The 2024 Bass Masters Classic will be held on Grand Lake O the Cherokees, Tulsa, OK onMarch 22–24. This is the biggest tournament of the year on the pro circuit.
I was quoted in Sports Illustrated a few years ago saying, “The Super Bowl is the Bassmasters Classic of football,” a twist on the usual comment. I had no idea a writer for that magazine was sitting near me on the bus going to practice day on the lake for the pros.
One thing some don’t understand about the fan support of pro fishermen. We are different from other pro sports. We may watch our favorite pro catch bass on TV today then go out and try to catch them ourselves tomorrow, using the same baits and equipment the pro used.
Other pro sports fans are viewers only. They may have played the sport years ago in high school or even college, but almost none will be competing on the field tomorrow. Bass fishermen keep competing all their lives.
I have been lucky enough to spend time in the boat with many of the pros, including five of the 53 competing in this year’s Classic. After hours of watching how they fish and questioning them on what they are doing and why they chose to do that, it always amazes me that they fish just like the rest of us. They just catch more and bigger fish.
The Bassmasters Classic is a big event. I will not be able to attend this year but a trip to Birmingham next weekend to attend the huge outdoor show, meet the pros and watch weigh-ins would be a great way to spend some winter days. Then you can come home and go fishing with the baits and equipment you bought at a discount at the show, fishing just like them.
March 22–24. Grand Lake O the Cherokees, Tulsa, OK.
The 2024 Bass Masters Classic will be held March 22–24. Grand Lake O the Cherokees, Tulsa, OK.. This is the biggest tournament of the year on the pro circuit.
I was quoted in Sports Illustrated a few years ago saying, “The Super Bowl is the Bassmasters Classic of football,” a twist on the usual comment. I had no idea a writer for that magazine was sitting near me on the bus going to practice day on the lake for the pros.
One thing some don’t understand about the fan support of pro fishermen. We are different from other pro sports. We may watch our favorite pro catch bass on TV today then go out and try to catch them ourselves tomorrow, using the same baits and equipment the pro used.
Other pro sports fans are viewers only. They may have played the sport years ago in high school or even college, but almost none will be competing on the field tomorrow. Bass fishermen keep competing all their lives.
I have been lucky enough to spend time in the boat with many of the pros, including four of the 53 competing in this year’s Classic. After hours of watching how they fish and questioning them on what they are doing and why they chose to do that, it always amazes me that they fish just like the rest of us. They just catch more and bigger fish.
The Bassmasters Classic is a big event. I will not be able to attend this year but a trip to attend the huge outdoor show, meet the pros and watch weigh-ins would be a great way to spend some winter days. Then you can come home and go fishing with the baits and equipment you bought at a discount at the show, fishing just like them.
Masayuki Matsushita just finished up his second year on the Bassmaster Elite Series where he qualified through the Bassmaster Opens in 2021. He also won the 2020 Bassmaster Central Open at Sam Rayburn Reservoir which qualified him for the 2021 Bassmaster Classic. These are great accomplishments, but they take a lot of sacrificing as a Japanese angler. During the tournament season, he resides in a self-built home in the bed of his Toyota Tundra. There are lots of unique features he added such as air conditioning, a microwave, a mini fridge, storage shelving, and hydraulics that lift the camper shell for extra room.
Matsushita was taught how to fish by one of his junior high school classmates and he fell in love with it ever since. Influenced by fishing magazines, he developed a deep longing to visit America, the birthplace of bass fishing. He quit high school at 19 years old and went to Dallas where he visited Bass Pro Shops every day for a week straight and never got tired of it. This excitement that he experienced fanned the flame of his burning passion to move to America. After returning to Japan, Matsushita became a bass fishing guide on Lake Biwa and purchased his first bass boat at 21 years old. He claims that he almost gave up on his dream many times as it was hard to make a living as a guide and was even doubted by people around him that told him he could never make it to America, but then he was inspired by anglers like Ken Iyobe and Morizo Shimizu.
