Bryan Schmitt fed Lake Champlain bass a steady diet of bogus crawfish this week to win the Bass Northern Open finale.
Fishing in only his fourth Open, Schmitt prevailed with a 3-day total of 59-13. He weighed 18-13 on day 3 for a victory margin of 1-10 over runner-up Stephen Mui.
Schmitt didn't participate in the first Northern Open at Oneida Lake and thus can't claim the Bassmaster Classic berth that's available to Open winners. That Classic spot will revert to the Elite Series points list and will go to Ish Monroe.
Schmitt said he lost one “giant” fish on Friday, but he boated everything else. The FLW Tour pro from Deale, Md., caught a heavyweight limit of smallmouth Thursday, but the rain and clouds slowed down his bronzeback bite on the final day.
He still concentrated on smallmouth, but his limit included a mixture of two green and three brown bass.
“I had to adjust a little bit,” Schmitt said. “I fished one spot today that had largemouth and smallmouth.”
He stuck with a 1/2-ounce Riot Baits Minima Jig in a green-pumpkin/black, tipped with a green-pumpkin Riot Baits Fuzzy Beaver all week to catch both largemouth and smallmouth. Noticing that bass were spitting up crawfish in his livewell inspired Schmitt to use the jig throughout the tournament.
“I was throwing some swimbaits and did some Carolina-rigging, but once I caught all the largemouth from one spot, I went to my smallmouth spot. I tried the swimbait, Carolina rig and drop shot, but as soon as I picked up the jig, it was just game on."
Schmitt keyed on shoals with a mixture of rocks and weeds. Most of his fish were holding near the bottom at 10 to 12 feet deep. After making a long cast to his spots, Schmitt would hop the jig about 5 feet off the bottom and let it drop. He said most of his strikes occurred on the fall.
Full details of his winning pattern will be published soon.
Here are the final totals for the Top 12:
1. Bryan Schmitt: 59-13
2. Stephen Mui: 58-03
3. Alton Jones Jr.: 56-06
4. Chris Mokineaux: 56-03
5. David Gaston: 55-00
6. Adrian Avena: 54-15
7. Brett Carnright: 54-09
8. Bryan Labelle: 54-08
9. Jesse Tacoronte: 52-08
10. Steve York: 52-08
11. Sam George: 52-06
12. Wil Hardy II: 52-03
