Jared Lintner’s favorite way to fish for bass is with a big flipping/punching rod in his hand and some thick vegetation off the bow of the boat.
At the Potomac River, he found plenty of grass that looked fishy, but he figured his best opportunity for success would be with a buzzbait since that’s how he generated several bites in practice. Once the tournament started, he tried to make the topwater work, but the bites evaporated under clear, sunny skies. He came in with one fish for 2-01, which left him buried in 103rd place. The other four anglers behind him in the standings all zeroed.
On day 2, he returned to the same area and kept the buzzbait in his hand. He caught a 2-pounder around 8 a.m., but by 11, he hadn’t had another bite and frustration was starting to overtake him.
“In practice, it was overcast and breezy and they were eating a topwater bait,” Lintner said. “Then we had sun and wind and I was to the point where I thought, ‘What would I do if I’d never been here before?’ With the habitat and conditions, I’d punch grass. It’s what I’d do back home. I had nothing to lose.”
He stowed the buzzbait rod and started punching the same area. His second fish was a 5 1/2-pounder and within 45 minutes, he’d finished his limit and was culling. He tallied 19-09 and rallied all the way to 46th to make the cut, an impressive 57-spot jump. He caught another 16-00 on day 3 and finished 23rd, an overall improvement of 80 spots in the matter of 1 1/2 days.
His key punching bait was the new Jackall Archelon Craw (school bluegill) rigged under a G-Money Punch Skirt.
“It was a meant-to-be thing,” he said. “After I caught that 5 1/2, I felt like I’d jack them. My confidence went fromt ultimate low to ultimate high. That fish told me that if one was around there’d be another one around.
“I had no clue I had a chance to make the cut, but I idled away thinking I’d just saved my season. It was a good confidence booster. After day 1, I had that feeling that you doubt everything you do. That’s not what you want.”
Lintner was right about saving his season. His big rally moved him into 27th in the Angler of the Year standings and kept his hopes alive to qualify for next year’s Bassmaster Classic.
“It’s so bizarre how things change,” he said. “I’ve been doing this a long time and I know things change, but when you don’t allow yourself to adapt it can be a train wreck. That’s what happened on day 1.
“The frustrating part is I had a negative attitude about flipping because I didn’t have any bites that way in practice. I was already reluctant to do it even though it was my favorite way to fish.”
The Sunline Strong Performer, which focuses on the angler who makes the most significant single-day move in the standings at each tour-level event, is brought to you by the great people at Sunline.
(Photo: TJ Devoe)
