Photo: Kyle Jessie - During the 2021 Bassmaster Elite Series season, Justin Hamner ran a Falcon Boats F205 powered by a 250 horsepower Mercury ProXS. Photo: Kyle Jessie - The 2021 season was Hamner's first out of a Falcon boat, and he accredits a lot of his success to his boat and motor.
Photo: Kyle Jessie - The bow of Hamner's Falcon F205 is home to a Minn Kota Ultrex. Photo: Kyle Jessie - Hamner loves the popular "spot-lock" feature. Photo: Kyle Jessie - Over the course of the year, Hamner utilized Garmin LiveScope to have success.
Photo: Kyle Jessie - The bow of the boat is home to a Garmin GPSMAP 1022 as well as a Lowrance HDS 12 Live. Photo: Kyle Jessie - Hamner uses his Garmin solely for LiveScope and utilizes his Lowrance for mapping. Photo: Kyle Jessie - The Alabama native fished with his dad the night before, so he still had a few rods out on the deck.
Photo: Kyle Jessie - Lets dig into the compartments on the front deck. Photo: Kyle Jessie - As you can see, all three of the compartments on his Falcon lift vertically, unlike most boats on the market. Photo: Kyle Jessie - The center compartment is home to the majority of his tackle.
Photo: Kyle Jessie - Hamner pulls out one of the three jerkbait boxes he keeps in the boat at all times. Photo: Kyle Jessie - He shows off one of his favorites — a Megabass Ito Shiner. You can tell this bait has caught a few.Photo: Kyle Jessie - A box full of swim jigs is the next box Hamner pulls out.
Photo: Kyle Jessie - The Freedom Tackle FT Swim Jig is one of Hamner's favorites. Photo: Kyle Jessie - One of his favorite features is the double barb trailer keeper. Photo: Kyle Jessie - Next, Hamner pulls out two of his favorite frogs — the Snag Proof Phat Frog and the Snag Proof Bobby's Perfect Frog.
Photo: Kyle Jessie - "I really like the Phat Frog for fishing around mats, but the Bobby's frog is my go-to for skipping and fishing around cover on the bank," he said. Photo: Kyle Jessie - A box of True Bass Swimbaits always has a spot in Hamner's boat. Photo: Kyle Jessie - Hamner shows off a "Turbo" colored True Bass swimbait.
Photo: Kyle Jessie - On to the rod box. Hamner loves that the rod locker opens vertically. It allows him to put in and take out rods from outside of the boat with ease. Photo: Kyle Jessie - "I usually carry 40 to 50 rods in the boat," Hamner said. "Even if I'm really dialed in, I'll still have over 15 rods in the boat." Photo: Kyle Jessie - The driver's side rod locker is home to more tackle.
Photo: Kyle Jessie - Hamner pulls out one of his favorite boxes in the boat — a box full of Netbait Kickin B's.Photo: Kyle Jessie - "The Kickin B is probably the most versatile bait I own," he said. "It's a jig trailer, buzzbait trailer, flipping bait or even a punching bait."Photo: Kyle Jessie - Big swimbait alert!
Photo: Kyle Jessie - Like many of his Elite Series counterparts, Hamner carries a box of big swimbaits just in case the situation calls for it. Photo: Kyle Jessie - He carries a mixture of larger than average soft plastic swimbaits as well as a good assortment of hard baits. Photo: Kyle Jessie - Hamner carries a variety of different pliers and scissors.
Photo: Kyle Jessie - Next to the pliers and scissors is a day box that has a number of miscellaneous items.Photo: Kyle Jessie - The step to the front deck is also a cooler. Photo: Kyle Jessie - Unfortunately, the cooler was empty.
Photo: Kyle Jessie - Next, Hamner digs into the compartment in between the two seats. Photo: Kyle Jessie - More miscellaneous items fill this box as well. Photo: Kyle Jessie - Hamner was interrupted by this butterfly, who was very fond of the Elite Series pro.
Photo: Kyle Jessie - ...Photo: Kyle Jessie - Unlike most Elite Series pros, Hamner only runs one graph at the console. Photo: Kyle Jessie - Another Lowrance HDS 12 Live is his choice at the console.
Photo: Kyle Jessie - The compartment behind the passenger seat is home to more tackle. Photo: Kyle Jessie - A box of old balsa crankbaits is the first one that Hamner pulls out. Photo: Kyle Jessie - Inside the box is a variety of crankbaits that are very difficult to find.
Photo: Kyle Jessie - "This is the best crankbait in the world at coming through wood," Hamner said about the old school Bagley Killer B3. Photo: Kyle Jessie - A pile of Netbait soft plastics fill the top of the compartment. Photo: Kyle Jessie - "Fish go in here," he said jokingly about the livewell.
Photo: Kyle Jessie - The compartment behind the driver's seat is home to a number of items, including lifejackets, a spare prop and his Buck N' Bass Rain Suit. Photo: Kyle Jessie - "This is the first rainsuit that I've ever had that actually stays dry all day," he said. "Whatever weight it is when you put it on dry is the exact same weight that it is when you put it up at the end of the day." Photo: Kyle Jessie - ...
Photo: Kyle Jessie - Hamner carries a box full of tools in this compartment as well. Luckily in 2021, Hamner didn't have to pull this box out very often. Photo: Kyle Jessie - On to the battery compartment. Photo: Kyle Jessie - Hamner runs all X2 Batteries. "I know lithium batteries are the new thing, but to be honest with you I just love the reliability of the AGMs," he said.
Photo: Kyle Jessie - He uses SonarPros wiring harnesses to maximize his power. Photo: Kyle Jessie - "You get the clearest images on your electronics," he said. Photo: Kyle Jessie - Like so many other Elites, Hamner runs a Power-Pole Charge system.
Photo: Kyle Jessie - One of his favorite features of the boat is the entire battery compartment. There is so much space and it is easy to access the batteries. Photo: Kyle Jessie - As mentioned earlier, Hamner's Falcon is powered by a 250 horsepower Mercury ProXS. Photo: Kyle Jessie - Two 8-foot Power-Pole Blades get the nod as Hamner's shallow water anchors. Thanks for the tour, Justin!
