Trey Schroeder Wins Bassmaster Open at Tombigbee River

Browning rotated between a bladed jig and squarebill crankbait. A favored bait was this 3/8-ounce Z-Man Tungsten ChatterBait Elite EVO with a Z-Man RaZor ShadZ for a trailer. Browning also used this Megabass S-Crank 1.5 for covering shallow water wood and rock.

Thomas focused early on a shad spawn before shifting to cover specific areas of isolated cover for staging prespawn largemouth. Leading off his lineup was this Zoom Original Speed Worm, rigged on a 4/0 Gamakatsu EWG Offset Worm Hook with a 1/4-ounce sinker. A primary lure for enticing reaction strikes was this buzzbait with a Zoom Horny Toad for a trailer. Thomas also used the new Strike King Tumbleweed.

Kenney focused on isolated cover by swimming a jig. His primary lure was this unnamed 1/2-ounce jig with a Missile Baits D Bomb.

A pair of swim jigs were the payoff baits for Duvall. Sunshine to concentrate his prespawn bass tighter to cover was key. Duvall keyed on his fish with a 1/2-ounce Dirty Jig with Zoom Super Chunk. Alternatively, Duvall used a 1/2-ounce Dirty Jigs No-Jack Swim Jig with a Zoom Super Chunk.

Adams used a three-prong approach with a flipping package, swim jig and frog. A primary bait for heavy cover was this 6th Sense Bongo 3.7 on a 3/0 Spearpoint Fury Flip Hook, with a 5/16-ounce weight. A noise clacker was added between the weight and hook for strike appeal in the muddy water. For suspended bass he used a 1/4-ounce Davis Baits Elite Swim Jig with a 6th Sense Stroker Craw 3.3 for a trailer. For topwater action in heavy vegetation he used a 6th Sense Vega Hush Frog, adding rattles to the body for strike appeal in the muddy water.

Buck alternated between a flipping package, bladed jig and crankbait. His primary bait was this Z-Man Bang StickZ, rigged on a 4/0 Hayabusa FPP Straight Hook, with a 1/4-ounce Angler Tungsten Weight. To cover water, he used the new 3/8-ounce Z-Man ChatterBait JackHammer Baby Jack, with a Z-Man ChatterShadZ for a trailer. For wood and rock, Buck relied on this Bill Lewis ATV 2.5 squarebill crankbait, switching out the stock hooks for Hayabusa TBL930 trebles.

Stahl flipped heavy cover and isolated mats of vegetation for prespawn largemouth on the move. His main setup was this Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Creature Hawg, rigged on a 4/0 hook with a 5/16-ounce tungsten weight. For punching mats, he used this Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Creature Hawg, rigged on a 4/0 hook with a 1-ounce weight. For a finesse approach, Stahl used a 3/8-ounce Berkley Swim Jig with a Berkley MaxScent Stank-Bug.

Lane keyed on isolated cover and transition areas for prespawn largemouth. A 1/4-ounce Buckeye Buzzerk with a 3-inch Big Bite Baits Cane Thumper was a hot bait for him. For slower presentations Lane used a Big Bite Baits Real Deal Swimjig, also with a 3-inch Big Bite Baits Cane Thumper.

Nichols alternated between a flipping rig and swim jig for wood and vegetation in shallow water. A Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver, rigged on a 5/0 Owner Beast Hook, with a 1.25-ounce weight, specifically chosen for punching through heavy cover, was a favorite for Nick. To cover water, he used this 5/16-ounce Dirty Jigs Swim Jig with a NetBait Paca Slim.