Wheeler and Lane baits! Too much rule following? New fish holds?

> “I think they just live on boat docks, and they’re really good there regardless. When you pull up to the docks, they have bluegill, shad swimming around, crappie that live on them – they have it all. That’s a big reason why those places are so good. With that buffet of food sitting right there…no reason for [bass] to leave.

> “…90% of them came on a white vibrating jig [in dirtier water] or a translucent [skirt] vibrating jig [when the water was clearer], and a white jig…pitching places where I couldn’t get the vibrating jig.

> “The first couple days [his electronics] helped me understand what they were doing. The last day I didn’t really utilize it at all – I sort of knew what they were doing at that point.”

> 9/16-oz E&R Jig (NC company? white) – “it has that modified Arkie-style head for skipping.” Googan Bandito Bug Jr (white) – “most of those fish were eating theadfin in the mornings so I used a smaller trailer.” 20-lb Sufix Advance Fluorocarbon, same reel, 7′ 3″ H Duckett Wheeler Rod. “For real that’s the free-est Duckett reel – the line just comes off. It’s the best skipping reel I’ve ever used.”

Shout-out

> “I’ve gotta shout-out my wife. She’s unbelievable. She does so much for our family, she’s a great mother – I couldn’t do it without her.”

> [Laughs] “I mighta shoulda because I only caught 2 that last period. I might’ve been better off.”

2. Is it true MDJ and Dustin say “dang” now instead of “ding” anytime you catch one cuz they can’t believe it’s happening again?

> [Laughs] “Nah I think you can see they’ve been catching plenty. Dustin won Redcrest and MDJ almost won it yesterday – they have plenty of dings going their way. They’ve been doing just fine.”

[I did see that someone filed an application for an LLC based in Tuskegee, AL name of “No More Dang Wheels” tho… Just messin’…]

3. Is it true that bass fishing is so easy for you that you listen to “how to speak Latin” tutorials in practice to keep your brain sharp?

> [Big laugh] “Oh my gosh. That one’s a good one. No.

> “It’s awesome to be on a roll and have a lot of momentum. Some days you make it look easy, some days you go out there and come back scratching your head. I’ve been fortunate to have several days all come together…blessed to have several tournaments where I’ve gotten dialed in.”

> “Look at anglers like Fletcher – he keeps it super-simple…it works out. When you hear about generalists vs specialists…as a specialist you have a couple things you know, you understand…you have that super uber confidence to know you’re doing the right thing.

> “It’s a very fine line…a generalist can get messed up very quickly in practice by doing too many things.

> “I very seldom get dialed in in practice, especially in tough tournaments. I let the tournament play in…get multiple ideas and dial it in in the tournament.

> “In a single-day event you have to be dialed in. In a multiple-day event you have to dial it in in the tournament. That’s why guys who win consistently make adjustments in the tournament better than everybody else.”

5. Is there anything you do fishing-wise every competition day?

> “One thing I always do when I drop my boat in the water is just make sure all my equipment is working. I put my trolling motor down and troll around, make sure my electronics are working fine, put it all on standby…. Just go through the checklist…the main fundamental things. I’ve learned that from things happening throughout my career.”

> “I caught 95% of my fish on that wacky Berkley PowerBait The General (gp, not MaxScent)…nail weight, #1 Berkley Fusion19 Drop Shot Hook, 7′ M Abu Garcia Fantasista Premier Spinning Rod and the new 7′ M Abu Veritas Spinning Rod, Abu REVO MGXtreme and REVO MGX reels, 10-lb SpiderWire Ultracast braid to 8-lb Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon.

> “I caught ’em from 1′ to 137’…several in a foot or 2 of water and I was fishing the outsides of marinas – my boat was in 100′ of water, and I was fishing the dock cables…. I could see the fish on my [Lowrance] Active Target on the dock cables. They would suspend in the 10-20′ range…knew where they were, so I could let the could wacky General sink right down to where the cables [and fish] were.”

He also dropshotted a little with the same setup, various baits including a Berkley Bottom Hopper (gp) and Bass Addiction 1/4- and 5/16-oz dropshot weights. Says he loves his Cuda scissors for cutting his FG knot tag ends ultra-close.

> “5% of the fish prior to the final day were on Berkley Jointed Surge Shad [he didn’t know the color name but I think it’s Kentucky blue?]… 7′ M Abu Ike Rod, Abu REVO MGX Reel and 15-lb Berkley Big Game mono.

> “When it would get calm, the fish would come up and school on the outsides of those marinas. I would throw it to the schooling fish and they’d come up and pop it. It’s a wake bait… I like mono because it floats.”

> “It’s my first time leading AOY in a long time and it feels really, really good….”

> “Once I had her in the boat, I lost it! I hit my knees, was shaking, hyperventilating, crying…the whole 9 yards,” Amanda said. “It was so bad that my 6-year-old said, ‘Mama stop, people are going to think you’re having a seizure.'”

Lol heck yeah! Congrats to her and the fam, what a day – they caught a bunch of 4s and 6s too!

1. Caleb Sumrall kicked ‘er off with the “Axel hold,” named in honor of his boy:

2. Then Justin Atkins did a Stone Cold Steve Austin hold:

3. Then Paddy Walters was doin’ the pigskin/football/small dog hold at Fork: