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Alabama’s Dustin Connell Claims Third Championship Title At Bass Pro Shops REDCREST 2025

D.C. For Three! Alabama’s Dustin Connell Claims Third Championship Title At Bass Pro Shops REDCREST 2025 Presented By MillerTech Energy At Lake Guntersville

  • By The Fishing Wire

Clanton, Alabama pro goes back-to-back, wins second consecutive REDCREST title with 27 bass weighing 87 pounds, 11 ounces to earn another $300,000 payday

Huntsville, AL – The 2025 iteration of Bass Pro Shops REDCREST Presented by MillerTech on Lake Guntersville marked the third time Major League Fishing’s championship event has been held in the bass-fishing mecca of Alabama.

For the third time, pro Dustin Connell of Clanton, Alabama, is keeping the trophy in his home state.

Connell ran away from the field on Championship Sunday, both figuratively and literally. After making a roughly 70-mile trek away from the history- and largemouth-rich waters of lower Lake Guntersville to the tailrace below the Nickajack Dam, Connell stacked up 87 pounds, 11 ounces on 27 scorable bass. The best single-day total of any angler at the event (despite a 65-minute delay due to weather), that was enough to hold off a late charge from Wesley Strader by 8-5.

Connell earned $300,000 for the win and further cemented himself as the best big-event performer going. The only angler to win REDCREST multiple times, he’s claimed the title in back-to-back years and three times total – he previously won on Lake Eufaula in 2021 and Lay Lake in 2024. He’s now just the third angler ever with three tour championship titles. Only Bass Fishing Hall of Famers Kevin VanDam and Rick Clunn have won more with four apiece.

This also marked his seventh total win on the Bass Pro Tour. Shortly after it became official, an emotional Connell said that, in some ways, it’s the most special one yet.

“I think just me winning the tournament doing my own deal, winning it with my style of fishing that I love, and then coming off of a couple tough tournaments and just a lot of adversity, I was very, very, very shook up,” Connell said.

Ironically, to keep his REDCREST track record perfect in his home state, Connell ventured all the way to Tennessee. Connell grew up fishing current on the Coosa River, and he said he’s been thinking for months about venturing to the Nickajack Dam so he could fish in his comfort zone.

That flew in the face of conventional Guntersville wisdom, which Connell admits gave him pause.

“I had this in my mind literally six months ago,” he said. “I was like, I want to go up that river, I want to go up that river. But Guntersville is such a badass lake, and on the way, I just didn’t think that I could compete up there. I was like, I feel dumb even going up here.”

So, Connell started Day 1 trying to target spawning largemouth at the lower end of the fishery. Pre-tournament chatter suggested that would be the dominant pattern, but Connell caught just one scorable bass during the opening period of the event. He ran to Nickajack in Period 2, but strong winds made for a long trip. He only added one more fish during that period, and at the end of it, he sat in 47th place out of 50 anglers.

“I just wasn’t catching them,” Connell said. “The wind was blowing again, and there was pollen everywhere. It just was not the deal.

“I get to the dam, and I caught 20-something pounds at the dam late in the day. So, I said, screw this; I’m fishing the whole tournament up there, good, bad or ugly.”

Connell, who caught all three species of bass (largemouth, smallmouth and spotted) in the tailrace, steadily climbed SCORETRACKER® throughout Day 2. Still, he needed a last-minute flurry to earn a spot in the Top 20 and advance to the Knockout Round. He caught four bass totaling 12-6 in the last 13 minutes before lines out to jump from the wrong side of the elimination line into 17th.

Connell attributed that rally to a bait change. After spending most of the day throwing a 2.5-inch CrushCity The Mayorswimbait, he switched to a CrushCity Mooch Minnow. Even without the aid of forward-facing sonar (he didn’t catch a bass all week that he first saw on his screen), he was able to shake it in the current breaks along the dam’s concrete walls and trigger bites.

“The sun was out, and they kind of quit biting,” Connell said. “I was initially catching them on a Mayor, and I was winding it down the walls. … Well, late in the day, I picked that rod up with a Mooch Minnow on there. And I made like three casts with it, and I caught two back-to-back. And I figured out the bait that they were really wanting, and the action of it.”

It’s not just the REDCREST champion that will be familiar to MLF fans but the baits that won him the trophy. While Connell said he caught a few fish on both a CrushCity Janitor worm and a Rapala Mavrik jerkbait, the two tools that did most of his damage were a Mooch Minnow and a CrushCity Freeloader – the same baits he used most often in his win on Lay Lake last year. He rigged the Freeloader on a scrounger head and threw it on baitcast gear with 17-pound Seaguar Invizx fluorocarbon. The Mooch Minnow he affixed to a 3/16-ounce VMC Redline tungsten jighead.

Even after his strong finish to the Qualifying Round, Connell wasn’t sure he’d found the winning pattern. However, during Saturday’s Knockout Round, he noticed how well the bass were biting during early-morning, low-light conditions. Knowing the forecast for Sunday called for storms all day, he started to get excited.

“Yesterday morning, I was like, dude, this tournament just got real interesting,” he said. “I was like, there is a chance this could go down.” 

Thunderstorms delayed takeoff, giving Connell less time to catch up after his long run, and made for a rough ride. But once he arrived, it didn’t take long to see that his hopes were well-founded. The storms both ignited a feeding frenzy below the dam and killed the sight-fishing pattern much of the Top 10 had relied on to get to the Championship Round.

