What Won On The Elite Series This Year?

By BassFan Staff

Editor's note: This is part 1 of a two-part series recapping the techniques and tackle that were central to wins on the Bassmaster Elite Series and FLW Tour in 2018. Part 1 will detail the Elite Series. Part 2, coming tomorrow, will cover the FLW Tour.

With all the hoopla and change brought on in the fishing industry by the launch of Major League Fishing's Bass Pro Tour this fall, it's shifted some of the focus away from what gets the job done where it matters most – on the water.

Takahiro Omori cranking his way to victory near a creek mouth at Lake Martin 10 months ago seems like 10 years ago, but that's how the Elite Series season got started. It concluded with James Elam seizing on a wicked topwater bite at Lake Chatuge to capture the win at the Angler of the Year Championship and sew up a spot in the 2019 Bassmaster Classic.

Here's a recap of how those events, and every one in between, was won this year.

Takahiro Omori – Lake Martin (AL) Elite Series, Feb. 8-11

Takahiro Omori, coming off a miserable 2017 Elite Series season, thought he made a mistake by not practicing deep for Martin’s spotted bass, but wound up doing the bulk of his damage in the mornings with a shallow-running crankbait near a creek mouth way up the Tallapoosa River. He augmented that pattern by flipping a jig around laydowns, docks – any shallow cover he came across – he found downriver.

"I rarely say I have to fish for a check, but I told (his marshal) on day 1 that this was one I have to survive,” Omori said. “I never felt safe all through the event, even when I had a 4-pound lead going into the last day. I never knew what to expect – if I had enough fish or how my backup stuff was going to work out. To end up winning by 7 pounds – that's just crazy."

> Cranking gear: 7' medium-heavy Daiwa Tatula Takahiro Omori Signature Series rod, Daiwa Zillion casting reel (9:1 ratio, sold only in Japan), 20-pound Sunline Shooter fluorocarbon line, Lucky Craft 1.5 (T.O. craw).

> Flipping gear: 7'3" heavy-action Daiwa Tatula rod, same reel, same line (22-pound), homemade 3/8-ounce flipping jig (green-pumpkin/orange), 5" Yamamoto Double Tail Grub trailer (green-pumpkin with tips of tails dyed orange).

> Finesse jig gear: Same rod, reel and line as crankbait, 1/4-ounce homemade jig with Eakins-style head (green-pumpkin), Strike King Twin Tail Menace Grub trailer (green-pumpkin).

> Omori makes his jigs using skirts manufactured by Minnesota-based Skirts Plus Corporation.

> Click here to read more about Omori’s winning pattern.

Jordan Lee – Lake Hartwell (SC) Bassmaster Classic, March 16-18

While most others in the Classic field were focused on Hartwell’s largemouth, Jordan Lee won his second straight Classic by going a different direction. Prolonged sunny periods during the tournament, most notably on days 1 and 3, positioned fish around boat docks and Lee was able to serve up wacky-rigged soft stickbaits to the waiting spotted bass. A jerkbait and swimbait were his top producers earlier in the mornings.

“During practice, I realized with as many ways as I fished and things I covered, the largemouth bite wasn’t great,” Lee said. “I looked for spotted bass, but I didn’t kill the spots. It was easier to get bit doing that. I didn’t think spots would win, but I knew it would be easier to catch a few.

“As far as the way I fished this week, it’s not typically the winning pattern,” he added. “I had a lot of spotted bass. I probably had half spotted bass. That typically doesn’t win tournaments here. It was my best stuff.”

It was good enough to erase a 6 ½-pound deficit after day 2 and catapulted him from 6th place to the history books as he became just the third angler to win consecutive Classics.

> Neko rig gear: 7’2” medium-heavy Quantum Vapor PT spinning rod, Quantum Smoke S3 spinning reel, Quantum Smoke Inshore spinning reel, 30-pound Seaguar Smackdown braided line, 8-pound Seaguar Tatsu fluorocarbon line (leader), #2 VMC Neko rig hook, Strike King Ocho, other soft-plastic stickbaits (green-pumpkin or green-pumpkin blue), 3/32-oz. unnamed nail weight.

> “Light line around docks is scary, but I didn’t break off at all,” Lee said.

