2018 BASS Elite St. Lawrence River Day 1: Matt Lee Smashes 27lbs!

52 limits of bass over 20 Pounds!

By Thomas Allen

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Matt Lee on coarse to breaking 100lbs.
(Photo: BASS)

Giant limits of smallmouth bass exceeded expectations during Thursday’s opening round of competition as Matt Lee of Guntersville, Ala., weighed a tremendous 27-pound, 12-ounce limit of smallmouth bass to take an early lead at the Huk Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River presented by Black Velvet. 
 
Lee’s staggering limit, anchored by a behemoth 6-7 smallmouth, is the heaviest single-day smallmouth limit in Bassmaster Elite Series history. 

With so many big smallies coming in, it’s worth mentioning that a four-day total consisting of only smallmouth topping the 100-pound mark has never been caught during an Elite Series event. That record could be set at Waddington this week as 52 five-bass limits exceeding the 20-pound mark were brought to the scales Thursday, and seven of them topped 25 pounds.

That’s an unprecedented number — and nothing short of impressive. 
 
A first-place prize of $100,000 will go to the winner after four days of competition — and since Lee has never claimed an Elite Series victory, he is looking to expand his lead during Friday’s second round. He can also earn more valuable points in the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year race.

This tournament marks the conclusion of the 2018 regular Elite Series season. The Top 50 anglers in the points race will advance to the AOY Championship scheduled for mid-September on Georgia’s Lake Chatuge.
 
“What an amazing day,” Lee said. “Things literally went perfectly for me today, and that seldom happens in this sport. On every spot I fished today I caught a big one, and plenty of them. It was amazing.”
 

June is big Smallmouth Time on the Great Lakes!

Start Bass Season with a Bang!

By Luigi De Rose

June is a magical month. For many states and particularly the province of Ontario, it is the month that bass fishing begins. It is also one of the best times of year to nail a whopper. The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway is the location for anglers who are after truly giant smallmouth. These fresh water oceans remain cold and smallmouth bass are just now thinking of spawning.  This year we suffered a frigid winter which has attributed to an even slower progression into summer.

Shimano and Hunninbird pro, Derek Strub is all
smiles with his 7.1 pound Lake Erie smallmouth. 

For the angler, this is the time to target large flats, rocky points, channels and even shallow spawning flats if the water temperature is conducive for it. There are many techniques that work on smallmouth. No need to over complicate the presentations to catch these beasts. It is best to break it down into two categories: search and finesse. Search baits such as: spinnerbaits, jerkbaits, crankbaits even topwaters are ideal at trigging a reaction bite. If the bass are scattered and aggressive this quick presentation might be all you need. Play to the mood of the fish.

If you're getting wild hits but not connecting, you'll need to alternative between search and a finesse rig to cater to the bass. Don't be stubborn, switching to a finesse rig will save the day. A few bass might attack a search bait but scores of others will remain uninterested. Alternating between a tube jig and a drop shot will have you in the strike zone longer.

Venturing out onto the Great Lakes is not for everyone. It takes the correct gear, the correct weather and the knowledge to adjust to the fishing conditions but the rewards are well worth it.

** Fishing for any species out of season is unethical and against the law. If you cannot wait until your area legally opens for bass fishing then it is time for a road trip to New York or Michigan  **

Giant Pre-Spawn Smallies Part 2

By Luigi De Rose

The Great Lakes has a long and well deserved reputation for producing world class smallmouth bass. May and June are exceptionally good on the Great Lakes. Lake Erie and Ontario gain the greatest recognition but Lake Michigan is also an amazing place.

Check out this monster!

Not much info on this one. It was posted on Minn Kota's Facebook page by Mark Courts. It was caught by Mark in Sturgeon Bay, WI. It truly is a fish of a lifetime and a great representative of the beasts that can be caught during this time period. 

We Love Big Bass!

If you love big bass, then you got to check out this guy. Oliver Ngy has a cool blog that tracks his adventures of big bass hunting. By the looks of this photo, hunting has been very good!
Check out Oliver's blog, Big Bass Dreams.

Want to know how heavy this brute is? Then check out his blog. 

2013 Bassmaster Elite Falcon Lake Day 2: Combs leads with 62-14 for 10 Bass!

By Deb Johnson

Bass Press Release

ZAPATA, Texas — Do the math: 33 pounds x 4 days = 132.

