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Las
Vegas, NV – While Kevin VanDam earned the hardware at the recent Kentucky Lake Elite Series tournament, second place finisher Timmy Horton came close to pulling off a major upset on the strength of 23 and 24 pound sacks on the final two days of competition.
Those two monster limits complemented a 21 pound bag on Day 1. But for Horton’s 14 pound stumble on the second day KVD would have one less Elite Series trophy on the mantle.
Horton’s late game charge was a direct result of his ability to adjust and adapt to pressured fish. He targeted the same schools all four days of competition, but as the tournament went on they became increasingly wary and he had to adjust his presentation to capitalize.
So in order to keep the cautious fish biting, he cut off his Fat Free Shad and tied on a……Fat Free Shad.
Come again?
Although the two lures may have looked similar to the naked eye – same size, same color, fished on the same rod, reel and line – the Alabama pro employed some modifications that he believes made all the difference.
“I’ve always tinkered with lures my whole life,” he said. “That’s always been one of my favorite lures. I fish it a lot as it comes out of the package.” But while some crankbaits may not be improved by his alterations, he believes that both the Number 7 and the smaller Number 6 Fat Free Shads can be made into substantially distinguishable baits through some easy handiwork.
“One modification that I do when the fish are a little bit shallower and they’re getting a lot of pressure is I shave the corners off of it,” he said. “I take a belt sander and first I get the bait and tune it, make sure it’s running perfectly straight before I sand it. Then I remove the hooks, because hooks and belt sanders don’t go together. I place the corner where the bill has corners on both edges. I roll them on that belt sander so it’s smooth on both sides. I also sand the lip to make it thinner.”
Horton said this simple change creates a lure that provides the fish with fewer negative cues.
“It makes that bait roll through the water real subtle, instead of making that X action where it jumps back and forth. It feels almost like an old Poe’s 400, which is a really good crankbait, but it’s hard to find consistency in them. Once you get these shaved and it feels right, it just goes through the water a lot softer and it comes up on the fish a lot quieter. I don’t mean noise quiet – I mean vibration quiet. They just react to it better.”
At Kentucky Lake, he used the standard version of the bait straight out of the package early in the tournament, but when things started to slow down – as evidenced by his Day 2 hiccup – he brought out his shaved pet.
“I think it was a big deal, in particular in going back and fishing those same schools day after day,” he said. “When you’re fishing a place, a lot of times you think you’ve caught them all, but if you’re on Kentucky Lake a lot of times if you’re on the right place it’s not possible because they just completely replenish every day. “
He did note that anglers need to be mindful of the depths they are fishing and make sure that the modified bait, which runs about two feet shallower than its out-of-the-package twin. He compensated for the loss of diving ability at Kentucky Lake by using 10 lb. test XPS fluorocarbon, which he said allows the bait to get deeper than mono would because it features a “thinner diameter and doesn’t stretch near as much.”
For those anglers who are disinclined to try to make these modifications in their own shops, Horton, Bomber and Bass Pro plan to introduce a factory version of his modified original no later than next spring, in a variety of colors chosen by Horton. He added that “it’s also going to have a feature in it, I’m not going to let it out just yet, but it’s going to be a feature that has not been available in any lure that has ever been made.”
No word yet on whether they’ll guarantee 20 pound catches or the ability to compete with KVD, but Horton promises that this additional tool will put extra bass in your boat when the cranking bite gets tough.
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