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Lucky Craft Pro Staff Impress at Sam Rayburn
Omori & Jordon Make Cut Of 12 |
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>>>Takahito Omori |
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JASPER, Texas (March 20, 2006) – Texas residents Takahiro Omori and Kelly Jordon had impressive finishes on Sam Rayburn Reservoir during this past weekend’s CITGO Bassmaster Elite Series, both fishing on the final day of competition. Omori, who makes his home in Emory, Texas, used his local knowledge of the lake and parlayed that to eighth spot, his best of the young season. Omori grabbed 62 pounds and 14 ounces of overall weight for the four days. Friday, Omori was hero of the day, sacking a five-fish limit of 20 pounds, 6 ounces – the largest catch of the day, putting him in the running for the season-ending Busch Shootout. The 2004 CITGO Bassmaster Classic Champion was in his comfort zone. “This is my type of lake and it fishes the way I like, so I really enjoyed myself out there,” Omori said. “The last time I fished here was three years ago. A lot of things are changing on this lake though. There’s a whole lot more fishing pressure because of all the recent tournaments. I came into this tournament with an open mind and tried a little bit of everything.”
Even though this was mainly a soft plastics tournament so to speak, a ‘special’ Lucky Craft lure made a big impact this past weekend. “My biggest fish (on Friday) was a 7 pound, 2 ouncer, which was also my biggest one of the whole tournament,” Omori said. “I caught that one on a Lucky Craft RC 2.5 in White Shad. But I also took a red and black magic marker and painted lines to make it look like the color, Spring Craw. It really worked out there.”
“I caught most of my bigger fish a little deeper,” Omori added. “I would throw just outside hydrilla and I saw a few patterns develop during practice. I am very happy with how I’ve started the year. Fishing the way I have, and fishing in Texas, has really helped me get off to a good start.”
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>>>Kelly Jordon |
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Jordon tried a variety of techniques, but always came back to sight fishing. And on Thursday, Jordon caught the biggest fish of the tournament when he boated an 8-pound, 3-ounce largemouth. Jordon talked about his final day of competition, and how the ever-changing weather patterns affected what he was looking for. “I thought I could have really gone out there and caught them,” Jordon said. “I threw everything at them but it just didn’t work. My main deal was going out there and sight fishing. “I was hoping I was going to be able to see them all weekend,” Jordon added. “It was hard to get on any fish worth saving because of the weather. I had one little area, which only had four or five fish, so I caught all of those. I was fortunate to have that area because nothing else worked out there.” Jordon started the tournament strong, already on the leaderboard shortly after he started competing. “I already had my limit by 9 am, so I went looking for some bigger fish to add to it,” Jordon explained. “The only thing that really worked was sight fishing. Later in the day (on Thursday), I went back to catch a couple of the big ones I had been trying to save, and I lost them twice. I spent 45 minutes trying to catch them. “The bite had gotten a lot tougher from the practice days,” Jordon said. “They were biting pretty well the first day of practice, but it got worse every day. They stopped biting (on Friday), so I had to scramble around. Unless you were sight fishing, it seemed a lot harder to catch any fish out there. I attributed a lot of that to the high sky and bluebird weather.” Despite his success, winning is the only thing that truly satisfies this professional angler. “I would have liked to have done a lot better,” he admitted. “What’s frustrating is that I located a couple of fish that would have upgraded my catch and missed out on both of them. I did make the top 12 this time, which I can take home with me.”
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>>>Skeet Reese
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California’s Skeet Reese bounced back after his frustrating finish on Lake Amistad, barely missing the top 50 by one pound. The Lucky Craft Pro Staff angler reeled in 47 pounds and 2 ounces of bass – taking home the 14th spot. Despite his finish, it was still a frustrating (Saturday) of fishing. After bagging 19 pounds and 3 ounces on day one, his weight fell to 15 pounds, 6 ounces on day two and 12 pounds, 9 ounces on day three. “I just went fishing today, knowing I needed 16 to 18 pounds to make the cut,” Reese said. “I had the bites though. I ended up throwing topwater baits (on Saturday) and had some three or four pounders miss it. Every time I found a big one, it would swim out after the bait and never come back. I’m just happy with my 12 pounds today.
“My biggest fish came on a (Lucky Craft) Gunfish 95 this weekend,” Reese continued. “Except for Saturday, the fish inhaled that lure. And today (Sat.), I thought conditions we’re going to be perfect for that lure. I thought the reaction bite was going to happen a lot better today than it did,” Reese said. “But I also don’t think there’s an area of this lake that’s not under some sort of pressure. Any good area has a ton of local fisherman on it.” This tournament did feel a little better than Amistad, though. “This one definitely feels better than the last one,” Reese said. “The fishing is pretty good out there, but it seems like the fish were a little smaller than I would have liked. To be honest, I’m never pleased unless I’m leading, but at least I had an opportunity to improve on things and move up. I had a lot of opportunities (on Friday) to catch bigger fish. In fact, I was going after a six pound bedding fish right before checking in (on Friday) – I threw at it 10 or 15 times – hooked it once, but lost it – and it was time to go. “For a lot of reasons, fishing in the top 50 takes the pressure off,” Reese added. “You’ve already made an important cut and you know your getting a check. It gives you a chance to swing for the fences and see if you can make it happen.”
