By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor


Lake Fork's conditions during the recent Toyota Texas Bass Classic tempted anglers to head for the banks. The water level was high and more just kept coming due to the storms that pounded the region, and that turned all sorts of terrestrial vegetation into prime fish-holding cover.

Also, it was assumed by many that the lack of sunshine could hinder the deep-water action.

"I asked my cameraman on the last day if I had willow bushes sticking out my ears, because I sure couldn't get them off my mind," quipped 3rd-place finisher Andy Morgan. "With all that flooded cover, I was chomping at the bit to go shallow. But I knew if I did, I'd get my brains beat out by guys fishing deep."

Indeed, Keith Combs showed in 2014 that the ledges were the places to be as he racked up 110 pounds worth of deep-dwelling post-spawners over 3 days. And that derby took place 3 weeks earlier on the calendar than this year's edition – theoretically, closer to the peak of the spawn.

Still, Bassmaster Elite Series pro and Fork guide James Niggemeyer said prior to the event that an angler on the right shallow program could be a threat. That angler proved to be 4th-place finisher Chris Lane, who pulled all of his weigh-in fish from depths of 6 feet or less.

Following are some pattern specifics for the four anglers who finished closet to winner Brent Ehrler.

2nd: Jason Christie

> Day 1: 5, 37-04
> Day 2: 5, 26-08
> Day 3: 5, 23-12
> Total = 15, 87-12

Christie is a superb flipper, but he'd pretty much made up his mind that he was going to fish offshore long before he arrived in Quitman, Texas.

"I practiced shallow for 4 or 5 hours and checked out the flooded willows, but I felt like it was going to be won out," he said. "I could catch a couple of 5-pounders up shallow, but I could go out deep and catch a couple of 7-pounders."

He developed a string of about 15 places that had the potential to surrender quality fish – some that he'd fished in last year's TTBC and others that he discovered in practice.

"The problem was that I didn't have any of them to myself," he said. "I spent a lot of time idling, looking for a place that nobody else would find, but I just couldn't do it.

"Out of the 15 places I had, the majority might have three big ones on it at a given time, but not a whole school. Catching them was a timing deal – you had to hope they were ready to eat when you pulled up."

He led the field after each of the first 2 days and his day-1 stringer was the biggest of the tournament. It included a 10-01 brute that stood up as the big fish of the event until Ehrler roped a 10-11 in the final hour of the last day.

"With them giving away a (Toyota Tundra) for big bass, that had a lot to do with my strategy – I wanted to be out there where the big ones swim. I'm not saying I knew I was going to catch a 10-pounder, that's just the way it went."

He alternated between crankbaits and swimbaits throughout the event and lost only one fish – an 8-pounder on day 2.

> Swimbait gear: 7'10" heavy-action Falcon Cara Big Swimbait rod, Team Lew's Lite casting reel, 18-pound Sunline Shooter fluorocarbon line, various 5" and 6" swimbaits, including a Yum Money Minnow.

> The colors of his swimbaits varied widely. "Most of the time we didn't have a lot of sun, so I was mixing it up with brighter colors – anything with a little chartreuse in it," he said. "I didn't have a lot of any one color and (on day 3) I got down to just white, so I was taking a Sharpie and coloring the sides chartreuse."

> Cranking gear: 7'6" medium-action Falcon XD Cranker rod, Lew's BB1 Pro casting reel (5.4:1 ratio), 16-pound Sunline Super FC Sniper fluorocarbon line, various deep-diving crankbaits, including a Bomber Fat Free Shad BD7 (citrus shad, threadfin shad or splatterback).

> "It didn't seem like they were on any one crankbait better than another," he said. "I'd throw a couple of the bigger ones and if I caught one (the fish would) get spookier, so I'd go back down with the silent BD7."

Main factor in his success – "I pretty much had a game plan going in and I don't know if that's what led me to finish 2nd on the positive side, or if it caused me to lose. In any case, I'd decided what I was going to do before I got there."

Performance edge – "The Garmin electronics. I stared at those my entire practice and even some during the tournament. Also, in that wind, I was on my (MotorGuide) trolling motor the whole time and it never quit on me."



Octagon Events
Photo: Octagon Events

The places Andy Morgan found in practice turned out to be better than he'd suspected.

3rd: Andy Morgan

> Day 1: 5, 31-00
> Day 2: 5, 26-04
> Day 3: 5, 26-08
> Total = 15, 83-12

Morgan, the two-time defending FLW Tour Angler of the Year, turns in high finishes all the time. However, he said he was genuinely surprised to post one at Fork.

"I didn't have a really good practice," he said. "I had like four places that I thought were decent and I could get a bite or two off each, but nothing great. Of course, in practice you get a bite or two and keep on going before anybody sees you there.

"I had no idea what I could catch or how many, and to be honest, I was somewhat concerned about catching anything at all. It turned out those places were better than I thought as far as quality and they had a lot more fish than I thought they did."

