Rick Clunn's Pattern, Baits & Gear

Rick Clunn was in 79th place after day 1, then made huge moves up the standings sheet on each of the next 2 days with monstrous sacks. His day-3 bag was the best of the tournament and he likely would've captured his first tour-level victory since 2001 if he hadn't come in two fish short of a limit on opening day, or if Combs hadn't caught a 7 1/2-pounder in the closing minutes of day 4. His failure to limit out on day 1 was not due to execution issues. Rather, he hadn't yet completely figured out what was going on in his best area, which was just a short boat ride from the launch in Zapata, Texas. While most of the field was catching post-spawn fish that were headed from shallow water to the depths, he was on a horde of pre-spawners moving in the opposite direction. "When I weighed in on day 2, guys were looking in my bag and saying, 'Dang, yours don't look like they've spawned,''' he said. "They must've been moving up on this last full moon and they might've been part of the last wave (of the year). The majority of the big ones all came off one spot and nobody else was even attempting to fish it." He had to relocate the fish several times throughout the event. "One thing to remember at this time of year when you're catching on structure: If the fish are fat, they're going to leave you. If they're skinny, they're coming to you and that's where you need to stay." It wasn't until about 1:30 on day 1, without a single fish in his livewell, that he realized exactly what he had. He pulled a 7-pounder and a 3 from the deep end of the point with a big crankbait, and then moved up higher and caught another keeper on a square-bill. He tried the deeper stuff again on day 2, to no avail. The 92-plus pounds he took to the stage over the final 3 days all came from the top of the point. "There was a bush here and a bush there, and that's where they were setting up to try to spawn," he said. "I never did catch another one out there deep, but that was how I'd found the spot (in practice)." His retrieve of the square-bill was quite specific. "The key was you had to burn it into the bush and then stop it, then burn it another 5 feet and stop it again, and then do the same thing again. Most of them hit it on that second stop. If they hit it in the bush, you just had to try to fight them out of it." He said the front that moved in and brought the violent winds that caused the postponement of day 4 made things much more difficult once the final round finally got under way on Monday. The water visibility had gone from about a foot to perhaps an inch. "I knew anything I caught before noon was going to be a bonus. The wind had died and everything finally settled at 1 o'clock when (the visibility) got back to about 6 inches. "I just ran out of time. If that had all happened by noon like I was hoping it would, I would've won it."

Cranking gear: 7' medium-action fiberglass Wright & McGill Rick Clunn Signature Series rod, inshore saltwater reel (6.2:1 ratio), 17-pound XL monofilament line, Luck-E-Strike Series Series 3 crankbait (copper green shad). "That's a bream color and it's good anytime around the spawn," he said of the bait. "Fish that are spawning hate bream." He replaced the stock hooks on his square-bill with 1/0 extra-strong Eagle Claw trebles to prevent bending while wrestling with giant fish in brush. "I would've used a TroKar, but they don't make a hook like that yet," he said. The larger bait that produced his first two fish of the tournament and with which he found his primary area during practice was a Luck-E-Strike Freak. He said he pulled off his fish when he had 34 pounds and some change on day 3 and began working some perimeter stuff with a jig and shaking off the bites. One fish wouldn't come unstuck - an 8-plus-pounder that resulted in a 2-pound cull.

Main factor: "Having that spot to myself and being able to make those transitions along with the fish."

Performance edge: "That glass rod is just a miracle rod for that type of fishing - it does things no other rod can do. It just hooks the fish and fights them so well. Also the Power-Poles because I could move here and move and stop and pick the place apart. I'd have won at least six more events if I'd had them my whole career. You can do so much more fishing."

Falcon Patterns 2-5 Bassfan 3/27/13 (John Johnson)