Alabama’s Will Davis Jr. leads the St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Lake Martin presented by SEVIIN with 13 pounds even.
Photo by Dalton Tumblin/B.A.S.S.
Oct. 10, 2024
Big largemouth carry Davis to Day 1 lead at Lake Martin Open
ALEXANDER CITY, Ala. — Things are changing quickly on Lake Martin, but so far Will Davis Jr. has been the best at keeping up.
With a Day 1 limit weighing 13 pounds, 0 ounces, the 2023 Whataburger Bassmaster Elite Series at Lay Lake champion leads the St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Lake Martin presented by SEVIIN by 8 ounces over second-place Allen Brooks and 9 ounces over third-place Dakota Ebare.
Davis anchored his bag with the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the Day, a unicorn 4-9 largemouth he caught with a Davis Baits Wood Jig and a Big Bite chunk.
While he’s known as more of a Coosa River stick, the two-time B.A.S.S. Nation Series champion knows plenty about Lake Martin and the importance of landing a kicker bite. He only landed eight bass all day, but they were the right ones.
“I just know from being around here that you aren’t going to win out there ’Scoping,” he said. “You have to have both the dock or brush deal and the ‘Scoping deal going to win. The lake is full of fish — a large population of small spotted bass. The largemouth population is about nonexistent.”
After the remnants of Hurricane Helene caused devastating damage to the upstate of South Carolina and the Lake Hartwell area, tournament officials made the decision to move the final Open of the year to Alabama.
Sunny skies have prevailed thus far, but a cold front pushed through just before the tournament, bringing cooler nights with it. Lake levels are also higher than normal, but the water is starting to fall, throwing another wrench into the equation. Water temperatures have started around 75 degrees and then warmed to 83 degrees, which has Davis thinking the bass aren’t quite to their fall patterns yet.
“The water is dropping a little bit right now, so some of the big ones pull up to eat bream while some of them fall back to hang out in front of the shade. It is really hard to pattern them right now,” Davis said. “My biggest one came out of 20 feet of water and my other big one came out of 2 feet of water. They are still in that pre-fall transition. With the water dropping, too, I think it has the bass a little confused.”
Starting the morning on a couple of shallow bars, Davis landed several keeper spotted bass before moving to the bank to fish docks. The first two hours of the morning have provided some of his better bites, but he has also noticed a bite window that occurs after noon.
“I went four hours today without a bite,” he said. “When the sun got high, it pushed the bass under the docks. There was a lot of wind on a lot of my stuff today and I couldn’t fish it like I wanted to.”
Davis added around 13 pounds has been the winning weight for most of the local tournaments lately. He anticipates Day 2 will be a tougher day, and running new water will be important.
“In a 100-boat field, 9½ pounds gets you paid most of the time here,” he said. “A big bag down here this time of year is 15 pounds. That is a giant bag. You have to run new water here. The big ones don’t replenish on this lake, and they never have.”
Hailing from Georgia, Brooks landed a limit measuring 12-8 to finish the day in second place. While Lake Lanier is his home fishery, another lake in his home state helped him break down Lake Martin.
“I have a lake house at Lake Nottely and it is identical to this place,” Brooks said. “I love it. I probably caught 20 bass today just fishing. I imagine it will be difficult for me to duplicate; I got two lucky bites. I should catch a lot of fish.”
Brooks filled out his limit within the first 30 minutes of the day and culled up by ounces throughout the day. Late in the day he landed his biggest bass, a 3-9 largemouth that bolstered his bag. Two primary presentations produced the majority of his bites.
“I have it focused in a little bit,” he said. “I’m not LiveScoping. I’ve been fishing really shallow.”
Entering the day in seventh in the Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers race, and needing a good day to feel comfortable in the Top 9, Ebare landed 12-7 to land in third place.
“I’m thankful for the way it worked out,” he said. “I started out the morning trying to get a big bite, and I was fortunate to do that. It really settled me down and I changed my whole game plan (after that). I fished the rest of the day in a way I didn’t even practice for.”
