Entry 296-2

James Niggemeyer – Bassmaster Champ in March, 2009 on Toledo Bend

Part 2: First Day of a Now 2-Day Tournament

Question: James, what happened on the first competition day?

Niggemeyer: The first competition day was cancelled because of weather, so the decision was made to let the entire field fish for the last 2 days and not have an elimination round. So, the first day of competition was really the second day of the scheduled 3-day tournament.

Question: Okay, what did you do on the first day you competed, which had been scheduled to be the second day of the tournament?

Niggemeyer: I located bass bigger than the flipping and the spinner-bait bass I’d found in practice. All these bass were on the bank, either on the bed or going to the bed. I probably fished all the different new soft plastics Strike King had brought to the marketplace. I caught bass on the Rage Lizard, the Rage Craw and several other Strike King soft-plastic baits. When the bass wouldn’t take one type of lure, I’d change lures until I found a bait the bass would take. Each bass I cast to was unique, preferring a different color and type of bait.

When you’re fishing for bedding bass, consider each bass as a separate fish. You have to be able to read that bass’s mood, decide on a lure that particular bass wants and then figure-out a method of presenting that lure to make that bass strike. Generally I elicit reaction strikes rather than feeding strikes. So, on the first day of competition, I wore the hinges off my tackle boxes, changing lures and trying different presentations of Strike King soft plastics.

Question: How many pounds of bass did you catch on the first day of competition?

Niggemeyer: I had 18 pounds, 4 ounces on the first day. My biggest fish was a 5 pounder. I was really frustrated at the end of the first day because I didn’t really have a specific technique that I could say, “This lure, presented in this way, will make any bass I see bite.” I was constantly switching lures and presentations. So, even though I had a good bag of bass and knew that sight-fishing was the way to catch the bass, I didn’t have a single magic lure or presentation that worked on every bass.

Question: What colors and shapes seemed to be the best soft plastics on that day?

Niggemeyer: Green-pumpkin and watermelon colors seemed to work best. I used those colors on Rage Lizards, Strike King tubes and Rage Craws. I fished these lures on 20- and 25-pound-test line, casting them instead of flipping. Sometimes I’d hop the baits through the beds and the bass would eat them. At other times, I’d pitch the lures into the beds and shake them to get the bass to bite. I was experimenting all day to determine what would trigger each bass bite.

Question: With 18 pounds and 4 ounces at the end of the first day of competition, in what place were you going into the second day of competition?

Niggemeyer: I was in eighth place, and first place had 20 pounds and 5 ounces. So, I wasn’t far from first place. One or two good-sized bass really could put me in the hunt.

Next: The Second Day of Competition

Contents:

• Part 1: The Game Plan
• Part 2: First Day of a Now 2-Day Tournament
• Part 3: The Second Day of Competition
• Part 4: It's a Tie!
• Part 5: The Last-Day Fish-Off