The key for Gregory was covering water around abundant shallow water wood, with scattered rock and grass—mostly in 4-feet of water or less. He’d toss a topwater lure around the cover, which produced a key 21-incher late in the second day, helping to cement his total tally. Gregory’s big bass ultimately broke the tie between he and Siddiqi, whose big bass measured 19.75-inches. The difference was enough to earn Gregory his first big win.
“I do a lot of prefishing with Google Earth, sniffing out little micro ecosystems,” Gregory explained. “At Dardanelle, I drove around the whole lake before the tourney started, looking for the right habitat. Big female bass are a totally different animal, and especially in pressured water, they’ll often hunker down in areas that are the most difficult places for anglers to reach. That’s where I like to find ‘em, and where, again and again, Z-Man baits get bit.”
Finishing a very close third, West Virginia angler and artist Jody Queen wielded his two favorite Z-Man baits—a ChatterBait JackHammer and a Mag FattyZ™, a 7.25-inch magnum finesse worm. Not coincidentally, Queen also won the 2019 Hobie BOS Tournament of Champions with a JackHammer. “Last year alone, I won almost $40,000 on a JackHammer. You might say I have a lot of confidence in it.”