Lots Of Stuff Worked Where Water Was Clearest

By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor

Of all the venues that have hosted tour-level events over the past decade, the Sabine River might be the trickiest to solve. Anglers can run more than 100 miles in multiple directions, but some opt to fish within a few hundred yards of the launch.

On any given day, it's anybody's guess which locales within the sprawling tidal system that stretches across two states will surrender quality to fish and which will be as productive as a fountain pool outside the entrance of a municipal building. Just look at the fate of Skeet Reese, who caught a relatively easy 12 pounds on day 1 of last week's Bassmaster Elite Series event, then zeroed on each of the next 2 days.

An additional variable was tossed into the equation this time – rapidly rising water levels. Torrential rain on day 3 brought about serious flooding in the region and caused many of the spawning coves, which were harboring the vast majority of the keeper-length fish, to completely lose their definition. Also, there were substantial launch delays on days 1 and 2 due to fog.

Winner Chris Lane had the place pretty well wired as he caught a double-digit limit each day. He pounded a fruitful canal that was 45 miles away for the first 2 1/2 days, then drove the final nails into the rest of the field's coffin from within shouting distance of the weigh-in site.

Those who finished closest behind him traveled both near and far to piece together their sacks. Most flipped and pitched to likely bedding locales (it was extremely difficult to see nests in most places due to the heavily stained water), but some other presentations were effective, too.

Here's how the 2nd- through 5th-place finishers went about their business.

2nd: Mike McClelland

> Day 1: 5, 11-07
> Day 2: 4, 9-08
> Day 3: 5, 12-00
> Day 4: 5, 13-01
> Total = 19, 46-00

Mike McClelland burned up more than 75 gallons of gas each day on a 225-mile-plus round trip to a small creek on the far side of Galveston Bay. He and travel partner Jeff Kriet had learned of the place when they got guide help while pre-practicing for the 2013 Sabine derby.

McClelland said that when compared to most places within the tournament boundaries, the faraway creek offers "very simple fishing." He's now exploited it for two single-digit finishes, as he was 7th two years ago.

"It's typical spawning stuff for this time of year," he said. "It's got canals and bulkheads with some natural banks. There's overhanging trees, laydowns, gator grass and some water willow growing out of the bulkheads.

"With the river being up and having just had a new moon and a super moon, the conditions were perfect for spawning. And that's where those fish were going to spawn."

He came back with a strong limit on all but the second day. He attributed that lone short sack to a fuse issue that rendered his HydroWave unit inoperable that day, and assumed that the malfunction occurred during an extremely rough trip across Galveston Bay.

> Flipping gear: 7'4" medium-heavy Falcon Mike McClelland Signature Series Heavy Jig rod, Cabela's Arachnid casting reel (8.1:1 ratio), 18-pound Sunline Shooter fluorocarbon line, 1/4-ounce unnamed tungsten weight, 4/0 Gamakatsu offset round-bend hook, Big Bite Baits Fighting Frog (black/blue flake).

> "There's not doubt the Fighting Frog was the bait to be flipping," he said. "I tried several others on the first day and I didn't get the same reaction to anything else."

> In heavier cover, he employed a 7'3" heavy-action Falcon BuCoo Pitching rod and 20- and 22-pound Shooter fluorocarbon.

Main factor in his success – "Having the mindset and the desire to make that run, knowing I was only going to have a few hours to fish. Based on practice, I could get the same number of bites in an hour there than I could in 5 or 6 hours on the Sabine."

Performance edge – "On days 1, 3 and 4 I ran the HydroWave on the power pattern with a 45-second delayed loop. There's no doubt in my mind that they bit way better when it was on."

3rd: Aaron Martens

> Day 1: 5, 13-14
> Day 2: 5, 12-00
> Day 3: 5, 11-11
> Day 4: 4, 6-15
> Total = 19, 44-08

Aaron Martens had mechanical issues at the previous Sabine event and slogged to an 85th-place finish. He caught fire after that, however, and went on to capture his second Angler of the Year (AOY) title.

Things went much smoother for him this time and he was just a little more than 2 pounds behind Lane when the final day began. Day 4 was by far his worst day of the derby, but it cost him only one place in the standings.

His primary area was the same Taylor Bayou canal favored by Lane, Shaw Grigsby (7th) and Micah Frazier (12th).

"The trick was finding water that did have bass, and that was any spawning ground," he said. "If a place had fish, it wasn't that hard to get bit. Some of the (cover) I fished was obvious and some you wouldn't think fish would be on. I did a lot of moving.

