By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor
Two names completely dominated the 2016 Bassmaster Classic at Oklahoma's Grand Lake – home-state favorites Jason Christie and Edwin Evers. The former was the talk of the first 2 days as he built up a lead of nearly 6 pounds, only to see the latter – his Elite Series travel partner – catch an epic 29-pound stringer on the final day to snatch the title.
Few will likely remember that some highly accomplished veterans occupied the next four slots in the final standings. That list consisted of Aaron Martens, the world's top-ranked angler, a four-time Classic runner-up and winner of two of the last three Angler of the Year titles; Bill Lowen, a super-steady performer and one of the top dirty-water fishermen in the game; Randy Howell, the 2014 Classic champ who seems bent on making a run at the crown every year now; and Todd Faircloth, a five-time Elite Series winner who's finished among the Top 10 in six of the past seven Classics.
Here are some details on how they approached Grand during a week when constant change was the dominant theme.
3rd: Aaron Martens
> Day 1: 5, 13-08
> Day 2: 5, 16-13
> Day 3: 5, 16-00
> Total = 15, 46-05
Aaron Martens went way old-school for this one and cranked an ancient Luhr-Jensen Speed Trap. He said he's had the bait since he was about 17 years old; he's 44 now.
"On the third day of practice I caught 20-plus pounds on it, and then I thought I totally had a chance to win," he said. "It was just tough to get bit consistently.
"The second day of practice I blanked – I caught like 15 drum. I was sitting in my camper and I was mad, and then the light came on in my head. I basically called myself a dumb (butt). I was up until 3 o'clock in the morning re-rigging all my tackle.
"I'd been fishing a little too deep and a little too slow," he continued.
Enter the Speed Trap. He threw it in all sorts of places – behind cable riggings, at sunken brush piles or stairways, across broken-down building foundations, etc.
"It was very random," he said. "The fish could be anywhere."
He pulled most of them from depths of 2 to 4 feet, but had to go a little deeper (6 or 7 feet) on the final day.
> Cranking gear: 7'2" medium-action Enigma Aaron's Edge rod, Shimano Metanium casting reel (7.4:1 ratio), 10-pound Sunline Super FC Sniper fluorocarbon line, Luhr-Jensen Speed Trap (white/fire tiger or brown crawdad).
Main factor in his success – "Just figuring out what I needed to do after the second day of practice."
Performance edge – "I put (Gamakatsu) G-Finesse hooks on my crankbaits. When a fish gets that hook, he never gets off. I snagged about half the fish I weighed in; other guys told me they snagged a lot, too, but they lost a lot of them. I didn't lose them."
Bill Lowen was on a red-hot cranking bite in practice, but it disappeared by the time the tournament got under way.
4th: Bill Lowen
> Day 1: 5, 16-09
> Day 2: 5, 13-15
> Day 3: 5, 15-03
> Total = 15, 45-11
Bill Lowen was on a sizzling crankbait bite during practice. He was fishing the dirtiest water in the lake, which was down by the Pensacola Dam.
Unfortunately, that program didn't hold up once competition got under way.
"The cranking deal totally went away," he said. "I was still catching them on Wednesday (the final practice day) – I would've had 24 pounds.
"I started the first morning 100 percent cranking and I think I caught two. I kept trying it every day just to make sure I didn't miss it if it came back, but it never would work again. I think the warming water changed that bite. I saw it go from 45 degrees to 52 and I think it shocked them."
He ended up catching his fish on a flipping stick in the same general areas.
"They were close. I basically concentrated on the last deep water in the back of a pocket or creek. All the fish came from 2 to 6 foot (depths)."
> Flipping gear: 7'6" heavy-action Castaway rod, Team Lew's Lite casting reel (7.5:1 ratio), 20-pound Hi-Seas fluorocarbon line, 4/0 Gamakatsu EWG hook, 1/4-ounce Reins Tungsten weight, 4" Tightlines UV Bill Lowen Flipp'n Tube (black/blue).
> He also flipped a 1/2-ounce Lure Parts Online black/blue jig trailed by a Tightlines UV Bubba Craw (black/blue). He used the same rod, reel and line set-up.
Main factor in his success – "I had a great practice – I was in the right area with the right quality of fish. When the bite changed I didn't get spun out and start running the lake. I figured out how to catch them."
Performance edge – "I'd say it had to be a combo of everything."
Randy Howell spent the entire tournament in the vicinity where winner Edwin Evers caught his giant final-day stringer.
