Japanese Phenom Kyoya Fujita Wins 2023 Dakota Lithium Bassmaster Elite at Lake Champlain!

Kyoya Fujita of Minamitsuru, Japan, has won the Dakota Lithium Bassmaster Elite at Lake Champlain with a four-day total of 86 pounds, 12 ounces.  (Photo: Seigo Saito/ BASS)

Bassmaster Press Release

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. — The big bites mostly eluded Kyoya Fujita, but the Elite rookie’s diligence delivered the coveted blue trophy, as the Japanese superstar amassed the winning total of 86 pounds, 12 ounces in the Dakota Lithium Bassmaster Elite at Lake Champlain.

 

“This feels great!” Fujita said. “My dream (has been) to win an Elite Series tournament. My dream came true.”

 

After placing 10th on Day 1 with 21-5, Fujita added 23-14 — the VMC Monster Bag of the event — and took over the Day 2 lead. Fujita held onto the top spot with a Semifinal Sunday limit of 22-9 and closed the deal with his Championship Monday bag that weighed 19 pounds.

 

The week brought a diverse meteorological mix, which included a storm system that postponed Day 2 from Friday to Saturday. Days 1 and 3 brought mostly sunny conditions, while the even number days saw dimmer, cloudy skies. Wind was a constant challenge.

 

Heavily geared toward sight feeding, smallmouth like sunshine, so Championship Monday’s dreary conditions, plus a week’s worth of heavy fishing pressure, seemed to be curbing the fish’s aggression. After three days with multiple 4-pounders, Fujita had only one fish over 4 Monday and fell short of the 20-pound mark for the first time.

 

“It was a struggle today,” Fujita said. “I got on a school of fish (later in the day) and they wouldn’t bite. I kept dropping on them and finally a big one bit my bait on the way down."

2020 Bassmaster Eastern Open Kissimmee Chain Day 2: John Hunter Take Lead with 37-03lbs!

Pre-spawn bite the best 
By David A. Brown
BASS Press Release

Hunter on key spot that is refilling with pre-spawn bass.
(Photo: BASS)

Consistency was in John Hunter’s favor, as the Simpsonville, Ky., pro added 18 pounds, 13 ounces to the 18-6 he weighed on Wednesday to total 37-3 and take the Day 2 lead at the Basspro.com Bassmaster Eastern Open on Florida’s Kissimmee Chain.

Hunter attributed his success to one special spot he described as a thinner area within a large, dense grassbed in 6 to 7 feet. The spot produced his weight both days, but Hunter said the Day 2 mood was significantly different from that of Day 1.

“Yesterday, it was just average; I only caught a couple of good ones there in the morning and I went back later and caught a couple of good ones,” he said. “This morning, it was absolute chaos.

“My first two fish were 4 1/2-pounders and then I lost two 5-pounders right after that, which was heartbreaking. But they stayed fired up and I was able to catch the rest of my weight in the next 20 minutes.”

A mix of reaction baits and dragging-style baits produced Hunter’s catch, but the former carried most of the weight.

Noting that most of the fish he was catching in practice were prespawner bass, Hunter said Day 1 delivered a mix of prespawn fish and some that were thin for their size — likely postspawners. His Day 2 catch was mostly postspawners.

“That’s what I like about this spot — I have a chance of catching a fat prespawner coming in, and it’s a good stopping place for a postspawner to gang up,” he said. “This is a good place for them to set up, feel safe and feed before they go in and out (of the spawning flat)."

Hunter said he’s cautiously optimistic about returning to the magical spot on Day 3. He said he leaned on the spot hard today, but seeing it reload significantly from Day 1 was encouraging.

Scott Canterbury is the 2019 BASS Elite Angler of the Year; Cory Johnston Tied for 2nd!

Canadians Cory Johnston 2th, Chris Johnston 13th & Gussy 28th
By Bryan Brasher
BASS PRESS RELEASE

Canterbury claims AOY by 8 points of Johnston and Blaylock.
(Photo: BASS)

As a child, Scott Canterbury always spent his Saturday mornings watching The Bassmasters television program.

To him, the stars of that show — people like Bob Cobb, Ray Scott and Denny Brauer — are the true legends of professional bass fishing.

Now, he has forever claimed his own spot alongside them in B.A.S.S. history.

With five bass that weighed 19 pounds, 12 ounces during Tuesday’s final round, Canterbury pushed his three-day total to 59-4 and finished in 14th place for the week at the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship on Lake St. Clair.

More importantly, he finished at the top of the season points standings with 848 points, earning one of the most coveted titles in professional fishing and the $100,000 check that goes with it.

“My first goal coming into the season was to qualify for the Bassmaster Classic next year,” Canterbury said. “Angler of the Year is always there on the radar. It’s just way out there.

“You always set goals that you don’t think you can reach — because if they’re easy to reach, you didn’t set them high enough.”

Brian Latimer Wins 2019 FLW Tour Lake Seminole with 80-15lbs!

B. LAT BECOMES A CHAMPION

by Kyle Wood

FLW PRESS RELEASE

Finesse and pitching key for B.Lat's first Tour win.
(Photo: FLW)

Brian Latimer has dreamed his entire life of being crowned an FLW Tour champion, and after years of hard work and dedication, it has finally paid off. The Belton, S.C., pro led coming into the final day of the FLW Tour event on Lake Seminole, presented by Costa, and though it wasn’t easy, he sacked up 21 pounds, 3 ounces to lock up the win with 80-15 overall. He edged out day-one leader Braxton Setzer by 2 pounds, 1 ounce in one of the most emotional victories seen on the FLW stage.

