TW_Staff
08-04-2009, 10:43 AM
Greg Hackney brought home the Cup with a final 2-day total of 9-09. So yes, it was a low winning weight, but remember too that the Three Rivers in Pittsburgh, Pa. were largely blown out and muddy after day 1, which made for incredibly difficult fishing conditions.
At the 2005 Bassmaster Classic on the Three Rivers, pro Greg Hackney failed to catch a keeper bass in two days of competition. Four years later he arrived in Pittsburgh for the Forrest Wood Cup with a singular focus of targeting 12-inch fish.
The Cup field faced a changing fishery every day. Pros launched into the Pittsburgh pool in downtown Pittsburgh, then could run up either the Allegheny or Monongahela, or down the Ohio (the Allegheny and Monongahela join to form the Ohio).
Hackney had found fish in the both the Allegheny and the Pittsburgh pool. The two patterns that were in play were tailraces and the mayfly hatch. Untold numbers of mayflies were hatching in various spots all over – especially up the Allegheny – and the smallmouths were keyed on that hatch.
It's not clear whether the fish were eating the rising larvae or the baitfish attracted to the larvae, but it's notable that Hackney said he saw considerably more bait than he did at the 2005 Pittsburgh Classic. He saw crawfish, bluegills, warmouth (maybe rock bass), but especially small, 2-inch "ghost minnows."
"When we were here in '05, I looked for jig-fish – I looked for largemouths," he said. "I normally fish against the grain and do off-the-wall stuff. In the Classic, it didn't work. This time I targeted 12-inch fish. I went out in practice and tried to figure out a way to catch keepers, (thinking) a big one would come along.
"And I really tried to match the bait with everything I threw. I saw a lot of what we call 'ghost minnows' back home. They're about 2 inches long. So everything I threw was on the small side."
He also kept in mind something he didn't necessarily realize at the Classic. "Here, a 1-pound fish is 4 or 5 years old, so catching a 13- or 14-incher is like fishing for a 5- or 6-pounder back home."
In other words, although they're small, they're somewhat educated and in fact difficult to catch.
Competition:
Hackney made a key decision on day 1: He stayed in the Pittsburgh pool in the attempt catch 4 to 5 pounds and thus save his Allegheny fish for day 2. He didn't catch a limit, which put the pressure on for day 2.
He answered in a big way with an 11-12 limit, which was the heaviest bag anyone caught across the 4 days by far.
What happened, he said, was the heavy rains that came on day 1 and the day before washed down the Allegheny and pushed fish out of their sanctuaries immediately below the Allegheny dams. The big fish actually moved into shallower water to avoid the heavy current and he whacked a 3-pounder and a 3 3/4-pounder.
He also targeted the mayfly hatch and used that one-two punch across the final 2 days, although the big fish never made another shallow move – likely because the rain let up and the current, although still strong, stabilized.
His attack plan over the 3 days was to lock up the Allegheny three times and fish his way back downriver.
Winning Pattern:
“The fish were on a rock break behind the dam. On day two we finally got enough current where they pushed off the dam into the seams. My key bait that day was a 1/4-ounce Strike King spinnerbait in golden-shiner. The golden shiner seems to be a really good color for smallmouths.”
“All of my better fish today came off a hard break. This place had everything – current, mixing water and structure. And to sweeten the pot, there were mayflies in the overhanging trees. This all looked good, but it seemed wherever there was a hard bottom is where the better fish were. Where there was mud, there were short fish.”
Hackney didn't camp. "I had so many places to fish that I just kept running and gunning. I didn't spend more than 10 minutes on a place. I adjusted baits by the minute. I knew where (the fish) were, but I had to go through the gamut. It was different every day. The fish would tell you pretty quickly if they wanted it, then they'd quit."
He had a swimbait bite going in practice when the water was clear. "The first day of practice I had like nine fish on it (between) 1 and 2 pounds. They were huge, I thought, for here. Of course, the water dirtied and the swimbait bite went away. But that's how I found them."
"Anywhere you found a little rock and overhanging limbs, there was a mayfly hatch. You could catch fish whenever you found that, but in order to catch keepers, there had to be a hard bottom."
