Elite

Top lures at Lake Fork 2024

See the spawning cycle baits used at an epic big bass smash fest at Lake Fork.

Posted on
Photography by
Dalton Tumblin
Captions by
Craig Lamb
Bigger Bass. Bigger Stage. Bigger Dreams. The crowds definitely got the VIP experience at the AFTCO Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork. 
Nowhere else but Texas could an average four-day winning tournament weight be buried down in 30th place with a 73-pound finish. The perfect storm of a post-front warming trend and the backside of a full moon triggered an epic big bass migration on a big bass impoundment. 
The youngest Bassmaster Elite pro to win at age 19. The only angler to catch over 30 pounds each of the four competition days. Winning a Bassmaster Century Club belt as a rookie. Meet the future of the sport, Tyler McKinney, who took his first blue trophy home to Illinois.
The young gun did it with authority, winning the tournament with 130 pounds, 15 ounces. Sharing the spotlight with him were all of the Top 10 anglers who caught over 100 pounds and also earned the coveted Bassmaster Century Club belt. 
Click here to buy these lures at Bass Pro Shops.
Cooper Gallant (10th; 100-7)
Cooper Gallant broke the 100-pound mark with a trio of lures that he also used the previous week at Toledo Bend and on Championship Sunday. 
Leading off as the main bait was a 1/8-ounce Outkast Tackle Goldeneye Jig armed with a stout 3/0 hook for bigger bass. Gallant rigged it with a fluke-style bait. 
For a finesse approach he used a 5-inch X Zone Lures True Center Stick rigged on a 1/0 BKK Predator W.G. Weedless Wacky Hook. 
Another carryover from Toledo Bend was this Shimano World Minnow 115SP. The suspending jerkbait features FLASH BOOST and SCALE BOOST for added strike appeal and JET BOOST for the extended casting range needed to reach faraway fish. 
Kyle Patrick (9th; 111-4)
Elite rookie Kyle Patrick fished his first Championship Sunday by leveraging a wacky rig and jig. 
Patrick favored this 3/4-ounce Greenfish Tackle Little Rubber Jig with a Missile Baits Chunky D.
For a finesse approach he relied on a wacky-rigged Yamamoto Senko rigged on a No. 1 hook.
Ben Milliken (8th; 113-12)
Elite rookie Ben Milliken earned his Century Club belt using a Japanese finesse bait with a duo of jerkbaits and a surprise choice for sight fishing. 
Milliken fished shallow water with this OSP Saikoro Dice Rubber Soft Bait. 
For reaction bites he relied on this 6th Sense Provoke 106DD specifically designed to slow float or suspend, effectively targeting depths of 4 to 7 feet or deeper depending on line diameter. 
Milliken also used a 6th Sense Provoke 97DD that maintains similar attributes in a silent version. 
Wesley Gore (7th; 115-9)
Wesley Gore tracked down prespawn and spawning bass with this duo of Japanese jerkbaits. 
He used this Jackall Rerange 130mm Jerkbait, Secret Shad. 
For a change-up he used this Jackall Rerange 110mm Jerkbait, Hollow Minnow. 
Stetson Blaylock (6th; 117-11)
Stetson Blaylock used a sight fishing program of baits to break into the Bassmaster Century Club. 
For pitching around spawning beds he used this YUM Christie Craw, rigged on a 3/0 EWG hook with a 5/16-ounce weight. 
For bigger bites he used this Smithwick Super Rogue with its bigger profile. 
For sight fishing Blaylock chose this wacky-rigged YUM Dinger with a lightweight nail inserted into one end and rigged on a 1/0 hook. 
Click here to buy these lures at Bass Pro Shops.
Justin Atkins (5th; 117-12)
Justin Atkins relied on a sight-fishing approach with soft plastic finesse rigs. 
Atkins favored this 7-inch Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Hit Worm Magnum, rigged on a No. 1 weedless/wacky hook. 
For a bigger profile bait, he used this Berkley PowerBait Fatty Bottom Hopper, rigged on a 1/0 weedless/wacky hook with an O-ring. 
Tyler Williams (4th; 124-9)
Elite rookie Tyler Williams relied on a favorite lure to fish his first Championship Sunday. 
The choice was a 3/4-ounce Greenfish Tackle Little Rubber Jig, rigged with a Yamamoto Flappin’ Hog. 
Alternatively, Williams used the same jig with a fluke-style trailer. 
Justin Hamner (3rd; 124-10)
Justin Hamner hammered the big fish using a jerkbait and wacky rig. 
For tracking migrating fish, he used this Yo-Zuri 3DB Jerkbait. 
For bed fishing, he used this 5-inch Netbait ION wacky rigged on a 1/0 Spearpoint GP Finesse Hook. 
Tyler Rivet (2nd; 125-9)
Tyler Rivet focused on prespawn and spawning fish with a jerkbait, swim jig and bladed jig. 
Rivet’s top lure was this Bill Lewis Scope-Stik 120. 
For flipping and pitching, he used a 3/8-ounce jig with a Big Bite Baits Swimming Craw.
For Championship Sunday, Rivet used this 1/2-ounce 1st Gen Copperhead Bladed Jig, with a Yamamoto Zako.
Trey McKinney (1st; 130-15)
Trey McKinney’s bass moved shallower throughout the tournament, from 20 to 30 feet of water and then up to 4 feet on Championship Sunday. His bait choices followed the migration to shallower water. 
Mckinney’s primary lure setup was a Strike King 3X Z-Too Soft Jerkbait, rigged on a 1/8-ounce jig head with a stout 3/0 hook for catching bigger bass. 

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