Through the early part of last week, the talk coming out of the Guntersville Bassmaster Elite Series in Alabama was that quality bags could be caught doing just about anything. But after the final weigh-in was in the books, all of the anglers in the Top 5 had compiled most of their weight throwing crankbaits.
Some relied primarily on lipless cranks, while others went with billed offerings. Winner Aaron Martens did some of both.
But when all was said and done, if you weren't cranking, you're name wasn't among those on the top few rungs of the final standings.
2nd: Skeet Reese
> Day 1: 5, 25-09
> Day 2: 5, 24-14
> Day 3: 5, 26-02
> Day 4: 5, 27-11
> Total = 20, 104-04
As his daily weights attest, California's Skeet Reese was phenomenally consistent – a characteristic that has become his trademark. There was less than a 3-pound differential between his biggest bag and his smallest.
"I've caught bigger stringers during my career, but I don't think I've ever fished a tournament where I caught that many 5-pounders," he said. "I threw back three or four limits of them on the last day.
"This sounds silly, but it actually became frustrating because I couldn't find a 6- or 7-pounder. I was around a certain year-class of fish and there weren't bigger ones around there."
He began practice focusing on the 9- to 14-foot depth zone, but eventually ended up in the 2- to 6-foot range. He worked shallow ridges, humps, shell beds and the outside edges of grasslines.
"I adjusted as the tournament went on. Some of the fish moved back up shallower (when the Tennessee Valley Authority reduced the amount of current it was pulling), and the outside edges of the grass seemed to be where a lot of them were heading."
> Cranking gear: 7' medium-action unnamed fiberglass composite rod, Abu Garcia Revo Skeet Reese casting reel (6.4:1 gear ratio), 15-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon line, Lucky Craft RC 2.5 (splatterback shad).
> He also caught fish on a Rapala DT14 during the first 2 days.
Main factor in his success – "Making sure that I concentrated on fishing the outside stuff so the fish were coming to me and not leaving me."
Performance edge – "That Revo is such an awesome reel. With the 6.4:1 ratio and the oversized handles, I could crank harder and faster without wearing myself out as much."
Kevin Wirth climbed 9 places by catching the largest bag on the final day.
3rd: Kevin Wirth
> Day 1: 5, 24-06
> Day 2: 5, 27-04
> Day 3: 5, 21-06
> Day 4: 5, 29-03
> Total = 20, 102-03
Kentucky's Kevin Wirth was the last angler into the 12-cut after day 3, and then caught the biggest bag of the final day to jump nine places.
"I fished early summer stuff right on the main river, and some places just off it," he said. "A lot of fish were coming out from the spawn, and I fished right outside the places that the shad were spawning.
"They were high spots, and they were the first places those fish were coming out to."
He had eight or nine rods rigged up with various baits at all times, but did most of his damage on either a Strike King Series 5 or a Bomber Switchback Shad.
"It's the one with the shaved bill that you can turn the rattle on or off," he said of the Switchback Shad. "I'd use the rattle to get the fish going, then I'd shut it off. I caught almost all of my bigger fish that way."
He also caught some fish on a jig on day 3.
> Cranking gear: 7' or 7'9" Quantum Tour Edition KVD signature series cranking rods, Abu Garcia Revo Toro casting reel (5.4:1 gear ratio), 12- to 20-pound Spiderwire Ultracast line, Strike King Series 5 (sexy shad) or Bomber Switchback Shad (foxy shad or citrus shad).
> Jig gear: 7'4" Falcon Mike McClelland signature series rod, Abu Garcia Revo STX casting reel (6.3:1 ratio), 15-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon line, 3/8-ounce Jewel Football jig (green-pumpkin), Berkley PowerBait Chigger Craw trailer (green-pumpkin).
Main factor in his success – "Fishing where the fish were coming to me."
Performance edge – "I'd say it was the (Spiderwire Ultracast) line. Using different size lines to get different baits to go all different depths was key."
Deflecting his crankbaits off cover was key to Mike Iaconelli's high finish.
4th: Mike Iaconelli
> Day 1: 5, 27-05
> Day 2: 5, 27-05
> Day 3: 5, 25-08
> Day 4: 5, 20-15
> Total = 20, 101-01
New Jersey's Mike Iaconelli split his practice time about 50/50 between deep and shallow, but opted to go deep when the weather forecast called for rain, which would be followed by muddy water.
"I fished about halfway between the spawning coves and the main-river ledge," he said. "There was a major wave that had already spawned and they were moving out of the pockets and toward the main ledges. I tried to find the stopping places between those areas.
"Grass was almost secondary for me – the real important thing was hard stuff. Most places had a gravel or shell bottom with just very scattered hydrilla, and the really sweet spots had one piece of cover like a boulder, a brushpile or a single stump."
He rotated between four baits, but did most of his work with either a Laser Lure medium-diver or a Strike King Series 5.
Cranking gear: Team Daiwa Mike Iaconelli signature series fiberglass-composite rod, Team Daiwa Luna 250 casting reel, 12-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon line (green tint), Laser Lure medium diver (shad), Strike King Series 5 (chartreuse/blueback), Bomber Fat Free Shad (citrus shad) or Bomber Fat A (parrot).
Main factor in his success – "Figuring out the casting line that would get the bait to deflect off cover."
Performance edge – "My Navionics chip helps in any event where I'm fishing offshore, but at this tournament it really helped me dial in the sweet spots."
Marty Stone took advantage of a lack of local traffic around him.
5th: Marty Stone
> Day 1: 5, 26-15
> Day 2: 5, 23-13
> Day 3: 5, 30-01
> Day 4: 5, 18-08
> Total = 20, 99-05
North Carolina's Marty Stone began the tournament fishing a grassy ledge, but quickly switched over the the hard stuff.
"I was cranking rock, clay and shells, and it was even better if they were mixed together," he said. "The whole key to that was there was so much current and those fish needed places to get out of it. The best places to do that was on those hard corners."
His bait of choice was a Lucky Craft Fat CB BDS 4.
"That big, square bill didn't allow it to get too deep, and the other thing was I could rip it through the grass."
> Cranking gear: 7' medium-action American Rodsmiths Series 2 Marty Stone signature series rod, Browning Midas casting reel (6.2:1 ratio), 17-pound Vicious monofilament line, Lucky Craft Fat CB BDS 4 (chartreuse shad).
> He said of the bait color: "It matched the shad there perfectly. The bass choked it."
Main factor in his success – "Staying under the radar – I don't know how Kevin VanDam and Tim Horton ever catch a fish on that lake. I saw Kevin twice and he had 25 or 30 boats on him, and Timmy had 15 or 20. It's the most brutal lake I've ever been to for local fishing pressure."
Performance edge – "It had to be two – the rod and the line. I designed the rod and that line stood up to all the abuse it went through. A 6-pounder would come out and slam that bait and nothing would break."
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