TW_Staff
02-24-2009, 11:30 AM
Skeet Reese edged out Mike Iaconelli to win the Red River 2009 Bassmaster Classic.
Bobo's hole located in pool 5 is where the winning fish were located. Reese wasn't the only one to fish Bobo's. Plenty of other high finishers were in there as well. 9th-place Aaron Martens and 12th-place Boyd Duckett. But they fished more toward the back of Bobo's, while Reese fished the outside near the main river.
Winning Pattern:
"Anytime you have high pressure after a cold front, clear-water fish are the hardest fish to catch," Reese said. "If you have fish in dirty water, those fish are going to be easier to catch. That's what I loved about that little spot I had.
"They definitely bit better in the dirty water, and that water was a few degrees warmer than the clear water. When it gets cold like that, the fish that were spawning pull back to dirtier water."
Reese didn't use the spinnerbait in just the dirty water, he also slow-rolled it through the pad-stems and stumps. Time of day and sky was more the determining factor on what he threw where. The spinnerbait was more an early bait, then he flipped more under the sun.
Winning Gear Notes:
Spinnberbait gear: 7' extra-fast Lamiglas XR 704 rod, Abu Garcia Revo Winch (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=AGRW) (5.4:1), 50-pound Spiderwire Ultracast (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SWUC) braided line, 3/8-ounce Lucky Craft Redemption (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=LCRS) spinnerbait (MS American shad head, nickel combination blades, customized translucent skirt).
He said he fished spinnerbait on the Revo Winch because it's a strong, slower-geared reel. And he fished it on the braid because it cut through the pad stems better than mono or fluorocarbon.
Flipping gear: Lamiglas XFT 806 (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=LACPGC) flipping stick, Abu Garcia Skeet Series Revo (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=AGSRR) casting reel, 25-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=BTFCC), 3/16- and 1/4- ounce unnamed sinkers (1/4-ounce in wind), 3/0 unnamed hook, Berkley PowerBait Crazy Leg Chigger craw (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=BPCLCC) (black/blue-fleck)
Extra Edge Notes:
"I think the Biosonix (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=BXRFSF) definitely made an impact this week," he noted. "You can't exactly quantify it. I know some days it works, some days it may not, but I feel it generated a couple extra bites for me this week."
Skeet wore Wiley X Skyee (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=WXSKB) sunglasses with green polarized lenses, a relatively light green tint.
The Field:
Mike Iaconelli:
Mike fished a giant northeast-facing cove inside Sullivan's. It was shaped like a mouth, and three-quarters of it was a foot to a foot and half deep. But in the very back third was a depression that was 7 feet (deep) in the middle and tapered to 3. there were three types of cover I keyed on (for pitching). One was big stumps, another was clusters of pole timber – they'd be thin, like sticks, all in a cluster – and the other was horizontals, and by that I mean anything laying on an angle. When I saw that stuff, I'd slow down and use the finesse-style baits."
Crankbait gear: 6'6" Team Daiwa-S fiberglass cranking (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=TDSC) rod ("One of the old green, cork-handled ones"), Daiwa Steez (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=DSZCR) casting reel (6.3:1), 20-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=BTFC) (green), LaserLure Super Shallow Diver (Ike's special, which is black/blue).
Swim-jig gear: 7'2" Team Daiwa Mike Iaconelli signature-series (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=DMICR) rod, Daiwa Steez (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=DSZCR) casting reel, 20-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=BTFC) (green), 3/8-ounce Longshank ChatterBait-style swim-jig (Ike's revenge, which is black/blue), "generic" grub trailer (black/blue).
Finesse jig gear: Same rod and reel as swim-jig, 20-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=BTFCC) (clear), 3/8-ounce Berkley Ike's Finesse Gripper jig (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=BIFJ#) (blue fleck), "generic" grub trailer (black/blue).
Tube gear: Same rod and reel and line as finesse jig, 1/4-ounce Tru-Tungsten weight (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=TTCBW), 4/0 extra-wide gap Youvella hook, 4 1/2-inch Tru-Tungsten tube (black/blue, not yet available to public).
He used MegaStrike scent (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=MSFA) on all his baits. "I'm not sponsored by them, but I feel it added a little bit of appeal."
Brian Snowden:
Missouri's Brian Snowden concentrated primarily on small ditches that ran into spawning pockets. He located four locales that had them during practice, all in Pool 4. "That place had a lot of great things," he said. "It was close to the main channel, it had two ditches that ran through it, and there were lots of laydowns and stumps. It also had a harder bottom – it wasn't mucky.
Swimming jig gear: 7' medium-heavy St. Croix Legend (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SCLTC) Elite rod, Bass Pro Shops (BPS) Johnny Morris signature series casting reel (6.4:1 ratio), 17-pound BPS XPS fluorocarbon line, 3/8-ounce V&M jig (green-pumpkin with strands of chartreuse and orange), Zoom Super Chunk Jr. (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=ZSC) trailer (green-pumpkin).
