DOTL: Jay Yelas
Date: March 9, 2020
Venue: Lake E, a flatland reservoir
Water: 52 degrees, stained
Weather: Cloudy, windy, high of 59 degrees, approaching storm front
Pro: Jay Yelas, 54, Lincoln City, Ore. One of the superstars of bass fishing during the 1990s and early 2000s, Yelas qualified for 16 consecutive Classics, won the 2003 Classic, was Angler of the Year in 2003 and pocketed $1.3 million in B.A.S.S. earnings. He switched to FLW in 2006, where he was Angler of the Year twice and won another $1 million. Yelas returned to the Elite Series in 2019. Besides competing in tournaments, he heads the C.A.S.T. for Kids Foundation, a fishing charity for special needs children.
Boat: Skeeter FXR21 with a 250-horsepower Yamaha outboard, Minn Kota trolling motor, Garmin electronics and twin Power-Pole shallow-water anchors
1997, I was fishing a small lake with a buddy. The bite was painfully slow. “I wonder how a pro would fish this little lake,” I mused. “That’ll never happen,” my pal replied, laughing. “Pros only fish big bodies of water!” True, but on the drive home, the idea gnawed at me. Suppose I put a big-name B.A.S.S. pro on some dinky no-name lake, one he’d never set eyes on before. Where would he fish? What lures would he use? I figured I could do the story like a timeline, logging every lure, location and presentation decision the pro made within a set time period. I discussed the idea with editor Dave Precht. He liked it, and we agreed that Oregon pro Jay Yelas, who was burning up the B.A.S.S. circuit at the time, would be a great candidate for our “Day On The Lake” challenge. I called the amiable Yelas, and he instantly took the bait. The outing took place April 23, 1998, on “Lake X,” a microdot of a reservoir smack in the middle of nowhere. The day started off cold and cloudy, with Yelas catching quality fish by skipping a pink weightless worm under overhanging trees and bushes. Around noon, the sun came out, and he switched to a sight fishing pattern, successfully tempting bedding bass with a smorgasbord of finesse lures. After considerable culling, Yelas ended his seven-hour challenge with a stunning five-fish limit totaling 24 pounds, 8 ounces, capped by a 7-pound toad. The article was published in the February 1999 issue, and the combination of big-fish photos and Yelas’ informative narrative was a hit with readers. Since then, “Day On The Lake” has become a tradition. It was a real honor for us when Yelas accepted his second DOTL challenge, this one on March 9, 2020, at hyper-obscure Lake E. As you’re about to discover, Yelas can still summon up the mojo required to score a bodacious bag of bass!
