It’s hard to believe the winning lure at the no entry fee Toyota Trucks Bonus Bucks Owners event was so obscure not even legendary pros Gerald Swindle and Mike Iaconelli had heard of it, but that’s exactly what happened Sunday afternoon on Table Rock Lake when KC Choosakul and Steven Jacobs dredged up 15 pounds 7 ounces on a liquid-filled Core Strike S.O.B. crankbait to haul the $5,000 first place prize back to North Carolina.
The somewhat secret series of lures are manufactured in Mississippi, and are filled with a liquid that not only helps them sink to the lake floor, but also stand on their diving bill to maintain constant bottom contact, and help prevent the treble hooks from snagging.
The winning team caught most of their fish in 16 feet of water along a creek channel, and tied the little known lures to 15-pound fluorocarbon line. Their winning weight topped second place finishers Brett and Beau Govreau of Missouri by two pounds. The Govreau brothers caught their respectable weight using a hard head swivel head jig trimmed with a Strike King Menace grub.
Of the 210 teams that registered, all went home with a custom made Bass Pro Shops weigh-in bag full of Carhartt garments, Toyota hats, flashlights, rod socks, and even custom made lures from Terry “Big Show” Scroggins, and the top 30 teams in the final standings all got a paycheck for at least $150.
Three lucky anglers who finished outside of the Top 30 went home with $500 cash from a random drawing at weigh-in courtesy of Toyota. The 15th place finisher, Derek Felton won a $1,000 Bass Pro Shops Gift Certificate, and 31st place finisher Cay Fields of Arkansas won $750 cash from LEER Truck Caps and Tonneau Covers.
And everybody, including Swindle and Iaconelli, took away knowledge of a previously unfamiliar ‘sinking’ crankbait from the fun and fellowship rich event.