thousands of gizzard shad in his area . While he mostly picked away at isolated trees with a shaky head or tossed a buzzbait along a rocky bank , Fisher also located a shoal with clearly visible current rolling over it at the head of his waters . There , he had spotted thousands of gizzard shad flitting over the shallow bar .
It ’ s clear that Fisher wouldn ’ t have won without the nearly 6-pound largemouth he caught on a buzzbait on day one , but it ’ s equally obvious that he needed the cooperation of the smallmouths as well . On the final day , when Birge ( the leader going into the final day ) had tapped out the far upper section of the James ( at and above the gizzard shad shoal ), Fisher plucked multiple 3-pound-plus smallmouths from the trees with a shaky head , and they provided the winning margin .
the kings river
Though the Kings River produced plenty of weight , it didn ’ t quite hold up over the long haul , perhaps because
SHEPPARD WINS CO-ANGLER TITLE
Tyler Sheppard of Hermitage , Pa ., led wire-towire and locked down the co-angler win in the 2016 Costa FLW Series Championship at Table Rock Lake . Sheppard ’ s total of 23-10 was enough to earn the Northern Division Co-angler of the Year a new Ranger boat and his first individual win with FLW .
Sheppard fished with David Mansue , Jim Dillard and Zack Birge . He sacked up a stunning 12 pounds , 10 ounces on the first day and then ground out the win with 3-9 on day two and 7-7 on the final day .
“ The first few days I caught them on an Alabama Rig ,” says Sheppard . “ I also caught them on a shaky head a little bit and flipping a finesse worm . On day three I pretty much caught them all on a jig , and I caught one that helped on a finesse worm .”
Sheppard ’ s jig of choice was a 1 / 4-ounce Missile Jigs Mini Flip Jig trailered with a Strike King Menace Grub .
there was more pressure on it . With three anglers fishing in it ( in part because a number of pros had caught fish there in practice ), nobody had the juice to overcome Fisher . Even so , the Kings did result in perhaps the most interesting pattern of the tournament .
To clinch second , Bird caught a mixed bag of smallmouths and largemouths , but instead of bugging the bass with a buzzbait or fishing slowly with a shaky head , Bird cranked .
“ There were a lot of smallmouths in there , and they wanted it as fast as I could burn it ,” says Bird of his cranking approach up the Kings . “ I ’ d usually hit the wood , and that would get them to chase it , and they would follow it out to the boat .”
On the final day , while cranking laydowns scattered on the flats and the bank , Bird estimates that he caught photo by kyLE WooD three limits of smallmouths , but never the kicker green bass that might have put him over the top .
In all , the Championship was a quality end to the season . It was hard-fought in the rivers , but that wasn ’ t the only thing going ( Greg Bohannan , who finished fourth , mounted a final-day charge in the lake ). On the whole , it was made more special by yet another tense final weigh-in and a worthy champion . photo by CURtIS NIEDERmIER
KOREAN ANGLER WINS FIRST INTERNATIONAL DIVISION CUP BERTH
By Curtis Niedermier
“ The first true world championship of bass fishing ” is how FLW is describing its 2017 Forrest Wood Cup at Lake Murray . It ’ s an accurate depiction now that FLW ’ s International Division of the Costa FLW Series has produced its first-ever Forrest Wood Cup qualifier .
Korean angler Hyochul Kim finished in 51st place at the 2016 Costa FLW Series Championship at Table Rock Lake , ending up as the highest-finishing pro from the International Division , which earned him a slot at the Cup in August .
When the final International results were announced on day two at Table Rock ( no International Division anglers made the day-three cut ), Kim ’ s reception from the assemblage of Korean media that had traveled to Missouri to film the event nearly rivaled the applause and cheers that tournament winner Pat Fisher received the following evening at the last weigh-in . It was a special moment for a country with a strong interest in tournament bass fishing .
“ To be able to compete in U . S . pro league is the dream of all Korean pro anglers ,” says Kim , who lives in Seoul with his wife and son . “ I had many calls from other pro anglers on my achievements from the U . S . Not only me , but all Korean pro anglers were touched when we heard the Korean national anthem played .”
A 20-year veteran of tournament bass fishing , Kim says he ’ s proud to carry not only the Korean flag , but also the banner of all International Division anglers this summer at Lake Murray .
“ I am very excited to have an opportunity to compete with the best pros in the Forrest Wood Cup ,” says Kim . “ Of course , winning the title [ is my goal ], but I know it is very difficult due to my distance to where it will be held . Practicing at Lake Murray won ’ t be possible for me for now .”
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FlwFisHing . com i january 2017