Marbut stays steady to earn Toyota Series Championship crown
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – A lot happened in bass fishing in 2024. And the way off-seasons are these days, there could be more to come. But, if the year is going to be known for anything, it might be as the year of the minnow.
While strolling a jighead minnow won plenty of money in 2023 and earlier, it was often a technique plied by frontrunners, and rarely the majority of the field. This year, “Top 10 Baits” stories featured a cavalcade of minnows (or lies about them) – some named, some “unnamed” and known, and some still largely unknown. So, it seems a little fitting that the year ended like it began, with a big win by a minnow master.
Keith Poche gave it a great run, but in the end, Hayden Marbut convincingly won the Toyota Series Championship Presented by Bass Boat Technologies on Wheeler Lake – catching every fish on a minnow. It’s a bait that everyone in the field has now, but it’s still possible for the cream to rise to the top with any given technique, and Marbut has proven time and again that he’s a master at it. Weighing 21 pounds, 6 ounces on Day 1, the young Alabama pro set the bar high, and he stayed on the gas all the way. Weighing 19-10 on Day 2 kept him within striking distance after Poche dropped an incredible 27-pound stringer, and when the shallow-water expert faltered on Day 3, Marbut was there with 16-12 for a 57-12 total and the win.
Earning $235,000 for his efforts, the win also qualified him for REDCREST on Guntersville, which happens to be his home lake. Marbut has now banked $345,555 on the year in Toyota Series winnings alone – a spectacular amount of money for a 21-year-old and more than many pros win in several years. Of course, a hefty proportion of that is in the form of Phoenix MLF Bonus earnings, which he cashed in on twice this year.
Still, while the money spends, Marbut isn’t just in it for a cash grab – he has as much passion for tournament fishing as you can.
“It’s unbelievable,” he said. “You know, I told you on the phone during practice, ‘I want this one.’ I want to make REDCREST, and for it all to come together the way it did, it’s just unbelievable. I was able to stay calm all week – it was a little bit more stressful today, but I just kinda went fishing the first two days. I didn’t even feel like I was fishing the tournament. It was just like I was out there having fun, and everything was just falling into place. I just cannot believe it.”
The perfect setup for Marbut
Marbut fished all week along bluffs that were on the main lake near the mouth of the Elk River. While a bunch of pros ran a very similar pattern closer to the dam, most of them ended up faltering, and losing ground to anglers plying the flats. That would not be the case for Marbut. When he won the Toyota Series Central Division event this winter at Guntersville, he did it on bluffs as well, which meant he was extremely comfortable with the program.
“Honestly, I pretty much figured it out the first day I came out here in pre-practice,” he said. “I had, like, 20 pounds three weeks ago when it was it was colder, and there was more fish on it. And, it was what I love to fish, you know, similar to how I won Guntersville, and I was kinda stubborn after that.”
He tried the flats, marked some brush, and did other things. But, the first taste of Wheeler ended up being the best plan.
“I understand current, you know, how it affects different places down the lake, and current was definitely a major factor,” he said. “I was looking for the most obvious textbook stuff I could find – big channel swings, any point that stuck out into the river, anywhere a smallmouth could just pull up and feed. I wanted to have as many high-percentage areas as I could.”
Though plenty of pros ran bluffs for smallmouth, the zone of the lake that Marbut ended up in was key in his estimation.
“I had one main area, but in practice and pre-practice, down by the dam was better for me,” Marbut said. “But throughout the week I noticed those fish down there were getting pounded on pretty hard, and it’s clear water. Those fish are super smart, they’re big smallmouth, mostly down there.
“So, I bounced around the Elk and made that my home,” he said. “It had a little bit more stained water. And it’s one of the biggest channel swings in the lake that right above the Elk, and it just seems like a good place.”
The finer details
Despite putting himself in the best part of the lake and knowing what to throw, it still wasn’t a walk in the park. Catching four smallmouth and one meanmouth on Day 1, Marbut added in more largemouth every day after that, fishing mostly the same sorts of areas.
To do well every day required precise presentations and finely honed tackle.
“Especially the first day for the smallmouth, I definitely had to lead them, because they’re swimming so fast,” he said. “They’re hard to hit. You get one chance. If they see it out the corner of their eye and you hesitate and don’t present it right, they’re never gonna come up there and eat.”
For his tackle, Marbut used a Picasso Tungsten Ball Head, mostly in the 3/16-ounce size, several minnows, and a 6-foot, 10-inch, medium light G. Loomis NRX+ spinning rod and a few Shimano spinning reels. At Guntersville, Marbut used a 12-inch Garmin ECHOMAP, but he upgraded to a Garmin 1643xsv on his new boat, though kept mostly the same settings.
“I ran the blue color palette at Guntersville, but with the 16, I was running lava,” he said. “And, for settings, I was running 30-foot depth and 90-foot out, really, like, the same exact settings as Guntersville.”
Savvy beyond his years
On the final day, Marbut showed off why he’s been such a force in tournaments, from his college days at Auburn to now. In addition to a mastery of modern fishing, he’s got a real knack for all the other things that make tournaments hard.
With the bluff bite lagging a little on the final day, Marbut caught his kicker off brush he’d marked weeks ago.
“I found it in pre-practice and caught one fish out of it,” he said of the fateful pile. “Today, I was running around the lake, and I was like, maybe I should hit that. So, I pulled over there, and I caught that 4-pounder. I couldn’t even see it in there. I was just working my bait through it, and all of a sudden, it loaded up. That one settled me down a lot.”
Then, not knowing that Poche had failed to follow up his Day 2 success, Marbut pushed to the end, putting miles on the trolling motor while others were running back.
“The last day of pre-practice, I put in here at Ditto, and I ran all the way to the dam, and I put a stop sign every 10 minutes,” Marbut said. “So I knew exactly how much time I needed going 60 miles an hour, and I figured I’d be a little faster just to be safe. I timed it all out, and wanted to make sure I had a pretty bulletproof system, where I wasn’t gonna screw anything up.”
After hoisting the trophy, locking in REDCREST and picking up the big check, it’s safe to say that Marbut didn’t screw up.
Top 10 pros
1. Hayden Marbut – 57-12 (15) – $235,000 (includes $35,000 Phoenix Bonus)
2. Keith Poche – 52-10 (15) – $50,300
3. Laker Howell – 50-4 (15) – $30,000
4. Austin Swindle – 48-12 (15) – $35,000
5. Ethan Fields – 46-11 (15) – $30,000
6. Drew Gill – 44-4 (15) – $14,000
7. Brock Reinkemeyer – 44-3 (15) – $13,000
8. Levi Thibodaux – 42-10 (15) – $22,000
9. Zane Parker – 42-9 (15) – $11,000
10. Kennie Steverson – 41-4 (15) – $20,000
Divisional bonuses also awarded
The top-finishing boater from each division (not including the winner) earned a $10,000 bonus for placing highest in the event. Those anglers included:
Central: Austin Swindle, Parrish, Ala., 4th place, $10,000
Northern: Mike Raber, Elkhart, Ind., 3rd place, $10,000
Plains: Ethan Fields, Breese, Ill., 5th place, $10,000
Southern: Kennie Steverson, Umatilla, Fla., 10th place $10,000
Southwestern: Levi Thibodaux, Thibodaux, La., 8th place, $10,000
Western: Todd Kline, San Clemente, Calif., 32nd place, $10,000
Wild Card: Keith Poche, Pike Road, Ala., 2nd place, $10,000
International: Andrew Campbell, Rama, Ontario, Canada, 24th place $10,000