By Todd Ceisner
BassFan Editor


The calendar said October, but the bass at Clear Lake were still thinking it was summer at last week's Western Rayovac Series. With water temperatures still in the upper 60s and low 70s, competitors who showed up expecting to find fish on the move to their autumn hangouts were sorely disappointed.

While winner Aaron Britt unlocked a deep cranking pattern that held up for 3 days, other top finishers resorted to classic Clear Lake presentations to fill their weigh-in bags. While both runner-up Patrick Spencer and third-place finisher Justin Kerr spent their mornings throwing reaction baits, the lion's share of their fish came punching in and around Clear Lake's plentiful grass.

Following such a strategy demanded patience and a strong commitment as it was a formula to catch quantity. Both stuck to their plans and churned out impressive quality to trail Britt in the standings.

Here's how Spencer and Kerr went about their business.

2nd: Patrick Spencer

> Day 1: 5, 24-13
> Day 2: 5, 15-13
> Day 3: 5, 26-09
> Total = 15, 67-03

Spencer, who works as a project engineer for a construction company, pre-fished Clear Lake on weekends for a month preceding the Rayovac.

"It was tough," he said. "There were days I didn't get a bite during practice, but I knew going into it and seeing other tournament results that guys were catching them. I had to keep an open mind and not let that bother me. I knew somebody would catch them – it's Clear Lake. They're eating somewhere."

He said as the tournament approached, there was even talk amongst competitors that their was a fish-kill problem at the lake. He was having none of it.

"I couldn't let that get in my head," he said. "I just put my head down and grinded."

He eliminated some options right away, like the big swimbait pattern and deep-water jigs and finesse tactics.

"I tried them when I got there, but I'm not those guys," he said. "I don't know the lake well enough."

He eventually settled on trying for reaction bites first thing in the morning, then shift to punching and flipping around mid-morning for the rest of the day.

"I'd catch a couple 2- or 3-pounders on crankbaits and ChatterBaits in the morning, but I knew that wasn't good enough to win," he said. "When I went punching around 10 a.m., I knew they were in (the grass). It was just a matter of keeping my head down and grinding them out."

In practice, one thing he felt was key was the presence of baitfish around the grass he was fishing.

"There was bait everywhere, but some areas held it better," he said. "Every punch I made I scared bait and that was key. Once I figured that out, I went around looking for good, deeper grass with access to deeper water. I saw a lot of guys beating the bank in practice so I looked for stuff that was being overlooked. That was the stuff I keyed on."

He targeted more isolated grass than long stretches.

"Some of it was on top, but it was dying off," he said. "It was hard to see. It was beneath the surface a foot or so. A lot of guys would write it off because it was dying, but I knew they were still in there."

It was a breezy start to day 1 of the tournament and his crankbait program yielded three 3-pounders by 10:30. He moved to a deep spot where he'd gotten a bite in practice and fished it for 20 minutes, but left without another keeper.

"I ran to some grass where I'd had two bites in practice and within five minutes, I caught a 4 1/2," he said. "I knew they were in there so I stayed there. I caught five for 24 pounds in an hour."

He eventually left since no one else was fishing that area in hopes he could return to it later on. His 24-13 had him in 4th place after the opening day.

There was no wind to speak of to start day 2 so Spencer went back to his productive grass and went all morning without a bite.

"I knew they were there and that kept me there all day," he said. "I had three that came off that would've won it for me. My timing was a bit off. I think I was in there too long, but I knew if I could survive and make it to Saturday, I could come back and catch them."

He didn't finish his limit until after 3:30 and came in with 15-13 to make the cut in 9th place.

On the final day, he threw a square-bill until 10 a.m. before jumping to his green stuff.

"Sure enough, 20 minutes after I got there, I caught an 11-09," he said. "It's the biggest fish I've ever caught. I pitched in there and let the bait soak quite a bit. I remember looking back at my co-angler, then picking my rod up and it felt heavy. I set the hook as hard as I could and it didn't move. I told my co-angler it was a giant and the fish came up and tail-flapped on the mat and I reeled him in as fast as I could."

He added a couple smaller fish, then caught an 8 1/2-pounder at 1:30 and finished his limit at 2.

"That spot was crazy," he said. "I had two bites there in practice, but I didn't set the hook so I had no clue how big they were. I only had five bites all day the last day."

He focused on staying in 6 to 8 feet of water and noted the fish would take his bait on the fall in practice and on day 1, but he had to let it go to the bottom on the final 2 days.

