Inside Elite Boats: Justin Hamner

During the 2021 Bassmaster Elite Series season, Justin Hamner ran a Falcon Boats F205 powered by a 250 horsepower Mercury ProXS.

The 2021 season was Hamner’s first out of a Falcon boat, and he accredits a lot of his success to his boat and motor.

The bow of Hamner’s Falcon F205 is home to a Minn Kota Ultrex.

Hamner loves the popular “spot-lock” feature.

Over the course of the year, Hamner utilized Garmin LiveScope to have success.

The bow of the boat is home to a Garmin GPSMAP 1022 as well as a Lowrance HDS 12 Live.

Hamner uses his Garmin solely for LiveScope and utilizes his Lowrance for mapping.

The Alabama native fished with his dad the night before, so he still had a few rods out on the deck.

Lets dig into the compartments on the front deck.

As you can see, all three of the compartments on his Falcon lift vertically, unlike most boats on the market.

The center compartment is home to the majority of his tackle.

Hamner pulls out one of the three jerkbait boxes he keeps in the boat at all times.

He shows off one of his favorites â a Megabass Ito Shiner. You can tell this bait has caught a few.

A box full of swim jigs is the next box Hamner pulls out.

The Freedom Tackle FT Swim Jig is one of Hamner’s favorites.

One of his favorite features is the double barb trailer keeper.

Next, Hamner pulls out two of his favorite frogs â the Snag Proof Phat Frog and the Snag Proof Bobby’s Perfect Frog.

“I really like the Phat Frog for fishing around mats, but the Bobby’s frog is my go-to for skipping and fishing around cover on the bank,” he said.

A box of True Bass Swimbaits always has a spot in Hamner’s boat.

Hamner shows off a “Turbo” colored True Bass swimbait.

On to the rod box. Hamner loves that the rod locker opens vertically. It allows him to put in and take out rods from outside of the boat with ease.

“I usually carry 40 to 50 rods in the boat,” Hamner said. “Even if I’m really dialed in, I’ll still have over 15 rods in the boat.”

The driver’s side rod locker is home to more tackle.

Hamner pulls out one of his favorite boxes in the boat â a box full of Netbait Kickin B’s.

“The Kickin B is probably the most versatile bait I own,” he said. “It’s a jig trailer, buzzbait trailer, flipping bait or even a punching bait.”

Big swimbait alert!

Like many of his Elite Series counterparts, Hamner carries a box of big swimbaits just in case the situation calls for it.

He carries a mixture of larger than average soft plastic swimbaits as well as a good assortment of hard baits.

Hamner carries a variety of different pliers and scissors.

Next to the pliers and scissors is a day box that has a number of miscellaneous items.

The step to the front deck is also a cooler.

Unfortunately, the cooler was empty.

Next, Hamner digs into the compartment in between the two seats.

More miscellaneous items fill this box as well.

Hamner was interrupted by this butterfly, who was very fond of the Elite Series pro.

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Unlike most Elite Series pros, Hamner only runs one graph at the console.

Another Lowrance HDS 12 Live is his choice at the console.

The compartment behind the passenger seat is home to more tackle.

A box of old balsa crankbaits is the first one that Hamner pulls out.

Inside the box is a variety of crankbaits that are very difficult to find.

“This is the best crankbait in the world at coming through wood,” Hamner said about the old school Bagley Killer B3.

A pile of Netbait soft plastics fill the top of the compartment.

“Fish go in here,” he said jokingly about the livewell.

The compartment behind the driver’s seat is home to a number of items, including lifejackets, a spare prop and his Buck N’ Bass Rain Suit.

“This is the first rainsuit that I’ve ever had that actually stays dry all day,” he said. “Whatever weight it is when you put it on dry is the exact same weight that it is when you put it up at the end of the day.”

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Hamner carries a box full of tools in this compartment as well. Luckily in 2021, Hamner didn’t have to pull this box out very often.

On to the battery compartment.

Hamner runs all X2 Batteries. “I know lithium batteries are the new thing, but to be honest with you I just love the reliability of the AGMs,” he said.