Skeet Reese claims first Bass Pro Tour trophy with James River!

By Michell Forde

BASS PRO TOUR

RICHMOND, Va. — On his 55th birthday, Skeet Reese received the best present of his life. The Bass Fishing Hall of Famer added his first Bass Pro Tour trophy to his long list of accolades at General Tire Stage Six Presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts on the James River, plus the $100,000 top prize that came with it.

Reese totaled 54 pounds, 3 ounces on 23 scorable bass during Sunday’s Championship Round. He would need just about all of it, as Jeff Sprague put together a furious late-day rally but ultimately fell 3-11 shy of Reese’s total. 

The California pro said the 12th victory of his legendary career will go down as one of his most memorable, as each passing season has made him increasingly hungry to join the list of BPT champions.

“This I what I’ve been fishing for the last five years out here, trying to be able to be in a position to hoist one of these Bass Pro Tour trophies,” Reese said. “To beat the group of guys that we compete against – I mean, literally, this is the best group of anglers assembled ever in the history of the sport. So, to beat these guys, that means a lot to me.”

Here’s how the Top 10 finished the Championship Round:

1. Skeet Reese — 54-3 (23)
2. Jeff Sprague — 50-8 (25)
3. Nick LeBrun — 37-3 (16)
4. Bryan Thrift — 35-9 (16)
5. Michael Neal — 34-10 (16)
6. Gerald Spohrer — 32-11 (14)
7. Dylan Hays — 30-4 (14)
8. Spencer Shuffield — 24-9 (12)
9. Andy Montgomery — 18-2 (10)
10. Jonathon VanDam — 14-6 (7)

Complete results

2018 Bassmaster Elite Kentucky Lake Day 3: Wesley Strader Jumps into Lead with lbs!

Shad spawn key to leaders
David A. Brown

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Wesley Strader caught a five-bass limit during Sunday’s semifinal round of the Berkley Bassmaster Elite at Kentucky Lake presented by Abu Garcia that weighed 22 pounds, 6 ounces.
 
It was the biggest limit of the day — and it put the Spring City, Tenn., pro in position for his first-ever Elite Series victory with a three-day total of 59-9.
 
Despite his strong effort on Day 3, Strader said the fishing has been anything but easy.
 
“It’s a struggle to get bit,” Strader said. “But if you hang around, you can catch a few. I’m making it look a lot easier than it is. I only got eight keeper bites today.
 
“It’s really weird. One day you’ll get a lot of bites, and then one day you won’t get many. Every time I caught one today, it’d be on the very back hook, which tells me they’re not eating. They’re just slapping at it, but luckily my Trokar hooks kept them buttoned up.”
 
Strader took advantage of the daybreak shad spawn, but that window was smaller Sunday than it had been earlier in the event. The change was due to cooler, sunnier conditions.
 
“I think the shad spawn was shorter today because it got cold last night,” Strader said. “The water cooled off. The optimum water temperature for the shad to spawn at daybreak is somewhere close to 70, and this morning it was 64 to 65. That knocked it back a little bit, plus the bright skies didn’t help. We got about 30 minutes and it quit.”
 

2018 Bassmaster Elite Kentucky Lake Day 2: Skeet Reese Leads with 45-05lbs!

Swimbaits keep to top anglers 

David A. Brown
BASS PRESS RELEASE

Squarebill and swimbaits key for Skeet.
(Photo: BASS)

When Bassmaster tournament emcee Dave Mercer noted that Skeet Reese was “making it look easy” during the morning’s Bassmaster LIVE coverage, the veteran pro gave a simple explanation for the seemingly tranquil performance that pushed him into the lead with 45 pounds, 5 ounces on Day 2 of the Berkley Bassmaster Elite at Kentucky Lake presented by Abu Garcia.

“It’s easy when you have 20 pounds in the boat,” Reese said.

Indeed, the Auburn, Calif., Elite angler got the party started early and quickly added 21-10 to his 23-11 from yesterday. Noting that he was more dialed in on his pattern today, Reese had his limit by 8 a.m. and had caught his day’s weight by about 10.

This early productivity bore consistent with the morning shad spawn that had bass rallying around key areas awash with reproducing baitfish.

“The shad spawn was everything,” Reese said. “They’re feeding for the first four hours of the day, but the last two days we’ve had cloud cover, which probably extended the bite.”

Reese caught his fish on a mix that included a jerkbait, swimbait and squarebill crankbait. The latter did most of the work, but presentations had to be specific.

“The whole key is getting the bait to deflect,” Reese said. “If your bait’s not deflecting off the bottom, for the most part, you’re not getting the bites. The key is triggering these fish. It’s typical postspawn.”

