PHOTO BY GARRICK DIXON |
PHOTO BY ERIK GAFFRON |
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PHOTO BY COBI PELLERITO PHOTO BY GARRICK DIXON |
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1 . U . S . AIR FORCE STAGE TWO PRESENTED BY POWER-POLE Douglas & Cherokee Lakes
March 18 – 23
There ’ s really no better way to describe Keith Poche ’ s victory in the second regular-season Bass Pro Tour event of the season than “ epic .” Returning to a location that he had previously fished high up the Holston River – 90 minutes from takeoff on Cherokee Lake through some notably “ skinny ” water – Poche parked on a honey hole below a dam and rang up 19 pounds , 2 ounces on the final day to pick up the first major tour-level win of his career .
Poche plied the swift-moving waters in the dam ’ s tailrace with a Berkley Hollow Belly and a Berkley Finesse Jig with a Berkley PowerBait Shape 108 trailer , plucking fish out of small eddies in the turbulent dam flow to nudge Dakota Ebare by a pound .
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2 . TOYOTA SERIES PRESENTED BY PHOENIX BOATS CENTRAL DIVISION
Lewis Smith Lake
March 21 – 23
There ’ s just something about the Wiggins family and Smith Lake – it ’ s called “ domination .” Jordan Wiggins – brother of Bass Pro Tour angler Jesse Wiggins – took home the trophy on the Alabama reservoir with a threeday total of 44 pounds , 14 ounces to win by 3-3 over Emil Wagner .
Wiggins targeted spawning spotted bass on shelf rock and structure that had immediate deep-water access , catching 14-8 on the final day . Wiggins focused on darker-colored banks that featured large chunk rocks and docks , a mix he felt was key to attracting spawners . Big brother Jesse drove in from BPT Stage Two to watch Jordan weigh in on the final day and earn his first Toyota Series win .
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3 . TOYOTA SERIES PRESENTED BY PHOENIX BOATS SOUTHERN DIVISION
Lake Okeechobee
March 30 – April 1
Strong winds were the big story for the first two days of the Lake Okeechobee Southern Division event , until Day 3 when it died down in a big way . As the wind died , Jessie Mizell ’ s frog bite pattern gained new life .
Bobby Bakewell came into Day 3 with a lead thanks to his success with a pattern that wasn ’ t affected by the blustering wind – fishing shell beds up the Okeechobee River . But when Bakewell ’ s pattern failed to reload on the final day , leaving him with only four fish in the livewell , it left the door open for Mizell and his frog to make a move .
Following a backflush of clean water near Harney Pond and Tin House , Mizell made pinpoint casts to mats with cattails or buggy whips
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nearby . The Florida native caught 22- 7 on his final day , giving him a threeday total of 51-15 and his first Toyota Series win .
4 . FOX RENT A CAR STAGE THREE PRESENTED BY MERCURY Lake Murray
April 2 – 7
In the history of tournament bass fishing , it ’ s pretty difficult to name an angler / lake tandem that fit together better than Anthony Gagliardi and Lake Murray , South Carolina . As a resident of this South Carolina lake , Gagliardi entered Stage Three with modest expectations , based solely on a handful of spawn-timing-related conditions that nullified his “ home field advantage .” So , Gagliardi developed another advantage , a mid-depth drop-shot pattern that he had never tried before on Murray .
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