Jacob Powroznik's Winning Pattern, Baits & Gear
Powroznik said his practice period was "pretty good," but it was difficult for most everyone to get a feel for how the lake would fish later in the week because the wind was unforgiving all through the 2 1/2 days of practice. It didn't take Powroznik long to discover that fish were scattered from the bank out to the grass lines, but it was Tuesday when he put most of his eggs in the sight-fishing basket. "I knew on Tuesday that's what I was going to do," he said. "I never made a cast all day. I had one bite off a bed and it was a 5-pounder that I went back and caught on day 2 of the event. I looked all day from 30 minutes after daylight to almost dark." On Wednesday, he stumbled on a morning shad spawn and was able to generate a high volume of bites on a jerkbait (he had removed the hooks) and a spinnerbait made by a friend of his in Virginia. "Once I found a couple of those places, I put it on the trailer around 10 a.m.," he said. "I just got sick of the wind so I went in and got my stuff ready." As practice wound down, the forecast for the tournament days showed little in the way of wind and a couple cooler nights. That had Powroznik licking his chops because he knew the bedding fish would probably stay put and more were likely on their way. "Those cooler night hurt the shad deal, but it kept the bass up there and still coming," he said. "I could tell new waves of fish have moved in on day 2."
Competition:
Powroznik had most of his weight before 11 a.m. each of the first 2 days as he had field days with the jerkbait and finished his limits sight-fishing. He was one of 13 anglers with 20-plus pounds on day 1 and his 24-14 had him in 3rd right off the bat. He followed that up with 23-06 on day 2, again feasting on the schooling fish that were keying on shad and finishing off his bag with bedding fish. As the tournament wore one, he was confident more fish would continue to move onto beds. "I'd go back into the same pockets and even though I'd been through it, I'd 100 yards and find a new one had moved up," he said. "It wasn't a dying pattern because more fish kept coming." The early-morning jerkbait bite, however, started to fizzle on day 3. He also wasn't able to lure any big ones off their nests and his 11-13 stringer dropped him to 2nd, about 2 1/2 pounds behind Dean Rojas entering the final day. He caught one on the jerkbait early on Sunday and then moved around to some areas with deeper grass that he flipped with a jig. "The jerkbait thing I knew was like beating a dead horse," he said. "I knew it was going away, but when you catch two 7s and a 5 doing it, it's hard not to at least try it. Plus, it was so close to the ramp." He caught two on the jig, added another on a wacky-rigged worm, but five of his keepers came off beds, including the 7-13 brute that started his afternoon rally and the 5-pounder that sealed the win on his final flip of the day. As the final day wore on and he didn't have a big fish in the boat, he said his mind started to wander. "I wasn't giving up, but I started to think I was letting it slip through my finger," he said. "So I sat down for a minute and got my wits and ate a Snickers. I went another 20 minutes and found that big one. (Catching her) was a real high. After I caught that, I was fired up."
Winning Gear:
Sight-fishing gear: 8' heavy-action Abu Garcia Villain casting rod and 7'11" heavy-action Abu Garcia Veritas casting rod, Abu Garcia Revo MGX casting reel (7.1:1 gear ratio), 20- and 25-pound Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon line, 1/2-oz. Elite Tungsten flipping weight, 4/0 Mustad Denny Brauer Grip Pin Max Flippin' Hook, Berkley PowerBait Power Hawg (green-pumpkin and redbug).
Jerkbait gear: 7' medium-action Abu Garcia Veritas casting rod, same reel, 10- and 12-pound Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon line, unnamed jerkbait (shad patterns).
The spinnerbait he threw during practice was made by Mr. Sooperbass Tackle Company based in Church Road, Va.
Main factor: "Making the right decisions and knowing when to bag it on the shad spawn and decide to go sight-fighting. Some guys stayed out and jerked around for a lot longer, but once I sensed it was time to move in, I said, 'Heck with it I'm going to go sight-fishing.' In the end, it turned out to be the right move."
Performance edge: "My PowerPoles. If not for them, I wouldn't have been able to catch what I caught during the tournament. Also, my Amphibia sunglasses were key for me. They're the best glasses I've ever put on."
Toledo Bend Winning Pattern Bassfan 5/6/14 (Todd Ceisner)
