Category: BASSMASTER Elite Series/Opens

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The world’s most prestigious professional bass tournament will be returning next year to the site of some of the best moments in the sport’s famed history.

B.A.S.S. officials, along with Visit Anderson and VisitGreenvilleSC, announced today that the 2022 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk will be held for the fourth time at scenic Lake Hartwell, March 4-6, with takeoffs from Green Pond Landing & Event Center. Daily weigh-ins will be held at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena and the annual Bassmaster Classic Outdoors Expo will take place at the Greenville Convention Center, both of which are in nearby Greenville.

B.A.S.S. CEO Bruce Akin said the organization is excited to once again visit a venue that has become the gold standard for professional bass fishing events.

“Everything about Lake Hartwell and the city of Greenville make them the perfect setting for the Super Bowl of Professional Bass Fishing,” Akin said. “The Bassmaster Classic is not only a chance for the best anglers in the world to showcase their abilities, it’s an annual celebration of the sport itself.

“Lake Hartwell provides the perfect site for amazing competition, and the city of Greenville provides the hotels, restaurants and other facilities you need for an event the size of the Classic.”

Hartwell is a 56,000-acre man-made reservoir situated between Georgia and South Carolina and encompassing portions of the Savannah, Tugaloo and Seneca rivers. It features a vast array of habitat and a good population of both largemouth and spotted bass that are likely to be in the prespawn phase when the Classic competitors arrive.

The fishery has hosted three previous Classics that each provided action-packed finishes.

In 2008, Texas pro Alton Jones Sr. went into the final day with little more than a pound lead, but managed to hold off the rest of the field and claim his only Classic trophy. In 2015, when temperatures dipped as low as a frigid 9 degrees, hometown favorite Casey Ashley of South Carolina came from behind on the final day to win his only title. Then in 2018, young Alabama pro Jordan Lee jumped from sixth place on the final day to win his second-straight Classic.

The fans turned out in droves for all three visits, creating an electric atmosphere for the weigh-ins and packing the Expo all three days.

“The Upstate of South Carolina is thrilled to welcome the Bassmaster Classic back to Lake Hartwell for the fourth time since initially hosting back in 2008,” said David Montgomery, Vice President of Sales for VisitGreenvilleSC. “Not only has the Classic set attendance records each year it has returned, but it has proven to be one of our largest economic impact events for the Greenville region.”

In 2018, a then-record crowd of 143,323 fans attended all of the Classic-related events. That Classic won a Sports Destination Management Innovation in Sports Tourism award for its ability to have two destinations working together for such a large economic impact.

“We are very excited for the opportunity to host the Bassmaster Classic once again on Lake Hartwell,” said Neil Paul, Executive Director of Visit Anderson. “The leadership of Anderson County has made a significant commitment to Green Pond Landing and the marketing efforts of Lake Hartwell, and we expect another record-breaking event with our teammates from Greenville.

“Hosting our fourth Bassmaster Classic on Lake Hartwell is significant to our community because no other fishery will have hosted more Bassmaster Classic events. Having hosted this great event in the past, we can speak firsthand to the significant economic impact it will have on the Upstate of South Carolina and the impact of residual tourism that will be felt in Anderson County for years to come.”

Since the 2018 Classic, Hartwell has hosted several other high-level B.A.S.S. events, including a 2019 Bassmaster Elite Series tournament that was won by South Carolina pro Brandon Cobb. Just last year, another South Carolina pro, Patrick Walters, won the Basspro.com Bassmaster Eastern Open on Lake Hartwell.

Most recently, Hartwell hosted a Bassmaster College Series tournament that was won by Carson-Newman University anglers Ben Cully and Hayden Gaddis with a two-day total of 35 pounds, 10 ounces. In two days, a giant field of 261 teams caught just over 4,536 pounds of bass.

The 2022 Classic will feature 55 qualifiers who will earn their berths through the Elite Series, the Opens, the TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation circuit, the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops and the Bassmaster Team Championship plus the defending Bassmaster Classic champion and winner of the final Elite Series event of the 2021 season. They will compete in the no-entry fee event for their share of a whopping $1 million purse, with the champion earning $300,000.

“Since its inception, the Classic has been a tournament that changes lives,” said B.A.S.S. Chairman Chase Anderson. “The payday is great, sure. But the opportunity to refer to yourself as ‘Bassmaster Classic champion’ for the rest of your life — there’s no greater clout in our sport.”

The Bassmaster Classic is being hosted locally by Visit Anderson and VisitGreenvilleSC.

About VisitGreenvilleSC
VisitGreenvilleSC is a non-profit, economic development organization that is responsible for promoting the greater Greenville area as an attractive destination for leisure travelers, meetings, conventions, trade shows, and sporting events. As the official sales and marketing organization of the City and County of Greenville, the goal of VisitGreenvilleSC is to increase visitor-generated revenue, thereby strengthening Greenville’s economy. VisitGreenvilleSC is raising awareness of the destination through the brand “yeahTHATgreenville.” For more information go to VisitGreenvilleSC.com.

About Visit Anderson
Visit Anderson is the official destination marketing organization for Anderson, South Carolina. The mission of Visit Anderson is to grow the economy of Anderson County by fostering sustainable tourism, economic development and effectively marketing Anderson County and Lake Hartwell to increase visitation and improve the quality of life for the residents of Anderson County. For more information go to VisitAnderson.com.

About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S., which encompasses the Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 515,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), TV show, radio show, social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.

The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, Basspro.com Bassmaster Opens Series, TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Series, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School Series presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors, Bassmaster Team Championship, Bassmaster B.A.S.S. Nation Kayak Series powered by TourneyX and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk.

FLORENCE, Ala. — Bill Lowen turned in an impressively consistent performance at the Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Pickwick Lake, but he’ll never forget the 8-pound, 5-ounce largemouth that buoyed his Championship Tuesday performance and delivered a winning total of 83-5.

The only competitor to break 20 pounds three of the four days, Lowen placed third on Day 1 with 21-3 and improved to second a day later by adding 23-13. He earned his final-round berth on Day 3 with a limit of 17-10 that put him in a first-place tie with Chad Pipkens.

