Bassmaster Elite Rookie Tucker Smith Bags 123-pounds and $100,000 at Lake Fork

Rookie angler times bite windows perfectly to edge Paul Marks by 13 ounces and land his first Elite Series title

Bassmaster Elite rookie Tucker Smith claims victory at Lake Fork with 127 pounds, 8 ounces over four days, earning $100,000 and his first Century Club belt. | B.A.S.S. | Andy Crawford

Tucker Smith Breaks Through with 127-8 to Win Bassmaster Elite Title

Tucker Smith refined his approach every day over the course of the Bassmaster Elite tournament at Lake Fork, paying special attention to timing and daily bite windows. His biggest daily limit of 34 pounds, 14 ounces came on Championship Sunday, bringing his four-day total to 127 pounds, 8 ounces, and earning him his first Bassmaster Elite Series title, a Century Club Belt (besting 100 pounds in a four-day tournament), and $100,000.

A standard Bassmaster Elite Series tournament is four-days long. Anglers are limited to their five biggest fish each day. So at the end of four days, their total catch can be as many as 20 bass. Smith’s 20 bass weighed 127-8 which was the seventh-heaviest total in Elite history.

“It’s unbelievable; I feel like I’m in a dream right now,” Smith said. “This was one of the best days I’ve ever had on the water.”

Smith started Sunday with an early kicker. “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.”

If you're going to catch that many giant fish in a tournament, there are going to be be a lot of epic photos like this one. | B.A.S.S. | Chase Sansom

Dialing in Bite Windows and Offshore Timing

After that boost of confidence and momentum, Smith focused on a variety of offshore spots in everything from 6 to 40 feet of water. He said a key to his success was figuring out the bite windows.

“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.”

Epic pose by Tucker Smith on the final day of his first Bassmaster Elite victory. | B.A.S.S. | Chase Sansom

Winning Baits: Picasso Jigs and Yamamoto Craws

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.

Paul Marks Narrowly Misses Back-to-Back Victories

Second place finisher Paul Marks brought in 30-plus pound bags all four days of the event. He used a 7.5” Zoom Winged Fluke on a 1/4-ounce jighead to put together 126 pounds, 11 ounces, just 13 ounces behind Smith. Interestingly, Marks won the previous Elite event on Lake Hartwell just two weeks ago. At that tournament Smith finished second to him by just 14 ounces.

McKinney Delivers Heaviest Bag of the Tournament

Second year pro and last year’s winner at Lake Fork, Trey McKinney, ended up third with 122-3. His final day mega-bag of 38 pounds, 2 ounces was the heaviest of the entire event.

“I’ll probably never beat today, as long as I fish,” McKinney said. “I was throwing back 6-pounders.”

Is This a New Era in Bass Fishing?

Three amazing young anglers gave three perfect performances. Some may not want to hear it but their deep understanding of fish behavior, their polished and professional demeanor, and their consistent finishes near the top of the leader boards, signals a new generation of talent reshaping the Bassmaster Elite Series.