Several pros mentioned prior to the start of the Toledo Bend Bassmaster Elite Series that the bass at the massive Texas/Louisiana border reservoir could be caught just about any way an angler desired. That proved to be the case.
Winner Dean Rojas sight-fished and threw a popper. A couple of other Top-5 finishers relied on a jerkbait. Another flipped, and one came up with his own swimjig pattern.
Here's some information on how those who ended up in 2nd through 5th places compiled their bags.
2nd: Gerald Swindle
> Day 1: 5, 19-09
> Day 2: 5, 16-12
> Day 3: 5, 15-11
> Day 4: 5, 18-14
> Total = 20, 70-14
Gerald Swindle, who lost out to Rojas by a single ounce, focused on main-lake clay and sand points with deeper water nearby. His boat was stationed in about 12 feet most of the time and the majority of his bites came off of grass or stumps in the 6-foot range.
The points were inside some of the reservoir's biggest creeks and he was picking off post-spawn fish on their return to the main body. His primary weapon was a jerkbait, but he also threw a crankbait.
"I was catching 40 to 50 fish a day," he said. "A lot of them were just keepers, but every now and then I'd get one that was 3 1/2 pounds.
"It was a high-risk technique for the bigger ones because a lot of them, as soon as they bit, they'd jump off. I was just trying to get enough big bites to win."
He actually did get enough, but was thwarted by an 8-pounce penalty for a dead fish on day 1.
> Jerkbait gear: 7' medium action Quantum PT Smoke rod, Quantum PT Smoke casting reel (6.3:1 ratio), 12-pound Vicious Elite fluorocarbon line, Lucky Craft Slender Pointer 112 (ghost minnow).
> Cranking gear: 7' medium-heavy Quantum PT KVD Signature Series Cranking rod, same reel, 14-pound Vicious Elite fluorocarbon, Lucky Craft RC 2.5 (sassy shad).
Main factor in his success – "The biggest thing was the decision to stay out in that wind no matter how bad it got. Late in the day I'd be the only guy out there, but if I stayed patient it would eventually happen for me every day."
Performance edge – "My Odyssey batteries. I'd pull into that wind all day and turn around and throw backwards, and they held up the whole time."
> He said he also benefited greatly from a device called Troll Perfect, which clamps over the swivel bearing on a trolling-motor shaft and allows for easy adjustment of the tension on the cable steering. "I'm not sponsored by them or anything – a guy just came up and gave it to me when we were in Florida," he said. "I didn't even get his name. Then I was doing my tackle one night and I came across it and I figured if the guy thought enough of me to give it to me, I ought to put it on and try it. I couldn't get over how much more balance and steadiness it gave me in that wind."
David Walker got into contention with a giant bag on day 2.
3rd: David Walker
> Day 1: 5, 13-06
> Day 2: 5, 24-00
> Day 3: 5, 16-00
> Day 4: 5, 16-12
> Total = 20, 70-02
David Walker was buried at mid-pack after day 1, but quickly transformed himself into a contender with his day-2 sack, which was the best of the tournament. He was in a popular area loaded with fish, but said he spent too much time throwing searchbaits on the first day.
A desire for experimentation on day 2 put him on a strong flipping bite. He did most of his damage over the final 3 days with the big stick, complemented by some work with a Z-Man Chatterbait.
His area was on the main lake and consisted of several humps and islands dotted by clumps of grass.
> Flipping gear: 7'5" heavy-action G. Loomis GLX flipping stick, Shimano Curado or Abu Garcia Revo STX casting reel (7:1 ratio), 25-pound Sunline Shooter fluorocarbon line, 1/2-ounce homemade jig, Z-Man ElaZtech CrawdadZ trailer (green-pumpkin).
> ChatterBait gear: 7'1" medium-heavy G. Loomis GLX rod, Abu Garcia Revo STX casting reel, 20-pound Sunline FC Sniper fluorocarbon line, Z-Man Chatterbait (chartreuse/white).
Main factor in his success – "Perseverance and just having confidence in the area I was in."
Performance edge – "One thing that really helped me was my Power-Poles. Even in all that wind I could just put them down and make flips."
Chris Lane's high finish was helped by a favor from fellow competitor Kevin Wirth.
4th: Chris Lane
> Day 1: 5, 17-02
> Day 2: 5, 18-03
> Day 3: 5, 16-01
> Day 4: 5, 15-13
> Total = 20, 67-03
Chris Lane started out targeting post-spawners on hard-bottom flats that were ringed by grass, but moved out to the main lake on day 2 and threw jerkbaits over points, ditches, cuts and drains with sub-surface wood.
"I threw a Carolina rig the first day, but on day 2 at 10:30 I still hadn't had a bite," he said. "I went out to the main lake and saw Kevin Wirth catch two decent ones on a jerkbait. I'm no idiot, so I started throwing a jerkbait too.
"Then I broke off the only good one I had, so I went over to Kevin and he gave me three of them. That was pretty cool of him."
> Jerkbait gear: 7'2" medium-heavy All Star rod, Abu Garcia Revo Winch casting reel (5.4:1 ratio), 12-pound Stren 100% fluorocarbon line, Lucky Craft Pointer 110 (clear/black back).
> Carolina-rig gear: 7'4" medium-heavy All Star rod, Abu Garcia Revo STX casting reel, 17-pound Stren 100% fluorocarbon (main line) and 12-pound leader (18"), unnamed 1/4-ounce tungsten weight, glass (clear) and plastic (orange) beads, 5/0 Mustad Ultra Point offset hook, Gambler Stud (green-pumpkin candy).
Main factor in his success – "Making the decision on the second day to leave my area and go fish something completely different."
Performance edge – "My Legend/Mercury got me out there and back every day in some very rough conditions."
Fred Roumbanis developed his swimjig pattern on a small pond in Oklahoma.
5th: Fred Roumbanis
> Day 1: 5, 21-03
> Day 2: 5, 11-11
> Day 3: 5, 17-10
> Day 4: 5, 16-09
> Total = 20, 67-01
Like Swindle, Fred Roumbanis spent the entire tournament battling the wind while fishing offshore. He plied ridges on the main lake and in the mouths of creeks and said he never got within 100 yards of the bank.
He used a bluegill-mimicking swimjig pattern that he developed on a small body of water with similar features on his property in Oklahoma. He usually found the fish on the tops of the rides in the mornings and off to the sides in the afternoons.
"I was the only one out there," he said. "It was kind of lonely and it was real slow at times, but I knew I was eventually going to get the right bites."
He added that a major component of the pattern was using 15-pound fluorocarbon line – lighter than usual for such a presentation – in order to keep the bait down.
> Swimjig gear: 7'5" iRod Fred's Magic Stick rod, Ardent XS 1000 casting reel (6.3:1 ratio), 15-pound P-Line fluorocarbon line, 1-ounce Pepper football-head jig (green-pumpkin with a few strands of purple), Yamamoto Twin Tail Grub (green-pumpkin) or Optimum Double Diamand (chartreuse) trailer.
Main factor in his success – "Just sticking with the gameplan and working hard at it."
Performance edge – "My Lowrance electronics. I could zoom out and find those high spots real quick."