On Tuesday, Lowen surged across the finish line with a limit of 20-11. Edging second-place Brock Mosley by 2-10, Lowen claimed his first Elite win and earned $102,000, which includes the daily and overall Phoenix Boats Big Bass awards.

Lowen’s game-changing kicker bit around 10:30 a.m., when he skipped his black and blue Signature Series 3/8-ounce Lure Parts Online jig with a chunk trailer under a dock near Kogers Island. He initially snagged a piece of submerged cover, but then his line tightened.

“I had to pitch way up in there so the bait could get down in the current and sweep it through,” Lowen said. “I felt my jig get into a limb or a piece of brush, and as I hopped the jig over I felt the bite.

“I hesitated because I wanted to be sure, but when I got big pressure, I set the hook and it was game on.”

Lowen described that emotional catch: “There were so many feelings going through my head. You could hear me screaming and hollering and that’s not me. But that’s 14 years of excitement built up for this day. It all came out.”

The Tennessee Valley Authority steadily worked the volume through the system. But with Wilson Dam dumping approximately 180,000 cubic feet per second into Pickwick, the rising water and intense current dramatically changed Lowen’s game plan.

“My main goal was to start the tournament out on the grass flat by Koger Island. When all this rain and current came through I (was concerned) because I didn’t have anything else.

“The first morning of the event I ran down there and saw what was going on, and I said, ‘These fish have to slide to the sides — whether it’s on the island where I was fishing or the docks on the other side.’ Fortunately, when I pulled up and started flipping trees I got a bite, which keyed me in.”

That pattern worked for three days, but in the final round, falling water had drained much of Lowen’s prime habitat.

“Today, my main area (shallow cover on the outskirts of Kogers) was a foot and a half low,” he said. “A lot of the wood I was catching fish on was dry, so I started running some deeper stuff. I switched from the 3/8-ounce jig to a 1/2 and caught a couple key fish.”

Earlier in the tournament, Lowen used the 3/8-ounce jig so he could float it through the shallow, current-swept cover without getting hung up. He also used a Strike King Rodent Texas-rigged on a 5/0 Hayabusa flipping hook with a 5/16-ounce Reins tungsten weight for flipping reeds.

“Anytime I’m fishing current and I can keep a flipping rod in my hand, that’s my comfort zone,” Lowen said. “I grew up on the Ohio River, which looks just like (Pickwick) when it’s flooded. I’m used to rising, muddy water; it doesn’t affect me or make me get spun out. I just went out and fished the way I’d fish at home.”

Brock Mosley of Collinsville, Miss., finished second with 80-11. Entering the final day in sixth place, Mosley caught the day’s heaviest limit — 22-14. His previous weights were 19-9, 21-8 and 16-12.

Having cut his teeth on Pickwick, Mosley said he knew the famous Horseshoe area of the Wilson Dam tailrace held tremendous potential, but he waited until the final day to fish this area.

“I’ve been waiting all week for the current to slow down,” Mosley said. “I don’t like fishing the tailrace when it’s 120,000 CFS. I saw that it was going to slow down yesterday, but you usually give them a half day to reposition.

“I went up there this morning and threw a 3/4-ounce spinnerbait with tandem willow-leaf blades. In the first 10 minutes, I hooked up with two good ones.”

After leaving the tailrace, Mosley fished a big paddletail swimbait on the bluffs across from McFarland Park. He would rotate his areas once more and pick up a 5-pound fish 15 minutes before check-in.

Cory Johnston of Cavan, Canada, entered Championship Tuesday in third place and ended in that position with 79 pounds. His daily weights were 18-9, 15-3, 25-5 and 19-15.

After focusing on main-river current breaks the previous days, Johnston realized his opportunities were dwindling in the falling water. Transitioning to docks with 8 to 10 feet of water at the ends proved to be strategic adjustment.

Johnston caught his fish on a 7/16-ounce black/blue Punisher jig with a matching chunk trailer.

Patrick Walters of Summerville, S.C., leads the Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings with 264 points. Seth Feider of New Market, Minn., is in second with 246, followed by Brandon Palaniuk of Rathdrum, Idaho, with 245, Greg Hackney of Gonzales, La., with 242 and Bryan New of Belmont, N.C., with 239.

New leads the Rookie of the Year standings with 239 points.

Lowen took home $3,000 for being the highest-placing entrant in the Toyota Bonus Bucks program, and Hank Cherry of Lincolnton, N.C., earned $2,000 for being the second-highest placing entrant.

As part of the Yamaha Power Pay program, Lowen earned $2,500 for being the highest-placing entrant while Palaniuk claimed an additional $1,500 for being the second-highest placing entrant.

The tournament was hosted by Florence-Lauderdale Tourism.

2021 Bassmaster Elite Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota

2021 Bassmaster Elite Series Premier Sponsors: Berkley, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha

2021 Bassmaster Elite Series Supporting Sponsors: AFTCO, Bass Pro Shops, Garmin, Huk Performance Fishing, Marathon, Rapala

2021 Bassmaster Elite Series Conservation Partner: AFTCO

2021 Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Pickwick Lake Local Host: Florence-Lauderdale Tourism

About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S., which encompasses the Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 515,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), TV show, radio show, social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.

The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, Basspro.com Bassmaster Opens Series, TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Series, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School Series presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors, Bassmaster Team Championship, Bassmaster B.A.S.S. Nation Kayak Series powered by TourneyX and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk.

March 22, 2021

There’s A Tie At The Top At Pickwick Elite

FLORENCE, Ala. — Tomorrow, there can be only one winner, but Bill Lowen and Chad Pipkens share the Day 3 lead at the Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Pickwick Lake.

Both anglers head into Championship Tuesday with 62 pounds, 10 ounces.

If a tie occurs in the tournament’s final round, the winner will be determined by a fish-off between the tied competitors.

Hailing from Brookville, Ind., Lowen improved from second place by adding 17-10 to his previous days’ limits of 21-3 and 23-13. Pipkens, who lives in Holt, Mich., moved up from sixth. His daily weights were 21-2, 18-5 and 23-3.

