FLW Tour 2016 Lake Hartwell Top-10 Baits

John Cox Wins FLW Hartwell

John "What's a Depth Finder" Cox of Florida won the second event of the 2016 FLW Tour held on Lake Hartwell over the weekend. Cox, who famously fished the 2015 season without electronic graphs on his boat, utilized another backwater - as he did when he won on the Red River - to capture the win with a final day weight of 16lbs 2oz that pushed his total weight to 67lbs 6oz and edge 2nd place angler Clark Wendlandt by just 7oz. Running his aluminum boat as he has for much of his time on the FLW Tour, Cox was able to access the pond by floating over a very shallow sandbar that blocks the pond from the main river.

Cox's Arsenal:

For the first three days, Cox utilized wacky-rigged, green pumpkin and watermelon colored worms including 5" Yamamoto Senkos and Zoom Trick Worms that he skipped under docks where fish were most likely spawning. He employed a 2 power spinning rod with 10lb braid tied to a 10lb fluorocarbon leader. On the final day, Cox transitioned to a black/blue Z-Man Chatterbait and a Strike King Rage Menace to catch all of the fish inside his little backwater area.

FLW Hartwell Top-10 Baits

You're going to see a lot of that. That, pictured above, being a wacky rigged Senko or, more generally speaking, a stickbait. Most of the top-10 used some form of a wacky rigged soft plastic stickbait to haul in their catch this week. In fact the top 7 anglers all used it as some piece of their gameplan, but obviously the baits they chose to employ varied. Let's take a look at some of the anglers' choices:

2nd Place - Clark Wendlandt

Clark Wendlandt elected to fish a few soft plastic baits during the event including a Strike King Flipping Tube for bedding bass. When he wasn't directly looking at the fish, he opted for a wacky rigged Strike King Ocho or Strike King Shim-E-Stick.

3rd Place - Jamie Horton

Former BASS Elite Series angler Jamie Horton utilized the relatively new Reaction Innovations Pocket Rocket rigged with the same wacky style used by a majority of the anglers.

4th Place - Jeff Gustafson

Canadian Jeff Gustafson primarily fished a wacky-rigged Yamamoto Senko, but also mixed in a Jackall Dowzvido 90SP jerkbait in a matte pearl white color.

10th Place - Powell Kemp

One of the few pros in the top-10 not throwing a wacky-rig, Powell Kemp of North Carolina, fished a Zoom Lizard, Zoom UV Speed Craw and ball head jig with a Netbait Paca Chunk trailer in a matching color. Check out the full rundown of baits on FLWFishing.com

New Shimano Curado 70 Reels In Stock

New Shimano Curado 70 Reels

When the situation calls for pitching, flipping, or casting light lures, anglers are now offered the a compact size in the new Shimano Curado 70 reels, available in both right- and left-hand retrieve and two gear ratios. The line-up includes the Curado 70HG and left-hand 71HG with 7.2:1 gear ratios, and the even faster retrieve Curado 70XG and 71XG, each with 8.2:1 gear ratios. All four reels feature a compact, lightweight durable Hagane body design, weighing it at 6.5-ounces for all-day, in-hand fishing comfort.

The Curado 70 reels are equipped with Shimano’s innovative SVS Infinity braking system to provide easy-to-manage, consistent spool control and brake force. SVS Infinity controls spool speed especially when using lighter lures, plus the external adjustment knob allows quick, precise adjustments when conditions change or switching baits.

Through Shimano’s Stabile Spool Design (S3D) that includes a thin wall aluminum spool to provide better balance, anglers will notice less spool vibration. Add in five S-ARB anti-rust ball bearings, and a one-way roller bearing for absolutely no handle backplay, plus Shimano’s X-Ship for even more smoothness and durability, and anglers can expect enhanced casting performance for longer casts – a welcome benefit when using lighter lures.

With the choice of two gear ratios, anglers can reel in 28-inches of line with 7.2:1 HG models, and 32-inches with the higher speed 8.2:1 XG reels. And speaking of line, the Curado 70 reels will handle from 105 yards of 10-pound test monofilament or fluorocarbon line and up to 70 yards of 14-pound test. When used with standard PowerPro braid, the reels will hold 115 yards of 20-pound and up to 80 yards of 40-pound test.

A long standard among both bass and inshore anglers, Shimano’s Curado reels “are just so extremely versatile for all kinds of bass catching techniques,” said noted angler Mark Zona. “Having had the opportunity to field-test the new Curado 70 reels, they are ideal for quick, accurate casts, or when you need to downsize your lure and still want to work lots of water.”

