In a tournament where most if the top finishers were all doing the same thing (throwing topwaters) it was Davy Hite that was doing something different to bury the competition and run away with the “Pride of Augusta” tournament on Clarks Hill Reservoir.  You could say he “mopped up” the competition.

1st – Davy Hite relied on his years of experience that comes with living within 40 minutes of the lake.  He decided that going for ‘down fish’ rather than surface feeding fish would be the answer to this tournament.  They key was a Buckeye Pro Jig made by the same company that makes the Spot Remover.  Important factor was the large diameter living rubber skirt of the just that makes it look like a softball falling though the water.  He fished his jog on main lake shoals and points on days 1-3 and then on day 4 he switched to a Storm Wild Eye Swim Shad in a shad hues.

2nd – Kenyon Hill lived and died by the topwater by making milk runs from point to point with a Cotton Cordell Pencil Popper and Heddon Zara Spook .  He had a huge bag the first day but could never match that though the next 3 days.  He just made 10-15 casts at each spot and knew if he kept moving, he would find fish feeding on herring and catch them, it was just the lack of big bites that held him back.

3rd – Jason Quinn rotated between a Cotton Cordell Pencil Popperand a brown 1/2oz Tru-Tungsten Jig for when the fish were not chasing herring.  He also weighed a couple fish on a Gambler Super Stud soft jerkbait.  Quinn mainly focused on the blueback herring spawn on main lake shoals as well.

4th – Kevin Wirth fished a lot like Quinn except he carolina-rigged a Gulp! Sinking Minnow instead of a jig for his down fish.  80% of the fish were caught on a Super Spook topwater in a Lake Fork Shad color.  He mainly targeted main lake points but he did into some main pockets as well.

5th – Randy Howell actually got better as the tournament went on, which he attributes to just getting the timing down and hitting the right points at the correct times for prime activity of the herring & bass.    He also fished a Pencil Popper, but he would wait until fish started to crash before he would even make a cast.  He also caught 4 keepers on a 3/4oz Hawg Caller 3-blade spinnerbait in a blueback herring color.

I only wish we had topwater action like this in MN, sometimes on the Mississippi River, but that is about it.

Rich
www.richlindgren.com
basstournament.blogspot.com