September 2025 Roosevelt
Tournament Overview
The Midweek Bass September Tournament at Roosevelt Lake, AZ, featured challenging conditions due to falling water levels and the fall bass transition, but top teams adapted well with a mix of reaction and finesse approaches. Weights ranged from 19.21 lbs for first place down to 13.70 lbs for eighth, with big fish highlights including a 7.70-lb largemouth. Anglers reported catching 20+ fish per team in some cases, focusing on both shallow and deeper structures amid shad schools. Pre-fishing was key for many, revealing inconsistent bites from shallow banks to offshore spots. Thanks were extended to the board and weigh-in crew for managing the event in the Arizona heat.
Techniques
Teams employed a blend of aggressive reaction bites and precise finesse methods to locate and cull fish:
Reaction Baits Dominated for Numbers and Quality
Many teams started with fast-moving presentations to cover water and trigger strikes, especially in the morning. Crankbaiting and topwater were standout techniques, leading to consistent catches and upgrades. For example, first-place winners Joe Michels and Bart Bohlen committed to reaction after early success, culling multiple times over three hours. Similarly, seventh-place Loway Shammas and Spencer Hand lit up with topwater after a slow start, catching around 20 fish total, including smallmouth bass.
Finesse for Deeper or Slower Bites
When reaction slowed, finesse rigs like drop shots, Senkos, and Carolina rigs produced key fish, particularly in deeper water (5-15 feet). Fifth-place Raymond Bates and Mark Royal relied on finesse all day, with patience paying off on a big fish late. Fourth-place Laron Porter and William Briggs used drop shots for their biggest bass in 12 feet, while eighth-place Andy Goettl and Robert Ferrera got numbers on drop shots before switching to jigs for upgrades.
Bank-Beating and Targeting Structure
Several teams beat banks, focusing on brush piles, grass patches, trees, and tires for ambush points. Second-place Don Blume and Steve Wells targeted a boat-sized grass patch for early keepers, then worked trees for a 6-lb fish. Third-place Gary Martlage and Griff Griffiths honed in on marina tires with swimbaits, netting multiple 4.5-lb fish after losing a potential 7-lb kicker.
Adaptation and Spot Rotation
Pre-fishing helped identify non-productive areas (e.g., shallow spots exposed by dropping water), leading to moves across the lake. Sixth-place Kevin Smith and Bob Bereiter hit five planned spots, getting most keepers on cranks after initial finesse bites.
Baits
A variety of lures matched the transitional conditions, with topwater and cranks excelling shallow, and soft plastics shining deeper:
Topwater
Rio Rico (second place), Whopper Plopper (seventh place, key for 5.32-lb big fish and 20+ catches), and unspecified topwater (first place) were go-tos for reaction bites on main-lake points and spots.
Crankbaits
Square-bills for shallow (fourth place), deep divers (12-15 feet, first place for consistent culls), and general cranks (sixth and eighth places for upgrades).
Soft Plastics and Finesse
Free-rig Senko (second place, 3.45- and 6.00-lb fish), drop shot with green pumpkin worms (fourth place, 4.57-lb big fish), Carolina rig (fifth place, 7.70-lb big fish), slider rig (sixth place), and jig (eighth place, 4.70-lb big fish).
Other
7”+ swimbaits (third place for 4.5-lb pairs), white ¾-oz spinnerbait (second place), jerkbait (seventh place early).
Locations
Anglers covered the lake from shallow coves to deeper main-lake areas, with the Salt end and Tonto being hotspots:
Salt River and End
Multiple teams (first, fifth, eighth) ran here for numbers on drop shots, cranks, jigs, and finesse; eighth place caught ~40 fish starting in the Salt.
Tonto Creek and Area
Pre-fished extensively (first place), with fifth place finishing morning here before moving to Salt for the big fish.
Main Lake and Coves
West of the dam (third place, focusing on coves and marina tires); cove west of Grapevine ramp (second place start); across from Windy Hill toward Sally Mae (second place for 6-lb tree fish); main-lake points near deep water (seventh place for topwater action).
