Jesse Wiggins Wins Bassmaster Open Smith Lake
He won the first Bassmaster Southern Open of the year at the Harris Chain of Lakes in Florida, which qualified him for the 2018 Bassmaster Clasic;
He finished 3rd in his first Elite Series tournament at Cherokee Lake;
He competed in his first Bassmaster Classic at Lake Conroe;
He cashed checks in seven Elite Series tournaments and wound up 37th in Angler of the Year points and fourth among rookies. Suffice to say, things went way better than Wiggins anticipated and he capped it off last week with another Southern Open win, this time at his home waters of Smith Lake, where he won a Southern Open last year. His 3-day total of 39-15 was right in line with what he figured it would take to win and he wound up beating several current and former tour-level pros for this third career Open victory. He said the latest triumph is special because he got to end a special season on a high note. "The one I won last year, I knew I needed to win it in order to fish the Elites," he said. "I wasn't nervous, but more was on the line. This one was an opportunity to earn some money and end the year on a good not. I knew if I fished what I knew I'd get a couple of opportunities to catch some decent fish. I capitalized on all but one and it worked out. "I couldn't have asked for a better start and end to my rookie year. Bookending it with Open wins, it's been awesome." Wiggins, a native of Addison, Ala., says any time he competes at Smith he fishes to win.
"Any tournament there I want to win it," he said. "I get just as jacked up for a Saturday morning jackpot as I do for the Opens. I love that lake because I know I can win there." Last week, he opted to stay away from the deeper fish suspended over and around points. He knew from past experience that boat traffic and fishing pressure can spook those fish. Instead, he focused on docks and rocky banks - classic shallow patterns at Smith - and mixed in some deeper points that no one else was fishing. "It was just fall fishing," Wiggins said. "The water was down and there were not many bites to be had."
Practice:
Past experience in the fall at Smith helped Wiggins formulate his game plan for the Open. He and brother Jordan have competed in the Smith Lake Park Bass Fest tournament, held in early October. They won the tournament in 2014 and netted top-5 finishes each of the last two years. "We always did well shallow and everybody fishing deep never caught them," Wiggins said. "The boat pressure always gets to them." When he started practice last week, he tried some deep-water areas and had little to no success. "I knew not to mess with it," he said. "I didn't fish shallow in practice because I figured I'd need that for tournament. I pretty much wrote off deep stuff."
He put in three days of practice immediately before the tournament. He and Jordan shared information on what they found. Both concluded the shallow bite would trump the deep bite. "We think the exact same way on that lake," Jesse said. "In team tournaments, we both think about same the place before we talk about moving. "We have to plan out our stops so we're not fishing behind each other because I do not want to fish behind him." Their hunch was that the suspended fish would receive the most fishing pressure so they decided to focus on other options they knew once competition got started. Jesse, however, did locate one point that wasn't being fished that proved productive in the tournament. "We stayed deep to make sure that deal wasn't going on," he said. "The shallow pattern was in our back pocket. We weren't fishing to get a check. We were fishing to win. I was willing to risk getting those one or two key bites and figuring out a way to get a limit."
Competition:
When competition began last Thursday, Wiggins started his day with a decent keeper off the point he had to himself then added two more on a buzzbait. Once the sun got high enough, he threw a shaky-head around shallow docks with 2 to 7 feet of water and brush around them. He also threw a square-bill crankbait parallel to rocky, channel swing banks toward the back of a creek arm. "Just 45-degree banks with chunk rock on them," he said. He said the 80-degree water is typical for this time of year, but he still had to grind out bites. He finished the day with eight keepers and tallied 15-02. "I was very happy with that start," he added. He followed the same plan on Friday, only he waited to hit docks until about 11 a.m. It turned out to be more of a grind as he collected just six keeper bites. He fished all new water with his buzzbait - rocky banks and isolated laydowns. "Anything with shade," Wiggins said.
His afternoon cranking program saw him rely on a few stretches that held fish each day. Still, his 11-05 was enough to push him into the lead entering the final day with a 26-07 total. "I was a little disappointed," he said. "I lost two good ones that would've put me a good ways up. I still had a two-pound lead so I felt fortunate." He went out on the final day with designs on catching 17 pounds and running away with the win. He said he lost a couple more fish that would've put him in that neighborhood. "I never thought I had it won," he said. "I just wanted to catch as much as I could and let it fall where it falls." His early-morning stop on a deep point yielded two quality keepers that took some of the pressure off. "I knew I just needed to fill out a limit and I'd have a chance," he said. "That got me off to a really good start." From there, he rode his shaky-head and shallow cranking strategy to the win with 13-08 on day 3. "All three days, I kept my boat in shallower water and it worked out," he added.
Winning Gear:
Buzzbait gear: 7' medium-heavy St. Croix Avid X casting rod, Shimano Curado 70 casting reel, 50-pound Seaguar Smackdown braided line, 1/4-oz. Cumberland Pro Lures buzzbait (black and white), Zoom Horny Toad trailer (black and white).
Wiggins removed the skirt from the buzzbait and threaded on the Horny Toad.
Shaky-head gear: 7' medium-heavy St. Croix Legend Elite spinning rod, Shimano Stradic Ci4+ spinning reel, 15-pound Seaguar Smackdown braided line, 12-pound Seaguar InvizX fluorocarbon line (leader), homemade 3/16-oz. shaky-head jig, Zoom Fluke Stick (green-pumpkin).
Cranking gear: 6'10" medium-heavy St. Croix Legend Glass casting rod, Shimano Chronarch casting reel (6.4:1 ratio), 12-pound Seaguar InvizX fluorocarbon line, Jenko Fishing CD15 (flaming craw).
Wiggins swapped the stock hooks on the square-bill to #4 Owner ST-36 trebles.
The Bottom Line:
Main factor: "Just knowing the lake really well."
Performance edge: "My T-H Marine Atlas Jack Plate. I was able to run some shallow water in the back of a creek and was able to get in and out by jacking my engine up."
Notable:
Wiggins now has 16 money finishes in 21 career B.A.S.S. tournaments.
Bassmaster Open Smith Lake Winning Pattern BassFan 10/3/17 (Todd Ceisner)
