Livesay Wins Second-Straight Bassmaster Elite Series Title On Lake Fork

QUITMAN, Texas, May 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Lee Livesay definitely expected to do well; he just never expected his second consecutive victory on his home waters to be fueled by a “junk” spot.

But that’s exactly what happened, as the Longview, Texas, pro turned in a four-day total of 113 pounds, 11 ounces to win the Simms Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork.

Livesay caught 32 pounds on Day 1 and finished just 5 ounces out of the top spot. A second-round limit of 28-10 then gave him the lead with a 4-pound margin over Brandon Palaniuk of Rathdrum, Idaho.

Livesay added 27-5 on Semifinal Saturday and entered Championship Sunday with a 3 1/2-pound advantage over Palaniuk. Then his final limit of 25-12 sealed the victory and pushed him past Palaniuk and Gerald Swindle of Guntersville, Ala. — both with 102-2 — by a margin of 11-9.

Ties are broken by the heaviest single-day weight. Palaniuk’s 30-1 limit on Day 2 topped Swindle’s Day 1 limit of 29-7.

“This week is the most stressful week ever for me because I want to do good for every single person in this crowd that supports me — friends, family, sponsors, everybody,” Livesay said. “This place is special to a lot of people, but it’s special to me because it’s home.

“It’s hard to win on your home lake, but I’m a very blessed man.”

It marked the third Elite title for Livesay, who won at Lake Fork in 2021 and Chickamauga Lake in 2020. In addition to the $100,000 first-place prize, Livesay claimed his second Century Club belt for breaking 100 pounds in a four-day event. His first was for last year’s Lake Fork winning total of 112-5.

Despite intimate Lake Fork knowledge earned through a lifetime of fishing and several years of guiding, Livesay lamented a tough tournament. The lake is down 5 1/2 feet for dam repairs, so many of the spots he fished last year were inaccessible, if not high and dry.

With several of his fishable areas failing to impress, Livesay turned to an unlikely option that ended up producing much of his weight. Located on the west side of the Lake Fork Creek arm, Livesay’s main target comprised a 40-foot by 40-foot high spot reaching into nearby timber in about 13 to 17 feet of water.

Devoid of cover, the spot had a hard bottom where large gizzard shad were congregating. Big bass would periodically pull up to feed and when they did, Livesay could expect aggressive bites.

“I caught every fish today and every one but one yesterday on a spot I found in practice that I never looked at in my life,” Livesay said. “I’ve covered every piece of water on this lake a million times over and that’s what’s crazy. I didn’t catch anything where I normally do.”

Locating this spot was more by default than intent. Nevertheless, Livesay is thankful he found it.

“I only went looking (for new spots) because the first day of practice there was another tournament here and I didn’t want to be seen on anything good. I just went looking at junk and junk turned into 100 grand.”

Livesay anchored his final limit with an 8-3 at 2:38 p.m. He caught most of his Day 4 bass on a 3/4-ounce 6th Sense Divine Hybrid Jig with a Netbait Paca Craw and a Hog Farmer Magnum Shaky Head with a Netbait C-Mac worm. His biggest fish ate a 5-inch 6th Sense Flutter Spoon.

He became the 14th angler with three Elite wins and the fourth to win Elite events in three consecutive seasons. Livesay, 36, is also the second youngest (behind Palaniuk) to reach his third Elite title.

It all happened for the Texas pro less than a month after he won his first St. Croix Bassmaster Open presented by Mossy Oak Fishing at Ross Barnett on April 30.

Palaniuk, who turned in daily weights of 26-9, 30-1, 27-13 and 17-11, earned his first Century Club belt. Spending his tournament on two main spots in the lake’s lower basin, he targeted shallow points in 10 to 25 feet. The less-obvious spots were his preference.

“These were places that I somehow managed to have to myself that didn’t have any pressure,” Palaniuk said. “I think that allowed those fish to set up and stay there. They weren’t constantly getting beat on, so I could kind of cycle back and forth and get those bites.”

Palaniuk caught most of his fish on a Rapala DT-16 and a flutter spoon.

Swindle, who added a Century Club entry to the one he earned on California’s Clear Lake in 2007, turned in daily limits of 29-7, 22-5, 29-2 and 21-4.

For much of the tournament, Swindle caught his fish by working a Zoom Magnum Trick Worm on a 3/4-ounce shaky head amid trees in the Lake Fork Creek arm. When that bite fizzled on Day 4, he transitioned to flipping a 1/2-ounce Boss jig with a Zoom Z-Craw trailer.

Swindle had earlier noticed bream rising to eat bass fry next to timber, so he tipped the trailer in chartreuse dye to match the panfish tails. After catching a limit this way, he upgraded with two bass — one a 6-13 — by fishing a big worm over a bream bed.

Late in the day, Swindle was stuck at 99 pounds, 15 ounces when he stopped on a dock en route to the weigh-in. With about 12 minutes left, he swam the Boss jig down the dock perimeter and caught a 4-pounder that pushed him over 100.

“That was the only jig that I had in my hand so I just threw it over there and started swimming it,” he said. “I was running by that dock and my gut was telling me ‘Do it, do it, do it,’ so I turned around and went back to it. If nothing else, it’s a reinforcement to always trust my gut.”

Marc Frazier of Newnan, Ga., won the $1,000 Phoenix Boats Big Bass award with the 8-12 largemouth he caught Sunday.

Florida pro Cliff Prince won the $2,000 VMC Monster Bag award with his 32-5 limit from Day 1.

Josh Stracner of Vandiver, Ala., took home an additional $3,000 for being the highest-placing entrant in the Toyota Bonus Bucks program, while Todd Auten of Lake Wylie, S.C., also earned $2,000 for being the second-highest placing entrant.

