Roy Hawk Wins MLF Toyota Series Western Division at Havasu

Melton caught a few fish with a Money crankbait - a mid-depth offering from 1776 Baits - in the convict craw color. He did most of his damage pitching a wacky-rigged worm to fish he could see, either with his eyes or his electronics. When the sun got high in the sky, Melton used his Oakley shades to spot fish bedding and cruising, and he caught them with both a 4-inch Yamamoto senko and a thin senko in green pumpkin. He returned to those fish that wouldn't eat on Day 1 and used his forward-facing sonar to make presentations to them from farther away.

Lassagne used finesse tactics to ply those points but changed baits each day. On Day 1, he sacked 20-9 primarily on the strength of a 3.3-inch Keitech Swing Impact Fat swimbait in sexy shad affixed to a 3/16-ounce ballhead. Finding the fish more finicky on the second day, he switched to a drop-shot, which he made with a 3/16-ounce weight, a Gamakatsu EWG hook and a 6-inch Roboworm straight tail worm in the M.M. III color. Finally, on Day 3, he switched to a Ned rig using a Z-Man TRD TicklerZ in the deal affixed to a 3/16-ounce mushroom head. Lassagne threw all three baits on Okuma Psycho Stick spinning rods paired with Okuma ITX 3000 reels.

Kyle used a typical West Coast approach, throwing a drop-shot at the artificial habitat that has been sunk around the lake. Grover affixed a 6-inch Roboworm straight tail worm in oxblood to his drop-shot. He wielded it on a 7-3 St. Croix Legend Tournament spinning rod with a Daiwa Certate reel spooled with braided main line to an 8-pound fluorocarbon leader.

Caruso spotted a few fish on beds that he caught with a small, white tube. His primary bait was a drop-shot with a 4.5-inch Roboworm straight tail worm in M.M. III. He estimated 80% of the fish he weighed ate the drop-shot, which he wielded on a Megabass Destroyer Addermine rod paired with a Daiwa Exist 3000 reel.

Miser started each morning targeting submerged grass with both a lipless crankbait and a Z-Man Evergreen Jack Hammer ChatterBait in the green shad color with a disco green Yamamoto Zako trailer. When that bite died, he ran even shallower and fished tules. For his frogging, Miser used a Spro Bronzeye 65 in green pumpkin. He also tossed a discontinued swim jig with a green pumpkin Strike King Rage Menace as a trailer and rotated through a handful of flipping baits.

Zach Verbrugge celebrated his 20th birthday with a seventh-place finish and a paycheck on his home lake. He used a 1/4- or 5/16-ounce Vivid Tungsten weight with about a foot-and-a-half of 10- or 12-pound test to a 3-inch Berkley Chigger Craw. Verbrugge believes the bass were not only using the brushpiles to stage and recuperate after the spawn, but some were guarding fry. He could see the clouds of fry on his Garmin LiveScope, and in that case, he reached for a drop-shot. His rig consisted of a lemonade-colored finesse worm and a 1/4-ounce Vivid Tungsten weight on 7-pound fluorocarbon leader.

Shane caught several key fish on an unnamed glide bait. He also caught a few each morning on a Lobina Rico topwater in ghost. He targeted offshore fish with a pair of drop-shots on Daiwa Steez AGS rods. When casting at the cages or brushpiles, he used an Owner cover shot hook to rig his bait weedless, opting for a 7-1, medium Utility Player rod. If he spotted an individual fish on his forward-facing sonar, he would switch to a nose-hooked bait on a 7-1, medium-light Finesse Game Special. In both instances, Edgar tied 15-pound braid to an 8-pound fluorocarbon leader. He utilized a couple of plastics - a 3.75-inch Curly Tail Minnow from Arizona Custom Baits in dusty craw and a 4.5-inch Roboworm curl tail worm in oxblood light red flake.

Kerr utilized both a crankbait and a drop-shot. He threw an Evergreen CR-16 plug and a 4.5-inch Roboworm curl tail worm in oxblood on the drop-shot, using Evergreen rods and Daiwa reels for both applications.

Bonjour started the event bed fishing in the shallows. He flipped a Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Creature Hawg both to fish he could see guarding beds and to likely pieces of cover. He used a drop-shot and a jighead minnow to target fish that he spotted on forward-facing sonar. His drop-shot bait of choice was a 6-inch Roboworm straight tail worm in the people's worm color, which he hooked wacky style. He threw a variety of soft-plastic minnows but mainly relied on a Rapala CrushCity Freeloader, which he affixed to both 1/16- and 1/8-ounce heads. Bonjour used Stealth Stixx rods, opting for the Pillager model (7-5, heavy) for his flipping and both the Lil Pete (7-1, medium-light) and Skinny Pete (7-2, medium) for his spinning rod applications. He used Seaguar Smackdown braid to flip and as his main line on the spinning setups, attaching Seaguar Tatsu fluorocarbon leaders.