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Amid the wet, windy circumstances, a late-morning kicker lifted Kyle Austin to a final-day catch of 27 kilos, 8 ounces. That gave him a three-day whole of 83-7 and a victory on the St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Santee Cooper Lakes offered by SEVIIN.
The Ridgeville, S.C., professional stated successful on his house fishery was the crowning achievement of his life on the water.
“Ever since I used to be a child, I’ve stood on this parking zone and watched the Bassmaster weigh-ins and watched native event weigh-ins, and I’ve all the time wished to face up right here on this stage and maintain (the successful trophy),” stated Austin, who guides on the Santee Cooper Lakes. “I’ve fished towards a number of these guys on this lake they usually’ve beat me like a drum.
“To lastly rise up right here with the trophy is simply unimaginable. There’s no place I’d relatively do it.”
After putting thirteenth on Day 1 with 24-7, Austin added a second-round restrict of 31-8 — the occasion’s heaviest bag — and took over the lead by a 1-pound margin. It was considered one of solely two luggage over 30 for the occasion.
Within the closing spherical, the Deal with Warehouse Elite Qualifiers (EQ) angler bagged a restrict of 27-8 and secured the win with 83-7 — the second-heaviest successful weight in a Bassmaster Open behind Florida’s Scott Martin, who set the excessive mark of 90-6 in the course of the season-opener at Lake Okeechobee simply over a month in the past.
Austin took house the highest prize of $49,638 and secured a berth within the 2025 Bass Professional Outlets Bassmaster Traditional offered by Jockey Outdoor scheduled for March 21-23 on Lake Ray Roberts in Fort Value, Texas.
“Fishing the Bassmaster Traditional has been a dream of mine,” Austin stated. “It’s a dream for lots of people and it’s undoubtedly potential.”
On a Championship Saturday that was shortened by 1 1/2 hours as a result of a Nationwide Climate Service afternoon forecast for extreme circumstances, Austin began on the identical spot that produced the vast majority of his weight the primary two days.
“That was a super-shallow laborious spot with present,” he stated. “The important thing was getting that present to move the correct approach to get them to chunk.
“This morning, I solid 20 to 30 instances and by no means had a chunk. The wind modified and made an eddy and we obtained proper in a rush.”
Austin caught his current-related fish on a 1/2-ounce Strike King Red Eyed Shad Tungsten 2-Tap lipless crankbait and a 1-ounce regionally made spinnerbait with tandem willow-leaf blades. The latter produced his largest fish on his beginning spot.
Round 9:30 a.m., Austin transitioned to a high-percentage technique of working explicit Lake Marion timber in quest of large bites. That transfer would ship the game-changing alternative.
“Lots of people get into an space they usually fish each tree within the space,” he stated. “I pull up and fish two or three of them.”
After a morning of buying and selling the lead with Martin and second-place Laker Howell of Guntersville, Ala., Austin sat just a few ounces behind Martin in BassTrakk’s unofficial standings. Pulling as much as a tupelo tree round 11:15, he pitched a wacky-rigged stickworm to the bottom and got here tight on a 7-6 ball of inexperienced fury that may slam the door shut on Austin’s first B.A.S.S. victory.
“They get on the identical timber yearly,” he stated. “I had the boldness of understanding which of them they get on, so I simply stored working them and working them till I caught a giant one.”
Regardless of the day’s more and more robust winds and the tough trip again to the weigh-in, Austin stated the reward greater than justified the problem. Had the ultimate day been cancelled as a result of unsafe circumstances, Austin would have been declared the winner because the Day 2 chief.
“I’m glad we went at this time; I didn’t wish to win on a cancellation,” Austin stated. “I wished to get again on the market.”
Howell positioned ninth on Day 1 with 25-5 and rose to 3rd by including a second-round bag that went 28-7. He gained one other spot along with his closing restrict of 26-13 that pushed his whole to 80-9.
Committing his event to a protected space on Lake Moultrie, Howell focused shallow grass and caught his bass in a foot and a half of water. Howell relied on a 1/2-ounce ChatterBait JackHammer with a black/blue and inexperienced Yamamoto Zako trailer.
Not solely did the bait carry out properly within the grass, Howell stated the bulkier trailer and the actual coloration sample seemingly resembled the realm’s ample sunfish. He additionally famous that dialing particularly candy spots boosted his success.
“There have been three chutes within the grass and that’s how they had been coming into the realm,” Howell stated. “Each time I’d come to a kind of chutes, I’d catch a giant one.”
Hailing from Clewiston, Fla., Martin turned in each day weights of 25-4, 27-15 and 27-0 to complete with 80-3. Fishing the Potato Creek space of Lake Marion, he centered on mattress fishing and caught his bass on a Texas-rigged Googan Baits Bandito Bug — the identical bait that produced most of his fish throughout his win at Lake Okeechobee.
“Observe was robust, however you decide up little clues that show you how to house in on one thing,” stated Martin, whose father is nine-time B.A.S.S. Angler of the 12 months and 19-time B.AS.S. winner Roland Martin. “In an occasion like this, when the fish are coming to you, all you want is somewhat bit — and that little bit will go a good distance.”
Late within the morning, Martin tried to tempt a giant mattress fish that rejected the Bandito Bug. Following his intestine intuition, he picked up a spinning rod, pitched a drop shot with a 6-inch pink worm and caught the 6-10 on his first solid.
Day 1 chief Mark Hutson of Moncks Nook, S.C., received the $750 Phoenix Boats Large Bass award for his 10-3 largemouth.
Sixth-place finisher Chad Grigsby of Maple Grove, Minn., received the $1,000 St. Croix contingency award on the boater aspect. Chad Stahl of Barnesville, Ga., received the $250 award within the co-angler division.
With three of 9 Opens accomplished, Evan Kung of Pickering, Canada, leads the Deal with Warehouse Bassmaster Elite Qualifier standings with 568 factors. He’s adopted by Dakota Ebare of Brookeland, Texas (555), Matt Adams or Oxford, Ala. (529), Mike Surman of Boca Raton, Fla. (504), Easton Fothergill of Grand Rapids, Minn. (501), Andy Newcomb of Camdenton, Mo. (500), Bobby Bakewell of Orlando, Fla. (490), Cody Meyer of Eagle, Idaho (490) and Christian Ostrander of Turlock, Calif. (487).
