How “Big Show” Scroggins Breaks Down Unfamiliar Water
WEST MONROE, La. – Like local highway maintenance crews trying to keep ice off exit ramps, veteran pro Terry “Big Show” Scroggins arrived at the first stop of the 2022 Bass Pro Tour near West Monroe, Louisiana, knowing he and his fellow pros have their work cut out for them.
Threats of freezing rain wiped out the first day of practice, and on top of that, Scroggins has never seen Lake D’Arbonne. So, with just one day to figure it out, and freezing air temps, how will the Florida pro break down 15,000 acres of unfamiliar water on a lake that’s absolutely filled with stumps and standing timber during just one day of practice?
Map study before leaving home
Rather than just showing up at the ramp in a state of confusion, most pros study maps while at home like a college kid cramming for a geography exam.
“I looked at Google Earth a lot and noticed the upper half of the lake features two major creeks and a lot of good-looking spawning flats,” Scroggins said. “These fish aren’t close to spawning, but they never venture too far from prime areas like that. It’s not like they swim to the other end of the lake between spawning periods, so that’s the area of the lake I’ll spend my time in.”
Don’t try to fish it all
Notice Scroggins chose a very specific area. His veteran wisdom and common sense tell him there’s no way he can try to learn all 15,000 acres in one day, so he essentially slices it into fractions to make it far more manageable.
“If you start by choosing just the upper half, you’ve instantly cut the lake from 15,000 acres to 7,500 acres. Then you choose the best looking 20% of that half, and now you only have to figure out 1,500 acres,” Scroggins said.
The John Cox approach
“You could say I’m gonna ‘John Cox’ this one,” laughs Scroggins, referring to his highly accomplished fellow Florida pro, John Cox, who has carved out an illustrious career by choosing small shallow areas of a fishery, and running his trolling motor far more than his outboard to thoroughly pick the area apart.
“John’s the master of putting the trolling motor down and going wide open until he’s fished every last part of a small area, and that’s what I’ll do during one day of practice on D’Arbonne,” Scroggins said.
“I’ll have about 12 different baits on the front deck of this Triton, and keep that trolling motor in the water. We’re going to throw everything from a Carolina Rig to a ChatterBait, and fish from 3 feet to 20 feet in that one small area of the lake until we figure it out,” concludes Scroggins.
Of course, step one this week will be launching safely on what could be an icy boat ramp as overnight temperatures touch 23 degrees. So perhaps having the phone number of the local Farmerville, Louisiana, road crew, and a warm pair of gloves would be part of a good strategy, too.