Numerous anglers who competed in last week's Forrest Wood Cup at Arkansas' Lake Ouachita commented that they've never seen a body of water that was home to so many bluegill. And when that species is in shallow water, it's a given that a lot of big, hungry bass will be there, too.
Luke Clausen and Andy Morgan, the 4th- and 5th-place finishers at the Cup, both fished topwater patterns that were at least partially based around the final stages of the lengthy bluegill spawn. Following are some of the specifics.
4th: Luke Clausen
> Day 1: 5, 13-15
> Day 2: 5, 11-12
> Day 3: 5, 16-03
> Day 4: 3, 6-12
> Total = 18, 48-10
Like runner-up Randall Tharp, Clausen went to Ouachita with the idea of making things happen on the surface.
"I knew I wanted to fish shallow," he said. "It was summer and the water was clear and I was pretty sure topwater would be the deal. I'm actually more comfortable doing that than anything else – if I can see them, I'm always confident that I can figure out how to catch them."
He worked several locales from the mid-lake area on up and had some of them completely to himself (although because he rarely spent more than a few minutes at each stop, he didn't know whether they were being fished during his absence).
"There were a couple places where I'd see Morgan and (10th-place finisher Jason) Christie once a day, but the rest of the time I never saw too many people."
The majority of his areas were in subtle pockets off the main lake. They featured mostly flat banks with small drains.
"I spent a lot of practice time with the trolling motor on 100, just looking for (bass). They were on bluegill beds for the most part, but there were also some wolfpacks cruising around. There are bluegill beds at that place every 100 yards."
He caught everything on cloudy, (relatively) cool day 1 on a Brian's Prop Bee #2, but that bait wasn't as effective when the sun re-emerged. He threw primarily a Megabass Dog-X or an older-style Reaction Innovations Vixen the rest of the way.
He also caught four weigh-in fish on a wacky-rigged worm.
> Topwater gear: Unnamed 6'6" medium-heavy rod, unnamed casting reel, 17-pound Gamma monofilament line, Brian's Prop Bee #2 (bull bream), Megabass Dog-X (white) or Reaction Innovations Vixen (white/gray).
> Worm gear: Unnamed 6'9" medium-action rod, unnamed spinning reel, 10-pound Tuf-Line braided line with 6-foot Gamma monofilament leader (8-pound), unnamed lead-wrapped size 2 hook, wacky-rigged unnamed straight-tail worm (watermelon).
Main factor in his success – "Just covering a lot of water and being confident. I really didn't have a clue where I was going to catch them – I fished new water ever day."
Performance edge – "My Yamaha SHO engine. The hole-shot is so great that I could bounce from one place with 3 feet of water to the next one all day long."
Andy Morgan got himself into contention with a giant bag on day 2.
5th: Andy Morgan
> Day 1: 4, 9-12
> Day 2: 5, 18-15
> Day 3: 3, 8-08
> Day 4: 5, 10-02
> Total = 17, 47-05
Morgan's greatest strengths are flipping and fishing offshore, but he was forced to go away from those at Ouachita. A topwater hand was what he was dealt, and he played it extremely well.
His finish likely would've been even higher had he not lost battery-charge time due to a power outage on the night prior to day 3. The lack of juice during the latter part of the day severely limited his mobility.
He'd made a huge move the previous day (from 35th to 4th) with a massive bag that was one of the best of the tournament. He credited the sunnier conditions (which positioned his fish right on the bank) and spending more time closer to the main lake for his big haul.
"You'd see them up there in a foot and a half of water – that water was just gin-clear," he said. "And you had a lot better chance if you could see them from a long way off.
"I'd throw the bait as far as I could, a good 30 or 40 yards, and then start working it back. If I worked it 20 yards and nothing happened, I'd just wind it back in."
Like Clausen, he picked up a few weigh-in fish on a wacky-rigged worm.
"If I had one blow up on the topwater and miss it, I'd follow up with the worm. Or sometimes I'd see one and try to cast the worm out in front of it."
> Topwater gear: 6'9" medium-heavy G. Loomis 812 rod, Shimano Curado casting reel (7:1 ratio), 17-pound Gamma monofilament line, Reaction Innovations Vixen (green/pearl).
> Worm gear: 6'10" G. Loomis 822 rod, Shimano Stradic 2500 spinning reel, 8-pound Gamma fluorocarbon line, 2/0 lead-wrapped Roboworm ReBarb hook, wacky-rigged Zoom trick worm (watermelon candy).
Main factor in his success – "Just getting lucky enough to run into several of those packs of fish."
Performance edge – "That Vixen will catch them. I'm not a fan of topwater baits, but I will throw that one."
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