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BIG CATCH — Longview angler Lee Livesay grabbed his third Bassmaster Elite Series trophy last week with another dominating performance at Lake Fork. Submitted photo
Longview’s Lee Livesay was the heavy fan favorite to grab the biggest prize the Simms Bassmaster Elite Series event held May 19-22 at Lake Fork east of Dallas. He didn’t disappoint.
After four days of mining the stump-filled filled reservoir with assorted crank baits, jigs, shaky head worms and a flutter spoon, Livesay tallied the heaviest of weight of four anglers to crack triple digits on 20 bass.
Livesay’s winning total of 113-11 earned him a $100,000 pay day and sealed his second career Elite Series victory on his home lake in as many tries. It’s his third Elite Series win in the last three seasons. His previous wins came in April 2021 when he cracked 112-5 at Fork and in 2020 at Lake Chickamauga in Tennessee. The 37-year-old pro has accumulated nearly $688,000 in earnings since competing in his first Bassmaster Central Open in 2016.
Livesay, who grabbed the lead to stay on Day 2, was followed in the standings by Idaho’s Brandon Palaniuk (102-2), Alabama’s Gerald Swindle (102-2), North Carolina’s Shane LeHew (100-9) and Marc Frazier of Georgia (100-9).
Other Texas pros who competed were Chris Zaldain of Fort Worth (40th), Keith Combs of Huntington (59th), Clark Wendlandt of Leander (62nd) Frank Talley of Temple (77th) and Ray Hanselman of Del Rio, 80th.