Big things happened on the big stage of B.A.S.S. in 2022, with plenty of big dreams achieved.
There were supersized bass at most Elite Series tournaments — three venues surpassed 100 pounds, the first time that’s ever happened in a single year. Among the eight Century Belts awarded for topping the magical number, two came on smallmouth, also a feat never previously accomplished.
There were also personal firsts. Oklahoma’s Jason Christie broke through to win the Bassmaster Classic after twice leading on the final day. Drew Cook, Brandon Lester, Jay Przekurat and Austin Felix each won their first Elite tournaments, while those doubling up for a second Elite were John Crews, Buddy Gross, Lee Livesay and Bryan Schmitt.
Brandon Palaniuk earned his second Bassmaster Angler of the Year title, putting him in a club with 11 others who’ve won the year-long point race more than once. Przekurat won Bassmaster Rookie of the Year honors in a bit of a cakewalk. The 23-year-old also set the mark as youngest Elite winner when he took the title at the St. Lawrence River. That fishery became the ninth in B.A.S.S. history to see Century Belts awarded, and of course, the first on smallmouth.
So let’s get to the Daily Limit’s favorite posts of the year, exploring things like the makeup of the Elite field, the big winners of the year, Ray Scott’s passing, a 10-pound smallmouth and a historic barn find.
After slow approach, New took off
Before the season began, Bryan New was contacted for his take on the season-opening Elite at the St. Johns River. He had, afterall, won his first Elite event there in the 2021 opener, which came almost a year to the day after an Opens win in Florida.
New, who always wanted to be a professional angler, gets into the details of why he waited to go all-in. New said he didn’t want to be a fly-by-night production, that he wanted to have all the right pieces in place before he created a New lease on life.
Elites coming from wider range
With a recent addition and success of anglers from the Upper Midwest, the Daily Limit explored the makeup of the Elite Series and how it’s changed over time.
Bass fishing was mainly a sport for those growing up in the Southeast and lower Midwest, but times they are a’changing. With stalwarts like Idaho’s Brandon Palaniuk, a new wave from Japan, another from Canada and those Minnesota and Wisconsin sticks, the Bassmaster Elite Series is not just good old boys anymore.
G-Man rolls 300 in B.A.S.S.
Gerald Swindle, about to pass a milestone with B.A.S.S., was asked for a sitdown with the Daily Limit. G-Man hit on a number of topics, offering his country-spun wit and wisdom that’s made him a fan favorite.
The two-time Angler of the Year, who has fished with B.A.S.S. since 1995, dished on breaking in, recent times and what the future might hold. Saying there were folks who bet he wouldn’t make it 20 tournaments, Swindle is still going strong, qualifying for his 20th Classic in a season which saw him fish his 300th Bassmaster derby. Part 1; Part 2
Neil Paul’s Classic lake of dreams
A fixture with the Elite pros as a Marshal, promoter and friend, Neil Paul was stoked that the 2022 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic returned to Lake Hartwell.
As executive director at Visit Anderson, Paul was proud to have a big hand in bringing the Classic back to the South Carolina fishery and Green Pond Landing Event Center, a facility he helped develop. Paul had the vision and realized, if you build it, they will come.
Ups and downs for Classic champ
“V” was the stock chart of Jason Christie’s spring, when he went from the high of winning the Classic on Lake Hartwell to the low of a second-to-last finish at Santee Cooper before bounding back to the pinnacle at Chickamauga.
“My boat should be wrapped in the movie Tin Cup — I’m going to go for it every time … That’s one of my weaknesses, I guess. It’s a weakness, but it’s also my strength,” said Christie, who thinks that’s why he won’t win AOY. Yet with his eight B.A.S.S. titles, a win for every 12.6 entries, one should remain bullish on Christie.
Przekurat makes name for himself
Jay Przekurat led the Rookie of the Year race until a southern stretch, but back north he began his closeout run with a historic tournament on the St. Lawrence River.
The feats included: an Elite win as a rookie, the youngest Elite winner and the first to catch more than 100 pounds of smallmouth. Creating tremendous media buzz, Przekurat really made a name for himself, and more are sure to know how it’s pronounced (Sha-Cure-Et).
Calm during storm for AOY
With the final two events in his wheelhouse, Brandon Palaniuk looked as if he’d breeze to his second AOY crown. Then he faltered, allowing for the points race to tighten going into the last event.
Did Palaniuk worry? Maybe. A little. And things looked down as he struggled, allowing two anglers to pass him in BassTrakk’s AOY watch. The Prodigy said he knew the title was in jeopardy, but he had this feeling that everything would come together … at some point … in some way.
It finally did as Palaniuk remained calm in the storm.
Big year with Century Club
The Elites have long been put on the best fisheries at the best times, and that was evident in 2022. It was a record-setting schedule that saw anglers weigh more than 100 pounds in three events, topping the two events in each of the first two Elite seasons way back in 2006-07.
“It’s so rare now,” said Drew Cook, who joined the club at the Santee Cooper Elite. “At the beginning of Elites, they hit some really good places at exact right times … Now it’s super hard to do. It’s hard enough to catch them for four days in a row, let alone catch 20 big bass, average 25 pounds a day and break 100 pounds.”
There were eight anglers joining the Century Club in 2022 as the Elites completed their biggest year ever.
Scott’s feats etched in stone
After Ray Scott, who you got on the Mount Rushmore of bass fishing? Many can be argued, but Scott is definitely a surefire first-ballot unanimous selection.
Scott died in May, and his memorial featured icons in Johnny Morris, Bill Dance, Roland Martin and Bob Cobb. Each related stories of Scott and credited him with creating the mega-billion dollar industry, saying he should long reign as B.A.S.S. Boss.
Father wishes son caught record
A fog day near Lake Erie cancelled school and sent teachers Grant and Gregg Gallagher out for another day of bass fishing. It quickly ended, however, once Gregg horsed in a 10.15-pound smallmouth, which could end up as the fifth-largest ever caught on record.
Gregg wished his son had caught it because he put in all the work to locate and target big roamers in the depths of Erie.
“I’ve been overwhelmed to say the least,” said Gregg, who’s shied away from the notoriety of catching the greatest Great Lake smallmouth ever.
Barn find of historic Classic boat
Jason Politte believes the dusty boat he discovered in a Missouri barn is the exact one Rick Clunn used in his historic 1984 Bassmaster Classic victory.
“At 47, not a lot excites me, but this sure does. I’ve been like a kid with it,” Politte said. “Having Rick’s Clunn winning bass boat is one heck of a cool story.”
Readers found the “Antiques Roadshow” meets B.A.S.S. story cool as well, with pageviews topping 100,000 for the unearthing of a fishing holy grail.
Also, check out The Daily Limit’s top posts of 2021 and dig back a bit deeper for the best of 2020.