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Wednesday, October 9, 2024
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Spencer Shuffield Leads Top Ten to Championship Round at B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One at Toledo Bend Presented by Power-Pole

Brian Carter
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Spencer Shuffield Leads Top Ten to Championship Round at B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One at Toledo Bend Presented by Power-Pole

Arkansas pro catches 30 bass weighing 101-14 to lead Knockout Round, final 10 anglers set for Championship Sunday in final-day shootout for top prize of $100,000

MANY, La. (Feb. 3, 2024) – After hovering near the top of the leaderboard in the two-day Qualifying Round, pro Spencer Shuffield of Hot Springs, Arkansas, finished Day 5 of competition on top, catching 30 scorable bass weighing 101-14 to pace the Knockout Round and advance to the final day of competition at the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One at Toledo Bend Presented by Power-Pole.

The Arkansas pro took over the lead mid-day, rising to the top of a stacked field going into Sunday’s Championship Round. In addition to Shuffield, a star-studded field of pros will compete in the final day of competition, including REDCREST 2021 Champion Dustin Connell of Clanton, Arkansas, two-time Fishing Clash Angler of the Year (AOY) winner Jacob Wheeler of Harrison, Tennessee, reigning Fishing Clash AOY Matt Becker of Ten Mile, Tennessee, along with three Bass Pro Tour rookies, Drew Gill of Mount Carmel, Illinois, local favorite Justin Cooper of Zwolle, Louisiana, and Martin Villa of Charlottesville, Virginia.

Link to Hi-Res Photo of Knockout Round Winner Spencer Shuffield
Link to HD Video – Fish-Catch Highlights of Knockout Round on Toledo Bend

The final 10 anglers are now set, and competition resumes Sunday morning with the Championship Round. In the Championship Round, weights are zeroed, and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.

Shuffield joined an exclusive club of Bass Pro Tour anglers by stacking more than 100 pounds of bass on SCORETRACKER® in a single day. A handful of anglers have put up 100-pound days during the first six Bass Pro Tour seasons, but Shuffield is the first to do so with all largemouth. Perhaps even more impressive than hitting the century mark is that he did so while keeping some fish in reserve for Sunday’s Championship Round. While weights will zero when the Top 10 anglers return to the water, Shuffield is optimistic that he can put up even bigger numbers and claim his first career BPT win.

“Tomorrow it’s all going to get left out there on the table, so I’m looking forward to it,” Shuffield said. “I haven’t been able to truly lean on these fish yet this week. Tomorrow, we get to – and, man, it would be sweet to break 200 pounds, because it’s definitely possible.”

Shuffield finished the Knockout Round 21-14 ahead of second-place Connell, who racked up more than 45 pounds in the first period before switching to practice mode. Wheeler finished third with 72-12. Those three have looked to be the most in tune with Toledo Bend’s bass all week, but the race for the first trophy of the 2024 season will be wide open.

Shuffield said he’d never fished Toledo Bend prior to December, when he spent a few days on the massive reservoir to pre-practice for Stage One. Ever since that visit, he’s had his sights set on taking home the first trophy of the year.

One of the best on tour at using forward-facing sonar to target suspended fish, Shuffield figured Toledo Bend’s shad-hungry bass would set up to his liking. A successful practice only bolstered his confidence.

While Shuffield racked up more than 130 pounds across the two-day Qualifying Round, easily earning a spot in the Knockout Round, he emerged a bit disappointed. Saturday was more like the success he experienced during practice.

“I kind of lost contact with these bigger fish after practice for some reason,” Shuffield explained. “I had ‘em dialed in really good in practice, and then got out here first day of the tournament; they had really changed on me. The water went from 48 to 52 (degrees), and it was warming up a lot this morning and they had moved again, back out to kind of where they were in practice. I think a lot of that had to do with cloud cover, and the water was back to 50 degrees this morning.”

Like just about everyone else in the Top 10, Shuffield has caught the majority of his fish this week with a soft-plastic minnow affixed to a jighead. The key, he said, has been locating groups of bigger-than-average bass. He certainly found them Saturday, boating 10 fish of 4 pounds or bigger.

“It’s the type of bait that I’m looking for,” Shuffield said. “It’s all threadfin shad, of course, but when you find the bait set up correctly on the right type of area and place, you find the bigger quality fish.”

The scariest part for the rest of the field: Shuffield didn’t even visit his most promising spots during the Knockout Round. He ran all new water, adding a few more areas to his arsenal that he could turn to on Sunday. He also thinks he’ll have his fish to himself, saying he didn’t see another competitor all day.

“I said coming into the day that if I could make it to tomorrow without fishing through my best stuff, then I felt like I could win,” Shuffield said. “Today was brand new water, every bit of it.”

With the forecast calling for lighter winds during the Championship Round and the likes of Connell and Wheeler sure to keep the pedal to the metal all day, prepare for fireworks. While he brought up the possibility of hitting the 200-pound mark, Shuffield realistically thinks it will take about 120 pounds to claim the $100,000 first place prize.

“I’ve got four, five, six areas that really, really got ‘em, so I’m really excited about tomorrow, getting to come out here — it’s going to be no wind — so I’m looking forward to putting the pedal to the gas,” Shuffield said.

The top 10 pros from Saturday’s Knockout Round that now advance to Sunday’s Championship Round on Toledo Bend are:

1st:          Spencer Shuffield, Hot Springs, Ark., 30 bass, 101-14
2nd:        Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala., 30 bass, 80-1
3rd:         Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., 22 bass, 72-12
4th:         Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla., 20 bass, 65-13
5th:         Drew Gill, Mount Carmel, Ill., 18 bass, 60-13
6th:         Matt Becker, Ten Mile, Tenn., 18 bass, 55-12
7th:         Justin Cooper, Zwolle, La., 20 bass, 52-7
8th:         Alton Jones, Jr., Waco, Texas, 17 bass, 50-13
9th:         Martin Villa, Charlottesville, Va., 14 bass, 43-0
10th:       Jesse Wiggins, Addison, Ala., 14 bass, 38-15

Finishing in 11th through 20th place are:

11th:      Anthony Gagliardi, Prosperity, S.C., 14 bass, 38-7
12th:      Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., 14 bass, 37-12
13th:      Jeff Sprague, Wills Point, Texas, 14 bass, 36-11
14th:      Cole Floyd, Leesburg, Ohio, 10 bass, 32-1
15th:      Mark Daniels, Jr., Tuskegee, Ala., six bass, 23-2
16th:      Ryan Salzman, Huntsville, Ala., eight bass, 22-12
17th:      Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., six bass, 17-10
18th:      James Elam, Tulsa, Okla., six bass, 14-0
19th:      Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., four bass, 11-9
20th:      Brent Chapman, Lake Quivira, Kan., four bass, 9-4

A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall, there were 289 scorable bass weighing 865 pounds, 8 ounces caught by the 20 pros Saturday, which included one 8-pounder, one 7-pounder, 10 5-pounders and 27 4-pounders.

Mark Daniels, Jr., of Tuskegee, Alabama, caught an 8-pound, 15-ounce largemouth on a jerkbait in the first period to claim Saturday’s Berkley Big Bass Award. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day, and a $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass of the tournament.

The six-day tournament, hosted by Toledo Bend Lake Country and the Louisiana Office of Tourism, showcases 80 of the top professional anglers in the world, competing for a purse of $659,000, including a top payout of $100,000, and valuable Fishing Clash Angler of the Year (AOY) points in hopes of qualifying for the General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and REDCREST 2025, the Bass Pro Tour championship.

The 40 Anglers in Group A competed in their two-day Qualifying Round on Tuesday and Thursday – the 40 anglers in Group B on Wednesday and Friday. After the two-day Qualifying Rounds were complete, the anglers that finished first through 10th from both groups advanced to Saturday’s Knockout Round. In the Knockout Round, weights were zeroed, and the remaining 20 anglers competed to finish in the top 10 to advance to Sunday’s Championship Round. Tomorrow, in the final-day Championship Round, weights are zeroed, and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.

The final 10 anglers competing in Sunday’s Championship Round will launch at 7:30 a.m. CT from Cypress Bend Park, located at 3462 Cypress Bend Drive in Many. The General Tire Takeout will be held at the park, beginning at 4 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and takeout events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the SCORETRACKER® leaderboard and event coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com .

The MLFNOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live on Championship Sunday from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CT. MLFNOW!®  will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.

On Sunday, Feb. 4, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. MLF invites fans of all ages to visit Cypress Bend Park for the MLF Watch Party and Trophy Celebration. Fans can watch the action from the water live on the MLFNOW! big screen, enjoy free food, enter to win hourly giveaways and cheer on their favorite pros. The first 50 kids 14 and under will receive a free rod and reel from Pure Fishing. The final 10 Championship Round Bass Pro Tour anglers will be on hand at the trophy celebration on Championship Sunday to meet and greet fans, sign autographs and take selfies.

Television coverage of the B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One at Toledo Bend Presented by Power-Pole Knockout Round will air as a two-hour episode starting at 7 a.m. ET, on Saturday, July 20 on Discovery, with the Championship Round premiering on July 27. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on Discovery, with re-airings on Outdoor Channel.

The B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One at Toledo Bend Presented by Power-Pole features the MLF catch, weigh, immediate-release format, in which anglers catch as much weight as they can each day, while also feeling the pressure and intensity of the SCORETRACKER® leaderboard. The tournament features anglers competing with a 2-pound minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. The MLF Fisheries Management Division determines minimum weights for each body of water that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.

The Bass Pro Tour features a field of 80 of the top professional anglers in the world, competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2025 championship.

Bass Pro Tour anglers will also compete throughout the 2024 season for the prestigious Fishing Clash Angler of the Year (AOY) award and its $100,000 payday. Fishing Clash – an interactive 3D fishing simulation game that’s played by more than 80 million people worldwide – is the official AOY sponsor of the Bass Pro Tour, Tackle Warehouse Invitationals, Toyota Series and Phoenix Bass Fishing League.

Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Bass Pro Tour include: Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, BUBBA, Epic Baits, Garmin, General Tire, Humminbird, Lowrance, Mercury, MillerTech, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak Fishing, NITRO, Onyx, Plano, Power-Pole, Rapala, StarBrite, Suzuki, Toyota and U.S. Air Force.

For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the Bass Pro Tour, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.



Martin’s record day seals wire-to-wire win at Bassmaster Open on Florida’s Lake Okeechobee

Brian Carter
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Martin’s record day seals wire-to-wire win at Bassmaster Open on Florida’s Lake Okeechobee

Elite Series pro Scott Martin of Clewiston, Fla., goes wire-to-wire to win the St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Lake Okeechobee presented by SEVIIN with a three-day total of 90 pounds, 6 ounces. 

Photo by Andy Crawford/B.A.S.S.

February 3, 2024

Martin’s record day seals wire-to-wire win at Bassmaster Open on Florida’s Lake Okeechobee

CLEWISTON, Fla. — Bassmaster Elite Series pro Scott Martin’s no weatherman, but his spot-on prediction described a scenario that enabled him to sack up a 31-pound, 7-ounce limit Saturday and lock up a record-setting wire-to-wire victory at the St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Lake Okeechobee presented by SEVIIN.

Martin amassed a three-day winning total of 90-6.

“Whoo! I’ve had to hold it in all week,” said a clearly emotional Martin, who notched his first B.A.S.S. victory. “To win here in front of my mom, in this parking lot where my dad (nine-time Bassmaster Angler of the Year, Roland Martin) won (the 1991 Bassmaster Florida Invitational) it’s just a blessing.

“To have that come full circle and to stand on this stage in front of my family and friends is just so amazing. I’m beyond appreciative of the sport, beyond appreciative of B.A.S.S. This is just special.”

Taking the early lead with a Day 1 limit of 33-2 — the event’s largest — Martin added a second-round bag that went 25-13 and held on to the top spot. After the Day 2 weigh-in, the hometown favorite said he believed the week’s increasingly stable, warming trend could deliver the opportunity he needed to seal the deal.

With Championship Saturday bringing more calm, sunny conditions and slightly warmer water, Martin slammed the door shut with a Day 3 catch that included a pair of 9-pounders he caught about an hour apart.

“This was just an epic day,” Martin said during the Bassmaster LIVE broadcast. “It was a blessing. Thank you, Jesus.”

