This is how old I am – when Dean Rojas caught a 45-pound, 2-ounce bag at Lake Toho on his way to what was then the four-day weight record of 108-12, I printed out and faxed the results to my fishing mentor, as if the ink and pixels verified the craziness.
Six years later, when Steve Kennedy broke that mark with 122-14 at Clear Lake, I wondered if the swimbait thing would ever be more than a weird little regional niche.
The next year, 2008, I fished as a co-angler at the legendary Falcon Elite event. You truly have not been to Largemouth Disneyland until you’ve been to a weigh-in where the tournament director says, “Don’t bother weighing fish for the big bas award unless they’re at least 10 pounds.” Paul Elias won with 132-8. I figured that record might never be broken. After all, Falcon was until then a mostly unknown fishery. It was, and is, remote. And we hit it at a perfect time. In other words, a perfect storm.
Well, now Kyoya Fujita is on the verge of breaking that record. On a well-known, relatively small lake, not far from a major metroplex, he exceeded a total of 100 pounds through just three days of competition. He needs 31-14 to tie the record, an ounce more than that to beat it. It’s difficult to suggest with a straight face and a clear conscience that nearly 32 pounds is “easy,” but right now he’s making it look that way. He had 31 pounds on Day 1, 34 on Day 2, and over 35 today. The Vegas oddsmakers might consider him just as likely to see his weight go up again tomorrow as he is to fall short of the record.
These are the times we live in. Two tournaments ago at the Pasquotank River, Kyle Welcher set the margin of victory record, beating his closest competitor by over 45 pounds. Now, rather than assuming that the Elias record will never be broken, I’m firmly in the camp that it will – possibly tomorrow, probably in the next five years. Things need to line up right for it to happen, and currently Fujita seems to have all his ducks in a row.
I’ll be watching the young Japanese angler carefully tomorrow, but here’s what I saw, heard and thought on a remarkable day on a stupid-good lake:
The Four Day Fork Elite Record – Part of the reason that I expect the four-day weight record to be broken sooner rather than later is because last year at Fork, Trey McKinney racked up 130-15. That’s just 1-9 less than the Elias record. Even if he doesn’t pass Elias, Fujita needs “only” 30-6 to pass McKinney’s weight. He’s hit that every day. While the largest limit we’ve seen this week is the 35-10 that Fujita weighed today, in the 2021 Elite event on Fork, Lee Livesay caught the third heaviest bag in BASS history – 42-3. With a 40-pound bag, both Paul Marks (2nd, 95-11) and Tucker Smith (3rd, 92-10) could eclipse the record, too. I’m not saying it’s going to happen, but I’m saying there’s a chance.
Bryan New (14th, 73-14) – “I finally caught 30 pounds. It took me 35 years but I finally did it.” He had 31-3 today to rise from 29th to 14th.
Little Deuce – Tucker Smith is in third place, just 3-1 out of second, which is a familiar spot for him. He finished second at the recent Elite event on Hartwell, as well as in two Opens last year and two prior college events. But don’t cry for him, Alabama – he was also part of the winning team in a Bass Pro Shops tournament a few years back that paid he and fellow Elite angler Logan Parks a cool million bucks. It may be just coincidental, but one of Smith’s early fishing mentors was the late Aaron Martens, whose daughter attended Briarwood Christian School in Alabama with Smith. Martens had four second place finishes in Classic competition. The Hall of Famer also won three Bassmaster Angler of the Year awards, including the 2013 and 2015 Elite Series AOYs.
Perfect Game – Two anglers have a chance to top 30 pounds all four days – Fujita and Marks. Last year Trey McKinney was the only one to accomplish that feat. Indeed, he’s the only one to accomplish it in Elite Series history. Even in the Falcon event of 2008, no one caught 30 pounds or more each day. Mark Davis caught over 30 the first three days, but “only” had 26-14 on Day Four. Last year Tyler Williams was the only angler with a chance to match McKinney by going four-for-four, but he fell 2 ounces short on Day Four.
Bryan New (14th, 73-14) – “I finally caught 30 pounds. It took me 35 years but I finally did it.”
