TW_Staff
08-26-2009, 12:47 PM
Dick Shaffer trusted his gut on the morning of day 1 of the recent Mississippi River Central Stren out of Fort Madison, Iowa. It paid off in his 10th FLW Outdoors victory and biggest since he won the Stren Championship in 2003.
The Rockford, Ohio angler had planned to lock down to Pool 20 to begin the tournament, but opted to go up to Pool 18 just moments before his boat number was called. He caught all 13 of his weigh-in fish there and led wire to wire.
He carried a lead of nearly 3 pounds into the final day and sealed the triumph with a 9-03 stringer that was easily the biggest of the day. His 27-10 total for 3 days eclipsed runner-up Chad Kerr by more than 5 pounds.
“It’s great,” said Shaffer of his 5-pound, 4-ounce margin of victory. “I’ve led these types of events plenty of times before, but not on the final day. I just wanted to come here, cash a check and get some points. So, to get a win feels great.”
his was Shaffer's third visit to the Mississippi over the past 10 or 12 years, and he hadn't enjoyed a great deal of success there. He said he arrived with a good feeling about the tournament, but that dissipated when practice began and he realized how tough it would be to catch keepers.
He initially figured that his best chance to fare well would be to fish lily pads in Pool 20, which was where he'd gotten the majority of his bites (both in terms of quality and quantity) in practice. That changed due to the severity of the wind.
"My experience back home is that you don't catch very many off pads when it's blowing like that," he said.
He also found a backwater spot in Pool 18 that had some fish relating to laydown logs, but figured he'd end up sharing it if he went there during the tournament.
"It was just a little area, maybe 300 or 400 yards long, and I knew there were fish in there. But I was worried somebody else would be in there."
Competition:
Shaffer's last-minute decision to go upstream to the backwater locale on day 1 proved fruitful as he came back with the biggest bag of the event. He went through the lock with about a dozen other boats and let out a huge sigh of relief when none turned to follow him.
“I actually came within three seconds of going the wrong direction on the first day of the tournament,” said Shaffer. “I was going to head in an entirely different direction, but the wind was blowing so hard that I changed my mind. Honestly, within 30 seconds of calling my boat number on that first day, I made the decision to head in a different direction. And that decision won me the tournament.”
“I found the area in practice, but the water was too low to get into,” he said. “Basically it was a little shallow slough, and I fished there every day. I probably wore the bark off all of those seven logs in that spot this week.”
"I got in there and started throwing a spinnerbait, and I caught my first fish at 8:30," he said. "I finally got back to the part I really wanted to fish and I had a limit by 10:30.
"I left that area and was working my way out toward the main river and I caught a 3 1/4-pounder, and that was pretty much it."
His action was considerably slower on day 2. The spinnerbait drew no interest in the early part of the day, but he managed to pick up keepers on a jig and a Zoom Speed Craw.
He finally caught one on the spinnerbait, and then lost a 3-pounder before adding his fourth and final keeper of the day. His bag was barely half as big as his day-1 haul, but he led the cut to the Top 10 by 2-15.
He also encountered some engine problems on his return to the launch that day.
"Dave Draper, the Evinrude technician, replaced the powerhead that night. Without that, I wouldn't have been able to fish the next day."
He wasn't overly confident when the final day began despite his substantial advantage.
"I really didn't know what to expect – I'd beaten the place up pretty good and it really slowed down on the second day. But I'd lost one over 2 1/2 pounds and my (co-angler) lost one over 3, so I figured there were still some fish in there."
“I got bit on that Speed Craw in about the first 10 casts, and I decided I wasn’t going to put that rod down all day,” he said. He caught his first fish at 9:30, and then his second just a few minutes later. Both were 1-pounders that barely met the 14-inch minimum-length requirement.
His next several bites were all mudfish (grennel), but then he went back to the same area where he'd caught the two keepers and boated a 3 3/4-pounder. At about 11:30 he decided to run to the place where he and his co-angler had lost good ones the day before, and he caught a 3 3/4 along the way.
He didn't get another keeper bite the rest of the day, but was reasonably confident on the way back to the launch that he'd done enough to win.
"The water was clearing and there was a chance somebody might catch a big bag. I didn't know I had it for sure."
“Heading back to weigh-in (with a 4-pound lead from the previous day), I knew I was in pretty good shape. I figured if somebody caught more than me, they would really deserve to win.”
Winning Gear:
Spinnerbait gear: 6'6" medium-action Bass Pro Shops XPS rod, Shimano Curado (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SCER) casting reel, 15-pound Berkley Trilene Big Game line (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=BTBG), 1/4- or 3/8-ounce unnamed spinnerbait (white/chartreuse with white double willow-leaf blades).
Craw gear: 7'11" heavy-action G. Loomis flipping stick (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=GLJWF), Shimano Chronarch (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SCHD)casting reel, 20-pound Berkley Trilene Big Game line (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=BTBG), 1/4-ounce Tru-Tungsten weight (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=TTBW), 2/0 Mustad Ultra Point hook (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=MUOW), Zoom Speed Craw (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=ZSSDC) (white).