Ebare took advantage of a morning bite and filled out his limit, which gave him the confidence to change his strategy and hunt for big bass. He has three baits that have caught bass.
“I really slowed down and picked some stuff apart. I expanded on what I thought was going on. I got more bites doing what I was doing than I anticipated,” he said. “There is definitely bait in the areas, and I used the wind to my advantage for sure.”
Not only will the winner clinch a spot in the 2025 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic at Lake Ray Roberts, outside of Davis — who is already Classic qualified — nine invites to the 2025 Bassmaster Elite Series will be awarded at the end of the tournament.
After Day 1, Minnesota’s Easton Fothergill leads the Tackle Warehouse Elite Qualifiers race with 1,597 points while Cody Meyer is second with 1,592 points. Georgia’s Paul Marks is third with 1,513 points followed by Emil Wagner in fourth with 1,504 points and Andrew Loberg in fifth with 1,500 points. Ebare is sixth with 1,494 points, Tucker Smith is seventh with 1,492 points and Evan Kung is eighth with 1,456.
If the tournament ended today, Alabama’s Matt Adams would be the final angler to clinch an Elite Series invite with 1,454 points while Beau Browning would be the first man out with 1,443 points.
The full field of 121 anglers will launch from Wind Creek State Park beginning at 6:30 a.m. CT and return for weigh-in at 2:30 p.m. The co-angler champion will be crowned at the end of the Day 2 weigh-in while the Top 10 boaters will advance to Championship Saturday. Live coverage will air on FS2 Friday from 8 a.m. to noon ET and on FS1 Saturday from 8-11 a.m.
2024 St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Lake Martin presented by SEVIIN (originally Lake Hartwell) 10/10-10/12
Lake Martin, Alexander City AL.
(BOATER) Standings Day 1
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Will Davis Jr Childersburg, AL 5 13-00 200
Day 1: 5 13-00
2. Allen Brooks Canton, GA 5 12-08 199
Day 1: 5 12-08
3. Dakota Ebare Brookeland, TX 5 12-07 198
Day 1: 5 12-07
4. Cody Meyer Eagle, ID 5 11-13 197
Day 1: 5 11-13
5. Paul Marks Cumming, GA 5 11-11 196
Day 1: 5 11-11
6. Kyle Palmer Winchester, TN 5 11-07 195
Day 1: 5 11-07
7. Yui Aoki Minamitsurugun JAPAN 5 11-06 194
Day 1: 5 11-06
8. Byron Kenney Jr Monticello, GA 5 11-05 193
Day 1: 5 11-05
9. Adam Rasmussen Sturgeon Bay, WI 5 11-00 192
Day 1: 5 11-00
10. Brady Vernon Sterrett, AL 5 10-15 191
Day 1: 5 10-15
11. Derek Lehtonen Woodruff, SC 5 10-10 190
Day 1: 5 10-10
12. Kyle Weisenburger Columbus Grv, OH 5 10-09 189
Day 1: 5 10-09
13. Brent Shores Boise, ID 5 10-06 188
Day 1: 5 10-06
