Shallow Water Kicked Out Top Quality

By Todd Ceisner
BassFan Editor

With plenty of water at their disposal, most of the top finishers at last week's/this week's Elite Series Angler of the Year Championship didn't need to make daring runs to the boundary lines in search of hefty smallmouth bass.

Little Bay de Noc, which some predicted would play second fiddle to Big Bay de Noc to the east, proved to have plenty of fish to go around – and good ones, too.

The surprising aspect of this Great Lakes event was the wealth of fish that were caught in 12 feet of water or shallower as many of the fish seemed to be moving up and down contour breaks depending on the wind direction and presence of bait in the areas.

As far as techniques go, reaction baits were prevalent, as were the normal fare of finesse offerings.

Here's a summary of how the Top 5 picked apart Bays de Noc.

1st: Jacob Powroznik

> Day 1: 5, 24-01
> Day 2: 5, 23-05
> Total = 10, 47-06

Jacob Powroznik headlined what was arguably the strongest-ever crop of newcomers to the Elite Series this year and finished off the campaign with another impressive showing on a body of water he'd never fished before.

"It fished like other smallmouth places," Powroznik said. "If you're not getting bites, you're doing the wrong thing because smallmouth will bite. If you sit on one place and don't get bit for 3 hours, they're not there. I just kept an open mind about moving around and figured I needed three or four places to rotate around. Sooner or later you'd pull up on a place and they'd be absolutely gagging on the bait."

He took a simple approach to his strategy. He opted to not brave the big waves and go to Big Bay de Noc. Instead, he stayed in Little Bay de Noc like many of the top finishers and came out of it with nearly 50 pounds of smallmouth over 2 days of competition.

"There are some big ones in Little Bay," he said. "(Mark) Davis and Skeet (Reese) were in Little Bay. It seemed like everyone who was on top stayed here. You just had to find where the big ones were. I went to Big Bay and I couldn't catch more than 17 or 18 pounds. When I came over here, it was a big bite almost every time."

Powroznik came out of the practice period "kind of confident," he said. "I was only getting eight or 10 bites a day, but I looked at a lot of stuff. I knew where they were at and told everybody that if I got five bites they'd all be big ones."

His main technique was bombing a swimbait and steadily bringing it back. The majority of the fish he was after were in 3 to 6 feet of water.

"I had to move around (on Monday)," he said. "The 3 days of us not being out there, the fish had moved around. Some guys were able to get back on them, some weren't."

> Swimbait gear: 7' medium-heavy unnamed casting rod, unnamed casting reel (7:1 gear ratio), 12-pound unnamed fluorocarbon line, 1/2-oz. unnamed swimbait jighead, 3.8" Keitech Swing Impact (shad color), 5" Reaction Innovations Skinny Dipper (sungill).

> Tube gear: Same rod, same reel, same line, 3.5" unnamed tube (green-pumpkin and hot mustard).

> Dropshot gear: 7' medium-action spinning rod, unnamed spinning reel, 6-pound unnamed fluorocarbon line, No. 1 unnamed dropshot hook, various worms (green-pumpkin), 1/2-oz. Elite Tungsten dropshot weight.

> Main factor in his success – "Not going very far. Everybody had Big Bay on their mind. I stayed in Little Bay. I didn't have to catch one (to make the Classic) so it didn't matter, but I still like to win. It was one of those deals where it worked out, but you wish it would've been for 100 grand."

> Performance edge – "The first day it was pretty slick, but I had those Power-Pole Drift Paddles put on and those things worked great for slowing you down. That was a big key on Monday. Also, my hat's off to Ranger and Mercury. One of my switches got wet over the weekend and the trim shorted out and they were there at 6 a.m. Monday and got it fixed for me. My Lowrance electronics are the baddest electronics ever made. When you see a smallmouth on a Lowrance you know it's a smallmouth. They've got something figured out in that deal for smallmouth stuff. You can watch your dropshot all the way to the bottom and as soon as I broke off that edge and saw them there I knew it was game on."

2nd: Skeet Reese

> Day 1: 5, 21-11
> Day 2: 5, 24-07
> Total = 10, 46-02

Going into the AOY Championship, Skeet Reese was one of the few competitors who couldn't do a whole lot to help or hurt himself in the final points standings. He was 8th in points going in and the scuttlebutt he'd heard indicated Bays de Noc was going to produce some monster bags of smallmouth.

"The expectations were pretty high," he said. "All I'd ever heard about that place was there were a lot of 23- to 25-pound stringers caught. It didn't quite live up to the expectations and rumors that I heard. I thought we'd see some 25- to 28-pound bags. Not that it was poor fishing by any means."

In practice, he spent 2 of the 3 days in Big Bay and figured that's where he'd fish the tournament.