With his victory, Martin set the record for the all-time heaviest winning total in a three-day Bassmaster event. Former Elite Series pro Byron Velvick set the previous record in 2000 by catching 83-5 at California’s Clear Lake.

Also, Martin’s Day 1 limit broke the record for the heaviest one-day catch in a Bassmaster Open — a mark previously set by Whitney Stephens’ 32-12 at the 2019 Open on the Harris Chain of Lakes.

“I couldn’t have scripted this any better,” Martin said of his accomplishments. “I just wanted to win a tournament here in front of the hometown crowd at some point in my career. But the records — I had no idea. To win here in front of my mom and dad and to break records, it was just God’s perfect timing.”

Martin edged Tucker Smith of Birmingham, Ala., by a margin of 22-11 and collected the top prize of $50,360. He also qualified for the 2025 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Jockey Outdoors, assuming he fishes the final two Opens in Division 1.

Martin spent his week in the Harney Pond area on the lake’s west side. Fishing in 3 1/2 to 5 1/2 feet of water, he targeted the submerged remnants of cattail clumps.

“I was looking for these clumps on my Garmin Panoptix,” Martin said. “They were like brushpiles. I knew it was going to be a tough tournament, so I knew I had to fish as slow and methodically as I could.

“A lot of tournaments, you run around and you try to do this and that to try and keep your energy level up, but I was the opposite today. I was just covering water and fishing slow.”

While ChatterBaits produced some of his keepers the first two days, Martin caught all of his Championship Saturday fish on a Texas-rigged Googan Baits Bandito Bug and a straight-tail worm, along with a wacky-rigged Googan Baits Lunker Log stickworm.

“The key was keeping my bait clean,” Martin said. “There’s a lot of muck on the bottom, but I could feel when my bait came into a clean spot, so I would make repeated casts to that spot.”

Martin enhanced his plastics with Bait Pop, a scented paste with visibility-boosting glitter. Also, the additive gave his baits a more well-defined sonar signature, which helped him monitor the presentation and make any necessary adjustments.

Smith finished second with 68-11. Keeping himself in the hunt, he took second place on Day 1 with 27-6, remained there with a second-round total of 23-12 and concluded with a Day 3 effort of 17-9.

Smith did all of his work in the Rim Canal, where he worked a 7-mile stretch and caught fish in about 8 to 12 feet.

“I side-scanned a lot and found rocks at the mouths of canals and that’s where I caught my fish,” he said.

Smith caught his fish on a Bill Lewis Scope-Stik jerkbait and a Damiki rig comprising a 1/4-ounce Picasso jighead and a 3.8 Keitech Swing Impact Fat swimbait.

“It seemed like it got tougher and tougher, so I had to fish harder and harder every single day,” Smith said.

Randall Tharp of Port St. Joe, Fla., finished third with 68-8. Tharp turned in daily weights of 22-5, 22-9 and 23-10.

Fishing the lake’s west side, Tharp sacked up all of his weight with his favorite reaction bait — a bladed jig.

“I really like to catch them punching here, but the lake just didn’t set up (for that),” Tharp said. “I figured the tournament was going to be caught winding and that’s what I did.

“I caught every fish on a 1/2-ounce gold ChatterBait JackHammer. The key to it, for me, was a new Zoom trailer called a Shimmer Shad. It looks like a golden shiner. They smoked that thing.”

Tharp won the $750 Big Bass award for the 10-3 he caught on Day 1.

The Division 1 season opener included 175 competitors who have committed to all nine Opens events in the Tackle Warehouse Elite Qualifiers division, which will award Bassmaster Elite Series invitations to the top nine finishers in Angler of the Year points standings.

The tournament was hosted by the City of Clewiston.

2024 St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Lake Okeechobee presented by SEVIIN 2/1-2/3
Lake Okeechobee, Clewiston  FL.
(BOATER) Standings Day 3

   Angler                   Hometown              No./lbs-oz  Pts   Total $$$

1.  Scott Martin           Clewiston, FL           15  90-06  200  $50,360.00
  Day 1: 5   33-02     Day 2: 5   25-13     Day 3: 5   31-07   
2.  Tucker Smith           Birmingham, AL          15  68-11  199  $19,944.00
  Day 1: 5   27-06     Day 2: 5   23-12     Day 3: 5   17-09   
3.  Randall Tharp          Port St. Joe, FL        15  68-08  198  $15,708.00
  Day 1: 5   22-05     Day 2: 5   22-09     Day 3: 5   23-10   
4.  Paul Marks             Cumming, GA             15  65-06  197  $13,961.00
  Day 1: 5   26-07     Day 2: 5   19-14     Day 3: 5   19-01   
5.  Matt Adams             Oxford, AL              15  60-03  196  $12,964.00
  Day 1: 5   27-04     Day 2: 5   13-00     Day 3: 5   19-15   
6.  Austin Cranford        Norman, OK              15  59-02  195  $11,967.00
  Day 1: 5   17-03     Day 2: 5   23-02     Day 3: 5   18-13   
7.  Easton Fothergill      Grand Rapids , MN       15  58-15  194  $10,969.00
  Day 1: 5   13-10     Day 2: 5   24-12     Day 3: 5   20-09   
8.  Sam George             Athens, AL              15  55-05  193   $9,972.00
  Day 1: 5   21-06     Day 2: 5   20-08     Day 3: 5   13-07   
9.  Beau Browning          Hot Springs National Pa 15  54-01  192   $9,972.00
  Day 1: 5   18-09     Day 2: 5   21-11     Day 3: 5   13-13   
10. Brandon McMillan       Clewiston, FL           15  53-07  191   $9,972.00
  Day 1: 5   17-02     Day 2: 5   23-06     Day 3: 5   12-15   
———————————————————————–
PHOENIX BOATS BIG BASS
     Randall Tharp            Port St. Joe, FL    10-03        $750.00
———————————————————————–
Totals
Day   #Limits    #Fish      Weight
 1       132       868      2232-12
 2       151       913      2522-06
 3        10        50       191-03
———————————-
         293      1831      4946-05



BAM Trail Teams Up With Garmin to Enhance the Future of Competitive Fishing

Brian Carter
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BAM Trail Teams Up With Garmin to Enhance the Future of Competitive Fishing

Dixon, CA Feb 3 2024 – The BAM Tournament Trail, a premier platform for competitive fishing tournaments, is proud to announce that Garmin, a global leader in cutting-edge marine technology, has joined as its newest sponsor. This strategic relationship marks a significant step forward in advancing the world of competitive western bass fishing.

The BAM Tournament Trail has gained prominence as one of the most respected circuits on the West Coast.

Mark Lassagne, Director of the BAM Trail, shared his excitement: “Garmin is a big brand with amazing products and lends great credibility to the tour. Their state-of-the-art electronics will undoubtedly provide our anglers with a competitive edge, and we’re excited to have them onboard.”

Garmin in an innovator with a rich history of developing cutting-edge marine technology, including LiveScope™, chartplotters, fishfinders, trolling motors, and other marine equipment. Their dedication to innovation and commitment to helping anglers improve their fishing experience aligns perfectly with the BAM Tournament Trail’s mission to provide a world-class competitive platform for the west’s professional anglers.

This strategic relationship promises to deliver numerous benefits for anglers, including a top-notch contingency program that rewards anglers for their commitment to Garmin. The contingency program provides $300 to the top placing angler fishing on a boat equipped exclusively with mounted Garmin marine electronics. Additionally, the top placing angler with a Garmin Force Trolling Motor, will be awarded $200. 

—

About Garmin 

Engineered on the inside for life on the outside, Garmin products have revolutionized life for anglers, sailors, mariners and boat enthusiasts everywhere. Committed to developing the most innovative, highest quality, and easiest to use marine electronics the industry has ever known, Garmin believes every day is an opportunity to innovate and a chance to beat yesterday. For the nineth consecutive year, Garmin was named the Manufacturer of the Year by the National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA). Other Garmin marine brands include Navionics® and JL Audio. Visit the Garmin Newsroom, email our media team, connect with  @garminfishhunt on social, or follow our blog.

About BAM Tournament Trail

The Bass Angler Magazine Tournament Trail (BAM TT) is an exclusive west coast pro level tournament circuit. BAM TT delivers multiple opportunities to showcase the talents of western anglers on several professional platforms.

As BAM TT continues to provide and refine a platform of elite events for competitive anglers, it simultaneously creates a logical avenue for sponsors to have direct contact with our west coast customers. BAM TT is dedicated to creating a complete package of advertising opportunities including on-site activation, internet/social media, and a YouTube series that reaches a large number of viewers each day.

Tournament events include BAM Pro Tour, Pro-Am and a Kayak Tour with a no entry Championship can be viewed on YouTube.  Learn more here: BAM TRAIL, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Media / Advertising Contact Mark Lassagne 



Nick Wood Wins 2024 WON Bass Lake Shasta Open Jeff Michels lands in second place, Jake Etcheverry Claims AAA Crown

Brian Carter
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0
Nick Wood Wins 2024 WON Bass Lake Shasta Open Jeff Michels lands in second place, Jake Etcheverry Claims AAA Crown

 Nick Wood Wins 2024 WON Bass Lake Shasta Open
Jeff Michels lands in second place, Jake Etcheverry Claims AAA Crown

Redding, Calif. – February 2, 2024 –– Early season bass tournaments can bring challenges for everyone involved, especially when they are at Lake Shasta.  However many challenges arise, the quality of the spotted bass fishery at Lake Shasta makes the challenges worth it for the anglers, spectators and for the organization hoping to put on a show.

With heavy rains, big winds and cold temperatures that turned to snow flurries, hail, colder temperatures and more rain on the final day of the 2024 WON Bass Lake Shasta Open, the fishing didn’t disappoint.  Over the tree-day event, many quality spotted bass, including some eclipsing the seven pound mark and quality limits of Lake Shasta bass made for an interesting tournament and some frequent lead changes throughout the event.

Day one saw local favorite Jeff Michels of Lakehead, Calif. take the lead with 16.77 pounds, only to have Nick Wood, another pre-event favorite take the lead on day two with an 18.63-pound limit to move from fifth place to the top spot with a two-day total of 34.22 pounds.  As the final day’s weigh-in came to a close, it became clear that the two area legends were more than prepared to overcome the challenges and rise to the occasion. 

Michels took the lead momentarily by posting a final day 14.97-pound limit to total 45.93 pounds.  However, Wood, from Yreka, Calif. posted a 13.20-pound limit to jump his three-day total to 47.42 pounds and claim the title of 2024 WON Bass Lake Shasta Open Champion.

For his efforts, Wood was rewarded with a 2024 Ranger Boats Z518 with Mercury 150 ProXS outboard presented by Bass Pro Shops, the prize boat was rigged with Power-Pole Charge and Bioenno Power Batteries valued at $55,000 and the winner’s $15,000 share, bringing the total Champion’s prize package to $70,000 in value. 

Wood said that he used several different techniques to catch his fish due to the changing conditions.  Most of his fish came in the upper reaches of the Sacramento River arm, specifically in Middle Salt Creek.  His first day pattern involved a 7-inch Hitch colored Line Thru Osprey Swimbait thrown on a 7’6” heavy action Duckett Fishing Incite rod with a 6.2:1 Duckett Fishing reel. He also targeted deeper fish with a Float ‘n Fly rig, with a 7’2” medium light Black Ice spinning rod and 2500 size Paradigm spinning reel by Duckett Fishing.  His lure of choice was an 1/8-ounce SPRO Fly in Baby Bass Color on an 8-foot leader.

As the water muddied on days two and three, Wood turned to targeting boulders with either a white and chartreuse 3/8-ounce D&M Lures Chatterbait tipped with a chartreuse 5.8 Keitech swimbait or a 1/2-ounce white and chartreuse D&M spinnerbait with double willowleaf blades.  “I had to get lined up perfectly with my casts around those boulders to trigger the bites, but once I did, I was able to catch the right fish,” he said.  “The last day was a little more difficult but was able to scrape enough together to pull it out; I’m really pleased it turned out this way.”

In winning, Wood beat his local rival in Michels, but also earned a trip back to the B.A.S.S. Nation Championship in 2025, something he has experienced before.  “I’m a little overwhelmed, it’s not easy to beat Jeff (Michels) anywhere, especially here, and to do it in this type of an event against this type of field means a lot,” he said.  “I’m also excited to be able to go back to the B.A.S.S. Nation, it was a great experience and I’m looking forward to dragging my Ranger Z520R there to compete; this is just a complete honor and it’s not quite sunk in.”

