Gear

Top lures at James River

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If there was one dominant pattern at the Basspro.com Bassmaster Eastern Open at the James River, it was a drop-shot. But as you’ll see in the following gallery of the Top 12 lures, there really wasn’t a dominant pattern. Success came on everything from topwater frogs and rats to spinnerbaits, crankbaits and jigs, in addition to soft plastics on a drop-shot. That variety was best illustrated by champion Mike Iaconelli, who found success with a different lure each of the three days.<BR><BR>Captions by Steve Wright.
Photo: James Overstreet - If there was one dominant pattern at the Basspro.com Bassmaster Eastern Open at the James River, it was a drop-shot. But as you’ll see in the following gallery of the Top 12 lures, there really wasn’t a dominant pattern. Success came on everything from topwater frogs and rats to spinnerbaits, crankbaits and jigs, in addition to soft plastics on a drop-shot. That variety was best illustrated by champion Mike Iaconelli, who found success with a different lure each of the three days.Captions by Steve Wright.
Tim Ward (12th, 33-0)<BR><BR> “Mainly I locked a frog rod in my hands all three days,” said Ward. “I went in one creek the first morning and caught 13 ½ pounds (on a SPRO frog). Then I went into a little lull before I caught a 4-pounder. I caught a couple more 3s as I moved up the river. The next day I used a Ribit frog just to cover water in a creek.” Ward went back to the SPRO frog on Day 3, adding, “I bought about 15 SPRO frogs before the tournament. I went through about six or eight over the course of the tournament because I was skipping them up under so much junk they were ripping apart. So I started using any color I had. It really didn’t seem to matter. My confidence was in a frog with a dark color, a black pattern.”
Photo: Andy Crawford - Tim Ward (12th, 33-0) “Mainly I locked a frog rod in my hands all three days,” said Ward. “I went in one creek the first morning and caught 13 ½ pounds (on a SPRO frog). Then I went into a little lull before I caught a 4-pounder. I caught a couple more 3s as I moved up the river. The next day I used a Ribit frog just to cover water in a creek.” Ward went back to the SPRO frog on Day 3, adding, “I bought about 15 SPRO frogs before the tournament. I went through about six or eight over the course of the tournament because I was skipping them up under so much junk they were ripping apart. So I started using any color I had. It really didn’t seem to matter. My confidence was in a frog with a dark color, a black pattern.”
Gregg Fogner (11th, 33-11) <BR><BR> It was a one-two punch for Fogner, who said half of his fish came on a Texas-rigged 10-inch Bitter’s Bait magnum worm in blueberry, and the other half came on a drop-shot rig with a morning dawn colored Roboworm. “I was fishing structure with the big worm,” Fogner said. “My key was when the water got right, the fish would pull out to hydrilla patches, where I found a sand flat with hydrilla patches. The big bass would sit out there on the hydrilla, and it didn’t take long to catch them on a drop-shot.”
Photo: Andy Crawford - Gregg Fogner (11th, 33-11) It was a one-two punch for Fogner, who said half of his fish came on a Texas-rigged 10-inch Bitter’s Bait magnum worm in blueberry, and the other half came on a drop-shot rig with a morning dawn colored Roboworm. “I was fishing structure with the big worm,” Fogner said. “My key was when the water got right, the fish would pull out to hydrilla patches, where I found a sand flat with hydrilla patches. The big bass would sit out there on the hydrilla, and it didn’t take long to catch them on a drop-shot.”
Cameron Smith (10th, 33-12) <BR><BR> He used a three-pronged approach to cover the water column with a custom made P.B. Rat, a Chatterbait and a drop-shot. “I caught a good one each day on that rat,” Smith said. “The key was a special creek that had to have just the right water clarity and a lot of fish in it. That bigger, crazy-looking bait that they’ve never seen before was able to draw bigger strikes.” He said he trailed the Chatterbait with a blue-colored single tail Berkley hula grub, and Smith was drop-shotting with a Zoom finesse worm in any dark color, but primarily June bug.
Photo: Andy Crawford - Cameron Smith (10th, 33-12) He used a three-pronged approach to cover the water column with a custom made P.B. Rat, a Chatterbait and a drop-shot. “I caught a good one each day on that rat,” Smith said. “The key was a special creek that had to have just the right water clarity and a lot of fish in it. That bigger, crazy-looking bait that they’ve never seen before was able to draw bigger strikes.” He said he trailed the Chatterbait with a blue-colored single tail Berkley hula grub, and Smith was drop-shotting with a Zoom finesse worm in any dark color, but primarily June bug.
Photo: Andy Crawford
Chad Pipkens (9th, 34-3) <BR><BR> He caught most of his fish on a 6-inch hand-poured worm paired with a ¼-ounce Titan Tungsten drop shot weight. But Pipkens also caught some keepers on a shallow-diving crankbait. “When the tide got right, it was stupid easy,” Pipkens said. “I was targeting current breaks around rock on a point or a piece of wood, just smaller things. It’s pretty crazy to see how many fish there are when they’re ready to bite. Otherwise, it’s like fishing in a place without fish.”
