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Tournament Conditions
Lake Level - 842.1, falling slowly, normal is 839
Water Temp - 56-60
Clarity - Main lake - clear on lower lake, stained upper arms
Weather: 50s at take-off, 60s at weigh-in, cloudy, rain in the a.m.
Wind - SE 10-15
59 Boats
Tournament number two of the Superbass Open Class found Fishwrench Technical Advisor, Jeff Stegner on Pomme De Terre in southern Missouri. He and partner Ron Tolliver, coming off a recent third place run, found themselves poised to make their move toward qualifying for the Superbass Classic. Only the top 40% of the tournament series field makes it to this prestigious event.
Battling stained water conditions and an insistent spawn, the bite was hesitant at best. However, a pattern was discovered during strong pre-fishing of the Pomme De Terre Reservoir. "Several cool fronts caused the fish to back-off a little and hold to cover or shallower channel swings", said of Stegner. "Good fish fell victim to the pattern...of small jigs on lay-downs and pole timber in cuts and smaller coves off the main lake." A short pre-fish trip Friday afternoon confirmed the pattern was still holding.
By tournament day, a shift occurred in the weather bringing a strong frontal system with periods of heavy rain, lightning and winds to the lake. Even with the sudden change to the weather, the pattern of tossing small jigs tipped with Zoom Crawdads proved fruitful. "Fish were still there, but [they] had become finicky - the bite was less aggressive, and [there were] fewer bites period."
Sticking with the game plan discovered in the days prior, the team of Stegner/Tolliver was able to bring a limit to the boat, and caught the second biggest bass of the tournament at 5.1lbs. "Unable to cull a smaller one and a half pounder caused us to miss 2nd place by less than half a pound." Still Team Fishwrench was able to finish in the fourth spot, bringing them one step closer to the Superbass Classic.
For more Midwest bass tournament information, log onto Midwest Bass Tournaments.