PHOTO BY KORY SAVAGE |
PHOTO BY JACOB FINE |
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fish . He spent his time plying small drops at the lower end of the James River in the mouth of the Chickahominy River in 4 to 5 feet of water . For the task , Daves turned to a chartreuse sqaurebill crankbait and a ribbontail worm .
6 . TOYOTA SERIES SOUTHWESTERN DIVISION Sam Rayburn Reservoir October 15-17 , 2020
One bait is all Aaron Johnson needed to weigh in 54-14 over three days on Sam Rayburn and edge out Blake Schroeder by just 11 ounces : a modified squarebill crankbait , which he fished around clumpy sections of hydrilla in 3 to 6 feet of water .
Johnson fished the crankbait over top of and around the grass , twitching and popping the bait to elicit reaction bites from his winning fish . His squarebill of choice is a discontinued bait with a filed-down bill that he applied a red treble hook to in the front position . Every time he opted to switch to a ChatterBait instead , Johnson quickly cut it off in favor of the standby plug .
After zeroing in a BFL on Rayburn prior to the Toyota Series victory – a BFL in which he found all the same fish but couldn ’ t get them to bite – Johnson ran multiple grassy
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areas in the mid-lake and northern areas of the fishery with vastly different results and a win to show for it .
7 . PHOENIX BASS FISHING LEAGUE PRESENTED BY T-H MARINE REGIONAL Mississippi River October 15-17 , 2020
To earn his seventh FLW win , former college standout Cade Laufenberg used his prior experience on the Mighty Miss to run a successful three-day program that involved fishing sections of all the available pools ( 7 , 8 and 9 ). All were equally important for Laufenberg , who bounced around between each to weigh in 15-5 , 15-10 and 18-8 , respectively , over the three days of competition .
The Onalaska , Wisconsin angler weighed in mixed bags of smallmouth and largemouth , which he says is crucial in multi-day events on the fishery . With heavy winds , the smallmouth were a little less predictable , but the largemouth were more consistent and ultimately anchored his winning bags .
On the final day , which he spent in Pool 8 , Laufenberg relied on a SPRO McStick to catch 10 pounds in the final 45 minutes of fishing to seal the deal .
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8 . PHOENIX BASS FISHING LEAGUE PRESENTED BY T-H MARINE REGIONAL Cherokee Lake October 16-18 , 2020
Despite weighing in just two keepers for 5-2 on day one , Josh Butler rebounded in a big way to ultimately weigh in 29-3 for the tournament and top second-place finisher Timmy Thompkins by 12 ounces .
To do so , Butler plied brush piles that he graphed throughout practice , totaling 35 to 40 piles he considered the most productive . They varied in depth , but most of his fish came from 25 to 28 feet . To catch those fish , he leaned on a drop-shot tipped with a morning dawn 6-inch Roboworm . For the win , Butler earned $ 60,000 , including a brand-new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-hp Mercury outboard , and a trip to the 2021 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American .
9 . PHOENIX BASS FISHING LEAGUE PRESENTED BY T-H MARINE REGIONAL Table Rock Lake October 22-24 , 2020
Four ounces is all that separated Roger Fitzpatrick from second-place finisher Shane Long when the dust
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settled on Table Rock , and he had a 13-pound , 10-ounce bag to thank for it – his largest limit of the event .
Fitzpatrick was fishing a fairly nondescript area of the lake , which he says featured little to no rock or wood . To catch those fish , the Eldon , Missouri angler relied on a 1-ounce Omega football jig , which provided him a limit within the first 30 minutes on day one .
On days two and three – with an All-American berth already locked up – Fitzpatrick opted to abandon that spot in favor of chasing after some larger fish up shallow . He switched to a 1 / 2-ounce jig of the same make and began flipping docks on day three , landing a 4-pounder and 3-pounder to bolster his bag for the win .
10 . PHOENIX BASS FISHING LEAGUE PRESENTED BY T-H MARINE REGIONAL Lake Lanier October 22-24 , 2020
Timing is often everything in bass fishing , and that proved to be true for Chris Nelson in his BFL Regional win on Lake Lanier . Rotating between eight to 10 different spots throughout the tournament , Nelson would often have to hit the same brush piles multiple times a day to catch his keepers .
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