Connell arrived at his starting spot around 9:35 a.m., 45 minutes after lines in. On his second cast, he landed his first scorable bass. By 9:50, he’d caught three more and brought his total to 14-15, taking a lead he would never relinquish. In all, Connell caught 31-0 in the span of 36 minutes before the period break.

While Connell consistently added to his total, Strader – who also made a long run up the river, albeit not all the way to the dam – stayed on his heels. It seemed like every time Connell had pulled away, Strader would cut his lead to 10 pounds or so. Connell didn’t catch a scorable bass during the final 47 minutes before lines out, and Strader trimmed his deficit from more than 20 pounds at the start of Period 3 to less than 9. However, he could never quite get over the hump.

Connell called the final period “the most stressful period of bass fishing I’ve had in my life.”

“I know how big it is of an event, and I knew it was mine to lose,” he said. “I was like, dude, if I could just add on a few more fish – don’t light it on fire, just catch some. And I did my job.”

Key for Connell was the caliber of fish he found during the Championship Round. Strader actually caught two more scorable bass on the day, but Connell boated six weighing 4 pounds or more, including three over 5. His average scorable bass weighed about 3.25 pounds compared to 2.72 for the rest of the field – more than half a pound per fish.

“I knew there were some big ones up there,” Connell said. “But I did not expect to catch the quality I caught today. I mean, it was unreal.”

Connell didn’t have an explanation for why he’s become so dominant on the biggest stage. He said he prepares for REDCREST like any other event. But he did note that, once he makes it to the Championship Round, he’s not easy to beat. Indeed, nearly half the time he’s made the Top 10, he’s wound up in the winner’s circle (seven out of 16).
Connell attributed that to his fish-to-win approach. He’s always looking for the winning bite rather than settling for a pattern that can earn him a check.

“When I make the Championship Round, I’m normally really dialed in,” he explained. “That’s the thing about me. If I don’t feel like I’m on a winning pattern, I typically don’t do well at all, because I’m always trying to win.”

Even though he’s been there plenty of times before, Connell called this win extra special. In the moments after lines out, he sat on his front deck, and tears began to flow. He said he was “more shook up with this one” than any of his previous wins.

Connell admitted the start to his 2025 season on the Bass Pro Tour hadn’t been up to his standards. He finished 55th at the Harris Chain of Lakes and 36th at Lake Murray, and that wore on him. To not only bounce back but do so with his wife, Victoria, and nearly-one-year-old son, Trent, on hand to celebrate with him for the first time after one of his victories made this one particularly sweet. A dozen or so family members joined him on stage as he lifted the trophy.

“Lately, it ain’t been easy on me,” Connell said. “The last three tournaments, two tournaments I’ve had have been absolutely brutal. I go to Lake Murray, and it’s just a brutal tournament. Florida was brutal. And you’ve got all these people just hating on you and saying, ‘Oh, you can’t catch them without this and that,’ and it just weighs on you.

“I try to surround myself with positive people, and my family, my wife, my little boy – he was here last year, but he wasn’t where I could hold him. And to win this tournament with him and my family here, oh my gosh. I can’t believe it.”

The top 10 pros at REDCREST 2025 Presented by MillerTech Energy at Lake Guntersville finished:

1st:        Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala., 27 bass, 87-11, $300,000
2nd:       Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., 29 bass, 79-6, $50,000
3rd:       Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla., 17 bass, 44-12, $40,000
4th:        Paul Marks Jr., Cumming, Ga., 15 bass, 43-5, $28,000
5th:        Jake Lawrence, Paris, Tenn., 15 bass, 38-10, $25,000
6th:        Chris Lane, Guntersville, Ala., 16 bass, 38-10, $20,000
7th:        Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 14 bass, 37-12, $18,000
8th:        David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., 10 bass, 33-8, $16,000
9th:        Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich., six bass, 15-2, $14,500
10th:     Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., three bass, 8-5, $12,500

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

Overall, there were 152 scorable bass weighing 427 pounds, 1 ounce caught by the final 10 pros on Sunday. Throughout the entire four-day event, the 50 competitors in REDCREST 2025 caught a total of 1,614 scorable bass weighing 4,456 pounds, 4 ounces.

Pro Brent Ehrler earned Sunday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award with a 5-pound, 6-ounce largemouth bass that he caught in Period 1. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day.

Bass Pro Shops REDCREST 2025 Presented by MillerTech Energy at Lake Guntersville was hosted by the Huntsville/Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association, and the Madison County Commission and showcased the top 50 MLF anglers from 2024 – including the top 40 anglers from the Bass Pro Tour – competing for the prestigious REDCREST Championship and a total prize pool for more than ¾ of a million dollars.

Television coverage of MLF’s Bass Pro Shops REDCREST 2025 Presented by MillerTech Energy at Lake Guntersville will premiere as a two-hour episode starting at 7 a.m. ET, on Saturday, July 5 on Discovery, with the Championship Round premiering on Saturday, July 19. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on Discovery, with re-airings on Outdoor Channel and Vice TV.

Proud sponsors of the MLF Bass Pro Tour and REDCREST 2025 include: 7Brew Coffee, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, Bass Force, B&W Trailer Hitches, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, BUBBA, E3 Sports Apparel, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Lowrance, Mercury, MillerTech Energy, Mossy Oak Fishing, NITRO, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Star brite, Suzuki Marine and Toyota.