Pursuing The American Dream With Japanese Angler Masayuki Matsushita 1
Matsushita’s life in America is not easy as he is away from his family for most of the year. He returns to Japan twice during the tournament season and once during the off-season to spend time with family. During the season, he stays in campgrounds where the average price is about $25 per night. For food, he usually buys “SUSHI” rice at Walmart and cooks it with vegetables and meat. During tournaments, he likes to get up at 4:30 am to make onigiri (rice balls). Living in America has allowed Matsushita to develop long-lasting friendships like with his friend Calvin whom he met while competing in the Bassmaster Opens. Matsushita states, “We went to a few more tournaments together, developing a strong friendship that extended to include his family. I’ve known his children since they were babies, so they’ve become like a second family to me. They are a big part of my success in America”.
One of the most challenging experiences that Matsushita has had on the Elite Series was shortly after his 3rd place finish to start off his rookie season. After that event on the St. Johns River, he was in a hurry to head straight to the next event on the Harris Chain. Without fully locking his pop-up camper, he headed down the road. About 10 minutes later, a tremendous wind blew the camper top off the bed of his truck into the middle of the road. A passerby who had heard Matsushita’s speech on stage in the previous tournament was kind enough to bring a trailer to load up the roof for him so that he could compete at the Harris Chain. There are other challenges that occur like break downs with the truck or boat, and Matsushita says that it can be extremely stressful since he can’t speak fluent English to ask for help. However, he knows that he must adjust his mindset and stay positive to be successful. A good thing about Japan is that you can easily call a nearby friend for help, but America is too big for that as he travels all over the country. On a positive note, however, he claims that many Americans have been willing to lend a helping hand when he is in trouble.
When Matsushita was in his 20s, some older people told him that his dream to live as a bass pro was over. Now he is in his 40s, and although it has taken some time, he believes that anything is possible if you truly have a dream. Matsushita states, “If you keep challenging yourself at your own timing and pace you will make it happen. You don’t need reasons why you can’t do it, but you can think of reasons why you can do it and will do it. In doing this, your dream will become true one day”. He strongly recommends that Japanese anglers see America at least once, but he also feels that it is important to be successful in Japan before expanding. Despite his struggles, Masayuki Matsushita is in love with America. He explains, “I have experienced many things in America that I couldn’t in Japan. There was no mistake in my decision to come to America, and I want to continue it for the rest of my life. There are many struggles, and each moment is tough, but overall, I find joy in it. America, which I have dreamed of for 20 years, is where I truly belong”.
Have You Ever Attended? Bassmaster Classic Takes 2023 SportsTravel Award For Best Professional Event
from The Fishing Wire
Birmingham, AL — The 2023 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Toyota was honored as the “Best Professional Event” at the annual SportsTravel Awards. The awards recognize the best events, venue and host city in the sports-event industry. The NCAA Women’s Final Four and Salt Lake City, host of the 2023 NBA All-Star Weekend, were among the event’s other honorees.
“There is just no way to overstate the significance of the Bassmaster Classic to the sport of bass fishing, fishing fans, host communities and the sportfishing industry as a whole, and we are thrilled to see this iconic tournament recognized as the best professional sports event in the country,” said Chase Anderson, CEO of B.A.S.S.
“We’re thrilled to see the Bassmaster Classic mentioned alongside the Stanley Cup Finals, Super Bowl and World Cup, which have all won this same award previously. This is a true testament to the hard work of the B.A.S.S. team, talented professional anglers, dedicated sponsors and our partnership with Visit Knoxville. It also shows what our organization has known and proven for more than 50 years — fishing and the outdoor industry are a win for fans and local economies.”
The Bassmaster Classic not only welcomed a staggering crowd of 163,914 fans to Classic Week activities across Knoxville, Tenn., but also reached 4.5 million viewers across the two days of FOX and FS1 coverage. Bassmaster.com and the B.A.S.S. social media channels also broke records for engagement as fans devoured content on the web and social channels. During the 2023 Bassmaster Classic, records were set for social media impressions, engagement and video views as well as BassTrakk page views and streams of Bassmaster LIVE coverage — 1.2 million streams for more than 32.7 million minutes across Bassmaster.com, Tubi and the FOX Sports digital platforms.
The Super Bowl of Bass Fishing has also proven itself as one of the best investments in sports.
According to numbers released by Visit Knoxville, the Bassmaster Classic generated an economic windfall of more than $35.5 million for the community. In addition to producing more than $2.85 million in state and local tax revenue, including taxes on sales, restaurant purchases and lodging, the 2023 Bassmaster Classic and associated activities supported a total of 12,698 jobs.
Fans traveling from across the nation and as far away as Australia and Japan also accounted for 31,525 room nights at hotels across Knox County.
