Randall Tharp's Pattern, Baits & Gear
Once the tournament began, though, he realized he was on a dying pattern. During day 1, he was able to call his shots as he dissected cover in shallow water areas. He worked a jig methodically through cover, hopping it once or twice before making another presentation. Midway through day 2, his gut told him he needed to make a change if he hoped to stay in the mix. "When I pulled up on my best spot first thing and I never even saw a fish on my first pass, it was my greatest nightmare," he said. "When I made a pass on my best stretch this morning, I knew it was done. I did not get a bite in a place that I could call my shots on the last two days."
He found the spot, which was actually one of Aaron Martens' back-up areas, that propelled him to the top during the last half hour of day 2 and that clued him into what he might be doing Sunday after boating a 2- and 3-pound fish from it. "The rising water was the greatest challenge of the tournament as not a single person knew what it was going to do to the fish. It's all about adapting and overcoming and continuing to practice throughout the event," Tharp said. He found another area on day 4 that had largemouth sitting in protected eddies where bait was being brought to them "almost like a conveyor belt."
Before the tournament started it was on dry land. His sole regret of the tournament is that he didn't pull the plug on his initial plan earlier on day 2. "I've won tournaments by being stubborn, but I think I'm a little smarter and wiser and my instincts might be better than they used to be," he added. "I used to stick with a dying pattern when I knew deep down it was going away and now, the second I know it's going away I change. When your confidence goes, you need to be changing and I'm better at it now than I used to be. "From the first cast I make, if I don't think I'm going to catch a bass, I'm going to leave. That's the way I fish now, and I never used to do that because I didn't know any better."
Jig gear: 7'6" heavy action Ark Rods Randall Tharp Honey Badger Series (King Cobra model) casting rod, Lew's Super Duty casting reel (7.5:1 gear ratio), 17-pound prototype Suffix Advanced fluorocarbon line, 7/16-oz. 4x4 jig with custom skirt (green pumpkin/red flake) Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Craw trailer (green-pumpkin).
Main factor: "The biggest reason I was there is because I kept an open mind and fished new water every day."
Performance edge: "My signature series flipping stick. I feel that it's the best one out there and it gave me the edge as I never put it down."
Bassmaster Elite Tour Mississippi River 2-5 Patterns BassFan 6/27/18 (Jonathan LePera)
