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McClelland and Swindle Preview Grand Lake Elite Series Tournament
Longtime Toyota Bonus Bucks participant and frequent Grand Lake o’ the Cherokees angler Mike McClelland, along with 2-time Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Gerald Swindle, graciously took time to talk about everything from spawning bass to “Taco Tuesday” on the eve of the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Elite at Grand Lake, Oklahoma.
Q: What percentage of the bass weighed-in this week will be caught from a visible spawning bed?
Swindle: I’ll say 2%
McClelland: I’ll go as high as 5%
(Note: Both anglers agreed that while there are plenty of bass spawning this week, being able to actually see their beds in Grand Lake’s dingy water is very difficult.)
Q: What do you like most about Grand Lake, Oklahoma?
Swindle: I like the fact that Grand Lake spreads people out. It’s a lake that keeps you really busy because there’s so much to cast at. You’re constantly thinking about whether you should be fishing docks, rocky points, riprap, brush piles, laydowns, you name it, this place keeps you busy.
McClelland: Grand has so many different forms of fish holding habitat that you can usually fish the way you prefer to here.
Q: What’s challenging you most after three days of practice?
Swindle: Trying to understand how the water levels are affecting the exact position and movement of these fish.
McClelland: Believe it or not, as much as I’ve fished here, I’ve never fished here when most of the bass were just about to make a major push to spawn. So the conditions I’m facing this week are all pretty new to me.
Q: How much weight do you think an angler will have to average each day in order to make the Top 12 cut on the final day?
Swindle: 17 ¾ pounds per day
McClelland: Man, I’m the wrong guy to ask, but I’ll guess 16 pounds per day.
Q: Both of you live life on tour in a 5th wheel RV — what’s the best meal you’ve shared with your wife in the RV this week?
Swindle: Chicken tacos
McClelland: Taco Tuesday. We have tacos every Tuesday out here on tour.
Jordan Lee Struggling to See Spawning Bass at Grand Lake
If back-to-back Bassmaster Classic Champ Jordan Lee notches a Top 12 at the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Elite at Grand Lake, there’s about a 38-percent chance he’ll catch his fish from spawning beds.
Yep, after two long days of practice, when asked what percentage of the bass weighed-in this week on Grand Lake o’ the Cherokees would be caught from spawning beds, the always laid-back Lee comically replied, “I’d guess 38-percent. No, change that. I’m gonna say 38.5%.”
Northeast Oklahoma has experienced a much colder than normal April like most of America. Snow flurries fell here two weeks ago. Water temps are ranging from 58 to 64, and a cold rain is falling on the final day of practice.
So while there are absolutely bass on beds at the famed fishery full of 4-pounders that hosted the 2013 and 2016 Bassmaster Classics, many of Grand’s bass are still in pre-spawn phase, and those that are on beds are difficult to see according to Lee.
“I’ve been from the Pensacola Dam to above the Elk River, and I’ve yet to find a spot that was clear enough to think I could see ‘em on beds well enough to do well on spawners,” says the Quantum pro.
“I think there’s a few spawning, but I don’t think the majority are. And even though I expected the lower end of the lake near Ketchum to be clear, it’s really not. Just like during the 2016 Classic, the whole lake is what I’d call off-colored or heavily stained,” says Lee.
“It’s kind of unfortunate, because I absolutely love to look for spawners, but I don’t think there’s gonna be much of a chance to do that here this week,” concludes the former Carhartt College Series champ.
At least not more than a 38.5% chance.
Scroggins Says Carolina Rig Could Make a Splash at Grand Lake
Don’t be shocked if Florida pro Terry “Big Show” Scroggins makes a splash at the 2018 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Elite at Grand Lake. Actually … a “double splash” … the nickname Scroggins and other serious anglers often give the Carolina Rig based on its two-part componentry consisting of both a heavy lead egg sinker and a soft plastic lizard.
Two of the five B.A.S.S. wins Scroggins has logged in his illustrious $2 Million dollar career have come on the C-Rig, but the once popular fish-catching rig seems to have fallen out of trend like “pegging” the pant legs of your late 80s acid-washed jeans.
“I guess it gets a bad wrap because people think it’s a lazy man’s way of fishing. But it weighs enough that just about anybody can cast it, even on a windy day. Plus, you can cover a lot of water with it, and it gets a ton of bites,” says Scroggins.
“It’s definitely considered an old school technique that’s been put on the back burner and kind of forgotten. And part of the reason it’s been shelved is because we have lures now days like the 10XD crankbait that will get down to the bottom in 25-feet of water,” says the Carhartt pro who loves to cook.
“Back in the 1980s and 90s we didn’t have lures like the 10XD, so we had to depend on a Carolina Rig with a 1-ounce sinker to get a lure down to those deep zones,” explains Scroggins.
