Posted  March 9h, 2008  5:42 pm CST

Falling Temps Melt the Snowman's Shallow Pattern

Story by Brent Conway - Photos by Mark Jeffreys

Leesburg, FL – The Sunshine Showdown lived up to half it’s potential on the wind-whipped Harris Chain…at least the sun was out part of the day Sunday, if that’s what you were going for. Instead of a steady breeze with the occasional light gust, what 50 of the best anglers in America faced on Saturday was anything but light.

Everyone in the field had something to say about the wind on the third day of the event. Be it falling out of the boat (a first for veteran pro Gary Klein), or having an unhooked (and uninvited) bass jump into the boat, weird things happened all day…aside from the incredibly strong wings.

In second place at the end of the day was Brian Snowden, with a four-day combined weight of 54-00. Snowden wasn’t able to connect with a keeper bite Sunday, but did have his best Florida finish ever.

Ending his first Elite Series tournament in third place was Bobby Lane, of Lake Land, FL. Bobby weighed 10-10 on Sunday, giving him a total combined weight of 53-4. 

Fourth place belonged to Bobby’s younger brother Chris, who brought 11-7 to the scales on the final tournament day, boosting his overall weight to 52-10. Dean Rojas ended his tournament in fifth place with 48-13, after weighing 6-7 Sunday.

Steve Kennedy, with a combined weight of 48-7, brought to the five fish to the scales Sunday – good for 10-6 and the sixth-place slot.

1st Place: Mike McClelland
To win a tournament at this level, things have absolutely got to go right. For Mike McClelland, getting things to go right started on the drive down in getting his head around what he was going to have to do in order to be competitive. “I’ve had my butt kicked so many times by these guys in Florida fishing a trick worm,” he said. 

“I made up my mind on the way down here that I was going to figure out how to catch them on it. If I only got five little bites a day, so be it, but I was going to figure it out.”

Knowing prior to practice that he would be throwing a trick worm, McClelland simply settled into doing whatever it took to get five bites a day. “I was really just fishing for fish this week,” he said. 

Every fish that Mike weighed this week came off either a Bama Bug or Black Zoom Trick Worm on a 7’4” Mike McClelland Signature Series Falcon. His reel of choice was the Quantum Tour Edition 6.3:1 reel spooled with Seagar Fluorocarbon or 50-pound Spiderwire. “The key was fishing super, super slow,” he explained. 

“I was able to find both spawning and post-spawn fish.”

Going into the final day of competition in the hole by 10-pounds, McClelland had one goal – fish error free. “I went out today knowing that I had a lot of ground to make up,” he said. “My goal was to just stay in second place, and I knew that I would have to control the things that I could so I did absolutely everything I needed to do in order to capitalize.” 

“Execution was definitely all week long was really the key,” he added. “I never really lost a fish that hurt me, and when you’re fishing against this level of competition, you have to capitalize on each and every opportunity.”

Aside from the points, the $100 grand, and the win – the moral victory McClelland feels after the finish is equally as important. “I actually felt like that I’d had a victory after the second day of the tournament because I drew a check for the first time ever in Florida,” he said. “This has just been one of those weeks were everything fell into place.”

A win is a win, or so they say; however, to McClelland, victory this week doesn’t quite have the same smell. “This win is almost bitter-sweet for me,” he said. “I had no idea today that I would have a legitimate shot at winning this thing, and knew that the only way I could is if Brian fell apart.

“I wanted to see Brian win this week because he’s been so close so many times before.”

Key to the Win: It was really a tough day. I had a couple of little bites early, but just wasn’t able to get anything that would help me. I pulled out into an area from yesterday and caught 11 keepers out of two pad clumps. That’s what did it.”

2nd Place: Brian Snowden
Brian Snowden went to bed Saturday night with confidence in knowing that he was around the fish to win, and had been able to withstand all that the Florida weather could dish out. Never in his wildest imagination would he have considered that he would blank on the day that it mattered most. 

“You know, I was so sure that I could get a few bites today that it never really even entered my mind,” the Missouri pro said. “I had seven bites today and just couldn’t get them to the boat.”

Targeting reeds in one- to two-feet of water, Snowden alternated between a Zoom Ultra-vibe Speed Craw and a Sweet Beaver – both in black neon – all week. “The first two fished that I hooked this morning were on the Speed Craw and the both jumped off,” he said. 

