Destination: Lake Pleasant

EverStart Series Western Division, Jan. 29-Feb. 1

One hundred pros and 100 co-anglers are poised to make the trip to Peoria, Ariz., Jan. 29-Feb. 1 as the EverStart Series hosts its inaugural Western Division tournament on Lake Pleasant.

Wal-Mart FLW Tour pro Dean Rojas of Grand Saline, Texas, spent a considerable amount of time on the 10,000-acre impoundment when he was living out West in Lake Havasu City, Ariz., and he said anglers are likely to find Lake Pleasant largemouths in a prespawn mode.

“I think you’ll be able to catch fish shallow and deep, but the guy who gets on a few good groups of deep fish will probably be the one who wins it,” Rojas said. “The lake doesn’t have as many big largemouths as it used to have, but there are still some solid fish out there.”

Rojas predicts it will take around 12 pounds to make the first cut, 7 pounds to advance to the finals and as much as 12 to 14 pounds to win.

The top patterns?

Spooning, Carolina rigging, drop-shotting and vertical jigging in 40 to 50 feet of water on main and secondary points in the mouths of major coves are sure to attract some strikes during the early-to-midday hours.

Rock will be the key structure if the lake is at normal level or above. Wood will come into play if the lake is low.

Later in the day, the bass could move shallow to take advantage of warming water temperatures. Rojas suggests dissecting the upper water columns and nearby shallows with shallow-, medium- and deep-diving crankbaits. One of his favorites is the Speed Trap.

Bass will be feeding heavy on crawfish, so crawfish is the hard-body color of choice. Rojas likes a purple-and-brown jig and a watermelon or watermelon-and-red lizard.