> Swimbait gear: Same rod as Neko rig, same reel, 8-pound Seaguar Tatsu fluorocarbon line, 1/4-oz. Owner ballhead jig, 2.75” Strike King Rage Swimmer (pearl flash).

> Vibrating jig gear: 7’4” heavy-action Quantum Vapor casting rod, Quantum Smoke S3 casting reel (7.3:1 ratio), 17-pound Seaguar AbrazX fluorocarbon line, homemade vibrating jig (white/chartreuse), 4.5” Strike King KVD Perfect Plastic Blade Minnow blade minnow (white)

> Jerkbait gear: 6’10” medium-heavy Quantum Vapor casting rod, Quantum Tour S3 casting reel (6.1:1 ratio), 10-pound Seaguar Tatsu fluorocarbon line, unnamed jerkbait (bone).

> Click here to read more about Lee’s winning pattern.

Kevin VanDam – Grand Lake (OK) Elite Series, April 26-29

For B.A.S.S. win number 25, Kevin VanDam went the consistent route with 20-pound stringers each of the first three days, then piled on another 18-07 on the final day at Grand, where he’s won two Elite Series titles.

With the water dirtier than usual and a warm-up in the forecast, he trained his sights on the pre-spawn females, some of which were already shallow. He picked them off by paralleling the bank with a square-bill crankbait. If docks were around, he’d skip a jig in behind them.

"I wasn't sure I was really on them or that I was going to catch big bags, but every day I was getting three 5-pound-plus bites and a good number that were 3-plus,” he said. “I knew it was going to take 20 pounds a day to have a shot at winning."

> Crankbait gear: 7' medium-action Quantum Tour KVD cranking rod, Quantum Smoke 200 HD casting reel (5.3:1 ratio), 12-pound Bass Pro Shops XPS fluorocarbon line, Strike King KVD 1.5 (brown craw).

> Jig gear: 7'4" heavy-action Quantum KVD Tour graphite rod, Quantum Smoke S3 casting reel (7.3:1 ratio), 20-pound Bass Pro Shops XPS fluorocarbon, 1/2-ounce Strike King Denny Brauer Structure Jig (green-pumpkin), Strike King Rage Menace trailer (green-pumpkin).

> Click here to read more about VanDam’s winning pattern.

Wesley Strader – Kentucky Lake (TN) Elite Series, May 4-7

With the bass fishing at Kentucky Lake in a funk this spring, Wesley Strader did a little of this and some of that to claim the win in just his third Elite Series start. He started each day slinging a spinnerbait and buzzbait along a submerged roadbed, then mixed in a frog and a crankbait under dock walkways. On the final day, he incorporated flipping around bushes and trees to catch his three biggest fish.

“I’ve known about the road bed for years,” he said. “I’d never caught them there. It’s a funnel in and funnel out spot and the shad were spawning there. When I checked it, lo and behold, they were there.”

> Spinnerbait gear: 7’5” medium-heavy Powell Endurance cranking rod, Team Lew's Pro Magnesium Speed Spool casting reel (6.8:1 ratio), 16-pound Gamma Edge fluorocarbon line, 5/8-oz. Stan Sloan’s Zorro Bait Company Bango Blade spinnerbait (chartreuse white), Zoom Split Tail trailer (pearl white).

> Flipping gear: 7’9” mag medium-heavy Powell Endurance casting rod, same reel (7.5:1 ratio), same line (20-pound), 5/16-oz. Reins Tungsten worm weight, 5/0 Lazer TroKar TK130 flippin hook, Zoom Z Hog (green-pumpkin), Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver (tramp stamp).

> He opted for the Sweet Beaver on the final day mainly because the bait color matched up with the water color. “It was tannic color and that’s the best color bait for that water color,” he said.

> Crankbait gear: Same rod, reel and line as spinnerbait, PH Custom Lures W Special crankbait (money).

> Strader says the W Special is a hybrid square-bill plug that has a good in-between action (not too tight and not too wide). He said it will run down to four feet on 16-pound fluorocarbon.

> Click here to read more about Strader’s winning pattern.

Drew Benton – Lake Travis (TX) Texas Fest, May 17-20

To claim his first Elite Series win and wrap up a berth in the 2019 Bassmaster Classic, Drew Benton relied, almost exclusively, on a loud, walking topwater bait in main-lake marinas. High skies were critical as it positioned the fish in predictable spots along shade lines.

