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Hicks Puts Finishing Touches On B.A.S.S. Nation Regional Victory At Lake Mead
HENDERSON, Nev. — Patiently waiting for his bites and then capitalizing on the window of opportunity allowed Justin Hicks, who’s competing for the Utah B.A.S.S. Nation Team, to complete his wire-to-wire victory at the TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Western Regional at Lake Mead with a three-day total of 22 pounds, 15 ounces.
Turning in daily weights of 10-5, 6-2 and Friday’s 6-8, the Gunnison, Colo., angler edged out second-place boater Justin Kerr by 12 ounces. Hicks won $5,000 and a spot in the TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Championship, Nov. 11-13 on Alabama’s Pickwick Lake.
In a week that required daily adjustments, Hicks said he found his best quality on Day 1 when he set the early lead despite missing his five-fish limit by one keeper. Day 2 saw him abandoning his big fish spots in an effort to secure a limit, and Friday saw a similar program.
“The fishing actually got better today; they actually got shallower,” Hicks said. “A little bit later in the morning they got a little bit easier to catch. We ran and ran and ran and caught all of our fish between 10:30 and 1 o’clock.”
Hicks attributes his midday success to sun angles.
“I believe the fish we were catching today were relating to bluegill,” he said. “When that sun got up and it cast a shadow up where those bluegill were, the fish got active.”
Hicks said he employed a one-two punch comprising a Jackall frog in a bluegill pattern and a pearl white Zoom Super Fluke rigged on a 5/0 Gamakatsu wide gap hook.
Presentations were essential to triggering bites. Hicks said that using subtle rod work with a lot of slack line enabled him to keep his frog in one area as long as possible to entice the fish.
“The longer you can keep that frog in one spot, the more the fish can’t stand it,” Hicks said.
The Super Fluke produced the majority of his bites, and Hicks said that soft-plastic bait was most effective when he fished it with a fast, erratic pace.
Fishing the Temple Bar area, Hicks stayed in the same 5- to 6-mile area throughout the tournament. He focused his efforts on small pockets off main channels.
“If you had the right combination of shade and grass, there was fish in it,” he said.
With most of his fish in 6 feet or less, Hicks said stealth and spacing were essential to his success.
“The quality was there, we were looking at the fish,” Hicks said of his shallow-water targets. “We were staying way off of them and making long casts.”
Finishing first on the Nevada B.A.S.S. Nation Team, Kerr placed fifth on Day 1 with 7-15 and slipped to 11th on Day 2 after catching 5-2. On Friday, he turned in his best performance of the week — 9-2 — and gained nine spots to finished second with 22-3.
Hailing from Lake Havasu, Ariz., Kerr caught his fish on a homemade 1/2-ounce flipping jig with a green pumpkin Yamamoto Craw and an Evergreen CR-6 crankbait in a shad color.
“I just fished hard and made as many casts as I could,” he said. “The last couple of days have been tough, so today I changed up a little bit. I put completely new rods on my deck and went fishing.”
Timothy Wells of Clovis, Calif., finished third with 21-12. After placing 20th on Day 1 with 5-14, Wells added 7-15 Thursday and improved to eighth. Sacking up another 7-15 Friday, Wells finished atop the California B.A.S.S. Nation Team.
Jason Hickey of Weiser, Idaho, won the $500 Big Bass honors with his 3-8.
Aaryn Coroneos of Henderson, Nev., won the nonboater division with a three-day total of 14-11. Coroneos placed fourth on Day 1 with 4-13 and improved to first on Thursday by adding 5-12. Today’s limit of 4-2 gave him the win by a margin of 2-1 over Cliff Gallagher of Saint George, Utah.
“The key this week was two baits: I threw a Texas-rigged green pumpkin Yamamoto Stretch 40 with a 1/8-ounce weight and a natural shad colored Yamamoto Hula Grub on a 1/2-ounce football-head jig.
“All I did all week was throw in the middle of pockets and drag deep grass. I got three bites today and it was a grind.”
Coroneos earned the top prize of $2,500, along with a spot in the B.A.S.S. Nation Championship.
Ken Simbro of West Haven, Utah, won the $250 Big Bass award among co-anglers with a 4-2.
The tournament was hosted by Visit Henderson.