"I had fully expected it to be an offshore deal, not necessarily deep, but in that 10- to 15-foot zone," he added. "I found one area over in Big Bay that had quite a few fish in it that I thought I could do decent on. On Little Bay, I wound up going shallow. There's not a whole lot of offshore structure. It was either you were up shallow or you were fishing the sand points. I wound up going shallow and putting the trolling motor down and got on a spinnerbait bait.

"I found two areas that had fish in them. In the end, I realized I didn't have that much to gain or lose and I didn't want to run over to Big Bay in the tournament."

He went nearly the first 3 hours of the tournament without a fish while in Little Bay de Noc, which had him questioning his decision to not make the run to Big Bay.

"I'd gone through both areas that I'd found and I was getting ready to pull the plug and run over to Big Bay, but I decided to go back to the first spot I started on," he said. "I had a couple fish hit the spinnerbait, but they were just bumping so I decided to change it up and went to a white-bladed bait and within an hour's time, I caught 20 pounds.

"The fish had changed and I don't know why or what, but maybe it was because the sun came up a little bit more."

He was targeting shallow rock in 3 to 6 feet of water. Later in the day, he went back to the area where the fish were only bumping his bait and added a 4- and a 5-pounder to his stringer.

"When you look at the habitat in Little Bay, you could find areas with sparse grass and rock combinations and it would be on top of the flats," he said. "You could have an outside edge of grass on some of the sand breaks in the 10 to 15 feet zone, but from my experience there's always going to be some fish up shallow on the flats and I decided to target those during the tournament."

On Monday, he combed through the same area he started on previously and caught only a 5-pounder. At that point, he picked up a ChatterBait and moved to his second area and filld the boat with 24-plus pounds.

"On day 1, I'd had a fish spit up two little bluegill so that clued me in that they were also eating bluegill," he said. "I hadn't thrown one all week, but on the off day I tied up a ChatterBait with a 4-inch Berkley PowerBait Rib Shad and I caught almost every fish on day 2 on that."

> Spinnerbait gear: 7'2" medium-action Wright & McGill Skeet Victory Pro Carbon casting rod, Wright & McGill Skeet Victory Pro Carbon casting reel (7.9:1 gear ratio), 50-pound SpiderWire Ultracast braided line, 3/4-oz. Lucky Craft SKT spinnerbait (chartreuse shad).

> ChatterBait gear: Same rod, same reel (6.4:1 gear ratio), 30-pound SpiderWire Ultracast braided line, 1/2-oz. Z-Man ChatterBait (green-pumpkin), 4.5" Berkley PowerBait Rib Shad (green-pumpkin watermelon).

> Main factor in his success – "The decision to just fish Little Bay. That was the place to be definitely."

> Performance edge – "Where I caught them the first day and where I caught that 5-pounder on day 2, I had gone through and pinpointed little isolated rock piles that were the size of the front deck. I could see them with my Lowrance electronics. I was on a giant flat so if I hadn't spent time out there and found those rock piles with my Lowrance I wouldn't have been able to go back to those waypoints. You'd just be out there aimlessly casting trying to find them. That just made me that much more efficient."

3rd: Mark Davis

> Day 1: 5, 20-04
> Day 2: 5, 24-09
> Total = 10, 44-13

As Mark Davis drove out of Escanaba, Mich., Monday night, he lamented some missed opportunities in the latter part of the season that could've preserved his shot at the AOY crown.

He didn't stumble at Lake Michigan, though, despite spending 9 days there in July and not once getting on the big water due to high winds.

"You never know how it's going to go," he said. "I finished 3rd here so it was all right. My letdowns happened earlier this year. I had a shot at AOY, but that's how it goes. This was a good place for me, though."

He practiced on Big Bay for 1 day, but found he couldn't catch bigger fish there compared to what he'd found in Little Bay. He wound up pinpointing about a dozen areas that he could jump around to and fish the same way.

"Halfway through practice, I decided to fish close," he said. "My strategy was going to be if we'd have gone out on Friday or one of those marginal days that I felt like I could've caught 20 or 24 pounds where I was. The more days you can do that, the higher you'd be in the standings."

He returned to the same area he fished on day 1 and wound up catching the biggest stringer of the tournament. He caught fish on numerous baits, but every fish he weighed was caught lobbing a Texas-rigged tube to bare, hard spots in patches of grass. He said the presence of shells was key.

"It was all grass related in mostly 4 to 6 feet of water," he said. "The areas honestly looked more like largemouth areas in how I was fishing. I was fishing the openings in the grass and if there were shells and rocks there that was key. I was just dragging it slow.

"I just stuck with it," he added. "I knew they were there. They just bit a little better (Monday). The fishing's great up here, no doubt, but it's just not a good scenario for us. It's such big water. I don't know when is a good time to come here."

> Tube gear: 7' medium-heavy Lew's Custom Speed Stick casting rod, Team Lew's Lite Speed Spool LFS casting reel (6.8:1 gear ratio), 17-pound Seaguar InvizX fluorocarbon line, 1/4-oz. Strike King Tour Grade tungsten worm weight, 3/0 Gamakatsu EWG offset worm hook, Strike King Coffee Tube (green-pumpkin).

