elite series

Justin Lucas' Pattern, Baits & Gear Davy Hite said he fished there 20 years ago. Mark Davis told Justin Lucas he’d fished there years ago, too. The stretch of water along an elevated parking deck that held the winning fish for Lucas during last week’s Potomac River Elite Series was hardly a...

Kevin VanDam's Pattern, Baits & Gear It didn’t take VanDam long to realize he had an opportunity to do really well at Cayuga. Smallmouth and largemouth were spawning all around the lake, but there were groups of fish in pre-spawn mode and another group that had already moved out of those...

4th Place - Keith Combs's Pattern, Baits & Gear Keith Combs surmised that he wasted a lot of time and a lot of gas on this visit to Toledo Bend. "On the first 3 days I spent the mornings down by the dam and then went north," he said. "I was running over 100 miles (round trip) every day. "I...

2nd Place - Chris Lane's Pattern, Baits & Gear Chris Lane had never before thrown a Dahlberg Whopper Plopper, now marketed by River2Sea, before coming to Toledo Bend. "My neighbor (in Guntersville, Ala.) gave me two of them and asked me if I wanted to try them," he said. "I told him that I'd...

Kevin VanDam's Pattern, Baits & Gear Winning a Bassmaster Elite Series event is tougher than ever, the seven-time Angler of the Year and four time Classic champion asserts. The competition is more knowledgeable and better skilled and everybody has access to the best equipment (particularly...

4th Place - Steve Kennedy's Pattern, Baits & Gear Steve Kennedy fished from one end of the lake to the other and at depths ranging from just a few inches of water to 20 feet. The shad spawn was the foundation of his program. Unlike many in the field, he had no trouble catching quality in...

2nd Place - Dave Lefebre's Pattern, Baits & Gear Lefebre, the former FLW stalwart who's in his initial campaign on the Elite Series, had visited Wheeler just one other time when it contained pre-spawn fish. He'd had some success with a bladed jig on that occasion, and the first thing he did...

Takahiro Omori's Pattern, Baits & Gear Takahiro Omori blew the two major pre-tournament theories regarding the Wheeler Lake Bassmaster Elite Series right out of the water. One of the preconceived notions leading up to the derby was that the winner wouldn't catch much more than 60 pounds over...

4th Place - Matt Herren Pattern, Baits & Gear Matt Herren was one of four anglers in the top 5 who went into Sunday hoping to lock up his first Elite Series win. He led after day 1 and bounced back after a disappointing day on Friday to get back in contention. Ultimately, he fell 3 pounds...

2nd Place: Skeet Reese's Pattern, Baits & Gear Skeet Reese fished at two different speeds last week – Bull Shoals Slow and Norfork Fast. His damage at Bull Shoals was done flipping a craw/creature bait in bushes and buck brush while a swimbait/crankbait combo is what he relied on at Norfork...

Randall Tharp's Pattern, Baits & Gear If Randall Tharp were to visit Lake Norfork to go fun-fishing, he’d tie on a jig and go down some rocky banks, target the stair-step rocks and crevices in between. That’s easy for him to say – that’s exactly how he fished all 4 days en route to winning his...

4th Place - Brent Chapman's Pattern, Baits & Gear Brent Chapman split his practice between the Waccamaw River and the Cooper and eventually settled on the latter once the tournament started. "I'd planned on fishing the Waccamaw, but had two or three keepers bites there on the first day of...

2nd Place - Brett Hite's Pattern, Baits & Gear Any time Brett Hite knows he’ll be fishing in 10 feet of water or less, he makes sure to have a vibrating jig tied on. If there’s vegetation around, it’s almost a guarantee he’ll be slinging it around. “I knew coming to a river system and if I’d...

Britt Myers's Pattern, Baits & Gear On Monday morning, Britt Myers was chatting with a friend about his stirring win at the Winyah Bay Elite Series over the weekend. The conversation eventually turned to Myers’ bait selection on the final day and his friend couldn’t comprehend how Myers made...

4th Place: Drew Benton's Pattern, Baits & Gear Those who know how Drew Benton likes to catch fish know the St. Johns River in March sets up to be in his wheelhouse. He was the lone angler to catch 20 pounds or more on three of the four days and he did it largely by stalking spawning fish all...

2nd Place: Greg Hackney's Pattern, Baits & Gear After day 2, Hackney was lamenting the fact that he’d yet to tangle with a fish in excess of 6 pounds as he watched many of his competitors parade on stage with 8-, 9- and in some cases 10-pounders. Finally, on day 3 he connected with a 7-10...