Niggemeyer Goes Slowly

Photo: Bassmaster.com A slow, quiet approach helped James Niggemeyer catch the winning fish at the Santee Cooper Bassmaster Southern Tour.

Niggemeyer found big fish on the beds, including a 10-04 lunker that was the biggest caught in the tournament, but he quickly discovered they were not easy to catch and that they were continually moving. But once he settled on a strategy to work slowly and move often, he rode it to a 3-day total of 64-05 and a victory.

Here's how he did it.

Practice

It didn’t take Niggemeyer long to discover that the fish were very sensitive to angler activity.

“The fish were super-sensitive from boat traffic from the Elite Series and local anglers,” he said. “A lot of fish would leave at the sound of trolling motors or bumping boats. So I knew I had to be cautious and work slowly.”

Another thing he learned in practice was that the fish were never in one place for very long.

“The fish were moving all the time, so if you saw them in practice you couldn’t count on them being there the next day,” he said. “They were coming and going, sometimes on an hourly basis. You had to hope new fish were coming into the area.”

Competition

> Day 1: 5, 24-11
> Day 2: 5, 25-11
> Day 3: 3, 13-15 (13, 64-05)

On day 1, Niggemeyer fished various areas on the northwest bank of Lake Moultrie. He carefully fished one area, then moved to another, picking up enough weight to conclude the day in 2nd place.

On day 2 he avoided the area he’d started in on the first day because of higher boat traffic. The move paid off and he took the lead.

“Something just didn’t seem right about it,” he said. “So I went back to the area I had ended at on day 1. I found a 7-pounder and a 5-pounder.”

On day 3 he fished the same area he had on day 2. He only caught three fish, but one weighed 10-04.

“After I caught the 10-pounder, I started looking for fish that were easier to catch, but I wasn’t getting them. I found a 6-pounder and worked it for about an hour, then it just swam away on me.”

Pattern Notes

Niggemeyer cited vegetation as a key to his success.

“I mainly fished vegetation, whether it was gator grass or lily pads, vegetation was a key,” he said. “I fished in less than 3 1/2 feet of water. I also tried stumps. The stumps were decent, but didn’t seem to be as consistent.”

He believed another important strategy was to work slowly.

“It was hunting more than fishing,” he said. “ At times I was kneeling in the boat to keep a low profile. I’d pole in, rather than use the trolling motor. The fish were feeling the pressure, but they still wanted to get up and do what they needed to do.”

Like the fish, Niggemeyer kept moving during the tournament and he used his GPS unit to locate promising areas.

“I started GPS fishing, and when you zoomed out, what started to appear was that you could see pockets or hotbeds where fish were leaving or coming into,” he said. “I bounced around quite a bit and caught fish in various pockets.

"While I was looking for fish, if I saw a fish, I’d look to see if there were other fish. If there was life around, then I would fish there.”

Many of the places he fished were areas without much angler traffic.

“If I saw where people were fishing on beds, I tried to fish in other places that obviously weren’t getting boat traffic,” he said. “But I also fished those areas with boats, because I knew there were fish in there.”

Winning Gear Notes

> Sight-fishing gear: 7' medium-heavy action All Star AST846C rod, Pflueger President casting reel, unnamed 20- and 25-pound line (green), 3/16- and 1/2-ounce Lake Fork Tackle Mega-Weights (tungsten), 3 1/2" Lake Fork Tackle Baby Fork Craw (green-pumpkin or killer craw) or 6" Lake Fork Tackle Top Dog Lizard (green-pumpkin).

Notable

> Main factor in his success – “Fishing thoroughly and taking my time.”

> He fished an area on Lake Moultrie between Angel’s Landing and Duck Pond, exclusively, throughout the tournament.

> He broke one of his 7-foot rods in practice when he hooked a carp that he estimated at between 30 and 40 pounds.