only thing that helps me is I know how things act when something changes here,” Logan said.

And there have been plenty of shifts on Neely Henry in the past few days. The north end of the lake had high water following the heavy rain but is now draining into its south end, which had been extremely shallow. As the water pushes through the lake, bass are moving with the heaviest flow, which Logan said convinced him to try for offshore bites on Sunday.

It’s not what he’d normally do, but this week has been different.

“I caught a 3 1/2-pounder in a place I’ve caught fish in the past, but this time it was in bright sunshine and in 6 inches of water,” he said. “That fish shouldn’t have been there. I was running by and wasn’t even going to go in there, but I went with my gut feeling. I’ll have to do that tomorrow because where I thought I could win the tournament, there’s not going to be any water in the grass anymore.”

Logan’s heaviest bass weighed 5-4, which was only 2 ounces shy of the heaviest catch on Sunday. He said he’ll look for more of that caliber bass on Day 4, feeling he’ll need the extra weight to hold off his competitors.