At a time when sonar technology is easily the most debated topic in bass fishing, Vexus® Boats anglers and Lake Sam Rayburn hammers, Derek Mundy and Jason Bonds, swung toward the opposite field during the season opener of the lucrative Brandon Belt “The Show” Team Series event, by turning their sonar completely off with hopes of spooking fewer bass.
The longtime team partners proceeded to catch 47 pounds of bass in two days, won the $50,000 first place prize, plus a $10,000 Rev Rewards bonus from Vexus, along with a commemorative 2024 REV Rewards™ belt buckle for the trophy shelf.
“I’m not trying to rain on the effectiveness of forward-facing sonar, but I’ll tell you it was a total non-factor in this win. We actually turned all our sonar units off to eliminate as much noise as we possibly could around fish we knew were highly pressured and easily spooked,” explains Mundy, a 35-year-old pipeline welder who grew up on Rayburn near Pophers Creek.
Mundy is certainly no stranger to big limits on Rayburn. His monstrous run in 2021 featured a 39-pound limit and a 40-pound limit in BFL and Toyota Series wins that still stand as two of the Top 10 heaviest limits ever weighed in during a Major League Fishing sanctioned event.
He won’t hesitate to tell you his hands down favorite lure of all time is an Azuma Shaker Z lipless crankbait, with the Z Boss 22 deep diving crankbait being a close second, and when asked what he loves most about his Vexus, that answer comes easily too.
“I bought a Vexus because I have a lot of trust and respect for the craftsmen that run the company. Their heritage for quality is unmatched in bass boats, and that’s proven by the fact I don’t feel like my back needs a chiropractor every time I battle big waves on Rayburn or Toledo,” smiles the happily married father of two young sons.
“I can quarter through big waves in this Vexus better than any boat I’ve ever been in. It’s comfortable, and it’s dry. Even if you’re just idling around graphing, looking for fish, the higher sides on a Vexus keep you from getting splashed all day with wave spray,” adds Mundy.
Mundy has now collected four Vexus belt buckles and $40,000 in Vexus® REV Rewards™ since buying his VX20 from Pete Jorgensen Marine in Beaumont. So, understandably, he probably won’t be trading rippin’ lipless baits for pinging dainty minnow imitators with forward-facing sonar anytime soon.
To learn more about the quality he and Jason Bonds love about their Vexus boats, and to make sure you’re signed up for REV Rewards like they are, please visit https://vexusboats.com/.
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Alan McGuckin
Amid a fishing trip on the bass-starved Ohio River in the summer of 1987, Alan McGuckin’s Dad told a then 16-year-old “Guck” — “I don’t care what you do for a living, just promise me you’ll do something you love.” Originally from Pittsburgh, McGuckin considers himself a blue-collar kid, who has been richly blessed to live-out the best piece of advice his dad ever gave him for many years now in the Tulsa area. After earning a degree in ecology at Juniata College in Pennsylvania, where he placed radio transmitters in largemouth bass to track their habitat preferences, he moved his life to Oklahoma in 1992, where he earned a Masters in Zoology and Fisheries under the direction of Gene Gilliland at the University of Oklahoma, before then embarking on what’s now a nearly three decade long career as a marketing and media veteran in the fishing industry. His career spans 28 years of wisdom-rich marketing experience working to strengthen brands and increase sales for Lowrance, Terminator Lures, Toyota, Yamaha Outboards, Boat U.S., Carhartt, Costa, Quantum, Vexus Boats, and Zebco. – Member of the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame voting committee, as well as a Board of Directors member for Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful – Co-piloted the Terminator brand of premium lures from its birth to more than 10 Million pieces sold between 1997-2006. – Has authored and published more than 800 stories on Bassmaster.com, along with several other popular bass fishing websites. – He has generated $3 Million dollars’ worth of branded digital media since 2020, as a content creator. – Serves as emcee for hundreds of guests at the annual Toyota Bonus Bucks Owners event. – Avid angler, who fishes nearly every weekend when not on the road working. – 13,000 followers on Instagram @GuckFishing. “Guck” lives just north of Tulsa, OK at Lake Skiatook with wife Sherrie, an elementary school principal who also loves her job, and has a genuine passion for slinging a Rapala Brat crankbait on shallow points and habitat-laden flats.
