Tennessee's Brandon Lester is gearing up for his ninth Bassmaster Classic on Lake Ray Roberts in Texas. He competed the last time the event was there and finished in the middle of the pack, but this time should be different. That was a June event, and this one is during prime time, right at the start of spring, a great time to be fishing in Texas. Lester shared his thoughts on the venue, predictions, and techniques he sees doing well here.
A Different Ray Roberts
The 2021 Bassmaster Classic was held in June, a sweltering time to be in Texas. While the fishing was still decent, Lester thinks March is a much better time to show what the lake is capable of.
"The only time I've ever been here was the last Classic, and that was summertime, and the lake was flooded," he said. "I expect this to be a lot better, catching-wise. The weights were still decent last time, but I don't think the lake showed its full potential because of the weather and conditions."
Lester has spent plenty of time looking at maps and Google Earth and thinks this will be a great time to fish the lake. "The third week of March, on any lake across the southern part of the country, has got to be one of the best weeks of the year to go fishing, so I'm looking forward to it," he said. "I spent a lot of time looking at past imagery on Google Earth to familiarize myself with the lake and what it offers. It's got timber and ton of different stuff to fish."
Because of the time of the year, Lester thinks there may be fireworks at the weigh-in. "I know the lake has some huge ones in there, but consistency is going to be the key in this one," he said. "I think it will take at least 20 pounds a day to win; it may even be 25 a day to win. The thing that I see playing out is someone will blast a huge bag of around 30 pounds one day and then have a few smaller bags to back it up. If you can stay consistent with solid weights every day, you'll put yourself right there."
Three Techniques to Try
With spring approaching, many different baits could be the winning lure. Lester knows this but is banking on a trio of various techniques. He has confidence in these, and they suit the lake well.
"I definitely think there will be a lot of fish caught pitching around a Texas-rig with a creature bait, whether those fish are spawning or just on shallow cover," he said. "I'll be fishing it on a ¼ to 3/8-ounce Mustad Tungsten TitanX Flippin' Weight and Mustad Tactical Bass Alpha Grip Flipping Hook. That's a new hook with the perfect wire gauge and a sharp point. Plus, it has a little metal keeper that perfectly holds your bait in place."
Lester also thinks a shallow crankbait could play. "That could be a big deal for sure because the lake has a few different forms of rock, some gravel, and some chunky rock," he said. "It also looks like we are going to have a little wind based on the weather forecast, and I could see a 1.5-sized square bill crankbait as a good way to catch them."
Leser likes swapping out the treble hooks for Mustad Alpha Point 3X Triple Grip hooks for these baits. "For the 1.5-sized baits, I usually run a #4, and for the 2.5 baits, I like to run a #2," he added.
Another approach that Lester has planned is finesse, specifically a drop-shot rig. "I can see that playing in this deal because there's so much timber in the lake," he said. "A lot of times during the spawn, you see a Neko Rig plating, but it's not weedless at all. That doesn't work well with all that wood in the water like at Ray Roberts."
Instead, he plans to fish a drop-shot with a Texas-rigged worm instead of nose hooking it with a Mustad Grip-Pin Edge Finesse Hook. "It's a finesse style hook, but holds your bait in place and keeps it weedless," he added.
With some experience on the fishery, Brandon Lester hopes for a win in Texas for the Bassmaster Classic. He's expecting big weights from this fishery, and his plan is to mix it up with flipping and pitching, shallow crankbaits, and finesse.
Advertising