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This is one of the original IBASSIN.com videos we shot over Thanksgiving. Cool nights and sunny afternoons can make fishing challenging if you don't get the timing down right.
Canadians: Chris Johnston 40th, Cory Johnston 57th, Gallant 60th, Kung 84th & Gustafson 92nd
Texas pro Chris Zaldain has taken the lead on Day 1 of the Maxam Tire Bassmaster Elite at Pasquotank River/Albemarle Sound with a total of 25 pounds, 8 ounces. (Photo: Seigo Saito/ BASS)
BASS Press Release
ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. — Live by the sword, die by the sword. Chris Zaldain plays the game often, and on Day 1 of the Maxam Tire Bassmaster Elite at Pasquotank River/Albemarle Sound, the veteran mastered the sword.
The Californian turned Texan caught 25 pounds, 8 ounces to take the Day 1 lead on the massive eastern North Carolina waterway. Zaldain will carry a 1-7 advantage over second-place Jason Christie and a 1-8 advantage over third-place Justin Hamner.
Big numbers were expected ahead of this tournament, the seventh of the Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series season. While 11 bags over 20 pounds hit the scales, no angler approached the pace that Kyle Welcher set during the 2025 season.
A true summer tournament is something Zaldain really looked forward to, especially after finishing dead last at Santee Cooper a few weeks prior. Air temperatures have been well over 90 degrees this week and water temperatures are in the 80s.
“I had no preconceived notions. I didn’t force anything. I let the fish tell me what was going on,” the nine-time Classic qualifier said.
It has been drier than normal this spring and early summer throughout the region, and salinity has increased throughout the system as a result. Finding clean, fresh water was at the center of his meticulous practice strategy.
“I paid very close attention to what the wind was doing,” Zaldain explained. “I used the Deep Dive app to help with that. The other thing I use in that app is the streamflow feature. It shows you where the cleanest, freshest water is coming in. I was able to spend my practice time there.”
He started in one of the several rivers that connect to the Albemarle Sound and got bit. He moved to the next river and got bit doing essentially the same thing. At that point, he knew he could run it anywhere.
“I purposely stayed out of the river I knew I was going to go to and worked on my pattern in other rivers,” Zaldain said. “Fishing big lines, big rods and catching big fish.”
Canadians Cory Johnston 5th
MUSKOGEE, Okla. — Family’s important to Jacob Foutz, so when he made a promise to his great grandmother Judy Fisher, he intended to keep it. Two years after her passing, Foutz fulfilled his oath by winning the Gamakatsu Bassmaster Elite at Arkansas River.
After tallying a four-day winning total of 72 pounds, 4 ounces, Foutz linked a transitional moment in his final day to that longstanding family commitment.
“This afternoon, I had 30 minutes before I locked (back to Pool 16 from Pool 15) and I had gone back for a big one I had seen on bed,” said the 27-year-old from Philadelphia, Tenn. “My great grandma was my biggest fan. Every time I saw her, I promised her a blue trophy.
“That big fish wasn’t there and I said, ‘Grandma, if you’re watching, I can use a 5-pounder right now.’ About 5 minutes later, I caught a 6-1. You can’t script it any better than that.”
Foutz placed seventh on Day 1 with a bag of 18-1 and moved up to second a day later with 18-15. Adding 20-10 on Semifinal Saturday, Foutz took over the lead by a margin of 6-9.
Canadians Cory Johnston 5th, Chris Johnston 20th & Gustafson 49th
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| Tennessee's Jacob Foutz has taken the lead on Day 3 of the Gamakatsu Bassmaster Elite at Arkansas River with a three-day total of 57 pounds, 10 ounces. (Photo: Seigo Saito/ BASS) |
BASS Press Release
MUSKOGEE, Okla. — On a day marked with significant weather impact, Jacob Foutz looked like he was fishing different waters than the other 49 semi-finalists competing in the Gamakatsu Bassmaster Elite at Arkansas River.
In a way, he actually was, as the pro from Philadelphia, Tenn., has enjoyed three days of complete solitude in a backwater area of the Illinois River branching off the east side of Kerr Lake (Pool 15). During that time, Foutz has amassed a total of 57 pounds, 10 ounces, which sends him into Championship Sunday with a cozy lead of 6-9 over the first two days’ leader Fisher Anaya.
“It feels like I’m fishing in a different fishery; clean water, big ole bass — I can’t complain,” Foutz grinned. “Where I caught them today, I found it yesterday, but it’s part of the same backwater area I’ve been fishing.”
