By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor
Lee Livesay has had an additional mouth to feed in his household for the past 7 weeks. He's certainly doing a heck of a job of providing for the extra expenditures.
Since the birth of daughter Lane in early April, Livesay has competed in two high-level tournaments and won them both. His latest victory, the third of his still-young career on the Bassmaster Elite Series, occurred over the weekend at Lake Fork in his home state of Texas.
The two wins combined garnered him $152,500 in prize money.
"This whole 'baby theory' has been out there for a long time and it's real, I guess," he said in reference to the tendency for an angler to have a big finish either just prior to or right after the arrival of a child. "Maybe it makes you concentrate a little harder.
"I really think it's a spiritual, mythical thing that nobody can explain – it just happens. I'm going to keep riding it as long as it keeps working and then I guess we'll think about having another one."
The 36-year-old has now won at Fork – a lake that he guides on – in back-to-back seasons. This time he prevailed by 11 1/2 pounds over runner-up and Angler of the Year (AOY) points leader Brandon Palaniuk with a 4-day total of 113-11.
Had Been Away for A While
Livesay conducted a few guide trips at Fork in the aftermath of his 2021 victory, but said that he hadn't made a cast on the lake since last June prior to the start of official practice on May 16. He's been guiding, but the excursions have been to one of the numerous other lakes in the general vicinity.
He caught big bags (32-00 and 28-10) on the first 2 days cranking shallow water, then sealed the victory over the weekend by exploiting a hump in standing timber that he'd never even considered fishing previously. Those stringers registered 27-05 and 25-12.
He had the secluded locale all to himself.
"The first day of practice was a Sunday and there was a huge 3-day tournament going on, which probably put an extra 1,000 boats on the water," he said. "I knew not to look at anything I thought would be good and I didn't want our guys to see me looking at anything. I almost didn't practice, but I decided to go out and graph the stupidest banks that I'd never fished before.
"I got into those trees and I saw eight or nine fish on my (Humminbird electronics) and I thought it was too perfect – they had to be catfish. I just kept idling around and I never made a cast that day."
Livesay caught big bags on the first 2 days by cranking shallow water.
He went back on the second day of practice to determine the species of the fish he'd seen. He caught 2 3/4- and 3 3/4-pound bass on consecutive casts, but didn't get overly excited about the place because he says the biggest fish in such a gathering will usually bite first and that size range wouldn't do him much good once competition got under way.
"They were all bass, which was cool, so I thought it might be a place where I could catch one 4- or 5-pounder or somewhere I could go if I started struggling."
Bigger Than He'd Expected
Livesay visited the place on day 1 of the tournament after he'd cranked up a big bag from the shallows. He broke off a really big one and made a cull with a 6-pounder. He followed a similar program on day 2 as he moved into the lead – a position he would not relinquish.
After struggling early on day 3, he pillaged it for 23 pounds and then went and added an 8-pounder from somewhere else. He visited on two different occasions on the final day and it surrendered all of his weight.
The sweet spot there covered perhaps 30 square feet and he could usually pinpoint 25 to 30 fish in 13 to 17 feet of water. He thinks it reloaded some each day.
A jig and a shaky-head setup with a big worm both produced in that spot and his electronics and Minn Kota Ultrex trolling motor were a critical components of his program.
"They were constantly swimming around in there and they'd move to one side of the trees or the other every few minutes and I was watching them with the MEGA 360 Imaging," he said. "I also needed the right casting lines in the timber to get the fish out if they bit, so the SpotLock (on the trolling motor) was huge."
He spent most of the first 2 days cranking shellbeds in 8 to 12 feet of water and also caught an 8-pounder on a hair jig.
"The biggest thing for me was just fishing loose," he said. "I got to look around a lot each day because I was able to get right early from those shallow spots on the first 2 days. I got to see what was or wasn't out there."
Gear Notes
> Cranking gear: 7'6" medium-heavy Halo HFX Lee Livesay Signature Series Cranking rod, unnamed high-speed casting reel, 12-pound Sunline Super FC Sniper fluorocarbon line, 6th sense 300 DD (supermodel shad).
> Jig gear – 7'6" medium-heavy Halo HFX rod, unnamed high-speed casting reel, 20-pound Sunline Super FC Sniper fluorocarbon, 6th Sense Divine Hybrid jig (green pumpkin), NetBait Paca Craw trailer (green pumpkin).
> Shaky-head gear: Same rod, reel and line as jig, 3/4-ounce Hog Farmer Magnum Shaky Head jig, NetBait C-Mac worm (plum).
> He caught a few key fish on a Hog Farmer Stand Up Hair Jig (white). His biggest fish on Day 4 was enticed by a 5-inch 6th Sense Flutter Spoon.
