Bassmaster April 2024

There was some confusion on Lake Okeechobee during the St. Croix Bassmaster Open presented by SEVIIN held there in early February. Anglers and media alike knew Scott Martin was fishing the event but couldn’t find him on the water. What they did see was a masked man in an unwrapped boat hammering giants. Come to find out at weigh-in, Martin was that guy, fishing incognito in order to avoid attention. It worked. Martin brought an astounding 33 pounds, 2 ounces to the scales. This broke the record for the heaviest one-day limit ever weighed in during an Opens event. Martin was able to follow it up with a Day 2 limit of 25-13. And on the final day, it was absolute fireworks. Martin landed another monster limit of 31-7 to…

I REMEMBER NOT so very long ago riding a little train within the giant golf ball ride in Disney’s Epcot theme park, thinking, “That’s never gonna happen.” The ride is called Spaceship Earth and it focuses, at least at the end, on future technology we can expect to affect our everyday lives. The year was 2009 and one of the displays showed a parent talking to their kids through a live video screen. It was so far-fetched … until it wasn’t a couple of years later. Now, FaceTime and Zoom meetings are an integral part of everyday life. One point for the golf ball. I mention this because technology has recently disrupted our sport in a way never before seen. Many anglers are worried about how high-tech gadgets may negatively…

  When did you know you were going to be an Elite? The last tournament of the year, I was down in Florida and I had a pretty good lead going into the last day. It was one of those tournaments where I knew all I probably had to do was catch one fish to make it. I got to the first spot. I set the hook in some grass, and a 3-pounder rolls out and comes off. I was trying not to let the moment get to me, but right then I knew it was. So after that, I locked in. I realized this was a moment I had waited for my entire life, and I just put it in my head to calm down and fish clean. After…

1 April Fools’ Day. The annual holiday where all anglers are invited to celebrate the legend of Ken Gomez. 5 National Dandelion Day. A reminder to stock up on braided line and terminal tackle needed for warm-weather fishing in the weeds. 12 Walk On Your Wild Side Day. Take a trip back in time and make some tracks around a small pond while bank bassin’. 15 That Sucks Day. A real holiday tailor-made for anglers to gather around the grill and lament those double-digit bass that somehow got away. 26 Arbor Day. A great excuse for rounding up a group of angler volunteers and organizing a shore cleanup or native tree planting in your area.…

Located about 50 minutes northwest of Orlando, the city of Leesburg is the official host of April’s Lowrance Bassmaster Elite at Harris Chain. A one-time home to legendary sharpshooter Annie Oakley, Leesburg is a modern-day hub for anglers loading into and out of Lake County, Florida’s abundance of fisheries, totaling more than 1,000 lakes in all shapes and sizes. Stroll through Venetian Gardens Park to get a firsthand glimpse of a Franklin Roosevelt-approved Works Progress Administration-era series of canals before bellying up to a table at Ski Beach Bar & Grill for a snack alongside Lake Harris. 77-11 Winning total for Buddy Gross at the 2022 SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at Harris Chain 219 Square miles of water located within Lake County 36-7 Weight of the five-fish limit brought in by…

In January, the American Sportfishing Association spearheaded a first-of-its-kind meeting of federal agencies and members of the sportfishing community to discuss shared priorities and improve dialogue on fisheries management. Around 30 representatives of the sportfishing community representing organizations like the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation and Yamaha convened with government officials in a work group in Washington, D.C. Government agencies in attendance included the National Park Service, NOAA Fisheries and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Federal funding allocations have tremendous reach in the world of bass fishing, where they can affect angler access, habitat restoration projects and scientific research, in addition to regulations that guide fisheries.…