THE TOURNAMENT REPORT |
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PHOTO BY JOSH GASSMANN |
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PHOTO BY PHOENIX MOORE |
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PHOTO BY SEAN OSTRUSZKA |
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1 . USAA PATRIOT CUP PRESENTED BY BERKLEY Kissimmee , Florida John ’ s Lake , Lake Toho , Lake Bellalago Nov . 6-11 , 2020 / Aired April & May
No matter the competition format , the state or the time of year , whenever there ’ s a tournament to be won on a crankbait , it ’ s foolish to bet against Takahiro Omori . The Japanese pro has made a nifty living (“ nifty ” meaning just shy of $ 3 million in career winnings ) thanks to his fondness for power fishing , and specifically , his ability to catch fish on a plug .
So it came as no surprise when Omori pulled out the Daiwa cranking rod and went to work with a squarebill in the Championship Round of the USAA Patriot Cup presented by Berkley . Fishing Lake Bellalago , Omori connected with 16 largemouth for 35 pounds , 11 ounces to claim his second MLF Cup trophy in a year ( he also won the 2020 Summit Cup on Lake of the Ozarks ).
But it didn ’ t come easy . Omori picked his way through a seemingly endless series of grassy banks , docks and manmade cover surrounding Ballalago , jousting with Jared Lintner
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throughout the day and landing a pair of fish — a 3-2 and a 3-6 — in the final 30 minutes to overcome a 4- pound deficit that Lintner had built on his own crankbait pattern . |
2 . BASS PRO TOUR TORO STAGE ONE PRESENTED BY POWER-POLE Sam Rayburn Reservoir , Texas March 19-26
As if Ott DeFoe hadn ’ t already claimed the state of Texas as his personal tour-level tournament playground with a pair of Bass Pro Tour and MLF Cup wins in 2020 , the Tennessee pro planted a proverbial Volunteers flag deep in the heart of Texas again in late March — specifically on the north end of Sam Rayburn .
Relying on what he described as “ more of a rotation than a pattern ” in the timber-loaded Angelina River arm , DeFoe put 13 fish on SCORETRACKER ® in the Championship Round on Rayburn for 30-2 , narrowly squeezing past Washington pro Luke Clausen ( 27-5 ) in the final five minutes of the final period . DeFoe pulled to within 1 ounce of Clausen with three minutes left in the competition , and then
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snatched his second Bass Pro Tour trophy with a 2-13 just seconds before the official end of fishing time .
DeFoe ’ s rotation included a chartreuse-and-white bladed jig with Bass Pro Shops Super Shad swimbait trailer ; a Rapala DT4 crankbait ; a Texas-rigged Bass Pro Shops Fin-Eke Worm ; and a wackyrigged Bass Pro Shops Stik-O worm in black and blue .
DeFoe has now won the last three major events he ’ s fished in Texas : Stage One on Rayburn , the 2021 Heritage Cup on various lakes around Waco , and 2020 Bass Pro Tour Stage Three at Lake Fork .
3 . TOYOTA SERIES PRESENTED BY A . R . E . SOUTHWESTERN DIVISION Lake Texoma Presented by Abu Garcia March 25-27
Evan Barnes didn ’ t have a single keeper at 1 o ’ clock on the final day of competition at Texoma . After pulling up to a point and catching a 2- pounder — and preparing to leave shortly thereafter — Barnes decided to fire off a few more casts . And then
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a few more . By the time the dust had settled and there was about 10 minutes left to check in , the Hot Springs , Arkansas pro had a box full of winning fish , as did his co-angler ( winning Strike King co-angler Bill Bean ).
Barnes won wire to wire , but it wasn ’ t all smooth sailing for the Pro Circuit pro . After 16-11 on Day 1 , Barnes managed just four fish for 12- 15 on Day 2 . He caught his miraculous late-day limit on Day 3 but barely improved his weight from the day prior ( 13 pounds even ). Still , it was enough to get the job done for the $ 40,906 winner ’ s check .
To catch his fish , Barnes focused his efforts on brushpiles and a pair of points , for which he employed a Duo Realis Apex Vibe and a Black ’ s Custom Lures Widow Maker umbrella rig tipped with 3.3-inch Keitech Swing Impact FATs .
4 . ABU GARCIA COLLEGE FISHING PRESENTED BY YETI OPEN Lake Chickamauga March 30-31
The East Texas Baptist University duo of Cannon Bird and Jacob Keith
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