“The SportsTravel Awards recognize the stars of the sports-event industry,” said Jason Gewirtz, vice president of the Sports Division of Northstar Travel Group, which publishes SportsTravel magazine, in a release by the organization. “As events began to come back in 2022, we were thrilled to see hundreds of worthy events nominated for this year’s awards. The winners in each category exemplify everything that we love about the sports-event industry and underscore the resiliency and power of the sports-related travel market.”
The SportsTravel Awards are nominated and voted on by the readers of SportsTravel magazine. Criteria included superior organization of and attendance at the event and competitor and/or spectator experience.
2023 Bassmaster Classic Title Sponsor: Academy Sports + Outdoors 2023 Bassmaster Classic Presenting Sponsor: Toyota
2023 Bassmaster Classic Premier Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops, Dakota Lithium, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Progressive Insurance, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
2023 Bassmaster Classic Outdoors Expo Presenting Sponsor: U.S. Army
B.A.S.S., which encompasses the Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 500,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), TV show, radio show, social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, St. Croix Bassmaster Opens Series, TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Series, Strike King Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Strike King Bassmaster High School Series presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Team Championship, Yamaha Rightwaters Bassmaster Kayak Series powered by TourneyX, Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Toyota.
After a dominating event in 2021 which saw Humminbird and Minn Kota pro Jeff “Gussy” Gustafson secure his first Bassmaster Elite Series win, a return to the Tennessee River out of Knoxville, Tennessee was all the more rewarding for the Kenora, Ontario native. Through three days of intense competition and changing conditions, Gustafson saw light at the end of the tunnel on his Humminbird MEGA Live™ imaging and became the 2023 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic champion.
“To come back to the place where I was able to win an Elite Series event fishing how I like, and do virtually the same thing during the Bassmaster Classic, it feels awesome,” said Gustafson. “I fished how I was comfortable and I just jive with this body of water.”
Gussy started the event off strong with a limit weighing 18-pounds, 8-ounces on day one, following that up with a day two bag weighing 17-pounds, 3-ounces, and his final day effort going 42-pounds, 7-ounces to become the second ever international Bassmaster Classic champion – the first ever champion from Canada.
To find his fish, Gussy scanned through the Tennessee river using a deadly combination of Humminbird LakeMaster® mapping with Humminbird MEGA Side and Down Imaging® to locate areas where schools of smallmouth bass were suspended over deeper water. Once located, he targeted individual groups the same way he did in 2021, and picked off each bass using MEGA Live to seal the deal.
“When I won the Elite event here a couple years ago, I relied heavily on MEGA 360 Imaging and Humminbird 2D Sonar,” added Gustafson. ”Adding MEGA Live this week, I could still pick out rocks and other hard bottom areas on 360, but I could be much more efficient with my bait presentation and quickly learn how the fish were behaving – getting them to bite in real time.”
Dating back to his victory in 2021 to today, Gussy has now led seven straight days of Bassmaster events on the Tennessee River. Locating and presenting his bait to suspended smallmouth bass on creek channels; similar to how he fishes back home in Canada. Gussy caught his tournament-winning weight by keeping his bait just above the fish – which he was able to do accurately and clearly with Humminbird MEGA Live Imaging. Once he had his fish hooked, he was able to use Spot-Lock® on his Minn Kota Ultrex™ to keep his boat positioned on high-percentage areas allowing him to stay on top of the schools of fish he was targeting.
“Those first couple days, it looked easier than it was to get those suspended fish to bite,” he added. “Between catching short fish and the fish not committing to the bait, it was tough to catch five bass a day. It got tougher and tougher each day, and you could see how the pressure affected them on the final day.”
Day three proved tough for the championship Sunday field of anglers as Gussy’s fish became pressured and the legal sized smallmouth bass were harder to come by. One keeper smallmouth bass early in the morning got his day started but it wasn’t until after the mid-way point when he finally landed his second keeper. He knew that with MEGA Live Imaging on his Humminbird APEX™ unit, simply catching five keeper smallmouth bass would give him a chance to take the title.
While the last day was not what Gussy would have wanted, the two fish he brought back to the scales were just enough to secure his dream coming true: winning the Bassmaster Classic.
