Since 1982 Paul Elias has staked his angling success and reputation around the same technique. That is deep cranking.
Elias won the 1982 Bassmaster Classic “kneeling and reeling,” the term used in Bassmaster magazine to describe his winning technique. That later became known as deep cranking as we know it today, and Elias worked with sponsor Mann’s Bait Co. to develop the 20+ crankbait. Elias used the 20+ to catch 132 pounds, 8 ounces to score his last Elite Series victory in 2008.
Based on all the above I couldn’t help but notice his 8th place position in BASSTrakk. To me, that’s a hint on where this bass population might be in relation to the overall tournament. In transition is my educated guess, and more so on the back side of the spawn.
If Elias is cranking, and that is highly likely, it could mean post-spawn bass are moving back out to the ledges, where everyone wants them to be. If so, that is good news with four days remaining in the competition.
Elias is the barometer by which we can measure that theory. So is Jacob Wheeler, whose game plan all along for this derby is fishing the ledges. Pinpointing deep bass is his speciality. Wheeler also has been on fire thus far this season, and he’s currently in 6th place in BASSTrakk.