Patrick Walters wins the 2024 Minn Kota Bassmaster Elite at Lake Murray with 93 pounds, 15 ounces.

 Walters wins in dominating fashion at Lake Murray

Wire to wire win for Walters who sacks massive 26lb limit on final day. 
(Photo: BASS/Andy Crawford)

By David A. Brown

BASS Press Release

PROSPERITY, S.C. — Despite the gloomy weather, Monday brought bright prospects for Patrick Walters, who leveraged the opportunity to inflict a straight-up South Carolina smackdown en route to notching a wire-to-wire victory in the Minn Kota Bassmaster Elite at Lake Murray.

Following Thursday’s storms, which postponed the event’s scheduled start to Friday, a mostly cloudy Day 1 saw Walters catch 25 pounds, 8 ounces and establish a lead of 3-3. Adding a second-round limit of 19-13 kept Walters on top and expanded his margin to 4-15. With 21-14 on Day 3, Walters carried a margin of 8-4 into the final round.

Saving the best for last, he rocked Championship Monday with 26-12 — the Rapala CrushCity Monster Bag of the Tournament worth a $2,000 bonus — and tallied an incredible four-day total of 93-15. Besting Missouri pro Cody Huff by 12-11, Walters won his third blue trophy and the $102,000 top prize. He also has two career wins in the St. Croix Bassmaster Opens presented by SEVIIN.

Brent Crow Wins 2021 MLF Toyota Series Championship on Lake Pickwick!

Canadian Barry Graves wins International Title

MLF PRESS RELEASE

COUNCE, Tenn. – Fishing below the Wilson Dam, Brent Crow of Hartselle, Alabama, came out swinging on the final day of the Toyota Series Championship Presented by Guaranteed Rate at Pickwick Lake. Tallying 23 pounds, 1 ounce before 9 a.m., Crow moved from 10th to first with a 52-2 total. For the win, Crow earned $247,500 with the MLF Phoenix Bonus and other contingency money for a total payout of nearly a quarter-million dollars.

But the win isn’t something he just magically stumbled upon, it’s almost as if it was destiny. Crow is a guide on Pickwick, so he had this event circled on his calendar since it was announced. The only issue for him, however, was the stars couldn’t align if he wasn’t qualified for the event.

Enter the Northern Division.

“I’m not trying to make a living as a professional,” Crow says. “I make a living fishing and I like to fish and if the schedule suits me I fish. When the championship was announced it was going to be here in the fall I thought, ‘Oh, I got to make that.’ I had some conflicts, so I couldn’t fish some of the divisions and I didn’t like the Southern Division schedule. But I’ve been to Champlain before and I love St. Clair, so I love the north. Then I saw 1000 Islands and heard how good it was so I thought I’d go up there.

“It worked out perfect because it’s our slow time down here. July, August there’s not much guiding, or the fishing’s not that good here, so I went up north and was able to make it. I put more effort into making this championship than I have any of them. It worked out.”

While the Champlain event didn’t go as planned, Crow made a Top 10 at the St. Lawrence and survived the Potomac with an 18th-place showing to easily qualify for the Championship. With his ticket punched, all Crow had to do was sit back and wait for practice to start.

“I planned to fish below the [Wilson Dam] tailrace, that’s what I do,” Crow says. “I’ve been fishing here for years and years and I guide, so in the fall I usually fish below the dam in the tailrace. I didn’t want to go up there in practice for a lot of reasons, I didn’t want people to see me up there or know if they’re biting good.”

Lane, Swindle & Avena Classic Bound!

3 more join 2019 Classic
By Brian Brasher

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Adrian Avena told his followers on social media Thursday night that Friday’s final round of the Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster Classic Bracket on Carters Lake would be the most important six hours of his career.
 
Then he went out and made the most of the opportunity.
 
The New Jersey pro was one of three anglers — along with Gerald Swindle and Chris Lane of Alabama — who won their head-to-head matches during the Bracket finals to earn berths into the 2019 Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods.
 
Avena, who will be making his first trip to the Super Bowl of Professional Bass Fishing, caught a five-bass limit that weighed 8 pounds, 11 ounces, to easily win his match with Japanese pro Shin Fukae, who boated only one keeper that weighed 1-5.
 
“Today was all about making a dream come true,” Avena said. “I’ve never had a day of fishing that meant more, and I’m so glad it happened the way it did for me.”
 

Scott Martin Wins 2017 Walmart FLW Tour Lake Cumberland with 60-01lbs!

Smallmouth key to victory.

by Rob Newell

FLW PRESS RELEASE

Adjusting to calm, clear water key to win.
(Photo: FLW)

After leading day one of the FLW Tour event on Lake Cumberland presented by T-H Marine, then falling back to fifth place on day two, Scott Martin of Clewiston, Fla., battled back to regain his lead on the final day of the event Sunday, winning in Kentucky with a four-day total of 60 pounds, 1 ounce.

