YUM Bait Co. continued their red-hot fishing tournament win streak by claiming top honors in the 2005 Skeeter/Yamaha Tour Championship Oct. 1 and 2 at Grand Lake, Oklahoma. This time, YUM's newest offering, the
Wooly Bug bass fishing lure
, was the bait that put the big fish in the bass boat.
YUM pro staff member Jason Christie of Park Hill, Okla., and his father Jerry, boated a two-day total of 29.97 pounds to claim the championship and the fully-rigged Skeeter SX 200 with a Yamaha Motor valued at $30,000.
"I needed this win bigtime," Jason said. "I hadn't won a big tournament since the spring and I was beginning to think I couldn't catch any. But that Wooly Bug really came through for me.
"It was our day," Jason said. "I hooked a five pounder, and she had every opportunity to get off. She was wrapped around two separate cables and a limb. When we got her in, I knew it was our day."
The Christie's first-day BOOYAH Blade spinnerbait bite produced 15.20 pounds, but was unproductive on day two. ThatÕs when Jason went to the Wooly Bug.
The versatile YUM Wooly Bug takes all the characteristics of flipping and pitching baits and combines them into one fish-catching package. The large, ribbed body displaces more water, the pincers add to the lifelike profile and the Beavertail provides the action bass haven't seen before.
"During the tournament I was fishing it 100 different ways," Jason said. "I could flip it on logs. I flipped it around docks. There were a few places where there was a steep bank and we were catching them off the bank."
Jason said the true versatility of the Wooly Bug was vital to his success throughout the day. He prefers to Texas-rig the bait with a 5/16-ounce weight.
"Usually I'll have a jig laid out and a tube laid out, but with this bait, I just had one flipping stick laid out and that's what I used exclusively all day long," Jason said. "It hooks really good with that indention or hook slot. I lost only one fish all weekend and that was my fault."
Jason said he's used the bait on Lake Tenkiller as well, and caught both smallmouth and blacks on it.
"I like throwing a tube a lot, but there's days where they seem to come off on the tube, but I haven't had any days like that with the Wooly Bug yet," Jason said. "If they eat it, they're stuck."
Read more about this tournament at the Bass Zone.