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>>>Marty Stone |
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Stone again improved on Saturday, bringing out the spinnerbait to collect 16 pounds, 2 ounces and a three-day total of 44 pounds, 1 ounce and 21st overall. And for the first time this year, he felt like he was getting back on track. “I wasn’t pleased with the way I was fishing or with my preparation for the Classic,” Stone admitted. “Life happened and I had to deal with it. (On Friday), at about 10 am, I finally felt like the rhythm was starting to come back and it became fun again. I also started to understand a few things pattern wise. I will take what I did (on Friday) and build on it. “I really felt like I should have made the cut today (Saturday), but I missed a couple of bigger fish before I realized what pattern they were on,” Stone continued. “It took me an hour to truly understand the rhythm of these fish, and you had to have something very specific to get them to bite. When I figured it out, it got ugly for them quickly. If I would of gotten there just a little sooner, I would have been fishing Sunday.”
Stone, of Linden, N.C., talked about how brutal it can be to be consistent. “This sport can be pretty wicked. Success out here is about things happening at the right place at the right time,” he said. “When I was on that great run last year, I would catch a five pounder when I needed to. In fact, I’ve already had some people come up and ask me what’s wrong. I didn’t think anything was wrong. I caught two limits at the Classic, two limits on Lake Amistad and I’ve already caught two limits here. “Friday was the first day that I had caught a four pounder all year,” Stone continued. “Sometimes that’s all the difference between a great run and an awful one – the size of the fish. Now, Lake Amistad hurt me – it really did. It had been over two years since I missed a check. That was a bitter pill to swallow.”
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>>>Gerald Swindle |
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According to Advance Auto Parts pro Gerald Swindle, he’s ‘struggling’ right now. If that’s the case, Swindle has ‘struggled’ his way into contention for his second CITGO Bassmaster Angler of the Year title. After finishing 13th on Lake Amistad last weekend, Swindle wrapped up the 26th position with 42 pounds and 9 ounces of overall weight. The Hayden, Ala, resident talked about his weekend. “I just didn’t get it done this time,” Swindle said. “I’ve fished two tournaments now, fishing every different way except the way I want catch them,” Swindle said. “It’s getting old because I’m not getting the breaks either. But I can work through these hard times while surviving and being in the mix. When things turn and go your way, you should be in a good position to take advantage of it. “I have broken off too many fish,” Swindle continued. “Right before I came in today (Saturday), I broke off a four and half pounder sight fishing. Those are the fish that could Even though these last two tournaments haven’t fit Swindle’s style, he’s made strides in how he’s performed at these early season venues. “I don’t normally excel in these big fish tournaments,” Swindle said. “So, to do what I have done in these last two may be a sign that my fishing has matured because I’m surviving these tournaments. Normally, when I come to these events, I get pummeled. “I’m looking forward to mid-season because I really like that time of the year,” Swindle added. “Today, I had to fish what I was offered, and it was an area I had never seen before. I had to get out of the wind. Once it laid down, it allowed me to move around a lot more, which helped me mentally as well.”
Back in 2004, Swindle wrapped up his first Angler of the Year title at Santee Cooper (S.C.), site of the next Elite Series event in a week and a half. “It will be a little special,” Swindle said. “It will be good to get back on that lake again. I have a lot of good feelings about that place, so I’m hoping to pull something off. It’s a little bit more of a target lake with trees and stuff, but I’m really looking forward to it.” Swindle did have a chance to flourish with Lucky Craft product – a new one to be exact.
“The very first day of the tournament, I got on a little pattern right before I came in,” Swindle recalled. “And I blistered them on a Lucky Craft Splash Tail in Chartreuse Shad. It was about 1 p.m. and I moved into this pocket, so I tied the Splash Tail onto my cranking rod and caught seven fish within the first 200 yards of throwing it. Every one of them was a nice two and half pounder. That day would have turned this thing into a great cranking tournament had it stayed warm that night. What you had to do was rip it, then let it sit. Rip it and let it sit. Those bed fish would come up, you would see them get under it, and that’s when they would bite it.” |
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>>>Joe Thomas |
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“I felt it today,” Thomas said. “I had a rough go of it down in Amistad, so you have that added little pressure in and of itself. Knowing that you are only one bite away from making the cut is very intense. Overall, you just want to keep your focus, keep your head down and it’s between you and the fish. “The game has really changed out here,” he continued. “When $10,000 is on the line for finishing in the 50th position, it works on you a little. I was pretty stress free Thursday, and only caught 12 pounds. I went out and caught a few fish this morning (Friday) and had a chance to make the cut, upping the ante and putting a little pressure on myself, but it didn’t happen for me today.”
Thomas had some luck using a Lucky Craft jerkbait. “I caught quite a few fish on the outside edge of the bushes with a Slender Pointer 112 in American Shad,” Thomas said. “The smaller fish seemed like they were on the outside edge of that grass, but the better ones were up in the bushes. The jerkbait was actually helpful in getting inside those areas. But you had to use soft plastics to really get in there and get them. “I fished the same way both days, swimming soft plastic baits in through the bushes,” Thomas added. “(On Thursday), I had the bites to have a pretty nice bag, but I lost a five. (On Friday), I caught that five-pound fish. I culled both days, but had a better weight today (Friday). When the competition and weights are this tight – and you miss an execution at any time and only have one or two shots at a big one every day, it can hurt you. It was getting tougher and tougher to get a bite out there.”
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Copyright 2005 LUCKY CRAFT, INC. |