Since last week’s fierce storm, the Tennessee Valley Authority has been moving a tremendous volume of water through Pickwick. Lowen started his day fishing main-river current breaks on the backside of Kogers Island and continued his quest to determine how the fish are adjusting.

As the water level slowly declines, warming conditions have set the stage for a possible spawning movement.

“It just seems like every day the morning has been the deal, that first three hours,” Lowen said. “After that, I just have to beat around and try other things. I’m just trying to find out where the fish have gone.

“I feel like the current is pushing those fish off the flats. I have some areas that they should be going to. I keep checking them, but they haven’t shown up yet.”

Lowen caught his fish on his signature series 3/8-ounce Lure Parts Online jig with a chunk trailer. This bait’s weight and buoyancy allows it to sweep across shallow wood cover without snagging.

Later in the morning, Lowen started exploring other habitat features, including tall stands of flat reeds where spawners may eventually move. Signs are pointing in that direction, he said, but Lowen’s not ready to commit his final day to this uncertain stage.

“At the end of the day, I had some fish come up on a swim jig that didn’t get it,” Lowen said. “I’ve been saying it all day that it’s time for that to happen. Tomorrow, I’m going down there and starting on that same stretch. The only thing I was missing today were those big bites. Hopefully tomorrow some of those big females will move up.”

Spending his day on the backside of a small island upstream of Kogers, Pipkens focused on a grassy ditch. Receding water seems to be working in his favor.

“The first day I caught every fish I weighed up close to that island on a current seam because the water was so high,” Pipkens said. “At the end of the day I caught a couple about 100 yards back, and yesterday I caught most of them [farther] back.

“Today, I caught them all there, except for one at the end. I think they’re starting to scatter back throughout that ditch. I’m ready to move around tomorrow.”

Pipkens anchored his bag with a 5-pounder around 10:46 a.m., but a 4-pounder at 2:14 p.m. gave him a key cull that secured his first-place tie. He caught his fish on a ChatterBait with a trailer hook and a swimbait trailer. Pipkens said his bites were subtle.

“There’s so much current, they’re just sitting down there and they’re not eating until the bait comes over them,” Pipkens said.

Pipkens is hopeful that tomorrow’s forecasted rain and dim skies could trigger a more aggressive bite.

“With tomorrow’s weather, it could get right,” he said. “I’ve said if you can catch 15 to 20 fish in this area, you can weigh in 25 to 30 pounds. I was one big bite away today and I only caught six. The right ones bit today.”

Cory Johnston of Cavan, Canada, is in third place with 59-1. Moving up from 22nd place, he added the day’s heaviest bag, 25-5, to his previous weights of 18-9 and 15-3.

“I caught most of my fish offshore in the Kogers Island area on current breaks in 3 to 8 feet, and then I went looking for some other stuff,” Johnston said. “I ended up finding some stuff on the bank and caught a 5-pounder.

“Up shallow, it was wood and junk they’re sitting behind out of the current. I was just trying to expand my options, but it’s hard to say which might play tomorrow. I’ll try both.”

Johnston said he rotated through a selection of 10 reaction baits. Continuously giving the fish different looks was the key to his success.

Hank Cherry of Lincolnton, N.C., is in the lead for Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors with his 7-11.

Patrick Walters of Summerville, S.C., leads the Angler of the Year standings with 264 points. Seth Feider of New Market, Minn., is in second with 246, followed by Brandon Palaniuk of Rathdrum, Idaho, with 245, Greg Hackney of Gonzales, La., with 242 and Bryan New of Belmont, N.C., with 239.

Tuesday’s takeoff is scheduled for 6:45 a.m. CT at McFarland Park. The weigh-in will be held at the park at 3 p.m.

Live coverage of the event can be streamed on Bassmaster.com and the FOX Sports digital platforms. 

PALATKA, Fla. — Bryan New launched his rookie season in blockbuster form by topping a stout field of well-established finalists and winning the AFTCO Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River with a four-day total of 79 pounds, 7 ounces.

Starting Championship Sunday in sixth place, New trailed Day 3 leader and rising star Patrick Walters by 5-7. Saving his best for last, New posted the event’s second-heaviest bag, 26-4, and edged Elite veteran Greg Hackney by a margin of 9-9. For his efforts, New earned $101,000.

New caught most of his fish out of lily pads, but he found a few keepers over main-river shellbars about halfway between Palatka and Dunn’s Creek, which connects to Crescent Lake. Targeting bars in about 5 to 7 feet, he fished a Berkley Warpig lipless crankbait in the bleeding shiner color with a slow yo-yoing technique.

“That wasn’t a winning-fish deal, but without those fish, I don’t win this tournament,” New said.

The pads that produced the bulk of his weight were located at the lower end of Lake George. Fishing 5-inch black and blue Zoom Zlinky worms Texas-rigged on a 5/0 Berkley Fusion hook with a 1/8- and 1/4-ounce weights, New said he focused on isolated pads.

“I fished dense pads too, but I definitely liked the sparse pads for multiple reasons,” he said. “First, on an isolated target, it’s easier to pick out where the fish are sitting and they have more light penetration. That’s important for the spawning fish I was targeting.”

The key, New said, was a meticulous presentation that maximized every aspect of his target area.

“You don’t just have one target on each cast; sometimes you’ll have 10 targets on each cast,” he said. “You can feel the sweet spots. You can feel a little rough patch on the bottom where there’s a bed or you can feel the hard spot of the root. Sometimes, you can even feel a little depression.

“I’ve always heard that slow and steady wins the race,” New said. “That’s not always my style, but I can do it.”

New caught good numbers the first three days. Day 1, which was shortened by a three-hour fog delay, yielded 12 pounds and put him in 22nd place. The second day, he added 20-3 and rose to ninth before securing his Championship Sunday berth with a Day 3 limit of 21 pounds, which pushed him up to sixth.

Following the Day 3 weigh-in, New said he’d approach Championship Sunday focused on getting the big bites. On Sunday, he caught four in the 5-pound class and another over 4.

