On Days 1 and 2 the full field caught 1,767 largemouth weighing a collective 4,068 pounds. On Day 3 the Top 12 knocked out the lights with an all-out assault using a variety of sight-fishing weapons. Here’s the lineup of what they used.
All captions: Craig Lamb
Photo: Ronnie Moore
Photo: Ronnie Moore
Photo: Ronnie Moore
Josh Stracner, the 11th-place finisher, rotated between a worm and swim jig for sight fishing and covering the bottom cover.
Photo: Ronnie Moore
Photo: Ronnie Moore
Keeping it simple was the name of the game for the 10th-place finisher. John Cox relied on a 1/2-ounce Dirty Jig Tackle Scott Canterbury Alabama Bream Flippin’ Jig. For strike appeal he added a color matched Zoom Bait Co. 3.5-inch Ultra Vibe Craw.
Photo: Ronnie Moore
Photo: Ronnie Moore
“I used reaction baits to target post-spawners,” said the ninth-place finisher. Derek Hudnall’s choices featured a soft plastic stick bait and swim jig. “I burned the swim jig over grass and fished the stick bait really slow, in 4 feet or less of water.”
Photo: Ronnie Moore
Photo: Ronnie Moore
“I used a one-two punch to catch my sight fish,” observed Brandon Card. The eighth-place finisher relied on two baits. The choices gave him the option of sight fishing for individual bass while covering ground between beds with another lure.
Photo: Ronnie Moore
Photo: Ronnie Moore
Photo: Ronnie Moore
“I focused mainly on sight fishing all week using two lures,” said Scott Canterbury.
Photo: Ronnie Moore
Photo: Ronnie Moore
“I kept moving, fishing hydrilla and eelgrass,” recounted the sixth-place finisher. Along the way David Kilgore used a pair of new lipless cranks to get reaction strikes from bass on the move.
Photo: Ronnie Moore
Photo: Ronnie Moore
“I sight fished or used a swim jig and crankbait in areas without bedding fish,” said the fifth-place finisher Marty Robinson. “The crankbait worked best in areas where I knew fish were bedding but I could not see them.”
Photo: Ronnie Moore
Photo: Ronnie Moore
Photo: Ronnie Moore
Photo: Ronnie Moore
“I targeted bedding bass and other bass staging in spawning areas that I couldn’t see,” said the fourth-place finisher. Justin Lucas used 6-inch black/blue stick baits rigged with 4/0 straight shank hooks, and a 1/4-ounce Eco Pro Tungsten Weight. Otherwise, he used 4-inch black/blue creature bait with 3/0 straight shank hook and 3/8-ounce weight.
Photo: Ronnie Moore
“I used so many different lures to sight fish with the choices based on the cover,” said Hunter Shryock
Photo: Ronnie Moore
Photo: Ronnie Moore
Another angler taking the simple approach was the runner-up, John Pollard.
Photo: Ronnie Moore
Photo: Ronnie Moore
Jesse Wiggins avoided the heavily pressured spawning bass and bedding areas.
Photo: Ronnie Moore
Photo: Ronnie Moore