Photo: Andy Crawford - Chad Pipkens (9th, 34-3) He caught most of his fish on a 6-inch hand-poured worm paired with a ¼-ounce Titan Tungsten drop shot weight. But Pipkens also caught some keepers on a shallow-diving crankbait. “When the tide got right, it was stupid easy,” Pipkens said. “I was targeting current breaks around rock on a point or a piece of wood, just smaller things. It’s pretty crazy to see how many fish there are when they’re ready to bite. Otherwise, it’s like fishing in a place without fish.”
Craig Chambers (8th, 34-7) <BR><BR> He said had two primary baits – a shad-colored Rapala DT6 and a Texas-rigged watermelon/red Zoom Super Hawg, but he also caught a few on a frog. “The DT6 was the breadwinner,” Smith said. “But I also caught several flipping cut banks, laydowns, cypress trees and duck blinds – anything that looked like it needed to be flipped – with the Super Hawg. I caught two on a frog (Friday) and one (Saturday).
Photo: Andy Crawford - Craig Chambers (8th, 34-7) He said had two primary baits – a shad-colored Rapala DT6 and a Texas-rigged watermelon/red Zoom Super Hawg, but he also caught a few on a frog. “The DT6 was the breadwinner,” Smith said. “But I also caught several flipping cut banks, laydowns, cypress trees and duck blinds – anything that looked like it needed to be flipped – with the Super Hawg. I caught two on a frog (Friday) and one (Saturday).
Photo: Andy Crawford
Jeff Hamilton (7th, 35-10) <BR><BR> He did most of his damage with a white spinnerbait, but also caught some on a black or June bug-colored Zoom Speed Worm on a drop-shot. “I found a place that had some white perch, and the bass were feeding on them,” Hamilton said. “That was the key for the spinnerbait.”
Photo: Andy Crawford - Jeff Hamilton (7th, 35-10) He did most of his damage with a white spinnerbait, but also caught some on a black or June bug-colored Zoom Speed Worm on a drop-shot. “I found a place that had some white perch, and the bass were feeding on them,” Hamilton said. “That was the key for the spinnerbait.”
Kotaro Kiriyama (6th, 36-10) <BR><BR> He said he caught his bigger fish drop-shotting a Jackal Flick Shake 5.8 worm, in colors ranging from watermelon to green pumpkin. “I was throwing a Texas rig and I didn’t get a bite,” Kiriyama said. “When I switched to the drop-shot I started catching them like crazy.” He also caught fish on a Chatterbait with a Jackal Rhythm Wave trailer and a Fat Daddy swim jig with a Rhythm Wave 3.8 trailer, throwing it in lily pads at high tide. “Those were the main three baits,” Kiriyama said. “Reading the tide was the whole deal.”
Photo: Andy Crawford - Kotaro Kiriyama (6th, 36-10) He said he caught his bigger fish drop-shotting a Jackal Flick Shake 5.8 worm, in colors ranging from watermelon to green pumpkin. “I was throwing a Texas rig and I didn’t get a bite,” Kiriyama said. “When I switched to the drop-shot I started catching them like crazy.” He also caught fish on a Chatterbait with a Jackal Rhythm Wave trailer and a Fat Daddy swim jig with a Rhythm Wave 3.8 trailer, throwing it in lily pads at high tide. “Those were the main three baits,” Kiriyama said. “Reading the tide was the whole deal.”
Richard Owen (5th, 38-10) <BR><BR> Most of his fish came on 4-inch blue fleck Zoom Ring Worms and Finesse Worms, fishing real slow. “ I was targeting pretty much wood all three days,” Owen said. “I ran down to the lower Chickahominy area and just fished that whole area all three days. I’m just a little partial to that Ring Worm. This river gets a lot of pressure and those smaller profiles work better for me. And there’s a confidence factor too. The tide was the biggest thing. I needed the water to start getting down a little bit.”
Photo: Andy Crawford - Richard Owen (5th, 38-10) Most of his fish came on 4-inch blue fleck Zoom Ring Worms and Finesse Worms, fishing real slow. “ I was targeting pretty much wood all three days,” Owen said. “I ran down to the lower Chickahominy area and just fished that whole area all three days. I’m just a little partial to that Ring Worm. This river gets a lot of pressure and those smaller profiles work better for me. And there’s a confidence factor too. The tide was the biggest thing. I needed the water to start getting down a little bit.”
Tommy Little (4th, 39-9) <BR><BR> A Mud Puppy 4-inch Ring Worm and a Mud Puppy 4-inch Brush Monkey worm, both in blue fleck colors, were Little’s key baits. “It’s good stuff,” Little said of the locally-made Mud Puppy soft plastic. “I was flipping and pitching mostly, with a quarter-ounce weight on both. I just kept switching it up. I’d usually go through an area a couple of times. I go through it the first time with the Ring Worm and then come back with the Brush Monkey. I was disgusted with myself after the first day when I only had 12-3. Than I had 17-8 on Friday.”
