Faircloth Went All-In On Grassy Flat

By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor

A rough five-tournament stretch this season notwithstanding, Todd Faircloth's professional angling career has been a chronicle of consistency. The 40-year-old Texan has qualified for the past nine Bassmaster Classics and can be counted on to win an Elite Series event about once every other year.

His latest victory at Lake St. Clair was his fifth on the circuit and washed away most of the sting from a less-than-stellar year. He'd gone into the previous derby at the Chesapeake Bay thinking he had no hope of making the 2016 Classic, but two strong showings have moved him up to 40th in the Angler of the Year (AOY) race and placed him at (or very near) the spot where the Classic cutoff will fall.

If he can move up just one or two places at this month's AOY Championship event at Sturgeon Bay in Michigan, he'll assure himself a place in the field at Oklahoma's Grand Lake next March.

His performance at St. Clair was yet another testament to his steady ways as he surpassed the 20-pound mark each day en route to amassing a 4-day total of 84-07. His 22-02 close stringer was more than 2 pounds heavier than any other brought to the scale that day and gave him a 6-pound margin of victory over runner-up Brandon Palaniuk.

Here's how he did it.

Practice

Faircloth found the large flat in the southern part of the lake where he'd spend the entire tournament on the first day of practice. That day was exceptionally windy, which greatly inhibited anglers' ability to move around or fish, but he managed quite a few bites with some good quality mixed in.

The next day he set out in search of some deeper action and found a place that harbored the best-looking grass he'd seen, but although he caught a few fish, he felt like he couldn't get a good grasp on what the fish were doing in that locale.

He returned to the flat on the final practice day and was zig-zagging across it when he came across a large void, or clean spot, in the large blanket of grass. The grass around that sandy section, which extended for perhaps 500 feet and was 40 to 50 feet wide, was 2 to 3 feet taller than the vegetation that surrounded it.

"I caught one there immediately, and then I had four bites on consecutive casts and the last one I caught was a big one," he said.

Competition

> Day 1: 5, 20-01
> Day 2: 5, 20-09
> Day 3: 5, 21-11
> Day 4: 5, 22-02
> Total = 20, 84-07

The wind kicked up again on day 1 and made holding on a specific spot difficult, but Faircloth's fish bit well and he had no company that hindered his game plan. He employed a Strike King Z Too soft-plastic jerkbait on a dropshot rig to compile his sack fairly early and then went in search of other swept-out areas, of which he found several.

Day 2 was considerably calmer and he started out throwing the Z Too again, but it wasn't as productive. His action picked up after he downsized to a 1/4-ounce weight and switched the bait to a Strike King Dream Shot, and he ended up catching a half-pound more than he had on day 1 to move from 8th to 6th in the standings.

He began day 3 on a spot where he'd fished briefly on the afternoon of day 2 and caught fish on nearly ever cast for 30 or 40 minutes. The only drawback was a large muskie was feeding in the area and attempted to steal just about every smallmouth that Faircloth pulled toward his boat.

"That place was at the very tip of the longest stretch I'd found and I didn't realize it ran out as far as it did," he said. "I caught more fish that day on any other."

That sack moved him up to 2nd place and he started the final day exactly 2 pounds behind Palaniuk. He again caught a quick limit that included a couple of 4-pound-plus specimens, although the action wasn't as brisk as it'd been the previous day, and he fished through the entire stretch without upgrading.

He then relocated to a spot that he'd fished for awhile on day 1, but avoided on days 2 and 3 because other competitors were in the immediate vicinity. He added three more big bronzebacks to go with the two he'd picked up earlier.

"I felt like I had at least 20 pounds, maybe a little more than that, and I knew I'd had a good day," he said. "I'd fished as efficiently as I could and win, lose or draw, I'd had a great tournament.

"I'd done everything I could do and fortunately I came out on top."

Pattern Notes

Faircloth never drifted his baits, but instead made casts and short pitches to the clean spots. Frequently he'd see a fish on his depthfinder and drop straight down beneath the trolling motor to catch it.

The fish were holding in 15 to 18 feet of water.

"There was a lot of yellow perch in there, and I think that was the key," he said. "Sometimes in the early morning they'd get out in the middle of those places, but when the sun got higher they'd get tighter to the grass."

Winning Gear Notes

> Dropshot gear: 7' medium-action Castaway spinning rod, Shimano Stradic 2500 spinning reel, 10-pound Sunline SX1 braided line (main line), 8-pound Sunline Super FC Sniper fluorocarbon leader (12'), 1/4- or 3/8-ounce Strike King tungsten dropshot weight, 1/0 Gamakatsu Split Shot/Drop Shot hook, Strike King Dream Shot (KVD magic) or Strike King Z Too (Arkansas shiner).

The Bottom Line

> Main factor in his success – "I think I won the tournament by expanding on that area each day instead of going somewhere totally different after I'd catch a good bag. I really treated the second half of the first 3 days like practice and I found some key spots that were important later on."

> Performance edge – "The baits were critical, but I'd have to say it was my Lowrance units. I was 4 or 5 miles offshore and they were pivotal for finding those places in the grass. They allowed me to be real precise and I had a good understanding of what I needed to be looking for."

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