SEASON 1, EPISODE 1 | Kings of Bass

[Music] [Music] [Music] it's the first day of the year and it's so important to get off to a good start and you'll season every year I've had a great year because I got off to a good start if you don't then you kind of play catch-up all year so every day is important but that first day of the year seems to be extra important just to get off to a good start so year one on the Bass Pro Tour it was basically everything counted because there's a one pound minimum this year things changed worse a two-pound mental which is gonna be a challenge it's different it's something else to think about my brain don't like thinking sometimes I want things to be easy we ready we're cold but we ready well everything we've done in practice is pretty much irrelevant now key today is just gonna be getting around I got the best equipment in the world and all that good stuff so I feel like I know mates that they'll bite just excitement for the first one of the year you know you just want to go out and catch a few fish get things started off good when you drive across the bridge and you see it orange it's not really what you anticipated but that's springtime fishing you know you go out and make it happen it's a it's a combination of nerve-racking excitement heart-wrenching bite your fingernails tight it's not real good on the heart anybody that worries it's not real good well I gotta get my missus longer did his foreign her to wonder cuz he gives enormous listen to she is a gorgeous let my life last name a Morgan Freeman trying to such a barbarous thing I know we're knocking on the door this came and I came yeah coming today's been a busy day for me you know I started off the morning right at sunrise with a Toyota shoot shooting a bunch of different stuff for them film film and video then I went to hummingbird I mean when you follow this is a real iconic bass fishery man's bait company was founded here hummingbird was founded here southern Plastics is here which is the the manufacturing facility that makes you know my KBD soft plastics for Strike King so a lot of history here in the bass fishing world a lot of tournaments over the years have gone through here so if you didn't know we showed up here fish the day of practice then the next day mother nature deluge Don us so I just know that the conditions are going to be so much different than what we saw that you know I'm gonna have to forget the past and and just go on you know what I see tomorrow so it's going to be a whole new day and it's basically this is just like a major league fishing Cup event you know you show up with no information no practice or anything because that's kind of about what it is what it's going to turn into the last few handful of years we've stayed together you know a bunch of times you know he's got his wife and kids with him I'm just kind of alone so it works out real good you know everybody kind of chips in does things when making dinner or whatever whatever needs to be done on that given day so it's convenient it's good to travel together it's smart safe and family you know what you do so today is the first day of the Bass Pro Tour event here at Lake Eufaula and I'm in actually Group B so I fish the second day and the fourth day in the qualifying round so you know it gives you a little more time a you know with the first day of the tournament though I've had a full busy day with sponsor stuff and things so I'm getting ready right now be ready in the morning this is Greg Hackney Redcrest runner up if you're making a short list of guys who have a good chance here five or ten guys hack-attack has to be one does any morning 100% I mean he had a fabulous year last year and then let's add to the fact the two-pound minimum this is an angler that in my opinion that rule this new scoring is to his advantage let's see what Jeff Sprague is up to our points championship runner-up of a year ago Texas angler Jeff Sprague he did everything but win the points championship remember he was one of the last anglers invited to the Bass Pro Tour for its inaugural season but he certainly made the most of it Marty three pounds 12 ounces what's he got there Marty what's he using his Signature Series jig this may about strike key this Bertrand sits in the penalty box one of the few penalties we have seen today here's happening cutting him but that's another one well let's just sit down here and kill the rest of the last two minutes yeah get in with Greg Hackney now this morning you know during the 30 minutes the right around I turned in to the area where I planned on fishing I kind of knew after we put in here this morning what was fixing you could track a in it it was so money you know what I mean looks like you're picking up right where you left off last year just catching bass after pass after bass tell us about it I don't know about bass after bass after bass but we did a lot of Chunkin and wine and a lot of flipping today for a few bites and we didn't capitalize on some things you know I'm sure a lot of guys had that how are you dealing with mud with how you're fishing I ain't seen him mud the whole thing was like Nesquik it was unbelievable and I was like how did the water even get here you know and it did I mean it was impressive this places can move some water so I'm super excited to get the whole season start with a Bass Pro Tour this is the second season of being out here and you know we had a really good first season and just don't want to be dismissed sometimes and thinking you know you had a good season so it's really important to get back out this year and get started on a good note start strong and just let that momentum carry us so I really am excited to be here and I was excited to get this event started managed to end up in eighth and you know we get to go back out on Sunday and swing on them again so really really excited about getting back out after [Music] [Music] oh crap I think I left him in the truck the ones I want yeah I'm sure I did today's the first day of the Bass Pro Tour brand new season 2020 was really cold this morning Lake Eufaula but