Four hundred anglers. All phases of the spawn. An unseasonably sunny, warm mid-January in central Florida. It all set up for remarkable fishing on the Harris Chain of Lakes. They did not disappoint.
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
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“I cranked over hydrilla beds in 6 feet of water,” said David Hudson, the 12th-place finisher. Strikes occurred when his lures cleared the vegetation and entered open water.
Photo: Ronnie Moore
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Hudson alternated between this vintage 3/4-ounce shad pattern Excalibur Rattle Bait and a 1/2-ounce chartreuse Yozuri Rattl’n Vibe.
Photo: Ronnie Moore
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Josh Stracner
Josh Stracner, the 11th-place finisher, rotated between a worm and swim jig for sight fishing and covering the bottom cover.
Josh Stracner, the 11th-place finisher, rotated between a worm and swim jig for sight fishing and covering the bottom cover.
Photo: Ronnie Moore
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To cover water he used a 1/4-ounce white Dirty Jigs Tackle Swim Jig with a color matched 5-inch Reaction Innovations Skinny Dipper. Stracner also used a 6-inch Zoom Bait Co. Ultra Vibe Speed Worm. He rigged the June Bug pattern paddle tail worm to a 4/0 Gamakatsu Wide Gap hook with 3/16-ounce tungsten weight.
Photo: Ronnie Moore
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John Cox
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.
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
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“I used it for everything from swimming through grass and flipping docks,” Cox added.
Photo: Ronnie Moore
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Derek Hudnall
“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.”
“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
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Hudnall probed a mix of lily pads and hydrilla using a 6-inch Bass Pro Shops Stick-O, green pumpkin/violet flake. To that he rigged a 4/0 Trapper Tackle Offset Wide Gap Hook with 1/8-ounce red color weight. Alternatively, he used an unnamed green/pumpkin 1/2-ounce swim jig rigged with a Missile Baits Twin Turbo trailer, Bamer Craw pattern.
Photo: Ronnie Moore
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Brandon Card
“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.
“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
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Between beds and over the grass he switched to a 3/8-ounce green/pumpkin Chatterbait. To that he added a custom matching skirt and a 4-inch Yamamota Zacko for bulk and strike appeal.
Photo: Ronnie Moore
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Card relied primarily on a 4-inch Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits PsychoDad. He rigged the Green Pumpkin Blue bait to a 4/0 Gamakatsu Straight Shank Hook with a 5/16-ounce tungsten weight.
Photo: Ronnie Moore
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Scott Canterbury
“I focused mainly on sight fishing all week using two lures,” said Scott Canterbury.
“I focused mainly on sight fishing all week using two lures,” said Scott Canterbury.
Photo: Ronnie Moore
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The seventh-place finisher picked off bedding bass using a 5-inch NetBait Lures Salt Lick worm, black/blue flake. To that he rigged a 5/0 wide gap hook with 3/4-ounce weight. Alternatively, he chose a 4-inch NetBait Paca Slim green/pumpkin, rigged with 4/0 straight shank hook and 3/8-ounce weight.
Photo: Ronnie Moore
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David Kilgore
“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.
“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
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Kilgore’s choice was a 1/2-ounce Strike King Red Eye Tungsten 2 Tap, alternating between Gold Black and Natural Shad patterns.
Photo: Ronnie Moore
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Marty Robinson
“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.”
“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
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The main lure rotation featured a 3/8-ounce Buckeye Lures J-Will Swim Jig, green pumpkin, with color matched 3.5-inch Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Craw.
Photo: Ronnie Moore
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Between beds he switched to a Luck-E-Strike RC2 Square Bill Crankbait. “I’d throw it in the canals,” said Robinson. “A lot of guys were throwing heavier crankbaits and this little square bill made the difference for me.”
Photo: Ronnie Moore
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“Later in the day when the water warmed to at least 68 degrees I switched to the Horny Toad,” he added. Robinson rigged the Zoom Bait Co. lure to a 5/0 Owner hook. Note the teeth marks midway up the bait.
Photo: Ronnie Moore
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Justin Lucas
“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.
“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
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Hunter Shryock
“I used so many different lures to sight fish with the choices based on the cover,” said Hunter Shryock
“I used so many different lures to sight fish with the choices based on the cover,” said Hunter Shryock
Photo: Ronnie Moore
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The third place finisher’s primary lure was a 4-inch Power Bait Chigger Craw. To that he rigged to a 4/0 Berkley Fusion 19 Flipping Hook and 1/4-ounce Reins Tungsten Weight.
Photo: Ronnie Moore
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John Pollard
Another angler taking the simple approach was the runner-up, John Pollard.
Another angler taking the simple approach was the runner-up, John Pollard.
Photo: Ronnie Moore
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Pollard used this 7-inch Zoom Trick Worm. He rigged that to a 4/0 hook and 3/16-ounce weight.
Photo: Ronnie Moore
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Jesse Wiggins
Jesse Wiggins avoided the heavily pressured spawning bass and bedding areas.
Jesse Wiggins avoided the heavily pressured spawning bass and bedding areas.
Photo: Ronnie Moore
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Choosing to fish deep was a wise move for the Wiggins, also about to begin his rookie season on the Bassmaster Elite Series.
Photo: Ronnie Moore
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Wiggins cranked this lure in 20 feet of water along dropoffs in the deepest areas of Lake Eustis. His choice was this Jenko Fishing CD20 crankbait, Citrus pattern. “It runs great at 20 feet,” he said. Alternatively, he used the brand’s CD15 for shallower bites.
Photo: James Overstreet
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