Georgia’s Emil Wagner secured his first Bassmaster victory at the Bassmaster Elite Qualifier on Lake Champlain, setting a record for the heaviest three-day winning total in B.A.S.S. history at the lake. His total weight of 69 pounds, 2 ounces from September 18 to 20 earned him a prize of $58,049 and the Bassmaster Elite Qualifier trophy.
Wagner, who had already qualified for the next year’s Bassmaster Elite Series, approached the tournament not for points, but to fish on one of his favorite bodies of water. After a drive of more than 20 hours from Georgia, the Fenwick pro focused on catching the lake’s smallmouth to build confidence for the upcoming Elite Series season, which will include another stop on Lake Champlain.
Based on his prior experience fishing the lake three times, he anticipated that low water and cooler fall weather would push the smallmouth into shallow water, similar to topwater fishing at his home waters of Lake Lanier in northern Georgia. However, after a few unproductive practice days, he realized he would need to focus his efforts offshore.
A Focus on Finding Fish
“I absolutely love this lake,” Wagner said. “I wanted to come up and fish for smallmouth, making the long drive from Georgia. It reminds me a little of fishing for spotted bass on Lake Lanier — suspending over deep breaks and figuring out presentations for pressured fish. Champlain has that same challenge, and that’s what makes it so fun, especially in the fall.”
He continued, “I knew I needed to get away from the Inland Sea area where much of the pressure typically is, and I focused on finding spots with less pressure, settling into areas that allowed me to locate and catch quality fish.”
Wagner started the event with a weight of 22 pounds, 2 ounces on Day One, climbing the leaderboard with a 23-pound, 9-ounce limit on Day Two. On Championship Saturday, he sealed the win with a weight of 23 pounds, 7 ounces, finishing 13 ounces ahead of second place. After catching over 25 bass weighing more than four pounds and over 50 fish on each of the first two days, he had to make a key adjustment on Saturday to find new fish and maintain his lead.
Wagner’s Winning Tackle and Baits
“I found a couple areas with some fish, and one place had hundreds of smallmouth,” Wagner said. “I focused on deep humps and ledges, targeting areas away from normal pressure. I caught fish on a few different baits—mostly a Berkley MaxScent Flatnose Jerk Shad, but also a 4-inch Berkley MaxScent General and a couple topwaters.”
His primary setup included a 7-foot, 1-inch Fenwick World Class medium-action spinning rod paired with an Abu Garcia Revo Rocket spinning reel. He used a slightly heavier Berkley X5 braid with a Berkley Trilene fluorocarbon leader for strength, which allowed him to boat-flip larger fish and spend more time casting for roaming smallmouth.
“That final day, it was a ghost town,” Wagner said. “The wind had blown in grass everywhere, and the bait and fish were gone. One of the most memorable moments was deciding to move, finding fish at the end of the day, and on my last cast catching a big one I culled before heading straight to the weigh-in.”
