Category: BASSMASTER Elite Series/Opens

SCOTTSBORO, Ala. —

B.A.S.S. and Lake Guntersville have a long and continuing history dating back to 1976. That year, Rick Clunn won his first of four Bassmaster Classics, and next March, the fishery is on slate to hold the 50th edition of the Classic.

The upcoming Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Elite at Lake Guntersville will be the 23rd major B.A.S.S. event held on the storied Alabama lake and will unquestionably add another chapter to the history books.

The tournament will be held June 21-24, with daily takeoffs at 6 a.m. CT from Goose Pond Landing, where the daily weigh-ins will begin at 2:15 p.m.

“This tournament is important,” said Elite Series Pro Kelley Jaye, who is hoping to qualify for his first Bassmaster Classic this season. “I knew before Texas Fest, I was sitting in the cut for the Classic, but after a slip there, I have not even looked at the standings.”

The Alabama pro is currently 51st in the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year race with the Lake Guntersville event marking the halfway point of the season. Only about the Top 40 competitors in the final AOY standings end up qualifying for the Classic.

The last time the Elite Series visited Lake Guntersville in April 2015, Jaye finished Day 1 in fifth place, but fell to 36th for the tournament.

“Anytime I am in Alabama, I feel good about my chances,” Jaye said. “It is setting up to be a deep-water tournament, I am sure some (anglers) will catch them shallow, but I would think the tournament will be dominated out deep.”

When the famed Guntersville ledges are in full swing, the home-field advantage may pay off for Jaye and other Alabamians who know offshore haunts off the beaten path.

“The community holes at Lake Guntersville will be pounded by the time we get there,” Jaye said. “The angler that finds the right shellbed (or other structure) that is kind of sneaky will be the one who wins.”

Jaye suspects that the normal “Tennessee River” baits of choice will be likely be key: crankbaits, swimbaits, big worms, spoons and jigs among others. The victor will have to weigh in more than 20 pounds a day, and it will take about 15 pounds a day to make the Top 35 cut after the first two days of competition.

“Whoever finds the right school with 3- to 5-pound fish could easily pull up and catch their limit within 20 minutes,” Jaye said.

With B.A.S.S.’s 23rd visit to the lake, Guntersville becomes the second most visited lake by B.A.S.S., behind Sam Rayburn Reservoir (32).

Jaye attributes B.A.S.S.’s frequent visits to Lake Guntersville to the lake’s quality of forage and cover.

“The water is just so fertile,” Jaye said. “You have eelgrass, hydrilla, shad the size of your hand — this place is not like any other highland reservoir that we visit. That’s what makes it so fun.”

The tournament is hosted by the City of Scottsboro.

Daily takeoffs will begin at 6 a.m. CT from Goose Pond in Scottsboro. Weigh-ins will also be at Goose Pond at 2:15 p.m.

The Bassmaster Outdoors Expo opens at noon on Saturday and Sunday, June 22 and 23, at Goose Pond Colony at Scottsboro, Ala. Live music will be presented prior to the weigh-in on Saturday as part of the Mercury Concert Series.

In conjunction with the tournament, the City of Scottsboro and Goose Pond Colony will host the Miracle Mile Festival June 22 and 23 at Goose Pond Colony Resort. The festival features art & crafts booths, local food vendors, and a kid’s zone with bounce houses.

A free concert on Saturday night at the Goose Pond Colony Amphitheater beginning at 6 p.m. will be performed by The Night Birds, Contagan and Roshambeaux. All events are free to the public.

At every Elite Series event, the Bassmaster Outdoors Expo on Saturday and Sunday offers demo rides on a Nitro, Skeeter or Triton boat, the Berkley/Abu Garcia Experience trailer, kids’ activities and food and beverage vendors. At Guntersville, TVA will present its mobile fish aquarium and B.A.S.S. sponsors will offer prizes and information about their products.

Saturday, June 22, will be Military and First Responder Day, when service members can show their IDs to receive a free Bassmaster hat, as long as supplies last.

Sunday is B.A.S.S. Member Appreciation Day. Members who show their B.A.S.S. member cards to a staff person in the Bassmaster booth get a free Bassmaster hat, as long as supplies last. As always at Bassmaster events, all activities and venues are free.

For more information, visit https://cityofscottsboro.com/index.php/events/miracle-mile, or Bassmaster.com.

June 10, 2019Young Guns Set The Pace In Tight Race For Toyota Bassmaster Angler Of The Year TitleBIRMINGHAM, Ala. —

Half-way through the season, the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year race is shaping up to be one of the closest and most competitive in the 50 years since Bill Dance won B.A.S.S.’s first AOY title in 1970.

With five Bassmaster Elite Series events under their belts and five more to go, young-gun professional anglers led by 24-year-old Patrick Walters have moved to the head of the pack of Elite anglers battling for one of the most coveted trophies in all of bass fishing — and the $100,000 first-place prize that goes with it.

Walters leads with 432 points, which are awarded based on anglers’ finishes in each Elite tournament. That gives him a tiny, 6-point margin over Drew Cook, 25, of Midway, Fla., and Stetson Blaylock, 31, of Benton, Ark., who have 426 points each. Blaylock is a third-year Elite Series pro, but Walters and Cook are rookies who began their careers as college bass fishing standouts and qualified for the Elites through the Basspro.com Bassmaster Opens last year.

“It’s tremendously gratifying to see that our Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops and other college tours are turning out such outstanding young professional anglers,” said Bruce Akin, B.A.S.S. CEO. “Patrick and the other college anglers have proved in short order that they are able to compete at the highest level of bass fishing competition.”

Out of 15 college-fishing alumni who are now competing in the Elite Series, five rank among the Top 12 in the AOY rankings. In addition to Walters and Cook, Brandon Cobb of Greenwood, S.C., is seventh, Shane LeHew of Catawba, N.C., is eighth, and veteran Elite angler Brandon Card is 11th.

