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.

New JACKALL Chan Wake Bait 130

The new Chan Wake Wake bait from Jackall is one cool topwater lure. Listen to Big Jim Laughlin as he explains all the great features of this tail spinner wake bait.

ICAST 2016 The LINK by Lunkerhunt and Matt Arey

Lunkerhunt has invented a really interesting bait for the 2016 ICAST SHOW. It walks and swims like no other bait on the water. FLW pro Matt Arey explains why the LINK is so cool.

Nautique (Correct Craft) Acquires Bass Cat and Yar-Craft Boats

Boat Industry is Quickly Shrinking.

(Official Press Release)

Today our family grew and we could not be more excited. Nautique’s parent company, Correct Craft, acquired both Bass Cat and Yar-Craft – the two premier freshwater fishing brands in the boating industry.

Bass Cat is the industry’s highest quality bass fishing boat and, during the years JD Power surveyed boating customers, Bass Cat was the highest quality boat in the ENTIRE boating industry! Yar-Craft is the industry’s highest quality walleye fishing boat and both brands are known for outstanding customer service. So, as you can see, they will fit right in with our family!

Bill and Rick Pierce after closing. 

Both Bass Cat and Yar-Craft have great organizational cultures and Ron and Jan Pierce and their family (the prior owners) have done a great job leading them and building these brands. Over the past year I have grown to significantly respect the Pierce family and I am thrilled to announce that Rick Pierce, the founder’s son, has agreed to stay on as President of both brands. The Bass Cat and Yar-Craft boats are built by loyal and hardworking employees in Mountain Home, Arkansas and we have no plans to change either the team or location. We bought these brands because they are already great brands with great teams!

Nautique’s parent company, Correct Craft, has been making waves in our industry the past few years with growth and acquisitions. People often ask us about Correct Craft and our various companies and organization so, below is a brief summary that will help everyone keep the players straight:

• Correct Craft is the parent company of all the other companies and brands. I am honored to serve as CEO of Correct Craft.
• Nautique is the company most known as being part of Correct Craft. Nautique builds the world’s best ski and wake boats and sells them in sixty-seven countries around the globe.
• Bass Cat is the bass fishing industry’s highest quality boat. It has a forty-year heritage built by the Pierce family.
• Yar-Craft is the world’s premier walleye fishing boat.

AR Lures Crank S65

AR Lures is a neat company. Relatively new to North America, is has its roots in Japan and China. When most companies are perfecting injection molding and internal weight transferring systems, AR focused on wood. Each bait is sculpted from Bass wood, a favourite among carvers. Wood always had an appeal with bass fisherman. It provides a distinct wobble and natural action that is unmatched. The marvelous hand painting will stop you in your tracts. Depending on the bait, each model has its own unique series of colour patterns.
WEB LINK

The Crank S 65
Listed as a silent wake bait, it has a chubby, potbelly profile. Its running depth is 0- 1.5 feet. depending on retrieve and line size.

Data: 

2.6" (65mm)

1/2oz (16g)