You can find the New Shimano Curado 70 Reels at Monster Fishing Tackle before any other retailer.

2016 Bassmaster Classic Recap

All about the Classic

Talk about a comeback! Edwin Evers saved the best for last and absolutely crushed the field bringing in a final day limit of 29lbs 3oz en route to capturing the 2016 Bassmaster Classic crown. The event, held in Oklahoman Evers' backyard, was predicted to be an absolute slugfest, but turned out to be a tale of tough fishing conditions and low weights for all of the anglers, even Evers who nearly blew his shot at the classic when he only managed four fish on day one of the tournament.

At a glance, Evers' 10lb margin of victory makes his win look easy, but that was absolutely not the case. Heading in to the final day, and even halfway through the morning, it appeared as if another local, Jason Christie, would lay claim to the win, however, a flurry by Evers and some unsolicited information changed things rather quickly. After two days of fishing, Christie held a lead of 5lbs 11oz over his nearest pursuer and greater 6lbs over eventual winner Evers. All week Christie had made it clear he was not one of the many anglers who desired windy conditions, plainly stating it to anyone that would listen and on the final day, that's exactly what he got. Sustained winds and a large gallery of spectators almost certainly gave him trouble, but it might have been another incident that will go down in history as a deciding factor when fans look back on this classic.

After Evers had already boxed a significant portion of his monstrous bag, Christie came upon some shoreline spectators who told him he was down. When Christie commented he was probably 4lbs back, the spectator said, "no, Evers has 25lbs." Watching this unfold on Bassmaster Live, you could clearly see that Christie was rattled. As he spun his boat he inadvertently bumped boats with another spectator before starting to question what he had just heard. Prior to this information being given, Christie had clearly stated he had absolutely no desire to know what anyone else had as it might change his fishing style, the style which he had ridden all week to a sizable lead. Once those thoughts crept into his head, he felt the need to confirm this information, but he couldn't get his phone to see the Basstrakk weights. [Just to be clear, this is entirely legal on the final day of BASS Elite Series events - it's a new allowance, but it is completely acceptable.] From that point on, he fished far more rapidly than he had all week long. He jumped spots quickly, fished faster and kept a dialogue going about the incident for a short while after.

Back to Evers

• Day 1: 13lbs 12oz (4 fish)
• Day 2: 17lbs 8oz
• Day 3: 29lbs 3oz
• Total: 60lbs 7oz

Evers had to battle to even stay in the event after a first day that saw nothing go as planned. He scrambled and managed to only catch four bass. According to Evers, it was fortunate he even managed those four as he said it was an absolutely brutal day of fishing. Day two he went into full on survival mode using a flipping stick and a spinnerbait to catch a really good bag of fish weighing 17 1/2lbs. Evers acknowledged this wasn't part of his plan going into the event and fished in this manner simply to stay in the event, he really didn't know if he could remain close enough to Christie to have a legitimate chance at winning, but that was the only way he could find to catch fish. On the final day, with the winds blowing hard, he went way up the Elk River to an area he caught a few big fish in practice. It didn't take him long to change the game completely, boating several fish over 4lbs by 10am and putting lots of distance between him and Day 2 leader Christie.

On the first day of the event, Evers used a Megabass Flap Slap to catch all of his fish. On the second day, evers changed up and flipped a Zoom Z-hog and tossed a white spinnerbait. The final day he turned to a 5/16oz homemade flat rubber jig which he pitched to wood far up the Elk River to fish that were using the laydowns and staging areas for the upcoming spawn.

2nd Place - Jason Christie

• Day 1: 20bs 14oz
• Day 2: 16lbs 11oz
• Day 3: 12lbs 9oz (4 fish)
• Total: 50lbs 2oz

While it ended up being a home-state angler who won the classic by a huge margin, it wasn't the angler most people thought would do it. After two days of fishing and a 5 1/2lb lead over 2nd, it appeared Grand Lake stick Jason Christie was going to blow this tournament out. Eight hours of fishing and an improbable bag were all that separated Christie from winning the sport's biggest title. Christie caught them really well on the first two days despite having a floatilla of spectators that often hindered his ability to fish his desired locations.

