Alabama's Tucker Smith has won the Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork with a four-day total of 127 pounds, 8 ounces.
YANTIS, Texas — It’s said that timing is everything and Tucker Smith proved as much en route to tallying a four-day total of 127 pounds, 8 ounces in the Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork.
Photo by Seigo Saito/B.A.S.S.
Smith opened his campaign with a limit of 25-4 that put him in 20th place. Picking up the pace, he added 34-5 on Day 2 and rose to fourth.
A Semifinal Saturday limit of 33-1 sent Smith into Championship Sunday in the No. 3 spot and his best bag of the week — 34-14 — sealed the deal with a total weight that ranks seventh largest in Elite history.
“It’s unbelievable; I feel like I’m in a dream right now,” said Smith, who anchored his Day 4 bag with a 7-14. “This was one of the best days I’ve ever had on the water.
“It’s really special to win on Mother’s Day with my mother (Mallory) here. She and I fish together a lot and the most important thing she’s taught me is to just be happy.”
Smith edged his roommate and fellow rookie Paul Marks by 13 ounces. Notably, Smith finished second to Marks by 14 ounces two weeks ago at the Whataburger Bassmaster Elite at Lake Hartwell.
A 3-time Bassmaster High School National Champion and the 2023 College National Champion, Smith collected the $100,000 top prize, along with his first Bassmaster Century Club Belt. The Bassmaster Century Club recognizes anglers who reach the 100-pound mark in a four-day Elite event.
Smith kicked off his final round with a big catch in the first hour of competition.
“This morning, I wasn’t getting bit much, so I pulled up to a place and decided to sidescan and look at some new stuff on my Humminbird APEX,” Smith said. “I saw a bunch of birds on the bank, so I picked up a Picasso swim jig and caught a 6-4.
“That started my day off good. That told me I had to catch four more giants today. I went out there and rotated all the best stuff I had and ended up catching a good bag today.”
After that ice breaker, Smith hit a variety of offshore spots from clay points and saddles with hard spots, to remnant pond dams from the lake’s pre-construction days. Fishing from 6 to 40 feet, Smith said the key to his success was hitting each spot at the right time.
“I think finding my rotation every day was the biggest thing,” Smith said. “After the first day, I slowly started figuring out that rotation. The second day, I caught a big bag and then the third day, I followed that same rotation and caught another big bag.
“Today, I got in that same rotation and the fish were just bigger. It seems like those offshore fish especially have bite windows and I found the bite windows on the five best places I had and ended up pulling up to them at the same time every day.”
Smith caught his fish on a jighead minnow with a 1/4-ounce Picasso jig head and 3/4-ounce Picasso football head with a Yamamoto Yama Craw.
Considering the amount of fishing pressure Lake Fork receives, the fish can be remarkably skittish. Smith said his Minn Kota Quest trolling motor played a key role in his requisite stealth.
“That trolling motor is super fast and super quiet,” he said. “I had to get pretty close to my spots to be able to cast to the fish because the wind was so strong today and having a quiet trolling motor allowed me to get close to them.”
Giving a nod to his competitors, Smith said: “These guys are so good, it really takes a special day to get one of these trophies.”
Hailing from Cumming, Ga., Marks finished second with 126-11. Marks placed fifth on Day 1 with 30-13 and rose to third with a second-round limit of 31-10. A Day 3 limit of 33-4 moved him up to second where he’d end his run with a final-round catch of 31-0.
Targeting suspended fish over offshore hard spots, Marks did all of his work with a 7 1/2-inch Zoom Winged Fluke on a 1/4-ounce jig head.
“What an awesome week out there,” Marks said. “Over 30 pounds every day. I have nothing to complain about.”
Trey McKinney of Carbondale, Ill., finished third with 122-3. His daily weights were 32-5, 30-7, 21-5 and 38-2 — the event’s heaviest bag.
“I’ll probably never beat today, as long as I fish,” McKinney said. “I fished all new water today and didn’t hardly make a wrong move. I lost only one fish out of I don’t know how many I caught. I was throwing back 6-pounders.”
McKinney, who won the 2024 Elite at Lake Fork, caught fish on a glidebait, crankbait, a jighead minnow and a jig.
Wesley Gore took home an additional $3,000 for being the highest-placing entrant in the Toyota Bonus Bucks program, while Easton Fothergill earned $2,000 for being the second-highest placing entrant.
As part of the Yamaha Power Pay program, Marks earned an additional $4,000 while Tyler Williams claimed an additional $1,500 for being the second-highest placing entrant.
Jay Przekurat of Plover, Wis., and Kyle Norsetter of Cottage Grove, Wis., both earned $1,000 Phoenix Boats Big Bass awards for their 9-pound, 14-ounce bass. Przekurat also won the $1,000 daily award for Day 1. Norsetter won the $1,000 daily award for Day 2.
Przekurat leads the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings with 464 points. Will Davis Jr. of Sylacauga, Ala., is in second with 419, followed by McKinney with 411, Chris Johnston of Otonabee, Canada with 410, and Smith with 398.
Smith leads the Dakota Lithium Elite Series Rookie of the Year standings with 398 points.
The Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork was hosted by Wood County.
