Buddy Gross worked hard Sunday. He burned only about six gallons of gas while staying in Harris Lake and catching bass after bass after bass. After leading the tournament on Day 2, Gross fell to sixth place Saturday, so he knew he had ground to make up.
“I thought I’d lost it Saturday to be honest with you,” Gross said. “I didn’t think I had enough weight to keep me in contention.”
After he weighed a five-bass limit of 22-6 Sunday, which gave him a 2-10 margin over second place Drew Benton, Gross said, “I never saw this one coming.”
In a tournament that figured to be dominated anglers catching pre-spawn and spawning bass moving shallow, Gross caught mostly post-spawners to win the SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at the Harris Chain. His winning total was 77 pounds, 11 ounces.
“I still felt like I needed a 6-pounder,” Gross said. “I felt like I needed two more pounds to win this thing. So this was really a surprise for me.”