5 MORE CUP
OBSERVATIONS
I
n his article on page 42, FLW Field Editor Rob Newell did a
great job of breaking down Justin Atkins’ winning pattern, as
well as explaining the makeup of the “cane piles” that pro-
duced several top finishes at Lake Murray. Yet, there were other
tactical storylines from the 2017 Forrest Wood Cup that ultimately
impacted how all 53 pros wound up.
LESSONS
LEARNED
ON LAKE
MURRAY
By Curtis Niedermier
1
86
THE PENCIL POPPER
PHENOMENON
The pencil popper style of top-
water bait is rooted in inshore salt-
water fishing, primarily for striped
bass, but it’s also been a tool for
black bass fishing for many years.
Yet prior to the Cup, the pencil
popper had never had a tournament
bass fishing breakout moment. That
changed when Atkins used one
exclusively for his win and the other
nine pros in the top 10 all revealed
that they used one at least part of
the time. As a result, pencil poppers
sold out on most major online tack-
le retail sites in the weeks following
the Cup.
The keys to the pencil popper’s
effectiveness at Murray were the
commotion it makes and the dis-
tance it can be cast. Generally large
in size (nice for mimicking a big blue-
back herring), a pencil popper will
launch, and its long profile and
cupped mouth create a splashy
overhead action that bass can find in
the fray of a schooling episode, or
track from down below. Having three
hooks (usually) also helps to get sur-
face-breaking fish in the boat.
Travis Fox
2
FAST-WALKING ACTION
Atkins says he mostly employed a moderate
cadence when walking his pencil popper over cane piles,
even slowing it down to a methodical side-to-side crawl
when the water’s surface slicked off. On that front, he’s
the exception among top pros. For most, a fast-as-you-
can-work-it retrieve yielded the best results.
Eleventh-place finisher Bradford Beavers, a South
Carolina resident with some experience on blueback
lakes, fished a “standard” stick bait-style walking plug at
top speed for a good second-day catch.
Beavers says the crazy-fast, splashy cadence is a key to
drawing the attention of bass when they’re zoned in on
bluebacks or calling them up long distances, but it also
keeps bass from realizing that the artificial isn’t the real
thing in clear waters. At times, he says it’s not even neces-
sary to work the bait from side to side consistently. When
bass chase bluebacks up to the surface, the baitfish often
skip and skitter away at a fast clip, entering and exiting the
water as they go. A half-skittering, half-walking presenta-
tion accurately mimics that action.
Beavers says a soft jerkbait – the other favorite bait
among top finishers – can be fished the same way, both
under the surface and right on top.
FLWFISHING.COM I OCTOBER 2017