The Daily Crank

South Carolina native, Casey Ashley, had a good practice and thought he would be able to catch decent bags each day.  However, as the tournament progressed, it got better and better for this Lucky Craft pro.

“On the first day, I didn’t even know my spot was that good,” Ashley said.  “I started somewhere else but then went to my main area and culled everything I had.  I caught everything I weighed in the first day in like eight casts on this one bank.”

Ashley was fishing a secondary bluff with a shelf wall in a creek with a Lucky Craft Slender Pointer 97 in Misty Shad.  He was not working the bait fast, but he wasn’t letting it sit for 30 seconds either.  He was pulling it along rather than giving it short twitches, which seemed to seal the deal for him on day one.

Ashley was fishing the Slender Pointer 97 on a 6-1/2-foot, medium action rod with 15-pound fluorocarbon.  After catching 15 pounds on Sunday, Ashley lost the only jerkbait he had, which had been given to him earlier in practice by fellow teammate Gerald Swindle, so he had to switch to a jig.  He moved back into the shallow, muddy water to start flipping, and the first fish he caught weighed 6 pounds, 4 ounces.

That kicker fish gave Ashley a 19-pound, 11-ounce bag on the final day for a three-day total weight of 46 pounds, 4 ounces.  He finished his week in second place and was very pleased.

To read the full article on how all the pros finished at Dardanelle, please visit Lucky Craft’s Web site.

Lucky Craft angler standings:

Casey Ashley - 2nd

• Main baits were the Lucky Craft Slender Pointer 97 in Misty Shad and a jig
• Fished in a creek, pulling the Slender Pointer along instead of giving it quick twitches
• Fished the Slender Pointer 97 on a 6 1/2-foot medium action rod with 15-pound fluorocarbon

Takahiro Omori – 3rd

• Fished a lipless crankbait and the Lucky Craft RC 2.5 in Chartreuse Perch
• Caught a few fish flipping on day one
• Fished around spawning pockets in the backs of creeks

Skeet Reese - 24th

• Flipped a Crazy Lake Chigger Craw for most of the tournament
• Fell from eighth place on Thursday to 45th on Saturday, but found a bit of redemption on Sunday moving back to 24th
• Brought in a three-day total of 36 pounds, 10 ounces

Gerald Swindle - 83rd

• Caught fish in practice on the Moonsault CB 001
• Couldn’t find the crankbait bite during the tournament so had to switch to a Texas-rigged jig and a spinnerbait
• Fished several areas from the Decatur Flats to the dam

Kelly Jordon – 86th

• Threw a spinnerbait for most of the tournament
• Stayed around the main Decatur Flats on Saturday
• Caught a two-day total of 17 pounds, 4 ounces

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by APRIL WHEDBEE for: TheDailyCrank.com
Cox Group, Charlotte, NC – Outdoors Marketing, Advertising, Public Relations Agency

Photos courtesy of James Overstreet