2024 Minn Kota Bassmaster Elite at Lake Murray Day 3: Patrick Walters Takes 9lb Lead into Final Day!

Canadians Chris Johnston 23rd, Cory Johnston 24th & Gustafson 44th. 

By David A. Brown

BASS Press Release

PROSPERITY, S.C. — The thrill of a blistering start more than offset any frustrations of a long dry spell, as Patrick Walters held on to his lead for a third day in the Minn Kota Bassmaster Elite at Lake Murray.

Day 1 saw the two-time Elite Series champion from Eutawville, S.C., launch what has thus far been a dominant performance with the tournament’s heaviest bag — 25-8. That opening pace-setter gave Walters a 3-3 lead.

Adding a second-round limit of 19-13 kept him in the top spot and expanded his margin to 4-15. Then with 21-14 on Semifinal Sunday, Walters pushed his three-day total to 67-3 and now heads into Championship Monday with a margin of 8-4 over rookie JT Thompkins. (Severe weather postponed the event’s scheduled start by one day).

“I had most of my weight by 8:30,” Walters said. “It doesn’t matter when you get ’em or how you get ’em, as long as you get ’em in the boat.”

Since Day 1, Walters has done the majority of his damage by targeting the early-morning blueback herring spawn. Bass feed aggressively when these large baitfish become distracted with reproduction, so he has been mimicking the profile and motion of this food source with topwater baits and soft-plastic jerkbaits.

Drew Gill Wins 2024 Stop 1 Presented by Power-Pole MOVE on San Rayburn!

 Young gun Gill takes down Rayburn

Drew Gill's Day 3 total of 26 pounds, 3 ounces, earned him the win with a three-day total of 69-6. Photo by Rob Matsuura. 

By Jody White

Invitations Press Release

BROOKELAND, Texas – Drew Gill has been on a heater for a while, and it was only a matter of time before the LiveScope whizz closed out a high-level win. Today, after sacking up 26 pounds, 3 ounces on Championship Sunday, Gill took home the title at Stop 1 Presented by Power-Pole MOVE on Sam Rayburn Reservoir with a 69-6 total. 

Gill topped fellow electronics master Jake Lawrence (second, 67-15), and had enough to overcome local Marshall Hughes’ (third, 67-4) megabag on Day 2, which put him more than 6 pounds ahead of the pack initially. For the win, Gill pocketed $80,000, and locked up his 2025 REDCREST qualification early. 

Though still a fledgling circuit, Gill is now the youngest to win an Invitationals event, setting the mark to beat at 21 years, 8 months. Historically speaking, when you factor in FLW Tour stats, Gill slots in between Stetson Blaylock’s win at Lake Norman in 2009 (21 years, 7 months) and Jacob Wheeler’s 2012 Forrest Wood Cup title (21 years, 10 months).

The consensus favorite for Fishing Clash Angler of the Year in the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals, Gill has started the season about as good as you can. Just last week, he finished third in the Bass Pro Tour season opener on Toledo Bend, and, for good measure, the 21-year-old also finished 19th in the Abu Garcia College Fishing National Championship with partner Evan Fields back in January.

Nothing is a really a long time coming when you’re 21, but getting over the hump for the W was a big deal for Gill.  

“Any year you can do consistently well and have a lot of Top 10s is a win in itself,” Gill said. “Goal No. 1 every year is always Angler of the Year. Goal No. 1 is not to win an event. However, that is a very close goal No. 2, and to be able to accomplish that in the first event of the Invitationals season after having a third at Toledo last week, I could not be more stoked for how fishing is going right now.”

TOP 10 BELOW

Tommy Williams Wins Basspro.com Bassmaster Central Open on Lewisville with 41-15lbs!

Classic and Elite Status Nearing Completion

By David A. Brown

BASS Press Release

Williams ride out difficult last day to win.
(Photo: BASS) 

Enduring a tough day marked by mishaps and disappointment, Tommy Williams of Shepherdsville, Ky., won the Basspro.com Bassmaster Central Open on Lewisville Lake with a three-day total of 41 pounds, 15 ounces.

On Day 1, Williams caught a second-place limit of 18-8 and trailed early leader Brandon Dillard by 6-1. Adding a Day 2 limit of 15-8 sent him into Championship Saturday with a 6-3 lead.

Saturday, that margin proved essential as Williams found only three keepers for 7-15, but held on to claim the top prize of $35,934 and a berth in the 2021 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk scheduled for March 19-21 on Lake Ray Roberts.

“Everybody knows how tough it is to win a tournament when you have a missed opportunity and I had a couple of them,” Williams said. “The fish bit funny today. I had fish blow up on a spinnerbait and I lost fish on a flipping stick.