Winning Gear:
No single bait or setup was the overall key, Hackney said. He kept 20 rods rigged and used them all.
He noted that he caught his biggest fish on a 1/4-ounce Strike King Premier Pro Model spinnerbait with a No. 4 gold willow-leaf and small Colorado.
However, other baits that accounted for fish included:
> 3/16-ounce Strike King Mini-King spinnerbait
>1/8-ounce Strike King Mini Pro buzzbait
>1/8-ounce Aaron Martens Scrounger (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=AMSH) head with a 3" soft-plastic shad
>4" Strike King 3X Finesse worm (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SXFW)
>Wacky-rigged 4" Strike King Ocho
(http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SKPO)
>Strike King Rodent
(http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SKPR)
Main factor in his success – "Really, it was just revamping everything this time from when we were here for the Classic. The heaviest line I threw this time was 14-pound test, but I was mostly fishing 6- to 10-pound. I targeted keeper bites. That really made the difference."
The Field:
Michael Iaconelli:
“The first two days my key baits were a Jackall jerkbait (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=JSQM) and a
on a drop-shot. The last two days the best bait was a green-pumpkin 5-inch Gulp Sinking Minnow. I would cut off about a half-inch, make a blunt end and put it on a 1/4-ounce Ikey Head jig (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=TTBB).”
The 2003 Bassmaster Angler of the Year fished these lures primarily on 10-pound Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=BTFCC) line. Of all the pro finalists, he probably had the steadiest pattern.
“I basically ran around and tried to fish 100 eddies a day. I would cast upstream and bounce the bait over rocks. Anywhere where there was a backswirl, I stopped and fished it. The current was heavy in the Ohio, so the bait had to be bulky for the fish to be able to find it.”
For nine bass over two days that weighed 9 pounds, 6 ounces, the Runnemede, N.J., pro earned $100,000. He noted that the two Pittsburgh events are the toughest tournaments in which he’s ever competed.
“It was just a grind, and I was mentally prepared for that coming in.”
Iaconelli’s journey that began at the Lake Champlain Stren Series tournament last July ended by the slimmest margin of defeat in Forrest Wood Cup history. Iaconelli fans will want to know that his popular “City Limits Fishing” show on the VERSUS network will be filming in Pittsburgh at the end of August.
“I don’t think I’ve ever felt this confident in my whole life, even when I was fishing club tournaments. It’s just a matter of time before I close one of these up.”
Cody Meyer:
Meyer fished a drop-shot with a 4-inch Jackall Crosstail shad (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=JCTS) and an 1/8-ounce Bass Menu jig and 4-inch single-tail Yamamoto grub (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=YASG). The drop-shot was effective early in the tournament, but the grub caught most of the fish the last two days. Tied on to these baits was 8-pound Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=BTFCC) line.
Meyer’s primary area was located three locks up the Allegheny, just behind the two islands. He skipped his baits along the rocky bank, focusing on shady, overhanging trees. On day one he fished in the Monongahela.
“I would pitch the grub up under the shade lines and then bring it back down to about 6 feet,” said the 26-year-old from Redding, Calif.
Although he caught 40 bass Sunday, only three were keepers.
“I had more bites today than I had all week, but I knew I had to get a limit to win. To me, it’s more fun to fish a tough tournament like this than a slugfest. A keeper means so much.
Scott Suggs:
“With the current, I had to resort to junk-fishing, or what I call trash-fishing,” said bass fishing’s first instant millionaire.
On day three Suggs retreated into a backwater area and caught two largemouths on back-to-back casts. Essentially, Suggs was at a crossroads the last two days. He needed the water to come down and clear up for his offshore smallmouth pattern to work. Had the water continued to come up, he could have safely entered his shallow backwater area.
When fishing for smallmouths, Suggs used bigger, heavier tubes, which he Texas-rigged, in green-pumpkin color.
Rusty Salewske:
Earlier in the week he threw topwaters, but the last few days he primarily pitched a 1/4-ounce jig tipped with a Smallie Beaver (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=RISMB) into shade pockets along a seawall. He would fish extremely fast for 100 yards or so until he received a bite. Once he got that bite, he would then slow down and thoroughly work the shady area.
