Were you paying attention?

[Catt]

Greg Hackney just won the Forrest Wood Cup, below is his discretion of the winning pattern over at flwoutdoors.com

Hackney didn't just throw the 1/4-ounce spinnerbait, he also used a finesse worm on a 1/8-ounce Strike King Scrounger jig, an 1/8-ounce buzzbait, a 5-inch Ocho stick worm, which he wacky rigged, a jerkbait and a 1/8-ounce Mini-King spinnerbait. On his reaction baits, he used 17-pound test Cajun fluorocarbon line.

All of my better fish today came off a hard break. This place had everything current, mixing water and structure. And to sweeten the pot there were mayflies in the overhanging trees. This all looked good but it seemed wherever there was a hard bottom is where the better fish were. Where there was mud, there were short fish.

Ok all you students of structure fishing

Notice it wasn't about the lures; everything worked proving it was location

No Catt the key was in the lures Greg was matching the hatch

No dude the key was All of my better fish today came off a hard break (a break line)

Has the light gone off yet?

[EastMarkME]

Good stuff Catt. I do see the pattern... however.... its surprising to see the 1/8 jig and 1/8 spinnerbait. Much more common to see these guy refer to using lures heavier than I generally throw rather than lighter.

I realize the winning pattern wasnt about the bait or color...cant help but notice that though.

I have been spending alot of time learning the breaks and deeper structure on the lake. FishForDollars blunt (great) post about getting deeper structure or you'll never get better kicked me in the *** to stay deeper yesterday. I naturally migrate to visible shallow structure being a prior LM/pond only fisherman. These lakes in Maine are much deeper too.

I know at some point it will translate to more fish. I am more comfortable out there already deeper watching the graph some more in what used to seem like No Mans Land. ;-) Starting to feel like Im more in touch with the bottom even deep. Caught 2 in 18' on a tiny hump last nite...for me thats a big deal mentally. LOL

Im determined. ;-)

Mark

[Sam]

You always search for the patter.

Wood along the shoreline; docks along the river's edge; points with grass; and so on.

Hackney found the best pattern for the tournament and used it to his advantage.  All the other guys were seeking the correct pattern, too.

Great post Catt. What I found to be of most interest was the size of the baits.  I think we throw baits that are too large and to go to a smaller presentation usually happens after we use up most of the day throwing the larger baits, and then it can be too late.

Thanks for another informative post.  

P.S. This is an ***.  Hackney is from Louisiana.  LSU wins the CWS and now we are heading to football season. An ***, I am sure.

[Catt]

P.S. This is an ***. Hackney is from Louisiana. LSU wins the CWS and now we are heading to football season. An ***, I am sure.

I missed that pattern  

[Willzx225]

I agree with everyone that this is a great post.  Finding the prevailing pattern for the conditions is the main key in successful bass fishing if you ask me.  There are no secret baits that catch fish in areas that there are no fish.  Plain and simple.

While I agree with what Sam said about using smaller baits and not going to them until it is often too late, I do think it had more to do with the environment then the competitors just downsizing to get bites.  I think they had a few things that we need to focus on that pushed them to using smaller baits.  First is that it is a river system and most (not always of course) of the time smaller baits prevail due to the typically smaller forage.  Secondly, they were fishing a body of water where a 3lber is a very good fish, one that could make you a hero.  But this is all just my opinion  

[skillet]

 Point made !!!

skillet

[JuniorFisherJJ08]

Location is always a big key anytime you fish. In the ohio river the more ''finesse'' you go the better the fishing gets mainly because the water is just so clear.

CATT , your trying to say what he threw/color selection didn't matter? That's a false statement. If your look at what he threw Spinners/Jerk baits they all represent the main forage of shad this time of year. As for the jig n trailer those always works on rocks''hard bottom''. With the abundance of shad this time of year and the mix of his location combined is what won him the forest wood cup.

****EDIT****

What about the article on the first page?

www.bassresource.com/fishing/weekend-bass-fishing.html

Were you paying attention?  

[D4u2s0t]

my questions, and i'm seriously asking not just trying to disagree (i value your input, and enjoy reading your posts.  thanks!)

1.  if lure selection doesn't matter, once he found the sweet spot why did he keep changing lures

2.  once you find a good area, should you not take depth into consideration?  a buzzbait will work just as well as crawling something off the bottom regardless of depth?  sounds to me like he was trying to cover all depths.  i know that bass will come some distance to take the bait, but suppose the fish are at 15 feet, wouldn't it make more sense to choose a bait that gets down to 15 feet?

3.  why in some sweet spots will certain baits work and others won't, if lure selection is not important?  i can throw certain baits all day in some areas that produce nothing.  change it up, and start catching fish.

thanks, and i look forward to the responses!

[Catt]

Lure selection would not have mattered if he were not in the proper location

When selecting lures always cover top, middle, & bottom of the water column and try to establish a lure preference. Hackney used 6 different lures so there was not clear cut lure preference; some times you just gotta mix it all up.

The key pattern was

Prime structure: hard bottom present; did not mention what type of structure

Current: present

Mixing water: another break line

Dudes that structure fishing 101

[Bankbeater]

This is how its been in a fairly large pond I have been fishing lately. It doesn't matter what bait you throw at them, but you have to get it along the weed line or the bass will not touch it.

[islandbass]

This is a great thread. As a shorebound angler, combined with the limited types of structure I can access on the lakes I fish (eg, worthy drop offs, etc.) let me see if I really understand the point of this.

The point is that GH found right structure to fish, the structure in that section of water that was not only retaining fish, but retaining the bigger fish.  It just happened to be a harder bottom for this occassion.

Also, the other things that this structure contained, ie, the moving water, mayflies were good but secondary to the hard bottom that made his location ideal to fish for the tournament.

