Angling All Stars coming to Whitby, Ontario on November 15th!

 

2021 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk, on Lake Ray Roberts Pre-Classic Summary

Lake Ray Roberts in transition

By Luigi De Rose 

Texas legend, Zell Rowland explains Ray Roberts.
(Photo: Zell Rowland) 

The 51st. Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk, on Lake Ray Roberts and hosted in Fort Worth Texas on June 11-13, is set to be as exciting and spell bounding as the 50 Classics before it.  Originally planned for March, it was rescheduled to June due to Covid 19. The 54 Classic anglers will fish Lake Ray Roberts, a 29 350-acre reservoir north of Denton, Texas, and the weigh-in will be held in Fort Worth.

A shining star, Lake Ray Roberts isn’t a popular venue on the national tournament circuits yet is should make Texas proud. Overshadowed by legendary San Rayburn, Lake Fork and Toledo Bend, Ray Roberts is a strong fishery. With an excellent largemouth population, Ray Roberts has good numbers and plenty of 5-to-7-pound bass making it a great venue.  

Zell Rowland, a Texas native with 4 decades of tournament angling along with 5 BASS wins and 16 Classics and 1 FLW Cup under his belt predicts that the 2021 Classic winner will have to play the current water conditions and weather to perfection.

Weather

The entire State of Texas has experienced wild and weird weather since the very beginning of 2021. A severe winter storm in February, which saw temperatures plummet well below freezing, set the precedent. A slow thaw prolonged the spawn delaying the typical timetable anglers are accustomed to fishing. Along with a drawn-out spring, the rains have yet to stop coming. Many of the State’s big reservoirs are at flood levels; San Rayburn, in Jasper, Texas, is 11 feet above normal pool. As of Sunday, June 6, Ray Roberts is above normal pool but not at a catastrophic stage yet. Jeff “Gussy'' Gustafson, the 2021 Tennessee River BASS Elite Champion and a Classic qualifier states “that most of the trees have at least 3 feet of water around them and many of the local boat ramps are down due to the high water.”

The weather forecast called for rain and chances of thunderstorms for much of the official Classic practice period. For Monday, June 7, there is a Flash Flood warning for much of the Ray Roberts area.  Luckily, the storm weather looks like it will subside during the three tournament days, greeted anglers with sunny, hot days and light winds.

There is a fear that the lake level might need to be drawn down suddenly to offset the highwater level especially if the flash flood warning comes into fruition.   

Practice

“I’ve tried to make the deep bite work but the fish don’t seem to be out here.” Explains Gustafson.  “It’s been a difficult practice for me and my buddies. It’s been tough to catch a big one.” For any southern angler, June translates to fishing out deep. Humps, creek channels, long points and main lake ledges are the norm.  Jeff, a 2 time Classic qualifier, feels that under the current fishing conditions, a lot of good anglers will not be able to catch a 5 bass limit every day of the Classic.  

Jeff "Gussy" Gustafson hunting for this first Classic win.
(Photo: Brandon Palaniuk) 

When the announcement was made that the Classic was postponed to June, Jeff Gustafson took notice. An award-winning smallmouth angler, he loves probing the depths for bass. A June Classic with a consistent deep-water bite fit Gustafson’s fishing style well. “I’d prefer to fish deep as I like it and its my preference but I’ve put a lot of time out deep and haven’t be able to make it work.” Summarizes Jeff. (He was actually idling over deep-water locations while we spoke on the phone.)

2021 Bassmaster Elite at Tennessee River Day 2: Gustafson Remains Leader with 33-08lbs!

Canadians Cory Johnston 33rd & Chris Johnston 46th

By Christopher Decker

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Focusing on smallmouth, Gussy is making it work despite rainy conditions. 
(Photo: BASS)

Despite cool, rainy conditions, Jeff Gustafson maintained the lead during Friday’s second round of the Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Tennessee River, catching a limit of smallmouth bass that weighed 15 pounds, 10 ounces.

His two-day total of 33-8 gives him more than a 3-pound advantage of Tennessee pro Brandon Card, who is second with 30-7.

Gustafson, a two-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier from Canada, said he never expected to catch two limits of smallmouth with the 18-inch minimum size restriction in place for this week’s tournament waters.

“It feels awesome,” he said. “Now with the position I’m in, there’s that stress. It’s been a good week so far. You could have signed me up for 50th place on Wednesday night. One thing I’ve learned doing this, these chances to win don’t come along very often and you just hope you take advantage of it when it happens.” 

While the area Gustafson is fishing is still producing quality smallmouth, the bites didn’t come quite as fast Friday as they did on Day 1. The Keewatin, Ontario, native said he had more bass bump his bait instead of eating it.

After catching four fish in the first two hours, it took Gustafson until just before 1 p.m. to secure his final keeper.

“There are still some fish there, but they were harder to catch today and they are getting harder to catch,” he said. “I wasn’t really able to expand a whole lot, and part of that was it took me so long to catch my fifth fish. 