Each of the first two days of the tournament, Christie managed 8 bites fishing the shoreline with a 1oz Booyah Spinnerbait paired with a shad style swimbait trailer that resembled a Keitech 3.8" Swing Impact Fat. He fished the spinnerbait right up against the shore and worked it as slowly as he could given the weight of the lure. Despite most of the anglers fishing a spinnerbait during the event, Christie's choice was made somewhat unique given the size of the bait. He used a 1oz while most competitors fished a 3/8 - 1/2oz model. He believed the added size caused the inactive bass to make a decision, either eat the thing or get out of its way.

3rd Place - Aaron Martens

• Day 1: 13bs 8oz
• Day 2: 16lbs 13oz
• Day 3: 16lbs 0oz (4 fish)
• Total: 46lbs 5oz

Given his inconsistent practice, Aaron Martens wasn't quite sure what to expect come tournament day, but he did have a lot of confidence he could figure it out and make a run at the classic title. His practice consisted of a day without a single bite, another day with 2 bites and finally a day with over 40 bites. The 40 bite day came on the last day of practice and provided him with the strategy he would use for the entire tournament - he was going to shallow crank, and by shallow we mean inches to only 3 feet of water where the fish had pushed up and were feeding.

Like Evers, Martens had a tough opening day of the Classic managing just 13 1/2lbs. The frustration of the low weight was compounded by the fact he managed nearly 20 bites during day and hooked only 7 fish. Once the day was over, he immediately started changing out all of his Gamakatsu G-Finesse Treble Hooks for a larger size on all of the front hooks of his crankbaits. His next two days were much better in terms of hook-up ratio and his weighs reflected that improvement bagging nearly 3lbs more on each of the last two days of the tournament.

During the event, Martens used a Luhr Jensen Speed Trap in the Texas Shad Crystal, Bone Orange Belly and Brown Mud Crawfish for all of his cranking. He used his namesake Enigma Aaron's Edge Rods and Shimano Metanium Reels with 12lb Sunline Shooter Fluorocarbon.

4th Place - Bill Lowen

• Day 1: 16bs 9oz
• Day 2: 13lbs 15oz
• Day 3: 15lbs 3oz
• Total: 45lbs 11oz

Bill Lowen found ways to stick around the top-5 throughout the event with consistent bags of fish that never really catapulted him up the leaderboard or set him far behind either. Lowen fished very shallow all tournament using jigs and soft plastic tubes which he more or less crawled over the tops of rocks in water from 0 - 4ft of depth where bass were hanging out, but not aggressively feeding.

During the tournament, Lowen used a whole hodgepodge of lures including a Tightlines UV Bill Lowen Tube, a 3/8oz black/blue flipping jig with a Tightlines UV Bubba Craw trailer, a selection of spinnerbaits and on the final day he even threw a buzzbait a bit.

5th Place - Randy Howell

• Day 1: 17bs 6oz
• Day 2: 11lbs 13oz
• Day 3: 16lbs 7oz
• Total: 45lbs 10oz

Randy Howell nearly stumbled into the fish that would have propelled him to his second Bassmaster Classic victory. All week long Howell fished the Elk River and on day 2, despite his low weight, he actually started to figure out that the bass in the Elk were position around the isolated pieces of wood in the middle of the river; the structure Evers would fish day three to catch his monster bag. Howell was a serious player in the classic and had it not been for a poor day 2 and Evers show stopping day 3, he would almost certainly have played a bigger part in the storyline.
During the tournament, Howell primarily used a Livingston Lures Howeller Dream Master Classic Crankbait, a white spinnerbait and occasionally a Livingston Lures Jerkmaster 121 jerkbait.

New Rapala Shadow Rap Shad

When the Bassmaster Classic was last held on Oklahoma’s Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees, Mike Iaconelli led after Day 1 and Brandon Palaniuk finished runner-up. Returning to that waterbody with a new Rapala bait has both anglers envisioning a slightly different outcome. Enter the new Rapala Shadow Rap Shad, a slow rising shad profile jerkbait.

 “Last time we were there, a jerkbait played a huge role in my second-place finish,” says Palaniuk, a six-time Classic qualifier. “So going back with the Shadow Rap Shad in my arsenal – a bait I didn’t have before, and something the fish have never seen – could be a huge key factor in trying to win this thing.” Iaconelli is optimistic also about his Classic chances with a Shadow Rap Shad. “I haven’t been this excited about a brand-new bait for a long time,” says Ike, the 2003 Classic Champion and 17-time qualifier. “Hands down, it’s going to be a player this year.” Iaconelli, Palaniuk and fellow Rapala pro Ott DeFoe all appreciate the Shadow Rap Shad advantage they’ll enjoy in the Classic, which will be contested March 4-6.

