Hey guys! I just got back to North Carolina after finishing the fifth stop of the Elite Series at Toledo Bend. First off, what an awesome fishery and I can’t wait to go back, what a blast. This tournament had the features to allow you to fish any way you liked and the lake contains a very healthy population of 4lb-8lb. class of largemouth. If you were able to be there or watch the weigh-in via Bassmaster LIVE you know what I am talking about.
I opted to chase the grass bite and my pattern actually didn’t materialize until the first day of the tournament. I had a few bites during practice on my Reaction Innovations black and red Beaver and knew how I would at least start the tournament. With Day 1 underway, I was struggling to get bites when I landed a fish with a huge crawfish in its mouth. This is when I made a huge change by pulling out a TrueSouth Punch Rig in green pumpkin candy and added the Beaver as the trailer to get the larger profile bait the fish were wanting. That was the ticket!! As I finished Day 1 strong, my confidence had gotten stronger in my decision as I would fish the next two days with two rods rigged identical. Rod of choice was the 7’9 Heavy Abu Veracity Rod equipped with an Abu MGX Reel and P-Line X-Braid in 65lb. in order to rip through the grass and winch in the fish.
The key to the grass bite for me was to focus on the little points that the grass edge would make. On each side of the points there would be small pockets formed and that is where most of my bites were generated. The bite was wild as you never had to work the Punch Rig at all. Once I figured out the profile the fish was looking for, it was pretty easy fishing. I could make a flip and if I didn’t have a bite before the Punch Rig hit the bottom I would reel in and make the next flip.
I made some good decisions in this tournament and put in some hard work to make my first Top 50 cut on the Elite Series. This sport seems to thrive off of momentum and I for one am ready to get to Lake Texoma for BASSfest and keep it going. Congratulations to KVD on the phenomenal weight for the win. As always a big thanks to my sponsors who help make all this happen: Foothills Marine Center, Skeeter, Yamaha, Abu Garcia, Costa, TrueSouth Custom Lures, P-Line, Reaction Innovations, Bass Mafia, Bluewater LED, Brian’s Bees, Power-Pole, Lowrance, and TH Marine.
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