Ott DeFoe won the Douglas Lake Bassmaster Open for the second consecutive year on Saturday as he caught a 15-00 stringer for a 3-day total of 44-09. He outdistanced runner-up Patrick Walters, the day-2 leader, by more than 3 pounds.
It was DeFoe's third Douglas Open triumph – he also prevailed in 2014.
"The lake level was a few feet higher, the water was about 7 degrees warmer and there was much less tournament pressure prior to this year’s competition,” he said. “Those were the major differences between this year and last year.”
DeFoe fished the same stretch of the French Broad River, one of two rivers flowing into the lake. He was fishing so far up the river his area was immune from the falling water level that hindered the success of others.
“That far up the river, you worry less about the lake level dropping, turning off the bite, because it’s all about the water flow,” he explained. “Clear water and flow are the two keys to success up there.”
Paying attention to the aggressiveness of the bite was another key in choosing the best lures to use. On Thursday, DeFoe anticipated catching his fish on fast-moving reaction baits. After catching none, he slowed his presentation by flipping a jig into shoreline cover. Making the switch produced subtle bites, and the confidence lure reassured him of fish presence in the area.
“I could tell then the bass weren’t biting as aggressively as I anticipated they would,” he said.
On Friday DeFoe made a bold move, switching to a most obscure lure choice for the swift, cool water pouring over large boulders and through overhanging trees and laydowns. That choice was a 2.5-inch Terminator Walking Frog, a lure he had never used in the familiar water until then.
“It was a weird choice but the lure allowed me to pitch it directly into the thicker shoreline cover, give it a twitch and produce the bites,” he explained. “What I learned over a lifetime of fishing up there is a topwater is the way to go when the current slows and the water clears up.”
At times when the bite was less aggressive, including on the final day, he chose a 6-inch Bass Pro Shops Magnum Fin-Eke Worm, rigged on a 3/0 VMC Ike Approved Heavy Duty Worm Hook with a 3/16-ounce weight.
Here are the final totals for the top 12:
1. Ott DeFoe: 44-09
2. Patrick Walters: 41-04
3. Brandon Lester: 40-13
4. Toshinari Namiki: 39-09
5. Garrett Paquette: 38-05
6. John Cox: 38-02
7. Derek Cummings: 37-00
8. Bobby Lane: 36-09
9. David Williams: 34-14
10. Jon Canada: 33-14
11. Allen Brooks: 31-05
12. Jeff Lugar: 30-04