Lower End and Creek Arms
Lower lake (fifth place scouting); deep creek arms on shad (fourth place for numbers, but not big ones).
Other
Dam area (eighth place for solid jig fish); offshore schools (challenging for fourth place); general from Salt to Tonto (pre-fish by first place).
Overall, success hinged on adapting to the dropping lake by mixing shallow reaction for volume with targeted finesse for kickers, amid widespread shad presence. Congrats to all teams, with eyes on the next event at Martinez.
Angler Reports
1st – Joe Michels & Bart Bohlen
Big Fish: 6.12 lbs – Weight: 19.21 lbs
Please join me in thanking the weigh-in crew who worked so hard in the heat of the Arizona sun.
I pre-fished three full days. One day the week before, I went out with Steve Ferguson, who showed me a spot that held some fish. We caught two 2.5-lbers and a small fish, then left. On Tuesday, late morning, Bart and I went back, and I caught another 2.5-lber. Those were the best fish I caught in pre-fish, even after fishing super shallow to deep, from the Salt River to Tonto Creek and many places in between. I thought the fishing sucked. But as we all know, Midweek Bass has a huge number of top-notch anglers who know how to catch fish. As it turned out, the fishing was good.
On tournament day, we ran to the one spot we had and started with crankbaits and topwater. I quickly caught a 2.85-lber and one right at 3.00 lbs. Bart switched to a crank almost immediately, but he wasn’t getting the same number of bites. We figured out his crank wasn’t hitting bottom, so I gave him a 12’–15’ diver, and the game was on. Bart and I both caught fish consistently, culling a number of times by adding another 2.80-lber. Then Bart hooked a solid one that weighed 4.76 lbs. At that point, I thought we could win if we got a few more upgrades. That didn’t happen after three hours on the spot, so we decided to move. Bart tells the story of his big fish below.
Bart Bohlen
First, thanks to the Board and the weigh-in crew – well-run event! This was only my second time fishing Roosevelt, and I was fortunate to be partnered with Joe Michels. We spent two days pre-fishing. Joe is a master at adapting to the conditions, figuring out whether reaction or finesse would produce big fish, and working together as a team.
On Wednesday, we started out with reaction and topwater. After Joe put the first few bass in the well, we both committed to reaction baits. We probably caught 20 bass in our first spot, including a 4.76-lber I added to our bag. We moved across the lake to our second spot, but another team was on it, so we went to one Joe thought would hold big fish. He was right – my first cast landed a 6.12-lb bass!
We fished mostly reaction and topwater throughout the day, throwing plastics only when the bite slowed. I learned a ton from Joe in the three days we fished and had a great time along the way – thanks, Joe!
2nd – Don Blume & Steve Wells
Big Fish: 6.00 lbs – Weight: 18.05 lbs
Congratulations to Joe and Bart on the win. Thanks again to the club board and weigh-in crew for a nicely run tournament.
I had some things come up, so I wasn’t able to pre-fish. Steve went out Monday with a buddy but didn’t have much success. So we were flying by the seat of our pants and got lucky.
We started in a cove just west of the Grapevine ramp. Steve threw a Rio Rico, and I threw a white ¾-oz spinnerbait. We beat the bank, targeting brush piles. After about 30 minutes with no bites, we came to a grass patch about the size of a boat. We both said it looked like a fish spot. Sure enough, Steve’s Rico hooked our first, a 4.82. I pulled off the grass patch, picked up a free-rig Senko, and landed our second, a 3.45.
We continued bank-beating and added two small fish. Then we moved across from Windy Hill and worked toward Sally Mae. The free-rig Senko produced a nice 6.00 off a tree. We now had about 17 lbs at 10 a.m. but still needed to cull a 0.92. Around two hours later, we finally replaced it with a 1.75, moving us up to 18 lbs. The rest of the day produced only small fish, but it was still great fishing with Steve again.
