Taku Ito's Wins Bassmaster Elite on Smith Lake
Ito revealed a lineup of secret Japanese baits for his first Championship Sunday appearance of the season. Note that all the baits are coated in his flavored bass attracting powder. Ito pinpointed larger spotted bass, over and up to 6 pounds, positioned around brushpiles at depths from 25 to 30 feet. That lineup featured this 3.6-inch Nories Flip Gill, rigged on a 3/16-ounce Neko Rig. Another hot bait was this Nories Wrapping Minnow Spy Bait. Finally, the weirdest of them all, and most deadly, was this 14 mm OSP Saikoro Dice Rubber Magnum, rigged on a drop-shot rig with a 3/16-ounce weight.
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Bassmaster Elite Smith Lake - Top 10
2nd Place - Robert Gee - 53lb - 15oz - $35,000
A jighead minnow and hybrid crappie jig did the trick for Gee. A key bait was this handtied hair crappie jig, upsized to a 3/8 size making it ideal for bass applications. He also used a Yamamoto Shad Shape Worm, rigged on a 3/8-ounce Queen Tackle Tungsten Swim Jig.
3rd Place - Jay Przekurat - 53lb - 14oz - $30,000
Prezekurat relied on this key swimbait setup for his success. That was a Strike King 3X Baby Z-Too Soft Jerkbait, rigged on a Northland Fishing Tackle 3/8-ounce Smeltinator jighead.
4th Place - Cory Johnston - 53lb - 1oz - $25,000
Johnston cruised flats and dropoffs searching for roaming and schooling spotted bass. To catch them, he used this 6th Sense Juggle Minnow, rigged on a Gamakatsu Horizon Head LG.
5th Place - Tyler Williams - 52lb - 8oz - $20,000
When it's not broke don't fix it. Tyler Williams continued a long streak of Top 10 appearances with his favorite go-to bait. Often, he uses the big jig to target offshore bass holding on isolated structure. Sometimes, the jig goes into heavy combat, like it did at Smith Lake. Williams used a flipping tactic with a 3/4-ounce Greenfish Tackle Little Rubber Jig, with a Yamamoto Flappin' Hog.
6th Place - Cooper Gallant - 51lb - 15oz - $19,000
Gallant used a swimbait and drop shot to cover his strike zone. Leading off the lineup was this 3/8-ounce Outkast Tackle Goldeneye Swimbait Jig Head, with a fluke-style trailer. Another top choice was this 6-inch X Zone Lures Deception Worm, with a 2/0 BKK Drop Shot Hook to be introduced at the upcoming ICAST trade show.
7th Place - Kyle Patrick - 51lb - 9oz - $18,000
Patrick alternated between a swimbait for covering water and a drop-shot rig for specific areas. A top bait was this 4-inch Z-Man Scented Jerk ShadZ, rigged on 3/8- or 1/2-ounce Queen Tackle LS Tungsten Jighead. Using the same weight sizes, he made a drop shot with a Missile Baits Magic Worm, rigged on a 1/0 Owner Cover Shot Hook.
8th Place - JT Thompkins - 50lb - 7oz - $17,000
Thompkins' key bait was a jig with a fast fall rate that was ideal for quickly getting to the strike zone when skipped beneath docks. That choice was this 5/8-ounce OutKast Tackle Juice Casting Jig, paired with a Yamamoto Flappin' Hog. For suspended spotted bass, Thompkins made the flick shake rig with a 5-inch Yamamoto Senko with a 1/16-ounce jig head.
9th Place - Cody Huff - 49lb - 13oz - $16,000
Huff covered the water column with a swim jig and drop shot. He made the drop-shot rig with a Missile Baits Magic Worm, rigged on a 1/0 VMC RedLine Series Drop Shot Hook, with a 3/8-ounce weight. Huff also relied on a 3/8-ounce VMC SLJ Sleek Jig, with a Missile Baits Spunk Shad 4.5.
10th Place - Justin Hamner - 49lb - 10oz - $15,000
Hamner scored a second consecutive Championship Sunday using a combination of baits capable of covering the water column, from top to bottom. Leading off for an early morning or schooling fish bite was this Clutch Swimbait Co. Darter Glide Bait. For suspended spotted bass he used this 6-inch Dixie Jet Lures Dixie Spoon. Hamner also used a NetBait BaitFuel Twitch Jr., rigged on a 1/22-ounce tungsten jig head.