While some like a lighter weight for Carolina-rigging, Scroggins has always favored a 1-ounce egg sinker much like many anglers use for catfishing, and even saltwater fishing.
“I can throw that particular weight into 5 feet of water or 25 feet of water and it’ll come across the bottom without getting hung up because the egg-shape tends to roll really good. Especially if there’s any current at all,” says the longtime Toyota pro.
Grand Lake is ideally suited for a Carolina Rig due to its 45,000 acres of rocky shoreline where anglers like “Big Show” are forced to explore a lot of flat rocky points holding pre-spawn bass in a short three-day practice period.
“I can make three casts with a Carolina Rig for every one cast I’d make with a jig on a rocky point. And if you look at this egg sinker, you can tell by the way it’s scuffed up so bad that I’ve definitely been dragging it a ton in practice. It’s supposed to be a 1-ounce, but I think I’ve drug it around so much, it’s now ground-down to about a 3/4 ounce,” laughed the always comical Scroggins.
In addition to the heavy egg sinker, Scroggins typically spools up with 15-pound fluorocarbon, and uses a four to five foot long leader also made of fluorocarbon. His lure of choice is a green pumpkin lizard, but he’ll often bump-up to the 8” magnum size lizard in off-colored pre-spawn waters like he’s dealing with at Grand Lake.
While the legendary fishery situated in extreme Northeast Oklahoma on the Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas borders has recently hosted two Bassmaster Classics, its history of hosting regular season B.A.S.S. events is relatively minimal.
However, one of those B.A.S.S. events on Grand Lake o’ the Cherokees was held in early April 1995, back when acid washed jeans were fashionable — and so was the Carolina Rig — which was exactly the lure legendary East Texas pro Tommy Martin used to catch an average of 17-pounds per day for the victory.
Kevin VanDam likes Coleslaw Spinnerbaits
As a Michigan native, Kevin VanDam grew up throwing a lot of spinnerbaits featuring painted blades for smallmouth. Some of the willowleaf blades were painted chartreuse, others were painted white, and when burned at a high retrieve speeds, smallies often crushed them in the typically clearer waters of the Great Lakes region.
But it was a trip south to Table Rock Lake, MO, for a media gathering in the late 1990s, where VanDam first discovered painted white blades paired with a unique skirt color named for a side dish he always thought was reserved only for fried fish.
“Stacey King is my buddy and a legendary pro, and he was the first one to show me this blade and skirt color they call “Coleslaw” that’s fairly popular with serious anglers around the Ozark reservoirs like Table Rock and Bull Shoals,” reflects the 7-time Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Champion.
Sure enough, while the skirt is primarily white like creamy mayonnaise covered cabbage, it has just a few strands of orange to look like the carrots that make the popular side dish complete. And while you’ll not find any chartreuse in a great dish of your momma’s slaw, there’s even a very slight hint of that too.
“It looks like skirt color you might use in dirty water. But to me it always performs best in really clear, or barely stained, water on a cloudy or rainy day with about a 15 mph wind blowing,” says VanDam.
“Those painted white blades and that peculiar skirt color, make an awesome silhouette, and while a plain white skirt under painted white blades might get the job done – “Coleslaw” sounds way better – and it dang sure taste better too – even to the bass,” he adds with a grin.
Kevin’s Coleslaw Equipment: VanDam uses at least a ½ ounce, and often times a heavy ¾ ounce, Strike King spinnerbait to create a larger profile like a big gizzard shad. He always ties it to a 20-pound fluorocarbon line on a large spooled Quantum Smoke HD reel for optimum casting distance. He favors at least a 6.6:1 gear ratio on the reel, and uses a Quantum 7’ 4” heavy action TourKVD rod to handle the heavier lure.
Kevin’s Favorite Meal Consisting of Coleslaw: “Oh hands down, it has to be deep fried yellow perch anywhere around the Great Lakes. That’s a staple dinner where I’m from, especially on Friday nights. And if you’re feeling just a little adventurous, you can even put your slaw on top of the fried perch on a fish sandwich and eat it that way – it doesn’t get any better than that,” smiles VanDam.
Tennessee’s Powell Wins Costa FLW Series Central Division Opener on Table Rock Lake
BRANSON, Mo. (April 21, 2018) – Pro Hensley Powell of Whitwell, Tennessee, brought a five-bass limit weighing 11 pounds, 7 ounces, to the scale Saturday to win the Costa FLW Series Central Division opener on Table Rock Lake presented by Lowrance. Powell’s three-day total of 15 bass weighing 40 pounds, 12 ounces, was enough top the 197-boat field and take the first place prize of $49,700.