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

About Major League Fishing (MLF)

Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.

How Fast Can Your Lake Go from Clear to Muddy and Vice Versa?

This is from January 2024, but it is always true. In March Lake Martin was as muddy as I have seen it in 50 years and the next weekend Jackson was September clear, unusual for April

Fishing conditions can change fast this time of year. Last weekend Lake Sinclair was very clear, so clear I blamed the tough fishing on it.  But the flooding rain Tuesday most likely changed that.

    For many years our lakes got very muddy in the winter and spring from rain run-off.  Muddy water was the norm back in the 1970s and 80s at my place on Germany Creek at Clarks Hill. But now it is not unusual to see the bottom three feet down like it was the week before Christmas.

    I think farming practices are the reason. Fewer plowed fields mean less muddy runoff.

    Sinclair has always been a popular bass fishing lake in the winter, mostly due to the warm water discharge from the power plant there. The warmer water made the fish more active than they were on other lakes in middle Georgia. After the power plant was torn down conditions changed.

    Last Sunday I could see the bottom three to four feet down on Sinclair. And in anticipation of the coming rain, Georgia Power had lowered the lake about a foot to accept the runoff.  But like other lakes, run off from a heavy rain will muddy up some of the lake. The bigger the lake the less it muddies.

    Small lakes like Jackson can get muddy from dam to headwaters in a few hours. Sinclair usually takes a couple of days. And huge lakes like Clarks Hill almost never get muddy near the dam but the creeks and rivers upstream do get muddy.

    The lower the water the more it muddies up. If the lake is full the muddy inflow just pushes the clear water downstream some, making it go higher. With the lake low the muddy water flows downstream with less clear water to slow it down.

    One of the worst experience I have had happened at Jackson a few years ago. I was on the lake a few days before the tournament and caught nice spots off every rocky point from near the dam upstream to Tussahaw Creek. I could not wait for the tournament.

    When we took off it was still a little dark. We could see well enough to run but details on the bank and in the water were vague.  I stopped on the first point going upstream, planning on working my way up hitting every point.

    Within a few minutes I caught a nice keeper spot on a crankbait. When I decided to go to the next point something didn’t look right.  About 50 yards above the point I was on, the water changed from a greenish clear to red mud. It looked like someone had drawn a line across the lake and colored above it with a red crayon.

    A heavy rain had hit the day before the tournament, but I never expected that change! The mudline moved past the point I started on within a few minutes. The whole lake was muddy upstream at daylight and to the dam by 10:00 AM.

    And I never got another bite.

    I don’t mind fishing cold water too much. My rule of thumb this time of year is that if the water temperature is above 50 degrees, I have a pretty good chance of catching a bass. If it is 45 to 50 degrees, I may get a bite. But if the water is colder than 45 degrees I might as well go home.

    Muddy cold water is much worse.  It is the worst possible condition this time of year to me.

    Other factors affect fishing, too. I had information that a lot of bass were out deep on Sinclair, deeper than I expected. Some of my friends were catching bass 50 feet deep.

    I planned on trying to catch a fish shallow this past Sunday then going out and looking for schools of deep fish. But the wind made it miserable fishing open water and boat control was very hard.

    I did find one ball of bait 35 feet deep and another ball of either gizzard shad or crappie down 40 feet deep but got no bites around them.  

    Bright sun is not good when the water is warm in the summer, but it can help this time of year. I do get a laugh when I hear fishermen say sun warms underwater rocks and that warms the water the water around them. Water dissipates heat way too fast for that to happen. 

    Bass are attracted to shallow rocks and sun on them does seem to help in the winter. There is lots of food like crawfish living around rocks so bass feed there in the winter. And the sun may warm them some like it does us sitting in it, but I am not sure.

    No matter the reason, fishing around rocks is a good tactic this time of year.

    Many other factors affect fishing this time of year so the most important thing is to be adaptable.

    Last Sunday only three members of the Flint River Bass Club showed up for our January tournament. Since there were less than four fishermen, the club paid our entry fees.

    I won with two bass weighing 3.41 pounds and my 2.44 pound largemouth was big fish. Zane Fleck had one keeper weighing 1.77 pounds for second. That was it, the third fisherman zeroed.

    I had two bites on a jig, one at 9:00 AM and the second just before 10:00 AM around rocks. After that I looked for deeper fish but never got another bite all day!

From the Georgia DNR – DON’T TAKE WILDLIFE FROM THE WILD and THE O-FISH-IAL WINNERS OF THE 2025 FISH ART CONTEST®

DON’T TAKE WILDLIFE FROM THE WILD

SOCIAL CIRCLE, Ga. (April 4, 2025) – Don’t remove wildlife from their habitat! Before you pick up or attempt to assist any wildlife, no matter its age or condition, remember that it is best to leave all wildlife, including young birds, bunnies, or fawns where they are found, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division (DNR WRD).

“We know you want to help. But sometimes the help we want to provide is actually doing more harm than good,” explains Ben McCullar, wildlife biologist and program manager of the Georgia DNR WRD Urban Wildlife Program. “Wildlife, even young ones, rarely need interference from humans. In fact, taking wildlife out of their natural environment and bringing them into your home often takes away the animal’s ability to then survive in the wild, where they belong,”

The best thing people can do when they see any wildlife of any age is to immediately move away and leave it exactly as they found it for at least 24 hours. If the animal is still there after this wait time, reach out to a local WRD office for guidance (GeorgiaWildlife.com/about/contact).

