Skeet Reese's Pattern, Baits & Gear

After scrambling on day 1, Skeet Reese settled into a rhythm with a one-two combo of a swimjig and Carolina rig, much like Feider. With his top-5 finish, Reese moved up high enough in the points standings to clinch a berth in next year's Bassmaster Classic. He'd started in Pool 9, but rising water chased him back to Pool 8 where he got dialed in on the swimjig/Carolina rig pattern. "I did almost all of my practice with one bait - a swimjig - to find schools of fish positioned in the grass," he said. "I was looking for areas where the current was pushing up onto sand and harder bottom. Then there'd be a grass line. "Those fish would sit right in front of the grass with the current hitting it. Most everything I found was in 2 to 5 feet of water. I just covered a lot of water." Once he'd locate a group of fish with the swimjig, he'd comb the area with a Carolina-rigged lizard. "I sat on one school (Sunday) and caught 30 fish out of it," he said. "When you get them, it's fun."

Swim Jig gear: 7' medium-action Wright & McGill Skeet S-Curve casting rod, Wright & McGill Victory 2 casting reel (6.3:1 ratio), Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon line, Lethal Weapon 2 swimjig (pearl blue), unnamed trailer.

Carolina rig gear: 7'6" medium-action Wright & McGill Skeet Victory Pro Carbon casting rod, same reel, 20-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon line, 3/4-oz. unnamed sinker, 12-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon line (leader), 4/0 Lazer TroKar worm hook, 6" Berkley Havoc Boss Dog (green-pumpkin). He said color selection wasn't a big part of the equation. "It didn't matter," he said. "Once you found the school and got them fired up, if it was green-pumpkin, you could throw it out there and they'd eat it. That part was fun. I caught probably close to 200 fish this week. That's amazing. It's not every week you can do that."

Mississippi River 2-5 Patterns BassFan 9/14/16 (Todd Ceisner)