When Justin Hamner landed the biggest bass of his life, an 11-pound, 7-ounce largemouth, late in the afternoon on the final day of the Bassmaster Elite Series tournament on Lake Fork, the fish did far more than push the Yamaha Pro to a third-place finish.
“That single fish changed my life,” remembers Hamner, 24. “It gave me a huge bolt of confidence going into my next tournament, the Bassmaster Classic on Grand Lake. I had never fished Grand before and I struggled when the official practice began, but I never lost the confidence that big fish had given me.
“With my poor practice, the changing weather conditions during the tournament, and even losing four quality bass the last afternoon, I still felt certain I would win the Classic. I just knew I could do it.”
That’s exactly what Hamner did, leading all three days and boating 58-pounds, 3 ounces to win by nearly three pounds. His opening round catch of 22-6 was the heaviest one-day weight of the entire Classic.
Hamner’s Classic victory added to an already-impressive season 2024 by Yamaha Pros, which began in February at legendary Toledo Bend Reservoir in East Texas. Kyota Fujita, a second-year Elite Pro, brought 100-pounds, 13-ounces to the scales to claim top honors. He was followed in second by fellow Yamaha angler Patrick Walters with 95-15.
At Lake Fork a week later, rookie Trey McKinney gave Yamaha its second consecutive Elite win of the season when he weighed in an astounding 130-pounds, 15 ounces. McKinney was just 19 – at Toledo Bend he had still been 18, the youngest angler ever to fish an Elite – and at Fork he became the youngest Elite winner in the series history.
Like Hamner, McKinney also related his “special feeling” about winning at Fork and that he felt he knew exactly how the bass were going to act, even though his experience on the lake was extremely limited.
The Yamaha stampede showed no sign of slowing, especially after the pros next headed to the Harris Chain of Lakes in Florida where John Garrett, another Elite Series rookie, gave Yamaha its fourth consecutive victory of the season with a four-day weight of 84-5. Fellow Yamaha Pros J. T. Thompkins, Tyler Williams, Jordan Lee, Trey McKinney, and Jason Christie finished 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 9th, respectively.
South Carolina ace Patrick Walters gave Yamaha its fourth Elite victory of the year with his win in May at Lake Murray, while Ray Hanselman, Jr., John Garrett, Wesley Gore and Classic winner Justin Hamner all finished in the top 10 at the next Elite at Lake Wheeler in June.
A week later, the pros lined up at another Alabama impoundment, Lewis Smith Lake, for what many thought might be the most difficult tournament of the season. It was tough for some, but not for Yamaha Pros Taku Ito and Robert Gee. Ito won with a four-day total of 58-pounds, while Gee settled for second with 53-15. Both broke the mold for clear water finesse fishing by using larger than normal dropshot and jighead minnow baits that more closely resembled the forage larger spotted bass were feeding on.
After the Lake Champlain event in August, the pros headed a little further north to the St. Lawrence River for the Elite season finale. Eight of the top 10 finishers wore Yamaha colors across the weigh-in stage, including runnerup Robert Gee, an Elite rookie who brought in just over 100 pounds of smallmouth, all from the St. Lawrence River, not Lake Ontario.
Trey McKinney finished 3rd, Jordan Lee 5th, Shane LeHew 6th, Drew Benton 7th, Patrick Walters 8th, Caleb Sumrall 9th, and Carl Jocumsen 10th.
McKinney’s third place finish gave him the B.A.S.S. Rookie of the Year title, while fellow Yamaha Pro John Garrett finished only a few points behind as the runnerup. McKinney also finished second in the B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year race.
And that 11-pound, 7-ounce monster Hamner caught months earlier at Lake Fork? It won Big Bass of the Year honors for the Yamaha Pro, paying the Classic winner another $10,000 bonus.
“It was a very special year for all of us,” smiled McKinney, “and I’m both thrilled and proud to have been part of it. If you want a clear definition of the term ‘living a dream’, all you have to do is remember the 2024 season.”
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“That single fish changed my life,” remembers Hamner, 24. “It gave me a huge bolt of confidence going into my next tournament, the Bassmaster Classic on Grand Lake. I had never fished Grand before and I struggled when the official practice began, but I never lost the confidence that big fish had given me.
“With my poor practice, the changing weather conditions during the tournament, and even losing four quality bass the last afternoon, I still felt certain I would win the Classic. I just knew I could do it.”
That’s exactly what Hamner did, leading all three days and boating 58-pounds, 3 ounces to win by nearly three pounds. His opening round catch of 22-6 was the heaviest one-day weight of the entire Classic.
Hamner’s Classic victory added to an already-impressive season 2024 by Yamaha Pros, which began in February at legendary Toledo Bend Reservoir in East Texas. Kyota Fujita, a second-year Elite Pro, brought 100-pounds, 13-ounces to the scales to claim top honors. He was followed in second by fellow Yamaha angler Patrick Walters with 95-15.
At Lake Fork a week later, rookie Trey McKinney gave Yamaha its second consecutive Elite win of the season when he weighed in an astounding 130-pounds, 15 ounces. McKinney was just 19 – at Toledo Bend he had still been 18, the youngest angler ever to fish an Elite – and at Fork he became the youngest Elite winner in the series history.
Like Hamner, McKinney also related his “special feeling” about winning at Fork and that he felt he knew exactly how the bass were going to act, even though his experience on the lake was extremely limited.
The Yamaha stampede showed no sign of slowing, especially after the pros next headed to the Harris Chain of Lakes in Florida where John Garrett, another Elite Series rookie, gave Yamaha its fourth consecutive victory of the season with a four-day weight of 84-5. Fellow Yamaha Pros J. T. Thompkins, Tyler Williams, Jordan Lee, Trey McKinney, and Jason Christie finished 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 9th, respectively.
South Carolina ace Patrick Walters gave Yamaha its fourth Elite victory of the year with his win in May at Lake Murray, while Ray Hanselman, Jr., John Garrett, Wesley Gore and Classic winner Justin Hamner all finished in the top 10 at the next Elite at Lake Wheeler in June.
A week later, the pros lined up at another Alabama impoundment, Lewis Smith Lake, for what many thought might be the most difficult tournament of the season. It was tough for some, but not for Yamaha Pros Taku Ito and Robert Gee. Ito won with a four-day total of 58-pounds, while Gee settled for second with 53-15. Both broke the mold for clear water finesse fishing by using larger than normal dropshot and jighead minnow baits that more closely resembled the forage larger spotted bass were feeding on.
After the Lake Champlain event in August, the pros headed a little further north to the St. Lawrence River for the Elite season finale. Eight of the top 10 finishers wore Yamaha colors across the weigh-in stage, including runnerup Robert Gee, an Elite rookie who brought in just over 100 pounds of smallmouth, all from the St. Lawrence River, not Lake Ontario.
Trey McKinney finished 3rd, Jordan Lee 5th, Shane LeHew 6th, Drew Benton 7th, Patrick Walters 8th, Caleb Sumrall 9th, and Carl Jocumsen 10th.
McKinney’s third place finish gave him the B.A.S.S. Rookie of the Year title, while fellow Yamaha Pro John Garrett finished only a few points behind as the runnerup. McKinney also finished second in the B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year race.
And that 11-pound, 7-ounce monster Hamner caught months earlier at Lake Fork? It won Big Bass of the Year honors for the Yamaha Pro, paying the Classic winner another $10,000 bonus.
“It was a very special year for all of us,” smiled McKinney, “and I’m both thrilled and proud to have been part of it. If you want a clear definition of the term ‘living a dream’, all you have to do is remember the 2024 season.”
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