Bass Fishing May - Jun 2018 | Page 90

ON TOUR COSTA FLW SERIES COSTA FLW SERIES | GRAND LAKE GROVE, OKLA. By David A. Brown photoS by CuRtIS nIedeRMIeR WINNING ANGLER christopher jones bokoshe, okla. Winning Weight: 47-03 (14 fish) details: March 22-24, 2018 presented by Ranger boats c 88 hristopher Jones caught exactly what he needed and noth- ing more at Grand Lake, earning the win by way of a tiebreaker over Jeff Sprague, who also caught 47-3. According to Costa FLW Series rules, final-day ties are settled based on day-two standings. Jones, who was in fourth after two days, narrowly topped Sprague, who was in fifth. The Oklahoma pro fished Grand Lake’s mid- lake area. He spent a little time each day throwing a YUM YUMbrella Flash Mob Jr. with 1/4-ounce heads and 3 1/2-inch YUM Pulse Swimbaits along riprap and rocky points, but his pri- mary approach to catching prespawn bass was fishing docks with a 1/2-ounce chartreuse BOOYAH spin- nerbait with a No. 5 gold Colorado blade and a Pulse Swimbait trailer. Cold, dirty water can be challenging to fish. While Jones knew he could find clean water on Grand Lake, hosted by City of grove Southwestern divison especially if he ventured down to the Pensacola Dam area, it wasn’t part of his game plan. He stuck with a calculated strategy based on forecast weather conditions, and it paid off. “I was staying in the dirtier water because I fig- ured the dirtier the water, the shallower they would be,” Jones says. “I knew it would warm up if we ever got a break in the weather, and we did.” As temperatures climbed and the shallows warmed, Jones’ bite improved. He gradually pieced together a specific pattern that revealed the best docks. “By day three I had it dialed in to where I knew the fish were on the first dock on the inside of a secondary corner heading into a drain,” he says. “I’m not saying every fish was there, but I knew if I ran enough of them I could get enough bites.” While the front corners of docks offer much easier targets, Jones pushed himself to fish the most protected areas where dock cables, brush and occasional laydowns cre- ated significant presenta- tion challenges, but offered tremendous opportunities. The fish were holding close to the surface to warm their eggs in preparation for the spawn. This meant the strike zone was narrow and specific. “I tried skipping a vibrat- ing jig in there, but I could- n’t get them to bite it. I think it was moving too fast,” he says. “It would fall through the water and go to the bottom too fast. They wanted something really slow and high up in the water column. That’s why they weren’t biting jigs very good.” Careful presentations to get his spinnerbait in front of the fish and 20- pound-test fluorocarbon to haul them out resulted in Jones’ first Costa FLW Series victory. WINNING CO-ANGLER steve meador bentonville, ark. Winning Weight: 27-03 (11 fish) Winning program: Meador built a lead of more than 7 pounds over the first two days by fishing a 1/2-ounce Bass-X jig with a Zoom Chunk or a Zoom Baby Brush Hog trailer. He spent most of that time in the mid-lake area. Day three proved dif- ficult for Meador, who caught only one keeper on a Megabass Vision 110 jerkbait while fish- ing the lower end. flWfIshIng.com I may-june 2018