With the influx of new lures on the market, it’s easy to overlook some of the tried and true lures that get it done day after day.
That’s not the case with the Carroll brothers – Andy and Matt. This pair utilized YUM 10-inch Ribbontail Worms to turn in a runaway victory in the Skeeter / Yamaha Tour event held Sunday, June 25 at Lake Eufaula in Oklahoma. They shared the payday of the $23,000 grand prize.
Using predominantly the Blue Flek color of the YUM Ribbontail, the Carrolls caught a four-fish limit weighing 17.77 pounds and won by nearly three pounds. Andy Carroll said the 10-inch worm is an extremely versatile lure for fishing a summer pattern. The lure can be either swam or fished along the bottom.
Big fish are bulking up after the spawn, so they are looking for a big meal that is easy to catch" said Andy Carroll, who lives in Fort Smith, Ark. "A 10-inch YUM Ribbontail gives them the big bite they are looking for, and the LPT in the attractant ensures they hold onto the bait long enough to get a good hookset."
With more than 250 boats competing in the Skeeter / Yamaha event, lure selection is extra important, said Andy Carroll.
"When you are fishing against 450 other fishermen, you have to choose baits that create reaction strikes or that are so realistic in action and scent that a bass can’t say no" he said. "The fish are so heavily pressured in these big events that you need an edge like YUM with LPT to get that one extra bite to seal the victory."
Andy Carroll said he and Matt, who lives in Tulsa, Okla., each caught two of the fish that were weighed in, but he came in with a 5-pound, 8-ounce kicker.
"Matt and I had lost two monster fish already this year that truly cost us winning two other major events, so when we boated that 5-pounder, we knew we were going to be hard to beat," Andy Carroll said.
"YUM plastics have been a major contributor in three major tournament victories for us in the last couple of years, and I would say that in almost every tournament we fish, YUM is responsible for at least one third of the fish we weigh in."
(Photo courtesy of The BASS ZONE, which provides on-site coverage of major bass tournaments.)