Elite

Best of 2024: Dalton Tumblin’s best photos

Bassmaster photographer chooses his favorite photos from the season.

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Photography by
Dalton Tumblin
Captions by
Dalton Tumblin
Welcome to the season wrap up with another one of my ‘Best of Galleries’ to sum up the 2024 season. It was certainly one to remember with a lot of action, big fish and exciting moments. As I culled through countless photos putting this gallery together, I really enjoyed recalling the moments when I took them. Here are those favorites from the season.
We began the season at the St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Lake Okeechobee presented by SEVIIN. The first angler I covered on Day 1 was an unknown, driving an unwrapped boat, and fully covered from head to toe. Spoiler alert.
From a distance I had no idea who it was, only that they were hammering on ’em. That was until taking this photo about an hour into the session. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was Scott Martin just trying to be incognito.
After that, it was game on for three days as I covered Martin fishing his way to a record-breaking victory.
Then we rolled into the first Bassmaster Elite Series tournament of the year at Toledo Bend.
I witnessed Robert Gee’s incredible Elite rookie debut.
Along with a strong start to the season by Patrick Walters.
And the massive Toledo Bend crowds that set a record. All of which made for an electric kick off to the Elite season.
I finished up Toledo Bend by covering Kyoya Fujita as he absolutely laid the hammer down on Championship Sunday for the win.
Tyler Williams was also showing an incredible start to his rookie season as we moved into the Lake Fork Elite event. And of course, doing it barefoot style.
This session with Williams was certainly fun to witness. Lake Fork giants, a master with a jig, and pushing for a win in only his second Elite Series event. What’s not to love?
And then comes the big show. The 2024 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic. To say this Classic was exciting would be an understatement!
I spent this Classic following Justin Hamner as he put on a show on the water from start to finish.
The excitement was there, the smiles, the incredible fishing. All the elements for what would be an epic win.
And even a reasonable serving size of sweet tea to top it off.
And this brings us to my favorite, and I mean favorite, part of each season. the championship weigh-in at the Classic. And not only that but sneaking around to get the back stage and behind the scenes view of it all. Check out this sequence of photos showing my view of the winning moments.
What an incredible moment. My favorite task each year is to get this shot at the Classic. The shot from behind during the victory moment. And just like other years, it was electric!
After the Classic we headed out to the Harris Chain Elite with John Garrett.
A good friend, and a fantastic angler. I’ve known Garrett for some time now, and followed him a lot during his Opens career. Getting to witness his first Elite win and capture the moments was a huge privilege.
Now for a change of pace with some of my favorite Top Lures photos from this year. I’ve had the duty of shooting the Bass Pro Shops Top Lures gallery at each Eilte and the Classic this year. As someone who goes crazy over detail shots, these always end up being some of my favorites.
Our next stop was the St Johns River in Florida, where I caught up with Wes Logan early on as he started to climb the leaderboard. I always enjoy watching Logan have success, so shooting him putting a giant like this in the boat was a highlight.
My next angler to cover at the St Johns was Chris Zaldain. Not only was he putting big ones in the boat, but he was doing it with a frog in the lily pads. About as good as it gets! This is one of my favorite boat flip shots from that tournament.
This is a moment that portrays the perks of sharing the playing field with the public. Along with the wildlife, seeing small scenes like this out on the water makes for a lot of fun and some cool photos.
I finished up the St Johns tournament with Cory Johnston on his victory day.
He started out by throwing a frog in the lily pads. It did not disappoint.
Lake Murray was the next stop, and I hadn’t caught up with one of my favorites yet, so I decided to start off the tournament spending some time with Takumi Ito.
While bouncing around on the water on Day 1, I also stumbled into JT Thompkins putting a big one in the boat.
I finally settled in covering Lee Livesay, who was using his boat to stir up the baitfish upon my arrival. I certainly showed up right on time, because this made for a cool shot.
Livesay battled it out all four days and we had a good time out there. I finished that week with my last photo being of Livesay pretend shooting a group of mallards with his rod and reel.
And then there was Wheeler Lake. I think we can all agree when we say we enjoy seeing Cliff Prince do well in a derby. Well, this one was one for the books.
I started covering Prince randomly on Day 1, which led to four straight days of watching him fish his way to a victory. It was an awesome time, and it made for some great photos. Here are a couple more of my favorites from on the water.
Shout out to Bassmaster LIVE cameraman Brandon Fein doing what it takes to get that shot.
I caught up with one of my favorite zero emotion guys, Jay Przekurat, at the Smith Lake Elite. He made a strong run with a third-place finish while giving me some of my favorite hook set shots of the entire year.
And then we left off for the Northern Swing in New York. Where the boats start to pile up and so do the smallmouth.
I ended up with Greg Dipalma a little ways into our event at Lake Champlain. Dipalama was having a strong run and showing out for the camera with some fish scoops.
I eventually ended up with Ed Loughran, who not only came out with the victory but showed me a largemouth or two along with his smallmouth catches.
Our last Elite stop of the year, the St Lawrence River. This is truly one of my favorite places in the fishing world. The very first day was nice and calm with my first stop being Justin Hamner as he was pushing for the AOY trophy. Little did I know, this calm and peaceful day would foreshadow what was to come.
The final day consisted of me following, or attempting to follow, Cory Johnston as he fished his way to a victory. Several miles out into Lake Ontario with 5-9 foot rollers was sort of fun but also chaotic. It made for some of my favorite photos of the entire year, but my back definitely paid the price. Here’s what I captured of it.
We change the pace to close out the entire season. Each year I shoot the Bassmaster Redfish Cup, and like every year, it’s very enjoyable. The anglers are laid back, having a good time, and the setting is a small town along the coastline. Here are some of my favorite shots from this year’s Redfish Cup.
Well, here’s a Pelican first.
And also Logan Crumley catching the Live drone.
And a man wading out for Redfish.
And an F-16 Fighter Jet.
Okay, here’s the Redfish for real this time.
Pause, here’s a Dolphin too.
And that sums it up for the 2024 season and my Best of Gallery. We ended it with watching Mark Robinson and Mike Frenette battle it out to take second at the Redfish Cup. What an incredible season. It was full of great experiences and some great content. Thanks for checking out this gallery, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!

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