Cliff Prince Wins Bassmaster Elite on Wheeler Lake
Prince won the tournament with 80 pounds, 15 ounces, earned his blue trophy and a $100,000 payday. Prince maximized a sweet spot on a flat featuring two prominent hard spots surrounded by submergent vegetation. Alternating between a bladed jig and worm enabled him to catch a limit, some days within 30 minutes of his 6 a.m. takeoff time. He used this 7.5-inch Bass Assassin Tapout, rigged on a 3/16-ounce Greenfish Tackle Casey Ashley Clean Up Shakey Head. Prince also used a Z-Man ChatterBait JackHammer, with a 3.5-inch Bass Assassin Lit'l Boss for a trailer.
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Bassmaster Elite Wheeler Lake - Top 10
2nd Place - Ray Hanselman Jr - 77lb - 0oz - $35,000
A crankbait, hair jig and Texas-rigged worm covered the water column for Hanselman's strike zones. For cranking over shell beds, he chose this 6th Sense Crush 50X Squarebill Crankbait. For swimming through the water column, he used this 3/4-ounce 6th Sense Flock Hair Jig. Alternatively, he made a Texas rig with this 9.6-inch 6th Sense Boosa Ribbon Tail, rigged on a 6/0 Owner Haymaker Hook.
3rd Place - John Cox - 70lb - 8oz - $30,000
Not surprisingly, Cox skipped out on the popularity of the offshore ledge bite in favor of what he likes to do the most, which is fish off the beaten path with a frog. That choice was a Berkley Swamp Lord, fished fast over the top over matted vegetation.
4th Place - John Garrett - 68lb - 9oz - $25,000
The primary baits for Garrett were a Texas-rigged worm and shaky head. For probing bottom structure, he used this 9.5-inch Strike King Zeus Worm on a 3/8-ounce weight. Alternatively, he used a 6.5-inch Strike King Finesse Worm, rigged on a 1/4-ounce Owner Shaky Head.
5th Place - Alex Wetherell - 66lb - 13oz - $20,000
Wetherell found a package of 16-inch worms in his boat, tied one on and immediately caught a 4-pound largemouth. That discovery made him add the unknown brand monster worm to his arsenal. He rigged the 16-inch worm on a 7/0 hook with a 3/8-ounce tungsten weight. Wetherell also used a 1/2-ounce jig with a 3-inch Caperlan Yubari CRW.
6th Place - Jay Przekurat - 64lb - 9oz - $19,000
A drop shot and Texas-rigged worm did the trick for Pzrekurat. He made the drop shot with this 5-inch Strike King Filler Worm on a 1/0 hook with a 1/4-ounce WOO! Tungsten Drop Shot Weight. For covering bottom structure, he used this 9.5-inch Strike King Zeus Worm, rigged on a 6/0 Gamakatsu G-Finesse Hybrid Worm Hook, with a 3/8-ounce WOO! Tungsten weight.
7th Place - Wesley Gore - 62lb - 14oz - $18,000
Gore rotated through a jerkbait, shaky head and drop shot, all depending on the timing of his bite. For reaction strikes he used this Jackall Rerange 110mm Jerkbait. When that bite slowed, he switched to a 3/8-ounce Owner Shakey Ultrahead with an 8-inch Xcite Baits Slim Gem. Alternatively, he made a drop-shot rig with a 6-inch Roboworm on a 1/0 Owner Cover Shot Hook with a 1/4-ounce weight.
8th Place - Logan Parks - 62lb - 11oz - $17,000
Parks used a crankbait for active largemouth and then switched to a shaky head when that bite ceased. The Berkley Dime in sizes 10 and 6 was his primary crankbait. Parks switched out the stock hooks with larger No. 5 Ryugi Pierce TC Treble Hooks. Parks also fished a Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Hit Worm on a 1/4-ounce shaky head jig.
9th Place - Justin Hamner - 58lb - 10oz - $16,000
Hamner spent time in the tailrace of Guntersville dam during discharges, using baits appropriate for those situations and for other areas down lake. A primary bait was this Netbait Twitch Jr. infused with Baitfuel, rigged on a No. 2 hook. The Electric Shad color will be introduced at the ICAST trade show in July. Alternatively, Hamner used this Clutch Swimbait Co. Darter Glide Bait. Hamner also used this Yo-Zuri 3DB Pencil Popper 110.
10th Place - Alex Redwine - 57lb - 12oz - $15,000
Redwine covered all the prevailing bites with a topwater, crankbait and shaky head. To imitate the shad forage he chose this Berkley J-Walker 120. For the ledges and flats he used this Berkley Dredger 120. Redwine rigged a 4.5-inch Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Hit Worm on an All Terrain Tackle Mighty Jig.
