Local ace Jesse Wiggins won the weather-shortened Smith Lake Bassmaster Southern on Saturday as he caught a 15-03 bag for a 2-day total of 24-02.
“Jesse is really good here,” said 4th-place finisher and day-1 leader Jordan Lee said. “We’ve fished a couple of tournaments together, and he’s taught me a lot about this lake. It doesn’t surprise me that he won.”
Wiggins, who is from nearby Cullman, Ala., relied on two lures: a 3/16-ounce homemade shaky-head jig with a 4-inch green pumpkin Senko and a topwater lure similar to a Zara Spook. The victory earned him a prize package worth nearly $53,000, plus a berth in the 2017 Bassmaster Classic. He must compete in Southern Open No. 3 at Tennessee’s Douglas Lake next month to finalize the Classic berth.
“I’ll be there with bells on,” Wiggins said.
Wiggins weighed all spotted bass Saturday; his five bass Friday, which weighed 18-15, included a 5-pound and a 4-pound largemouth.
“I threw the shaky-head in the morning for bedding fish,” he said. “I couldn’t see them, but I knew where to throw it. Later in the day, I’d go up the river and throw that topwater bait in the pockets. I caught those two largemouth on it yesterday and a spot on it today.”
The usual format for a Bassmaster Open tournament has the full field fishing 2 days, then the Top 12 fishing Saturday to determine the champion. Due to heavy thunderstorms in the area Thursday, competition was canceled for that day, reducing it to a 2-day tournament with the full field of 179 boats participating both days.
Details of Wiggins' winning pattern will be published this week.
Here's a look at the final numbers for the Top 12:
1. Jesse Wiggins: 34-02
2. Brent Crow: 32-00
3. Michael Johnson: 31-14
4. Jordan Lee: 30-09
5. Bradley Dortch: 30-09
6. Seth Feider: 30-06
7. Stetson Blaylock: 30-06
8. Justin Lucas: 30-03
9. Allen Brooks: 30-01
10. Matt Stefan: 30-01
11. Jacob Wheeler: 29-15
12. Chris Groh: 29-13
