Mike Iaconelli jumped out of his Toyota Tundra on Friday morning shaking his head in amazement at the weighty limits of smallmouth that were brought to the scales on the first day of competition at the St. Lawrence River Elite Series.
“They smashed ‘em yesterday,” Iaconelli exclaimed as he removed the motor toter from his Yamaha in preparation for the day 2 launch.
Fact is, Iaconelli smashed them, too. He brought 20 pounds to the scales, yet it was only good enough for 14th place.
“These fish have so much to eat, such an incredible forage base, they’ve just all grown up and gotten bigger over the years here,” Iaconelli said in reference to his 20 years of tournament fishing experience on the massive St. Lawrence that connects Lake Ontario to the Atlantic Ocean.
“In the 1990s, it was all about largemouth fishing near Clayton and Alexandria Bay, and then, the gobies invaded Lake Ontario, and the smallmouth fishing got really good in the big lake. But these days this main river right here near Waddington is so healthy with a smorgasbord of forage to feast on that the smallmouth are just flourishing,” Iaconelli continued.
He said the fish he caught in practice spit up a buffet of forage – gobies, smelt, tiny perch, crawfish and alewives.
"It’s crazy how much food they have to eat here,” Iaconelli said.
The leaderboard reinforced Ike’s theory. His Toyota teammate, Kevin VanDam, busted a massive 24-05 limit anchored by a 6-01 bronzeback beast, and those who caught a typically very respectful 15-pound limit, found themselves all the way down in 80th place after the first day of competition.
So what lures does Iaconelli lean on most for mimicking the smallmouth-growing groceries of the St. Lawrence?
> Tube Jigs: “Green pumpkin with black fleck, or watermelon with gold fleck are my two favorites, and they both resemble so many of the natural forage these fish feast on.”
> Drop Shot: “I’m loving the brand new Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Hit Worm that just came out at the ICAST show last week. Smallmouth are all about feeding by scent and sight, and not only does that bait look natural, but it’s packed with scent too.”
> 4-inch Swimbait: “It seems like the biggest smallmouth always bite a swimbait because it’s just a hair larger than the other lures they see a lot of. And while big smallies may not eat as often, when they do, it seems like they want a big meal.”
Iaconelli might not be the part-time chef that fellow Elite Series pro Terry Scroggins is, but he certainly knows what to feed a smallmouth, and here at the St. Lawrence River that includes a wide variety of ‘groceries’ and lots of them.