3rd – Gary Martlage & Griff Griffiths
Weight: 17.55 lbs
Gary Martlage
I had the pleasure of fishing with Jeremy “Griff” Griffiths at Roosevelt. We went out Tuesday only to learn what not to fish! The lake had dropped a lot since our last derby, and most of my productive spots were too shallow or completely out of water. We decided to fish the main lake, concentrating on coves west of the dam.
We were on a decent bite but nothing special, so we moved toward the marina and fished the tires. That’s where we found better fish. My buddy was throwing 7”+ swimbaits and put on a show! I had to dig deep to polish my netting skills, and it turned into a great day. Griff was upset when a 7-plus came unbuttoned, but I told him, “It happens – go back to fishing.” He did, putting two 4.5-lbers in the boat within 30 minutes!
That kicker would have sealed the win, but we were happy with our final sack. Thanks, Griff, for a great day. Let’s do it again soon!
4th – Laron Porter & William Briggs
Big Fish: 4.57 lbs – Weight: 15.55 lbs
Laron Porter
The fall bass transition, with the lake dropping, made things tough. We struggled to find those large offshore Roosevelt schools. We found numbers of bass deep in the creek arms on shad, but not the big ones. Most of our fish came shallow on square-bill crankbaits. Our biggest, a 4.57, came from Bill on a drop shot in 12’ of water.
Green pumpkin worms worked best deeper. The big bass are still out there, but they may be tough to locate until cooler mornings push them into their fall move. Congrats to everyone who figured it out. See you all at Martinez!
5th – Raymond Bates & Mark Royal
Big Fish: 7.70 lbs – Weight: 14.32 lbs
Raymond Bates
I was paired with experienced fisherman Mark Royal. He was in great shape and handled the hot day, while I started melting as the hours went by. Mark caught most of our bass with finesse techniques, especially a Senko.
I scurried around the lower end of the lake and finished the morning in Tonto. Later in the day, we invested a couple of hours in the Salt. Mark’s patience paid off big time when he reeled in a 7½-lb bass on a Carolina rig – his last cast of the day! I enjoyed my day with Mark.
6th – Kevin Smith & Bob Bereiter
Weight: 13.84 lbs
Kevin Smith
I fished this one with Bob Bereiter as my co-angler. Our time together was great, and I really respect his service in both the military and law enforcement.
I pre-fished alone Monday, then with Bob Tuesday and Wednesday. On tournament day, we had a plan with five spots. Our first produced only two bites, both on a slider rig. The second gave us most of our keepers on crankbaits. Other spots didn’t produce. We caught fish in 5–15 feet.
Overall, it was a great tournament. Congratulations to the winners!
7th – Loway Shammas & Spencer Hand
Big Fish: 5.32 lbs – Weight: 13.77 lbs
Loway Shammas
Thanks again to the team for running a great tournament. My co-angler, Spencer Hand, and I didn’t practice together. I got out two weekends before and found a pattern with a Whopper Plopper.
On tournament day, we focused on main-lake points near deep water. We started slow with a few on drop shot and jerkbait. Then the Plopper lit up – we got four off one point, including our 5.32, though she was hooked too deep to survive. We mixed in some drop-shotting, but topwater was the deal, even pulling two smallmouths.
Fun day and a solid finish.
Spencer Hand
I was paired with Loway, and I was impressed. He put our 5.32 in the boat and caught fish all day on the Whopper Plopper. We probably caught 20 total on it. Great day!
8th – Andy Goettl & Robert Ferrera
Big Fish: 4.70 lbs – Weight: 13.70 lbs
Andy Goettl
I had a tough week before the tournament and barely made it. My original partner dropped, and Floyd lined me up with Robert the night before.
We ran to the Salt first thing. Drop shot produced some numbers, and crankbaits gave us ounces of upgrades, but no real big fish. Later, Robert put numbers in the boat drop-shotting, and I picked up a jig, sticking our 4.7. When Robert netted it, it flopped out – but luckily stayed pinned until I re-boated it.
At the dam later, I stuck another solid one on the jig. This time Robert redeemed himself with a perfect net job. We laughed a lot, caught about 40 fish, and managed a check. Thanks, Robert!