Smith Slowed Down, Stuck With Senko

By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor

Bryant Smith didn't expect to catch any 20-pound bags at last week's Clear Lake Western FLW Series. Catching two made him virtually uncatchable in the standings.

The renowned California hawg factory is not living up to its reputation at the moment. There was a massive fish die-off over the summer that some are blaming on a vegetation-spraying program, and 20-pound stringers, which are routine when the lake is in peak form (or even close to it), have been hard to come by recently.

Smith, a Castro Valley, Calif. resident with an extensive history on the lake, normally prefers to attack it with reaction baits. During practice, however, he discovered that the fish were mostly unwilling to chase any offering, but he could catch some good ones off dock pilings by dropping a Senko onto their heads.

He exceeded 20 pounds on each of the first 2 days to build a lead of more than 6 pounds as the field was cut to the top 10 anglers for the final day. He managed just 12 1/2 pounds on day 3, but nobody caught more than 13-13 and he finished nearly 8 1/2 pounds in front of runner-up Clayton Eslick to claim a prize package valued at more than $76,000.

Following are some of the details.

Practice

Smith, who finished 2nd on the Western Series points list in 2016 and 7th this year, put in 4 1/2 days of practice for the event.

"I have a lot of experience there, so I did have some preconceived notions about what I wanted to start with," he said. "It was quickly apparent, though, that those things weren't going to work.

"I started out with my standard stuff – a ChatterBait, a square-bill, some deep crankbaits and flipping, but I couldn't get on anything consistent. I'd catch one here and one there, but nothing that made me say, 'Oh, I can run a pattern doing this.' A lot of times I've gotten my butt kicked there by guys throwing a Senko and a dropshot when it was tough it is now and I'd about had enough of it."

He picked up a Neko-rigged Senko and went to work on the many docks at both ends of the lake.

"I got a couple bites pretty quick, but at first I didn't realize how thoroughly I had to fish them. I'd get one bite on an outside piling, and then the next one in 2 feet of water, and then another one somewhere in the middle. The fish were still scattered and I knew I had to really (the docks) apart.

"I did not expect to catch 20 pounds, especially not 2 days in a row. I figured 15 to 16 pounds a day would be good enough for the top 10 and probably 18 a day would win it.

"I thought if I caught a big one every day, I could maybe get to 18 or 19."

Competition

Smith caught two fish that topped 5 pounds on day 1 and another that was just a quarter-pound shy of that mark.

"Those three good bites set the tone of the tournament for me," he said. "I got two of them pretty early and the last one at 11 o'clock. I spent the rest of the day trying to upgrade my smaller ones and I was able to do that, but not by much."

His initial stretch of docks in the Redbud portion of the lake wasn't nearly as productive on the morning of day 2 – he managed a limit off of them, but it totaled no more than 12 pounds. He went to another stretch and made one cull, and then caught his biggest fish of the event, a 6 1/2-pounder, at his third stop.

"I fished the rest of those docks, but I didn't get very many bites. I ran back up north, where I'd been spending the afternoon, to a stretch of docks that had some 2 3/4- and 3-pounders, and I ended up catching a 5 1/2."

Day 3 was cooler and windier and offered up the toughest bite of the tournament. Smith ended up having to fish faster than he would've preferred because the wind made it difficult to properly position his boat.

"I caught a lot of little fish, but I wasn't getting the 2 1/2s and 3s to fill my limit and I never got a big bite. At about noon I left the south end, and on every other day I'd had at least two good bites by then. I thought I'd blown it and left the door open for somebody to catch a big bag and beat me.

"I figured it'd be tough for everybody, but it was still Clear Lake and it has a lot of big fish, and those other guys who were in the top 10 know how to catch a big bag."

Nonetheless, the final tally wasn't even close.

"Winning this tournament meant the world to me. I've been fishing (the Western Series) for 5 or 6 years now and it's one of the most prestigious we have out west. A lot of my family and friends came out for the weigh-in and the amount of support I had left me kind of speechless. It was overwhelming."

Winning Gear Notes

> Neko-rig gear: 7'3" medium-heavy Dobyns 734C rod, unnamed casting reel (7:1 ratio), unnamed 15-pound fluorocarbon line, 3/0 Decoy Cover Finesse HD hook, 5" Yamamoto Senko (green-pumpkin/watermelon laminate) with 3/32-ounce nail weight inserted into head.

The Bottom Line

> Main factor in his success – "I think it was just knowing that I needed to hit as many docks as possible and be efficient at it. Based on how the fish were spread out, I needed to drop the bait on as many of their heads as I could. I call it fishing slow, (but) fast."

