Hawk Talk - Making it into the Knockout Rounds
Posted by Roy Hawk on Jun 30th 2021
By Roy Hawk
In my last column, I talked a bit about the elephant in the room. When I made the switch from the Bassmaster Elite Series to the Bass Pro Tour I made a commitment to Major League Fishing that guaranteed my participation for a three-year period with the understanding I would need to re-qualify through the points system to continue on Tour.
My first two seasons with MLF have been very difficult, and it’s been challenging for me to adapt my fishing style to the MLF format. Most of my success through the years fishing a five fish format has been with reaction baits. For example, I'd go out and catch three big ones on a spinnerbait and one on a Senko, and one on a Carolina Rig. This setup is how I had programmed myself to fish for so many years, and it’s been hard to deviate from that format.
More time fishing the MLF format makes a big difference. For each event, we get one and three-quarter days of practice. Then we get two days of fishing to qualify for the Knockout Round. If you don't qualify, that's it. The guys who make the cut and the championship get more days of fishing time to craft that format. Until this year I had not made a Knockout Round — that’s a whole bunch of opportunities that I missed out on to learn this format.
Making the Adjustment
Before the season started I made the decision to dedicate more time to fishing soft plastics. You need consistent bites in this format and it’s generally easier to do this with soft plastics. I made a big recommitment to fishing soft plastics just because the bite ratio has to go up dramatically in this format to be successful. You gotta keep the momentum going all day long, you can't have lulls, you have to constantly be getting bit.
You've gotta be very calculated if you’re going to make any type of big runs in the middle of the day. If you're running your boat, someone else is catching fish. So when you get to your spot you better be catching them two to one for a little bit to make it up. It's very intense, but that's what makes it fun.
Two in Texas
The first event of the year was at Sam Rayburn. I have been there before but I really don't know the lake very well. I ended up fishing a new area that I had never fished before. I thought I had enough to maybe make the cut, but it was just horrible for me — a nightmare of a tournament. I lost so many fish, but I’m not sure I would have had enough to make the Knockout Round if I’d boated them.
The fish I did catch came on a homemade bladed jig with a Yamamoto D-Shad Trailer. The D-Shad is one of my favorite trailers, first because nobody uses it, and second I can use a lighter weight bladed jig and utilize the salt content in the plastic which gives the bait a different fall and more action.
The next tournament was held at Lake Travis which has really clear water and it sets up a lot like a deeper Western Fishery. We were there when the fish were just coming off the beds so there were still some up on beds.
Hawk’s “Dumb Rig” featuring the Yamamoto Stretch 40
In practice I spent a good amount of time looking for some better bed fish. I located a few but I also figured out some other stuff by just fishing around, mostly ledges, points and little ambush spots that the fish were pulling out to.
I was in Group B and on the first day. I ran to a seven-pounder I had located but couldn’t find it. Then I ran over to a four-pounder that I caught pretty quick on a Yamamoto Psycho Dad, and that fish got me rolling. It really made a difference to catch a good one right out of the gate. After that I started working outside stuff with a crankbait and mixing it up with a Natural Shad colored Yamamoto Stretch 40 Grub on what I call a Dumb Rig. I take a 5/0 Sugoi Hook and put a split ring on it, then attach a ¼-oz dropshot weight onto the split ring and tied my line onto the split ring.
I ended up catching ninety percent of my fish on the Stretch 40 including a six-pounder on the second day which really helped for the qualification for Heavy Hitters, and helped me get into the Knockout Round.
Late in the day I was hovering right around the cut line so MLF put a camera in the boat with me for the last period. I got the opportunity to share with the world my first qualification into a Knockout Round. That was a really cool experience for me and everybody got to see the Stretch 40 working. I was actually below the cut line and during the last ten minutes I caught a couple of key fish that pushed me over.
Unfortunately I wasn't able to make it out of the Knockout Round. I tried to find new areas on the fly but it just didn't work out.
Next Stop Florida
Stage three was held at the Harris Chain of Lakes. Going into the tournament, I thought I had a good feel for the bite. Each lake in the chain is a little bit different and I chose to stay in Harris itself which would give me the most fishing time. I had a little bit of a shad spawn in the morning and a flippin' bite. I ended up mainly flippin' a Junebug Stretch 40 in the Kissimmee grass.
After the first day I was in 24th, only a couple of pounds below the cut line, but in the end I could never get over the line when I needed to.
A Second Knockout
In early June the Tour went to Lake Chickamauga for stage four. For me, reaction baits were really the way to go but I also mixed in some plastics with it. The winner, Kevin VanDam, caught almost all his fish on a crankbait. I caught my fish on a discontinued big Yamamoto Grub, a few on a crankbait and one on a jig with a Yamamoto Double Tail. I was fishing areas I like to call mini ledges, the stuff they move to when they're coming out of the flats and creeks before they actually set up on the big main ledges.
My plan was to find as many large to medium size schools of fish and to rotate through them. I tried to find more subtle areas that were perhaps overlooked and had less pressure on them, and I really thought that I could make it to the final day with the fish that I found.
I fished in Group A and ended the first day in 11th, and the second day I ended in 14th which got me into my second Knockout Round of the season. The fishing was kind of weird. I had this one area that held a bunch of fish but they just would not fire. I'd leave and then come back and they'd bite for a minute and I'd catch two or three. Then I'd have to leave again. If I didn't go to another spot that was just as good, I'd fall behind.
One day they would fire in the afternoon, the next day I would catch them in the morning, and the last day I caught a couple in the morning and a couple in the afternoon. I just didn't have a good day during the Knockout Round — I got up there a ways but I just couldn't put it together enough to keep it rolling.
I’ve worked hard, and I'm really excited to be where I am at this point in the season. We head north to the St. Lawrence River, Lake Champlain, and Lake St. Clair next. I am 50% for making the Knockout Round and I have had two extra days in the format this year which has helped out a lot. Now I just need to keep the momentum going.
