2021 Bassmaster Elite Lake Guntersville Day 3: Caleb Kuphall Extends Big Lead!

Canadians Chris Johnston 3rd, Cory Johnston 11th & Gustafson 73rd

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Pitching grass and mats key to massive 11lb lead
for Kuphall. (Photo: BASS)

Knowing when to shift gears rewarded Caleb Kuphall with a five-bass limit of 23 pounds, 9 ounces, which helped him extend his lead in the Berkley Bassmaster Elite at Lake Guntersville with a three-day total weight of 66 pounds, 13 ounces.

 

Holding the top spot since Day 1, the pro from Mukwonago, Wis., set the pace with a first-round limit of 27-10 — the tournament’s biggest bag — and followed with 15-10. After the first two days found Kuphall with leads of 6-7 and 4-9, he enters Championship Sunday 11 1/2 pounds ahead of Alabama pro Wes Logan.

 

“The more the better,” Kuphall said of his numerical advantage. “If you’re going to lead, you might as well lead big, I guess. I don’t know; I’ve never been in this position before.

 

“It feels great to be in the lead, but I’m going to be nervous tonight.”

 

As he has done the past two days, Kuphall began on a large milfoil bed close to takeoff. The area yielded much of his weight on Days 1 and 2, but intense fishing pressure — from him and other anglers — has steadily decreased the area’s productivity.

 

Kuphall had been Texas-rigging a Zoom Z Hog in the California 420 color on a 4/0 extra-wide gap hook with a 3/4-ounce tungsten weight, but today he switched to a 1-ounce Dirty Jigs No Jack Punchin’ Jig with a forktail trailer.

 

“I was just trying to show them something different,” Kuphall said of his bait change. “They started taking my (Texas rig) really lightly and I was missing a couple.

 

“Generally, with that jig, if they get it, you’re gonna get them. It’s just a better hookup percentage.”

 

Around 9 a.m., Kuphall had four fish for approximately 10 1/2 pounds, so he pulled the plug and relocated to his secondary spot — a large milfoil bed near the B.B. Comer Bridge (State Route 35). Expansive cover with lots of sunfish and big gizzard shad presented a promising scenario.

 

Within 30 minutes of arriving, Kuphall experienced a flurry that started with a 6-pounder and followed with two in the 4-pound class. Adding two more quality fish later in the day, Kuphall culled all the fish he’d caught on his starting spot.

 

“I knew the big fish were there,” he said. “I just got on a good stretch and conditions were just right today.

 

“The sun was positioning the fish in those mats and the wind was so light it wasn’t affecting my ability to fish the mats. Everything just set up perfectly to go in there and do damage.”

 

On Day 2, Kuphall found the stronger wind was compacting the mats and making presentations more difficult. Also, he had to use higher trolling motor power, which likely spooked the fish. Today’s conditions allowed him to leisurely work isolated grass clumps on the mat’s perimeter.

 

“I was looking for the thickest stuff available; the thicker the better,” Kuphall said. “You’d flip in there and they’d destroy the bait as soon as it gets through.

 

“I was using a Z Hog with an ounce weight. I try to go as light as possible because I miss a lot of fish if you go too heavy on the weight.”

 

Looking ahead to Championship Sunday, Kuphall said he’ll give his first spot a chance to produce, but unless he finds a big bite, he’ll transition to his spot near the B.B. Comer Bridge much earlier.

 

“By the way my first area’s going, I’m thinking I’m going to spend a lot of time in (the second spot) tomorrow,” he said.

 

Hailing from Springville, Ala., Logan bolstered his first two limits of 14-1 and 20-12 with a third-round bag of 20-8 and tallied 55-5. Fresh off his win at the Whataburger Bassmaster Elite at Neely Henry Lake, Logan caught all of his bass by flipping milfoil mats in the same general area where Kuphall spent most of his day.

