Over the past 2 days, BassFans have gotten the lowdown from Bassmaster Classic winner Kevin VanDam and runner-up Jeff Kriet on how they approached Alabama's Lay Lake during the 40th edition of the sport's premier event. Following is some pattern information from the 3rd- through 6th-place finishers.
As with VanDam and Kriet, all spent a lot of time throwing rattlebaits in Beeswax Creek, which offered up the best water conditions and the healthiest grass in the chilly, muddy impoundment.
3rd: Todd Faircloth
> Day 1: 5, 18-02
> Day 2: 5, 13-12
> Day 3: 5, 12-05 (15, 44-03)
Todd Faircloth fished across the creek from Kriet on a stretch that either might have been able to win on if they'd had it all to themselves. He focused on the ends of a couple of drains and some points and flats that had grass coming out from the bank.
"The thicker the grass was, the better," he said. "And coontail was definitely the best grass."
Most of his fish came on a Sebile Flatt Shad, but he also caught a couple on a Senko.
"I was pumping the Flatt Shad, fishing it almost like a worm. That was critical."
> Gear: 7'2" medium-action Castaway rod, unnamed casting reel (7:1 ratio), 16-pound Sugoi fluorocarbon line, 1/2-ounce Sebile Flatt Shad (shad/green back or chrome blue).
> He said he threw a lipless crank of another brand for part of day 1 because it sank more slowly.
Russ Lane's bag was second-biggest on day 3 – behind only winner Kevin VanDam.
4th: Russ Lane
> Day 1: 5, 14-01
> Day 2: 4, 11-10
> Day 3: 5, 18-01 (14, 43-12)
Alabama's Russ Lane is intimately familiar will all of the lakes on the Coosa chain, which includes Lay. His final-day bag was bigger than any in the tournament other than VanDam's 19 1/2-pound book-enders.
Everything he weighed on the first 2 days came out of Beeswax, but he shifted his focus to Spring Creek for day 3. Spring had been dead during practice, but his experience on the lake told him it wouldn't stay that way if the water continued to warm, and his hunch was correct.
"It's a flat creek and it's a little clearer in there," he said. "Around here, the clear water doesn't warm up as quick as the dirty water does."
He threw the rattlebait some in Spring as well, but compiled most of his final-day weight by flipping a Big Bite YoMama to isolated grass mats.
> Rattlebait gear: 7' medium-action American Rodsmiths David Fritts signature series cranking rod, Abu Garcia Revo STX casting reel, 12-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon line, Strike King RedEye Shad (sexy shad) or XCalibur Xr50 (foxy shad).
> Flipping gear: 7'6"American Rodsmiths Team Series flipping stick, same reel, 65-pound Berkley Trilene Big Game braided line, 1-ounce unnamed tungsten weight, 5/0 Gamakatsu Paycheck Baits Punch Hook, Big Bite YoMama (black/blue or watermelon-red with tail dyed chartreuse).
Brent Chapman tried a jerkbait in Paint Creek during practice, but opted to fish Beeswax with a rattlebait.
5th: Brent Chapman
> Day 1: 5, 13-00
> Day 2: 5, 8-02
> Day 3: 5, 16-12 (15, 37-14)
Brent Chapman likewise spent his time in Beeswax and likewise threw a rattlebait. But as the tournament progressed he switched to an XCalibur One Knocker, then to a Rapala DT6.
With the Beeswax fish so pressured, his thought process was to first use a loud rattelbait, then a bait with a more subdued rattle, then a bait with no rattle at all. "The fish had so many rattling things going by them I wanted something more subtle," he said. "I caught all my fish the last day on that DT6."
He said his boat was generally over 5 to 8 feet of water and he was working his bait parallel to the grass edge in 4 to 6 feet.
"Ticking the grass was important," he noted. "You wanted to stay in contact with the grass. The first day, it didn't seem like it mattered as much, but the last 2 days it really changed and it seemed like you had to work harder to get bites."
> Gear: 6'6" medium-action Wright-McGill Skeet Reese Tesera Short Mag rod, Wright-McGill Sàbalos casting reel, 12-pound Gamma Edge fluorocarbon.
> The 6'6" Short Mag rod was a brand new rod introduced at the Classic.
> His hardbaits included a 1/2-ounce Strike King RedEye Shad (blue/chrome), 3/4-ounce XCalibur XRK One Knocker (foxy shad) and Rapala DT6 (firetiger).
Mike Iaconelli caught more than half of his fish on a Berkley Powerbait Ripple Shad grub.
6th: Mike Iaconelli
> Day 1: 5, 14-09
> Day 2: 4, 12-03
> Day 3: 5, 10-09 (14, 37-05)
Iaconelli fished the first 2 days in Beeswax, and then ran all over the lake on day 3 in the quest for a huge bag that would propel him to the top. To him, there was no difference between 2nd place and 6th.
He was the only Top 6 finisher who didn't catch the majority of his fish for the tournament on a rattlebait. He said that 9 or 10 were enticed by a Berkley Powerbait Ripple Shad grub. Among those was a 6-11 brute.
"I was swimming it real slow, then let it sink to the bottom, and then start swimming it real slow again," he said. "When it contacted something, I'd give it a snap with my wrist."
He also worked his rattlebait in a similar fashion.
"There was no kind of burning going on or anything like that."
> Grub gear: 7' medium-action Abu Garcia Veritas rod (prototype), Abu Garcia Soron STX 40 spinning reel, 6- or 8-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon line, 3/16- or 1/4-ounce darthead, Berkley Powerbait Ripple Shad (green/pearl back).
> The Veritas rod is not on the market yet. It's official introduction will come this summer at ICAST.
> Rattlebait gear: 7' medium-action Fenwick Elite Tech Crankshaft rod, Abu Garcia Revo Winch casting reel (5.4:1 ratio), 12-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon, Laser Lure lipless crankbait (spicy shad).
