Scott Dobson's Pattern, Baits & Gear
"I took the place where the middle channel dumps out and where the north channel dumps out and drew a circle around it," he said. "The post-spawn fish move into the current where the water's a little cooler. They're in predictable places and I like casting to targets. "I fished divots, seams and breaks in the current and a log here or a boulder there." Most of the fish were sitting in the 10-foot depth range or shallower. He caught them with a combination of a jerkbait, a dropshot rig, a tube, a swimbait and a crankbait. "These weights were the best I've ever seen in an event here," he said. "They were just insane!"
Gear:
Jerkbait gear: 6'8" medium-action Dobyns 684 CB rod, Shimano Metanium MGL (7.5:1 ratio) or Shimano Core (7:1) casting reel, unnamed 12- or 14-pound fluorocarbon line, Lucky Craft Pointer 100 (chartreuse shad) or Megabass Vision 110 + 1 (pearl/chartreuse).
Dropshot gear: 7' medium action Dobyns 703 spinning rod, Shimano Stradic Ci4+ spinning reel, 10-pound PowerPro Maxcuatro braided line (main line), 10-pound unnamed fluorocarbon leader, 1/0 Gamakatsu Split Shot/Drop Shot hook, discontinued Jackall Eye Shad (pearl), 3/8-ounce Provider Tackle cylindrical weight.
Swimbait gear: 7'3" medium-heavy Dobyns 734 rod, Shimano Core casting reel (7:1 ratio), unnamed 12-pound fluorocarbon line, 3/8-ounce ball-head jig, Keitech 3.8 or 3.3 (sexy shad).
The tube he used was a Provider Tackle model (green-pumpkin with copper and gold).
The lone crankbait fish he weighed was enticed by a deep-running Duo Realis 100 (twilight).
Main factor: "My plan was to catch 22 to 23 pounds every day. The only thing that hurt me was the amount of fish already out (on the main lake) and a handful of guys finding mega-schools of them."
Performance edge: "I used my Power-Poles and the Spot-Lock on my Minn Kota trolling motor a lot every day."
FLW Tour St. Clair Patterns 2-5 BassFan 7/6/18 (John Johnson)
