FLW Norman Lake Winning Baits, Gear & Patterns

Bryan Thrift grew up fishing the lake. He knows every inch of the water, not only what's on top, but also what's underneath. The fish were still staging and not yet on beds, so the quest for a kicker largemouth was much more difficult. Thrift's practice was pretty unremarkable. He never touched the stuff he planned to fish, he didn't want to wear out any fish, and he didn't want to be spotted.

He said he started on the same spot each morning with a crank. "It was one little deal real close to where we launch. In all my time here, I've caught more 4-pound spots there than anywhere else on the lake. "The (starting) spot was just a couple stumps on a little drop," he added. "I was cranking up shallow in 3 to 4 feet. I was catching largemouths pretty much the same way, cranking a lot of stuff and throwing a jig in brushpiles. Instead of the main lake, I was fishing the backs of creeks and stuff like that." The brush he targeted was under docks or pontoon boats, "something most people aren't going to find."

Crankbait gear: 7' medium-action Damiki Dark Angel rod, Abu Garcia Revo Winch casting reel, 12-pound Berkely Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon, Damiki DC-100 (real shad).

About the Dark Angel rod, he noted: "I've been throwing with this rod for 2 years and it's hands-down the best crankbait rod I've ever touched. It has the perfect action - a little bit of a soft tip, but a lot of backbone. You can feel everything the crank's doing."

Jig gear: 6'9" medium-heavy unnamed rod, Abu Garcia Revo STX HS casting reel (7.1:1), 20-pound pound Berkely Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon, 1/2-ounce Shooter Lures jig (green-pumpkin), unnamed chunk-style trailer (green-pumpkin).

Third-place Andy Montgomery and 4th-place Brian Travis also threw a Shooter jig. It's a local make, and it's handtied, so the skirt doesn't slip down when skipping docks.

Main Factor: "It was that Damiki 7' cranking rod. I caught probably 15 to 20 fish a day on it, and I didn't lose a fish all week. I landed a 4 1/2-pounder the second day that was hooked in the side of the head. That rod was the only reason I got that fish to the boat."

Performance Edge: "The rod and the crank - that combo for sure."

Thrift's Winning Norman Pattern March 27, 2010. Bassfan (http://www.bassfan.com/news_article.asp?id=3567).

Rusty Salewske's pattern was a little different than the rest of the patterns in the Top 5. He cranked, but he did it in dirty water in Mountain and Muddy Creeks. It was a pattern that his practice partner Brett Hite turned him onto.

"The key was the dirty water," said Salewske. "I didn't really matter where I fished as long as the water was dirty and reasonably close to deep water. But I was catching them on docks, lay-downs, boulders, trash - you name it. I also figured out that once you caught a fish (on structure), you couldn't go back to that spot. That was it. But you could throw immediately toward something else a foot away and still catch them."

"I was fishing very shallow - 2 feet max - and I tried to deflect the crank off anything," Salewske said. "On the third day, I had a pretty good stretch of time when they were on certain kinds of docks, but the last day they were on rock. And the big ones were on natural rock, not riprap. It got real cold the night before, and that rock retains heat. I fished as much rock as I could find."

He cranked as fast as he could with a 6.2:1 reel - he called it "uncomfortably fast" - but he'd work in some stops and a few rips during the retrieve.

"I got really good with the crank as far as knowing the feeling - if it hit any little piece of cover," he said. "When I felt anything I'd rip it, and by the time I got the handle going again, they'd be on there."

Crankbait gear: 7'5" medium-heavy Powell cranking rod (glass), Shimano Chronarch casting reel, 10-pound Sunline FC Sniper fluorocarbon, Lucky Craft RC 2.0 (white).

He wanted to fish heavier line, but it affected the action of the bait, he said. "The bait wouldn't run as wild and it would keep it from wobbling, so I had to fish 10-pound."

Main Factor: "Having an open mind once the tournament started, and getting enough bites to feel comfortable just fishing around. Also Brett Hite. There's nothing like having a practice partner you can really trust - who'll really give you the straight deal. Hopefully I can help him out in the next one. And I was fishing with a real reason (last) week: My grandpa passed away right before we left. He was with me the whole time, and that's about half the reason I started with a crankbait. He used to take me fishing all the time, and he called it 'pluggin.' We never threw worms. We'd just go pluggin' everywhere we went."

Performance Edge: "I'd have to say it was my Powell glass cranking rod. That thing's phenomenal."

Norman Patterns 2-5 March 30, 2010. Bassfan (http://www.bassfan.com/news_article.asp?id=3569).

Thrift and South Carolina's Andy Montgomery are longtime pals and running mates, and like Thrift, Montgomery grew up fishing Norman. During the event, Montgomery focused exclusively on docks and threw a jig, although he did weigh one crankbait fish.

