Photo: ESPN Outdoors
Alton Jones dredged ditches with a football-head jig to win this year's Bassmaster Classic.
(Editor's note: This is part 1 of a 2-part story that analyzes techniques used to win and "place" at each 2008 tour-level event. Part 1 provides an overview of how each event was won. Part 2 will analyze the numbers and percentages for baits and techniques.)
Each year, BassFan categorizes pattern data for the season's tour-level events. The report includes data on which baits and techniques won or "placed" within the Top 5.
Historically, flipping/pitching has been the dominant technique. However, as the tours stretched their schedules out of the spring months, other techniques rose toward the top.
Last year, flipping was finally unseated as the dominant technique. Finesse took the top spot – largely because of two Great Lakes events, and the FLW Tour's choice to visit pressured fisheries.
What were the winningest techniques this year? The answer's coming in part 2. For now, here's a look at how each of the 19 tour-level events were won this year.
Alton Jones, Lake Hartwell Bassmaster Classic (AL), Feb. 22–24
Alton Jones dragged a jig straight down the middle of deep ditches with timber, and also spooned up some fish. "I had little drains that were full of timber and I'd move to the shallowest edge, and then go even a little bit shallower and maybe find one or two extra trees, and there'd usually be fish there," Jones said. "I had to be fishing in the bottom of the ditches and I had to bring the bait right down the middle of the channel. When I'd feel it come across a piece of wood, I'd get ready, because that's when the strikes occurred."
Jig gear: 7' medium-heavy Kistler Magnesium TS rod, Ardent XS1000 casting reel, 14-pound Silver Thread fluorocarbon line, 3/4-ounce Booyah Pigskin or 1/2-ounce Booyah AJ's Go2 jig (various colors, but primarily Ozark Craw, which features a mix of brown and purple strands), 3 1/2" Yum Chunk trailer (black/blue flake).
Spoon gear: 6'6" medium-heavy Kistler Magnesium TS rod, same reel, 17-pound Silver Thread fluorocarbon, 3/4-ounce unnamed spoon (white/chartreuse/blue).
He felt that jig color was unimportant for the most part, but the black/blue flake trailer made a difference.
Click here to read more about his winning pattern.
Brett Hite, Toho FLW Tour (FL), Aug. 28–March 2
Brett Hite swam a ChatterBait-style jig through pathways in the lily pads in 2 to 4 feet of water. He fished Lake Kissimmee.
Swim-jig gear: 7'4" medium-heavy Performance Tackle B. Hite Special fiberglass rod, unnamed casting reel, 20-pound Sunline Sniper fluorocarbon, 5/8-ounce Phenix Vibrator jig (green-pumpkin, black blade).
He tipped the jig with two different trailers (both green-pumpkin) – a Yamamoto Swimming Senko and a Yamamoto Twin Tail grub. He dyed the tails chartreuse with a marker. "It's just a subtle color change," he said. "Whether it's a bluegill or shiner, they both have a little lighter tail, so I just wanted some contrast."
Click here to read more about his winning pattern.
Mike McClelland, Harris Chain Elite Series (FL), March 6–9
Mike McClelland threw a trick worm exclusively at the Harris Chain, where he targeted pad stalks and grass clumps. One key was to pull the worm against a pad stalk and shake it, which he thought created sound when the hook bumped against the weight. He caught most of his fish in 3 1/2 to 4 feet of water.
Worm gear: 7'4" medium-heavy Falcon Mike McClelland signature series rod, Quantum PT Tour Edition casting reel (6.3:1 ratio), 15-pound Seaguar InvisX fluorocarbon or 50-pound Spiderwire Ultracast braided line, 3/16- or 1/4-ounce unnamed lead weight, 4/0 Gamakatsu Round Bend hook, Zoom Trick Worm (black or 'Bama bug).
'Bama bug is junebug on one side, fading to green-pumpkin on the other.
He said the fluorocarbon line was important due to its sensitivity. "I was able to feel a lot of light bites that I might have missed with any other line."
Click here to read more about his winning pattern.
Kevin VanDam, Toho Elite Series (FL), March 13–16
Kevin VanDam snubbed his nose at the no-brainer bank bites and found a wad of crankbait fish well offshore in Toho. These were fish that had likely already spawned, already went through their post-spawn recuperation, and were thus subject to stay put and eat, no matter what the weather did.
