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Jesse Wiggins of Cullman, Ala., wins the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open #2 held on Smith Lake out of Jasper, Ala. Wiggins brought 15 pounds, 3 ounces to Saturday’s weigh-in, giving him a two-day total weight of 34-2.

JASPER, Ala. –– During the past two years Jesse Wiggins taught first round leader Jordan Lee a lot about fishing Smith Lake. But Wiggins didn’t share every trick in his book.

Wiggins rallied from second place to win the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open here today with a two-day total of 34 pounds, 2 ounces. Lee, who started the day in first place after a 20-10 bag Friday, managed a limit weighing only 9-15 and finished fourth.

“Jesse is really good here,” Lee said. “We’ve fished a couple of tournaments together, and he’s taught me a lot about this lake. It doesn’t surprise me that he won.”

Wiggins, who is from nearby Cullman, Ala., relied on two lures: a 3/16-ounce homemade shaky head jig with a 4-inch green pumpkin Senko and a topwater lure similar to a Zara Spook.

The victory earned Wiggins $52,877, including a Triton Boat and Mercury outboard package, plus a berth in the 2017 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro. Wiggins must compete in Southern Open #3 at Tennessee’s Douglas Lake next month to finalize the Classic berth.

“I’ll be there with bells on,” Wiggins said.

Lee, who grew up in Cullman and now lives in Grant, Ala., wasn’t the only angler who struggled Saturday. The number of five-bass limits caught dropped from 164 Friday to 150, but the number of bites shrunk considerably more, even for Wiggins.

“Overall I caught way less today,” Wiggins said. “Yesterday I had a limit that weighed 16 pounds in the first 20 minutes. Today I had a limit at 9 o’clock, but luckily they were all 3-pounders.”

Wiggins weighed all spotted bass Saturday; his five bass Friday, which weighed 18-15, included a 5-pound and a 4-pound largemouth.

“I threw the shaky head in the morning for bedding fish,” Wiggins said. “I couldn’t see them, but I knew where to throw it. Later in the day, I’d go up the river and throw that topwater bait in the pockets. I caught those two largemouth on it yesterday and a spot on it today.”

Brent Crow of Hartselle, Ala., jumped from 12^th place to finish second with 32-0. Michael Johnson of Talking Rock, Ga., rallied from 43^rd place with an 18-1 limit to finish third with a total of 31-14. He was followed by Lee and Bradley Dortch of Windermere, Fla., who both had 30-9.

The usual format for a Bassmaster Open tournament has the full field fishing two days, then the Top 12 fishing Saturday to determine the pro and co-angler champions. Due to heavy thunderstorms in the Smith Lake area Thursday, competition was canceled for that day, reducing it to a two-day tournament with the full field of 179 boats participating both days.

Jody White of Gilbertsville, Ky., won the $30,000 Triton boat and Mercury package in co-angler competition with a two-day total of 19 pounds. White started the day in ninth place, but caught a three-bass limit weighing 9-10, the third-biggest bag of the day, to take the title.

Over the two days, White’s six bass came on three different lures. Two were caught on a green pumpkin Strike King Ocho wacky rigged with a nail weight. Two came on a 2.8-inch Keitech Swing Impact Fat swimbait rigged on a 1/8-ounce shaky head jig, and the other two were caught on a white vibrating jig coupled with a pearl-colored Strike King Menace trailer.

Jonathan Harris of Moody, Ala., weighed the biggest bag in the co-angler division Saturday with 10-5 and took second place with a total of 17-14. Teb Jones of Hattiesburg, Miss., was third with 17-4, followed by Don Harvey of Franklin, Tenn., with 16-15 and Todd Lee of Jasper, Ala., with 16-13.

Big bass in the pro competition and $750 went to Lee for the 7-13 that anchored his 21-10 bag Friday. The Livingston Lures leader award of $250 was won by Wiggins.

On the co-angler side, Harris took the $250 big bass award with a 4-14 Saturday. White won the $250 Livingston Lures leader award.

2016 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Series Title Sponsor: Bass Pro Shops

2016 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota

2016 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Series Premier Sponsors: GoPro, Huk, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Skeeter Boats, Triton Boats, Yamaha, Berkley

2016 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Series Supporting Sponsors: Carhartt, Dick Cepek Tires & Wheels, Livingston Lures, Lowrance, Power-Pole, Rapala, Shell Rotella, Shimano, A.R.E. Truck Caps

About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S. is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 500,000-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), social media programs and events. For more than 45 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, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Open Series, B.A.S.S. Nation, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Costa Bassmaster High School Series, Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro.

RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. (April 2, 2016) – Jeff Fitts of Keystone Heights, Florida, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 17 pounds, 4 ounces Saturday to win the Costa FLW Series Central Division opener on Lake Dardanelle presented by Mercury with a three-day total of 13 bass weighing 48 pounds, 10 ounces. For his win, Fitts took home $48,000.

“I don’t really have the words to describe how incredible this feels right now,” said Fitts, who earned his second career win in FLW competition. “I’d like to fish the FLW Tour full-time next year, so this win means a lot. I feel like I’m one step closer to that goal.”