overall man I'm I'm super pumped to be getting back out in the water you know the offseason always is a time where you know I'm ready to to do some hunting do some family stuff but I'm ready to get back after it you know it's we've had some challenging weather this week but it's going to get better every single day that Sun it's gonna make all the difference probably the biggest change for this year is the two-pound variable minimum so you know we know here we're fishing for two plus pounders you got a target big fish so you got a fish with big fish baits and that's a big change you know the difference between one and two pounds is is a big milestone and this Lakes got a lot of big ones in it so you know we're excited to get out there and after it it really showed yesterday you know the overall numbers we're not great but the size is there and you know my goals this year are the same is there every year you know I want to go out I want to win tournaments I want to contend for the championship the points championship and you and you want to win the championship so you know last year was a it was a tough year as a transition year for a lot of us and you know the difference in this format between so-so and and really good is a real fine line so you know I'd like to get off to a great start this is gonna be a really challenging event this week but we've got a ton of great fisheries coming this season so it's going to be a lot of fun and the awesome part is is the fans can watch every minute of it live we get a half-hour ride through we can kind of ride around and this morning you know things have changed a lot it's been two days since the water so that half-hour is going to be real important and then lines in at 8:00 a.m. [Music] well we're in the boatyard at Lake Eufaula stage 1 this is the die fish yesterday and this is the day when all these guys you see here are getting a little minor things worked on your boat you know you have all these electrical things on a boat and motors and electronics and wires and plumbing and all that and so there's always some little fitting or something that needs to be done and pretty cool place that we can come and fans come by and we can visit with them best tip you'll ever get keep wearing them pants and don't put them things on you trying to show off your calves or something like you got big sexy calves was I call them crappy yeah yeah I getting the bait with him all the time about it he said he calls a crop that sounds like some somebody up north to tell them drop it's real proper y'all need to come out listen to March be tonight and I'll be there correcting it if he if he screws up I'm gonna stand up that's always nice to come in the boatyard and hang out with all the competitors been listening to Andy Montgomery you always learned some new terminology they're deep deep deep who's you trying to clean out to here wet sand didn't know the cap was off they don't care what kind of pants you were hold up now you said grandson that's your grandson ain't no way and then tonight we'll go and I'm speaking at Parkview Baptist Church tonight they're coming doing a QA and I'm gonna bring the gospel message tonight along with a few fishing tips and things so it's just a way that we can share our passion for the Lord to these communities and to just sports and my heartbeat is sharing Christ's love with sportsmen all over the country that's what I really truly believe that God put me on this faith of this earth for two to be able to give me the ability to make a living fishing to give me a platform to share [Music] well you know here we just not been every time seems like we'd get blessed with the little weather I'll never get opportunity to do this and typically I do lots of tackle work the day before the event starts and it rains so much I didn't roll my boxes full of water so I got this day off and I'm still working and the still working in the rain but that's just part of it you know when you work outside you deal with the weather regards a farming or working in the logging industry or whatever has to deal with the same weather so I get the fish in it so it can't be too bad it's a funny thing yeah I spend enough time you know a month or so off every year that I don't fish it all and I try not to think about the season I don't think about fishing you know I just you know hang out with my family and hunt and it's good for me because it kind of clears my head I really enjoy to do it but I think more than anything I just enjoy to get away from this but when it's time for this to start I still get butterflies you know at the beginning of the year I'll never forget this the other day right before this event you know I actually felt nervous and I think that's good you know what I mean because I think if it if it ever comes to a point where it doesn't make me feel like that anymore it doesn't make my heart flutter it's time for me to do something else but as of right now I enjoy it as much as a half wow cuz I watched all these other guys that were my heroes and still are growing up and now to be like part of that whole deal and to and especially to be at the beginning of you know we reinvented the wheel so I'm pretty pumped about the year I'm just pretty pumped about the rest of my life you know what I mean I'm like just a lot of great things happening in my real life of my family my oldest son isn't cut started college of this year and you know just to see the excitement in them and me still fishing and you know regardless how bad the weather is it's raining or whatever I thought about that yesterday the weather was terrible but I'm like I fish for a living it's hard for me to have any complaints with anything we're fishing up but you know an event that where the guy who wins catches the most not meant not just the biggest ones it's the most that you can catch you know so it's just I don't know it's wide open again this is not relaxing this is not relaxed fishing I mean this is when you think you're wide open you need to just drop and get another gear because you need to speed it up a little bit it's taking me a little