Watching fellow Bassmaster Elite Series’ pro Brandon Palaniuk win the Elite Series event at Bull Shoals Lake gave Casey Scanlon an idea. He decided to replicate Palaniuk’s pattern this week during the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Central Open at Table Rock Lake.
His strategy paid off as the Lenexa, Kan., pro won his first B.A.S.S. event and a berth to the 2013 Bassmaster Classic by catching 49 pounds, 4 ounces of Table Rock bass. He also took home a Triton/Yamaha rig valued at $45,000 and $6,720 in cash.
“Last week on Bull Shoals, a lot of the fish were being caught on (Storm Lures) Wiggle Warts,” Scanlon said . “I caught some deep fish in practice here on a deep crankbait, and everybody knows that Brandon Palaniuk kind of put us to shame with the bags he brought in on that deep crankbait. So I looked for that pattern in practice. I caught a lot of good fish doing that in practice, and I was catching some bigger ones on the bluffs.”
He stared fishing the bluffs the first day but he noticed that bite he had in practice was fading, so he switched to the deep-diving crankbait – a chartreuse sexy shad Strike King 6XD model that produced for him in the afternoon.
“I tried to target some fish offshore that not a lot of people were fishing for,” Scanlon said. “I was deep cranking over brush piles and points leading into spawning pockets.” Most of his fish were holding over depths of 13 to 20 feet.
The second day, he caught his biggest fish along a bluff on a phantom green Wiggle Wart, but the rest of his keepers were taken on the Strike King 6XD. Scanlon did a lot of running and gunning today and threw the Strike King crankbait again to catch a 13-7 limit that clinched the victory.
Flipping Berkley Havoc baits and a 4-inch Senko produced a second-place finish for Cypress, Texas, pro James Kiser, who accumulated a three-day total of 46-09. He targeted wood cover in the backs of creeks to catch his limit the first two days.
“I left those fish yesterday at about 11 o’clock with a limit thinking that I would save some for today, but it didn’t work out that way,” he said. “I had one fish at noon today, but I had one stop that I fished in practice and had just caught keepers there. The first fish I caught there was a 4-pounder.”
The other Top 5 pro division anglers were Kelly Power, Cape Fair, Mo., in third place with 45-4; Brian Potter, Claremore, Okla., fourth, 44-4; and Tommy Martin, Hemphill, Texas, fifth, 43-14.
Cattle rancher Michael Kent Robinson won the co-angler division and a $35,000 Nitro/Mercury rig with a catch of 27-5. The Carter, Okla., angler caught all of his fish on a green pumpkin Zoom Trick Worm rigged on a 1/8-ounce Slider jighead. Rounding out the Top 5 in the non-boater division were Mike Burns, Lucas, Texas, second, 27-1; Matthew Goddard, Russellville, Ark., third, 24-3; Kenneth Moore, Red Oak, Texas, fourth, 23-9; and Roger Hackman, Harrison, Ark., fifth, 22-15.
Dustin Lester of Huntington, Calif., won the Luck “E” Strike Heavyweight Award for the heaviest single-day catch of the tournament in the pro division with a 21-15 sack, and Mike Hoese, Crown Point, Ind., earned the award on the non-boater side with an 11-5 limit.
The Carhartt Big Bass of the Tournament winner was Clayton Coppin, Wagoner, Okla., with a 7-1 largemouth.
2012 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Series Title Sponsor: Bass Pro Shops
2012 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Series Official Sponsors: Toyota, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Evan Williams Bourbon, Mercury, Nitro Boats, Skeeter Boats, Triton Boats, Yamaha
2012 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Series Supporting Sponsor: Boat U.S., BOOYAH, Carhartt, Humminbird, Luck “E” Strike, Minn Kota, Power-Pole
About B.A.S.S.
For more than 40 years, B.A.S.S. has served as the authority on bass fishing. The organization advances the sport through advocacy, outreach and an expansive tournament structure while connecting directly with the passionate community of bass anglers through its Bassmaster media vehicles.
The Bassmaster brand and its multimedia platforms are guided by a mission to serve all fishing fans. Through its industry-leading publications – Bassmaster Magazine and B.A.S.S. Times – comprehensive Bassmaster website and ESPN2 and Outdoor Channel television programming, Bassmaster provides rich, leading-edge content true to the lifestyle.
The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Open Series, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series,Cabela’s B.A.S.S. Federation Nation events and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Bassmaster Classic.
B.A.S.S. offers an array of services to its more than 500,000 members and remains focused on issues related to conservation and water access. The organization is headquartered in Birmingham, Ala.By: B.A.S.S. News
