The $100,000 free-for-all tournament at Lewis Smith Lake in the Alabama Bass Trail Championship saw “Team Hurst” walk away with the top prize, $50,000 in cash, plus the claim to top bassers in the state this year, weighing in a total catch of 25.12, all spotted bass, for the two day event.
Matthew Hurst and Roy Hurst Jr. said they fished bluff walls in the Ryan Creek arm of the lake, primarily targeting walls with chunk rock and deep water.
It was a come-from-behind win. The Hursts were in 13th place after the first day of fishing, but finished strong to beat out second place team Jason Cannon and Trent Surat, who finished with. 23.65 pounds to earn a $10,000 check.
The anglers reported mostly rotating between four spots, two of which seemed to hold the fish. The bluff wall was in 50 feet of water, and they used a Zoom green pumpkin Trick Worm with a 3/16 oz Picasso Shaky head on 12 lb. Seaguar Invizx line. They also fished a 3/8 oz Predator live rubber football jig with a Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed C raw trailer in watermelon candy on 17 lb. Seaguar Abrazx. After casting, they let these baits sink down slowly. Most of the time the bites came on the fall, according to Matthew Hurst.
Second place team Cannon and Surat reported catching most of their spotted bass on a green pumpkin colored Baby Brush Hog, a type of soft plastic, fished on a Carolina rig. They also said they caught fish on a shad colored soft plastic fluke lure, and a green pumpkin shaky head jig. Most were caught from Ryan Creek, as with the Hursts. The team reported mostly fishing wind-blown points close to the park in Ryan Creek.
Third place team Tyler Smart and Bret Harrell had a two-day total of 23.60 and took home $5,000. They were in 6th place after day one with 12.16 pounds. The anglers reported fishing mostly in Rock Creek targeting fish in pockets early in the morning using a buzzbait, a River2Sea Rover in a shad color and a Whopper Plopper, both topwater lures.
They reported working back toward the main creek channel in the afternoons using a homemade shaky head with a green pumpkin Zoom Trick Worm. The anglers said many of their keepers came from shaded areas on the topwaters. On day two they ran the same pattern but found the shaky head bite really went away, so they went back to the pockets and caught a few more fish using the River2Sea Rover.
Lewis Smith is noted for being a difficult lake to fish, and since the majority of bass in the lake are spotted bass rather than largemouths, offshore patterns usually rule, as they did in this event.