Patrick Walters drove his Yamaha-powered bass boat farther each day across Lake Ontario than most folks drive on their morning commute to the office. He pushed his 250-horsepower V MAX SHO to the limits across Lake Ontario for four days to set an all-time B.A.S.S. record of 105 pounds of tournament-winning smallmouth to net a $100,000 victory and a $4,000 bonus from the Yamaha Power Pay program.
“I never had a mechanical issue this week, and I have never had an issue with my outboard this entire Elite Series season,” said Walters, moments after winning the second blue trophy of his young career.
The South Carolina pro says he once considered himself pretty weak at the northern smallmouth fishing game, but worked hard to improve, and subsequently, is most proud of the fact he claimed victory in a portion of the pro fishing world where he once struggled.
Every one of the “bronzebacks” that comprised his record-setting weight bit a dropshot rig, oftentimes tipped with a Megabass Hazedong Shad. However, he jokes the new-look mustache he sported through three recent smallmouth derbies might have contained a bit of fish-attracting magic of its own.
“What an incredible week. A Bassmaster Century Belt, a blue trophy, a hundred-thousand bucks and a Yamaha Power Pay bonus. The only bad thing is I gotta shave the mustache off for my wife Emily,” he laughed.
Losing a bit of upper-lip fuzz is surely a minor sacrifice for the amount of incredible prosperity he experienced at work this past week on Lake Ontario near Clayton, N.Y., and he provided proof that if you fish tournaments and run a Yamaha, it’s definitely worth taking a few minutes to sign up for Power Pay by visiting https://yamahapowerpay.com/.