Powell spent the majority of the event fishing the backs of pockets on the White River. He said he used an umbrella rig with White Ice-colored Zoom Swimmin’ Super Fluke Jr. soft jerkbaits to work through 30 to 35 pockets a day, catching smallmouth, largemouth and spotted bass in the process.
“I threw an umbrella rig the entire tournament and a Strike King jerkbait maybe a dozen or so times when I was in clearer water,” said Powell, who notched his first career win in FLW competition. “For me, it was more about where the fish were this week. In practice I figured out that they were in the back third of the pockets, in 8 to 12 feet of water. Even the spotted bass and smallmouth were up there staging to spawn, and that’s where the majority of the largemouth were.”
Powell said he was able to catch plenty fish in each of his areas, but their weight gradually decreased throughout the event.
“I thought this front we had would make the big ones bite again, but it didn’t,” said Powell.
Powell credited his 7-foot, 6-inch heavy-action Cashion rod with being his most beneficial piece of equipment. He said it provided the sensitivity he needed to feel the bites.
“I could feel the largemouth as they were about to bite the bait and I was able to keep it with them. I could feel them come up behind it and push it. When they did that, I would speed it up a little bit, slow down and then they’d eat it.”
The top 10 pros on Table Rock Lake finished:
1st: Hensley Powell, Whitwell, Tenn., 15 bass, 40-12, $49,700
2nd: Mike McClelland, Bentonville, Ark., 14 bass, 39-4, $19,500
3rd: Jeremy Lawyer, Sarcoxie, Mo., 15 bass, 39-1, $14,000
4th: Stacey King, Reeds Spring, Mo., 15 bass, 38-15, $12,000
5th: Derek Jenkel, Pinckneyville, Ill., 14 bass, 35-2, $11,100
6th: Kevin Meeks, Smyrna, Tenn., 13 bass, 34-9, $9,000
7th: Keith Amerson, Bethel Springs, Tenn., 13 bass, 34-8, $7,800
8th: Graden Hansen, Lee’s Summit, Mo., 12 bass, 33-3, $7,100
9th: Todd Castledine, Nacogdoches, Texas, 12 bass, 30-13, $5,800
10th: Cody Hahner, Wausau, Wis., 10 bass, 28-0, $4,400
A complete list of results will be posted at FLWFishing.com.
Hansen weighed a 7-pound, 3-ounce bass Friday – the biggest of the tournament in the Pro Division. For his catch, Hansen earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $300.
Chad Allison of Carl Junction, Missouri, won the Co-angler Division and a Ranger Z175 with a 90-horsepower outboard motor. Allison earned his win with a three-day cumulative catch of 14 bass weighing 39 pounds, 10 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers on Table Rock Lake finished:
1st: Chad Allison, Carl Junction, Mo., 14 bass, 39-10, $28,200
2nd: Cullen Baxter, Columbia, Mo., 15 bass, 35-1, $6,050
3rd: Robbie Bartoszek, Hampshire, Tenn., 13 bass, 32-0, $4,800
4th: Dewey Larson, Fayetteville, Ark., 14 bass, 31-8, $3,900
5th: Matthew Justice, Fair Play, S.C., 12 bass, 29-10, $3,400
6th: Bryan Tracy, St. Peters, Mo., 12 bass, 29-0, $2,900
7th: Jeffrey Smith, Concordia, Mo., 12 bass, 27-15, $2,400
8th: Jason Sandidge, Centerton, Ark., 12 bass, 27-1, $1,950
9th: Eric Nance, Washington, Mo., 12 bass, 25-14, $1,580
10th: Gerald Andrews, Benton, Ky., 10 bass, 23-4, $1,330
John Fuller of Salem, Arkansas, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division Friday, a fish weighing 6 pounds, 4 ounces that earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $200.
The Costa FLW Series on Table Rock Lake presented by Lowrance was hosted by ExploreBranson.com. It was the first of three Costa FLW Series Central Division tournaments of the 2018 regular season. The next Costa FLW Series tournament will be a Western Division event, held May 10-12 on Clear Lake in Lakeport, California, and is presented by Evinrude. For a complete schedule, visit FLWFishing.com.
The Costa FLW Series consists of five U.S. divisions – Central, Northern, Southeastern, Southwestern and Western – along with the International division. Each U.S. division consists of three regular-season tournaments with competitors vying for valuable points that could earn them the opportunity to compete in the season-ending Costa FLW Series Championship. The 2018 Costa FLW Series Championship is being held Nov. 1-3 on Lake Guntersville in Guntersville, Alabama, and is hosted by the Marshall County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Costa FLW Series on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat.
About FLW
FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money in 2018 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW and their partners conduct 286 bass-fishing tournaments annually around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Portugal, South Africa and Spain. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show, broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, while FLW Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros. For more information visit FLWFishing.com and follow FLW at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat.