Berlo Focused On Key Area, JIg A Major Factor
Thursday, June 19, 2008
| Photo: FLW Outdoors/David A. Brown Shayne Berlo fished an All-American at Hamilton in 2004, and relied on that experience this time around.
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There was a time when the All-American was second only to the Bassmaster Classic in terms of importance. That was back when Red-Man sponsored Operation Bass. Nowadays, several other big-money championships might seem to diminish the All-American's stature. But the fact remains: The BFL All-American is the biggest, best, and most prestigious event in the country for the heart and soul of the sport – the country's weekend anglers.
This year, the event didn't disappoint. It took place at the notoriously stingy Lake Hamilton, Ark. during the last week of May, and in a razor-tight finish, Shayne Berlo of Vienna, Va. edged Kentucky competitor Kevin Snider by a 3-ounce margin. And the Top 5 were separated by just 7 ounces.
For the win, Berlo pocketed $100,000 cash, plus a pro berth in the upcoming Forrest Wood Cup and a spot on the 2009 FLW Tour.
"It was incredible," he said. "Up until the time Kim Carver reached in his bag and came up with nothing, I thought I'd finished 2nd. It never even occurred to me that I'd be 1st. I was sure he had a limit, and probably a big fish. He had a good poker face in the weigh-in line.
"This is what I'm fishing the BFLs for – to win the All-American," he added. "To achieve that goal seems amazing now that I've done it. I've been fishing the BFLs full-time for 7 years now, and I feel blessed for the fact that I actually won one of these things."
Here's how the business-development manager from Vienna, Va. did it.
Practice
Berlo had actually fished an All-American at Hamilton back in 2004 and finished 11th (5 ounces behind the Top 10 cut). That event took place in mid-April, a full month earlier than this year's iteration, but he still had the history of that event to draw from. And he used it when he arrived for his brief pre-practice prior to the cutoff.
The fish were post-spawn during his pre-practice, with big females suspending under boat docks, and makes guarding fry.
"Back in 2004, I was in 1st place after the first day with 12-01," he said. "I caught my fish in a general area that I'd just driven past and really liked the way it looked. It was a series of main-lake pockets that had isolated boat docks, or a couple of boat docks.
"On the second day (in 2004) I kind of choked – conditions changed and I didn't change very well with the conditions," he added. "But I learned a lot about that part of the lake."
He didn't start his pre-practice there, but eventually checked it out, and when he did, he started to get better bites.
"That pretty much solidified my decision that that was the area I'd focus and concentrate on," he noted. "I'd caught big fish there in 2004, and it seemed like that's where the big fish lived in 2008."
Another key was his research revealed some fish did stay shallow at Hamilton year-round. "So a junk-fisherman such as myself can do really well shallow – especially if focusing on key boat docks and that type of structure."
When official practice began the day before the All-American, he didn't spend much time in his key area, since he'd already decided to focus his efforts there. Instead, he tried to find an alternative area. He didn't find much, but did get a key piece or work done. He spent time waypointing what looked like key docks, and those waypoints, it turned out, would be crucial on day 2.