Jig gear: 7'11" heavy-action G. Loomis flipping stick (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=GLJWF), Shimano Curado (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SCER) casting reel, 20-pound Berkley Trilene Big Game line (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=BTBG), homemade 3/8-ounce jig (black/blue), Zoom Super Chunk Jr. trailer (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=ZSC) (flippin' blue).
Main factor in his success – "Making the decision to abandon the pads and go to the wood, and then having that area all to myself. There wasn't room in those key areas for any more boats and I had to fish extremely slow."
Performance edge – "I'd say my boat and motor for getting me there and back every day. It was pretty rough at times."
The Field:
Chad Kerr:
“It’s been a great week,” said Kerr, “I gave it all I had, and I really didn’t expect to be in the top 10 this week. So it’s been a good tournament.”
Amazingly enough, Kerr only decided to fish the event at the very last minute. In addition, he was so confident that he wouldn’t be in any position to qualify for the top 10 that he didn’t ask his boss if he could take Saturday off from work.
“I really had to do some serious calling yesterday so I could get off work today,” said Kerr.
Not surprisingly, Kerr said that the conditions made fishing extraordinarily difficult all week.
“I’ve run around this river for three straight days like a chicken with its head cut off,” said Kerr. “The conditions changed so much that I really had to throw a little bit of everything. I wound up doing a lot of junk-fishing. So I’m pretty happy with the way everything turned out.”
Kerr said he used a combination of Lucky Craft crankbaits, River Killer spinnerbaits, tubes and flipping techniques to land the majority of his catch.
Michael Stetich:
“It’s been a good year so far,” said Stetich. “I just wanted to come here and catch a couple of fish for points. But it wound up being a lot better than that.”
Stetich, whose primary fishing strategy was to cover as much water as possible, said he targeted bass with a 3/8-ounce Dirty Bait Company swim jig (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=DTYJGSJ) in a black-and-blue color, coupled with a Senko trailer.
“This whole week I had the trolling motor down and covered as much water as possible,” said Stetich. “It was a tough tournament. But it was a good experience overall.”
Steve Fryrear:
“It’s been a long, hard week, and I feel pretty beat up right now,” said Fryrear. “But it was an awesome week as well. I never dreamed I’d get this far.”
Derek “Duke” Jenkel:
“I’m as fine as a frog’s hair split three ways,” said Jenkel of his performance. “We’ve had a lot of fun this week. And when you’re fishing (in the finals) on Saturday, it doesn’t get any better than that.”
Jenkel said that he landed the majority of his catch fishing a Lucky Craft crankbait.
TW Staff
The Rockford, Ohio angler had planned to lock down to Pool 20 to begin the tournament, but opted to go up to Pool 18 just moments before his boat number was called. He caught all 13 of his weigh-in fish there and led wire to wire.
He carried a lead of nearly 3 pounds into the final day and sealed the triumph with a 9-03 stringer that was easily the biggest of the day. His 27-10 total for 3 days eclipsed runner-up Chad Kerr by more than 5 pounds.
“It’s great,” said Shaffer of his 5-pound, 4-ounce margin of victory. “I’ve led these types of events plenty of times before, but not on the final day. I just wanted to come here, cash a check and get some points. So, to get a win feels great.”
his was Shaffer's third visit to the Mississippi over the past 10 or 12 years, and he hadn't enjoyed a great deal of success there. He said he arrived with a good feeling about the tournament, but that dissipated when practice began and he realized how tough it would be to catch keepers.
He initially figured that his best chance to fare well would be to fish lily pads in Pool 20, which was where he'd gotten the majority of his bites (both in terms of quality and quantity) in practice. That changed due to the severity of the wind.
"My experience back home is that you don't catch very many off pads when it's blowing like that," he said.
He also found a backwater spot in Pool 18 that had some fish relating to laydown logs, but figured he'd end up sharing it if he went there during the tournament.
"It was just a little area, maybe 300 or 400 yards long, and I knew there were fish in there. But I was worried somebody else would be in there."
Competition:
Shaffer's last-minute decision to go upstream to the backwater locale on day 1 proved fruitful as he came back with the biggest bag of the event. He went through the lock with about a dozen other boats and let out a huge sigh of relief when none turned to follow him.
“I actually came within three seconds of going the wrong direction on the first day of the tournament,” said Shaffer. “I was going to head in an entirely different direction, but the wind was blowing so hard that I changed my mind. Honestly, within 30 seconds of calling my boat number on that first day, I made the decision to head in a different direction. And that decision won me the tournament.”
“I found the area in practice, but the water was too low to get into,” he said. “Basically it was a little shallow slough, and I fished there every day. I probably wore the bark off all of those seven logs in that spot this week.”
"I got in there and started throwing a spinnerbait, and I caught my first fish at 8:30," he said. "I finally got back to the part I really wanted to fish and I had a limit by 10:30.
"I left that area and was working my way out toward the main river and I caught a 3 1/4-pounder, and that was pretty much it."