Fitts said he spent the majority of his tournament punching heavy vegetation in two spawning pockets, located between the launch ramp and the Illinois Bayou. He said he used one bait all three days of the event – a Strike King Rage Tail DB Structure Bug rigged on a Trokar Big Nasty Flippin Hook with a 1½-ounce tungsten weight.

“The grass was really thick so I’d pitch the Rage Tail in, lift it to see if anything was on it, hop it a few times and then pull it out,” said Fitts. “The bites were soft and sporadic, but I’m from Florida so that’s the kind of cover I’m comfortable with and that’s how I like to fish. I only weighed in three on day one, but had lost one earlier on in the day.”

On day two, Fitts said he returned to his pockets and used a Black Blue Flake-colored Rage Tail. He said he caught the majority of his fish from a 100-yard stretch of thick grass.

“I pulled into the first pocket and on my third flip I nabbed a three pounder,” said Fitts. “Within a 20-foot stretch, I was able to catch two more five-pounders. I had a limit by 9:30 a.m. and caught my last keeper to make a final cull around 3 p.m. I was really excited about what I was bringing to the scale.”

Fitts weighed in a tournament-best limit of 23 pounds, 15 ounces to move inside the top-10 cut in sixth place. Fitts said he followed the same pattern on day three and was able to catch his final limit out of a 20-yard stretch using a Summer Craw-colored Rage Tail.

“It was a slower bite on day three,” said Fitts. “I only had four bass until about 20 minutes left to fish. I culled once more and brought in what I had. It ended up working out well.”

The top 10 pros on Lake Dardanelle were:

1^st:          Jeff Fitts, Keystone Heights, Fla., 13 bass, 48-10, $48,000

2^nd:         Daniel Kweekul, Bryant, Ark., 15 bass, 47-14, $19,500

3^rd:          Teddy Bogard, Pine Bluff, Ark., 15 bass, 47-0, $14,000

4^th:          Todd Castledine, Nacogdoches, Texas, 11 bass, 45-3, $12,000

5^th:          Evan Barnes, Hot Springs, Ark., 15 bass, 44-12, $11,000

6^th:          Zach King, Clarksville, Ark., 13 bass, 43-0, $9,000

7^th:          Christopher Jones, Bokoshe, Okla., 14 bass, 40-2, $7,800

8^th:          Greg Jones, Wentzville, Mo., 13 bass, 39-7, $6,800

9^th:          Joe McClary, Kirkwood, Mo., 11 bass, 32-2, $5,800

10^th:        Brandon Hunter, Benton, Ky., 11 bass, 31-14, $4,400

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Mike Foree of Osage Beach, Missouri, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division Thursday, a fish weighing 7 pounds, 10 ounces that earned him the day’s Big Bass award of $300.

Drew Sagely of Rogers, Arkansas, won the co-angler division and a $28,000 prize package, including a Ranger Z117 with a 90-horsepower Mercury outboard motor. Sagely earned his win with a three-day total catch of 11 bass weighing 29 pounds, 1 ounce.

The top 10 co-anglers on Lake Dardanelle were:

1^st:          Drew Sagely, Rogers, Ark., 11 bass, 29-1, $28,000

2^nd:         Michael Watson, Chicago, Ill., 11 bass, 29-0, $6,000

3^rd:          Rob Crane, Fairview Heights, Ill., nine bass, 24-2, $4,800

4^th:          Kevin Raposo, Doniphan, Mo., nine bass, 23-4, $3,900

5^th:          Roger Olson Jr., Eagle River, Wis., seven bass, 20-14, $3,400

6^th:          Rusty Reinoehl, Robinson, Ill., eight bass, 19-13, $2,900

7^th:          Alan Bernicky, Joliet, Ill., seven bass, 19-12, $2,400

8^th:          Kyle Landers, Benton, Ark., eight bass, 18-11, $1,950

9^th:          Sawyer Grace, Russellville, Ark., five bass, 17-4, $1,580

10^th:        Ricky Watkins, Springdale, Ark., six bass, 16-4, $1,330

Charles Radford of Sullivan, Missouri, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division Thursday, a bass weighing 7 pounds, 9 ounces that earned him the day’s Big Bass award of $200.

The Costa FLW Series consists of five divisions – Central, Northern, Southeastern, Southwestern and Western. Each division consists of three tournaments with competitors vying for valuable points that could earn them the opportunity to fish in the Costa FLW Series Championship. The 2016 Costa FLW Series Championship is being held Nov. 3-5 on Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri.

The Costa FLW Series on Lake Dardanelle was hosted by Russellville Advertising & Promotions. It was the first Central Division tournament of 2016. The next Costa FLW Series tournament will be a Southwestern Division event, held April 7-9, on Grand Lake in Grove, Oklahoma. For a complete schedule, visit FLWFishing.com.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Costa FLW Series on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.

About FLW

FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money in 2016 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW conducts more than 235 bass-fishing tournaments annually across the United States and sanctions tournaments in Canada, China, Mexico and South Korea. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show, broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, while FLW Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros. For more information visit FLWFishing.com and follow FLW at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Periscope: @FLWFishing.

