Tiebreaker goes to McClain!

In a nailbiter on a beautiful Ozarks day, Morgan McClain wins on Stockton at stop #5 of the Mo-Yak Fishing Series presented by Everharts Outdoors. With this win, McClain is in the hunt for Angler of the Year and will be one to watch as we wrap up at Truman this fall.

What was your strategy going into the day?
Going into the day, I didn’t have much of a strategy. The only thing I knew for certain was that I wasn’t going to fish deep. I decided to focus on steep banks since that is one place I can always find fish any time of year.

Were you able to prefish and did you find anything that helped you on game day?
Prefishing was actually helpful because I was able to rule out deep fishing and I had some misses on the buzzbait early both days so I made a minor adjustment to it and it helped me get close to a limit early on tournament day.

What was your best finish on Stockton before this one?
I had fished one tournament on Stockton before and I ended up 13th out of about 60. It was the first kayak tournament I fished.

What was the general tackle you used to win?
I used a buzzbait and glidebait early and a finesse jig later to get a few crucial upgrades.

Anything else special about the day?
I caught my big bass in a pretty unusual way. I had a fish miss my buzzbait right by a big boulder, so I cast my glidebait past the boulder and then burned it back and the fish hit it right by the boulder. It turned out to be 18.5″ and was the tiebreaker fish for me. The only notable wildlife I encountered was the insane amount of mayflies when I launched. Thankfully, I did not lose and big fish, my only miss was a fish on the jig that I set the hook on and missed.

How far did you have to travel to find your fish?
I didn’t have to travel far to start catching fish, probably 1/4 of a mile at most.

What depth range were you looking for?
I caught my buzzbait/glidebait fish right on the bank early and I expected them to move out later in the day. However, the fish I caught later on the jig were right on the bank next to fallen timber.

Did the weather affect your bite?
The weather definitely affected my bite because the topwater bite died as soon as the sun came up and the fish transitioned to fallen timber.

Do you plan to fish the remaining MoYak schedule?
I will unfortunately not be able to fish Pomme, but I am looking forward to the championship and AAKC.

Are there things that MoYak can do better?
As for MOYAK, I think that Mr. Boothe, Mr. Enke, and everyone else that helps them out do an excellent job. My only request would have been a winter series, but that was recently announced to be coming this winter!

Derby Stats
Anglers 68
Fish caught – 260
Total limits – 28/68
Margin of victory – 0″
Smallest Bass Award – Jacob Ruggles 4″
Air temp at launch – 71
Air temp at takeout – 86

Results — Stockton Lake

TeamInchesBig BassPlacePoints
Morgan McClain81.751300
Chad Davison81.752295
Justin Coon81.253300
Dorman Hughey78.754285
Christopher Robbs77.755280
Joe Mersky77.756276
Tommy Probst76.757272
Jacob Osborne73.58268
Jeff Mellencamp739264
Christopher Moyher7210260
Lance Irwin71.7511257
Stacy Jordan71.512254
Tyy Ward70.513251
Jim Harding6914248
Cole Armer68.2515245
Richie McMichael68.2516243
Zachary Reynolds67.517241
Joe Hayes67.518239
Zachary Armstrong67.2519237
Jacob Johnson66.520235
Jerry Cornelius66.2521233
Broc Van Tassell65.2522231
Jason Shifflett64.7523229
Dave Neal63.7524227
Jared Geary62.7525225
Josh Martin62.526223
Eric Easter5927221
Scott Kroger58.7528219
Shannon Jernigan5629217
Larry Lee5430215
Patrick Campbell5331213
Ryan Reed51.532211
Donald Schwartz50.5033209
Trevor Fanning49.534207
Jerry Miller-Davis4735205
Troy Enke46.2536203
Michael Cornelius44.537201
Joe Walters39.7538199
Mike Tichenor3939197
Johnathan Dominguez3440195
Jacob Pruett33.7541193
Jay Harman33.2542191
Mike Dent32.2543189
Sam Young30.2544187
James Curtis26.545185
Alexander Jackson26.2546183
Jeremy Truitt25.547181
Mike Keafer24.549177
Wesley Cody2450175
Joe Rippe23.551173
Chad Hartman22.7552171
Lance Burris20.7554167
Jacob Ruggles17.555165
Michael Sandlin1756163
Chris Siebenmorgen16.557161
Kerry Evans16.2558159
Isaac Comer12.7559157
Mel Ashe060155
Darian Beedle061155
Diana Dobbs063155
David Dow064155
Brandon Prince065155
Bob Sturgeon066155
Keaton Voeghtly067155
DJ Williams068155