Photo: James Overstreet - The fishing was tough at the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Central Open on the Red River after the flooding over the last few months in the Shreveport-Bossier City area. Even so, the Top 12 pro and co-anglers found a way to succeed despite the tough conditions.Photo: Ronnie Moore - 12. Charlie Hartley Hartley ran through the lock down to Pool 4 and fished one backwater pond all week with a 3/8 ounce Original Chatterbait with a Reaction Innovations Smallie Beaver as a trailer.
Photo: Ronnie Moore - He has had a great year on the Opens as he won the James River Northern Open to punch his ticket to the Classic. Another Top 12 at the Red River is stout.Photo: Ronnie Moore - 11. Tommy Murray Murray maximized his time and stayed in Pool 5 all week on the Red River.Photo: Ronnie Moore - One of his biggest players was an old Luck-E-Strike Rick Clunn crankbait that is no longer made. This was what he caught the 6-2 Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the tournament on during Day 2.
Photo: Ronnie Moore - He also flipped a Zoom Baby Brush hog with a 1/4 ounce weight and a Trokar hook.Photo: Ronnie Moore - 10. Robbie Latuso Latuso stayed in Pool 5 and fished the same bait, but in two different colors. His bait was a Strike King Rage Craw in both Junebug...Photo: Ronnie Moore - And his other color was California Craw. Both were rigged on a 1/2 ounce Texas Rig.
Photo: Ronnie Moore - 9. Luke Palmer Palmer fished all three pools available to anglers this week and caught key fish in all three.Photo: Ronnie Moore - His bait of choice was a Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver in Hematoma color.Photo: Ronnie Moore - 8. Jeffery Lemoine Jr. Lemoine opted for a 3/8 ounce Pepper Custom Baits jig with a V&M trailer when he was fishing ultra shallow.
Photo: Ronnie Moore - When it came to the deeper water he switched to a 1/2 ounce.Photo: Ronnie Moore - 7. Skylar Hamilton Skylar Hamilton won the first Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Central Open when he fished the Arkansas River a few months ago. He backed it up with another Top 12 at the Red River and it was in his aluminum boat once again.Photo: Ronnie Moore - He opted for two moving baits to do the majority of his heavy lifting.
Photo: Ronnie Moore - One option was a 1/4 ounce Buckeye Swim Jig with a Strike King Menace as a trailer.Photo: Ronnie Moore - The other was a 3/8 ounce Jackal Break Blade vibrating jig with a Rage Craw for a trailer.Photo: Ronnie Moore - 6. Luke Estel The lone Illinois pro stayed in one small backwater pond in Pool 5 all three days and he maximized his area with one lone bait predominantly.
Photo: Ronnie Moore - He flipped a black and blue Strike King Rage Bug on a 1/4 ounce weight.Photo: Ronnie Moore - When all was said and done he had a graveyard of Rage Bugs from his week on the Red River.Photo: Ronnie Moore - 5. Darrell Lyons Darrell Lyons made a big jump on the final day as he went from 12th all the way to the Top 5.
Photo: Ronnie Moore - He did so with the help of a Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver in June Bug.Photo: Ronnie Moore - 4. Billy McCaghren Billy McCaghren jumped into the Top 5 by way of a two prong approach.Photo: Ronnie Moore - One was a Talon Lures Billy Mac jig with a Zoom Super Chunk trailer.
Photo: Ronnie Moore - And the other was an old school Zoom EWC crankbait in black/chartreuse.Photo: Ronnie Moore - 3. Mike Pedroza Pedroza also used a two-bait approach to get in the Top 3 of this event.Photo: Ronnie Moore - Both baits were soft plastics with one being a Reaction Innovations Kinky Beaver in Magic Craw and the other was a Zoom Speed Worm in Red Bug.
Photo: Ronnie Moore - 2. Todd Murray Murray lost to just one angler this week, but his two-bait approach was between a slow moving bait and reaction lure.Photo: Ronnie Moore - He used a 1/2 ounce handmade jig with a Strike King Rage Craw and the other was a 3/8 ounce War Eagle Spinnerbait.Photo: Ronnie Moore - 1. Alton Jones Jr. After falling just short of a Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens win last week, Jones Jr. came to the Red River and took the title.
Photo: Ronnie Moore - He junk fished on the main river all week after he had a poor practice. He caught one key fish per day on this Chartreuse and Black Balsa crankbait.Photo: Ronnie Moore - He caught the majority of his fish on a Missile Baits D Bomb in California Love.Photo: Ronnie Moore - And when he fished more of the industrial cover on the river he opted for a Roboworm on a dropshot.