“I fished clean all week, but today, they just pulled off. But it’s been a wonderful experience. Texas has treated me well. This is the first time I’ve been in contention to win one of these events.”

Williams spent his tournament in three areas. Two comprised windward pockets with baitfish blown into dense tangles of shallow wood. The third was a main-lake flat. 

“I spent seven days of practice and it came together on the third day,” he said. “I fished my strengths through the whole thing.”

He flipped the wood with a Texas-rigged green pumpkin creature bait with the tails dipped in chartreuse. On the flat, he fished a 1/4-ounce spinnerbait with a single No. 3 willow-leaf blade and a chartreuse curly tail grub for a trailer.

Patrick Walters Wins 2020 Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest benefiting Texas Parks and Wildlife Department on Lake Fork with 104-12lbs!

A Blue Trophy and Century Club makes for a perfect Sunday!

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Walters's 29 pound lead over 2nd place simply astonishing.
(Photo: BASS) 

A late-day decision turned victory into a double-dip of tournament stardom, as Patrick Walters of Summerville, S.C., notched a dominant win at the Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest benefiting Texas Parks & Wildlife Department with a four-day total weight of 104 pounds, 12 ounces.

Walters placed second on Day 1 with 25-14 and took over the Day 2 lead by adding 26-14. On Semifinal Saturday, his limit of 29-6 — the event’s biggest catch — sent him into Championship Sunday with a 25-pound lead.

Today’s limit of 22-10 allowed him to surge across the finish line and secure his spot in the Century Club, which recognizes an angler for catching 100 pounds of fish in a four-day event. Walters won with an all-time Bassmaster Elite record margin of 29-10.

“What a week; it doesn’t seem real,” Walters said. “Everyone wants to catch 100 pounds, and it feels good.”

While his victory was never in serious jeopardy today, Walters found himself a couple pounds shy of his second objective with time running out. A 15-minute flurry in his last hour of fishing delivered three fish that elevated him well past the century mark.

Walters attributes his closing success to a gutsy relocation. All week, he had been targeting suspended bass amid main-lake standing timber in 10 to 20 feet. When he realized his spots weren’t firing, he moved to a small pocket and caught his final three fish around stumps in less than 5 feet of water.

Bryan Thrift Wins 2019 FLW Cup on Lake Hamilton with 38-07lbs!

Schooling bass and determination gave Thrift  the win!
(Photo: FLW)

FLW PRESS RELEASE

Everyone knew it was only a matter of time, and that time is finally now. Bryan Thrift is an FLW Cup champion.

The Shelby, N.C., pro won the 2019 FLW Cup at Lake Hamilton with a three-day total weight of 38 pounds, 7 ounces. 

Winning the Cup is not something Thrift needed to do to prove his greatness. That he’s one of the best ever was already an agreed-upon fact by just about everyone. Winning the Cup just added more separation between him and so many others. At 40 years old, in addition to being a world champion, Thrift is a two-time FLW Tour Angler of the Year, a seven-time Tour-level winner, holds a slew of FLW records and has now earned more than $3 million in his FLW career.

Coming into this week, Thrift was the favorite to win. It just felt like a Bryan Thrift kind of tournament, and it turns out it was. 

August in the South is an incredibly difficult time to fish a multiple-day bass tournament. Bass are stingy, and bites are tough to get. It’s rare to find a school of bass that can hold up for more than a day. Thrift’s style is the perfect tool to attack that type of scenario. He’s mastered the craft of “precision junk-fishing,” whereby he fishes specific targets (usually dozens of them) but chooses from 10 to 15 baits to make the perfect presentation for each target. 

For the most part, that’s how Thrift fished at Hamilton. However, each day, he eventually settled down in Hot Springs Creek and grinded out key bites that pushed his weight ahead of everyone else. Slowing down at the end of the day was a veteran move that Thrift might not have made early on in his career, when he never fished a spot long enough for a cameraman to focus his lens. 

And it obviously worked to perfection. Thrift led from wire to wire, starting with 15-3 on day one and 12-7 on day two. He led Kyle Walters, who roomed with Thrift this week, by 1 pound, 8 ounces coming into the final day, when Thrift wound up as the only angler to catch a double-digit limit. Weighing in 10-13 gave Thrift a 5-pound, 1-ounce winning margin over Walters.

As easy as Thrift can make it look sometimes, this was a grueling tournament. 

“I’m wore slam out,” says Thrift. “I really am. I fished as hard as I ever have in my life today. I’m tired, but I’m feeling good.”

