We are one week away from the 7th stop of the Bassmaster Elite Series on Smith Lake in Cullman, Alabama. While the Elite Series has never been to this destination, the Bassmaster Opens has visited there several times, the last time being in October of 2021. We will likely see topwater walking baits playing a role for schooling bass along with swimbaits, shakey heads, jigs, drop shots, and the “jig head/minnow” forward-facing sonar technique. Smith Lake is full of big largemouth, but the main species is spotted bass as they roam around eating blueback herring. We will suggest two anglers per bucket based on their strengths, momentum, tournament history on Smith Lake and other blueback herring/spotted bass fisheries, and more! Let’s dive into it!
Bucket A: Jordan Lee or John Cox
(Photos Courtesy of Bassmaster)
Going into the previous event on Wheeler Lake, Jordan Lee was ranked 2nd in the AOY standings, about 30 points behind Trey McKinney. Lee finished in 92nd place at Wheeler Lake, which bumped him down to a three-way tie for 6th place in the current AOY standings. While he had a poor finish at Wheeler, look for Lee to rebound as he calls Smith Lake his home waters. His previous four Bassmaster Opens finishes on Smith Lake were 17th, 8th, 4th, and 17th. He also finished 2nd at a Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour event there in 2022. When it comes to John Cox, he has one of the best track records on Smith Lake. Cox finished 2nd in the 2019 Bassmaster Central Open at Smith Lake, and his previous three finishes with Major League Fishing on Smith Lake were 1st, 2nd, and 10th. While all those past events were in the spring when he does best, Cox has still proven that he has been on a momentum train lately as his previous four events on the Elites resulted in 3rd, 20th, 22nd, and 15th place finishes.
Bucket B: Will Davis Jr. or Brandon Lester
(Photos Courtesy of Bassmaster)
While Will Davis Jr. has seen most of his success on the Coosa River, he has proven his success all over the country since joining the Elites in 2023. He is a skilled spotted bass angler, and he does have success on blueback herring lakes in South Carolina as his best finish so far this season was 9th place at Lake Murray. He also won the 2023 B.A.S.S. Nation Championship on Lake Hartwell and has had success on Smith Lake as he finished in 9th place at a Bassmaster Open there in 2017. When it comes to Brandon Lester, he is a sleeper on Smith Lake as most people don’t realize his successful track record there in the Bassmaster Opens. He has fished five Opens events there, and his finishes were 14th, 3rd, 19th, 7th, and 37th. Other than the previous event on Wheeler Lake, Lester has been on a successful run as his last 3 Elite Series finishes before that were 35th, 13th, and 12th. Look for Lester to rebound at Smith Lake after an 86th place finish at the previous event!
Bucket C: Brandon Cobb or Taku Ito
(Photos Courtesy of Bassmaster)
There is no doubt that Brandon Cobb hasn’t had the season he’d hoped for this year after finishing 2nd in the AOY standings last season. However, Cobb has lots of knowledge with blueback herring and spotted bass fisheries growing up in South Carolina. This event on Smith Lake could be a topwater feast which is right up Cobb’s alley. He has not had the breakthrough event yet in 2024, but that could change at this event. When it comes to Taku Ito, he has also had several rough patches this year. He typically does best when it comes to northern smallmouth fisheries so you might want to save him for the north if you haven’t picked him yet for Bassmaster Drain the Lake Challenge. However, finesse fishing could always be a player at Smith Lake, and Taku Ito is one of the best at it. Ito also claims that Smith Lake is one of his favorite places to fish according to his biography on bassmaster.com, and he finished in 8th place at a Bassmaster Open on Smith Lake in 2019.
Bucket D: John Crews or Caleb Kuphall
(Photos Courtesy of Bassmaster)
While John Crews had a rough start to the 2024 season, his last two Elite Series finishes at Wheeler and Murray were 20th and 17th. He has had much success in Alabama over the years and is a versatile angler who has the momentum train rolling! When it comes to Caleb Kuphall, he has only fished one Bassmaster event on Smith Lake which was when he won a Bassmaster Open in 2019. Alabama has been good to him as well, as 3 of his 6 Bassmaster top 10 finishes have been in the state with 2 of them being wins. Kuphall also excels when it comes to grinder tournaments, which is exactly what Smith Lake will be.
Bucket E: Todd Auten or Scott Canterbury
(Photos Courtesy of Bassmaster)
Todd Auten is another sleeper that has a great track record on Smith Lake in the Bassmaster Opens with finishes of 6th, 80th, 2nd, 16th, 4th, and 25th. Take out the 80th place finish and that’s some consistent success for the other five! He also finished in 9th place in a Major League Fishing Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit (formerly FLW Tour) event there in 2018. So far, only 0.8% of Fantasy Fishing players have picked him! When it comes to Scott Canterbury, he is an Alabama native who has had much success in grinder tournaments like this one will be. While he is not as prone to chasing blueback herring eaters, he is a great shallow water angler that could figure out the largemouth bite way back in creeks with lures like buzzbaits and jigs.