Elite

Big bass of Lake Champlain 2024

Playing larger role than in previous events, largemouth help Loughran win first Elite

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Captions by
Mike Suchan
The smallmouth deep bite was expected to again dominate in the recent Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Elite at Lake Champlain, but there were signs that largemouth might be more in play this time around. And they were. Ed Loughran, returning after missing two events, had big bass of both denominations in winning his first Elite. Let’s look at how the bigger bass impacted the Elites.
Alabama’s Wesley Gore continued his stellar first season, starting with a pair of smallmouth that tied him for seventh with 21 pounds, 1 ounce. After 20-6, he narrowly missed making his third Top 10 of the year. His 15th-place finish kept him 10th in the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings and gave him a shot at the Dakota Lithium Bassmaster Rookie of the Year title.
Bob Downey started with 19-13 to keep his hopes of finishing among the 42 in AOY who advance to the 2025 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Jockey Outdoors. Although he missed an event for the birth of his child, Downey posted a 37th-place finish, giving him a great chance as the first man out at 43rd in points.
Patrick Walters stood fourth after 21-10, one of 21 limits topping 20 pounds on Day 1. After dropping to 18th on Day 2, Walters made the Top 10 with 20-6 then finished sixth. The Elite winner at Lake Murray, the South Carolina pro has made three Top 10s and is assured a sixth Classic berth.
Robert Gee was ailing on the water, but that didn’t prevent the rookie from bringing in 21-1 to stand tied for seventh. Coming off a runner-up finish at Smith Lake, Gee was again on a deep big-fish pattern.
New Jersey’s Greg DiPalma busted 22-11 on Day 1 to stand second. His weights shrunk over the next three rounds, but he ended up 10th, providing hope for a second Classic as he jumped 19 spots to 49th in AOY.
At home in New York, Kyle Patrick caught a 6-2 largemouth that helped him stand third with 21-11. It was Phoenix Boats Big Bass of Day 1 and held out for largest in the event, earning the rookie $3,000 in bonus money. Patrick finished 23rd at Champlain, dropping two spots to 16th in AOY. Big bags of largemouth were weighed in during the B.A.S.S. Nation on Champlain several weeks prior, and green fish has a larger impact than in the past several events here.
Needing a big finish to reach his seventh Classic, Minnesota’s Seth Feider started with green bangs, including a 6-0 and another just under to lead with 23-11, the CrushCity Monster Bag that earned him a $2,000 bonus. Feider dropped to 22nd but that bumped him up 12 spots to 53rd in AOY.
Jason Christie was in a similar situation, and he made a move with 19-15 on Day 2 with smallmouth. Well outside the Classic cut in 67th, the 2022 champ finished 18th to move up 15 spots to 52nd in AOY. Both he and Feider headed to the final event needing Top 10s to reach the estimated 495 points it would take to qualify for the Classic.
Defending Champlain Elite champ Kyoya Fujita, who won the season-opening Elite on Toledo Bend, wasn’t in as dire a predicament, but the second-year Elite needed a good showing to reach his second Classic. After 18-0 put him 64th and dropped him outside the Classic bubble, he caught 19-9 to jump up to 38th. He finished 46th, dropping one spot to 41st in AOY.
Coming in as the new AOY leader, Classic champ Justin Hamner looked to extend his 24-point lead. Hamner caught 19-11 in the first two rounds and ended up 28th. Hoping to become the third angler to win the Classic and AOY in the same season, the Alabama pro left with a 13-point lead in AOY.
Rookie Trey McKinney, who fell to second in AOY after leading the past five events, had 20-3 on Day 2 to stand 15th but lost 27 points and three spots after 14-15 on Day 3. The Illinois 19-year-old left Champlain fifth in AOY, 38 points out of the lead and trailing in the ROY race by one point.
Jacob Foutz came into Champlain on a roll, sitting fifth in AOY after making every Top 50 cut on the year. Sitting in sixth with 21-4, Foutz cut his 39-point deficit to Justin Hamner to 13 after Day 2. While his weights lowered each day, the Tennessee pro finished eighth and headed to the final event third in AOY, now 19 points behind Hamner.
Caleb Sumrall was one of three anglers to tie for Day 2’s Phoenix Boats Big Bass, a 5-7. With 21-11, the Louisiana pro jumped 25 spots to ninth before finishing 13th. Sumrall moved up 12 places to 38th in AOY, a much sunnier outlook than two events prior when he was 62nd.
Greg Hackney had been riding the Classic bubble after a poor showing at Lake Murray. With his own 5-7, Hackney rebounded from his 81st-place start to weigh 20-5 and catapult to 40th. He wound up 33rd in the event and 41st in AOY, needing to hold on to make his 19th Classic.
One of three anglers tied at seventh with 21-1 after Day 1, Chris Zaldain took over the lead with his Day 2 limit of 21-7. The Texas pro slipped to fourth and ended up ninth, keeping him 17th in AOY and on track for his ninth Classic.
Alabama’s Matt Herren was 10th after Day 1 with 21-0, but then dropped to 34th. Behind a 5-15, the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of Day 3, he weighed 19-11 to finish 19th. Herren climbed to 58th in points and his most realistic chance for an 11th Classic bid was the win-and-in provision at the St. Lawrence.
That was Matt Robertson’s only hope to reach his sixth Classic. Mired in 98th, the Kentucky pro was On’ Em at Champlain. With 20-13 in each of the first two rounds, Robertson caught a 5-0 to total 20-2 and stand in second. With 17-7 on Championship Monday, he earned a $25,000 check by taking fourth.
Ed Loughran III, who took a medical leave for kidney stones, was back with a vengeance, albeit only for winnings, not points. The “Barrister” even traveled far south to stay out of way of AOY competitors. He started in the middle of the pack on Day 1 with 19-1 then jumped 37 spots to second with 22-15. Behind a 5-12 largemouth on Day 3, he took over the lead with 21-14 for 63-14.
Will Davis Jr. slipped into Championship Monday in eighth behind two 20-pound bags. He landed a Day 4 bag of 20-9 to finish seventh, which put him solidly inside the Classic cut with an 11-position rise to 23rd.
Canada’s Cory Johnston entered Champlain ninth in AOY, suffering a fall from fourth with a disastrous 88th at Wheeler Lake. With three solid days, he made Day 4 in ninth and moved up to finish fifth behind 18-13 that included the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of 5-5. Now just 41 points behind Hamner, he headed to his home waters of the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario with a glimmer of hope for the AOY title.
Feeling much better, Robert Gee made his third championship day in 2024 with consistent bags of 19-15 and 19-13. He was 3-1 back of the lead and vied for the title with 19-12. With 80-9, he was just 3 ounces short of winning in third. Gee, who gained some fans with his unassuming manor and fish belly pats, left 15th in AOY and assured to qualify for his first Classic.
Cory Johnston’s younger brother, Chris, was in better position to win the event, and AOY. After 20-0, 21-14 and 19-8, Chris was just 2-8 back of adding a second Elite title. He weighed 19-5 to finish 1 ounce shy of the winning total, but second-place sent him home to the St. Lawrence, where he became the first Canadian Elite winner in 2020, with only a 13-point AOY deficit to Hamner.
Loughran had his smallest bag on Day 4, 16-14, but it was enough to hold on for his first Elite title. The Richmond, Va., lawyer totaled 80-12, a 1-ounce win. Coincidentally, Loughran has fished all three of the Championship Mondays this season.
Loughran’s first title in 88 B.A.S.S. events came a week before his 54th birthday, earning a nice present to himself of $100,000.  “The money will come and go,” he said, “but that trophy will not go anywhere.”

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