Salewske emphasized that baits were not the reason for his success, but instead the key was figuring out where the ever-transient river fish were positioned.
TW Staff
At the 2005 Bassmaster Classic on the Three Rivers, pro Greg Hackney failed to catch a keeper bass in two days of competition. Four years later he arrived in Pittsburgh for the Forrest Wood Cup with a singular focus of targeting 12-inch fish.
The Cup field faced a changing fishery every day. Pros launched into the Pittsburgh pool in downtown Pittsburgh, then could run up either the Allegheny or Monongahela, or down the Ohio (the Allegheny and Monongahela join to form the Ohio).
Hackney had found fish in the both the Allegheny and the Pittsburgh pool. The two patterns that were in play were tailraces and the mayfly hatch. Untold numbers of mayflies were hatching in various spots all over – especially up the Allegheny – and the smallmouths were keyed on that hatch.
It's not clear whether the fish were eating the rising larvae or the baitfish attracted to the larvae, but it's notable that Hackney said he saw considerably more bait than he did at the 2005 Pittsburgh Classic. He saw crawfish, bluegills, warmouth (maybe rock bass), but especially small, 2-inch "ghost minnows."
"When we were here in '05, I looked for jig-fish – I looked for largemouths," he said. "I normally fish against the grain and do off-the-wall stuff. In the Classic, it didn't work. This time I targeted 12-inch fish. I went out in practice and tried to figure out a way to catch keepers, (thinking) a big one would come along.
"And I really tried to match the bait with everything I threw. I saw a lot of what we call 'ghost minnows' back home. They're about 2 inches long. So everything I threw was on the small side."
He also kept in mind something he didn't necessarily realize at the Classic. "Here, a 1-pound fish is 4 or 5 years old, so catching a 13- or 14-incher is like fishing for a 5- or 6-pounder back home."
In other words, although they're small, they're somewhat educated and in fact difficult to catch.
Competition:
Hackney made a key decision on day 1: He stayed in the Pittsburgh pool in the attempt catch 4 to 5 pounds and thus save his Allegheny fish for day 2. He didn't catch a limit, which put the pressure on for day 2.
He answered in a big way with an 11-12 limit, which was the heaviest bag anyone caught across the 4 days by far.
What happened, he said, was the heavy rains that came on day 1 and the day before washed down the Allegheny and pushed fish out of their sanctuaries immediately below the Allegheny dams. The big fish actually moved into shallower water to avoid the heavy current and he whacked a 3-pounder and a 3 3/4-pounder.
He also targeted the mayfly hatch and used that one-two punch across the final 2 days, although the big fish never made another shallow move – likely because the rain let up and the current, although still strong, stabilized.
His attack plan over the 3 days was to lock up the Allegheny three times and fish his way back downriver.
Winning Pattern:
“The fish were on a rock break behind the dam. On day two we finally got enough current where they pushed off the dam into the seams. My key bait that day was a 1/4-ounce Strike King spinnerbait in golden-shiner. The golden shiner seems to be a really good color for smallmouths.”
“All of my better fish today came off a hard break. This place had everything – current, mixing water and structure. And to sweeten the pot, there were mayflies in the overhanging trees. This all looked good, but it seemed wherever there was a hard bottom is where the better fish were. Where there was mud, there were short fish.”
Hackney didn't camp. "I had so many places to fish that I just kept running and gunning. I didn't spend more than 10 minutes on a place. I adjusted baits by the minute. I knew where (the fish) were, but I had to go through the gamut. It was different every day. The fish would tell you pretty quickly if they wanted it, then they'd quit."
He had a swimbait bite going in practice when the water was clear. "The first day of practice I had like nine fish on it (between) 1 and 2 pounds. They were huge, I thought, for here. Of course, the water dirtied and the swimbait bite went away. But that's how I found them."
"Anywhere you found a little rock and overhanging limbs, there was a mayfly hatch. You could catch fish whenever you found that, but in order to catch keepers, there had to be a hard bottom."
Winning Gear:
No single bait or setup was the overall key, Hackney said. He kept 20 rods rigged and used them all.