New qualified for the Elites by winning the Falcon Rods Bassmaster Opens Angler of the Year title, an accomplishment that began with a win at his first 2020 tournament — the Basspro.com Bassmaster Eastern Open on Florida’s Kissimmee Chain.

Before the St. Johns event began, New stated that his 2021 goals included winning Bassmaster Angler of the Year — not only Rookie of the Year — and winning the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk, which is set for June 11-13 on Lake Ray Roberts.

New summarized his Elite debut: “I have a pretty good start!”

Hackney committed his tournament to fishing cypress trees on Lake George’s east side. He caught 12-7 on Day 1 and placed 19th and then rose to third on Day 2 by adding 22-10. He’d improve to second on Day 3 and held that final position with weights of 23-6 and 11-7.

Returning to the Elites after a two-year break, the Gonzales, La., pro caught all of his fish on a junebug-colored Strike King Rage Bug rigged on a 5/0 Hack Attack Flipping hook with a 1/4-ounce Tour Grade Tungsten weight.

“There’s not any cover left in the lake (2017’s Hurricane Irma killed the eelgrass) and this was one of the few areas that had enough depth and enough protection from the elements for those lake fish to spawn on.

“There’s only a handful of docks and cypress trees in the lake and I spent one whole day in practice fishing all the way around (Lake George). I knew this was the area of the lake where the biggest population of fish lived and I knew where they used to spawn. I just looked for anything that was close by.”

Seth Feider of New Market, Minn., finished third with 69-6. He turned in daily weights of 8-3, 18-8, 25-8 and 17-3.

Derek Hudnall of Denham Springs, La., and Brandon Palaniuk of Rathdrum, Idaho, split the event’s Phoenix Boats Big Bass award of $1,000 for their 9-pound, 8-ounce fish. Hudnall won $1,000 for the big bass of Day 1, while Palaniuk claimed the Day 2 award. Wes Logan of Springville, Ala., won the Day 3 award with his 8-8 and New won the Day 4 award with his 5-14.

2020 Bassmaster Classic champion Hank Cherry of Lincolnton, N.C., took home $3,000 for being the highest-placing entrant in the Toyota Bonus Bucks program, and Cliff Prince of Palatka, Fla., earned $2,000 for being the second-highest placing entrant.

December 3, 2020

B.A.S.S. Announces Long-Awaited 2021 Bassmaster Elite Series Schedule

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — After the shortest offseason break in the trail’s 16-year history, B.A.S.S. officials announced Thursday that the Bassmaster Elite Series will open its 2021 tournament slate Feb. 11-14 on the St. Johns River in Florida.

The season-opener will begin just over three months after the final event of a 2020 schedule that was reworked due to the COVID-19 pandemic, causing a much later finish than usual.

“We’re as excited about this schedule as any that we’ve ever put together for the Elite Series,” said B.A.S.S. CEO Bruce Akin. “It features a good mix of venues that have become fixtures for B.A.S.S. and a few we’ve been to before but haven’t visited in a while.”

The St. Johns River falls into the category of a fixture, with B.A.S.S. having visited the picturesque fishery 22 times for major events since 1973, including three times during the past five seasons.

Connecticut pro Paul Mueller won a weather-shortened event in 2020 with a three-day total of 47-6, and events in 2016 and 2019 were won by Missouri legend Rick Clunn. Each of Clunn’s victories allowed him to break his own record for the oldest angler to claim an Elite Series trophy.

Whether the St. Johns weights are eye-popping usually depends on the finicky Florida weather and which stage of the spawn the bass are in. Regardless, big largemouth will be the target.

From Florida, the season will shift north Feb. 25-28 to Knoxville, Tenn., which has played host to two fantastic major B.A.S.S. events the past four seasons, including the record-breaking 2019 Bassmaster Classic. Like that Classic, the 2021 event will take place on the Tennessee River where largemouth and smallmouth will both likely come into play.

“Knoxville was thrilled to host the Bassmaster Elite Series in 2017,” said Chad Culver, senior director of the Visit Knoxville Sports Commission. “It was the first time B.A.S.S. had been here since 1981. That event led to Knoxville hosting the 2019 Bassmaster Classic – the largest in event history.

“Needless to say, we could not be more excited to welcome B.A.S.S. back to the waters of Knoxville and East Tennessee.”

Elite Series action will pause for the 2021 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk, which is set for March 19-21 on Lake Ray Roberts near Fort Worth, Texas. Then the schedule will resume April 8-11 on another Texas fishery, the Sabine River in Orange.

Trips to the Sabine often see anglers targeting narrow canals where largemouth are the prize. While the winning weights are sometimes small, the weigh-in crowds are some of the largest B.A.S.S. sees anywhere. The 2013 Elite on the Sabine drew 33,000 spectators — the second-largest crowd in Elite Series history.

B.A.S.S. has visited the Sabine four times for major tournaments, including the 2018 Elite Series event that was won by Louisiana pro Greg Hackney.

CHECK OUT ALL THE NEWEST GEAR FROM ICAST

SHOP NOW

“We are excited to continue our partnership with Bassmaster and are looking forward to another great event that promotes both the great sport of bass fishing as well as the great area of Orange County, Texas,” said Orange County Judge John Gothia.

Elite Series pros Brandon Cobb, Garrett Paquette and Patrick Walters each earned a Century Belt — 100 pounds in a four-day event — on Lake Fork in 2019 and 2020 respectively, and more anglers hope to join their ranks when the Elite field heads back to the fishery April 22-25.

After their stops in Texas, the Elites will embark on a midseason Alabama swing, visiting Neely Henry Lake in Gadsden May 6-9, Lake Guntersville in Scottsboro May 20-23 and Pickwick Lake in Florence June 10-13. Though all in one state, each fishery will offer vastly different scenarios.

The trip to Lake Guntersville will mark the 26th time B.A.S.S. has visited the famed fishery, making it the second most popular destination in B.A.S.S. history behind only Sam Rayburn Reservoir in Texas. The “Big G” has earned its place in sportfishing history, ranking No. 2 on Bassmaster Magazine’s list of Best Bass Lakes of the Decade. Guntersville hosted two B.A.S.S. events in 2020 alone, including the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk, which was won by North Carolina pro Hank Cherry.