2018 Bassmaster Elite Grand Lake Day 3: KVD Jumps into Lead with 64-13lbs

KVD early morning rampage key to lead.
By Thomas Allen
BASS PRESS RELEASE

KVD on the prowl for 25th win.
(Photo: BASS)

After catching his heaviest limit of the tournament on Day 3, bass fishing superstar Kevin VanDam took over the lead at the 2018 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Elite at Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees.
 
VanDam's 22 pounds, 4 ounces was his third exceeding the 20-pound mark — a benchmark in professional bass fishing -- the only angler to do so. His three-day total is 64-13 gives him a 3-4 lead heading into the final round of the four-day Elite tournament. VanDam is looking to add to his record 24 titles on the Bassmaster tournament trail, including four Bassmaster Classic wins and seven Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year awards.
 
With $100,000 on the line for first place, and win No. 25 for the Kalamazoo, Mich., resident, VanDam is confident his fishing areas are only getting better.
 
“It’s going to take another bag of 20 pounds or better to win this thing,” he said. “I think where I’ve spent my time this week has the right fish, but as the standings will show, the other Top 12 anglers are also catching them. I’m not comfortable yet.”
 
The field will be cut down to the Top 12 anglers with VanDam leading them out on Championship Sunday.
 
“Each of us are focusing on spawning bass,” VanDam said. “And with the weather and moon phase both factors, the spots are reloading by the hour. The bass are fat and very healthy looking — plus I feel like my pattern is only getting stronger.”
 

2018 Bassmaster Elite Lake Martin Day 3: Takahiro Omori Continues Lead with 32-11lbs!

Omori needs only one more day 
By Bryan Brasher
BASS PRESS RELEASE

Crankbait and current key to Tak's dominance.
(Photo: BASS)

While fishing Saturday’s semifinal round of the Bassmaster Elite at Lake Martin presented by Econo Lodge, Takahiro Omori caught a bass that had two crankbaits in its mouth.
 
One was a chartreuse colored bait that Omori had lost on an underwater tree branch Friday, and the other was the red bait he fished with most of the day Saturday.
 
In 287 events with B.A.S.S., Omori said he’s never had anything like that happen before. But it’s been a charmed tournament for the Japanese-born angler turned Texas resident.
 
Omori utilized one tiny spot on Lake Martin for the third straight day Saturday, landing a five-bass limit that weighed 12 pounds, 13 ounces. He’ll now lead the field into Championship Sunday with a three-day weight of 45-8 and a chance to claim his seventh career victory.
 
“That crankbait is just a once-in-a-lifetime story,” Omori said. “I think maybe what happened is that it got hung up and the fish ate it before. Then it ate the other bait today.
 
“Maybe that’s a sign that everything is going right.”
 
Omori has been traveling up the lake each day to a small nondescript spot that can’t be easily accessed. He has to trim his outboard up to get through some extremely shallow water and then use his Power-Pole shallow-water anchors to hold his boat in place while making continuous casts to an area about twice as wide as a bass boat.
 
So far, it’s been worth the trouble.
 
Omori landed 18-2 during Thursday’s first round and followed that with 14-9 Friday. He’s left with the fish still biting each day, and he’s hoping the spot has one more good day left in it.
 
“We won’t know until tomorrow,” he said. “I just plan to work on my tackle tonight, get a good night’s sleep and go right back there in the morning.”
 
His lead is anything but rock solid, with four anglers within about 6 pounds of the lead.
 
Rookie Roy Hawk caught five bass that weighed 12-10 Saturday and pushed his second-place total to 41-6. He said he might be even closer to the leader if it hadn’t been for one missed opportunity.
 

Mark Rose Wins 2017 Walmart FLW Tour Lake Guntersville with 79-11 lbs!

Rose milks Brown's creek for win.

by Rob Newell 

FLW PRESS RELESE

Coming into the FLW Tour event presented by Lowrance at Lake Guntersville, Mark Rose had quite a laundry list of reasons why he wanted to win the tournament.

First of all, Lake Guntersville has a rich history in the sport of professional bass fishing. Fishing legends such as Zell Rowland, George Cochran, Rick Clunn and David Fritts have all won national events on the historic lake. Rose has always wanted to put his name alongside such icons as a professional tournament winner on Guntersville.

Consistency key to Rose's win.
(Photo: FLW)

Second, Rose has been so close to victory in other events on Guntersville. He has finished runner-up in a Costa FLW Series event and a Tour event at the lake.

Rose is also well known for his deep-water prowess. He has earned his moniker as a “ledgemaster” through multiple offshore wins along the Tennessee River. With that, he felt like he had become almost pigeonholed as a deep-water specialist and was ready to prove to himself that he can win events in waist-deep water as well.