“I had a four pounder this afternoon on the Beaver, but she wrapped up around a reed stem and pulled off before I could get to her.”

While Snowden is obviously heart broken by the turn of events on Sunday, he’s looking down the road to the Kissimmee Chain next week. “Sure, I would have loved to win this week,” he said. “I know that I’ve got one coming, and each time you come this close you learn a little bit more.”

3rd Place: Bobby Lane
Bobby Lane is off to a great start in his Elite Series career. After making the switch from FLW, via the Southern Opens, Lane has posted a 4th-place at last month’s Classic, and a top five in his first Elite Series outing. 

Lane said that while he had hoped he could repeat the stellar second day, in his heart he knew that it was a one-day trip. “They bit it because it was overcast and windy, but it stayed hot,” he explained. “They were all post-spawn fish, and I really had a feeling that it would be a one-day deal. I’m happy that it happened the way that it did, that’s for sure.”

Aside from the vicious War Eagle spinner bait bite on Friday, Lane leveraged a Berkley Chigger craw and Sweet Beaver to Sunday. “They were spawning in the grass, so if you could find a hole and pitch it in there and wait long enough one would come in and pick it up,” he explained. “I really just went fishing all week.”

Bobby will be close enough next week to home that sleeping in his own bed could be an option, so it’s obvious that fishing the Kissimmee Chain has a huge draw for the Florida pro…but it’s really more basic than that. “I just love to fish,” he said. “When it’s good it’s good, and when it’s bad, you just remember the good times. This week was definitely one of the good times.”

4th Place: Chris Lane
Brother Chris was the week’s big mover screaming from 50th place Saturday into the top 12. “It was just a really great week,” he said. “I caught a ton of fish, made a top 12 in the first tournament, and get to go home to Toho next week. All in all, I’d say it’s been pretty good.”

Pitching a Gambler 4” Craw on a 2IG Ultra Strike Rod, Lane realized quickly what it would take to see Sunday. “You just had to slow way down,” he said. “I figured out that I was just fishing way too fast during practice, so I had to force myself to just pick everything apart. 

“With the wind that we’ve had all week, my set up with the double Power Poles was huge because I could actually just stop the boat.”

On the week, Chris has neither complaint nor regret. “To end up inside the top five is just awesome,” he said. “There was a point in there where I thought I might have a shot, but I just wasn’t able to get the two big bites that I had (Saturday).”

“The quality bite just wasn’t there for me. I had a limit in the first hour, and went out to fish my deep stuff but never had a bite. What I brought into the scales is what I caught this morning.”

Deep in Florida is relative, but Rojas – using the deepest water he could find – would start shallow in the canals and go “deep” to cull up. “I would catch my limits in the canals and then go to out onto the main lake for a big bite,” he said. “I never really got the giant that I needed any day of the week, but I was at least able to cull out the babies in the deeper water.”

Using a four-inch Northland Slurpies Jumbo Hog for most of his fish, the Quantum pro explained the slow was the name of the game. “I would almost have to anchor the boat in order to fish as slow as I needed to,” he said. “The canals that I was fishing were about six- to seven-feet deep. It had some holes that were a little bit deeper, and was just full of fish, but you absolutely had to be dead slow in your presentation.

In all, Rojas can’t couldn’t have done anything different. “It was a great week,” he said. “I caught a lot of fish, and really had it dialed in. The downer was that I wasn’t ever able to hook up with a quality bite…but, to be able to get out of here with a top 10 finish is really great.”

6th Place: Steve Kennedy
Final-Day Thoughts: “They were hard to find today. I had to run over an hour just to get one more fish. Thankfully the local guys let me have some water.”

Bait of Choice: Skipping a Kinami Flash, or flipping a Beaver

Biggest Challenge: “I don’t really know…I just had to stick with what I was doing. Sightfishing in 20-mile-per-hour winds was really tough.”

Key to the Week: “I primarily stuck with sight fishing. I ended up having one little canal all to myself, which allowed me to sneak in the back door.”

Week in Review: “I barely made the 50 cut by one ounce, so I came into Saturday with no clue that I would be fishing today.

7th Place: Rick Ash
Final-Day Thoughts: “Bill Lowen said it best – you have to fish clean to do well. I had the opportunity today to do a lot better, and I wasn’t able to capitalize.”

