By Todd Ceisner
BassFan Editor


Let’s try this again.

Last September, the Bassmaster Elite Series Angler of the Year Championship was held at Bay de Noc on Lake Michigan near Escanaba, Mich. It was supposed to be the drama-laced culmination of the season and conclusion to the AOY race on a fertile smallmouth fishery while also serving to fill out the bulk of the Bassmaster Classic field.

Mother Nature clearly didn’t get the memo. Instead, after 1 day of competition, she dispatched 3 straight days of high winds, which resulted in small craft advisories that prompted B.A.S.S. to keep the anglers on shore. Ultimately, the competition, which saw many of the top finishers target shallow water, was shortened to 2 days and Greg Hackney was able to capture his first career AOY title.

This week, Lake Michigan will again be the scene for the AOY championship, but the focus will be to the southeast and Sturgeon Bay, where the only drama surrounding the point standings will be the race for 2nd and the chase for Classic berths – and of course, the weather.

Sturgeon Bay has a reputation as a bucket list-worthy smallmouth fishery, especially in the spring, but like most locales on the Great Lakes systems, it can be a challenge at times, especially for newcomers and when the weather doesn’t cooperate.

“The whole season has been a little goofy,” said the aptly-named Jeff Weatherwax, who’s run Tite Line Charter Service at Sturgeon Bay for the past 8 years. “Lately, it’s been tough because there’s been a lot of pressure.”

A two-day total of 40.68 pounds won the Wisconsin B.A.S.S. Nation state championship at Sturgeon Bay last weekend while 20-plus pounds won the 1-day Sturgeon Bay Open fall event.

Aaron Martens claimed his third career AOY title with his 6th-place finish at Lake St. Clair, his seventh finish of 15th or better this season. His 102-point lead over Dean Rojas means he could opt to not compete at Sturgeon Bay, take a zero and still win AOY even if Rojas were to win the event.

While this event will serve as a victory lap for Martens, just 3 points separate Rojas (601) and third-place Justin Lucas (598), while 1 point is the difference between Edwin Evers (565) in 4th and Jacob Powroznik (564) in 5th. The runner-up finisher in the AOY points will earn $55,000 while 3rd will pocket $45,000. Fourth pays $40,000 and 5th earns $35,000.

Before getting into more about the bite, here's the lowdown on this week’s venue.

BassFan Lake Profile

> Lake name: Lake Michigan (Sturgeon Bay)
> Type of water: Great Lake
> Surface acres (full pool): N/A
> Primary structure/cover: Humps, shoals, rock piles, break walls, docks, grass, some wrecks
> Primary forage: Alewives, shiners, gobies
> Average depth: 20 to 25 feet
> Species: Predominantly smallmouths, some largemouths
> Minimum length: 14”
> Reputation: Known as a top smallmouth destination
> Weather: Last year’s AOY event at Escanaba, Mich., was marred by 3 cancelled days due to high winds. The winds could be an issue again, but air temps will be around 70 with mostly clear skies
> Water temp: Mid to upper 60s
> Water visibility/color: Some color due to the wind
> Water level: Normal
> Fish in: Various depths
> Fish phase: Fall transition
> Primary patterns: Dropshot, tubes, jerkbaits, crankbaits, spinnerbaits, jigs, swimbaits
> Winning weight: 67 pounds (3 days)
> Fishing quality (1=poor, 5=great): 3 for Sturgeon Bay
> Biggest factors: The wind – its impact and effects cannot be understated on the big water of the Great Lakes
> Biggest decision: How far to go – some could head south to familiar areas from the Green Bay Elite Series or go north in search of bigger schools
> Wildcard: Pressure. Some will thrive with a Classic berth on the line while others will get spun out if things don’t fall their way.

Below is a view of Sturgeon Bay and the surrounding water, thanks to Navionics:




Scattered at Sturgeon

Whether it’s the windy conditions, the recent fishing pressure brought on by tournaments or just the time of year, the smallmouth fishing has been hit or miss recently, according to two local anglers who know the fishery well.

Weatherwax said he expects typical Great Lakes smallmouth fishing this week in terms of presentations and baits – dropshots, tubes, jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, etc. – but prolonged success will require adjustments along the way.



B.A.S.S./Gary Tramontina
Photo: B.A.S.S./Gary Tramontina

Ott DeFoe likely needs a Top-20 finish this week to secure a Classic berth.

“I caught some fish deep (Monday), but I’ve also had some big bites in 10 feet or less,” he said. “It’s been tough. These fish have gotten an awful lot of pressure lately. I think there will be guys that will figure it out and catch the fish they need.”

While it appears the field will see a predominant south wind during the early portions of the tournament, Weatherwax feels even with gusts to 25 or 30 miles per hour, the western side of the Door County Peninsula should offer plenty of fishable water.

