ON TOUR
COSTA FLW SERIES
COSTA FLW SERIES | SAM RAYBURN RESERVOIR
BROOKELAND, TEXAS
By Rob Newell
PHOTOS BY JESSE SCHULTZ
WINNING ANGLER
Kevin Lasyone
Dry Prong, La.
Winning Weight:
53-01 (10 fish)
details:
Feb. 15-17, 2018
Presented by YETI
W
henever the
Costa FLW Series
visits Sam
Rayburn Reservoir in
Texas during the pres-
pawn, you can bet that
drains – ditch-lined valleys
in the lake bottom – are
going to play a primary
role in the fishing patterns
because they create cav-
erns, lanes and avenues in
the grass for the fish to
migrate through and stage
before spawning.
Kevin Lasyone, who has
fished Rayburn for more
than 25 years, mastered
the drain game this time
around. Lasyone took con-
trol of the leaderboard on
day one with 31-6 and
expanded his advantage
on day two with 21-11. On
day three, Lasyone was
WINNING BAIT
Hosted by Jasper-Lake
Sam Rayburn Area
Chamber of Commerce
Southwestern Divison
declared the winner when
a fog delay extended
beyond four hours and
forced an early end to the
competition.
Though everyone in the
top 10 focused on drains,
those Lasyone targeted
were better because they
were less pressured fol-
lowing a barrage of tour-
naments over the preced-
ing weeks.
“The drains I fished
were located in the Ayish
side of the lake,” Lasyone
says. “I think a lot of guys
counted that side out
because it has not had as
much grass in it the last
several years. Last sum-
mer the grass came back
strong in there, and so did
the bass, but I don’t think
many knew just how good
the fishing was in that arm
of the lake.”
Lasyone’s fish were
also deeper, where
stumps were positioned
on the outside grass lines.
While others favored the
5- to 10-foot depth zone
in the drains – places that
could easily be reached
with lipless rattlers,
square-bills and vibrating
jigs – Lasyone kept his
boat in 25 feet and cast
up into 12 to 15 feet of
water.
“The grass grew out to
about 10 feet, and there
were a few stumps just
outside that grass line in
about 12 to 15 feet,”
Lasyone says. “I’d cast the
jig to the outside of the
grass and drag it through
the stumps.”
Lasyone’s primary lure during the event was a 3/4-ounce V&M jig in black/blue/gold.
He paired the jig with a watermelon seed crawfish trailer and a V&M J-Bug creature
bait. When conditions became calm and slick and the bite got stingy, he switched to a
V&M Wild Thang worm with a 1/2-ounce weight. All lures were fished on 20-pound-test
fluorocarbon.
84
WINNING CO-ANGLER
Louis Ferguson
Woodville, Texas
Winning Weight:
35-14 (10 fish)
Winning program:
Louis Ferguson
caught the biggest bass
of the tournament,
weighing 10-5, which
helped push him to vic-
tory lane. He caught the
gargantuan bass from a
grassy drain on day two
with a Bill Lewis Rat-L-
Trap in a color called
retro red. Ferguson also
caught some fish on a
white swim jig.
FLWFIshIng.COm I apRIL 2018