Z-Man® Lures Crush it at Bassmaster Kayak Championship
Z-Man® Baits Conquer Bassmaster Kayak Championship
Drew Gregory hoists the hallowed blue trophy at Tenkiller Lake, Oklahoma
Ladson, SC (April 1, 2024) – Ninety some miles and perhaps worlds apart from the shiny, screaming bass boats and the buzz and bustle of the “other” Bassmaster Classic, Drew Gregory’s kayak cut a silent wake across Oklahoma’s Lake Tenkiller. Even though the Classic and the 2024 Kayak Series Championship both aligned with the iconic Bassmaster insignia, Gregory’s low-key, seek wild places approach to the game offered a refreshing departure from the high-tech tournament norm—and some epic big bass theater.
But even after catch-measure-releasing ten impressive largemouth, spotted and smallmouth bass for 180.5-inches over two days of fishing (March 20 and 21), the longtime Z-Man® kayak pro wouldn’t officially learn of his Championship win or receive the big blue trophy until the following day—right around the time 56 high powered bass boats launched the Bassmaster Classic on Grand Lake of the Cherokees.
“This one was pretty special,” notes Gregory, whose impressive career in competitive kayak angling has encompassed Angler of the Year titles and numerous national tournament wins. “But I’d never won a championship. This is the trophy I’ve always wanted,” he admitted. “Right now, I feel a little bit complete having added this one to the resume.”
For Gregory, what perhaps made the Championship win even richer was the way the lake and the tourney set up to let him fish, Drew-style. “I’m always seeking those wild places,” says Gregory, a resident of Kent, Ohio. “When I first learned we’d be fishing Tenkiller lake, I got excited about exploring way up the rivers, creeks and sloughs; to go into super skinny water where maybe not all the competitors could go.” (Gregory relied on a Crescent Kayaks Shoalie of his own design.)
“I was traveling probably 8 or 9 miles up that river, each day, all the way into 6 and 7 inches of water, shallower than other anglers. As you moved further and further up the creek, the water really cleared. The big smallmouths, especially, became super hard to catch.”
On day-1, pitching a 3/8-ounce, chartreuse Z-Man SlingBladeZ™ spinnerbait hitched to a 3”, pearl and chartreuse MinnowZ™, Gregory plied the shallow cover and plucked numerous largemouth and spotted bass. “Gotta throw a spinnerbait in Oklahoma, right?” Gregory chuckled. “Anytime I found dirty water, I threw the SlingBladeZ and MinnowZ combo; it and one other bait caught a lot of my most important fish, those key 15 to 18 inchers through both days of fishing.”
With just thirty minutes left on the clock—and five quality bass already in the boat— Gregory unveiled his secret smallmouth elixir, a ½-ounce Z-Man Gobius™. An all new 3-inch structure swimbait with livebait-like action and a remarkable resemblance to the creek’s resident minnow species, the Gobius provoked a momentous bite.
“Anglers might not realize that this little swimbait imitates way more species than just a round goby. Every body of water harbors little bottom-hugging critters like sculpins and darters. The natural goby pattern I chose looked and swam exactly like a native river darter—bass eat ‘em like gluttons— and when I swam it through that super clear water, the bait fooled what turned out to be a beautiful—and critical— smallmouth bass.”
Mere casts before heading back to the dock, Gregory enticed the vibrant 19-1/2-inch bronze bass to eat the Gobius swimbait. The fish upgraded a smaller 16-incher, culminating in five bass equaling 90-inches for day-one and a respectable 4th place standing.
Anchored by the enormous ChatterBait-eating bigmouth, Gregory punctuated his tournament performance with four other spotted and smallmouth bass for a grand total of 180.5 inches. Although it appeared that Gregory was leading an hour before day-two ended, final results wouldn’t be posted for another 24 hours.
“The wait can be agonizing in some of these tournaments,” he confessed. Like all Bassmaster Kayak Series events, the Championship features a total catch-measure-release format. Powered by TourneyX, the special app accepts bass length submissions via cell phone. If anglers lack phone service on the water, submissions often load post-tournament. Thankfully for Gregory, when the results finally went live, he had outdueled fellow competitor Guillermo Gonzalez to the tune of 180.5” to 178.25”.
“By now, most folks know that at least 90-percent of the bass I catch eat Z-Man baits,” Gregory divulged, championship trophy in hand. “I’ve been with these folks for a long time. They’re one of the real trusted fishing brands today and as y’all know, their stuff just catches fish. It’s why I can go from a SlingBladeZ spinnerbait to a CrossEyeZ Power Finesse Jig to various ElaZtech baits without sacrificing an ounce of confidence.”
“This win meant so much to me because although I’d won AOYs and other tournaments, it was my first national kayak championship. Even though I feel like I’ve accomplished a lot in this sport—and this one might be my proudest win yet—I’ll be back and just as hungry to catch ‘em all over again, next time.”
Abby’s Epic Weekend
Crowning a blockbuster month of kayak wins, Z-Man pro Abby Abbondanza threw just two baits to dominate the Hobie Bass Open Series tournament at Logan Martin Lake, Alabama, March 9 and 10. Leading both days of the derby, Abbondanza logged 185.5-inches of largemouth bass, besting second place angler Joe McElroy by 8 inches.
“Two baits, entire tournament, done deal,” exclaimed Abbondanza, who moonlights as a country music star. Abby’s primary pattern was to skip two different ChatterBait bladed jigs below boat docks and retrieve them fast and aggressive. His go-to was a Lava Craw colored ChatterBait Elite EVO™, dressed with a Fire Craw pattern RaZor ShadZ™. Abbondanza’s follow-up lure was a 3/8-ounce, green pumpkin ChatterBait JackHammer™. Initially, he rigged both bladed jigs with a fire craw pattern ChatterSpike™ trailer, switching to a RaZor ShadZ™ when the bass became extra aggressive.
