Elite

Top lures at Harris Chain 2024

A hair jig made it into the lineup of the winner's top lure choices at Harris Chain of Lakes.

Posted on
Photography by
Dalton Tumblin
Captions by
Craig Lamb
A former Bethel University college bass fishing standout who climbed up the mid-tier ranks and finally made it as a rookie in the Bassmaster Elite Series. John Garrett, 28, has paid his dues and now earned his keep. 
Garrett went wire-to-wire with a four-day total of 84 pounds, 5 ounces to claim his first Bassmaster win at the Lowrance Bassmaster Elite at Harris Chain of Lakes. 
“I never thought that I would be on this stage, let alone win one of these trophies. The Lord had His hand above me all this week.” Garrett, of Union City, Tenn., is the second rookie to win an Elite event this season. 
Click here to buy these lures at Bass Pro Shops.
Brad Whatley (10th; 56-0)
Whatley used a swim jig and vibrating jig to cover water in his strike zones. 
His choices included this 3/8-ounce Epic Baits Swim Jig, with a Bass Assassin Elite Shiner for a trailer.
He used the same trailer on a 1/2-ounce vibrating jig. 
Jason Christie (9th; 60-10)
Christie rotated through a spinnerbait, swim jig and crankbait to cover all depths of his strike zones. 
He used this 1/2-ounce War Eagle Spinnerbait with double willowleaf blades. 
And a 1/2-ounce BOOYAH Mobster Swim Jig.
Alternatively, Christie used this Norman Speed N squarebill crankbait. 
Ed Loughran III (8th; 60-11)
Loughran focused on flipping heavy cover and scattered brushpiles for his pattern. 
His flipping rig consisted of a 4-inch Missile Baits D Bomb, rigged on a 5/0 Gamakatsu G-Power Heavy Cover Worm Flip and Punch Hook, with a 3/4-ounce weight. 
For the brushpiles he used a 6-inch Missile Baits Magic Worm, with a 3/16-ounce weight, and a 5/0 Gamakatsu G-Power Heavy Cover Worm Flip and Punch Hook.
Joseph Webster (7th; 61-7)
Webster rotated through a selection of power, finesse and reaction baits to capitalize on his varied strike zones. 
Leading off with a flipping package was a 4-inch Berkley PowerBait Bunker Hawg rigged on a 5/0 extra wide gap hook, with a 5/16-ounce weight. 
A 3/8-ounce Berkley Slobberknocker allowed Webster to efficiently cover water. 
A 3/8-ounce Berkley Power Blade Spinnerbait with its double willowleaf blades was ideal for shad spawn conditions. 
Trey McKinney (6th; 65-7)
McKinney focused on an early morning glide bait pattern and a jig for covering bottom structure. 
A key bait on the first two days was this 9-inch The Boss by Clutch Swimbait Co. 
For a junk fishing pattern McKinney used this 3/8-ounce Strike King Baby Structure Jig, with a Strike King Rage Twin Tail Menace.
Click here to buy these lures at Bass Pro Shops.
Jordan Lee (5th; 66-0)
Lee alternated between a Carolina rig and Neko rig to cover his strike zone. For the Neko rig he used a Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Kingtail, rigged on a 1/0 straight shank hook with a 1/8-ounce nail weight. 
He made the Carolina rig with a 9-inch Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Power Wag, rigged on a 3/0 offset shank hook, with 1/2- or 3/4-ounce tungsten weights on a 2-foot leader.  
Tyler Williams (4th; 66-3)
Williams continued his ongoing success using a jig and jerkbait. 
Williams relied on his mainstay 3/4-ounce Greenfish Tackle Little Rubber Jig, with a Yamamoto Flappin’ Hog for heavy cover fishing. 
For reaction bites he used this Megabass Ito Vision 110+1.
KJ Queen (3rd; 72-0)
Queen rotated through a swim jig, bladed jig and wacky-rigged worm to cover his strike zone. 
A key bait was this 1/2-ounce Queen Tackle Tungsetn Punch Skirt with a Zoom Z Craw for a trailer. He used the rig as a swim jig for a shad spawn, and for punching and flipping around hay grass.
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Alternatively, he used this 1/2-ounce Queen Tackle Tungsten Bladed Jig with a Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Worm. The blade emits a unique sound when it strikes the tungsten head. 
For suspended bass, Queen used a Zoom Zlinky, rigged with a No. 2 straight shank hook. 
JT Thompkins (2nd; 73-12)
Thompkins used a hard plastic glide bait for early bites, and then switched to a brushpile pattern later in the day with a weightless wacky rig and jig. 
For the early bite he used this 9-inch OG Glide Bait by Clutch Swimbait Co. 
For brushpiles he used a one-two punch with this 5/8-ounce Outkast Tackle Cage Feider Jig, with a Yamamoto Flappin’ Hog for a trailer. 
And a Yamamoto Senko rigged weightless for a wacky rig or on a Neko rig with a 1/32-ounce nail weight with a Gamakatsu G-Finesse Weedless Wacky Hook. 
John Garrett (1st; 84-5)
Garrett fished for postspawn bass with a deep-diving crankbait and a handtied hair jig, shown in this photo series. He also used another deep-diving crankbait, a Strike King 1.5 squarebill and a Carolina-rigged Strike King Ocho. Garrett focused on a shellbar, cranking up and otherwise coaxing largemouth to his choice of baits. 
For deep bass he used this Strike King Pro Model 5XD Crankbait. 
Alternatively, he used this hand-tied 5/8-ounce hair jig, allowing the bait to fall to the bottom and then make short hops. 

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