Flipping gear: 7'11" heavy-action St. Croix Legend (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SCLTC) flipping stick, same reel, 20-pound XPS fluorocarbon, 1/4-ounce XPS tungsten weight, 4/0 XPS straight-shank hook, Zoom Super Hog (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=ZSH) (watermelon).
Mike McClelland:
He focused on ridges with breaks on them in Pool 5 and targeted fish in the 2- to 5-foot depth range. He paid close attention to the transition areas such as creek channels and depressions.
Spinnerbait gear: 7' medium-action Falcon Expert split-grip rod, Quantum PT (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpageRLCQUANTUM-QTPVCR.html) casting reel (6.3:1 ratio), 20-pound Seaguar InvizX (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SIF) fluorocarbon line, 5/16-ounce War Eagle Finesse spinnerbait (sexy shad).
Jig gear: 7'4" medium-heavy Falcon Mike McClelland signature series rod, same reel, 20 or 25-pound InvizX (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SIF), 5/16-ounce Jewel Finesse (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=JHCFJ) or 3/8-ounce Jewel Football (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=JBFJ) jig, Zoom Super Chunk Jr. (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=ZSC) or Zoom Ultravibe Speed Craw (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=ZSDC) trailer (green-pumpkin).
Edwin Evers:
Oklahoma's Edwin Evers ran to Pool 4 every day, but he refused to lock down with an empty livewell. "Every day I caught fish before and after I locked," he said. "I'd always take a few minutes to fish a duck blind that was surrounded by lily-pad stems on a flat. It was reloading every day." Edwin alternated between Yum a Wooly Bug in the murkiest soup and a Dinger in clearer water.
Wooly Bug gear: 7' heavy action Bass Pro Shops (BPS) Pro Qualifier rod, BPS Pro Qualifier casting reel (6.3:1 ratio), 65-pound BPS Magibraid line, 1/4-ounce BPS XPS tungsten weight, 5/0 BPS XPS straight-shank hook, Yum Wooly Bug (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=YWB) (watermelon red).
Dinger gear: 7' medium-action BPS Pro Qualifier rod, same reel, 17-pound BPS XPS fluorocarbon line, 4/0 XPS round-bend worm hook, 6" Yum Dinger (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=YD) (watermelon red).
TW Staff
Bobo's hole located in pool 5 is where the winning fish were located. Reese wasn't the only one to fish Bobo's. Plenty of other high finishers were in there as well. 9th-place Aaron Martens and 12th-place Boyd Duckett. But they fished more toward the back of Bobo's, while Reese fished the outside near the main river.
Winning Pattern:
"Anytime you have high pressure after a cold front, clear-water fish are the hardest fish to catch," Reese said. "If you have fish in dirty water, those fish are going to be easier to catch. That's what I loved about that little spot I had.
"They definitely bit better in the dirty water, and that water was a few degrees warmer than the clear water. When it gets cold like that, the fish that were spawning pull back to dirtier water."
Reese didn't use the spinnerbait in just the dirty water, he also slow-rolled it through the pad-stems and stumps. Time of day and sky was more the determining factor on what he threw where. The spinnerbait was more an early bait, then he flipped more under the sun.
Winning Gear Notes:
Spinnberbait gear: 7' extra-fast Lamiglas XR 704 rod, Abu Garcia Revo Winch (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=AGRW) (5.4:1), 50-pound Spiderwire Ultracast (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SWUC) braided line, 3/8-ounce Lucky Craft Redemption (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=LCRS) spinnerbait (MS American shad head, nickel combination blades, customized translucent skirt).
He said he fished spinnerbait on the Revo Winch because it's a strong, slower-geared reel. And he fished it on the braid because it cut through the pad stems better than mono or fluorocarbon.
Flipping gear: Lamiglas XFT 806 (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=LACPGC) flipping stick, Abu Garcia Skeet Series Revo (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=AGSRR) casting reel, 25-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=BTFCC), 3/16- and 1/4- ounce unnamed sinkers (1/4-ounce in wind), 3/0 unnamed hook, Berkley PowerBait Crazy Leg Chigger craw (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=BPCLCC) (black/blue-fleck)
Extra Edge Notes:
"I think the Biosonix (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=BXRFSF) definitely made an impact this week," he noted. "You can't exactly quantify it. I know some days it works, some days it may not, but I feel it generated a couple extra bites for me this week."
Skeet wore Wiley X Skyee (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=WXSKB) sunglasses with green polarized lenses, a relatively light green tint.
