California Delta Patterns 3-5
Flipping Sticks Accounted For Most Of Top Finishers' Fish

Photo: ESPN Outdoors/Seigo Saito A couple of lost fish on day 4 at the California Delta Bassmaster Elite Series cost Greg Hackney dearly.

3rd: Greg Hackney

> Day 1: 5, 14-14
> Day 2: 5, 17-00
> Day 3: 5, 25-07
> Day 4: 4, 12-15
> Total = 19, 70-04

Greg Hackney finished just 2-04 behind Crews and would've won had he boated either of the two bites he lost on day 4. He said he had a mediocre practice and was initially disappointed that he wasn't catching any 8-pounders.

"I got one of those, but the other fish were all 2- to 4-pounders," he said. "The first day of practice was pretty good – I had 20 or 25 pounds – but no real big ones.

"I think the fish were really affected by the cold weather. It reminded me of Florida where when the fish get cold, they don't like it. These fish like it warm – I could tell that."

He took the lead with a monster bag on day 3, but was at a loss to explain why his bites were so much bigger that day. The stringer included an 8-10 brute that tied Greg Vinson for biggest of the tournament.

> Flipping gear: 7'11" Quantum Tour Edition Greg Hackney signature rod, Quantum Tour Edition PT "Burner" casting reel (7:1 ratio), 50-pound Cajun braid or 20-pound Cajun fluorocarbon line, 3/8- or 3/4-ounce Tru-Tungsten slip sinker, prototype 5/0 Youvella straight-shank flipping hook, Strike King Rodent (doubleheader).

> He also caught one weigh-in fish on a Strike King Pure Poison swim jig.

Main factor in his success – "Getting dialed in to the fact that I really had to fish slow."

Performance edge – "Probably my Phoenix boat. I was taking a long boat ride and covering a lot of water with a lot of tight turns, and it allowed me to run wide-open everywhere I went."

Photo: ESPN Outdoors/Seigo Saito Mike Iaconelli flipped up a tournament-best bag on day 2.

> Day 1: 5, 14-00
> Day 2: 5, 25-12
> Day 3: 5, 14-14
> Day 4: 5, 13-02
> Total = 20, 67-12

The fish in Mike Iaconelli's primary location changed on him midway through the tournament. He could catch them only on high tide the first 2 days, but just the opposite was true on days 3 and 4.

He caught 16 of the ones he weighed in by flipping and the other four on a crankbait. He eventually opted to forego the crankbait pattern entirely because those fish, which came from a different locale than where he flipped, were smaller and most ended up being culled.

His day-2 bag was the best of the tournament.

"Two things were really key about the flipping pattern," he said. "One was that I was flipping fluorocarbon (line) instead of braid. Too many guys get caught up in flipping only with braid, but in hydrilla you can get away with fluorocarbon and you'll get more bites. It's not like when you're flipping mats.

"Another sleeper was that I was flipping to the isolated grass patches. You could get up there and see the obvious ones, but there were others that just looked like dark spots or little black circles. My signature series Cocoons (sunglasses) really helped me see those."

> Flipping gear: 7'6" medium-heavy Abu Garcia Vendetta rod, Abu Garcia Revo Premier casting reel, 25- or 20-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon line, 3/4- or 1/2-ounce Tru-Tungsten weight, 4/0 or 3/0 Youvella hook, 4" or 3" Berkley PowerBait Crazy Legs Chigger Craw (black/blue).

> He flipped the bigger bait with the larger weight and heavier line in hydrilla and the smaller rig in more sparse cover.

> Cranking gear: 7' medium-action Fenwick Elite Tech Crankshaft rod, Abu Garcia Revo Winch casting reel, 12-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon, Laser Lure Shallow Diver (red phantom).

Main factor in his success – "Slowing down and fishing methodically, especially the last 2 days. I couldn't just put the trolling motor on high and blow through the area. I knew I had a special area and I had to hit every clump."

Performance edge – "The fluorocarbon line and the Cocoons."

Photo: ESPN Outdoors/Seigo Saito Shaw Grigsby's fish were of a high quality, but he didn't catch quite enough of them.

> Day 1: 5, 14-08
> Day 2: 5, 18-14
> Day 3: 3, 12-06
> Day 4: 4, 17-15
> Total = 17, 63-11

Shaw Grigsby spent virtually the entire tournament with a jig tied to the end of his line and presented it to the fish in various ways – from very short flips to casts of substantial distance. His weight-per-fish average was excellent, particularly over the last 2 days. On the flip side, he didn't weigh a limit either day.

He fished four different areas, all of which he discovered during practice, and caught a 6-pounder on each day except the first.

> Jig gear: 7'2" Quantum Tour Edition Shaw Grigsby signature rod, Quantum Tour Edition PT casting reel (6.3:1 ratio), 17-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon line, 1/4- or 3/8-ounce Strike King jig (crawfish), Strike King Rage Craw trailer (watermelon-red).

Main factor in his success – "Locating four different places to catch them. That way if one of them fell out or got overrun, I could just move to the next one."

Performance edge – "My Lowrance GPS – I couldn't have even come close to getting around in that maze of canals without it. It also had the (tide chart) on it, so all I had to do was check it to find out where it was high or where the most water movement was."

Notable

> Second-place finisher Skeet Reese could not be reached for pattern information. BASS reported that he flipped a Berkley PowerBait Chigger Craw and a creature bait and also threw a Chatterbait.