In school, 100 is a perfect score.
In fishing, 100 pounds is the Holy Grail, or at least one of them.
Belting out more than 100 pounds of bass in a tournament is a big deal for anglers. It’s one of those landmarks that’s hard to attain. The conditions have to be just right, and the angler has to be almost flawless. So whenever it does happen, it’s special.
In 781 pro level B.A.S.S. events, the 100-pound mark has been topped only 46 times in the modern five-fish era. With some big fish lakes coming up on the 2022 schedule, the Elites might just see a couple more soon, starting with this week’s Guaranteed Rate Elite at Santee Cooper Lakes.
“I think at Santee Cooper Lakes, if the weather hits right, you might see two or three guys pull it off,” said longtime Elite Gerald Swindle, one of 32 Bassmaster pros who’ve had a 100-pound tournament.
Wikipedia says the first championship belt was awarded to bare-knuckle boxer Tom Cribb — King George III presented it to him in 1810. B.A.S.S., which began some 160 years later, awards Century Belts for the rare achievement of eclipsing 100 pounds.
Swindle got his after weighing 105 pounds, 8 ounces on California’s Clear Lake in 2007 to finish fourth. Leave it to G to accurately assess and expertly express what his belt means.
“Out of all the trophies I have, that’s the one I’m most proud of,” Swindle said. “I’ve got two Bassmaster Angler of the Year titles, I have an FLW win, I got a B.A.S.S. Opens win, I’ve got all kinds of seconds and thirds, but when I look at that Century Belt, that one’s special.
“That was a hard-fought battle. Very few times in your career will an angler ever catch 100 pounds in a four-day event. It was a long drive out there, but well worth it. That one means a lot. To me, that (belt) is one that every now and then I’ll take down and look at it.”
The gravity of the discussion was broken after Swindle was asked if he ever slips on the 17-year-old belt.
“Sometimes when LeAnn and I are getting frisky … ” he said, cracking up everyone within earshot.
Yeah, chicks dig the Century Belt.
Steve Kennedy digs the big bass, and that’s why he said he’s got three Century Belts, which ties Mike Iaconelli for most among active Elites. Kennedy’s first came at Santee Cooper Lakes in 2006 when he weighed 104-2.
While at the Classic, Kennedy was asked about the chances the feat can be repeated this week. He acknowledged a realistic chance but wondered if that window already came and passed. Lakes Marion and Moultrie are relatively shallow, so they warm quicker and bass might be done spawning instead of still rushing the banks.
“It’s definitely a possibility,” Kennedy said. “When you get a bite on that pond, it’s just as likely to be over 5 (pounds) as under 5. I would love to get another one. Santee has been very good to me over the years. I haven’t won there, but I’ve been second or third a few times.”
In the first Elite seasons of 2006 and 2007, there were two events that had 100-pound winners, but there’s never been two in the 14 seasons since. Kennedy earned belts in both 2007 slugfests, landing 101-10 at Lake Amistad before setting the overall weight record with 122-14 in his victory on Clear Lake.
“I love throwing big baits. I love catching big fish,” Kennedy said. “That’s the reason I have three belts. I love the free-for-alls. Where I can see the pattern, I can dial it up with the best of them.”
John Crews, who won the season-opener on the St. Johns River for his second Elite title, is also a member in the Century Club, and there’s a definite drive to get there again.
“I want another one bad, and Santee Cooper Lakes is definitely a place to do it,” Crews said. “I almost got one there. I had like 96 pounds in 2006 when they were spawning. I think it’s setting up to be really good this year. This weather is going to be perfect. We’re going to have the moon coming in. If we don’t have a major cold front, it’s going to be wide open.”
Crews was close to several landmarks in the 2006 Elite on Santee Cooper, weighing 29-pound bags the first two days — “30 pounds is a load and it’s hard to achieve” — and finishing ninth with 96-2. Preston Clark set the four-day weight record in that tournament with 115-15.
Crews didn’t get his belt until bringing in 103-13 on Falcon Lake in 2013, so he understands it’s an extraordinary accomplishment.
“It’s awesome. Outside of winning a tournament, the century mark is one of those bucket-list milestones for a bass angler,” he said, adding of course, the Classic, AOY and Elite wins. “Those are bucket-list things that are extremely difficult to achieve. The fact that I have one (belt) is amazing. Just like with the win, I want to get a second one so it wasn’t an accident or a fluke.”
Most agree there are not a lot of fisheries where a belt is possible, but Marion and Moultrie lakes offer better-than-average chances, especially with water temps at spawn requirements. Before the season, longtime pro Davy Hite said there’s a great shot that the mark can be hit this week.
“I’d agree,” Crews said. “Even if a bunch spawned, those big females don’t move too far, and you can still catch big bags.”
Patrick Walters, who has topped 100 pounds in each of the past two seasons on Lake Fork, said he’d relish his third coming on Santee Cooper Lakes.
“It would mean the world to me,” he said. “To do it on my home pond, it would mean more to me. I think the possibility is really high. We’ve got a full moon. The weather is getting warm. I think we’re going to scare it. We’re going to be right there. The fishery is fishing amazing right now.”
In winning on Lake Fork in the fall of 2020, Walters blew the field away with 105-6, then last year he was second to Lee Livesay with 102-5. Both belts are proudly displayed alongside trophies for his four B.A.S.S. victories.
Falcon Lake leads the B.A.S.S. Century Club list with 15 entries, with all 12 finalists in 2008 and three in 2013. Clear Lake is next on the list with seven from 2007. Lake Amistad, Santee Cooper and Lake Fork are tied with six entries, Guntersville has five and Okeechobee and Kissimmee have one each.
Brandon Cobb, another South Carolina angler, won on Lake Fork in 2019 with 114-0.
“Having a Century Belt in an Elite tournament is crazy,” Cobb said. “I never even imagined having a chance to catch 100 pounds in a tournament. Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever caught 100 pounds four days in a row even fun fishing.”
Like Kennedy, Cobb said he thinks the fireworks on Marion and Moultrie might have gone off, that the Elites might have missed the peak, but he still thinks it will be a slugfest.
“It’s going to be good, but that unbelievable, where they’re showing everywhere, it’s probably going on right now,” he said at the Classic. “There’s a shot. I’ve been there probably more than I have other places, but I’m not that familiar. I’d go one week every year in college to sight fish.”
After saying he’s caught a 9-pounder there, Cobb added that he’s never caught any big ones there. Wait, what?
“That’s big, but not for Santee Cooper,” he explained.
Lee Livesay knows big. He caught the third-biggest bag of 42-3 en route to winning with 112-5 last year on his home body of water, Lake Fork. He cherishes his belt.
“It’s like having another trophy, it’s a title,” he said. “It’s something they can’t take from you. I busted 100 pounds, and that belt is sitting up on my mantel just like that trophy is.”
From reading recent reports, Livesay said he thinks there’s a good shot someone will go “way over 100 pounds” this week. If it happens, then the Elites could have their first season with two events topping 100 pounds since 2007 because Livesay is dead certain it will happen again on Fork this May.
The Elites had a drought of five years without awarding any belts, which began after Keith Combs, Rick Clunn and Crews topped 100 at Falcon Lake in 2013. Cobb broke the spell in 2019, and it’s been done on Fork three years in a row. Livesay looks forward to the fourth consecutive year.
“Multiple people will be over 100 pounds at Fork this year,” he said. “If it stays low, we might have all 10 over 100 and might break the all-time weight record.
“I’m 100% saying someone will get 100. Fork is a different animal. It’s going to be good.”