Using Bassman Jig Heads Peter Phelps claim back to back wins
at G Loomis Round 1 ABT BASS PRO at Lake Glenbawn. Feb 2013
Defending Lake Glenbawn BASS Pro champion Peter Phelps executed a perfect tournament to secure back-to-back wins at the opening round of the 2013 Smak Lures BASS Pro Series.
Weighing in the heaviest bag for the tournament in the final session Phelps leapfrogged from 9th to 1st to claim his second career victory and relegate day two leader, Atomic Bass Pro Adrian Melchior to 2nd place.
Fishing a calculated game plan throughout the tournament Phelps started each session fishing for his bag before moving to areas that held less fish but were more inclined to produce larger fish.
Starting out each session fishing the higher concentrations of small fish on the flats (40-50feet) Phelps used a typical NSW deepwater vertical presentation.
“I’d electric along the flat, cast the plastic out in front of the boat, let it sink to the bottom, then slow roll it back it in”, explained Phelps.
When he did get a bite he wouldn’t strike he’d just keep retrieving the lure. This in turn enticed the fish to fully eat the plastic and soon had the rod loaded up.
The early flats approach delivered Phelps his limit in the first hour of the first two sessions, session three however started a little different.
“I found a deep rock wall late in session two that held quality fish, so I went straight there first up on Sunday morning. I picked up two small fish quickly then I caught a kicker fish. It was the big fish that I was looking for and it turned out to be the fish that pushed me up the leader board”, explained Phelps.
His approach on the Sunday morning, and the one he used to catch his upgrades on Saturday wasn’t too dissimilar to his flats approach, it just had a slight twist.
“I was fishing deep rocky edges (60-80feet) and targeting isolated and single fish that were hanging on flooded timber. The technique was the same, find the structure (and in-turn the fish) drop the plastic to the bottom, then slow roll it back to the surface”, explained Phelps.
While the approach produced less fish it did produce better fish with Phelps catching one upgrade in session one, four upgrades in session two, and his winning kicker fish in session three.
When quizzed post victory Phelps attributed his success to two main points of difference over his competitors.
“I made sure I didn’t fished all the usual spots that I, and most of the anglers fish. I also didn’t fish the same lure as everyone else. I fished a Z-Man because they look different, have a great action and last longer than most of the lures that get thrown, and Glenbawn bass just love them. And when you rig them on one of the new Bassman jigheads they’re impossibe to beat. ”, concluded Glenbawn victor Peter Phelps.