Crankbait gear: 7' Quantum Energy PT crankbait rod (composite), Quantum Energy 750PT reel, 17-pound Bass Pro Shops XPS fluorocarbon, 1/2-ounce Strike King RedEye Shad (blue-chrome/sexy-shad).
He did catch a few on a 3/4-ounce RedEye Shad.
He threw a Strike King King Shad in green gizzard shad on the same setup.
He swapped out the two stock hooks on the RedEye for two No. 2 Mustad extra-short-shank Triple Grips. "That's the best rod, reel, line and hook combo for landing these fish," he noted. "I've experimented a great deal with it all, and to me, this is the program. I never lost a single bass in the tournament."
He swapped out the hooks on the King Shad too, using a pair of No. 2 Mustad Ultra Point Triple Grips.
click here for part 1 of his Winning Pattern report. Click here for part 2.
Michael Bennett, Lewis Smith FLW Tour (AL), April 3–6
Michael Bennett relied on a mix of bedding and pre-spawn fish at Lewis Smith, where he sight-fished and skipped docks. The outside edges of his best docks sat in about 80 feet of water, with the inside edges over 30 to 40 feet. The fish were suspended underneath.
He'd skip the Sinking Minnow underneath and let if fall on a slack line. "In practice they were taking it after it had fallen about 5 feet," he said. "By the third day, it was 10 feet, and on the last day, it was 25 or 30 feet. I had to let it go for as long as I could stand it."
Sight-fishing gear: 7'2" medium-heavy Fenwick Elite Tech Strokin' Special rod, Abu Garcia Revo casting reel, 17-pound Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon line, 1/2-ounce unnamed tungsten weight, 2/0 offset-shank hook, 3" Berkley PowerBait Beast (pearl).
If he deemed a bed-fish non-aggressive: 7' medium-heavy Fenwick Techna AV Spinning rod, Abu Garcia Cardinal 702 spinning reel, 8-pound Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon , 1/4-ounce unnamed dropshot weight, 1/0 unnamed offset-shank hook, Berkley PowerBait Hand Pour finesse worm (watermelon).
Dock-fishing gear: same rod, reel and line used for non-aggressive bed-fish, unnamed size 1 hook, 5" wacky-rigged Berkley Gulp! Sinking Minnow (watermelon).
Click here to read more about his winning pattern.
Photo: ESPN Outdoors
Paul Elias cranked en route to his record-setting Falcon catch.
Paul Elias, Falcon Elite Series (TX), April 3–6
Paul Elias cranked both shallow areas and deep points at Falcon en route to a monster 20-fish, 132-08 record-setting total (6 1/2-pound average). On deep points, he'd "kneel and reel" (a technique he made famous) in order to hit the 15-foot-deep sweet spot. He also did some Carolina-rigging.
Shallow crankbait gear: 6'6" medium-action Quantum PT Series rod, Quantum PT Tour Edition 1160 casting reel (6.3:1 ratio), 20-pound Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon line, Mann's C4 square-billed crankbait (chartreuse/blue back).
He swapped out the stock #4 hooks on the C4 for #2 Gamakatsu 4X Strong trebles.
Deep crankbait gear: Quantum PT Signature Series Paul Elias crankbait rod, Quantum Energy PT Tour Edition E750 casting reel (5:1 ratio), 15-pound Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon line, Mann's 20+ deep-diving crankbait (Ol' Homer).
He also replaced the stock hooks on the 20+ with #2 Gamakatsu 4X Strong trebles.
He described the Ol' Homer color as a chartreuse bait with a light-green back. "I believe if you asked any good crankbait fisherman to choose one color, it'd probably have some kind of chartreuse in it."
Carolina-rig gear: Quantum PT Signature Series Greg Hackney flipping rod, Quantum PT Tour Edition 1160 casting reel (6.3:1 ratio), 50-pound Stren Super Braid , 20-pound Berkley Big Game leader, 1-ounce tungsten weight, 6/0 Gamakatsu Superline EWG worm hook, 12-inch Mann's Jelly worm (plum).
