Inside Elite Boats: James Elam

James Elam is one of the recognized young guns who have found success on the Bassmaster Elite Series. Elam has been on the Elite tour since 2013, and he has logged 10 Top 10 B.A.S.S. finishes since 2015.

The 2017 tournament season was another successful year for the Oklahoma angler. After landing at 27th in Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year points and earning another berth to the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods, Elam won a Central Open in his home state.

Elam has one of the sweetest sponsors on the Elite Series … Daylight Donuts. The logo adorned both Elam’s Toyota tow vehicle as well as his boat last year.

In 2017, Elam fished from a Phoenix 921 ProXP.

The boat is equipped with a Minn Kota Ultrex trolling motor for maneuvering during the typical tournament day.

All together, the boat includes three Lowrance HDS12 units. One is mounted on the rig’s front dash for easy reference. A T-H Marine Hydrowave is also installed on the side of the screen.

“The Battery Tender, that’s a really neat way of being able to unplug the power from a trolling motor … being able to switch things out really quick instead of having to pull out the whole compartment if it’s hardwired in,” Elam said.

The T-H Marine Bounce Buster installed on the trolling motor anchor is another important accessory because of the potential for bouncing around rough waters during Elite competition.

Elam notes that he usually carries around 20 rod and reel combos in his rod locker during the typical tournament.

“This tournament, I have a lot in the boat because there’s opportunities for smallmouth and largemouth,” Elam says. “So I’ve got a lot more than normal.”

Elam uses McCain Hi-Performance Rod series, and for the reels it’s Shimano – a mix of Metanium, Curado and Chronarch. For spinning reels he selects Stradic.

When asked to select a favorite setup, Elam shows off a 7-3 heavy action McCain Carolina Magnum Cast Rod. “It’s just a really good rod for all-around largemouth fishing, whether you’re throwing a Carolina rig or a football jig or a chatterbait or some kind of bladed jig or a frog.” The reel it is equipped with is a Shimano Metanium MGL.

The center compartment in the front of the boat holds life jackets. “I’ve got one old-school life jacket and then I’ve got one of the lighter ones.”

The larger box in the front of the boat holds a ton of tackleboxes.

The first tacklebox opened houses a varied selection of colorful hard baits.

Elam shows off a Jackall Bowstick from the box, a big walking bait.

Next up is a ball of Jackall Pompadours.

“The Pompadour’s got the big wings on the side and it shakes side to side.”

This box holds a selection of Jackall crankbaits.

This box contains a few dozen jerkbaits.

The Jackall Squad Minnow 95 Elam is holding here is his favorite. This well-loved bait features the HL Aurora Black coloring.

For spinner baits, Elam uses Jackall Super Eruptions.

Elam notes that these spinnerbaits work because they “thump well.”

Elam reaches for another tacklebox.

“These are my spybaits, spinbaits, whatever you want to call them. That’s a Jackall I-Prop, and I keep some Jackall Sierra Minnows in that box as well.”

Elam has two boxes of colorful jigs to show off.

The anglers states that most of these jigs are homemade. “Some of them I’ll buy the heads and put my own skirts on, but most of them are hand poured,” he says.

This jig has a green pumpkin head and a peanut butter base. Elam will often add a green pumpkin trailer when fishing this combination.

This box organizes a large selection of weights. “It’s pretty excessive; I’ve got a lot of weight in that box. But I’m ready for about anything.”

“Those are all my hooks. I use Owners, and I’ve got everything from drop shot hooks in there to Beast swimbait hooks, the Jungle flipping hooks. I don’t really need a lot of different hooks. I know the ones I like and the sizes I like.”

Up next is a box of swimbait heads in different weights and sizes.

This box of frogs gives a preview of Elam’s favorite frog colors.

On the left, Elam holds up a Jackall Iobee Frog, and on the left is a Gavacho Frog.

This bag holds a bunch of Jackall Break Blade baits.

“It’s a bladed jig, and they’re really, really special because they have a wire guard on them,” Elam notes. “You can fish them around docks and brush, and they don’t get hung up.”

Elam calls this his miscellaneous box. He puts extra baits in it that he will use throughout the day for easy access. It can also hold small specialty items he doesn’t have a specific box for.

After using a hook, Elam will place them on these magnets instead of back in the packaging. This prevents the hooks from rusting, and Elam later uses them for tournament practice.

This long compartment holds a number of important items. Clothes, flare guns, a push pole and a lure knocker all call this space home.

This bin also holds boxes with different items inside.

This almost looks like an artist’s box with Sharpies, glues, dyes, rattles and more.

The Stringer treble hooks are also stored here in their original packaging.

This tacklebox holds extra jig skirts Elam wants to keep on hand.

Deeper down in this compartment we find extra rope, a first aid kit …

… and spare line. “Right now, we’re up north, so I’ve got some 8-pound Tatsu in there.”

Elam states that the first aid kit is always important. Since he wears contacts, his kit includes contact solution. Other necessities are allergy and headache medicines.

This zipper bag holds a few soft swimbaits.

This box holds extra clothes, hats, gloves and buffs …

… and of course the always-needed Simms rain suit.

In these small bins, Elam keeps super glue, some knocker weights, a big Sharpie marker, and more.

The boat’s cooler holds water, coconut water and Powerade as well as a few snacks for a day of hungry fishing.

“Those are all my little tools I keep. A good pair of angler cutters for cutting hooks out if something bad happens, and just all my other pliers.”

Elam poses for a quick picture in the captain’s seat.

This lineup of controls is conveniently located next to the driver’s seat.

The other two Lowrance HDS 12s are mounted at the steering wheel for involved mapping sessions and practice explorations. The left screen here is the Carbon version, the boat’s main unit. The left screen is dedicated to mapping and sonar, and the right scans structure with SideScan and DownScan.

The Mercury Smartcraft gauges here are also good to have because they let the driver know how many RPMs the motor is running and how much fuel has been used.

Better safe than sorry – the rig is equipped with a T-H Marine boat alarm.

This compartment holds many daily-use items Elam needs during a tournament day. Sunglasses, marker buoys, rope and a culling beam call this space home.