All captions: Craig Lamb
Photo: Andy Crawford
Photo: James Overstreet
Austin Cranford (12th; 23-6)
Austin Cranford used a 1/2-ounce Party Crasher Jig, with a Legendary Nunchuck trailer. For topwater bites he used a Lucky Craft Sammy. Buy it now on Amazon: Lucky Craft Sammy
Photo: Andy Crawford
Keith Combs (11th; 25-9)
Keith Combs used a Strike King KVD Sexy Frog, on a Shimano Antares Reel and Shimano Zodias Rod. He also used a Strike King KVD 1.5 Crankbait, on a Shimano Curado DC reel and Shimano Zodias rod. Buy it now on Amazon: Strike King KVD Sexy Frog | Strike King KVD 1.5 Crankbait | Shimano Antares Reel | Shimano Zodias Rod
Photo: Andy Crawford
Billy Cline (10th; 26-6)
Billy Cline used an unnamed 1.5-model squarebill, and a Rapala DT Series 6 for reaction bites. Buy it now on Amazon: Rapala DT Series 6
Photo: Andy Crawford
He also used a 1/2-ounce finesse jig with a Missile Baits Craw Father trailer. Buy it now on Amazon: Missile Baits Craw Father
Photo: Andy Crawford
Shawn Temple (9th; 26-8)
Shawn Temple used a Zoom Z Craw Jr. on a 3/0 Hayabusa FPP Straight Worm Hook, with a 5/16-ounce tungsten weight. He made a shaky head with a Berkley PowerBait Bottom Hopper on a 3/16-ounce Owner Shakey Ultrahead. Buy it now on Amazon: Hayabusa FPP Straight Worm Hook | Berkley PowerBait Bottom Hopper | Owner Shakey Ultrahead
Photo: Andy Crawford
A 5-inch Yamamoto Senko on a 4/0 Hayabusa FPP Straight Worm Hook was a key lure for Ken Iyobe.
Photo: Andy Crawford
Photo: Andy Crawford
Blake Whatley (7th; 30-8)
Blake Whatley used a 1/2-ounce homemade spinnerbait, and a 3/8-ounce Z-Man ChatterBait with a single tail grub trailer. Buy it now on Amazon: Z-Man ChatterBait
Photo: Andy Crawford
Brandon Dillard (6th; 31-9)
Brandon Dillard used a 1/2-ounce War Eagle Heavy Finesse Jig with a Berkley PowerBait Pit Boss. He also used a Yum Magnum Finesse Worm, on a 6/0 Trokar Big Nasty Flipping Hook with a 3/8-ounce Wicked Weights Tungsten Weight. Buy it now on Amazon: War Eagle Heavy Finesse Jig | Berkley PowerBait Pit Boss | Yum Magnum Finesse Worm
Photo: Andy Crawford
Another choice was a 1/2-ounce War Eagle Double Willow Spinnerbait, with a Zoom Split Tail Trailer. Buy it now on Amazon: War Eagle Double Willow Spinnerbait | Zoom Split Tail
Photo: Andy Crawford
Greg Hackney (5th; 31-11)
Greg Hackney used a 3/8-ounce Strike King Hack Attack Fluoro Flipping Jig, with a Strike King Rage Craw trailer. He fished it on a Lew’s Pro TI Speed Spool SLP Series Reel, with 25-pound Gamma Edge Fluorocarbon, with a 7-foot, 6-inch Lew’s Hack Attack Rod. Buy it now on Amazon: Strike King Hack Attack Fluoro Flipping Jig | Strike King Rage Craw | Lews’ Pro TI Speed Spool SLP Series Reel | Gamma Edge Fluorocarbon
Photo: Andy Crawford
Bryan New (4th; 33-5)
Bryan New chose a 1/2-ounce Z-Man ChatterBait Jackhammer with a Zoom Super Fluke trailer. He chose an Abu Garcia Revo 6.2:1 reel on a 7-foot, 2-inch Fitzgerald Rods Frog Rod. A 1/2-ounce Greenfish Tackle New Square Rubber Jig was another choice. He fished it on a 6-foot, 9-inch Fitzgerald Skipping Special Rod with an Abu Garcia AL-F Low Profile Reel. Buy it now on Amazon: Z-Man ChatterBait Jackhammer | Zoom Super Fluke | Abu Garcia Revo 6.2:1 | Fitzgerald Rods Frog Rod | Abu Garcia AL-F Low Profile Reel
Photo: Andy Crawford
New also used a Greenfish Tackle Fat G2 Squarebill on an Abu Garcia Revo Winch with a 7-foot Fitzgerald Square Bill Rod. Buy it now on Amazon: Abu Garcia Revo Winch
Photo: Andy Crawford
Brian Clark used a Lucky Craft RC 1.5 Series crankbait for reaction bites.
Photo: Andy Crawford
He also used a 5/16-ounce homemade flipping finesse jig with a Berkley PowerBait Pit Boss. Another key bait was a 6-inch Zoom Ultravibe Speed Worm, on a 3/0 Trokar Heavy Duty Worm Hook, with a 5/16-ounce tungsten weight. Buy it now on Amazon: Berkley PowerBait Pit Boss | Zoom Ultravibe Speed Worm | Trokar Heavy Duty Worm Hook
Photo: Andy Crawford
Brandon Hollingshead used a 3/8-ounce homemade ball head finesse jig, fished on a Lew’s Custom Lite SLP Speed Spool Reel with a Power Tackle Rods 04MH Rod.
Photo: Andy Crawford
Photo: Andy Crawford
Tommy Williams used homemade 1/4-ounce spinnerbaits that he called the Tommy Bug, fishing the baits on a 6-foot rod and Bass Pro Shops Pro Qualifier Reel. For windy conditions and murky water, he used a bait with silver and gold Colorado blades. For clearer water he switched to a bait with a silver willowleaf blade. Williams used a chartreuse trailer for the baits.
Photo: Andy Crawford