January 2025 - Roosevelt Lake
Tournament Summary
The recent tournament at Roosevelt Lake showcased a variety of techniques, baits, and strategies that anglers used to secure strong bags in challenging conditions. Below is a summary of the key takeaways:
Key Techniques & Baits
• Soft Plastics on Finesse Rigs:
• The free rig emerged as one of the most effective techniques, paired with Senkos and other soft plastics.
• Drop shot rigs with worms or curly tail plastics (like the 5150 curly tail) were also productive, especially in deeper water.
• The J-rig with craws like the Chigger Craw performed well for those targeting structure.
• Carolina rigs with Rage Tail trailers helped cover water and locate fish in deeper spots.
• Reaction Baits:
• Reaction bites were inconsistent but produced notable fish for some anglers. Swimbaits, crankbaits (medium-running and deep-diving), and spinnerbaits saw occasional success.
• Square-bill crankbaits were effective early in the morning but faded as the day progressed.
Structure & Locations
• Points and Offshore Structure:
• Anglers targeted points and offshore structure, particularly in 20–37 feet of water. These areas often featured cobble or brush, with a few holding replacement fish throughout the day.
• Notable areas included spots near Schoolhouse Ramp, Grapevine, and Windy Hill.
• Shallow Water Success:
• Early in the day, some anglers focused on shallow points or banks with reaction baits, though success was hit-or-miss.
• Shallow bites became more productive once the sun rose and warmed the water slightly.
Standout Moments
1. Winning Bag (1st Place - Doyle Wofford & Tom Alauria):
• A 6-pound kicker caught on a free rig with a thin Senko set the tone early. They focused on points and utilized finesse baits for a steady limit. A late 4-pounder culled their smallest fish, sealing the victory.
2. 2nd Place (Joe Michels):
• Video highlights of his performance can be viewed here.
3. 3rd Place (Nick Teschler & Loren Moore):
• Focused on offshore structure with free rigs and drop shots in 20–35 feet. Struggled early but rallied mid-morning to secure a solid bag.
4. 4th Place (Brian Presmyk & Robert Ferrera):
• Found success in shallow water (2–10 feet) early with crankbaits, transitioning to drop shots later to fill out their limit.
5. 6th Place (Lance Kuhler & Archie Tourney):
• Located fish in 37.5 feet on cobble and brush with drop shots and Carolina rigs. They adjusted strategies throughout the day but stayed consistent in deeper water.
6. 7th Place (John Hilland & Tom Atherton):
• Adapted to changing conditions by switching between crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and finesse rigs like free rigs and J-rigs. A big fish over 4 pounds anchored their bag.
General Observations
• Weather Challenges: The cold morning conditions (with freezing rod guides) made the early bite tough for many. As the day warmed, finesse presentations became more reliable.
• Consistency Over Time: Teams that rotated productive spots and stuck to key techniques like the free rig and drop shot saw the best results.
• Lessons Learned: Several anglers noted the importance of sticking with productive areas rather than chasing new bites, as deeper spots continued to replenish fish.
This tournament highlighted the versatility needed to succeed at Roosevelt Lake, with finesse presentations and deep structure being the dominant patterns. Congratulations to all participants, especially the top finishers, for showcasing adaptability and skill in tough conditions!
Tournament Reports
1st Place: Doyle Wofford & Thomas Alauria - 18.20lbs
Doyle Wofford
For the second time since joining the club, I had the good fortune of being paired with Tom Alauria for the Roosevelt Lake tournament. We met on Tuesday morning for some pre-fishing, hoping to locate productive spots. Throughout the day, we caught plenty of fish on a variety of baits, including Texas-rigged lizards, free rigs, jigs, and drop shots. The only technique that didn’t work for us was reaction baits. We explored several areas, eliminating a few and finalizing a solid game plan for Wednesday.
