All captions: Craig Lamb
Earlier in the week during pre-frontal conditions Seth Feider used two crankbaits before switching to a slower presentation on Championship Sunday. He chose an unnamed green pumpkin tube rigged on a 4/0 VMC Ringed Wide Gap Hook and 1/4-ounce WOO! Tungsten Weight. Crankbait choices were a Rapala DT 6 Crankbait and a Rapala Shadow Rap Deep.
Bobby Lane used the new Berkley Frittside that combines the classic balsa action of a flat sided crankbait with the durability and casting distance of a plastic bait. It was designed by David Fritts, who designed it based on the action of the bait he used to win the 1993 Classic. The lure will be available in September. Lane also used a chartreuse/white 3/8-ounce Z-Man/Evergreen ChatterBait Jack Hammer. He added a Berkley Power Swimmer, French Pearl, as a trailer.
A 3/8-ounce Z Man/Evergreen ChatterBait Jack Hammer, Clearwater Shad, with a Berkley Powerbait Power Swimmer Swimbait, Sexy Shad, was a top producer for Adrian Avena. He also used a Berkley Frittside designed by crankbait guru David Fritts. The flat sided crankbait is designed to combine the better of two worlds. “It casts farther and better than balsa without losing the unique action.” The lure will be available in September.
Chris Zaldain held nothing back, going for the win from the beginning. The entire week he threw 6- and 8-inch Megabass Magdraft Swimbaits, Albino Pearl Shad, featuring a big bass design that combines advanced engineering of a hardbait with smooth movements of a softbait. To prolong the bait’s time in the strike zone he added a 1/16-ounce nail weight behind the single treble hook. He also used a personally designed 3/8-ounce Santone Lures Z-Spin Head with a 5-inch hollow belly soft plastic trailer.
A crankbait, jerkbait and jig were top choices of Roy Hawk. The lineup featured a Spro John Crews Fat John 60 Crankbait, Fire Craw, and a Duo Realis Jerkbait 110SP, Purple Mist.
A trio of baits produced for Brandon Palaniuk. A Rapala Balsa Extreme BX Brat Squarebill, Bone Craw, and modified with a marker for added strike appeal, was a top choice. So was a Rapala DT6, Brown Crawdad. He also used a 6.5-inch Zoom Z3 Trick Worm, Z3 Edge, rigged on a 1/4-ounce shakey head.
Producing best for Dean Rojas were unnamed flat side and square bill crankbaits. He fished those on Duckett 360 Casting Reels spooled with 14- and 16-pound Sunline Super FC Sniper Fluorocarbon. Completing the cranking package was a 7-foot, 3-inch medium/heavy action Duckett Black Ice Series Casting Rod.
Edwin Evers joined his Berkley Pro Team peers in using the new Berkley Frittside. “It has true balsa bait action with a slow rise and nearly natural buoyant action, and you also get longer casts,” said Evers, who used the Size 5 in a special craw pattern. Evers also used two jigs by Andy’s Custom Bass Jigs. He chose a 1/2-ounce Andy’s Old School Flipping Jig, and a 7/16-ounce E Series Jig. For both he added a Berkley Power Chunk to the brown/orange baits.
Wesley Strader rotated through a jig, crankbait, spinnerbait and Ned head rig. To make it he used a 1/16 jighead with 6.25-inch Zoom Fluke Stick, Green Pumpkin. For more aggressive fish he used a hand-carved PH Custom Lures Lil Guy, designed for cold water and highly pressured fish. Strader also used a Zorro Bait Co. Flipping Jig with 3-inch Zoom Big Salty Chunk trailer, Flippin Blue. A white/chartreuse 3/16-ounce Zorro Wesley Strader Bango Blade Spinnerbait also produced strikes.
A brown 3/8-ounce unnamed flipping jig with 4-inch shortened Xzone Lures Pro Series Muscle Back Craw, Okeechobee Craw, was a top choice. So was a 1/2-ounce unnamed bladed jig with 3.25-inch XZone Lures Muscle Back Finesee Craw, Green Pumpkin Black Flake.
Mark Daniels Jr. rotated through three baits to earn his keep. For reaction strikes he used red crawfish patterned Bill Lewis Rat-L-Traps.
A Rapala Ike’s Custom Ink DT6, Caribbean Shad, scored big for Michael Iaconelli on a game-changing weekend raising his chances of winning a second Classic. Retrieving the lure into flat rocks produced strikes. Another game changer was a Rapala Flat 3 modified by Ott DeFoe.
Jesse Wiggins relied on a Jackall Bling 55, Crawfish, featuring a weight transfer system for longer and more balanced casts in a small profile, flat-sided crankbait.
Throughout the week Jacob Wheeler rotated through hardbaits for a mixed bag of largemouth and smallmouth. A custom painted red craw Storm Arashi Vibe was a top choice. The lipless crankbait features a slow-speed, subtle vibration and sound, making it ideal for lethargic bass encountered in calm wind and post-front conditions. A Rapala Ike’s Custom Ink DT6, Ike’s Red Demon, was another choice.
A Storm Arashi Vibe, Rusty Craw, and a Rapala DT4, Crawdad, were top cranking choices for winner Ott DeFoe. A key lure on Championship Sunday was a 3/8-ounce unnamed bladed jig, chartreuse white, with an unnamed pearl white, fluke-style trailer.
