Elite

Big bass of 2023 Elites

See all the biggest lunkers that crossed the Bassmaster Elite Series weigh-in stage in 2023.

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Captions by
Mike Suchan
Soon, there will be resolutions made for 2024 Bassmaster circuits, which start in about a month. While visions of 2023 have been nestled to bed, head-shaking bass are still in Elite heads. There were literally Santa-sized sacks of oversized bass weighed in during the past year, from Jason Christie’s 10-grand kicker to Patrick Walter’s third Century Club belt. While it’s cold outside, let’s warm things up by looking back at the Elite season and the fish that compressed scales and turned heads.
Bernie Schultz kicked off the big bass bonanza at the season-opening SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at Lake Okeechobee, Feb. 16-19. The longtime pro from Gainesville, Fla., brought in a pair of 8-pounders to take the Day 1 lead with a 28-11 limit. His 8-10 earned the $1,000 bonus for Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the day, but he couldn’t match his weight over the next two days to finish 34th.
While each Elite landed limits on Day 2, “Big Fish” Brandon Cobb doubled the average fish weight with a limit of 32-15, the VMC Monster Bag of the event that ended up the largest for the entire season. Cobb’s biggest bass was an 8-12, earning daily and event bonuses, and it helped him take the lead with 55-8. Weather nipped Cobb’s prespawn bite and he ended up taking third, but his big bass was a candidate to hold out as Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the year and claim its $10,000 bonus.
Standing 39th after two days, Missouri’s Cody Huff caught this 8-6, more than half his Day 3 total of 15-15, moving him to 25th. He earned Saturday’s $1,000 big fish bonus and got off to a solid start on the season.
Logan Latuso of Gonzales, La., reached the Top 10 in his first Elite competition behind Day 3’s best bag of 24-15, and he made a run on Championship Sunday behind the day’s big bass, a 6-14, to finish fourth.
In his fifth Elite season, Tyler Rivet finally got to flex. In practice, the pro from Raceland, La., went into the Kissimmee River to catch crappie for dinner but also found the winning area with his forward-facing sonar. After standing third with 24-5, Rivet averaged nearly 6 pounds a fish with 29-2 on Day 2. With the best bag on Championship Sunday, Rivet totaled 86-15 for his first Elite title. “Nobody else was doing what I was doing and that’s the key to winning an Elite,” Rivet said. “I thought this one would be won out in the lake … But when I found my spot in the river, I thought, ‘This could be something.’ But I didn’t know until that first day and I was like ‘We could win.’”
A quick turnaround sent the 104 anglers to the Florida-Georgia border to the Gamakatsu Bassmaster Elite at Lake Seminole, Feb. 23-26. Having never taken a Phoenix Boats Big Bass award, Matt Arey was pleased his 8-1 took Day 1 honors. It helped the Shelby, N.C., pro place 16th.
Reigning Classic champ Jason Christie had a late catch on Day 1 to total 18-0, then he had Day 2’s best bass of 6-5, more than a third of his 17-5 that put him in ninth. However, with only 12-14 on Semifinal Saturday, Christie dropped to take 24th, yet big things lie ahead in his topsy-turvy season.
Japanese rookie Kyoya Fujita jumped from 20th to fourth behind a limit of 23-6, helped by an 8-6 that gave him daily and event Phoenix Boats Big Bass bonuses. Weighing Sunday’s second biggest bag of 19-15, the 26-year-old phenom took second for $38,000 in earnings, doubling his Opens total from 2022.
Another rookie, Joey Cifuentes, aka The Cowboy, put his name in the hat on Day 2 with the VMC Monster Bag of the event at 26-1, including a 6-2. Combined with his 19-13, the Clinton, Ark., pro held the Day 2 lead and he kept it.
Cifuentes had some nerve-wracking misses early on Championship Sunday as he targeted deep bass in Spring Creek’s standing timber. Cifuentes landed the day’s best at 5-12 in his bag of 18-7 that gave him the winning total of 85-2, almost 9 pounds ahead of Fujita. A protege of legendary Larry Nixon, Cifuentes won the $100,000 first prize in his 13th B.A.S.S. tournament.
In comparison to other tournaments, the bass weren’t that big at the 2023 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Toyota, March 24-26 – they just meant much, much more. The overall Mercury Big Bass from the Tennessee River out of Knoxville, Tenn., came close to matching the largest of 2019 on the same fishery. Chris Johnston landed Day 1’s best at 4-15, helping him stand fifth with 14-2, but bringing in one fish on Day 2 saw him fall to 31st, out of the Top 25 cut.
