What would you do?

[McCarter]

Lets say that you decided to go out of state to fish a pro/am tournament on a lake you have never been to.  Lets use Lake Santee Cooper in South Carolina as an example.  No particular reason, just picked it at random

It will be early spring.  Its a 50/50 on whether or not the fish will be spawning or still staging.  You have no previous expereince on this body of water, but you have a pretty good grip on catching spawners or pre spawners. 

What are some of the key lures and patterns you would use to find and catch fish in this situation on this new body of water?  What areas would you target?  Would you look for a limit of smaller fish if available, or opt for just a few big bites a day?

Feedback requested.

PoorBoy himself

[fishstick]

Senkos!!!!! followed by jerkbaits,shallow cranks, and jigs w/double tail grub as a trailer...I would target typical spawning areas with a mix of cover and the breaks out from them and also docks...i think when Zell Rowland had almost 100 pounds down there he was fishing around docks, and down there i would definately go for the big bites. Good luck PoorBoy!!!!!

[smbassman]

In this hypothetical situation and if in this situation, you were fishing the back of the boat, I would probably expect to be flipping/pitching around cypress trees.  So I would expect to use a smaller, more finesse presentation to follow up what the pro has already fished.  My choice would be a flipping tube if the pro is fishing a jig.  Maybe a Senko cast to unfished trees and a jig/worm combination is always a top producer for back seaters.  A jerkbait if they are still staging.  If you had control of the boat, I would definitely try some crankbaits bounced off of those trees.  But if you are in the back, you might get tossed out of the boat after the 12th time you ask the pro to turn around to get you lure back .

[Cheetam]

Good advice from smbassman...especially the jig/worm combo...

[fishon1219]

In the described situation you will most likly be the back seater. The guy running the boat will be casting a jig to every piece of cover he can find just because the fish will most likely be on the spawn or darn close to it. I remeber back to the ultimate match fishing episodes of last season were rick clunn was in the back seat and putting a hurtin on who ever he fished with using a spinnerbait. That is what I would do! Go for the reaction bite. Some top water frogs will probably do the trick as well.

[bosshawg]

i'll start any morning, anywhere, anytime - find a good flat an start w/some topwater lure. next say a 1/4oz rattletrap or small crankbait, then onto plastics working shallow to deep.

[DennisB.]

i'll start any morning, anywhere, anytime - find a good flat an start w/some topwater lure. next say a 1/4oz rattletrap or small crankbait, then onto plastics working shallow to deep.

Ditto. Shaky heads with floaters and weightless senkos dead sticked. Instead of the Jign pig that the boater would be throwing I would probably try pitching a tube.

[kgr624]

First off if you are good from the back and can use a senko then start with that in the shallows looking for those spawning fish. Of course color will depend on the water but you can't go wrong with a black with red or silver flakes. If that doesn't work start useing your casting rod with a spinnerbait on it. Like some guys have said see if you could get the reaction bite going. If this doesn't go well get back into swimming a jig or using a husky jerk about 3-4 feet below the water. If this doesn't just pray your partner does well.

[Revtro]

PB - Won't you be there for the Southern Open?     A little recon never hurts I guess. 

[MaizeNBlue]

Brian, you should make the sign of the cross, drop to your knees and pray.

[raisinrat]

Hey how about this one a Jig and Grub Combo. This maybe the best fish produre of all time and is Feild & Streams number 1 bait of all time. If the guy in the front is pitching jigs I would be pitch this right behind him small and deadly. 1/8 oz jighead or mushroom head on a kalins 3inch or 4inch grub. To many people do not fish this deadly bait. Day in and day out this bait is better than a Senko for fishing beds. You can fish beds with this our work your deeper cover with these baits all day. Just my 2cents.

[Dan]

I don't know about you guys, but I would find this boat and "Do what he do."

[cameraguy]

Lizards and creature baits are good choices at Santee.  That place can be overwhelming.  There are trees almost everywhere and almost everything looks good.  Kyle Greene took third in an BASS Invitational a few years ago throwing a lizard on ten lb. test.  The few of the boys down there thought he was crazy for using such light line, but the results should have convinced them otherwise.  I fished down there as a co-angler in an Everstart down there and my second day partner had been hammering big fish on a green pumpkin Zoom Trick Worm.  His practice partner caught big-uns using a Texas-rigged tube.  I hooked a couple during practice on a Rat-L-Trap.  Other guys caught them on cranks, jigs, and worms.  Use the lures you have confidence in and just keep throwing.  Unless they are on the spawn in big numbers, you probably won't get the number of bites that you would on most lakes here.  Stay focused and keep casting.

[yukonjack2]

PB -
fishing from the backseat takes a different strategy -  it depends on your draw as to what that should be.  Lets say you drew kvd for example, senkos would be out - pretty tought to cast over his head to allow enough time for it to sink whith the TM on high.  so, it really depends on water depth, cover, and method of the boat controller.  I have fished many BFL, and everstarts from the back, and most(i do say most) are pretty accomodating in retreiving sangged up baits.  I would suggest a square bill shallow-mid diving CB - bandit 200's for example.  If the fish are staging at all, those toads can't resist a shad or rootbeer/chartreuse pattern.  Plus, you can flip a bandit 100 or a little N back inu nder the willor trees, and bounce them off the trunks generating strikes even while the tm is on high.   A spinnerbait is a close substitute for the cb in this situation.
if  he is fishing deeper banks/ rip rap, craw patterns and or rattle traps would be a great choice.  Backing up the rxn nite baits, I would use a variety of soft plastics - starting with a strict-9 soft jerk bait(white or pink).  they are weedless, string scent, can be fished weighted or weightless, and through/above all types of cover.  if this does not work, I would texas rig a tube/senko/trick worm/shaky head/wooly hog tail/brush hog/... fished as slow as possible.  Finally - the last rod would have a jig on it - zoom chunk for fliipin, or grub for swimming. 

Only take 4 rods, any more just get in the way, and its then faster to retie, than untangle them all. 

Good luck PB, I am jealous!

tight lines!

Jack

[joshimoto son]

PB

You go there with your game face on, you take the time to be thankfull that you live in a country that enables you to follow your dreams and then you just go out there and do what comes naturally. Listen to what the fish are telling you and make the right adjustments.
Enjoy the time that you are out there, because before you know it, it will be all over.
Then go home and continue to use what you've learned and keep striving to do more.

See ya in a couple days buddy!!!

joshimoto son

[dartag]

DON'T DRIVE THE BOAT,
  good luck we will be watching...  Lola wants an autograph picture...

[blakstr1]

Good Luck Fellas...You're Gonna Have a BALL!!