name |
hometoWn |
WeIght |
fIsh |
WInnIngs |
1 . BRADFORD BEAVERS |
RIDGEVILLE , SC |
45-12 |
15 |
$ 50,200 |
2 . TODD HOLLOWELL |
FISHERS , IN |
37-07 |
11 |
$ 30,000 * |
3 . LARRY STOAFER |
LEAVENWORTH , KS |
34-13 |
11 |
$ 23,500 * |
4 . TIM FOX |
MERIDAN , MS |
34-00 |
10 |
$ 17,100 * |
5 . CHAD FOSTER |
SAINT CLOUD , FL |
33-06 |
9 |
$ 10,000 |
setting himself apart
Almost everyone in the field threw a topwater on shallow bars at least a little , but Beavers was more consistent , catching about 15 pounds every day and breezing past the competition in the final round when he was the only pro to catch more than two keepers . Throughout the tournament , a variety of small adjustments set him apart .
Beavers tended to focus on the inside sections of
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weren ’ t directly relating to the wood .
How Beavers fished was probably just as important as the spots he chose . Instead of kicking along on high or chasing breaking shad or bass , Beavers slowed way down and covered his places with patience and stealth . At one point on the last day he spent six hours to fish 300 yards , which resulted in 15 bites .
“ I had to run my trolling motor on , like , 25 , to keep from spooking them ,” says
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white Zoom Magnum Super Fluke rigged with a stinger treble . That change was key when the fish stopped hitting topwater , and allowed him to fill his limit and cull up with a 4-pounder .
In the end , his disastrous practice might have helped him win . Without a ton of spots to run to , Beavers basically camped on a few areas . Rationing them prudently , he ended up running away with the event by more than 8 pounds .
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Winning Program :
Justin Hicks credited hard work and prayer for his 16-pound , 13- ounce day-one catch , and he followed up with three more fish in the subsequent rounds to lock up his co-angler victory .
“ I just got fortunate ,” Hicks says . “ I just fish hard and pray harder . That ’ s all there is to it .”
Hicks caught all his fish on a chrome and black Heddon Super Spook that he wore the paint off of . He got two big bites on it during his one day of practice and simply rode it from there , taking other rods along , but making almost all of his casts with the Spook .
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