Find out what the Top 5 anglers did to prosper at the first ever BASS Major event. This unique tournament held the event on two different lakes, so often the days 1-2 (Eagle Mountain Lake) patterns are different then days 3-4 (Lake Benbrook)
1st – Peter Thliveros “stroked” a Team Supreme Rascal Ultimate Jig along RipRap near the dam to qualify in 7th place. “It was more of a reaction bite than a feeding bite. I was stroking the jig hard getting them to react to it.” Other anglers were in the area – notably Mike Wurm, Denny Brauer and Kevin VanDam – but he was the only one there who made the cut. On day 3 Peter T. duplicated this pattern at Benbrook for two holes, on day 4 he had to rely on a Team Supreme Rascal jig around targets and rocks flats. He used a Zoom Salty Pro Chunks and Critter Craws (pumpkin/chart) on his jigs. Peter T. attributes his success to sticking with his pattern and adapting on Day 4.
2nd – Mike Iaconelli had 3 patterns at Eagle Mt., but as the tournament progressed, he chose to focus on one. That’s what led to his stunning day 2 bag, and his rise from 19th to 1st on cut day. The one he settled in on was the same one he fished at Benbrook. He said. “Basically, I was fishing rock banks. What that means is it could have been riprap, or a bridge piling, or chunk rock, or what I call sandstone rock. “Anytime you found rock that had some depth – like on a 45-degree-angle break – that really held the fish for me on both lakes.” He threw two baits – a new Berkley Power Shakey worm (green pumpkin) on a 1/8oz Tru-Tungsten Ikey Head Ball Buster Jigs . The other was a prototype Berkley finesse jig. Ike credits confidence in finesse techniques along with forcing himself to slow down.
3rd – Edwin Evers, like much of the field, focused on boat docks to make the cut. The key difference, was he was targeting suspended fish around and under docks. He mostly threw a spinnerbait, but also a Lambert’s Chatter (a custom bait). He also swam a jig. At Benbrook, he caught a fish the first day on a Lucky Craft RC 1.5 – it was guarding fry. He also caught one on the spinnerbait and another dragging a lizard. On day 4 he caught four on a centipede and one a 1/2-ounce Bass Pro Shops football-head jig. Most of this gear was Bass Pro Shops branded gear. Edwin credits versatility to success at the inaugural major.
4th – Mark Menendez primarily fished Strike King 3/4oz Spinnerbait and a 3 ½-inch Strike King Pro Model Jig , not sure on the types of cover or structure.
5th – Skeet Reese fished a 3/8oz Terminator Football jig & 5/8oz Terminator Pro Top Secret Jig to make the cut. In the mornings he fished rock points with the football and after 9am he fished the back corners of docks with the other Jig . He highlighted downsized jigs as a key factor to success.
You can see this event on ESPN2 Saturday Morning this weekend!
Rich
www.richlindgren.com
basstournament.blogspot.com
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