Man the Monroe, LA area is special, different and I've seen more bass boats being towed around than I saw in FL! Need a trip or 2 on Bussey – anyone know a GOOD guide? Lmk thank you!

How many years, how much grinding, does it take to get a win on the Elite Series? Answer: As much as it takes. Cliff's been at it 10+ years, been close a few times and had almost a top 10 a year, but his last one before Wheeler was in 2021. Dude never gave up, here's how it went down for him.

Going in and practice

> "Practice was not real good. The 1st day I was doing a lot of idling. It was hot, boring and I was not getting many bites.

> "I was idling across that flat [Decatur Flats] and seen a couple shad – one go one way, one go the other way – and thought, I might oughta stop and fish around here a little. My first cast I had a bite and shook it off. I made another cast and got a bite. I was like, There's more than one here, and just made a waypoint and went on.

> "My wife went out with me the last day of practice to shoot some videos and stuff. At 3:00 we were about done...well let's go check the one spot I had a couple bites. There was a local there, he was Spot-Locked on it and was catching them every cast. I figured, Well it's either a local hole or they just are there. I made a mental note and went on.

> "I had a couple other areas where I felt like I could catch some fish, but as far as quality goes, it was that one spot and it was the only place I fished in the tournament."

Tournament

He basically had the same day every day except he didn't stop fishing on day 4:

> "After I caught what I needed in the morning the first 3 days, I pretty much guarded it. I didn't sit right on it, I just stayed there close. ...maybe someone fishing through the area would come through there. And the fish were showing themselves...schooling.... I knew it was a winning spot and didn't want to share it....

> "The spot was basically 2 little spots [in 4'] that were maybe as big as my boat. You couldn't see any difference on your graph, but...if you threw [your bait] past it it would get in the grass, and if you threw it short it would get in the grass.

> "The fish were sitting [those] couple little hard spots. They did not want [his JackHammer] popped out of the grass. The only fish I caught snatching it out of the grass was a big smallmouth the 1st day. The big largemouth wanted it basically drug on the bottom. If you threw it out there and wound it straight back, they would not bite it.

> "You needed to throw it out there and let it hit the bottom, and barely keep the blade thumping. I guess they were kind of conditioned to [a straight retrieve].

> "That's the reason I lost several fish – they were pinning it on the bottom. Plus I was catching them 4 days in row, the same exact couple casts – those fish were getting conditioned.

> "It's a thing we do here on the St Johns River [his home in FL]. I'm sure you've heard of guys yo-yoing a Rat-L-Trap or a lipless bait. Basically it's the same thing, it's just a different bait.... Try to make it as subtle as you can.

> "They wouldn't eat a swimbait with a ball head. For whatever reason they wanted a little bit subtle thump. Several ate it on the fall....

> "It was a shad-spawn deal that I didn't really realize that first 3 days because I would see them schooling. I felt the last day I would train-wreck them the whole day. But I only caught 1 fish that really counted after 8:30. But to get on 1 spot and catch 20 fish and lose 10-15 [per day], I pretty much educated the majority of them.

> Why those lost fish: "Some of those casts I would get 4 bites before one would actually eat it and load up. You couldn't set the hook before your rod loaded up – because if you did, you're pulling it away from them. That's hard to do with the pressure that was on [him] – not set the hook every time one taps it.

> "All I can say is it was a gift from God. It was just meant to be. It was a dream spot that every tournament angler dreams about finding."

Baits

> 1/2-oz Z-Man Evergreen JackHammer (white and green shad) with a 4" Bass Assassin Lil Boss swimbait (snowstorm), 17-lb Seaguar Tatsu fluoro, Shimano Curado Reel (7.4), 7' 3" M Fitzgerald All Purpose Rod.

> "I did some subtle changes in the color of the swimbait, But it really didn't matter if you made the right cast."

> "I caught a couple fish every day on a TX rig, and a couple of those were key bites – they were 4+. But 99% of them came on the ChatterBait with the Little Boss swimbait."

> TX rig: 7.5" Bass Assassin Tapout Worm (red bug and gp), 4/0 Owner J Light Wide Gap Hook, 1/8-oz lead sinker, 20-lb Seaguar Smackdown Stealth Grey Braid to 15-lb Seaguar Tatsu fluoro, Shimano Stradic CI4 Reel (1500), 6' 10" MH Fitzgerald Bryan Thrift Spin Rod.

