Win places St. Croix pro third in MLF Toyota Series AOY points race
St. Croix pro, Jordan Wiggins, caught 44-14 on his home waters of Lewis Smith Lake to win the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Central Division event in Northern Alabama by more than four pounds last week. He caught almost all of his bass on a homemade shakey head jig.
Wiggins fished to staging spotted bass in deeper water during the first day of competition, catching a third-place bag weighing 15-14. He followed the spots shallower the morning of day 2, going to work on shelf rock with deep-water access where the bass were actually spawning. “The fish were sliding up as the tournament went along, so I just adjusted with them,” says Wiggins, who keyed in on darker-colored banks that had a combination of rocks and docks – a pattern that would hold for the final two days of competition. Wiggins added 14-8 on day 2 and another 14-8 on day 3 to secure the victory, winning over $90,000 in cash and contingencies while qualifying for the 2023 MLF Toyota Series Championship, scheduled for November 2-4 on Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri.
“My brother (MLF Bass Pro Tour angler, Jesse Wiggins) and I both make our own shakey head jigs,” Wiggins says. “We just tweak a few things to make them fish around cover and rocks better.” Wiggins was tipping his home-brewed heads with a green pumpkin-colored 6.5-inch Reaction Innovations Flirt Worm.
“I always throw my shaky-heads on my 7’1” medium-heavy power, extra-fast action St. Croix Legend Elite (EC71MHXF) rod,” Wiggins says. “It’s just so light, well balanced and easy to fish with all day, with the extreme sensitivity that’s necessary to blind-fish to spawning bass.”
Wiggins says his St. Croix Bass X 7’1” medium-heavy, fast (BAC71MHF) and Legend Tournament Bass 7’2” heavy, moderate (LBTC72HM) have also contributed to his success so far this season. “I like to fish wake baits on that Bass X MHF,” he says. “It’s light and responsive and that SCII carbon makes it just a little softer than the same rods in St. Croix’s other series, so it’s a little more forgiving.” With respect to the Legend Tournament Bass LBTC72HM, “It’s definitely my new favorite chatter bait rod,” Wiggins says. “What St. Croix has been able to accomplish with their iACT technology – basically a hybrid of carbon and glass – is incredible. It’s got that key soft and parabolic action you need with plenty of hook-setting power, but it’s the sensitivity and thin, lightweight, balance in the hand that makes this rod unlike any reaction-bait rod I’ve ever fished. I jacked 20 pounds on Guntersville on this rod and I just love throwing it.”
After two events in the Central Division of the MLF Toyota Series, Wiggins sits in 3rd place in the AOY race with 470 points. The final 2023 Central Division event is scheduled for Tennessee’s Chickamauga Lake, April 25-27.
“I like the setup for Chickamauga,” Wiggins says. “My co-angler fishes there a lot, and he’s telling me big fish big baits, so I guess I’ll have to go out and buy some big swim baits and glide baits… but you never really know. I expect they’ll be spawning pretty good about that time, so I’ll probably just throw a wacky worm on my 7’ medium Legend Xtreme.”
Wiggins says he owes his family and his key sponsors everything when it comes to the support he receives on tour. “My wife, Whitney, puts up with me fishing week in and week out. My kids and my brother, Jesse, always support me big time, too. I’ve also got to thank St. Croix rods. They’ve helped me out repeatedly and have always and treated me like family.”
About St. Croix Rod
Headquartered in Park Falls, Wisconsin, St. Croix has been proudly producing the “Best Rods on Earth” for 75 years. Combining state-of-the-art manufacturing processes with skilled craftsmanship, St. Croix is the only major producer to still build rods entirely from design through manufacturing. The company remains family-owned and operates duplicate manufacturing facilities in Park Falls and Fresnillo, Mexico. With popular trademarked series such as Legend®, Legend Xtreme®, Avid®, Premier®, Imperial®, Triumph® and Mojo, St. Croix is revered by all types of anglers from around the world.
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