bit to get used to it because I've been used to in the past maybe being a little more laid-back there's no laid-back now it's seven and a half hours of fury you know what I mean Oh Kevin VanDam daddy's back so the weight of 11 to slow start or KVD did not catch a squirrel bass in the first period did not catch a bass in the second period here in the third he's caught 3 4 11 2 and kbd is now 14 I knew it was gonna be tough right when I got out there and just saw how much it changed it it really freaked me out it took a while I mean just to find water that could I thought was even that I felt good about but you know I finally got a few bites anyway so I think you're gonna see the fishing steadily get better every single day well when conditions change positions change hopefully kbd can make it to that top 20 at the end of day number 2 [Music] I need a podium put this on thank you John thank you everybody appreciate the kind words Andy but the tip that I came to give you guys tonight is one that I think will make the biggest difference in your life and in your fishing and that is simply you need to hang out with Jesus as much as you can he's the guy that made all the fish he knows where they all live he can bless your life just like out and says sometimes he chooses to load us up sometimes he does the times that he doesn't it'll make a difference in how you handle it because it's not always the good times it makes you I trust you now as Lord and Savior of my life in Jesus name Amen guys if you prayed a prayer or something like that tonight go to church Sunday share it with your pastor share it with your mom shirt with your dad somebody and it'll make a difference in your life god bless you thank y'all for coming it's been a good night we've been here at Parkview Baptist Church I was with Andy Montgomery Allen senior out in junior we took a lot of questions from a lot of the kids in the community and the surrounding communities here in Lake Eufaula Alabama and a lot of Warren to no tips on fishing and and all that but then in the midst of all of it we shared the Word of God with them as well and they were so receptive I looked out across the crowd and when Alton was you know giving an encouraging word or or Andy or a little out and they were so focused and then when I spoke they just were very attentive is this is a God's been awful good to us all four guys that were here tonight we've been blessed and he's given us a platform to share the love of Christ with people and that's what we're simply doing tonight and I think part of you Baptist Church for putting a lot of hard work into this thing and I know how much it takes it takes a lot of meals takes a lot of prayers takes a lot of setting up and people staying late and and all that good stuff but we just appreciate them and to have a bunch of fishermen come in and share their sanctuary I know pastor gets a little nervous about that it gets outside the norm but it's a good time it was a great success the pews were full and now we're gonna go out and try to catch a fish on baby [Music] so I'm a rat I'm fixing to get in line and ride on over to [Music] I feel alright I mean it this was really good lake I mean we've not had the best conditions but you know I'm sitting in a good position I didn't really catch a lot of fish the first day but I caught big ones so I'm I feel pretty good man I you know I like it tough I'll be honest with you don't slugfest you know they're fun to watch but they're not fun to compete in I don't have to go out and catch 30 bass today I need to go out and catch seven or eight my main goal now is to make it to the next round regardless of how I get there I got out 20 rods that's the secret that's the whole secret this week is to have out as many rods [Music] [Applause] [Music] this is the best beef jerky I've ever put in my mouth honey jalapeno I've never had it before but when I found it listen I bought stock in the company we are in a break right now and it's been a grind I've caught two keeper fish today they brought the lake up two feet and then they dropped it two feet in a matter of 24 28 30 hours these poor bats they don't know which way is up right now so if we got about two and a half hours left in this day and then we've got to hang in there you know they're still catching them we're only about ten pounds out of the 20th place so that's just a swing of the bat a couple times here they got some goodness so stay tuned let's see what happens [Music] you know today was much like the first day the difference was that I didn't execute very well had about the same number of bites I just didn't catch them and when I did feel like I caught enough then I spent the rest of the day just kind of exploring looking for rub the next round looking forward to it I and the lake fell a couple feet and that kind of seemed like that kind of changed things a lot so hopefully in a couple days I'll be back to normal I see five again you'd think that I'm thinking it's a five fish limit it all you know three fish in the first period just like the first day doing something totally different just scratching and clawing man the I went back to where I caught him the first day water had fallen and gotten clear so I couldn't catch him in there so didn't need to spend too much time in there just put a Thunder cricket on and just started covering lots of water and ran into five and we'll probably have to change it up again day three but I'm thankful that we're there I made the cut somehow you wanna picture a new big board I'd get in a fight I'm coming to find you that's a lewd I just got the wrong phase on hold now you can replace that thing and can I get my Sharpie back to you wait a min that I just gave you three thunder group that's $30 I'm gonna keep you sharp [Music] in the past we didn't have off stage so we didn't get to thank a lot and you run into problems when you go to thinking a lot so basically we get off the water we know two or three baits that we're going to that we're going to catch them on and then we get to thinking well maybe we need to tie on two different colors maybe