Classic Update:  The Classic is in the books.  Although KVD won, we can't begin to say just how proud we are of our Pros.  Jeff Kriet caught an impressive 46 pounds and 6 ounces landing him in 2nd place in what had to be the toughest weather conditions ever for a tournament on Lay Lake.  Russ Lane finished in 4th place and had the big bass at 6-2.  Dean Rojas made the cut and bagged 24-7 for the tournament with the help of his fighting frog.  We caught up with these guys in the media room after the weigh in and all are ready to get the regular season started.  

After Day 3 Just Needed One More Big Fish

 When the fishermen of the 40^th Bassmaster Classic hit Lay Lake outside of Birmingham one more time on the last day, Big Bites Pro Staffer Jeff Kriet was in 1^st place by just 2 ounces.  The burning question of the day was:  Is Beeswax Creek going to carry Jeff Kriet to his first Bassmaster Classic win?  That answer would come almost 10 hours later.

At blast off Jeff headed down to the area he had fished in Beeswax within sight of the landing for the last 2 days.  Picking up, and using the same lip less crankbait Kriet went to work grinding out a solid limit that pushed the scales to 14-5 the 3^rd biggest bag of the last day, but when it was all done Jeff came up just one big fish short to Kevin Van Dams 19-7lb bag, the biggest bag of the day, and 5lbs short of KVDs winning weight of 51-6lbs for the tournament.

In the interview room after the tournament Jeff said “I feel I fished a clean tournament, and did not make any mistakes.  If it was my time to win I would have won, and will win one of these things one of these days”.  Before the tournament Jeff stated his plan was to fish his strengths, which meant fishing a Big Bite Squirrel Tail Worm on a shaky head in deeper water.  But with the weather that came through before practice and the resulting dirty water, Jeff had to pick up a rattle bait and put together a new pattern.

Russ Lane gave it his best effort, taking the lead away from Kriet and Van Dam for the majority of the day and ended up finishing in 4^th place using his extensive knowledge of Lay Lake to bring in the second biggest bag of the day.  When Russ hit the scales he came up a little short in moving Jeff Kriet from the hot seat with a bag of a 18-1 pushing his three day total to 43-12lbs.  Lane said after the second day that he felt he was going to go for a ride on the last day, and he did just that leaving Beeswax and heading for Spring Creek.  Russ used a combination of techniques on the last day that included a lipless crank bait, a spinner bait and pitching a Big Bite Yomama in BioBait formula.  Russ had the Big Bass of the tournament at 6-2lbs.

Dean Rojas made the cut for the final day and came in today with 8-9 lbs finishing the tournament in 23^rd.   Dean went back to the areas that he had fished the first two days looking to see if he could get his fish to turn on with the improving water temps and weather conditions.  He caught all of his fish on the last day using his Rojas Fighting Frog.

Big Bite could not be more proud of the performance of our Pro staff and we want to thank Jeff and Russ for their top finishes in the 2010 Bassmaster Classic.  We wish all 3 of the Big Bite Pros the best of luck for the 2010 Elite Series.

On The Last Day There Is Still 3  

When day 2 of the Classic was done with the top 25 all sorted out of who gets to fish one more day; all three of the Big Bite Pros have made the final day cut. But there is bigger news to report of these 3; Russ Lane is in 5^th place with 25-1 and Jeff Kriet is leading the Classic going into the last day with a weight of 32-1, just 2 oz ahead of Kevin Van Dam.

The biggest news to come off of the water Saturday was the falling water levels; over night the water seems to have fallen 10” to 12” from the first day of the Classic. This many thought just added another level of difficulty in getting tough lipped bass to bite the second day causing the weights to be down.

Jeff Kriet is sticking to his primary pattern Kriet is throwing a lipless crankbait; following this up with a Big Bite Squirrel Tail rigged on a shacky head. Kriet is fishing in Beeswax Creek area within sight of the launch. He is fishing a 3 ½ to 4ft area that drops into 5ft to 6ft that has grass with scattered stumps mixed in. This deeper water in this area was key when the water started to drop as the bigger fish had a place to move to and still stay in the area. Kriet brought 15-10 to the scales the second day following up his first day weight of 16-7 making a total of 32-1. The tournament will come down to the $500,000 question:  will the fish in Beeswax hold up to the pressure of the top 3, and still replenish with new fish, or will Kriet have to go looking for new water to closeout his first Classic win?

