South Carolina pro Patrick Walters has spent countless hours probing around his home waters of Santee Cooper. And though he’s had plenty of success on Santee over the years, a win at the top level has escaped him – until now. Posting a three-day total weight of 67 pounds, 12 ounces, Walters took home the W in the National Professional Fishing League event on Santee Cooper to claim not only a $100,000 payday but also a bit of redemption.
Rewind nearly a month ago Walters fished the Bassmaster Elite Series event on this same fishery – Santee Cooper – and it didn’t pan out the way he hoped.
“Going into the B.A.S.S. Elite on Santee Cooper I was prepared to win and having one of the worst finishes of my career on my home lake was a big blow, I was singing the blues big time,” said Walters. “I was ready for some redemption on Santee Cooper and I got just that and boy did it feel good!”
Two-Pronged Approach Got Things Going
Knowing that he’d want to spend most of his time offshore targeting post-spawn bass, Walters kept some fish honest around bluegill beds on Day 1. To target these shallower fish, he threw a #10 Rapala® Skitter V (bone color) on 40-pound Sufix® 832® Advanced Superline®.
To finish off his 22-pound, 8-ounce limit on Day 1, Walters targeted brush piles with a drop-shot. His setup consisted of a straight tail worm rigged on a VMC® RedLine Series® Finesse Neko hook on a ¼-ounce VMC® Tungsten Tear Drop Weight which was all connected to a 6-pound test Sufix® Advance® Fluorocarbon leader with a 6-pound Sufix® 832® Advanced Superline® (Coastal Camo) mainline.
“I fished mainly offshore and caught mostly post-spawn bass. Some came off brim beds but the last two days were all about the brush,” said Walters. “When the little things go right, that makes all the difference. I fished clean this week and landed some fish that had one treble hook; that is the difference in winning these bigger events.”
Unreleased Jerkbait Sealed the Deal
Walters is known for his prowess with a jerkbait and forward-facing sonar, so it’s no surprise that he leaned on the soon-to-be-released Rapala® jerkbait on the final two days of the event to catch 24 pounds and 21-4, respectively.
Walters worked the new jerkbait, which he and the rest of the Rapala pro staff have been piling up Top 10s with this season, around offshore brush and threw it on 14-pound Sufix® Advance® Fluorocarbon. So, keep your eyes peeled during ICAST to get the full details about this tournament-proven bait.
Now Walters can breathe a sigh of relief after securing his second NPFL victory in as many years. The cherry on top is that it came at home.
“It feels pretty darn good; I am not going to lie,” he said of his Santee win. “Coming off the lowest of lows and a really bad event, having that good finish gets me back into it. I made the right calls, lost no fish and that was the difference.”
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VMC Tungsten Tear Drop Weight – Shop Now