> Performance edge – "The Dobyns Champion 734C is my go-to, all-around rod – I can do anything with it. In this case I needed to make very accurate casts with a 5-inch Senko on a baitcaster, but also have enough power to control the fish around those docks."

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Final Standings

1. Bryant Smith -- Castro Valley, Ca -- 20-15 (5) -- 20-8 (5) -- 12-8 (5) -- 53-15 (15) -- $76,271

2. Clayton Eslick -- Gilroy, Ca -- 19-12 (5) -- 15-8 (5) -- 10-5 (5) -- 45-9 (15) -- $12,140

3. Jimmy Reese -- Witter Springs, Ca -- 16-7 (5) -- 15-11 (5) -- 12-5 (5) -- 44-7 (15) -- $9,321

4. Kyle Grover -- Trabuco Canyon, Ca -- 19-1 (5) -- 14-9 (5) -- 10-1 (5) -- 43-11 (15) -- $7,768

5. Ken Mah -- Elk Grove, Ca -- 13-0 (5) -- 18-10 (5) -- 11-15 (5) -- 43-9 (15) -- $6,991

6. Wayne Breazeale -- Kelseyville, Ca -- 14-12 (5) -- 15-0 (5) -- 13-13 (5) -- 43-9 (15) -- $6,214

7. Clayton Meyer -- Henderson, Nv -- 11-9 (5) -- 18-12 (5) -- 11-8 (5) -- 41-13 (15) -- $5,437

8. Travis Huckaby -- Modesto, Ca -- 12-15 (5) -- 17-0 (5) -- 11-5 (5) -- 41-4 (15) -- $4,661

9. Richard Dobyns -- Marysville, Ca -- 18-1 (5) -- 12-10 (5) -- 10-6 (5) -- 41-1 (15) -- $3,884

10. Gerry Johnson -- Modesto, Ca -- 14-0 (5) -- 15-1 (5) -- 10-4 (5) -- 39-5 (15) -- $3,107

The following anglers did not make the cut and did not fish on day 3.