On Day 1, Oklahoma’s Luke Palmer suffered a 3-pound penalty for missing check-in time by three minutes, then a mechanical failure forced him into a backup boat on Day 2. While he missed the cut by a pound and wondered what might have been, Palmer caught the Mercury Big Bass, a 5-13 that earned him $3,500 as daily and overall biggest fish.
Matt Roberston went big fish hunting and found quality, just not quantity as he never mustered a limit. He had three for 10-15, two or 8-1 then two for 7-12 – including Championship Sunday’s Mercury Big Bass of 5-6, to finish 18th.
Canadian Jeff Gustafson, who won wire-to-wire in the 2021 Tennessee River Elite, used the same technique, albeit in new areas, to do the same in the championship. Gussy’s leading 18-8 on Day 1 gave him the Rapala Monster Bag bonus of $7,000, and he kept the top spot after Day 2 before struggling on Championship Sunday. Despite only two fish, Gustafson held off charges from Bryan Schmitt and Scott Canterbury to win with 42-7, becoming the first Canadian Classic champ.
The Marathon Elite at Lake Murray, April 20-23, was a long-distance affair, complete with a big late kicker to win. With the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of 6-14 on Day 1, Matt Robertson led with 25-8. Yet his big bite waned, and he fell to ninth before dropping to 29th.
Brandon Card, still overcoming offseason illness, took the Day 2 bonus as he equaled Robertson with this 6-14. Better yet, it helped him build a limit going 22-10, which catapulted Card from 95th to 45th. Another 20-5 on Day 3 helped Card finish 27th and salvage 68 points in the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings. Without them, the 11-year pro might not have qualified for his seventh Classic.
Matt Arey was back at it again after his first big bass honor at Seminole. With this 7-11, Arey won the Day 3 Phoenix Boats Big Bass at Murray, and it held out for overall. Arey had narrowly slid into the Day 2 cut at 47th, then the big bass helped him finish 25th.
Hunter Shryock, of Newcomerstown, Ohio, was on track to win, especially after a remarkable catch of Day 4’s biggest bass, a 6-14. The fish stayed on as Shryock was prone on his front deck and worked his rod around a piling. He weighed 21-4 for 85-7, just 1-10 shy of winning.
Drew Benton held the two-day lead with 46-9, but a stingier semifinal dropped him to last man in Championship Sunday. With some solid 4s and 5s, Benton erased much of his 4-15 deficit to Fujita. His sight bite heating up, Benton caught two big fish late, including a 6-4 that helped him rally to the biggest bag of the tournament, 26-7, and win with 87-0.
David Gaston started 12th in the AFTCO Bassmaster Elite at Santee Cooper Lakes, April 27-30, weighing 20-15 that included an 8-5, the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the event. The rookie from Sylacauga, Ala., added a 6-13 on Day 3 but was one short of a limit and half a pound from making Championship Sunday.
Big Fish Brandon Cobb was at it again, landing Day 2’s Phoenix Boats Big Bass of 7-11, which helped him move up to second in the tournament with 24-15, the big bag of the day.
Paul Mueller had almost half his Day 3 limit of 15-8 come on this 7-10, the day’s best bass. It helped him finish sixth and climb 22 spots to 77th in AOY. With three top 30 finishes on the Northern Swing, the Naugatuck, Conn., pro narrowly made his fifth Classic, finishing 41st in AOY points.
Luke Palmer did big things in the final two rounds. With 26-3, he went into Championship Sunday leading with 70-15, then caught a 7-5, the day’s best, in a limit of 25-1. He won with 96-14, and his 14-3 margin of victory ranks sixth largest all-time. Palmer, who at the Classic wondered if he’d ever win, was the third first-time Elite winner in 2023.
Going into the May 11-14 Whataburger Bassmaster Elite at Lay Lake, anglers weren’t too optimistic about quality or quantity as most fish were in a postspawn funk, but there were many big surprises once competition began. Not far from takeoff at Beeswax Creek Park, defending AOY champion Brandon Palaniuk fished where the 2010 Classic was won. Many anglers said they couldn’t find quality there, but Palaniuk landed the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of Day 1, a 5-14, as he took the lead with 19-7. The area kept producing for Palaniuk, who finished runner-up by 2 ounces after a freakish dead-fish penalty.
Florida’s Cliff Prince was 80th after Day 1, but his Day 2 Phoenix Boats Big Bass of 6-4 helped him weigh 16-10 and catapult well inside the cut to 21st.
