| Buzzkill Prefish Evolves into Fine Finish |
| Whitewater® pro staffer, Jay Przekurat, fishes the 2023 BASSMASTER CLASSIC, the youngest-ever angler to compete |
| MUSKEGON, Mich. (March 29, 2023) – Perseverance starts with a P, and so does Przekurat (pronounced sh-cur-it). After a dreadful few days prefishing, the youngest pro bass angler to win both a B.A.S.S. Elite event and compete in a BASSMASTER CLASSIC, Wisconsin-based Jay Przekurat finished in the Top 10. We talked with Jay after the event and asked him to run-down the entire experience from practice through weigh-in. Here’s what he had to say. |
| Image courtesty of B.A.S.S. |
| How was practice? “Practice was brutal. They were a few of the worst days I’ve ever experienced fishing-wise,” says Przekurat. “Water temperatures were anywhere from 39 to 42 degrees.” “It was raining sideways with wind gusts up to 50 mph. The second and third day of practice temperatures were in the 20s, and the third day I couldn’t stop removing ice from my rod guides until 3:30 in the afternoon.”“We had another practice day the following Wednesday and it started to warm up a little bit, but it was still rainy and windy. Fishing-wise, it was horrible for me. I caught one to two keepers a day for four days, and I was really trying to catch them, not just scouting. So, I ended up with what would have been about eight keepers over four days of practice.” |
| What was the tournament like for you?“When the tournament finally came around, we had completely different conditions and it was warm. The night before the tournament started it never got below 60 degrees,” says Przekurat. “Water temps climbed up to like 55 to the mid-60s. The main river was around 57 or 58 degrees, and the backwaters were 60- to 65 degrees.”“Then, during the first day, it got up to 80 and the second and third day of the Classic the air temperature was in the 70s. So, conditions for the Classic were awesome but for me the fishing did not really get any better. I don’t know why.”“But I ended up scratching out a limit each tournament day which completely shocked me, especially after the practice I had.”“Presentation-wise, I basically threw everything out the window that I had been doing during practice and picked up a jig, which is my favorite thing to do back home. I just flipped it around anything I could see sticking up out of the water. It’s a confidence thing for me. I wasn’t getting that many bites anyway, so I figured I might as well fish a jig.”“Right away on the first morning—during the first 10 minutes—I got a bite off a tree that was off the bank a little way. I knew I could do that the entire day. So, I kept running new water and catching what I could. I did the same thing on Days 2 and 3 but tried to expand on it, finding new areas around the lake. I ended up concentrating on a 10-mile zone up the river. “It all looks good on paper, but I caught seven keepers the first day of the Classic, five keepers the second day, and five keepers the third day. So, I never had extra fish the second and third day of the tournament. I was fortunate to catch a limit every day.” |
| Photo courtesy of B.A.S.S. |
| What’s your advice to other anglers fishing pre-spawn bass in similar conditions?“Look for fish closer to the main river. Especially during early prespawn like we had, bass will set up closer to the main river. They’re not going to run back into the pockets right away. Just because the water’s warm back there doesn’t mean the fish are there yet. Especially on the Tennessee River, what I’ve learned is being close to the main river—or on the main river itself—whether it’s a flat, just off a flat, or around isolated wood, is going to come into play this time of year or in these kinds of conditions,” advises Przekurat. |
| Classic ApparelSpeaking to the fishing apparel that he, his dad, and the NEXT BITE crew were heavily involved in with Whitewater—Przekurat says practice was made a little more bearable thanks to the Whitewater Great Lakes raingear and Tamer softshell.“For most of the tournament I wore the Whitewater Tamer Jacket and Bibs, except for one morning when it was raining. I wore the Great Lakes bibs that morning for a bit, but pretty much wore the Tamer Jacket and Bib the entire tournament. I love wearing the Tamer Bibs because they don’t weigh you down or restrict you when you’re moving around the boat.” Apparel will soon be available at dealers but is available online NOW at whitewaterfish.com. |