But what if the animal is “orphaned”? McCullar says that “While it may appear that a young animal is alone, the adult animal is usually close by even though you may not be able to see it. Adult animals, such as deer, spend most of the day away from their young to reduce the risk of a predator finding the young animal.”

Wildlife, especially young animals, demand a great deal of care and have specific nutritional requirements. If they are not cared for properly, they cannot be released or retain the ability to survive on their own. Persons not licensed and trained in wildlife rehabilitation should not attempt to care for wildlife.  Georgia law prohibits the possession of most wildlife without a permit.

For more information, visit GeorgiaWildlife.com/living-with-wildlife.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

THE O-FISH-IAL WINNERS OF THE 2025 FISH ART CONTEST®

Perry, GA (April 4, 2025) — The Georgia Department of Natural Resources is proud to announce the Georgia winners of the Fish Art Contest. The Wildlife Forever Fish Art Contest, which includes the Georgia Fish Art Contest, is an international competition designed to ignite children’s imagination and inspire them to discover more about fish and fishing. The program is free to enter and open to youth in kindergarten through grade 12 anywhere in the world.

“The Fish Art Contest offers a unique opportunity to connect students to the outdoors through science and creative art,” said Chrystal Sherwood, Georgia State-Fish Art Coordinator. “Since it started in 1997, this free program has received artwork from over 85,000 students across 46 countries. We appreciate the teachers and parents that encourage participation as we believe that learning more about these species helps create better future stewards of the environment.”

TOP GEORGIA WINNERS:

GRADES 10-12
First place: Luca Camay, Marietta (Flathead catfish)

Second place: Kierstyn Lukehart, Elko (Lionfish)

Third place: Adesola Aluko, Marietta (Tarpon)

Go Fish Georgia Award: Hannah Yang, Suwanee (Shoal Bass) 
GRADES 7-9
First place: Steven Ju, Marietta (Brook Trout)

Second place: Siyu Diao, Suwanee (Largemouth Bass)

Third place: Crystal Zhen, Watkinsville (Sailfish)

Go Fish Georgia Award: George Cheng, St. Mary’s (Atlantic Tarpon)
GRADES 4-6
First Place: Sarah Tan, Duluth (Mahi-mahi)

Second Place: Isabella Ann Puzyreva, Cumming (Yellow bass)

Third Place: Lucas Kutz, Dacula (Lionfish)

Go Fish Georgia Award: Emily Han, Suwanee (Rainbow trout)
GRADES K-3
First Place: Ryan Gu, Duluth (Largemouth bass)

Second Place: Enya Deng, Suwanee (Bluegill)

Third Place: Anne Kongoasa, Duluth (Cutthroat Trout; also nominated for the Western Native Trout Award)

Go Fish Georgia Award: Xin Chen, Duluth (Yellow Perch)

Mighty Minnow Award (this is a new award selected by each state. It celebrates the creativity and talent of kindergarten participants in the K-3 age group, giving the youngest artists a chance to be honored for their efforts and abilities, based on age-appropriate expectations).

Ambrose Byers, Blairsville (Bass)

About the Go Fish Georgia Award: This award was created to celebrate fish species commonly sought by Georgia anglers.

Artwork on Display: Artwork from Georgia winners will be on display at the Go Fish Education Center (GoFishEducationCenter.com/) in Perry, Georgia for one year (starting June 2025).

All the 2025 National and International winners can be found at https://www.WildlifeForever.org/home/fish-art/2023-winners/ (after May 2025). Digital images are available upon request.

Complete information about the Fish Art Contest available at FishArt.org.

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About the Fish Art Program: The award-winning Wildlife Forever Art of Conservation Fish Art® Contest, is supported by Title Sponsor Bass Pro Shops, International Game Fish Association, the USDA Forest Service, the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, and National Fish Habitat Partnership. Bringing youth, art, and conservation together, the Fish Art program is free to enter. Visit FishArt.org.

About Wildlife Forever: Our mission is to conserve America’s outdoor heritage through conservation education, preservation of habitat and management of fish and wildlife. Wildlife Forever is a 501c3 non-profit dedicated to investing resources on the ground. Recent audits reveal that 96% of every dollar supports our award-winning conservation programs. Join Today and learn more about the Art of Conservation® Fish Art Contest™ and Songbird Art Contest™, Clean Drain Dry Initiative™ and Prairie City USA® at WildlifeForever.org.

Fishing Lake Oconee In A Bad Spring Storm

    Mad dogs and Englishmen may go out in the mid-day sun, but 11 members of the Spalding County Sportsman Club went out in the thunderstorms at Oconee last Sunday.  I wonder about my sanity fishing in weather like that.

    Weather guessers “forecast” some thunderstorms but light rain most of the day.  Wrong.  It poured down rain and almost constant lightning all day was much worse than predicted. There was more than 6.5 inch of rain in my gauge in 24 hours.

    We were supposed to start at 7:30 AM but a strong storm kept most of us on the bank in our trucks until about 7:45. We had a short break, then the lightning started flashing and the thunder crashing within a few minutes after we took off and continued until about an hour before weigh-in.

    In the tournament, 11 of us brought 36 14-inch keeper largemouth weighing about 71 pounds to the scales.  There were six five bass limits and three people didn’t catch a fish in the eight rainy hours.

    Raymond English won with five weighing 12.79 pounds and Niles Murray was an incredibly close second with five at 12.78 pounds. My five weighing 11.26 pounds was third and I had a 4.55 pound largemouth for big fish. Jay Gerson came in fourth with five weighing 8.72 pounds and for about the third time this year Billy Roberts placed fifth with 5 at 7.92 pounds.

    When we took off I made a short run to a rocky point where I caught a 3.5 pound fish in our March tournament two years ago. It was big fish in that tournament. On about my tenth cast with the same crankbait I landed the 4.55 pounder.  That was a good start.

    After catching a 13.5 inch non keeper out of some grass on that point on a swim jig, the lightning drove me to the back of the cove where I felt the overhanging trees gave me some protection.  I ended up sitting against a seawall there trying to cast every few minutes for two hours! I had to run my bilge pumps to keep the boat from filling with water. I did catch three short fish in that time.

    I kept looking at my phone and saw the next county south was under a tornado watch.  The lightning seemed to be what some call “sheet” lightning, bolts that jump from cloud to cloud rather than cloud to ground.  But every few minutes the lake would get bright and the air shake from a nearby ground strike.

    It was so bad a very nice homeowner came down to his dock and asked if I was ok.  When I said I was just trying to stay in a protected area, he said if it got too bad for me that I could tie up to his dock and come up to his basement, the door was open!  There are some nice folks still in this world.

    At about 10:00 the storm let up a little and I fished out of the cove. On the point where the big one hit I got my second keeper out of grass on the other side of it on a weightless trick worm.

    I made another short run to another good cove and caught several short bass going into the cove, then found a ditch with water dumping into the lake. Back-to-back casts to that muddy inflow produced keepers on a jig and pig.  Four in the live well a little before noon, one of them over four pounds, made me feel pretty good.

    At 1:00 I cranked up for the third time and ran a half mile to another good series of coves, but they produced nothing but a few short fish. I was getting worried about filling my limit.

    At 2:45 I went back to the muddy water inflow and caught a short fish from it. Working up the bank I cast my jig to a grassbed and my line started moving straight to the boat. I set the hook and a solid keeper came up and came off.

    I hate to set the hook on a fish swimming toward me. I think they get the lead on a Texas rig, shaky head or jig in their mouth and  are clamped down so hard the hook does not move on the hook set and they come off, just like this one that made me feel sick.

    I got the boat closer to the bank and cast ahead of it. A few casts later my line moved out and I set the hook and landed my fifth keeper. Since it was 15 minutes to weigh-in I didn’t make another cast, just headed to the ramp.

    I felt lucky to land a limit on such a messy dangerous day.

Fishing Lake Oconee In A Club Tournament In Terrible, Dangerous Spring Weather

Mad dogs and Englishmen may go out in the mid-day sun, but 11 members of the Spalding County Sportsman Club went out in the thunderstorms at Oconee last Sunday.  I wonder about my sanity fishing in weather like that.

    Weather guessers “forecast” some thunderstorms but light rain most of the day.  Wrong.  It poured down rain and almost constant lightning all day was much worse than predicted. There was more than 6.5 inch of rain in my gauge in 24 hours.

    We were supposed to start at 7:30 AM but a strong storm kept most of us on the bank in our trucks until about 7:45. We had a short break, then the lightning started flashing and the thunder crashing within a few minutes after we took off and continued until about an hour before weigh-in.

    In the tournament, 11 of us brought 36 14-inch keeper largemouth weighing about 71 pounds to the scales.  There were six five bass limits and three people didn’t catch a fish in the eight rainy hours.

    Raymond English won with five weighing 12.79 pounds and Niles Murray was an incredibly close second with five at 12.78 pounds. My five weighing 11.26 pounds was third and I had a 4.55 pound largemouth for big fish. Jay Gerson came in fourth with five weighing 8.72 pounds and for about the third time this year Billy Roberts placed fifth with 5 at 7.92 pounds.

    When we took off I made a short run to a rocky point where I caught a 3.5 pound fish in our March tournament two years ago. It was big fish in that tournament. On about my tenth cast with the same crankbait I landed the 4.55 pounder.  That was a good start.

    After catching a 13.5 inch non keeper out of some grass on that point on a swim jig, the lightning drove me to the back of the cove where I felt the overhanging trees gave me some protection.  I ended up sitting against a seawall there trying to cast every few minutes for two hours! I had to run my bilge pumps to keep the boat from filling with water. I did catch three short fish in that time.

    I kept looking at my phone and saw the next county south was under a tornado watch.  The lightning seemed to be what some call “sheet” lightning, bolts that jump from cloud to cloud rather than cloud to ground.  But every few minutes the lake would get bright and the air shake from a nearby ground strike.

    It was so bad a very nice homeowner came down to his dock and asked if I was ok.  When I said I was just trying to stay in a protected area, he said if it got too bad for me that I could tie up to his dock and come up to his basement, the door was open!  There are some nice folks still in this world.

    At about 10:00 the storm let up a little and I fished out of the cove. On the point where the big one hit I got my second keeper out of grass on the other side of it on a weightless trick worm.

    I made another short run to another good cove and caught several short bass going into the cove, then found a ditch with water dumping into the lake. Back-to-back casts to that muddy inflow produced keepers on a jig and pig.  Four in the live well a little before noon, one of them over four pounds, made me feel pretty good.

    At 1:00 I cranked up for the third time and ran a half mile to another good series of coves, but they produced nothing but a few short fish. I was getting worried about filling my limit.

    At 2:45 I went back to the muddy water inflow and caught a short fish from it. Working up the bank I cast my jig to a grassbed and my line started moving straight to the boat. I set the hook and a solid keeper came up and came off.

    I hate to set the hook on a fish swimming toward me. I think they get the lead on a Texas rig, shaky head or jig in their mouth and  are clamped down so hard the hook does not move on the hook set and they come off, just like this one that made me feel sick.

    I got the boat closer to the bank and cast ahead of it. A few casts later my line moved out and I set the hook and landed my fifth keeper. Since it was 15 minutes to weigh-in I didn’t make another cast, just headed to the ramp.

    I felt lucky to land a limit on such a messy dangerous day.

Berkley Unveils Two New Gulp! Saltwater Shrimp Shapes

  • Gear, The Lead

Berkley Unveils Two New Gulp! Saltwater Shrimp Shapes

  • By The Fishing Wire

Take your artificial shrimp game to the next level with the Berkley Gulp! Saltwater Turbo Shrimp and Nemesis Prawn Curl Tail.

Columbia, SC – Berkley is adding to their shrimp imitations with the introduction of two new Gulp! soft plastics—the Berkley Gulp! Saltwater Turbo Shrimp and the Berkley Gulp! Saltwater Nemesis Prawn Curl Tail. Engineered to provide constant action at any retrieve speed or style with the trusted superior scent dispersion of Gulp!, these new additions are built to help anglers catch more fish in any saltwater scenario.

The Berkley Gulp! Saltwater Turbo Shrimp is the next evolution in shrimp imitations, designed to create maximum attraction and scent distribution. Featuring a unique leg design that oscillates back and forth on retrieval, it generates turbulence and vibration that mimics the erratic movements of live shrimp. This lifelike action, combined with Gulp!’s proprietary scent dispersion formula  makes the Turbo Shrimp an irresistible target for redfish, speckled trout, flounder, and more. Available in 11 natural and vibrant colors and three versatile sizes, it’s the perfect bait to match the hatch or stand out in murky conditions.

Adding to the lineup, the Berkley Gulp! Saltwater Nemesis Prawn Curl Tail delivers a deadly combination of subtle action and maximum scent dispersion. Built with a finely tuned reverse curled tail, this bait produces a lifelike flutter even at super slow retrieve speeds—perfect for enticing finicky fish. Its heavily spiked prawn-shaped head and faceted body create extra turbulence, dispersing scent effectively through the water column. Available in eight lifelike and bold colors, the Nemesis Prawn Curl Tail offers the versatility anglers need to fish confidently in all conditions.

Whether you’re fishing grass flats, mangroves, or deep channels, the Gulp! Turbo Shrimp and Nemesis Prawn Curl Tail are must-have additions for any saltwater angler looking to catch more fish and land bigger bites.

“The Gulp! Saltwater Turbo Shrimp and Nemesis Prawn Curl Tail are something we have been working on for a long time and can’t wait for people to get their hands on,” said Will Pate, Berkley Saltwater Product Manager. “We are super excited to keep expanding the Gulp! Saltwater line-up, and this is just the beginning.”

BERKLEY GULP! SALTWATER TURBO SHRIMP – KEY FEATURES:

  • Unique leg design that oscillates to mimic real shrimp leg action
  • Segmented body and wide fan tail creates a tail kick action and turbulence in the water
  • Gulp! superior scent dispersion
  • Available in 11 fish-catching colors

Sizes: 3” • 4” • 5”
Colors: Peppered Prawn • Camo • Pink Belly Shrimp • New Penny • Pearl White • Molting Shrimp • Nuclear Chicken • Flamingo Chrome • Violet Haze Fleck • America • Ocean Shift 
MSRP: $8.99

Available: March 2025

About Pure Fishing

Pure Fishing is a collection of the world’s favorite fishing brands. Every day, all around the world, someone experiences the joy of catching a fish with one of our products. From gear for epic battles at sea to a relaxing day with family at the lake, our portfolio includes the most recognized and admired brands in fishing tackle, lures, rods, reels and storage. Abu Garcia, Berkley, DAM, Fenwick, Fin-Nor, Frabill, Greys, Hardy, Hodgman, Johnson, JRC, Madcat, Mitchell, Penn, Pflueger, Plano, Prologic, Savage Gear, Shakespeare, SpiderWire, Stren, Ugly Stik and Van Staal.

Bad Fishing Products and Worse Service

Have all companies given up on making decent products or just some of the fishing equipment ones I have dealt with recently? 

My $2500 Minn Kota trolling motor had a problem that a $25 aftermarket sleeve solved. Yet folks at Minn Kota told me they knew of the problem and there was no fix.

When I sent them proof there was a simple cheap solution they could implement, I got no response.

T-H Marine makes a replacement trolling motor pull handle that I have used in the past that worked well. I recently installed a new one and the eyes of the Allen set screws that came with it stripped out with almost no pressure.  They would not tighten down.

When I contacted T-H Marine they said they did not see that as a big problem and they sold many of the handles.  They are aware of the problem but it is not a big one to them.  In their defense, they did send me new screws that seem to be good.

AFTCO 2024 Bass Bus Summary, What Is It and What Does It Do?

  • Tournaments

AFTCO 2024 Bass Bus Summary

  • By The Fishing Wire

The AFTCO Bass Bus release boats have had another busy season in 2024 helping ensure the safe release of thousands of bass back to the lakes and rivers they were caught in that day.  AFTCO sponsors and supports two release boats that are operated and maintained by Ulrich Marine Service in Branson, MO.  In 2024, these two boats traveled to dozens of events across the Midwest to aid tournament organizations in releasing fish safely, but also to help spread them out for reduced harvest in the days following an event. Spreading the release of tournament fish out across the lake also ensures that an area does not receive too many fish to safely support them in that area. The Ulrich Marine staff is trained on the proper release methods including “fizzing” and operation of the boats to protect as many fish as possible. 

The original AFTCO Bass Bus just completed its seventh season of releasing fish.  This boat has supported 43 events in 12 states and released over 27,000 bass back into their waters. AFTCO support for a second boat was added in 2019 and the company now supports two boats in operation in conjunction with Ulrich Marine. AFTCO provides financial support for the operation of these boats free of charge at approved tournaments thru out the year. 

In conjunction with the release boat at many events is the AFTCO Bank Bag program and distribution of the AFTCO Bass Care 101 guide for all angler and organizations to use for successful fish care management.

In 2025, both Bass Busses are already scheduled for dozens of events across the Eastern US.

About AFTCO

Family owned and operated, the American Fishing Tackle Company (AFTCO) represents unparalleled quality, performance, and reliability when it counts most. Worn across the globe, AFTCO’s performance fishing clothing and fishing rain gear is designed to handle the harshest elements. Whether you’re a tournament bass angler looking to stay dry in a late fall downpour or an offshore weekend warrior seeking protection from the sun’s harmful UV rays, AFTCO keeps you fishing comfortably.

AFTCO reflects a legacy of firsts. From former company Chairman Milt Shedd’s pioneering conservation achievements, to the invention of the roller guide and the introduction of the world’s first pair of true fishing shorts, AFTCO provides conservation leadership and innovative products proven to deliver performance on the water. Our passion for the outdoors goes beyond our product offering because of an unwavering commitment to help protect our fishing resources and angler rights. Through our 10% Pledge to Protect and Conserve, your purchase of any AFTCO product directly supports conservation initiatives.

Inconsiderate Rude Fishermen and Folks In General with Social Media Making Them Worse

    On the inconsiderate, rude fishermen and folks in general thing, social media has also made things worse.  Many “keyboard warriors” out there seem to live to make stupid and or insulting comments. And trolls say things just to try to stir up controversy.  They would never make those kinds of comments in person since they would not want a black eye. 

    When I do my Georgia Outdoor News articles I shoot a short video with the fisherman landing a bass. They then hold it up while telling a little about why and where they are fishing. The videos are about one minute long total. The video goes with my article when it is put online. 

    My editor told me last week a couple of “fishermen” had sent in comments that we were keeping the bass out of the water too long making the video.  I wonder if they would have that problem if I were taking pictures of them? And I would not be surprised if they “boat flip” bass, jerking them out of the water and letting them slam into the bottom of the boat.  But we have to protect bass no matter what, in their opinion. 

I am tempted to tell them “don’t worry, we took the fish home to eat” but that would make me a troll, too. Those folks think it is a deadly sin to kill and eat a bass. But I can be snarky, too!

    I got the following comments online when I went to the Minn Kota users’ group on Facebook asking for help about a trolling motor problem. The pull cable comes through a hole in a cast aluminum block and mine cut a groove in it, which then cut the cable. I asked if there was a fix like a stainless-steel sleeve to go in the hole.   

    Several people said they had the same problem and a couple gave me a link to an aftermarket product that solves it. 

But the following comments range from not responding to the problem to the irrelevant to just plain dumb: 

    “Guys I been working on trolling motors for 28 year’s I’m very aware of everything , if they made the part out of steel then (when ) you run into something it would break every thing instead of the aluminum part, you have to have inexpensive weak spots in everything in lifes gadgets lol.” 

    Later I had this exchange with the same guy: “so if I put a stainless steel grommet made for this problem in the hole it will weaken mine?” his response “Depends on how much you drill out.” No idea where he came up with drilling anything, or about running into things. 

Another guy stated, “its not a piano.” I said “weird response, what do you mean?” but got no response. 

Another suggested I buy a different brand trolling motor for $3500 rather than the less than $25 part to fix mine. And yet a third suggested if I could not keep my equipment repaired I should stop fishing, and go to trowling, whatever that is.  Maybe he thinks I should install stucco.  That from me just asking if anybody had the same problem and a solution for it. 

Although I stated up front the groove had cut my stainless-steel pull cable, I got this genius response: “Maybe they can redesign the parts, so it cuts into the stainless steel cable, and then your cable breaks, and you have something else to bi**h about. Motor looks very well loved. It’s a cheap part and actually if you have any decent repair center around you they will give you one for free and it will take 10 minutes to swap out.”   

I had checked with Minn Kota and they offered to sell me the replacement part, exactly the same as the one that caused the problem, for about $20 

    For the suggestion “You’re supposed to cut the cable short enough so you reach out and pull the cable straight up to release it. That’s straight from Minnkota.” I responded that at my age that ain’t gonna happen.  

