Innholdsfortegnelse for January/February 2025 i Bassmaster

January 5 National Bird Day. Familiarize yourself with the avifauna living around your favorite waterway by downloading the Cornell Lab Merlin Bird ID app and learning which species are around that you can hear but not see. 20 Blue Monday. Supposedly the saddest day of the year, Blue Monday sounds like a perfect day to head out onto the lake for some midwinter bassin’. February 1 Car Insurance Day. A reminder to double-check your boat and truck insurance to make sure you’re prepared for the unexpected. 17 Presidents’ Day. Find more presidents for your fishing habits by telling your bank account to round purchases up to the dollar and automatically put the change in a dedicated bassin’ fund.…

28-year-old Muskogee, Okla., angler Blake Capps recently claimed the 2024 Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Championship on Grand Lake presented by Lowrance. Capps topped an international field of nearly 500 anglers to win a berth in the 2025 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour and an invitation to compete on the 2025 Bassmaster Elite Series. After hoisting the Bryan V. Kerchal Memorial Trophy, Capps — who works as a petroleum operator at a nearby power plant — reflected on the historic moment. “I haven’t had a chance to do a lot of competitive fishing because of work and the cost that goes with being a tournament fisherman,” he said. “But I’m definitely gonna have to sit down and think about the offer to fish in the Elite Series.”…

B.A.S.S. fans react to the announcement of Elite Series angler Clark Wendlandt’s retirement. Timothy Hagerich I had a dead battery in an ever-start tournament years ago when we left for weigh in. You were the only one who stopped to help. A class act and one of the best!!!! Jimmy Rogers Congratulations on your long career and accomplishments!! Won’t be the same without you representing Texas!! Brian Jackson There is no finer fisherman…and Clark is an even better person. Best wishes to him in a well deserved retirement. Everything he has ever done has been to improve the sport we all love. It won’t be the same without him. I hope the younger generation follows his example of integrity and service. And it would be nice if they could be…

What can I do to maximize the picture and see my lure better on my forward-facing sonar? Jakob Willoughby, Belleville, Ill. In most cases, it’s all about power and clean power, says Gary Clouse, owner of Phoenix Boats, a former Bassmaster Elite Series pro and current Bassmaster Opens angler. Bigger screens and heavy use can lower battery power and affect the images you’re seeing on the screen. If you’re using a lead acid battery, he explains, the voltage goes down as the day wears on. A lithium battery keeps its full charge until it’s dead, then it just quits. “Select battery power based upon the size and how many units you are running,” he explains. “For example, I use a 135-amp, deep-cycle Dakota Lithium strictly for my LiveScope. “I’ve been…

NO ONE SHOULD be surprised by Canadian pro Chris Johnston’s rapid career ascension to become the first foreign angler to win the Progressive Insurance Bassmaster Angler of the Year (AOY) title. The man has won on every U.S. circuit he’s fished and has proved since his first Bassmaster Elite tournament in 2019 that he was an angler who would be a force for years to come. During his six-year tenure on the Elite Series, the 35-year-old angler has won one, logged 18 Top 10 finishes, landed in the money a remarkable 60 of 61 events and qualified for every Bassmaster Classic since joining the Elites. His career winnings with B.A.S.S., including Bassmaster Opens, are more than $1 million. Of course, it helps when your 39-year-old brother, Cory, who qualified for…

NEVER GIVE UP. They’re three little words with so much power. Most people would tell you they live by them, but our follow-through on the mantra tends to be dictated by the gravity of the situation. Not giving up on catching a 10-pound bass is one thing, because even if it never happens, life goes on. Not giving up when a doctor presents you with a diagnosis of terminal cancer is another. Some people have that kind of fight in them; many do not. When Gerald Gibson, a 66-year-old former steel buyer from Nassau, N.Y., was told he had multiple myeloma — a type of blood cancer — in March 2022, it wasn’t what the doctor said to him that got him in the ring and swinging. “It hit me…