> Why spin gear for the worm: "I was throwing with an 1/8-oz weight [and] that's how I grew up learning how to fish a TX rig. I'm just comfortable with that. You would think coming from FL I'd want a big, heavy setup for a TX rig. But when I'm throwing a light deal like that, I have better feel in my right hand than I do with my left."

> Why a lead weight: "...anything under 3/8 I always use lead. I'm just old-school on that. I've had experience with tungsten...cutting my line [on a lighter rig]. I just feel more comfortable 3/8 or less with lead.

> "I threw a squarebill, a Carolina rig, a lipless, a swimbait – they would hit some of that stuff but would not eat it."

He said he never tried a jig but had one ready to go.

Electronics

> "I'm a Garmin guy, I've used Garmin for years. But when I got in my area I turned all my electronics off. I just had a map so I knew where I was at and what cast I needed to make. I did that because the fish were more than likely pressured and I didn't want them to have any idea I was there. I was making really long casts....

> "...the less pressure I could make – without the ping of the sonar and all that. I wanted the least amount of pressure I could put on those fish. They were in a pretty small area."

Shoutouts

> "Power-Pole. I was in 4' of water and having to make the same exact cast. If not for Power-Poles it would've been a lot harder to do. Once I figured out exactly where they were sitting – one would nip at it or whatever – I'd put my Power-Poles down and it was game on.

> "I'd like to thank Gene and Peggy Barnett for letting Bernie Schultz and I raid their house and pretty much turn them upside down for the week. They fed us like it was Thanksgiving every night."

More tidbits

> "The wind every day would pick up for about an hour, and when it quit they would start biting again. It was weird...you would think would be totally opposite. The 3rd morning was the calmest morning and that was my best day. ...for whatever reason the fish did not want any wind."

> He triangulating his casts with trees and other stuff on the bank: "...be able to lock myself down and cast toward that one tree [or] whatever I picked out on the bank, it was game on."

> Spectators were great: "Every one of them who came up and watched me the 3rd and 4th days...I'd kind of fish toward them and they'd move off. Nobody made a cast when I was there. I made a point to thank every single one of them."

1. Did you have any feeling about maybe winning this deal before you left the house or on the way?

> "Prior to the tournament, with the year I've had, I was thinking – if I can just cash a check. I've had one of the worst years ever, and just getting back on track – I feel like I did that...180 degrees.

> "...I've got a new burn in me now. I want to win another one."

2. Was it worth the wait?

> "Man I'd love to have had one earlier in my career. Because once you close one it's kinda like a ton of bricks off your shoulders.

> "I'd like to have won one at home [the St Johns River, FL]. I've been close, I've beat myself, but this one right here could never be no sweeter."

3. What would you say to guys who are grinding out there at the top level – or at any level – waiting for their time to come?

> "When it's your turn, you can't do no wrong. The good Lord shined down on me this week. He showed me where to fish, and gave me what I needed to catch them. There's no doubt that He had a hand in it."

4. What's kept you grinding all this time?

> "I've wanted to win one man. Once I qualified [for the Elites] and I started...I was right there several times earlier in my career.

> "My daughter's fixing to get married in a month. After I came home from that last event [93rd at Murray he said] I might as well just quit, take the money I'm fixing to spend [on entries and travel] and spend it on [the] wedding. [His wife Kelley] said, 'We're not quitters'...."

5. After this tournament, did your voice get more Gravely? 😁

> "Man I couldn't do it without them. Gravely [mowers, one of his sponsors] has been awesome. They've been a great sponsor...and we'll continue on to broadcast their name out as much as I can....

> "It was so hot up there there were a couple days where I darn near lost my voice talking to everybody...trying to talk to all the kids and the parents after weigh-ins."

[It's actually pronounced "grave-lee."]

I should've asked him when he got home if he was gonna party like it was 1999 lol.

2nd: Ray "you can call me Ray" Hanselman

> "Most all the fish I weighed were off a secondary shell bar about 50 yards long. It had some scattered big stumps and root systems and new growth hydrilla. The shell in this stretch also was particularly rough. This set up as [a place where] bass would ambush spawning gizzard shad in the mornings, then set up on the isolated stumps later in the day.

