PHOTO BY GARRICK DIXON |
PHOTO BY ROB MATSUURA |
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slammed the door with 31-10 on the final day — the biggest bag of the event , anchored by its biggest bass , an 11-pounder .
While most of the field fished offshore , Mah flipped shallow cover with either a black and blue jig trailed by a Big Bite Baits YoMama or a Texas-rigged YoMama . He didn ’ t get many bites , but he got the right ones , and he won by more than 6 pounds and earned $ 26,261 as a result .
9 . TOYOTA SERIES PRESENTED BY PHOENIX BOATS PLAINS DIVISION
Kentucky-Barkley Lakes
March 7 – 9
It might be time to consider whether Jake Lawrence is actually unbeatable on Kentucky Lake . The Buchanan , Tennessee , native won his second consecutive Toyota Series event on his home fishery and his third multi-day tournament there in the past 11 months by weighing in 63 pounds , 2 ounces over three days .
Lawrence ’ s latest triumph came in wire-to-wire fashion . The LiveScope
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expert fished at the south end of the lake on Day 1 , where he sacked up 24-2 , then moved north for Days 2 and 3 , wielding a jighead minnow all the while . He edged fellow Kentucky Lake local Matt Robertson by 1-5 , earning $ 74,500 . |
10 . BASS PRO SHOPS REDCREST 2024 PRESENTED BY OPTIMA LITHIUM Lay Lake
March 14 – 17
Dustin Connell lived up to his billing as the pre-tournament favorite and then some . The lifelong Alabama native routed the rest of the Championship Round field with 83 pounds on 28 scorable bass . That topped runner-up Alton Jones Jr . by more than 30 pounds , earning Connell $ 300,000 and the distinction of being the first ever two-time REDCREST champion .
Balancing leaning on local knowledge with approaching Lay Lake with an open mind , Connell fished all over the reservoir during the Qualifying Round . He won the Knockout Round plucking spotted bass out of current seams in the
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riverine section of the lake but shifted gears during the Championship Round . Targeting schooling fish with forward-facing sonar , Connell revisited a bay he ’ d marked on Day 2 and found it loaded with baitfish and bass , which he caught one-afteranother on a jighead minnow .
11 . TOYOTA SERIES PRESENTED BY PHOENIX BOATS SOUTHERN DIVISION
Harris Chain of Lakes
March 19 – 21
After three previous runner-up finishes , Mikey Keyso broke through for his first Toyota Series win . He didn ’ t see this one coming , especially after trailing leader Bobby Bakewell by nearly 15 pounds after Day 1 . But Keyso switched from Lake Griffin to Dora on Day 2 and rocketed to second with 24-14 , then bagged 13-7 out of Eustis on the final day . With Day 3 tough on just about everyone , his 51- 4 total earned him a 4-pound win and $ 44,000 .
A notable outlier these days , Keyso doesn ’ t have forward-facing sonar on his boat . He did most of his
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damage with classic Florida staples : a swimming worm and a ChatterBait .
12 . GENERAL TIRE TEAM SERIES COSTA QUALIFIER PRESENTED BY TOYOTA Summersville , Stonewall Jackson Lake
Feb . 18 – March 24
Tough fishing greeted the nine teams at West Virginia ’ s Summersville and Stonewall Jackson Lakes , but three trios still punched their tickets to the Bass Pro Shops Team Series Championship . Team Crockett Creek ( David Dudley , Bradley Roy , Greg Vinson ) won Semifinal Match 1 with 11 bass weighing 15-11 , with Vinson accounting for more than half that weight . Kevin VanDam , David Walker and Kelly Jordon of team Star brite then pulled out a narrow victory in Semifinal Match 2 . Their total of 13- 6 on eight fish topped team Builders FirstSource by 1-3 . Finally , Casey Ashley put team Smokey Mountain on his back in the Wild Card Round . Ashley boated 14 bass for 34-12 , helping his team amass a total of 50-7 . That easily topped team Builders FirstSource ’ s 27-7 .
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