 

2019 BASS Elite Lake Tenkiller Day 1: Blaylock Leads with 15-09 lbs!

Cory Johnston 6th, Chris Johnston 26th & Gustafson 36th

By David A Brown

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Heat wave and summer transition makes Tenkiller tough but
Blaylock ekes out lead.
(Photo: BASS)

Stetson Blaylock loves a tough tournament, and pushing through Thursday’s tough conditions delivered a 15-pound, 9-ounce limit that leads Day 1 of the Cherokee Casino Tahlequah Bassmaster Elite at Lake Tenkiller.

Daytime highs reached into the 90s, while a declining lake level, which has lost about a foot and a half since practice, left fish displaced and finicky. Fishing the mid- to lower lake, Blaylock caught a mixed bag of largemouth, spotted bass and smallmouth bass. His catch, which included a 4-pound smallmouth, was a welcome performance, considering his expectations.

“Everybody said practice was bad, but I literally caught six keepers the entire practice,” the Benton, Ark., angler said. “I just like this style of lake. When they pulled that water down, it didn’t help the bite, but I was able to slow down and not think about whether I need to flip bushes because I knew the water was falling out of there. So, I just went out with no care and threw.

“I knew if I just caught a bass, that I would be in (the Bassmaster Classic) easy. My very first cast, I caught a 12-inch spotted bass and I was like ‘Well, my day’s made.’ So I just slowed down.”

Blaylock demonstrated his toughness earlier this season with a hard-fought win at the Winyah Bay Bassmaster Elite Series event in April. Acknowledging the similarities, he notes two major differences: First, he stayed in a much smaller area on the South Carolina tidal fishery; moreover, his 2020 Classic berth was far from secure at Winyah.

2018 Bassmaster Classic Lake Hartwell Day 1: Jason Christie Grabs Lead with 20-14lbs.

Christie leads with 20!

By Bryan Brasher

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Christie ready to win first Classic!
(Photo: BASS)

After one day of fishing on Lake Hartwell, the leaderboard for the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods has a familiar look.
 
Oklahoma angler Jason Christie leads the way, with Edwin Evers — a fellow Okie and Christie’s roommate on the Bassmaster Elite Series — sitting close behind in second.
 
Christie said a change in strategy near the mid-point of Day 1 helped him to his tournament-best weight of 20 pounds, 14 ounces.
 
“I’ve got two little deals going, and I did the first little deal for the first three or four hours,” said Christie, who claimed the GEICO Everyday Leader Award of $2,500. “But then it just kind of ran out.
 
“I changed it up and actually caught a 5-pounder — and that gave me a clue. So, I just ran with it and ended up culling everything I had.”
 
Christie said he caught fish all day, but patience was required for finding the type of big fish that helps an angler win the Classic.
 
“They’re all on the same kind of stuff, but you just don’t know where the big ones are going to come from,” he said. “You’ll catch a 2-pounder, a 2-pounder and then finally a 5-pounder.”
 
Evers, who brought in 19-9 Friday, got off to a fast start with a good early-morning bite that he said might have been due to bass feeding on blueback herring.
 
“I honestly don’t know what they were doing,” he said. “I got really lucky and found a place that had a bunch of fish in it. It was an early-morning deal. I caught them every cast.”
 
Like Christie, Evers caught his biggest fish — two largemouth that each weighed 4-10 — in the afternoon hours.
 
“Those fish came around 12:30 or 1 o’clock,” he said. “It made for a better day than I thought I was going to have. I thought I was going to catch 16 or 17 pounds and maybe get a couple of big bites to push that up — and that’s what happened.”
 
The last time these two anglers waged a close battle in a Classic was 2016 on Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees in their home state. Back then, Christie led the first two days, only to see Evers overcome him with a giant catch on the final day.
 

2017 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Northern Open No. 1 on Oneida Lake Day 2: Steve York Leads with 36-12lbs!

Morning bite key to smallmouth 

By Andrew Canulette

BASS PRESS RELEASE

The 198 anglers competing in the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Northern Open No. 1 hammered the smallmouth bass on Thursday.

