Alabama’s Clent Davis will cash the check for $300,000 for the 2018 Forrest Wood Cup victory on Lake Ouachita in Arkansas and he did so with a miraculous comeback.
Davis started the final day in 10th place – the final angler to make the cut. He was nearly five-pounds behind the leader before he caught the tournament’s biggest bag and won the event by over seven-pounds.
It was a fantastic finish to the event, and Davis said his Lowrance units were one the biggest keys to his win.
Here he reveals how he used Lowrance’s technologies to make history in Arkansas.
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KNOWING HOW TO TARGET THE BRUSH PILES
Davis took home the win by fishing brush piles with a Mister Twister Mag 12 BUZZ Worm – a 12” worm with a unique tail.
The lure was vital; but knowing where to throw it, made the difference.
Davis also fished the 2015 Forrest Wood Cup on the same lake and from that event and this year’s tournament, he had plenty of brush piles marked as waypoints on his Lowrance units.
“Between all of the practice, pre-practice, and tournaments I had around 1,000 waypoints on this lake for brush piles,” he said.
His Lowrance units were the key to locating the brush piles.
“I spent hours idling breaklines and marking brush piles,” he shared. “Most of the brush piles get dropped on obvious spots like the ends of points; but, you want to be able to find the sneaky ones that not everyone is going to find.
“I was able to find some on the inside of points, islands, and places that not everyone is looking. I basically idled the entire lake; but it paid off, and Lowrance makes it easy to find those spots if you put in the time.”
When looking for brush piles, Davis keeps his settings on auto and his StructureScan looking 80-feet on both sides of the boat. Through trial and error, he has discovered that this is the best range to get an accurate picture and still cover more water during his search.
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USING 2D SONAR AND THE SUN
While StructureScan is often the best tool for finding brush piles, Davis says the standard 2D sonar is vital for making critical observations about the fish.
Davis runs DownScan in tandem to get a better different look at what is below the boat.
He runs two units at the console. One is strictly StructureScan, and the other is a split of DownScan, 2D, and his chart.
“I used 2D sonar to see the coloration of the fish and get an idea how big they are,” he said. “I run Palette #13, and it seems to be the best way for me to see if the fish and determine their size.”
Another key for Davis during this event was figuring out how the fish were positioned within the brush pile and that often had to do with the sun. By utilizing his 2D sonar, he was able to tell if the bass were deep in the piles or suspended above the trees.
“Most of the time that has to do with whether or not it is cloudy,” he added. “When it was cloudy they would suspend more and you can see that right on your Lowrance units.
He added that bass also would change to one side or the other on the brush pile, depending on where the sun is in the sky.
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THE BIGGEST KEY TO THE WIN
While all of the Lowrance technologies played a role in his big win, Davis said the single most important tool was his Point-1 GPS Antenna.
“It is amazing how accurate it is,” he said. I” like to have one waypoint on the pile itself and another where I should position the boat. I set the track extension bar, and the Point-1 is so accurate, that I can make the perfect cast right to the brush pile – 10 out of 10 times.”
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WAYPOINT MANAGEMENT
With hundreds of waypoints on his screen, Davis used a system to keep himself organized and on track during the Forrest Wood Cup. Using the different icons and colors available from Lowrance, he was able to identify what he was looking for quickly.
“I started out by changing all of my icons from my 2015 trip to one type of icon and then used a different icon for the waypoints from this year,” he said. “I also used a different icon for the juicy ones, the ones where I got a bite or caught a good fish. Changing the icons made it much easier for me to see which ones I wanted to fish during each stop of the tournament.”
Clent Davis did the unthinkable when he stormed back from being the final angler inside the cut to being the one hoisting the trophy above his head. He put in his time by idling and watching his Lowrance units, and it paid off with the biggest win of his fishing career.
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