The Midwest was well represented at this year’s Bassmaster Classic in Knoxville, Tenn. Record crowds tuned in to watch 58 anglers compete on the world’s biggest stage in bass fishing, and 15 of the anglers—over 25 percent of the field—were from the Midwest. Five anglers were from Wisconsin, four anglers from Minnesota, three from Missouri, one from Illinois, one from Iowa, and one from Indiana. It is safe to say that anglers from the North can compete with anglers from across the nation and Canada. 

Two of those 15 anglers ended up in the top five of the “Super-bowl of bass fishing.” Trey McKinney of Illinois took second place for the second year in a row, and defending Bassmaster Classic champion Easton Fothergill of Minnesota took home fourth place. Easton was leading the three-day event after day one, but slipped after the second day, as eventual champion Dylan Nutt had a monster catch on day two of the event. 

Most of the highest -lacing anglers drove 40-plus miles down the river from the takeoff in Knoxville, through Lake Fort Loudoun, into the clearer water of Tellico Reservoir. This part of the fishery held big smallmouth bass that dominated the catches of the top finishers. 

All kinds of techniques were in play on the Tennessee river for smallmouth and largemouth bass. Some of the most popular were the jig and minnow, dice-style baits, jerkbaits, crankbaits, bass jigs, glide baits, large swimbaits, lipless crankbaits, spinnerbaits and chatterbaits. The fish were mostly pre-spawn, with some fish showing signs of the spawn. 

Anglers that opted to cast as many times as possible were using crankbaits, spinnerbaits and chatterbaits to cover water. This was the most effective way to keep baits in the strike zone, but also allowed anglers to search for good areas throughout the day. Sometimes, the pros would need to find new areas after exhausting everything they found in practice after the first tournament day. Often, after catching a few in an area, anglers would switch to other tactics to see if more fish were around. 

Anglers that found key current seams and areas with a good, slack-water area near current would cast large swimbaits and glide baits, looking for bites from large fish. These large baits can be feast or famine, but when you are fishing in the Bassmaster Classic, you need to bring in big fish to have a chance at winning. That’s why anglers use the big baits only in key areas to increase the odds of a good fish. 

Anglers working weedy or heavy-cover areas were using bass jigs where they could flip multiple times to key ambush areas. Bass jigs with built-in brush guards are built to fish in snaggy areas. 

Some anglers were fortunate enough to find solid schools of fish on structure, and they would target them with jig and minnows and jerkbaits. Oftentimes, the fish are keying on minnow forage in these areas, dining consistently on baitfish. Anglers were using %-inch and larger minnows such as the Crush City Freeloader. The more aggressive fish would hit the jig and minnow presentation, and when the anglers needed to slow down, they would opt to use a jerkbait to be able to suspend the lure near them to entice a bite.

Some of the pros were using the newer dice-style baits to target isolated fish or fish near cover. When tdice-style baits are properly weighted, they can be cast to fish in cover and entice them out to bite. 

Anglers can not only learn a lot about great techniques from the pros to use back home, but there is an entire other, great event that is happening off the water. 

One of the fan favorites is the large outdoors expo where anglers can see all the latest gear, get autographs of countless pros, and purchase rods, reels, and tackle at great discounts. Thousands of anglers walk the halls and share in the excitement that only the Bassmaster classic draws. 

Of course, the weigh-ins are next-level, with a capacity crowd cheering on the anglers in a stadium packed full of outdoor-loving people, excitement, and anticipation. The top six anglers after the day two weigh-in are held to the very end of the weigh-in on the last day, and brought out as the “super six”. This dramatic weigh-in brings fans to the edges of their seat to see the last catch of fish hit the scale. 

Trey McKinney brought in the largest catch on the final day, rocketing him up from 9th position into holding the lead, with only one angler left to weigh in. However, it just happened to be day-two leader Dylan Nutt. 

Nutt brought in 20 pounds, 11 ounces on the last day, t win by over 9 pounds over McKinney. The 22-year-old angler was jubilant, and with clenched fists he lifted his arms up high in celebration. Last year’s champion Easton Fothergill handed over the trophy to Nutt, making it official. 

This event is a must-see for any bass angler, or any serious angler. For those of us in the Midwest, particularly the upper Midwest, it brings plenty of excitement for the upcoming, open-water season.