JT Kenney’s Fearless Bass Pro Tour Predictions for 2021
Making predictions about professional sports is never an easy thing, unless you’re banking on Tom Brady playing in a Super Bowl. But making predictions about the MLF Bass Pro Tour is fairly impossible, thanks to unknown weather conditions and the fact that the quarry happens to be a wild, unpredictable creature.
Not that “fairly impossible” scares MLF NOW! analyst JT Kenney.
“I’ll give you my best shot for 2021 predictions, I’ve never been afraid of being wrong,” Kenney jokes.
Fearless Pick 1: The Youth Movement Will Continue
The Bass Pro Tour has the best young bass pros in the world on the 75-man roster – 2021 Angler of the Year Jordan Lee is the shining example – but Kenney is looking beyond the obvious in 2021.
“I think that one of our young guys is going to take the AOY title, truly young guys,” Kenney predicts. “These guys always do well… but always have at least one tournament that takes them out of contention. I think as a group they’re getting to the point where they’re comfortable and finding their groove. I know that sounds cliche, but I think it’s going to happen.
“These guys are learning to control themselves from spinning out when they make mistakes. They have a little ‘dammit’ in them, they know how to embrace their ‘dammit’ – they have the ability to just fish. You can way overanalyze your tournament day, and these anglers are learning how to relax.”
While Kenney believes that all of the Bass Pro Tour’s youngest anglers have a shot at glory, he lists a few that are on the cusp of having a breakthrough year.
“Adrian Avena is one of them,” he says. “He’s hungry, fishing both the MLF Bass Pro Tour and the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit. He’s getting enough experience under his belt to be dangerous. Zack Birge is right there, too. We started seeing him poke the bear the last couple of years. He didn’t win any but had some really good finishes. He’s definitely coming up toward the top.”
Kenney’s final pick in the “30 and under” category is a legacy angler who’s out to prove himself.
“Alton Jones Jr. is really jacked up and ready to win,” Kenney says. “He doesn’t seem like a guy who’s fishing for a living ‘just because his dad does it.’ He’s his own man and definitely hungry. Plus, he’s had some really good finishes and seems ready to make his move.”
Fearless Pick 2: A Vote for Experience
While the youth movement is a popular topic, Kenney doesn’t dismiss the potential of multiple anglers who bring 20-plus years of experience to the start of the 2021 season. His choices to shine in 2021 include former AOYs and multi-tournament victors, along with an affable former TV show host.
“Gary Klein has had a lot of changes lately – new boat, etc. – but I know he’s been spending a lot of time with Berkley designing stuff,” Kenney says. “He’s still really hungry, super focused. Mark Davis had some good days last year, I think he’s also definitely somebody who can come through.
“Shaw Grigsby jumps around the boat like he’s still in his 20s. He still has the fire, for sure. Shaw was with me recently, filming a TV show. We ended filming after three hours, and he wanted to stay out and keep fishing. So many guys are just done when we have the show, but not Shaw. He loves fishing. We fished for another three hours for fun with the cameraman. I can see him winning, and with Sam Rayburn on the schedule, he’s won there several times, you never know.”
Fearless Pick 3: Big Fish, Lots of Fish
Predicting when and where big bass will show up is even harder than picking anglers, but Kenney believes there will be some amazing fishing showcased on the 2021 Bass Pro Tour.
“There’s a good chance our big bass record may be broken at the Harris Chain in May,” Kenney says. “It’s not a ‘traditional’ time to host a Florida tournament, but that chain has some big bass. There’s typically a good topwater bite in Florida (in May), and the Harris Chain sets up right for that. It has the right color for it, and the right underwater grass. (The State of Florida) isn’t spraying the Harris Chain as bad as some of the other lakes. There’s a real solid offshore bite, too.”
Three Floridians have the best chance to shine at the Harris Chain, Kenney predicts.
“Bobby Lane and Terry Scroggins both should do well there,” he says. “Bobby has a ton of time on that water, as does Scroggins. I think Scroggins recently won a big local tournament on the Harris Chain. Another Florida guy who will be dangerous is John Cox. He says the Harris Chain is his favorite fishery. We filmed a show at a new Headwaters Lake in Florida – the Disney World of bass fishing – and asked if we could fish the Harris Chain (instead) because he catches them good there.”
As he examines the northern smallmouth factories that define the second half of the 2021 schedule, Kenney hones in on two locations that he predicts will produce a plethora of big smallies.
“We’ll see the biggest smallmouth we’ve ever caught on the Bass Pro Tour come out of the St. Lawrence in New York or Lake St. Clair in Michigan,” Kenney predicts. “Those locations are just putting out massive smallmouth bass. Both places are producing big fish, I can’t wait to see how big they are when we visit.”