Like Wood and several other top finishers in the tournament, Michels began his event upriver in the Sacramento arm, but vacated it to main lake points on days two and three due to the water turning dirty.  He used two main techniques to catch the majority of his fish during the week. 

He alternated between two main lures, a Wacky Rigged 5-inch green pumpkin Yamamoto Senko thrown on 6-pound-test Seaguar Tatsu Fluorocarbon line and a 7’5” medium light fast action Dobyns XTASY rod and unnamed spinning reel.  The second was a 1/2-ounce green pumpkin Bass Patrol football Jig and 5-inch Yamamoto Twin Tailed Grub in the same color.  He tossed the jig on a 7’5” medium heavy fast action Dobyns XTASY casting rod rigged with 12-pound-test Seaguar Invizx Fluorocarbon. A few of his weigh fish came on 5 or 6-inch Shasta Bass Tackle swimbaits in Rainbow Trout color.

Michels leaves the event knowing he left things on the table.  “I broke off a key fish each day being stupid, and you can’t have that kind of human error and win against a field like this,” he said.  “I congratulate Nick (Wood) he and I go against each other regularly but losing sucks and I’ll do my best to beat him and the field next time.” Michels received $12,000 for his runner up finish.

Joe Uribe Jr. of Surprise, Ariz. brought an 18.18-pound final day limit to the scales to bring his total weight to 45.76 pounds to jump 12 places and finish in third place.  He was followed by Orangevale, Calif. pro Chris Raza in fourth place with 45.28 pounds and Oroville, California’s Alex Klein rounded out the top five with 44.36 pounds for the event.

The AAA division was won by Jake Etcheverry of Hughson, Calif. with 48.46 pounds.  Etcheverry opened the event in 93rd place but drew Wood on day two and posted 18.63 pounds and sixth place finishing pro Branden Mowers of Shasta Lake, Calif. on day three and brought 18.67 pounds to the scales to seal his win coming from third place to do it; Etcheverry won $6,000 for his victory.

Second place in the AAA division went to Keith W. Adams from Redding, Calif. with 42.93 pounds, third place was taken by Geoff Peterson of Huntington Beach, Calif. with 42.65 pounds, while fourth place was claimed by Day Two leader James Clayton of Prescott, Ariz. with 42.63 pounds and Chris Trumbull of Shingletown, Calif. rounded out the top five with 41.26 pounds.  

In total, the 2024 WON Bass Lake Shasta Open offered a total purse of over $210,000 including the Ranger / Mercury prize boat.  Along with the payout, the top five anglers in both divisions also received berths into the 2025 Bassmaster B.A.S.S. Nation Championship for a chance to qualify for the 2026 Bassmaster Classic.

The Top 10 in each division are below, for complete standings go to: https://wonbassevents.com/pages/won-bass-shasta-open-2024-pairings-results.

 WON Bass Lake Shasta Open Final

PlacePro Day 1Pro Day 2Pro Day 3Total
1Nick Wood15.5918.6313.2047.42
2Jeff Michels16.7714.1914.9745.93
3Joe Uribe Jr13.2614.3218.1845.76
4Chris Raza12.4116.0216.8545.28
5Alex Klein13.5215.1815.6644.36
6Branden Mowers13.3412.0418.6744.05
7Joe Mariani14.0017.1612.2643.42
8Roy Hawk11.7917.0813.0641.93
9Nick Nourot12.0417.5212.2341.79
10Ryan Friend12.0115.8313.6741.51
PlaceAAA AnglerAAA Day 1AAA Day 2AAA Day 3Total
1Jake Etcheverry11.1618.6318.6748.46
2Keith W. Adams12.7013.3816.8542.93
3Geoff Peterson15.3614.8112.4842.65
4James Clayton15.7016.0210.9142.63
5Chris Trumbull16.3511.2413.6741.26
6Michael Grisham12.1210.9118.1841.21
7Anthony Hunt14.0015.6311.3741.00
8Bill Eastes13.7711.3315.6640.76
9Kong Moua12.1515.1813.4240.75
10Eric Giordano12.3317.169.9739.46

The 2024 WON Bass Western Opens Series of events Consisting of five events in California, Arizona and Nevada moves next to the California Open at Clear Lake April 17 to 19, 2024.  The series will culminate with the 2024 WON Bass U.S. Open at Lake Mohave in October.  The full schedule of the five event dates are as follows:

Jan. 31–Feb. 2, Lake Shasta – Champion Nick Wood – 47.42 pounds

April 17-19, Clear Lake

May 15-17, Lake Havasu

Sept. 18-20, Lake Mead

Oct. 14-16, U.S. Open at Lake Mohave

For complete details or to register, look to wonbassevents.com and WONews.com to hear the latest news about the 2024 season and beyond and follow along at Facebook.com/WONBassTournaments.The 2024 WON Bass Northern California Lake Shasta Open is brought to you by Bass Pro Shops, Ranger Boats, Mercury Marine, Nitro Boats, Triton Boats, Bridgford Foods, Phenix Rods, Yamamoto Baits, Bill Lewis Lures, Buckeye Lures, Steel Shad, Bioenno Power, SOG Knives, Cold Steel Knives, Gamma Line, Power Pole, Lowrance, Daiwa, AFTCO, Costa, Berkley, Abu Garcia, Anderson Toyota, A&M Graphics, Anglers Marine and Signature Gates.

Local presenting sponsors are Redding Tourism, Phil’s Propellers and security provided by the Redding Police Department.



Martin maintains a commanding lead at Bassmaster Open on Florida’s Lake Okeechobee

Brian Carter
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Martin maintains a commanding lead at Bassmaster Open on Florida’s Lake Okeechobee

Elite Series pro Scott Martin of Clewiston, Fla., maintains the lead on Day 2 of the St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Lake Okeechobee presented by SEVIIN with a total of 58 pounds, 15 ounces. 

Photo by Andy Crawford/B.A.S.S.

February 2, 2024

Martin maintains a commanding lead at Bassmaster Open on Florida’s Lake Okeechobee

CLEWISTON, Fla. — Slowing down and methodically fishing his areas, Bassmaster Elite Series pro Scott Martin maintained his lead on Day 2 of the St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Lake Okeechobee presented by SEVIIN with a catch of 25 pounds, 13 ounces.

Added to his massive Day 1 catch of 33-2, Martin has a two-day total of 58-15 — good for a lead of 7-13 over Tucker Smith of Birmingham, Ala., who is holding down second place with 51-2.

Martin, who grew up in Clewiston and guided out of his family’s marina, which is hosting the event, raved about the opportunity to shine in front of so many familiar faces.

“It’s a blessing to be standing here in front of my hometown crowd, my whole family and friends,” Martin said. “I grew up right here and watched my dad (nine-time Bassmaster Angler of the Year Roland Martin) win a Bassmaster tournament here and that was kind of the defining moment for me. I practiced with him and he gave me credit onstage for helping him. That’s when I thought to myself, ‘I might be able to do this.’

“To be able to win this thing, I have a lot of work ahead of me. But this lake has been good to me.”

Martin returned to the general area that produced his Day 1 mega bag, but he worked several different spots. Throwing a mix of reaction baits and pitching-style baits, Martin said a measured pace was essential for producing his bites.

“Like I said yesterday, patience was the key,” he said. “I was just taking it one fish at a time.

“Some of my fish were on beds, but some of them were coming and going. I was just casting around different spots within my area.”

Martin’s day was unfolding less productively than the first until a late-afternoon stop yielded an 8-pound kicker. He’s hopeful he can locate more of the big bites that fueled his first two days’ success, but he said he may need to integrate new water into his game plan.

“I’m not sure where I’m going to fish tomorrow,” Martin said. “The Lord blessed me this week, so I’m just gonna let Him take the reins and just go with it.”

Martin said he’s optimistic that Championship Saturday may bring the week’s most favorable weather. Stable, warming conditions in South Florida could deliver fireworks, but even with a smaller field of Top 10 finalists, Martin knows he’ll need to step on the gas.

“I’m going to have to catch everything I can catch tomorrow,” Martin said. “I’ll have to catch 25 pounds tomorrow, because somebody could catch 30. With those warming conditions, it could be really good.”

After catching 27-6 on Day 1, Smith backed that up with 23-12 to reach his second-place total of 51-2.

“I just found multiple places where they were staging,” Smith said. “Basically, those fish were prespawn and postspawn. So, I think I’m getting the best of both worlds.”

Making the same long run he made on Day 1, Smith found his opportunities more dispersed.

“I had 14 pounds until the last hour and caught most of my weight in that last hour,” he said. “I pulled up on a place and caught three big ones — a 6- and two 4 1/2-pounders — on back-to-back-to-back casts.

“I’m hoping this area will produce tomorrow. There’s good fish in there, but I have to fish as hard as I can and run off gut instinct. That’s what I did today and ended up landing on them.”

Paul Marks of Cumming, Ga., placed third with 46-5. Marks caught a first-round limit of 26-7 and added 19-4 on Day 2.

“It was pretty slow until lunchtime and then I caught a couple big ones on my last stop,” Marks said. “I think maybe the pressure got to them today.”

Marks caught his bass mostly on reaction baits, which seemed to produce best in the stained water he was fishing.

Randall Tharp of Port St. Joe, Fla., is in the lead for Big Bass honors with the 10-3 largemouth he caught on Day 1. Tharp placed fourth with 44-14.

California pro Ish Monroe had the Big Bass on Day 2 with a 9-11.

John Goul of Philadelphia, Miss., won the co-angler division with a two-day total of 24-5. Goul, who also won the co-angler title at the 2020 Open at Neely Henry, caught 16-15 on Day 1 and added 7-6 to edge Jason Shapiro or Concord, N.C., by 11 ounces.

Goul caught his first-round bass on a Texas-rigged Senko in junebug, black/blue glitter and black/blue tail colors. He rigged his bait with a 1/8-ounce bullet weight and fished it at a glacial pace.

“I was dragging it really slow and I guess it made those big girls mad,” Goul said. “It was just random casting and pray for a bite.”

Sean Neifert of Lantana, Fla., won the $250 Big Bass award among co-anglers with his 8-10.

The Division 1 season opener includes 175 competitors who have committed to all nine Opens events in the Tackle Warehouse Elite Qualifiers division, which will award Bassmaster Elite Series invitations to the top nine finishers in Angler of the Year points standings.

In addition to the top prize of $49,860, the winning pro angler will qualify for 2025 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic, assuming he fishes all three Division 1 events.

The Top 10 will take off Saturday at 7 a.m. ET from Roland Martin Marina. The weigh-in will be held at the marina at 3 p.m. 

All coverage from the St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Lake Okeechobee presented by SEVIIN will be available on Bassmaster.com.

The final day of competition will be broadcast live on FS1 Saturday morning beginning at 8 a.m. ET, with streaming available on Bassmaster.com, as well as FS2 and the FOX Sports digital platforms.

The tournament is being hosted by the City of Clewiston.



Dustin Connell Wins Group B Qualifying Round at B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One at Toledo Bend Presented by Power-Pole

Brian Carter
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Dustin Connell Wins Group B Qualifying Round at B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One at Toledo Bend Presented by Power-Pole

Alabama pro catches two-day total of 121-7 to win Group B Qualifying Round, field of 20 set for Saturday’s Knockout Round

MANY, La. (Feb. 2, 2024) – Pro Dustin Connell of Clanton, Alabama, wrecked them again on Day 2 for Group B, maintaining his position atop the leaderboard, with a two-day total of 40 bass weighing 121 pounds, 7 ounces, to win Thursday’s Qualifying Round at the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One at Toledo Bend Presented by Power-Pole.

Reigning Fishing Clash Angler of the Year (AOY) pro Matt Becker of Ten Mile, Tennessee, finished the round in second place with a two-day total of 30 bass weighing 100-2, while pro Michael Neal of Dayton, Tennessee , finished in third, with 27 bass weighing 95-6. Leesburg, Ohio’s Cole Floyd caught 29 bass weighing 95-5 to end in fourth, while General Tire pro Alton Jones, Jr,. of Waco, Texas, also advanced to the Knockout Round in fifth place with a two-day total of 30 bass weighing 94-14.