KYLE WELCHER CELEBRATED his 21st birthday in Biloxi, Mississippi’s IP Casino and, following many years of family card games and online study, he preceded his Elite career with an impressive level of professional poker play. Suffice it to say, one of the key skills he developed is one that also serves him well on the water: reading the opponent and making strategic moves. Such perception always helps, but Welcher said it’s particularly critical for the cold season. It’s during this time the fish really hold their cards close — less for any competitive intent than for seasonal disposition. “In the wintertime, fishing is even more like poker than it is in the spring or summer because it’s even more difficult to pattern fish,” the 2023 Progressive Insurance Bassmaster Angler of…

“There was a big question mark as to whether 100 anglers would be willing to commit both financially and emotionally.” AS I GET older, time becomes slippery. For example, it’s hard for me to grasp that it’s been 35 years since I graduated high school. I remain a proud alumni of Klein High’s class of 1989. Nobody had a cellphone. Home computers were rare. It would be 10 more years before the common man would even consider buying a laptop. Now, it’s hard to imagine existing before iPhones, FaceTime and online shopping. So, when I realized that 2025 will mark the 20th season of the Bassmaster Elite Series, I pulled out my walker and pondered how much has changed within bass fishing’s competitive landscape since the Elite concept was born…

“Let’s all form a unified front, whether we’re using forward-facing sonar or an old Humminbird flasher.” ONE OF MY all-time favorite quotes from decades of covering sports — one that a lot of middle-aged folks have come to lean on — was from Bassmaster legend Rick Clunn after he won the 2016 Elite Series event on the St. Johns River at age 69. Standing before an awestruck crowd in Palatka, Fla., Clunn said, profoundly, “Never accept that all of your best moments are in your past.” That one sentence meant a lot to me at age 43, and it means even more today as I take on a mammoth new challenge at age 51. I’m only writing this column in the front of the greatest outdoors magazine in history because…

January 22-23 Strike King Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Harris Chain, Florida 23-25 Bassmaster Open, Clarks Hill Reservoir, Georgia 26 Strike King Bassmaster High School Series, Harris Chain, Florida 26 Bassmaster Junior Series, Harris Chain, Florida 29-30 Strike King Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Lake Okeechobee, Florida February 13-15 Bassmaster Open, Sam Rayburn Reservoir, Texas 20-23 Bassmaster Elite, St. Johns River, Florida 26-27 Strike King Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Smith Lake, Alabama 27-March 2 Bassmaster Elite, Lake Okeechobee, Florida…

Cameron Bajkowski Hallstead, Pa. Michael Moss Martin’s Mill, Texas Sanders Allen Owens Cross Roads, Ala. James & Hayden Lanke Wisconsin & Iowa Livin’ For Fishin’ My father Gary McCall lives, breathes and thinks bass fishing. Some say he might have the looks of one at times. I don’t think I have a single memory of him without a rod in hand. I believe it’s his peace at times. He’s worked his entire life to be able to fish every day. Now that he’s retired, with his new bullet bass boat that I don’t think is ever not connected to the truck, he can. (He remodeled his basement and tore down walls just to be able to park his truck and boat and not have to disconnect it.) I have high…

The images below were submitted by Bassmaster readers, and our antique tackle expert, Rob Pavey, appraises the value of each fascinating find. To submit yours, email editorial@bassmaster.com. Sven & Ole’s “X-Filets” 1997 novelty lure Stan Kral, email $5 to $10 The Miracle Fishin’ Loors X-Filets was a rubber novelty bait sold by Sven and Ole’s tackle company in the 1990s. It spoofed the popular The X-Files science fiction drama series that ran from 1993 to 2002, with a few more episodes in 2016 and 2018. The show chronicled the exploits of FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully as they investigated paranormal activities and extraterrestrial sightings. Pflueger Skilkast levelwind reel in box Linda Crocetti, email $15 to $20 Pflueger was one of America’s oldest and largest tackle makers, with reels…

