2026 Tedy’s Team Bassmaster Elite at Lake Murray Day 2: Bryant Smith Scores Lead!

Canadians: Kung 14th, Gustafson 45, Gallant 66th, Cory Johnston 70th & Chris Johnston 75th 

California pro Bryant Smith has taken the lead on Day 2 of the Tedy's Team Bassmaster Elite at Lake Murray with a two-day total of 46 pounds, 6 ounces. (Photo: Seigo Saito/ BASS)

BASS Press Release

COLUMBIA, S.C. — One of the oldest and most revered angling axioms states: “Don’t leave fish to find fish.”

Honoring that timeless truth, Bryant Smith of Roseville, Calif., sacked up a five-bass limit of 24 pounds, 7 ounces and improved to first place at the Tedy’s Team Bassmaster Elite at Lake Murray with a two-day total of 46-6.

Smith, who placed 13th on Day 1 with 21-15, heads into Semifinal Saturday with a lead of 1-9 over Paul Marks.

“It was just an amazing day,” Smith said. “I’ve been really fortunate to get the right bites at the right time.”

Days 1 and 2 saw Smith starting on the blueback herring spawn, which typically lasts only an hour or two past daybreak. The first day saw the dimmer lighting of cloudy, rainy conditions extending that activity longer, but with Day 2’s sunnier start, the baitfish congregations concluded as normal.

Knowing that the bass would remain in the general area and continue feeding whenever more herring crossed their radar, Smith committed his day to a focused strategy.

“I’ve been starting in the same spot both mornings and, between two points, I can usually get a limit with a couple good ones,” Smith said. “I know where they’re sitting and that’s the whole key. I’m using my Lowrance ActiveTarget to see if they’re up there.

“You have to be patient. I probably sat and Power-Poled down for an hour, then I’d rotate around, come back and sit there again.”

2020 MLF Heavy Hitters Day 3: Zack Berge Group A Qualifying Round

Top 10 Set for Group A after two days on Kissimmee Chain.

Zack Birge took advantage of big lead to learn the lake.

	Place	Angler	Total Weight						Largest Fish
	1st	Zack Birge	74 - 03						5 - 08
	2nd	Bryan Thrift	55 - 09						4 - 02
	3rd	Jordan Lee	51 - 09						6 - 13
	4th	Gary Klein	48 - 04						5 - 04
	5th	Matt Lee	43 - 07						5 - 05
	6th	Kelly Jordon	39 - 08						5 - 03
	7th	John Murray	38 - 09						7 - 13
	8th	Kevin VanDam	37 - 04						7 - 10
	9th	Michael Neal	33 - 12						4 - 09
	10th	Gerald Spohrer	32 - 09						4 - 13

2018 Bassmaster Classic on Lake Hartwell Day 1: Christie Sacks 20-14lbs for Lead!

Oklahoma room mates land 1 & 2!
By Luigi De Rose

Considering the hype about Lake Hartwell prior to the start, the fishing was slow for most. Even the top anglers complained about long lulls between bites. Oklahoma anglers Christie and Evers, room mates on tour, sit first and second after Day 1. Both explained that Hartwell fishes very similar to Grand Lake. The site of the 2016 Classic, Grand Lake is where Christie led the first two day but later succumbed to a heroic last day limit by Ever which vaulted him in the winner's circle. This event could be a repeat of 2016.

Tomorrow will see increased cloud cover and warmer temps. This might give shallow anglers or anglers targeting spotted bass with moving baits the edge.

1	Jason Christie		5 / 20-14
2	Edwin Evers		5 / 19- 9
3	Jordan Lee		5 / 18-10
4	Brent Ehrler		5 / 17- 8
5	Ott DeFoe		5 / 16- 8
6	James Elam		5 / 16- 7
7	Jacob Wheeler		5 / 16- 1
8	Mark Daniels Jr.		5 / 15-14
9	Gerald Swindle		5 / 15-13
10	Jamie Hartman		5 / 15-12
11	Dustin Connell		5 / 15- 5
11	Jason Williamson		5 / 15- 5
13	Jacob Powroznik		5 / 15- 4
14	Casey Ashley		5 / 15- 0
15	Alton Jones		5 / 14- 9

2017 BASS Elite Lake St. Clair Day 3: Classic Champ Lee Leads with 69-13lbs!

St. Clair fishing better ever!

BASS PRESS RELEASE

The only certainty after three days of the Advance Auto Parts Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair is that no lead is safe.

Jordan Lee's 25 lbs creel vaults him into lead!
(Photo: BASS)

Jordan Lee, the reigning champion of the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK'S Sporting Goods, caught five bass that weighed 25 pounds, 9 ounces, Saturday to push his three-day total to 69-13. That moved him from fifth to first place and made him the third leader in as many days.

"I'm not really figuring anything out," said Lee, who qualified for his third Top 12 cut on the Bassmaster Elite Series this season. "I've really fished the same water every day. I don't know when I'm getting my next bite.

"I don't really understand it. You just have to keep fishing and be ready for them."

Lee said there have been times when he's gone more than three hours without a bite. But the good news is, when a bite comes, it's usually a bass that will help his cause.

On Friday, he caught two 5-pounders off one spot. Then Saturday, on the same spot, he caught a 6-13 that gave him the lead in the race for Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the week and another bass that topped the 6-pound mark.

With so much downtime between strikes, the key, he said, is being focused enough to execute when they finally do bite.

"You've really got to fish and just be calm and say, 'I don't know how many bites I'm going to get, but it may not be many,'" he said. "You just have to know that going in and keep fishing.

