One of the winningest dudes of late and won 2 of the first 3 MLF Bass Pro Tour tourneys last year so...here we go:
1. Last year you practiced a bunch with the goal of winning the first one, at T-Bend. What goal are you practicing for now?
> "Man I'll be honest...I've been fishing a lot this fall, but not as much as regular. Having my son definitely slows that down a little bit.
> "...go there and get dialed in, not necessarily with electronics, but different techniques. I'm really trying to rewind to back 5 years ago [and] get used to some traditional fishing tactics – and trying to make sure my boat positioning is right and stuff.
> "The biggest thing this year is using FFS for 1 period. I can kind of relate this to building a house. It's like we had a nail gun for 4-5 years, and now we're going to back to building a house with a hammer and nails. I can build me a house, no doubt, but it will take a little more time."
2. With the new FFS rule, are you expecting to fish shallower or just a wider variety of baits?
> "I think I got a program in mind to just fish slower. Used to I'd pull up to any kind of structure – a brushpile or whatever – I'd throw the troller down, use ActiveTarget to see if there's any fish over there to begin with, and if there's fish in the brushpile I'd make 2 casts – and if I didn't get a bite I'd be off to the next place. Now I have to slow down. Now I might want to cast a jig in there....
> "I'm not overlooking the bank for sure this year. I feel super-comfortable swimming a jig, throwing a ChatterBait – I grew up that way. ...it's humorous that a lot of guys think FFS guys can't got down the bank throwing a ChatterBait. Every person in our field knows how to flip, skip docks [etc] I promise you.
> "I still think you'll see a lot more guys fish offshore without FFS, but they just won't be as efficient."
3. Saw your post about the Rocco. Any more baits you're going to fish that you think will surprise people?
> "I consider myself a really good pattern fisherman. I did the same stuff with FFS – I'd run a water color, a certain depth, the first quarter of the creek or the back of the creek. I will run the same patterns with different variety of baits. I'll be using a crankbait and spinnerbait more, I'll be using side imaging and a DT10 on isolated stumps and stuff.
> "I'll keep the same personality in my fishing but will change the baits out more. I won't be able to shake a minnow as much...a Mooch Minnow or a Freeloader. I'll throw a...swimbait more, a 4-inch Mayor.
> "Covering water will be key to the year. Not being so specific on one exact spot, but finding an area that has a bunch of fish and generating bites. That's the name of this game."
Bonus Q: Are you gonna be designing any baits for Rapala, or is Jacob not sharing the password? 😁
> "That's always in the conversation. Anytime we can improve on a bait or think of a new idea, I feel like with Rapala I can call those guys...they're all ears. That's what's cool about working with Rapala – they really listen to their guys, myself included.
> "We've got some new stuff coming out with jigheads, new colors.... I'm gonna talk to them about maybe improving a couple baits we already have and we'll see where it goes."
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