The Bartlett Lake Blues…
Bartlett Lake is well known for being a lake almost every skill level can enjoy 12 months of the year. This last Saturday for the Lifted Trucks – Cactus Cup Team Trail, that wasn’t the case. I had multiple people say this was, “One of the most difficult days I’ve ever seen at Bartlett” or “I have never seen Bartlett fish that tough.” Normally when Bartlett fishes tough it is during this cold time of year or towards the end of Summer before the Fall Transition. Out of the 42 boats that came to fish we only had 7 limits come to the scales with only one bag being over 9lbs. Mason and Bobby took home the win with a total weight of 11.01lbs and the team average was 3.26 with 16 boats only weighing in 1 or zero fish. We spoke to the top 4 teams and they gave us some feedback on their day.
1st Place – Mason Smook & Bobby Bayham
” I wasnt feeling well in the week leading up to the Bartlett derby so I wasn’t able to get out and practice. I left the pre fish up to Bobby and he said he found a few groups of fish out deep which is exactly what he likes to do. We hit just a couple different spots on and off all day until our fish finally set up around 1pm. We caught everything fishing really slow. Was fortunate enough to have a partner who puts in the work and found the right deal. All of the credit goes too Bobby for the win.” Mason and Bobby took home $4080 and the only team to break the 10lb mark.
2nd Place – John Browning & Bobby O’Donnell
John and Bobby had a great finish taking home $2980. Here is what John had to say about their day. ” It was very cold and windy to start the day so we tucked into a little cove and started throwing square bills and chatterbaits. First fish came on a crank about 9:30 for Bobby and our second fish was on a jig in 15ft. We caught our 3rd dragging a drop shot behind the boat and our final two were on a jig as well. One of the toughest days on the water I’ve ever seen. It was a great event and we cant wait until the next one.”
3rd Place – Pete Willis & Mike Nugent
“Mike and I were able to get together and participate in the FishIn48 derby at Bartlett this past weekend. We were able to pre fish a little and found a few deep fish that were willing to bite. We had a little rotation for 3 to 4 rock piles in 20-38 ft. With Mike on the drop shot and me on a texas rig, we fished slower than I ever thought possible but after counting rocks all day we were able to cull a few times and end up with a decent limit. Thanks Nick and staff for running a great event.” Mike and Pete walked away with $1980
4th Place – JR Bene & Scott Baker
“We had three spots where we thought we could get a solid limit. The first spot was our most promising for big bass and turned out to be a dud. On our second spot that shad pods were thick and we spooned one up. We felt great we were on the board! We felt our 3rd spot didnt really turn on until around 10am and there were three boats sitting all around it. Just before 10 a spot opened up and we made some color adjustments with the dirty water. We caught one on a jig and one on a drop shot by 10:30. Culled one by 11am and then it was over for us for the rest of the day.”
Thanks to everyone that came out for our last event at Bartlett Lake. Our next stop is at Alamo on March 18th and that should set up to be a great event with some big bags coming to the scales. Below is the Liars Korner Final Cut going over the top baits at Bartlett Lake.
If you would like to book a guided fishing trip in Arizona our fishing guides would love to take you out on your next trip. Spring is right around the corner and the fishing will be good as usual, book your trip today and make some memories with FishIn48.