> Main factor in his success – "Locating those fish and having the confidence to stay on them. The area I caught the majority of these fish on day 2 I never caught one there on Thursday. I saw them in practice and knew the potential was there."

> Performance edge – "I really like the new Lew's custom rods. I just got those rods and used them the last practice day. They were perfect for what I was doing this week."

4th: Brian Snowden

> Day 1: 5, 21-01
> Day 2: 5, 23-09
> Total = 10, 44-10

Brian Snowden came to Escanaba five points out of the Classic picture. He left the upper peninsula six points inside the bubble, thanks to two spectacular days of smallmouth fishing.

He practiced in both Little and Big Bay de Noc and while Big Bay was better for numbers, the quality fish seemed more numerous in Little Bay. On top of that, Little Bay was where takeoff was so he opted to stay close.

"Personally, I don't like big water," he said. "I'm used to it a little, but I'm just not comfortable on it."

His primary technique was working a 4-inch swimbait rigged on a jighead across flats in 4 to 10 feet of water. He rotated around four different spots on the two tournament days.

"I was fishing close to deep water so there had to be a quick drop nearby," he said. "It was just a slow, steady retrieve across little points or notches on the flat close to deep water. I could move my boat 50 yards and be in 30 feet of water."

He said he also got bites on a dropshot, but the swimbait fish were consistently in the 4-pound range.

"I stuck it out with that and sacrificed numbers for quality," he added. "I was getting seven to 10 bites a day, but they were all pretty good ones."

He said he noticed a lot of fish suspended around bait right next to the shallower areas with deep-water access.

"When the wind was favorable in that area, it would push the bait up shallower and the fish would be up there," he said.

> Swimbait gear: 7'1" medium-heavy St. Croix Legend Tournament casting rod, Bass Pro Shops Johnny Morris Signature Series casting reel (6.4:1 gear ratio), 14-pound Bass Pro Shops XPS fluorocarbon line, 1/4- or 5/16-oz. homemade round ball swimbait jig (4/0 hook), 3.8" Bass Pro Shops Speed Shad (green-pumpkin shiner).

> Main factor in his success – "On the last day of practice when the wind changed out of the southwest and I started catching them on the swimbait. I've done it several other places with the exact same setup. Once you figure out the right depth you can start catching quality fish on it."

> Performance edge – "The biggest thing was my Lowrance electronics. Being able to find that bait and the key subtle points, that seemed to be the key for me."

5th: Andy Montgomery

> Day 1: 5, 21-02
> Day 2: 5, 21-10
> Total = 10, 42-12

Andy Montgomery ventured to the islands of the Garden Peninsula to find the fish that helped him advance 10 spots in the points standings and clinch a Classic berth.

He shared some water with Ott DeFoe on day 1, but when DeFoe didn't compete on the final day, Montgomery took full advantage of the favorable wind conditions to catch another 21-pound bag.

"I really believe the wind direction is what made them bite on my place," he said. "They bit way better on Monday than on day 1. From what I'd seen, when I first fished out there in practice there was a southwest wind and they seemed to bite better."

He said the key zone was a point sticking out into the lake with a dropoff on both sides.

"The fish were on top of the point in 4 to 8 feet," he said. "I started with a spinnerbait both days. I caught one on it on day 1, but I must've caught 15 on it on Monday. That's the bait I found those fish on."

> Spinnerbait gear: 7'6" heavy-action Daiwa Tatula casting rod, Daiwa Tatula casting reel (7.3:1 gear ratio), 15-pound Seaguar InvizX fluorocarbon line, 1/2-oz. Strike King Tour Grade Painted Blade spinnerbait (chartreuse sexy shad).

> Tube gear: 7'1" medium-heavy Daiwa Tatula casting rod, same reel, same line, 5/16-oz. Strike King tube jighead, 3.5" Strike King Coffee Tube (magic goby).

> He also had a 7'1" medium-action Daiwa Steez spinning rod paired with a Daiwa Ballistic spinning reel spooled with 8-pound InvizX for throwing tubes.

> Dropshot gear: 7'1" medium-action Daiwa Steez spinning rod, Daiwa Ballistic spinning reel, 8-pound Seaguar InvizX fluorocarbon line, 1/0 Gamakatsu split shot/dropshot hook, 3" Strike King KVD Perfect Plastic Baby Rodent (green-pumpkin and double header).

> Main factor in his success – "It was probably the area I was fishing and having it to myself on day 2."

> Performance edge – "With my Ranger Z520 and Mercury 250, I had no worries out there. Your boat and motor are so key at this place. Also, I had those Power-Pole Drift Paddles put on this weekend and they came in handy with all the wind. It slowed the boat down nearly 1 mile an hour while drifting and that was pretty impressive."

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