Justin Kerr and Evergreen's JT Pencil Topwater

For many, the 2021 Bassmaster Classic was their first introduction to Justin Kerr. Justin has been doing well in the bass fishing world for some time. A noted Western angler, Justin loves his topwater baits. Check out this video of him explaining the Evergreen JT Pencil topwater plug. 

Hank Cherry Wins Academy Sports +Outdoor Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk on Ray Roberts!

Hank Cherry reaches legendary status with back to back Classic wins. 
(Photo: BASS)

Canadians Chris Johnston 8th Cory Johnston 11th & Gustafson 21th

BASS PRESS RELEASE  

FORT WORTH, Texas — Hank Cherry now occupies some rare air in the sport of professional bass fishing, and he has the bank statements to prove it.

The Lincolnton, N.C., pro, caught five bass Sunday that weighed 13 pounds, 1 ounce and won the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk with a three-day total of 50 pounds, 15 ounces.

 

He is only the fourth angler in the 51-year history of the Super Bowl of Professional Bass Fishing to win the event in back-to-back years. He earned another of the iconic Classic trophies and his second $300,000 check in 18 months.

 

Another North Carolina pro, Matt Arey, finished second with 49-1 and lost at least one big bass on Championship Sunday that might have put him over the top.

 

“I feel bad for Matt, and I told him I’ve been where he was,” Cherry said. “I had the same thing happen to me and mine happened a lot closer to the boat.

 

“I’m not giving it back — not apologizing for it. If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.”

 

Cherry, a nine-year veteran of the Bassmaster Elite Series, finished third in his first Classic back in 2013 on Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees. Like Arey, he lost a crucial fish in that event that would have given him the trophy.

 

He went through a tough stretch in the Classic after that, finishing no higher than 27th in three tries. But then he put the bad memories of 2013 behind him last year on Lake Guntersville when he caught 29-3 on the first day and rode that mammoth bag to a wire-to-wire victory.

 

He didn’t quite go wire-to-wire this year, starting in third place on the first day with a limit of 20-4. But as suffocating heat moved into the area, the fishing got tougher and Cherry remained consistent enough to stay on top with a Day 2 catch of 17-10 and a final-round bag of 13-1 that was just enough.

 

He caught the bulk of his weight during the week flipping flooded bushes along the shoreline and throwing a jerkbait around riprap along the dam.

2021 Academy Sports +Outdoor Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk on Ray Roberts Day 2: Hank Cherry Leads with 37-14 lbs!

Cherry vaults into lead as most fall due to missing key  morning bite.
(Photo: BASS)

Canadians Chris Johnston 6th, Gustafson 19th &  Cory Johnston 22nd

BASS PRESS RELEASE  

FORT WORTH, Texas — The 54 anglers competing in the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk had planned to start fast and take advantage of an early-morning shad spawn bite that has been extremely reliable this week on Lake Ray Roberts.

 

But Mother Nature threw up an electric stop sign.

 

Freak thunderstorms with dangerous lightning delayed the tournament by more than two hours and negated much of the morning bite. While many of the Day 1 leaders struggled, North Carolina pro Hank Cherry landed 17 pounds, 10 ounces to move from third place into the lead with a two-day total of 37-14.

 

The winner of last year’s Classic on Alabama’s Lake Guntersville, Cherry will now begin Championship Sunday with nearly a 5-pound lead and a chance to become only the fourth angler in the 51-year history of the event to claim back-to-back titles.

 

“There was definitely more pressure to win the first one last year,” Cherry said. “Winning is one thing, but to win it twice, it’s got to all go right.

 

“What’s eerie about this is that it’s the same feeling as last year. I’m out there on the dam today and people are stopped all the way down the dam getting out watching me fish — it just feels the same.”

 

Despite the late takeoff, Cherry got off to a fast start, catching two bass in the 4-pound range flipping a jig into wooden structure. The fish came only four or five casts apart and gave Cherry the shot in the arm he needed to fish confidently all day.

 

That was especially important when he lost a big bass later in the day on a jerkbait.

 

2021 Academy Sports +Outdoor Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk on Ray Roberts Day 1: Kennedy Leads with 23lbs!

Canadians Cory Johnston 9th, Chris Johnston 10th & Gustafson 42nd

BASS PRESS RELEASE 

Shad spawn and white jig key to Kennedy's big limit.
(Photo: BASS) 

FORT WORTH, Texas — Steve Kennedy caught a five-bass limit that weighed 23 pounds Friday to take the lead during the opening round of the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk.

 

And the scary thing is, he said he didn’t even get to go to the biggest bass he found in practice.

 

The Auburn, Ala., pro made the most of an early-morning shad spawn bite, putting the bulk of his limit in the livewell before 7 a.m. Then with the winds blowing hard across Lake Ray Roberts, he decided he wouldn’t be able to proceed with the second part of his game plan.

