Tournament News

Learn about the approach the delivered the Lake Chickamauga Elite Series win to Bassmaster Classic champion Jason Christie.

No surprise here. A War Eagle Jiu-Jigsu jig matched with a YUM Craw Chunk was one

the key lures Jason Christie used to win the April 7-10 Elite Series event on Lake Chickamauga.

That’s the same jig and trailer that was one of the two primary lures he used to win the Bassmaster Classic on Lake Harwell last month. It’s also the same jig Christie put near the top of his list Top 10 Late Spring Bass Bait Picks AND Top 10 Early Spring Bass Bait Picks prior to that.

At Chickamauga, Christie also used a 1/2-ounce single Colorado BOOYAH Covert Series Spinnerbait in Blue/White/Chartreuse with a YUM Swim’n Dinger as a trailer, and a bladed jig. Christie designed the Covert Series, hand picking components and every size, blade configuration and color combination in the series based on a lifetime of customizing and fishing spinnerbaits and the collective knowledge of Christie, his father and his uncles.

Learn from an in-the-boat account of how Jason Christie attacked an Elite Series tournament day on Florida’s Harris Chain.

I couldn’t sleep! The last time I had been so excited was before fishing my first bass club tournament as a teenager. This time, I had been selected to participate in the BASS Marshal program for the BASS Elite Series Tournament on the Harris Chain of Lakes in Central Florida.

For the first day of the tournament, I had been selected to participate as a Marshal with none other than BOOYAH Pro, Jason Christie. Christie is known as being a quiet but intense competitor. That was fine by me as I am a quiet person, and I knew I would enjoy watching him break down the waters in his own way.

Learn about the YUM Bait Company lures that made a critical difference in the Bassmaster Classic for Jason Christie, Stetson Blaylock and Luke Palmer.

If you watched the Bassmaster Classic weigh-in and were paying attention during the final portion, you heard the name YUM repeatedly. There is good reason for that, and not just one of anglers thanking sponsors. YUM Baits were critical to the strategies of three of the top six finishers in this year’s classic, including Bassmaster Classic Champion Jason Christie.

Let’s take a closer look at the YUM Baits Jason Christie, Stetson Blaylock and Luke Palmer used for their top finishes, examining why they chose these baits and how they used them.

Learn about the jig that helped Jason Christie win the Bassmaster Classic and how he used it.

Jason Christie said before the 2022 Bassmaster Classic began that this year’s Classic might be won in 30 feet of water or less than 3 feet. He certainly proved that because his two-pronged Lake Hartwell approach, which he used throughout the event, included both. He began days fishing deep, putting fish in the box early, and spent the rest of his time fishing shallow with a War Eagle Jiu-Jigsu Jig.

As winter progresses and light penetration under the ice lessens, rattling sounds and glow become extra important for helping fish find your baits and for triggering strikes.

With several inches of snow atop ice that’s more than a foot thick and the fish near the bottom, nearly 30 feet below, there is no sunlight to make a metallic spoon shimmer, and it’s tough for fish to see even the boldest lure color unless a lure is almost touching them.

Predator fish find forage largely by hearing, sensing vibration with their lateral lines and via scent through the heart of winter. Lures that rattle deliver critical sound. Tipping lures with natural bait provides scent. Don’t stop there as you consider ice offerings, though. Lures that glow bring the fish’s sense of sight into the equation and help them find your lure even in the darkest of waters.

Fish Ed TV host Jon Thelen offers insights on the factors that influence walleye behavior early in the ice season and how to use that knowledge to find fishing success.

“For the most part, they’re in the same places we left them in the fall when we were in boats,” Jon Thelen said about early ice walleyes. “They tend to be tighter to the shoreline, using main lake points, the first breaks out, and any weeds that are hanging on.”

Two primary factors influence the walleyes’ locations during the first part of the ice season, according to Thelen, who has made a lifelong study of fishing in the North Country and who makes his living teaching others how to catch more fish through Fish Ed TV. First, they follow food sources. As importantly, they are influenced by human activity – specially, fishing pressure – atop the ice.

Early ice offers some of the best opportunities of winter, and it’s a time that many anglers anticipate from the time the safe ice goes away at the end of the previous winter. Ice season will be here soon, so we asked Thelen for insights about how to find and catch the most walleyes during the first part of the ice season.

Kevin Brown’s BFL Regional Championship win on one of his home lakes qualified him to fish the BFL All-American on waters that are even closer to home.

“Winning this one and going back to the All-American is such an unreal feeling,” said Kevin Brown of Hot Springs, Ark. about his victory in the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Championship on Lake Ouachita. Brown noted that he’s extra excited for his second opportunity to compete in the BFL All-American because it is being held on one of his home lakes.

The All-American, which is one of the longest running championship events in professional bass fishing, will be held June 2-4 on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs.

“All I wanted was the opportunity to qualify for the event on my home lake,” Brown said. He did that easily, as the top six finishers from each regional championship make the All-American. However, he also earned his fourth BFL win and prizes and cash valued at $68,200.

What you need to know about the Texas impoundment that will host the 2021 Bassmaster Classic.

When March 11-13 sees the 51st Bassmaster Classic unfolding on Lake Ray Roberts, the fishing world will get its first major look at a lesser-known East Texas fishery. That is no slight to this timber-strewn reservoir that is located just north of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. After all, the lake record of 15.18 pounds screams quality. We simply haven’t had much opportunity to get to know the fishery.

Classic qualifier Stetson Blaylock said the Classic practice would be his first look at Ray Roberts. The Arkansas pro arrived with a reasonable level of background knowledge, based on internet and map study, but Blaylock said he’ll be learning this one as he goes.

“This time of year, the challenge is figuring out if you can win on the bank or do you almost have to be out where the majority of fish are going to be living,” Blaylock said. “From what I understand, this lake doesn’t have a lot of shallow structure. To me, that means you have a Texas lake without a lot of vegetation, so those fish are going to be on something — more than likely offshore.”