Click here to read more about his winning pattern.
Todd Faircloth, Amistad Elite Series (TX), April 10–13
Todd Faircloth worked flats at Amistad that featured isolated trees – just three or four trees together were better than a big cluster – and they were places that the fish were using in their transition from the spawn. The tops of the trees were submerged under 4 or 5 feet of water. He threw a Senko and swimbait.
Swimbait gear: 7'6" medium-heavy CastAway flipping rod, unnamed casting reel (6:1 gear ratio), unnamed 20-pound fluorocarbon line, unnamed size 1 treble hook, unnamed 8-inch plastic swimbait (chartreuse shad).
Senko gear: 7' heavy-action CastAway Mag Series rod, same reel and line, unnamed 1/4 or 3/8-ounce tungsten weight, unnamed 5/0 offset-shank hook, 6-inch Yamamoto Senko (watermelon/black-green flake).
About the Senko, he said: "I tried a couple of other colors, but that one was the best in the sunny conditions."
Click here to read more about his winning pattern.
Sean Hoernke, Norman FLW Tour (NC), April 24–27
Sean Hoernke outfoxed the competition by targeting ultra-shallow bedding fish. The fish were so shallow, he'd often cast on the bank, then drag his worm off. He also swam a jig for fish suspended under cover in the spawning areas.
Jig gear: 7' heavy-action Setyr CLS 184 rod, Shimano Chronarch casting reel, 20-pound P-Line CXX, 1/4-ounce Hoern Toad Tackle jig (white), Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed craw (white).
The jig is a flipping-style, but he swam it. "I catch a lot of fish on swim-jigs when fishing docks in the South, but I do a lot better with a full-bodied jig like this," he noted.
Shakey gear: 7'2" medium-heavy Setyr DSF rod, Daiwa Capricorn 2500 spinning reel, 10-pound unnamed braid with 8-pound SunLine Shooter leader, 1/16-ounce Hoern Toad Tackle Porky's Revenge jighead (black), 7" Zoom Trick worm (watermelon/candy).
Wacky gear: Same rod and reel as shakey gear, 2/0 Nogales Mosquito hook (from Japan), 4" Zoom Finesse worm (watermelon/candy).
Click here to read more about his winning pattern.
Kenyon Hill, Clarks Hill Elite Series (SC/GA), May 1–4
Kenyon Hill did the now-familiar point-hop at Clarks where he'd pull up, make several casts, then move to the next point. He threw a variety of baits, and was able to catch some key fish in the afternoons.
Carolina-rig gear: 7'6" medium-heavy American Rodsmiths Mag Strike rod, Abu Garcia Revo STX-HS casting reel (7:1 ratio), 20-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon main line, 3' of 12-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon leader, 3/4-ounce Tru-Tungsten Denny Brauer Flippin' weight (black), Tru-Tungsten Peter T Force bead , 3/0 Eagle Claw worm hook, Zoom Ol' Monster worm (watermelon-red).
Swimbait gear: same rod, Abu Garcia Revo STX casting reel (6.3:1 ratio), 12-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon line, Sebile Magic Swimmer jointed swimbait (Tennessee shad).
He changed the hooks on the Sebile to size 2 Gamakatsu trebles. "It comes with 4s on it, but I wanted something a little bigger because the fish just seemed to be bigger than what I'd usually try to handle with a size 4 hook. I'm glad I made the change because I just barely hooked my two biggest fish on the last day."
Topwater gear: 7' medium-heavy American Rodsmiths Mag Strike rod, same reel as his Carolina-rig, 30-pound Spiderwire Ultracast braided line, Cotton Cordell Pencil Popper (chrome).
He also made a hook change on the Pencil Popper. "I used big 3/0 Gamakatsu trebles on that one. It comes with saltwater hooks on it, and I wanted something a little thinner that would penetrate better."
About his choice to use braided line on his topwater rig, he said: "You had to make really long casts with that popper and a lot of times you'd get bit way out at the end of your cast. Having that braid really helped me to get solid hooksets when they hit it far out."
Click here to read more about his winning pattern.
Photo: FLW Outdoors/Rob Newell
Mark Pack targeted a flooded parking lot and riprap at Beaver Lake.