Link to HD Video – Fish-Catch Highlights of Group B Qualifying Round Day 2 on Toledo Bend
Link to Photo Gallery of Group B’s Day 2 Qualifying Round Highlights on Toledo Bend

The remaining 20 anglers – the top 10 from each group – now advance to Saturday’s Knockout Round, where weights are zeroed, and anglers compete to finish in the top 10 to advance to the Championship Round on Sunday. In Sunday’s final day Championship Round, weights are zeroed, and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.

Connell and the other anglers leading the pack in Group B got their work done early during their second day of competition. Connell boated 13 bass for 39 pounds, 9 ounces, Friday — 31-12 of that coming before noon — to bring his two-day total to 121-7. That easily led the group, 21-6 ahead of Becker.

Yet despite the likes of Connell, Becker and Jones Jr. devoting much of the day to exploring new water, SCORETRACKER® lit up early and often with quality Toledo Bend bass, foreshadowing a no-holds-barred slugfest when the Top 10 finishers in Group B meet the 10 best from Group A in Saturday’s Knockout Round. Meanwhile, a tightly bunched battle around the elimination line delivered drama throughout the third period, with pro Jesse Wiggins ultimately claiming the final spot thanks to a pair of catches in the final minutes.

For Connell, Friday was less about how much weight he could add to his total and more about how much of Toledo Bend’s massive surface area he could explore. He burned 30 gallons of gas running new water, focusing on areas that might not have produced during practice but could now hold baitfish and bass based on changing water clarity and wind direction.

He found plenty of fish in the process, as evidenced by his 13 keepers, including one new area he has “high hopes in.”

“I burned a lot of gas, and I ran all over the place just trying to find a new, fresh area that’s good now that the water’s starting to clean up,” Connell explained. “I was trying to play the wind direction and really find the bait, because the bait is moving around a lot. So I just went practicing all day, and I just caught what I caught practicing. It was a fun day.”

Connell’s technique isn’t a secret. Like most of the field, he’s using forward-facing sonar to find groups of suspended bass offshore, then casting to them with a soft plastic minnow on a jighead. Eight of the 10 anglers who advanced out of Group B have caught most of their weight doing something similar.

Connell’s plastic of choice has been the Rapala CrushCity Freeloader, the same bait Jacob Wheeler leaned on to win Group A. He said the pintail minnow is particularly effective in off-color water and when targeting bigger bass, making it perfect for Toledo Bend.

“I’m throwing it around some dingy water, and I think that bait has a lot of drawing power,” he said. “It has a great action, also. I mean, that’s one of the hottest techniques on the market, and that bait is really, really good.”

With so many anglers beaming offshore, Connell said Toledo Bend’s bass are showing signs of pressure. That’s one reason getting an entire day to scope out fresh schools should benefit him during the Knockout Round. He also believes the pressure and stained water have put a premium on presenting the bait accurately — something he spent the offseason perfecting.

“The fish are getting smart,” Connell said. “They’re getting used to seeing that kind of stuff, they’re getting used to hearing the transducers. The biggest key with this whole deal is being able to make a really good cast and know where your bait is at. It’s just all mechanics. … I’ve been doing it all fall for literally three days a week and just practicing this technique, because I came into this tournament anticipating it to be this way. So that’s what I’ve been doing, and practice makes perfect.”

With weights zeroing overnight, Connell knows he’ll have to come out swinging during the Knockout Round. But he’s optimistic that he can catch enough weight to earn a spot in the 10-angler Championship Round without playing all his cards.

“I want to finish in like fifth place, just enough to be alright,” he said. “And you never know, may get to practice some tomorrow. I just want to finish in the Top 10, I don’t care if it’s 10th.”

Toledo Bend’s big bass proved a bit more elusive Friday. For the first time all week, no fish over 7 pounds hit the scales. But Group B’s anglers made up for it with quantity.

The 40-angler field combined to catch 347 scorable bass for a total weight of more than 1,000 pounds. Both of those marks were the highest since the opening day of Stage One. Seventeen anglers racked up more than 30 pounds, the most of any day so far, with five eclipsing the 50-pound mark. As a result, the cut line climbed all the way from 30-13 at the start of the day to 70-10 at the end.

That should portend even more explosive action during the Knockout Round. With the forecast calling for overcast, rainy conditions, Connell predicted Saturday will bring the best bite yet.

“They’re going to bite really, really good,” he said.

The top 10 pros from Group B that now advance to Saturday’s Knockout Round on Toledo Bend are:

1st:          Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala., 40 bass, 121-7
2nd:        Matt Becker, Ten Mile, Tenn., 30 bass, 100-2
3rd:         Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., 27 bass, 95-6
4th:         Cole Floyd, Leesburg, Ohio, 29 bass, 95-5
5th:         Alton Jones Jr., Waco, Texas, 30 bass, 94-14
6th:         Jeff Sprague, Wills Point, Texas, 30 bass, 81-1
7th:         Mark Daniels Jr., Tuskegee, Ala., 27 bass, 79-1
8th:         Anthony Gagliardi, Prosperity, S.C., 22 bass, 75-4
9th:         Brent Chapman, Lake Quivira, Kan., 27 bass, 73-7
10th:       Jesse Wiggins, Addison, Ala., 23 bass, 70-10

Eliminated from competition are:

11th:      Nick Hatfield, Greeneville, Tenn., 21 bass, 66-14
12th:      Greg Vinson, Wetumpka, Ala., 24 bass, 66-10
13th:      Dylan Hays, Hot Springs, Ark., 22 bass, 66-9
14th:      Jacob Wall, New Hope, Ala., 20 bass, 65-3
15th:      David Walker, Huntingdon, Tenn., 22 bass, 63-8
16th:      Shin Fukae, Osaka, Japan, 20 bass, 59-5
17th:      Jared Lintner, Covington, Ga., 18 bass, 50-14
18th:      Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., 18 bass, 49-1
19th:      Takahiro Omori, Tokyo, Japan, 17 bass, 47-12
20th:      Matthew Stefan, Junction City, Wis., 12 bass, 45-14
21st:      Chris Lane, Guntersville, Ala., 16 bass, 43-14
22nd:     Dave Lefebre, Erie, Penn., 13 bass, 40-8
23rd:      Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., 14 bass, 39-11
24th:      Mark Rose, Wynne, Ark., 13 bass, 37-12
25th:      Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich., 11 bass, 34-7
26th:      Marty Robinson, Lyman, S.C., 13 bass, 33-0
27th:      Randy Howell, Guntersville, Ala., 13 bass, 32-12
28th:      Josh Bertrand, Queen Creek, Ariz., 11 bass, 31-5
29th:      Gerald Spohrer, Gonzales, La., 10 bass, 29-8
30th:      Grae Buck, Green Lane, Penn., six bass, 28-7
31st:      Jason Vance, Battle Ground, Ind., 11 bass, 27-0
32nd:     Matt Lee, Cullman, Ala., eight bass, 25-9
33rd:      Brandon Coulter, Knoxville, Tenn., seven bass, 24-5
34th:      Skeet Reese, Auburn, Calif., eight bass, 20-11
35th:      Jacopo Gallelli, Florence, Italy, five bass, 14-8
36th:      Britt Myers, Lake Wylie, S.C., two bass, 7-8
37th:      Colby Schrumpf, Highland, Ill., two bass, 6-14
38th:      James Watson, Lampe, Mo., three bass, 6-11
39th:      Terry Scroggins, San Mateo, Fla., two bass, 5-2
40th:      John Murray, Spring City, Tenn., zero bass, 0-0

A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall, there were 347 scorable bass weighing 1,020 pounds, 12 ounces caught by 38 pros Friday, which included 35 4-pounders, 9 5-pounders and three 6-pounders.

Friday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award was awarded to pro Jacob Wall of New Hope, Alabama, who weighed in a 6-pound, 14-ounce largemouth that bit his swimjig early in Period 1. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day, and a $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass of the tournament.

The six-day tournament, hosted by Toledo Bend Lake Country and the Louisiana Office of Tourism, showcases 80 of the top professional anglers in the world, competing for a purse of $659,000, including a top payout of $100,000, and valuable Fishing Clash Angler of the Year (AOY) points in hopes of qualifying for the General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and REDCREST 2025, the Bass Pro Tour championship.

The 40 Anglers in Group A competed in their two-day Qualifying Round on Tuesday and Thursday – the 40 anglers in Group B on Wednesday and Friday. Now that each two-day Qualifying Round is complete, the anglers that finish first through 10th from both groups advance to Saturday’s Knockout Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed, and the remaining 20 anglers compete to finish in the top 10 to advance to Sunday’s Championship Round. In the final-day Championship Round, weights are zeroed, and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.

Anglers will launch at 7:30 a.m. CT each day from Cypress Bend Park, located at 3462 Cypress Bend Drive in Many. Due to forecasted high winds, MLF has enacted the MLF Trailering Policy for Saturday, February 3, meaning pros can trailer their boats and drive them to any ramp on the fishery closer to where they plan to start fishing. Pros taking advantage of the MLF Trailering Policy will leave Cypress Bend Park at 7 a.m. CT and will begin fishing at 8 a.m. CT (Lines In) with the full field.

Each day’s General Tire Takeout will be held at the park, beginning at 4 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and takeout events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the SCORETRACKER® leaderboard and event coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The MLFNOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live on the final four days of competition from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CT. MLFNOW!®  will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.

On Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 3-4, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. MLF invites fans of all ages to visit Cypress Bend Park for the MLF Watch Party. Fans can watch the action from the water live on the MLFNOW! big screen, enjoy free food, enter to win hourly giveaways and cheer on their favorite pros. The first 50 kids 14 and under will receive a free rod and reel from Pure Fishing each day. The final 10 Championship Round Bass Pro Tour anglers will be on hand at the trophy celebration on Championship Sunday to meet and greet fans, sign autographs and take selfies.

The B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One at Toledo Bend Presented by Power-Pole features the MLF catch, weigh, immediate-release format, in which anglers catch as much weight as they can each day, while also feeling the pressure and intensity of the SCORETRACKER® leaderboard. The tournament features anglers competing with a 2-pound minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. The MLF Fisheries Management Division determines minimum weights for each body of water that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.

The Bass Pro Tour features a field of 80 of the top professional anglers in the world, competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2025 championship.

Bass Pro Tour anglers will also compete throughout the 2024 season for the prestigious Fishing Clash Angler of the Year (AOY) award and its $100,000 payday. Fishing Clash – an interactive 3D fishing simulation game that’s played by more than 80 million people worldwide – is the official AOY sponsor of the Bass Pro Tour, Tackle Warehouse Invitationals, Toyota Series and Phoenix Bass Fishing League.

Television coverage of the B&W Trailer Hitches Stage One at Toledo Bend Presented by Power-Pole Knockout Round will air as a two-hour episode starting at 7 a.m. ET, on Saturday, July 20 on Discovery, with the Championship Round premiering on July 27. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on Discovery, with re-airings on Outdoor Channel.

Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Bass Pro Tour include: Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, BUBBA, Epic Baits, Garmin, General Tire, Humminbird, Lowrance, Mercury, MillerTech, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak Fishing, NITRO, Onyx, Plano, Power-Pole, Rapala, StarBrite, Suzuki, Toyota and U.S. Air Force.

For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the Bass Pro Tour, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.



Will Harkins Takes Over Logan Martin Lead

Brian Carter
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Will Harkins Takes Over Logan Martin Lead

With one day remaining, Georgia pro Will Harkins looks to close out NPFL Victory on Showdown Saturday.

Story by Justin Brouillard | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons

After a strong start with 16 pounds and 9 ounces on day one, Will Harkins continued his consistency on Logan Martin adding 16 pounds and 13 ounces to his tally on day two. With a two-day total of 33 pounds and 6 ounces, Harkins takes a 2-pound, 9-ounce lead into Showdown Saturday.

Fishing on day one with an open mind and covering over 40 different areas, Harkins backed up his efforts today and caught another eight keepers, but is concerned that added pressure on the lake might make things interesting for the final day.

“There is a lot of pressure on those types of areas and lots of locals watching and fishing,” he said. The other thing is they might not be pulling as much water tomorrow, and that also concerns me.”

Harkins is fishing free and exploring new waters and is looking for specific shorelines while driving down the river. Once he picks it out, he makes quick work of fishing before moving to the next.

