I mean, it's not like he's bangin' on the door and then – boom! – it's down. It's more like he streaks in like a missile and – bang! – the tournament's over and there he is with a blue trophy. Happened in 2021 at Champlain, and happened yesterday. Here's how this one went down – full deets on the BB site:

> "Day 1 was sunny and very calm. I wanted to catch them on a Chatterbait, but...I was largemouth fishing and I felt they were not in a reaction bait mood, that I needed to slow down.

> "I got a couple key bites quick on a dropshot rig with a Missile Magic Worm. Thank goodness they were quality – that led me to believe in that presentation. The fish were still in that area, but that presentation was the right thing.

> "I stuck with that throughout the day. They were all related to coontail edges. ...not a lot of bites, but big ones.

> "Day 2 was a combination of a dropshot, Carolina rig and I actually punched a few fish.

> "I'm a grass fisherman. The first 2 days it had to be coontail. I was catching them on the edge near a depression. The coontail was almost to the surface, and I'd catch them tight to where it broke off to deeper water. [He was fishing in 6-7'.]

> "...[punching] in the same area...little places topped out where you had duckweed on top of the coontail. For whatever reason I could get a couple bites punching into those coontail mats, even on the cloudy days.

> "Day 3 and day 4 I exclusively Carolina-rigged. I went to a couple places I had been fishing the first 2 days but it wasn't working. So I went to my eelgrass edge and it had gotten better.

> "...all eelgrass, depressions in 8'. I was all in on grass, from the beginning to the end. The pattern was any depressions in the grass. ...needed a depression, needed some kind of deeper water next to the grass."

Baits

> Dropshot bait: Missile Magic Worm ("blueback secret"). "I just feel like [that color] has a good contrast. It looks very natural...top's got a little green in it...can resemble a perch, a bluegill, but it gets bit, period. The water's not clear, but when you get tight to the grass it's clean."

> Dropshot hook: 3/0 Hayabusa 957 Offset Shank Worm Hook. "I don't know what it is about that hook, but I've been using it for Texas-rigging for weedless dropshots and I hook 'em man. It's the design of that hook, the coating – if a fish catches you off guard and you don't get the right hookset, you still get 'em.

> "...lot of confidence in that hook. I was using smaller hooks and was having string of bad luck. The Magic Worm is a little bit bigger than a traditional Roboworm. This hook is real lightweight and I felt like it fit [that bait] perfectly. I started using it at Pickwick [where he finished high] for dropshot largemouth, and I've stuck with it."

> Dropshot gear: 3/16-oz Reins Tungsten Dropshot Weight, 10-lb P-Line Braid to 12-lb P-Line fluoro [because he was fishing around grass], Fitzgerald Stunner Reel (3000), 6' 10" Fitzgerald Shakey Head Rod.

> Carolina rig: Missile Baby D Stroyer (gp flash – "I tried numerous colors to try to give them a different look and that's the only color they would bite"), 3/0 Hayabusa 959 EWG-style Hook, 17-lb P-Line fluoro leader, SPRO swivel (size 8?), 1/2-oz lead egg sinker, red bead, 17-lb P-Line fluoro mainline, Fitzgerald Stunner Reel (7:1), 7' 3" H Fitzgerald Stunner Rod.

> Punch rig: Missile Baby D Bomb (bruiser flash), 5/0 Hayabusa FPP Flipping Hook, 1.5-oz Reins Tungsten Weight, 50-lb P-Line braid, Fitzgerald Stunner Reel (7:1), 7' 6" MH Fitzgerald Hydrilla Rod.

Electronics

> "I'm a grass fisherman. I like to be stealthy. I feel that my trolling motor, the Garmin Force, is the quietest on the market. ...helps in areas that are getting a lot of attention.

> "Even on a fishery that has this much grass, my LiveScope played a role. The spot I ended up winning the tournament on was a hole near this grassbed, and when I put my LiveScope on it I saw a cluster of fish sitting on an isolated clump of grass near the edge of the grass. I would never have known those fish were there if wasn't for LiveScope.

> "[He also] would scan around, and every once in a while I'd see a little cluster of fish on the edge of the eelgrass. I'd bomb the Carolina rig on them...watch them come down on it, feel a bite and set the hook.

> "That LiveScope is a tool that produces everywhere. It doesn't have to be a deep, clear lake."

1. You designed a swim-jig and the upper Mississippi is one of the best places in the country to swim-jig – what happened to swim-jiggin'??

> "My back was against the wall on a grass fishery...love to fish my strengths...I was ready for it and could not get it going. I don't know what was going on, but I could not find a swim-jig bite on the upper Mississippi River."

[He loves swim-jiggin' and designed the Hayabusa Lil' Schmitty Swim Jig.]

2. What's with winning on northern fisheries? Do you feel more comfortable there – and I guess on Pickwick too? [He got 6th and 8th there the last 2 years.]

> "I think having grass is a big thing, but I'm just way more comfortable up north. What I feel like up north is it's not about a magical bait, it's about finding fish. I think I have a knack for finding fish.

> "Northern fisheries, they're biting, so it's not about finding some magical bait or some sneaky thing. It's about who can find the most fish or biggest fish.

> "Southern fisheries, the worst feeling in the world is finding some fish and you don't know how to catch 'em. They get so much pressure you need some new technique you never heard of to catch 'em. When my mind starts getting that way I'm not good. But when it comes to just finding them...I'm a happy camper."

3. In 2021 you finished 69th and 41st and then you won, and this time you finished 61st and 20th and then won. In other words, it sure doesn't look like you're coming on strong and then you win. What up with that?

> "Both situations my back's been against the wall. My wife says I always perform when my back's against the wall.

> "I also think it's been a lucky scenario for me...fishery being set up perfectly for me."

4. Do folks on the Miss Ashleigh even know you bass-fish? [That his boat he salty guides on.]

> "Yes, some do for sure, but some have no idea and I don't even dive into it. A lot of times they don't even fish, period – they're just invited by a different person on the boat."

5. How does saltwater fishing help your bass fishing?

> "It definitely helps. In the charter boat industry, especially where I live, it's very busy and competitive. A lot of people are doing it. It's almost a tournament atmosphere every day. You have to perform, keep your clients on fish...what the weather's doing. Every day is a hunt and it keeps you fresh."

> Killer Bass, a fishing video game released in 2000, pits players against a genetically enhanced fish that weighed over 200 lbs and ate babies.

> Killer Bass Jack escaped its experimental lab and went on a murderous rampage. The Killer Bass Cup was organized to catch the killer, and players needed to work up the luring skills (and the nerve) to reel in Killer Bass Jack. Pruett also notes that, according to the game's manual, Killer Bass Jack had already been captured, and was released again for the express purposes of hosting a Killer Bass Cup.

Info from here – ate babies?? Video game creator peeps are 🤪! But...I would love to hunt down a killer bass....