“We are excited and honored to host the 2021 Bassmaster Elite Series in Scottsboro. We recognize and appreciate the tremendous impact fishing has on our economy, tourism and quality of life, particularly a tournament of the stature and exposure of a Bassmaster Elite,” said Scottsboro Mayor Jim McCamy.

Pickwick is a 43,100-acre Tennessee River impoundment where a mixture of largemouth and smallmouth are often brought to the scales, while Neely Henry is an 11,200-acre Coosa River lake full of healthy spotted bass.

B.A.S.S. visited Pickwick six times for major events in the past — and just this year, the lake was the site of the TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Championship in November. Neely Henry has hosted B.A.S.S. only three times for major events, including the Basspro.com Bassmaster Central Open that was held on the lake in October.

As warm weather takes hold across the country, the Elites will make what has become an annual swing to the north with a visit to Lake Champlain in Burlington, Vt., July 8-11, and a stop in the scenic Village of Waddington, N.Y., for a season-ending tournament on the St. Lawrence River July 15-18.

B.A.S.S. has held 13 major events on Champlain, including four of the last five seasons. Idaho veteran Brandon Palaniuk won the 2020 Elite on Champlain with just over 80 pounds.

The trip to the St. Lawrence will mark the 21st time B.A.S.S. has visited the Upstate New York smallmouth paradise, which took the top spot in 2019 on Bassmaster Magazine’s Top 100 Best Bass Lakes list.

St. Lawrence tournaments always feature big bass — Canadian pro Chris Johnston won the 2020 Elite event there with a four-day total of 97-8 — and big crowds. A 2013 visit to Waddington drew an Elite Series-record 36,200 fans.

“We here in St. Lawrence County and the Village and Town of Waddington are very excited to be part of the B.A.S.S. family,” said Janet Otto Cassada, president of North County Events. “Our area looks forward to holding our next Elite event in July 2021. Our hopes are that we have COVID behind us and can show everyone that Waddington and St. Lawrence County is where the world comes to fish.”

“There are some venues that have become regular stops for B.A.S.S. the past few years, and it’s obvious why,” Akin said. “They are known by everyone as some of the best bass fishing lakes in the country. But it’s also nice to revisit our past a little bit with trips to lakes like Pickwick and Neely Henry.

“It should all make for a fantastic season.”

For the first time in history, all nine Bassmaster Elite Series events as well as the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk will feature live television coverage on the FOX Sports platforms. Visit Bassmaster.com for more details.

2021 Bassmaster Elite Series schedule

Feb. 11-14, AFTCO Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River, Palatka, Fla.
Feb. 25-28, Tennessee River, Knoxville, Tenn.
March 19-21, Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk, Lake Ray Roberts, Fort Worth, Texas
April 8-11, Sabine River, Orange, Texas
April 22-25, Lake Fork, Emory, Texas
May 6-9, Neely Henry Lake, Gadsden, Ala.
May 20-23, Lake Guntersville, Scottsboro, Ala.
June 10-13, Pickwick Lake, Florence, Ala.
July 8-11, Lake Champlain, Burlington, Vt.
July 15-18, St. Lawrence River, Waddington, N.Y.
Aug. 19-22, Make-up date

QUITMAN, Texas — A late-day decision turned victory into a double-dip of tournament stardom, as Patrick Walters of Summerville, S.C., notched a dominant win at the Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest benefiting Texas Parks & Wildlife Department with a four-day total weight of 104 pounds, 12 ounces.

Walters placed second on Day 1 with 25-14 and took over the Day 2 lead by adding 26-14. On Semifinal Saturday, his limit of 29-6 — the event’s biggest catch — sent him into Championship Sunday with a 25-pound lead.

Today’s limit of 22-10 allowed him to surge across the finish line and secure his spot in the Century Club, which recognizes an angler for catching 100 pounds of fish in a four-day event. Walters won with an all-time Bassmaster Elite record margin of 29-10.

“What a week; it doesn’t seem real,” Walters said. “Everyone wants to catch 100 pounds, and it feels good.”

While his victory was never in serious jeopardy today, Walters found himself a couple pounds shy of his second objective with time running out. A 15-minute flurry in his last hour of fishing delivered three fish that elevated him well past the century mark.

Walters attributes his closing success to a gutsy relocation. All week, he had been targeting suspended bass amid main-lake standing timber in 10 to 20 feet. When he realized his spots weren’t firing, he moved to a small pocket and caught his final three fish around stumps in less than 5 feet of water.

“On Day 2, I caught a 4- and a 5-pounder in there, but I didn’t go back in there on Day 3; I said, ‘I’m going to save it,’” Walters said. “I think it was the wind. We’ve had the same direction wind the last three days and it has blown directly into that pocket.

“All the bait is in there and every single day, it has gotten more loaded. Today, my fish in the treetops would not eat my bait. They’d chase it for 40 to 50 feet and wouldn’t commit.”

Walters’ analysis was more than speculation. All week, he relied heavily on his Garmin LiveScope to monitor fish positioning and adjust his retrieves in an effort to trigger bites.

“I could tell something was not right; they were not eating it,” Walters said. “I said, ‘I gotta leave. I gotta go shallow.’

“I knew I needed 10 pounds to safely win, but I knew I needed 18 pounds to get to the Century Club and that was the goal today; to go get that belt.”

Walters caught his fish on a trio of jerkbaits; a Rapala Shadow Rap, a Megabass Vision 110+1 and a Duo Realis bait. Varying the selection and trying different colors was essential to bite generation.

Walters said he was very particular about the standing timber he targeted. Recognizing when and where fish were positioning to feed was the cornerstone of his pattern. Realizing that the plan was starting to fizzle proved stressful today, but Walters said he focused on maintaining faith in Lake Fork’s potential.

“All year long, it’s been about staying calm and know that it can happen in five casts. Don’t spin out. Stay calm, keep your head in the game and fish 8 hours.”