“More of the same for me out there,” he added. “The key is more about the contours than it is the structure. I am stopping on whatever looks good, and sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t.

Regardless of what happens, Harkins has been in this position in the NPFL before and knows if it’s his time, there will be nothing he could do wrong.

“Whatever God has for a plan is what will happen. If it is my time, I won’t be able to do anything wrong out there; regardless, it will be a good day.”

David Williams

“On day two, David Williams had a significant catch, adding 16 pounds and 3 ounces to his day one weight of 14 pounds and 10 ounces. With a total of 30 pounds and 13 ounces, he secures the second-place spot going into the final day.

Williams recognizes the importance of landing substantial catches on Logan Martin and successfully capitalized on some larger bass on day two. He initiated his morning in familiar waters but opted to switch locations due to increased pressure.

“I think I can catch some fish tomorrow, but you need to get fortunate and hook a bigger one,” he said. “When I left my primary area this morning, I went to where I caught the 5-pounder on day one, and culled out my other smaller fish.”

Williams predominantly caught his bass on a reaction-style bait and switched to a jig when he slowed down.”

Brock Bila

With a total weight of 30 pounds and 6 ounces over two days, Brock Bila caught his largest catch on day two, adding 17 pounds and 11 ounces to his initial day one weight of 12 pounds and 11 ounces. His day two performance propelled him to the third-place spot with one day remaining.

Sticking with a big fish pattern he located on the final day of practice, Bila started strong this morning with over 14 pounds early and added two of his bigger fish shortly after to cull to his day’s weight.

“I found a big largemouth deal in practice, but it never worked out for me yesterday,” he said. “I caught fish but never got a big bite like today. Today, things were working, and I was able to leave them alone and spend some time looking around for the final day.”

Bila found a shallow flat that was loaded with bass and threw back three solid keepers that would not help him today, but on the final day would be key.

“I am excited to get in there tomorrow and try to get a solid limit early,” he added. “I am fishing a mix of two baits and have some good water to fish on the final day.”

Joseph Webster

Joseph Webster began the tournament with 12 pounds on day one and added 17 pounds and 13 ounces on day two. His two-day total of 30 pounds and 3 ounces puts him in fourth place after two days on Logan Martin.

Running with a clue he learned on the final day of practice, Webster is focusing on docks and changing his approach each day, letting the fish dictate their behavior.

“I caught some big fish on that final day and was hoping they would reload as the event progressed, but they are relocating on the docks,” he said. “It seems like each morning I have to locate them, and each day has been different.”

With the majority of the field fishing the same type of water, Webster prioritizes targeting the hard-to-catch bass that may be untouched in his area.

“The easy ones are getting caught, and I am having to fish the Berkley Dime 4 and Frittside 5 in hard-to-reach places, but the bigger bites are coming that way,” he added. “I am making circles like everyone else but keeping tabs on which sections are not getting hit to keep finding fresh fish.”

For Showdown Saturday, Webster plans to change things up and start his event closer to the takeoff to try and capitalize on his least productive time of day.

“I can’t seem to start catching fish until 9 or 10 AM, so I will start up and work my way down the lake, trying to get a limit in the morning. Docks seem to be the name of the game, and it doesn’t matter if they are shallow or deep.”

Jason Burroughs

The day one leader with 17 pounds, 2 ounces, Jason Burroughs added another 12 pounds, 12 ounces to his weight. With only one day remaining, Burroughs holds the fifth-place spot with a two-day total of 29 pounds, 14 ounces.

With a live camera today, Burroughs continued to scrap his practice and cover water with one bait and one rod that is getting it done for him.

“I caught eight more keepers today, which is getting weird,” he said. “I caught eight in all three days of practice, eight yesterday, and eight today. I had three hours to catch one more and was not able to make it happen.”

Running a mix of new and old water, the South Carolina angler is targeting steeper banks where he can keep his reaction-style bait near the bottom. With more local anglers on the water and tournament competitors figuring out more of how the fish are biting, Burroughs is going to need more than eight bites on Showdown Saturday.

“The pressure has drastically increased,” he added. “But I’m going to go hard on them again tomorrow.”

Rest of the Best:
Buddy Gross 29-11
Isaac Peavyhouse 28-6
Kyle Welcher 27-14
JTodd Tucker 27-1
Richard Kee 26-6

DAY TWO LEADERBOARD



Jones’ solo effort tops Bassmaster College Series event at Clarks Hill Reservoir

Brian Carter
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Jones’ solo effort tops Bassmaster College Series event at Clarks Hill Reservoir

Anderson Jones of Lander University has won the Strike King Bassmaster College Series at Clarks Hill Reservoir presented by Bass Pro Shops with a two-day total of  43 pounds, 15 ounces. 

Photo by Tyler Bridges/B.A.S.S.

February 2, 2024

Jones’ solo effort tops Bassmaster College Series event at Clarks Hill Reservoir

COLUMBIA COUNTY, Ga. — Anderson Jones of Lander University saved the best for last en route to singlehandedly sacking up 43 pounds, 15 ounces and winning the Strike King Bassmaster College Series at Clarks Hill Reservoir presented by Bass Pro Shops.

After placing third on Day 1 with 19-12, Jones stepped on the gas and sacked up a second-round limit of 24-3 — the event’s heaviest bag — to seal the win in the first Lunkers Trail event of the season on the College Series.

Jones edged University of Montevallo’s Brenton Godwin and Hunter Odom by 6-12. Jones took home the top prize of $6,137.

Jones admits he missed having a partner to help secure his catches, but the junior majoring in Media and Communications said he kept his head in the game and worked through the challenges.

“It wasn’t pretty netting my own fish,” he chuckled. “There were a couple of close calls that could have cost me this win, but I had a great day.

“I came into this tournament with the mindset that, at the end of the day, whatever happens, I made it this far and I’m pretty proud of it. But man, this hasn’t sunk in yet.”

Working the lake’s lower end, Jones started his final day by fishing docks for bass that were targeting blueback herring. He caught those fish on a Damiki rig with a 3/16-ounce jig and a Yamamoto Scope Shad before shifting gears to a more prominent pattern.

“I know those herring fish get finicky in the afternoon, so after that I went after the shad eaters and bluegill eaters,” Jones said. “I fished rocks with a big jointed swimbait in a shad color and a 9-inch glidebait in green gizzard.

“The key was keeping the bait above their head. I think they get a lot of confidence when it’s over their head, so I used my Garmin LiveScope to keep my bait in the right position.”

Despite the commanding performance, Jones said he actually experienced some first-round frustration that nearly spun him out. Stopping for a personal pep talk, he got himself back on track and secured a solid Day 1 bag.

“The biggest challenge that I had was mindset,” Jones said. “I’m not gonna say I didn’t lose myself a little bit on Day 1, but it was getting to the point where I was scrambling. I didn’t know what to do, but I slapped myself in the face and said, ‘Just fish, try to catch five, and survive Day 1’ and that’s what I did.

“I had one fish at 2 o’clock and I was due in at 4:40. I got it flipped around 2:30 and caught four pretty quickly and then I made one more cull that put me at 19-12.”

Godwin and Odom placed 18th on Day 1 with 16-13 and made a big Day 2 move by catching a limit of 20-6 to tally 37-3.

Peyton Harris and Dalton Head, also of the University of Montevallo, finished third with 36-13.

Godwin and Odom won the $100 Big Bass award with a 7-7.

The event was hosted by Visit Columbia County, GA.

2024 Strike King Bassmaster College Series at Clarks Hill Reservoir presented by Bass Pro Shops 2/1-2/2
Clarks Hill Lake, Columbia County  GA.
(BOATER) Standings Day 2

    Angler                                       Club/School                       Pts

