The Bassmaster Elites are back in Orange this week as they will take on the Sabine River and its tributaries, June 1-4. Many of the fishermen call it the toughest stop on the tour. About as tough as picking the winner of any tournament.
Over 100 of the best bass fishermen on the planet will hit the water Thursday morning at 6am from the Orange Boat Ramp. The weigh-in each day will begin at approximately 3pm.
This is the fifth time the Elites have come to Orange. Jasper native Todd Faircloth won it in 2013, followed by Chris Lane in 2015. In 2018 Greg Hackney won the event and in 2021, Jason Christie became the first to win the event by traveling well north of I-10 on the Sabine River. Well north as in two hours hope I can make it back on a tank of gas north.
Christie, Lane and Faircloth all won when the tournament was held in the spring. Hackney won it in June (7-10) so let’s take a look at how that tournament unfolded.
The Hack Attack didn’t even use a tank of fuel during the tournament as he stayed close to the ramp using mostly a frog and buzzbait, along with flipping a RageBug.
He led wire to wire after an opening day 16-3 pounds with a 5-14 kicker. He had to sweat it out on Championship Sunday with only 7-5 after a big rain cooled the water and his bite. He finished with a total of 48-5.
Gerald Swindle finished second. The rest of the top ten who fished on Sunday in 2018 were Keith Poche, Bradley Roy, Jake Whitaker, John Crews, Brandon Palaniuk, Skeet Reese, Shin Fukae, and Justin Lucas.
Roy, Reese, Fukae and Lucas will not be in this year’s field. Lane and Faircloth also won’t have a chance to repeat as Elites.
You also have to look at the current Angler of the Year standings for possible favorites. These are the guys who have been the most consistent through five tournaments this season with four still to fish. And most performed pretty well here in 2021.
1 Brandon Cobb (15th at Sabine in 2021)
2 Drew Cook (5th in 2021)
3 Tyler Rivet (17th in 2021)
4 John Cox (16th in 2021)
5 Kyle Welcher (8th in 2021)
6 Will Davis Jr (DNF)
7 Michael Iaconelli (DNF)
8 Carl Jocumsen (55th in 2021)
9 Pat Schlapper (22nd in 2021)
10 Matt Arey (36th in 2021)
A reminder that Louisiana water is still off limits to the Elites. The field will be cut to the top 50 on Saturday and the top 10 fish on Sunday.
As for Elite on the Sabine records, Lane’s 50 pound four-day total is the largest. There were also five others over 40 pounds. Faircloth won with 49.38 (4 over 40). Hackney won with 48-5 (5 over 40). Christie won with 43-15 (3 over 40).
The heaviest fish weighed in during the four tournaments was a 6-10 by Terry Scroggins in 2015. Marc Frazier landed a 6-6 in 2021. Scroggins caught a 6-1 for big bass in 2013. Brock Moseley caught a 6.3 for big bass in 2018. A daily bag of 16 pounds is a special number. Faircloth still holds the mark of 16-8 in 2013. Steve Kennedy bagged 16-5 and Hackney 16-3 in 2018.
Speaking of records, Orange took back the attendance record for an Elite event in 2021 with 40,107 thanks to some great concerts and the Orange County River Festival. Orange will be looking to extend that mark this year. Entry and the concerts are free so come out and be a part of history. The schedule of events are below.
-Gary Stelly, KOGT-
Social Media