ON TOUR
YETI FLW COLLEGE FISHING
YETI FLW COLLEGE FISHING WINNING TACTICS
SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE – LAKE SEMINOLE – JAN . 14
By Chad Love
WESTERN CONFERENCE – LAKE HAVASU FEB . 11
Despite losing his partner to an unforeseen emergency , University of oregon angler Ryan habenicht of Creswell , ore ., pulled out a solo win at Lake havasu with a fourbass bag weighing 13 pounds , 3 ounces . habenicht , a senior business major , keyed in on dirtier water around tule points in coves after conditions changed up dramatically from practice .
Fishing jerkbaits over submerged stumps and flipping grass mats were the winning strategies for University of Alabama anglers Anderson Aldag of Birmingham , Ala ., and Lee Mattox of Bremen , Ala ., who won at Lake Seminole with five bass weighing 21 pounds , 15 ounces .
The pair tried to avoid areas with muddy water and ended up camping on a 50-yard-long hole within a deep stump field at the south end of the lake .
“ The hole was near a spawning area and was 25 to 30 feet deep in the middle ,” says Mattox , a junior chemical engineering major . “ The stumps were right below the surface . We used a sexy ghost minnow-colored Strike King KVD Jerkbait , which is a little unconventional this early in the season . Not many teams were throwing jerkbaits because the fish aren ’ t active enough yet .”
“ We were both fishing jerkbaits most of the day ,” says Aldag , a junior business finance major . “ But we finished the day at some matted grass in the same creek , but about a half-mile away . It was also fairly deep – about 13 feet down . We were both flipping the edge of the grass with creature baits , mostly a green pumpkin purple Strike King KVD Perfect Plastics Rodent .”
SOUTHERN CONFERENCE – SAM RAYBURN RESERVOIR – FEB . 4
Apair of late-day giants was enough to give the Sam Houston State University team of Dillon Harrell of New Caney , Texas , and Dustin Moreno of Shepherd , Texas , the top spot at Sam Rayburn Reservoir with a 22-pound , 3-ounce total .
Harrell and Moreno began by grinding out an initial limit with a shad-colored 6th Sense Snatch 70X lipless crankbait . They primarily fished around hydrilla and secondary points in 4 to 8 feet of water .
“ When we pulled up to our first area we found a lot of boat traffic from another tournament ,” says Harrell , a sophomore majoring in agricultural business . “ We thought we could get a quick limit there , but only caught two fish . We targeted schooling fish and grinded out a limit at our second stop by 11 a . m .” A key change in the afternoon propelled them to the win . “ Around 2 p . m ., we focused on a secondary point and caught two bass that were close to 7 pounds apiece on an umbrella rig with Xcite Baits swimbaits ,” says Moreno , a senior business major . “ We culled out our two smallest fish , and on the very next cast I caught a 4-pounder . We went from 12 pounds to 22 pounds in 15 minutes .”
“ during practice it was 80 degrees and sunny , and the fish were cruising . Nearly every bass that we caught was over 3 pounds ,” says habenicht . “ during the tournament it ended up being cloudy , and i had to fish extremely slow and methodically . i literally turned the graph off and would make 35- to 40-yard casts and then not move the bait .” habenicht caught one keeper on a 1 / 2-ounce chartreuse shad spinnerbait before switching to a Ned rig on secondary points .
“ For the Ned rig i used a 3 / 16-ounce Frenzy baits Nail with a green pumpkin Z-Man Finesse wormZ ,” says habenicht . “ the key for me was making long casts and not moving the bait . i just had to let the bait sit there and grind it out .”
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FLWFISHING . COM I APRIL 2017