Mississippi Kicks Off 2023 On Ross Barnett

The Mississippi Division 12 of the American Bass Anglers Open Series Presented by Caymas Boats opens the 2023 season on Ross Barnett Reservoir near Jackson, MS on February 19. The bass tournament will launch from Tommy’s Landing, located at 4238 Mississippi Highway 43 in Brandon, Miss.

To learn more about the Mississippi Open Series division, visit the Mississippi Division page at this LINK

To register for this event, CLICK HERE.

Anglers can sign up to fish ABA Open Series divisional events and a 2-day division championship. In a Pro/Am format, boaters fishing the Open Series pay $210 in entry fees for each divisional 1-day tournament. Co-anglers pay $105 per event.

The top 20 percent of registered boaters and co-anglers will receive cash payouts based on the total number of entries. If at least 60 boaters enter the tournament, the Boater Division winner will receive a minimum of $5,000.

New this year, each division will hold a 2-day divisional championship after completing all four regular season events instead of a regional championship. For a 2-day event, boaters pay an entry fee of $350 and co-anglers pay $155.

To qualify for the divisional championship, each boater and co-angler must fish at least three 1-day divisional events. To fish a 2-day divisional championship, anglers who qualify as a boater must fish as a boater. Anglers who qualify as a co-angler must fish as a co-angler. 

Also new this year, 1-day and 2-day show points will be counted differently. Previously anglers received 50 show points for a 1-day event and 100 for a 2-day event. Divisional 1-day events are now worth 250 points to the winners. Points will be awarded in 1-point decreasing increments. Contestants not weighing fish will receive last-place points minus 10.

Divisional 2-day events are worth 500 points to the winners. For all other competitors, points will be awarded in 2-point decreasing increments. For example, the second-place boater will receive 498 points and third place 496. In addition, anglers not weighing fish will receive last-place points minus 10.

Points accumulated throughout the season also determine the division Anglers of the Year from both the boaters and co-anglers who fished that division. After the 2-day championship, the top 10 boaters and the top 10 co-anglers by points will be eligible to fish the 2024 Ray Scott Championship.

A computer randomly pairs boaters and co-anglers who will fish together in a designated tournament. The two anglers do not fish as a team. Boaters compete against boaters and co-anglers compete against other co-anglers. If an insufficient number of co-anglers sign up to participate, ABA guarantees that all boaters who wish to compete will be able to fish from their own boats.

In addition, anglers may qualify for bonus money offered by such tournament sponsors as Caymas Boats, Mercury Marine, the T-H Marine Atlas Awards program, and Power Pole. See each manufacturer’s website for details, rules, and qualifications for more information on their contingency programs.

Anyone who wishes to fish an ABA event must become an ABA member. ABA members can receive discounts from some sponsors. For example, Optima Batteries will give ABA members 25 percent off and free shipping on any battery. Membership costs $35 a year, but anglers can save money by signing up for multiple years. 

In Mississippi, few lakes can compete with Ross Barnett Reservoir for bass numbers or size. The state periodically stocks Florida largemouths into the system. Most bass average about two pounds, but many run in the 4- to 7-pound range. The “Rez” as the locals call it, can produce bass in the 8- to 10-pound class with occasional larger fish. The reservoir also contains a healthy spotted bass population.

Ross Barnett Reservoir sits along the historic Natchez Trace northeast of Jackson and stretches across 33,000 acres. Numerous creek arms and coves combine to create more than 105 miles of shoreline. The lake averages about 11 feet deep, but much of it runs less than six feet deep with numerous extremely shallow, stumpy flats, weeds, and channel drops. 

“Ross Barnett has a lot of pads, some coontail, and water hyacinths,” advised Paul Elias, a former Bassmaster Classic champion from Laurel, Miss. “Some bass go so shallow they practically stick their backs out of the water. Throwing a white or black frog across lily pads is a good pattern. The reservoir has many shallow stumps. A spinnerbait or a buzzbait can be very good. I like to throw a black buzzbait or a chartreuse and white spinnerbait and bounce it off the logs and stumps.”

Above State Route 43, the reservoir takes on more of its former riverine appearance from the old Pearl River system, which it swallowed in 1966. Some holes in the old Pearl River channel drop to more than 50 feet deep. In addition, numerous old oxbows and backwaters off the old river remain.

Almost like a separate lake, Pelahatchie Bay on the southeast corner typically offers some of the best bass fishing. Mill Creek on the east side of the lake also produces good action. Keep a topwater bait handy and watch for schooling bass on the flats later in the day.

During a March 26, 2022, division tournament at Ross Barnett Reservoir, Ryan Lloyd from Brandon won the Boater Division with a 5-bass tournament limit weighing 18.69 pounds. That gave him a 3.74-pound average. 

