CLEARLAKE, Calif. – When it comes to weights on Clear Lake, 21 pounds, 12 ounces isn’t much to talk about, but for Bryan Grier, it’s the biggest limit of his career as it was enough to push him to the top of the leaderboard when the scale closed on the final day of the Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. Western Division event. With a 58-5 total for the week, Grier claimed his first MLF win by more than 2 pounds against some of the best local sticks on Clear Lake in just his fourth Toyota Series tournament.
“I feel great man,” Grier said. “Yeah, fishing was awesome. I mean the wind played a factor, but we probably caught 40 fish today. My co-angler (Jose Juarez Jr.) had 19 something (19-14). We just absolutely whacked them today. So yeah, I feel great.”
Grier noted that a major difference-maker for him this week was targeting fish in the right stage of the spawn cycle. He felt this improved his chances at the quality bites that could (and eventually did) put him at the top on the final day.
“The big thing was fishing the prespawn fish,” he added. “A lot of the lake has spawning fish, some postspawn fish, but I found a pretty big group of prespawn fish, and they were just a lot heavier. It wasn’t necessarily that they were ‘bigger’, but they weighed a lot more. They were still feeding up. They were still prespawn, and they were just moving up.”
Grier worked over his prespawn fish with a 7-inch Osprey Inline Tournament Talon swimbait and a Daiwa Yamamoto Neko Fat Worm consistently throughout the week. But, unlike many anglers in the Top 10, Grier opted to target boulders as opposed to vegetation and spawning fish.
“I just had a very large wad of fish, they didn’t really change much,” he said. “The first day I just kind of got blown off of it. I think I could have stuck it out, but I didn’t feel safe. There were big waves coming right into where I was fishing. Today though, I had nothing to lose so I just stuck out there. It was brutal.”
Grier also noted that depth was a predominant factor as many anglers cruised the banks, he opted to target fish deeper that were less affected by windy conditions and were more likely to be in a prespawn pattern.
“I was looking for them a little deeper,” Grier said. “I was looking for my fish in anywhere from 10 to 14 feet. Where most people were up shallow fishing the flats, I stuck out deeper trying to get those prespawn fish.”
For Grier, the come-from-behind victory is not only a culmination of 20 years of professional tournament fishing on the west coast, but also a proper send-off for the San Jose area, pro as he prepares to migrate east in the coming month.
“It’s amazing, I’ve been fishing off and on … for the last 20 years, I’ve been fishing as a pro somewhat, here and there,” said Grier. “Some years more than others. I actually just sold my house here and bought a house in Texas. In 30 days, I’ve got to be out of my house. I was just bummed because I’ve done it so long here and never won a (major) tournament in California. So, I’m excited to get one in California.”
Grier knows that the support of brands and businesses has been essential for his longevity out on the west coast, as well as keeping him ready this week on Clear Lake.
“I was very fortunate this week and I’ve got to thank my sponsors: Anglers Marine, Phil’s Propellers, DD26, Mercury Marine and Kistler Rods.”
1. Bryan Grier – 58 – 05 (15)
2. Joshua Adams – 55 – 12 (15)
3. Kyle Grover – 54 – 09 (15)
4. Daniel Andrusaitis – 53 – 02 (15)
5. Scott MacKenzie – 52 – 14 (15)
6. Ronald Lorenzo – 52 – 13 (15)
7. Jordan Collom – 51 – 12 (15)
8. Patrick Touey – 51 – 11 (15)
9. David Valdivia – 51 – 05 (15)
10. Justin Kerr – 50 – 01 (15)