Previously, BassFan reported on pattern information for Norman FLW Tour winner Sean Hoernke, plus runner-up Jim Moynagh and 3rd-place finisher Scott Canterbury. Below is how the 4th- and 5th-place finishers caught their fish.
4th: Greg Pugh
> Day 1: 5, 12-12
> Day 2: 5, 13-07 (10, 26-03)
> Day 3: 5, 10-13
> Day 4: 5, 11-03 (10, 22-00)
Alabama pro Greg Pugh sight-fished "99% of the time," he said, and added he had at least 100 fish marked on GPS that he ran to throughout the 4 days.
"I fished a couple areas the first 2 days of the tournament, and pretty well stuck with about three different baits," he noted. "I was throwing a shakey-head with a Berkley Shaky worm, a jig, and a Bomber Long A.
"I fished the upper third of the lake, and stayed probably within 4 miles north and south of the 150 bridge," he added. "This was the first time on any lake where I could actually say that the fish were sitting on beds in every pocket I went into. I'd never been to a lake where fish were laying in every place I looked."
> Shakey gear: 7'6" medium-heavy Fenwick Techna AV rod, Abu Garcia Cardinal 502 ALB spinning reel, 8-pound Spiderwire Ultracast fluorocarbon (prototype), 3/16-ounce unnamed jighead (green-pumpkin/brown), 7" Berkley Shaky worm (green-pumpkin, tail sprayed with chartreuse).
> Jig gear: 7'3" medium-heavy/fast-action Fenwick Elite Tech RigginStik rod, Abu Garcia Revo STX casting reel, 15-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon, 5/16-ounce unnamed jig (green-pumpkin), unnamed trailer (green-pumpkin).
> Long A gear: Same rod and reel as jig, 17-pound Trilene Sensation line, Bomber Long A jerkbait (bone).
> Main factor in his success – "Bed-fish."
> Performance edge – "Probably that 7" Berkley Shaky worm. It seemed like when the fish hit it, they really pounded it. It wasn't a light hit. It was more of a line-jumping experience. I've never had bed-fish hit that hard."
Glenn Browne noted that as the tournament progressed, he moved more to the water outside the pockets.
5th: Glenn Browne
> Day 1: 5, 12-10
> Day 2: 5, 14-02 (10, 26-12)
> Day 3: 5, 9-13
> Day 4: 5, 10-09 (10, 20-06)
Like Pugh, Florida pro Glenn Browne relied on his eyes all 4 days.
"I was in a lot of backs of pockets and stuff like that," Browne noted. "They seemed to want to be around gravelly stuff – sandbars and little gravel areas. As the tournament progressed, I fished more outside of the pockets. The fish were definitely finishing up and moving back out."
His bait choice included two options – a finesse jig and a shakey-head.
> Finesse jig gear: 7"2" medium-heavy Fenwick Elite Tech Strokin' Special rod, Abu Garcia Revo Premier casting reel, 12-pound Trilene 100% fluorocarbon, 5/16-ounce homemade jig (green-pumpkin/brown), Berkley Power Chunky trailer (green-pumpkin).
> Shakey gear: 6'9" medium/fast Fenwick Elite Tech Jig/Worm rod, Abu Garcia Cardinal 704LX spinning reel, 8-pound Spiderwire Ultracast fluorocarbon (prototype), Gambler Giggy Head jighead (black and green-pumpkin), Berkley Fat Dover Crawler (green-pumpkin).
> Main factor in his success – "Burning up the trolling-motor batteries. You really had to look. And once you kind of figured out a pattern and knew where they were at, you could go into about any pocket and fish the same type of area."
> Performance edge – "I think it was probably the new Spiderwire fluorocarbon. It feels and handles on a spinning rod so much better than the Trilene 100% (fluorocarbon). It has a small diameter but is super-strong and supple. It doesn't blow off your spinning reel. You can fish it all day and not worry about wind knows and all that mess."