2020 B.A.S.S. Nation Title Sponsor: TNT Fireworks
2020 B.A.S.S. Nation Platinum Sponsor: Toyota
2020 B.A.S.S. Nation Premier Sponsors: Abu Garcia, Berkley, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Skeeter Boats, Talon, Yamaha
2020 B.A.S.S. Nation Supporting Sponsors: Carhartt, Garmin, Huk Performance Fishing, Mossy Oak Fishing, Nationwide, Rapala
2020 B.A.S.S. Nation Grassroots Sponsor: B&W Trailer Hitches
About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S. is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 515,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), television show (The Bassmasters on ESPN2 and The Pursuit Channel), radio show (Bassmaster Radio), social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, Basspro.com Bassmaster Opens Series, TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Series, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School Series presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors, Bassmaster Team Championship, new Huk Bassmaster B.A.S.S. Nation Kayak Series powered by TourneyX presented by Abu Garcia and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic.
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Minor And Lanier Claim Bassmaster College Series Victory At Lake Cumberland
RUSSELL COUNTY, Ky. — While Nolan Minor and Casey Lanier have been one of the most consistent teams to grace the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops stage over the past few years, they had fallen just short of winning a national event.
That changed Saturday when Lanier and Minor caught 16 pounds, 14 ounces of smallmouth bass to take home the title on a stingy Lake Cumberland with a three-day total of 39-2. They topped Griffin Phillips and Ethan King of the University of Montevallo by more than 10 pounds.
“When I first started college fishing, second place felt great,” said Minor, who finished second in the College Classic Bracket in 2018 on Milford Lake. “But then it started to get old. You know there are so many guys on the outside looking in wishing they could just be second place. But after you have been there a couple times, it kind of leaves a bad taste in your mouth.
“To win something really means a lot.”
With 30 minutes to go on Day 2 — and with only two fish in their bag — Minor and Lanier abandoned the shallow pattern they found in practice and started fishing a deep point with a Carolina rig and a shaky head, catching two fish that kept them inside the cut heading into Saturday’s championship round.
Lanier said they decided to stay deep Saturday, and it paid off with the Nitro Big Bag of the tournament, earning them a $250 gift card to Bass Pro Shops along with $2,108 in tournament winnings for their club.
Small crawfish imitators like a Baby D Bomb and a Zoom Z-Craw worked best on the back of their 3/8-ounce Carolina rigs.
“They were all the baby sizes,” Lanier said. “They were imitating the little crawdads that were down there. That’s what the smallmouth wanted. We ran out of a few baits and had to throw some new ones on there and ended up catching fish too.”
Minor added they used a light-wire 3/0 hook that he believes helped keep their fish pegged in the rocks.
On the final day, Lanier said he and Minor targeted smallmouth on main-lake points in the 15- to 25-foot range. The area they fished on the final day had a lot of shale rock — and with some wind and boat traffic, the water became less clear than other areas of the lake, Minor said.
“(The water) looked kind of green. I think that helped the bite out because the water here is really clear and the fish are getting a lot of pressure,” he said.
Phillips and King used Garmin Panoptix to locate their fish on main-lake points in 25 to 30 feet, catching 28-14 for a second-place finish. They used a couple of finesse techniques to coax their smallmouth to bite, including a drop shop and a Ned rig, and caught most of their fish around one specific area.
“We weren’t fishing if we didn’t see them,” Phillips said. “When we saw one, we dropped on it and we dropped on as many fish as we could a day. The ones that bit we caught and the ones that didn’t we just had to move on.”
Andrew Fisher and Bennett Kudder from Bryan College finished third with 28-13, just an ounce behind Phillips and King. Fisher and Kudder caught fish dragging a worm on a drop shot or a shaky head on tapering main-lake points.
Brock Bila and Jack Long from Drury University held on to the Carhartt Big Bass of the tournament, earning a $500 Carhartt gift card after catching a 6-0 largemouth on Day 2.
With the regular season now over, qualifying teams will now look ahead to the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series National Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops scheduled for the Harris Chain of Lake in Florida Oct. 29-31. The 2020 season will conclude with the College Classic Bracket on Alabama’s Lay Lake Nov. 17-19.
Action on Lake Cumberland will wrap up tomorrow with the Mossy Oak Bassmaster High School Series presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors and Mossy Oak Bassmaster Junior Series starting at 7 a.m. CT from Halcomb’s Landing. Weigh-in for the Junior Series will begin at 3 p.m. followed by the High School Series.