The only time that Thrift really stuck a lot of fish in a hurry was the final morning when he pulled up to his first spot and fish were busting the surface over a 200-yard span.

“Today started out actually pretty good,” he says. “I ran to a place that I knew [Bryan] Schmitt was catching them schooling, and I knew he didn’t make the cut. So I went in there, and sure enough they were schooling like crazy. I caught a limit fairly quickly at probably about 8 or 8:30. It didn’t weigh much; maybe 7 or 7 1/2 pounds. And I’m thinking, ‘Shoot, I’ve got all day to upgrade. This is good. We’re good to go.

Jamie Hartman Win 2019 BASS Elite Lake Guntersville with 79-10lbs!

Arey and Zaldain tie for 2nd! 

By Bryan Brasher

BASS PRESS RELEASE

One hour of topwater magic seals the deal for Hartman.
(Photo: BASS)

When Jamie Hartman burst onto the scene with the Bassmaster Elite Series in 2017, he seemed like a virtual lock to eventually hoist one of the trail’s coveted blue winner’s trophies.

He had five Top 10s that first season — including a second- and a third-place showing — prompting many to believe he could be a true superstar in professional bass fishing.

A back ailment cut Hartman’s season short in 2018 and delayed his quest for an Elite Series win.

But it couldn’t derail it.

The New York native, who now lives in Arkansas, caught five bass Monday that weighed 23 pounds, 15 ounces and claimed his first Elite Series victory with a four-day total of 79-10 atthe Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Elite at Lake Guntersville.

“It’s just a godsend to be back here on the Bassmaster Elite Series,” Hartman said. “I’m just so happy to be able to do this for a living and to finally get over the hump with a win.

“I never say this — and I really don’t even know how to describe it. But I had a creepy, creepy feeling coming into this week that I was going to win.”

Having never seen Lake Guntersville before the official practice period began Tuesday, Hartman did what most anglers would likely do — he headed straight for the lake’s famous ledges and tried to find big schools of bass deep. But he struggled deep on Day 1, bringing in only 14-13 and landing in 46th place.

Wheeler Rolls to First Bass Pro Tour Win on Table Rock, Takes Home Bad Boy Mowers Stage Seven Presented by Covercraft Trophy

MLF pro Jacob Wheeler was able to run away with
the Bad Boy Mowers Stage Seven Presented by Covercraft
trophy after capturing 56 Table Rock bass for a total of 84 pounds.
(Photo: MLF)

Jacob Wheeler has been in contention at several events this year, but one thing had eluded him: a Major League Fishing® (MLF) Bass Pro Tour win.
  

Until Wednesday.

Wheeler owned the Bass Pro Tour Bad Boy Mowers Stage Seven Presented by Covercraft. He was the story after the Shotgun Round with his record-setting pace, then after leading the Elimination Round, and again when he survived a midday boat swap to still finish eighth in Tuesday's Knockout Round.

He remained in contention every day, and was able to run away with the win Wednesday after capturing 56 Table Rock bass for a total of 84 pounds, easily outdistancing Brandon Palaniuk's 69-2.

Another Big Day for Wheeler

When time expired, Wheeler was visibly emotional after the realization that he won had set in. He finished second to Jacob Powroznik at Stage Three, and stated on MLF NOW! that he told himself if he was ever in the same situation, he would not let up. And he didn't.

"The fishing was crazy good the first day (88 fish for 129-14), but I knew the pressure would get to them, so I had to change it up," Wheeler said after his win.

Having to change boats during the Knockout Round was understandably stressful, but he overcame it. 

2018 Bassmaster Elite Kentucky Lake Day 1: Chris Zaldain Jumps into the Lead with 24-03lbs!

Swindle & Pipkens land 7-7 for daily big bass tie
BASS PRESS RELEASE

Fishing to win. Zaldain in it to win it.
(Photo: BASS)

Chris Zaldain knew what he wanted to do, he knew why he wanted to do it and he got the job done to the tune of a 24-pound, 3-ounce limit of bass that leads the first round of the Berkley Bassmaster Elite at Kentucky Lake presented by Abu Garcia.
 
“A few days ago, I got some bad news about my mom’s (Rose) health, she’s battling cancer,” said Zaldain of Laughlin, Nev. “The last few days have been rough, so I came into this event to win it for my mom.
 
“I really want a chance to go into Sunday and win this event. I feel like my career needs it. I feel like my family needs it.”
 
Zaldain said he’s fishing such a specific pattern that he couldn’t divulge many details. However, he did note that a very specific integration of three distinct factors — some habitat, others conditional — were essential to his success.
 