Keeping himself in the hunt, Foutz started with a seventh-place bag of 18-1 and moved up to second with a Day 2 limit that went 18-15. Adding his best effort — a third-round limit of 20-10 — puts him squarely in the driver’s seat.
A major storm system, which brought big winds toward the end of Friday’s weigh-ins, dropped air temperatures by about 15 degrees and lingered the blustery conditions throughout Day 3. Fortunately, Foutz was fishing in protected backwaters.
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| “It’s funny, in the previous Elite tournament (Lake Martin), I finished dead last and I win this one. Last year, I finished dead last (in another trail) and then I won.” — Jason Christie (Photo: Andy Crawford/ BASS) |
Canadians Gustafson 17th, Cory Johnston 24th, Chris Johnston 28th, Gallant 86th & Kung 101st
BASS Press Release
COLUMBUS, Miss. — His opening game plan may not have panned out, but after a second day of impressive consistency, Jason Christie took over the Day 3 lead in the Mountain Dew Bassmaster Elite at Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway with a three-day total of 45 pounds, 9 ounces.
The decorated veteran from Dry Creek, Okla., made a big first-day run that included two locks and caught a limit of 12-5 that left him tied with Brandon Cobb for 37th place. Day 2 saw Christie adjust his focus to closer waters where a limit of 16-10 lifted him to fifth.
Repeating his program on Semifinal Saturday, Christie added another bag of 16-10 and moved into the top spot. Heading into Championship Sunday with a margin of 1-4 over Day 2 leader Wesley Gore, Christie said he’s doing his best to capitalize on unpredictable opportunity.
“I’ve just been lucky and getting a few good bites,” Christie said. “You don’t know when that’s gonna happen, or where it’s gonna happen. All I know is I’m putting my bait in front of the right ones and I’m landing them.
“I think that’s gonna be key tomorrow. Whoever wins is gonna get two or three good bites, he’s gonna land them and he’s gonna win $100,000. Hopefully, it’s me.”
Christie, who has eight Bassmaster wins to his credit — including the 2022 Bassmaster Classic at Lake Hartwell — said location was the key to faring well on this system known as the Tenn-Tom.
Takahiro Omori scored his first Bass Pro Tour win and was the only angler to never use his forward-facing sonar throughout all of Stage 2. Photo by Phoenix Moore.
By Mitchell Forde
BASS PRO TOUR
OCONEE COUNTY, S.C. — Prior to the Bass Pro Tour’s first ever visit to Lake Hartwell, the prevailing expectation was that finesse techniques and spotted bass would rule O’Reilly Auto Parts Stage 2 Presented by Lowrance. A few anglers have managed to contend in past tournaments on the famed fishery by catching shallow largemouth, but given the Bass Pro Tour’s every-fish-counts scoring, the February timing of this event and the fact that the water is about 7 feet low, no one would have predicted that bladed jigs, dirty water and largemouth would dominate.
That included Takahiro Omori.
The angler best known for exclaiming “I knew it!” after he caught the winning fish at the 2004 Bassmaster Classic admitted that he didn’t anticipate being able to contend on Hartwell while sticking in his power fishing wheelhouse – much less earning his long-awaited first Bass Pro Tour win.
“To be honest, I had no motivation to come here,” the Tokyo, Japan, native said. “I thought I was coming here to get beat by the spots.”
But Omori never wavered from his game plan. The veteran pro spent the entire event in the Tugaloo River, using his smooth casting skills to pick apart whatever shallow cover he could find in the backs of creeks. He never even bothered to turn on forward-facing sonar.
The result was a near wire-to-wire win. After he finished Day 1 in second place, Omori topped the Qualifying Round, earning an automatic trip to Sunday’s Championship Round. There, he overcame a slow start to stack up 36 pounds, 6 ounces on 12 scorable bass. With post-frontal, windy conditions making the bite tough on everyone, that was enough to edge Jacob Walker by 2-10. His first tour-level victory since 2018 and the ninth of Omori’s decorated career earned him $125,000.