Up on stage Kriet said “he is just trying to grind out a win, keeping his head down, and just go fishing, adding I just feel like I’m due to win one of these things, so it might as well be this one”.

Russ Lane is also fishing the Beeswax area right across the bay from the launch sight. Lane fished a 1/2oz Red Eye Shad lipless crankbait and a Big Bite Yomama on Classic day 2. Russ took half of his fish with the Red Eye Shad, and the other half with a Big Bite Yomama in biobait formula that included one of the Classics big bass of day two that pushed the scales to 5lbs.

Russ feels Sunday will be the key to blow this Classic open he thinks the warming water temps will push the bass into the grass the last day of the Classic, and plans to put a flippin stick, rigged with a Yomama in his hand the last day. 

Dean Rojas finished Classic day 2 in 23^rd place with a 2 day total 15-14oz. Dean is using a mix of baits to take a limit each day to bring to the scales. Dean commented he is fishing an area that has 58 to 60 degree water that he thinks is feed by a warm water spring. He could see bass in the upper 2ft soaking up the sun on Saturday and got a few of these bass to fall for a frog earning a ride to the Classic weigh in stage.

With one more day to go this Classic is going to be a shoot out, we wish all the Big Bite Pros the best of LUCK!!!!

Classic Day 1

Jeff Kriet is on fire today catching 12 fish today allowing him to cull to a higher weight.  Russ Lane has moved up to 5th with 25-11.  He has reportedly been everywhere, in some folks' back pockets and burning gas. He's only had three fish and caught a 2-5 in the last few minutes. He told us he was flipping one of our baits today.  Come by the booth and we will tell you which one.  Dean Rojas has moved up the rankings and caught his fish on frogs today just above a warm water spring.

Picture above is of Kriet landing one of the 12 fish he caught today

Roll Tide!!!!!! The University of Alabama team has won the first ever College Classic. Great job guys!

Classic Day 1 Is Over With The Promise Of A Better Day On The Horizon

With the first day of the 2010 Classic in the books you have some fishermen looking to keep moving ahead, and others that can’t wait to get back to the water to see if they can’t redeem themselves, and catch enough fish to make the top 25 cut at the end of the day on Saturday.  With weather conditions set to improve the second day; the field should face favorable weather conditions, and a slowly rising water temp. This should relate into bigger bags crossing the weigh in stage on Saturday with this expectation you would almost have to say that it is still anybody’s Classic to win. 

For the Big Bite Pros Jeff Kriet, Russ Lane, and Dean Rojas no one is out of the hunt yet. Jeff Kriet had a great day catching a good number of fish in a backwater creek, but getting the right ones was the task of the day. After day one Kriet sits in 3^rd place with 16.7lbs.

"I'm just grinding — I have a few key stretches and I'd hit them, catch a few fish, leave them and come back and catch some more," Kriet said. "There's a lot of fish there and I jerked on quite a few, but I felt like I had to. I just didn't want to get behind." A shad die-off caused by the week's cold weather still haunted many, as the fish had plenty of easy targets. However, Kriet said the area that he and his top two competitors fished appeared to have suffered little. "I haven't seen nearly as many shad dying in there as in other places,"  he said.

Russ Lane used his local lake knowledge to catch an early limit, and used the rest of the day to make his limit grow.  After day one Lane sits in 9^th place with a weight of 14-1. Russ said the warming trend should bring on the flipping bite.   "This will be the toughest of the three days," Lane said.  If the stout catches brought in by much of the field are any indication, and Lane's beliefs prove correct, then the potential to make up ground with one or two big bites will likely increase as well.