"They were biting weird," he added. "It was like they were buried in the grass and not moving."

> Flipping/punching gear: 7'5" extra-heavy G. Loomis GLX casting rod, Shimano Core casting reel, 65-pound Stren Super Sonic braided line, 1-oz. Eco Pro Tungsten flipping weight (black), Paycheck Baits punch skirt (black/red), 3/0 Gamakatsu super heavy cover flippin' hook, Berkley Havoc Craw Fatty (black red flake).

> His crankbait of choice was a Lucky Craft SKT MR square-bill (chartreuse shad).

> Main factor in his success – "Keeping my head on straight and staying mentally focused. I saw guys flipping grass for an hour and then they'd leave if they didn't get a bite. I'd go two or three hours without even a hit. I could've lost my head. A lot of guys would've spun out, especially Friday when I lost those key fish without having a limit. I just kept my head down and told myself that on any flip it could happen. I knew I needed just five bites."

> Performance edge – "The reel and line were really key. I've never broken one off with that line and I was setting the hook as hard as I could. Not breaking those off is really key. A good hook is so important also, especially when you set the hook on an 8 and it runs on slack and you keep it on."



FLW/Dan Johnson
Photo: FLW/Dan Johnson

Justin Kerr was disappointed by his day-1 weight, but rallied with 23-plus pounds on the final 2 days to finish 3rd.

3rd: Justin Kerr

> Day 1: 5, 19-02
> Day 2: 5, 23-15
> Day 3: 5, 23-02
> Total = 15, 66-03

Justin Kerr says fall tournaments at Clear Lake are usually "feast or famine" for him and after a rough practice session, he got dialed in on a flipping and punching pattern that didn't mirror Spencer's approach in any way.

"It was weird," he said. "The guy who won was cranking. My best friend, Roy Hawk, is one of the best crankers in deep water I've ever seen. He didn't catch them. Ish Monroe and Bub Tosh are two of the best grass fishermen and they didn't catch them flipping grass.

"What I was doing was a little different. It seemed like the fish were on the outside edge or right in the middle. That cut my fishing time in half. I'd go down the front edge and then down the middle. The grass had to have a distinct edge, either a point or an ambush spot."

His tactic was to move quickly down grass lines and flip to the front several times before making flips to the center and then moving on. He also threw a crankbait in the early morning and finished the day by dragging a Carolina-rigged Roboworm.

"Maybe other guys were flipping too methodically," he said. "That was my key – to move."

He had two 7-pounders in his bag on day 1, but not much else as his 19-02 stringer had him in 21st place. He lost two 4-plus pounders in the grass that would've helped him significantly.

"That blew it for me, but that's the way it goes," he said. "It was tough, but it got better as the tournament went on for me. It was way warmer than it usually is. It's been hot here and the grass bite was like it was still mid-summer. It was totally different from how it normally fishes in October. I've been there before in October when it was snowing."

The grass he was focused on was in 4 to 6 feet of water.

He rallied on day 2 with 23-15, which pushed him up to 6th entering the final day. He finished strong with 23-02 to rise to 3rd.

> Flipping/Punching gear: 7'11" heavy-action Evergreen Morizo Flip casting rod, unnamed casting reel (7.1:1 gear ratio), 25-pound Evergreen Bass Seil fluorocarbon line, 1-oz. Kanji tungsten flipping weight (black), Paycheck Baits punch skirt (green-pumpkin), 4/0 Gamakatsu heavy cover flippin' hook, Kinami Pyscho Dad (green-pumpkin blue).

> He had punching rods rigged with 1 1/2-oz. and 1/2-oz. weights, but he said 90 percent of his grass fish came on the 1-oz. setup.

> Crankbait gear: 6'8" medium-light Evergreen Servil casting rod, same reel, 14-pound Evergreen Bass Seil fluorocarbon line, Evergreen Wild Hunch (silent) crankbait (shad).

> Carolina rig gear: 7'7" medium-heavy Evergreen Strikemaster casting rod, same reel, same line as crankbait, 1/2-oz. egg sinker, 4/0 Roboworm Rebarb hook, 7" straight-tail Roboworm (margarita mutilator).

> Main factor in his success – "Moving a little faster than normal."

> Performance edge – "My HydroWave was pretty important. I had the volume turned all the way up and in certain places they just came to the boat with it on. At certain times of the year and at certain places it works."

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