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Top lures at Lake Ouachita

Get a closer look at the lures that topped the leaderboard during the St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Lake Ouachita presented by SEVIIN.

Posted on
Photography by
Andy Crawford
Captions by
Christopher Decker
Challenging conditions faced anglers competing in the St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Lake Ouachita presented by SEVIIN. This was the first time in more than 20 years the Bassmaster tournament trail visited the beautiful lake in central Arkansas.
Regardless of the conditions, big bass showed up every day of the tournament. Canadian angler Evan Kung landed a 9-14 on Day 1 before Zach Goutremout caught this 10-14 largemouth on Day 2. Both of those bass launched their respective anglers into the final day of competition.
For Benton, Ark., angler Jeremiah Kindy, fishing to his strengths was the key to success. While many of the out-of-towners elected to fish deep for bass still in their winter holes, Kindy went shallow to catch early prespawners to secure his first Opens victory.
Mid-February can bring any type of weather, which means you need a variety of gear to match the conditions. Bass Pro Shops has everything you need to find later winter success, including the baits the pros used this week to cash checks. Visit Basspro.com and browse their large selection of baits, terminal tackle and so much more!
Zach Goutremout (10th place, 38-2): Goutremout rallied on Day 2 with a 22-0 bag to jump into the Top 10. He used two setups to catch his bass.
Goutremout caught his 10-14 largemouth using this bombshell colored Missile Baits Spunk Shad rigged on a 1/2-ounce jighead.
He also threw this albino pearl colored Missile Baits Spunk Shad on a 1/2-ounce jighead. This particular head created a more erratic fall, which helped him pick up a couple of extra bites.
Evan Kung (9th place, 42-5): The Canadian pro was all in on using his forward-facing sonar on Lake Ouachita.
A Great Lakes Finesse Drop Minnow rigged on a 3/16-ounce Dirty Jigs Guppy Head generated important bites.
He also alternated between 1/4-ounce and 3/8-ounce Northland Smeltinator jigheads paired with various fluke style baits.
Paul Marks (8th place, 42-8): The Georgia pro claimed his second Top 10 of the season throwing these three baits.
This Spro McStick in the cell mate color produced several key bass.
For targeting bass on forward-facing sonar, he used a Greenfish Tackle Bad Little Shad paired with a Zoom Super Fluke.
A plum crazy Zoom Magnum Trick Worm was a key presentation. He built his Texas rig using a 5/0 Gamakatsu hook and a 1/2-ounce sinker.
Christian Ostrander (7th place, 43-8): The California pro used two baits to catch bass this week on Ouachita.
This homemade spinnerbait was essential to his Day 2 success. The spinnerbait features two Indiana blades and he used a Zoom Grub for a trailer.
He also caught key bass on a Spro RkCrawler.
Andrew Hargrove (6th place, 44-3): The Texas pro used one main presentation to catch his bass this week.
This 6th Sense Provoke 106 DD jerkbait was the key to success. This particular color is called Wabi-Sabi.
Click here to buy these lures at Bass Pro Shops.
Blake Schroeder (5th place, 44-12): Schroeder rotated between two different baits to notch a Top 10 finish.
Schroeder crawled a fire craw colored 1/2-ounce Z-Man Evergreen JackHammer along the bottom of the lake. He paired his bladed jig with a Big Bite Baits Kamikaze Swimon trailer.
He also built a Damiki rig using a 1/4-ounce Queen Tackle tungsten jighead and a Strike King Baby Z-Too.
Logan Johnson (4th place, 44-14): Johnson rotated between two different Damiki-style presentations on Ouachita.
A 1/4-ounce Dirty Jigs Guppy Head paired with a 3-inch Castaic Jerky J swimbait caught the majority of his bass.
For a different look, Johnson rigged a Deps Sakamata shad on a 1/4-ounce Dirty Jigs Guppy Head.
Andy Newcomb (3rd place, 45-12): Newcomb used two different baits to finish in the Top 10 this week.
Newcomb crawled a 1/2-ounce Z-Man Evergreen JackHammer along shallow rocks. A Strike King Rage Menace was his trailer of choice.
He also threw a Bait Cave Customs Slim Stick wacky style on a weedless Neko hook.
Matt Baker (2nd place, 46-13): The Arkansas native did a little bit of everything to notch a Top 10.
In stained water, Baker dragged a 1/2-ounce War Eagle Football jig. This one was paired with a Strike King Rage Craw, but he has used several different trailers.
A 1/2-ounce or 3/4-ounce royal red Booyah One Knocker caught several key bass for Baker this week. He also mixed in a Booyah Hard Knocker.
This pro blue Megabass 110 +1 was also a key bait.
If he saw a bass roaming in open water, he tossed a 1/4-ounce Yum FF Sonar jighead paired with a 3-inch Yum FF Sonar Minnow in Houdini Shad.
Jeremiah Kindy (1st place, 52-3): The Arkansas native used an old-school approach to claim victory on his home lake this week.
He utilized this Norman Deep Little N in the chili bowl color when conditions were calmer.
This 3/4-ounce Booyah lipless crankbait in Rayburn red was also a key bait.
To achieve a faster fall, he also threw a 3/4-ounce Duo Realis lipless crankbait.

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