In the following, check out how it’s done PREDICTING winning and high-placing patterns. And remember: This is just one thing BassGold does!
Lake Toho, Kissimmee, Fla. (Natural Lake/River)
BassGold predicted that this tournament would most likely be won by flipping soft plastics around shallow vegetation, both submergent (under the water) and emergent (extending above the water). Winner Rich Howes and runner-up Daniel Lanier (it was decided in a fish-off) did exactly that â on Lake Kissimmee.
BassGold score: A
Grand Lake, Tulsa, Okla. (Upland Reservoir)
BassGold 100 percent nailed the winning pattern and weight (within 6 ounces) for the 2012 Bassmaster Classic, so expectations were high this year. Few February tournaments are held on Grand, so BassGold used March data to predict that the Classic would be won fishing shoreline wood and rock with jigs, crankbaits, jerkbaits and spinnerbaits. BassGold was on the money again, except that docks were important and spinnerbaits weren’t, even though some locals thought blades would be a factor.
Weight-wise, BassGold showed that March tournament winners needed in the low 20 pounds per day to win, and Classic winner Cliff Pace had about 18 per day. Figure in a slight discount for nasty weather in February, and that’s about right.
BassGold score: A-
Lake Amistad, Del Rio, TX (Upland Reservoir)
BassGold predicted that main lake offshore and main lake points would be big, with various areas from ledges/drops to spawning beds potentially effective this time of year. Top baits were spinnerbaits and worms/Senkos, with lizards/creatures, football jigs and crankbaits second.
The winners â New Mexico State University’s Tanner Cooper and Memo Nunez â fished deep ledges leading to spawning flats with jigs, Carolina rigs and Texas rigs.
BassGold score: A
Sabine River, Orange, Texas (Tidal)
Since BassGold’s data hounds couldn’t find any bass tournaments held on the Sabine that time of year, we used BassGold’s “search by water type” (instead of water body) function. The Sabine River is tidal and on the Louisiana border, so we created a pattern report for tidal waters in Louisiana. BassGold predicted that wood and vegetation in backwaters or along river shorelines would be best, with a combo of moving baits and flipping baits.
Winner Todd Faircloth fished “a bayou off a bayou” in Taylor’s Bayou, meaning a backwater. On a shallow flat with wood and vegetation, he targeted the veggies with a swimbait â a bait now often used instead of an older-school spinnerbait â and a Senko-like Strike King Ocho.
BassGold score: A-
Pretty darn good for not having any patterns specific to that body of water! That’s why searching by WATER TYPE is often just as valuable as water body â which works because BassGold has so much data.
Falcon Lake, Zapata, Texas (Lowland Reservoir)
BassGold showed that “main lake offshore,” wood and rock, and soft plastics (including worms) have done the best historically that time of year on Falcon. Crankbaits also were a factor.
Winner Keith Combs fished offshore rockpiles with a crankbait, a creature bait and a worm. Runner-up Rick Clunn used all those baits plus a spinnerbait, and fished around offshore wood.
BassGold score: A
Douglas Lake, Dandridge, Tenn. (Upland Reservoir)
BassGold’s pattern recommendation wasn’t hard and fast for this one, but indicated that it would be won with jigs and crankbaits in prespawn areas like shorelines, points and pockets, with rock more important than wood.
Patrick Bone won fishing off the shoreline around rock with an umbrella rig â the top three finishers used umbrella rigs, as did many others. BassGold does track umbrella rigs, but because the rig/bait is so new, it has not factored in historic tournaments. If umbrella rigs were not allowed, would it have been won with a jig or crankbait? BassGold says yes.
BassGold score: B
Carhartt Bassmaster College Series | April 10-12
Clear Lake, Clear Lake, Calif. (Lowland Reservoir)
BassGold showed most winners that time of year have fished close to shore, but several tournaments were also won offshore: Offshore it was deeper spawning beds and rocks, and along the shore it was tules, beds and docks along the shore. Several techniques and baits have worked, but the top two regardless of depth are swimbaits and dropshots.
Western Divisional winner Jeremy Percifield and runner-up Don Hogue fished the same area, Anderson Marsh, flipping tules with a variety of baits. No swimbaits or drop shots were used. College Series winners Zach MacDonald and Ryan Sparks fished tules, rocks and docks with a drop shot and a Senko.
BassGold score: B+/A-
Lake Norman, Charlotte, N.C. (Upland Reservoir)
“All about the spawn” is what BassGold predicted would be the deal before this tournament, and sure enough winners Shane Lehew and Eric Self of UNC Charlotte fished beds both days to win. BassGold also showed that a worm/Senko should factor, and Senkos were one bait used by the winners. Lastly, it showed that the winning team needed in the mid/high teens per day, and the winners had 35 pounds. Shazam!
BassGold score: A
Bull Shoals Lake, Bull Shoals, Ark. (Upland Reservoir)
Shoreline, points, pockets and creeks are where BassGold said the fish would be that time of year on Bull Shoals, and that’s where they were. Winner Jason Christie fished a creek, and the rest of the top six fished pockets and deeper shorelines.
Jigs, smaller plastics and crankbaits were predicted to be the deal, and once again that’s what happened. Jason used a crankbait and small plastics, along with a lizard and topwater. Most of the rest fished shaky-head worms.
