According to Texas fishing pro Todd Castledine, the only thing holding him back from a tour career is money. He fishes 45 to 50 tournaments a year – everything from BassChamps to Media Bass to EverStarts and Bassmaster Opens. And he qualified for the 2010 Bassmaster Elite Series through the Opens, but was forced to decline due to lack of money and usable boat.

He's a little further toward his goal now. He and his partner won a Legend boat last fall in a regional fishoff, and he pocketed nearly $28,000 last Saturday when he won the Toledo Bend Texas EverStart.

The quality of the win can't be understated. Right behind him in 2nd and 3rd were Texas stalwarts Lendell Martin and Cody Bird. Russell Cecil made the Top 10 cut, while David Curtis just missed it.



In fact, the win shows just how savvy an angler has to be to win during the spawn at one of the most hallowed lakes in bass-fishing history.

Here's how Castledine did it.

Practice

Castledine, a resident of Nacogdoches, barely made a cast the first day of his practice, which was Saturday before the Thursday kickoff. He simply wanted to find out where he should spend his time.

He fished a tournament the next day (Sunday), then came back Monday and began to throw a Strike Pro Hunchback wakebait.

"It was cloudy and windy and you couldn't see, but I caught about 30 in 2 hours on it," Castledine noted. "A lot of those fish were on beds, so I took the hooks off it and continued to throw it the rest of the day. There's no way to count the number of fish I actually got to eat it, but when I got a bigger one to eat it, I'd mark that fish on the GPS because I realized they were on beds.

"So the rest of practice, when the sun was out, I'd look. When it was cloudy, I'd throw the hunchback."

Overall, he marked a healthy run of bed-fish. Although he understood the fish could well be gone by the start of competition, most of the fish were out of the way in nondescript, isolated areas. His hope was the rest of the field wouldn't come anywhere near them, and without fishing pressure, the fish would stay up.

More specifically, he had fish marked in two "pretty big creek-type areas" as well as on one "big, giant flat." His strategy would be to work the creek areas first thing for a limit, then try to upgrade on the flat.

Competition

> Day 1: 5, 27-04
> Day 2: 5, 19-05
> Day 3: 5, 18-09
> Total = 15, 65-02

Castledine went to his biggest five fish the morning of day 1 and caught his limit by about 10:30. He spent the rest of the day searching. But he made a key strategic decision: He'd search for fish to target on day 3, since he already had enough marked for day 2.

"Day 1 was cloudy and windy, but I had my fish marked so well it didn't take me more than 3 or 4 minutes to catch them," he noted. "I was actually glad it was cloudy and windy – I was hoping that would maybe hurt some of the other guys who were trying to find fish. I already had them marked, so I was hoping it was going to blow."

He ended day 1 in 1st with a 2-pound lead.

Day 2 dawned even cloudier, but not as windy.

"I'd saved some fish from the first day that I could have used to cull, but I was happy with my weight that first day, and I didn't want to burn them to gain a pound. I fished them (on day 2). They were on the big flat, and I didn't fish there at all the first day."

He still led after day 2, but extended that lead to 6 pounds.

Day 3 started with disaster. His motor malfunctioned and after he wrangled a backup boat, he'd already lost 2 1/2 hours of fishing time. But he caught three within 20 minutes, which settled him down, and he went on to weigh an 18 1/2-pound limit – not the heaviest sack of the day, but enough to hold on for the win.



Brittany Castledine
Photo: Brittany Castledine

Castledine used a wakebait to find and mark bedding fish when it was windy and cloudy.

Winning Pattern Notes

The beds he targeted were in 2 to 4 feet of water. The water temperature ranged from 59 to 63 degrees.

A few notes from Castledine about his pattern:

  • "I had 10 to 12 fish marked that were in really weird, crazy spots that I didn't think anybody would find," Castledine said. "So I'd hit a fish in one creek, then another creek, then another cut – they were all kind of spread out. Then after I had a limit, I'd go to the flat. I culled a couple of times on day 3 on that flat."

