James Watson's Pattern, Baits & Gear

Nobody in the Top 10 had a better weekend than James Watson. He caught more than 43 pounds over the final 2 days, including the biggest bass of his life on Day 3. He parlayed that strong finish into a career-best Tour finish. He was the lone finalist to catch 20 pounds three times during the event. He paired a random morning open-water moving bait pattern with an afternoon flipping strategy to average just over 20 pounds a day. "This year, I fished a lot more open water hydrilla than ever before," he said. "I gave zero effort to hyacinth mats or other big things. I didn't punch at all in the tournament." During practice, the flipping bite didn't turn on until the afternoon, so he filled his mornings with plenty of casts with a spinnerbait, a Zoom Speed Worm or a swimbait. "In the morning, it was just totally random," he said. "I'd see something and think I needed to burn a spinnerbait over there or a swimbait over here. If I went 20 minutes without a bite on something, I knew it was time to try something else. "I was covering a lot of water and was fan casting areas with an abundance of hydrilla and eelgrass. The bites I got on moving baits came where there was a mix of hydrilla and eelgrass." As he fished, he said he'd do laps, starting on the outside edge, then working through the middle before fishing along the reed lines. When he got to a section of reeds, he'd throw his bait into them and slowly bring it out. "That made it more difficult because most of the bites would come right on the inside," he said. "I couldn't parallel the reeds because those fish wouldn't come out to get it."

Flipping gear: 7'10" extra-heavy Waft Iron Feather casting rod, Johnny Morris CarbonLite casting reel (7.1:1 ratio), 65-pound Maxima Ultragreen braided line, 1-oz. Medlock double weedguard flipping jig (black/blue), Zoom Big Salty Chunk trailer (black/blue).

Spinnerbait gear: 7'6" extra-heavy Waft Iron Feather casting rod, Pro Qualifier casting reel (7.1:1 ratio), 20-pound Maxima Ultragreen monofilament line, 1/2-oz. War Eagle spinnerbait (gold shiner).

Main factor: "Shooting from the hip and throwing a particular bait at the right time for nothing but a random reason. We used to say in the Army, 'Adapt and overcome,' and that's what I did."

Performance edge: "My Bass Pro Shops super-fast CarbonLite reel and that 65-pound Maxima braid. I fell in love with that braid. It's the same braid I used when I won at Table Rock."

Lake Okeechobee 2-5 Patterns Bassfan 2/12/14 (Todd Ceisner)