&pMark Pack, Beaver FLW Tour (AR), May 15–18
The FLW Tour visited an extremely high and muddy Beaver for this edition of the Wal-Mart Open, and Mark Pack cashed in on the flood. He power-fished a flooded gravel parking lot in the mornings, then the riprap that would normally be the park/water boundary in low water during the afternoons.
Crankbait gear: 7'6" medium-heavy All Pro Bill Lowen Series Blaster cranking rod (graphite), Shimano Chronarch MG casting reel, 12-pound P-Line mono, Lucky Craft R.C. 2.5 crankbait (Table Rock shad).
Swim-jig gear: 7' medium-heavy All Pro rod, same reel, 55-pound Daiwa Samurai braid, 20-pound Gamma Edge fluorocarbon leader, 1/4-ounce homemade finesse jig (brown/orange), 5" Lake Fork Tackle Hyper worm (watermelon/red).
He bit a small section (up to a 1/2-inch) off the head of the worm.
The key to the worm was the vibration. "It's a round worm with a paddletail where the cuts are between the tail and midsection of the worm. It has twice as much vibration as any other worm out there."
Click here to read more about his winning pattern.
Fred Roumbanis, Murray Elite Series (SC), May 15–18
Fred Roumbanis abandoned the blueback herring that just about everyone else in the 109-angler field was obsessed with and got onto a bedding-bluegill bite way up the Little Saluda River. He caught most of his fish on a topwater frog – a bait he mastered while cutting his tournament-angling teeth at the California Delta – and a wakebait that he designed.
Frog gear: 7'3" heavy-action American Eagle Roumbastic frog stick, Abu Garcia Revo STX casting reel (7.4:1 ratio), 50-pound Power Pro braided line, Snag Proof Bobby's Perfect Frog (Fred's frog).
He said the Fred's frog color's orange throat made it ideal to fish for bass that were feeding on bluegill. The color is available only at EliteBass.com .
Wakebait gear: 7'4" medium-action American Eagle Roumbastic swimbait rod, same reel (6.4:1 ratio), 15-pound P-Line CXX (moss green), Ima Lures Roumba (perch).
Click here to read more about his winning pattern.
Jeremy Starks, Wheeler Elite Series (AL), June 5–8
Jeremy Starks struck gold at Wheeler when he found a ditch that was lightly fished and loaded with fish. He guarded it and carefully managed his fish for 4 days to win. He caught most of his fish in 7 1/2 to 8 feet of water, but some as shallow as 4 feet. He was throwing a worm (and occasionally a jig) across the ditch and dragging it over the shell.
Worm gear: 7'3" medium-heavy E21 Carrot Stix rod, Abu Garcia Revo STX casting reel, 17-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon, 1/4-ounce Tru-Tungsten Worm weight (junebug), 4/0 Owner XXX-strong hook, 10" Berkley Power worm (plum).
He occasionally threw a 1/2-ounce jig with the same rod, reel and line setup. He created it with a friend and calls it the Heisman jig. It's a football-head with an HP-style hook. The jig was green-pumpkin with five orange strands, and he tipped it with a green-pumpkin 3" Berkley Chigger craw.
Click here to read more about his winning pattern.
Kevin VanDam, Kentucky Lake Elite Series (KY/TN), June 12–15
For this Kentucky Lake go-round, Kevin VanDam pinpointed about a dozen schools of ledge-fish during practice and was judicious about how he exploited them during the tournament. He had fresh water to work each day, and his stockpile of locations proved to be just enough to get him through the event. He threw cranks, plus a jig and spoon.
Crankbait gear: 7'10" medium-heavy Quantum KVD signature series cranking rod, Quantum Energy 750 casting reel (5:1 ratio), 14-pound Bass Pro Shops XPS fluorocarbon line, Strike King Series 5 or Series 6 crankbait (sexy shad).
The rod is part of a new line that features six cranking models. "To me, the 7'10" is the mega-launcher," he said. "It's a fiberglass composite and I can throw a plug a mile with it. On day 1 and day 2 when the wind was blowing, it helped me get the distance I needed. I could throw the bait 10 to 15 yards father than I could with a 7-foot rod, and that allowed me to keep it in the strike zone longer."