Finally, Rose was ready to erase a memory from Sam Rayburn Reservoir in 2014 when he lead an FLW Tour event going into the last day and faltered, letting none other than Bryan Thrift slip past him and grab the brass ring.

2017 Walmart FLW Tour Lake Guntersville Day 3: Mark Rose Leads by 5 lbs!

Cory Johnston finishes 11th

FLW PRESS RELESE
Over the past 10 years, the name Mark Rose has become synonymous with summer and fall ledge fishing along the Tennessee River chain of lakes. He’s won six FLW tournaments on the system, mostly during the postspawn period. However, as he is proving this week on the frigid waters of Lake Guntersville at the FLW Tour event presented by Lowrance, Rose’s Tennessee River savvy extends beyond summer and fall. After checking in 19 pounds on day three, Rose now leads the FLW Tour event with a three-day total of 61 pounds, 8 ounces, carrying a 4-pound, 12-ounce advantage into the final day.

Rose ready to win 7th Tennessee River event.
(Photo: FLW)

Rose’s inherent understanding of Tennessee River bass, no matter if the water temperature is 45 degrees or 85 degrees, is uncanny.

“I just feel comfortable on these Tennessee River lakes,” Rose says. “It’s hard to explain, but I can assess water conditions quickly here, and I have a feel of where to look for bass given the conditions. Some of the places I’m catching bass this week are the same kinds of things I look for in the summer – little transitions, indentions, isolated pieces of cover. I’m just looking for that stuff in 2 to 6 feet of water now instead of 20 or 30 feet like I would be in the summer. But it’s the same kinds of little subtle changes in the bottom that create the habit that Tennessee River bass like to live on.”

Rose’s gift for reading Tennessee River water came into play in a major way on day three after a cold overnight northeast wind pummeled his best shallow grass area, turning some of it a stained to muddy color. On days one and two, Rose had targeted inside grass lines with vibrating jigs for prespawn fish. With the dirtier, colder water today, Rose moved up to fish shallower rock with a crank bait.
TOP 10 BELOW

2014 ICAST Strike King KVD 8.0 Square Bill Crankbait with Mark Rose & IB...

2014 ICAST we find FLW Pro and deep water expert Mark Rose with the new KVD 8.0 Square bill crankbait. Big baits equal big bites. We've all heard that before, so tie on the all-new KVD 8.0 from Strike King and prepare to catch a giant!

"The nature of today's tournament atmosphere has changed," says four-time Bassmaster Classic champion Kevin VanDam. "Gone are the days of catching a limit to survive. Survival and success in today's tournaments require catching 5 big bass every single day.

ICAST 2013 The New Storm Arashi Crankbait with Brandon Palaniuk and IBA...

While at ICAST 2013, IBASSIN.com discovers a cool and unique crankbait in the Storm booth. The new Arashi crankbait really is something new from Storm baits. Listen to B.A.S.S. Elite pro Brandon Palaniuk as he explains all the unique features of his new bait.

AR Lure's Squarebill Crank-50 and Crank-D50 Crankbaits

AR Lures has another hit on their hands. The Crank-50 wooden squarebill crankbait. Available in a several versions, this wooden crankbait has great wobble. Each is hefty enough to launch to the other side of the lake yet not difficult to crank. Both models is huge range of custom colours. 

Crank-50 Stats:

size: 2" (50mm)

weight: 3/8oz (10g)

depth: 2.5 feet

Crank-D50

size: 2" (50mm)

weight: 1/3oz 

depth: 6 feet

Crank-D50 above and Crank-50 below

A closer look at the Crank-50's square bill.  

Fishing in a Crowd Part 3: The Change Up.

The Change Up

The recent Walmart FLW tournament on the Potomac River was classic community weed flat fishing.  Large areas held wads of bass. Anglers quickly realized the bounty and pounded it for all its worth. Scott Martin, the winner and leader each and every day of the event used skill to keep atop the leader board.

Pitching craws is a standard grass technique. Scott switched to a paddle tail worm. This isn’t old school thinking but more of a Florida standard that doesn’t get a lot of play. The tail provides pulsing vibration plus it’s slim profile slips through cover with ease. Sometimes offering a different profile is in order.

Recently, Florida tournaments, especially on Lake Okeechobee, have been dominated by black blue jigs. For years, Florida was the domain of soft plastic worms. Now, the jig is catching on in popularity. Someone must have figured it out. Consider the popularity of the chatterbait, drop shot, Alabama rig and Senko. Each has a local following until anglers started experimenting. Now these baits are sold across the globe.