14. Dalton Smith Taylorsville, KY 5 10-05 187
Day 1: 5 10-05
15. Chase Clarke Virginia Beach, VA 5 10-03 186
Day 1: 5 10-03
15. Joey Nania Cropwell, AL 5 10-03 186
Day 1: 5 10-03
17. Ty Faber Pagosa Springs, CO 5 10-01 184
Day 1: 5 10-01
17. Brett Hite Phoenix, AZ 5 10-01 184
Day 1: 5 10-01
17. James Niggemeyer Van, TX 5 10-01 184
Day 1: 5 10-01
20. Jacob Thompkins Myrtle Beach, SC 5 10-00 181
Day 1: 5 10-00
21. Bobby Bakewell Orlando, FL 5 09-14 180
Day 1: 5 09-14
21. Bailey Bleser Burlington, WI 5 09-14 180
Day 1: 5 09-14
21. Chad Grigsby Maple Grove, MN 5 09-14 180
Day 1: 5 09-14
24. Kenta Kimura Osaka OK JAPAN 5 09-14 177
Day 1: 5 09-14
25. Jack Dice Lynchburg, VA 5 09-12 176
Day 1: 5 09-12
26. Easton Fothergill Grand Rapids , MN 5 09-11 175
Day 1: 5 09-11
26. Darold Gleason Many, LA 5 09-11 175
Day 1: 5 09-11
28. Chris Blanchette Edisto Island, SC 5 09-10 173
Day 1: 5 09-10
28. Andrew Loberg Grant, AL 5 09-10 173
Day 1: 5 09-10
28. Emil Wagner Marietta, GA 5 09-10 173
Day 1: 5 09-10
31. Jack York Emory, TX 5 09-08 170
Day 1: 5 09-08
32. Matt Adams Oxford, AL 5 09-07 169
Day 1: 5 09-07
32. Josh Butler Hayden, AL 5 09-07 169
Day 1: 5 09-07
34. Scott Martin Clewiston, FL 5 09-06 167
Day 1: 5 09-06
35. Evan Kung Pickering Ontario CANAD 5 09-05 166
Day 1: 5 09-05
36. Connor Jacob Auburn, AL 5 09-04 165
Day 1: 5 09-04
36. Blake Smith Lakeland, FL 5 09-04 165
Day 1: 5 09-04
38. Kyle Monti Okeechobee, FL 5 09-03 163
Day 1: 5 09-03
38. Randall Tharp Port St. Joe, FL 5 09-03 163
Day 1: 5 09-03
40. Tristan McCormick Burns, TN 5 09-02 161
Day 1: 5 09-02
41. Austin Cranford Norman, OK 5 09-00 160
Day 1: 5 09-00
41. Charlie Hartley Grove City, OH 5 09-00 160
Day 1: 5 09-00
43. Beau Browning Hot Springs National Pa 5 08-15 158
Day 1: 5 08-15
43. Masayuki Matsushita Porter TX JAPAN 5 08-15 158
Day 1: 5 08-15
45. Matt Messer Warfield, KY 5 08-14 156
Day 1: 5 08-14
46. Sean Clayton Seneca, SC 5 08-13 155
Day 1: 5 08-13
46. Parker Guy Ocilla, GA 5 08-13 155
Day 1: 5 08-13
48. Brock Belik Orchard, NE 5 08-12 153
Day 1: 5 08-12
48. Scout Echols Monticello, AR 5 08-12 153
Day 1: 5 08-12
48. Trevor McKinney Noble, IL 5 08-12 153
Day 1: 5 08-12
48. Cliff Pace Ovett, MS 5 08-12 153
Day 1: 5 08-12
52. Laker Howell Guntersville, AL 5 08-11 149
Day 1: 5 08-11
53. Trey Swindle Cleveland, AL 5 08-10 148
Day 1: 5 08-10
54. Tyler Campbell Martin, GA 5 08-09 147
Day 1: 5 08-09
55. Avery Williams Murrells Inlt, SC 5 08-08 146
Day 1: 5 08-08
56. Colden Baker Ridgeway, SC 5 08-07 145
Day 1: 5 08-07
56. Freddy Palmer Estill Springs, TN 5 08-07 145
Day 1: 5 08-07
56. Dylan Quilatan Windermere, FL 5 08-07 145
Day 1: 5 08-07
59. Tucker Smith Birmingham, AL 5 08-06 142
Day 1: 5 08-06