Keith Combs of Huntington, Texas, finished second with 75-2. A limit of 11-7 on Day 1 left him in 39th place, but Combs added 23-14 on Day 2 and rose to 11th. Catching 21-12 on Saturday, he moved up to third before finishing with 18-1 today.

Most of the week, Combs has fished big ridges with a chartreuse/blue Strike King 6XD. Today, that pattern produced three of his best fish and the other two he caught on a shad color shallow running crankbait fished over a shallow bar.

“Another angler had been starting on that shallow spot; I would start on another spot and then hit that spot second but I’d never catch them,” Combs said. “Today, he didn’t make the cut, so I went there first.”

Jay Yelas of Lincoln City, Ore., placed third with 69-14. Sticking with the pattern that has served him all week, he ran upriver and caught limits of 19-2, 19-2, 14-7 and 17-3 around shallow wood.

“I had a few different special spots; some were docks, some were stumps, one was an isolated laydown,” Yelas said. “Every day, I’d go back and fish these same targets. I cycled through them all four days.

CHECK OUT ALL THE NEWEST GEAR FROM ICAST

SHOP NOW

“Today, I started on that laydown and caught one. I came back at noon and caught one, came back at 2:30 and caught a 6-pounder. I’d caught six or seven fish off that tree the first three days.”

Noting that this spot had a large amount of shad, Yelas said he quickly realized he could leverage this feeding spot each day. He caught his fish on an MGC Tackle spinnerbait with a chartreuse/white skirt and a 3/8-ounce white/chartreuse Z-Man ChatterBait JackHammer with a white Yamamoto Zako trailer.

Clark Wendlandt of Leander, Texas, won the Bassmaster Elite Series Angler of the Year title with 680 points, while David Mullins of Mt. Carmel, Tenn., finished second with 677. Walters was third with 669, Brock Mosley of Collinsville, Miss., was fourth with 669 and Jake Whitaker of Fairview, N.C., was fifth with 663.

Austin Felix of Eden Prairie, Minn., won the Bassmaster Elite Series Rookie of the Year title.

Seth Feider of New Market, Minn., won the Toyota Tundra Big Bass award of a Toyota Tundra with his 9-9.

Combs also took home $3,000 for being the highest-placing entrant in the Toyota Bonus Bucks program, and Mosley earned $2,000 for being the second-highest placing entrant.

DAYTON, Tenn. — Lee Livesay had options, but he committed to a singular game plan based on patience and execution to win the Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Chickamauga Lake with a four-day total of 58 pounds, 2 ounces.

Livesay of Longview, Texas, turned in daily limits of 13-0, 13-3, 16-13 and 15-2. Notching his first career victory, the second-year Elite Series pro won the top prize of $100,000.

On Day 1, three of the fish that made up his 10th-place sack ate a football-head jig — one on a Hiwassee River bluff and two by the Highway 60 Bridge. He caught the other two by fishing a Scum Frog Launch Frog over main-lake grass mats, a technique that accounted for each of his bass the final three days.

“I stayed in between the Dayton Boat Dock and the Highway 60 Bridge the whole time (Days 2-4),” Livesay said. “It was so tough, you had to keep your bait in the water the whole time. That area is where I had the most bites.

“The farther south you went, the more fishing pressure you got; the farther upriver, the more pressure you got. I had a little zone where I was comfortable. Right where that river comes into the lake, that’s where you have the most nutrients, the most fish and you have current flow. That’s where I decided to set up.”

Livesay was particular about the types of mats he fished, with seclusion and current flow topping his criteria. Also, venturing far into the mats’ shallowest reaches allowed him to target bass that see little to no fishing pressure.

“Quiet was the deal for me, so I was push-poling into the area with no trolling motor noise,” he said. “Also, there’s a lot of tiny shad around the outer edges of the mats, but the shallower you got, the fewer shad you’d have. They were eating bream about the size of my frog.”

Alternating between black, white and yellow frogs, Livesay added tungsten weights to the baits to improve casting distance and create attention-getting noise. Most importantly, the additional weight created a deeper impression in the mats and made the frogs easier for fish to track.

“I was making long casts and working my bait fast,” he said. “I’d let it sit for (a few seconds) to let the fish get comfortable, but then I’d start working it fast again. When I’d move it again, I’d want them to be looking for it. It’s all reaction.”

On Championship Monday, Livesay said he knew the afternoon bite would offer his best opportunities, as increasing sunlight predictably positions fish under mats. After catching his first keeper around 9:50 a.m., he steadily compiled a solid limit of 2- to 2 3/4-pounders (estimated weights) before finding one that went about 4 pounds at 1:36. A late-day cull secured his winning weight.

He also kept a swimbait on his deck for fish that he saw busting shad on the edges of mats but ended up catching all of his fish on the frog.

Visibly overcome with emotion as B.A.S.S. emcee Dave Mercer announced his victory, Livesay summarized his tears: “I’ve been wanting this my whole life. That’s 35 years of dreaming and a lot of hard work.”

Mike Huff of Corbin, Ky., finished second with 56-6. Mounting an impressive comeback effort, Huff placed 50th on Day 1 after finding only three keepers for 6-12. Catching a Day 2 limit of 12-3 moved him into 33rd and adding the event’s second-heaviest bag — 19-1 — on Day 3 pushed him up to third. His Championship Monday limit weighed 18-6.

Huff caught his fish on bluffs with a 3/8-ounce Cumberland Pro Casting Jig with a Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Creature Hawg trailer. He turned in the event’s most exciting performance Monday thanks to a 7-13 largemouth that dramatically changed his outcome.

“I was targeting bluffs with laydowns and current breaks,” Huff said. “That was key; they were sitting right behind those laydowns.”

Jake Whitaker of Fairview, N.C., stuck with his comfort zone, fished a unique pattern and finished third with 49-0. Committing to a marina, he dialed in a few particular boat slips that held a lot of bait and a dependable supply of bass.

Making long skips into the slips with a 2.8-inch Keitech swimbait on a 1/8-ounce swimbait head, Whitaker turned in daily limits of 11-2, 14-3, 11-14 and 11-13.