“I caught about 15 keepers,” Lloyd recalled. “I had a small limit by 11:30 a.m. I ran around the lake. At about 1 p.m. I got out of the main area and culled up. I was fishing soft plastics in very shallow water. My last two fish were my biggest of the day.”

Kevin Culpepper from Seminary, Miss. placed third among the boaters with five bass going 13.84 pounds. He brought in the tournament lunker at 5.82 pounds.

“I went south on the main lake,” Culpepper advised. “I caught my biggest fish on my third cast of the morning on a Pepper Custom Baits single-bladed buzzbait. After that first fish, I thought it was going to be my day. It was about five hours before I got my second bite. Finally, I picked up a Pepper Custom Baits swim jig and filled out my limit by 1 p.m.”

In the Co-Angler Division during that 2022 event, James Davis from Ferriday, La. took the victory with a 3-bass division limit weighing 11.33 pounds. That gave him a 3.78-pound average. Davis also landed the division big bass at 5.39 pounds. The lunker hit a black and blue Jackhammer Chatterbait with a black and blue Razor Shadz trailer.

“The day started really slow for me,” Davis stated. “I didn’t catch my first keeper until about 11 a.m. It hit a Skinny Dipper swimbait on a 5/0 Owner hook. I caught another keeper on that bait.”

Other hot baits in that 2002 event included Texas-rigged creature baits, crankbaits, and Rat-L-Traps.  

The division returns to Ross Barnett Reservoir and Tommy’s Landing on April 22, 2023. 

For more information about this tournament, call Tournament Director Chris Wayand at (256) 230-5627.

Anglers can sign up to fish ABA Open Series divisional events and a 2-day division championship. In a Pro/Am format, boaters fishing the Open Series pay $210 in entry fees for each divisional 1-day tournament. Co-anglers pay $105 per event.

The top 20 percent of registered boaters and co-anglers will receive cash payouts based on the total number of entries. If at least 60 boaters enter the tournament, the Boater Division winner will receive a minimum of $5,000.

New this year, each division will hold a 2-day divisional championship after completing all four regular season events instead of a regional championship. For a 2-day event, boaters pay an entry fee of $350 and co-anglers pay $155.

To qualify for the divisional championship, each boater and co-angler must fish at least three 1-day divisional events. To fish a 2-day divisional championship, anglers who qualify as a boater must fish as a boater. Anglers who qualify as a co-angler must fish as a co-angler. 

New this year, 1-day and 2-day show points will be counted differently. Previously anglers received 50 show points for a 1-day event and 100 for a 2-day event. Divisional 1-day events are now worth 250 points to the winners. Points will be awarded in 1-point decreasing increments. Contestants not weighing fish will receive last-place points minus 10.

Divisional 2-day events are worth 500 points to the winners. For all other competitors, points will be awarded in 2-point decreasing increments. For example, the second-place boater will receive 498 points and third place 496. In addition, anglers not weighing fish will receive last-place points minus 10.

Points accumulated throughout the season also determine the division Anglers of the Year from both the boaters and co-anglers who fished that division. After the 2-day championship, the top 10 boaters and the top 10 co-anglers by points will be eligible to fish the 2024 Ray Scott Championship.

A computer randomly pairs boaters and co-anglers who will fish together in a designated tournament. The two anglers do not fish as a team. Boaters compete against boaters and co-anglers compete against other co-anglers. If an insufficient number of co-anglers sign up to participate, ABA guarantees that all boaters who wish to compete will be able to fish from their own boats.

In addition, anglers may qualify for bonus money offered by such tournament sponsors as Caymas Boats, Mercury Marine, the T-H Marine Atlas Awards program and Power Pole. See each manufacturer’s website for details, rules and qualifications for more information on their contingency programs.

Anyone who wishes to fish an ABA event, must become an ABA member. ABA members can receive discounts from some sponsors. For example, Optima Batteries will give ABA members 25 percent off and free shipping on any battery. Membership costs $35 a year, but anglers can save money by signing up for multiple years. A life membership costs $450.

American Bass Anglers is sponsored by Caymas Boats, Mercury Marine, MotorGuide, T-H Marine, Power Pole, RT Outdoors, Optima Batteries, Hotel Planner.com and LurePartsOnline.com.

About American Bass Anglers: American Bass Anglers is committed to providing low-cost, close-to-home tournaments for the weekend angler and, at the same time, offering each competitor an upward path for individual angler progression.

For more information about American Bass Anglers, the Open Series, the American Fishing Tour, the American Couples Series, the annual Military Team Bass Tournament, and the Top 150 Solo Tour, all presented by Caymas Boats, visit www.americanbassanglers.com or call (256) 232-0406.

This story was written by ABA staff writer John N. Felsher. To submit articles of interest email info@americanbassanglers.com.