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BASS 559 held their third and final event at Eastman Lake with a forecast of rain and wind with possible clearing later in the day. The day started off with heavy cold rain with a slight breeze pushing around 10 miles per hour. At around 10 AM, the rain stopped, and the wind pressed slightly harder reaching 15 miles per hour. However, at the end of the tournament during the awards ceremony, the weather changed to a perfect calm sunny spring day. Kind of ironic that once the weekend’s events were completed the weather turned beautiful with sunny, hot, and calm conditions. This year, Mother Nature seems to be testing kayak anglers' ability to survive in adverse weather conditions.
At the end of the day, Damian Thao captured a commanding victory with 93.25” besting second place by 4.75”. Thao used a drop shot paired with a 6” Robo worm in the Margarita color to catch all his fish.
“I started the morning fishing a pre-spawn area that is offshore and quickly found the fish were not willing to bite.” said Thao, “I then made a long run to the North side of the lake where the bass generally spawn earlier.”
“The weather was cold and wet, I was freezing and tired, I was about ready to give up when I got bitten. After I caught that fish, I was warm, and it woke me right up, ready to fish.”
“I focused on two points that were protected from the wind.” stated Thao, “I fished grass that was about 2 feet high, so I used a 2-foot leader with a ¼ ounce weight. It was important to use the heavier weight to get down through the grass.”
“I worked the bait slowly trying to keep the bait in one area.” declared Thao, “I found that if I caught a fish, I would cast back to the same location and catch a second fish.”
“The fish were deeper because the lake had risen several feet over the last few days.” pronounced Thao, “I was fishing in about 10-feet of water.”
“I would catch a few bass on the point and then jump back to the other point, each time I would catch more fish off the same points.” vocalized Thao, “The fish would pick up the bait and move it. Sometimes they would move the bait just a few feet and then drop it. I would cast right back, and the fish would pick up the bait again.”
Thao thanked Kayak City, Yak Bass Angler, 1st Gen Fishing, Pline, 559 Fresno Bait and Tackle, TM Custom Lures, La Custom Jigs for all their support.
Max Lee claimed second place with a total of 88.50”. Lee used his flipping stick paired with a Zoom Brush Hog to catch his limit of bass.
“I started my morning with a LV 500 with no luck.” expressed Lee, “After finding the LV bite not working, I headed to the North end of the lake and stuck a flipping stick in my hand the rest of the day.”
“I used a Zoom Baby Brush Hog in Green Pumpkin Black Flake to catch my fish.” articulated Lee, “I used the free rig instead of the Texas rig to entice the fish.”
“I would flip the brush and around the brush, every piece of brush I came to as I ran down the shoreline.” voiced Lee, “I filled my limit and got a few culls throughout the day.”
“I would run the same areas over and over and the fish kept biting in the same areas.” specified Lee, “I felt that the brush hog would keep the smaller fish from biting and was able to get the better bites.”
“I would flip to every visible structure that I came across.” stated Lee, “I had a fun day catching fish.”
Lee thanked Damian Thao for letting him fish next to him both days, it was fun sharing water with Damian. A big shout out to Kayak City for all their support.
John Myers finished in third place with 85.75”. Myers used a Neko rig Senko to catch his third-place bag.
“I saw the North bank was colder and had muddied from the wind blowing into it all night long. So, I ran straight to the island. It didn’t take long before I caught a nice fish once I arrived at the point.”
“The wind was cold and blowing straight into the point I was fishing, and the fish were not willing to bite as they did the day before.” declared Myers, “I had to fish a little deeper to get my bites.”
“I noticed that the lake had risen a few feet overnight and figured that the fish that were on beds would be out deeper.” communicated Myers, “I would still cast shallow and slowly worked by Neko rig deeper.”
“As the day went along and the rain stopped, I was able to catch more fish shallower compared to when the wind blew.” vocalized Myers, “I was able to cull up throughout the day.”
“My main structure was rock with wood. The rock that was on the shore and offshore both held fish.” expressed Myers, “I tried different colors of Senkos and found that the green pumpkin with black flake was getting bit more often.”
“The water that was clear is where I caught all my fish.” said Myers, “The muddied banks, I just couldn’t get a bite.”
“I fished clean all day long, everything that I hooked I boated, it felt great to fish clean.” spoken Myers, “I caught more fish today then I did the day before, but the size just wasn’t there, I am grateful to have caught what I did.”
Myers thanked his best half, his wife, for all her support and everything she helps with preparing for each fishing trip. Myers also thanked his sponsors Stage Stop Gun Shop, Lunker Daddy Lures, TM Custom Baits, 559 Fresno Bait and Tackle, RB Bass and all of their great sponsors and supporters. A big shout out to BASS 559 for hosting a great
Top Ten:
1. Damian Thao 93.25”
2. Max Lee 88.50”
3. John Myers 85.75”
4. Robert Yamamoto 85.25”
5. Steven Johnson 79.00”
6. Daigo Kobayashi 55.75”
7. Richard George 39.00”
8. Richard George Jr. 34.25”
9. Jorge Mosqueda 16.00”
10. Bonnie Hill
Big Fish
Daigo Kobayashi 20.75”
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