ON TOUR
FLW TOUR
FLW TOUR | LEWIS SMITH LAKE
JASPER , ALA .
By Sean Ostruszka
PHOTOS BY ANDY HAGEDON
David Williams celebrates his win with his wife , Jennifer , and son , Burgin .
WINNING ANGLER
david Williams Maiden , N . C .
Winning Weight : 64-09 ( 20 fish )
details : April 26-29 , 2018
Presented by T-H Marine
Hosted by Chamber of Commerce Walker County everyone knew the spawn would play a key role in winning Lewis Smith Lake . Only thing is , most anglers were keying on the wrong spawn . The time of year , water temperature and full moon had most pros ’ attentions fixed on finding bass still on beds , but the water rose 4 feet during practice and reduced sight-fishing prospects even in Smith ’ s clearest waters .
Admittedly , David Williams was focused on the same thing at first , but an astute observation the first morning of the tournament told him it was the shad spawn that would be pivotal .
Once he figured it out , the Maiden , N . C ., pro put on a show . He had a day-one-leading 18- pound , 11-ounce bag by 10 a . m ., and he never let up after that en route to his first FLW Tour victory .
“ It ’ s been a long time coming ,” says Williams of his first major win .
WINNING BAITS
Williams probably could ’ ve tossed the majority of his tackle out of his boat once he realized the shad were spawning . His key lure for skipping docks was a white Queen Tackle Swim Jig with either a Bizz Baits Cutter Craw or Zoom UV Speed Craw trailer – also white . He chose white because it was easy for both the bass and him to see , allowing him to know if a fish got the whole jig when it bit . When he hit the flooded cover between the docks he flipped a TrueSouth Pro Shimmy Jig and threw a TrueSouth V-Twin buzzbait .
100 fLWfIshIng . com I juLy 2018