“College fishing didn’t make my career, but it certainly propelled it,” said Walters, who won a college national championship title while fishing for the University of South Carolina bass fishing team. “I learned how to travel and practice and fish different lakes. And I got an education at the same time.”

Walters, whose best finishes this year were fourth at the St. Johns River, Fla., and seventh at Winyah Bay, S.C., is most optimistic about the next stop on the Elite circuit, the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Elite at Lake Guntersville at Scottsboro, Ala. Competition will be Friday through Monday, June 21-24.

“I love Guntersville,” Walters said. “I love all the Tennessee River lakes.”

The South Carolina pro said he is not changing strategies with Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year in mind, and he’s not worried about the very capable Elite anglers just below him in the standings.

“In every tournament, I’m shooting for the win,” he said. “I try not to look in the rear view. I’m in the lead now, which is good, but I have a small margin and will have to catch as many big bass as possible.”

After Guntersville, the 75 Elite anglers head north to Waddington, N.Y., for the Berkley Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River Aug. 15-18, and then to Union Springs, N.Y., for the SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at Cayuga Lake Aug. 22-25. They’ll gather at Tahlequah, Okla., for the final regular-season event, the Cherokee Casino Tahlequah Bassmaster Elite at Fort Gibson Lake Sept. 19-22. That tournament was originally scheduled for mid-May but had to be postponed because of severe flooding in Oklahoma.

The postseason finale, the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship, will be held Saturday-Tuesday, Sept. 29-Oct. 1, on Lake St. Clair, near Detroit, Mich. The Top 50 in AOY points will qualify for the championship, where they will compete for $1 million in prize money as well as berths in the 2020 Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods.

The New York and Michigan tournaments should give pause to Walters and the other front runners because those fisheries are so familiar to some of their closest rivals. Newcomer Cory Johnston of Cavan, Canada, is fourth in the AOY standings, just 10 points behind Walters, and Johnston’s younger brother Chris of Peterborough, Canada, is 43 points down, in 10th with 389 points. With 100 points awarded for first place in each event, those deficits will be relatively easy to make up should the leaders stumble.

Others to watch include Scott Canterbury of Odenville, Ala., fifth with 412 points and fifth-year pro Micah Frazier of Newnan, Ga., sixth with 409. Other veteran Elite anglers in the running include Bill Lowen of Brookville, Ind., ninth with 395; Card of Knoxville, Tenn., 11th with 389; and Seth Feider of New Market, Minn., 12th with 383 points.

“All season, we’ve been emphasizing the tagline, ‘Big Bass. Big Stage. Big Dreams.’ to describe the Elite Series,” said Akin. “Maybe we should add the phrase, ‘Big Drama.’ This is going to be an exciting race to the finish.”

Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Standings At Midseason

Angler/Hometown                                      Points

1. Patrick Walters, Summerville, S.C.             432
2. Drew Cook, Midway, Fla.                            426
3. Stetson Blaylock, Benton, Ark.                   426
4. Cory Johnston, Cavan, Canada                   422
5. Scott Canterbury, Odenville, Ala.               412
6. Micah Frazier, Newnan, Ga.                       409
7. Brandon Cobb, Greenwood, S.C.                408
8. Shane LeHew, Catawba, N.C.                     397
9. Bill Lowen, Brookville, Ind.                         395
10. Chris Johnston, Peterborough, Canada    389
11. Brandon Card, Knoxville, Tenn.                389
12. Seth Feider, New Market, Minn.              383
13. Cliff Pirch, Payson, Ariz.                            383
14. Drew Benton, Panama City, Fla.               381
15. John Crews Jr., Salem, Va.                        381
16. Luke Palmer, Coalgate, Okla.                    379
17. Mark Menendez, Paducah, Ky.                 377
18. Matt Herren, Ashville, Ala.                       375
19. Clent Davis, Montevallo, Ala.                   374
20. Brandon Lester, Fayetteville, Tenn.          368
21. Lee Livesay, Longview, Texas                   367
22. Chris Zaldain, Fort Worth, Texas              364
23. Matt Arey, Shelby, N.C.                            359
24. Jamie Hartman, Russellville, Ark.             349
25. Hank Cherry, Lincolnton, N.C.                  347
26. Keith Combs, Huntington, Texas              347

(NOTE: Ties are broken based on each angler’s heaviest daily limit during full-field days of competition. For the complete standings for the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year race click here.)

DAYTON, Tenn. —

Carrying a nearly 8-pound lead into the final round, no doubt, builds confidence, but John Cox readily acknowledged the good fortune that enabled him to slam the door on a wire-to-wire win in the Basspro.com Bassmaster Eastern Open on Lake Chickamauga with a three-day total weight of 66 pounds, 5 ounces.

Cox, who won an FLW Tour event on Chickamauga three weeks ago, took the early lead with a Day 1 limit of 26-11. Adding 21-12 on Day 2 gave the Debary, Fla., pro a 7-pound, 13-ounce lead going into the final round. Today, Cox sealed the deal with a five-bass limit that weighed 17-14 and gave him a winning margin of 4-11.

“It was an amazing week,” Cox said. “So many of my fish catches were so special, and it seemed like luck played into a lot of them.

“Today, I didn’t see one of my key fish — a 5-pounder — until the last second. He didn’t see me, for some reason. I flipped over to the fish and it ate my bait. When I got it into the boat, I realized I was on its blind side; it was missing his eye. If it had been any other direction, I wouldn’t have caught it.”

Cox caught all of his bass in shallow water, including bluegill beds, banks with deeper water adjacent and docks. Although he had planned to fish offshore shellbeds and bars in 8 to 14 feet of water, Cox found his areas too congested with other anglers on Day 1. Snooping around in the shallows quickly convinced him that’s where he needed to remain.