we need to tie on this for answer this is the one point five um this is the one I've been throwing but you know I got to thinking too much and I went and tied on the red one somewhere in there I give you a minute and a half two minute and a half that's 90 seconds I think I usually do one thought per second so that's 90 votes I have to do I know so we're trying to strategize with this score tracker cuz that's all we can look at I don't know about strategizing with a score tracker I'm thinking we need to get with whoever controls the lake level out here because this thing just come up to play now it's down like three foot from what we've seen in practice it's time thank you for joining us Jeff break Andy come on come read it you don't even want to see any skin normally I'll ask to see some flesh we don't yep this is lunch today lunch there we go Kevin VanDam another solid day moving on to the knockout round he goes 11 pounds 12 ounces today we'll see a couple of fish here from Kevin VanDam well when this guy gets in okay today was a big time grind out there you know I mean I was I was started in 13th place I didn't catch anything the first period and just kept going down and down and down and ended up all the way down to to 19th and I finally caught a fish you know and that gave me a ton of confidence the the lake level just dropped so much between the first round this like over three feet so I was basically fishing shallow flooded cover and there was nothing left to fish so I kind of had to recheck my areas and and you know cover some new water ended up fishing a lot of docks and things like that there's just not much else in the water to fish so because the weight zero it's anybody's game now appreciate it man thank you [Music] it's easier to get that road grime off while you're here in the morning than it is to wait till the afternoon because it'll dry on there like come on creaking decided it's a great way to start the year with the points the momentum and today it looks like you know we've got some really cooperative reddit whether I'm ready to get back out there to him good morning this is knockout Ram so top eight move on oh yeah I don't know what to say Oh them top eight move on we got to be in the top eight and how we call them the first two rounds probably Angle made it up to eight so we're gonna do some different things this morning a lot of striking and loser logos out here on the top forty day I see I think all of our guys made it that's awesome pretty good testimony for an okay team the little hand painted 1.5 custom painted I better not I better keep that in there it's like a tiger you know I get out here and get your growling it folks keep it in a cage for now the biggest thing about this group is this is by far the best group anglers on the planet that does not do them justice by me saying that the only way that you could truly appreciate how good these anglers are is to have the opportunity to fish in one of these events with them it's scary I'll be honest with you it's almost like they have a sixth sense and then course you know the whole striking team is that way I mean they always have been my whole career you know half the guys on the Strike King team where my idols growing up know what I'm making like and so when you're someone's Idol in the sport of bass fishing that pretty much says it all you know these fish are still feeding pre-spawn they're they're not really they're not interested but it's not like they pulled the water off of where they were trying to spawn at they were not trying to spawn they were just following the Shatt around you know when that water came up although she had went in shallow and so I'm just anticipating today I just got to figure out where the Beatty ISM will be good [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] it's heartbreaking when you have the opportunity and when it's tough to get them like this and you don't capitalize so but it's hard on it it's happened before and I've been on the other side of it finish 13th here you know I'm gonna head Doka chobe next and hopefully have a better tournament there I lost one I needed finish 26 we had a blast we made the cut didn't make it to the championship round we're gonna go home and sleep with the sweetest girl in Arkansas tonight how about that this was the bait that did most of my damage mostly because this is the bait that I threw the most this week I'm thankful for the 12 bass that this Strike King Thunder cricket caught me and I'll going Okeechobee track things it's so hard to get a bite out there but when they buy home smoke ain't knock the crap out of your stuff just it's amazing how hard good fish bite up there yeah well maybe Okeechobee you know not many events that we come to that are just complete grinders and but this was a grinder meaning you know you catch three fish a day to fish a day and have a chance at the championship round the quality was here it just wasn't wasn't a lot of bikes to be had so the Okeechobee events gonna be really interesting just because that place has a bunch of fish in it and it also is it's huge you know so I'm kind of excited about I haven't been there in a few years and oh look there's a white cat in the woods behind you I'm just so serious it's albino cat seriously I mean I'm excited to get back to Okeechobee we haven't been down there and you know some years now and just what a really cool place to fish and you know and so much bass fishing history and heritage there so you know no better place to really be than to be down there and actually catch some of those buggers out of the five guys that you're gonna be following around down there one of those guys ought to win that man you've got some awesome fisherman with a lot of history there so put your money over see what [Music] you [Music]

Channel: Strike King

Views: 49,026

Rating: 4.9244094 out of 5

Keywords: strike king, strike king lures, kvd, bass fishing, kings of bass, jeff sprague, andy montgomery, mark rose, greg hackney

Id: tTVOJhpEG6Q

Length: 33min 31sec (2011 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 11 2020