Here’s how the Top 10 pros finished the Championship Round:
Takahiro Omori – 36-6 (12)
Jacob Walker – 33-12 (12)
Matt Becker – 29-4 (11)
Banks Shaw – 27-9 (10)
Jacob Wall – 23-15 (9)
Spencer Shuffield – 22-6 (9)
Jesse Wiggins – 19-6 (5)
Jacob Wheeler – 14-14 (6)
Ott DeFoe – 14-7 (6)
Justin Cooper – 13-12 (5)
GROVE, Okla. – The final day of the Toyota Series Championship Presented by Phoenix Boats on Grand Lake will go down as one of the tightest of all time. Entering Championship Saturday, four Ozark stalwarts were ounces apart – in theory shooting it out with jigs and spinnerbaits for the win. Then, the power fishing bite crumbled, and Drew Gill, Tucker Smith and Riley Harris blitzed up the leaderboard, picking off fish after fish with forward-facing sonar.
At weigh-in, Smith and Gill both weighed over 14 pounds, by far the biggest bags of the day. But, with 11 pounds, 7 ounces, Roger Fitzpatrick had just enough to hang on, moving up from second to first with 41-1 and beating Gill for the win via tiebreak, which is previous day’s standing first and then heaviest single-day catch, both of which favored the veteran angler.
For the win, which is his 13th with MLF in nearly 250 events, Fitzpatrick took home $200,250 plus a berth in REDCREST 2026 – which just to happens to be at Table Rock Lake, where he’s won twice before with MLF. Though Fitzpatrick had come oh so close many times in the Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American, he’d never won it or a Toyota Series event until now. Throw in a Fishing Clash Angler of the Year title in the Plains Division, and it’s clear that Fitzpatrick waited until age 61 to have his best year yet.
As someone who has been cashing checks with MLF/FLW since 1995, Fitzpatrick has plenty of experience when it comes to winning, but he’s probably going to need to fish for another 30 years or so to replicate this one.
TOP FINISHERS BELOW
RICHMOND, Va. – Keith Poche has a sterling record when it comes to riverine fisheries, with a bevy of Top 10s and wins on rivers proper plus high finishes plucked from the upper reaches of reservoirs. At Stop 5 Presented by 7Brew Coffee on the James River, Poche led the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals event from the start after catching the biggest bag of the event on Day 1 – 23 pounds, 15 ounces. On Day 3, he tallied 12-15 for an even 53-pound total and the win, surviving 20-pound charges from Chad Mrazek and Dustin Smith and staying well clear of his closest competition at the start of the day.
The win is Poche’s third with MLF and his first at the Invitationals level, and he pocketed $80,000 for his efforts. It also sends him into next week’s Bass Pro Tour Zenni Stage 6 Presented by Athletic Brewing Company at the Potomac River (just up the Chesapeake Bay) with some prime time tidal momentum.
Famous for running a Gator Trax aluminum boat with a 150-horsepower Mercury, Poche is a master when it comes to getting where others can’t. This week, he caught all but one of his weigh fish out of a hard-to-reach creek off the James, which he could access at any water level – a feat that others in larger tin rigs and standard fiberglass boats couldn’t accomplish.
“That was the X-factor in the whole deal, my boat and motor,” Poche said. “I mean, having that Gator Trax with a Mercury allowed me to win. I could get there. No nobody else could. It doesn’t matter how many fish are in there if you can’t get there. That was the difference.”
In practice, Poche scouted the area, which he’s leaned on before in James events, and he immediately liked his chances.
Banks Shaw added another highlight to his stat sheet this week. Photo by Rob Matsuura
Jody White
MLF Press Release
COUNCE, Tenn. – Tackle
Warehouse Invitationals Stop 4 Presented by E3 Sport Apparel turned out to be
gem of a Pickwick Lake tournament, with big weights and a tight finish on the
final day. Taking the title – his first on the Invitationals – Banks
Shaw tallied 26 pounds, 6 ounces on Day 1, 21-11 on Day 2 and finished
off with an even 23 pounds on the final day for a 71-1 total and a convincing
margin over Jake Lawrence. With a 67-15 total, Lawrence won the
tiebreaker to beat Jacob
Walker, who finished third.
Shaw took home his fourth MLF winner’s trophy between
College, Toyota Series and the Invitationals, and by far his biggest payday yet
– a cool $115,000, which includes the Phoenix MLF Bonus. Shaw also took over
the Fishing Clash Angler of the Year lead with 783 points,
while Mitchell Robinson finished 19th and moved up to second
in the points.
In 2024, Shaw won the Toyota Series event on Chickamauga, his home lake, with a
record-winning margin and an 82-12 total – as you’d guess, he won it offshore.
Raised on Chick, Shaw has been fishing offshore on the Tennessee River his
whole life, and going to school at the University of North Alabama has given
him an intimate familiarity with Pickwick. This week, having to make hay
without the aid of forward-facing sonar on Day 2, Shaw put together a real
master class on modern Tennessee River success.