5th: Randy Howell
> Day 1: 5, 17-06
> Day 2: 5, 11-13
> Day 3: 5, 16-07
> Total = 15, 45-10
Just about everyone expected the Classic to be a jerkbait-dominated affair throughout the winter. However, when the water failed to clear up in the wake of the December flood, that idea was nixed. Few competitors even bothered tying one on last week.
Randy Howell was an exception. The Livingston Lures Jerkmaster 121C was one of four offerings he employed to catch weigh-in fish, along with a spinnerbait and a crankbait.
"Practice went okay," he said. "I wasn't catching them like gangbusters, but the ones I did catch were big fish. The wind blew all through practice and I was almost 100 percent cranking on the rip-rap and the rocks.
"Then the wind calmed down for the tournament and that (action) slowed down. I hadn't planned on throwing the jerkbait at all because of the water color, but I picked it up on the first day after I'd had some short strikes on the crankbait. I caught a 3-pounder, so I started chasing that pattern then."
He spent the entire tournament in the Elk River, where the warmest water on the lake could be found (it hit 58 degrees before the event concluded). On day 2, he fished the exact spot where Evers caught his massive final-day bag.
"On day 3 I started about a mile from that flat and I was working my way to it, and I came around the corner and he was right dead on where I was on the second day. I could see those fish swimming around in the calm water, but I couldn't make them bite.
"He said he had a big stringer and he had a chance to win, so I let him stay there and I moved on. I caught one more good one up ahead of him a little ways."
He said most of the fish he caught appeared to be about ready to go to the beds.
"They were fat and they had bright red bellies. I was surprised that they were that colorful already."
> Jerkbait gear: 7' medium-light Daiwa Tatula rod, Daiwa Tatula CT Type-R casting reel (6.3:1 ratio), 12-pound Gamma Edge fluorocarbon line, Livingston Lures Jerkmaster 121C (Table Rock shad).
> Spinnerbait gear: 7'2" medium-heavy Daiwa Steez XT rod, same reel (7.3:1 ratio), 16-pound Gamma Edge fluorocarbon, 1/2-ounce Hawg Caller spinnerbait (chartreuse shad with No. 4 1/2 silver Colorado and No. 3 nickel willow-leaf blades).
> Cranking gear: Same rod, reel and line as jerkbait, Livingston Lures Howeller Dream Master Classic (Okie craw).
> He caught one quality fish on the final day on a Texas-rigged 5" Yamamoto Senko (green-pumpkin/purple/green).
Main factor in his success – "I was really happy that I stayed open-minded. As the fish and the conditions changed each day, I changed with them."
Performance edge – "The new Insight Genesis mapping for the Lowrance. They gave it to us right when we got there and it was really accurate on those channels. I could run the flats and stay on the places that had a hard bottom and find right where the drains were coming into the flats."
Todd Faircloth fished many of the same areas he exploited during the 2013 Classic.
6th: Todd Faircloth
> Day 1: 5, 14-15
> Day 2: 5, 16-15
> Day 3: 5, 13-01
> Total = 15, 44-15
Todd Faircloth fished a lot of history and it resulted in yet another high Classic finish.
"I caught a lot of fish from the same area where I caught them the time we were here before," said the Texan, who was 9th in the 2013 Classic at Grand. "I was basically fishing channel-swing banks and I caught them on wood, rock and docks.
"Any type of cover was good as long as it was the right type of bank. If it wasn't the right type, they wouldn't be on it."
He confined himself to the stretch from the Elk River down to Honey Creek. Most of his bites were on a small jig, but he caught about six weigh-in fish on a crankbait.
"The first couple days, when we had bright, calm conditions, the back sides of docks were best."
> Jig gear: 7' heavy-action Castaway Invicta Series rod, Shimano Curado casting reel (7:1 ratio), 10-pound Sunline Super FC Sniper fluorocarbon line, 1/4-ounce Strike King Bitsy Bug jig (brown/orange), Strike King Baby Rodent trailer (green-pumpkin).
> Cranking gear: 7'2" Castaway Todd Faircloth Signature Series shallow cranking rod, Shimano Core casting reel (6:1 ratio), 10-pound Sunline Super FC Sniper fluorocarbon, Strike King Lucky Shad (orange bream).
Main factor in his success – "Just understanding that fishing was tough and having the mindset that I wasn't going to get a whole lot of bites. I fished slowly throughout the tournament and I was real precise with everything."
Performance edge – "I'd say that little jig. I've caught them on it the last two times I've been here."
Much of the tackle referenced above is available at the BassFan Store. To browse the selection, click here..