“The first day, I caught a couple good ones out there, but then it got really crowded in those areas,” Cox said. “I didn’t feel comfortable being around all those people, so I said ‘I’m just going to do what I like doing,’ so I got up shallow.

“Once I saw fish swimming around up there, I got sucked into it and I never went back out to those shellbars.”

Cox said his top baits were a 1/2-ounce Dirty Jigs swim jig in the tactical shad color with a white Berkley Max Scent Meaty Chunk trailer, a wacky-rigged 5-inch Berkley Max Scent General (stickbait) in the green pumpkin party color.

For his efforts, Cox won $43,800 and earned a berth in the 2020 Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods. This win, he said, elevated Chickamauga to the top of his personal list.

“I don’t know what to say; this used to be my second-favorite lake, but after this one, it’s definitely my favorite,” Cox said. “I love it when we get to come here, I love all the people and I hope we get to come back.”

Chris Peters of Birchwood, Tenn. finished in second place with 61-10. After tying for 28th place on day one with 14-9, the local fireman who left the weigh ins to start his weekend shift, rose to fourth on Day 2 after catching 20-3. Adding 26-14 today moved him up two notches.

“It took me a little while to get dialed in,” Peters said. “On Day 1, I ran a lot of spots. I had about 30 places I wanted to try. I got them dialed in yesterday and got them dialed in better today. Everywhere I stopped today, it was (catching) one after another.

“I was throwing a big jig, but the deal was the Trixter Custom Tackle Rowdy Craw trailer. It’s a hand-poured plastic so it’s a lot softer and has a lot of action. I think that played a key role today and all week.”

Buddy Gross of Chickamauga, Ga. finished third with 58-10. Gross placed second on Day 1 with 23-8, slipped to third on Day 2 after the lack of current limited him to 15-12 and settled in the No. 3 spot after adding 19-6 in the final round.

Gross caught several of his bass this week on swimbaits and crankbaits, but today, he tempted his biggest fish on a 3/4-ounce green pumpkin Nichols casting jig with a green pumpkin Zoom Super Chunk trailer.

“I was fishing spots with a little grass mixed in with some brush, and the jig seemed to be the deal today for the bigger bites,” Gross said. “I just slowed down. I had been catching smaller bass on a dropshot, so I decided to go with more of a big-fish bait.”

Chad Pipkens of Lansing, Mich., won the Phoenix Boats Big Bass award with his 9-8.

Jon Jezierski of Troy, Mich., won the co-angler division with 32-2. His was an impressive comeback story, as Jezierski placed 84th on Day 1 with 5-7, but roared back a day later with a three-bass limit that weighed 14-3 and pushed him up to fourth. Today, he claimed the win by adding 12-8 — the final round’s only double-digit co-angler bag.

Jezierski caught his fish on wacky-rigged Bass Pro Shops Sticko stickbaits in the sprayed grass and plum/emerald flake colors, a Strike King 8XD crankbait in green gizzard shad, a shaky head with a Zoom Magnum Finesse Worm and a Texas-rigged 10-inch blue fleck Berkley Power Worm.

“Getting on the water with my practice partner, (Elite angler) Garrett Paquette, allowed me to see quite a bit of the lake,” Jezierski said. “I followed his lead whether it was fishing ledges deep or docks shallow, or grass. We put it all together and I took it as each day came.”

John Goul of Philadelphia, Miss. won the Phoenix Boats Big Bass award among co-anglers with a 9-7.

DAYTON, Tenn. —

When crowded waters prevented John Cox from reaching the areas he wanted to fish today, the Debary, Fla., pro turned to a more familiar Plan B and caught a five-bass limit weighing 21 pounds, 12 ounces to extend his lead on Day 2 of the Basspro.com Bassmaster Eastern Open on Lake Chickamauga with a total weight of 48-7.

Cox, whose Day 1 weight of 26-11 led the opening round by 3 pounds, 3 ounces, is the only angler to break 20 pounds both days. His limit today included an 8-pound, 6-ounce kicker that helped widen his lead to 7-13.

Coming off an FLW Tour win on Chickamauga May 5, Cox said Plan B took him back to the shallow zone for which he’s best known. What he found more than made up for what he could not access.

“When I got down to the lower end of the lake, I noticed that there were so many boats on every little spot I had,” Cox said. “I didn’t want to pull right in on the sweet spots, so I decided I’d just go throw at some trees and troll in the clear water.

“I was just throwing around a couple of bluegill beds when I saw that big one out of the corner of my eye. I pitched a Texas-rigged Berkley Max Scent General over to her and she inhaled it. I caught the rest of my limit doing that.”

Sight fishing for cruising bass is addictive to Cox. “My problem is once I see a couple up there swimming, I’m doomed; I’m not going back out,” he said.

Cox made one stop on the way back to check in and fished a similar shoreline scenario that had a cluster of bluegill beds. Here, he threw a swim jig rigged with a white Berkley Max Scent Meaty Chunk and scored back-to-back catches, one of which was his second-largest.

“I lost my Meaty Chunk on that last fish,” Cox Lamented. “I was digging in my box for more, but I didn’t have any left in white. I tried green pumpkin and everything else, but I couldn’t get them to eat anything else.”

Cox said he’s hopeful that Saturday’s smaller field — only the Top 12 boaters and 12 nonboaters fish in the final round — will allow him to fish his mid-depth spots. Fewer boats will likely make the quality fish more likely to move up anyway, he said.

“Those bigger fish aren’t going to set up on that stuff with all the pressure; the small ones do, but not the big ones,” Cox said. “I’m thinking that maybe tomorrow with fewer boats, maybe some of those areas can rest.