He concentrated most of his efforts on places where dropoffs made a slight turn. He fished a worm on a 1/2-ounce weight despite conditions that made dragging any bait a difficult chore.

"The first day they were set up real good on the structure, but the next 2 days they didn't set up as well," he said. "I was just running between those places trying to hit the timing right. There was no rhyme or reason to when they'd bite and you couldn't depend on it."

> Worm gear: 7'4" medium-heavy iRod 744 rod, Lew's Super Duty casting reel (7:1 ratio), 16-pound Gamma Edge fluorocarbon line, 1/2-ounce bullet weight, 5/0 Easy2Hook worm hook, Zoom Magnum Trick Worm or Zoom Ol' Monster (green-pumpkin or plumb.

Main factor in his success – "Being patient and resisting the urge to go fish all that flooded cover."

Performance edge – "My Garmin electronics allowed me to find a lot of small pods of fish. I was looking for places that had three, four or maybe five of them, and I could see them."

Octagon Events
Photo: Octagon Events

Chris Lane was the only Top-5 finisher who fished exclusively in shallow water.

4th: Chris Lane

> Day 1: 5, 30-04
> Day 2: 5, 28-12
> Day 3: 5, 24-08
> Total = 15, 83-08

The Florida-born Lane isn't a big fan of offshore fishing, but he tried to make a go of it during practice.

"Not only was it not working for me, but I didn't enjoy it," he said. "I caught some sand bass and that was fun, and I caught as many of them as I could just to be getting some bites."

He'd stayed in the shallows on the initial practice day and connected with some 5-plus-pounders on a frog and a big jig. After he surpassed 30 pounds on the first competition day, he kept trying to expand on that pattern and find new areas.

He caught a fish that topped 7 pounds each day and was convinced by their rounded shape that they were late spawners.

"Not knowing enough about the lake, I think, is what hurt me," he said. "I was trying to learn and adapt the whole time. Fishing the willows, the grass and the catttails, there could be a giant on any one of them.

"I knew it was probably going to be won out deep, but I had a lot of fun losing."

> Frog gear: 7' heavy-action Bass Pro Shops CarbonLite rod, Bass Pro Shops CarbonLite casting reel (7:1 ratio), 50-pound Stren Braid, 1/2-ounce Snag Proof Bobby's Perfect Frog (white).

> Jig gear: 7'6" medium-heavy Bass Pro Shops Carbonlite rod, same reel (6.4:1 ratio), same line (65-pound), 1-ounce homemade jig (black/blue), unnamed chunk trailer (black/blue).

Main factor in his success – "Staying in my comfort zone. If I could've gotten two or three more good bites up shallow, I could've won that deal."

Performance edge – "I could put the Atlas jackplate all the way up on my Legend boat and run through those forests of trees. Every now and then I'd bounce over a stump, but everything worked out fine."

Octagon Events
Photo: Octagon Events

Shad Schenck pulled all of his weigh-in fish from the same offshore locale.

5th: Shad Schenck

> Day 1: 5, 30-04
> Day 2: 5, 28-08
> Day 3: 5, 22-08
> Total = 15, 81-04

Schenck kept changing baits each day, but not where he was throwing them. All 15 of his weigh-in fish came from a single locale.

"It was just a long point on a turn that had a hard spot and some chunk rock on it," he said. "It was 15 feet (deep) up on top and 23 feet on the bottom. Most of the fish were in 16 or 17 feet."

He left the area frequently to allow it to rest, but always returned after 45 minutes. He never caught a fish from anywhere else that he took to the scale.

"Catching them all from one specific spot like that is pretty hard to do," he said. "I had a run like that (at the Pickwick Lake FLW Tour) last year, but it's pretty rare. You have to find a spot where they're coming to you."

A jig produced all of his weight on day 1. He threw a large finesse worm on day 2 and enticed four of his weigh-in fish with a Carolina rig on day 3.

> Jig gear: 7'3" medium-heavy Powell 734 rod, Lew's Tournament Pro casting reel (7:1 ratio), 17-pound Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon line, 3/4-ounce Buckeye jig (brown/chartreuse), Zoom Z-Craw trailer (green-pumpkin).

> Worm gear: 7'6" medium-heavy Powell 765 rod, same reel and line, 3/4-ounce unnamed jighead, Zoom Magnum Trick Worm (redbug).

> Carolina-rig gear: Same rod, reel and line as worm. 3/4-ounce weight, glass bead, 15-pound Trilene 100% fluorocarbon leader, 4/0 Lazer TroKar wide-gap hook, Zoom Z-Craw (green-pumpkin).

Main factor in his success – "Finding that one spot, and then being patient and letting it rest."

Performance edge – "The Powell 765 rod. It's an awesome rod and it was the key to converting those big bites."