Lake Havasu City, Ariz. – With a strong finish of 24.60 at the final day’s weigh-in, Arizona team partners Dylan Maxon of Phoenix and Zack Holwerda of Maricopa took the trophy at the 2019 Anderson Toyota Open, hosted by the Wild West Bass Trail (WWBT) on Lake Havasu.
Maxon and Holwerda’s three-day limits totaled 15 fish for 63.74, giving them a 6-pound gap over the runner-up team and granting winnings of the $10,000 first-place prize.
“The fishing was great, and we caught a lot of ‘em,” said Holwerda after the win. “We were probably catching eight to 10 a day. Mostly in the middle of the day and the afternoon. We struggled in the mornings on Day Two and Three.”
BED FISH BITE TO WIN
The majority of the team’s fish came from beds, with only one weigh-fish falling to a crankbait.
“We had started with that crankbait pattern, but that ended up not working out,” said Holwerda. “The first day we caught that one cranking fish in the afternoon and then the second day, we continued to crank, because all of our bed fish were gone. But after about two hours, we just just put our heads down and went looking for beds again. We figured we found 14 beds in practice; so, if we found those, we figured could find some more.”
Their bed-fish search was successful. They mentioned locating their most productive areas just south of Site Six.
“The water was crystal-clear, and all of the beds were all shallow – super shallow,” added Holwerda. “We stumbled into a cove that had a few big ones in it and we got lucky and got ‘em.”
The team credited a prototype creature bait for the bed-fish.
“It is made by Pro Swimbait,” revealed Holwerda. “It doesn’t even have a name yet.”
Holwerda also reported that the chartreuse-colored, unnamed bait was rigged on a dropshot setup.
The Arizona team has fished together for the last decade and claims this as their biggest single win.
They plan to use their winnings on more entry fees. They expressed their appreciation for the WWBT and Anderson Toyota.
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Arizona Team tournament fishing returns to Lake Havasu Saturday March 16, 2019, and then the AZ Team championship will be on Roosevelt Lake May 9-11, 2019.
A special thanks to all the WWBT sponsors – Ben Green Insurance, Dobyns Rods, Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits, General Tire, Genesis Graphics, Lowrance Electronics, Lucas Oil, P-Line, Power-Pole, Protect the Harvest, Ranger Boats, SuperClean, Top This Premier Accessory Outfitters, Vets 4 Hunting and Fishing.