As part of the Yamaha Power Pay program, Palaniuk earned an additional $2,500 as the highest-placing entrant and Bill Lowen of Brookville, Ind., claimed an additional $1,500 for being the second-highest placing entrant.

Palaniuk leads the Progressive Insurance Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings with 442 points. John Cox of DeBary, Fla., is in second with 422, followed by David Mullins of Mt. Carmel, Tenn., with 401, Drew Benton of Blakely, Ga., with 381 and Brandon Lester of Fayetteville, Tenn., with 377.

Jay Przekurat of Stevens Point, Wis., leads the Falcon Rods Rookie of the Year standings with 320 points.

The Simms Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork is being hosted by the Sabine River Authority and Wood County Economic Development Commission

Finish

Name

Hometown

Total lbs-oz

Earnings

1

Lee Livesay

Longview, TX

113-11

$100,000

2

Brandon Palaniuk

Rathdrum, ID

102-02

$36,000

3

Gerald Swindle

Guntersville, AL

102-02

$30,000

4

Shane LeHew

Catawba, NC

100-09

$25,000

5

Marc Frazier

Newnan, GA

99-01

$22,000

6

Bryan New

Saluda, SC

98-14

$19,000

7

Joshua Stracner

Vandiver, AL

97-14

$18,000

8

Bill Lowen

Brookville, IN

96-12

$17,000

9

Derek Hudnall

Denham Springs, LA

92-04

$16,000

10

Chris Johnston

Otonabee, Ontario, Canada

92-02

$15,000

11

Todd Auten            

Lake Wylie, SC

69-04

$10,000

12

Paul Mueller

Naugatuck, CT

67-14

$10,000

13

Greg Hackney

Gonzales, LA

67-12

$10,000

14

Kenta Kimura            

Osaka, Japan

67-12

$10,000

15

Tyler Rivet

Raceland, LA

66-15

$10,000

16

Caleb Kuphall

Mukwonago, WI

66-03

$10,000

17

Matt Robertson            

Kuttawa, KY

66-00

$10,000

18

Pat Schlapper

Eleva, WI

65-14

$10,000

19

Chad Pipkens

DeWitt, MI

65-05

$11,000

20

Cliff Prince

Palatka, FL

65-04

$12,000

21

David Mullins

Mt Carmel, TN

64-02

$10,000

22

Mark Menendez

Paducah, KY

63-13

$10,000

23

Matty Wong

Honolulu, HI

63-06

$10,000

24

Jeff Gustafson

Keewatin, Ontario, Canada

63-03

$11,000

25

Seth Feider

New Market, MN

62-09

$10,000

26

Scott Canterbury

Odenville, AL

60-15

$10,000

27

Steve Kennedy

Auburn, AL

60-15

$10,000

28

Jacob Foutz

Charleston, TN

60-11

$10,000

29

Jason Christie

Park Hill, OK

60-02

$10,000

30

Jamie Hartman

Newport, NY

59-15

$10,000

31

Carl Jocumsen

Queensland, Australia

57-10

$10,000

32

John Cox

DeBary, FL

57-09

$10,000

33

Gregory DiPalma              

Millville, NJ

57-08

$10,000

34

Patrick Walters

Summerville, SC

57-08

$10,000

35

Daisuke Aoki

Yamanashi, Japan

57-08

$10,000

36

Jacob Powroznik

North Prince George, VA

57-03

$10,000

37

Josh Douglas

Isle, MN

56-12

$10,000

38

Skylar Hamilton

Dandridge, TN

56-08

$10,000

39

Darold Gleason

Many. LA

56-03

$10,000

40

Chris Zaldain

Fort Worth, TX

54-09

$10,000

41

Drew Benton

Blakely, GA

54-07

$10,000

42

Brandon Lester

Fayetteville, TN

53-14

$10,000

43

Ed Loughran III

Richmond, VA

51-06

$10,000

44

Luke Palmer

Coalgate, OK

51-00

$10,000

45

Jay Yelas

Turner, OR

46-03

$10,000

46

Bob Downey

Detroit Lakes, MN

45-07

$10,000

47

Matt Herren

Ashville, AL

37-00

$10,000

48

David Williams

Newton, NC

34-00

$2,500

49

Drew Cook

Cairo, GA

33-12

$2,500

50

Cory Johnston

Cavan, Canada

33-09

$2,500

 

2022 Bassmaster Elite Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota
2022 Bassmaster Elite Series Premier Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Progressive Insurance, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
2022 Bassmaster Elite Series Supporting Sponsors: AFTCO, Daiwa, Garmin, Huk Performance Fishing, Marathon, Strike King, Triton Boats, VMC
2022 Bassmaster Conservation Partners: AFTCO, Yamaha Rightwaters

Media Contact: Emily Harley, B.A.S.S. Communications Manager, 205-313-0945, [email protected]

 

Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/livesay-wins-second-straight-bassmaster-elite-series-title-on-lake-fork-301552635.html

SOURCE B.A.S.S.

Livesay Wins Second-Straight Bassmaster Elite Series Title On Lake Fork WeeklyReviewer

PR Newswire Sports News

World Reviewer Staff
World Reviewer Staffhttps://weeklyreviewer.com/
The first logical thought has to be "no way". I'm the World Observer! Ill find and share important news all day.

Latest articles

Earnings Disclosure

WeeklyReviewer earns primarily through affiliates and ads. We don’t encourage anyone to click on ads for any other purpose but your own. We recommend products and services often for our readers, and through many we will earn commissions through affiliate programs.

Related articles