There must be something to the harder bottom that makes it more attractive to bass than similar structure without the hard bottom. From my own personal fishing experience, I can say will confidence that I have noticed the same thing, but I still don't know why.  Can anyone explain why a harder bottom tends to be more productive?

There are valid points on both sides of lure selection mattering or not. However I don't think either side can be completely correct while the other is completely incorrect. I believe the challenge for us is to figure out when it does and make the appropriate adjustments to capitalize on catching them. I wonder if stepping down (if the cover permitted) to 8-10# fc line would have enticed even more bites.

[Catt]

Let's examine another lure vs. location

Larry Nixon was in excellent shape to make a run at win but ended day 3 or 4 with only 3 bass for 1.07 lbs, and granted he lost a pound for a short fish which would not have helped.

He had an excellent location because it produced 25 keepers for himself, his co-angler, & Lefebre. His lure selection was spot on with because he stated I would catch one and noticed several more following it.

Even with his vast knowledge of adjusting to changing conditions no lure selection produced a bite. Solution change locations but in Larry's own words I have no back up location

Regardless of lure selection without location you're dead in the water

[SaintsFn]

P.S. This is an ***. Hackney is from Louisiana. LSU wins the CWS and now we are heading to football season. An ***, I am sure.

Hmmm what are you talking about?  *** about what?  

[Tin]

Catt I'm sorry but I think you are a little off on this one. Location was a part of it but the lures were huge. Smallies are very aggressive creatures and reaction baits are the key (buzzbait, jerkbait, scrounger, and spinnerbait). If he got a fish to come up and short strike or could not hook up he would throw the finesse worm on the drop-shot or the 4" Ocho to get them to it again. I would say taking advantage of the smallmouths' naturally aggressive behavior with reaction baits that allowed him to cover water (he covered about a half mile a day according to a couple articles)were the key factors.

[D4u2s0t]

Lure selection would not have mattered if he were not in the proper location

When selecting lures always cover top, middle, & bottom of the water column and try to establish a lure preference. Hackney used 6 different lures so there was not clear cut lure preference; some times you just gotta mix it all up.

The key pattern was

Prime structure: hard bottom present; did not mention what type of structure

Current: present

Mixing water: another break line

Dudes that structure fishing 101

you didn't answer any of my questions.  also, if lure selection is not important, which is the whole point of your post, why would you have to cover all the water to "establish a lure preference".  

[Catt]

Tin

Hackney did randomly cove a lot of water; he covered multiple locations with the same ingredientsa pattern. You can be assured that once he figure out hard bottom was key he wasted no time on soft bottoms.

Nixon did not duplicate locations so therefore regardless of lures selection, that alone was useless.

D4u2s0t

1. if lure selection doesn't matter, once he found the sweet spot why did he keep changing lures.

Because there was not clear cut lure preference; some times you just gotta mix it all up.

2.  once you find a good area, should you not take depth into consideration?  a buzzbait will work just as well as crawling something off the bottom regardless of depth?  sounds to me like he was trying to cover all depths.  i know that bass will come some distance to take the bait, but suppose the fish are at 15 feet, wouldn't it make more sense to choose a bait that gets down to 15 feet?

When selecting lures always cover top, middle, & bottom of the water column and try to establish a lure preference.

3.  why in some sweet spots will certain baits work and others won't, if lure selection is not important?  i can throw certain baits all day in some areas that produce nothing.  change it up, and start catching fish.

No one is saying lure selection is unimportant but you can't catch what aint there

[Tin]

Stick to largemouth Catt and re-read the article.

[Catt]

Yelp there no need to learn structure; ya just gotta buy the right lures  

[ptomacbass]

Lure selection is definately important.  Sometimes the fish will hit a deep crank, but won't hit a football jig.  Sometimes, a fish will hit a football jig but not a deep crank.  This seems to be even more true when fishing for smallmouth.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Don't you think to catch fish you need to:

1. Find the fish

2. Choose a bait

3. Present the bait properly to initiate strikes

in that order? Each step has multiple options making many combinations that will get strikes. Obviously in a tournament setting time is of the essence and you don't have all day to experiment. You play the averages based on your experience under similar conditions.

[Dalton Tam]

Woohoo go hackney and LSU!

[Needemp]

Catt I'm sorry but I think you are a little off on this one. Location was a part of it but the lures were huge. Smallies are very aggressive creatures and reaction baits are the key (buzzbait, jerkbait, scrounger, and spinnerbait). If he got a fish to come up and short strike or could not hook up he would throw the finesse worm on the drop-shot or the 4" Ocho to get them to it again. I would say taking advantage of the smallmouths' naturally aggressive behavior with reaction baits that allowed him to cover water (he covered about a half mile a day according to a couple articles)were the key factors.

I agree with you Tin! This is not a black and white issue. Location is everything and lure selection is everything. You can be in the right location using the wrong lures catching very little or you can be using the right baits in the wrong location and catching nothing.

[Tin]

If it were not smallmouth I would agree with Catt. But smallies are a whole different story.

[EastMarkME]

So if we all buy 1/8 oz baits we will all win tournaments ?

OK, I got it !!

 

Mark

[The_Natural]

Obviously, if you aren't on fish....your bait doesn't matter.  However, if you are on fish...your bait can have a sizable impact on how well you cultivate from your spot. See the Ultimate Match Fishing match between Boyd Duckett and Kelly Jordan. Prime example. They were out on a hump/dropoff, and Kelly was throwing his fluttter spoon, and boyd was throwing a different spoon. Kelly owned him. It wasn't even close. I don't think you can say the bait doesn't matter; I think the majority of professional anglers would disagree with that. I do agree that your spot takes precedence over your bait, but bait selection isn't far behind.