Don’t expect another youth movement in the St. Croix Bassmaster Opens in 2024, not after a number of salty anglers joined the fray.
Last year the average age of the nine Tackle Warehouse Elite Qualifer (EQ) pros who advanced to the Bassmaster Elite Series was 24.8, almost six years younger than the previous Elite rookie class. This year, there will be 17 former Elites in the EQ field, most revitalized to add to impressive resumes that include 59 Classic appearances and one Classic title.
“I expect more of a mixture this year because there are so many talented, seasoned veterans fishing the Opens,” Bassmaster TV host Ronnie Moore said. “They’re trying to get back on the wagon. They were there when the wagon was just getting created. Now the wagon’s rolling, they’ve got to try to jump on.”
Many former Elites are seeking a return after stints with another circuit, and the Opens are the main avenue to get there. Alongside 2013 Classic winner Cliff Pace, well-known anglers with wins and multiple Classic appearances include Mike McClelland, Ish Monroe, Brett Hite, Randall Tharp and Russ Lane.
“Cliff Pace, being the 2013 Classic champ, is a big one,” said Moore, noting Pace has competed in eight Classics and earned $1.6 million with B.A.S.S.
“Brett Hite, he’s an absolute killer. He’s a winner. He’s a great angler. He’s an innovator. Randall Tharp, he is probably the best angler to ever fish the Bassmaster Opens, for how many wins he has to how many times he’s qualified for the Elites before saying yes.”
Hite won three Bassmaster events and competed in six Classics, while Tharp fished five Classics and three of his four wins are in Opens. Lane won a postseason tournament and has made seven Classics.
Monroe, who finished 41st in EQ points last year, has five B.A.S.S. wins and 10 Classics under his belt. In two of his three Elite victories, Monroe earned Century Club belts. His second came in 2012 at Lake Okeechobee, site of this week’s season-opening St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Lake Okeechobee presented by SEVIIN.
Yet McClellan is the most decorated. He’s qualified to 11 Classics and stands tied for ninth all-time with eight B.A.S.S. victories, helping him earn $1.8 million.
“McClelland has had one of the biggest comebacks to win an Elite at the Harris Chain, and he’s also had one of the biggest winning margins at Grand Lake,” Moore said. “He’s the highest money winner among them.
“He’s also one of those great bait innovators, whether it’s creating his own jerkbait, creating the RKCrawler crankbait through Spro. There is still such a need for those guys in the sport.”
There’s a strong desire to reach the Elites. Their former tournament circuit is decreasing its field, and there will be anglers left out in the cold.
“There’s a renewed motivation to show they can get back,” Moore said. “It’s interesting to see middle- to upper-aged anglers in this stage of their career have more fire in their gut than maybe they did five or six years ago. A lot of these guys have found great success with the five-fish format.”
It won’t be a cakewalk to reach the Elites — it never is — as there are plenty of young anglers hoping to rise up in ranks. Anglers returning who just missed qualifying last year include Kyle Austin, Brett Cannon, Keith Tuma, Sam George, Cody Stahl, Joey Nania and Trevor McKinney.
“You have to think about young guys who won in their series,” Moore said. “Guys like Tucker Smith, being a national champion, being team of year, being such a good high school angler.
“You have a number of the College Classic Bracket winners, Tristan McCormick, Trevor McKinney and Easton Fothergill. They’re very up to speed with the technology.”
Brothers Lafe and Matt Messer, who had great college success, are added in the mix. Matt Messer won an Open last year to reach this year’s Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic.
Pros who have found success on another circuit could contend. Danish-born Emil Wagner won a big event in 2023, and Cody Meyer has topped $1 million in earnings.
“Then there’s guys like Beau Browning. His father has been a pro for a long time. He’s been around high-level tournament fishing and he’s got a tournament in his backyard,” Moore said. “There’s are also plenty of other guys — Jackson Swisher, who was in the Bracket. Chris Blanchette, he was a college champion years ago.
“There’s quite a few seasoned pros like Jim Moynagh, and guys like Garrett Paquette, young but seasoned. Then you add in Dakota Ebare, who I guess is being true to himself to try to fish the Classic. I think that’s a huge get for the Opens. They all have dreams of making the Elite Series.”
It always hard to say who will put it all together through the nine events and advance, but Moore, not shy to make predictions, thinks it will be a mix.
“I think we’ll see two or three seasoned veterans make it back on the Elites,” he said. “Two or three of the really promising college anglers make it, then two or three who cover all aspects, maybe a seasoned veteran of the Opens, maybe somebody who fished college but is 30 now.”
Assessing the diverse schedule and adjusting to the current conditions will be critical, Moore said.
“Okeechobee can be a stumbling block out of the gate,” Moore said. “It’s a 200-plus boat field. There’s not too many places to fish. You pick the wrong spot, your season is off to a bad start.”
The Opens then head to Arkansas’ Lake Ouachita, where Moore said the first winter pattern in years might be required. There are some familiar fisheries, but a curve could be thrown during the first visit to Minnesota’s Leech Lake.
“You have the Santee Coopers, the Hartwells, the Logan Martins, places we’ve been to, but maybe the Opens pros haven’t done that,” Moore said. “I think the schedule lends itself to a mixture of technology and a mixture of ‘you’re going to have to figure it out as you go.’”
For the second EQ season, Bassmaster LIVE will air all nine championship days on FS1 and Bassmaster.com. There are higher stakes too. The first-place prize has increased to $45,000 and payouts move down to 45th place. The overall Angler of the Year payouts jump to $110,000 in a total purse of $3.1 million.
“We’ve got nine shots on goal to see anglers rise up,” Moore said. “We’re going to see a bunch of faces and learn a lot about these guys. Hank Weldon is tournament director. He helped grow the college idea into something that’s such a sustaining machine.
“As we take the next step in the Opens, Hank is the right guy to lead it as a true, semipro feeder system, with the platform to boot and the finances to back. The stars that we make, it’s going to be huge.”
