TW_Staff
09-29-2011, 10:19 AM
One area and one bait were just about all Michael Tuck needed to win the recent Clear Lake Western EverStart. The resident of Granite Bay, Calif. (a suburb of Sacramento) averaged more than 25 pounds a day en route his most significant victory at the venue to date.
"My biggest problem was I just didn't know if I was going to be able to fish," said Tuck, who'd encountered major engine troubles leading up to the event. "I owe a lot to the people at C&C Marine (Citrus Heights, Calif.) – they got a new Mercury on the back of my boat and for the first time in a few years, I had the confidence that I could go wherever I needed to go and make a long run from one end of the lake to the other."
He was extremely consistent throughout the event, as his lightest bag was just under 24 pounds. He saved his best for last as he caught 27-12 on the final day, giving him a 76-09 total for 3 days that outdistanced runner-up Joe Uribe Jr. by almost 5 pounds.
Tuck practiced for 2 1/2 days, but he confirmed what he'd hoped to find after an hour on the water.
"I'd been up there about 3 weeks ago for a day and a half and I found those fish, and they were stronger when I showed back up," he said. "I went up there and in about an hour I had 29 pounds, so I knew some bigger ones had moved in there. "Right away I knew that was what I was going to do, so I spent the last 2 days just fishing rockpiles and looking for backup stuff."
Competition:
The tournament launched out of Redbud Park at the extreme southern end of the lake. Tuck's hotspot was near Rodman Slough in the northeast corner – a distance of about 22 miles.
He said the convergence of multiple factors led to the place becoming a major hangout for 4-pound-plus largemouths. The biggest was the fact that the lake was in the midst of its fall drawdown, which pulled the fish that had spent the spring and summer deep inside Rodman's maze of vegetation out to the grass around the mouth.
"The bigger fish were grouped up, but not in places where everyone would find them," he said. "They'll probably be there all fall. They get out there into those grassbeds and the baitfish are already there."
He worked the area for only a couple of hours on each of the first 2 days before pulling off. He stayed for about 4 hours on day 3 before going on a milk run of rockpiles in a successful quest for the fish that would secure his co-angler, Chad LeBlanc, the title in that division.
His final-day sack included a fish that topped the 7-pound mark. He had a 6-04 on day 2 that captured big-fish honors.
"However much time I spent there each day, I was catching 25 to 35 fish. I was balance-beaming them one after another, starting at 4 pounds."
He caught all of his weigh-in fish on Little Creeper Baits All-American Trash Fish swimbaits, which are produced locally.
"It's almost a hybrid betweenn a crankbait and a swimbait. It's not for dredging the bottom necessarily, but the fins flare and those are a triggering mechanism. And they're really durable – I can catch 10, 12, 15 fish on each bait. That has to do with the plastic they use."
He said that both the 4-inch and 6-inch versions were effective in several different colors. His use of the 4-inch was limited because he started the event with only two hooks of the appropriate size for it and rendered both unusable.
"I threw light hitch in the clear pockets and shad in the dirtier water, and I tried chartreuse shad a little bit. I don't think the color really mattered."
Winning Gear:
Swimbait gear: 7'6" heavy-action Powell Endurance 764 (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=PEFR) rod, Shimano Curado (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SCER) casting reel (7:1 ratio), 20-pound Seaguar Tatsu fluorocarbon (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=STFL) line, 6/0 weighted (1/4-ounce) Owner Beast hook (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=OWBWT), Little Creeper Baits All-American Trash Fish (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=LCAATF) swimbait (light hitch, shad or chartreuse shad).
Main factor: "I'd gotten a good look at it a month ago and with the new motor and the way the conditions were shaping up, I was confident that I had everything in my favor."
Performance edge: "I knew I had the right bait and I was familiar with it, and I had the right rods to throw it on."
TW Staff
"My biggest problem was I just didn't know if I was going to be able to fish," said Tuck, who'd encountered major engine troubles leading up to the event. "I owe a lot to the people at C&C Marine (Citrus Heights, Calif.) – they got a new Mercury on the back of my boat and for the first time in a few years, I had the confidence that I could go wherever I needed to go and make a long run from one end of the lake to the other."
He was extremely consistent throughout the event, as his lightest bag was just under 24 pounds. He saved his best for last as he caught 27-12 on the final day, giving him a 76-09 total for 3 days that outdistanced runner-up Joe Uribe Jr. by almost 5 pounds.
Tuck practiced for 2 1/2 days, but he confirmed what he'd hoped to find after an hour on the water.
"I'd been up there about 3 weeks ago for a day and a half and I found those fish, and they were stronger when I showed back up," he said. "I went up there and in about an hour I had 29 pounds, so I knew some bigger ones had moved in there. "Right away I knew that was what I was going to do, so I spent the last 2 days just fishing rockpiles and looking for backup stuff."
Competition:
The tournament launched out of Redbud Park at the extreme southern end of the lake. Tuck's hotspot was near Rodman Slough in the northeast corner – a distance of about 22 miles.
He said the convergence of multiple factors led to the place becoming a major hangout for 4-pound-plus largemouths. The biggest was the fact that the lake was in the midst of its fall drawdown, which pulled the fish that had spent the spring and summer deep inside Rodman's maze of vegetation out to the grass around the mouth.
"The bigger fish were grouped up, but not in places where everyone would find them," he said. "They'll probably be there all fall. They get out there into those grassbeds and the baitfish are already there."
He worked the area for only a couple of hours on each of the first 2 days before pulling off. He stayed for about 4 hours on day 3 before going on a milk run of rockpiles in a successful quest for the fish that would secure his co-angler, Chad LeBlanc, the title in that division.
His final-day sack included a fish that topped the 7-pound mark. He had a 6-04 on day 2 that captured big-fish honors.
"However much time I spent there each day, I was catching 25 to 35 fish. I was balance-beaming them one after another, starting at 4 pounds."
He caught all of his weigh-in fish on Little Creeper Baits All-American Trash Fish swimbaits, which are produced locally.
"It's almost a hybrid betweenn a crankbait and a swimbait. It's not for dredging the bottom necessarily, but the fins flare and those are a triggering mechanism. And they're really durable – I can catch 10, 12, 15 fish on each bait. That has to do with the plastic they use."
He said that both the 4-inch and 6-inch versions were effective in several different colors. His use of the 4-inch was limited because he started the event with only two hooks of the appropriate size for it and rendered both unusable.
"I threw light hitch in the clear pockets and shad in the dirtier water, and I tried chartreuse shad a little bit. I don't think the color really mattered."
Winning Gear:
Swimbait gear: 7'6" heavy-action Powell Endurance 764 (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=PEFR) rod, Shimano Curado (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SCER) casting reel (7:1 ratio), 20-pound Seaguar Tatsu fluorocarbon (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=STFL) line, 6/0 weighted (1/4-ounce) Owner Beast hook (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=OWBWT), Little Creeper Baits All-American Trash Fish (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=LCAATF) swimbait (light hitch, shad or chartreuse shad).
Main factor: "I'd gotten a good look at it a month ago and with the new motor and the way the conditions were shaping up, I was confident that I had everything in my favor."
Performance edge: "I knew I had the right bait and I was familiar with it, and I had the right rods to throw it on."
TW Staff