Brandon Palaniuk Wins 2020 Bass Elite Santee Cooper with 72-02lbs!

Punching & chatterbait key to win!

By David A. Brown

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Array of baits fattens final day.
(Photo: BASS)

Championships come down to decisions and execution — two things that Brandon Palaniuk mastered en route to amassing a four-day total of 72 pounds, 2 ounces for a dominant win at the Bassmaster Elite at Santee Cooper Lakes brought to you by the United States Marine Corps.

 Notching his fifth Elite victory — his second in 2020 (the first at Lake Champlain) — Palaniuk earned a top prize of $100,000.

 After leading Day 2, Palaniuk entered Championship Sunday in third place, just 1-3 behind Carl Jocumsen. On Sunday, the pro from Rathdrum, Idaho, added a limit of 22-11 to his previous weights of 21-1, 18-13 and 9-9 to edge Jocumsen.

 “This one is so unexpected,” Palaniuk said. “Every single one I won before, I had a good practice and I knew that I would have a shot at the Top 10 and a shot at the win. This one came out of nowhere.”

 Spending his tournament in Lake Marion, Palaniuk attributed his final-round success to a prelaunch decision to start in the mouth of the Potato Creek area. Having started there on Day 1, he had a feeling the area was ready to reward him again.

 “I was sitting at the dock this morning and something told me to go try it,” Palaniuk said. “With the (warm) weather, the humidity, I felt like I could catch them on topwater, but when I got there, the water was dirty.

 “I couldn’t get them to eat it, so I just picked up a 1/2-ounce bladed jig with a 4-inch white X-Zone Swammer. I had not caught a fish on this all week and I caught a 4-pounder and a 3 1/4-pounder.”

Bill Godin and Leroy Wilson win the 2013 KBI Tournament

By Luigi De Rose

KBI crowned a new championship team! Bill Godin and Leroy Wilson’s three-day limit of 52.50lbs allowed them to leap into the lead and claim the crown. Powered by a day 3 catch of 18.60lbs, the heaviest of the day, was enough to hold off Brain McNanney and Matthew Rydberg who amassed 51.52lbs for second. The hometown super star team of Jeff “Gussy” Gustafson and Chris Savage who lead the tournament for the first two days faltered and fell to 9^th place.

Full results

Gussy Ready for 2013 FLW Tour

FLW Press Release

(photo: FLW)

Canadian bass fisherman Jeff Gustafson announced Thursday he has committed to fishing the entire 2013 Walmart FLW Tour season. Gustafson competed in the four FLW Tour Opens in 2012 and cashed checks at each, despite being a rookie with little or no previous lake knowledge. He finished the season 14th in the points race.
Known in the industry as “Gussy,” the Keewatin, Ontario, angler has quite a reputation in the North Country as a guide and tournament angler – having won both the Kenora Bass International and the International Falls Bass Championship. In addition, the 30-year-old hosts his own TV show called “Fishing with Gussy” as well as writes a weekly outdoors column called the “Livewell” for the Fort Frances Times. Gustafson is also active on social media and quickly became a fan favorite this season on FLW’s On-The-Water coverage page.
“Having a solid rookie season in the Opens makes me even more excited for next year,” said Gustafson. “Fishing the tour down south was an eye-opening experience. Now that I’ve got my feet wet I’m ready for a full season.”
Gustafson will once again run a Kruger Farms/International Comfort Products-wrapped Lund Predator with a 225-horsepower Mercury Optimax.
The 2013 FLW Tour season opener kicks off Feb. 7 on Lake Okeechobee, the same fishery where Gustafson notched a top-20 finish this February.

2012 FLW Open Wheeler Lake: Mark Rose Wins

 by David A. Brown
FLW Press Release
DECATUR, Ala. – It's neither fair, nor respectful to other competitors to assume a tournament is "in the bag" just because a guy brings a huge lead into the final round. But Mark Rose, at least indirectly, justified any such murmurings with his dominant wire-to-wire win at the FLW Tour Open event on Wheeler Lake.

Mark lead all four days and took the trophy with ease.
(Photos: FLW)

Ever the humble gentleman, Rose simply won't engage in that line of thinking. He'll thank God, his family and his sponsors and he'll let others draw their own conclusions. For him, it's simply a matter of being fortunate enough to fish his style of fishing during a period when Wheeler's bass were positioned well for it. Essentially, the fish are just starting to move into their fall transition of shallow migration, but the water's still on the warm side, so plenty of quality fish remain out deep. With a solid understanding of these seasonal patterns and significant experience at picking apart the deep bottoms of TVA impoundments, Rose was in his comfort zone and simply went to work methodically locating and engaging his finned opponents.
"I just felt comfortable out there – I just get in tune with it," he said. "It's a passion I have. I really like it. I like it when I'm not catching anything because I'm trying to figure them out.

