As the calendar flips to 2025, clarity can be gained by reflecting on the passing year, so let’s look back. Under the B.A.S.S. shield, there were a number of amazing occurrences in 2024, and the Daily Limit had a part in chronicling a good number.
Let’s knock it down to this scribe’s Top 10 favorite posts, and start off with a portend for the season of big bass.
Local son shines at Big O
Scott Martin lit the season off on Florida’s Lake Okeechobee, setting a number of records in the process. Going ninja mode on his home water, Martin won the season-opening St. Croix Open by 21 pounds, 10 ounces.
The son of Roland Martin, who famously won at the same locale 30 years prior, Scott Martin set the single-day Opens weight on Day 1. Paired with the fifth-best Opens day, Martin blew away the Opens’ weight record and the three-day all-time B.A.S.S. record.
After another big weight in the Santee Cooper Lakes Open and his early Classic qualification, Martin hoped to roll in 2024.
One for the ages at Fork
As expected, Texas’ crown jewel of trophy bass produced giant after giant as the all-time weight record was threatened by rookie Trey McKinney, who became the youngest Elite winner in history.
McKinney led all 10 fishing Championship Sunday into the Century Club, which hasn’t happened since Falcon Lake in 2008. Four anglers posted all-time top 10 weights, and Justin Hamner landed the biggest fish ever caught on Bassmaster LIVE as Lake Fork 2024 was one for the ages.
No holds barred for Classic
The Bassmaster Classic is a win-at-any-cost event, with anglers exerting maximum effort. From A to Z, there are no holds barred, so after the week of practice and competition, many anglers miss out on their Zs.
After long days and restless nights have anglers running pretty much on adrenaline, several reported crashes afterward in this Classic study in sleep deprivation.
No school like old school
Not many embrace the good ole days like Arkansas’ Chris Johnson, who won a B.A.S.S. Nation event with gear older than most of the other competitors.
Nothing against the latest advances, but Johnson said he’s completely happy with the identity he’s created from fishing with vintage tackle out of a 1980s boat, because embracing old school put Johnson atop class.
Joining Canadian club
Cory Johnston was out in the cold, and he heard the chirping. Cory was the only one of three original Elites from Canadian not to win a big title.
Oh, he had an Opens win and came close to AOY, but little brother Chris and Jeff Gustafson had him on the outside looking in. It changed at Florida’s St. Johns River, where Cory delivered some shut-up juice with a big victory. Cory left relieved to join the Canadian club of winners. (And he doubled up later in the year at home.)
Clunn says so long
Ironman Rick Clunn marked his 500th B.A.S.S. event at the St. Johns River, site of his two recent victories where he famously said to never think your best moments are in the past.
The season was a goodbye tour for the four-time Classic champ, who leaves with untouchable records. Always introspective, Clunn had an epiphany as he reflected on 50 years in B.A.S.S.
Record largemouth in New York
New York is known for monster smallmouth, but Jim Britenbaugh, practicing for an event on Cayuga Lake, found a unicorn largemouth. The 38-year-old Pennsylvania angler was about to pull his bait in when the monster bit.
“As far as a record, it was never on my radar,” he said. “I never thought in a million years I’d be the guy to hold a state record. It was a very, very surreal day. I never knew they grew that big here.”
McKinney forthright on DQ
Rookie Trey McKinney was rolling, leading the Angler of the Year race since his Lake Fork win. He was a high-speed train heading at breakneck speeds to AOY and Rookie of the Year.
Then he was derailed by a disqualification that basically ended his hopes. Day 2 at Smith Lake is a day that will in infamy for McKinney, who was quite open about the blunder that cost him AOY.
Can’t believe it’s been 30 years
Bryan Kerchal gave every amateur angler “the dream.” The fry cook from Connecticut lived his when he won the 1994 Bassmaster Classic.
Kerchal, still the only B.A.S.S. Nation angler to win a world championship, has since inspired countless hopefuls. His tragic death months later cemented his legacy as perhaps the most impactful champion, because Kerchal’s Classic dream lives on.
Zona signs off of LIVE
Just two days after Clunn said his final emotional goodbyes to the Elites, analyst Mark Zona choked up as he announced he was ending his time on Bassmaster LIVE.
Zona teamed with Tommy Sanders behind the Bassmaster desk for 20 years, their repartee creating must-see TV for bassheads. It was a tough decision for Zona, overloaded with other projects. While Zona is gone, he will certainly never be forgotten.