Dean Rojas took a ride up the river, and was alone finding the bite to be pretty tough the first day. Dean brought five fish across the Classic stage weighing in at 6.9lbs, and currently sits in 32^nd place.  We expect Dean to have a better day tomorrow as the flipping bite improves.

To keep pace with day 2 of the Classic please log onto the Big Bite Face book page for updates and see how the Big Bite Pros are doing.  If you live in the Birmingham area make your way down to the Outdoor Expo and see Big Bite Pro Randall Tharp in the Big Bite Booth at 2pm.  We will also be giving away free samples of some of our most popular baits.

Big Bite Pro Randall Tharp is on hand at the Big Bite Booth today discussing fishing techniques.

Click here to see a day 1 video interview with Jeff Kriet

The Classic is on and the doors to the Classic Expo at the BJCC in downtown Birmingham, AL have opened. I will be coming to you live from the Expo all weekend. Come see us at the Expo for a free sample of our most popular baits and advice from our Pros. Our booth is located directly behind Dick's Sporting Goods on the bottom level. Hope to see you here!

Interviews with Big Bites 3 BASS Pros On The Eve Of The Classic

With the Bassmaster Classic set to start Friday practice is in the books, and history now it is time to catch bass, and fill the livewells. Who will win the 2010 Classic is anybody’s guess, but at Big Bite we have a few that we think can get the job done!!! 

Dean Rojas – Dean Rojas had this to say on the eve of the 2010 Bassmaster Classic on Lay Lake in Birmingham Al. Dean said “it was good to be back on the water and getting the 2010 Elite Series season under way”. “When it comes to Lay Lake I have a lot of confidence fishing here; the last time the Elite series made a stop here I had a top ten finish. This lake sets up like Lake Havasu back in Arizona with the river feeding this body of water”. When asked how he thinks he will do in the Classic; Dean was confident, and found some fish during practice. When asked what he was catching his fish on he had a smile on his face and said “Big Bite Baits”.

Russ Lane – Sitting down with Russ before the Classic he says “he has a good idea what the fish are doing, and what it is going to take too catch them” when the Classic starts Friday. When asked about the weather this week he commented “the bad weather conditions that greeted the Classic contenders this week snow, rain, and cold has made the lake setup like not many locals have ever seen before”. With Russ Lane being a home state favorite he feels that with the current lake and weather conditions some of that home state experience may not come into play as the lake conditions are a few weeks behind, but he assured me he still has a few local tricks up his sleeve that may make the difference in winning this Classic.

Jeff Kriet – Spending some time with Jeff Kriet on the day before the Classic he says “the first 3 days of practice on the water were tough. Even though fishing for 8 to 10 hours a day you had to be happy with a few bites a day”. He said “the cold, muddy water slowed the bite down during the first three practice days on the water”, but on the last day of practice, and faced with better weather conditions starting to take over Kriet feels that the bite will only get better as the Classic goes on. As for how Kriet is catching fish, he says “both shallow and deep on Big Bite Baits”. Asked what it will take to win the Classic, Kriet predicts it will take mid 30’s to 40lbs to win with weather conditions improving.

Start your engines, its time for the Classic!

Good luck to all of our Pros!

(photos courtesy of Bassmaster)

Big Bite Is Going To The Classic

Starting Thursday Feb 18 Big Bite Baits will be posting Classic Updates every 30 minutes on its web page of the happenings at the Classic and The Classic Expo so check in every day. If you are close to the Birmingham AL. area make sure you make your way to the Classic Expo (It’s Free)  Big Bite Pro Staffer Scott Petersen will be giving Hawg Tank demos all 3 days so come see the latest ways to rig and fish popular Big Bite Baits. While there make sure you stop by the Big Bite booth and say Hi, there we can answer all your Big Bite Bait questions.

Going To The Bassmaster Classic

Taking a recent poll of the 3 Big Bite Pros that are making their way to the 2010 Bassmaster Classic at Lay Lake in a few weeks; they all agree on one thing; weather is going to be the factor that will determine what the fish will do. Talking with each they all have a different approach of how they are getting ready for the Classic and how they will fish it.  Read More