Timing is Everything: John Garrett Crowned Elite Series Champion at Harris Chain

Cinching his first 1^st place finish as a rookie on the Elite Series, the Tennessee pro overcame adverse circumstances and exercised extreme patience to secure the top spot. Severe weather resulted in a 1-day postponement and presented challenging conditions to start out Day 1 on Friday. 

Competing in just his third Bassmaster Elite Series event, Garrett has proven that he is a force to be reckoned with. But for those who have followed Garrett’s young career, a victory this early into his rookie season will come as no surprise. For Garrett, who initially made a name for himself in the college ranks fishing for Bethel University, overcoming adversity is nothing new. He was a consistent name in the top 10 standings on the Bassmaster Opens for several years, narrowly missing qualifications for the Elites in 2021 and 2022 before punching his ticket in 2023. Those narrow misses in 2021 and 2022 both came down to a single fish and missed opportunities. 

Garrett chose to approach the tournament with techniques that are not typically used in this region of Florida – Tennessee river and offshore techniques using a 5/8-ounce white hair jig and Strike King’s 6XD deep-diving crankbait. The hair jig was particularly effective because it gave some variation to bass, gaining reaction strikes based on its unique presentation. When bites were slow, he incorporated a Carolina rig and stayed disciplined to capitalize on the opportunities presented. 

Championship Monday was tumultuous for Garrett, to say the least. He had a quick start out the gate, starting with a little over 7-pound lead above second place with 63-2 total. Frequenting the same spots where he found success in previous days didn’t work as well as he originally anticipated. There were very few fish relating to the bottom, causing him to have to adapt to get those highly pressured bites. Even though he maintained his lead by less than two pounds at some points throughout Monday, by 1:00 pm he caught a game-changing 7-pound 4-ounce bass, his largest catch of the day, to solidify his lead and gain the Phoenix Boats Big Bass Leader title. Garrett caught his bass on a Strike King 5XD, a deep- diving crankbait, a Strike King 1.5 squarebill, a white hair jig and a Carolina-rigged Strike King Ocho. 

So far this year, the young guns are leading the way for Team Strike King and Team Lew's, as John Garrett joins Trey McKinney as a second 2024 Elite Series Champion through just three events. Known for his composure and poise, Garrett humbly accepted his win and continues to look forward to the next event at St. Johns River starting April 18^th.