TW_Staff
10-20-2008, 01:53 PM
Kevin Wirth, Old Hickory Elite Series (TN), June 26–29
Kevin Wirth flipped at Old Hickory and won by more than 5 pounds. He also buzzed up some fish. "I was flipping anything that was isolated in a foot or less of water in the backs of the creeks," Wirth said. "I had key stretches of banks with wood, overhanging trees, little clumps of grass – anything."
Flipping gear: Unnamed 7'6" medium-heavy rod, Abu Garcia Revo STX casting reel (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=AGRSTX)(6.4:1 ratio), 20-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon line (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=BTFCC), unnamed 1/4- or 3/8-ounce bullet weight, 4/0 Mustad Mega-Bite hook (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=MMBH), 5" Berkley Power Hawg (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=BPPH) or unnamed creature-type bait (green-pumpkin).
Buzzbait gear: Unnamed 7' medium-heavy rod, same reel and line, 1/2-ounce Lunker Lure buzzbait (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=LLOCB) (chartreuse).Alvin Shaw, Detroit River FLW Tour (MI/ON), July 10–13
While the race to the Detroit River cut was dominated by Lake Erie fishing, the final 2 days of the event delivered big-time winds that put the Erie fish out of play. Alvin Shaw won by popping tubes near St. Clair grass. He also got a few bites on a leech. "The area I was working was a 6-square-mile flat that was adjacent to some spawning areas," Shaw said. "I was looking for scattered grass and sand spots. The key was you had to be in the grass. If you made a drift and didn't hit any grass, you didn't get bit."
Tube gear: 6'6" medium-fast G. Loomis GLX (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=GLSJGXS) casting rod, Team Daiwa TDX 103 reel (6.3:1 ratio), 6-pound Gamma fluorocarbon (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=GEF), 5/16- and 1/2-ounce Maumee jigheads, 3 1/2" Maumee tube (green-pumpkin/gold flake).
"Using that light 6-pound Gamma fluorocarbon (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=GEF) was a big key, too. I didn't break off a fish, and I think it helped me get a few more bites." He sprayed his tubes and jigheads with Bang crawfish scent so that the jighead would easily slide down into the tube. The Berkley Gulp! Alive! leech (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=BGAFL) he caught a 4-pounder on was the black olive color.Kota Kiriyama, Erie/Niagara Elite Series (NY/ON), July 10–13
Kota Kiriyama reinvented Erie smallmouth fishing this year when he dropshotted suspended main-basin fish. He traveled far down the New York shoreline, almost to Pennsylvania, where his fish were 40 to 65 feet down over 90 feet of water.
Dropshot gear: 6'8" Shimano Final Dimension rod, Shimano Stella spinning reel (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SSTD) (not yet available), 7-pound Gamma Dropshot line (new), No. 1 Owner All Purpose Bait hook, 3/16-, 1/4- and 5/16-ounce Kanji X-Metal dropshot weights (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=KTDS), Jackall prototype worm, Jackall Crazy Ninja Shad prototype, Jackall Cross Tail Shad (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=JCTS).Dean Rojas, Oneida Elite Series (NY), Aug. 7–10
Dean Rojas finally got his frog win at Oneida, with some help from flipping. Like Tommy Biffle before him, Rojas went shallow for largemouths when everyone else went deep for smallmouths. Rojas caught fish that were in as little as 6 inches of water, and none that were deeper than 4 feet. He flipped or casted to any type of cover he could find.
Frog gear: 7' medium-heavy Quantum PT Dean Rojas signature series frog rod (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=QSSCR), Quantum PT Tour Edition Burner casting reel (7:1 ratio), 65-pound Izorline braided line (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=IPS), Spro BronzEye Frog (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SPBF) (midnight walker) or prototype Spro Pop'n Frog (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SPBPF) (leopard).
Flipping gear: 7'4" Quantum PT flipping stick (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=QSSCR), Quantum Tour Edition PT casting reel (6.3:1 ratio), same line, 1-ounce Kanji tungsten weight (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=KJSBW), 4/0 Gamakatsu EWG Superline hook (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=GSOWG), Northland Slurpies Brush Beaver (camo or 'Bama bug).Michael Bennett, Murray Forrest Wood Cup (SC), Aug. 14–17
Conditions were brutally tough in August at Lake Murray. Michael Bennett started with a pure junk pattern, but by day 3 knew better what to look for. He employed a run-and-gun offense with a shakey-head and frog, but by day 3, the frog had pretty much taken over.
Frog gear: 7'2" Fenwick Elite Tech Froggin' Stik (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=FETC), 65-pound Stren Super braid (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SSBG) , Abu Garcia Revo casting reel (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=AGRS) (7:1), Snag Proof Perfect Fred Frog (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SPPF).
Shakey gear: 6'9" Fenwick Elite Tech Jig/Worm rod (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=FETS) (new), Abu Garcia Cardinal 802i spinning reel, 8-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=BTFCC) , "generic" shakey-head jig, 6" Berkley Power Finesse Hand Pour worm (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=BFWH) (oxblood/light-red-fleck).