  • "I was catching all locked-on females. I don't believe I weighed a male all weekend. They were locked on when I found them in practice and a lot of them stayed. I caught fish the first day that I marked 6 days before the tournament. And one fish I caught on Saturday, I found on Wednesday."

  • "They were so far out of the way they'd be the only fish on a bank for 200 yards. Nobody ever messed with them and I could catch them on my first or second cast."

  • "This was the second spawning wave. Some of them were the first wave, but the fish on the flats, they were guaranteed second wave. They pushed up Tuesday and Wednesday and then another wave pushed up Friday or Saturday. I saw that whole other wave push up."

  • "None of my fish had males on them. They were all single females."

    Winning Gear Notes

    > Bed-fishing gear: 7'3" heavy-action unnamed flipping stick, Shimano Curado casting reel, 65-pound Strikewire braid, 5/0 Gamakatsu Superline hook, 5/16-ounce lead weight, Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver ("Color didn't matter.")

    > He said Strike Wire braid is a new line from Strike Pro.

    The Bottom Line

  • Main factor in his success – "The Lord. With everything going on with my engine messing up, and how it all worked out, that was it."

  • Performance edge – "Two things that helped the most were having that Legend boat – it got me around – and my Power-Poles. There's no way I could have won without the Power-Poles. It would have been impossible. And there was one on my backup boat. I knew he was a sight-fisherman so he'd have one."

    Notable

    > Castledine's sponsored by Strike Pro, Legend Boats, Power-Pole, Strike Wire, Combat Lures and HydroWave.

    > He said the Hunchback was a popular bait at the event. "I threw it to find fish, but four out of the seven of us who stayed together made the Top 10 and threw it – three pros and one co. I used it differently than the other three. They used it more to catch them."

    Much of the tackle referenced above is available at the BassFan Store. To browse the selection, click here.

    Final Standings

    > Field = 107 boats

    1. Todd Castledine -- Nacogdoches, Tx -- 5 27-04 -- 5 19-05 -- 5 18-09 -- 15 65-02 -- $27,842

    2. Lendell Martin Jr -- Nacogdoches, Tx -- 5 22-10 -- 5 17-09 -- 5 22-04 -- 15 62-07 -- $9,546

    3. Cody Bird -- Granbury, Tx -- 5 19-09 -- 5 15-15 -- 5 18-08 -- 15 54-00 -- $7,955

    4. Tim Reneau -- Del Rio, Tx -- 5 18-07 -- 5 21-09 -- 5 12-12 -- 15 52-12 -- $7,159

    5. Chris Wilkerson -- Conroe, Tx -- 5 24-15 -- 5 12-15 -- 5 12-10 -- 15 50-08 -- $6,364

    6. Joe Elkouri -- Lawton, Ok -- 5 18-08 -- 5 18-06 -- 5 12-01 -- 15 48-15 -- $5,568

    7. James Caldemeyer -- Gilmer, Tx -- 5 14-14 -- 5 21-06 -- 5 12-11 -- 15 48-15 -- $4,773

    8. Eric Wright -- Scurry, Tx -- 5 22-04 -- 5 13-07 -- 5 12-02 -- 15 47-13 -- $3,977

    9. Robert Brown -- Round Rock, Tx -- 5 19-12 -- 5 15-10 -- 5 11-10 -- 15 47-00 -- $3,182

    10. Russell Cecil -- Willis, Tx -- 5 18-07 -- 5 18-02 -- 0 0-00 -- 10 36-09 -- $2,386

    The following anglers didn't make the cut and didn't fish day 3:

    11. Charles Bebber -- Willis, Tx -- 5 20-06 -- 5 14-14 -- 10 35-04 -- $1,591

    12. David Curtis -- Trinity, Tx -- 5 18-05 -- 5 16-15 -- 10 35-04 -- $1,591

    13. Larry Peacher -- Bentley, La -- 5 18-02 -- 5 16-08 -- 10 34-10 -- $1,591

    14. Matthew Scogin -- Magnolia, Tx -- 5 19-02 -- 5 15-04 -- 10 34-06 -- $1,591

    15. Art Garza -- Buna, Tx -- 5 23-03 -- 5 10-14 -- 10 34-01 -- $1,591

    16. Claude Rabb -- Vidalia, La -- 5 17-04 -- 5 16-08 -- 10 33-12 -- $1,193

    17. Cody Malone -- Morgan, Tx -- 5 17-14 -- 5 15-10 -- 10 33-08 -- $1,193

    18. Rob Burns -- Plano, Tx -- 5 19-03 -- 5 14-04 -- 10 33-07 -- $1,193

    19. Rick Carter -- Alba, Tx -- 5 18-15 -- 5 14-07 -- 10 33-06 -- $1,193

    20. Joe Don Setina -- Pittsburg, Tx -- 5 16-07 -- 5 16-14 -- 10 33-05 -- $1,193

    21. Darren Haydel -- Houma, La -- 5 17-11 -- 5 15-05 -- 10 33-00 -- $1,114

    22. Tommy Dickerson -- Orange, Tx -- 5 19-14 -- 5 12-13 -- 10 32-11 -- $1,114

    23. Don Williams -- Keithville, La -- 5 14-07 -- 5 18-03 -- 10 32-10 -- $1,114

    24. Phil Marks -- Dallas, Tx -- 5 18-11 -- 5 13-09 -- 10 32-04 -- $1,114

    25. Randy Cisler -- Mesquite, Tx -- 5 17-08 -- 5 14-11 -- 10 32-03 -- $1,114

    26. Billy Cline -- North Richland Hills, Tx -- 5 17-08 -- 5 14-04 -- 10 31-12 -- $1,034

    27. Christopher Brasher -- Spring, Tx -- 5 17-13 -- 5 13-14 -- 10 31-11 -- $1,034

    28. Dave Parsons -- Yantis, Tx -- 5 15-12 -- 5 15-14 -- 10 31-10 -- $1,034

    29. Jeremy Guidry -- Opelousas, La -- 5 15-02 -- 5 16-06 -- 10 31-08 -- $1,034

    30. Jerrel Pringle -- Hemphill, Tx -- 5 16-11 -- 5 14-04 -- 10 30-15 -- $1,034

    31. Tommy Martin -- Hemphill, Tx -- 5 15-04 -- 5 15-07 -- 10 30-11 -- $955

    32. Kevin Walker -- Buna, Tx -- 5 13-15 -- 5 16-11 -- 10 30-10 -- $955

    33. Andy Gaia -- Tomball, Tx -- 5 17-06 -- 5 13-03 -- 10 30-09 -- $955

    34. Stephen Johnston -- Hemphill, Tx -- 5 15-06 -- 5 15-02 -- 10 30-08 -- $955

    35. Landan Ware -- Jewett, Tx -- 5 17-07 -- 5 13-00 -- 10 30-07 -- $955

    36. Dicky Newberry -- Houston, Tx -- 5 14-05 -- 5 15-10 -- 10 29-15 -- $955

    37. Ronnie Buquet -- Houma, La -- 5 17-06 -- 5 12-06 -- 10 29-12

    38. David Truax -- Hemphill, Tx -- 5 18-04 -- 5 11-06 -- 10 29-10

    39. Nicholas Albus -- Trinity, Tx -- 5 12-06 -- 5 17-03 -- 10 29-09

    40. Robert Case -- Point, Tx -- 5 15-07 -- 5 13-12 -- 10 29-03

    41. Kelly Owens -- Crowley, La -- 5 9-08 -- 5 19-09 -- 10 29-01

