PHOTO BY JUSTIN ONSLOW |
PHOTO BY MATT BROWN |
PHOTO BY GARRICK DIXON |
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vaulted from fifth to first on the second day of competition at Lake Chickamauga to earn a brand-new Phoenix boat and a spot in the 2022 National Championship .
Bird and Keith both wielded Z- Man Evergreen ChatterBait Jack Hammers in marinas near Harrison Bay to catch most of their fish , a pattern they chose deliberately to offset fishing pressure and find some fish others weren ’ t getting to .
After weighing in 18-1 on Day 1 , the duo knew they needed more on the final day , which they got in the form of 20-12 bag that included a 7 1 / 2-pounder from Keith . They edged out Conner DiMauro and Cole Sands of Bryan College by just 3 ounces .
5 . TOYOTA SERIES PRESENTED BY A . R . E . CENTRAL DIVISION Dale Hollow Lake Presented by Neat Companies March 31-April 2
There ’ s little than can be said about Adam Wagner that hasn ’ t been said already . He ’ s perhaps the best angler around when it comes to Dale Hollow — an opinion he backed
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up with his win there in the second event of the season after having won on Dale Hollow to close out the Central Division season in 2020 .
How Wagner won those two events on Dale Hollow was something else entirely , though . Wagner caught his winning fish out deep in 2020 . This time around , with unseasonably cold weather and massive rains that left Dale Hollow ’ s water muddy and several feet into the bushes , the local ace went shallow and flipped his way to a wire-to-wire victory and $ 86,575 in cash .
Wagner knew the right program to run to get the job done and best a massive 200-plus-boat field . All it took was a flipping stick , some Big Bite Baits Craw Tubes and a little bit of patience .
6 . TOYOTA SERIES PRESENTED BY A . R . E . PLAINS DIVISION Grand Lake Presented by Fenwick April 8-10
After spending some time trying to find something a little different , Andy Newcomb decided that sometimes
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it ’ s the tried-and-true tactics that get the job done best . As is often the case at Grand Lake , that staple was a BOOYAH Covert Spinnerbait , which , paired with a jig , did all the heavy lifting for the local stick .
Bagging 17-13 on Day 1 , Newcomb focused on chunky gravel halfway back in various pockets . That pattern fizzled on day 2 , though , and it was a matter of chance ( and needing to take a bathroom break ) that Newcomb found a bluff wall pattern that resulted in a 19-pound , 5- ounce limit . Those bluff walls again got the call on the final day ( some new ones with a final stop on the “ honey hole ” from Day 2 ) to put the finishing touches on the victory and a $ 76,500 payday .
7 . GENERAL TIRE HEAVY HITTERS PRESENTED BY BASS PRO SHOPS RALEIGH , NORTH CAROLINA Falls Lake , Jordan Lake , Shearon Harris Reservoir April 9-14
There ’ s been a lot said and written about the sight-fishing prowess of a handful of anglers in recent
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years , but if you ask Alton Jones Jr . who the best sight-fisherman in the world is , he ’ ll answer simply : “ My Dad .” And that ’ s not based on Jones family pride , but Alton Sr .’ s longstanding success in shallow-water tournaments where the competitors are looking at fish .
After a runaway performance on the final day of General Tire Heavy Hitters presented by Bass Pro Shops on Shearon Harris Reservoir in North Carolina — a day that was tailormade for sight fishing — we can all confirm that Senior ’ s name indeed belongs on the list of the world ’ s best sight fishermen . Jones connected with 12 fish for 45 pounds , 9 ounces on the final day of the sixday event , easily outdistancing Jeff Sprague ( 30-4 ) and Jacob Wheeler ( 26-8 ) for the Heavy Hitters belt and $ 100,000 payday .
Jones flipped and pitched a tandem of baits , including a 3.5-inch Canyon Plastics tube and a wackyrigged Zoom Trick Worm .
Sprague went home $ 100,000 richer after landing the biggest bass of the Championship Round , part of an astounding $ 200,000 big-fish purse for the event .
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