"I fished way up the river a little bit the first day, then I spent about 3 hours up there the second day but it was no good," he said. "For the most part, I fished from the dam to mile marker 13.

"All my bigger largemouths came off floating docks," he added. "I call them floats - they're just big, floating docks that make a lot of shade. But I was catching all my spotted bass off poles. It seemed like the spot bite was better early, and I'd catch a limit, then I'd fish floats the rest of the day."

Jig gear: 7' medium-heavy Daiwa Zillion rod, Daiwa Zillion casting reel (7.3:1), 20-pound P-Line fluorocarbon, 1/2-ounce Shooter Lures jig (crawdad), Zoom Big Salty Chunk (green-pumpkin).

Main Factor: "It was probably just knowing the lake as well as I do. But you know, the key to my success the first 2 days was I didn't fish history. I fished a pattern. When I got a couple of bites, I focused on what I got those bites on and ran the pattern. Five or six of the 20 I weighed were from docks I'd never fished before in my life. The last day I didn't do that and fished history."

Performance Edge: "The Shooter jig. It's a local jig that's hand-tied and we skip it under docks. When you're skipping, you want a hand-tied skirt so it doesn't slide down. It's a must."

Norman Patterns 2-5 March 30, 2010. Bassfan (http://www.bassfan.com/news_article.asp?id=3569).

Travis, a former TBF National champion from Conover, N.C, was the third local to make the Top 5, and he spent years fishing Norman against the likes of Thrift and Montgomery.

Travis threw a jig and cranked a Rapala Shad Rap. "I've been fishing this lake forever, and I know a hundred docks that have brush," he said. "I caught a limit each morning in the lower end fairly quickly, and culled a few times too, and I'd have 8 or 9 pounds each day by 10:00. Then I'd gradually work my way up the river for big largemouth. The upper area is pretty much where the big largemouths come from."

When he fished down lake, he found that the bigger spots were on deeper docks with brush in 8 to 12 feet of water. Later in the week, when it got tougher, he thinks the fish may have moved shallower. Up the river, he focused solely on docks and "little rocky points." However, on day 4 when it turned cold, he caught fish on boat ramps and riprap, because they retained heat. The Shad Rap was the better bait on day 3.

Jig gear: 7'2" medium-heavy Shimano Cumara rod, Shimano Curado casting reel, 17-pound Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon, 3/8-ounce Shooter jig (green-pumpkin/punpkinseed), Zoom Super Chunk (green-pumpkin, tails dipped chartreuse).

Crankbait gear: 7'6" medium-action Shimano Cumara spinning rod, Shimano Symetre spinning reel, 8-pound Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon, Rapala No. 8 Shad Rap (crawdad).

Main Factor: "The main thing was being able to move around. And once I could tell what depth I was catching a few fish at, then

Performance Edge: I'd have to say it was my Shimano outfits. On this lake you have to he able to put a jig in very tight spots, and with that Shimano outfit, you can do it."

Norman Patterns 2-5 March 30, 2010. Bassfan (http://www.bassfan.com/news_article.asp?id=3569).

Georgia pro Rusty Trancygier entered day 4 in 2nd place, but a water drop left him pretty much high and dry. It was a little backwater pocket, and with the lower water, he had to jump several sandbars just to reach it. It took so long to get back he was committed to the area for the rest of the day.

The fish in the backwater weren't yet on beds, they were still cruising. What made the area so good, he said, was a dark-bottom depression that was warmed faster than other areas of the lake. "They were kind of staging on dark-bottom lily-pad stalks," he noted. "The water was 4 to 5 degrees warmer in there than in the river. In a few more days the fish will really be ready to go." He cranked the first 3 days, but when it got cold on the final day, he switched to a Senko and eventually to a spinnerbait.

Cranking gear: 7'5" medium-heavy Powell cranking rod (glass), Abu Garcia Revo Premier casting reel, 17-pound Suffix Elite mono (camo), Mann's Baby 1-minus (red craw).

He threw the Gary Yamamoto Senko in two colors - watermelon/red and black/blue. His spinnerbait was a 1/4-ounce Hildebrandt in chartreuse/white with small, silver Colorados.

Main Factor: "Probably the water temperature, and knowing the area fairly well and being able to get back there."

Performance Edge: "It was probably my Minn Kota trolling motor. It pulled me across sandbars for 3 days. That 36-volt did a great job and it dragged that Ranger across a bunch of stuff. And I actually had to use a marker buoy to jack the motor up even more - it was still scrubbing bottom in about half the places on the way in. It's a Maxxum 101."

Norman Patterns 2-5 March 30, 2010. Bassfan (http://www.bassfan.com/news_article.asp?id=3569).