David Dudley's Pattern, Baits & Gear
David Dudley's program was pretty simple: He sought out rocky areas that were taking a beating from the wind. He caught most of his fish on a crankbait, but a shaky-head produced some that he took to the scale.
"That's a no-brainer when you come up here," he said. "I moved around some from stained to clear water and I ended up staying more in the clear. The fish were all pre-spawn in 8 to 12 feet of water and medium-sized rock seemed to be the best."
He made relatively few casts in practice.
"I fished just enough to know what was going on, like what stage the fish they were in and what they were doing. Once I figured that out, I kind of backed off. My feelings on that are if you fish too hard in practice in a weather-dominated tournament, you might not catch them that day and you'll rule that place out.
"Practicing that way let me do what my instincts told me to do in the tournament."
The 16-09 sack he caught on the final day was the biggest of the event.
Cranking gear: 7'3" medium-heavy Lamiglass rod, unnamed casting reel (7.1:1 ratio), 8-pound Gamma fluorocarbon line, unnamed crawfish-imitation crankbait (various greenish or reddish colors).
Shaky-head gear: 7'1" medium-heavy Lamiglass rod, unnamed spinning reel, 6-pound Gamma fluorocarbon, 1/8- or 3/16-ounce jighead, unnamed 4-inch finesse worm (watermelon red). He added one weigh-in fish on a jerkbait.
Main factor: "The way I practiced."
Performance edge: "Probably the Lowrance mapping and having confidence in my (Mercury) motor."
Beaver 2-5 Patterns Bassfan 4/16/14 (John Johnson)