“I would think a north wind would be the worst because it has 70 miles to build and then it drops the water temperatures,” he added. “It’s been out of the south for the last couple days and is supposed to switch to the southwest, which is not the worst. It stays stable that way.”

Regional pro Scott Cormier concurred that the fish are mostly scattered right now as a result of a number of factors, including the first true cold front pushing through earlier this week.

He said the water on the western side of the peninsula will feature more schools of smallmouth while the Lake Michigan side to the east, which will be used only if a west wind makes the Sturgeon Bay side unfishable, is home to more solitary – yet bigger – specimens.

“The fish are just bigger on the Lake Michigan side, but they don’t group up like on the Green Bay side,” he said. “Those fish on the Lake Michigan side will be relatively shallow, too, in 20 feet or less. The fish in Sturgeon Bay will be in 30 to 40 feet and guys will be targeting individual fish and some groups.”

He said there are plenty of open-water options as well as known honey holes around several of the islands and in the bays that are in play this week, but there will also be opportunities to catch decent fish without venturing too far from the launch ramp.

“Guys will be fishing right in the channel and those bridges are holding fish, too,” he said. “A guy I know who fished the state championship caught 40 pounds off one of the bridges last weekend and didn’t burn 5 gallons of gas. Guys will be fishing by the Coast Guard station, too.”

The map below shows the boundaries for this tournament (note the two different plans B.A.S.S. will operate under):

Room to Move

With Martens having sewn up the AOY title, a lot of attention this week will be focused on the Classic bubble – those above and below the projected cutoff line for next year’s Classic.

Following James Elam’s win at the Fort Gibson Lake Central Open last weekend, the projected cut line will fall at the 40th spot in Elite Series points. Last year’s cut line eventually settled at 40th, but that was with Elite Series winners earning automatic Classic berths.

The Top 36 finishers in Elite Series points will head to Grand Lake next March for the Classic. Double qualifiers and instances where an Open winner didn’t fish all three events in a particular division will trigger other available slots.

Elam is 28th in points and will be a guaranteed double-qualifier if he stays in the Top 36 this week. Edwin Evers has a ticket to Grand Lake thanks to his win at BASSFest and is 4th in points, so he’s a sure-fire double qualifier.

Two other Open winners – Dustin Connell and Randy Howell – will not have fished all three events in the divisions in which they recorded their wins, and therefore the Classic berth will revert to Elite Series points (Howell is 21st in points and looks like a lock for Grand Lake).

The group under the most pressure will be those in 31st place through 45th. Just 21 points separate those 15 anglers. Entering last year’s AOY championship, the same positions were separated by 37 points. The expectation is with this group more tightly packed, there’s more opportunity to advance or, on the flip side, slide down the standings.

Here’s a rundown of who occupies 31st through 45th going into this week’s tournament:

> 31. Brett Hite: 417 points
> 32. Chad Pipkens: 415
> 33. Brandon Card: 414
> 34. Billy McCaghren: 413
> 35. Mark Davis: 412
> 36. Josh Bertrand: 407
> 37. Marty Robinson: 407
> 38. Scott Rook: 404
> 39. Brandon Coulter: 404
> 40. Todd Faircloth: 403
> 41. Gerald Swindle: 402
> 42. John Murray: 401
> 43. Ott DeFoe: 400
> 44. Steve Kennedy: 398
> 45. Michael Iaconelli: 396

DeFoe, Hite and Robinson found themselves in the 31-45 group last year entering the AOY event with DeFoe and Hite (automatic qualifier by victory) advancing to the Classic. Robinson was the first angler out of the Classic last year.

Two anglers who were in the 40s prior to the AOY tournament last year – Brian Snowden and Andy Montgomery – scored Top-5 finishes and advanced inside the Classic cut line.

BassFan
Photo: BassFan

Jonathon VanDam has a good bit of experience fishing Sturgeon Bay and won the Green Bay Elite Series mystery event in 2012.

Notes from the Field

Following are practice notes from a few of the anglers who'll be competing this week.

Brett Hite
“I think the fish bite at Bay de Noc and not on Sturgeon Bay. The fishing’s been tough. It’s not like you can just pull up and catch them. The fish are scattered and not schooled up. That’s just the way it’s setting up. The fishing hasn’t been great and guys were beating them up for a week in those tournaments.

“They had their first cold front last week so everything is just in that transition phase. I haven’t found a big group of them and haven’t found a consistent way to catch keepers, but they obviously live here. You just have to run into the right pod. I have the area narrowed down to where I want to fish. I just have to refine it.”

Jacob Powroznik
“This is typically a shallow water deal and there are a few up there to be caught, but most of them are roaming and hard to pinpoint. I’ve seen some blowing up shallow and caught some of them. They’re fat and healthy, but they’re not what you looking for to do good in this event.

