From left to right: Tommy Biffle, Dale Hightower, Jeff Kriet, Mike McClelland, Scott Rook, Terry Scroggins, Kevin VanDam

DPR - Okay, practice is under way and you've had some time on the water now. It's "in your tackle box" time. As of this point right now, give me your top three baits that you expect to play a role in this Classic.

Biffle - You know I'll be throwing a Biffle Bug a lot. It's really versatile on what you can do with it on a single presentation, and I just have an extreme amount of confidence in it anytime it's in the water. Of course, I always have a jig tied on and it'll have its place here, too. My third choice is a spinnerbait. 

Hightower - My Larew HooDaddy Jr. got me here and is my confidence bait, so I'll be flipping it a lot. Soft plastics should play big in the tournament. I'll also throw some spinnerbaits and that kind of stuff in certain situations. No reason to do a lot of things differently down here so I'll be mostly fishing the same things in different places.

Kriet - I'll mainly be throwing a 3/8 oz. bait with a creature or YoMama or something on it by Big Bite. I'll have some different sizes, too, certainly a 3/4 oz. and a 1 oz. punch rig. I'll have a jig on for some flipping, but I'll mainly use a Big Bite plastic behind a Jewel Hole Punch skirt. 

McClelland - I'll definitely have a War Eagle spinnerbait, a Jewel Flip'N jig and a fair amount of Zoom plastics. Those three will be predominant in this event.

Rook - There's a real good chance that my answers would change between now and when the Classic starts next Friday, mostly because of the weather changes. It was 27 degrees here the other day and water temps were in the 40s-50. With the forecast coming for significant warm up, things can change rapidly, and probably will. I do always have a Jewel jig on a rod, whether it's a finesse, heavy Flip'N, or football - and I might have all three. These are good jig-fishing conditions.

Scroggins - You'll find me throwing three baits quite a bit in this Classic - my YUM "Big Show" Craw, a Wooly Bug and an XCalibur XR lipless crankbait. Water temps are still in the 40s right now, so I see soft plastics and slow fishing have big roles in this event. I can do a lot of different things with these three selections for the conditions at hand.

VanDam - Sorry, but I'm going to have to give you four and they shouldn't be a surprise with this shallow situation: spinnerbait, jig, some kind of plastic and a shallow-running crankbait. For the Classic, and especially here in the Delta, you better be ready to do a lot of different things according to your opportunities. While a Classic sometimes can be won on a "magical" bait doing the same thing each day, I'm pretty sure that's not going to be the case here.

DPR: Do you have a bait in your tackle box that you know you are the only one in the Classic to have this particular item?

Biffle - Yep. It's a new color that I had Gene Larew make for me in my Biffle Bug. It should match up well to some natural baits in the area. I think it'll work good down here.

 

Hightower - I do have a bait in my box that I'm throwing that's been modified. It's something me and a friend of mine made up and is something brand new that no one else has.

Kriet - No I don't. As long as you get around 'em and have confidence you don't need any secret baits or colors.

McClelland - I'm not gonna say specifically that I know I'm the only one that has this specific color, but Zoom poured a special run for this event. I know Gerald (Swindle) and I both have them. The Jewel Hole Punch skirts are fairly new to the market. There are probably some colors that we have that others don't.

Rook - I don't know if I've got one in my box that no one else does.  That would be a hard one to answer.  I'm sure if I have something, one of these other guys has it too.  I don't have anything secret that I had made special for this Classic.

Scroggins - No, I really don't have any unique or secret lures that nobody else has. But I do have two colors in my signature series "Big Show" craw that nobody else among the Classic contenders will have. The craw, and these colors, can have a big part in me winning on the Delta.

VanDam - (Laughs) I'd like to think I have several that nobody else has, and I'm sure I do. I always have baits that I'm working on for Strike King, and I do have some prototypes with me. I'm not sure these will have a key role in the Delta, but I'm always prepared. That's why Plano calls me the king of their StowAways (utility tackle boxes). In this fishery, it's not hard to understand what everybody will be doing. Putting the right lure in the right spot is always key, but here "location" is the number one factor.