Spot Experience Helped Meyer; Nixon Sought Solitude

The two anglers who finished directly behind winner Kevin Hawk at the Forrest Wood Cup share some similarities, but the contrasts between them are striking. To start with, 27-year-old Californian Cody Meyer is less than half the age of 59-year-old Arkansas legend and 3rd-place finisher Larry Nixon.

Meyer is still in the infant stages of an ultra-promising career, whereas Nixon has done everything there is to do in the sport – except win the Cup. Both made a strong run at the title for the second consecutive year.

Here's how they went about their business at Georgia's Lake Lanier.

2nd: Cody Meyer

> Day 1: 5, 14-03
> Day 2: 5, 13-03
> Day 3: 5, 11-05
> Day 4: 5, 9-13
> Total = 20, 48-08

Meyer came in with a great deal of experience catching spotted bass at reservoirs like Shasta and Oroville in his home region. He knew he'd have to run numerous brushpiles to have a shot at victory, so he spent 3 pre-practice days before the lake went off limits and all 4 days of official practice moving from one sunken bush to another.

"What I noticed in practice, and what held up for the tournament, was that the best (piles) were right at the break of a ledge, and the sharper the drop, the better," he said. "Those were all 25 to 40 feet deep."

He started each practice day trying to catch something on a Sworming Hornet Fish Head Spin – the underspin bait that's in the box of just about everybody who casts a line at Lanier – but he couldn't get his fish interested in it. He threw some topwater baits, but had no success with those, either.

It was a different story with a Jackall Crosstail Shad or a Roboworm on a dropshot rig, however. He could catch suspended fish on either of those, as well as fish that were tight to the brush.

The suspenders were usually 5 to 10 feet above the vegetation.

"I'd drop the dropshot down there and then reel it up to where I could see the fish (on his electronics unit). It was best to get a little bit above them – like a foot. You could almost call your shots."

> Dropshot gear: 7'3" medium-action Powell 732 rod, Abu Garcia Soron STX spinning reel, 6-pound Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon line, 3/16- or 1/4-ounce River2Sea tungsten weight, size 1 Roboworm Rebarb hook, Jackall Crosstail Shad (baby bass or purple weenie) or 6" straight-tail Roboworm (morning dawn).

Main factor in his success – "Definitely growing up in Northern California and catching suspended spots."

Performance edge – "My Lowrance HDS-8 was crucial. Without it, I never could've found any of those fish."

3rd: Larry Nixon

> Day 1: 5, 12-10
> Day 2: 5, 13-08
> Day 3: 5, 11-05
> Day 4: 4, 9-12
> Total = 19, 47-03

Nixon was determined not to join the mad scramble for access to brushpiles that he knew would occur on the main lake during the tournament, so he spent 3 1/2 pre-practice days and the 4 days of official practice looking for stuff that would be off the beaten path.

"I found one little area with a creek in it during pre-practice that I caught a couple of fish off of, and that gave me an idea of what I'd need to do when I went back," he said. "Then (for official practice) I went back in that same area and found another little spot or two.

"What I wanted to do was get away from all the other boats, and I never did see another (competitor's) boat during the tournament."

Instead of making a hundred stops or more in a day like some in the field, he made an average of about 15 moves and usually spent a good deal of time in each locale working a dropshot rig or a shakey-head.

"They were mostly areas that had deep water close to big flats, and around the brush is where the fish would be. They wouldn't be right in the cover every day – sometimes I'd have to fish around the perimeter. The key depth was 27 to 30 feet."

> Dropshot gear: 6'9" medium-light Abu Garcia Vendetta rod, Abu Garcia Revo spinning reel, 10-pound Spiderwire Ultracast Invisi-Braid line (main line), Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon (10-foot leader), 1/4-ounce tungsten dropshot weight, 1/0 Roboworm Rebarb hook, 5" Roboworm (morning dawn).

> Shakey-head gear: 7' medium-action Abu Garcia Vendetta rod, same reel and line, unnamed 1/4-ounce jighead, Berkley Power Shaky Worm (watermelon-red).

> He opted for the shakey-head in the early mornings and when he wanted to cover water more rapidly.

Main factor in his success – "A lot of patience and fishing my areas thoroughly."

Performance edge – "My Lowrance X-28 – in a tournament like this, your electronics are as important as anything."

Notable

> Kevin Hawk's winning pattern was published yesterday. Info for the 4th- through 6th-place finishers will be published tomorrow.

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