Shaw primarily targeted a few schools out deep on Day 1 and mostly relied on an offshore shad spawn on Day 2. On the final day, he mixed the two to secure the win. A key difference-maker for Shaw turned out to be Day 2, when many contenders dropped out of the hunt.
TOP 10 BELOW
BASS PRESS RELEASE
PALATKA, Fla. — When the necessary became the nemesis, Bill Lowen’s patient persistence delivered a clutch catch that typified his amazing day.
Bolstering a Day 1 limit of 21 pounds, 5 ounces with a second-round bag that went 24-4, the seasoned pro from Brookville, Ind., leads the 2025 FXR Pro Fish Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River with a two-day total of 45-9. Lowen heads into Semifinal Saturday with a 7-14 margin over Day 1 leader Jay Przekurat.
“It was an amazing day; you just can’t explain it when it happens,” Lowen said. “You look for those days all the time, and I had one of those days today.”
Lowen has been targeting shallow wood with a flipping jig and swim jig. When he hooked a solid bass around noon, the fish became entangled in a pile of limbs. After a couple of minutes of Lowen tugging and carefully poking his rod tip toward the snare, the fish suddenly found its way free.
“I saw the fish run a bream up against the bank, so I threw my jig over there, and as soon as the jig hit the water, she ate it,” Lowen said. “I was going to the back of the boat to land her and she just got stuck in a (submerged tree). I could feel her pulling, so I knew she was still there, but I couldn’t gain on her.
Canadians Chris Johnston 17th, Gallant 28th, Gustafson 29th & Cory Johnston 38th!
BASS PRESS Release
TULSA, Okla. — “I’m leading the Bassmaster Classic,” said Justin Hamner, sounding as much like he was asking a question as making a statement.
But it was 100% true.
The young pro from Northport, Ala., weighed in 22 pounds, 6 ounces Friday to take the Day 1 lead at the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Jockey Outdoors. The fourth-year member of the Bassmaster Elite Series found a pattern on Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees that placed him just over a pound ahead of Missouri pro Cody Huff and continued the flow of what has been a dream 2024 season.
“This whole year has just been so much fun,” said Hamner, who opened his Elite Series season with a 14th-place finish at Toledo Bend and a third-place showing at Lake Fork last month. “I’ve just been fishing free and doing what I want to do with no stress. I’m just going back to my roots and bass fishing knowing it’s my only job for the first time ever.
“It still hits me sometimes that this is the first year that I don’t have to have a side job anymore. This is what I do now — and obviously, I couldn’t be any happier than I am right now.”
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| Japanese Elite Pro Kenta Kimura uses buzzbait and cranks to claim James River victory.(Photo: BASS) |
Ibassin.com goes fall smallmouth fishing with fellow outdoor writer Don Sangster. It is Canadian Thanksgiving and we hope the smallmouth are eating more than turkey. Come along and check out how Luigi De Rose and Don Sangster figure out how to catch smallmouth from a deep, clear lake.
Canadians Chris Johnston 4th, Cory Johnston 70th & Gustafson 72nd
BASS PRESS RELEASE
Christie fishing skinny water for fat bass.
(Photo: BASS)
Putting significant distance between himself and the rest of the 98-boat field, Jason Christie amassed a two-day total of 28 pounds, 15 ounces and took over the Day 2 lead of the 2021 Dovetail Games Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River sponsored by Bassmaster Fishing 2022 – the official video game of B.A.S.S.
Placing second on Thursday with 15-1, the pro from Park Hill, Okla., added 13-14 Friday.
Christie is running nearly two hours up the Sabine River to fish a small backwater area with abundant shallow cover and clear water. He caught fish flipping yesterday, but with more inflowing water, a 1/2-ounce chartreuse/white/blue Booyah Covert spinnerbait with tandem nickel and gold Colorado blades produced best Friday.
“The water was high and the current was ripping in there and I’m starting to think that the best thing to do is just cover water when it’s high,” Christie said. “Tomorrow, I might go up there and it might be low and the current’s slowed down and I can catch them flipping again. I’ll just have to see what happens when I get there.”
Christie had previously visited his general area when the Elites last visited the Sabine in 2018. Expanding his waters led him to greater opportunity.
“I just didn’t go far enough the last time we were here, and it seems like they’re tucked in there a little ways,” Christie said. “I had practiced up there and, honestly, I had written it off, but I got home and looked at Google Earth and there was one place I hadn’t been.
