TW_Staff
03-10-2009, 11:54 AM
Niggemeyer, a Texas resident by way of California, caught a 14-01 limit to win the fish-off while Pringle boated only three keepers for just over half that amount. He sight-fished throughout the event and was forced to explore water he hadn't visited in practice or the tournament in search of spawners on the final day.
He focused on a fairly large general area toward the south end that consisted of several flats and pockets.
"It seemed like a wave of spawners had come up earlier, and what was left when our tournament rolled around were remnant fish. They were committed to staying up and all that cold weather didn't knock them back.
"I fished both the Texas and Louisiana sides, and I really had to cover some water and work to find each fish. I didn't feel like I had enough to win, but I thought I had a good shot at having a nice finish. And if I came across a couple of big females, I might be able to do better than that."
Winning Gear:
Niggemeyer threw numerous plastic baits in a wide variety of colors to try to entice the spawning fish. His primary offerings were a Strike King Ocho soft stickbait and a Strike King Rage Tail Baby Craw.
Sight-fishing gear: 7' heavy-action St. Croix Legend (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SCLTC) Tournament Slop-N-Frog rod, Ardent XS 1000 casting reel (6.3:1 gear ratio), 20- or 25-pound unnamed copolymer line, 1/4- or 5/16-ounce unnamed tungsten weight, unnamed 4/0 hook, Strike King Ocho (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SKPO) soft stickbait or Strike King Rage Tail Baby Craw (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SKRCR) (various colors).
TW Staff
He focused on a fairly large general area toward the south end that consisted of several flats and pockets.
"It seemed like a wave of spawners had come up earlier, and what was left when our tournament rolled around were remnant fish. They were committed to staying up and all that cold weather didn't knock them back.
"I fished both the Texas and Louisiana sides, and I really had to cover some water and work to find each fish. I didn't feel like I had enough to win, but I thought I had a good shot at having a nice finish. And if I came across a couple of big females, I might be able to do better than that."
Winning Gear:
Niggemeyer threw numerous plastic baits in a wide variety of colors to try to entice the spawning fish. His primary offerings were a Strike King Ocho soft stickbait and a Strike King Rage Tail Baby Craw.
Sight-fishing gear: 7' heavy-action St. Croix Legend (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SCLTC) Tournament Slop-N-Frog rod, Ardent XS 1000 casting reel (6.3:1 gear ratio), 20- or 25-pound unnamed copolymer line, 1/4- or 5/16-ounce unnamed tungsten weight, unnamed 4/0 hook, Strike King Ocho (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SKPO) soft stickbait or Strike King Rage Tail Baby Craw (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SKRCR) (various colors).
TW Staff