"(The Taylor Bayou backwater) was the best one I found – there was a lot of bass in there. It had a lot of grass, but a lot of the other oxbows had grass. For some reason, that one was loaded with fish."

He relied on a spinnerbait and a bladed jig through the first half of the tournament and did a considerable amount of flipping and dropshotting over the weekend. The lightest line he used was 16-pound fluorocarbon, which is unusual for him.

"It was mostly 'Bubba fishing' with heavy stuff," he said.

> Flipping gear: 7'3" medium-heavy Enigma rod, Shimano Metanium casting reel (8.5:1 ratio), 20-pound Sunline Super FC Sniper fluorocarbon line, 1/4-ounce unnamed tungsten weight, 4/0 Gamakatsu Heavy Cover hook, Zoom Speed Craw (green-pumpkin magic).

> Dropshot gear: 7' medium-heavy Enigma rod, same reel, 16-pound Sniper fluorocarbon, 1/8-ounce unnamed weight, 2/0 Gamakatsu Heavy Cover hook, 4" Roboworm Fat (Aaron's magic).

> Bladed bait gear: 7'3" medium-heavy Enigma rod, same reel, 20-pound Sniper fluorocarbon, 1/4- and 3/-8-ounce homemade bladed jig, Yamamoto Slim Senko trailer (various colors, used only on larger bait).

Main factor in his success – "I'd say just figuring out how to catch them quickly."

Performance edge – "Everything has to work perfectly at a place like that. If you have a problem with any of your equipment, it could be catastrophic."

4th: Brandon Lester

> Day 1: 5, 12-03
> Day 2: 3, 7-09
> Day 3: 5, 10-14
> Day 4: 5, 12-08
> Total = 18, 43-02

Second-year pro Brandon Lester turned in his best finish yet on the Elite Series. With one exception, every fish he caught during the event was enticed by a frog.

"I found that pattern on the second day of practice," he said. "I went to Taylor Bayou and I was flipping, and I was kind of struggling so I decided to see if they'd bite a frog.

"The first little canal I went into I had two or three good blowups. After that I cut the hook off and I got 10 or 12 more and I knew that was the deal. It was kind of surprising, but that's just what they wanted."

He focused on extremely shallow water in the backs of the canals.

"They were spawning back there and when the tide would go out I could see their fins and tails sticking up out of the water. I'd stay back off of them and make a long cast, and more often that not they'd at least boil up on it. A lot of them ate it.

"When I couldn't see them I'd try to visualize where they'd be spawning. I'd keep my eyes open for one chasing bream of a bed or the weeds moving around – anything that could clue me in."

He made one cull on the final day while flipping a Berkley Havoc Pit Boss.

> Frog gear: 7'2" heavy-action MHX rod, unnamed casting reel (7.1:1 ratio), 50-pound Vicious braided line, Strike King Sexy Frog (black).

Main factor in his success – "Definitely making really precise casts was the real key. Sometimes I'd have to put it in a place way up under a bush that was the size of a dinner plate. If I could hit it and then walk that frog, then boom, they'd bite it."

Performance edge – "I'd say probably my Power-Poles. I could ease up to a place and put my poles down and pick it apart, then ease up a little farther and do it again. Power-Poles have really changed the way people fish shallow water."

5th: Greg Hackney

> Day 1: 5, 12-09
> Day 2: 5, 8-12
> Day 3: 5, 9-15
> Day 4: 5, 11-10
> Total = 20, 42-14

Greg Hackney spent the tournament relatively close to the launch ramp – he said he never got more than a 45-minute run away.

"My practice was pretty conservative," he said. "Last time we were there I had some (mechanical) problems and that burned me, so I figured I'd fish within a reasonable distance."

He sought out places with no current. He sight-fished successfully during the low-tide period on days 1 and 2, but the water never got low enough to make that a viable option on either of the final 2 days.

"Last time they were under mats and that kind of thing, but this time the deal was hard cover. I caught most of them on longs, stumps and cypress trees.

"I kept moving and when the tide would get right, I'd fish real methodically. I'd fish every target I came by like I knew there was a fish there, whether it had one or not."

> Flipping gear: 7'11" Quantum Tour Hack Attack flipping stick, Quantum EXO PT 100 casting reel, 65-pound Gamma braided line, 1/8- or 1/4-ounce Strike King Tour Grade tungsten weight, 5/0 Strike King Hack Attack Heavy Cover flipping hook, Strike King Rage Bug (blue craw or black neon).

Main factor in his success – "The biggest thing was patience – I never really got in a panic."

Performance edge – "I don't know if there's one thing I could point to. Everything had to work right this week."

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