Boyd Duckett won the recent Bassmaster Legends Major at Arkansas' Lake Dardanelle by employing a different primary tactic each day. Weather conditions changed throughout the tournament, and so did the water level.
Fish that were extremely cooperative one day ignored the same presentations the next.
And the event was tantamount to two tournaments in one, with the action shifting to the six-hole course on the Illinois Bayou on days 3 and 4.
Most anglers who made the Top 12 focused on shallow water connected to the main river channel on days 1 and 2. The Illinois Bayou is deeper and features much less current, so a lot of patterns didn't carry over.
Those who gave Duckett the biggest run for the $250,000 winner's check had to exhibit some versatility.
2nd: Jason Quinn
> Day 1: 5, 13-06
> Day 2: 5, 11-06 (10, 24-12)
> Day 3: 5, 14-14
> Day 4: 5, 14-07 (10, 29-05)
South Carolina's Quinn was somewhat surprised that he fared so well, considering his mind was on another body of water several states away. He's 35th in the Elite Series Angler of the Year (AOY) race, and can't afford to drop more than a couple of spots in the finale at Florida's Lake Toho.
Only the Top 37 will gain berths in the 2008 Bassmaster Classic.
"Truthfully, I didn't want to be at this event because I'm so locked in on Toho," he said. "But I fished real well – I stayed focused and caught everything that bit.
"This was one of the most brutal tournaments I've ever fished. It was unbelievably challenging."
His primary pattern throughout the tournament was flipping his signature series 1/2-ounce Tru-Tungsten jig. He picked up a few weigh-in fish on days 1 and 2 on a prototype Rapala DT Fat crankbait, which is not yet on the market.
> Jig gear: 7'6" heavy-action All Star Platinum flipping stick, Pflueger Summit casting reel (7:1 gear ratio), 25-pound Vicious fluorocarbon line, 1/2-ounce Tru-Tungsten Jason Quinn signature series jig (black/blue), Gambler Flappy Daddy trailer (bluegrass).
> Crankbait gear: 7' medium-heavy Team All Star crankbait rod, Pflueger President casting reel (6.3:1 ratio), 15-pound Vicious fluorocarbon, prototype Rapala DT Fat crankbait (chartreuse/brown back).
> He also caught a weigh-in fish on a Gambler Ugly Otter.
Main factor in his success – "Fishing really slow. And that's hard for me to do because I like to run-and-gun a lot of different stuff."
Performance edge – "Probably the Vicious fluorocarbon. You're line is something you have to have confidence in. A lot of guys were using braid, but I think I got more bites because I was using fluorocarbon."
Kevin VanDam weighed strong sacks on 3 of the 4 days.
2nd: Kevin VanDam
> Day 1: 5, 15-15
> Day 2: 5, 16-02 (10, 32-01)
> Day 3: 5, 12-08
> Day 4: 5, 16-00 (10, 28-08)
Michigan's Kevin VanDam compiled a hefty 16-pound average for 3 of the 4 days. Had he been able to hit that mark on day 3 as well, he would've won for the third time this season.
He worked current breaks and jetties on the main river with a spinnerbait, crankbait and jig on days 1 and 2. On the hole course, most of his weigh-in fish were caught on Strike King Series 3 or Series 1 crankbaits.
He said there was a period of about 90 minutes on day 1 during which he caught approximately 100 fish. Only three of them were keeper largemouths (15 inches or longer).
"I caught largemouths, spots, whitefish, stripers, catfish, drum – just about everything you can think of. They were all feeding in that one area."
> Spinnerbait gear: 6'10" medium-heavy Quantum Tour Edition PT Kevin VanDam signature series rod, Quantum Tour Edition PT 1170 casting reel (7:1 gear ratio), 20-pound Bass Pro Shops XPS monofilament line, 3/8-ounce Strike King signature series spinnerbait (blue shad with Colorado/Indiana blade combination).
> Jig gear: 7'4" heavy-action Quantum Tour Edition PT rod, same reel, 20-pound XPS fluorocarbon, 3/8-ounce
Strike King Denny Brauer Pro-Model jig (black/blue), Strike King Denny Brauer Chunk trailer (blue).