“This is unbelievable. I truly cannot describe what this means to me and to the folks that have supported me on my journey to get here,” said Gustafson. “It was a hard way to win this event; but we won, and we’re bringing this trophy up to Canada for the first time ever and that’s super special to be able to say. I have a lot of respect for the anglers I compete against, the anglers that came before me and the meaning behind winning the first Ray Scott Bassmaster Classic Trophy is indescribable.”
“This weekend was truly incredible and it could not have happened to a better person. You won’t find a single person in the industry that doesn’t love Gussy, and we couldn’t have more pride in him being on our team,” said Field Promotions Manager, Tim Price. “His character is one we model our team after and this win is much deserved. We’re excited to celebrate Gussy and his family in this win, and look forward to seeing what the future holds for him and his career.”
JOHNSON OUTDOORS FISHING is comprised of the Humminbird®, Minn Kota® and Cannon® brands. Humminbird is a leading global innovator and manufacturer of marine electronics products including fish finders, multifunction displays, autopilots, ice flashers, and premium cartography products. Minn Kota is the world’s leading manufacturer of electric trolling motors, as well as a complete line of shallow water anchors, battery chargers and marine accessories. Cannon is the leader in controlled-depth fishing and includes a full line of downrigger products and accessories.
JOHNSON OUTDOORS is a leading global outdoor recreation company that inspires more people to experience the awe of the great outdoors with innovative, top-quality products. The company designs, manufactures and markets a portfolio of winning, consumer-preferred brands across four categories: Watercraft, Fishing, Diving and Camping.
Forestville, WI (February 9, 2022) – What defines a professional angler? Ask someone off the street and they’ll likely describe fancy boats, bright lights and big fish. Ask those who stand atop the leaderboard, however, and they’ll tell a different story – one of hard work, determination, and the efforts of many other industry pros who have helped them succeed.
“You can’t get to the top without others to lift you up,” says, Patrick Neu, president of the 1,400-member non-profit National Professional Anglers Association (NPAA). “Nobody reaches the pinnacle of professionalism in this industry without a lot of help. That’s exactly why the NPAA is inviting fishing industry workers of every type to join our ranks. Our purpose is to grow and protect sportfishing while providing our members the tools and association benefits needed to increase their professionalism and meet individualized goals.”
To be sure, professionalism in the fishing industry is wide ranging, a point not lost on the organization and its members. “Being a fishing industry ‘pro’ is a pretty loose term,” says NPAA member Chad Pipkens, a ten-year full-time veteran of the Bassmaster Elite Series and five-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier from Dewitt, Michigan, who spent several years prior honing his skills on a variety of smaller trails before acquiring the knowledge, money and flexibility of time needed to compete at the highest levels.
“Professional doctors diagnose and treat patients, teachers instruct students, pro golfers receive PGA cards, and electricians need a license to perform electrical work,” Pipkens says. “These are all well-defined fields of specialization. By comparison, the fishing world encompasses many different job opportunities. Sure, tournament anglers, captains and guides are fishing professionals, but so are the highly skilled mechanics that work on your engine as well as the folks who run the marina, design lures, sell fishing tackle, manage anglers and staff the tournament trails.
“To me,” Pipkens continued, “anyone making meaningful money or striving to earn a living in this industry should qualify as a pro. If you don’t want to be on the water day in and day out, but you still want to be in the industry, you can find the contacts amongst our membership to maybe make that happen.”
“Anyone making meaningful money or striving to earn a living in this industry should qualify as a pro.”
According to Pipkens, the NPAA does a great job of teaching aspiring pros how to run a fishing-related business through their seminars, annual conference and approachable members who have already achieved success. “NPAA membership can shorten your learning curve and raise your professionalism at any level,” he points out. “It’s a great organization for learning the ins and outs of running your own business; whether that’s tech stuff, accounting, how to network or get paid by more than one employer, it certainly can help shorten your learning curve.”
As a pro angler, Pipkens says his life is organized chaos; getting the boat ready, crisscrossing the country, and being on the road for five weeks at a time while never losing his family focus. He often practices on the water from sunrise to sunset. Despite the pressure to win, tournaments are actually the fun part of his routine. “Balancing all the rest,” he says, “is what really makes you a professional.”
