Competition:
Pirch began the event with a whopping 15 1/2-pound bag that gave him a lead of nearly 4 pounds. It was the second straight stringer of that caliber he'd caught in U.S. Open competition - he had one on the final day in 2013 when he nearly snatched the title away from Rusty Brown. The day featured a major thunderstorm that kept light conditions low and rendered the competitors extremely wet. "The weather was a huge factor that day," he said. "In fact, I thought there were going to be more bags like that because I thought everybody was going to catch them that good." His sack included a 6 1/2-pounder - the biggest fish of the event - that bit a crankbait and a 4 that was enticed by a worm on a dropshot rig. "Those big ones I caught, you normally wouldn't catch that class of fish in those places. It takes some crazy factors to make them bite." His day-2 haul was just a little more than half of what he caught the previous day, but it kept him more than 2 pounds clear of everyone else. The weather was still rough that morning and he opted to remain in the vicinity of the launch at Callville Bay. "I basically dropshotted for that 7 1/2 pounds," he said. "I caught a few on a topwater and maybe one cranking. Then at about 11 or 12 (o'clock) it really slicked off and the fishing got pretty tough after that. It was really all about the first half of the day." Conditions were mild on day 3, which allowed him to make the long run to the Overton Arm with no logistical issues. He didn't find the same scenario he'd discovered during practice, though, as the rain had changed things considerably. "With the really nice weather I knew I could get up there and still have time to move to plan B or plan C if I needed to. When I got to my area, it was all blown out by the flash flood - the water was (the color of) chocolate and debris mats were covering all my stuff. I couldn't even get to it." He kept moving around and eventually pinned down some fish at mid-day. "The morning was a little stressful, but I finally found them at about 10:30 or 11. I found some scattered debris that wasn't as vast and the fish were setting up under or around that and I just started flipping wood, tumbleweeds, sawdust and whatever else was in there." The area, which was about a mile from where he'd planned to start, eventually surrendered more than two dozen keepers to him and his co-angler. "For awhile it was one after another and I was culling a half-ounce at a time almost non-stop."
Winning Gear:
Dropshot gear: 7' medium-action Phenix M1 Drop Shot rod, unnamed spinning reel, unnamed 6-pound fluorocarbon line, 1/4-ounce cylindrical dropshot weight, 1/0 Roboworm Rebarb light-wire hook, 4 1/2" Roboworm (oxblood light or Pirch's purple).
Cranking gear: 7'6" medium-action Phenix X13 rod, unnamed casting reel, unnamed 10-pound fluorocarbon line, unnamed medium- and deep-diving crankbaits (shad colors).
Flipping gear: 7'11" heavy-action Phenix flipping stick, unnamed casting reel, unnamed 65-pound braided line, 1/2-ounce Clifford Pirch Outdoors jig (black/blue, brown or clay bank orange), unnamed craw trailer (to match jig). He tied his jigs directly to the braid in muddy water, but employed a fluorocarbon leader in clear water.
Main factor: "I'd probably say just experience on desert lakes and knowing what to do under those types of conditions."
Performance edge: "Getting around in that rough water is a whole lot more pleasant when you're running a Skeeter."
U.S. Open Winning Pattern Bassfan 9/12/14 (John Johnson)