1.  Anderson Jones –                             Lander University                   250
  Day 1: 5   19-12     Day 2: 5   24-03   Total:  10  43-15
2.  Brenton Godwin – Hunter Odom                 University of Montevallo            249
  Day 1: 5   16-13     Day 2: 5   20-06   Total:  10  37-03
3.  Peyton Harris – Dalton Head                  University of Montevallo            248
  Day 1: 5   17-06     Day 2: 5   19-07   Total:  10  36-13
4.  Emery Burnett – Drake Axon                   Georgia Southern University         247
  Day 1: 5   16-11     Day 2: 5   19-09   Total:  10  36-04
5.  Caleb Hudson – Tanner Hadden                 University of South Carolina – U    246
  Day 1: 5   17-11     Day 2: 5   17-01   Total:  10  34-12
6.  Grant Dohle – Jake Mantovani                 Missouri State University           245
  Day 1: 5   21-03     Day 2: 5   13-03   Total:  10  34-06
7.  Hayden Gaddis – Ben Cully                    Carson-Newman University            244
  Day 1: 5   18-02     Day 2: 5   16-01   Total:  10  34-03
8.  Logan Plueger – Charlie Wright               University of Montevallo            243
  Day 1: 5   18-09     Day 2: 5   15-06   Total:  10  33-15
9.  Clay Henderson – Brant Rowland               Drury University                    242
  Day 1: 5   16-04     Day 2: 5   17-01   Total:  10  33-05
10. Lane Clark – Tallis Morrison                 Erskine College                     241
  Day 1: 5   19-05     Day 2: 5   13-13   Total:  10  33-02
11. Kasen Pemberton – Avery Padgett              Troy University                     240
  Day 1: 5   15-08     Day 2: 5   17-00   Total:  10  32-08
12. Gus McLarry – Jared West                     Texas A&M Commerce Fishing Club     239
  Day 1: 5   17-05     Day 2: 5   14-15   Total:  10  32-04
13. Robert Hunt – Dillon Robertshaw              Missouri State University           238
  Day 1: 5   18-04     Day 2: 5   13-14   Total:  10  32-02
14. Brayden Ruckman – Cason Price                Carson-Newman University            237
  Day 1: 5   14-03     Day 2: 5   17-05   Total:  10  31-08
15. Luke McGuffin – Rylan Green                  Erskine College                     236
  Day 1: 5   16-00     Day 2: 5   15-06   Total:  10  31-06
16. Nathan Fideldy – Laindree Richardson         Drury University                    235
  Day 1: 5   15-12     Day 2: 5   15-09   Total:  10  31-05
17. Szymon Piton – Riley Faulkner                Carson-Newman University            234
  Day 1: 5   19-06     Day 2: 5   11-12   Total:  10  31-02
18. Max Heaton – Brooks Anderson                 Emmanuel College                    233
  Day 1: 5   15-11     Day 2: 5   14-12   Total:  10  30-07
19. Drake Hemby – Ewing Minor                    Carson-Newman University            232
  Day 1: 5   16-01     Day 2: 5   14-05   Total:  10  30-06
20. Tyler Cory – Scott Sledge                    University of Montevallo            231
  Day 1: 5   13-13     Day 2: 5   16-08   Total:  10  30-05
21. Michael Canonica – Seth Proctor              University of Tennessee             230
  Day 1: 5   21-03     Day 2: 5   09-00   Total:  10  30-03
22. Stevie Mills – Andrew Turner                 Carson-Newman University            229
  Day 1: 5   12-01     Day 2: 5   18-00   Total:  10  30-01
23. Luke Wenger – Braxon Hightower               Dallas Baptist University           228
  Day 1: 5   17-02     Day 2: 5   12-11   Total:  10  29-13
24. Hunter Jenkins –                             Dallas Baptist University           227
  Day 1: 4   12-09     Day 2: 5   17-01   Total:   9  29-10
25. Xander Patton – Stephen Brooks               Emmanuel College                    226
  Day 1: 5   18-04     Day 2: 5   11-03   Total:  10  29-07
26. Andrew Ready – Trey Garrett                  Southeastern University             225
  Day 1: 5   14-05     Day 2: 5   14-15   Total:  10  29-04
27. Andrew Rickman – Ty Manterola                Dallas Baptist University           224
  Day 1: 5   13-03     Day 2: 5   15-15   Total:  10  29-02
28. Robert Miller – John Michael Ortman          Emmanuel College                    223
  Day 1: 5   13-03     Day 2: 5   15-10   Total:  10  28-13
29. Andrew Oswalt – Evan Mabrey                  University of Montevallo            222
  Day 1: 5   17-00     Day 2: 5   11-12   Total:  10  28-12
30. Brody Robison – Colton White                 University of Montevallo            221
  Day 1: 5   13-08     Day 2: 5   15-04   Total:  10  28-12
31. Cameron Yates –                              Lander University                   220
  Day 1: 5   12-14     Day 2: 5   15-09   Total:  10  28-07
32. Will Harris – Cole Rankin                    Carson-Newman University            219
  Day 1: 5   16-00     Day 2: 5   12-04   Total:  10  28-04
33. Tucker Cory – Michael Witherup               University of Montevallo            218
  Day 1: 5   17-15     Day 2: 5   10-04   Total:  10  28-03
34. Hunter Keller – Garrett Christy              Catawba Valley Community College    217
  Day 1: 5   12-01     Day 2: 5   16-02   Total:  10  28-03
35. Matt Boerboom – Trent Gilmore                University of Montevallo            216
  Day 1: 5   12-12     Day 2: 5   14-07   Total:  10  27-03
36. Isaac Dewsbury – Brett Boswell               Georgia College                     215
  Day 1: 5   13-06     Day 2: 5   13-12   Total:  10  27-02
37. Summer Dees – Turner Hart                    Bryan College                       214
  Day 1: 5   16-13     Day 2: 5   10-02   Total:  10  26-15
38. Clayton Easter – Trevor Easter               Tarleton State University           213
  Day 1: 5   14-10     Day 2: 5   12-04   Total:  10  26-14
39. Tripp Berlinsky – Bryce Dimauro              Bryan College                       212
  Day 1: 5   15-09     Day 2: 5   11-04   Total:  10  26-13
40. Josh Finnerty – Cody Gaynes                  Georgia College                     211
  Day 1: 5   12-15     Day 2: 5   13-13   Total:  10  26-12
41. Cody Domingos – Matthew Dettling             University of Tennessee             210
  Day 1: 5   14-09     Day 2: 5   12-02   Total:  10  26-11
42. Aric Szambelan – Alex Wood                   Missouri State University           209
  Day 1: 5   14-04     Day 2: 5   12-06   Total:  10  26-10
43. William Tew – Brayden Nichols                LSU – Shreveport                    208
  Day 1: 5   14-15     Day 2: 5   11-09   Total:  10  26-08
44. Ryan Lachniet – Logan Evans                  Campbellsville University           207
  Day 1: 5   12-07     Day 2: 5   13-15   Total:  10  26-06
45. Drew Pitts – Nicholas Dellaporta             Carson-Newman University            206
  Day 1: 5   17-01     Day 2: 5   09-03   Total:  10  26-04
46. Nick Dumke –                                 University of Montevallo            205
  Day 1: 5   14-12     Day 2: 5   11-07   Total:  10  26-03
47. Peyton Sorrow – Garrett Ring                 University of Montevallo            204
  Day 1: 5   14-03     Day 2: 5   11-15   Total:  10  26-02
48. Camden Kozikoski – Dayne Kobriger            Drury University                    203
  Day 1: 3   08-11     Day 2: 5   17-00   Total:   8  25-11
49. Kaleb Brown – Cole Moulton                   Lander University                   202
  Day 1: 5   14-01     Day 2: 5   11-04   Total:  10  25-05
50. Austin Parr – Hunter White                   Erskine College                     201
  Day 1: 5   16-05     Day 2: 5   08-15   Total:  10  25-04
51. Austin Rose – Dylan Benson                   East Texas Baptist University       200
  Day 1: 5   12-09     Day 2: 5   12-11   Total:  10  25-04
52. TJ McKenzie – Will Wester                    Emmanuel College                    199
  Day 1: 5   09-07     Day 2: 5   15-08   Total:  10  24-15
53. Atlan Pfluger – Breckett Long                Texas A&M University                198
  Day 1: 5   16-05     Day 2: 4   08-05   Total:   9  24-10
54. Bryant Martin – Luke Batts                   LSU – Shreveport                    197
  Day 1: 4   10-00     Day 2: 5   14-10   Total:   9  24-10
55. Grayson Ball – Sellers Odom                  Calhoun Community College           196
  Day 1: 5   10-01     Day 2: 5   14-01   Total:  10  24-02
56. Justin Latham – Blaine Mattingly             Campbellsville University           195
  Day 1: 5   13-04     Day 2: 5   10-13   Total:  10  24-01
57. Jeremy Monda – Will Boyd Jr                  Florida Gateway College             194
  Day 1: 5   11-02     Day 2: 5   12-08   Total:  10  23-10
58. Nick Pemberton – Will Holloway               University of Montevallo            193
  Day 1: 4   08-06     Day 2: 5   15-01   Total:   9  23-07
59. Jared Hubbard – Riley Hendricks              Lander University                   192
  Day 1: 2   06-12     Day 2: 5   16-04   Total:   7  23-00
60. Paul Southern – Caden Canaday                Virginia Tech                       191
  Day 1: 4   07-03     Day 2: 5   15-13   Total:   9  23-00
61. Callaway Robinson – Tucker Pearson           Georgia College                     190
  Day 1: 5   10-13     Day 2: 5   12-03   Total:  10  23-00
62. Tyler Chmelar – Carter Everett               Tarleton State University           189
  Day 1: 5   09-05     Day 2: 5   13-09   Total:  10  22-14
63. Kaden Buchmann – Chase Wodzinski             Lander University                   188
  Day 1: 5   13-06     Day 2: 5   09-08   Total:  10  22-14
64. Layton Brown – Parker Brown                  Dallas Baptist University           187
  Day 1: 5   10-15     Day 2: 5   11-13   Total:  10  22-12
65. Jackson Paden – Joey Bissing                 University of Tennessee             186
  Day 1: 5   12-03     Day 2: 5   10-05   Total:  10  22-08
66. Cole Dodson – Briar Dodson                   University of Montevallo            185
  Day 1: 5   14-01     Day 2: 4   08-06   Total:   9  22-07
67. Logan East – Conner Giles                    Bryan College                       184
  Day 1: 5   13-03     Day 2: 4   09-03   Total:   9  22-06
68. William Travis – Bryson Dotson               Bryan College                       183
  Day 1: 5   14-01     Day 2: 3   08-01   Total:   8  22-02
69. Christian Boyd – Landon Sexton               Shelton State Community College     182
  Day 1: 5   10-05     Day 2: 5   11-12   Total:  10  22-01
70. Jacob Swanson – Zack Cooper                  University of Montevallo            181
  Day 1: 5   11-05     Day 2: 5   10-07   Total:  10  21-12
71. Blair Cox – Zach Adamec                      Missouri State University           180
  Day 1: 3   05-10     Day 2: 5   16-01   Total:   8  21-11
72. James Dubose – Daylon Milam                  University of Montevallo            179
  Day 1: 5   10-10     Day 2: 5   11-01   Total:  10  21-11
73. Will Oberman – Clay Oberman                  Campbellsville University           178
  Day 1: 5   18-03     Day 2: 1   03-07   Total:   6  21-10
74. Jack Clancy –                                University Of Tennessee             177
  Day 1: 5   12-06     Day 2: 5   09-04   Total:  10  21-10
75. Garrett Smith – Andrew Blanton               Lander University                   176
  Day 1: 5   10-03     Day 2: 5   11-07   Total:  10  21-10
76. Ian Carter – Bryce Distefano                 LSU – Shreveport                    175
  Day 1: 5   12-04     Day 2: 5   09-03   Total:  10  21-07
77. Victor Alford – Christian Misciagna          Bryan College                       174
  Day 1: 5   08-02     Day 2: 5   13-02   Total:  10  21-04
78. Riley Aebi – Ben Burns                       Stephen F Austin State Universit    173
  Day 1: 5   10-02     Day 2: 5   10-14   Total:  10  21-00
79. Ty Allison – Dyson Lewis                     Catawba Valley Community College    172
  Day 1: 5   10-15     Day 2: 5   10-00   Total:  10  20-15
80. Bailey Mckinney – Levi Smith                 Marshall University                 171
  Day 1: 5   07-07     Day 2: 5   13-06   Total:  10  20-13
81. Blair Erickson – Jackson Pontius             University of Montevallo            170
  Day 1: 5   12-03     Day 2: 5   08-07   Total:  10  20-10
82. Caden Gettys – Cole Weaver                   Catawba Valley Community College    169
  Day 1: 4   09-07     Day 2: 5   11-03   Total:   9  20-10
83. Syler Prince – Parker Stalvey                St Johns River State College        168
  Day 1: 5   11-05     Day 2: 3   09-02   Total:   8  20-07
84. Triston Richardson – Mason Mccormick         LSU – Shreveport                    167
  Day 1: 5   11-08     Day 2: 5   08-14   Total:  10  20-06
85. Garrett Sullivan – Matthew Poss              Faulkner University                 166
  Day 1: 3   05-01     Day 2: 5   15-03   Total:   8  20-04
86. Colton Boelkes –                             Southeastern University             165
  Day 1: 3   11-02     Day 2: 4   09-01   Total:   7  20-03
87. Shaden Farley – Trace Kight                  Murray State College                164
  Day 1: 5   09-11     Day 2: 5   10-07   Total:  10  20-02
88. Keaton Owens – Bradley Childers              Spartanburg Community College       163
  Day 1: 5   09-14     Day 2: 5   10-02   Total:  10  20-00
89. Trevor Johnston – Josh Kerr                  Texas A&M University                162
  Day 1: 5   10-00     Day 2: 5   10-00   Total:  10  20-00
90. Levi Thibodaux – Miles Smith                 LSU – Shreveport                    161
  Day 1: 5   10-05     Day 2: 5   09-09   Total:  10  19-14
91. Christopher Daniels – Harrison McCall        Lander University                   160
  Day 1: 5   11-06     Day 2: 4   08-07   Total:   9  19-13
92. Tripp Bowman – Matthew Nesbit                LSU – Shreveport                    159
  Day 1: 5   10-13     Day 2: 5   09-00   Total:  10  19-13
93. Lawson Blake – Garrett Simon                 Marshall University                 158
  Day 1: 5   10-12     Day 2: 4   08-14   Total:   9  19-10
94. Cole Klasing – Adam Green                    Greenville College Bass Fishing     157
  Day 1: 5   13-10     Day 2: 5   05-15   Total:  10  19-09
95. Drew Bradstreet –                            Florida Gateway College             156
  Day 1: 1   02-15     Day 2: 5   16-05   Total:   6  19-04
96. Jacob Witkowski – Mark Harris                Dallas Baptist Univesity            155
  Day 1: 4   09-02     Day 2: 5   10-01   Total:   9  19-03
97. Connor Koch – Kane Weekley                   Southeastern University             154
  Day 1: 4   08-06     Day 2: 5   10-11   Total:   9  19-01
98. Weslee Barnes – Jack Dill                    Clemson University                  153
  Day 1: 5   09-09     Day 2: 5   09-08   Total:  10  19-01
99. Corey Morris – Brayden Mercer                East Texas Baptist University       152
  Day 1: 3   06-02     Day 2: 5   12-14   Total:   8  19-00
100. Colin Wolinski – Noah Lieberman              Missouri State University           151
  Day 1: 5   11-15     Day 2: 3   06-15   Total:   8  18-14
101. Turner Barksdale – Jared Walters             Shelton State Community College     150
  Day 1: 4   07-05     Day 2: 5   11-05   Total:   9  18-10
102. Easton Bouma – Zachary Ward                  Drury University                    149
  Day 1: 3   07-07     Day 2: 5   11-02   Total:   8  18-09
103. Blake Wheat – Zachary Helton                 Carson-Newman University            148
