*Includes Ranger Cup
hometoWn
WEST MEMPHIS, AR
SHELBY, NC
SHERIDAN, AR
HUNTINGTON, TX
LEANDER, TX
With the water temperature pushing
into the low 60s in mid-February, many
pros found themselves in a predicament
because bass were already in all three
stages of the spawn. Some were on beds
in 3 feet of water, and others were still
suspended out in 50 feet of water. Adding
to the confusion was Travis’ recent rise in
water level, some 40 to 50 feet over the
last few years. The new water inundated a
lake floor that had sprouted up with new
bushes and trees during a prolonged
drought. Bass had endless cover in which
to hide. Committing to just one pattern
was a challenge.
Rose began his tournament target-
ing channel-swing banks far up the
Colorado River. A few decent bites
there during a cloudy, windy practice
period led him to start the event with a
crankbait. But with just three keepers
in the livewell at noon on day one,
Rose’s gut spoke up, telling him that
the clear, calm conditions of day one
meant he needed to change.
“That’s one of those things you either
act on or you don’t,” Rose says. “Let’s say
I had finished 100th at Guntersville; who
knows, I might have said, ‘Well, I only
need two more keepers to get a limit. I
should probably play it safe, stay up
here, grind it out and force the issue up
the river.’
“But as soon as I got the feeling the
river wasn’t happening, I acted on it,
took a risk, and ran all the way back
down the lake and started fishing out
deep where I had seen some fish on
my electronics during practice. Making
those kinds of decisions and taking
those kinds of risks becomes easier
when momentum is on your side.”
Rose’s move to the lower end of the
lake late on the first day would ulti-
mately put him on the winning path.
While investigating one of his deeper
spots, he caught a 4-pounder to finish
a limit worth 11 pounds, 9 ounces. That
day-one kicker convinced him to stay
deep for the rest of the event.
“That decision felt so right. My heart,
my head, my gut were all in agreement,”
Rose says. “That’s the way it feels when
you’re making good decisions.”
aprIl 2017 I flWfIshIng.com
WeIght
59-08
58-06
54-00
53-03
52-12
fIsh
20
20
20
19
20
WInnIngs
$125,000*
$30,200
$25,100
$20,000
$19,500
dialing in the deep Bite
Rose began day two by fishing flat
points in the 18- to 20-foot depth
range. He was specifically looking for
any bare areas or voids within the
brush – favored staging spots for bass.
When he found one, Rose kept his
boat positioned off the break so he
could cast up on top, but he began to
notice a lot of arches on his electronics.
There were fish right on the steepest
portion of the break in 40 to 60 feet of
water.
He backed off and began pulling a
football jig off the edge and letting it
free-fall down over the tree-lined “cliff”
along the point in 35 to 60 feet of water.
Within minutes of making that adjust-
ment, one of those “arches” thumped
his jig. That bass weighed 4 pounds;
another solid keeper soon followed.