“Hopefully, I can leave the trolling and looking because you have to throw a few inches in front of that fish’s face and the bait has to fall without spooking him. There’s a lot of luck involved.”

Chad Pipkens of Lansing, Mich., is in second place with 40-10. Mounting the day’s biggest comeback, the seventh-year Elite angler followed up his disappointing Day 1 catch of four bass for 10-15 with a massive second round limit of 29-11, which propelled him from 93rd place into the No. 2 spot.

“It’s all about timing out here, and I got the timing right a couple of times today,” Pipkens said. “I caught a big one quick and from there, I was catching a fish here and there. I knew I needed to get a couple of keepers in the boat because you can spend a lot of time and get either nothing or a giant.

“I was able to catch a limit by 11 and cull a couple of times. Then, I got on some big ones in the afternoon and caught that giant one — a 9-8 — and lost another that was 10 or 12.”

Pipkens kept mum on his bait selection, but he said the key to his success was paying attention to the feeding windows in which opportunities might arise.

Buddy Gross of Chickamauga, Ga., is in third place with 39-4. After finishing second Thursday with 23-8, he added 15-12 today. Relying mostly on crankbaits and swimbaits, he’s been targeting the 14- to 18-foot depth range and fishing spots off the beaten path.

“I’ve been fishing ‘scab’ places every day, places I don’t typically fish so I can stay away from the crowd and try to get a few quality fish during the day,” Gross said. “Tomorrow, all the community holes will be a little less covered up, so I think I can catch up a little bit.

“If we get lucky and they (the TVA) run water tomorrow, I can give him a run for his money. But if they don’t, it’s going to be a John Cox show.”

Pipkens is in the lead for Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors with his 9-8.

Ross Rhodes of Paw Paw, Mich., leads the co-angler division with 20-1. While his pro partner flipped shallow cover, Rhodes took a different route and fished a 3/16-ounce Owner shaky head with a Strike King Fat Baby Finesse worm in the red bug color.

“I like that this rig covers the bottom structure well, and those fish that just got done spawning are lazy; they’re not going after those moving baits,” he said. “They’re just hunkered down, and you have to put it in front of them. The bite is really light on those things.”

John Goul of Philadelphia, Miss., holds the Phoenix Boats Big Bass lead among co-anglers with a 9-7.

Saturday’s takeoff is scheduled for 6:15 a.m. ET at Dayton Boat Dock. The weigh-in will be held at Bass Pro Shops, 1000 Bass Pro Dr., East Ridge, TN 37412 at 3:15 p.m.

The event is hosted by Fish Dayton.

DAYTON, Tenn. — Photo courtesy of BASS

Consistency eluded John Cox, but the Debary, Fla., pro picked his way to a five-bass limit of 26 pounds, 11 ounces that leads the first round of the Basspro.com Bassmaster Eastern Open on Lake Chickamauga.

Like many of his competitors, Cox lamented a distinct lack of current — pretty much the spark that ignites a late-spring bite on the Tennessee River. Knowing that the day’s sweltering heat and mostly slow water would have the fish in a lethargic mood, Cox figured that mobility was his best weapon.

“I started up shallow and I could instantly tell nothing good was happening. There wasn’t any movement, and it was really still,” he said. “That’s when I started going out (into deeper water) and bouncing around. It was slack out there, too, but then I caught a big one and I’m like, ‘Oh, okay.’ But then I fished for another hour and got nothing.”

Cox worked his way into other areas and tried different depths, catching heavy bass on back-to-back casts in a shallow spot and two more solid keepers, one after the other, in a place he had not tried in practice.

Describing his day as “an exercise in randomness,” Cox said he simply focused on persevering in hopes of running into an active fish.

Cox said he avoided the traditional offshore ledge patterns for which Chickamauga is famous, as he’s never felt comfortable with that style of fishing. He ended up catching his fish over river flats and sandbars in 7 to 12 feet. He caught his fish on a mix of crankbaits, swimbaits and a jig.

Known mostly for his shallow-water prowess, Cox joked that fishing off the bank felt odd.

“It was weird for me — I couldn’t touch the bottom where I was fishing today,” he said.

Buddy Gross of Chickamauga, Ga., is in second place with 23-8. He got off to a quick start numerically, but the quality was another story.

“It took all day to get my weight,” Gross said. “I had a small limit of 11 or 12 pounds shortly after I first started and then just culled up slowly throughout the day. I think the afternoon bite is better. I have a later check-in tomorrow, so I think it’s going to be good for me.

“I grew up fishing here, and it’s taken a lot of my ‘juice’ to get what I had today. I have about as much left as I fished today, but it’s not easy. The ledges are getting hammered. We’ve had so many tournaments that the pressure has the fish pushed off.”

Gross said he caught his bass in 10 to 15 feet with deeper water close by. Most of his bites were on reaction baits, but the tough conditions required him to catch a couple of his heavier bass on a dropshot with a Zoom Z-Too in the morning dawn color.

Stephen Mui of Bartlett, Ill., is in third place with 21-6. Making his day was an 8-pound, 6-ounce Chickamauga largemouth that he caught as a result of a momentary decision he made while moving to another fishing area.

“I was running down the lake, doing about 60, and I decided to pull up on this spot where I had caught a 14-incher in practice,” Mui said. “I know from past experience that ledge fishing can really turn on midday on deep spots like this. I stopped to fish, and on my third cast, that big fish hit.”

Mui started shallow with a topwater lure and then moved to ledges, where he caught most of his fish on crankbaits. His big bass bit a shaky head with a Missile Baits Tomahawk worm.

Mui’s kicker is in the lead for Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors.

Charles Fochtman of Moneta, Va., leads the co-angler division with 14-15. He found success when his pro partner was finally able to access a small grassline in a shallow pocket.

