As an Oklahoma resident, Zack Birge is excited to be fishing REDCREST in his home state on Grand Lake. Although he lives closer to Oklahoma City, he fishes Grand as much as possible. He has tasted success there, including winning a BFL and Costa (now Toyota) Series event on the lake. His familiarity with the lake is a good thing and he's one of the favorites to win the event.
How it's Setting Up
As things are now, Birge believes REDCREST will be a good one based on the weather this winter. It hasn't been too cold and that should have the fish in a biting mood as they prepare to spawn in the coming weeks.
"Unless we get a big rain or unexpected cold snap right before the event, it's going to be a good event because Grand Lake is full of quality fish," he said. "Even if it gets really cold, they'll still bite. The biggest thing is if we had rising water to go with it because dirty, cold water would be a challenge. I'm excited for this one because I've never fished a big event like this there."
The MLF format is another thing to consider, but Birge thinks the field will find good fish numbers with some nice ones mixed in.
"It's not going to be like a Table Rock where guys catch insane numbers of fish, but it's a lake that you can consistently get bites," he added. "The good thing about Grand is that they'll all be good ones. There is a gigantic population of fish that will weigh in the heavy threes and into the four-pound range, with the chance for a random five, six, or seven pounders mixed in."
Pattern Predictions
As Birge prepares for the event, he's leaning towards it being a pre-spawn event with a handful of techniques dominating. He believes crankbaits, jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, vibrating jigs, and jigs will make up most of the top finisher's lure choices.
"It'll be a pre-spawn event and guys can fish just about anywhere they want with those lures and catch fish," he said.
For cranking, he's leaning towards shallow baits like the Yo-Zuri 3DB Squarebill 1.5 and the slightly deeper diving 3DB Series Mid Range 1.5.
"A squarebill is what I won that Toyota Series event with and that was the same time of year," he said. "The fish were shallow and they were big. I like the Yo-Zuri baits because they have great colors and they are very durable."
Birge plans to fish these baits in various shallow locations but has some ideas about where they will be best.
"I'll use them to cover ground on the flatter banks and places where the steep banks transition to the flatter stuff," he said. "They are also good on main lake points. I'll fish them on 12 and 14-pound Yo-Zuri T7 fluorocarbon."
Jerkbaits
For jerkbaits, he'll focus on a lot of the same areas but deeper with the Yo-Zuri 3DB Series Jerkbait SP 110.
"That bait has a great action and unique rattle sound," he said. "It's also good because not everyone is throwing it like they are from the same brands that everyone else is using. I like to fish it on 12-pound Yo-Zuri T7 fluorocarbon because it has the right diameter and because Grand Lake bass are big and mean."
He plans to focus on bluff walls, channel swing banks, main lake points, and around boat docks. His years of Grand Lake experience also give him another good target.
"A lot of the bluffs have little pockets in the bluff with waterfalls," he said. "A jerkbait is great for fishing those little edges and the fish really gang up on those areas."
Jigs
He also plans to mix in a spinnerbait, jig, and vibrating jig in some areas, mainly with dirtier water present.
"These baits will be more cover related, and I'll start using them on the transition as it goes from clean to dirtier water," he said. "I'll be fishing them around logs, laydowns, and docks, especially behind docks on walkways where the fish like to get. There's also a lot of trash on Grand with beams, rails, pipes on old docks. I'll also fish my crankbaits around those places."
As an Oklahoma angler, Zack Birge has a wealth of experience on Grand Lake and is excited about the possibility of winning such a big event close to home. His knowledge of the lake gives him an edge and he's very familiar with how the fish act on the lake this time of year. He's got a plan that covers any scenario and will lean heavily on moving baits, with jigs mixed in as he thinks it's the best way to win REDCREST.
Advertising