What do you do when you can't use LiveScope to find the bass?
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you → do → bass
You ask the deer, obviously.
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You → ask → deer
Kaden Buchmann went wire-to-wire to win the first Bassmaster Elite Qualifier of the season Friday at Norfork Lake in Arkansas, finishing the three-day tournament with 42 pounds, 7 ounces.
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Buchmann → go → pounds
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page → contain → partners
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News → sign → wager
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that → create → newsroom
But the fun part is how the 22-year-old found some of those fish.
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old → find → fish
Forward-facing sonar was not allowed for the Norfork event, one of three Elite Qualifiers that will ultimately determine which 10 anglers earn invitations to the 2027 Bassmaster Elite Series.
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anglers → face → Series
So Buchmann had to find another way to figure out where bass might be hiding — and, more importantly, where 130-plus other anglers hadn't already been.
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anglers → have → way
His solution was to ask the locals.
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solution → ask → locals
With so many boats working a relatively small reservoir, Buchmann started watching the shoreline for deer.
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Buchmann → work → deer
If deer were hanging out close to the water, chances were pretty good another angler hadn't just come ripping through that pocket and scared them off.
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angler → hang → them
"If I saw 15 deer in a pocket, I'd say, 'I'm getting bit here,'" Buchmann told Bassmaster.
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Buchmann → see → Bassmaster
And, somehow, it worked.
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it → work → ?
Buchmann spotted more than 30 deer during the opening day of competition — including a 9-point buck — and used their presence as a clue for finding areas that hadn't seen as much fishing pressure.
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that → spot → pressure
He weighed 16 pounds, 7 ounces that day to take the tournament lead.
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He → weigh → lead
Then he did it again.
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he → do → it
On Day 2, Buchmann once again spent part of his morning looking for deer and said he caught two quality bass in a pocket where he had spotted them.
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he → spend → them
"We can't use (forward-facing sonar) this week, so you just have to fish where you think they're gonna be," he told Bassmaster.
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he → use → Bassmaster
To be clear, Buchmann did a whole lot more than follow deer around Norfork Lake.
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Buchmann → do → Lake
Bassmaster credited his speed, mental toughness and ability to stay away from other competitors as major factors in the win.
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Bassmaster → credit → win
He covered enormous stretches of the lake, kept his trolling motor running high and targeted everything from docks to shaded shoreline with a topwater bait and skipping jig.
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motor → cover → bait
On the final day alone, he said four of the fish he weighed came from places he had never previously fished.
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he → say → places
"I fished the whole lake," Buchmann said after the win.
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Buchmann → fish → win
"I fished from about 3 miles from Missouri, all the way down to a pocket by the Norfork Dam."
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I → fish → Dam
It all added up to a wire-to-wire victory.
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It → add → victory
Buchmann opened with 16-7, added 14 pounds on Day 2 and survived a tougher final round with another 12 pounds.
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Buchmann → open → pounds
His 42-7 total beat runner-up Cody Stahl by 1 pound, 14 ounces and earned Buchmann $71,317 along with an invitation to compete in the 2027 Bassmaster Classic at Lake Hartwell.
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total → beat → Hartwell
There are still two Elite Qualifiers remaining before the 10 Bassmaster Elite Series invitations are handed out, so Buchmann has plenty of work left to do.
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Buchmann → be → work
But now that his deer-scouting secret is out, don’t be surprised if there are a few more anglers watching the shoreline next time.
Love all things fishing and outdoors?
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secret → be → things
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