This marks Martin’s 8th FLW Tour win – a new FLW record. During his 18-year career he has won Tour events in Florida, Mississippi, New York, Arkansas, Maryland and now Kentucky, proving that he’s matured from a being just a kid under his famous father’s wing to one of the top anglers in the professional fishing world.

His win on Lake Cumberland demonstrated just how much he has learned to trust his instincts to fish new water instead of being chained only to places where he has caught fish in the past.

“When I first started fishing professionally, I would only fish places where I had caught a fish in practice or in the tournament,” Martin says. “I didn’t have the confidence to go down the lake during a tournament and just pull into a place I had never fished before. Basically, I was a very spot- or area-oriented angler. So this win feels good because it shows progress in becoming more of a pattern-oriented angler that is willing to take risks on new water during the events.”

TOP 10 BELOW

ICAST 2016 The LINK by Lunkerhunt and Matt Arey

The LUNKERHUNT Team created one of the most interesting baits at ICAST this year called THE LINK.  This joined bait swims, wakes and wobbles like no other. Let's hear from FLW Pro Matt Arey on why its so great.

THE LUNKERHUNT LINK

THE LUNKERHUNT LINK

Click here to link to video.

When you see the Lunkerhunt Link^TM up-close, you will marvel at its realism and patterns.   You will immediately think of a dozen places where you want to fish it. You can tell it is a fish catcher just looking at it.  It is when you make that first cast, and the Lunkerhunt Link^TM springs to life, that you will get truly excited.  You get caught up with it, playing with different cadences and retrieves as it walks its way across the water.  The action comes effortlessly.  Whether you are casting a chasing baitfish body style or a snake design, the strikes they generate are ferocious.

The Lunkerhunt Link^TM replicates some of North America’s most popular forage and it comes in two styles: chasing baitfish which replicates fleeing minnows, and serpent, which mimics the slithering action of a snake or eel along the water’s surface.  

The Link^TM is available in two sizes, 4.5 inches and 6.75 inches.  It is also available in 9 natural forage patterns.

The Link is constructed around a reinforced internal stringer that has been designed to withstand the punishment of fish, after fish, after fish.   The Link also features three super sharp premium black nickel treble hooks that keep fish locked when they bite.

Lunkerhunt Link Features:

·       Innovative hinged “Link” technology

·       Chasing Baitfish and Serpent body patterns

·       Two sizes: 4.5 inch - 1/4 ounce and 6.75 inch - 5/8 ounce

·       Reinforced internal stringer for durability and strength

·       Two body styles: Baitfish and Snake

·       Three premium black nickel treble hooks

      

       LUNKERHUNT LINK MSRP: $12.99 to $13.99 USD

2015 Forrest L. Wood Cup Lake Ouachita Day 3: Wheeler Back on Top!

Unsettled day mixes leaderboard.
by Rob Newell

FLW PRESS RELEASE

The weather across the Ozarks was unstable and volatile today – much like the leaderboard on the third day of the Forrest Wood Cup presented by Walmart at Lake Ouachita.

First there was rain. Then sunshine. Then wind. Then another round of storms thrashed the top 20 pros just before check-in.

Jacob set to win his second Cup!
(Photo: FLW)

Names on the leaderboard swirled about as well. Weights were the lowest of the week, with Bryan Thrift checking in the day’s best weight of 14 pounds, 3 ounces for his biggest move of the tournament from 10th to fourth place. But some, like day-two leader Ramie Colson Jr., endured the dark clouds of not being able to complete a limit, which dropped him to third place.

By day’s end it was Jacob Wheeler who found the sunniest spot atop the leaderboard, regaining his first-place position from day one with a 14-pound limit, which gives him a three-day total of 41 pounds, 1 ounce and a scant 12-ounce lead over second-place pro Brad Knight.

Interestingly, as Wheeler and Knight battle it out on the final day, their strategies are very different. Wheeler is running a true pattern across the lake. Knight, however, is banking primarily on one area for the win.

2015 New Release from OSP: DAI BUZZN' Heavy Hitter

New Wake Bait from Japanese Star Toshinari Namiki
By Luigi De Rose

Another great crankbait was release earlier this year from OSP of Japan. This gem is their newest wake bait and a lot of attention to details will ensure it produces. The deep angled circuit board lip, called the HP Slashbill keeps the DAI BUZZN' Heavy Hitter running depth to just 5cm (under 2 inches). Making it ideal for cranking above weed patches, rip rap or other cover.

Loaded with two tungsten balls for an ultra loud, pounding rattle this wake bait is designed for stained water and heavy cover. At 64mm (2.5") this chubby crankbait is well balanced with two ultra sharp treble hooks. This floating model, weights 17g (3/5oz) and casts very well with heavy casting gear. The DAI BUZZN' Heavy Hitter uses a custom ABS resin to produce extra vibration and rattle plus ensure a stronger body. Expect top-quality Japanese finishes in all 9 custom colours.

The DAI BAZZN' Heavy Hitter is a new style of baits called OSP Works Secondary. The focus of the Works Secondary line are pro-tuned models that have been modified for specific or unique bass fishing techniques.