PHOTO BY PHOENIX MOORE PHOTO BY PHOENIX MOORE
8 .
JORDAN LEE Cullman , Alabama Championship Round weight : 16-12 ( 6 )
Yet another angler who made hay with a jerkbait and live sonar , Jordan Lee got off to a slow start on Grand Lake before hitting his groove en route to a Top 10 finish . The 2020 Bass Pro Tour AOY connected with only three fish for 9 pounds on Day 1 , but then exploded for 34-14 on Day 2 before winning his Knockout Round with 33-2 .
The Alabama pro caught some fish shallow with a jig , but he made his big move when he committed to offshore brush piles the second day and racked up good numbers on the jerkbait .
“ I was fishing flats and offshore brush with a jerkbait ,” Lee said . “ I couldn ’ t get bit on the bottom because the fish were all suspended over the brush , and I watched them eat on my Lowrance ActiveTarget .”
Lee focused on the Horse Creek area ; the magic depth was between 5 and 8 feet . To fool his bass , he used a mixture of different jerkbaits , including the Berkley Stunna in the hanky panky color .
9 .
BRYAN THRIFT Shelby , North Carolina Championship Round weight : 15-5 ( 6 )
If you talked to Bryan Thrift after his second practice day on Grand Lake , you would ’ ve thought the North Carolina pro wouldn ’ t score a single fish ( yes , practice was that tough ). But Thrift racked up an astonishing ninth Top 10 finish in the past 10 tour-level championships he ’ s fished by keeping it simple : He threw a jerkbait while targeting bass feeding on baitfish .
“ It ’ s a perfect wintertime and early-spring scenario when you can find baitfish ,” Thrift said . “ All of my fish came with a jerkbait , running the baitfish pattern . I saw balls of bait on my electronics and caught fish around those . They were thrashing and schooling on bait when the tournament started , but I had to look much harder as the tournament went on because the water level rose and scattered the baitfish .”
Thrift used different jerkbaits and in various shad-imitating colors and focused on the lower end of the lake . He chose white and opaque colors for more stained water and translucent hues in the cleanest water .
“ The water down there was a little clearer and more conducive to fishing a jerkbait ,” he explained . “ Some of my fish were right on the bank and some were suspended over 40 feet of water . The biggest key was being in an area with a lot of bait .”
PHOTO BY GARRICK DIXON
10 .
MICHAEL NEAL Dayton , Tennessee Championship Round weight : 12-5 ( 5 )
Michael Neal started off shallow and gradually worked his way offshore as conditions on Grand Lake changed throughout the week . The 2021 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit AOY was second in his group after Day 1 thanks to some handy work with a crankbait , but shifted gears the rest of the tournament and went deeper as his fish left the bank .
“ I stayed shallow the first day , cranking a crawfish-color Spro Little John MD , but that was on the end of a warming trend and the bite was going away ,” Neal admitted . “ The water got colder , so I changed to targeting suspended bait runners with my forward-facing sonar .”
As he did in finishing Stage Three on Smith Lake , Neal used a Big Bite Baits Swimmer Head with a 3.75-inch Big Bite Baits Jointed Jerk Minnow in baitfish patterns .
“ I used a 1 / 8- to 3 / 8-ounce head depending on depth ,” Neal said . “ It was all on the lower end of the lake because the water was cleaner . All the fish were in 10 to 25 feet of water and most of them were suspended 5 and 15 feet below the surface .”
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