 “Knowing that I’m one of the very few guys who’s got it this year is going to let me fish with confidence,” says DeFoe, a five-time Classic qualifier and the 2011 Bassmaster Rookie of the Year. “Fishing something different will help me catch more and bigger bass. With the action it’s got, man I just totally expect this thing to be a big hit there at Grand Lake this year.”

 Similar to the original Shadow Rap, released at last year’s Classic, the Shadow Rap Shad is taller in profile than its predecessor, but not as long. And, rather than slowly sinking on the pause — as an original Shadow Rap does — a Shadow Rap Shad slowly rises when stopped, slightly wobbling and perfectly mimicking an injured shad.

 “That’s something no other bait out there does,” Iaconelli says. “It mimics the forage so perfectly that it is going to put tons of fish in the boat for you.”

 A game-changing, all-season jerkbait, the Shadow Rap Shad triggers fish in three ways — on the kick, on the wobbling slow rise, and with a snap back to life. Featuring a shad-style body with textured scales, it comes in models that target two different depth ranges — 3-to-4 feet and 5-to-6 feet. The latter is called the Shadow Rap Shad Deep. Both measure 3-1/2 inches, weigh 3/8 of an ounce, and come armed with two sticky-sharp No. 6 VMC black-nickel, thin-wire, round-bend hooks.
“It’s a little bit wider than the original Shadow Rap, a little bit shorter, a little bit fatter and has a two-hook design rather than a three-hook design,” Palaniuk explains. Both models of the new Shadow Rap Shad are available in all 14 original Shadow Rap color patterns, as well as 10 new patterns:

Crush – Dark brown back, light brown “frosted” sides
Elite Blue – Dark blue-gray back, light gray-white “frosted” sides, light orange belly
Haymaker – Olive green back, light olive-white “frosted” sides, light orange gill plates
Olive Drab – Dark olive back and head, light green-white “frosted” sides, light yellow gill plates
Purple Haze – Dark purple back and head, light purple-white “frosted” sides, pink gill plates
Gone – Dark purple back, light yellow sides, darker yellow/orange head
Halloween – Black back, pewter sides, full orange belly
Imposter – Light orange back and head, light yellow sides, white belly
Molten Copper – Black back, dark copper sides and head, light copper belly
Tropic Ice – Black back, metallic blue sides, metallic green head, light yellow gill plates

The Rapala Shadow Rap Shad, and Shadow Rap Deep are now available at Monster Fishing Tackle.

Aaron Martens' Picks for Spring Bass Fishing

Aaron Martens' Favorite Lures for Spring

When bass begin migrating toward the shoreline in search of spawning grounds, they often use pieces of cover as a sort of trail to where they will eventually pair up. The first place I look up shallow in early spring is around larger objects like laydowns, slabs of rock or stump fields. Since the bass are staging, they do move around a lot so they aren't just directly against the cover. For that reason, I really like shallow running crankbaits during this time of year. You can find a lot of good options, well maybe not a lot, but more than other baits. I like a squarebill like the 6th Sense Crush 50X for rip rap and pea gravel between the larger pieces of cover. A Rapala DT-6 has always been that sort of go-to for the deeper banks or right after a cold front. And a new addition I've played around with is the Deps Evoke, again, this is just something I am testing out, but it has a really unique action. In spring I usually like black/chartreuse and craw colors, but as it gets later in the season the citrus or brighter colors become more of a factor.
Shop all Shallow Crankbaits

Swimbaits are probably best this time of year, they are good all year, but during the spring they are as good as any lure if used correctly. Everyone says swimbaits are finally getting back east, but that's not true, everyone has been using them for a long, long time - just different I guess. I don't use the 10" - 13" swimbaits very often, sometimes they work better actually, but it's not realistic for most of my fishing. I prefer baits like the Osprey Talon Line Through Swimbaits - 6" or 7" both are good. It's good for windy, sunny days right before the full on spawn. Actually, right now, with the full moon and warming temperatures... Oh, wow, I bet someone catches a giant this week on one. Another bait that is amazing all over the country is the Little Creeper Trash Fish. I use it everywhere. The best way to fish it is by just dragging it and reeling up the slack. Like a Carolina rig. The other swimbait I use a lot, and everyone else does too, literally everyone uses this on the Elite Series: the Keitech Swing Impact Fat Swimbaits - both the fat and regular. There's really nothing like it. It's awesome. Right now I'd rig a 4.8 size it on a Gamakatsu Weighted Superline Spring Lock Hook for shallow water after big largemouth. If I'm fishing for spotted or smallmouth bass I like a 1/2oz jig head way better and in the summer, out deep I'll use a jig head as well.