“We had a late start, so the first grassbed we fished had five other boats already on it and was kind of worn out by the time we got there,” Fochtman said. “We had another little spot about 500 yards down, so we waited until everybody left, and then we went there and caught all our fish.”

Fochtman’s weapon was a 3/8-ounce ChatterBait paired with a 3.8 Keitech swimbait. Bringing his bait across a small hole in the middle of the grassbed was the key to getting bites.

John Goul of Philadelphia, Miss., holds the Phoenix Boats Big Bass lead among co-anglers with a 9-7.

Friday’s takeoff is scheduled for 6:15 a.m. CT at Dayton Boat Dock. The weigh-in will be held at the dock at 2:15 p.m.

The event is hosted by Fish Dayton.

May 16, 2019 DAYTON, Tenn. —

When a major professional bass tournament is held on Chickamauga Lake, there’s no question big bass will be caught.

But how they’ll be caught — and where — is always a question of timing.

That will be the interesting theme for the Basspro.com Bassmaster Eastern Open scheduled for May 23-25 on the 36,240-acre Tennessee River fishery.

Have enough bass moved out for the lake’s famed deep-water crankbait bite to dominate the standings? Or will anglers be forced to look shallower for the giant largemouth “The Chick” is known for?

“If somebody gets on a school that has just moved out deep, they could certainly win it,” said Scott Canterbury, a Bassmaster Elite Series pro from Odenville, Ala., who has extensive experience on Chickamauga. “But I’m not sure enough fish are really out there yet. Plus, the lake gets a lot of pressure this time of year, and a lot of those offshore places are already covered up with boats.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s won by somebody doing something a little different.”

The tournament will have daily takeoffs at 6:15 a.m. ET from Dayton Boat Dock. Weigh-ins on Days 1 and 2 will be held at 2:15 p.m. at Dayton Boat Dock, and the championship weigh-in on Day 3 will be held at 3:15 p.m. at the Bass Pro Shops in East Ridge, Tenn.

Canterbury, who currently ranks fifth in the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings, was planning to fish the event himself if it seemed like the offshore bite was in full swing. But he elected not to fish because he believes the winning pattern will be centered more around aquatic vegetation.

“I wouldn’t be surprised to see it won over some grass in that 4- to 8-foot range,” he said. “It’ll be fish that have spawned and have already moved out, but they haven’t made it all the way out to the ledges yet.”

During the 2017 Bassmaster Open held on Chickamauga in late April, Florida pro John Cox won with a three-day total of 68 pounds, 3 ounces, and the Top 4 anglers averaged more than 20 pounds per day. Spawning bass were the talk of the week for that tournament.

Canterbury said sight fishing for bedding bass could play a small role in this event, but not the vital one it played in 2017.

“There’s a bunch that haven’t spawned yet,” he said. “A lot of those fish on Chickamauga usually hold off every year — and it hasn’t been hot this year. It’s been in the 40s there the last two mornings.

“I think a lot of the fish that haven’t spawned will pull up to spawn, and you could see a few big fish caught that way — but not enough to win it.”

The Chattanooga Bass Association held a team tournament on the lake May 11, and the Top 2 teams had 30.1 and 27.03 pounds, respectively.

“In that CBA tournament, the talk was that the first- and second-place teams shared one deep hole all day,” Canterbury said. “So, they’re starting to get out there a little bit. But I don’t know if they’re out there enough.”

With fishing pressure increasing on Chickamauga, it’s also hard to predict how long bass will stay on the ledges once they make the move.

“For a week or two last year, tournaments were being won out deep there,” Canterbury said. “But those fish stayed out there a couple of weeks and then moved back shallow.

“Fishing pressure and timing always play a role on Chickamauga — and really all the lakes of the Tennessee River.”

The Chickamauga event is the second of four Eastern Opens being held this season. The Eastern and Central Opens are the main routes to qualify for the prestigious Bassmaster Elite Series. In addition, the winning boater in each Open is invited to compete in the 2020 Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods, provided he or she competes in all four events in the division in which the victory occurred.

Local host is Fish Dayton.

May 6, 2019, LAKE FORK, Texas — Photo courtesy of BASS

Big Bass. Big Stage. Big Dreams.

It’s the inspiring mantra B.A.S.S. unveiled before the 2019 Bassmaster Elite Series season, and it perfectly sums up the last two months for Brandon Cobb.

After earning his first Elite Series victory in April on Lake Hartwell in his home state of South Carolina, Cobb caught one big bass after another at Texas’ Lake Fork to amass a four-day total of 114 pounds. It earned him his second six-figure first-place prize of the season on one of the biggest stages in bass fishing — the Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest benefiting Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

He’s living his dream — big time.

“It’s absolutely been an amazing season for me,” said Cobb, who also earned an automatic berth into the 2020 Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods with the victory. “I had a lot of success on the FLW Tour, but I never could quite put together a win.

“For so many things to go right this season, it’s just been a dream come true.”

Cobb went into the day with nearly an 8-pound advantage over his closest competitor. But after a slow start, he actually lost the lead for a while to Georgia pro Micah Frazier.

Then Cobb, a 29-year-old former college angler at Clemson University, started working the magic that helped him grab the lead during Sunday’s semifinal round with a catch of 37-15.

Cobb put a three-pounder in his livewell at 8:23 a.m. and then added a 4-13 and a 6-5 in the span of six minutes between 9:07 a.m. and 9:13. He added a 3-15 at 9:38 and a 6-2 at 9:43. At that point, he had 24-13 and the tournament seemed to be over.

He kept culling until his five biggest fish weighed 6-5, 6-2, 6-2, 5-10 and 5-12 for total weight of 29-15. All fish were weighed on the water and immediately released.

“It was really boring until you’d run into them,” he said. “Then when you’d hit them, it was amazing.”