It was thought that the Santee Cooper Elite would be the last reasonable chance to top Cobb’s 8-12 from Okeechobee, which led for the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the year and its $10,000 bonus. Jason Christie surprised even himself on Day 3 when he landed a 9-4. It gave the 2022 Classic champ $13,000 as Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the day, event and year, as well as $2,000 for VMC Monster Bag of the week at 23-0.
Knowing he needed a monster bag to win, Herren sought the big bite. He did get this 4-5, the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the day, but it was his only fish and he fell to ninth.
Rookie Will Davis Jr., the closest angler to Lay Lake at 12.3 miles from door to Cedar Creek marina, was just 1-9 out of the lead after two days. An hour before check-in, Davis caught an estimated 3-pounder that gave him 14-2 and a winning total of 62-12. The hometown crowd roared through a downpour as Davis held off two of the most decorated anglers on the Elites. It was an emotional win for Davis and his father, the namesake of Davis Bait Co.
Chad Pipkens jumped on top in the Folds of Honor Elite at Sabine River, June 1-4, landing a 5-12 in his leading 14-7 limit. He earned the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the day and event worth $3,000 total and added the VMC Monster Bag bonus of $2,000. The Dewitt, Mich., pro had a Day 2 limit just 6 ounces more than his big, which helped him finish 10th.
On Day 2, there were 84 limits caught, four less than Thursday, and the average fish remained around 1-8. David Williams had a four-for-one catch in this 5-8, the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of Day 2, that catapulted him from 64th to 15th. His 11-11 limit helped him finish 22nd.
Clifford Pirch made a Day 3 jump, helped by the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of 5-8. Pirch totaled 12-3 to climb from 43rd to finish 12th.
Veteran Clark Wendlandt started 4-14 back of Brock Mosley on Day 4 and made things interesting with the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of 4-2. One big bite away, Wendlandt lost a potential winning fish but still weighed the day’s biggest bag at 12-0 to take second with 41-6.
Brock Mosley, who in previous Sabine Elites finished 12th and second after holding the lead, led after Day 2. Plying a stretch of river near takeoff with more than a handful of other anglers, Mosley culled to 12-6 on Saturday and finished off his first title with 9-15 for a 44-3 total. After five second-place finishes, Mosley finally won in his 112th Bassmaster entry, and he became the fifth first-time Elite winner of 2023.
Dock talk before the AFTCO Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair, July 27-30, centered on how the smallmouth still needed to put on some weight. Although skinnier than when the Elites visited the heart of Great Lakes fishing in the past, they still cracked them, setting the high weight mark on the fishery. Two-time Elite winner Bryan Schmitt of Deale, Md., was among those plying Anchor Bay, and he caught the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of Day 1, a 6-1 that helped him weigh 23-3 to stand third.
Although low on his BassTrakk estimates, Taku Ito busted the VMC Monster Bag of the event at 25-8 to take the lead with 47-4. Included in his five-fish limit was a 6-2, which earned the popular fourth-year pro Phoenix Boats Big Bass bonuses for the day and the event.
Jacob Foutz made noise as one of seven who topped 20 pounds each day. He landed Day 3’s best limit of 23-11, including the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of 5-10, to jump to seventh heading into the final day. With 20-5, Foutz totaled 86-4 to finish sixth.
Greg Hackney topped 20 pounds each day, climbing from 17th to 13th to ninth. He went into the final day 3-1 out of the lead as he sought his seventh Bassmaster title. Despite catching a 5-1 to tie for Phoenix Boats Big Bass of Day 4, Hackney finished ninth with 85-15 and solidified an 18th Classic berth by jumping to 14th in points.
Cifuentes, already with his Seminole title, was among the only ones venturing into Canadian waters. After surviving Day 3’s rough waters, when he weighed his smallest limit of 21-1, Cifuentes erased his small deficit by hunting down three 5-pound class bass, including one that literally jumped into his boat, and tying for Phoenix Boats Big Bass at 5-1. With the day’s best of 23-13, Cifuentes won with 91-8, topping the previous best weight at St. Clair. With two titles in his rookie season, Cifuentes went on to a one-point victory over Fujita as Dakota Lithium Bassmaster Rookie of the Year.
The field in the Dakota Lithium Bassmaster Elite at Lake Champlain, Aug. 17-20, couldn’t top the previous big bass there, however, three anglers eclipsed the previous best total. Second-year pro Jay Przekurat from Wisconsin boated the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of Day 1, a 5-4 that helped him to 22-11 and third place. He was in the hunt with 21-1 then 20-11 but 18-9 on a rare Championship Monday – the second round was weather-delayed from Friday – saw him finish fifth, 3-12 back of the winner.
