October 2024, Lake Pleasant
The tournament showcased a diverse range of techniques, with successful teams making strategic adjustments throughout the day. While specific strategies varied, a few general patterns emerged among the top 6 teams:
• Techniques: Anglers used a mix of topwater baits, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, drop shots, and jigs. Topwater baits played a crucial role early in the day, with poppers, walking baits, and buzzbaits being the most effective. As the day progressed, many teams transitioned to slower presentations like drop shots, jigs, and Texas rigs to maintain their catch rates.
• Locations: Anglers fished both main lake and upriver areas. Many started shallow, targeting less than 4 feet of water, but later moved to deeper structures like humps, ledges, and trees as fish patterns shifted. The river areas offered consistent action for several teams, particularly around laydowns and muddy water banks.
• Baits: Black spinnerbaits, shad-colored poppers, chatterbaits, and crankbaits were among the most productive lures. Soft plastics like drop shot worms (morning dawn) and Texas-rigged lizards also helped anglers fill their limits and cull smaller fish.
• Pattern Adjustments: The top teams adapted well to changing conditions, such as shifting wind patterns, barometric pressure drops, and the influence of the full moon. They alternated between fast reaction baits and slower finesse baits, depending on the bite.
Key Takeaways
• Topwater Success: Topwater baits were consistently productive for early bites, especially in shallow areas. Walking baits, poppers, and buzzbaits were commonly used to trigger aggressive strikes.
• Shallow Start, Deep Finish: A common strategy was to begin the day fishing shallow banks and cover, then transition to deeper water as the day progressed. This approach helped anglers target different stages of the bass bite throughout the tournament.
• Versatility is Key: Teams that succeeded demonstrated versatility, switching between fast-moving reaction baits and slower finesse baits as conditions changed. This allowed them to adapt to active fish and capitalize on bite windows.
• River Advantage: The river areas provided a strong bite for several teams, especially those focusing on muddy water and submerged cover like laydowns and boulders.
• Changing Conditions: Adjusting to changing weather and water conditions was crucial. Teams that responded quickly to shifting wind directions and barometric changes found more consistent action.
This tournament highlighted the importance of adaptability, location shifts, and a mix of aggressive and finesse techniques.
1st Place: 17.99 lbs
Joe Michels & Spencer Hand
Joe Michels:
Spencer Hand and I had a fantastic tournament. After a solid pre-fish day together, where we caught 15.5 pounds with a 5.5 lb kicker, we felt confident we were going to do well in the tournament. All our best fish during pre-fish came in less than four feet of water, and they held during the tournament. We found a solid main lake spinnerbait bite together, and on a day I fished alone, I also found a solid topwater bite on poppers. For that to work, you had to find the right cover. The 5.5 lb fish came on a squarebill crankbait out of a laydown, and that pattern held up on a second pre-fish day.
On tournament day, we started with spinnerbaits in the main lake. That almost turned out to be a bust until Spencer threw shallow, and a 3.8 lb fish hit his bait. That was a fantastic start! Shortly after that, I threw a popper on a ledge break, and a bass in the same class as Spencer’s came up, grabbed it, and headed to deep water, only to spit out the lure. At this point, I believed the early bite was over in the main lake, and we headed for our prime water in the river.
I knew there were a lot of solid fish in the river; all we needed to do was stay there and keep fishing. When we arrived, there were several boats fishing near where we knew the better fish were located. But the good news was those boats were not fishing the key spots and cover. We started in, and within a few minutes, Spencer hooked a baby on his spinnerbait. We had not caught a fish that small in the river. Next, I caught a matching baby on a squarebill. The day was not working out like I anticipated. We threw both overboard as we knew they would not help.
At this point, I was reliving Roosevelt, where I had located high-quality fish but could not capitalize with fish in the boat. Soon after, it all started coming together. I connected with a 3.3 lb fish on the squarebill—the type of fish I was expecting. Then Spencer, with his spinnerbait, went to work, filling out our limit with fish between 1.7 lbs to 2.2 lbs. We both would connect with a fish and then lose it. But I knew we were on good fish, so we just kept fishing. Spencer, with his spinnerbait, culled with another fish over 2 lbs and then did it again. At one point, we had 15 lbs, but we were not done. I finally picked up the spinnerbait, threw over a laydown we had fished at least twice already, and the 4.8 lb fish slammed the blade. By now, we were feeling good with a sack of just over 17 lbs, but we were not done.
