Hometown Duo Lean On Rapala’s Crushcity Baits To Win Prestigious 2024 Kenora Bass Invitational, Become Two-Time Champions

On August 10, 2024, Rapala CrushCity Crew ambassadors Jamie Bruce and Bryan Gustafson won the 2024 Kenora Bass Invitational (KBI) on Lake of the Woods with a three-day weight of 56.36 pounds. The feat makes duo, both hailing from Kenora, two-time KBI champions, having previously won the event in 2014. 

We caught up with Bruce to get his thoughts on the importance of the KBI for Canadian bass fishing, and for a recap of the team’s triumph on Lake of the Woods.

Bruce and Gustafson have fished the KBI together since 2008. Being local lads, they’ve long held the prestigious event in high regard. 

For Bruce, recent travel to the US to compete in top-tier Bassmaster Open tournaments has only deepened his appreciation for the KBI, and the Northwestern Ontario tournament scene overall.

“The Kenora Bass International is really a crown jewel,” he said. “We have such a great community of volunteers and supporters around here that really do a lot to hype the bass scene, which is unlike anywhere I’ve ever been. The talent pool of anglers runs deep around here, and the anglers in this tournament are as competitive as they come…. There is a reason that so many good anglers cut their teeth at the KBI over the years.”

Much like 2014, 2024 saw KBI competitors fishing high water conditions favourable for catching quality bass shallow. Seizing the opportunity, Bruce and Gustafson focused efforts on targeting smallmouth and largemouth along shorelines out to depths around three feet — or, as Bruce is fond of saying — dirt shallow.

“We didn’t use any electronics in our shallow-water approach and fished ‘old school’ to the win, much like we did in 2014,” he said.

“We caught over half of our fish, both largemouth and smallmouth, on the CrushCity Cleanup Craw in both green pumpkin and black and blue,” said Bruce. “We had it Texas rigged for fishing wild rice, reed heads and cattails on 50-pound Sufix ProMix Braid to a 1/2-ounce VMC Tungsten Flippin’ Weight and a 4/0 VMC RedLine Heavy Duty Flippin’ hook.”

Day 1 saw them catch a 4.40-pound largemouth, which Bruce had landed when pre-fishing. Stinging a fish five days before a derby and then it biting again during competition is rare — a situation Bruce credits to the unique, fish-catching properties of Rapala’s CrushCity soft baits.

“There is something about CrushCity plastics that fish just eat, and both Bryan and I have had a lot of success on the Cleanup Craw…. That same 4.40 largemouth eating it twice in five days really highlighted how irresistible it is.”

Irresistible indeed. True to its CrushCity DNA, the Cleanup Craw is made using Smart Injection Technology, Rapala’s exclusive manufacturing process for soft plastics. This innovative method precisely impregnates custom combinations of salt, scent, colour and flake into CrushCity soft plastic formulas (Super TPE and PVC/Plastisol, respectively) to produce performance-tuned soft baits that deliver the perfect combination of life-like action, buoyancy, salt and taste fish can’t resist — even ones hooked on CrushCity baits only a few day ago.

When Bruce and Gustafson weren’t landing bass on Cleanup Craws, they fished Rapala’s CrushCity The Mayor on a 1/8-ounce Smeltinator Jig head, swimming the presentation through holes in grass and along shallow rock banks. The bite-sized, 3-inch swimbait in green pumpkin proved ideal for triggering strikes from shallow smallmouth feeding on craws and other skinny-water snacks. 

For the uninitiated, the ultra-realistic Smeltinator Jig is the brainchild of Gustafson, and has long been a pro favourite for the KBI, Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship and countless other elite-level tournaments north and south of the border. Naturally, the Smeltinator’s lifelike qualities pair perfectly with The Mayor’s natural profile, distinct, subtle tail swinging action and noticeable, yet not overbearing, degree of enticing belly roll — a fact Gustafson is familiar with having used the combination to win the 2023 Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship.

Bruce caught his contribution of the team’s 2024 KBI winning weight using the soon-to-be-released 13 Fishing Myth rods. A 7’3” Medium-Heavy Myth casting model paired with a Concept A baitcaster was his go-to for flipping the Cleanup Craw.

“I like using the shorter rod for accuracy, and have found a medium-heavy is the best action for me to increase the landing ratio, instead of the conventional ‘broom stick’ fishing rod. Flipping for three days is demanding on your wrist, and these new Myth rods are so light weight and balanced that it makes it easy to keep at er’.”

A 7’4” Myth spinning rod, using Sufix 10-pound ProMix Braid to a 12-pound Advanced Fluorocarbon Leader was Bruce’s preferred setup when fishing The Mayor. He explains:

“I like the longer tapering action of this rod to soak up anything that a craw-eating, shallow-water smallmouth can throw at you. They fight so hard here, and there are so many boulders and obstacles for them to drag your line into, that’s why we run the abrasion-resistant 12-pound Sufix Advance Leader instead of traditional 8- to 10-pound.”

Speaking for the team, Bruce acknowledges they were fortunate to be able to capitalize on opportunities at quality fish and, in turn, make critical culls needed to secure their 2024 KBI winning weight. Having a bass caught in pre-fish bite again on Day 1 to see them weigh-in 20.16-pounds undoubtedly provided a confidence boost, but the seasoned tournament anglers knew securing a win would require the right circumstances to occur again the remaining two days. 

Fortunately, it did.

On Day 2 they brought 17.76-pounds to the scale. Then weighed 18.44-pounds on Day 3 thanks, in part, to some good fortune in the last hours of the tournament.

Weights found HERE.

“We ran some old memories and culled up with a 4-pounder and a pair of 3.5s in the final afternoon, which put us over the top. The field is so competitive, that without things going exactly your way, you’re not going to win,” Bruce said.

The two-time champs are already looking forward to competing in the KBI together next year, something Bruce says has always been a priority, since 2008 when they first fished the event as a team.

“While conflicting tournaments and schedules don’t allow us to fish any other tournaments together, this is one that we never miss. In 2009, we took my ’97, 17-foot bass boat through the Top-10 boat parade on the final day, and make it a goal every year to chase that feeling.  Hopefully, we’ll be able to keep the team going for another 30 years.”