His action was considerably slower on day 2. The spinnerbait drew no interest in the early part of the day, but he managed to pick up keepers on a jig and a Zoom Speed Craw.
He finally caught one on the spinnerbait, and then lost a 3-pounder before adding his fourth and final keeper of the day. His bag was barely half as big as his day-1 haul, but he led the cut to the Top 10 by 2-15.
He also encountered some engine problems on his return to the launch that day.
"Dave Draper, the Evinrude technician, replaced the powerhead that night. Without that, I wouldn't have been able to fish the next day."
He wasn't overly confident when the final day began despite his substantial advantage.
"I really didn't know what to expect – I'd beaten the place up pretty good and it really slowed down on the second day. But I'd lost one over 2 1/2 pounds and my (co-angler) lost one over 3, so I figured there were still some fish in there."
“I got bit on that Speed Craw in about the first 10 casts, and I decided I wasn’t going to put that rod down all day,” he said. He caught his first fish at 9:30, and then his second just a few minutes later. Both were 1-pounders that barely met the 14-inch minimum-length requirement.
His next several bites were all mudfish (grennel), but then he went back to the same area where he'd caught the two keepers and boated a 3 3/4-pounder. At about 11:30 he decided to run to the place where he and his co-angler had lost good ones the day before, and he caught a 3 3/4 along the way.
He didn't get another keeper bite the rest of the day, but was reasonably confident on the way back to the launch that he'd done enough to win.
"The water was clearing and there was a chance somebody might catch a big bag. I didn't know I had it for sure."
“Heading back to weigh-in (with a 4-pound lead from the previous day), I knew I was in pretty good shape. I figured if somebody caught more than me, they would really deserve to win.”
Winning Gear:
Spinnerbait gear: 6'6" medium-action Bass Pro Shops XPS rod, Shimano Curado (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SCER) casting reel, 15-pound Berkley Trilene Big Game line (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=BTBG), 1/4- or 3/8-ounce unnamed spinnerbait (white/chartreuse with white double willow-leaf blades).
Craw gear: 7'11" heavy-action G. Loomis flipping stick (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=GLJWF), Shimano Chronarch (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SCHD)casting reel, 20-pound Berkley Trilene Big Game line (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=BTBG), 1/4-ounce Tru-Tungsten weight (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=TTBW), 2/0 Mustad Ultra Point hook (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=MUOW), Zoom Speed Craw (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=ZSSDC) (white).
Jig gear: 7'11" heavy-action G. Loomis flipping stick (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=GLJWF), Shimano Curado (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=SCER) casting reel, 20-pound Berkley Trilene Big Game line (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=BTBG), homemade 3/8-ounce jig (black/blue), Zoom Super Chunk Jr. trailer (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=ZSC) (flippin' blue).
Main factor in his success – "Making the decision to abandon the pads and go to the wood, and then having that area all to myself. There wasn't room in those key areas for any more boats and I had to fish extremely slow."
Performance edge – "I'd say my boat and motor for getting me there and back every day. It was pretty rough at times."
The Field:
Chad Kerr:
“It’s been a great week,” said Kerr, “I gave it all I had, and I really didn’t expect to be in the top 10 this week. So it’s been a good tournament.”
Amazingly enough, Kerr only decided to fish the event at the very last minute. In addition, he was so confident that he wouldn’t be in any position to qualify for the top 10 that he didn’t ask his boss if he could take Saturday off from work.
“I really had to do some serious calling yesterday so I could get off work today,” said Kerr.
Not surprisingly, Kerr said that the conditions made fishing extraordinarily difficult all week.
“I’ve run around this river for three straight days like a chicken with its head cut off,” said Kerr. “The conditions changed so much that I really had to throw a little bit of everything. I wound up doing a lot of junk-fishing. So I’m pretty happy with the way everything turned out.”
Kerr said he used a combination of Lucky Craft crankbaits, River Killer spinnerbaits, tubes and flipping techniques to land the majority of his catch.
Michael Stetich:
“It’s been a good year so far,” said Stetich. “I just wanted to come here and catch a couple of fish for points. But it wound up being a lot better than that.”
Stetich, whose primary fishing strategy was to cover as much water as possible, said he targeted bass with a 3/8-ounce Dirty Bait Company swim jig (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage.html?PCODE=DTYJGSJ) in a black-and-blue color, coupled with a Senko trailer.
“This whole week I had the trolling motor down and covered as much water as possible,” said Stetich. “It was a tough tournament. But it was a good experience overall.”
Steve Fryrear:
“It’s been a long, hard week, and I feel pretty beat up right now,” said Fryrear. “But it was an awesome week as well. I never dreamed I’d get this far.”
Derek “Duke” Jenkel:
“I’m as fine as a frog’s hair split three ways,” said Jenkel of his performance. “We’ve had a lot of fun this week. And when you’re fishing (in the finals) on Saturday, it doesn’t get any better than that.”
Jenkel said that he landed the majority of his catch fishing a Lucky Craft crankbait.
TW Staff