10×100 – Last year, the Top 10 finishers at Fork all earned Century Belts. This year, the Top 10 are all on pace to do it again. Greg Hackney (11th, 77-5) and Patrick Walters (12th, 75-7) are also on pace but will not get to compete tomorrow.
Thirties, Interrupted – McKinney weighed in 21-5 today, a fine weight, but far below his lofty standards. In seven competition days at Fork, it was the first time he didn’t hit the 30 mark.
Jordan Lee (29th, 64-7) – “The shallow ones seem to be a little easier to catch if you can get around them.”
Premature Celebration? – Is ordering pizza to the boat on Day 3 the functional equivalent of spiking the ball before you cross the goal line? Starting your home run trot and then getting thrown out at second when the ball hits the top of the wall and ricochets back into the field? I guess it depends on how Day 4 goes.
Ahead and Behind – Fujita’s 100-10 is more than 3 pounds heavier than what last year’s Day 3 leader (and eventual champion) Trey McKinney’s 97-5 had after three days in 2024. Down the leaderboard, however, things were stronger last year. Wesley Gore entered Day 4 in 10th place both years – in 2024 he had 86-5, while today he has 77-9. In fact, six of the Top 10 have less than 86-5.
Mark Menendez (47th, 53-6) – “It’s always great to have a work day on Saturday.”
30 for 30 – The field produced six 30-pound bags on Thursday and eight more yesterday. The halved field turned in eight more today. There was one limit over 33 pounds on Thursday (Buddy Gross) and two yesterday (Fujita and Tucker Smith). Today there were five of them, topped off by Fujita’s 35-10, along with Gore’s 34-1.
Hack Attack – This was Greg Hackney’s (11th, 77-5) best Elite finish at Fork. He’d previously finished 38th, 13th and 39th.
Note to Kyoya – Don’t forget Mother’s Day, which is celebrated in Japan on the second Sunday in May, as it is in the United States. The traditional gift is carnations. A hundred grand buys a lot of flowers. Just sayin’.
Randy Howell (43rd, 56-14) – “That’s what it’s all about right now, getting those points.” He’s looking to qualify for his 17th Bassmaster Classic and first since 2018.
The Anti-FFS Crowd – There were a lot of statements onstage to the effect that “I got to do it my way this week.”
Tyler Williams (6th, 82-9) – “I’m just messing around.” Things are going to get dangerous when he finally decides to be serious. He’s well on track to earning his second Lake Fork Century Belt.
Wanna Feel Really Old? — Six members of this week’s Top 10 were not yet born when Rojas caught his 45-2 limit at Toho.
All Ups, All Downs – Four members of the Top 10 have seen their weights increase every day, including leaders Fujita and Marks. Tyler Williams had a Day 3 weight 9-9 higher than his first day weight, while Wesley Gore’s Day 3 weight was 13-15 more than what he weighed in on Thursday. Gore started the tournament in 47th, rose to 26th and then snuck into the Top 10 by 4 ounces over Greg Hackney. Trey McKinney and Jay Przekurat have seen their weights go down every day.
Less than 15 – Brandon Palaniuk (23rd with 12 bass for 66-12) was the top finisher who did not weigh in 15 bass. He had five, then four, then three.
Double Digit Deficit – Through three days, we’ve seen a bunch of overs, but no 10-pounders. There were twin 9-14s weighed on Days 1 and 2, but today’s big fish was 9 pounds even.
Feider’s Bests – Seth Feider (9th, 79-11) is within shouting distance of his first Century Belt, needing just 20-5 to hit the 100-pound mark. “I’m just going to wear it forever if I ever get one,” he said. “Wear it to bed.” He has a solid track record at Fork. Indeed, it produced his largest weight to date, 86-11 when he finished sixth in 2021. After that, however, his five best weights have all been in the north – 86-5 at the St. Lawrence, 78-14 at Champlain, 77-15 at the St. Lawrence, 76-14 at Champlain and 75-13 at Cayuga. If he doesn’t catch another bass, this will be his third highest weight in Elite competition.
If You’re Already Planning for Father’s Day – I hear the Columbia Taku Ito signature shoes are a hot item. The JDM footwear may be tough to source.
Get ‘Em While You Can – Hideup Coike. Like dice on an acid trip.