He swapped out the stock hooks on the crankbaits for Mustad Triple Grips (No. 1, extra-strong, round-bend). "I was catching some doubles (two fish on the same bait) and things like that, and I wanted a hook that I knew wasn't going to straighten out."
Spoon gear: 7'4" heavy-action Quantum PT rod, Quantum Burner casting reel (7:1 ratio), 20-pound XPS fluorocarbon, No. 5 Strike King Sexy Spoon (sexy shad).
Jig gear: Same rod and reel as spoon, 17-pound XPS fluorocarbon, 3/4-ounce Strike King football-head jig (brown/purple), Strike King Rage Craw trailer (green-pumpkin).
Click here to read more about his winning pattern.
David Dudley, Ft. Loudoun–Tellico FLW Tour (TN), June 19–22
Like Starks at Wheeler, David Dudley played some defense and focused on fish management. He caught most of his fish from a single, deep ledge up the river. He employed a crank, worm and jig.
Crankbait gear: 7'11" heavy-action Fenwick Elite Tech Flippin' Stik , Abu Garcia Revo casting reel, 10- and 12-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon , unnamed custom-painted deep-diving cranks.
The cranks were painted by FLW Tour pro Craig Powers. Dudley said he threw several colors, one of which was blue herring.
About cranking with a flipping stick, Dudley noted: "That Flippin' Stik is the bomb. I crank with it, and I used the same rod for the worm."
He rigged his 10" Berkley Power worm (green-pumpkin) on a 5/0 hook with a 1/4-ounce weight.
He also weighed some fish on an unnamed 1/2-ounce jig (PBJ) tipped with a Berkley Chigger Chunk (green-pumpkin).
Click here to read more about his winning pattern.
Kevin Wirth, Old Hickory Elite Series (TN), June 26–29
Kevin Wirth flipped at Old Hickory and won by more than 5 pounds. He also buzzed up some fish. "I was flipping anything that was isolated in a foot or less of water in the backs of the creeks," Wirth said. "I had key stretches of banks with wood, overhanging trees, little clumps of grass – anything."
Flipping gear: Unnamed 7'6" medium-heavy rod, Abu Garcia Revo STX casting reel (6.4:1 ratio), 20-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon line, unnamed 1/4- or 3/8-ounce bullet weight, 4/0 Mustad Mega-Bite hook, 5" Berkley Power Hawg or unnamed creature-type bait (green-pumpkin).
He said the reel was a major factor. "A lot of times by the time I felt the bite, they might only be 6 or 8 feet away and I had to use the speed of that reel to collect the line and catch up with them."
Buzzbait gear: Unnamed 7' medium-heavy rod, same reel and line, 1/2-ounce Lunker Lure buzzbait (chartreuse).
Click here to read more about his winning pattern.
Alvin Shaw, Detroit River FLW Tour (MI/ON), July 10–13
While the race to the Detroit River cut was dominated by Lake Erie fishing, the final 2 days of the event delivered big-time winds that put the Erie fish out of play. Alvin Shaw won by popping tubes near St. Clair grass. He also got a few bites on a leech. "The area I was working was a 6-square-mile flat that was adjacent to some spawning areas," Shaw said. "I was looking for scattered grass and sand spots. The key was you had to be in the grass. If you made a drift and didn't hit any grass, you didn't get bit."
Tube gear: 6'6" medium-fast G. Loomis GLX casting rod, Team Daiwa TDX 103 reel (6.3:1 ratio), 6-pound Gamma fluorocarbon, 5/16- and 1/2-ounce Maumee jigheads, 3 1/2" Maumee tube (green-pumpkin/gold flake).
"Those Maumee jigheads have a kahle-style bend as opposed to a standard round bend, and I think that made a big difference," Shaw said. "I didn't lose a single fish all tournament."
"Using that light 6-pound Gamma fluorocarbon was a big key, too. I didn't break off a fish, and I think it helped me get a few more bites."
He sprayed his tubes and jigheads with Bang crawfish scent so that the jighead would easily slide down into the tube.
The Berkley Gulp! Alive! leech he caught a 4-pounder on was the black olive color.
Click here to read more about his winning pattern.