“The ones in pockets and creeks went away first,” he said. “The main-lake ones held shad and the deeper the water the better. Most of them were in 90 to 100 feet. The shallowest one I fished was in 50 feet.”

> Topwater gear: 7’1” heavy-action Phenix Feather Series casting rod, Team Lew’s Pro Magnesium Speed Spool ACB casting reel (7.5:1 ratio), 65-pound Seaguar Smackdown braided line, 4 1/4” Bagley Knocker B (shad), unnamed walking bait (clear).

> Benton mixed in the translucent walking bait when it was sunny. He also swapped the stock trebles for #2 Owner Stinger hooks and used feathered trebles on the back of both baits. “That was key, especially when they were eating the little shad,” he said. “They keyed on the feathered hook.”

> Spoon gear: 7’7” heavy-action Phenix Ultra MBX casting rod, same reel, 20-pound Seaguar InvizX fluorocarbon line, 6” Nichols Ben Parker Mini Magnum Flutter Spoon (gizzard).

> Click here to read more about Benton’s winning pattern.

Greg Hackney – Sabine River (TX) Elite Series, June 7-10

Greg Hackney played a hunch in practice when he checked a small canal off the main river. He’d fished it back in 2015, but the fish were spawning and he wasn’t certain if resident fish stuck around in there.

This time around, a buzzbait and frog enticed the majority of bites during his wire-to-wire triumph, with the majority of the bigger fish coming from the middle of the channel, which featured patches of grass in the 3- to 6-foot range mixed with a few fallen treetops.

"The back half of it was where most of the grass was," he said. "The front half hardly had any grass – it was mostly wood. I didn't get as many bites out of that end, but I probably ended up weighing as many, including the 5-14 I caught on day 1."

> Buzzbait gear: 6'10" medium-heavy Quantum Tour KVD rod, Quantum Smoke HD 200 casting reel (7.3:1 ratio), 50-pound Gamma Torque braided line, 1/4-ounce Strike King Hack Attack Select buzzbait.

> The Hack Attack Select features no skirt and comes with a toad trailer. "The first day was all about a white toad, but that was the only day," he said. "After that it was black for the rest of the week. On the second day they started boiling on the white toad and they wouldn't get it."

> Frog gear: 7'2" medium-heavy Quantum Tour PT rod, same reel, 65-pound Gamma Torque braid, Strike King KVD Sexy Frog (stump jumper).

> Cranking gear: 7' medium-action Quantum Tour KVD Cranking rod, same reel (6.6:1 ratio), 16-pound Gamma Edge fluorocarbon line, homemade wooden crankbait (black/chartreuse).

> Click here to read more about Hackney’s winning pattern.

Ish Monroe – Mississippi River (WI) Elite Series, June 21-24

A week after turning 44, Ish Monroe gave himself a pretty cool birthday gift. Relying on one of his favorite techniques – frogging – he maximized a couple areas, including one that he discovered after getting stuck on a sandbar on day 1 of the tournament. As the water level rose through the event, his confidence grew in his key areas despite some of the vegetation getting blown around.

“The difference between myself and the other committed frog anglers like (Cliff) Crochet and (Dean) Rojas is that we will not put that frog down all day, knowing that if we get seven bites, the five fish we bring to the scales will be better than everyone else,” he said.

> Frog gear: 7'4" extra-heavy Daiwa Tatula Elite Ish Monroe Frog Rod, Daiwa Zillion SV casting reel (7:3:1 ratio), 65-pound Maxima braided line, River2Sea Ish Monroe Phat Matt Daddy Frog (snipe or yellow head).

> Click here to read more about Monroe’s winning pattern.

Mark Daniels, Jr – Lake Oahe (SD) Elite Series, June 29-July 2

Like his fellow Elite Series anglers, Mark Daniels, Jr. had never made a cast at the massive and mostly barren Missouri River prior to the summertime visit to Lake Oahe in South Dakota. The Alabama angler by way of California went the finesse route from start to finish to target smallmouth in the 13- to 18-foot range holding around scattered boulders and chunk rock as well as isolated brush.

“Those smallmouth are weird,” he said. “There will be four to six of them holding on one rock. I don’t know why, but they seem to be very conscious of the shade that rock creates.”