Craws and beavers are one of my favorite baits once you start seeing a few bass head up to beds. Typically, I'm using these for very precise targets like reeds, grass mats, laydowns or docks. Some people really like the big craws, I just never have. I feel like it's a lot of excess plastic and if you look at most crayfish at the lakes, and I have, you'll see they are small. So I stick to 4" or less for craws. If bass are bedding I really like using the Strike King Baby Rage Craw. I'll rig it on a 3/8oz Picasso Tungsten Flipping Weight and a 3/0 Gamakatsu Finesse Flipping Hook tied on 20lb Sunline Flipping FC. If I'm just blindly flipping wood I might also rotate in a Zoom Speed Craw. If you're in the southern United States, you'll see bass on beds already and lots in grass or laydowns close to those beds. For heavier cover I might also use a beaver style bait. I stick to natural colors with some vibrant flake or hues. So a green pumpkin or watermelon with purple and green is always good. Darker water black/blue or junebug. This year, I think you're gonna see a lot of neon blue though, everyone has been using it. I'll say at some tournaments, 55% of anglers will have a neon blue plastic on. Watch, it's going to be very prevalent. Try it, I'm telling you it's good.

I use finesse worms all year, but in spring they can be really good for certain situations. Lakes like the Ozark region or spotted bass fisheries are where you can really do well with a finesse worm right now. Basically, I'm looking for different types of hard bottom composition where I think bass might be staging up. Banks with pea gravel and chunk rock mixed in are perfect, docks are really good too and points can work as well. I don't use the drop shot as much this time of year, more shakey head or Texas rigs. I might be the last person still using Texas rigs, and I don't know why, they can be way better than a shakey head, especially right now. For example, I'll Texas rig a 6" or 7" Roboworm Straight Tail with a Roboworm Rebarb Hook and a 1/4oz Picasso Tungsten Worm Weight and I'll just shake the slack on it. I'm using 10lb Sunline Sniper Fluorocarbon usually, it's strong enough for anything if you tie a good knot. I've caught some really big fish doing that in early spring. A Zoom Trick Worm can also be really effective this time of year using a shakey head or Texas rig. As for colors, I obviously really like the green/purple in Aaron's Magic so I stick to that mostly right now.

No one really uses spinnerbaits anymore, I do, I don't really know why people don't want to anymore, but they don't. Spinnerbaits can be so good, but now everyone has substituted the spinnerbait for chatterbaits. They are totally different and, like I said, I still use spinnerbaits, but I too have started using vibrating jigs more and more. Right now, you could probably go to any body of water not covered by ice and catch bass on a vibrating jig. It's so good this time of year. If you've got high, stained water you could just put almost all the other rods away and fish. Obviously, I like the Picasso Shock Blade and the FX Shock Blade - the new one with hair and feathers. I like the 3/8oz - 1/2oz size. You can add a lot of different retrieves in so kind of speed &up and slow down as you fish and work it over and around targets like wood, docks and grass. The colors I like right now are green pumpkin/orange or red, Aaron's Magic (it's new) and a white/chartreuse with a gold blade sometimes. I fish it on 16lb Sunline Shooter Fluorocarbon.

I really don't use a stick baits a ton right now, but when the situation is right, it can be absolutely killer. There's really just a few conditions where I like it right now: bodies of water with lots of vegetation, fish spawning where I can't see them or for spotted bass. For grass lakes, you're kind of fishing the holes in the grass where fish could be staging up or they are buried in the reeds. A place like the CA Delta is really where that comes to mind - there's I'll use the Senko 9L 6" mostly. Otherwise, I will use a 5" Senko for spotted bass. You want to wacky rig it and use a little nail weight in the head. I'll rig it up with a Gamakatsu Drop Shot/Split Shot Hook rigged through an O-Ring weighted with a tungsten nail weight. It's a killer technique on the lakes I fished on the west coast. It's not just a spotted bass technique, but for the spring, it's better. I really like pockets with chunk rock or longer points with one side that has a deeper drop on it. Spotted bass typically stack up on those types of points. For colors I like watermelon/red, Monster Shad and also something a little darker with gold in it.