Steve York rode that bite into 19th place on Day 1, but he wanted more on Day 2.

York jumps into lead with 19lb limit. (Photo: BASS)

York caught three hefty smallmouths Friday on Oneida Lake, and he added a pair of kicker largemouth bass that filled his limit. The mixed-bag weighed 19 pounds, 11 ounces and was the heaviest creel so far in the tournament. The haul propelled the Bronson, Michigan pro to the top of the leaderboard with a two-day total of 36-12.

Now York will try to hold off the remaining 11 anglers who are hot on his heels for the tournament championship. The winner will collect a boat/motor package valued at nearly $50,000, as well as a berth in next year's GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK'S Sporting Goods provided he fishes the final two Northern Open events in 2017.

York fished with purpose on Friday. After a slow start, his primary area finally turned on and he boated three keeper bass in short order. York swung out of the spot and returned later to find the area still producing. He's hoping it continues to do so on Saturday when he hits the water and heads for the same honey hole.

2017 BASS Elite Toledo Bend Day 3: Hartman's Lead Larger with 56-15!

New Yorker loves Toledo Bend

By Bryan Brasher

BASS PRESS RELEASE

For three days, Jamie Hartman has made southern fishing look easy.

Now, he needs one more good day to make his dreams come true.

Spawn key to Hartman's pattern.
(Photo: BASS)

The New York resident, who has readily admitted that he isn't familiar with the patterns and practices observed by bass that live in the lakes of the South, caught five Saturday that weighed 17 pounds, 14 ounces to push his three-day total to 56-15 in the Bassmaster Elite at Toledo Bend presented by Econo Lodge.

He will lead the remaining 12 anglers into Championship Sunday with a chance to earn $100,000 and his first B.A.S.S. victory.

"I'm absolutely, 100 percent pleased with the way things went today," said Hartman, who caught 23-5 and 15-12 the first two days of the tournament. "I'm just winging it, piecing things together, but it's all working out so far."

Hartman said he came to Toledo Bend this week expecting the spawn to be over. But when he realized it was still in full swing, he adjusted and turned his attention to spawn and prespawn fish.

They were his target again Saturday.

"I caught three fish on beds today," said Hartman, an Elite Series rookie fishing only his 13th B.A.S.S. event. "Then after that, the shallow stuff was over. I caught my next 12 fish in 32 feet of water. Those fish in deep water were all prespawn fish — big and fat."

2017 BASS Elite Cherokee Lake Day 3: Wiggins Still Leads!

Battle of the Damiki Rig

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Jesse's morning bite is key for control of tournament.
(Photo: BASS)

Jesse Wiggins wishes he had a more exciting story to tell about the Bassmaster Elite at Cherokee Lake.
 
He wishes there had been some drama or even a near-miss moment that might have given him a funny story for the weigh-in stand.
 
But it just hasn’t been that kind of tournament for him.
 
“I’m just going around in circles on spot, looking for fish on my graph,” said Wiggins, who caught 16 pounds, 14 ounces Saturday to maintain the overall lead with a three-day total of 52-13. “When I see one, I drop down to it and try to get it to bite. It’s the simplest thing you’ve ever seen.
 

2016 BASS Elite Potomac River Day 2: Justin Lucas Leads by 6 Pounds with a Total of 40-2lbs.

Lucas only fishes 2 hours today.
By Bryan Brasher

BASS PRESS RELEASEThroughout his young professional fishing career, Alabama angler Justin Lucas says he’s never found a spot quite like the one he’s fished the first two days of the Bassmaster Elite at Potomac River presented by Econo Lodge.
The stats back up his claims.

One pass is all it took this morning. (Photo: BASS)

Lucas caught the biggest limit of the tournament for the second day in a row Friday, landing five bass that weighed 19 pounds, 14 ounces. That catch pushed his two-day mark to 40-2 and gave him a comfortable lead of nearly 6 pounds over second-place angler Brent Ehrler (34-4) as the event heads into the semifinal round Saturday.