Sunday’s event will be the final regular season event for both the High School and the Junior Series and the last chance for teams to qualify for their respective national championships.
This week’s tournament is being hosted by the Russell County Chamber of Commerce and State Dock on Lake Cumberland.
2020 Bassmaster College Series Title Sponsor: Carhartt
2020 Bassmaster College Series Presenting Sponsor: Bass Pro Shops
2020 Bassmaster College Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota
2020 Bassmaster College Series Premier Sponsors: Abu Garcia, Berkley, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Skeeter Boats, Talon, Ranger Boats, Yamaha
2020 Bassmaster College Series Supporting Sponsors: Garmin, Huk Performance Fishing, Mossy Oak Fishing, Rapala, TNT Fireworks
About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S. is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 515,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), television show (The Bassmasters on ESPN2 and The Pursuit Channel), radio show (Bassmaster Radio), social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, Basspro.com Bassmaster Opens Series, TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Series, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School Series presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors, Bassmaster Team Championship, new Huk Bassmaster B.A.S.S. Nation Kayak Series powered by TourneyX presented by Abu Garcia and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic.
2020 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series at Lake Cumberland
presented by Bass Pro Shops 10/1-10/3
Lake Cumberland, Russell County KY.
(BOATER) Standings Day 3
Angler Club/School Pts
1. Nolan Minor – Casey Lanier 250
Day 1: 5 13-10 Day 2: 4 08-10 Day 3: 5 16-14 Total: 14 39-02
2. Griffin Phillips – Ethan King University of Montevallo 249
Day 1: 5 06-09 Day 2: 5 14-06 Day 3: 5 07-15 Total: 15 28-14
3. Andrew Fisher – Bennett Kudder Bryan College 248
Day 1: 4 08-02 Day 2: 5 11-15 Day 3: 5 08-12 Total: 14 28-13
4. Alec Coffey – Kyle Roy Campbellsville University 247
Day 1: 5 09-07 Day 2: 5 11-09 Day 3: 3 05-07 Total: 13 26-07
5. Jack Rankin – Hunter Baird Drury University 246
Day 1: 5 06-12 Day 2: 5 11-09 Day 3: 5 08-01 Total: 15 26-06
6. Sean Clayton – Owen Dimaio Clemson University 245
Day 1: 5 12-08 Day 2: 5 09-15 Day 3: 1 01-02 Total: 11 23-09
7. Zeke Gossett – Lucas Smith Jacksonville State 244
Day 1: 5 06-03 Day 2: 5 11-05 Day 3: 4 05-08 Total: 14 23-00
8. Dalton Smith – Bradley Dunagan Campbellsville University 243
Day 1: 5 12-03 Day 2: 5 08-06 Day 3: 2 01-11 Total: 12 22-04
9. Cole Thompson – Benson Dowler 242
Day 1: 5 09-08 Day 2: 5 11-13 Day 3: 1 00-12 Total: 11 22-01
10. Jacob Frazier – Griffin Heffington Carson-Newman University 241
Day 1: 5 08-05 Day 2: 5 09-08 Day 3: 3 02-15 Total: 13 20-12
11. Gunner Whitaker – Lafe Messer Kentucky Christian University 240
Day 1: 5 12-11 Day 2: 3 04-11 Day 3: 3 02-03 Total: 11 19-09
12. Bryce Fowler – Chris Bowen East Carolina University 239
Day 1: 5 10-04 Day 2: 5 07-02 Day 3: 1 00-09 Total: 11 17-15
———————————————————————–
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 56 526 832-09
2 53 467 788-05
3 4 38 61-13
———————————-
113 1031 1682-11
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Talley Finishes Strong For First Career Victory At Bassmaster Elite Event On Guntersville
SCOTTSBORO, Ala. — Frank Talley has dreamed of winning a top-level professional bass tournament his entire life.
But with three small children at home, he kept that dream in his back pocket for two decades in favor of coaching youth sports teams, fishing local tournaments and just being a good husband and dad.
Frank Talley, of Temple, Texas, has won the 2020 NOCO Bassmaster Elite at Lake Guntersville with a four-day total of 64 pounds, 3 ounces.
Photo by Seigo Saito/B.A.S.S.
Saturday, at age 45, the second-year Elite Series pro affectionately known as “Frank the Tank” saw his dream come true, weighing in 18 pounds, 2 ounces of bass during the final round to win the NOCO Bassmaster Elite at Lake Guntersville with a four-day total of 64-3.
