Classic Winning Pattern
Reese Worked To The Outside For Pre-Spawners

Photo: ESPN Outdoors Skeet Reese didn't do much research on the Red River, and quit his pre-practice early.

They were right.

This extensive Oxbow located in Pool 5 kicked out the winning fish for champion Skeet Reese. In fact, he came within a few pounds of breaking the all-time Classic weight record for the five-fish era.

Reese wasn't the only one to fish Bobo's. Plenty of other high finishers were in there too – notably 9th-place Aaron Martens and 12th-place Boyd Duckett. But they fished more toward the back of Bobo's, while Reese fished the outside – nearer the main river.

That turned out to be the difference-making decision, because the two massive cold fronts that blew through hurt the shallow fish that were in the process of spawning. Reese, on the other hand, targeted pre-spawners – fish that tend to be more reliable during spring cold fronts.

He rode the same area for 3 straight days, switched between a spinnerbait and a plastic, and emerged the Classic champion.

Here's how he did it.

Practice

About his practice philosophy, Reese said: "I took a little bit different approach this week than I think a lot of the other anglers. I spent very little time out there prefishing – I was done with practice after a day and a half. I'd made a conscious decision not to lock down. I wanted to stay in Pool 5 to maximize my fishing time.

"To me, (locking) meant 2 hours that my bait wasn't getting soaked, and I'd be losing the potential for getting key bites."

He did a bit of Internet study prior to arriving, and briefly inspected a map.

"It was pretty self-explanatory," he said. "There are not a lot of areas in this river. So I basically put myself in the two biggest areas (where I thought) it was possible to win the tournament."

When he started pre-practice, he checked one of those two areas but didn't spend a lot of time there. Then he checked out Bobo's.

"I didn't keep going back (into Bobo's) to look at every nook and cranny. I didn't want to hurt the fish. I stayed out(side) and practiced and said, 'Okay, here's my two areas, and I know how I'm going to fish."

Photo: ESPN Outdoors Reese said the key to his spot was it had both clearer water and dirty water to fish, so he could change his approach as conditions changed.

His area actually had two types of water – a flat with stumps and pads that offered clearer water with fish closer to spawning, and a deeper area with dirty water that offered pre-spawn fish. He could therefore work a one-two punch, depending on what the weather did.

Competition

> Day 1: 5, 15-08
> Day 2: 5, 22-09
> Day 3: 5, 16-12
> Total = 15, 54-13

Reese went to Bobo's right away on day 1 and caught two good fish – both 5-pounders. He fished his dirty water all day and never went into the pads and stumps.

Photo: Berkley/Cox Marketing Group Reese flipped a Berkley Crazy Leg Chigger Craw (top) and threw a Lucky Craft Redemption spinnerbait. The spinnerbait shown has the correct skirt color and blade configuration, but he used an MS American shad head.

On day 3, the water dropped into the high-40s in the wake of another cold front. Reese caught a few flip-fish, but most of his weight came from pre-spawners in the muddy water.

"My last fish, a 4- to 5-pound fish, came at about 1:00," he noted of day 3. "That fish right there got me pretty pumped up. Everybody around me knew I had that fish. I knew it wasn't the type of fish that would put me over the 18-pound mark, but I also knew that fish gave me enough weight to put me up there in case anybody stumbled."

Winning Pattern Notes

"Anytime you have high pressure after a cold front, clear-water fish are the hardest fish to catch," Reese said. "If you have fish in dirty water, those fish are going to be easier to catch. That's what I loved about that little spot I had.

"They definitely bit better in the dirty water (on day 3), and that water was a few degrees warmer (on day 3) than the clear water. And when it gets cold like that, the fish that were spawning pull back to dirtier water."

Reese didn't use the spinnerbait in just the dirty water – he also slow-rolled it through the pad-stems and stumps. Time of day and sky was more the determining factor on what he threw where. The spinnerbait was more an early bait, then he flipped more under the sun.

Winning Gear Notes

> Spinnberbait gear: 7' extra-fast Lamiglas XR 704 rod, Abu Garcia Revo Winch (5.4:1), 50-pound Spiderwire Ultracast braided line, 3/8-ounce Lucky Craft Redemption spinnerbait (MS American shad head, nickel combination blades, customized translucent skirt).

> He said he fished spinnerbait on the Revo Winch because it's a strong, slower-geared reel. And he fished it on the braid because it cut through the pad stems better than mono or fluorocarbon.

> Flipping gear: Lamiglas XFT 806 flipping stick, Abu Garcia Skeet Series Revo casting reel, 25-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon, 3/16- and 1/4- ounce unnamed sinkers (1/4-ounce in wind), 3/0 unnamed hook, Berkley PowerBait Crazy Leg Chigger craw (black/blue-fleck)

Photo: Berkley Reese flipped with Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon, but threw his spinnerbait on Spiderwire Ultracast braid because it cut through the pad stems.

> He also wore Wiley X Skyee sunglasses with green polarized lenses - a relatively light green tint, according to Wiley X.

The Bottom Line