Best of 2020 Elite Series top lures

The 2020 Bassmaster Elite Series season, like the year, was anything but normal. It began in February on the St. Johns River and was put on hold until June. The shutdown eliminated events scheduled during the spawning cycle, while adding a new dimension to the sport’s premier league.

All captions: Craig Lamb

Photo: James Overstreet

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The schedule resumed as planned with a Northern Swing that did not disappoint. The St. Lawrence River (and Lake Ontario) showed out, as expected, and the smallmouth bonanza carried over to Lake Champlain and Lake St. Clair.

Photo: Dalton Tumblin

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Then came a string of final events held during the fall transition. The pros ground it out through the Southern Swing, while demonstrating how to catch fish during the toughest time of the year.

Photo: Andy Crawford

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The storyline of the week was the high winds that forced postponement of the tournament’s start by two days. Paul Mueller punched pads when he found sufficient water for prespawn staging fish to move into the cover. His punching bite consistently improved

St. Johns River
The storyline of the week was the high winds that forced postponement of the tournament’s start by two days. Paul Mueller punched pads when he found sufficient water for prespawn staging fish to move into the cover. His punching bite consistently improved later in the day, as the week’s tide schedule brought higher water to the relatively shallow pads in the afternoon. The result was a winning weight of 47 pounds, 6 ounces.

Photo: Thomas Allen

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Mueller’s key lure was a 3/8-ounce Strike King Hack Attack Heavy Cover Swim Jig, with Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Craw trailer.

Photo: Andy Crawford

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Lake Eufaula
Lake Eufaula gave the anglers plenty of options during the mid-June postspawn pattern contest. The bass were caught migrating from the shoreline out to the lake’s legendary ledges on the Chattahoochee River channel.

Photo: Thomas Allen

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Buddy Gross focused on offshore structure and staging schools of bass along the ledges. He had some brushpiles on backup, but the event set up perfectly for his skillset of finding deep water bass using electronics. The result was a winning weight of 84 pounds, 8 ounces.

Photo: Thomas Allen

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Gross relied on a 3/4-ounce Nichols Lures prototype jig that features a bullet-shaped head, and lighter weight weed guard and hook. He added a 3.5-inch Zoom Super Chunk for a trailer.

Photo: Andy Crawford

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A 5-inch Scottsboro Tackle Swimbait, rigged on a 3/8-ounce Owner Flashy Swimmer with 8/0 hook was another choice. So was a 3/4-ounce weedless swimbait underspin head and 5-inch Zoom Swimmer.

Photo: Andy Crawford

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St. Lawrence River
The key game changer for the annual trip to the St. Lawrence River was the addition of Lake Ontario to the tournament waters. Even though the Canadian side was off limits, that didn’t matter to the winner.

Photo: Shane Durrance

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Canadian Chris Johnston was shut out of his favorite waters, and he capitalized on the American side, fishing the entrance to the St. Lawrence River at Lake Ontario. He amassed a winning weight of 97 pounds, 8 ounces.

Photo: Steve Bowman

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A primary setup was a 3.6-inch Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Flat Worm, rigged no No. 4 Gamakatsu Aaron Martens TGW Drop Shot Hook, with 3/8-ounce weight.

Photo: Andy Crawford

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Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain’s largemouth and smallmouth showed out, and it would take both to compete on Championship Sunday.

Photo: Dalton Tumblin

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Brandon Palaniuk rotated through a Neko rig, drop-shot rig and glide bait for his winning weight of 80 pounds, 1 ounce.

Photo: Andy Crawford

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That choice was a 7.50-inch Storm Arashi Glide Bait.

Photo: Andy Crawford

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He made the Neko rig with a 6-inch X Zone Lures MB Fat Finesse Worm, on No. 1 VMC Ike Approved Weedless Neko Hook, with 3/16-ounce VMC Mushroom Head weight. Palaniuk made the drop shot rig with a 3.25-inch X Zone Lures Pro Series Finesse Slammer, on No. 2 drop-shot hook and 3/8-ounce VMC Tungsten Teardrop Drop Shot Weight.

Photo: Andy Crawford

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Lake St. Clair
Bill Weidler found his winning bass on the hard edges of grasslines in 14 to 15 feet. Watching his Humminbird 360 for clusters of baitfish helped focus his search. The result was a winning weight of 86 pounds, 7 ounces.