> "The boat was sitting in 7' at the break and the shell and stumps were in 5'.

> "I did catch some on moving baits the first 2 days – a 6th Sense Crush 50x oversized squarebill and a new bait they call The Pump, which is a big-profile jerk/crank. And a 3/4-oz 6th Sense hair jig. All were shad pattern." He fished 'em on a 7' 10" Reneau Tackle "The 103" Rod.

> "Most came on a TN River standby, dragging a big worm." 9.6" 6th Sense Boosa Ribbontail Worm (plum – "I had 6 bags of worms and used every one of them"), 5/0 Owner Haymaker Hook, 3/8-oz tungsten weight, 14-lb Gamma Edge Fluoro, 7' 6" Reneau Tackle "The 104" Rod.



3rd: John "I will fish dry land if I have to" Cox

> "I was taking the Berkley Swamp Lord frog in 'hickory shad' and making a very long cast where you couldn't see it land, and working it fast across the mat."

> "I used a 7' 5" H XF Fenwick World Class Rod the 1st day, then I realized I needed to cast farther so I went to the 7' 8" MH F World Class Swimbait Rod and was able to throw it another 25'.

> Abu Garcia Zenon X Reel, 40-lb Spiderwire DuraBraid.

> "I thought it was deeper then it was. It was 36 inches where the boat was sitting, and I was casting into about 0-18 inches under the mat. The main keys were the Crestliner getting in there all 4 days and switching to that longer Fenwick rod."

[Gotta point out – yet another top 10 with that Swamp Lord frowg. Seems like at least 1 a week lately. Also, check the bottom of John's boat in the below pic.]

4th: John "every lake is KY Lake" Garrett

> Main deal: 9.5" Strike King Zeus Worm (plum), 5/0 Owner J Hook, 3/8-oz Strike King Tour Grade Tungsten Weight (pegged), 20-lb Seaguar Tatsu fluoro, Lew's Hypermag Reel (8.3), 7' 4" H F Lew's Custom Lite Rod.

> 6.5" Strike King Finesse Worm (plum), 1/4-oz Owner Shakey Head, 24-lb Seaguar JDM PEX8 Braid to 12-lb Seaguar Tatsu fluoro, Lew's Custom Lite Spin Reel (3000), 7' 4" MH F Lew's Mark Zona Signature Series Spin Rod.

> Why he likes that new PEX8 Braid: "It casts further than I want to reel in. 😂 And 24-lb braid is the same diameter of most 10-lb braid. So it casts better, it's stronger and the pink/green is very easy to see bites on with slack line."

> "Key depth was 6-8', where the grass edge and shell beds met."

> He did not use FFS.



5th: Alex "stormy" Wetherell

> Jig days 1 and 2: 1/2-oz Jig (gp orange) with a 3" Caperlan Yubari Craw ("coming to the US soon"), 40-lb PowerPro Super8Slick V2 Braid, Shimano Metanium Reel (7.1), 7' 2" H Shimano Expride Rod.

> Worm days 3 and 4: 15" or 16" worm (junebug – no idea on the brand, only had 4 total and no idea where I got them), 7/0 hook, 5/16-oz weight, same line, same reel, 7' 6" H Shimano Expride Rod.

> "Days 1-2 were 8 foot on hard bottom and stumps. As the fish moved on me, I started pushing into the grass and concentrated on the edges of grass in 5-6 feet the last 2 days.

> "The fish would move every day. Had to use my side imaging during the tourney each day to relocate fish. But when I did find them it was every cast into that group."



Here's you the top baits, tips, techniques and trends in the bass feeshn world this month? Here you go! The Abu Garcia REVO Top 5 of the Month! 👀

1. Pink highlights! 🩷

2. Pattern single fish?? 🤯

3. FFS = clear water? 👀

4. Another new bait win ✅

5. Do NOT get your frog fish! 🎯

Baits 'n stuff mentioned and shown in this one (in order):

Abu Garcia REVO Reels

Zoom Trick Worm

Roboworm straight tail

Strike King Series 5

Berkley Frittside 5

Rapala DT8

Duo Realis 100DR

FishLab Flutter Nymph

Berkley Power Switch

Rapala CrushCity Freeloader

Big Bite Baits Nekorama: not available yet

Abu Garcia JLee rods

Berkley Swamp Lord frog

1. Ed Loughran had to withdraw from Wheeler...

...due to John Crews being mean to him. Okay not really – it was those "Augmented Reality" sonar glasses he wears in practice.