ACTIVE ANGLER Visit virtually any tournament boat ramp in the United States on any given weekend and a swarm of bass anglers will almost assuredly be accompanied by an armada of marine electronics. Today, bass boats with multiple large, multifunction displays capable of displaying side-scan sonar information, real-time sonar readouts and sophisticated marine charts are as ubiquitous as jumpsuits and sponsor patches in the 1970s. For serious tournament anglers, learning to fine-tune and read those electronics is a skill set as essential as casting. And while the quest for more powerful marine electronics seems never-ending, Bassmaster Elite Series pro Kyle Patrick says many anglers are missing a simple, life-changing improvement: graph mounts. BLUE-COLLAR BREAKDOWN Two years ago, Patrick made a switch from factory mounts to a new system designed by…

TREY MCKINNEY’S BIGGEST regret, next to losing the title itself, was his plan for spending the $100,000 check that comes with winning Progressive Insurance Bassmaster Angler of the Year, which goes to the Bassmaster Elite Series pro accruing the most performance points during the season. “We don’t have a funded retirement plan, so I was going to purchase an investment property,” McKinney said. That thought came from a 19-year-old whose mindset should be anywhere but long-term financial planning. Meet the lesser-known side of this prodigy who set the 2024 Elite Series on fire. McKinney made history as the youngest angler to qualify for the Elite Series, took second in Angler of the Year and won Dakota Lithium Bassmaster Rookie of the Year. He capped a remarkable rookie season with a…

Water type: Southern highland reservoir Water temp: High 40s to low 50s Clarity: 4 to 5 feet Depth: 5 to 40 feet Structure: Bluffs, deep rock, bridges Cover: Deep docks, overhanging trees Forage: Shad, bluegill Weather: Bitter cold and snow on the way Wind/current: Calm morning with afternoon wind increasing Experts: A trio of Elite Series pros explain how they address those shivering days 1 MEAL PREP Will Davis Jr. Childersburg, Ala. First move: Priority No. 1 is finding bait because bass will be feeding up for the spawn. “Bass are good planners, so they want to be around the bait,” Davis said. “The water is cold, so they’re not wanting to burn a lot of energy looking for food.” Baits/tackle to use: For open-water, live-sonar work, Davis uses a…

  Let’s talk about the biggest news in bass fishing this year: no entry fees on the Elite Series. How does that make you feel? It was so much to wrap my head around in the moment. I was checking my email looking for updated rules and all of a sudden that came through. I almost feel like I haven’t been in the sport long enough to know how it’s going to affect everything, but it’s definitely exciting. I think as the years go on it will morph into something even better. You started bass fishing because of YouTube. Talk to us about how that happened. Yeah, I did. I was watching a lot of Dave Mercer’s show, The Facts of Fishing, growing up. He really appealed to me because he…

Host city for the 2025 Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River, Palatka is one of the most storied small towns in bass fishing. The city of 10,730 sits on the shores of the St. Johns and doubles as a weigh-in site and home base for anglers plying the waters of this legendary Florida fishery. Travelers hike on narrow boardwalks above the forest floor at Rice Creek Conservation Area, just three miles west of Palatka with trails lined by azaleas, ferns and cypress knees. 310 Length of St. Johns River in miles 98-14 Rick Clunn’s winning weight at the 2019 Bassmaster Elite event at the St. Johns…

It’s your turn to write a cutline for your favorite magazine. Follow B.A.S.S. on Facebook (@bass) and Instagram (@bass_nation) and comment with a clever caption on this cartoon that will be posted on our feed on Dec. 30, 2024. If your caption is chosen, it will be printed in an upcoming issue. Last Month’s Post Last Month’s Caption Winner: “Organizing my tackle but I’m still going to throw one colour.” @bh_anglers…