Bait of Choice: 7” Yamamoto black/blue-fleck worm

Biggest Challenge: “For me, I like to run around and look at different stuff. I probably saw the same pieces of grass a million times this week. That really works on you by about the third day, but you have to keep yourself thinking that the next flip could be the one.”

Key to the Week: “I just took my time and fish really slow all week. I ran around a lot during practice and just couldn’t get bit, so it really all came down to making about 2000 flips a day to get 10 bites. 

“I focused on pads and reeds all week – I would call it duck weed actually. There wasn’t any wood, or anything, just the pads and reeds, but you literally had to be up on the bank.”

Week in Review: “This is just an awesome feeling – my first top 12. I really came in just wanting a check, so this is really just a true blessing.”

8th Place: Todd Faircloth
Final-Day Thoughts: “I caught a good one right off the bat, and thought I was going to have a good day. It was a real grind, and I only had three fish at around 2:00. I was fortunate in that I caught four keepers in the last 50 minutes of the day. It was funny because I caught my biggest fish of the day while the helicopter was hovering over me.

Bait of Choice: Texas-rigged Yamamoto Cut-tail worm in June bug with an 1/8-ounce weight

Biggest Challenge: “The wind on Saturday was obviously the biggest challenge. In Florida, if you’re not fishing something like a mat, you’re better off to fish with light weights. That was a huge problem in 30-mile-per-hour winds, so that only thing I could do was to put my back to the wind and just grind it out.”

Key to the Week: “Being slow and consistent. I also think that the small-diameter braided line played a huge role this week. I practiced with Fluorocarbon this week and kept jumping fish off. Aaron Martens actually turned me onto using the braid, and it was very critical.” 

Week in Review: “The first two days I would start on the main lake and then cull up in the canals. I concentrated on the canals the last two days because of the wind. I had some fish out on the main lake, but after the wind they just refused to cooperate.”

9th Place: Morizo Shimizu
Final-Day Thoughts: “I was blind bed-fishing all week. Today it was very hard and only had six bites. All were babies.”

Bait of Choice: Shaky-head around boat docks, and Texas-rigged Japanese hand-poured worm for flipping 

Biggest Challenge: “I tried to throw crankbaits, but I only had one bite on it. It was huge, but I wasn’t getting enough bites. So I had to put it down and start flipping for more bites.”

Key to the Week: “You had to really finesse the fish into biting. That was very hard.”

Week in Review: “It was a good week, and I am very happy. I am looking forward to next week very much.”

10th Place: Bradley Hallman
Final-Day Thoughts: “Catching five fish a day with the weather that we’ve had has been a chore. I had the opportunity to have the best day that I’ve had but I just didn’t get it done.”

Bait of Choice: Berkley Power Shaky Worm in June Bug

Key to the Week: “I switched up to a 1/8-ounce weight in the pads. That really helped slow down the fall, and I think it triggered some bites that I wouldn’t have gotten otherwise.”

Week in Review: “I pretty much went fishing and tried to do whatever it took to get five of them to bite. This is a great way to start the year. I like to fish with my rod tip in the air, and real slow. Florida just really sets up well for that style of fishing.”

11th Place: Mark Menendez
Final-Day Thoughts: “Today was a great surprise. I just knocked around all week trying to stay in the hunt. Florida has always been such a disappointment for me, so to be able to get the monkey off my back is huge.”

Bait of Choice: White StrikeKing Swimming Jig

Key to the Week: “The big fish down here just seemed to react well to the swimming jig. You had to burn it to keep it high in the water column. They wouldn’t react at all to a spinnerbait, but you throw that jig in there and they would eat it up.”

Week in Review: “Florida has always had my number, so just to be here is huge. I shared practice with Bill Lowen, so he and I worked together. We were both able to knock around and put something together. It’s just good to be here today.”

12th Place: Kenyon Hill
Final-Day Thoughts: “It was a tough day for me today. I had been in one little area, and the water temperature dropped 10 degrees. I was able to catch one little fish, so I left to come into Harris. The only keeper bite I had was in Harris, and she pulled off. That’s just the way that it goes.”

Bait of Choice: Zoom Super Hog in Junebug

Biggest Challenge: “Really, it was slowing down – even in the wind. Here in Florida, you have to fish so slow. It’s really hard for me to be able to do that.”

Week in Review: “To make the top 12 in Florida, I’m just shocked. I can’t complain – even though I blanked Sunday. Everyone has one of those days where they turn left and should’ve turned right.”

FINAL STANDINGS

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