The Field:
Mike Iaconelli:
Mike fished a giant northeast-facing cove inside Sullivan's. It was shaped like a mouth, and three-quarters of it was a foot to a foot and half deep. But in the very back third was a depression that was 7 feet (deep) in the middle and tapered to 3. there were three types of cover I keyed on (for pitching). One was big stumps, another was clusters of pole timber – they'd be thin, like sticks, all in a cluster – and the other was horizontals, and by that I mean anything laying on an angle. When I saw that stuff, I'd slow down and use the finesse-style baits."
Crankbait gear: 6'6" Team Daiwa-S fiberglass cranking (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=TDSC) rod ("One of the old green, cork-handled ones"), Daiwa Steez (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=DSZCR) casting reel (6.3:1), 20-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=BTFC) (green), LaserLure Super Shallow Diver (Ike's special, which is black/blue).
Swim-jig gear: 7'2" Team Daiwa Mike Iaconelli signature-series (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=DMICR) rod, Daiwa Steez (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=DSZCR) casting reel, 20-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=BTFC) (green), 3/8-ounce Longshank ChatterBait-style swim-jig (Ike's revenge, which is black/blue), "generic" grub trailer (black/blue).
Finesse jig gear: Same rod and reel as swim-jig, 20-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=BTFCC) (clear), 3/8-ounce Berkley Ike's Finesse Gripper jig (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=BIFJ#) (blue fleck), "generic" grub trailer (black/blue).
Tube gear: Same rod and reel and line as finesse jig, 1/4-ounce Tru-Tungsten weight (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=TTCBW), 4/0 extra-wide gap Youvella hook, 4 1/2-inch Tru-Tungsten tube (black/blue, not yet available to public).
He used MegaStrike scent (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=MSFA) on all his baits. "I'm not sponsored by them, but I feel it added a little bit of appeal."
Brian Snowden:
Missouri's Brian Snowden concentrated primarily on small ditches that ran into spawning pockets. He located four locales that had them during practice, all in Pool 4. "That place had a lot of great things," he said. "It was close to the main channel, it had two ditches that ran through it, and there were lots of laydowns and stumps. It also had a harder bottom – it wasn't mucky.
Swimming jig gear: 7' medium-heavy St. Croix Legend (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SCLTC) Elite rod, Bass Pro Shops (BPS) Johnny Morris signature series casting reel (6.4:1 ratio), 17-pound BPS XPS fluorocarbon line, 3/8-ounce V&M jig (green-pumpkin with strands of chartreuse and orange), Zoom Super Chunk Jr. (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=ZSC) trailer (green-pumpkin).
Flipping gear: 7'11" heavy-action St. Croix Legend (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SCLTC) flipping stick, same reel, 20-pound XPS fluorocarbon, 1/4-ounce XPS tungsten weight, 4/0 XPS straight-shank hook, Zoom Super Hog (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=ZSH) (watermelon).
Mike McClelland:
He focused on ridges with breaks on them in Pool 5 and targeted fish in the 2- to 5-foot depth range. He paid close attention to the transition areas such as creek channels and depressions.
Spinnerbait gear: 7' medium-action Falcon Expert split-grip rod, Quantum PT (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpageRLCQUANTUM-QTPVCR.html) casting reel (6.3:1 ratio), 20-pound Seaguar InvizX (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SIF) fluorocarbon line, 5/16-ounce War Eagle Finesse spinnerbait (sexy shad).
Jig gear: 7'4" medium-heavy Falcon Mike McClelland signature series rod, same reel, 20 or 25-pound InvizX (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SIF), 5/16-ounce Jewel Finesse (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=JHCFJ) or 3/8-ounce Jewel Football (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=JBFJ) jig, Zoom Super Chunk Jr. (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=ZSC) or Zoom Ultravibe Speed Craw (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=ZSDC) trailer (green-pumpkin).
Edwin Evers:
Oklahoma's Edwin Evers ran to Pool 4 every day, but he refused to lock down with an empty livewell. "Every day I caught fish before and after I locked," he said. "I'd always take a few minutes to fish a duck blind that was surrounded by lily-pad stems on a flat. It was reloading every day." Edwin alternated between Yum a Wooly Bug in the murkiest soup and a Dinger in clearer water.
Wooly Bug gear: 7' heavy action Bass Pro Shops (BPS) Pro Qualifier rod, BPS Pro Qualifier casting reel (6.3:1 ratio), 65-pound BPS Magibraid line, 1/4-ounce BPS XPS tungsten weight, 5/0 BPS XPS straight-shank hook, Yum Wooly Bug (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=YWB) (watermelon red).
Dinger gear: 7' medium-action BPS Pro Qualifier rod, same reel, 17-pound BPS XPS fluorocarbon line, 4/0 XPS round-bend worm hook, 6" Yum Dinger (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=YD) (watermelon red).
TW Staff