Tournament morning, we started at our first spot—the points across from Schoolhouse Ramp. The fishing was slow for the first hour, with both of us struggling to get bites. I stuck with finesse baits while Tom tried a chatterbait, though all we caught initially was ice on our rod tips! Once the sun rose, I hooked into our biggest fish, a 6-pounder, using a free rig with a thin Senko. That fish gave us a great start and boosted our confidence.
It took about an hour to get our limit, and things started to look promising. Tom had a slow start but made up for it in a big way at our second spot. For a while, I felt like my primary job was netting fish! We culled several times, ounce by ounce, and estimated our bag to be slightly under 16 pounds.
At 3:00 p.m., I joked about needing some last-minute magic. Almost immediately, I heard Tom yelling, “Get the net, get the net, get the net!” His rod was bent over with a big fish directly beneath the boat. It turned out to be a 4-pounder. We quickly culled our smallest fish and headed back to the ramp with smiles on our faces. Thankfully, our bag held up, and we took home the win.
Thanks to everyone who keeps this club running smoothly—I’m looking forward to the rest of the year!
Tom Alauria
First, I want to thank the officers and weigh-in crew for running a smooth event. I had the pleasure of fishing with Doyle Wofford. On Tuesday, we started pre-fishing up the Salt River side. On tournament day, we returned to the same area, and Doyle quickly landed our first fish—a 6-pounder in shallow water on a free rig.
We stayed in the area, and Doyle added four more small fish to the livewell. Meanwhile, I couldn’t catch a thing and started to feel like I needed a refresher in fishing basics. I suggested moving to a hundred-yard bank near Grapevine, where I tied on a J-rig with a Chigger Craw and started catching keeper fish. We culled all our smaller fish.
At 3:00 p.m., just before leaving, I made one final cast and yelled for the net. The result was a 4.5-pounder that sealed the deal. It was a great day on the water!
2nd Place: Joe Michels 17.07lbs
Photo assist by Tom Atherton !!!
Congratulations to Doyle and Tom on their win! Thanks to the weigh-in crew for all their hard work.
How I did, it can be seen in complete detail in this video on my YouTube channel.
3rd Place: Nicholas Teschler & Loren Moore 14.04lbs
Nick Teschler
Loren and I pre-fished on Tuesday for about three and a half hours, finding an excellent jig bite. Based on that, we felt confident we could weigh in 15-17 pounds during the tournament. But as always, the bite changed on tournament day.
My plan was to throw crankbaits in the morning and switch to jigs once the sun was up. Unfortunately, crankbaits and jigs didn’t produce. The morning was rough, with only a few fish caught here and there. Around 10:30 or 11:00, the bite improved, and we managed to put together a decent limit.
We moved frequently and revisited many of the same spots. Tips of points and offshore structures were most productive, with fish coming on free rigs and drop shots in 20-35 feet of water. Although we caught plenty of fish, I lost more than I could count—a personal record for lost fish. Despite the frustrations, it was a good time, and we ended up with a decent bag.
Loren Moore
No report.
4th Place: Brian Presmyk, Robert Ferrera 13.52
Brian Presmyk
Congratulations to Doyle and Tom on their well-deserved win! I met up with Robert on Tuesday to pre-fish, and I mentioned a spot I’d noticed earlier that morning. That spot ended up being our go-to location on tournament day.
We started the day throwing square bills and medium-running crankbaits, aiming to limit out early. Despite losing three fish initially, we composed ourselves and had our limit by 9:30. Throughout the day, we rotated through six spots, fishing with crankbaits and drop shots. All our fish were caught in 2-10 feet of water.
Thanks to Robert for fishing hard all day—it was a pleasure sharing the boat with you!
Robert Ferrera
No report.