Kevin Wirth flipped at Old Hickory and won by more than 5 pounds. He also buzzed up some fish. "I was flipping anything that was isolated in a foot or less of water in the backs of the creeks," Wirth said. "I had key stretches of banks with wood, overhanging trees, little clumps of grass – anything."
Flipping gear: Unnamed 7'6" medium-heavy rod, Abu Garcia Revo STX casting reel (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=AGRSTX)(6.4:1 ratio), 20-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon line (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=BTFCC), unnamed 1/4- or 3/8-ounce bullet weight, 4/0 Mustad Mega-Bite hook (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=MMBH), 5" Berkley Power Hawg (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=BPPH) or unnamed creature-type bait (green-pumpkin).
Buzzbait gear: Unnamed 7' medium-heavy rod, same reel and line, 1/2-ounce Lunker Lure buzzbait (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=LLOCB) (chartreuse).Alvin Shaw, Detroit River FLW Tour (MI/ON), July 10–13
While the race to the Detroit River cut was dominated by Lake Erie fishing, the final 2 days of the event delivered big-time winds that put the Erie fish out of play. Alvin Shaw won by popping tubes near St. Clair grass. He also got a few bites on a leech. "The area I was working was a 6-square-mile flat that was adjacent to some spawning areas," Shaw said. "I was looking for scattered grass and sand spots. The key was you had to be in the grass. If you made a drift and didn't hit any grass, you didn't get bit."
Tube gear: 6'6" medium-fast G. Loomis GLX (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=GLSJGXS) casting rod, Team Daiwa TDX 103 reel (6.3:1 ratio), 6-pound Gamma fluorocarbon (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=GEF), 5/16- and 1/2-ounce Maumee jigheads, 3 1/2" Maumee tube (green-pumpkin/gold flake).
"Using that light 6-pound Gamma fluorocarbon (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=GEF) was a big key, too. I didn't break off a fish, and I think it helped me get a few more bites." He sprayed his tubes and jigheads with Bang crawfish scent so that the jighead would easily slide down into the tube. The Berkley Gulp! Alive! leech (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=BGAFL) he caught a 4-pounder on was the black olive color.Kota Kiriyama, Erie/Niagara Elite Series (NY/ON), July 10–13
Kota Kiriyama reinvented Erie smallmouth fishing this year when he dropshotted suspended main-basin fish. He traveled far down the New York shoreline, almost to Pennsylvania, where his fish were 40 to 65 feet down over 90 feet of water.
Dropshot gear: 6'8" Shimano Final Dimension rod, Shimano Stella spinning reel (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SSTD) (not yet available), 7-pound Gamma Dropshot line (new), No. 1 Owner All Purpose Bait hook, 3/16-, 1/4- and 5/16-ounce Kanji X-Metal dropshot weights (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=KTDS), Jackall prototype worm, Jackall Crazy Ninja Shad prototype, Jackall Cross Tail Shad (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=JCTS).Dean Rojas, Oneida Elite Series (NY), Aug. 7–10
Dean Rojas finally got his frog win at Oneida, with some help from flipping. Like Tommy Biffle before him, Rojas went shallow for largemouths when everyone else went deep for smallmouths. Rojas caught fish that were in as little as 6 inches of water, and none that were deeper than 4 feet. He flipped or casted to any type of cover he could find.
Frog gear: 7' medium-heavy Quantum PT Dean Rojas signature series frog rod (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=QSSCR), Quantum PT Tour Edition Burner casting reel (7:1 ratio), 65-pound Izorline braided line (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=IPS), Spro BronzEye Frog (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SPBF) (midnight walker) or prototype Spro Pop'n Frog (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SPBPF) (leopard).
Flipping gear: 7'4" Quantum PT flipping stick (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=QSSCR), Quantum Tour Edition PT casting reel (6.3:1 ratio), same line, 1-ounce Kanji tungsten weight (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=KJSBW), 4/0 Gamakatsu EWG Superline hook (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=GSOWG), Northland Slurpies Brush Beaver (camo or 'Bama bug).Michael Bennett, Murray Forrest Wood Cup (SC), Aug. 14–17
Conditions were brutally tough in August at Lake Murray. Michael Bennett started with a pure junk pattern, but by day 3 knew better what to look for. He employed a run-and-gun offense with a shakey-head and frog, but by day 3, the frog had pretty much taken over.
Frog gear: 7'2" Fenwick Elite Tech Froggin' Stik (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=FETC), 65-pound Stren Super braid (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SSBG) , Abu Garcia Revo casting reel (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=AGRS) (7:1), Snag Proof Perfect Fred Frog (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SPPF).
Shakey gear: 6'9" Fenwick Elite Tech Jig/Worm rod (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=FETS) (new), Abu Garcia Cardinal 802i spinning reel, 8-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=BTFCC) , "generic" shakey-head jig, 6" Berkley Power Finesse Hand Pour worm (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=BFWH) (oxblood/light-red-fleck).