![Big Bass. Big Stage. Big Dreams. It all happened at the Power-Pole Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River. The rookies showed out, and so did the veterans in a big bass showcase.
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<em>All captions: Craig Lamb</em>](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/01_-_21w4a2039.jpg)
All captions: Craig Lamb
![âEven at 72 years old I never stop dreaming of what is possible to achieve.â Rick Clunn spoke those prophetic words. He then proved it with a second win in three years on the St. Johns. Check out the lures used by Clunn and the top finishers.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/02_-_ac1_0297-rick_clunn.jpg)
![Robbie Latuso (10th; 69-0)<br>âI kept it simple all week.â Robbie Latuso did just that with a Missile Baits Tomahawk 8.5 ribbon tail worm rigged to 4/0 hook and 1/4-ounce Fitzgerald Fishing F.F. Tungsten Weight.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/03_-_robbie_latuso_1_of_2.jpg)
![A 1/2-ounce purple shad Delta Lures Spinnerbait with double willowleaf blades, gold on front and silver on back, was another choice.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/04_-_robbie_latuso_2_of_2.jpg)
![Scott Canterbury (9th; 80-12) <br>
Scott Canterbury rotated through soft plastic stickbaits and topwaters. A top choice was a Bagley Twin Spin.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/05_-_scott_canterbury_1_of_3.jpg)
Scott Canterbury rotated through soft plastic stickbaits and topwaters. A top choice was a Bagley Twin Spin.
![So was a Bagley Bang-O-Lure.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/06_-_scott_canterbury_2_of_3.jpg)
![A Texas rigged 5-inch NetBait Salt Lick rigged to 5/0 wide gap hook and 5/16 tungsten weight was another choice.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/07_-_scott_canterbury_3_of_3.jpg)
![Cory Johnston (8th; 85-6) <br>
Cory Johnston flipped and pitched to bedding fish with a 6-inch Yamamoto Senko rigged with 4/0 straight shank worm hook and 3/8-ounce weight.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/16_-_chris_johnston_1_of_1.jpg)
Cory Johnston flipped and pitched to bedding fish with a 6-inch Yamamoto Senko rigged with 4/0 straight shank worm hook and 3/8-ounce weight.
![Clifford Pirch (7th; 88-1) <br>
Clifford Pirchâs primary bait was an 8- or 6-inch Big Bite Finesse Worm, rigged wacky style on a Hayabusa WRM962 Power Wacky Hook with a nail weight.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/09_-_clifford_pirch_1_of_2.jpg)
Clifford Pirchâs primary bait was an 8- or 6-inch Big Bite Finesse Worm, rigged wacky style on a Hayabusa WRM962 Power Wacky Hook with a nail weight.
![On Championship Sunday he added a River2Sea Whopper Plopper to the lineup.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/10_-_clifford_pirch_2_of_2.jpg)
![Lee Livesay (6th; 88-10) <br>
Lee Livesay rotated through stick baits and a bladed jig. That choice was a 3/8-ounce Finch Nasty Bait Co. Glade Bait, a weedless vibrating jig, with a 3.5-inch Reaction Innovations Little Dipper trailer.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/11_-_lee_livesay_1_of_2.jpg)
Lee Livesay rotated through stick baits and a bladed jig. That choice was a 3/8-ounce Finch Nasty Bait Co. Glade Bait, a weedless vibrating jig, with a 3.5-inch Reaction Innovations Little Dipper trailer.
![A 5-inch soft plastic stick bait on 4/0 offset worm hook and 1/8- or 1/4-ounce weights also produced.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/12_-_lee_livesay_2_of_2.jpg)
![John Crews (5th; 89-11) <br>
âFlipping a straight bait seems to be a huge deal during the spawn in Florida.â And with that John Crews went to work with a Missile Baits Fuse 4.4. He rigged the slender June Bug crawfish bait to a 4/0 Gamakatsu Heavy Cover Flippinâ Hook and 1/8-ounce sinker. Making a Neko rig with a No. 1 Gamakatsu Octopus Hook and nail weight using the Fuse 4.4 produced bedding bass. He also chose a 7-inch Missile Baits Destroyer, green pumpkin flash, on 5/0 Gamakatsu Hook and 3/16-ounce tungsten weight.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/13_-_john_crews_1_of_1.jpg)
âFlipping a straight bait seems to be a huge deal during the spawn in Florida.â And with that John Crews went to work with a Missile Baits Fuse 4.4. He rigged the slender June Bug crawfish bait to a 4/0 Gamakatsu Heavy Cover Flippinâ Hook and 1/8-ounce sinker. Making a Neko rig with a No. 1 Gamakatsu Octopus Hook and nail weight using the Fuse 4.4 produced bedding bass. He also chose a 7-inch Missile Baits Destroyer, green pumpkin flash, on 5/0 Gamakatsu Hook and 3/16-ounce tungsten weight.