“After the second day of practice, I hadn’t caught anything, and I said, ‘I gotta do something that I know how to do just to catch a few fish,’” he said. “The second day of practice, I went in that marina and they started schooling.

“I pulled out a fluke, caught two keepers and I said, ‘Okay, there are some keepers in here. But for that place to last for four days, that’s just the good Lord blessing me.’”

Huff’s 7-13 secured Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors.

Todd Auten of Lake Wylie, S.C., took home $3,000 for being the highest-placing entrant in the Toyota Bonus Bucks program, and Chad Pipkens of DeWitt, Mich., earned $2,000 for being the second-highest placing entrant.

David Mullins of Mt. Carmel, Tenn., remains in the lead for the Bassmaster Angler of the Year with 623 points, while Austin Felix of Eden Prairie, Minn., follows in second with 618. Clark Wendlandt of Leander, Texas, is third with 607, followed by Whitaker with 594 and Kyle Welcher of Opelika, Ala., with 592.

The tournament was hosted by the Rhea County Economic Development & Tourism Council. 

2020 Bassmaster Elite Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota

2020 Bassmaster Elite Series Premier Sponsors: Abu Garcia,Berkley, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Skeeter Boats, Talon, Yamaha

2020 Bassmaster Elite Series Supporting Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops,Carhartt, Garmin, Huk Performance Fishing, Mossy Oak Fishing, Rapala

2020 Bassmaster Elite Series Conservation Partners: AFTCO, Huk  

2020 Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite At Chickamauga Lake Local Host: Rhea County Economic Development & Tourism Council

CLARENDON COUNTY, S.C. — Championships come down to decisions and execution — two things that Brandon Palaniuk mastered en route to amassing a four-day total of 72 pounds, 2 ounces for a dominant win at the Bassmaster Elite at Santee Cooper Lakes brought to you by the United States Marine Corps.

Notching his fifth Elite victory — his second in 2020 (the first at Lake Champlain) — Palaniuk earned a top prize of $100,000.

After leading Day 2, Palaniuk entered Championship Sunday in third place, just 1-3 behind Carl Jocumsen. On Sunday, the pro from Rathdrum, Idaho, added a limit of 22-11 to his previous weights of 21-1, 18-13 and 9-9 to edge Jocumsen.

“This one is so unexpected,” Palaniuk said. “Every single one I won before, I had a good practice and I knew that I would have a shot at the Top 10 and a shot at the win. This one came out of nowhere.”

Spending his tournament in Lake Marion, Palaniuk attributed his final-round success to a prelaunch decision to start in the mouth of the Potato Creek area. Having started there on Day 1, he had a feeling the area was ready to reward him again.

“I was sitting at the dock this morning and something told me to go try it,” Palaniuk said. “With the (warm) weather, the humidity, I felt like I could catch them on topwater, but when I got there, the water was dirty.

“I couldn’t get them to eat it, so I just picked up a 1/2-ounce bladed jig with a 4-inch white X-Zone Swammer. I had not caught a fish on this all week and I caught a 4-pounder and a 3 1/4-pounder.”

Palaniuk caught a lucky break that he exploited when he saw a big fish blow up just out of casting range. Idling toward the commotion, he spotted a brushpile he had not found earlier in the week.

“I tied up a drop shot and caught a giant (7-12) on 10-pound test,” Palaniuk said. “I caught my other limit fish on the drop shot, but I ended up culling them out later.”

Palaniuk’s drop-shot rig comprised a green pumpkin blue flake X-Zone Deception Worm rigged on a No. 1 VMC Finesse Neko Hook with a 1/4-ounce VMC teardrop weight.

Later in the day, Palaniuk returned to the Jack’s Creek area, which produced several of his fish this week. There, he caught two of his keepers by punching a black/blue laminate X-Zone Muscle Back Finesse Craw on a 3/0 VMC Heavy Duty Flippin’ Hook with a 1 1/4-ounce tungsten weight.

“I think it came down to versatility; that’s why I was able to have the kind of day I had,” Palaniuk said. “Without that big one on the drop shot, without those two I caught this morning, I wouldn’t have been able to win.”

Palaniuk overcame a Day 1 penalty of 2 pounds, 4 ounces for inadvertently making a cast with six fish — one more than his legal limit — in his livewell. Palaniuk self-reported the infraction.

CHECK OUT ALL THE NEWEST GEAR FROM ICAST

SHOP NOW

“It went through my head about 47 times in the last hour (before weigh-ins),” Palaniuk said. “I kept thinking, ‘If somebody beats me, let it be (more than the penalty weight).’

“One of the things I say a lot is, ‘Control the controllables.’ When I do something like that, it bothers me because it’s something I can control and I knew this event was going to be so tough that 2 pounds is not something you want to be giving up.”

Hailing from Queensland, Australia, Jocumsen took the Day 1 lead by catching the event’s heaviest sack — 25-8. He slipped to second on Day 2 after adding 12-7 and regained the top spot on Saturday with a 4-fish bag that weighed 12-11. On Sunday, Jocumsen missed his limit again and weighed four bass for 13-8 and tallied 64-2.

Each day, Jocumsen started by fishing a grassy depression midlake with a white Z-Man JackHammer ChatterBait with a white Yamamoto Zako trailer. He then moved to grass mats where he punched with a black and blue Molix SV Craw rigged on a 4/0 Owner Jungle hook and a 1 1/4-ounce Woo! Tungsten weight.

“The early spot kicked off like I had hoped it would today,” Jocumsen said. “It was cloudy and dark this morning and they were feeding and I got two good ones.

“After that, I went punching. The sun came out, there was a little bit of wind, everything was right. I had a few opportunities, I had the bites, I just didn’t put them in the boat.”

Cory Johnston of Cavan, Canada, finished third with 61-9. Spending all week in Jack’s Creek, Johnston turned in a consistent performance with daily weights of 17-7, 14-6, 15-3 and 14-9.