For tournament pros, guides and charter captains in particular, there is a ton of preparation that takes place behind the scenes, notes John Campbell, an NPAA founding member and full-time guide. A Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame member inducted in 2018, Campbell managed to win both the Pro Walleye Trail Detroit River and FLW Lake Ouachita championships. He also qualified for a major walleye championship every single year from 1989 to 2011 while on the pro tour. That’s 22 consecutive years, if you’re counting.
Like Pickens, Campbell agrees publicly visible aspects of being a tournament angler or guide help solidify your status as a professional, but the business end of things is vitally important. “Sure, you’ve got to pre-fish, choose your lures, maintain your gear, set up the boat and put in plenty of time on the road,” he notes, “but you also have to learn to book charters, carefully plan out your competition schedule, promote your sponsors and tend to family matters. Earning money and winning tournaments is vital, but also important is finding ways to help grow the sport through sharing knowledge and getting more kids involved.”
As a professional guide, Campbell is in the business of educating anglers. “To me, helping others learn the game is the sign of a true pro,” he states, adding that this is exactly the kind of people you’ll network and rub elbows with in the NPAA. “This organization supported over 100 Future Angler clinics in 2021 alone. With support from the Future Angler Foundation, it’s member volunteers also distributed over 4,000 NPAA Future Pro T-shirts and 3,000 rod/reel combos to kids at NPAA Future Angler education events. That, I believe, is professionalism at its finest.”
For information on joining the NPAA and exploring the many benefits membership provides, visit npaa.net.
CHERRY PULLS A STUNNA Berkley pro relies on new bait designed in conjunction with Berkley scientists to become fourth angler to win back-to-back Bassmaster Classic championships.
FORT WORTH, Texas (June 13, 2021) — After he won his first Bassmaster Classic in 2020, Berkley pro Hank Cherry and the Berkley bait scientists set out to develop the ultimate jerkbait. More than just one of Cherry’s favorite ways to catch bass and a presentation with which the North Carolina native has become synonymous, the team believed it could produce a bait that would work year-round in any fishery and, hopefully, be a factor in the 2021 Bassmaster Classic on Lake Ray Roberts.
All the off-season homework paid off.
Cherry brought 13 pounds, 1 ounce to the weigh-in stage on the final day of the 2021 Bassmaster Classic, giving him a three-day combined weight of 50 pounds, 15 ounces. With the win, Cherry pockets the $300,000 first-place prize and etches his name into the history books as only the fourth angler to win the Bassmaster Classic in consecutive years.
“This is the biggest honor I could ever dream of as a kid,” said Cherry about winning the Bassmaster Classic for a second time. “I have fulfilled my childhood fantasy two times now. That hasn’t sunk in yet.”
Cherry said six of the 15 fish he weighed in during the championship event came on the Stunna, including some of his biggest fish. Cherry said he threw the size 112+1 Stunna in Stealth Shad on 15-pound-test Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon. He paired the line and bait selections with an Abu Garcia Zata casting reel (7.1:1) mounted on a 6-foot-10-inch Abu Garcia Winch rod.
In addition to tipping his flipping jigs with the soon-to-be-released Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Chigger Craw, Cherry said he turned to a 4-inch Berkley PowerBait Pit Boss in Green Pumpkin. He flipped the Texas-rigged Pit Boss on a 4/0 Fusion19 hook with 20-pound-test Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon spooled on an Abu Garcia Revo STX (7.3:1) paired with the new Abu Garcia Veritas PLX Tournament rod.
The new Berkley Stunna features Berkley’s first tungsten weight-transfer system and a unique brass block weighting system that delivers a slow sink and slight shimmy in the water. With an action that engages quicker with a larger roll, increased bill durability and ultra-sharp Fusion19 hooks, the Stunna comes in 14 colors and two different dive depths. The 112 size runs 3 to 6 feet deep while the 112+1 runs 6-10 feet deep. Both styles weigh 1/2 ounce and have a fall rate of 1 foot per 8 seconds.
“We went through 38 different incarnations of this bait before getting it just right, as evidenced by the response to the Stunna by both our pros and the bass they are catching on it,” said Berkley Senior Vice President of Marketing Jon Schlosser. “The bait looks incredible whether it’s being jerked, twitched or even with sweep-and-pause retrieves. The bait’s 180-degree head turns and side flash trigger bites from aggressive fish and the slow, natural sinking action has proven to be extremely effective on not-so-aggressive bass.