    42. Ronnie Bickham -- Brookeland, Tx -- 5 14-00 -- 5 14-09 -- 10 28-09

    43. Tommy Durham -- Whitney, Tx -- 5 12-14 -- 5 15-08 -- 10 28-06

    44. Todd Thomas -- Fouke, Ar -- 5 15-01 -- 5 13-05 -- 10 28-06

    45. George Jeane Jr -- Evans, La -- 5 12-11 -- 5 15-09 -- 10 28-04

    46. Kevin Lasyone -- Dry Prong, La -- 5 15-09 -- 5 12-10 -- 10 28-03

    47. David Moore -- Cambridge City, In -- 5 16-14 -- 5 11-04 -- 10 28-02

    48. Robert Roark -- Spring, Tx -- 5 14-12 -- 5 12-12 -- 10 27-08

    49. Robert Kenyon -- Cordova, Tn -- 5 13-04 -- 5 13-14 -- 10 27-02

    50. Bart Blakelock -- Lake Charles, La -- 5 12-14 -- 5 14-02 -- 10 27-00

    51. Jim Tutt -- Longview, Tx -- 5 17-09 -- 5 9-06 -- 10 26-15

    52. Jim Guzman -- Coldspring, Tx -- 5 12-07 -- 5 14-05 -- 10 26-12

    53. Bill Lee -- Harker Heights, Tx -- 5 17-07 -- 5 9-03 -- 10 26-10

    54. Wayne Murray -- Baton Rouge, La -- 5 12-12 -- 5 13-07 -- 10 26-03

    55. Bert Thompson -- Benton, La -- 5 15-07 -- 5 10-06 -- 10 25-13

    56. Yarri Schreibvogel -- Sam Rayburn, Tx -- 5 9-07 -- 5 16-04 -- 10 25-11

    57. Ken (Skeeter) Fowler -- Grand Saline, Tx -- 5 17-10 -- 4 8-00 -- 9 25-10

    58. Chris Mccall -- Jasper, Tx -- 5 14-15 -- 5 10-11 -- 10 25-10

    59. Dean Perkins -- Broaddus, Tx -- 5 13-02 -- 5 12-08 -- 10 25-10

    60. Bo Middleton -- Elgin, Ok -- 5 13-08 -- 5 11-13 -- 10 25-05

    61. Michael Herron -- Paris, Tx -- 5 12-01 -- 5 12-15 -- 10 25-00

    62. John Ballard -- Wichita Falls, Tx -- 5 12-04 -- 5 12-09 -- 10 24-13

    63. Lance Schouest Jr. -- Houma, La -- 5 9-13 -- 5 14-09 -- 10 24-06

    64. Chris Fontenot -- Nacogdoches, Tx -- 5 11-11 -- 5 12-10 -- 10 24-05

    65. Bob Weaver -- Lawton, Ok -- 5 15-01 -- 5 9-03 -- 10 24-04

    66. Tommy Rascoe -- Converse, La -- 5 13-02 -- 5 11-02 -- 10 24-04

    67. Ernie Paul -- Longview, Tx -- 5 11-10 -- 5 12-09 -- 10 24-03

    68. Greg Gleason -- Houma, La -- 5 9-15 -- 5 14-02 -- 10 24-01

    69. Marty Sugg -- Pattonville, Tx -- 5 11-09 -- 5 12-05 -- 10 23-14

    70. Theron Caldwell -- Colleyville, Tx -- 5 16-02 -- 3 7-11 -- 8 23-13

    71. Chad Dyess -- Calcasieu, La -- 5 12-07 -- 5 11-05 -- 10 23-12

    72. Robert Collett -- Zapata, Tx -- 5 10-06 -- 5 13-01 -- 10 23-07

    73. Gary Riffle -- Paris, Tx -- 5 13-05 -- 5 9-11 -- 10 23-00

    74. Joe Erwin -- Claremore, Ok -- 5 10-15 -- 5 12-01 -- 10 23-00

    75. Jason Robertson -- Pineville, La -- 5 8-13 -- 5 14-01 -- 10 22-14

