Yesterday afternoon Carl Jocumsen plucked a 4-pound kicker from a bridge point and boosted himself from the lower end of the field to 40th place with 14-4. Through that catch, the Australian pro shared two key lessons.
First, as long as you’re fishing, you’re never out of it. He’s capitalizing on that boost this morning with an unofficial top-10 placement in the first couple hours of competition.
Second, Jocumsen caught that fish on a jig and noted that this presentation tends to trigger Guntersville’s heavily pressured bass. With crankbaits seeing a lot of action on the bridge riprap, a jig, he said, can be more convincing.
Addressing the obvious drawbacks, Jocumsen offered this advice: “I get a lot of questions about ‘How do you fish that jig without getting hung up?’ I do get hung up and you have to have a few techniques to shoot it backwards and free the jig.
“The key is to pitch right at the rocks, keep a high rod angle and just bounce that jig over the rocks. The fish eat it because they’re not used to seeing that presentation.”