By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor
Following are some notes on the 2nd- through 5th-place finishers at the Sabine River Bassmaster Elite Series in Texas.
2nd: Brock Mosley
> Day 1: 5, 15-10
> Day 2: 5, 12-04
> Day 3: 5, 6-14
> Day 4: 5, 7-13
> Total = 20, 42-09
Brock Mosley, who's still in pursuit of his first tour-level victory, turned in his second straight runner-up finish (he also occupied that position at Pickwick Lake last month). It's the second time he's had a pair of 2nds in a two-month span – he also did it in 2017 at the St. Lawrence River and Lake St. Clair.
This time, he ended up less than a pound and a half behind winner Jason Christie.
"I guess you can look at 2nd place as a good thing or a bad thing," he said. "Jason left the door open a little, but it wasn't my time to win. I'll keep taking the good finishes, though."
He made a 110-mile run from the launch in Orange, Texas to the Houston area on each of the first three days. That action petered out by day 3 (for one thing, the tide was no longer conducive) and he stayed near the ramp on the final day.
"My goal was 10 pounds (for day 4), but it turned out I only needed 9," he said. "I don't have any regrets – I was just one decent bite away. I had quite a few bites that day, but I never connected with the 3-pounder that would've bumped me up there."
He concentrated most of his efforts on seawalls and laydowns and caught all of his fish on a bladed jig.
> Bladed jig gear: 7'6" medium-heavy Ark Invoker rod, Shimano SLX casting reel (6.3:1 ratio), 20-pound P-Line Tactical fluorocarbon line, 1/2-ounce Z-Man Evergreen ChatterBait JackHammer (white), Yamamoto Zako trailer (white).
Fishing shady water under bridges was the ticket for Taku Ito's 3rd-place finish.
3rd: Taku Ito
> Day 1: 5, 9-02
> Day 2: 5, 8-05
> Day 3: 5, 12-04
> Day 4: 5, 11-01
> Total = 20, 40-12
Taku Ito, a second-year pro from Japan, spent his tournament rotating among four bridges and catching fish from shaded water with a variety of baits.
"The best time was when the current stopped," he said. "If there was no current, the big fish would go under the bridge."
He fished water that was about 10 feet deep, with most of the fish suspended about halfway between the surface and the bottom. His best action was in the mornings, when he employed a Neko rig. When the sun got higher in the sky, usually around 9 or 10 o'clock, he'd switch to a wacky jighead or a weightless Senko.
A spinnerbait the majority of the big day-3 bag that garnered him his fourth final-day slot in 13 outings on the tour. That stringer was highlighted by a 4-10 specimen, his biggest of the event.
His Neko rig gear included a 6'10" medium-light Nories Roadrunner rod, Shimano Stella spinning reel, 15-pound Seaguar Smackdown braid (main line) and 12- or 15-pound Seaguar Gold Label leader.
Chris Johnston divided his time between two creeks.
4th: Chris Johnston
> Day 1: 5, 9-04
> Day 2: 5, 12-04
> Day 3: 5, 10-11
> Day 4: 5, 7-12
> Total = 20, 39-15
Chris Johnston had a difficult practice – a common refrain on the Sabine – and had to opt for fishing a couple of creeks where he'd gotten just more than a handful of bites.
"One day I caught five or six keepers fishing those two creeks, so that's where I spent the whole tournament," he said. "I just put my head down and fished those areas. I went through them quick in practice and there was more fish there than I'd thought, but I didn't learn that until day 1."
He fished any green vegetation or trees he could find that were in at least 6 inches of water. He did some flipping and some frogging and also threw a finesse worm. He thinks he caught fish that were in each of the three stages of the reproduction ritual.
"I caught a couple that I believe were spawning," he said. "I couldn't see them, they were just on the bank."
> Frog gear: 7'4" heavy-action Daiwa Tatula Elite AGS Ish Frog rod, Daiwa Zillion HD casting reel (8:1 ratio), 65-pound Seaguar Smackdown braided line, SPRO Poppin' Frog (nasty shad).
> Finesse gear: 7'1" medium-heavy Daiwa Tatula Elite Brent Ehrler Multipurpose rod, Daiwa Tatula LT spinning reel, 15-pound Seaguar Smackdown braid (main line), barrel swivel, 12-pound Seaguar AbrazX fluorocarbon (leader), 4/0 Gamakatsu Straight Shank Worm Hook, Zoom Trick Worm (black).
> Flipping gear: 7'4" heavy-action Daiwa Tatula Elite AGS Ish Frog rod, Daiwa Tatula Elite Flip/Punch reel, 20-pound Seaguar AbrazX fluorocarbon, 3/8-ounce Woo Tungsten weight, 4/0 Gamakatsu Aaron Martens G-Finesse Flipping Hook, Strike King Rage Bug (black/blue).
Drew Cook caught his biggest bags after hunkering down in one slough.
5th: Drew Cook
> Day 1: 5, 9-15
> Day 2: 5, 7-07
> Day 3: 5, 11-10
> Day 4: 5, 10-14
> Total = 20, 39-14
Drew Cook bounced around a lot over the first two days, fishing any type of cover he came across in 1 to 4 feet of water. He caught his biggest bags on the final two days after settling down in a 330-yard-long slough ringed by cypress trees.
The slough held pre-spawn, bedding and post-spawn fish that the caught with a crankbait, a spinnerbait and a finesse rig.
"There was a bunch of bait in there," he said. "It didn't really have a shad spawn, but there was a tremendous amount of them around. "When the wind would blow everything to one side or one corner, I'd just fish that and pick them off."
He eventually figured out ways to catch spawning females on both high and low tides.
"On the high the females would be on the back side of the trees," he said. "I could still catch the males on the low, but the females would come off the bed and be somewhere near it."
> Cranking gear: 7' medium-action Dobyns 705CB Champion XP rod, unnamed casting reel, 16-pound Sunline Sniper fluorocarbon line, SPRO Fat John 50 (custom paint job).
> Spinnerbait gear: 7' medium-action Dobyns 704CB Champion XP rod, unnamed casting reel, 16-pound Sunline Sniper fluorocarbon, 3/8-ounce Nichols Pulsator spinnerbait (bombshell shad), Big Bite Baits Grub trailer (white).
> Finesse gear: 7'3" medium-light Dobyns 733 Champion XP rod, unnamed spinning reel, 18-pound Sunline Xplasma braid (main line), 10-pound Sunline Super FC Sniper fluorocarbon (leader), 1/8-ounce Gamakatsu Slider Head, 4-inch Big Bite Baits Finesse Worm (junebug).
