Day-by-Day breakdown of the win at the 2017 WWBT Lucas Oil Western Classic on Lake Mead
With the Wild West Bass Trail champion Nick Salvucci
Once again, the Wild West Bass Trail (WWBT) punctuated the end of their 2017 season with the Lucas Oil Western Classic on Lake Mead.
A tournament total of 34.87and a lead of over five-pounds gave Nick Salvucci of Atascadero, Calif. the victory and $40,750 in winnings for the three-day event.
Salvucci attributed all but one of his weigh fish to topwater baits; although he kept specific lures names on the downlow, due the upcoming U.S. Open that he will be competing in.
Ironically – like last year’s WWBT Western Classic champ – Bryant Smith, Salvucci had never before fished the desert lake and prepared his strategy with comparisons to “lakes back home”.
“I live next to Santa Margarita and San Antonio,” he said. “They’re small. They’re not like the Delta or Clear Lake, where you go at and get into a pod of 30 or 40 fish a day. You get on these small lakes and you grind it out all day for one good limit and that’s how I went into Mead.”
A look back at the wins of past U.S. Opens also gave him insight on Mead.
PRACTICE FOR A LAKE MEAD CHAMPIONSHIP
After one day of practice, Salvucci was confident in his lure approach.
“I got there Monday and I practiced Tuesday and Wednesday and took Thursday off,” he said. “I mostly fished topwater the first day. On the second day of practice, I still fished topwater and hit some other areas. By then, I saw enough of the lake to know what I wanted to do and I didn’t want to show the fish my baits anymore. Plus, I wanted to be well-rested for the tournament, so that’s why I took the last day off.
“Mead’s a big lake and that can be intimidating. I did my research on the U.S. Opens and where they were won. I pre-fished two areas where I thought it could be won and I decided on one over the other.”
READ RELATED: The Plans, Lures and Mental Rollercoaster to Win the WWBT California Delta
WWBT MEAD DAY ONE
Salvucci blasted off into his first spot, feeling good about some fish that he had located in practice; but started the day with a challenge to his mental game.
“I cast out there with my topwater bait, get bit by one over three-pounds, set the hook, my 50-pound braid breaks somehow and the fish continued to jump three times next to my boat,” he recalled. “After that, I kept goin’ down the bank. I hooked a two-pounder ant tried to bounce it. It hit the side of the boat and came off. I stayed calm and finally caught a keeper.
“Then, I went to a spot where I had seen one about six-pounds in a bush. I got that one in and it ended up weighing almost seven-pounds. I felt good after that; because I had researched Mead enough to know that you don’t catch one that size very often.”
Shy of a limit. with four in the box, Salvucci ended the first day in 3rd place with 11.35, which included the day’s Big Bass at 6.79. He was nearly two-pounds behind the leader; but felt good about the quality of fish that he was on for the next day.
“I had about 10 or 12 bites and should’ve had a limit,” he said. “I had the bites to have a big Day One sack, even without the seven-pounder. That big one salvaged my day. I missed a lot of good ones; but that is the nature of the beast, when you’re fishing topwater.”
WWBT MEAD DAY TWO
Salvucci stuck to his topwater strategy; but mixed in some new water and a few other techniques that did not result in a weigh fish.
Getting 12 to 14 bites, Salvucci had a limit in the box by 12: 45 p.m.
“Once I landed the last keeper, I ran back to be closer to weigh-in, put my rods away and took my co-angler fishing,” he said. “With my limit, I had figured that I had 12 or 12 ½-pounds (more than the first day). Usually, if you’re in the top-3 and you can beat your weight from the previous day, you are going to move up; so, I felt I would move up a spot or two.
After adding 13.13 to his weight, Salvucci took over the top-spot on Day Two with 24.48. It was a lead of nearly two-pounds.
“I had a couple more bites than the first day and some were bigger bites; but with topwater fish, you’re just not going to hook ‘em all,” he said. “I felt pretty confident going into the final day.”
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WWBT MEAD DAY THREE
Salvucci kicked off the final day with a bite in the first 15 minutes and lost the fish. He didn’t allow himself to be rattled by the start and continued down the cut, missing another one.
“I shook it all off and at my next little cut, Gary (Dobyns) and the camera guys showed up and I caught two over two pounds within 10 minutes,” said Salvucci. “It was about 7:30 a.m. at that time. I didn’t get my third keeper until after 10 a.m.”
From his experience over the past two tournament days, Salvucci expected his bite to turn on again at about 11:30 a.m. Returning back to where he started, he landed his forth keeper and then lost a four-pounder.
“I lost that on camera; so, you will see it on the show,” he said. “I cast back in there; but it didn’t eat. I picked up a rod with another bait – still a topwater bait, but one that is a little slower,” he said. “I cast out about 10-feet past that spot where the big fish was and I had one come up and eat it. I set the hook, got it in and that was my limit fish.
“At that point, I knew I had over 10-pounds and with my lead, guys would have to catch ‘em to get me,” he said. “I fished my butt off the rest of the time to weigh in – missed one and caught some shorts; so, I figured … it is what is and ran back to weigh-in with 15 minutes to spare.”
Salvucci said the bites were slightly less on the final day, only getting 8 to 10. He reported catching all 14 of his event weigh fish on topwater lures, except for one 1 ½-pounder on Day One that bit a ChatterBait. He described his successful areas at a depth of 10-feet or less.
Saluvvci thanked WWBT for the well ran event. His winnings and had no plans yet for the winnings.
The WWBT paid out $82,050 to the pro anglers in the event. A full list of pro results and payout can be seen here.
WWBT co-anglers were paid $39,030. A full list of co-angler results and payout is available here.
A special thanks to all of the 2017 WWBT sponsors – A & M Graphics, Costa, Dobyns Rods, Evinrude, E3 Spark Plugs, Gator Guards, General Tire, Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits, Hydro Force, Lowrance Electronics, Lucas Oil, P-Line, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats and Super Clean.
For more information visit WildWestBassTrail.com and follow WWBT at Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram.
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