Cobb caught the bulk of his weight all week fishing around shallow shellbeds where bass were feeding on spawning shad. His primary bait was a Dual Hardcore Minnow Flat 110 SP jerkbait in ghost pro blue.

“I was basically running points and flats, and the areas I was fishing might be 6 feet deep for 200 yards,” he said. “But the fish, when they were eating, were in 1 to 2 1/2 feet of water up on the tops of the shellbeds.

“I’ve got mud all over me because I had to pick mud off my jerkbait bill just about every cast. I was literally jerking it into the bottom.”

Surface activity always signaled Cobb that the fishing was about to get good.

“When you hit a big school of shad up on one of those shellbeds, I think you pushed the bait up with your boat,” he said. “When that happened, bass would start blowing up everywhere on the surface.

“I hooked two or three doubles (two fish on one cast) today and actually caught one double.”

During the rare moments when Cobb wasn’t fishing the offshore shellbeds, he fished some shallow shoreline structure hoping to catch a few spawning fish. While doing that during Sunday’s semifinal round, he managed to boat an 11-1 monster that ranked as the Toyota Tundra Big Bass of the Week.

Cobb earned a new Toyota for that fish to add to the $247,500 cash he’s already won this year.

During ceremonies at the 50th Classic, to be held next March in Birmingham, Ala., Cobb will also receive one of the most exclusive awards presented by B.A.S.S. — the Century Belt. The belt is only given to anglers who catch at least 100 pounds of bass during an Elite Series event.

Second-place angler Garrett Paquette of Michigan, who caught 101-15, will also receive a Century Belt.

Prior to Texas Fest, no angler had earned one of the belts since the 2013 Elite Series event on Falcon Lake when Keith Combs (111-5), Rick Clunn (105-6) and John Crews (103-13) all topped the 100-pound mark.

Cobb has seemed cool and calm all season long. But now, with all of that hardware — and a Classic berth — already secured, he said he can be even more relaxed the rest of the way.

“I’ve been in position to win these kinds of events so many times,” he said. “But something would always go wrong, whether it was a bad last day or whatever.

“This has been the best year I could dream of. Aside from winning the Classic, how could it get any better than this?”

The fishing was as good as expected on Lake Fork with 63 five-bass limits of 20 pounds or more caught in four days. Of those 63, five topped the 30-pound mark.

South Carolina rookie Patrick Walters remained in the lead in both the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year and the DICK`S Sporting Goods Rookie of Year race, after five events, earning $1,000 for AOY and $500 for ROY.

LAKE FORK, Texas — Photo courtesy of BASS

After catching two bass in the 8-pound range by 10 a.m., Brandon Cobb was already having one of the best days of fishing he’s ever had.

Then the bite of a lifetime at 2 p.m. moved the day to the very top of his list.

The giant afternoon bass, which weighed 11 pounds, 1 ounce and ranked as his biggest ever, lifted Cobb’s five-bass limit for the day to 37-15.

Now, with a three-day total of 84-1, he will enter the final day of Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest benefiting Texas Parks and Wildlife Department on Lake Fork with margin of 7-5 over his closest competition.

“I’ve never had a day like this before — not even close,” said Cobb, who recorded his first Bassmaster Elite Series victory in April on Lake Hartwell. “A 29-pound limit was my best ever until the other day (Thursday), when I caught 31-11. Now this is without a doubt the most amazing day I’ve ever had on the lake.”

Cobb went into the day with two-part game plan.

He expected to spend much of his time fishing shallow shellbeds away from the shoreline where bass have been feasting all week on spawning shad. Then he planned to fish shoreline cover where he’s been catching good numbers of solid bass, but nothing huge.

The shad-spawn bite paid off big time, as he caught an 8-8, an 8-13 and a 4-4 — all before noon. Then when he moved to the shoreline, he found something he wasn’t expecting.

“When I went to fish the bank, honestly, I expected to catch 3-pounders,” Cobb said. “That was my goal for the day — to catch big ones off the shad spawn and then fill a limit fishing the bank.

“But then, when I went to the bank, I caught an 11 and a 5.”

The 11-1 monster not only helped Cobb jump into the overall lead, it put him in first place for Toyota Tundra Big Bass of the Week. The prize for that award is a new Toyota Tundra truck.

Cobb was fishing a frog down a shoreline when he noticed the big bass sitting on a bed. He dropped his Power-Poles, believing the bass weighed 7 or 8 pounds.

Then he proceeded to pester the fish until it bit.

“It was one of those fish that looked like it was gonna bite every cast,” Cobb said. “Every cast I would make, it would kind of nose down and look at it. It took about 20 minutes to finally get it to eat. But with the way she was acting, I knew I could catch her.”

Cobb’s meteoric rise was aided in part by the struggles of Michigan pro Chad Pipkens. After catching 30-plus pounds the first two days and entering Day 3 with more than an 11-pound lead, Pipkens caught just four fish Sunday that weighed 5-8.

That allowed Cobb, Garrett Paquette (76-12), Brandon Card (73-4), Micah Frazier (70-13), Drew Cook (70-5) and Keith Combs (69-10) to all move past him in the standings. Pipkens will start Championship Monday in seventh place with 68-6.

After catching 28-12 Sunday, Paquette, a first-year Elite Series pro from Michigan, said he believes he’ll need at least 30 pounds — and maybe a little luck — to catch Cobb and win the $100,000 first-place prize.

“Brandon caught an 11-pounder and two 8-pounders today, and you can’t bank on doing that every day,” Paquette said. “So if I can catch 30 pounds, I’ll feel like I did everything I could have done.”

Unlike Cobb, who is spending much of his time shallow, Paquette is fishing offshore areas in about 10 feet of water — and with the way the bite has been working, he could create some last-hour drama Monday.

