Forrest Wood Cup Co-Angler Champion wins with Cumberland Pro Lures

Brad Roberts of Nancy, Ky., won $50,000 back in August, but did you know that he out-fished Mike Iaconelli on his final day with a Cumberland Pro Lures round shaky head and 5-inch Senko? In fact as Roberts recalled with a smile, Iaconelli would fish a spot or eddy for 20 minutes and move forward and then Roberts would make one cast with his shaky head and one would jump all over it. Ike would turn to the camera and say, "Didn't I just fish that for 20 minutes?"

The first two days of the tournament Roberts fished a 1/4-ounce Barren Craw skirted Cumberland Pro Caster Jig. He was fishing around cover and catching quality fish and made the cut. He picked up the Cumberland Pro Shaky Head on day two fishing with Shinichi Fukae. He got bit almost immediately and after that the shaky head dominated his attack.

On the final day Roberts would pull the head and Senko along the bottom and would stop and shake it for several seconds every 5 feet or so. He felt like moving it around and shaking it in the current breaks gave the fish a chance to find it. The key was using a bulkier bait but Roberts would bite 3/4 to 1 inch off each Senko. He wanted a short fat profile that undulated in the current.

Because they were fishing in pretty heavy current the last two days he opted for the 3/16-ounce heads instead of his normal 1/8 ounce head. The little extra weight allowed him to maintain good contact with the lure in the breaks. He got bit nearly every cast to a good looking eddy while Ike struggled to catch even a single keeper. In fact, Roberts had his limit before Ike caught a keeper and was the only co-angler to limit on one of the toughest competition venue in the nation.

He said he fished the Pro Shaky Head and Senko on 8-pound P-Line because that line is a little thicker and gave the bait a more natural presentation in the current. He usually throws the green pumpkin jigheads and did on the Ohio River the last two days. He paired the heads with Green Pumpkin Candy Senkos.

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