“I practiced with one thing in my mind, pretty much one bait, one approach and it paid off big time today,” Zaldain said. “The second day of practice, I caught almost 30 pounds, no joke. Kentucky Lake has got ’em.
 
“A lot of people are complaining about the Asian carp, but the bass still live here. You just have to fish where the carp aren’t.”
 
Noting that he fished a purely prespawn pattern, Zaldain knew his day would be one of quality over quantity. His biggest was a 6-pounder, which made it to the Bassmaster blog feed with Zaldain’s handwritten dedication note to his mother.
 

2017 BASSMASTER Classic Lake Conroe Day 2 Mid-Day Report

Pleasant Saturday bad for anglers
By: Luigi De Rose

Ehrler working his magic.
(Photo: BASS)

It's just past 1pm central time and a lot has happened. Actually, a lot has not happened and anyone catching a few is moving up the leaderboard. Most expected the leader board to flip flop but change is happening very slowly. Most anglers have a few while many are still searching for their first keeper.

Shad Spawn
Shad spawn was amazing for Evers who quickly sacked 20 lbs. in very quick order. He did well yesterday doing the morning shad pattern but the added wind today seemed to helped him catch quality. Van Dam exploited the shad spawn yesterday yet today it was a failure. It took Kevin a few hours to get his first keeper. He is sitting in 7th with 4 bass for 11 pounds. Edwin seems to have been the only one to capitalize on the shad spawn today.

Flipping bites/wood
Brent Ehrler is fishing this pattern and it continues to work very well. Brent hit a flurry while flipping brush and using a vibrating jig in more open water. He quickly advanced pasted Evers for the unofficial lead. Several anglers are also in the same section of the lake and pattern Ehrler is on but Brent is out fishing them.  Steve Kennedy, who is sharing water with Ehrler, has moved up to 4th with almost 15 lb today. Dave Lefebre has limit for 17lbs and is sitting in 3rd. Remember that most anglers stated the best action has come in the afternoon, so anyone in the Top 10 can grabbed the lead with one giant.

Surprises
Keith Coombs only catching 3 bass for 7-11 on Day 1 was a shocker. Today Alton Jones has zero. Not one! He was heavily favoured and an IBASSIN.com pick to win but things are falling apart. Clifford Pirch said he caught multiple limits yesterday but currently has 1 bass for 2 lbs. Mike Iaconelli is struggling and abandoned his deepwater fishing. He is flipping brush but only has 5 pounds with 2 bass. Wesley Strader and Matt Herren have zero so far according to BASSTrakk. This might be a computer glitch but it could be just rough fishing.

2017 Walmart FLW Tour Lake Guntersville Day 1: Jay Kendrick Leads with 25-12lbs

Gussy #30, Cory Johnston #32, Chris Johnston #82 & Richardson #98

by Rob Newell 

FLW PRESS RELESE

Kendrick is dangerous here! (Photo: FLW)

In the realm of professional bass fishing we have grassmasters, ledgemasters and timbermasters. But Jay Kendrick of Grant, Ala., is now carving out his own niche in pro fishing: bridgemaster.
On a cold, dreary day one of the season-opening FLW Tour event presented by Lowrance at Lake Guntersville, Kendrick took an impressive early lead with a limit of bass weighing 25 pounds, 12 ounces. Three of his biggest bass came off one of Guntersville’s fabled bridges, which was a surprise to no one.
Kendrick won a Costa FLW Series event in March 2015 fishing the exact same way. Since then, his competitors have had plenty of time to read the coverage and watch footage of his win, but few seem to be able to unlock the bridge mysteries for big bass quite like Kendrick. But that’s the nature of being a “master” of a technique in this sport – other people can see all the pieces of the puzzle, but are not quite sure how to put those pieces together quickly enough in tournament competition.
“I know exactly what I’m looking for around those bridges,” Kendrick says. “I know when I see it on my electronics. I didn’t really even practice on bridges; I just idled them looking for the key ingredients.
“There is a technique to catching those bridge fish that once you figure it out, you can literally go in amongst other boats and make it work,” he adds. “The problem is those other boats get in the way of making the exact presentation needed to trigger a bite.”
TOP 10 BELOW

John Cox Wins the 2016 FLW CUP with 54-13 lbs.!