> Ned rig gear: 7’1” medium-heavy Favorite Fishing Sick Stick spinning rod, Cabela’s Verano 2500 spinning reel, 15-pound Seaguar Smackdown braided line, 8-pound Seaguar Tatsu fluorocarbon line (leader), 1/5-oz. Z-Man Finesse Shroomz jighead, 2.75” Z-Man Finesse TRD (green-pumpkin goby, mudbug).

> He stayed with the Finesse TRD after having success with it in practice. “Even when they started nipping it, it’s so small you’d still get them on it,” he said.

> Dropshot gear: 7’2” medium-heavy Favorite Fishing Jack Hammer spinning rod, same reel, same line, #1 Owner Cover Shot hook, Z-Man Finesse WormZ (green-pumpkin), 3/8-oz. unnamed dropshot weight.

> Daniels Texas-rigged the Finesse WormZ when fishing around brush. “It was scattered, but it was out there,” he said. “And there were some fish around it.”

> He also had a dropshot rig with a Finesse TRD on it.

> He estimated nearly half of the 20 fish he weighed in were caught by vertically dropping down on the fish versus casting to them, which was the dominant theme on the final day.

> Click here to read more about Daniels’ winning pattern.

Josh Bertrand – St. Lawrence River (NY) Elite Series, Aug. 23-26

Josh Bertrand captured his first Elite Series trophy by hauling in more than 95 pounds of smallmouth, but it took just as much patience as skill. Long lulls between bites were common, but he stayed with his gameplan.

"I didn't bail because I knew they were going to come around at some point every day," he said. "I just had to get through the lulls and keep moving around. I knew there were 5-pounders on those stretches and when my bait drifted to them the way they wanted it, they were going to bite it.

"There were fish just about everywhere I'd seen them in the past, but they were a shade deeper this time around. I didn't catch them super-deep, but they seemed to be one step deeper overall than where I'd caught them in the July tournaments. They were generally on similar stuff – a lot of the same shoals and stuff like that. I found them everywhere from 20 to 45 feet. I'm not trying to be vague with that, but they were on such a wide variety of places."

> Dropshot gear: 7' medium-heavy Abu Garcia Fantasista Premier rod, size 30 Abu Garcia Revo Premier or Revo MGX spinning reel, 8-pound Berkley NanoFil unifilament line (main line), 8-pound Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon (10' leader), size 1 Berkley Fusion 19 Drop Shot Hook, Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Flat Worm (green-pumpkin) or Berkley Gulp! Minnow (emerald shiner), 1/2-ounce Bass Pro Shops XPS round tungsten weight.

> Click here to read more about Bertrand’s winning pattern.

James Elam – Lake Chatuge (GA/NC) AOY Championship, Sept. 20-23

James Elam showed up to the scenic, mountainous reservoir along the Georgia-North Carolina border this fall knowing a poor performance could put his prospects of qualifying for the 2019 Bassmaster Classic in jeopardy. No worries – he led the three-day event wire-to-wire and did so by keying on various schools of spotted bass that were stationed near points.

"It seemed like from past tournaments there people weighed mostly spots – it was a pretty predominant thing," he said. "I felt like at this time of year it would be the more stable thing. You could have one good largemouth day, but it'd be really hard to have 3 in a row.

"I knew it was a small lake and the largemouth were going to be shallow, and that stuff was going to get really beat up. I felt better about finding a pattern with the spots and trying to dial that in."

> Fluke gear – 7' medium-heavy McCain Ultimate Worm/Jig rod, Shimano Metanium casting reel (8:1 gear ratio), 12-pound Seaguar InvizX fluorocarbon line, 4/0 Trokar EWG Mag hook, Zoom Fluke (pearl white).

> Topwater gear: Same rod and reel (7.4:1 ratio), 50-pound Seaguar Smackdown braided line (main line), 20-pound Seaguar Rippin monofilament (6' leader), Ima Little Stik (chrome).

> Spoon gear: 7'6" heavy-action McCain Alabama Flipping rod, same reel (8.5:1 ratio), 17-pound Seaguar InvizX fluorocarbon, 3/4-ounce Molix Lover Spoon (chrome).

> Jerkbait gear: 6'9" medium-heavy McCain Jerk/Rattle/Spin rod, same reel (8.5:1 ratio), 12-pound Seaguar InvizX fluorocarbon, Molix Jugalo (chrome/black/blue).

> Click here to read more about Elam’s winning pattern.