“We’re just hitting it at a bad time. When you hear all the crying from 50 pros, it’s going to turn out to be a good tournament. I don’t think it’ll be fast and furious – you’ll have to work for them – but at the end of the day a lot of guys will have a nice bag.

“They’re not grouped up and the ones that are aren’t what you’re looking for to do well. There are so many big ones in there. Someone will stumble across them. I caught a 6-11 the other so a couple of those will be a good start.”

John Crews
“There’s a lot of water to fish and they’re not everywhere. It’s not a situation where you get into a depth zone and start catching them. You have to hunt for them. There’s a good population of fish up here, but like a lot of events, the weights aren’t indicative of how the fishing is.

“It’s in that transition. There are some fish way out deep, some in between and some up shallow. Any time they’re that scattered, they’re not going to be super easy to catch. I have a few things going on, but I don’t have a lot of confidence in any of them.

“It’s still relatively mild weather and the water’s in the mid-60s. With that South wind, I still think we should fish. If you stay close to shore, there’s a lot of fishable water.”

BassFan
Photo: BassFan

Chad Pipkens has been on a roll of late and will be looking to secure another Classic berth this week.

Ott DeFoe
“It’s been tougher than I thought it would be. I’m not getting many bites and it’s very random and hard to put anything together. I was expecting the world’s best smallmouth fishery, but we’ve gotten a lot less than that.

“If they were biting good or not it still adds to the stress factors. I’d rather it be a tougher bite being in my position. If you struggle a little one day, you can make it up in one day because they live here.

“I cant find a depth range that seems to be holding more fish and another thing is it’s been hard to keep your bait on the bottom between the gobies and perch. With so many bait bites, you think you’d get more smallmouth bites. If they’re there, it’s been hard to get them to bite.”

Top 10 To Watch

With the above in mind and more, here, in no particular order, is BassFan's recommendation on the Top 10 to watch at this event:

1. Edwin Evers – He’ll be looking to protect his Top-5 points position this week, but he’d also like to cap off the season with a victory. His résumé up north is stout and he’s always been a fan of smallmouth fishing.

2. Todd Faircloth – Whatever funk he was in for much of this season is mostly gone after strong showings at Chesapeake Bay (17th) and Lake St. Clair (win). He’s always fared well up north and he’ll need another good finish to lock up a Classic berth.

3. Jonathon VanDam – An 8th-place finish at Lake St. Clair earned him a trip to Sturgeon Bay, where he has some history, including an Elite Series win at Green Bay in 2012. Another stellar outing this week could – could – get him in the Classic.

4. Chad Pipkens – The Michigan native has really hit his stride this season and is in line to qualify for the Classic despite a pair of 110th-place results on his ledger. Coming off consecutive Top-5s, his smallmouth background should help him keep the momentum going.

5. Jacob Powroznik – He showed his smallmouth prowess last year in winning the AOY championship event and clinching Rookie of the Year honors. This week, he’s looking to clinch his fourth straight Top-4 finish in points going back to his FLW Tour days.

6. Aaron Martens – He’s tasted victory twice this season and turned the AOY race into a laugher. Statistically, he’s had the most dominant/impressive Elite Series season ever. Surely, he’d love to turn his victory lap into, well, another victory and make 2015 the Year of A-Mart.

7. Brandon Palaniuk – He’s proven to be a threat any time the brown bass are on the menu and this event figures to be his wheelhouse. He’s been a consistent performer the second half of the season with three straight Top-20 finishes.

8. Kevin VanDam – After missing the cut at Lake St. Clair, rest assured KVD wants to finish the year on a high note doing what he loves to do – chase smallmouth on big water. His Classic berth is pretty well secured, so he’ll be looking to move up the AOY standings.

9. James Elam – You can’t underestimate momentum and after winning the Fort Gibson Central Open and clinching a Classic spot, Elam can fish with his mind at ease this week.

10. Mike Iaconelli – Ike knows he needs to finish among the top half of the field this week to have a shot at making the Classic. He’s produced in similar pressure-packed situations like this in the past so there’s no sense in betting against him this time.

Launch/Weigh-In Info

> Anglers will take off at 7:30 a.m. ET Thursday, Friday and Sunday from Centerpointe Marina (215 Quincy St., Sturgeon Bay, Wis.). Weigh-ins all 3 days will get under way at 4:15 p.m. at the same location

Weather Forecast

> Thurs., Sept. 17 – Mostly Sunny - 73°/61°
- Wind: From the S at 20 to 30 mph

> Fri., Sept. 18 – Morning Rain, Then Cloudy - 70°/55°
- Wind: From the WNW at 10 to 15 mph

> Sat., Sept. 19 – Mostly Sunny - 69°/54°
- Wind: From the WNW at 10 to 15 mph

> Sun., Sept. 20 – Sunny - 70°/55°
- Wind: From the SW at 5 to 10 mph