Talley earned $100,000 and the cheers and tears of his family, who drove 14 hours through the night Friday from their home in Temple, Texas, to be there for his big moment.
“I was perfectly fine with just raising my kids — that’s why we had kids,” Talley said. “Finally, when my youngest boy got into high school, my kids and my wife kind of had an intervention. That sat me down and said, ‘You’re gonna go do this.’
“That’s what helped me understand it was OK to finally go and chase this dream — and they’re the reason I’m standing here with this trophy now.”
Good fishing instincts also played a role in Talley’s success, especially with a key decision he made before his first cast Saturday morning.
Beginning the final round in sixth place with 46-1, Talley intended to make the same run upriver from the launch site at Goose Pond Colony that he’s been making all week. But he said a “gut feeling” caused him to stop on a small stretch of eelgrass before he reached his trusty spot — and the almost-immediate payoff was a 5-pound largemouth that put him in the lead to stay.
“It just looked right,” Talley said of the spot he started on Saturday. “On the first cast, I caught a 10-incher. Then about six casts later, I caught that 5-pounder. I boat-flipped that fish — I didn’t realize it was that big.
“I fished the entire length of that bank and ended up catching a limit there, which included the second big fish I caught, about a 4-pounder.”
Talley did most of his damage on that early-morning stretch with the same lure he’s been using during the early morning hours all week — a 1/2-ounce Strike King Thunder Cricket in green pumpkin. His trailer for most of the week was a Strike King Rage Swimmer in pumpkin with a pearl belly. But when he ran out of those, he switched to a Strike King Blade Minnow in green pumpkin with the tail tinted chartreuse with Spike-It dye.
He said the bait accounted for 95% of his weight this week.
“I’ve made most of the money I’ve made this year with that Thunder Cricket,” said Talley, who has now made five straight Top 40 cuts on the Elite Series. “Long ago, I was a West Coast guy and I know how to do all of the deep-water drop-shot fishing and all of that. But that’s how I like to fish.
“I like to be up around shallow cover, and that Thunder Cricket gets the job done up there.”
Talley fished the bait on a 7-foot, 3-inch Lew’s Magnum Hammer Rod with a medium-heavy action and a Lew’s Custom Pro 6.8:1 reel spooled with 17-pound Strike King Tour Grade fluorocarbon. He said the reel was “not too fast, not too slow,” which makes it perfect for the motion of the vibrating jig.
When the fishing slowed on the Thunder Cricket — and he wanted a change of pace that might produce a bigger bite — he switched to a white Strike King Sexy Frog that he modified with a plopper-style tail to help it cause more commotion on the water’s surface.
Talley fished the frog on a 7-2 Lew’s rod and a Lew’s Pro-Ti baitcasting reel spooled with 50-pound Strike King Braid.
“I ended up catching several big ones on that frog this week,” he said. “It was the perfect change-of-pace bait when I wanted to go looking for one good fish.”
Talley’s Saturday catch of 18-2 was his best of a week that included limits of 14-3 Wednesday, 16-5 Thursday and 15-9 Friday. Unlike many of the pros who felt like Guntersville was fishing a little tired after a week of pressure, Talley said he thought things were just starting to get right.
“I was just fishing eelgrass walls, and there was no rhyme or reason for why they were on one and not the other,” Talley said. “It could have been bait, could have been current.
“But whatever it is, they’re chomping now. I think they’re finally getting adjusted to this weather, and it’s about to be really, really good.”
The win moved Talley into 26th place in the Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings, putting him in good position to reach the 2021 Bassmaster Classic. His fellow Texan Clark Wendlandt took the AOY lead with 503 points, followed by Japanese rookie Taku Ito (478) and Minnesota veteran Seth Feider (466).
Another Texas pro, Chris Zaldain of Fort Worth, earned $1,500 for catching the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the week — an 8-6 largemouth he landed on Day 1.
A pair of South Carolina anglers claimed Toyota Bonus Bucks prize money. Brandon Cobb took home $3,000 for being the highest-placing entrant in the Toyota Bonus Bucks program, and Jason Williamson earned $2,000 for being the second-highest placing entrant.
The tournament was hosted by the City of Scottsboro.
