Iowan wins Open with 28-10 stringer

JASPER, Texas — Foul weather trimmed the Bassmaster Open at Sam Rayburn Reservoir from a three-day tournament to a one-day derby. So, before competition even began, the 233 competing anglers knew they’d have to go big if they wanted to go home a winner.

Chris Miller of Spirit Lake, Iowa, found the right bites Friday, weighing a limit of five bass totaling 28 pounds, 10 ounces. That clinched the win for the 37-year-old homebuilder who’d fished in only eight B.A.S.S. events prior to his victory at Rayburn.

Miller collected a hefty $52,086 cash prize with the win, part of a $345,850 cash purse split among the Top 45 anglers competing on the 114,500-acre reservoir in east Texas.

“I knew it was just a matter of keeping my head down and running into a few (big bass),” Miller said, noting a 41-pound limit caught in a team tournament on Rayburn earlier this month. “And still, you’re either around them or you’re not. You still have to catch them.”

Stiff winds forced Thursday’s Day 1 competition to be postponed, though B.A.S.S. officials remained hopeful they still could pull off a two-day tournament. Saturday’s forecast of severe thunderstorms and sustained winds of 15-20 mph forced that day to be cancelled, as well, which dialed up the pressure to perform on Friday.

Miller shined in the spotlight. He set up near natural drains and fished for spawning bass in as little as 6 feet of water, as well as transitioning fish that cruised ledges some 15 to 20 feet below the surface.

“They were stationed a little deeper in practice, but I knew they would come to the drains,” he said. “These storms had them messed up, but they came to me. I went from shallow to deep all day … I timed it just right.”

Miller jumped to the top of the BassTrakk board around 10:30 a.m. on Friday after boating a pair of monster bass within a 15-minute span. His biggest fish, a 9-6, came on a Strike King Z-Too jerkbait. It paired perfectly with the 7-pounder he caught in the same area using a white 7-inch Berkley PowerBait Nessie swimbait. He credited Berkley Forward Braid for helping him put the lures precisely where he wanted them over big bass.

“The key was keeping the bait on top of them, not letting it fall,” Miller said.

Miller primarily fishes Spirit Lake and West Okoboji Lake back home in Iowa. He noted the differences between those smaller fisheries and a mammoth reservoir like Rayburn but said he’s getting increasingly comfortable on other water bodies.

“(The lakes I fish at home) are more deep weedlines, a lot of docks,” he said. “There’s no shad. It’s a whole different animal. But these last couple of years fishing in the Opens, I’ve really started to pick up on how these shad lakes work.

“You cut your teeth and learn a lot fishing these big tournaments … Hopefully I can keep the momentum rolling at Kentucky Lake,” which is the next Division 2 Open, scheduled for March 6-8 in Paris, Tenn.

The Top 50 anglers in both the Division 1 and Division 2 Open standings will qualify for the Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers series. Top anglers following the three EQ tournaments, which are scheduled for September through November, will earn invitations to the 2026 Bassmaster Elites Series.

Missouri’s Brad Jelinek caught a 9-8 largemouth and won the Phoenix Boats Big Bass Award of $750. He finished sixth overall with 22-7 and won $12,501.

Here are the numbers for the Top 10:

1. Chris Miller -- Spirit Lake, IA -- 5, 28-10

2. Garrett Paquette -- Canton, MI -- 5, 23-15

3. Pake South -- Winnsboro, TX -- 5, 23-11

4. Jack Dice -- Lynchburg, VA -- 5, 23-03

5. Jaden Parrish -- Liberty, TX -- 5, 23-02

6. Brad Jelinek -- Lincoln, MO -- 5, 22-07

7. Brennan Flick -- West Monroe, LA -- 5, 22-03

8. Tommy Parker -- Delano, MN -- 5, 21-11

9. Fisher Anaya -- Eva, AL -- 5, 21-06

10. Yui Aoki – Minamitsurugun, JAPAN -- 5, 21-05

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