In the right place at the right time

Postgame analysis of Randall Thap's victory at the FLW Tour Open on Lake Okeechobee

The Alabama Rig did not win the Walmart FLW Tour Open on Lake Okeechobee. Though few ever believed the A Rig would play a role on the Big O, there was still a collective sigh of relief as day 1 of the 2012 season came to a close. A breath of fresh air blew into the tournament world in the form of 33 pound-plus stringers snatched from matted vegetation by Okeechobee favorites, Randall Tharp and Brandon McMillan.

Flipping matted vegetation was the obvious frontrunner in the technique department for the entire event. Most of the top 10 and even the top 20 pros caught their fish with a flipping stick in their hand in either the Monkey Box or North Shore area. Skinny Dippers, big worms and other moving baits brought in some quality fish as well, but for the most part it took the flipping stick to assemble a five bass limit of big ones.

Randall Tharp, Steve Kennedy, Brandon McMillan, Roland Martin and Scott Martin all finished in the top 10 flipping a lot of the same water, sometimes down to the exact same mats. However, Tharp managed to come out on top, by a rather large margin at that. The key difference for Tharp came down to managing his water.

Each day there was a certain time period where the fish were actively feeding. That primary feeding period got later and later as the weather changed throughout the event. On day one, Tharp’s first bite – a 9-8 giant – came at 9 a.m. He went on to assemble a 33 pound, 9 ounce bag. On day two the bite didn’t pick up until about 10 a.m., at which point Tharp rocked another 30 pound limit in about 30 minutes. The bite finally warmed up on day three around 11:30 and it was 12:30 before Tharp hit his flurry on the final day.

The key for Tharp was being in the right place at the right time. Tharp would intentionally start each day on community holes hoping to flip up a rogue fish or two while he waited for the bite to pick up. He would literally run right by mats where he knew fish in the 5- to 7-pound range lived because he knew that fishing them early would either mess them up and have them out of position when they did get ready to bite, or give away their location to the other anglers in the area.

Once Tharp triggered a few bites in fairly quick succession he would lift up the trolling motor and run to the mats where he knew the bigger fish lived. Each time, within an hour, he would have the majority of his daily weight. On multiple occasions other anglers in the top 10 would roll through an area and leave without a single fish. Tharp would come through a mere hour later and catch multiple giants. Tharp’s timing was impeccable in every sense of the word.

Though most of the other top competitors were flipping similar Beaver style baits, there were subtle differences to his approach, other than the timing, that seemed to make a difference. Many anglers would pitch their bait into the mat, pop it up and down a few times and then move on to the next flip. Tharp would pitch his bait into the mat and let it free fall to the bottom. He would then slowly ease it up and down as many as 10 times, giving the fish a lot longer look at the bait.

Tharp was also certain to leave no mat unflipped, no matter how large or small. Where other anglers would focus on the one large mat in an area or the isolated ones, Tharp would fish them all. He caught several fish throughout the event in mats as small as a hula hoop that were completely overlooked by other competitors. He would also flip mats as large as an acre in area, able to focus on the fact that he would likely only have a handful of bites to show for a thousand pitches throughout the day.

Randall Tharp was able to seal the deal and snare his first FLW Tour win in dramatic fashion doing what he loves to do on the lake that he loves to do it on the most. Countless hours of hard work spent on Lake Okeechobee had him more in tune with the bass that prowl its tannic waters than any of the other 159 pros that set out in pursuit of the title at the start of the event. Inevitably his familiarity with the feeding habits of the fish and knowledge of exactly where they lived proved too much for the rest of the competition to overcome.