What little tip or piece of information did y'all learn from the classic coverage that may help you in the future?

Simple tip but really opened my eye to a few new applications.

From KVD regarding the hooks he used:
"It's extra short, so you can fit large hooks on a smaller bait without tangling."

how slow they were runnin those traps(other than kvd) most of em were slow.....

Exactly. They were dragging their traps across the top of the grass. I watched KVD, Kriet, Faircloth, Russ Lane and Ike working traps and none of them used the same technique. Interesting stuff. I also saw that trying to force feed fish something that is not going to win may not be the best method. Tommy Biffle and Tak were flipping the whole tournament and it was not producing the numbers or size to win. It got them a check, but... I guess it depends on what you are trying to accomplish.

That with all the "new and greatest" $10-$20 swimbaits and crankbaits on the market, the guys in the hunt were doing it with one of the most basic baits out there........ Stick to the fundamentals and you just might succeed.

I have one big unanswered question - Why did no one ever throw a swimbait over that shallow grass? I think I would have switched off to one to try to catch some bigger fish once I had a decent limit in the box. Maybe they tried that and couldn't get bit, but I never heard a word about it on the coverage.

what to look for in regards to ditches/drains. and how to position the boat and what areas to target.

Ike was throwing one a little bit. seemed the dirty water required more vibration/sound.

I learned that I have not been fishing my Red Eye shad slow enough. Caught one keeper Sat rippin grass on Sexy Shad, still fishing it too fast.

I learned that the phrase, "swinging for the fence", is starting to drive me nuts. KVD, Ike and Skeet either win or are at the top using sound fundamentals. KVD won with two monster bags on the same ol' bait everyone seemed to be using. "swinging for the fence" seems to be either an excuse or a misnomer. Now if KVD or Kriet caught a limit and left Beeswax to flip I guess that would be swinging for the fence? You tell me, but it always seems that slow and steady over 3 or 4 days always beats one big swimbait or jig type fish. Great classic though, congrats to all.

Did you hear Horton talk about all the tournaments last year on Lay Lake came out of that ramp. He also mentioned the fish being released there at the ramp and not leaving that creek.

What do you make of this statement?




Didn't Lane catch his last big fish on a spinnerbait?

I've heard the "released" fish near major ramps w/ tourneys called "re-treads". Day on the Lake tv show focused on it one episode.

They talked alot about the grass in Beeswax being the key to why it was a better spot than others.