![Patrick Walters (4th; 91-14) <br>
Patrick Walters rotated through a finesse worm, trick worm, prop bait and spinnerbait. That choice was a 3/8-ounce Zorro Baits Bango Blade. A Rapala X-Rap jerkbait was another choice. For plastics he chose a 5-inch Zoom Magnum Finesse Worm on 4/0 VMC Flippinâ Hook with 3/8-ounce VMC Tungsten Worm Weight. Another choice was a 7-inch Zoom Magnum Trick Worm with 5/0 VMC Wide Gap Hook and 3/16-ounce VMC Tungsten Worm Weight.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/14_-_patrick_walters_1_of_1.jpg)
Patrick Walters rotated through a finesse worm, trick worm, prop bait and spinnerbait. That choice was a 3/8-ounce Zorro Baits Bango Blade. A Rapala X-Rap jerkbait was another choice. For plastics he chose a 5-inch Zoom Magnum Finesse Worm on 4/0 VMC Flippinâ Hook with 3/8-ounce VMC Tungsten Worm Weight. Another choice was a 7-inch Zoom Magnum Trick Worm with 5/0 VMC Wide Gap Hook and 3/16-ounce VMC Tungsten Worm Weight.
![Mark Menendez (3rd; 95-1) <br>
Mark Menendez fished around docks with soft plastic craw, worm and spinnerbait. âThe spinnerbait was a go-to deal because I could cover water while dialing into specific cover.â The choice was a 3/8-ounce Strike King Premier Spinnerbait with a small piece of chartreuse soft plastic on the hook shank for strike appeal.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/15_-_mark_menendez_1_of_1.jpg)
Mark Menendez fished around docks with soft plastic craw, worm and spinnerbait. âThe spinnerbait was a go-to deal because I could cover water while dialing into specific cover.â The choice was a 3/8-ounce Strike King Premier Spinnerbait with a small piece of chartreuse soft plastic on the hook shank for strike appeal.
![Chris Johnston (2nd; 95-2) <br>
âI pitched a worm, easing it through pencil reeds trying to drag it across a spawning bed.â Chris Johnston used a 5.5-inch Zoom Speed Worm on 3/0 Gamakatsu Heavy Cover Flippinâ Hook and 1/8-ounce tungsten weight. He also used a 5-inch soft plastic stickbait rigged on 5/0 straight shank hook and 3/8-ounce sinker.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/08_-_cory_johnston_1_of_1.jpg)
âI pitched a worm, easing it through pencil reeds trying to drag it across a spawning bed.â Chris Johnston used a 5.5-inch Zoom Speed Worm on 3/0 Gamakatsu Heavy Cover Flippinâ Hook and 1/8-ounce tungsten weight. He also used a 5-inch soft plastic stickbait rigged on 5/0 straight shank hook and 3/8-ounce sinker.
![Rick Clunn (1st; 98-14) <br>
Legend Rick Clunn again found patterns that beat the rest of the Bassmaster Elite Series field on the St. Johns.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/17_-_ac1_9860-rick_clunn.jpg)
Legend Rick Clunn again found patterns that beat the rest of the Bassmaster Elite Series field on the St. Johns.
![âIâve always had confidence in this lure when coming to Florida and especially here.â Rick Clunn used his stash of 7-inch Ditto Gator Tail Worms, wide body curl tail models made 30 years ago in nearby San Mateo. He rigged those to 5/0 hooks and 1/2-ounce weights. Pitching to docks and shallow cover produced the strikes.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/rick_clunn_1_of_2.jpg)
![So did a 3/8-ounce shell cracker Luck E Strike Rick Clunn Trickster Spinnerbait with a Luck E Strike Ring Worm trailer. A 1-ounce Luck E Strike Hail Mary lipless crankbait also produced around the outside edges of docks.](http://www.bassmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/rick_clunn_2_of_2.jpg)