He noted that he caught his biggest fish on a 1/4-ounce Strike King Premier Pro Model spinnerbait with a No. 4 gold willow-leaf and small Colorado.
However, other baits that accounted for fish included:
> 3/16-ounce Strike King Mini-King spinnerbait
>1/8-ounce Strike King Mini Pro buzzbait
>1/8-ounce Aaron Martens Scrounger (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=AMSH) head with a 3" soft-plastic shad
>4" Strike King 3X Finesse worm (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SXFW)
>Wacky-rigged 4" Strike King Ocho
(http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SKPO)
>Strike King Rodent
(http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SKPR)
Main factor in his success – "Really, it was just revamping everything this time from when we were here for the Classic. The heaviest line I threw this time was 14-pound test, but I was mostly fishing 6- to 10-pound. I targeted keeper bites. That really made the difference."
The Field:
Michael Iaconelli:
“The first two days my key baits were a Jackall jerkbait (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=JSQM) and a
on a drop-shot. The last two days the best bait was a green-pumpkin 5-inch Gulp Sinking Minnow. I would cut off about a half-inch, make a blunt end and put it on a 1/4-ounce Ikey Head jig (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=TTBB).”
The 2003 Bassmaster Angler of the Year fished these lures primarily on 10-pound Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=BTFCC) line. Of all the pro finalists, he probably had the steadiest pattern.
“I basically ran around and tried to fish 100 eddies a day. I would cast upstream and bounce the bait over rocks. Anywhere where there was a backswirl, I stopped and fished it. The current was heavy in the Ohio, so the bait had to be bulky for the fish to be able to find it.”
For nine bass over two days that weighed 9 pounds, 6 ounces, the Runnemede, N.J., pro earned $100,000. He noted that the two Pittsburgh events are the toughest tournaments in which he’s ever competed.
“It was just a grind, and I was mentally prepared for that coming in.”
Iaconelli’s journey that began at the Lake Champlain Stren Series tournament last July ended by the slimmest margin of defeat in Forrest Wood Cup history. Iaconelli fans will want to know that his popular “City Limits Fishing” show on the VERSUS network will be filming in Pittsburgh at the end of August.
“I don’t think I’ve ever felt this confident in my whole life, even when I was fishing club tournaments. It’s just a matter of time before I close one of these up.”
Cody Meyer:
Meyer fished a drop-shot with a 4-inch Jackall Crosstail shad (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=JCTS) and an 1/8-ounce Bass Menu jig and 4-inch single-tail Yamamoto grub (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=YASG). The drop-shot was effective early in the tournament, but the grub caught most of the fish the last two days. Tied on to these baits was 8-pound Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=BTFCC) line.
Meyer’s primary area was located three locks up the Allegheny, just behind the two islands. He skipped his baits along the rocky bank, focusing on shady, overhanging trees. On day one he fished in the Monongahela.
“I would pitch the grub up under the shade lines and then bring it back down to about 6 feet,” said the 26-year-old from Redding, Calif.
Although he caught 40 bass Sunday, only three were keepers.
“I had more bites today than I had all week, but I knew I had to get a limit to win. To me, it’s more fun to fish a tough tournament like this than a slugfest. A keeper means so much.
Scott Suggs:
“With the current, I had to resort to junk-fishing, or what I call trash-fishing,” said bass fishing’s first instant millionaire.
On day three Suggs retreated into a backwater area and caught two largemouths on back-to-back casts. Essentially, Suggs was at a crossroads the last two days. He needed the water to come down and clear up for his offshore smallmouth pattern to work. Had the water continued to come up, he could have safely entered his shallow backwater area.
When fishing for smallmouths, Suggs used bigger, heavier tubes, which he Texas-rigged, in green-pumpkin color.
Rusty Salewske:
Earlier in the week he threw topwaters, but the last few days he primarily pitched a 1/4-ounce jig tipped with a Smallie Beaver (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=RISMB) into shade pockets along a seawall. He would fish extremely fast for 100 yards or so until he received a bite. Once he got that bite, he would then slow down and thoroughly work the shady area.
Salewske emphasized that baits were not the reason for his success, but instead the key was figuring out where the ever-transient river fish were positioned.
TW Staff