59. Bo Thomas Edwardsburg, MI 5 08-06 142
Day 1: 5 08-06
61. Elijah Benson Dahlonega, GA 5 08-05 140
Day 1: 5 08-05
61. Andrew Harp Linden, TX 5 08-05 140
Day 1: 5 08-05
61. Logan Latuso Gonzales, LA 5 08-05 140
Day 1: 5 08-05
61. Josh Wiesner Fon du Lac, WI 5 08-05 140
Day 1: 5 08-05
65. Logan Johnson Jasper, AL 5 08-04 136
Day 1: 5 08-04
65. Garrett Paquette Canton, MI 5 08-04 136
Day 1: 5 08-04
67. Zach Goutremout Chaumont, NY 5 08-03 134
Day 1: 5 08-03
67. Sam Hanggi Knoxville, TN 5 08-03 134
Day 1: 5 08-03
69. Paul Browning Monahans, TX 5 08-00 132
Day 1: 5 08-00
69. Yukihiro Sawamura Harker Heights, TX 5 08-00 132
Day 1: 5 08-00
71. Paul Bouvier Kingston CANADA 5 07-15 130
Day 1: 5 07-15
71. Garrett Warren Scottsboro, AL 5 07-15 130
Day 1: 5 07-15
73. Robbie Latuso Gonzales, LA 5 07-12 128
Day 1: 5 07-12
74. Doc Wootton Collierville, TN 5 07-12 127
Day 1: 5 07-12
75. Ish Monroe Oakdale, CA 5 07-11 126
Day 1: 5 07-11
76. Cody Stahl Barnsville, GA 5 07-10 125
Day 1: 5 07-10
77. Kevin Dritschler Prosper, TX 5 07-08 124
Day 1: 5 07-08
77. Bryan Finch Belton, TX 5 07-08 124
Day 1: 5 07-08
77. Bryan Partak Marseilles, IL 5 07-08 124
Day 1: 5 07-08
80. Blake Schroeder Whitehouse, TX 5 07-07 121
Day 1: 5 07-07
81. Woo Daves Spring Grove, VA 5 07-05 120
Day 1: 5 07-05
81. Jake Maddux Roswell, GA 5 07-05 120
Day 1: 5 07-05
83. Greg Bohannan Bentonville, AR 5 07-04 118
Day 1: 5 07-04
83. Russ Lane Prattville, AL 5 07-04 118
Day 1: 5 07-04
85. Chris Whitson Louisville, TN 5 07-03 116
Day 1: 5 07-03
86. Kyle Metzger Pearl River, LA 5 07-02 115
Day 1: 5 07-02
86. Brayden Rakes Winston Salem, NC 5 07-02 115
Day 1: 5 07-02
88. Jacob Bigelow Cecil, WI 5 07-01 113
Day 1: 5 07-01
89. Mike McClelland Blue Eye, MO 5 06-15 112
Day 1: 5 06-15
90. Trey Schroeder Theodosia, MO 5 06-15 111
Day 1: 5 06-15
91. Cole Drummond Effingham, SC 5 06-12 110
Day 1: 5 06-12
91. Satoshi Egawa Fort Lee, NJ 5 06-12 110
Day 1: 5 06-12
93. Tommy Dunaway Havana, FL 5 06-11 108
Day 1: 5 06-11
94. Chris Beaudrie Princeton, KY 5 06-10 107
Day 1: 5 06-10
94. Dylan Mayo Athens, TX 5 06-10 107
Day 1: 5 06-10
94. Garrett Rocamora Lake wales, FL 5 06-10 107
Day 1: 5 06-10
97. Brian Post Janesville, WI 5 06-09 104
Day 1: 5 06-09
98. Kyle Austin Ridgeville, SC 5 06-08 103
Day 1: 5 06-08
99. Destry Ford Tuscaloosa, AL 5 06-07 102
Day 1: 5 06-07
100. Billy Gilbert Hamburg, NY 5 06-05 101
Day 1: 5 06-05
101. Daisuke Kita Ostu Shiga JAPAN 5 06-03 100
Day 1: 5 06-03
101. Al Trapp Inverness, FL 5 06-03 100
Day 1: 5 06-03
103. Allen Armour Cumming, GA 5 06-02 98
Day 1: 5 06-02
103. Chancy Walters West Des Moines, IA 5 06-02 98
Day 1: 5 06-02
105. Clint Leonard Jr Saint Cloud, FL 5 05-15 96