Mark Mendendez had the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of 5-1 on Day 2 in a 19-4 limit. However, his Day 1 weight of only 14-13 was too far back to rally into the cut. Over the four days, there were 1,290 bass weighing in at almost 4,600 pounds, for an average of 3-9.
Bryan Schmitt, hoping to repeat after winning the 2021 Champlain Elite, started with 20-4 but was in 16th. With a largemouth bite that didn’t hit on Saturday, he dropped to 19th with 19-1. However, he busted Day 3’s Phoenix Boats Big Bass, a 5-1 largemouth, to finish 17th.
Foutz, the last man into Championship Monday, caught Day 4’s Phoenix Boats Big Bass of 4-13 in his limit going 20-10. It was only the third bag on the day to top 20 pounds and helped Foutz finish eighth.
Fujita took the lead after his VMC Monster Bag of 23-14 on Day 2, then extended his margin to 2-13 with 22-9. The first-year Elite from Minamitsuru, Japan, slipped some on Day 4 with 19-0, but his total of 86-12 gave him a 1-6 margin over Justin Atkins and 1-7 over Cody Huff. It was the rookie’s first B.A.S.S. title and his fourth Top 10 in the Elites. With Cifuentes’ wins at Seminole and St. Clair and Davis’s Lay Lake title, rookies had won half the Elites so far in 2023.
Big things were expected from the Minn Kota Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River, Aug. 24-27, especially after 2022 when it became the first fishery to produce 100-pound, four-day totals of smallmouth. There were four this time. Paul Mueller, who caught his personal-best 7-13 smallmouth in taking second to Chris Johnston here in 2020, brought in the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of Day 1, a 6-11 that helped him start ninth with 25-4. Mueller ended 31st.
Rookie Bryan Smith of Roseville, Calif., found the VMC Monster bag of the event on Lake Ontario. His 29-5, which included a 6-9, is the largest limit of smallmouth caught in 56 years of B.A.S.S. competition. Smith, however, didn’t top 20 pounds again and fell to 27th, but the 32-year-old showed he was a force by finishing 13th in AOY to make his first Classic.
Saying the AOY needed to be won, Kyle Welcher went for it by venturing into the lake on a rough Day 1 and catching a 6-9 in a 25-10 bag. He stood fifth and, more importantly, increased his points lead over Brandon Cobb. There was no slip in Welcher’s game on Day 2 as the fourth-year pro from Opelika, Ala., landed a 6-9 in his 27-12 — the biggest bag of the day — that gave him the two-day lead. Welcher dropped to second on Day 3 yet was awarded the AOY trophy at the weigh-in. He finished with 752 points, 24 ahead of Cobb. He narrowly missed the Century Club with mechanical problems on Day 4.
Kenta Kimura dropped 10 spots from fourth (25-12) after a slow Day 2 (21-4), but he bound into Championship Sunday with 27-9, the second-best bag of Day 3 that included the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the event at 7-0. Kimura, who finished seventh after 21-1, qualified for his second Classic by taking 23rd in AOY.
Taku Ito, who won on St. Lawrence in 2021, was the first to 100 pounds after the day’s best limit of 26-5 gave him 101-7. Fujita (above) was the next to hit the mark. His bag of 25-12, including the day’s big bass at 6-2, helped him to 102-5. Fujita was seventh in AOY with 697 points, just missing the $10,000 bonus for Dakota Lithium Rookie of the Year that went to Joey Cifuentes, who had 698 points. Chris Johnston had 25-12 to become the third topping 100 pounds, his 103-12 just 1-5 back of winning his second title at St. Lawrence.
After watching Welcher, whose fishing time was cut as he had to borrow Justin Atkins’ boat, weigh 20-7 to fall 4 ounces short of a belt and fall to fifth, Walters weighed in 24-10 to win at the St. Lawrence with 105-0. It was the fifth Bassmaster title for the fifth-year pro from Eutawville, S.C., putting him into a tie for seventh among active Elites.
It was the third Century Club belt that Walters has won, the first two coming at Lake Fork. It was a point of pride that Walters is the only pro to earn belts with both smallmouth and largemouth. Walters earned $100,000 for the win and $30,000 for moving up two spots to finish third in AOY, putting him just $15,000 from joining the Millionaires Club with B.A.S.S.

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