You can bet Texan Keith Combs is doing the multiplication. Combs weighed 28 pounds, 1 ounce Friday, and while not duplicating his 34-13 smash of Thursday, he still amassed 62-14 after two days in the Rigid Industries Falcon Slam out of Zapata, Texas. Such a weight after two days is enough to dream of the possibility of coming close to or busting the 132-8 Bassmaster Elite Series all-time, five-fish-limit, four-day weight record set five years ago on Falcon.

Combs with another amazing day!
(Photos: James Overstreet BASS)

And now with a 7-pound, 7-ounce lead, Combs can also set his sights for his first win on Lake Falcon, where he’s been a guide for years. It would also be his first win in the Elite Series.

He’s headed the right way. The Huntington, Texas, pro’s two heavyweight bags added up to the leader spot for the second day in a row in a four-day tournament.

Edwin Evers of Talala, Okla., put up 55-7 after Friday against the leader’s 62-14, coming up far short of knocking Combs off the catbird seat. But Evers felt good about his Friday weight of 28-15, which boosted him from ninth place into second. Jason Christie of Park Hill, Okla., pushed himself up one place into third with his 54-0 two-day weight.

One of the biggest moves of the day was by Cliff Crochet of Pierre Part, La., who shot from 50th place on the first day into fourth on the second. The rocket ship he rode was the day’s largest bag: 35-3. In fifth Friday with 53-9 was Cliff Prince of Palatka, Fla., the pro who had never seen Falcon Lake before this week, but has managed two impressive sacks of largemouth bass two days running.

Cliff with two of his monsters. 

Combs needs to boost his daily weights Saturday and Sunday to go for the win and the record, but as his fellow Elite pro Hank Cherry put it, “Any cast here can be a double-digit fish.”

Combs isn’t close to being cocky about his chances, though.

“I don’t even want to talk about winning, not on the second day,” he said after Friday’s weigh-in. “Maybe tomorrow.”

Combs had a limit by noon Friday, but the count was “two decent fish,” and “three real small fish,” he said. Probably not enough to keep his Day 1 lead. Then, to his relief, he managed a late rally, including a last cast that came back with a 6-pounder attached. The catch allowed him to cull a 2-pounder.

Phil Marks Wins 2012 FLW Open on Rayburn

Huge sack leads Texas pro to dominant FLW Tour win     
by David A. Brown
FLW Press Release

LUFKIN, Texas – Christmas came early for Strike King pro Phil Marks. Yesterday, the tenured Texas angler said he needed cloudy weather to tap the full potential of his offshore spots and, after three days of mostly sunny conditions, he got the skies he needed to turn in a crushing performance that topped the Walmart FLW Tour Open on Sam Rayburn Reservoir.
Now, you know how it is when you get a new car – before taking your buddies for a spin, it's kinda cool just to step back and admire the sweet points. Let's do that with Marks' victory. Consider these sweet stats:
- Marks' massive final-round limit of 32 pounds, 12 ounces was 15 pounds, 7 ounces heavier than that of his nearest competitor (second-place Keith Combs).
- Marks' four-day weight of 82 pounds gave him a winning margin of 16-5 (third largest in FLW Tour history).
- That margin alone was more than the final day weights caught by the third- through 10th-place pros.
- And here's one that doesn't show up on the stat sheets – the Dallas, Texas, pro was the only competitor requiring two weigh-in bags to carry his enormous catch to the scale.

Phil Marks Wins 2012 FLW Open on San Rayburn with Giant Limit

Phil Marks destroys the final day with a tremendous 5 bass limit of 32-12!
As most angler faltered to catch much over 15 pounds, Dallas resident, Marks put a 10dx (proto-type) Strike King crankbait and big worm to work to claim the $100 000 prize.


Top 10

World Record Experience!

Just got back from my big bass experience from Japan's Holy Grail of fishing, Lake Biwa. I booked a two day guide with one of Japan's top sticks, Jun Shoji. The trip will be written up in Ontario OUT OF DOORS magazine in the 2013 Fishing Annual. He is an awesome guide and we caught some great average of fish. He is known for putting anglers on big bass. Most of his clients come to Biwa with the desire of catching a fish over 5 pounds. He doesn't disappoint and I enjoyed some nice fishing.

Here is a sample of one of the bass we caught on Lake Biwa.

On a funnier note, I just saw one of the worst photos of me on Jun's website. He has a daily blog that reflects his day on the water. As a full time guide and super hard core tournament angler, he keeps the blog very up to date. I look so ugly. My wife instructed I needed to wear a sun blocking buff. The only problem it acted like Spanxs, the spandex girdle for women and it squished all my fat from my neck into my face. See for yourself. Click HERE!