“It’s been really slow out there in the mornings,” he said. “It seems like the longer I can wait to get on my best stuff, the better it works out for me. About 2 o’clock (an hour before quitting time) seems like the best time.”

Card caught 25-11 Sunday, but he has even more ground — almost 11 pounds — to make up during the final round.

“I have a few key areas, and if you pull up on them at the right time, you can catch a lot of weight in a hurry,” Card said. “I’ll probably stay with the offshore stuff all day tomorrow and just see what happens.”

The tournament will conclude Monday with the Top 10 remaining anglers taking off at 7 a.m. CT from Sabine River Authority in Quitman. The weigh-in will be at the same site at 3 p.m.

All fish are being weighed on the water and immediately released, but each angler is allowed to bring to the “weigh-in” one bass that measures more than 24 inches.

April 17, 2019 EMORY, Texas — Photo courtesy of BASS

Everyone recognizes the shiny blue trophies that are presented to each of the nine winners of regular-season Bassmaster Elite Series events.

Likewise, all fans of professional bass fishing instantly know the hulking trophy that is awarded every year to the Bassmaster Classic champion.

But there’s one piece of B.A.S.S. hardware that isn’t seen nearly as often.

Known as the Century Belt, it’s only awarded to anglers who catch more than 100 pounds of bass during a four-day Elite Series event — and it could be making a rare appearance soon.

The third annual Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest benefiting the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is scheduled for May 2-6 on Lake Fork near Emory, Texas. That means some of the best bass anglers in the world will converge on a lake with a reputation for producing giant bass at just the right time on the calendar.

“To sit and think about the possibilities is really exciting,” said B.A.S.S. CEO Bruce Akin. “We’ve never had a major B.A.S.S. event on Lake Fork. Now, we’ll be visiting in the spring — at the perfect time for giant bass to be caught.”

To put the possibilities into perspective, consider this:

In 2014, the Toyota Texas Bass Classic (TTBC) — the predecessor to Texas Fest that included the top anglers from B.A.S.S. and the FLW Tour — was held on Lake Fork. Current Bassmaster Elite Series pro Keith Combs took first place with a gigantic winning weight of 110 pounds.

That was a three-day event that recorded the weights of only 15 fish.

Anglers will spend four days on the water at Texas Fest and record the weights of their 20 biggest fish. All fish will be weighed in the boat. Anglers will be allowed to bring one bass over the slot limit to the weigh-in; all others will be immediately released. 

“To get to 100 pounds in four days is a major accomplishment, and to do it in three is unheard of,” said Combs. “It’s nothing about the angler — it wasn’t about me when I did it there. It’s just a testament to the quality of fishing at Lake Fork.”

In the 10 years TTBC was held and the two years since its transition to Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest, the event has generated millions of dollars for TPWD’s youth fishing and urban outreach programs.

“We’re excited to head back to Lake Fork and be the official sponsor of the 2019 Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest,” said Brent Hillyer, Gulf States Toyota’s senior vice president of marketing and vehicle supply. “There’s no better way to continue to benefit Texas Parks and Wildlife Department than by holding this competition at one of Texas’ most admired reservoirs.”

The Elite Series was formed in 2006, and Century Belts have only been awarded at nine events (out of more than 100 total). No angler has earned one of the belts since the 2013 Elite Series event on Falcon Lake when Combs (111-5), Rick Clunn (105-6) and John Crews (103-13) all topped the 100-pound mark.

Many believe Century Belts could be claimed again at Texas Fest because Lake Fork — a 27,000-acre impoundment on the Sabine River — has been intensely managed for giant bass since it was impounded in 1980.

Through 2018, Texas Parks and Wildlife has stocked nearly 14 million Florida-strain largemouth — and the bass have flourished in habitat that includes vast areas of standing timber, hydrilla, milfoil and duckweed.

To help the fish reach exceptional sizes, TPWD implemented a slot limit that protects all bass that measure between 16 and 24 inches. Anglers can keep up to five bass per day, but only one of them can be over 24 inches.

Those management efforts have created a fishery that has produced 30 of the 50 largest bass ever caught in Texas, including the current state record of 18.18 pounds, which was in 1992 by Barry St. Clair.

The slot limit won’t be a problem for the 75-angler Elite Series field since all bass will be immediately released — and the springtime conditions at Fork could lead to great things. The catch/weigh/release format made its debut at the first Toyota Texas Bass Classic, which was held on Lake Fork in 2007.

“Our Department is very proud of the fact that we helped create and rollout the nation’s first catch/weigh/immediate release tournament,” said Dave Terre, chief of Fisheries Management and Research for TPWD. “For the past 12 years, we’ve used them to showcase some of Texas’ best bass fisheries, including Lake Fork. The unique format emphasizes fish care, supports catch and release and honors our fisheries management goals. At Lake Fork, our goals are to produce big bass. We’re now delighted to have the opportunity to showcase this great fishery for the first time in a Bassmasters Elite Series event. We think four-day catch records could be broken.”

During that 2014 TTBC when Combs won with 110 pounds, he had one five-bass limit that weighed 42 pounds. That’s a little more than 3 pounds shy of the all-time B.A.S.S. record for largest single-day, five-bass limit.

The full field of Elite Series anglers will fish Thursday and Friday, May 2-3. Anglers will then take a break from competition on Saturday, May 4, for a special Fan Appreciation Day with festivities, including Bassmaster University seminars, the Bassmaster Outdoors Expo and the annual Bassmaster High School All-American Fishing Team Tournament. A highlight of the Expo will be the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Outdoor Adventure experience, including a catfish tank, wildlife viewing tent, fly casting and tying center, Texas State Fish Art exhibit, Toyota Sharelunker Trailer and many others.

The Top 35 Elite Series pros will resume competition on Sunday, May 5, and the Top 10 will compete on Championship Monday, May 6.