Day 1: 5 05-15
105. Chris Lighthizer Zanesville, OH 5 05-15 96
Day 1: 5 05-15
105. Matt Molitor Canton, IL 5 05-15 96
Day 1: 5 05-15
108. Mike Mayo Athens, TX 5 05-12 93
Day 1: 5 05-12
108. Lance Owen Greer, SC 5 05-12 93
Day 1: 5 05-12
110. Sho Egawa Osaka JAPAN 5 05-10 91
Day 1: 5 05-10
111. Danny Ramsey Trinidad, TX 4 05-02 90
Day 1: 4 05-02
112. Jimmy Washam Stantonville, TN 4 04-11 89
Day 1: 4 04-11
113. Chris Hellebuyck White Lake, MI 3 04-07 88
Day 1: 3 04-07
114. Bird Jones Loxahatchee, FL 4 04-01 87
Day 1: 4 04-01
115. Rick Pierce Mountain Home, AR 3 03-15 86
Day 1: 3 03-15
116. Anastasia Patterson Sumter, SC 4 03-09 85
Day 1: 4 03-09
117. Mark Guhne Hixson, TN 3 03-08 84
Day 1: 3 03-08
118. Harry Moore Valley, AL 2 03-00 83
Day 1: 2 03-00
119. Joey Hanna Corsicana, TX 1 00-15 82
Day 1: 1 00-15
120. Teb Jones Yalaha, MS 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00
120. Chuck Pippin Jr Gotha, FL 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00
———————————————————————–
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 110 578 973-04
———————————-
110 578 973-04
2024 St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Lake Martin presented by SEVIIN (originally Lake Hartwell) 10/10-10/12
Lake Martin, Alexander City AL.
(NON_BOATER) Standings Day 1
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Chad Stahl Barnesville, GA 3 05-10 200
Day 1: 3 05-10
2. Jason Law Tifton, GA 3 05-09 199
Day 1: 3 05-09
3. Macoy Fisher Clewiston, FL 3 05-07 198
Day 1: 3 05-07
4. Satoshi Yaguchi Ibaraki Gun JAPAN 3 05-06 197
Day 1: 3 05-06
5. Riku Hayashi Ritto Shiga JAPAN 3 05-04 196
Day 1: 3 05-04
6. Tadd Davis Colon, MI 3 05-03 195
Day 1: 3 05-03
7. Gordon Smith Clover, SC 3 05-02 194
Day 1: 3 05-02
8. David Waack Cary, NC 3 05-01 193
Day 1: 3 05-01
9. Niko Romero Coldspring, TX 3 05-00 192
Day 1: 3 05-00
10. Andrew Fuller Marietta, GA 3 04-15 191
Day 1: 3 04-15
10. Richard Greene Ocala, FL 3 04-15 191
Day 1: 3 04-15
12. Jason Barber Gun Barrel City, TX 3 04-14 189
Day 1: 3 04-14
12. Keith Gunsauls Dandridge, TN 3 04-14 189
Day 1: 3 04-14
14. Jimmy Fellegy Mustang, OK 3 04-12 187
Day 1: 3 04-12
15. Jonathan Barnette Jasper, AL 3 04-11 186
Day 1: 3 04-11
16. Thomas Abraham Winchester, TN 3 04-10 185
Day 1: 3 04-10
17. Jason George Farragut, TN 3 04-09 184
Day 1: 3 04-09
18. Lee Stewart Raeford, NC 3 04-08 183
Day 1: 3 04-08
19. Charles Bowman II Kernersville, NC 3 04-07 182
Day 1: 3 04-07
19. Marrell Deering Rome, GA 3 04-07 182
Day 1: 3 04-07
19. Sakae Ushio Tonawanda, NY 3 04-07 182
Day 1: 3 04-07
22. Jordan McDonald Jackson, GA 3 04-06 179
Day 1: 3 04-06
23. Daniel Vasquez Boynton Beach, FL 3 04-05 178
Day 1: 3 04-05
