“It was a slow, methodical fishing day of fishing,” said Pickett, who earned his fifth win in BFL competition – third on Ross Barnett. “The areas had patches of grass in the water. If it was one solid clump you wouldn’t get a bite, but if there were isolated clumps off to the side, I’d throw at those.
“I think they were prespawn bass trying to pull up. I worked them over slow because of the cold front that was coming through Sunday morning,” continued Pickett. “During practice, the weather was bad, but I caught 20 and shook off 20, so I think that weather really shut them down. On the day of the tournament, I maybe had 10 keepers, but they were quality.”
Pickett said he used a Carolina-rigged Zoom Baby Brush Hog and a small Strike King creature bait to entice his fish. He said he used darker colors like junebug if the water was stained, and green-pumpkin if it was clearer.
“Water temperature was a huge factor – I can’t stress that enough,” said Pickett. “At takeoff, it was around 56 degrees, and when it hit 60 or 61, it made all the difference in the world. My first two areas were colder, but the third stretch was sheltered from the wind and was about 62 degrees. It took a little while, but the bite got better around 11 (a.m.).”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Lloyd Pickett Jr., Bartlett, Tenn., five bass, 16-11, $3,766 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
2nd: Mitch Crane, Columbus, Miss., five bass, 15-5, $2,083
3rd: Joel Barber, Brandon, Miss., five bass, 13-1, $1,256
4th: Kirk Tisdale, Ellisville, Miss., five bass, 12-6, $816
4th: Gary Caruso, Baton Rouge, La., five bass, 12-6, $1,216
6th: Travis Mosley, Benton, Ark., five bass, 11-5, $690
7th: Ray King, Brandon, Miss., three bass, 11-3, $628
8th: Darrell Hunter, Lena, Miss., three bass, 10-5, $565
9th: Shan Schoenrock, Aliceville, Ala., five bass, 9-13, $502
10th: Jason Hannah, Forest, Miss., five bass, 9-12, $439
Corey Sullivan of Brandon, Mississippi, caught a 6-pound, 3-ounce bass – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $500. Nick Quaintance of Russellville, Alabama, won the Co-angler Division and $1,883 Saturday after catching four bass weighing 12 pounds, 2 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Nick Quaintance, Russellville, Ala., four bass, 12-2, $1,883
2nd: Don White, Columbus, Miss., five bass, 11-0, $942
3rd: Tres Dobbins, Collinsville, Miss., three bass, 7-8, $627
4th: Kevin Smith, Yazoo City, Miss., three bass, 7-0, $639
5th: Tim Beale, Hernando, Miss., three bass, 6-9, $427
6th: Jerry Riddle, Summit, Miss., one bass, 6-2, $595
7th: Chuck Channell, Clinton, Miss., three bass, 5-10, $314
8th: Joshua Harris, Jackson, Miss., three bass, 5-9, $282
9th: Chris Bowers, Brandon, Miss., three bass, 5-6, $251
10th: Joey Tanner, Meridian, Miss., one bass, 4-11, $220
Riddle caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 6 pounds, 2 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $250.