I have a hard time just standing on the front of the boat, much less leaning over the trolling motor and front of the boat and pulling a cable straight up.  I guess he did not consider the health and age of some of us, or anything else for that matter. 

Although I did find the part I needed on the Facebook page from a couple of suggestions, I don’t know why I bother. And stuff like this is even more sad when you realize the net and social media are killing print media. 

What Is The State Of Lake Okeechobee From A Professional Anglers Point Of View

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The State Of Lake Okeechobee From A Professional Anglers Point Of View – Good or Bad?

  • By The Fishing Wire

Lake Okeechobee is one of the most historic bass fisheries in the world. The Seminole Tribe named it “big water” for its size, but the size of the bass has historically been what people think of when they hear its name. The lake has and continues to provide anglers from all over the world with a once-in-a-lifetime fishing trip. It is considered by many as the Valhalla of Bass Fishing. 

As a professional angler who grew up in Clewiston, Florida, Lake Okeechobee is very special to me because I’ve spent my entire life on it and understand how this lake lives and breathes. It is also a big part of why we are here, as a family, and a big part of why we started our family business on the shores of this wonderful lake. My father–Roland Martin, who has spent his lifetime in the sport—mentored me. I am blessed to have a very successful 22-year career myself by winning bass tournaments all over the country. My family is all involved in the outdoors: my daughter Hilary, seems to be the one that is taking the name to the next generation and continuing our family legacy. 

We have a responsibility to act as stewards of this majestic body of water. That’s why we co-founded Angler’s for Lake Okeechobee (AFLO) to advocate for the lake by focusing on solutions to stop large influxes of water and nutrients from entering the lake from urban centers north of us, as well as protecting the habitat and wildlife in the lake. Since starting AFLO, we’ve developed an even deeper personal understanding of how Lake O operates. We’ve seen it at its best and we’ve seen it at its worst and our mission is to maintain and to improve upon its glory. Anglers, business owners, and boat owners as well as fishing guides are all part of this effort to care for the lake, fix the estuary crisis downstream, and reduce spraying of harmful chemicals that are intended to manage and control invasive aquatic plants that can disrupt the native ecosystem, hinder navigation, and negatively impact fish and wildlife habitats. 

Lake Okeechobee has suffered several injuries in recent years including mismanagement, chemical assault and negative press coverage from certain groups and people who don’t recognize the Lake’s  value or want to blame shift from problems in their own waters to ours. However, there have been significant efforts at the state and federal levels to stabilize the lake and heal it. 

I want to share some recent positive developments on the state of the Lake. First, ongoing construction of Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) wells  will “slow the flow” of nutrient-laden and contaminated water from Orlando’s urban runoff in the wet season and provide much-needed fresh water during the dry season. Year after year, more than 95 percent of the water and nutrients that end up in the lake flow unimpeded from Orlando and urban centers north draining into the Lake. Leaders in Florida like Governor Ron DeSantis and those in charge of the Florida Legislature deserve significant credit for committing the resources necessary to get these projects done.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) have begun to shift their lake management philosophy to put the lake into “recovery mode,” which means lower lake levels will create an opportunity for sunlight to once again grow grass and healthier fish habitat. A major new USACE project was just authorized when the Water Resource Development Act was signed on January 4, 2025. The plan proposes an enormous reservoir north of the Lake with the capacity to store 200,000 acre-feet of flow before it ever reaches the Lake. It will limit human-borne contaminates from polluting the Lake–as we see in the estuaries to our west that are filled with pollution from stormwater runoff, septic tanks, and sewage from failing wastewater infrastructure that feed harmful algal blooms and red tides. Lastly, there has been a shift in focus on supporting funding and projects inside Lake Okeechobee so we can do the restoration and habitat projects that are greatly needed there. 

Florida is growing, but our population continues to become more aware of its ecosystems and the impact we all have on water. Lake Okeechobee is not toxic as often cited. 

Bass fishing continues to take off nationally. It’s increasingly becoming a young person’s sport and there’s nothing better than seeing the lake filled with young anglers from all over the country. They come to compete and fill their bags on what I believe is still the premier bass fishing destination in the world and considered by many fishermen, their ultimate bucket-list destination. 

The push to save Lake Okeechobee continues to gain steam. AFLO has brought together many different stakeholders who all care about the Lake including city leaders, farmers, conservationists, outdoor, sports and fishing brands, as well as our coastal neighbors. 

There are still challenges to resolve like the ongoing spraying issues that harm bass spawning beds, promote unhealthy lake bottom, and reduce submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), which promotes fish habitat and provides the filter Lake Okeechobee needs to clean its own water. Lake Okeechobee used to have between 30,000 and 50,000 acres of SAV each year and has been reduced to basically zero over the last 7-8 years. 

Also, we need to dispel the idea that Lake Okeechobee is toxic, which has been the result of decades of pseudo-environmentalists attacking our rural communities over water issues. 

And finally, we need to promote healthy dialogue among all stakeholders to ensure everyone involved has a better understanding of our shared issues. 

The largest freshwater lake in Florida generates more than $30 million in income for businesses annually. That despite all the challenges it has faced over the years. Imagine what a better lake could do for our state and our country.

AFLO, key stakeholders and our family will keep working on this goal by sharing facts and encouraging our leaders to preserve the lake’s status as a world-class bass fishing destination.   

–Scott Martin is a professional angler, the host of “The Scott Martin Challenge” and co-founder of Anglers for Lake Okeechobee.