  Day 1: 5   09-09     Day 2: 4   09-00   Total:   9  18-09
104. Brayden Batchelor – Alex Belin               Georgia Southern University         147
  Day 1: 5   07-12     Day 2: 5   10-05   Total:  10  18-01
105. Parker Lambert – Aaron Shumaker              Lander University                   146
  Day 1: 5   08-04     Day 2: 4   09-09   Total:   9  17-13
106. Jeremy Dellinger – William Hammond           Lander University                   145
  Day 1: 4   06-02     Day 2: 5   11-09   Total:   9  17-11
107. Christian Moore – John Mizell                Tarleton State University           144
  Day 1: 5   05-11     Day 2: 5   11-13   Total:  10  17-08
108. Tyler Morris – Hunter Hamilton               LSU – Shreveport                    143
  Day 1: 1   01-10     Day 2: 5   15-13   Total:   6  17-07
109. Kaden Raichel – Mason Kornegay               University of Montevallo            142
  Day 1: 5   06-10     Day 2: 5   10-13   Total:  10  17-07
110. Briggs Alavezos – Solomon Glenn              University of Montevallo            141
  Day 1: 4   09-07     Day 2: 3   08-00   Total:   7  17-07
111. Brett Jolley Jr. – Cade Nettles              East Texas Baptist University       140
  Day 1: 2   08-01     Day 2: 5   08-13   Total:   7  16-14
112. Colby Bryan – Dalton Eury                    Catawba Valley Community College    139
  Day 1: 5   14-10     Day 2: 1   02-03   Total:   6  16-13
113. Sam Semper –                                 Tarleton State University           138
  Day 1: 3   04-07     Day 2: 5   12-04   Total:   8  16-11
114. Cade Lipham – Caleb Coleman                  Drury University                    137
  Day 1: 5   12-13     Day 2: 2   03-13   Total:   7  16-10
115. Trey McMeen – Braydon Kelley                 East Texas Baptist University       136
  Day 1: 5   10-09     Day 2: 5   06-01   Total:  10  16-10
116. Landon Howe – Gabe Thrift                    Georgia Southern University         135
  Day 1: 5   11-05     Day 2: 3   05-02   Total:   8  16-07
117. Mason Thompson – Declan Schmidt              University of Tennessee             134
  Day 1: 3   06-09     Day 2: 5   09-14   Total:   8  16-07
118. Andrew Howell – Jordan Pennington            University of Montevallo            133
  Day 1: 3   07-07     Day 2: 5   08-14   Total:   8  16-05
119. Storm Cline – Gavin Clevenger                Carson-Newman University            132
  Day 1: 1   02-14     Day 2: 5   13-05   Total:   6  16-03
120. Asa Putnam – Bretty Mouw                     University of Montevallo            131
  Day 1: 3   04-05     Day 2: 5   11-05   Total:   8  15-10
121. Luke Salvail – Kyle Johnson                  Calhoun Community College           130
  Day 1: 5   09-08     Day 2: 2   06-02   Total:   7  15-10
122. Trace Antunes III – Slade Davis              University of Montevallo            129
  Day 1: 1   01-11     Day 2: 5   13-11   Total:   6  15-06
123. Seth Jones – Bryson O’ Steen                 Florida Gateway College             128
  Day 1: 4   08-06     Day 2: 4   07-00   Total:   8  15-06
124. Grant Gale – Bryce Atkinson                  Tarleton State University           127
  Day 1: 5   12-08     Day 2: 2   02-13   Total:   7  15-05
125. Evan Fields – Noah Dabney                    Campbellsville University           126
  Day 1: 3   05-14     Day 2: 5   09-05   Total:   8  15-03
126. Evan Waggener – Caleb Cason                  Campbellsville University           125
  Day 1: 4   08-11     Day 2: 3   06-08   Total:   7  15-03
127. Wes Smith II – Grant Harris                  Catawba Valley Community College    124
  Day 1: 5   08-01     Day 2: 5   07-01   Total:  10  15-02
128. Aaron Hawkins – Broxson Daigle               Texas A&M University                123
  Day 1: 5   10-13     Day 2: 1   03-12   Total:   6  14-09
129. Matthew McGrehor – Alex Girodo               Calhoun Community College           122
  Day 1: 3   06-05     Day 2: 5   08-04   Total:   8  14-09
130. Matthew Massey – Matt Brault                 Erskine College                     121
  Day 1: 2   03-07     Day 2: 5   11-01   Total:   7  14-08
131. PB Bryant – Guppy Hightower                  Murray State College                120
  Day 1: 3   05-05     Day 2: 4   09-03   Total:   7  14-08
132. Brycen Williamson – Adam Seagle              Erskine College                     119
  Day 1: 5   09-05     Day 2: 3   04-15   Total:   8  14-04
133. Wyatt Wood – Max Gosdin                      University of Montevallo            118
  Day 1: 5   12-10     Day 2: 1   01-07   Total:   6  14-01
134. Fischer Barber – Sawyer McCullough           Troy University                     117
  Day 1: 3   05-01     Day 2: 5   09-00   Total:   8  14-01
135. Brant Langley – Cody Morgan                  Southeastern University Fishing     116
  Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 5   14-00   Total:   5  14-00
136. Dylan Breaux – Joel Richard                  Nicholls State University           115
  Day 1: 2   03-07     Day 2: 5   10-09   Total:   7  14-00
137. Devan Perkins – Kade Palmer                  Denham Springs High School – LA     114
  Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 4   13-11   Total:   4  13-11
138. Wyatt Ford – Joseph Stingley                 University of Montevallo            113
  Day 1: 5   11-01     Day 2: 2   02-10   Total:   7  13-11
139. Chase Rogers – Kyler Murray                  University of South Carolina – U    112
  Day 1: 3   04-14     Day 2: 3   08-12   Total:   6  13-10
140. Hunter Jensen –                              Liberty University                  111
  Day 1: 5   08-10     Day 2: 3   04-14   Total:   8  13-08
141. Jordan Kenny – Noah Garrison                 Tarleton State University           110
  Day 1: 5   10-04     Day 2: 2   03-03   Total:   7  13-07
142. Austin Wadzinski – Stone Robertson           University of Tennessee             109
  Day 1: 5   11-05     Day 2: 2   02-01   Total:   7  13-06
143. David Bartlett – Drake Longstaff             Greenville College Bass Fishing     108
  Day 1: 5   08-15     Day 2: 4   04-07   Total:   9  13-06
144. Peyton Matherne – Beau Landry                LSU                                 107
  Day 1: 5   10-13     Day 2: 1   02-07   Total:   6  13-04
145. Aiden Neely – Ryan Blair                     Tarleton State University           106
  Day 1: 3   05-06     Day 2: 4   07-13   Total:   7  13-03
146. Storm Clark – River Eubanks                  University of Montevallo            105
  Day 1: 3   06-11     Day 2: 4   06-01   Total:   7  12-12
147. Andrew Sell – Blake Rufkahr                  Missouri State University           104
  Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 5   12-09   Total:   5  12-09
148. Matthew Gunn – Dylan Mclaughlin              Erskine College                     103
  Day 1: 4   07-12     Day 2: 1   04-11   Total:   5  12-07
149. Braden Lankford – Sam Sutter                 Murray State College                102
  Day 1: 2   04-07     Day 2: 5   07-15   Total:   7  12-06
150. Walter Trulock – Camden Romero               MS State                            101
  Day 1: 3   05-04     Day 2: 3   07-00   Total:   6  12-04
151. Gabe Hannon – Alexander Blanchard            LSU                                 100
  Day 1: 1   02-11     Day 2: 4   09-03   Total:   5  11-14
152. Caleb Baynes – Cory Mitchell                 Liberty University                   99
  Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 5   11-12   Total:   5  11-12
153. Palmer Parrish – Myers Gaston                Clemson University                   98
  Day 1: 4   11-12     Day 2: 0   00-00   Total:   4  11-12
154. Jack McMakin – Jamison Melton                Clemson University                   97
  Day 1: 4   08-04     Day 2: 2   03-07   Total:   6  11-11
155. Luke Rokavec – Lake Hatfield                 Campbellsville University            96
  Day 1: 4   07-04     Day 2: 1   04-04   Total:   5  11-08
156. Connor Green – Noah Bryars                   Faulkner University                  95
  Day 1: 1   02-05     Day 2: 5   09-02   Total:   6  11-07
157. JD Clarke – Kaden Mueck                      Stephen F Austin State Universit     94
  Day 1: 5   11-06     Day 2: 0   00-00   Total:   5  11-06
158. Colby Ullery – Hayes Pate                    Faulkner University                  93
  Day 1: 5   09-01     Day 2: 1   02-04   Total:   6  11-05
159. Noah Trant – Evan Howe                       Northwestern State University        92
  Day 1: 1   01-13     Day 2: 4   09-07   Total:   5  11-04
160. Brooks Leonard – Stran Stevens               Lone Star College                    91
  Day 1: 3   08-08     Day 2: 1   02-10   Total:   4  11-02
161. Chase Carey – Dylan Akins                    Emmanuel College                     90
  Day 1: 5   11-00     Day 2: 0   00-00   Total:   5  11-00
162. Hampton Shull – Landon Surrett               Lander University                    89
  Day 1: 3   04-08     Day 2: 4   06-08   Total:   7  11-00
163. Elijah Jackson – Matthew German              University Of Alabama Bass Fishi     88
  Day 1: 1   01-08     Day 2: 5   09-06   Total:   6  10-14
164. Matthew Foster – Hunter Payne                Georgia College                      87
  Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 5   10-11   Total:   5  10-11
165. Connor Dunn –                                Texas A&M University                 86
  Day 1: 4   06-11     Day 2: 2   04-00   Total:   6  10-11
166. Colden Harman – Lance Fuhr                   Clemson University                   85
  Day 1: 4   07-08     Day 2: 1   03-01   Total:   5  10-09
167. Alex Gore – Colby Reece                      Carson-Newman University             84
  Day 1: 2   06-12     Day 2: 2   03-13   Total:   4  10-09
168. Savannah Goode – Fisher Edwards              Georgia College                      83
  Day 1: 1   01-14     Day 2: 5   08-10   Total:   6  10-08
169. Connor Foreman – Joe Krejci                  Texas A&M University                 82
  Day 1: 1   01-10     Day 2: 5   08-13   Total:   6  10-07
170. Roy Crush IV – Mario Botan                   Texas A&M University                 81
  Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 3   10-04   Total:   3  10-04
171. Carson Hickman –                             Tarleton State University            80
  Day 1: 1   01-00     Day 2: 5   09-04   Total:   6  10-04
172. David Ackerman V – Mackenzie Sanders         Erskine College                      79
  Day 1: 3   07-08     Day 2: 2   02-12   Total:   5  10-04
173. Robert Campbell – Nick Manning               MS State                             78
  Day 1: 1   02-06     Day 2: 4   07-11   Total:   5  10-01
174. Zach Williams – Austin Comer                 MS State                             77
  Day 1: 3   03-07     Day 2: 5   06-09   Total:   8  10-00
175. Hunter Stuart – Sean Mccarthy                Tarleton State University            76
  Day 1: 2   03-01     Day 2: 3   06-12   Total:   5  09-13
176. Allen Powe – Jonathan Combs                  Campbellsville University            75
  Day 1: 3   05-10     Day 2: 1   04-03   Total:   4  09-13
177. Ryan Thomas – Jack Alexander                 University of Montevallo             74
  Day 1: 1   01-14     Day 2: 5   07-11   Total:   6  09-09
178. Harrison Heins – Hunter Slone                Tennessee Tech University            73
  Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 4   09-08   Total:   4  09-08
179. Kaleb Butts – Cole Hunter                    University of South Carolina – U     72
  Day 1: 5   09-06     Day 2: 0   00-00   Total:   5  09-06
180. Tyler Gunter – Cabe Mackey                   Catawba Valley Community College     71
  Day 1: 5   09-05     Day 2: 0   00-00   Total:   5  09-05
181. Dawson Lynch –                               Tarleton State University            70
  Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 5   09-04   Total:   5  09-04
182. AJ Bowdoin – Preston Waltisperger            Texas A&M University                 69
  Day 1: 2   04-02     Day 2: 4   05-01   Total:   6  09-03
183. Ryan Pero – Ben Tschoerner                   Stephen F Austin State Universit     68
  Day 1: 2   05-02     Day 2: 3   04-00   Total:   5  09-02
184. Grant Simmons – Avery Myers                  Missouri State University            67
  Day 1: 3   08-12     Day 2: 0   00-00   Total:   3  08-12
185. Curt Ferguson – David Derubertis             Drury University                     66
  Day 1: 1   02-09     Day 2: 3   06-02   Total:   4  08-11
186. Brice Hudler – Cade Johnson                  Texas A&M University                 65
  Day 1: 4   06-00     Day 2: 2   02-04   Total:   6  08-04
187. Brennan Berglund – Neal Braddy               University of Montevallo             64
  Day 1: 1   02-09     Day 2: 2   05-11   Total:   3  08-04
188. Alex Standerfer –                            Cvcc Redhawks                        63
  Day 1: 4   08-01     Day 2: 0   00-00   Total:   4  08-01
189. Landon Robbins – Will Eriksson               University of Tennessee              62
  Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 3   07-14   Total:   3  07-14
190. Will Thomas – Michael Arienzo Jr.            Berry’s Team Trail                   61
  Day 1: 5   07-09     Day 2: 0   00-00   Total:   5  07-09
191. Brody Hopper – Carson Palmer                 Carson-Newman University             60
  Day 1: 3   05-10     Day 2: 1   01-15   Total:   4  07-09
192. Skyler Stevens – Bryson Caudle               Faulkner University                  59
  Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 5   07-04   Total:   5  07-04
193. Christian Bales – Dylan Mcgee                Kentucky Christian University        58
  Day 1: 2   04-07     Day 2: 1   02-09   Total:   3  07-00
194. Tanner Smith – Cameron Gates                 Kentucky Christian University        57
  Day 1: 2   04-06     Day 2: 1   02-09   Total:   3  06-15
195. Jase White – Lane King                       Drury University                     56
  Day 1: 1   02-11     Day 2: 2   04-03   Total:   3  06-14
196. Evan Barker – Corey Yarish                   Campbellsville University            55
  Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 3   06-12   Total:   3  06-12
197. Jeremy Etter – Colin McGough                 Virginia Tech                        54
  Day 1: 0   00-00     Day 2: 4   06-11   Total:   4  06-11
198. Tucker Evans – Izael Alvarado                Stephen F Austin State Universit     53
  Day 1: 3   06-08     Day 2: 0   00-00   Total:   3  06-08
199. Drake Wadsworth – Stone Smith                Northwestern State University        52
  Day 1: 1   01-08     Day 2: 2   04-12   Total:   3  06-04
200. Caden Cardoza –                              University of Tennessee              51
  Day 1: 1   01-09     Day 2: 2   04-09   Total:   3  06-02
201. Stetson Southard – Walker Wilburn            Tarleton State University            50
  Day 1: 3   05-09     Day 2: 0   00-00   Total:   3  05-09
202. Brayden Stoker – Tucker Kendall              Tarleton State University            49
  Day 1: 1   02-03     Day 2: 2   03-03   Total:   3  05-06
203. CJ Lawrence – Car



