Following the successful launch of the Opens EQ format with the 2023 St. Croix Bassmaster Opens Elite Qualifiers, there is even more to get excited about with the 2024 schedule.
B.A.S.S. is raising the bar even more with a slate of different fisheries — only one repeat from last season — as part of a goal to elevate the Opens to a truly competitive feeder trail into the Bassmaster Elite Series.
More than a decade has gone by since an Open happened on Lake Okeechobee and the Santee Cooper Lakes, with first-time stops at highland Lake Ouachita in Arkansas for a true wintertime derby and the smallmouth mecca of Leech Lake in north central Minnesota.
What’s most notable about the lineup is the vast diversity of the fisheries. Standouts are Okeechobee, Santee Cooper, Lake St. Clair, Leech Lake and the upper Mississippi River. Each will fish differently to keep the playing field level, without the opportunity for an angler to get on a hot streak.
Based on all the above factors the nine Opens EQ anglers who punch their ticket to the 2025 Bassmaster Elite Series will have earned their keep.
Here is a look at that lineup, including previous history with an analysis of what we might expect to see happen.
Lake Okeechobee, Feb. 1-3
History: An Open hasn’t happened in south Florida since 2019, although the Elite Series was there last February. When the prevailing thought was the tournament would be won in the usual community holes in the main lake, it was not. A cold front slammed the breaks on prespawn movement in the big water, but not in the Kissimmee River, where Tyler Rivet won with 86-15. He targeted hard-bottom spots off the bank. These classic prespawn staging areas attracted groups of bass that seemed to periodically come and go throughout each day.
Analysis: No secrets here. The spawning cycle should be well underway — remembering that in south Florida it can last several months — but will be influenced by the severity of cold fronts.
Lake Ouachita, Feb. 15-17
History: No recent Bassmaster Opens or Elites have taken place at this central Arkansas impoundment best described as a 40,000-acre deep, clear highland lake.
Analysis: This one will be all about the weather, and not just swishing rods in the water to thaw ice off the guides. Locals catch big numbers of bass on the middle and lower sections of the lake in 25- to 30-feet of water on big football jigs. Key spots are deep grass points, bluff banks, bluff ends and especially those transitioning into rocky shorelines. Long points dropping into deep water will be a factor.
Santee Cooper Lakes, March 7-9
History: The Elites were in South Carolina during March 2022. Drew Cook won with 105-5 while runner-up Caleb Kuphall had 103-1. Cook won by sight fishing for bedding bass in a meandering creek with lily pad fields — and hard bottom — adjacent to a deeper creek channel.
Analysis: More of the same could be in play for the Open, as the spawning cycle should be in prespawn/spawn mode. The one-way, forward movement of bass should play in favor of anglers choosing to set up in prime areas and wait for the fish to show up. Cook did just that, as his area replenished each day, allowing him to fish consistently from start to finish.
Logan Martin Lake, May 2-4
History: The last Open on the central Alabama lake occurred in September 2018, although the 2024 visit will happen during a prime spawning window.
Analysis: The Alabama Power Co. managed lake typically rises to full pool during May, and the Coosa River flow will be a big player in the tournament. The spawning cycle should be in full swing, possibly leaning more toward late postspawn.
Lake Eufaula, June 20-22
History: Joey Nania won last year’s tournament on the Oklahoma fishery with 52-8. Nania rocketed up the leaderboard on Day 2 with 22-2 and added another big limit on the final day. He focused on several offshore patterns, using a Ned-Miki rig, a shad-imitating, finesse presentation. Reaction strikes came on an offshore hump in 22 feet of water near the dam that sat just above the thermocline. Success also came on a rotation of brushpiles on deep points in creek mouths.
Analysis: Last year could be a repeat for 2024, given the similar timeframe with bass settling into summer patterns. The lake could be fishing towards late postspawn, the early morning shad spawn bite could be dwindling, and the water will be clearing following the dingy spring runoff from the three rivers feeding into Oklahoma’s largest capacity lake at 102,000 acres.
Lake St. Clair, July 11-13
History: Results of the July 2023 Elite on the Michigan lake provide a snapshot of what to expect at the Open. Joey Cifuentes won with 91-8 in a tournament where the Day 1 average was a 19-pound limit and Day 2 was even better as anglers dialed into the bite. There were 33 limits over 20 pounds on the first day, and 48 limits the next day.
Analysis: Scoping offshore waters with drop-shot rigs dominated the patterns of the top finishers, and we can expect to see more of the same in 2024. And why not? Forward-facing sonar has added a completely new dimension to offshore fishing, particularly in water averaging 10 feet, which is common in the Anchor Bay region where half the field fished in the Elite.
Leech Lake, Aug. 22-24
History: B.A.S.S. hasn’t held an Open or Elite event on this northern Minnesota gem of a natural smallmouth lake, although a B.A.S.S. Nation Northern Divisional was fished there in 2015. The three-day winning weight of 48-4 came from a combination of gravel bottom with large boulders forming most of the smallmouth habitat. The winner focused on one particular rock and gravel formation rising from 30 to 15 feet off the bottom, focusing on the sharply defined dropoff after a cold front pushed through on Day 1.
Analysis: If any lake on the schedule favors a midwestern angler, this is the one. The abundant and prolific varieties of aquatic vegetation will have reached maturity. About 30% of the 103,000-acre lake (third biggest in Minnesota) supports plant growth. Aquatic vegetation will be a key player — there are 49 native plants, including 15 emergent, free-floating varieties — and knowing which types hold the most fish will be key.
Upper Mississippi River, Sept. 12-14
History: Bryan Schmitt won a late August 2022 Elite tournament with 63-4 caught from the Wisconsin/Minnesota stretch of the river. Schmitt focused on a 200-yard stretch of eelgrass, dialing into the intricacies of the bite with success on grass edges and bottom depressions. Rock meeting the depressions were key sweet spots. Frogs were key baits, although Schmitt added a Carolina rig to his winning arsenal.
Analysis: The vegetation will be at full maturity, providing plenty of options given the need to find bottom irregularities favored by the bass, along with the right mix of current and cover. The outlier will be river stage; it dropped nearly 4 feet prior to a 2019 Open and wreaked havoc on smallmouth bites. Low river stages also take out much of the productive backwater areas.
Lake Hartwell, Oct. 10-12
History: Patrick Walters won a late September 2020 Open with 44-5 on the South Carolina/Georgia impoundment, rigging up a stickworm on spinning tackle to score the win. He used a blistering retrieve to match the fast-paced swimming cadence of the blueback herring targeted by the bass. Cane piles proved the most effective for quality catches for Walters and other top finishers.
Analysis: This is the time of year when the blueback herring are on the move, especially in the mid and lower lake. Two options could be in play: a largemouth bite in the off-color water of the Tugaloo and Seneca rivers, or down lake in the clear water with the herring bite for spotted bass. They will set up in offshore brush and cane piles to ambush the bait.