> Crankbait gear: 7' medium-action Quantum Energy fiberglass rod, Quantum Energy 750 casting reel (5:1 ratio), 14-pound XPS fluorocarbon, Strike King Series 3 or Series 1 crankbait (sexy shad).
Main factor in his success – "One thing that really helped me was my previous knowledge of the hole course (from Elite 50s in 2004 and '05)."
Performance edge – "My Biosonix unit played a big role (in making the Top 12). I had a couple of places where they were schooling, and it helped me keep those fish aggressive. Lots of times the shad came right up to the speaker on the trolling motor and bass were busting them right at the boat."
The tournament unfolded nicely for Dean Rojas – until the final day.
4th: Dean Rojas
> Day 1: 5, 14-08
> Day 2: 5, 16-08 (10, 31-00)
> Day 3: 5, 16-14
> Day 4: 3, 9-05 (8, 26-03)
Texan Dean Rojas' namesake Spro Bronzeye Frog produced brilliantly over the first 3 days and gave him a 6-ounce lead with just 1 day to go. But it wilted under the bright sun of day 4.
"When I didn't get any bites in the first hole, I knew the conditions had changed," he said. "But I didn't live and die with the frog – I flipped most of the (final) day.
"Up until the last day of the tournament, everything went just like clockwork. And then I just didn't get the bites."
> Frog gear: 7' Quantum Tour Edition PT Dean Rojas signature series Frog rod, Quantum Tour Edition PT 1170 casting reel (7:1 ratio), 65-pound Izorline braided line, Spro Bronzeye Frog (brown, yellow or green).
> Flipping gear: 7'4" heavy-action Quantum PT Tour Edition rod, same reel, 65-pound Izorline braided line, unnamed 1-ounce tungsten weight, 4/0 Gamakatsu Superline EWG hook, Northland Tackle Slurpies Brush Beaver (peanut butter and jelly).
5th: Ish Monroe
> Day 1: 5, 18-05
> Day 2: 5, 11-15 (10, 30-04)
> Day 3: 5, 11-11
> Day 4: 5, 11-05 (10, 23-00)
Californian Ish Monroe had an excellent practice that carried over into a superb day 1, when he caught 18-05 (the third-biggest sack of the tournament). He didn't do anything spectacular after that, but his work was solid enough to pull out a Top-5 finish.
"I found some fish on the first (practice) day in places I'd fished in years past, then the next day I found what I called the glory," he said. "I told my roommates, (Mike Iaconelli) and John Crews, that those fish would take me to the cut. On the third day I didn't even practice – I just did maintenance on all my stuff."
Ish Monroe's 18-05 bag on day 1 carried him into the cut.
His primary area was a cut that had a levee in the back and featured a good bit of current. He flipped up fish off of mats and wood in the rear and along both sides with a Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver, and he had the place all to himself.
On the hole course, he caught fish from the shoreline grass on a Sweet Beaver. The flipping action died on day 4, so he went to a Reaction Innovations Flirt Worm.
> Mat-flipping gear: 8' heavy-action Daiwa Steez flipping stick, Daiwa Zillion casting reel (7:1 gear ratio), 65-pound Power Pro braided line, 1 1/2-ounce Tru-Tungsten Denny Brauer Flippin' Weight, 5/0 Reaction Innovations BMF hook, Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver (penetration or black/red).
> Grass-flipping gear: 7'6" heavy-action Daiwa Cielo rod, same reel, 25-pound Maxima monofilament line, 5/16-ounce Tru-Tungsten weight, same baits.
> Worm gear: 6'6" medium-heavy Daiwa Cielo rod, Daiwa Steez spinning reel, 10-pound Maxima fluorocarbon, 3/16-ounce Reaction Innovations Screwed-Up jighead, 7-inch Reaction Innovations Flirt worm (green-pumpkin).
> He also caught a weigh-in fish on a Hildebrandt Bronzeback spinnerbait (chartreuse/white).
Main factor in his success – "Finding that one area that had current, mats, rock, wood, baitfish and deep-water access – everything that a fish could want."
Performance edge – "The 8-foot Daiwa Steez rod. It's the most awesome flipping stick on the market."
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