Marks Made Right Moves When Weather Turned Gloomy

Too much local knowledge isn't always an advantage for an angler in a high-level tournament. An overwhelming amount of experience on a particular venue can lead to too many ideas about what to do next if plan A doesn't unfold as expected.

In a tough-bite event, however, that additional experience can be invaluable. It can instill the determination to stay with a particular tactic or location even when the action is slow, with the confidence that such a strategy will pay off in the end.

Paul Marks, a landscaping contractor from Cumming, Ga. whose tournament fishing has been curtailed recently due to his children's involvement in youth sports, won last week's Lanier PAA Tournament Series on his home water by focusing on spotted bass at the southern end of the lake. Spots of any size had been extremely difficult to catch since

the initial practice period began at the beginning of the week, primarily because of the cool, wet weather that had paid an extended visit to the Atlanta area.

He targeted larger specimens (3 pounds and over) and got just enough bites to pull off the victory. His 3-day total of 44.44 pounds left him a little more than 2 pounds clear of the field and earned him a Nitro boat package, plus $5,000 in cash.

Here's how he did it.

Practice

The PAA Tournament Series has a 30-day off-limits rule, so despite living within 2 miles of the lake, Marks hadn't been on it since late February. That wasn't too much of a hardship since it coincided with one of the busiest times of the year for his company.

"Of course, I knew where the fish should be at that time, so I ran some of those patterns (during the 3-day official practice period)," he said. "The cold weather had pushed them back a little bit, but fortunately I knew where they'd moved and how to catch them.

"I was targeting the bigger spots on brush, but not really on the (spawning) flats. I fished closer to the drops – most of the stuff had to be in 20 to 25 feet of water. Those fish go deeper with these weather changes because they fell more secure down there, and there was a few of (the places) that seemed to have the better fish stacked up."

Though they were congregated, they weren't easy to catch. He gambled that he could get a handful of bites each day via a combination of a jerkbait and a Sworming Hornet FishHead Spin.

Competition

> Day 1: 5, 14.61
> Day 2: 4, 15.91
> Day 3: 5, 13.92
> Total = 14, 44.44

Marks' opening-day bag left him in 6th place, less than 2 pounds behind leader Cody Bird. He boated only four keepers the following day, including one on his final cast, but that sack was more than a pound heavier than his day-1 haul and he moved into the lead.

His advantage would've been well over 2.14 pounds had two fish not come unbuttoned. But he caught enough to hold onto the top slot on the final day, thwarting a serious charge by eventual runner-up Derek Remitz.

Although he had numerous locations he was rotating through, three of his fish that day came off the same brushpile. He caught two on a morning visit and another on a return stop in the afternoon.

Four of the fish came via the jerkbait and the other took the FishHead Spin.

"(Remitz) had a good catch and that gave him some hope," he said. "I was just fortunate enough to be able to catch five."

Pattern Notes

Marks said he normally uses 12-pound fluorocarbon when fishing brushpiles, but he went to 8-pound line in order to get the jerkbait slightly deeper. Most of the fish he'd located were suspended in the 8- to 10-foot range.

"I'd initially give it two hard pulls to get it down there, and after that I'd tone it down a little and get the cadence going."

He wasn't overly concerned about fish breaking the lighter line.

"When they're (in that mode), they aren't real mean. Right off they'll pound it pretty good, but after that it's just a matter of keeping tension on the line and working them to the boat."

Winning Gear Notes