The last bait I have been using a lot lately is the Megabass Flap Slap, it's really reminiscent of a Rapala Glass Shad Rap or similar lures not quite a jerkbait and not quite a crankbait. It's got such a unique action to it, I don't have a lot of experience with it yet, but it really works well for that pre-spawn water temps in the high 40's and low 50's. If you find a nice spawning flat, you can absolutely crush them with this thing. I fish it with 12lb Sunline Shooter Fluorocarbon and I mix up the retrieve with a consistent reeling action and some twitches mixed in.

Bass Fishing Emojis?

FishMoji Bass Fishing Emojis!

While emojis have become more and more popular in the world, most of them are catered to a certain crowd, or well, at least not us fishermen. But, that's all changed with the release of FishMoji an app feature bass fishing emojis.

FishMoji - the world's first bass fishing emoji keyboard app including 90 bass fishing emojis depicting some of the sport's most recognizable images. Unlike other apps, FishMoji allows you to install the emojis as a keyboard to use in texts, emails, facebook messenger, WhatsApp and more!

What kind of emojis are included?

• Lures 
• Iconic Images 
• Tackle Shops 
• Bass Types (ie Largemouth, Spotted and Smallmouth) 
• Boats
• Rods/Reels 

Install instructions are included on the app making it super easy to download and install. Within seconds you'll be able to send your friends funny and interesting bass fishing emojis that make texting fun again. With 90 bass fishing emojis, you'll never get tired of trying out new emojis with friends.

2016 FLW Tour - Lake Okeechobee Top Baits

FLW Tour - Lake Okeechobee Baits

The opening tournament of the 2016 FLW Tour took place from 2/4 - 2/7 on Lake Okeechobee in Florida. Poor conditions kept any real big weights from reaching the scales, but nonetheless, the event was won by Bradley Hallman of Oklahoma who finished with a total weight of 71lbs and 2oz during the course of the four day event. Below, we've relayed the top-10 anglers bait choices.

1st Place - Bradley Hallman

Hallman used a Backwater Blue Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver to catch the majority of his weight combined with a matching punch skirt and a 1.5oz Tungsten Punch Weight. He also used a Gambler BB Cricket on the final day of the tournament.

2nd Place - Alex Davis

Runner up Alex "Spinnerbait Kid" Davis flipped, pitched and cast a 6-inch junebug stick bait rigged with a variety of bullet weights and paired with 80-pound-test PowerPro MaxCuatro spooled on Shimano Metanium with 8.5:1 gear ratio. When the vegetation was thick, Davis went with a heavy flippin stick, the 7'6" G. Loomis E6X 904C Flippin Stick.

3rd Place - Chris Johnston

Johnston primarily relied upon a Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver on a 7-11, heavy-power G. Loomis IMX flipping stick and a Shimano Metanium Reel with 8.5:1 gear ratio and 65-pound-test PowerPro Braid.

5th Place - Shin Fukae

Shin Fukae caught fish all sorts of ways including punching a black/blue Yamamoto Flappin Hog on a 1.5oz - 2oz Tungsten Punch Weight with a protoype Shimano Zodias Rod and a Shimano Metanium Reel.

6th Place - Brandon McMillan

Florida stick Brandon McMillan caught his bass using a black/blue Zoom Speed Craw with a 3/4oz - 2oz tungsten punch weight. He utilized this presentation with a 7-11 G. Loomis IMX flipping stick and a Shimano Metanium Casting Reel in 8.5:1 gear ratio.

7th Place - Joshua Weaver

Joshua Weaver's primary bait with a secret-colored 4x4 Brandon McMillan Signature Series Swim Jig paired with a sungill-colored Reaction Innovations Skinny Dipper Weaver also caught fish on a Zoom UV Speed Craw.

8th Place - Clark Reehm

Clark Reehm fished a Megabass Ito Vision 110 with a 704CB Dobyns Champion crankbait rod strung with 17-pound-test Seaguar InvizX fluorocarbon. He also used a black sapphire-colored Zoom UV Speed Craw with a ¼-ounce weight fished on a 7-4, heavy-power Dobyns Champion Extreme Rod and 25-pound test Seaguar AbrazX.

9th Place - Charlie Weyer

9th place finisher Charlie Weyer used a 6 inch Yamamoto Senko in black/blue and watermelon red.

10th Place - Billy Shelton

Billy Shelton caught his fish in a number of ways including a Zoom Magnum Fluke and a Zoom UV Magnum Speed Worm, but his primary bait was a black-and-blue Sweet Beaver with a 1 ½-ounce weight.