Top 10 Baits from Truman Lake
WARSAW, Mo. – A tough bite during the Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. event on Truman Lake meant most of the Top 10 had to force-feed their limits, methodically picking apart visible timber and offshore brushpiles. An early-morning topwater bite was certainly present, but often short-lived, requiring anglers to grind out the rest of the day in pursuit of five good fish.
1. Champion Hunter Baughman leaned heavily on the Brazalo jigs he helped design, alternating between a ¾-ounce football jig and a 5/16-ounce finesse jig while pitching to offshore brushpiles. He trailered both with a Zoom UltraVibe Speed Craw.
2. Local pro Brad Jelinek drug a 6th Sense Divine Shakey Worm and Motion Fishing jig with a 6th Sense Stroker Craw trailer across every “rock, ledge, stump and pile in the lake” to bag 47 pounds and a second-place finish.
3. After running out of Berkley PowerBait Power Worms in plum, Brock Reinkemeyer used custom hand-poured plastic worms from a friend and a Motion Fishing jig to land a top five.
4. Minnesota angler Kyle Schutta dug deep with a 13 Fishing Scamp 1.5 to trigger bites off rock and timber. He also flipped a homemade ½-ounce jig and Texas-rigged Strike King Rage Bug to visible structure when the bite slowed.
5. Michael Harlin triggered a few early bites on topwater before pitching a ½-ounce drop-shot with a 6-inch Roboworm Straight Tail Worm to isolated stumps and standing timber for the rest of the day.
6. Targeting bass on gravel points and in pockets, BJ Miller flipped a Zoom Brush Hog and Reaction Innovations Man Bear Pig to brushpiles and standing timber. He also used a Strike King 1.5 to pick up a few additional fish.
7. After discovering his strategy on the first tree in practice, Drew Gill flipped a 12-inch Berkley PowerBait Power Worm and a Neko-rigged Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Hit Worm Magnum to visible stumps.
8. Nicky Parsons trusted his reliable 3/8-ounce War Eagle Heavy Finesse jig and Zoom Critter Craw trailer when pitching to every tree in sight, hoping to trigger a bite on the fall.
9. Chris Bridges combed the shallows with a 3/8-ounce War Eagle Spinnerbait in white and gold, along with a Strike King 1.5. When the shallow bite slowed, he relied on a Zoom Ol’ Monster in candy bug to lure fish from the depths.
10. Staying dirt-shallow almost the entire tournament, Greg Proffitt used a Berkley Choppo to trigger early bites. He also leaned heavily on a J&J Lures Original Spinnerbait and a Strike King Rage Craw.