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2nd: Todd Faircloth
> Day 1: 5, 15-14
> Day 2: 5, 20-08
> Day 3: 5, 17-07
> Day 4: 5, 20-10
> Total = 20, 74-07
Todd Faircloth spent his entire practice and tournament in Lake George, going off of what he learned last year when he finished 4th at the St. Johns. His pattern focused on where the eelgrass and dollar pads met and he blind-casted to holes in the grass.
"Right where they met on the inside is where I caught the biggest majority of my fish," he added.
He boxed early limits, then picked over beds for upgrades on days 1 and 2, including an 8-15 brute on day 2 that lifted him into the Top 5. He migrated away from bed-fishing the final 2 days and focused on a vast area on the east side of George that he found in practice that saw virtually no pressure all week.
"The water had cleaned up and there were a lot of fish there," he said. "The water was a little deeper, but the fish were still on beds. I had my mind made up after (day 3) that I was going to camp on that spot. It was a real big area and there was no doubt in my mind the winning fish were there."
> Casting gear: 7' medium-heavy Castaway Mag rod, Abu Garcia Revo MGX casting reel (7.1:1 ratio), 30-pound Spiderwire Ultracast Invisi-Braid (main line), 20-pound Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon (leader), 1/8-ounce unnamed tungsten flipping weight, unnamed 4/0 flipping hook, 5" Yamamoto Senko (watermelon black flake).
> Sight-fishing gear: Same rod, reel, line and hook, 1/4-ounce unnamed tungsten flipping weight, 3 3/4" Yamamoto Flappin' Hog (watermelon/red flake).
> Main factor in his success – "Spending all of my time in one lake and really learning it and being thorough. I think my past knowledge of fishing down there last year helped as well."
> Performance edge – "It all pays dividends whenever you're doing that kind of fishing, from the rods to the Spiderwire to the reels. It all makes a difference." Read More
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Photo - BASS/James Overstreet - PALATKA, Fla. — Even though he was in second place going into Sunday's final, Todd Faircloth had no reason to feel any pressure, trailing Alton Jones by a whopping 9 pounds and an ounce. But after catching bass after bass Sunday morning, Faircloth realized the St. Johns River Showdown title was suddenly within his grasp.