We pulled up to a tree in deeper water, and I hooked another 3-4 lb fish, only to hang up in the tree and lose it. Spencer threw into the tree a minute later and hooked a 3 lb fish. Good recovery, Spencer! At this point, our smallest fish was a 2.2 lb fish. I moved to a shaded bluff, threw a chatterbait, and hooked into a 2.5 lb fish for our final upgrade.
We were all smiles at this point and knew we were going to be tough to beat. Spencer is a very versatile angler and could switch techniques fast and then master them. That is the kind of help I need to win in this club. Thank you Spencer!
I want to thank the weigh-in crew for all their hard work at each and every tournament.
Spencer Hand:
First off, I would like to thank the golf cart girl for hauling us up and down the ramp. Lifesaver!
Joe and I started on boulder piles and rocky shorelines on the main lake. We had pre-fished a week earlier and found big fish upriver, and it didn’t lie on tournament day. My first was just under 4 lbs, with many more to come. Joe hooked a 4.87 lb fish later in the day on a spinnerbait over a snag up the river. I used a black spinnerbait almost all day with great results, although some were caught on a small squarebill.
Joe is a great fisherman and seems to know where the big ones are. Hope to draw him again in the future.
2nd Place: 14.56 lbs
Manny Madrid & Brian Lawrence
Manny Madrid:
First off, congratulations to Joe Michels and Spencer Hand for first place with a heck of a sack of fish!
I was paired with Brian Lawrence for this tournament. It was an absolute pleasure fishing with him. He and I were able to go out for a couple of days to pre-fish together. The week prior, we found—like everyone else, I’m sure—an awesome topwater bite that lasted most of the day. We also checked some summer spots that still had a good number of fish on them. Going into the tournament week, conditions were changing with the full moon and rising barometer. However, on tournament day, it was forecasted to have a south wind come in and a drop in pressure in the middle of the day. Our plan on tournament day was to fish shallow for the first hour or so, where I would be throwing topwater and cranks while Brian threw DS. After that, we would move out onto humps and ledges until we felt the wind change from the south and then go back to running the bank with reaction baits.
The tournament came, and we followed our plan to a T. With one little hiccup just before blast-off, I realized I had failed to make sure my plug was in. I hastily made it back to the ramp, backed my boat up onto the ramp where I thought I could just reach down and put it back in, but that wasn’t the case. I had to fully submerge myself. Thank God it wasn’t winter temperatures.
Our first spot of the day produced a 2.6 lb fish for Brian on a DS and a 2 lb fish on a crank for me. We made a quick run to our second spot, which had two boats on it, so we moved on. At this point, it was time to ledge and hump-hop. We both fished a DS and pretty much caught fish at each location. We stayed in the main lake and caught fish from 15’ to 35’. We were able to cull several times, but only by ounces. At about 12:30, we could really feel the south wind, so we went back to reaction baits, which were slower on bites but produced slightly better fish. We checked the spot we couldn’t get on in the morning, and it was completely vacant of boats. I threw a walking topwater while Brian threw a crankbait. Just as we were about to finish on the bank, I got a huge blow-up next to a boulder pile, producing our 4.97 lb fish and helping us grab second place. We continued until time ran out, catching a handful of fish but nothing worth noting.
Looking forward to next month!
Brian Lawrence:
I would like to thank you for accepting my membership. As for the bass bite at Lake Pleasant, I had the pleasure of drawing Manny M., and we pre-fished two days before the tournament. The Saturday pre-fish day was a lot better than the second one. We fished main lake points and islands using plastics, crankbaits, and topwater. I would like to thank everyone who was at the tournament conducting the take-off and weigh-in.
I look forward to seeing everyone at the Apache Lake tournament.
3rd Place: 13.43 lbs
Lance Kuhler & Doug Moore
Doug Moore:
I had the great pleasure of fishing with Lance Kuehler, fresh off his return from Wisconsin, where he fished for smallmouth all summer (poor guy). We didn’t get a chance to pre-fish, but Lance knows Lake Pleasant and had ideas on where to find fish. We started along the dam, and I got bit on a popper on my second cast—a nice 2.75 lb fish. Lance caught a small one on a crankbait there, and then we moved on. We tried a couple of spots upriver with no luck, then moved to a bank further north where Lance caught a 3 lb fish on a morning dawn drop shot. Lance then switched to topwater and started getting more bites.
We moved around a lot, with Lance picking up fish here and there, and we had a decent limit by around 9 a.m. We still needed to cull, and it took the rest of the day. Lance caught another 3 lb fish on topwater, and I managed to contribute with another morning dawn drop shot 3 lb fish near the dam. We didn’t get the kicker we were looking for, but it was a great day.