Kota Kiriyama, Erie/Niagara Elite Series (NY/ON), July 10–13
Kota Kiriyama reinvented Erie smallmouth fishing this year when he dropshotted suspended main-basin fish. He traveled far down the New York shoreline, almost to Pennsylvania, where his fish were 40 to 65 feet down over 90 feet of water.
Dropshot gear: 6'8" Shimano Final Dimension rod, Shimano Stella spinning reel (not yet available), 7-pound Gamma Dropshot line (new), No. 1 Owner All Purpose Bait hook, 3/16-, 1/4- and 5/16-ounce Kanji X-Metal dropshot weights, Jackall prototype worm, Jackall Crazy Ninja Shad prototype, Jackall Cross Tail Shad .
The Jackall Cross Tail Shad was watermelon.
He marinated them in Berkley Gulp! Alive juice.
He noted he likes that particular Owner hook for dropshotting because it's heavy duty, so he can set the hook as hard as he wants, and because the hookpoint is offset from the shaft, so it'll bite no matter what angle the hookset comes from.
His dropshot lead differed, but was generally around 18 inches.
Click here to read more about his winning pattern.
Dean Rojas, Oneida Elite Series (NY), Aug. 7–10
Dean Rojas finally got his frog win at Oneida, with some help from flipping. Like Tommy Biffle before him, Rojas went shallow for largemouths when everyone else went deep for smallmouths. Rojas caught fish that were in as little as 6 inches of water, and none that were deeper than 4 feet. He flipped or casted to any type of cover he could find.
Frog gear: 7' medium-heavy Quantum PT Dean Rojas signature series frog rod, Quantum PT Tour Edition Burner casting reel (7:1 ratio), 65-pound Izorline braided line, Spro BronzEye Frog (midnight walker) or prototype Spro Pop'n Frog (leopard).
Flipping gear: 7'4" Quantum PT flipping stick, Quantum Tour Edition PT casting reel (6.3:1 ratio), same line, 1-ounce Kanji tungsten weight, 4/0 Gamakatsu EWG Superline hook, Northland Slurpies Brush Beaver (camo or 'Bama bug).
Click here to read more about his winning pattern.
Photo: BassFan
At the Forrest Wood Cup, Michael Bennett became the third pro this year to win with a frog.
Michael Bennett, Murray Forrest Wood Cup (SC), Aug. 14–17
Conditions were brutally tough in August at Lake Murray. Michael Bennett started with a pure junk pattern, but by day 3 knew better what to look for. He employed a run-and-gun offense with a shakey-head and frog, but by day 3, the frog had pretty much taken over.
Frog gear: 7'2" Fenwick Elite Tech Froggin' Stik , 65-pound Stren Super braid , Abu Garcia Revo casting reel (7:1), Snag Proof Perfect Fred Frog (custom color).
Shakey gear: 6'9" Fenwick Elite Tech Jig/Worm rod (new), Abu Garcia Cardinal 802i spinning reel, 8-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon , "generic" shakey-head jig, 6" Berkley Power Finesse Hand Pour worm (oxblood/light-red-fleck).
As noted, he fished the worm on a dropshot the first 2 days.
The Fred Frog, at least for now, is only available through Roumbanis' site: EliteBass.com . It'll likely be available at SnagProof.com soon.
The frog is actually a Bobby's Perfect Frog that's custom-colored. "Fred Roumbanis won a Bassmaster event here (at Murray) with it, and he's a good buddy of mine," Bennett said. "I knew what to throw and didn't think much of it (the frog). I practiced with it a little and got a few bites and kept it in the back of my head, (but) it wasn't really until the first day of the tournament that I could catch fish on it."
He only lost one frog-fish all 4 days and credited his rod with the achievement. "That Elite Tech I throw with is awesome. You set the hook and land pretty much everything that bites."
Click here to read more about his winning pattern.
Notable
Each year, BassFan publishes a full analysis of the year's patterns. To read part 1 of the 2007 report, click here. For part 2, click here .
As noted, tomorrow's story will include a detailed analysis of the season's winningest patterns, with breakdowns by bait, technique and month.
– End of part 1 (of 2) –
Much of the tackle referenced above is available at the BassFan Store. To browse the selection, click here.
