TBF
WHAT’S MAKING NEWS IN THE BASS FEDERATION
By Dan Johnson
PHOTOS BY LAUREN RENEE
Austin Wilson relied heavily on umbrella rigs and deep-running crankbaits to put a limit in the boat all three days of the tournament.
WILSON CLAIMS FEDERATION CROWN
VERSATILE CALIFORNIAN CONQUERS BULL SHOALS TO TAKE TBF NATIONAL TITLE
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alifornia’s Austin Wilson overcame rollercoaster weather
conditions, falling water levels and intense competition
to earn top honors in the boater division at the 2018 The
Bass Federation National Championship April 12-14 on Bull
Shoals Lake near Flippin, Ark. Wilson racked up a 40-pound, 4-
ounce total and claimed more than $120,000 in winnings.
Wilson’s championship drive began with exhaustive research
conducted at his home in Citrus Heights, just outside Sacramento.
“As soon as I found out that we were fishing Bull Shoals, I
spent as much time as possible on Google Earth, dissecting the
lake and getting an idea where I thought the lake’s bass would
position to move in and spawn,” he says.
It was no small task, considering the massive White River
impoundment covers nearly 50,000 acres and has hundreds of
miles of largely undeveloped shoreline rich in limestone bluffs,
shelf rock, rubble and gravel. In choosing his plan of attack,
Wilson considered countless coves, points, ledges, flats, chan-
nels and banks. Artificial habitat structures and flooded shore-
line vegetation offered even more potential hot spots.
Wilson also polished his presentation skills before leaving for
Arkansas.
“My home waters include the California Delta, Folsom and
Clear Lake,” he says. “I love the Delta. But preparing for the
championship I spent a lot of time on lakes more similar to Bull
Shoals, getting used to how the fish position in these environ-
ments and practicing presentations I thought would be a factor.”
After arriving at Bull Shoals for practice, Wilson fished the
reservoir from stem to stern.
“Every day I launched and fished somewhere totally differ-
ent,” he says.
Wilson started the championship with a five-fish limit weighing
14 pounds, 2 ounces. The catch included a pair of largemouths
that hit a compact Picasso umbrella rig near a bridge located 25
minutes from takeoff at the Bull Shoals Boat Dock, and a trio of
smallmouths caught practically within a long cast from the ramp.
“I got the smallmouths on a Norman Little N in reverse
green craw,” he says. “I was fishing chunk rock on a secondary
point in 5 to 10 feet of water.”
fLWfIshIng.com I juLy 2018