Elite

Inside Elite Boats: Brandon Lester

Take an inside look at Brandon Lester's tournament rig from the 2026 Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series season!

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Brandon Lester
Tennessee
Take an inside look at Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series pro Brandon Lester’s tournament rig from the 2026 Elite season!
Brandon ran a Phoenix 921 Elite for his 13th season on tour.
At the bow he has mounted a Minn Kota Ultrex Trolling Motor.
Lester keeps it simple with only one graph mount on the trolling motor.
He runs the Lowrance Active Target 2.
At the front are the dual Lowrance units.
On the Lowrance HDS 16 up top he runs his Lowrance Active Target 2. On the bottom is his Lowrance HDS 12 for mapping.
A quick look inside with all the compartment lids opened.
A peek inside the rod locker.
“I keep anywhere between 25 to 30 rods with me on the road,” said Lester.
Next, look inside the middle compartment where he stores a lot of his tackle.
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“This is probably my favorite box in the boat,” Lester said of his hook box.
All of his Mustad hooks lay inside this box.
I asked Brandon to show me his favorite all-around hook. His weapon of choice was this Mustad Tak-Offset 2/0.
A closer look.
Up top inside the lid is an array of used baits.
In another box he keeps all of his Mustad treble hooks.
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A box of topwaters was necessary for the tournament where we shot this boat tour — Lake Murray.
Nice, neat and organized.
A look at how Lester keeps his ChatterBaits organized.
Here’s a close-up look.
In his slider compartment he keeps all of his worms and hooks for the day.
Here’s a Live Target worm he keeps close.
His favorite worm of choice is a Live Target 6.5-inch Finesse Worm in Green/Red.
Also in the middle compartment he stores all of his Vicious Fluorocarbon line.
His favorite line of choice — Vicious Pro Elite 100% Fluorocarbon.
In the opposite rod locker box he keeps some spare knickknacks.
He keeps his Lowrance Active Target 2 box in this compartment.
We took a step back to the cockpit of the boat. First up is the livewell. He keeps it pretty clean, only a couple of apples and waters inside.
One of the neat features of this boat is this slide out box.
Stored here is an array of extra things he may need for the day. Scents, Sharpies, lighter, toothpicks, etc.
Beside the cooler lid he keeps his Mustad pliers and scissors.
A look at the dash.
He kept his Bassmaster Classic number stuck to the front windshield.
At the dash is two Lowrance units.
He runs dual Lowrance HDS 12s, one for mapping and one he uses for side imaging, 2D and down imaging.
He mounts the Lowrances on these Precision Sonar mounts.
At the steering wheel is the T-H Marine Atlas FingerFlex Blinker Trim.
Also visible is the T-H Marine Atlas Jackplate readout gauge.
Under the dash is the T-H Marine Hotfoot.
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Underneath the console is a mixture of everyday needs.
“I keep just about everything in here — truck keys, sunglasses, towels, T-H Marine Wave Away,” said Lester.
In this box he keeps all of his SD Cards and an extra Power-Pole remote.
Keeping your graphs clean are key. That’s why Lester keep his little bottle of T-H Marine Wave Away always in the boat.
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Wipe away!
In the back compartment he stores his extra life jacket and cull beam.
A T-H Marine GForce Conservation Cull System.
Also in the box is a T-H Marine Prop Wrench and a handy dandy block of wood.
Here’s an extra Minn Kota Ultrex Trolling Motor Prop.
In the other box he keeps an assortment of extra baits and a jug of oil.
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In the back is his Impulse Lithium batteries that power his whole rig.
He keeps three 36 volt, 60AH batteries to power his trolling motor.
He keeps an Impulse Platinum Series 12v 120AH to power graphs and crank the outboard.
Also inside the back is his Power-Pole One Hydraulic Pump.
Also the Power-Pole Charge sits inside. It provides power to the batteries anytime the outboard motor is running.
Hanging off the stern is his Mercury ProXS 250 horsepower outboard.
To keep the motor straight while towing he uses these T-H Marine Steer Clips.
The T-H Marine Atlas Jackplate is one of the most-used features in his boat.
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He stows the motor with the T-H Marine Motor Stiks.
He keeps The Leash on all of his outboard motors.
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And that’s a wrap. Thanks for the tour, Brandon!

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