The Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Lake Oahe was a close battle all the way until the end between a number of the best smallmouth fisherman on earth. While the weights may not have mirrored those at the St. Lawrence River, Lake Oahe’s pelagic smallmouth made for a very interesting tournament.
With a lack of history at Lake Oahe, Rapala Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing was a bit of a toss in the dark, but a number of historically good smallmouth anglers showed up big time. However, several historically good smallmouth fishermen didn’t even make the cut.
Let’s get into the best and worst Fantasy Fishing picks from Lake Oahe.
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The overall winner of the Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Lake Oahe was (“Amyers7”), who selected three of the five picks that would have made up the perfect roster. Overall Rank: No. 1, Total Points 1,410.
BUCKET A: Chris Johnston
BUCKET B: Bryan New
BUCKET C: Austin Felix
BUCKET D: Bryan Schmitt
BUCKET E: Jake Whitaker
The perfect Fantasy Fishing roster for the Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Lake Oahe would have been:
BUCKET A: Chris Johnston
BUCKET B: Marc Frazier
BUCKET C: Austin Felix
BUCKET D: Masayuki Matsushita
BUCKET E: Jake Whitaker
Total: 1,446
BUCKET A: JOHNSTON
It’s no surprise to find Chris Johnston as the top performer in Bucket A during a smallmouth event. The Canadian notched a second-place finish and scored 300 points. At 10.8% player percentage, Johnston had the third highest percentage in the Bucket.
Second best selection: It’s also no surprise to find Taku Ito near the top of Bucket A in a smallmouth event. With a third-place finish, Ito scored 290 points and was selected by 11.2% of players.
Lowest scoring angler: With 114 points, Greg Hackney was the lowest scoring angler in Bucket A. The Louisiana pro was selected by 1.3% of players.
BUCKET B: FRAZIER
Marc Frazier continues to prove that he can catch them with the best of the best, even in smallmouth events. Despite being selected by only 0.3% of players, the Georgia pro finished the event in fourth place and scored 285 points.
Second best selection: Seth Feider was the highest selected angler in Bucket B at 31.0%, but that proved to be a smart pick as he finished the event in seventh place and scored 272 points.
Lowest scoring angler: Scoring just 97 points, Jacob Foutz never got it dialed in at Lake Oahe. Foutz was selected by 1.3% of players in the Bucket.
BUCKET C: FELIX
Winner winner chicken dinner. Austin Felix notched his first Elite Series win at Lake Oahe with a dominating performance. The Minnesota pro scored 350 points and was selected by a staggering 39.1% of players.
Second best selection: Notching his second Top 10 finish of his rookie season at Lake Oahe, Cody Huff was the second-best pick in Bucket B. The Missouri pro scored 260 points while being selected by 2.8% of players.
Lowest scoring angler: Despite a history of success in smallmouth events, Greg DiPalma was the lowest scoring angler in Bucket C with just 95 points. DiPalma was selected by 1.7% of players.
BUCKET D: MATSUSHITA
With a 12th-place finish, Masayuki Matsushita was the highest scoring angler in Bucket D. Matsushita scored 254 points and was selected by 5.1% of players.
Second best selection: Overall, Bucket D was the lowest scoring Bucket, but Micah Frazier was the second-best pick in the Bucket with 239 points. The Georgia pro was selected by 4.9% of players.
Lowest scoring angler: Elite Series rookie Matty Wong had a tough tournament at Lake Oahe. Wong scored just 99 points and was selected by 3.5% of players.
BUCKET E: WHITAKER
Jake Whitaker had a solid finish at Lake Oahe back in 2018, and he backed it up again this time with an 11th-place finish. The North Carolina pro scored 257 points and was selected by 2.1% of players.
Second best selection: Scoring 245 points, Frank Talley was the second-best pick in Bucket E. The Texan was selected by 0.1% of players, the lowest of any angler in the Bucket.
Lowest scoring angler: Jonathan Kelley was the lowest scoring angler in Bucket E, scoring just 101 points. Kelley was selected by 3.1% of players.