“None of the bait’s unique performance features would be possible without Hank’s vision and the tireless work of our bait scientists. We congratulate Hank on back-to-back Bassmaster Classic championships and celebrate this victory with him and the entire Berkley team. Hank and the Stunna will be linked forever thanks to this historic win, which we are sure will not be the last one for this exciting new bait.”
The new Berkley Stunna is scheduled to reach retail outlets in July. Anglers looking to be among the first to get their hands on the bait first are encouraged to contact their favorite tackle shops.
To learn more about Berkley products and the company’s legacy for research and innovation, go to https://www.berkley-fishing.com/.
About Pure Fishing Pure Fishing, Inc. is a leading global provider of fishing tackle, lures, rods and reels with a portfolio of brands that includes Abu Garcia®, All Star®, Berkley®, Fenwick®, Fin-Nor®, Frabill®, Greys®, Hardy®, Hodgman®, Johnson®, JRC®, Mitchell®, Penn®, Pflueger®, Plano®, Sebile®, Shakespeare®, SpiderWire®, Stren®, Ugly Stik®, and Van Staal®.
Academy Sports + Outdoors Hosts Second-Annual Celebrity Fishing Tournament on Lake Lewisville
Deion Sanders, Jimmie Allen, Maddie & Tae, Marcus Spears and Sheryl Swoopes to compete in fishing tournament for charity
WHAT: To kick off the 2021 Bassmaster Classic, Academy Sports + Outdoors presents the second-annual Celebrity Fishing Tournament on Lake Lewisville. Members of the bass fishing community, influencers, sports legends and country music stars will hit the water to test their fishing skills with pro anglers serving as their guides. The first-place team will make a charity donation to the benefactor of their choosing.
WHO: This year’s anglers include three-time Olympic Gold Medalist and former professional basketball player Sheryl Swoopes, NFL legends Deion Sanders and Marcus Spears, and country music stars Jimmie Allen and Maddie & Tae.
WHEN: Wednesday, June 9th, 2021
**B-ROLL PACKAGES AND DIGITAL ASSETS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST FOLLOWING TOURNAMENT**
WHERE: Lake Lewisville Sneaky Pete’s: 2 Eagle Point Rd, Lewisville, TX 75077
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* Event and launch location and timing are subject to change based on weather restrictions.
I am always amazed at fishing in Alabama. Tuesday morning, I met Curtis Gossett, a high school bass fishing team coach, and Chandler Holt, a senior on his team, to get information for my April article.
Curtis’s son, Zeke, is a senior on a college team. I did an article with Zeke six years ago when he was just a sophomore in high school with his dad as coach and was very impressed with him.
Chandler was impressive, too, with great fishing skills and knowledge of Lay Lake. He quickly caught a 3.5-pound spot then I caught a largemouth just over four pounds. A little later Curtis got a largemouth right at four pounds. So we had three nice fish in the five hours we fished, plus some smaller fish.
Chandler fished the High School Championship on Lay the following weekend and weighed-in on the Bassmasters Classic stage just before the pros weigh-in on Saturday. He placed Second.
On Sunday Zeke fished the college championship and weighed-in on the Classic stage that day, and he won. Zeke was practicing while I fished, and he caught five spotted bass weighing a total of 20.17 pounds in five hours!
Watch for both these young men next weekend and in the future!
Here’s a look at what some of the competitors think might be the winning combination at the Bassmaster Classic, kicking off today at Guntersville, Alabama.
Whether the fish move shallow or remain around offshore cover and structure this week, Bassmaster Classic competitors will catch many big bass on crankbaits, Rapala pros agree. Other go-to baits will likely include lipless crankbaits.
“A lot of those baits that will be key this week are your standard, classic springtime baits,” said Rapala Pro Seth Feider, a three-time Classic qualifier from Minnesota. “I don’t know if that will change, even with changing conditions. The colors you tie on might change if the water gets real dirty.
But I can guarantee some fish are going to get caught on a Rapala DT-6, no matter what.
”First-time Classic qualifier Patrick Walters agreed.“DT-6, of course,” said Walters, a second-year Elite Series Rapala pro from South Carolina. “Some DT-10 too. I think your key baits are going to be shallow- to mid-diving crankbaits and lipless crankbaits. I think we’ll be getting reaction strikes on something moving fast with trebles on it.”