11. Alex Klein -- Oroville, Ca -- 12-2 (5) -- 16-9 (5) -- 28-11 (10) -- $2,913

12. Billy Hines -- Vacaville, Ca -- 15-11 (5) -- 12-13 (5) -- 28-8 (10) -- $2,719

13. Rusty Salewske -- Alpine, Ca -- 15-12 (5) -- 12-10 (5) -- 28-6 (10) -- $2,330

14. Miles Howe -- San Juan Capistrano, Ca -- 13-4 (5) -- 14-14 (5) -- 28-2 (10) -- $2,330

15. Robert Lee -- Angels Camp, Ca -- 12-11 (5) -- 14-15 (5) -- 27-10 (10) -- $2,330

16. Travis Bounds -- Chico, Ca -- 10-15 (5) -- 16-10 (5) -- 27-9 (10) -- $2,330

17. Howard Hughes -- Redding, Ca -- 11-4 (5) -- 16-5 (5) -- 27-9 (10) -- $2,330

18. Carl Limbrick Jr -- Bonita, Ca -- 15-12 (5) -- 11-9 (5) -- 27-5 (10) -- $2,330

19. Tuan Nguyen -- Woodland, Ca -- 13-6 (5) -- 13-14 (5) -- 27-4 (10) -- $2,330

20. Paul Bailey -- Kelseyville, Ca -- 14-11 (5) -- 12-8 (5) -- 27-3 (10) -- $2,330

21. Jason Milligan -- Cottonwood, Ca -- 12-12 (5) -- 14-7 (5) -- 27-3 (10) -- $2,136

22. Brent Shores -- Boise, Id -- 11-12 (5) -- 15-6 (5) -- 27-2 (10) -- $2,136

23. Mark Lassagne -- San Ramon, Ca -- 13-5 (5) -- 13-11 (5) -- 27-0 (10) -- $2,136

24. Sunny Hawk -- Salt Lake City, Ut -- 14-9 (5) -- 12-6 (5) -- 26-15 (10) -- $2,136

25. Jared Lintner -- Arroyo Grande, Ca -- 14-1 (5) -- 12-9 (5) -- 26-10 (10) -- $2,136

26. Aaron Britt -- Yuba City, Ca -- 12-14 (5) -- 13-12 (5) -- 26-10 (10) -- $1,942

27. Jon Griffith -- Mesa, Az -- 11-1 (5) -- 15-8 (5) -- 26-9 (10) -- $1,942

28. Patrick Spencer -- Marana, Az -- 14-10 (5) -- 11-14 (5) -- 26-8 (10) -- $200

29. James Shaw -- Coolidge, Az -- 14-10 (5) -- 11-9 (5) -- 26-3 (10)

30. Pete Rodriguez -- Visalia, Ca -- 13-3 (5) -- 12-15 (5) -- 26-2 (10)

31. Greg Huey -- Mcminnville, Or -- 14-15 (5) -- 10-13 (5) -- 25-12 (10)

32. David Maes -- Sparks, Nv -- 7-10 (5) -- 17-13 (5) -- 25-7 (10) -- $200

33. Chris Costello -- Gilroy, Ca -- 12-0 (5) -- 13-0 (5) -- 25-0 (10)

34. Kevin Stewart -- Elk Grove, Ca -- 12-7 (5) -- 12-8 (5) -- 24-15 (10)

35. Garrett Dixon -- Colusa, Ca -- 10-10 (5) -- 13-11 (5) -- 24-5 (10)

36. Andrew Loberg -- Rocklin, Ca -- 11-5 (5) -- 12-14 (5) -- 24-3 (10)

37. Andy Scholz -- Reno, Nv -- 10-10 (5) -- 13-7 (5) -- 24-1 (10)

38. Randell Burger -- Vivalia, Ca -- 11-13 (5) -- 12-1 (5) -- 23-14 (10)

39. Todd Woods -- Los Angeles, Ca -- 12-0 (5) -- 11-14 (5) -- 23-14 (10)

40. Brett Leber -- Dixon, Ca -- 14-15 (5) -- 8-13 (5) -- 23-12 (10)

41. John Pearl -- Upper Lake, Ca -- 12-0 (5) -- 11-11 (5) -- 23-11 (10)

42. Vince Hurtado -- Turlock, Ca -- 10-6 (5) -- 13-3 (5) -- 23-9 (10)

43. Jim Moulton -- Merced, Ca -- 12-11 (5) -- 10-13 (5) -- 23-8 (10)

44. Sean Minderman -- Greenacres, Wa -- 11-3 (5) -- 12-5 (5) -- 23-8 (10)

45. Ryan Friend -- Oroville, Ca -- 11-6 (5) -- 12-2 (4) -- 23-8 (9)

46. John Karayan -- Ventura, Ca -- 10-2 (5) -- 13-4 (5) -- 23-6 (10)

47. Chad Hulbert -- Gilroy, Ca -- 12-2 (5) -- 11-4 (5) -- 23-6 (10)

48. Michael Moreno -- Salida, Ca -- 10-2 (5) -- 13-2 (5) -- 23-4 (10)

49. Mark Tibbets -- Orange, Ca -- 13-4 (5) -- 9-10 (5) -- 22-14 (10)

50. Jon Strelic -- El Cajon, Ca -- 11-10 (5) -- 11-1 (5) -- 22-11 (10)

51. Johnny Nguyen -- Tucson, Az -- 12-7 (5) -- 10-2 (5) -- 22-9 (10)

52. Matt Newman -- Agoura Hills, Ca -- 14-0 (5) -- 8-6 (5) -- 22-6 (10)

53. Roy Hawk -- Lake Havasu City, Az -- 7-15 (5) -- 14-5 (5) -- 22-4 (10)

