Tourney Patterns

Bobby Lane’s MLF Championship winning baits

Bobby Lane had to beat the best MLF fishermen on 3 lakes over an entire week of fishing. He said he did “basically the same thing” on all the lakes, and here’s what that was:

Lake Naconiche, TX = lots of wood

> “That lake all about the swim-jig…hauling them in over that giant timber. …kept it within a foot of the surface…a little bit of flipping….”

> “I was covering new water. I never caught anything when I went back through areas. I’d catch 5-10 in a period then locate new water.

> 1/4- and 3/8-oz 4×4 Swim Jig (Bobby’s battle bream) with Berkley Craw Fatty (gp), 50-lb Spiderwire Ultracast braid, Abu Garcia Revo ALX Reel (8.0), 7′ 3″ MH Abu Ike rod.

Lake Jacksonville, TX = docks

> “I caught a few on a swim-jg early then went to sight-fish a big one, then it was 100% wacky worm. I caught a couple key fish in between on a jerkbait. It was like junk-fishing 101….

> “The lake had 2 different shades — one end was stained, the other one was clear. So I used junebug and green pumpkin. Both were 6.25” Bottom Hoppers with a #1 Trokar Wacky Worm Hook, 10-lb Spidewire Ultracast braid, Abu Garcia STX Spinning Reel and 7′ MH Abu Fantasista Premier Spinning Rod. I think I used a 12-lb Trilene 100% Fluoro leader so I could boat flip ’em — I didn’t want to take too much time.

> “The jerkbait was DUEL Hardcore Minnow Flat 110SP (shad).

> “Most were from 3′ or less. The jerkbait was in 5′ off the edge of some docks. They were fat pre-spawners….”

Lake Kurth, TX = all bank

> “I started out with the swim-jig and caught a few decent ones. Then I sight-fished a few, wacky-rigged a few more, then sight-fished a few, then caught another on the swimjig. I stayed on the bank and covered water.

> “No docks at that lake. Scattered pads were just staring to grow…. Flooded cattails…I couldn’t catch them flipping [the cattails], I could only catch them with the wacky worm. It was the craziest thing…they killed it and I never put it back down.”

Keys to the week

> “The whole key to my success all week was once I caught them in one area trying not to go back to it again.

> “…had the trolling motor on 20%, my eyes were open with those new Costas — that new morning lens (sunrise silver mirror) was the deal in the morning….”

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Gitcha Bassin' Fix

To Top