WORM TIPS TO CATCH BIG WINTER BASS!!

Brian Carter
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WORM TIPS TO CATCH BIG WINTER BASS!!
Winter bass fishing, though challenging, can yield impressive results with the right techniques and lures. Key players in the cold months are the versatile 5 to 6-inch soft plastic worms and the larger 7-inch trick worms. These baits stand out for their effectiveness in winter conditions due to their subtle yet enticing movements, which are essential in cold waters where bass become more lethargic and selective. With the drop in temperature, bass metabolism slows down, making them less inclined to pursue fast-moving baits. This is where both types of worms have a distinct advantage; their slow, natural action can trigger strikes from bass that might ignore other lures. When utilizing these worms, understanding the altered winter behavior of bass is crucial. They tend to be less active, often residing in deeper, warmer pockets of water. This behavior shift necessitates a more deliberate and very patient lure presentation. The goal is to mimic the natural movements of the bait in chilly waters, often requiring a slower retrieve and subtle twitches. While terminal tackle like Owner All Purpose Hooks or Mosquito Hooks can enhance the effectiveness, the primary focus should be on the worm’s presentation and technique. Opting for natural and subdued colors is often beneficial, as these shades closely resemble actual forage.Using a stick-styled worm is the most tried and true ways to catch fish. We offer a variety of 5 to 6-inch Worms to choose from. We’ll be releasing new 7-inch trick worms this Friday, so you better prepare now to avoid missing out! You can experience our new wacky rigging kit while it’s ON SALE! The WACKY Pack offers our most popular colors and essential tools, featuring 24 high-quality worms in the popular Green Pumpkin, Watermelon Red, and Black & Blue, alongside four precision-crafted Owner Wacky Hooks 1/8oz. Act fast, if you’re fast enough you might be able to grab the limited-release Pumpkin Spice Worm before it’s completely sold out along with our newest Brown Worm, Electic Chicken Worm, and Goby Wan Worm colors. The high-grade non-salt plastic they’re made from provides positive buoyancy and it even floats underwater! We also just recently released new 6-inch Worms that catch some trophy bass. Charmeleon, Rainbow TRT, Bone, Chocolate Mint, and Fire TGR are all available in 5 and 6-inch. We also offer worms that have the unique ability to shift from one color to another. The Color Shifting Fun Pack includes 20 of these worms and a pack of All Purpose hooks! Each Fresh Worm is scented for total attraction underwater. Making them irresistible to a wide range of fish including both Smallmouth and Largemouth, Panfish to Trout, and Walleye. These worms are perfect for fishing in lakes, rivers, and even streams, ensuring high success rates in any condition all year.
 
 
Employing these worms effectively, be it the smaller soft plastics or the larger trick worms, can significantly elevate your winter fishing experience. Their simplicity, coupled with their ability to mimic natural prey, makes them indispensable for both novice and seasoned anglers in the winter months. When it comes to winter bass fishing, when the techniques employed with 5 to 6-inch soft plastic worms can make a significant difference. One effective method is the slow dragging technique. This involves casting your worm and letting it sink to the bottom. Once it’s settled, slowly drag the worm along the bottom with occasional small twitches. This mimics a foraging worm or insect, which is an irresistible target for bass in cold water. Another key strategy is the twitch-and-pause method. After casting, let the worm sink, and then gently twitch the rod tip. This creates a subtle, lifelike movement in the worm, imitating a struggling insect or small fish. After the twitch, pause and allow the worm to settle. This pause is often when the bass will strike, as it mimics a vulnerable prey item. Color selection is also crucial in winter. In clear water, opt for natural colors like greens, browns, and grays to mimic the natural prey of bass. In stained or murky water, slightly brighter colors can be more effective to stand out, but still avoid overly vibrant colors that might look unnatural in the subdued winter environment.The 7 inch trick worms are particularly effective in targeting larger bass during the winter months. Their size and action make them an appealing meal for bigger bass looking for a substantial prey. One of the most effective ways to use these worms is through Texas Rigging, especially with an Owner All Purpose Hook. The Texas Rig allows the worm to move through water and cover more naturally, minimizing snags while maximizing movement, which is key in attracting attention in cold, sluggish waters. Another effective technique for the 7 inch trick worms is using them with a Shakey Head. This approach is excellent for presenting the worm in a more upright, defensive posture, mimicking natural prey behavior. The trick worm on a Shakey Head can be particularly enticing, as its larger profile and buoyant tail action are hard for big bass to ignore. The key is to use a slow, steady retrieve with occasional twitches. This mimics a worm moving along the bottom or trying to burrow, a natural action that can trigger strikes from wary bass. When fishing with these larger worms, it’s important to ensure that they are rigged correctly. The worm should be straight on the hook to ensure the most natural presentation and movement. Any kinks or unnatural bends can make the worm appear less lifelike and reduce its effectiveness. By focusing on these techniques and ensuring proper presentation, anglers can maximize catches.
 
 
Winter bass fishing with soft plastic and trick worms requires a nuanced approach, adapting to the seasonal changes and behavior of the bass. One advanced tip is to pay close attention to the water temperature and clarity. As the temperature drops, bass become more lethargic, so a slower, more deliberate presentation is often necessary. In clear water, subtle movements are key, as bass can be more easily spooked. Conversely, in murkier water, a slightly more aggressive twitch can be beneficial to attract the bass’s attention. Understanding the environment you’re fishing in is also crucial. During winter, bass often congregate around structures like submerged trees, rock piles, or drop-offs where the water might be slightly warmer. Positioning your lure near these structures and fishing them thoroughly can increase your chances of a strike. Remember, bass might be less willing to move far for food, so getting your worm close to where they are hiding is essential. Pay attention to the day’s conditions and be prepared to experiment with different presentations. By incorporating these advanced tactics and being adaptable to the conditions, anglers can enhance their winter bass fishing experience, making the most of the opportunities presented by using soft plastic and trick worms.Our terminal tackle selection is expertly crafted to elevate your worm fishing. The Owner All Purpose Hook, with its extra-wide gap, is ideal for a variety of worm sizes, ensuring a perfect fit and superior performance. For anglers keen on drop-shotting with worms, our Mosquito Hooks offer a precise match, enhancing the natural presentation of your lure. The Block Head Jig, designed with a mushroom-style head, excels in ned rigging, seamlessly pairing with worm baits for an effortlessly natural presentation. When precision is key, the Shakey Ultrahead’s unique twist lock coil spring allows for flawless rigging of your worm, ensuring it’s perfectly secured for every cast. The Ultrahead Wacky Jig, with its precise weight positioning and hook orientation, is tailor-made for the ultimate wacky presentations, enhancing the action and effectiveness of your lures. For Texas rigging, our Bullet-Type Rig offers unmatched efficiency, featuring an attached weight that streamlines the setup process, especially when fishing in dense cover. And for targeting bigger catches in tough conditions, the robust 4x Jungle Flippin Hook is your go-to choice, compatible with a wide range of worm baits and designed for optimal performance. Each item in our collection is tailored to enhance your fishing experience, providing you with the right tools for every weather condition year-round.
 



B.A.S.S. Nation will kick off new format on Alabama’s historic Lake Eufaula

Brian Carter
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B.A.S.S. Nation will kick off new format on Alabama’s historic Lake Eufaula

Alabama’s Lake Eufaula will kick off the 2024 Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Qualifier Series presented by Lowrance season February 7-9. 

Photo by Thomas Allen/B.A.S.S.

February 2, 2024

B.A.S.S. Nation will kick off new format on Alabama’s historic Lake Eufaula

Nation_Mercury_Lowrance_4C_Raster.png

EUFAULA, Ala. — Nation anglers will look to tame some of the moodiest bass in the Chattahoochee River when they arrive for the Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Qualifier at Lake Eufaula presented by Lowrance on Wednesday.

Competition days will be Feb. 7-9 with daily takeoffs set for 6:30 a.m. CT from Lakepoint State Park and weigh-ins each day back at the park at 2:30 p.m.

“The bass in Eufaula are kind of weird, and a cold front can really affect them,” said Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Elite Qualifier competitor Connor Jacob of Auburn, Ala. “The bass will do that from day to day, even. In the summer, I was trying to do some of the classic patterns. You’ll find the groups of fish, and some days it is ridiculous. You’ll catch a ton of fish. Then the next day you’ll catch two fish. They are really moody in Eufaula.”

This tournament kicks off a new format for the Nation Series. As long as they are a B.A.S.S. member and a Nation member, all anglers will be eligible to fish the new Nation Qualifier format. The top finishers from each event will advance to the Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Championship presented by Lowrance later in the year.

The Chattahoochee River impoundment has long been a premier destination for big-time tournaments, and the results have been impressive in recent years. Most recently, Justin Barnes won an Open last March with a two-day total of 48 pounds, 9 ounces during a tournament where it took more than 30 pounds just to earn a check.

Generally, in early February, the bass in Lake Eufaula are in a late-winter, early-spring mode. Both largemouth and spotted bass inhabit the fishery.

“The fish are going to be fat. But it’s weird out there,” Jacob said. “They seem like Northern-strain bass. You’ll catch one with a mouth that is tiny, but it weighs 2 1/2 pounds. So, the weights should be up, and I think they will be grouped up.”

While there is a ton of water to cover, Jacob predicts the mid- to lower lake will provide the most productive waters.

The weather can swing wildly, from cold to unseasonably warm and back to cold. Jacob said that in recent years, the lake levels have been adjusted more variably as well, making it a little difficult to decipher the lake from day to day. Water clarity can also change if a big storm rolls through.

“There used to be submerged grass offshore on the flats, but it has become more of a brushpile lake,” he said. “They used to hold the water consistently at full pool, and because of that it was a good shallow-vegetation lake.”

This time of year, the offshore bite will get a lot of attention and is often a more consistent way to get a bite. In the absence of grass, the bass gravitate to brushpiles.

“The flats up the lake are around 5 to 7 feet deep, and when they drop the water it really affects the fish,” Jacob said. “But down the lake when you have more of the 15-foot flats there are plenty of brushpiles, and those bass will stay a little more consistent.”

Crankbaits, jigs and drop shots will likely be key baits in this event, as well as forward-facing sonar presentations like swimbaits for anglers who chase bass underneath bait balls. Jerkbaits can come into play as well if the water is clear.

This event is being hosted by Eufaula-Barbour County Chamber of Commerce.



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