Elite

Top lures at Pasquotank River/Albemarle Sound

See the baits used by the Top 10 on the Pasquotank River and throughout the Albemarle Sound tributaries.

Posted on
Photography by
Dalton Tumblin
Photography by
Andy Crawford
Photography by
Shane Durrance
Captions by
Chase Sansom
Captions by
Craig Lamb
History was made on two fronts at the St. Croix Bassmaster Elite at Pasquotank River/Albemarle Sound. The playing field became the 11th venue in Elite Series history to produce a Bassmaster Century Club belt. 
Kyle Welcher joined an elite club with his stunning winning weight of 118 pounds, 2 ounces, that included a Day 3 double-digit largemouth weighing 10-8. And that’s not all. 
Welcher ran away with the tournament, posting daily weights of 30-11, 30-3, 34-0 and 23-14. His winning margin of 45-7 over Brandon Lester (with 73-5) now ranks as the largest in Elite history.
Welcher stayed on a roll with more accolades and why not? Many of his peers made lengthy round-trip runs in rough water through the Albemarle Sound to reach adjoining river systems. 
Instead, Welcher played it close by choosing a one-mile stretch of the Pasquotank River within a couple of miles of the weigh-in venue in Elizabeth City. See his winning bait and those used by the Top 10 in the prespawn and spawning conditions. 
Click here to buy these lures at Bass Pro Shops.
Kyle Patrick (10th; 62-4)
Patrick used a Neko wacky rig for finesse applications and a jig for heavy cover. 
He made the Neko rig with a 5-inch X Zone True Center Stick, rigged on a 1/0 Gamakatsu B10S Hook, or a No. 1 Neko Hook. 
For heavy cover he used a 1/2-ounce Greenfish Tackle Little Rubber Jig, with an X Zone Adrenaline Craw Jr. 
Shane LeHew (9th; 64-14)
LeHew’s primary lure was a buzzbait. 
That choice was a 1/8-ounce Berkley prototype buzzbait, rigged with a Berkley PowerBait Buzz’n Speed Toad.
Seith Feider (8th; 65-6)
Feider used a drop shot and bladed jig as his primary baits. 
A top choice was a Z-Man SMH WormZ rigged on a No. 1 VMC NK Finesse Hook, with a 1/8-ounce WOO! Tungsten Drop Shot Weight.
For heavy cover he used a 1/2-ounce Z-Man ChatterBait Elite EVO, with Z-Man ChatterShad for a trailer. 
Tyler Williams (7th; 66-2)
Williams stayed on a roll with a familiar setup for fishing heavy cover. 
That was a 3/8-ounce Greenfish Tackle Little Rubber Jig with a Yamamoto Flappin’ Hog for a trailer. 
Justin Hamner (6th; 67-2)
Hamner used a jerkbait for reaction strikes and a flipping package for coaxing bass from heavier cover. 
A Megabass jerkbait was the choice for covering water. 
For heavy cover he used a NetBait BaitFuel HexTek Rascal 3.5, rigged on a 4/0 Gamakatsu G-Power Heavy Cover Worm Flip and Punch Hook, with a 1/4-ounce weight.
Keith Combs (5th; 67-5)
Combs kept it simple with a flipping rig. 
His top lure was a Strike King Rage Bug, rigged on a 3/0 Owner 4X Jungle Flipping Hook, with a 5/16-ounce Strike King Tour Grade Tungsten Bullet Weight. 
Click here to buy these lures at Bass Pro Shops.
Easton Fothergill (4th; 68-6)
Fothergill kept it simple with a drop shot. 
He made it with a Strike King KVD Perfect Plastics Finesse Worm 6.5, rigged on a 1/0 Roboworm Rebarb Hook with a 1/8-ounce drop-shot weight. 
Trey McKinney (3rd; 72-1)
McKinney fished heavy cover with a jig and shaky worm setup, using the baits to coax bass from shallow wood used by spawning cycle largemouth. 
A top choice was a 5/16-ounce 6th Sense prototype jig, with a 6th Sense Bongo 3.7 for a trailer.
Alternatively, he used a Neko-rigged 6th Sense Divine Shakey Worm with 1/32-ounce weight in the head, and No. 2 stinger hook in middle of the worm. 
Brandon Lester (2nd; 73-5)
Lester alternated between a shaky head and drop shot. The presentation focused on a bottom hard spot near a bridge with the shaky head, while he switched to the drop shot around shallow cover located in the back of a secondary creek. 
He made the drop shot with a 6.5-inch LiveTarget Finesse Worm, rigged on a 3/0 Mustad Grip-Pin Edge Hook, with a 3/16 Mustad Tungsten TitanX Tungsten Drop Shot Weight. 
For the shaky head, he used a 6.5-inch LIveTarget Straight Tail Worm, rigged on a 1/8-ounce Spanker Jigs Magnum Spanky Head.
Kyle Welcher (1st; 118-12)
Welcher dialed into specific stumps and cypress knees used by spawning largemouth. 
His key lure was a CrushCity Bronco Bug, rigged on a 4/0 Gamakatsu G-Power Heavy Cover Worm Flip and Punch Hook, with a 1/4-ounce tungsten weight. Adding a simple bobber stop was key so the bait and weight stayed together. Doing so maximized the effectiveness of the complete package.  

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