Photo: Andy Crawford - Tommy Little (4th, 39-9) A Mud Puppy 4-inch Ring Worm and a Mud Puppy 4-inch Brush Monkey worm, both in blue fleck colors, were Little’s key baits. “It’s good stuff,” Little said of the locally-made Mud Puppy soft plastic. “I was flipping and pitching mostly, with a quarter-ounce weight on both. I just kept switching it up. I’d usually go through an area a couple of times. I go through it the first time with the Ring Worm and then come back with the Brush Monkey. I was disgusted with myself after the first day when I only had 12-3. Than I had 17-8 on Friday.”
Photo: Andy Crawford
Photo: Andy Crawford
Bryan Schmitt (3rd, 40-6) <BR><BR> A Missile Baits 48 worm in June bug color on a 1/0 Hayabusa Spin Muscle wacky hook was Schmitt’s primary lure. He also caught fish on a swim jig paired with a Missile Baits Twin Turbo soft plastic. “Those two baits, that’s all I did,” said Schmitt, who had the big bag on the tournament with 20 pounds, 4 ounces on Day 1. “Pads and grass was my whole game. I broke two big ones off Friday. Just being comfortable with tides, that was key for me. I know tidal water really well. I grew up on tides.”
Photo: Andy Crawford - Bryan Schmitt (3rd, 40-6) A Missile Baits 48 worm in June bug color on a 1/0 Hayabusa Spin Muscle wacky hook was Schmitt’s primary lure. He also caught fish on a swim jig paired with a Missile Baits Twin Turbo soft plastic. “Those two baits, that’s all I did,” said Schmitt, who had the big bag on the tournament with 20 pounds, 4 ounces on Day 1. “Pads and grass was my whole game. I broke two big ones off Friday. Just being comfortable with tides, that was key for me. I know tidal water really well. I grew up on tides.”
Whitney Stephens (2nd, 41-15) <BR><BR> Stephens relied on two soft plastic lures made by a local company, Mud Puppy Custom Lures in Prince George, Va. “He’s a local firefighter here, and he’s always tinkering around with lures,” Stephens said. “He makes some specific colors that seem to fit this river.” Stephens used a Texas-rigged 6-inch muscadine-colored Trickster worm and a wacky-rigged moccasin blue 4-inch Little Chick worm. “I needed a low outgoing tide,” Stephens said. “I could have slept in for four hours every day. The majority of the fish I caught in this tournament came in the last hour every day.” He like so many anglers in this tournament, didn’t start catching fish until the tide got low at mid-day.
Photo: Andy Crawford - Whitney Stephens (2nd, 41-15) Stephens relied on two soft plastic lures made by a local company, Mud Puppy Custom Lures in Prince George, Va. “He’s a local firefighter here, and he’s always tinkering around with lures,” Stephens said. “He makes some specific colors that seem to fit this river.” Stephens used a Texas-rigged 6-inch muscadine-colored Trickster worm and a wacky-rigged moccasin blue 4-inch Little Chick worm. “I needed a low outgoing tide,” Stephens said. “I could have slept in for four hours every day. The majority of the fish I caught in this tournament came in the last hour every day.” He like so many anglers in this tournament, didn’t start catching fish until the tide got low at mid-day.
Mike Iaconelli (1st, 44-0) <BR><BR> “There were only three baits I caught fish on this week,” Iaconelli said. “The first day, most of the weight I caught came on a vibrating jig, a ½-ounce black-and-blue Molix Lover with a black-and-blue (Berkley) Chigger Craw on the back. The second day a ½-ounce black-and-blue Missile Baits Mini-Flip jig with a flippin’ blue Berkley PowerBait chunk - the small chunk, really carried me. Day 3 it all changed. My partner was catching them finessing. I couldn’t get bit on a jig, and I pulled out a Rapala DT6 and started fishing deeper. Every one except one that I weighed came on a chartreuse-and-black DT6. It’s an Ike’s Custom Ink color called Old School. It was literally a different bait every day.”
Photo: Andy Crawford - Mike Iaconelli (1st, 44-0) “There were only three baits I caught fish on this week,” Iaconelli said. “The first day, most of the weight I caught came on a vibrating jig, a ½-ounce black-and-blue Molix Lover with a black-and-blue (Berkley) Chigger Craw on the back. The second day a ½-ounce black-and-blue Missile Baits Mini-Flip jig with a flippin’ blue Berkley PowerBait chunk - the small chunk, really carried me. Day 3 it all changed. My partner was catching them finessing. I couldn’t get bit on a jig, and I pulled out a Rapala DT6 and started fishing deeper. Every one except one that I weighed came on a chartreuse-and-black DT6. It’s an Ike’s Custom Ink color called Old School. It was literally a different bait every day.”
Photo: Andy Crawford