2012 FLW Open Wheeler Lake Day 3: Mark Rose Continues to Dominate!

Missouri’s Loeffelman Jr. Wins Co-Angler Title, $20,000

FLW Press Release
DECATUR, Ala. – National Guard pro Mark Rose slipped a bit and only weighed in the second-biggest stringer of the day at the Walmart FLW Tour Open on Wheeler Lake presented by Ranger Boats. It was still enough to increase his lead to a near-insurmountable 7 pounds, 1 ounce heading into the fourth and final day. The top cash award of $125,000 is now his to lose as the world’s best bass-fishing pros continued their four-day battle at Wheeler Lake on Saturday.

Rose does a little kneeling and reeling while keeping
a keen eye on the depth finder.
(Photos: FLW)

The West Memphis, Ark., native moves on to the final day of competition as the No. 1 seed with a five-bass limit Saturday of 15-10. Rose’s three-day catch of 15 bass weighing 54-8 gives him a dominating lead heading into Day 4.
“It’s awful special to be able to come out and be in the lead here,” said Rose, who is hunting for his sixth FLW tournament championship. “The Tennessee River just has a really special place in my heart. I’m fishing with a lot of confidence right now, just doing what I love to do.”
Rose said the bites were hard to come by Saturday and he really credits his Lowrance Structure Scan as being the key to his success.
“You have to idle and find these fish, and see where and how they’re set up,” Rose said. “You have to use your Lowrance to find the depths and positioning, and then decide what baits to throw. I couldn’t be doing this without it.

2012 FLW Open Wheeler Lake Day 2: Mark Rose in Total Control

FLW Press Release
by David A. Brown
DECATUR, Ala. – Experience can certainly build confidence, but it's not an absolute requirement. Case in point: National Guard pro Mark Rose admits to having little of the former on Wheeler Lake, but he had plenty of the latter as he maintained his lead on day two of the FLW Tour Open event.
The pro from West Memphis, Ark. caught 21 pounds, 6 ounces on day one and took the top spot by a margin of 3-7 over Alabama pro Blake Nick. Today, Rose added 17-8 and widened his lead to 4-6 with a total weight of 38-14, as Nick also held his position.

Fishing deep is really paying off for Mark Rose.
(Photos: FLW)

"I'm fishing with a lot of confidence right now and I'm comfortable fishing on the Tennessee River, although I don't know as much about Wheeler as the ponds above and below it," Rose said. "I don't have the time on Wheeler, but it's on the Tennessee River and I'm very comfortable at it. I'm fishing my style and I like it."
Asked what defines his style, Rose said it's as much about the hunt as the presentations. He's working two main areas with specific bottom characteristics and giving the fish a good mix of baits.
"I like reading my Lowrance StructureScan and finding deep fish," he said. "I like cranking, I like throwing a big worm, I like throwing a big spoon, I like throwing a big swimbait and that’s the kind of stuff that I'm doing here.

2012 FLW Open Wheeler Lake Day 1: Mark Rose Take Command with 21 pound limit

FLW Press Release

Mark Rose hold up two beasts. Most of the field couldn't break
the 7 pound mark yet Mark caught more than 21 pounds.
(Photo: FLW)

DECATUR, Ala. – Junk fishing was the name of the game Thursday as the world’s best bass-fishing pros began competing at the Walmart FLW Tour Open on Wheeler Lake presented by Ranger Boats. Multiple styles, patterns and presentations were used as pros from all across the United States began the four-day tournament fishing for a top cash award of up to $125,000.
By the end of the weigh-in, one angler had separated himself quite a bit from the pack. National Guard pro Mark Rose of West Memphis, Ark., brought a five-bass limit to the scales Thursday weighing 21 pounds, 6 ounces to lead day one of the event. Rose now holds nearly a 3½-pound lead over Blake Nick of Adger, Ala., who caught five bass weighing 17-15.
“Normally I can say it was this bait, or this pattern,” said Rose, who has career winnings of more than $1.5 million. “Today, I was just blessed and it just happened for me. It was pretty tough, though. I didn’t catch that many fish – I only had seven keepers. Wheeler is definitely a tough lake, but it’s still got them.”

Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship: Raveling and Luhman WIN!

Pos Team Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Total Captain Partner
1 3 19.73 17.49 17.84 55.06 Mark Raveling Mike Luhman
2 20 16.71 16.24 18.88 51.83 Chad Johnson John Janousek
3 5 16.63 18.23 15.69 50.55 Jeff Gustafson John Peterson
4 91 17.25 16.00 16.81 50.06 Jim Sandelovich Karl Howells
5 14 15.37 18.27 16.41 50.05 Ted Heyens Leo Heyens
6 37 15.00 18.33 16.69 50.02 Scott Ourada John Allen
7 31 16.67 16.37 15.89 48.93 Troy Norman Jay Samsal
8 7 15.24 18.00 15.65 48.89 Darren Ward Tony Holenko
9 42 15.40 17.07 15.86 48.33 Dennis Barnard Scott Gobeil
10 18 13.44 17.34 17.46 48.24 Steve Sandberg Scott Sandberg