“I found the most fish there in practice, so I thought my best bet was to figure out what was going on in that creek day-to-day,” Johnston said. “I caught them flipping a black creature bait, a 3/8-ounce swim jig with a Strike King Rage Craw trailer and a black Spro Bronzeye Poppin’ Frog.”

Palaniuk’s win moved him into 15th place in the Bassmaster Elite Series Angler of the Year standings with 493 points. Clark Wendlandt of Leander, Texas, holds the lead with 587, Johnston follows in second with 550 and David Mullins of Mt. Carmel, Tenn., is in third with 540.

Jeff Gustafson of Keewatin, Canada, won Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors with his 9-7.

Bernie Schultz of Gainesville, Fla., took home $3,000 for being the highest-placing entrant in the Toyota Bonus Bucks program, and Brandon Lester of Fayetteville, Tenn., earned $2,000 for being the second-highest placing entrant.

The tournament was hosted by the Clarendon County Chamber of Commerce. 

SCOTTSBORO, Ala. — Frank Talley has dreamed of winning a top-level professional bass tournament his entire life.

But with three small children at home, he kept that dream in his back pocket for two decades in favor of coaching youth sports teams, fishing local tournaments and just being a good husband and dad.

Saturday, at age 45, the second-year Elite Series pro affectionately known as “Frank the Tank” saw his dream come true, weighing in 18 pounds, 2 ounces of bass during the final round to win the NOCO Bassmaster Elite at Lake Guntersville with a four-day total of 64-3.

Talley earned $100,000 and the cheers and tears of his family, who drove 14 hours through the night Friday from their home in Temple, Texas, to be there for his big moment.

“I was perfectly fine with just raising my kids — that’s why we had kids,” Talley said. “Finally, when my youngest boy got into high school, my kids and my wife kind of had an intervention. That sat me down and said, ‘You’re gonna go do this.’

“That’s what helped me understand it was OK to finally go and chase this dream — and they’re the reason I’m standing here with this trophy now.”

Good fishing instincts also played a role in Talley’s success, especially with a key decision he made before his first cast Saturday morning.

Beginning the final round in sixth place with 46-1, Talley intended to make the same run upriver from the launch site at Goose Pond Colony that he’s been making all week. But he said a “gut feeling” caused him to stop on a small stretch of eelgrass before he reached his trusty spot — and the almost-immediate payoff was a 5-pound largemouth that put him in the lead to stay.

“It just looked right,” Talley said of the spot he started on Saturday. “On the first cast, I caught a 10-incher. Then about six casts later, I caught that 5-pounder. I boat-flipped that fish — I didn’t realize it was that big.

“I fished the entire length of that bank and ended up catching a limit there, which included the second big fish I caught, about a 4-pounder.”

Talley did most of his damage on that early-morning stretch with the same lure he’s been using during the early morning hours all week — a 1/2-ounce Strike King Thunder Cricket in green pumpkin. His trailer for most of the week was a Strike King Rage Swimmer in pumpkin with a pearl belly. But when he ran out of those, he switched to a Strike King Blade Minnow in green pumpkin with the tail tinted chartreuse with Spike-It dye.

He said the bait accounted for 95% of his weight this week.

“I’ve made most of the money I’ve made this year with that Thunder Cricket,” said Talley, who has now made five straight Top 40 cuts on the Elite Series. “Long ago, I was a West Coast guy and I know how to do all of the deep-water drop-shot fishing and all of that. But that’s how I like to fish.

“I like to be up around shallow cover, and that Thunder Cricket gets the job done up there.”

Talley fished the bait on a 7-foot, 3-inch Lew’s Magnum Hammer Rod with a medium-heavy action and a Lew’s Custom Pro 6.8:1 reel spooled with 17-pound Strike King Tour Grade fluorocarbon. He said the reel was “not too fast, not too slow,” which makes it perfect for the motion of the vibrating jig.

When the fishing slowed on the Thunder Cricket — and he wanted a change of pace that might produce a bigger bite — he switched to a white Strike King Sexy Frog that he modified with a plopper-style tail to help it cause more commotion on the water’s surface.

Talley fished the frog on a 7-2 Lew’s rod and a Lew’s Pro-Ti baitcasting reel spooled with 50-pound Strike King Braid.

“I ended up catching several big ones on that frog this week,” he said. “It was the perfect change-of-pace bait when I wanted to go looking for one good fish.”

Talley’s Saturday catch of 18-2 was his best of a week that included limits of 14-3 Wednesday, 16-5 Thursday and 15-9 Friday. Unlike many of the pros who felt like Guntersville was fishing a little tired after a week of pressure, Talley said he thought things were just starting to get right.

“I was just fishing eelgrass walls, and there was no rhyme or reason for why they were on one and not the other,” Talley said. “It could have been bait, could have been current.

“But whatever it is, they’re chomping now. I think they’re finally getting adjusted to this weather, and it’s about to be really, really good.”

The win moved Talley into 26th place in the Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings, putting him in good position to reach the 2021 Bassmaster Classic. His fellow Texan Clark Wendlandt took the AOY lead with 503 points, followed by Japanese rookie Taku Ito (478) and Minnesota veteran Seth Feider (466).

Another Texas pro, Chris Zaldain of Fort Worth, earned $1,500 for catching the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the week — an 8-6 largemouth he landed on Day 1.

A pair of South Carolina anglers claimed Toyota Bonus Bucks prize money. Brandon Cobb took home $3,000 for being the highest-placing entrant in the Toyota Bonus Bucks program, and Jason Williamson earned $2,000 for being the second-highest placing entrant.

CHECK OUT ALL THE NEWEST GEAR FROM ICAST

SHOP NOW

The tournament was hosted by the City of Scottsboro.

2020 Bassmaster Elite Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota

2020 Bassmaster Elite Series Premier Sponsors: Abu Garcia,Berkley, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Skeeter Boats, Talon, Yamaha

2020 Bassmaster Elite Series Supporting Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops,Carhartt, Garmin, Huk Performance Fishing, Mossy Oak Fishing, Rapala

2020 Bassmaster Elite Series Conservation Partners: AFTCO, Huk

2020 Bassmaster Elite At Lake Guntersville Local Host: City of Scottsboro