Lack of swimbaits at the Classic.

[TomAtkeson]

I can only speak for myself, but so far I have heard no reports of anyone using a swimbait on the Louisiana Delta during the Classic. We know guys can dominate using them in tournaments, it was proven during last years Bassmaster Elites when swimbaits were a major factor in three of the events.

With the success last year for guys chucking the big baits last year why did it seem as if the anglers left them at home for this tournament. We know that Kevin VanDam, Aaron Martens and Brandon Palaniuk all fished the same area of Lake Cataouatche with search baits to find cypress stumps and cast repeatedly to that stump to trigger bites as the fish were coming in to spawn. So why not do the same thing with a swimbait? Looking for even bigger bites?

Now I know these guys aren't considered swimbait fishermen but, what about the rest of the field? We all know they can catch huge sacks at Clear Lake and the California Delta, which a lot of the Elite anglers will tell you fishes quite a bit like the Louisiana Delta.

To get down to the question at hand here: Why did we not hear a peep about swimbaits being fished this year at the Classic and for that matter at other classics? Is it because during the normal season guys can chuck them and there is less at stake? Were they fished and practice and just did not produce? Did some anglers fish them and we just didn't hear about it because it is not what the leaders were doing?