5th Place: Floyd Vaughan, Nathan Fearno 13.33lbs
No Reports
6th Place: Lance Kuhler & Archie Tourney 13.26lbs
6th Place: Lance Kuhler & Archie Tourney 13.26lbs
Lance Kuhler
Congratulations to Doyle and Thomas and all the other guys that fished the Roosevelt tournament. It was a fun day. I was lucky enough to draw Archie Tourney as my Co-angler. It was his first tournament with Midweek. He is a great fisherman and was really well organized for a team effort. We pre-fished Roosevelt the week before and found a really nice reaction bite and just had a fun day. We lost a decent fish on a big swimbait and got a bunch to look at it. We fished deep a little and Archie caught a fish over 4 lbs. When we were pre-fishing and idling around, I noticed a couple of spots where I graphed fish on rocks with brush. They looked so good that I put waypoints on them and didn’t even think about them again.
On tournament day we tried the reaction bite and got a 3 ½ lbs smallmouth on a swimbait. He hit it three times before he got it. Unfortunately, we got no other bites on reaction baits and abandoned that approach after about an hour. The main lake point where Archie caught the 4 lbs plus had boats on it all day, one after another. So I decided to stop really quickly at the two spots I had marked in practice. I decided to use a Carolina Rig and Archie decided to drop shot. We started catching fish right away in 37.5 feet of water. The key was to fish the two small areas with cobble that had brush on it. All of the areas surrounding these two areas had a soft muddy bottom. Honestly, I don’t remember who caught what but we were catching fish and culling in about two hours. The area seemed to be getting replacement fish but they all seemed to be 1 ½ to 2 lbs. After a slow stretch and no real quality fish we ran down near Windy Hill and tried the reaction bite for an hour. The wind had picked up but it still wasn’t there for us. So we went back to our deep spot and kept fishing. We caught a few more fish and continued to upgrade little by little. I knew we weren’t going to win with our current weight somewhere around 11 lbs. Sometime around 1:00 PM I decided to go try to catch a big fish on big swimbait. So we ran down to the Cholla ramp and fished that shoreline north of there. We never even had a fish come up and look at it. So we had wasted and hour at least. In a last ditch effort we ran all the way back to our deep spot with maybe 45 minutes left. We started getting bit right away and the quality was getting better. I actually broke off a couple of good fish that would have helped and in the end we upgraded a couple more times. Unfortunately, the smallmouth died in the livewell which cost us a couple spots.
All in all, it was a great day of fishing with plenty of fish and opportunity. We simply should have stayed on the fish we had. Never leave fish to find fish. Thanks to all the people that make these great tournaments happen.
Archie Tourney
This was my first tournament with the Midweek Bass Club, and I want to thank the board members for their efforts. I was fortunate to pair with Lance Kuhler and pre-fish on Thursday. Lance put us on fish, and I quickly caught three on a deep crankbait. On main lake points, I switched to a drop shot with a 5150 curly tail and landed a 4.64-pound largemouth. I rounded out the day with two more nice fish on a swimbait.
Tournament day started slow. I began with a crankbait but had to switch to a drop shot to catch my first fish. Lance was already ahead with three in the boat. He shared a Chigger Craw with me, and I landed my second fish. My final fish came on a Carolina rig with a Rage Tail trailer.
Thanks to Lance for sharing his experience—I learned a lot about fish behavior and new techniques. I’m looking forward to fishing in 2025 with the club!
7th Place: John Hilland & Tom Atherton 12.80lbs
John Hilland
I had the pleasure of fishing with Tom Atherton again. On Tuesday, we pre-fished in freezing conditions, with ice forming on our rod guides. We found a decent bite on the Salt River side using crankbaits and slow plastics presentations.
On tournament day, we started with crankbaits and quickly landed a few fish, but the bite died after the first hour. Around 11:00, we moved deeper into the Salt and started catching fish by slow-dragging Baby Brush Hogs and Senkos. The wind picked up, so I switched to a spinnerbait, targeting windblown banks. This helped us complete our limit and cull a few times. Our big fish, just over 4 pounds, came on a free-rigged Senko.
Thanks to the crew for another well-run tournament. Welcome to the new members—I’m looking forward to seeing everyone at Alamo!
Tom Atherton
No report
8th Place: Victor Cunningham & Bill Pfeifer 12.54lbs
No reports
9th Place: Bryan Colby & Joel Steenstra 12.08lbs
No reports