Congrats to Joe and Spencer on the win—18 lbs is very impressive!
And as always, thanks to the weigh-in crew and everyone who helped out.
4th Place: 12.73 lbs
Laron Porter & Chris Mabry
Laron Porter:
Pleasant is normally a great fall lake to fish, and it proved that this past weekend. I had the pleasure of fishing with Chris Mabry, and we had a great time. He was a real joy to have on the boat. We fished almost all the way upriver and caught fish using several different methods: chatterbaits, topwater, red and brown crank We fished almost all the way upriver and caught fish using several different methods: chatterbaits, topwater, red and brown crankbaits, and jigs. Joe Michels was just upriver from us and clearly found something we didn’t. Congratulations to him and his partner Spencer, and to all the other top finishers.
Chris Mabry:
I had the pleasure of fishing with Laron Porter. He is a great angler and a very down-to-earth person.
Unfortunately, I was unable to pre-fish with Laron on Tuesday due to family being in town. The weather was perfect, with a lot of sunshine—a nice change from the cooler temperatures of Dewey.
First, I would like to congratulate the first-place team of Joe Michels and Spencer Hand. Thanks again to the weigh-in crew for doing a very efficient and exceptional job at the scales.
We spent most of our time fishing in the muddy water upriver, and we could see the first-place team fishing in the same area for most of the day. Laron caught our first fish on a white chatterbait. My plan was to fish topwater early, using a shad-colored Zara Spook, which eventually produced our second fish. Laron was alternating between a chatterbait, crankbait, and buzzbait, while I tried a spinnerbait, fluke, and crankbait. Early on, we stuck with white and shad-colored baits, along with light-colored crankbaits. Laron caught the next few fish. When things slowed down, we both switched to craw-colored crankbaits, which produced a few more fish, including my second fish. After getting five fish in the livewell, we slowly began to cull the smallest ones. We slowed things down further by trying more subtle baits—Laron went with a jig, while I fished a drop shot and a Texas-rigged lizard. Laron lost one fish just after pulling it out of a bush that would have boosted our weight. We later moved farther down the lake to finish the day.
In closing, it was a great day of fishing, and I hope to draw Laron in a future tournament.
5th Place: 12.70 lbs
Bill Briggs & Gilberto Munoz
No reports available.
6th Place: 11.90 lbs
Eric Hively & Mitch Vitkovich
Eric Hively:
First, let me say congrats to Joe and Spencer for taking the win! Hell of a bag. I was paired up with Mitch, and about a week before the tournament, we practiced separately, both finding good bags using completely different techniques. The bite was changing with the moon phase, but our expectations were still high. On tournament day, I stuck with my buzzbait bite while Mitch focused on drop shots and jigs. I lost a decent fish, and a giant completely missed my buzzbait. However, we managed to put a few decent fish in the boat. We ran to another spot where we found good fish in practice, and a 3.3 lb fish hit my buzzbait. We grinded the rest of the day, catching a few more on drop shots. Toward the end of the day, we returned to the spot where the 3.3 lb fish was caught, and Mitch, on the day’s last cast, hooked a 3 lb fish, allowing us to cull a 1.7 lb fish. I really enjoyed fishing with Mitch—he knows Lake Pleasant!
Thanks to the weigh-in team for working quickly to get the fish back in the lake. Good luck at Apache, fellas—I’ll miss it due to a sheep hunt I have on Dec 1st.
Mitch Vitkovich:
First, I want to thank Eric Hively for a great day on the water. The morning started slow. Eric began with a buzzbait, while I started with a walking bait. Eric had a couple of blowups, but I had no action. I switched to a Carolina rig and was able to hook up with our first fish. Eric continued throwing the buzzbait and started catching them pretty consistently, filling our limit. Then it got slow, so we started moving around. We decided to head back down to the south end of the lake, where we found some shallow bass on Monday. Eric, still throwing the buzzbait, hooked a 3 lb fish. We could physically see these fish on Monday, and it was great that they were still there on Wednesday. We fished there for a while but only caught another dink. We then decided to move on but agreed to spend the last hour of the tournament at that spot. We left, hit a few more spots, but only found a few more dinks. When we returned to the honey hole, we caught a couple of small ones that didn’t help us. Eric then announced it was three o’clock—last cast. And what do you know? We caught our big fish on the last cast. We hooped and hollered a bit and headed back for weigh-in. It was a grind all day, but it was still fun to fish with someone new. Thanks for the memory, Eric.