24. John Sanderlin IV Chesapeake, VA 3 04-04 177
Day 1: 3 04-04
25. Eddie Kidd Fort Moore, GA 3 04-02 176
Day 1: 3 04-02
26. Gary Haraguchi Murfreesboro, TN 3 04-01 175
Day 1: 3 04-01
27. Bryce Kelly Lakeland, FL 3 04-00 174
Day 1: 3 04-00
27. Will Major Port Allen, LA 3 04-00 174
Day 1: 3 04-00
29. Hayden Spradling Gilbert, AZ 3 03-15 172
Day 1: 3 03-15
30. Byong Lee Stedman, NC 3 03-14 171
Day 1: 3 03-14
31. Alex Watts Salem, VA 3 03-13 170
Day 1: 3 03-13
32. Stephen Mickle Pell City, AL 3 03-12 169
Day 1: 3 03-12
33. Tristan Bramblett Tiger, GA 3 03-10 168
Day 1: 3 03-10
34. Troy Mims Suwanee, GA 3 03-09 167
Day 1: 3 03-09
35. Andrus Kung Pickering CANADA 3 03-08 166
Day 1: 3 03-08
35. Todd Lee Jasper, AL 3 03-08 166
Day 1: 3 03-08
37. Matt Champion Scottsville, NY 2 03-07 164
Day 1: 2 03-07
38. Tristian Dupuis Shreveport, LA 3 03-05 163
Day 1: 3 03-05
38. Sawyer Hunt Springfield, GA 3 03-05 163
Day 1: 3 03-05
40. Adler Odle Willow Springs, MO 3 03-04 161
Day 1: 3 03-04
41. Albert Jones Jr Covington, GA 3 03-01 160
Day 1: 3 03-01
42. Brandon Clayton Haslet , TX 3 03-00 159
Day 1: 3 03-00
43. Jimmy Obrien Southampton, NY 2 03-00 158
Day 1: 2 03-00
44. Don Harvey Franklin, TN 3 02-14 157
Day 1: 3 02-14
45. Mikki Sprenkle Linden, NC 2 02-09 156
Day 1: 2 02-09
46. Brandon Parson Erwin, NC 2 02-08 155
Day 1: 2 02-08
47. Andy Simm Piney Flats, TN 2 02-07 154
Day 1: 2 02-07
48. William Baker Ridgeway, SC 2 02-02 153
Day 1: 2 02-02
49. Ricky Fulk Shenandoah, VA 1 01-15 152
Day 1: 1 01-15
50. Tiffany Leal Austin, TX 2 01-13 151
Day 1: 2 01-13
51. Bill Hutchison Jr. Bessemer, AL 2 01-12 150
Day 1: 2 01-12
52. Austin Nelson Apopka, FL 1 01-09 149
Day 1: 1 01-09
53. Steve Deyton Forest City, NC 1 01-05 148
Day 1: 1 01-05
53. Cody Koehler Acworth, GA 1 01-05 148
Day 1: 1 01-05
55. Kristian Johnson Belvidere, NJ 1 01-02 146
Day 1: 1 01-02
56. Ronald Miller Attalla, AL 1 00-15 145
Day 1: 1 00-15
57. Bobby Williams Salisbury, NC 1 00-12 144
Day 1: 1 00-12
58. Donald Biggs Murphysboro, IL 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00
58. Wes Burchfiel Granite Falls, NC 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00
58. Chris Earles Lady Lake, FL 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00
58. Carl Hunter Snellville, GA 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00
58. Kyle Jenkins Summerville, SC 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00
58. Shawn Martin Weirsdale, FL 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00
58. Ethan Puller Guthrie, OK 0 00-00 0
Day 1: 0 00-00
———————————————————————–
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 42 149 209-12
———————————-
42 149 209-12
