[Spawn/Postspawn Transition]
Date: May 5, 2023
Venue: Lake P, a small flatland reservoir
Water: 66 degrees, murky
Weather: Scattered showers, high of 60 degrees
Pro: Derek Hudnall, 42, of Baton Rouge, La. Hudnall qualified for the 2019 Elites and earned a berth in the 2019 Bassmaster Classic via the 2018 Bassmaster Opens.
Boat: Skeeter FXR20 with a 250-horsepower Yamaha outboard, Minn Kota trolling motor, Garmin electronics on Bass Boat Technologies mounts and twin Power-Pole shallow-water anchors
Derek Hudnall graduated from local tournament competition to the St. Croix Bassmaster Opens presented by SEVIIN, Florida pro John Cox was mopping up Elite Series tournaments nationwide with a wacky worm — a short, stubby finesse worm hooked through the middle and fished on a spinning outfit. Hudnall took notice. “Cox was skipping this dinky little worm under overhanging trees and docks and catching fish on it regardless of season, weather conditions or fishing pressure. Being from Louisiana, I’d mainly fished big spinnerbaits and jigs in muddy water, and finesse fishing was foreign to me — heck, I hadn’t picked up a spinning rod since I was a little kid! But I realized how deadly this approach was and I decided I needed to master it.” Hudnall spent hundreds of hours fine-tuning his presentation skills with the wacky worm; it’s now his signature approach in B.A.S.S. competition. “There are always some bass up shallow, regardless of the season or weather,” he reasons, “and this is absolutely the stealthiest and deadliest shallow presentation you can use. It’ll catch all sizes of bass, not just keepers — my biggest wacky largemouth