 

On Saturday, he hopes to exploit that morning bite again — and hopefully move on to Phase 2.

 

“I kind of got stuck up on one end of the lake because the wind was blowing so hard,” said Kennedy, a 10-time Classic qualifier who has finished as high as second in the event. “I didn’t go anywhere near where I was planning on fishing my second deal.

 

“Maybe I will tomorrow. Maybe I won’t have to. If I don’t have to show that until the final day, I sure don’t want to.”

 

During Kennedy’s final day of practice, he said he got 18 bites the first two hours of the morning. But those came during cloudy conditions — and since he didn’t know if there would be cloud cover Friday, he said he tried to cover water as quickly as he could.

Kevin Van Dam cranks to Victory of the 2021 Bass Pro Tour on Lake Chickamauga!

MASON PRINCE • BASS PRO TOUR

With the illustrious career that Kevin VanDam owns, there aren’t very many “firsts” for him anymore. But one first that has escaped him for the last two-and-a-half years is a Bass Pro Tour victory. Put together Lake Chickamauga, ledge fishing, and a crankbait—that’s a perfect formula for getting the greatest professional angler of all time his first Bass Pro Tour win in convincing fashion.

The Michigan pro was able to hold off Jacob Wheeler and Jason Lambert in the final period, finishing with 25 bass for 70 pounds, 1 ounce. While Wheeler and Lambert were able to make it interesting in the end, there’s no doubting that this tournament belonged to KVD.

KVD’s Period 3 Run the Difference

Heading into the final period on Lake Chickamauga, KVD was in fourth place on SCORETRACKER® with 30-15 and 5-7 behind hometown hero, Michael Neal. The lead had traded hands all day long on Chick, with either Neal, Wheeler, Lambert or VanDam holding the lead at some point in the first two periods. About 30 minutes into the final frame, the G.O.A.T. made his move to the top.

VanDam was able to bring in 14 bass for 39-2 in less than an hour thanks to a Strike King Series 5 XD crankbait in Blue Gizzard Shad. The Strike King pro was able to build a 30-pound lead over the rest of the field in just the blink of an eye, one that he never relented for the rest of the day.

“I knew that the afternoons were when I really needed to capitalize this week,” VanDam said. “With the TVA drawing the water out at the dam in the afternoon, I knew that if I could get that school fired up with the current I would have a special day. I found that school in practice and knew it had the potential to get me a win, I’m just glad I was able to catch enough of them.”

KVD Grabs Knockout Round Win; Championship Field Set on Chickamauga

Kevin VanDam secured a Knockout Round win over Jordan Lee and the rest of the field Tuesday on Lake Chickamauga. Photo by Phoenix Moore

MASON PRINCE • BASS PRO TOUR

DAYTON, Tenn. – A local legend, ledge-fishing masters, the greatest professional angler of all time, and a couple of guys trying to be the next GOAT—the Championship Round of the B&W Trailer Hitches Stage Four Presented by ATG x Wrangler has plenty of reasons to tune in Wednesday.

Kevin VanDam took the top spot in the Knockout Round with 18 bass for 46-6, and seven other pros will join him in the Championship Round for a date with Shin Fukae and Jason Lambert.

KVD Feeling Comfortable on Chickamauga

Much like Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan, when Kevin VanDam is in the field with a shot at a championship, there’s an added “it” factor that’s hard to explain. The Michigan angler’s career resume is what makes him unarguably the most successful bass fisherman of all time, and he’s looking to add something to it: his first Bass Pro Tour trophy.

VanDam has three MLF Cup wins to his credit—the most of anyone—but he hasn’t yet made his mark on the Bass Pro Tour. Wednesday on Lake Chickamauga might be his best shot to do so. VanDam says he has a spot he thinks can give him the bites to outlast the other ledge specialists, so it’s all about if the area can hold on for one more day.

2021 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk, on Lake Ray Roberts Pre-Classic Summary

Lake Ray Roberts in transition

By Luigi De Rose 

Texas legend, Zell Rowland explains Ray Roberts.
(Photo: Zell Rowland) 

The 51st. Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk, on Lake Ray Roberts and hosted in Fort Worth Texas on June 11-13, is set to be as exciting and spell bounding as the 50 Classics before it.  Originally planned for March, it was rescheduled to June due to Covid 19. The 54 Classic anglers will fish Lake Ray Roberts, a 29 350-acre reservoir north of Denton, Texas, and the weigh-in will be held in Fort Worth.

A shining star, Lake Ray Roberts isn’t a popular venue on the national tournament circuits yet is should make Texas proud. Overshadowed by legendary San Rayburn, Lake Fork and Toledo Bend, Ray Roberts is a strong fishery. With an excellent largemouth population, Ray Roberts has good numbers and plenty of 5-to-7-pound bass making it a great venue.  

Zell Rowland, a Texas native with 4 decades of tournament angling along with 5 BASS wins and 16 Classics and 1 FLW Cup under his belt predicts that the 2021 Classic winner will have to play the current water conditions and weather to perfection.

