JEFFERSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE — Canadian Cooper Gallant's goal of qualifying for the Bassmaster Elite Series took a major step forward Saturday.
The 24-year-old from Bowmanville, Ont., weighed a five-fish limit of 18 pounds nine ounces to capture the Bassmaster Southern Open on Cherokee Lake. Gallant finished with a two-day total of 36 pounds one ounce.
American Bryan New, who led after the first day of the event, was second with 35 pounds four ounces while Jamie Bruce of Kenora, Ont., was third with 34 pounds seven ounces. The tournament was reduced from three days to two due to strong winds.
Gallant is planning to fish all nine Bassmaster Open events to qualify for the Elite Series, bass fishing's top pro circuit. Through two Open competitions, Gallant stands seventh overall.
Gallant earned US$52,533 with the win and also qualified for the '23 Bassmaster Classic, the Elite Series marquee tournament.
With water temperatures cooler than expected, Gallant focused on deep rock structure in 15-to-30 feet of water. He was looking for smallmouth bass that were staging to move up into shallower spawning areas.
"I barely saw any bait this week where I was fishing,” he said. “They were hunkering down and waiting to move up.
"You just had to fish around and you would see them rise from the bottom. I would just fish where I thought they would be.”
Many of Gallant's fish came on an X-Zone Lures Hot Shot Minnow on either a drop shot or Damiki rig, which is a jig tipped with a plastic bait that's held a foot or two above the fish.
“If they weren’t eating right away I’d pretty well pull out of there and move to the next one,” he said. “Going into this week, I thought they were going to push shallow, but it ended up working out perfectly.
"I was able to catch them out deep and I feel comfortable out deep.”
Gallant stood eighth after the opening day with 17 pounds eight ounces.
“For Day 1, I thought for sure I was going to have to switch things up and go shallow," he said. "But I dropped the trolling motor down and saw the (water temperature) was 52.5 (F).
“After Day 1, I said to myself ‘I’m staying out deep and I’m going to grind it out.’ I knew I could catch another 15 to 16 pounds, I wasn’t sure I could catch 18. I knew I was around them but wasn’t positive I could make it happen.”
Bruce opened the tournament with 18 pounds two ounces before finishing with 16 pounds five ounces Saturday. Competing in his first-ever American event, Bruce caught offshore smallmouth with a 3/8-ounce Bass Tactics Smeltinator Jig Head paired with a five-inch Z-Man Jerk Shad.
He found the bass would rise further off the bottom to investigate the bigger bait.
“I fished as much steep structure as I could," he said. "I fished vertically over it.
“There were a lot of obvious boulders and humps and they were getting beat on. I would catch what I could and then go to these sneaky spots I found. They take forever to find. They are super steep ledges and you have to hang it over the ledge and you don’t know if there is a fish there until it shows itself.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 2, 2022.
The Canadian Press