Okay not really! Health issue which he mentions in that IG post ^. Sorry for messin' around here Ed, get better soon man! Bless you. ✝️🙏

2. CA: OR's Colby Pearson won 2nd BAM tourney in a row

In the final-day shootout he had 16.52 on Almanor catching pre-spawners in 11-18' on what sounds like a Damiki rig.

3. Lunkerhunt Froglets half off for a limited time

Good compact or "finesse" frog, limited-time deal only on their website:

4. If you wanna try those Owner Range Roller jigheads...

...they're on big-time sale on TW right now, along with all Owner products. Those heads are the ones Alton Jr uses all the time.

5. Guck "Alan" McGuckin no longer with Dynamic Sponsorships

A good hard-working man in my 2c – and a special dude to me because he was one of the first peeps (maybe the first?) to recognize that BassFan.com was gonna be something, back when he was the head marketing dude at Terminator spinnerbaits.

Top free agent on the board. Gitcha some well-deserved downtime Guck!

6. TX: E TX Baptist U evangelized in the Amazon

That's walking the walk, good job guys and watch out for those dang parasites! Speaking from experience....

7. ME fish caught in back to back years off the same rockpile

Fish is named...Rocky. Bahahahaaaaaaa!

8. New prez of Brunswick Aluminum Group

Andy Thompson, comes from outside the boat/fishing biz, no mention of whether he owns a boat or fishes:

> ...includes brands Harris, Crestliner, Lund, Lowe, Thunder Jet and Princecraft. Thompson succeeds Dirk Hyde who will be retiring later this summer after more than 30 years with the company.

9. Keep an eye on...

Feds and NY to co-manage giant Lake Ontario "marine sanctuary"

I THINK it won't ban fishing, but the saltwater marine sanctuaries have. Maybe look into it eastern Lake Ontario peeps!

Headline of the Day

FOX's 'Summer of Soccer' begins with bass fishing instead of showing Switzerland vs Hungary

Hahaha that's right mang! Good job FOX! 💪 And btw – as an old soccer athlete and former soccer fan (til it got too dang wimpy), Switzerland vs Hungary ain't exactly a nailbiter. And the team that shoulda won did. I'll take Cliff Prince winning over Switzerland any dang day man! 🧨💥

Wally-eye pro Dylan Nussbaum talks the Gussy mope rig

I keep saying we can learn from wally-eye guys – I just said it again! 😁 Here's some interesting info from Dylan, who is a sonar hound and like Gussy is sponsored by Z-Man. Since Gussy is such an over the top hype machine 🤣 here's some perspective on his Classic-winning Z-Man Scented Jerk ShadZ:

> The 4" Jerk ShadZ delivers the perfect bait-sized profile. I've thrown it at every tournament this year. The ElaZtech material is so soft and it's buoyant...moves differently than any other Fluke-minnow bait I've used.

> Get it nice and straight on a jighead and watch the bait as you reel in. If it's rigged right, you'll get this killer crankbait-like action, a subtle wobble and shimmy that can't be duplicated because of its superplastic material.

> I think the buoyancy is a huge advantage for suspended fish because it keeps the bait up and almost hovering in place. You benefit from a slowed-down drop, so it's not falling past fish too fast.

> ...the bait's buoyancy also keeps it perfectly aligned at that ideal horizontal angle on a jighead. ...I can use a heavier jig for casting distance, but still benefit from a slower, more-seductive rate of fall.

Ever since Gussy's el Clasico ween that bait has been a best-seller on TW. Amazing.

"My FFS was set on max and I was running more power through it than the other guys by channeling the electricity from the power line through my boat to the unit with jumper cables. This allowed me to see through the grass to see what fish to throw the frog at."

- 🤣🤣 Johnny Cox when I asked him what his FFS settings were at Wheeler. John has a bunch of unusual FFS settings! 🤣

This is either some scuba dude with a striped flounder or Dave Mercer and his pet bass "Walda" – used to be Waldo til Dave filmed the spawn and...😁

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