John Crews Wins 2022 AFTCO Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River!

John Crews of Salem, Va., has won the 2022 AFTCO Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns 

River with a four-day total of 75 pounds, 4 ounces. Photo by Seigo Saito/B.A.S.S

.BASS PRESS RELEASE

PALATKA, Fla. — Mother Nature did not serve up slam-dunk potential, but John Crews leveraged a stellar start and paired it with steady productivity to win the AFTCO Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River with a four-day total of 75 pounds, 4 ounces.

 Edging Bob Downey of Hudson, Wis., by 1 1/4 pounds, Crews won the top prize of $100,000 and added another blue trophy to the one he claimed a dozen years ago on the California Delta.

 

“I’ve said it 100 times, ‘When it’s your time, it’s your time,’” Crews said. “This week, it was just my time.”
 

Crews, who finished second and fifth at the St. Johns Elite in 2020 and 2019, respectively, took the Day 1 lead with 28 pounds — the event’s third-heaviest bag, behind the 31-15 that John Cox weighed on Day 3 and Downey’s Day 4 limit of 29-3. Crews’ opening catch included an 8-1.

 

After adding 17-3 on Day 2, Crews fought through a tougher semifinal round on Saturday to catch a 13-pound limit, anchored by a 6-pounder. On Championship Sunday, he sealed the win with 17-1.

 

Starting his 17th year on the Elite Series, Crews acknowledged the supreme challenge of a clean sweep and said consistency drove him to victory. He fished clean, lost no keepers and made good decisions throughout a week marked by moody Florida weather and unsettled fish.

Rookie Bryan New Wins 2021 AFTCO Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River with 79-07 lbs.

Canadians Cory Johnston 17th, Gustafson 24th & Chris Johnston 34th

By David A. Brown

BASS Press Release

New's first Elite event come with a win.
(Photo: BASS)

Bryan New launched his rookie season in blockbuster form by topping a stout field of well-established finalists and winning the AFTCO Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River with a four-day total of 79 pounds, 7 ounces.

Starting Championship Sunday in sixth place, New trailed Day 3 leader and rising star Patrick Walters by 5-7. Saving his best for last, New posted the event’s second-heaviest bag, 26-4, and edged Elite veteran Greg Hackney by a margin of 9-9. For his efforts, New earned $101,000. 

New caught most of his fish out of lily pads, but he found a few keepers over main-river shellbars about halfway between Palatka and Dunn’s Creek, which connects to Crescent Lake. Targeting bars in about 5 to 7 feet, he fished a Berkley Warpig lipless crankbait in the bleeding shiner color with a slow yo-yoing technique. 

“That wasn’t a winning-fish deal, but without those fish, I don’t win this tournament,” New said.

The pads that produced the bulk of his weight were located at the lower end of Lake George. Fishing 5-inch black and blue Zoom Zlinky worms Texas-rigged on a 5/0 Berkley Fusion hook with a 1/8- and 1/4-ounce weights, New said he focused on isolated pads. 

2016 BASS Elite St. Johns River Day 3: Rick Clunn Smashes Monster Limit to Take Lead!

Clunn Stuns with 31-07 lb limit!                              

By Bryan Brasher

BASS PRESS RELEASE

By Dozens of anglers from the Bassmaster Elite Series joined an already-giant crowd of spectators Saturday afternoon to watch Rick Clunn weigh in his Day 3 catch.

They sensed something special was about to happen — and they were right.

Legendary angler Rick Clunn shows the crowd that he
still has his magic.  (Photo: BASS)

The 69-year-old Missouri angler, who has fished more than 400 events with B.A.S.S., proved he still has plenty of fight left with an eye-popping five-bass limit that weighed 31 pounds, 7 ounces. The tournament-best catch pushed Clunn’s three-day total to 62-15 and lifted him from 31st place into the lead in the Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River presented by Dick Cepek Tires & Wheels.

Clunn, a four-time winner of the Bassmaster Classic and a 14-time champion on the B.A.S.S. circuit, said it was one of the better rounds of tournament fishing he’s ever had.

“It was just one of those days that was magical,” Clunn said. “This is the third-largest five-fish limit I’ve ever weighed in. Everything went right. Every fish that bit, I caught.”

Clunn said he had known all week that the fishery had the potential to produce a big bag. As it turned out, he needed two bags to carry in his monumental catch – one of which was carried up the walkway from the boat dock by fellow Elite Series angler Skeet Reese.

Chris Lane Wins the Bassmaster Elite St. John's River

No Passing Lane!

By Deb Johnson

bass press release

PALATKA, Fla. — Tick-tock, pow!

When everything is in sync and his timing feels perfect, Chris Lane says he experiences a sensation like a clock ticking inside of him. He yells “Pow!” when he boats a big bass.

This is Chris Lane's sixth BASS title setting
him aside from most anglers.
(Photo: BASS)

Over the four-day Bassmaster Elite Series event on the St. Johns River system, Lane heard the tick-tock, and his word of triumph exploded repeatedly from his lips.

Starting Sunday’s final round with a 12 1/2-pound lead, the tournament was Lane’s to win or lose.

Lane not only stayed in stride the final day by catching 15-0, he walked off with the victory in high style: His winning margin was 14 pounds, 4 ounces over the second-place finisher, Dean Rojas.

Lane amassed 90-13 over the four days of competition. He added a sixth Bassmaster victory to his resume that includes being the 2012 Bassmaster Classic champion and a 2013 Bassmaster Elite Series winner.