Japanese Phenom Kyoya Fujita Wins 2023 Dakota Lithium Bassmaster Elite at Lake Champlain!

Kyoya Fujita of Minamitsuru, Japan, has won the Dakota Lithium Bassmaster Elite at Lake Champlain with a four-day total of 86 pounds, 12 ounces.  (Photo: Seigo Saito/ BASS)

Bassmaster Press Release

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. — The big bites mostly eluded Kyoya Fujita, but the Elite rookie’s diligence delivered the coveted blue trophy, as the Japanese superstar amassed the winning total of 86 pounds, 12 ounces in the Dakota Lithium Bassmaster Elite at Lake Champlain.

 

“This feels great!” Fujita said. “My dream (has been) to win an Elite Series tournament. My dream came true.”

 

After placing 10th on Day 1 with 21-5, Fujita added 23-14 — the VMC Monster Bag of the event — and took over the Day 2 lead. Fujita held onto the top spot with a Semifinal Sunday limit of 22-9 and closed the deal with his Championship Monday bag that weighed 19 pounds.

 

The week brought a diverse meteorological mix, which included a storm system that postponed Day 2 from Friday to Saturday. Days 1 and 3 brought mostly sunny conditions, while the even number days saw dimmer, cloudy skies. Wind was a constant challenge.

 

Heavily geared toward sight feeding, smallmouth like sunshine, so Championship Monday’s dreary conditions, plus a week’s worth of heavy fishing pressure, seemed to be curbing the fish’s aggression. After three days with multiple 4-pounders, Fujita had only one fish over 4 Monday and fell short of the 20-pound mark for the first time.

 

“It was a struggle today,” Fujita said. “I got on a school of fish (later in the day) and they wouldn’t bite. I kept dropping on them and finally a big one bit my bait on the way down."

Bryan Thrift Wins 2023 Bass Pro Shops REDCREST Presented by Shore Lunch!

Mason Prince

BASS PRO TOUR

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – He was the favorite to win before the week began. He was the man to beat all week. He was the leader for the past two days. On Sunday, Bryan Thrift made the inevitable a reality. Thrift is the Bass Pro Shops REDCREST Presented by Shore Lunch Champion.

The North Carolina native proved to be too much for the pursuing Alton Jones Jr. and Edwin Evers to overcome. Thrift finished with five bass for 13 pounds, 10 ounces, pushing his three-day total to 46-12 and 4-6 clear of the second-place Jones.

Thrift becomes the first angler in history to win both a REDCREST and Forrest Wood Cup trophy as well as the fourth different pro to win the Bass Pro Tour championship since its inception.

How Thrift got it done on Norman

The weights were indeed lower on Sunday just as Jones Jr. predicted on Saturday — the heaviest limit of the day belonged to Casey Ashley at just 15-11 — but that’s to be expected with the frigid and wet weather that rolled through the Lake Norman area. Thrift wasn’t immune to the struggles that the rest of the Top 10 faced. After two limits over 15 pounds before the final day, Thrift only managed 13-10 on Sunday.

Casey Martin Smashed 40 Pound Limit to Win by 20 pounds.

Mega bag wins Guntersville Tournament

by FLW Communications

Casey Martin of New Hope, Alabama, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 40 pounds, 11 ounces, Saturday to win the first T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Bama Division event of 2017 on Lake Guntersville. Martin’s catch was the second-largest single-day limit to ever be weighed in at a BFL event, and the third-largest all-time across all FLW tournament circuits.

Casey Martin claims big win on G-Ville.
(Photo: FLW)

“It was pretty insane to weigh in those bass,” said Martin, who took home $6,859 for his win. “I’m still in disbelief. It happened so fast that it hasn’t really sunk in yet.”

Martin said he started out targeting both largemouth and smallmouth bass in different areas, and was able to put together a limit fairly quick.

“At that point, I figured I had enough weight to earn my entry fee back,” said Martin. “So, I decided to swing for the fence at that point and run to some deeper water, near causeways. They can be good this time of year.

“I came across a school of fish at one point, looked at my graph and it was lighting up,” continued Martin. “I caught one bass that was close to 7 pounds, and within 10 minutes I had three more in the boat – a 9-pounder, and two in the 8-pound range.

Martin said he used a Picasso Double Barrel ½-ounce underspin with a 4-inch Smoky Shad-colored Z-Man DieZel Minnowz to catch all but the 9-pounder. For that, he said he used a swimbait on a 3/4-ounce Freedom Tackle Hydra Hybrid Jig.

“Later on I made a run to an area near Goose Pond and caught another 7-pounder out of some grass on a Rat-L-Trap,” said Martin. “I didn’t think I had 40 pounds, I thought I only had 33 or 34. I’ve seen those kinds of limits come in at BFL tournaments before.”