FLW Report

Ron Nelson

Ron Nelson of Berrien Springs, Mich. finished fifth in the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit at Sam Rayburn, Tex. last week.

Nelson caught 20 bass that weighed 57-5 and won $19,000, bringing his career FLW winnings in 55 FLW related events to $403,665. This is second season at the high level Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit.

The reigning Polaris Rookie of the Year found an offshore ledge just south of Cassels-Boykin where he caught fish every cast for hours. As fun as it was, the spot ended up being both a blessing and a curse.

“Once you catch 12 pounds, you need a big bite,” says Nelson, who actually had a different spot he’d start at each morning to catch a quick limit on a shad-colored Keitech Swing Impact FAT on a 1/4-ounce head. “Guys here say you can catch 2-pounders all day and then catch a 7 or an 11 off the same school. So, I’m like, I’ll just keep on having fun and hoping that happens.”

Unfortunately, all Nelson got for his efforts was sore hands from all the 2-pounders he caught. Though, it wasn’t from lack of trying for kickers, as he cycled through numerous presentations in hopes of coaxing a bigger bite.

Ron Nelson

“You’d throw that Carolina rig out and they’d bite right away,” explains Nelson, who put a Zoom Brush Hog or Zoom Double Ringer on his rig. Every time I caught one, the graph would just light up. There’d be 15 following that fish up. I’d throw a spoon down. They’d all leave. I’d try a big swimbait, but they wouldn’t eat that. I’d toss a jig, and they’d barely touch it. But if I threw that rig, it’d be ‘there’s another one; there’s another one.’”

When he got tired of catching cookie cutters, he did have a big-bite pattern that he went to each day, which was punching “topped out, floating hyacinth mixed with other floating grass” in the back of pockets with a Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver (hematoma). That produced his biggest bites on day one, and he lost a giant on day three doing that.