Gear

Inside Elite Boats: Paul Marks

Take a look at 2025 Bassmaster Elite Series rookie Paul Marks' tournament rig.

Posted on
Photography by
Kyle Jessie
Arkansas
Paul Marks just wrapped up his rookie season fishing the Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series. The Georgia pro landed his first Elite win at Lake Hartwell, qualified for the 2026 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic and nearly won the Dakota Lithium Bassmaster Rookie of the Year title before his roommate Tucker Smith took the title in the last event of the year.
His first season on the Elites was a massive success, and all the damage was done out of his Phoenix Boats 921 Elite powered by a 250-horsepower Yamaha SHO outboard.
The bow of his boat is home to a Minn Kota Ultrex Quest Trolling Motor.
Marks is running the 52-inch shaft on his Ultrex Quest.
His bow electronics setup includes a Garmin GPSMAP 8616 he uses strictly for LiveScope and a Lowrance HDS 10 for waypoint management and mapping.
The units are stacked vertically with a Bass Boat Technologies Dual Bow Mount.
Marks was getting prepared to fish the final Elite of the 2025 season, so he had plenty of G. Loomis rods with Shimano Reels rigged and ready to go.
Marks shows off the layout of his 921 Pro.
His rod locker is full of mostly casting setups. He prefers to keep his spinning rods out of the rod box as much as possible to keep them in pristine condition.
Marks estimates he keeps 20 to 30 rods in the boat during most tournaments.
The center compartment is full of tackle — hard baits, line, soft baits and seemingly everything in between.
The sliding tray is full of his Seaguar fishing line as well as some hooks. Before tournament day, he tends to throw some soft plastics in the tray that he knows he will be using.
One thing you’ll notice through this boat tour is Marks carries a ton of soft plastics in the boat.
Bags and bags of Zoom soft plastics.
Marks pulls out a bag full of scents.
He always keeps a wide variety of different scents and powders.
He stores his jigs in a bulk pack that holds smaller bags as seen in his hands.
Greenfish Tackle Jigs in bulk.
The Greenfish Tackle Shin Fukae Chibi Jig is one of his go-tos.
Marks shows off a bag full of Zoom Winged Flukes.
The Winged Fluke is one of his favorites when using forward-facing sonar. He had a lot of success in 2025 with this bait.
A closer look at the Zoom Winged Fluke.
One of Marks’ favorite soft plastics to carry in bulk is the Zoom Z-Craw.
The versatility of this bait allows him to use it in a lot of different applications. Marks carries a wide variety of different colors for any situation that could present itself.
“It’s a super versatile bait that can mimic crawfish, bream or baitfish,” he said.
Marks shows off a Spro bag that is full of hooks.
This bag allows him to keep the hooks in the package and store a large variety of hooks.
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The Gamakatsu G-Finesse lineup of hooks is a must-have for Marks.
The compartment on the driver’s side of the boat is full of more bulk soft plastics.
This time it’s a bag full of Zoom Finesse worms
Much like the Z-Craw, Marks carries a wide variety of colors considering the versatility and endless rigging options of the Finesse Worm.
The Magnum Finesse Worm in Junebug was a player for Marks at the Mississippi River.
The smaller day box is home to his tools.
Every bass boat needs a set of tools at the ready.
On to the cooler. Not much to see, but he typically has it loaded down with drinks during tournament competition.
A smaller compartment next to the cooler is home to a variety of different baits for easy access.
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Marks takes a seat at the console.
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At the console, Marks runs a Lowrance HDS 12 he uses for waypoints and SideScan. The Humminbird Apex 16 is primarily used for LakeMaster Mapping.
Under the console is a slot for tools such as scissors and pliers.
The compartment between the two seats is home to a hodgepodge of different items.
Amongst the items in this compartment is a stylish pair of goggles for running in foul conditions.
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This Dockbloxx accessory allows him to keep extra scissors on the back deck seat pedestal.
A look into the livewells.
The compartment behind the driver’s seat is home to a variety of different items.
The items include an oxygen tank that provides the fish in his livewells with extraordinary care.
The stone that goes inside the livewell.
He keeps extra pairs of Redfin Sunglasses in the boat as well.
The compartment behind the passenger’s seat is home to more tackle.
Including this bag full of Spro shakyheads.
A closer look at one of his go-tos.
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On to the battery well.
Marks relies on Impulse Lithium to keep his Phoenix 921 Elite powered up.
Marks runs two 3660s for his trolling motor and a separate battery for his electronics. He has Sonar Pros rig his boat every season.
A spare prop always has a home in the battery well.
The Power-Pole blades were a must for Marks at the Mississippi River.
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Thanks for the tour, Paul!

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