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Published: 21 March 2021

B.A.S.S. Report

Pickwick Day 1 Leader Koby Kreiger

FLORENCE, Ala. — A strong start plus a strong finish was the formula for Koby Kreiger to lead Day 1 of the Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Pickwick Lake.

The veteran pro from Alva, Fla., caught a five-bass limit that weighed 25 pounds, 12 ounces.

“I caught a 6-6 pretty early this morning on a balsa Wee Bait in the silver shad color and I kept that bait in my hand until I caught my limit,” Kreiger said. “It took me a little while to do it, but I got zeroed in on some stuff.”

Working mostly in the 7-Mile Island area, downstream from the tournament’s McFarland Park takeoff, Kreiger targeted rocks and current seams. With Pickwick’s water level swollen by Wednesday’s major storm, Kreiger said he sought to dial in the strike zone relevant to the fluctuating water conditions.

“The current seams may be 5 feet off the bank today and tomorrow, they may be 20 feet off the bank,” he said. “I don’t like for the water to be too muddy because I’m throwing little bitty baits, so I want them to be able to see it.”

Around 2 o’clock, Kreiger relocated to a different part of the lake. He kept his cards low on the particulars, but he noted that the changing conditions likely triggered an opportunity.

“I just went and tried something that hadn’t worked at all in practice, but it worked today,” he said.

“My first limit weighed 19 or 20 pounds and then I told my marshal ‘I need to go catch some big ones.’ I caught two big ones late and jumped another one off. I had a couple more chances to maybe have an even bigger bag, but it was a great start to the tournament.”

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Published: 03 February 2021

Bass Pro Shops Report

Johnny Morris Bass Pro Shops U.S. Open National Bass Fishing Amateur Team Championships

Bass Pro Shops today announced a new era in the sport of fishing with the introduction of the Johnny Morris Bass Pro Shops U.S. Open National Bass Fishing Amateur Team Championships.

Noted conservationist and Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris had a dream to create “the ultimate owner’s appreciation event” while benefitting conservation. The first-of-its-kind tournament invites owners of Tracker, Ranger, Nitro, Triton, Sun Tracker, Tahoe and MAKO brand boats to compete in two-person teams. With proceeds benefitting conservation and the future of fishing, the event is being created exclusively for amateurs including serious weekend tournament anglers, parents, grandparents, and youngsters, giving everyday anglers, friends, and families the chance to win big!

• The prize totals are staggering: Competitors will be rewarded with a total guaranteed purse value of $4.3 million. The national championship team wins a $1 million cash prize – the largest cash payout of any single freshwater fishing tournament in history. Conservation wins too, with a minimum of $1 million going to improve fish habitat.
• Build your own team with a fishing buddy or family member: Registration is open exclusively for amateur anglers, creating a thrilling opportunity for families and friends from all walks of life to compete together on the water. To help grow the sport, regional and international qualifier events will feature division payouts for youth, family teams, all-female teams, veterans, and more. Additional prizes will be offered for the biggest bass and other categories that add to the collective excitement. Johnny is awarding one lucky junior angler (ages 11 – 18) a $250,000 scholarship toward a conservation-related area of study. Events will offer fun for the whole family with activities and entertainment.
• Rewarding customer loyalty and supporting conservation: As a thank you to loyal customers, the event is open to owners of the world’s foremost boat brands – Tracker, Ranger, Nitro, Triton, Sun Tracker, Tahoe and MAKO brands. For over 50 years, these celebrated brands have come to represent the #1 bestselling boats in North America. Along the way, they made first-time boat ownership more affordable for thousands of families.

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Published: 11 January 2021

BASS Report

B.A.S.S. Kayak Series Logo

After a wildly successful inaugural campaign in 2020, B.A.S.S. officials were excited Friday to announce the regular-season schedule for the 2021 Bassmaster B.A.S.S. Nation Kayak Series powered by TourneyX.

The trail, which averaged 144 anglers per event during its inaugural season in 2020, will visit five lakes in five different states before culminating with the B.A.S.S. Nation Kayak Series Championship, which will be held in conjunction with the 2022 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk at a site to be determined.

The field of anglers who qualified for the National Championship during the 2020 season will compete in a rescheduled two-day event June 9-10 at the Bassmaster Classic in Fort Worth, Texas. Additional information on that tournament will be released at a later date.

"Despite facing a lot of challenges, we had a great first season for the
B.A.S.S. Nation Kayak Series in 2020," said B.A.S.S. Nation Director Jon
Stewart. "We knew the popularity of kayak fishing had exploded; that was
the reason behind starting the trail. But I'm not sure we realized just how incredibly popular the sport was until we held a few events and saw how many hardcore kayak enthusiasts showed up.

"That has us really excited about this upcoming season."

The season's first event will be held on one of the country's premier big-bass factories, Lake Fork in Alba, Texas, on March 13. Fork was the site of an Elite Series event in 2020, and champion Patrick Walters blew the field away with a four-day November catch of 104 pounds, 12 ounces.

Walters wasn't the only angler to clear the century mark at a Bassmaster event on Fork last year. When the Kayak Series stopped on this fishery last March, Arkansas angler Cody Milton bested the field with a five-bass limit measuring 100 1/2 inches. That propensity for producing giant bass is why Lake Fork ranked 16th on Bassmaster Magazine's Best Bass Lakes of the Decade in 2020.

Here's the 2021 schedule:

• March 13, Lake Fork, Alba, Texas
• May 1, Lake Eufaula, Eufaula, Ala.
• July 24, Pickwick Lake, Counce, Tenn.
• Aug. 7, Upper Chesapeake, Cecil County, Md.
• Sept. 25, Upper Mississippi River, La Crosse, Wis.
  

Entry fees for all five regular-season events will be $250, and each will pay 30 places. Based on a full field of 150 kayaks, the total purse for each event will be $30,000. Registration will begin online Jan. 11 at Bassmaster.com.