Weather

The entire State of Texas has experienced wild and weird weather since the very beginning of 2021. A severe winter storm in February, which saw temperatures plummet well below freezing, set the precedent. A slow thaw prolonged the spawn delaying the typical timetable anglers are accustomed to fishing. Along with a drawn-out spring, the rains have yet to stop coming. Many of the State’s big reservoirs are at flood levels; San Rayburn, in Jasper, Texas, is 11 feet above normal pool. As of Sunday, June 6, Ray Roberts is above normal pool but not at a catastrophic stage yet. Jeff “Gussy'' Gustafson, the 2021 Tennessee River BASS Elite Champion and a Classic qualifier states “that most of the trees have at least 3 feet of water around them and many of the local boat ramps are down due to the high water.”

The weather forecast called for rain and chances of thunderstorms for much of the official Classic practice period. For Monday, June 7, there is a Flash Flood warning for much of the Ray Roberts area.  Luckily, the storm weather looks like it will subside during the three tournament days, greeted anglers with sunny, hot days and light winds.

There is a fear that the lake level might need to be drawn down suddenly to offset the highwater level especially if the flash flood warning comes into fruition.   

Practice

“I’ve tried to make the deep bite work but the fish don’t seem to be out here.” Explains Gustafson.  “It’s been a difficult practice for me and my buddies. It’s been tough to catch a big one.” For any southern angler, June translates to fishing out deep. Humps, creek channels, long points and main lake ledges are the norm.  Jeff, a 2 time Classic qualifier, feels that under the current fishing conditions, a lot of good anglers will not be able to catch a 5 bass limit every day of the Classic.  

Jeff "Gussy" Gustafson hunting for this first Classic win.
(Photo: Brandon Palaniuk) 

When the announcement was made that the Classic was postponed to June, Jeff Gustafson took notice. An award-winning smallmouth angler, he loves probing the depths for bass. A June Classic with a consistent deep-water bite fit Gustafson’s fishing style well. “I’d prefer to fish deep as I like it and its my preference but I’ve put a lot of time out deep and haven’t be able to make it work.” Summarizes Jeff. (He was actually idling over deep-water locations while we spoke on the phone.)

Russ Lane Tops 70 Pounds on Lake Chickamauga, Leads Group A by 21-6

Lane ignites school and gains 20lb lead over Jordan Lee

MASON PRINCE 

BASS PRO TOUR

 

The attention (and a majority of the praise) from the first day of competition in the B&W Trailer Hitches Stage Four Presented by ATG x Wrangler belongs to Russ Lane. The Alabama pro sits on top of SCORETRACKER® looking down at the rest of his Group A counterparts after catching 23 bass for 70 pounds, 12 ounces Friday, and building a more than 21-pound lead on Lake Chickamauga.

 

Lane Locates a Shell Bar Shad Spawn

The B&W Trailer Hitches pro got off to a scorching hot start on a beautiful morning in East Tennessee to build a sizable lead. Lane began his morning by catching 13 bass for 37-4 in Period 1 thanks to a productive area he found during his final day of practice.

“I found a shad spawn yesterday afternoon during practice, so I knew that probably would be a good place to start today,” Lane said. “It was lights out this morning and worked out well for me. It feels awesome to have a cushion over second place like I do right now. I’m going to try to stay fluid, stay open-minded and move with the fish.”

Lane did his damage with a 3/4-ounce vibrating jig during the morning shad spawn. He added 21-15 in Period 2 targeting the same area, which he had a hard time leaving thanks to its productivity. According to Lane, at this time of the year on the Tennessee River, the area he found is about as good as you can get.

Major US fishing retailer posts record quarterly sales

By Mal Baginal 

(Originally posted in Angling International)

Dick’s Sporting Goods has announced record quarterly sales and earnings for the first quarter of 2021, while also raising its full year outlook. On the news, shares jumped more than 7% in pre-market trading.

The US omni-channel retailer crushed analysts’ estimates of $2.18 billion with net sales for the quarter of $2.92 billion, a 119% increase over 2020 and 52% up on a COVID-free 2019. Same-store sales for the period ending May 1st were the basis for the strong performance, with a 115% increase compared to the same period last year. Temporary store closures starting in March last year led to a 29.5% drop compared to 2019.

Same store sales included a 14% leap in e-commerce sales. E-commerce penetration is now at 20% of total net sales. Consolidated income for the quarter was $361.8 million, compared to a net loss in 2020 of $143.4 million. Net income for the first quarter of 2019 was $57.5m.

The 730-store chain revealed that it spent £13m in incremental safety costs in response to COVID during the 13-week period, compared to $62m in 2020.

Dick’s has upwardly revised its full year outlook and now forecasts sales of between $10.5 billion and $10.8 billion. As of Tuesday, May 25th, its shares were up around 50% year-to-date.