DT stands for “dives to.” A DT-6 dives to a max depth of six feet; a DT-10 to 10 feet. Built of balsa wood, Rapala’s signature material, DT-series cranks wobble while swimming and deflect off cover to trigger bites from bass around both grass and rock.
If stable or falling water positions Guntersville’s bass this week in offshore, submerged vegetation, Classic competitors will swim DT’s over the top of it, making occasional contact and ripping free. If rising water draws bass to the bank, the pros will cast them around hard-bottom shorelines, making constant bottom contact on the retrieve and caroming off wood and rock cover.
The lipless crankbaits you’ll see Rapala pros slinging in the Classic are Rapala Rippin’ Raps and Storm Arashi Vibes. Those baits, along with DT-6’s, are “pretty traditional, Guntersville-type baits,” said Cody Huff, a collegiate Rapala pro-staffer competing in his first Bassmaster Classic. “You’re going to catch ‘em on those.”
A Storm Arashi Vibe helped Rapala Pro Ott DeFoe win last year’s Bassmaster Classic on Fort Loudon Lake, another Tennessee River reservoir. On the 2019 Classic’s first day, four bass in DeFoe’s 20-pound limit came on a Vibe, including a 6-pounder that was the biggest bass caught that day by any competitor. A 4-pound, 7 ounce bass he caught in the championship round on a Vibe allowed him to cull a smaller fish, solidifying his win.
Lipless crankbaits like the Vibe excel in the spring, when bass are first pulling up from deeper water and moving close to shallow spawning areas. Vibes start swimming at slower speeds than do other lipless crankbaits. They fall slower too, allowing you to fish them in shallower water at a slower speed. Featuring a soft-knock rattle, Vibes emit a unique single-cadence, low-pitch sound that attracts attention without alarming tentative fish. Storm is a Rapala Respected Brand.
First-time Classic competitor Bob Downey said he will be among the pros slinging DT-6’s and Arashi Vibes this week. “The DT-6 I don’t think will be a surprise to many people,” said the first-year Elite Series pro, a Minnesota native. “I’ve been catching some pretty good fish on it – good quality keepers and some that are above average.”
Offshore grass or shallow banks? Especially in the spring, when weather and water conditions can change quickly, bass tend to move a lot.“The more the water level drops, the more fish are going to be caught around deep water, with deeper-running crankbaits, towards the main river,” Walters predicted. “The more it comes up, the more they’ll be caught in pockets and up on the bank.”
Rapala pros interviewed on Monday said they were expecting higher water by Friday, because a lot of rain had been forecast. And higher water, they said, would likely pull bass away from offshore grass in which many were found last weekend in practice. Although not all the Rapala pros want that to happen.Feider, for one, said he hoped water levels wouldn’t rise, because that would keep offshore grass in play.
“I’d rather fish in the grass versus around the bridges or the riprap,” he said.
Huff expressed similar wishes.“What I’m really hoping for is that we don’t have too much rain,” he said. “I hope the river continues to drop, and not rise. If the river continues to drop, they’ll start to group up really good on some of those good offshore places in the grass, where you don’t have to just catch one here, one there. It’s a lot more fun when you can pull up, make one cast to get the school fired up, and then catch ‘em one after another.”
Walters, on the other hand, will be happy if water levels rise and pull bass to the bank.
“That’s what I’m hoping for,” he said Monday. “I’m a bank-beater by heart.”
If the bass move shallow, Walters said, those fish could be relatively unpressured – a rarity on a popular tournament and recreational-fishing reservoir like Guntersville. “They’ll be up there and we’ll kind of get the first stab at them,” he said.
Interviewed Wednesday evening after his final practice round, Downey said water levels and conditions had not changed dramatically in his areas.“I caught most of my fish [Wednesday] similar to how I caught them last weekend,” he said. “So it didn’t really change a lot for me yet.”
Late Wednesday evening, more rain rolled through the area and continued through mid-afternoon Thursday. Clear, sunny skies were forecast for Friday and Saturday with clouds returning on Sunday.
No matter how the weather ends up positioning the fish, Rapala pros agreed they will need to tailor their gameplans to prevailing conditions.
“All I can do is start where they were and then just kind of let the day unfold,” Feider explained. “I’m just going to have to keep an open mind and adjust.”
“I enjoy fishing pretty shallow,” Downey said. “If they pushed shallow – more towards the banks – I wouldn’t mind that at all. But I would have to make some adjustments.”
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