TOP FIVE
name |
hometoWn |
WeIght |
fIsh |
WInnIngs |
1. CHAD GRIGSBY |
MAPLE GROVE, MN |
97-08 |
20 |
$ 128,000 * |
2. DYLAN HAYS |
SHERIDAN, AR |
95-05 |
20 |
$ 30,200 |
3. BRAD KNIGHT |
LANCING, TN |
92-05 |
20 |
$ 25,100 |
4. SCOTT DOBSON |
CLARKSTON, MI |
89-11 |
20 |
$ 20,000 |
5. BRYAN THRIFT |
SHELBY, NC |
87-13 |
20 |
$ 19,000 |
* Includes Ranger Cup
WINNING CO-ANGLER photo by Andy hAGEdon mark myers Cedar Falls, Iowa photo by Andy hAGEdon
Anglers took off on day one under cloudy skies, but by mid-morning the lake completely slicked off, and the sun came out in full force for basically the rest of the event. Those conditions prompted Grigsby to pull out a Duo Realis Spinbait 80 spy bait, which he cast out, let sink and slowly reeled back.
“ That bait was key, because that’ s what I got all my big bites on,” Grigsby says.“ The problem was how they were hitting it. If they really thumped it, you didn’ t often get a good hook in them. But if all of a sudden your line went slack, you had them.”
Grigsby mainly tossed the spy bait around his waypointed areas. In between he dragged a 4-inch Venom tube to pick up“ rogues” here and there. On day two, he also switched to a 1 / 4- ounce black marabou jig that provided his two biggest fish.
“ I really feel I stayed one step ahead of them all week,” Grigsby says.“ Sometimes I’ d go 45 minutes without a bite, and then I’ d switch things up, adjust and start catching them again. I just had to keep making adjustments.”
photo by Andy hAGEdon
Winning Weight: 42-04( 10 fish)
Winning program: Back in 2011, Mark Myers finished second in a Costa FLW Series event on the Detroit River. He lost what likely would’ ve been the winning fish in the final hour of the event. Seven years later, he kept a late big one pegged and got his redemption on the St. Clair / Detroit River system. The co-angler from Cedar Falls, Iowa, stuck a 5-pounder in the last hour to cull out a 3-pounder, giving him 42 pounds, 4 ounces. That proved to be 1 pound better than Billy Messer, giving Myers his long-sought win.
While fishing deep with Darrel Robertson, Myers dragged a dropshot and Ned rig with a Z- Man Hula StickZ to catch 23 pounds, 9 ounces and take the co-angler lead. On day two, with Cameron Gautney, Myers fished much shallower. He struggled until he realized the smallmouths were slurping mayflies off the surface. Anytime he saw that, he’ d quickly cast over to the surface disturbance and usually caught the fish, including his winning 5-pounder.
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