FLW Series winner Tim Farley helped test the first design of the Sworming Hornet Fish Head Spin that he used to put a quick limit of spotted bass in his livewell each day before he went in search of kicker largemouths. Ironically, the angler who finished right behind him – and likely would have beaten him had he landed one more fish on day 4 – relied on that bait too.
Farley and Fish Head Spin creator Rick Steckelberg both live in the Gainesville, Ga. area, and they're longtime friends and team-tournament partners. Lanier runner-up Terry Baksay lives more than 900 miles away in Connecticut, but he met Steckelberg about 15 years ago at a Bassmaster Invitational, and they've been good friends ever since.
Baksay and Farley were nearly 4 1/2 pounds ahead of the rest of the field to start the final day at Lanier, and Farley rallied to win the first event of the new Sieres with a 10-pound bag as Baksay lost three keepers and weighed in only four (one shy of a limit).
The other anglers who finished in the Top 5 used a variety of baits, from big topwater plugs to skinny finesse worms. Most focused on spotted bass early in the day, then sought largemouths to boost their bags once the sun got high in the sky.
2nd: Terry Baksay
Day 1: 5, 18-01
Day 2: 5, 15-13
Day 3: 5, 13-04 (15, 47-02)
Day 4: 4, 8-06
> Total = 19, 55-08
Baksay located his primary area by studying a map the night before the final practice day. It was a relatively flat pocket with a creek channel running through it, and it wasn't visible from the main lake.
"I'd caught fish the first 3 (practice) days, but it was one here, one there – there was no giant concentration," he said. "On the last day, I started near the place I'd found on the map and then made my way into it. On three casts, I caught a (4-pounder) and 2 3s. I said, 'Oh, my God.' It was sick.
"I just happened to find the mother lode. It was a spot you dream about. You could fish for years and never have a spot like that."
His day 1 limit was topped only by Farley's 19-09 sack and was the second-biggest of the tournament. His bags got progressively smaller each day, but he led days 2 and 3 after Farley stumbled to an 8-13 on the second day. He was one fish short of a limit on day 4, and that cost him the win.
"What hurt me more than anything was the (40-minute) fog delay," he said. "Tim and I both got to our No. 1 spots late, and the fish were done."
He caught most of his weigh-in fish on the Fish Head Spin, but a few fell for a jerkbait or a shakey-head worm.
> Main factor in his success – "Figuring out pretty early in practice what the fish were doing, and then finding that spot."
> Fish Head Spin gear: 7'0" medium-action All Star 845 rod, Pflueger Supreme casting real (6.3:1 ratio), 15-pound Maxima fluorocarbon line, 1/2-ounce Sworming Hornet Fish Head Spin (albino green), 5" Lunker City Finesse Fish trailer (salt and pepper or green phantom).
> When he ran out of Finesse Fish, he used a Zoom Super Fluke Jr. (green albino).
> Jerkbait gear: 6'6" medium All Star Platinum 785 rod, same reel, 10-pound Maxima fluorocarbon, Rapala X-Rap (spotted minnow) or Lucky Craft Pointer 100 DD (chartreuse shad).
> Worm gear: 6'6" All Star Platinum 783 spinning rod, Pflueger Medalist spinning reel, 8-pound Maxima fluorocarbon, 1/4-ounce Bite-Me ball-type jighead, 5" Lunker City Rascal Worm (mustard seed) or 5" Reaction Innovations Flirt Worm (green-pumpkin/watermelon laminate).
Shinichi Fukae pounded docks with small worms to bring in four respectable bags.
3rd: Shinichi Fukae
Day 1: 5, 14-01
Day 2: 5, 13-04
Day 3: 5, 14-09 (15, 41-14)
Day 4: 5, 12-06
> Total = 20, 54-04
Shinichi Fukae did what he always seems to do these days – catch one solid bag after another. He didn't make anybody's eyeballs bulge at the weigh-ins, but when it was over, only two anglers had more total weight than he did.
He speaks very limited English, and the information in this report was obtained with help from his wife Miyuki, who acted as a translator.
His pattern consisted primarily of skipping worms under boat docks. He also used worms to work some brush piles.
> Main factor in his success – "I practiced for many days, and practice makes perfect."
> Worm gear: St. Croix spinning rod, Shimano spinning reel, 6-pound Yo-Zuri Duel fluorocarbon line, 3/32- and 1/8-ounce custom jigheads, 4" Gary Yamamoto worm (cocktail or green-pumpkin).
Wesley Strader caught his best fish on a topwater bait.
4th: Wesley Strader
Day 1: 5, 13-04
Day 2: 5, 14-15
Day 3: 5, 13-04 (15, 41-07)
Day 4: 5, 12-05
> Total = 20, 53-12
Wesley Strader got onto a good early topwater bite, then he switched to a Zoom Super Fluke at mid-day. He also caught a few on a finesse worm.
He focused on docks in the backs of pockets.
"Every day I'd find at least one or two more docks that had fish on them," he said. "You might see two or three laying between the floats toward the back of the dock, but there would be more under the individual floats.
"Sometimes you could see them and sometimes you couldn't – it depended on what time of day it was. The warmest water was where the float met the water, and they were using those floats like a solar blanket. They were wanting to spawn real bad and they were just going through the motions."
> Main factor in his success – "Being able to adapt every day. Those fish were only under certain docks, and you had to really search for them. If you could trigger one to bite, you'd usually catch two or three."
> Topwater gear: 7'0" BassMedics 2iG Ultra-Strike XMB-743 rod, unnamed casting reel, 12-pound Izorline Platinum line (clear), Bomber Long A (chrome with black back).
> Fluke gear: 7'0" 2iG Ultra-Strike spinning rod, unnamed spinning reel, 10-pound Izorline, Zoom Horny Toad hook, Zoom Super Fluke (pearl/white).
> Worm gear: Same rod and reel as Fluke, 8-pound Izorline, 1/16-ounce homemade jighead, 6" Zoom Finesse Worm (watermelon candy).
Mike Auten had a strong finish in his first tournament since last spring.
5th: Mike Auten
Day 1: 3, 10-14
Day 2: 5, 14-07
Day 3: 5, 14-07 (13, 39-12)
Day 4: 5, 13-08
> Total = 18, 53-04
Mike Auten was fishing his first tournament since the 2005 Bassmaster Tour concluded last spring. He had an uninspired practice period in pursuit of spots, so he switched his focus to largemouths.
He fished docks and the backs of creeks and managed a Top 5 despite a three-fish bag on day 1. His 13-08 stringer was the best in the field on day 4.
He caught most of his fish on a crankbait, but also got a few on a spinnerbait.
> Main factor in his success – "Resorting to the largemouth pattern. It wasn't strong in practice, but it became stronger as the temperature conditions became more favorable."
> Crankbait gear: 7'0" unnamed fiberglass rod, unnamed casting reel (5:1 ratio), 12-pound Bass Pro Shops XPS line, Lucky Craft LC 1.5 (bull bream).
> Spinnerbait gear: 6'6" medium-heavy unnamed rod, unnamed casting reel (6.3:1 ratio), 20-pound Bass Pro Shops XPS line, 1/2-ounce Strike King spinnerbait (white/chartreuse) with tandem Indiana (No. 6) and Colorado (No. 4) blades.
Notable
> Baksay said he had a limit in 9 minutes on day 1.
> A picture of the Sworming Hornet Fish Head Spin was published with the Lanier Winning Pattern story. To see it, click here.
> BassFan News is brought to you by Rapala.
