Brandon Card was the first collegiate angler to qualify for the sport’s world championship from the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops. He competed for the University of Kentucky.
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Card fished the 2013 Bassmaster Classic and again in 2016, both times in Tulsa, Okla., on Grand Lake. He now lives in Tennessee and is fishing his sixth season on the Bassmaster Elite Series.
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Card fishes from a Bass Cat Eyra that is the most nimble of the 20-foot boats in the BCB series. He oftentimes sits near the front deck to work on tackle. Quick access to coffin-style front lids and spacious center deck storage is the reason.
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Find one of these aboard nearly every pro’s boat. The Boomerang Original Fishing SNIP with LED light. The line cutter and scissors have snips that can cut any line. Card keeps his tool attached to the outside of the driver console for quick access.
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“Just about everything I need is within arm’s reach from here.” That includes the large center storage and a smartly organized system for keeping lures ready for action.
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“I like using Plano 3700 utility boxes for their modular shape.” Baits are categorized by type for better organization and quicker access. Held in his hands is a crankbait box.
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An example of that organization is this box filled with Yo-Zuri crankbaits. When needed he can grab the box, opening the lid and choosing a lure.
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The port side storage is the perfect design and size for storing boxes filled with hard baits of all types. Shallow and medium runners each get a box, and so do jerkbaits. “I can open the storage lid and easily see the label of every box.”
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A similar setup is on the starboard side. It is filled with soft plastics—lots of Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits—and the terminal tackle needed to make anything from a drop shot to a Texas rig.
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This is the Day Box. Frequently used lures, terminal tackle and anything else needed for a given day get stored in this small space. The Day Box is conveniently located on the bow where Card spends most of the day.
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Card spends most of the day up here with one foot on a Minn Kota Fortrex trolling motor and an eye on this Lowrance HDS 12 Gen 3 fishfinder/chartplotter.
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“I like my front graph hard mounted so it stays attached tightly to the deck.” Bass Boat Technologies makes this mount that also raises the fish finder higher off the deck. The mount keeps the unit firmly in place in pounding waves.
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Another add on is this Lowrance HDI Skimmer 83/200 Depth/Temperature Transducer. “When fishing vertically you get better target separation between the bottom and a bass.”
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Card likes this Grass Goat from R2 Marine Innovations that is mounted vertically on the trolling motor shaft. The design gives the Grass Goat over 3.5-inchs of cutting and sheering surface. The innovation has an adjustable blade for maximizing cutting power.
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The weed whacking performance of his Minn Kota Fortrex is complete with this MKP-32 Weedless Wedge 2 Prop. The patented design with swept-back and flared blades wedge weeds away while conserving battery power.
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When it comes time to go all it takes is a quick pull of The Big D Trolling Motor Handle from Bob’s Machine Shop. “It’s virtually unbreakable with the metal cable and I really like the big grip.”
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Card upgraded to this Hydrowave H2 Electronic Feeding Stimulator. The new unit has 16 original and new sound patterns with five programmed delay options ranging from 15 to 120 seconds.
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The Eyra’s spacious storage can hold rods up to 8 feet. Card stores up to 40 rods in this box for rod trips. Half of those come out when he arrives at the lake for a tournament.
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The green rubber band on the rod handle has a purpose. “Every color matches a line pound test spooled to the reel so I can easily see what to grab.” That’s a good idea considering that Card carries up to 20 rods and reels in his boat.
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Master control. The Eyra’s dashboard is ergonomically designed for the gauges to be clearly visible for safety and monitoring the performance features of the boat.
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The layout is clean and performance driven with fishing features. Card’s setup includes dual Lowrance HDS 12 Gen3 fishfinder/chartplotter units with Structure Scan 3D. The wider cone angle makes it possible to actually use sonar in shallow water. I once marked a bluegill bed in 2 feet of water.”
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This Suzuki multi-function gauge displays a wide variety of information such as engine rpm, speed and trim angle. Card can quickly view diagnostics based on digital data received from the outboard motor.
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Yep, that’s a water gun. Card fills it with dish soap and shoots it into the water to dissipate pollen from the surface when sight fishing. Nearby are Lithium Pro batteries for the trolling motor. The batteries are one-third the weight of a lead acid battery with five times the cycle life.
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This below passenger-seat compartment provides quick access to odds and ends. Stored inside this pound cake baking pan are various colors of J.J.’s Magic Dippin’ Dye. Also inside the storage are pens for marking lures.
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Behind the driver seat is a storage box with a FishSens SondeCAM HD Underwater Camera. It can stream underwater video via WiFi and on fishfinders with an iPhone app for operating the camera. “I use it to see brushpiles and offshore structure. It really takes the guesswork out of what I can’t see when fishing offshore.”
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Here’s the power behind the Eyra. On each side of the Suzuki 250SS are dual Power-Pole Blade 8 shallow water anchors. “I like the 8s over the 10s because there is lower clearance when I’m fighting a fish in the back of the boat.”
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“I have never had a service issue with my Suzuki while on the tour. The fuel economy is just unbelievable.” Card uses one word to explain why he likes the Suzuki more than any other outboard. “Dependability.”
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Card likes this 28-inch pitch Suzuki Outboard Prop. “Suzuki’s lower units have a lower gear ratio. I can run this bigger prop and get more bite for the motor for better hull performance.”
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Card’s outboard is rigged with this Bob’s Machine Shop Action Series Hydraulic Jack Plate. This 8-inch model features a large powerful pump built into the structure of the jack plate. This reduces installation time and saves valuable room inside the boats storage compartments.
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Card likes the Hydro Graphic option with his jack plate. “It’s matched to the hull color and will not show water line stains with the carbon fiber finish.”
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