2020 Bassmaster Elite Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota
2020 Bassmaster Elite Series Premier Sponsors: Abu Garcia, Berkley, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Skeeter Boats, Talon, Yamaha
2020 Bassmaster Elite Series Supporting Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops, Carhartt, Garmin, Huk Performance Fishing, Mossy Oak Fishing, Rapala
2020 Bassmaster Elite Series Conservation Partners: AFTCO, Huk
2020 Bassmaster Elite At Lake Guntersville Local Host: City of Scottsboro
About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S. is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 515,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), television show (The Bassmasters on ESPN2 and The Pursuit Channel), radio show (Bassmaster Radio), social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, Basspro.com Bassmaster Opens Series, TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Series, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School Series presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors, Bassmaster Team Championship, new Huk Bassmaster B.A.S.S. Nation Kayak Series powered by TourneyX presented by Abu Garcia and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic.
| 2020 Bassmaster Elite at Lake Guntersville 9/30-10/3 Lake Guntersville, Scottsboro AL. (PROFESSIONAL) Standings Day 4 |
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Fall Fishing for BIG BASS – Bass 365 LIVECAST with Kelly
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Swindle Loves a Lure You’ve Probably Never Heard Of
On a perfect autumn afternoon, there stood 79-year-old Tommy Swindle on the Goose Pond Landing boat dock waiting on his son Gerald to come into Day 1 weigh-in at the NOCO Bassmaster Elite Series at Lake Guntersville.
Many may not know it, but the father of bass fishing’s funniest man and 2-time Bassmaster Angler of the Year has a long and impressive history as a tournament bass angler. Tommy Swindle was among the original band of anglers that signed up to fish with Ray Scott’s new Bassmaster Tournament Trail back in 1968, 1969 and 1970 – all the way through 1983.
“I had just enough money to enter three B.A.S.S. tournaments per year back then, and still feed my family,” remembers the always transparent and comical former building contractor.
Mr. Swindle’s bass fishing resume garners great respect. Not only was he one of Ray Scott’s original Bassmasters, he also qualified for the 1978 Red Man All American, five top regional trail championships, and won three boats as a co-angler in the early days of the Bassmaster Elite Series a dozen years ago.
Not to mention the day on Guntersville when he brought a 5-bass limit to the scales that weighed 39-pounds, only to finish second.
But when asked what his two favorite lures have been across 60 years of accomplished bass fishing, he stated a finesse worm, and one most modern day bass anglers have never heard of … a Johnny O’Neil Weed Wing.
I’d wager one of my treasured vintage Storm Wiggle Warts that 95% of the current 85 Elite Series pros have never heard of a Weed Wing. But I also knew one that just might. Florida’s Bernie Schultz – a Bassmaster pro of 32 seasons who has a passion for lure collecting and the history of our sport.
With an ounce of coincidental good fortune, there was Bernie within a shout of where Tommy Swindle and I stood.
Ready for this? Not only had Bernie heard of a Weed Wing – he actually had a handful of them in his Ranger – some of which were still in the old yellowed packaging.
Always a class act, Schultz was eager to sit under a shade tree and share his historical knowledge of the lure.
“It’s basically a weedless spoon with a tiny propeller on the nose of it that makes a super unique buzzing sound, and the little propeller wings help keep the weeds off it too,” explains Schultz, who landed in the middle of the leaderboard Wednesday on Guntersville.
Schultz fondly remembers the day he caught a 9-pounder on a Weed Wing while practicing for a B.A.S.S. event on Okeechobee with former pro Jim Bitter, and for Tommy Swindle the magical little surface spoon was an absolute staple on lakes like Ross Barnett and Guntersville.
The yellow packaging had price stickers indicating Schultz paid $3.95 for them at The Tackle Box in his hometown of Gainesville, FL, but he says he wouldn’t take 50-bucks a piece for the no-longer-made Weed Wings he prefers to dress with a double tail grub and a trailer hook.
“I’m like Tommy – I believe in them. Lures get hot and trendy for a while, and then for various reasons they stop being made, and disappear. But it’s not because they don’t catch fish,” explains Schultz.
The unplanned shade tree lesson in bass fishing history with two guys I admire meant the world to me. Tommy Swindle told me he returned home following his chat about Weed Wings with Bernie and myself and told his wife, “I wouldn’t take no amount of money in the world for the time I had today.”
Me neither, Tommy. Me neither. Like an old Weed Wing, some things in this life are simply priceless.
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