An astute observation led Joey Nania to a strategic bait change that delivered a five-bass limit of 18-10 and sealed his first B.A.S.S. win at the Pickwick Lake Bassmaster Central Open out of Counce, Tenn.
After placing 3rd on day 1 with 21-11, the Cropwell, Ala. resident added 17-13 and held his position in the second round. With his final-day weight, Nania tallied a 58-02 total and edged day-2 leader Lonnie Cochran by a pound.
Nania won $53,750 and a berth in the 2022 Bassmaster Classic at Lake Hartwell.
All week, Nania had been fishing main-river bars between Koger Island and Seven Mile Island, where he focused on a mix of grass and stumps. The latter became an increasingly important element of his game plan and Saturday, he used a forage-appropriate bait to target the hard cover.
“Today I switched it up and I was throwing a Z-Man Mag FattyZ worm on a 3/16-ounce shaky-head,” Nania said. “I found them in the carport of the place where we’re staying. I had thrown them out of the boat, but I rigged one up last night and caught all five fish on that.
“I saw a lamprey stuck on some of the fish I was catching and they would get thrown off when the fish jumped. I figure this thing looks like a lamprey; I’m going to throw it.”
Nania said the key to his presentations was making precise casts that hit the tops of stumps and triggered reaction bites. The only variation was his biggest day-3 fish – a 6-pounder that bit when Nania threw beyond a stump and pulled his bait past the structure.
The first two days saw a 3/4-ounce green-pumpkin shad Z-Man ChatterBait JackHammer with a smoky shad Z-Man Razor ShadZ trailer producing most of Nania’s fish, including the 8-02 that anchored his day-1 limit and won the $750 Phoenix Boats Big Bass award.
“I was just honored that that fish decided to eat my bait,” Nania chuckled. “It was a freak. It was just so big and so long and broad; it was just a beautiful fish.”
Prior to switching to the shaky-head presentation, he also caught fish pulling a Carolina rig past the stumps.
Nania’s 6-pounder bit right after he lost an estimated 5-pounder. Had he caught that first fish, he likely would have drifted past the stump where the bigger one was sitting.
“I’m a believer in Jesus and when it’s your time, it’s your time,” Nania said. “If I hadn’t caught that 6-pounder, I could have been within ounces of not winning.”
Cochran placed 11th on day 1 with 18-10 and bolted into the day-2 lead after posting the tournament’s heaviest bag – 25-03. Adding 13-05 Saturday gave Cochran a three-day total of 57-02.
Cochran did most of his work north of Koger Island on a 50-yard stretch of main-river shell bottom in 6 feet of water with scattered milfoil. On Friday, an early boat number allowed him to reach his spot quickly and sack up his big limit by about 7:30 a.m.
Saturday's post-frontal conditions brought bright skies and no wind. That took a toll on Cochran’s fish and he struggled with a slower bite.
“I caught most of my fish on a 3/4-ounce Scottsboro Hellcat football jig with a creature bait trailer,” Cochran said. “When it got tough during the day, I’d catch a few on a spinnerbait in the scattered grass.”
John Garrett finished 3rd with 56-11. With limits of 21-12 and 18-12, Garrett held the 2nd-place spot for days 1 and 2. On Saturday, Garrett added 16-03.
While a morning shad spawn played a role the first two days, Garrett caught most of his better bass on a 16-foot ledge in front of spawning areas. Devoting his final day to this area, he caught all of his fish on a powder blue back chartreuse Strike King 6XD.
“I had a fun week; I honestly didn’t want to grab those fish today – I caught so many fish my hands were hurting,” Garrett chuckled. “I love (cranking); I just never got a good bite today.”
Here are the final totals for the Top 10:
1. Joey Nania: 58-02
2. Lonnie Cochran: 58-10
3. John Garrett: 56-11
4. Andy Hribar: 54-09
5. Joseph Webster: 52-04
6. Daisuke Aoki: 50-01
7. James Rampey: 48-10
8. Brent Crow: 48-05
9. Dennyk Fiedler: 47-14
10. Brandon Lester: 47-11