"I missed one fish today. But besides that one, I've caught them all this week."

Though the fishing has been slow in his area, Lee said he has no plans to change for Championship Sunday.

"Literally, if I only have one bite there tomorrow, I will have no shame," he said. "I've caught two huge bags there. You have to fish there all day and wait on one to bite."

Oklahoma angler Jason Christie, who has been hanging around the Top 10 all week, caught 23-11 — his biggest bag of the event — to jump from sixth into second with 66-8.

Jordan Lee Wins the 2017 Bassmaster Classic on Lake Conroe with 56-10lbs!

Lee conqures Classic!
By Bryan Brasher
BASS PRESS RELEASE

In 2013, Jordan Lee was a member of the Auburn University fishing team.

Today, he's on top of the professional bass fishing world.

The 25-year-old pro from Guntersville, Ala., stayed within striking distance all week at the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK'S Sporting Goods. Then during Sunday's final round at Minute Maid Park, he caught five bass from Lake Conroe that weighed 27 pounds, 4 ounces, pushing his three-day total to a tournament-best 56-10.

Amazing final day makes 25 year old Lee a Classic Champ!
(Photo: BASS)

Lee earned $300,000 and the most coveted trophy in the sport, while Steve Kennedy — a resident of Auburn, Ala. — finished second with 55-1.

"To all of the guys fishing the college tournaments right now, this just says you can do it," Lee said. "It's hard work — and you're going to have a lot of days out here that aren't good.

"On this lake, I wasn't sure there was any way I could do it. But you're never out of it here."

Kevin Van Dam Wins 2016 BASS Elite Cayuga Lake Event with 71-13lbs!

KVD is King again!
By Bryan Brasher

BASS PRESS RELEASE

KVD is BACK! (Photo BASS)

A little over six weeks ago, many professional fishing fans were wondering out loud, “What’s wrong with Kevin VanDam?”

Now those same fans must be wondering just how many gigantic moments VanDam has ahead of him.

After recording his 21st career victory at Louisiana’s Toledo Bend Reservoir in May, VanDam won again Sunday, coming from behind to claim the $100,000 first-place prize in the Busch Beer Bassmaster Elite at Cayuga Lake. After going five years between victories, the Michigan superstar has now won twice in seven weeks.

VanDam, went into Sunday’s final round in third place, almost 2 pounds out of the lead. But a final-day catch of 15 pounds, 7 ounces put him over the top with a four-day mark of 71-13. Jordan Lee, a 24-year-old Alabama angler who led going into the final round, finished second with 70-12.

“You just never know how things are going to go out here,” said VanDam, who extended his own B.A.S.S. record with his 22nd career win. “I’ve said it many times before. It’s really hard to win against these guys.

“I feel pretty lucky today, for sure. I didn’t have a great day today.”

Unlike Toledo Bend, which he described as the “toughest tournament he ever won,” VanDam went into the Cayuga Lake event with a lot of confidence based on what he’d seen in practice. He used a variety of patterns throughout the week and exploited the lake’s solid populations of both largemouth and smallmouth bass.

2016 BASS Elite Cayuga Lake Day 3: Jordan Lee Continues to Lead with 58-02lbs.

Lee living large.
By Bryan Brasher

BASS PRESS RELEASE
As an Alabama resident and former member of the Auburn University Bass Fishing Team, Jordan Lee has spent plenty of time on Lake Guntersville.

Drop shot key for Lee during calm conditions.
(Photo: BASS)

On that famed Alabama fishery, largemouth bass wallow out holes in aquatic grass to make their spawning beds — and that’s where Lee always looks for them during the spring.

The fish are doing the same thing on Cayuga Lake this week, and Lee’s hard-earned, home-grown knowledge has put him on the verge of his first career victory on the Bassmaster Elite Series.

The 24-year-old angler caught 17 pounds, 10 ounces of largemouth during Saturday’s semifinal round and maintained the lead in the Busch Beer Bassmaster Elite at Cayuga Lake. His three-day total of 58-2 gave him a narrow lead over Arizona angler Brett Hite (57-3) and Kevin VanDam (56-6) — a Michigan superstar who fished his first event with B.A.S.S. in 1987, four years before Lee was born.

“I’m honestly just a little bit disappointed in the way things went today,” said Lee, who won the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Classic qualifying event in 2013. “I was hoping to catch a couple of more big ones. I fished clean and probably caught about 25 fish, but I just never had any big bites today.”

2016 BASS Elite St. John's River Day 2: Hackney in Command.

Sight Fishing a Grind as Topwaters Tempt.

By Brian Brasher

BASS PRESS RELEASE

With most of the field sight fishing for spawning bass, Louisiana pro Greg Hackney took a slightly different approach during Friday’s second round of the Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River presented by Dick Cepek Tires & Wheels.

Hackney mixing blind casting and sight fishing.
(Photo: BASS)

By daring to be a little different, Hackney caught a five-bass limit that weighed 18 pounds, 1 ounce and jumped into the overall lead with a two-day total of 39-6. Florida pro and local favorite Terry Scroggins is second with 38-8, followed by Alabamian Jordan Lee with 38-7 and South Carolina angler Marty Robinson with 38-5.

“I’m fishing spawning fish for sure,” Hackney said. “I’m not necessarily looking at all of them, but I know they’re bedding or guarding fry or something.

“I caught a couple of rats (small fish) that I was looking at. But I caught all of the good ones just fishing.”