J
LAWYER’S KEYS TO SUCCESS
Attitude and a spoon were Lawyer’s keys to success. The critical move of
spontaneously tying on a spoon just 10 minutes before the day-two takeoff
was the changeup that really allowed Lawyer to make the top-20 cut and then
sneak into the final day.
Sitting in 10th place on Sunday, Lawyer had basically no pressure on his
spot from other anglers, and he went fishing with the attitude that he had
nothing to lose. After all, he could only move up in the standings. Therefore,
he fished loose and relaxed and was able to catch some critical fish that
helped him nail down fifth place.
Lawyer also attests that good decisions – most of them based on inexplica-
ble gut feelings – and using his momentum from his charge up the BFL ranks
allowed him to roll with the more experienced Tour pros throughout the event.
“When you have some momentum going from some previous tourna-
ments, and you are making good decisions and you’re fishing good, it just con-
tinues,” he adds. “It seemed like if I made a decision, it seemed like the right
one, and it just really worked out.”
Lawyer camped on a
schooling spot to make the
top 10. He used a few
baits, but most notable
was a 1/2-ounce spoon.
eremy Lawyer, the 2016 FLW Bass
Fishing League All-American win-
ner from Sarcoxie, Mo., was able to
plow his way through the field and into
the top five by targeting schooling bass
that were feeding on baitfish on main
lake and secondary points within sight
of the Wheeler Dam.
Lawyer began the first day by running
to a handful of spots that had held balls of
bait for him in practice, but fishing pres-
sure forced him to adjust his approach.
“I had four points that had groups
of schooling fish that I really thought I
would have to myself, and I could
make a rotation with them throughout
the day,” says Lawyer. “I tried to get on
several places that other guys were on
[on day one], but had to sit down on the
last one that was open. I stayed there
for the rest of the day.”
Lawyer caught his first limit of 8
pounds, 15 ounces using a Yellow
Magic popper custom-painted by Fall
Creek Lures in a color Lawyer calls
“Forrest Wood Cup shad” and a 4-inch
sexy shad-colored Keitech swimbait.
Lawyer added a homemade 1/2-
ounce white jigging spoon to his arse-
nal for day two. The addition was
based on a gut feeling he had while
retying in his boat that morning, and
the spoon produced most of his fish the
rest of the event. He also remained
camped on the same spot as day one.
“I would throw it [the spoon] up there
in 1 to 3 feet of water. I’d let it go to the
bottom, and then rip it or crank the reel
handle real quick and then let it flutter
down to make them react,” Lawyer says
“The fish weren’t trying to eat; they were
just reacting. That’s why I lost so many,
but the good ones had it in their mouth.”
When the bite died down, Lawyer
tried some bold techniques to get the bass
feeding again, with mixed results. He tried
corralling the baitfish back onto the point
by chasing them around with the trolling
motor. He used the big motor to run circles
around the point to stir up the bait. And he
experimented with his HydroWave
turned to a high-frequency setting.
Lawyer caught the big bass of the
tournament – a 6-plus-pounder – on day
three on the first cast that he made with
a LIVETARGET BaitBall Series Threadfin
Shad TDD-70 crankbait, but he stuck
with the homemade spoon for the rest of
the tournament as his go-to limit getter.
He would then fatten up his limit by
stopping near Decatur for a final cull
during his drive back to takeoff.
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