Chris Johnston grabs  8^th!

by Rob Newell

FLW PRESS RELEASE

This is John's second FLW victory this year. (Photo FLW)

John Cox started his fishing career in an aluminum boat, participating in small pond tournaments in a johnboat powered with just a trolling motor.
In 2011, in his rookie season on the Walmart FLW Tour, Cox earned his first Tour win out of an aluminum boat on the Red River.
In 2015, he finished runner-up in the Tour Angler of the Year standings with an aluminum boat. And in March of this year, Cox got his second Tour win out of an aluminum boat.
Today, Cox reached the pinnacle of the bass tournament world, winning professional bass fishing’s Forrest Wood Cup, and he did it out of an aluminum boat. With his $300,000 victory, Cox has made a bit of unique fishing history, being the only pro to ever win a modern world championship bass fishing event from an aluminum boat.

In doing so, he proved to the fishing world that owning a big brand new glass boat maxed out with a 250-hp outboard is not necessarily a prerequisite to winning a world title in bass fishing. Indeed, his memorable week at Wheeler Lake, which culminated today with the Forrest Wood Cup held high over his head, should serve as an inspiration for tournament anglers at all levels.
“I started in aluminums because I could not afford bigger glass boats,” Cox says. “Aluminum rigs are a more realistic boat purchase for the average working person. I used to paint apartments and just could not afford a $60,000 glass boat.

Froggin' and buzzbait key to CUP win. (Photo: FLW)

“After fishing out of aluminums, I discovered they have distinct advantages of being lighter and they can get up on plane in very shallow water,” he adds. “They don’t get stuck as bad when you plant one on a sandbar, and they tend to hop over logs and stuff better. They are simply more efficient for the way I like to fish.
“I did run a glass boat for about a year on Tour,” he adds. “But I returned to aluminums because they suit my fishing style better.”

2016 FLW CUP Wheeler Lake Day 3: John Cox Leads as Todd Auten Catches Up Within 9 oz.

Chris Johnston moves to 9^th!

by Rob Newell

FLW PRESS RELEASE

Forrest Wood Cup leader John Cox of DeBary, Fla., watched his 6-pound, 7-ounce lead get slashed to 9 ounces instantly on day three of competition at Wheeler Lake.

The man responsible for erasing Cox’s leading margin?

Todd Auten of Lake Wylie, S.C.

Today, Auten checked in his biggest limit of the week, 17 pounds, 10 ounces, to leap from fifth into second and create a major threat to Cox’s Cup dreams going into the final day.

Cox’s 11-pound catch today was his lightest of the week, bringing his three-day total to 43 pounds, 5 ounces.

Cox's creek losing its magic as Auten makes dramatic comeback.
(Photo: FLW)

Despite having the gap closed up, Cox still seems very much at ease about his situation.

“I know it was my lightest bag of the week, but I pretty much expected that,” Cox says. “I went back into the same creek I’ve been fishing the last two days, and it’s playing out. I’ve caught quite a few fish out of it, and I think I’ve removed a lot of the quality fish from the area. That’s to be expected when fishing small, residential places like that. Plus, there were a few other local folks fishing back there, which is going to happen. So all in all I’m not shocked or surprised.”

For the first time all week, Cox did venture out of his primary area today to visit another extreme backwater he had been saving. That move turned out to be fruitless and is a bit more disconcerting to Cox.

“I had some high hopes for that place, but it wasn’t any good,” he says. “The good news is that I got that place out of my head, though. I won’t waste time with it tomorrow. I still have one other place I have not been to yet that I will start in tomorrow. If it goes well in there, I will stay. If not, I’m going to have to return to my original creek and hope for the best.”

Cox says the water has come up about 8 inches in the last few days, and that has made access to his remote areas easier for others. That fact, above all, concerns him most.

“When I went in these places during practice, I could barely get in them with my aluminum boat,” he says. “But now, with the water up, they’re not as hard to access, so I have no way of knowing if other anglers have been in them. When it was lower, I knew I was the only one that could get in them.”

With others in the top 10 some 5 pounds behind Cox and Auten, the final day of the Forrest Wood Cup has the appearance of being a two-man race. But enough 15- to 19-pound limits have been weighed in this week to make anything possible.

One thing is for certain: The 2016 Forrest Wood Cup is far from over.

Top 10 Pros

1. John Cox – DeBary, Fla. – 43-5

2. Todd Auten – Lake Wylie, S.C. – 42-12

3. Michael Neal – Dayton, Tenn. – 37-14

4. Bryan Thrift – Shelby, N.C. – 37-13

5. Jacob Wheeler – Indianapolis, Ind. – 37-3

6. Mark Rose – West Memphis, Ark. – 36-9

7. Brandon Cobb – Greenwood, S.C. – 35-9

8. Joseph Webster – Fulton, Miss. – 34.13

9. Chris Johnston – Peterborough, Ontario – 34-3

10. Jeremy Lawyer – Sarcoxie, Mo. – 32-15

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