    76. Michael Yoder -- Texarkana, Ar -- 5 10-03 -- 5 12-08 -- 10 22-11

    77. Ed Grisham -- Katy, Tx -- 5 12-15 -- 5 9-09 -- 10 22-08

    78. Michael Rogge -- Yantis, Tx -- 5 11-00 -- 5 11-00 -- 10 22-00

    79. Michael Harman -- Bastrop, Tx -- 5 12-08 -- 4 9-00 -- 9 21-08

    80. Dan Battarbee -- Zwolle, La -- 5 11-13 -- 5 9-11 -- 10 21-08

    81. Joseph Layton -- Jasper, Tx -- 5 12-05 -- 5 8-11 -- 10 21-00

    82. Johnny Winfree -- Deville, La -- 5 9-14 -- 5 10-14 -- 10 20-12

    83. Buz Craft -- Vidalia, La -- 5 9-03 -- 5 10-15 -- 10 20-02

    84. Raul Morineau -- Mexico City D.F., Mexico -- 0 0-00 -- 5 20-01 -- 5 20-01

    85. Mike Moody -- Alba, Tx -- 4 7-01 -- 5 12-09 -- 9 19-10

    86. Justin Rackley -- Flower Mound, Tx -- 5 11-03 -- 4 8-07 -- 9 19-10

    87. Chris Weaver -- Lawton, Ok -- 5 11-02 -- 5 8-06 -- 10 19-08

    88. Chuck Naomi -- Rayne, La -- 5 9-01 -- 5 10-02 -- 10 19-03

    89. Kerry Fisher -- Midland, Tx -- 5 12-00 -- 4 6-10 -- 9 18-10

    90. Burt Briggs -- Universal City, Tx -- 5 12-11 -- 2 5-09 -- 7 18-04

    91. Buddy Hardin -- Nederland, Tx -- 3 8-00 -- 5 10-04 -- 8 18-04

    92. Alton Wilhoit -- Harrah, Ok -- 5 9-09 -- 4 8-08 -- 9 18-01

    93. J.B. Young -- Deer Park, Tx -- 3 5-03 -- 5 12-11 -- 8 17-14

    94. Cody Ryan Greaney -- Austin, Tx -- 5 12-07 -- 2 5-01 -- 7 17-08

    95. Mario Carreon -- Las Cruces, Nm -- 4 7-13 -- 4 7-00 -- 8 14-13

    96. Harold Allen -- Shelbyville, Tx -- 5 14-01 -- 0 0-00 -- 5 14-01

    97. Trent Durst -- Longview, Tx -- 5 8-11 -- 3 5-04 -- 8 13-15

    98. Ronnie Eschete Jr -- Thibodaux, La -- 4 7-01 -- 3 6-11 -- 7 13-12

    99. Gary Vining -- Morgan City, La -- 0 0-00 -- 5 13-06 -- 5 13-06

    100. Chris Russell -- Montgomery, Tx -- 5 12-14 -- 0 0-00 -- 5 12-14

    101. Joe Gerard -- Concordia, Ks -- 4 7-04 -- 3 5-10 -- 7 12-14

    102. Bob Ramsdell -- Sour Lake, Tx -- 5 12-08 -- 0 0-00 -- 5 12-08

    103. Jacky Hawthorne -- Greenville, Tx -- 5 12-05 -- 0 0-00 -- 5 12-05

    104. Chip Porche' -- Bixby, Ok -- 5 12-01 -- 2 0-00 -- 7 12-01

    105. Elbia Ebert -- Porter, Tx -- 2 5-01 -- 3 5-06 -- 5 10-07

    106. Randy Despino -- Colfax, La -- 4 8-01 -- 0 0-00 -- 4 8-01

    107. Mike Holland -- Ragley, La -- 4 6-10 -- 0 0-00 -- 4 6-10

    Big Bass

    > Day 1 -- Christopher Brasher -- Spring, Tx -- 9-04 -- $ 214
    > Day 2 -- Raul Morineau -- Mexico City D.F.,Mexico -- 7-12 -- $214