WB: What about your reel choice makes you a better flipper?
JL: I purposefully chose a Revo Rocket. This is a high-speed reel (9.0:1). In the west Delta, there is a lot of competition for food and typically when the fish from there eat, they run really quickly with their food. Once they get your bait, they can be 5 ft away before you know that you’ve got one on. Because they move like that, I wanted to make sure that I could pick up the slack line quickly. That’s why I chose the Rocket to flip out there. It is a strong reel and picks up line super- fast. Not only does it allow me to make more pitches and flips throughout the day, I can also catch up with the fish.
WB: You also mentioned your line. What was important about your line choice?
JL: I do 50 lb braid to a 2 ft fluorocarbon leader. I use Trilene Professional Grade Braid with Trilene fluoro and tie a crazy Alberto knot to join the two together.
I definitely get more bites flippin’ with fluorocarbon than just straight braid. I do a 2 ft leader because I leave a long tag end, so it will definitely never slip through and so that it’s not coming through my guides when I have 2 ft out there. That way, I am not damaging the knot. To me, it is actually stronger by joining the two together than using one of the lines by itself.
WB: Tell us about the bed fishing.
JL: I didn’t get on the sight fishing pattern until the second day of the tournament. Originally, I was trying to go down south; but when I got there, the water was actually dirty. So, I ran up to the central Delta and found the water was way clearer. I knew the tide was going to be out, so I thought I could find some bed fish.
WB: What was your predominate bed bait?
JL: On most of the beds, I was still using the Pit Boss, but I changed the color to green pumpkin and green flake. That was a better color for the clearer water. I like to use heavier weights for the beds, so I
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