While his weights may reflect a somewhat easy week on the water, the truth is far from it. With just a handful of bites each day, “B. Lat” had to make them count, and despite losing some fish in the last few days, he stayed focused and determined, avoiding the dreaded spinout that many pros would experience.

“It happened,” Latimer says of his win. “It really happened.”

To make it happen, Latimer had to evolve over the week, adjusting to the fish as he went. While flipping shallow grass did much of the heavy lifting, without his cranking spot on day one to catch the majority of his 19-1 limit, who knows what would have happened?

“I caught my 19 pounds on day one cranking in the [Flint River],” he says. “On days two and three, I started in the river again hoping that would materialize again, because that’s easy, and I was hoping to catch a limit quick, but it never happened. So, today, I went straight down to my flat early so I could spend all my time where I’ve been catching my biggest fish.

“It was slow, just like it’s been every day, and the first bite I missed – just didn’t grab it good. But I think the heartbreaker was my first two good bites I hooked up with, I lost them. I was really down and out, and then I caught that big one that was probably 7 pounds. Then, a few minutes later, I caught another one that was pushing 4.”

After getting those good bites, he boxed another decent keeper and hit a dry spell. With three fish in the box around lunchtime, things were starting to look like the tournament may not swing his way.

“I didn’t get a bite for a very long time after that, so I decided to go do something else and mentally reset,” admits Latimer.  “I went sight-fishing, found one right away, immediately cast over there, hooked up on the fish and it comes off. I was like, ‘Oh, it’s a bed fish, it’ll swim back.’ The thing never came back.”

2019 Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One: Randy Howell Take the Lead with 49-12lbs!

Randy Howell is the first leader of the BPT.
(Photo: BPT)

Randy Howell worked the grass flats of Lake Kissimmi and Toho to gain the lead on Stage 1 of Group 1. Group 2 will start tomorrow with 40 new anglers. Thursday will be elimination day where the Top 20 anglers from each Group will advance into the weekend.

Angler	Qualified	Total Weight Caught
Randy Howell	1st	49 - 12
Ish Monroe	2nd	40 - 13
Zack Birge	3rd	36 - 09
Gerald Spohrer	4th	35 - 04
Ott DeFoe	5th	34 - 14

Matthew Robertson Wins 2018 BASS Team Championship Harris Chain of Lakes!

2019 Bassmaster Classic field set

By Andrew Canulette

BASSMASTER PRESS RELEASE

Off-shore spot vaults Robertson into Classic.
(Photo: BASS)

Matthew Robertson said he’s spent the past 20 years working toward a chance to compete in the Bassmaster Classic.

Following a commanding performance at the Bassmaster Team Championship and the ensuing Classic Fish-Off, Robertson’s time has arrived.

Robertson, a 32-year-old resident of Kuttawa, Ky., was dominant both Friday and today on the Harris Chain of Lakes here in central Florida. His two-day total weighed a whopping 57 pounds, 9 ounces, which gave him almost a 24-pound cushion over the nearest competitor in the field of six anglers.

Robertson caught a five-bass limit on Friday that weighed 25-10, but he saved his best for last — a 31-15 sack that was the heaviest bag weighed in either the Team Championship or the Fish-Off.

Robertson teamed with Kentucky B.A.S.S. Nation Team Trail partner Wendell Anderson on Thursday to catch a 29-1 limit; the second-heaviest of the week. Robertson’s 25-10 limit on Friday was the third heaviest.

The victory earned Robertson the 52nd and final berth in the 2019 Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods. The Classic, the most prestigious bass fishing championship in the world, will be held March 15-17 in Knoxville, Tenn.

“Those guys (already in the Classic) don’t know who I am right now,” Robertson said. “But come March, I want them to show them what I can do.”

The Top 3 finishers among 197 teams entered in the national team championship qualified for the Fish-Off, which began Friday as the anglers competed individually for a spot in the Bassmaster Classic. Robertson and Anderson finished second in the team event, largely because of that 29-1 limit on Day 2, which vaulted them from a tie for 59th place after Day 1 straight into the Fish-Off.

2017 Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest Day 2: Ehrler Leads Only by 2 Ounces!

Tight race on Rayburn
BASS PRESS RELEASE

After two days, the Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest benefiting the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has turned into an all-out slugfest with some of the biggest names in professional bass fishing at the top of the leaderboard.

The Top 10 anglers have all averaged more than 20 pounds apiece the first two days on Sam Rayburn Reservoir, and the top two pros have averaged better than 23.

Jerkbait pattern key to Ehrler's lead.  (Photo: BASS)

California pro Brent Ehrler holds the top spot for the second day in a row with a two-day mark of 47-11. He caught 22-5 Thursday in the 90-degree Texas heat to maintain a slim lead over Idaho pro Brandon Palaniuk, who is just 2 ounces back with 47-9 after catching 23-2 Thursday.
Ehrler also still holds the lead for Toyota Big Bass of the week with a 9-1 he caught Wednesday. The winner of that award will receive a Toyota Tundra pickup valued at $50,000.

“I didn’t really find any new stuff today,” Ehrler said. “I checked one spot where I thought I could catch a good one, and I caught about a 4 1/2-pounder later in the day. But I still didn’t get that real clear feeling for what I’m going to do the rest of the week.”