The tournament will feature a total payout of $1 million, with $100,000 going to the champion. A Toyota Tundra pickup truck will be awarded to the angler who weighs in the heaviest bass of the week.

“The Lake Fork Area Chamber of Commerce and our partners the Wood County Industrial Commission, Emory Tourism and Quitman EDC are excited to be hosting such an elite tournament such as the Bassmaster Elite Series,” said Michael Rogge, president of the Lake Fork Area COC. “This the first time in Lake Fork’s history to hold such a tournament. This event will show that major tournament organizations, such as Bassmaster, can hold events on a lake with restrictive size limits. Catch-and-release tournaments are becoming more popular, and this tournament will show the world that it can be done and exciting at the same time.”

The event will be covered in real time on Bassmaster LIVE, which streams on Bassmaster.com and the ESPN app, and it will be featured in a special episode of The Bassmasters television program to be aired later on ESPN2 and ESPN Classic.

In addition to the Lake Fork Chamber, the Wood County Industrial Commission, the Sabine River Authority, Quitman Economic Development Commission and Emory, TX Tourism are hosting the Texas Fest event.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Photo courtesy of BASS

The 50th Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods will come home to its Alabama roots in 2020. The world championship bass tournament will be held in Birmingham, Ala., with fishing competition taking place on Lake Guntersville in Guntersville, Ala., B.A.S.S. announced today.

The iconic fishing tournament will be held March 6-8, with daily weigh-ins and the Bassmaster Classic Outdoors Expo taking place in the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex (BJCC) in downtown Birmingham, B.A.S.S. CEO Bruce Akin said during a press conference Monday afternoon at the BJCC.

“It’s fitting that the golden anniversary Classic be held in Alabama, where B.A.S.S. was founded more than 50 years ago,” Akin said. “Our plans are to make this the most spectacular celebration of bass fishing in history.

“Throughout the current Bassmaster Elite Series tournament season, we are celebrating ‘The Year of the Fan’ — our way of saying ‘thank you’ to the millions of bass fishing fans who make this sport so great. The celebration will culminate at the Classic here in Birmingham.”

The Classic was first held at Lake Mead, Nevada, in October 1971. The tournament was the brainchild of B.A.S.S. founder Ray Scott, who wanted a way to determine an ultimate champion at the end of every tournament season. It has since been held in Alabama 12 times, eight of those in Birmingham.

“We are so proud to once again host the 2020 Bassmaster Classic, the Super Bowl of Bass Fishing,” said Birmingham Mayor Randall L. Woodfin. “We look forward to the great competition the Classic attracts and the dedicated fans who will gather in Birmingham for this incredible event. While in the region, we invite everyone to experience the inspirational history, legendary food and world class entertainment which make us the Magic City.”

“We are thrilled that the Bassmaster Classic will be returning to the Birmingham region once again,” said John Oros, president and CEO of the Greater Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau. “This event is the pinnacle of professional bass fishing and it attracts the greatest anglers in the world. The tournament reinforces the fact that the Birmingham area is a great professional and amateur sports destination. We expect that the economic impact of the event will equal or exceed the $32 million spent in hotels, restaurants, attractions and retailers this past year in Knoxville, Tenn.”

Twice previously — in 1976 and 2014 — fishing has taken place on Lake Guntersville, which has become synonymous with bass fishing greatness over the past half-century.

“We are excited that Lake Guntersville has been chosen to be the fishery for this anniversary Classic,” said Katy Norton, president of Marshall County Convention and Visitors Bureau. “The interest the Classic generates has positive impact for months, even years following the tournament, and we expect Lake Guntersville will be at the top of the list for anglers and B.A.S.S. fans to visit following next spring’s competition. We look forward to the tournament and to continuing our partnership with B.A.S.S.”

The inaugural event in Nevada, which was won by Arkansas angler Bobby Murray, featured a 24-angler field and a winner-take-all format with a $10,000 prize. None of the anglers knew the location ahead of time, and they all fished with identical boats and motors.

Much has changed since then — especially the payout, which is now a whopping $1 million for a 53-angler field with $300,000 going to the winner. The winner also adds his name to the most prestigious list in bass fishing.

“The Classic is literally a life-changing event for the angler who wins,” said B.A.S.S. Director Chase Anderson. “It exemplifies what Bassmaster competition stands for: ‘Big Bass. Big Stage. Big Dreams.’ It honors the angler who can catch the biggest bass of the week, and weigh them on the biggest stage in bass fishing, and fulfill the biggest dream any angler can have. No title in professional fishing holds the same clout as ‘Classic champion.’”

It’s hard to imagine a more fitting spot for the 50th renewal of the event than Lake Guntersville, which has hosted 22 major B.A.S.S. events.

The 68,000-acre Tennessee River fishery, which is a popular destination for bass fishing enthusiasts from across the country, will also play host to a regular-season Bassmaster Elite Series tournament June 21-24. That 23rd major B.A.S.S. event will make Guntersville the second-most visited lake in B.A.S.S. history, behind only Sam Rayburn Reservoir in Texas.

Weigh-ins and the Classic Expo will be held 75 miles away at the BJCC — and recent history says they’ll be plenty busy.

The 2018 Classic attracted 143,323 fans to all activities, including the Get Hooked on Fishing activity center, morning takeoffs, weigh-ins and the Expo. That was an all-time record until this year’s event on the Tennessee River in Knoxville drew 153,809.

The Classic will be covered live and streamed on Bassmaster.com, ESPN3 and the ESPN App, and five hours of original programming will be aired on ESPN2 and the Pursuit Channel following the event. In addition, the Classic annually draws more than 250 credentialed media. The 2019 Classic was covered by journalists from 28 states as well as Japan, China, Australia, Italy, Germany and Canada.