Bassmaster Elite Series pro Marty Robinson will be one of six South Carolina anglers competiting in a full field of 110 anglers at the Huk Performance Fishing Bassmaster Elite at Winyah Bay out of Georgetown, S.C., April 7-10.  Photo by James Overstreet/Bassmaster

GEORGETOWN, S.C. — Long boat rides for bigger river bass will likely set the pace for the second stop of 2016 season at the Huk Performance Fishing Bassmaster Elite at Winyah Bay in Georgetown, S.C., April 7-10.

Following an exciting season opener on the renowned St. Johns River out of Palatka, Fla., the 110-angler Bassmaster Elite Series field will be challenged by an unfamiliar destination. Winyah Bay and its tributaries, including several rivers that dump into Charleston Bay to the south, will be open game for this tournament.

The primary rivers include the Pee Dee, Waccamaw, Santee, Cooper and Black, among other smaller tributaries in the region.

Daily takeoffs will occur at 7 a.m. each morning out of Carroll Ashmore Campbell Marine Complex in Georgetown, S.C., and some competitors will make a long risky run to Charleston, S.C, and then up the Cooper River, which is a two-plus-hour trip one way. But it’s a risk that might be worth the $100,000 first-place payout.

“You can bet that there will be a number of anglers who choose to make the long-distance run to the Cooper River,” said the 1999 Bassmaster Classic champion Davy Hite of Ninety Six, S.C. “That’s the risky part of this game. By choosing to make a long run, an angler is sacrificing large amounts of fishing time, gambling mechanical failure, empty gas tanks or a myriad of other potential obstacles.”

Hite says that the payoff, however, could certainly be worth the risk.

“We don’t know much about the fishery as a whole,” he continued. “But, we do know that the rivers will play a critical role in the event. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone manages to weigh an 18-pound limit of bass from the Cooper River, but the question still remains: Can that be replicated four days in a row? We’ll have to see.”

Typically, playing it safe can pay off at the end of a tournament, said Hite. But, he hasn’t ruled out a long run just yet, especially if the fishing requires it.

Winyah Bay is essentially a delta where several rivers converge before completing the journey into the Atlantic Ocean. With a tremendous amount of water at their fingertips, the anglers who do their homework and locate the biggest bass during the official practice days of April 4, 5 and 6 will fare the best.

“I think having an Elite Series tournament at a destination like Winyah Bay was a great idea,” said Marty Robinson of Lyman, S.C. “I firmly believe that the unknowns of a fishery like this levels the playing field, which will make the outcome very interesting. As a group, we know so little about the fishery, and that means there will be little room for errors. Executing a well-laid-out plan will be the key to winning this event”

Local tournament angler John Proctor of Conway, S.C., won the 2015 Old Milwaukee B.A.S.S. Nation Southern Divisional on the Pee Dee River Basin. Proctor clinched the title with a three-day total of 34-11, which included a hefty 7-pound, 9-ounce largemouth bass that also earned him big-bass honors at that event.

“With the expansive water available to the Elite Series, estimating daily weights is somewhat difficult,” said Proctor. “If a pro decides to fish within relative close proximity of the main launch, I think it will take an average of 8 to 9 pounds per day to make the Top 50 cut on Saturday and 10 to 11 pounds per day to make the Top 12 on Sunday. To win in the same region, 15 pounds or better per day will be required.”

Proctor said that the Cooper River is the wild card.

The Cooper River is capable of producing 17 to 18 pounds per day, but, deciding to make that journey will require substantial risk assessment. That’s what makes the sport so exciting to fans and anglers like Proctor. Sometimes you have to put it all on the line and take the big risk for the sake of the title.

“I know what Winyah Bay and the Pee Dee River are capable of producing, and I’m always amazed at how the Elite Series pros can compete on any venue and demonstrate the true potential of each fishery,” he said. “I have no doubt the results will be the same here, and I’m excited to see it unfold.”

Proctor said that the bass population is in excellent health, and there will be plenty of fish caught. He believes the average big bass will weigh about 4 pounds, but seeing a fish in the 5- to 6-pound range, if not a little heavier, would not be a surprise.

Launches are scheduled daily for 7 a.m. ET at Carroll Ashmore Campbell Marine Complex, and weigh-ins will take place at 3:30 p.m. ET at the same location.

A total purse of $638,000 will be paid to the Top 50 anglers. Those anglers will also earn points toward the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year title and qualification for the 2017 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro.

2016 Bassmaster Elite Series Premier Sponsors: Toyota, Berkley, GoPro, Huk, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Skeeter Boats, Triton Boats, Yamaha

2016 Bassmaster Elite Series Supporting Sponsors: Academy Sports + Outdoors, A.R.E. Truck Caps, Carhartt, Dick Cepek Tires & Wheels, Livingston Lures, Lowrance, Power-Pole, Rapala, Shell Rotella, Shimano

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 500,000-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), social media programs and events. For more than 45 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, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Open Series, B.A.S.S. Nation, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Costa Bassmaster High School Series, Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro.