Robert Crosnoe used his familiarity with the Harris Chain and what works on it to take the co-angler title and a $26,100 check at the FLW Tour event presented by Ranger at the Harris Chain.
Crosnoe, 48, of Inverness, Fla., weighed in a 17-pound, 12-ounce five-fish limit on Friday for a two-day total of 33 pounds, 1 ounce, topping second-place angler Tyler Woolcott’s 30-pound, 9-ounce total.
Top five patterns from day two
Crosnoe credits both his familiarity with the Harris Chain and his previous tournament experience for the win.
“I live close by, so I fish this lake a lot, and I know what baits work, and they worked for me,” says Crosnoe, who fished a watermelon red Zoom Magnum Ultravibe Speed Worm on a 5/0 Gamakatsu Heavy Cover hook and a 1/16 ounce weight on day one, and a half-ounce Booyah Hard Knocker and a black and blue/green pumpkin Gambler Fat Ace on day two.
“One day one I was dragging the Speed Worm over eelgrass flats, and on day two I was throwing the Booyah over deeper grass beds,” says Crosnoe. “My big bass, a six-pounder, came while deadsticking the Fat Ace in a spawning canal.”
Crosnoe fished with Robert Behrle of Hoover, Ala. on day one and Florence, Ala. pro Justin Atkins on day two.
This was Crosnoe’s first time as a Tour co-angler, but he’s no stranger to the tournament scene.
“I’ve fished the BFLs for a couple years and was lucky enough to win a Regional and an All-American,” says Crosnoe. “Now I’m a boater in the BFLs and last year I won the points championship in the Gator Division and qualified for my fifth All-American.”