54. Rick Grover -- Trabuco Canyon, Ca -- 12-9 (5) -- 9-11 (5) -- 22-4 (10)

55. Jay Wright -- Seal Beach, Ca -- 12-1 (5) -- 10-3 (5) -- 22-4 (10)

56. Joe Uribe Jr. -- Surprise, Az -- 10-9 (5) -- 11-11 (5) -- 22-4 (10)

57. Michael Caruso -- Peoria, Az -- 11-6 (5) -- 10-12 (5) -- 22-2 (10)

58. Benjamin Byrd -- Moab, Ut -- 10-5 (5) -- 11-7 (5) -- 21-12 (10)

59. Jonas Pettit -- Auburn, Wa -- 12-14 (5) -- 8-9 (5) -- 21-7 (10)

60. Richard Garcia -- Beaumont, Ca -- 11-13 (4) -- 9-10 (5) -- 21-7 (9)

61. Dave Phillips -- Nampa, Id -- 9-9 (5) -- 11-13 (5) -- 21-6 (10)

62. Charlie Weyer -- West Hills, Ca -- 9-5 (5) -- 12-0 (5) -- 21-5 (10)

63. Stephen Tosh Jr -- Turlock, Ca -- 10-8 (5) -- 10-13 (5) -- 21-5 (10)

64. Gary Collins -- Upper Lake, Ca -- 10-8 (5) -- 10-9 (5) -- 21-1 (10)

65. Mike Nichelini -- Napa, Ca -- 10-10 (5) -- 10-5 (5) -- 20-15 (10)

66. David Simpson -- Visalia, Ca -- 11-0 (5) -- 9-14 (5) -- 20-14 (10)

67. Mark Williams -- Lake Havasu City, Az -- 11-3 (5) -- 9-8 (5) -- 20-11 (10)

68. Scott Hellesen -- Benicia, Ca -- 9-8 (5) -- 11-3 (5) -- 20-11 (10)

69. Marco Valdez -- Richland, Wa -- 10-15 (5) -- 9-12 (5) -- 20-11 (10)

70. Vu Au -- Tucson, Az -- 11-2 (5) -- 9-4 (5) -- 20-6 (10)

71. Jim Lyon -- Reno, Nv -- 9-5 (5) -- 11-1 (5) -- 20-6 (10)

72. Russ Barger -- Boise, Id -- 10-15 (5) -- 9-7 (5) -- 20-6 (10)

73. Darren Vieira -- Martinez, Ca -- 10-7 (4) -- 9-12 (5) -- 20-3 (9)

74. Robert Nakatomi -- Sacramento, Ca -- 10-0 (5) -- 10-2 (5) -- 20-2 (10)

75. Steve Wilson -- Rohnert Park, Ca -- 10-0 (5) -- 10-1 (5) -- 20-1 (10)

76. Steve Klein -- Oroville, Ca -- 9-15 (5) -- 10-0 (5) -- 19-15 (10)

77. Brett Hite -- Phoenix, Az -- 9-8 (5) -- 10-6 (5) -- 19-14 (10)

78. Jim Giancola -- San Juan Bautista, Ca -- 8-0 (5) -- 11-10 (5) -- 19-10 (10)

79. Justin Kerr -- Simi Valley, Ca -- 8-13 (5) -- 10-13 (5) -- 19-10 (10)

80. Keith Bryan -- Novato, Ca -- 6-10 (5) -- 12-14 (5) -- 19-8 (10)

81. Matt Dal Porto -- Sutter, Ca -- 10-5 (5) -- 9-3 (5) -- 19-8 (10)

82. Ed Arledge -- Valley Center, Ca -- 8-4 (5) -- 10-3 (5) -- 18-7 (10)

83. Christopher Childers -- Mckinleyville, Ca -- 6-6 (3) -- 11-14 (5) -- 18-4 (8)

84. Jake Boomer -- Spokane Valley, Wa -- 11-9 (5) -- 6-11 (5) -- 18-4 (10)

85. Jim Hawkes -- Apache Junction, Az -- 7-14 (5) -- 10-6 (5) -- 18-4 (10)

86. Kazuki Kodama -- Torrance, Ca -- 9-4 (5) -- 8-14 (5) -- 18-2 (10)

87. Marty Lawrence -- Mesa, Az -- 8-8 (5) -- 8-11 (5) -- 17-3 (10)

88. Gregg Leonard -- Elk Grove, Ca -- 4-9 (3) -- 11-13 (5) -- 16-6 (8)

89. Paul Ramsey -- Ojai, Ca -- 5-15 (4) -- 10-4 (5) -- 16-3 (9)

90. Bret Felter -- Malad, Id -- 6-12 (5) -- 9-6 (5) -- 16-2 (10)

91. Guy Savidan -- Norco, Ca -- 10-11 (5) -- 4-15 (3) -- 15-10 (8)

92. Shawn O'Connell -- Brewster, Wa -- 8-11 (5) -- 6-15 (5) -- 15-10 (10)

93. Ronald Hammett -- La Mesa, Ca -- 9-0 (5) -- 4-15 (4) -- 13-15 (9)

94. Antonio Gold -- Cameron Park, Ca -- 7-12 (5) -- 4-12 (3) -- 12-8 (8)

95. Joshua Ireland -- St.Cloud, Fl -- 8-7 (5) -- 2-8 (1) -- 10-15 (6)

96. Jason Christy -- Scottsdale, Az -- 3-15 (3) -- 7-0 (5) -- 10-15 (8)

97. Lester Hawkins -- Pagosa Springs, Co -- 1-14 (1) -- 8-12 (5) -- 10-10 (6)

98. Matt Lindsey -- Ventura, Ca -- 9-7 (5) -- 0-0 (0) -- 9-7 (5)

99. Doug Hutchison -- Santa Rosa, Ca -- 8-9 (4) -- 0-0 (0) -- 8-9 (4)

100. Kyle Manes -- Woodlake, Ca -- 8-0 (4) -- 0-0 (0) -- 8-0 (4)