Details: N Fork Shenandoah
#3 wading
Never Tarpon fished before. Guide put us near the beach & we cast near pods. 4 hookups before this 140#er. 40 min fight. leadered it 4X before we got it boatside ...more for a pic. My back was killin' me. Worth it!
I forgot... The FLW guy used n old type of topwater that is no longer made. However we approximated it with a Bagley's Bang O Lure spintail. EARLY morning he ...more cast it out on mono line in likley places. Typically he would make the bait spit with tiny twitches. He did not zip it along at all or make a lot of commotion. Nods & twitches.....
Depending on the usual: water temp, weather, water clarity.... If it is in early May, the guide we went out with said his general pattern was hitting emergent grass ...more "stubble" in creeks, coves, & points (especially with mixed cover like stumps, rock, etc) with swimbaits-keel weighted- on 20# braid in morning, smaller finesse style jig n trailer-3/8 to 1/2 oz- along rocky bluff walls, rip rap, etc near deeper water 4-12'. Then skipping boat docks with wacky Senko style stickbaits to round out the end of the day. IT WORKED FOR US!! I also on my own found bass in Lee's creek boat docks in deeper water with jig n trailer & scratched out bass in backs of coves with swimjigs & Rage craw trailers. In late May, my brother went out with an FLW pro who guides there. His run was with shakyheads & trickworms (all green pumpkin) in all kinds of water & depths. The guide used the shakyhead kind of like a search bait. He never cast to the same spot twice and if he came up with any snotgrass on the lure he moved out. IT WORKED FOR HIM!!! My brother locked on that pattern all summer and was successful. Hope it helps.
to all who would like to know,, navionics webb app is a good place to find a map of usa lakes with 1ft contours for your enjoyment, take a look , pan in to your ...more favorite lake, this map is good, but you can't save any points,, mike