BassGold also pegged the weight needed in the mid/high teens per day â Jason had 56 pounds, or just 14 a day. The lake was a little stingier this year: For that we took a couple points off.
BassGold score: A-
Douglas Lake, Dandridge, Tenn. (Upland Reservoir)
BassGold identified “main lake offshore” and “shoreline” as the two prime areas, and winner Coby Carden fished both. Crankbaits factored in the most wins and high finishes, and that was Coby’s deep bait. The first day and a half, he flipped a Missile Baits D Bomb creature bait.
BassGold score: A-
Red River, Shreveport, La. (Riverine Reservoir)
BassGold showed that “shoreline,” “backwater” and “wood” would be the deal this time, and if you surf through BassGold’s pattern details you’ll see that most tournaments out of Pool 5 are won there or in Pool 4. Stephen Browning won fishing laydowns and stumps in Pool 4, but he cranked. BassGold showed a pretty wide variety of baits would do well, but jigs and soft plastics have historically done better â which is what runner-up Wesley Strader used.
BassGold score: B+
West Point Lake, La Grange, Ga. (Lowland Reservoir)
BassGold showed that jigs usually did better than other baits, but mentioned spinnerbaits, swimbaits and topwaters being important if the shad spawn materialized. Winner Skeet Reese and the rest of the top five anglers used all of those baits except jigs.
For location, BassGold indicated three patterns could work: shallow (shoreline and main lake pockets), deep (main lake offshore, main lake points, creek channels) and upriver. Except for upriver, that’s where Skeet and the others found their fish.
BassGold score: B+
Alabama River, Montgomery, Ala. (Riverine Reservoir)
The data in BassGold indicated two patterns: Shallow, with moving baits for active fish and flipping baits for less-active bass; and slower, deeper main river fishing. The X-factor this time was that the river was 10 feet high. Winner Edwin Evers flipped and cranked the Bouldin Dam Canal, and with the high water three of the other top five fished mostly or exclusively moving baits in current breaks.
The weights were also higher than the historical data. This time the conditions were the main thing. The good part is that the top five patterns from this event are now in the database so BassGold users can benefit from them in the future.
BassGold score: C
Lake Logan Martin, Pell City, Ala. (Riverine Reservoir)
BassGold showed that 70 percent of tournaments are won along the shoreline this time of year on Logan Martin, and that’s what happened in this tournament, with the top three finishers (and many more) fishing shallow. BassGold pegged docks as twice as likely to produce a win, and that’s where winner David Kilgore concentrated much of his fishing.
BassGold showed that several baits looked good, with jigs accounting for the most high finishes. Kilgore used both a swim-jig and bladed jig to win.
BassGold score: A-
Sam Rayburn Reservoir, Lufkin, Texas (Lowland Reservoir)
Even though the frog bite was on at Rayburn, BassGold showed that “main lake offshore” was the best bet to win. And that’s where winner Albert Collins fished. BassGold showed that worm/Senko accounted for the most high finishes, and Collins fished a worm.
BassGold score: A
James River, Richmond, Va. (Tidal)
BassGold predicted that “shoreline,” “wood,” and worms/Senkos, buzzbaits and Pop-R-type topwaters would be the deal. Randy Howell won this tournament using a wacky-rigged Senko fishing shoreline man-made structure, and runner-up Mike Hicks used a swim-jig and a popping topwater around shoreline wood.
BassGold score: A-
Pickwick Lake, Florence, Ala. (Riverine Reservoir)
Bethel Universityâs Jacob Hardy and Jake Lawrence won this by fishing offshore ledges, and while everyone else was pounding those ledges with swimbaits, their fish came on a spoon. Very cool! BassGold predicted the offshore and swimbait parts, but often winners do things that are different, as in this case.
What’s great is those patterns then become part of the data BassGold uses in its predictions. The more patterns, the better BassGold gets.
BassGold score: B
Upper Mississippi River, La Crosse, Wis. (Riverine Reservoir)
After last year, Elite pros showed up this year expecting to fish hollow-body topwaters over grass in backwaters and near the shore. That’s what BassGold showed has won most (though not exclusively), but on the Elites that kind of mass expectation creates an opportunity for someone to do something different to win.
Sure enough, that’s what happened. Winner Tommy Biffle fished a jig downstream from offshore islands; Aaron Martens expanded on his 5th-place drop shotting pattern from last year to finish second; and Brandon Palaniuk â who might have won were it not for his Day Two DQ â cranked rocks in eddies. The third-fifth finishers â and many others â fished the expected topwater pattern.
BassGold score: B
BassGold’s average grade for these predictions is an A-. Again, those are PREDICTIONS. Nothing else in bass fishing can do this. BassGold works because its recommendations are generated from a database of thousands of real bass fishing patterns â plus it has the best digital maps in fishing.
âI’m blown away at how dialed in it is â it’s crazy!â says B.A.S.S. emcee Dave Mercer.
BassGold is used by everyone from Elite pros to non-tournament anglers, and you can use it, too. Just go to BassGold.com [CLICK HERE]. Save 15% on the 1-year subscription price by using code BASS132 (case sensitive) when you sign up. B.A.S.S. Nation members get it free for a year.
