Skipping’ the sight bass
Stren Series tournament leaders decide between cypress trees or sight-fishing
MANNING, S.C. – When the Stren Series visits Santee Cooper in April each year two things are certain: bass will be on beds and bass will be on cypress trees. What results is that many pros find themselves torn between the two techniques.
While it could be argued that the bass relating to cypress trees are also on beds, that’s not always the case. Many Santee experts believe that bass use cypress trees as their staging objects when moving to and from spawning bays.
Over the last two days, Stren Series tournament leader Ott Defoe of Knoxville, Tenn., has caught a couple of fish off beds, but a majority of them have come from skipping a weightless worm under cypress trees.
“Yesterday I fished for a fish on bed for about an hour and never caught her,” Defoe said.
“I went back to casting my worm and caught three good ones in half the time I spent on that one on bed. So I’m trying not to get distracted by the beds.”
Top-5 pros Mike Jackson and Greg Pugh, however, are all about the sight-fish. They have committed to catching fish they can see on beds.
“As long as I keep finding fish on beds, that’s what I’m going to fish for,” Jackson iterated.
“I have not made a cast outside of a bed since I’ve been here,” Pugh said. “If there are sight fish to be caught, that’s where I putting all my eggs.”
Caught somewhere in the middle is fourth place pro Ron Klys who is doing both.
“I start out each day by casting a Berkley Heavy Sinkworm around in grass, trees and stumps,” Klys said. “But once the sun gets up and you can see those big, dark shadows on those white spots, it’s hard not to go up there on the bank, look around and pitch to a few.”
The day three weigh-in will start Friday at 3 p.m. at the John C Land III Landing located at County Road S-14-260 (Greenall Road) in Summerton, S.C.
Friday’s conditions
Sunrise: 6:46 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 50 degrees
Expected high temperature: 84 degrees
Water temperature: 69 degrees
Wind: SW 5 to 10 mph
Day’s outlook: Sunny and warm