Photo: Steve Bowman

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Weidler used finesse baits on hard edges of grasslines in 15-feet of water. Key was the presence of baitfish that attracted the smallmouth. Finesse baits matching the forage size did the trick.

Photo: Dalton Tumblin

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A top choice was a Z Man 2.75-inch Finesse TRD, rigged on a 1/4-ounce Lifted Jigs Ned EWG Jig Head, designed for fishing around heavy cover without the bulkiness of a weedguard. He also used a Strike King 3X ElazTech Z Too Soft Jerkbait, rigged on No. 1 Owner AKI Hook, with 1/2-ounce weight. Alternatively, he used the same bait nose-hooked on a drop shot rig made with a No. 1 Owner Drop Shot Hook and 3/8-ounce weight.

Photo: Andy Crawford

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Lake Guntersville
Frank Talley began the final round in sixth place, and he intended to fish his previous areas until making a crucial stop along an isolated stretch of eelgrass. It paid off with capping a winning weight of 64 pounds, 3 ounces, also allowing him to cull up.

Photo: Dalton Tumblin

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Talley’s key bait was a Strike King 1/2-ounce Thunder Cricket, with Strike King Rage Swimmer trailer.

Photo: Andy Crawford

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For kicker bass he used a Strike King Sexy Frog.

Photo: Andy Crawford

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Santee Cooper Lakes
The fall transition posed a challenge for the sport’s top pros the Santee Cooper Lakes. But never mind, this derby occurred on the legendary lakes known for producing heavyweight catches, and even during the fall slump.

Photo: Dalton Tumblin

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A punching pattern was a primary tactic used all week by Brandon Palaniuk. On Championship Sunday, he called an audible and moved to a new area, adding a drop shot to the lure lineup. The gutsy move paid off with a key 7-pounder, to cap his winning weight of 64 pounds, 2 ounces.

Photo: Dalton Tumblin

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Palaniuk rigged a 5.5-inch X Zone Lures Mega Swammer on a 1/2-ounce VMC Ike Approved Swimbait Head. He also rigged a 3.5-inch X Zone Lures Muscle Back Finesse Craw on a 3/0 VMC Ike Approved Heavy Duty Flippin Hook, with a 1.25-ounce weight. On Championship Sunday he added a drop-shot rigged X Zone Lures Deception Worm to the lineup.

Photo: Andy Crawford

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Lake Chickamauga
A drop shot fished in shallow, heavy cover that won at Santee Cooper. The next week? Another off-season tactic, with a topwater frog and unique swimbait/frog combo rig winning at Lake Chickamauga.

Photo: Andy Crawford

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Lee Livesay smoked ‘em on a frog that he fished over matted cover. Alternatively, he used a hybrid rig capable of being worked like a frog and swimbait. The result was a winning weight of 58 pounds, 2 ounces.

Photo: Andy Crawford

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Livesay used a Scum Frog Launch Frog with two 1/8-ounce weights inserted in the body cavity for added noise.

Photo: Andy Crawford

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The champ also used a Hog Farmer Bait Co. Weedless Hybrid Head, featuring a Polly head and Gamakatsu hook, with the rig weighing 1/8-ounce. He paired it with a Netbait Big Spanky Swimbait. The light weight setup enabled Livesay to fish the rig like a frog over thick mats, and then work it like a swimbait bait when it reached open water.

Photo: Andy Crawford

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Lake Fork
Big Bass. Big Stage. Big Dreams. It’s all possible on the Bassmaster Elite Series. The entire 2020 schedule complete, it went out with a bang at legendary Lake Fork.

Photo: Steve Bowman

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Patrick Walters joined the exclusive ranks of the Bassmaster Century Club with a winning weight of 104 pounds, 12 ounces.

Photo: James Overstreet

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Walters focused on largemouth suspended in timber. During the feeding window when they fed on baitfish, he mimicked the forage using jerkbaits.

Photo: Dalton Tumblin

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Key baits were a Rapala Shad Rap Deep and a Megabass Ito Vision 110+1 Jerkbait. He fished both baits on a Daiwa Steez CT SV baitcast reel with 12- or 14-pound Suffix Advanced Fluorocarbon and a Daiwa Tatula Bass Rod.

Photo: Andy Crawford

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Best of 2020 Elite Series top lures

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