While the bite differed daily on Oregon’s Columbia River, the common denominator for Gary Yexley was that YUM baits produced the quality of smallmouth bass he needed during the B.A.S.S. Federation Nation Western Divisional championship.
"I believe in LPT," said Yexley, referring to Live Prey Technology, the secret ingredient in YUM that replicates enzymes put off by distressed baitfish. "I’m a jig tyer and I enjoy fishing my jigs, but I believe LPT is what gives me a distinct advantage."
Yexley actually began the first day of the championship by throwing a crankbait, and he was able to crank up a limit of bass. They weren’t the quality he thought he needed, however, and he was having trouble upgrading. Therefore, he began swimming homemade jigs, trailed with both YUM Chunks and YUM Muy Twintail Grubs.
A Muy Twintail Grub turned out to be the ticket that day, and before long Yexley was culling bass. By day’s end he had replaced all his crankbait fish with bass that couldn’t resist a Muy Twintail Grub.
On Day 2, Yexley went to the same flats where he had caught his fish and began to fish with his jig and Muy Twintail Grub. The bite was slow, though, and he had to make a change. He ended up catching the bulk of his fish with Watermelon Candy and Ozark Smoke YUM Dingers, which he fished on a drop-shot rig.
Day 3 brought yet another change, as the fish didn’t seem to want the drop-shot Dingers or the Twintail Grub. "I went back to the YUM Chunk, and the fish were all over it," he said. "I didn’t get as many bites that day, but they were the kind of bass that stay in the livewell longer."
While the YUM Chunk was Yexley’s primary bait on Day 3, he caught one critical fish on a YUM Dinger. It was late in the day and he was fishing a spot for the second time. For no particular reason he decided to switch to his drop-shot rig, which was rigged with an Ozark Smoke Dinger. He caught a smallmouth that allowed him to cull a fish and add a couple ounces to his bag, and he ended up winning the tournament by a single ounce.
Yexley, who brought 43 pounds, 2 ounces to the scales during the three-day tournament, weighed in all smallmouths. While many anglers were going up into sloughs to target largemouths, he stayed along the main river. "I figured it was the Columbia River, and it should be won with smallmouths," Yexley said.
Yexley, a member of the Central Valley Bass Club, will represent Oregon in the Federation Nation National Championship. It will be his fifth national championship appearance.