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John Cox Leads Day Two at Tackle Warehouse TITLE presented by Toyota at Sturgeon Bay
Florida Shallow-Water Specialist Figures Out Sturgeon Bay Smallmouth to Pace Group B
STURGEON BAY, Wis. (Aug. 25, 2020) – Pro angler John Cox of DeBary, Florida, is having a heck of a week. Fresh off of a third-place finish at a major tournament on Lake St. Clair last weekend, Cox drove straight to Sturgeon Bay to compete in the Tackle Warehouse TITLE presented by Toyota, the FLW Pro Circuit Championship. Despite having absolutely no practice time for the event, Cox caught 18 bass weighing 66 pounds, 5 ounces, Tuesday to lead Group B after their first day of competition.
The tournament, fished using the Major League Fishing (MLF) catch-weigh-immediate release format, saw a steady stream of smallmouth bass caught by the 25 pros on the water Tuesday, with anglers catching a total of 243 bass weighing 784 pounds, 6 ounces. Pro Spencer Shuffield of Hot Springs, Arkansas, who finished the season ranked No. 2 in the Angler of the Year standings, sits in second place with 19 bass totaling 61-2 – just 5 pounds, 3 ounces behind Cox.
“Coming off of the water today, I feel like I might have had a mild heart attack,” Cox joked. “It was so intense – all the way to the last second. There was no letting up – guys were catching them, bouncing out of the lead, then back into the lead, it was incredible. I had a lot of fun today.
“When we first started, I was really worried,” Cox continued. “They started catching them, instantly. I got the first SCORETRACKER® update 15 minutes in and guys had 4- and 5-pounders already and I hadn’t even had a bite. I was thinking, ‘Uh oh… no practice. This is going to be really bad.’ But then I found something where we actually got a bite and then we just hammered down and caught everything that we could.”
Cox caught his fish Tuesday on a drop-shot rig, cycling through multiple different Berkley MaxScent baits.
“I don’t catch a lot of smallmouth, normally, but the Berkley MaxScent is definitely the key to catching a lot,” Cox said. “I was mixing it up with the Flat Worm and the Flat Nose Minnow, and I even ended up throwing the General some.
“I just tried to catch as much as I could today, because I know how much they move around and they could be gone when we get back out there,” Cox went on to say. “I really wanted to catch at least 60 pounds, so now on Thursday I’m going to have to figure out if I should go practice and fish new stuff or if I try to protect that area.
“With a day off to think about it, I’m going to be a wreck tomorrow. I’m ready to get back out there right now.”
The top 10 pros after day two (Group B) on Sturgeon Bay are:
1st: John Cox of DeBary, Fla., 18 bass, 66-5
2nd: Spencer Shuffield of Hot Springs, Ark., 19 bass, 61-2
3rd: Joey Cifuentes of Clinton, Ark., 18 bass, 60-6
4th: Matt Becker of Finleyville, Pa., 15 bass, 51-1
5th: Dylan Hays of Hot Springs, Ark., 16 bass, 49-13
6th: Wade Strelic of Alpine, Calif., 15 bass, 43-8
7th: Clark Reehm of Elm Grove, La., 11 bass, 39-14
8th: Mitch Crane of Columbus, Miss., 11 bass, 32-15
9th: Jacob Wall of New Hope, Ala., 10 bass, 32-14
10th: Christopher Brasher of Longview, Texas, 11 bass, 31-14
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Reehm caught the largest fish of the day Tuesday – a 5-pound, 11-ounce smallmouth bass. If that bass remains the largest weighed from Group B after Thursday’s competition, Reehm will take home the $500 Berkley Big Bass Award.
The Tackle Warehouse TITLE presented by Toyota, the FLW Pro Circuit Championship, is hosted by Destination Sturgeon Bay. The six-day event features the top 50 professional anglers from the 2020 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit season angling for a piece of $820,000, including the first-place prize of $200,000.
Unique to the TITLE Championship, the event is being fished using the MLF catch-weigh-immediate release format. A select group of 25 pros (Group A) will compete on Days 1 & 3 (Monday & Wednesday), with the other 25 pros (Group B) competing on Days 2 & 4 (Tuesday & Thursday). The top-10 pros from each group based on their cumulative two-day total will advance to Day 5 (Friday). Only the top 10 pros will continue on to the sixth and final day of competition Saturday, with the winner earning the inaugural Tackle Warehouse TITLE Championship Belt presented by Toyota.
Attendance is limited to anglers and essential staff and fans are encouraged to follow the event online through expanded broadcast coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com and read the daily coverage, live blogs and photos at FLWFishing.com.
The MLF NOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action every day of competition from 7:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. They’re joined by FLW Live hosts Travis Moran and Todd Hollowell, who will be reporting and providing from-the-water analysis from Sturgeon Bay.
Television coverage of the Tackle Warehouse TITLE presented by Toyota event will be showcased across six two-hour episodes, premiering at 7 p.m. EDT, Oct. 9 on the Outdoor Channel. Episodes premiere in Friday night primetime slots on the Outdoor Channel, with additional re-airings on the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel.
The 2020 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit featured a field of 150 of the top professional anglers in the world competing at six regular-season events around the country. The top 50 anglers in the Angler of the Year (AOY) standings after the six events qualified t/o compete in this event, the inaugural Tackle Warehouse TITLE presented by Toyota.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
About FLW
FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, FLW and its partners conduct more than 290 bass-fishing tournaments annually around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Namibia, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, and Zimbabwe.
FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show while Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros. Acquired by Major League Fishing in late 2019, FLW is expanding its programming in 2020 to the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel as well as on-demand at MyOutdoorTV (MOTV).
For more information visit FLWFishing.com and follow FLW at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
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Kurt Mitchell Dominates Day One at Tackle Warehouse TITLE presented by Toyota at Sturgeon Bay
Delaware Pro Smashes 119-10 to Take Commanding 56-Pound, 10-Ounce Lead on Opening Day
STURGEON BAY, Wis. (Aug. 24, 2020) – Pro angler Kurt Mitchell of Milford, Delaware, caught a total of 33 bass weighing 119 pounds, 10 ounces, to grab the early lead Monday after day one of the Tackle Warehouse TITLE presented by Toyota, the FLW Pro Circuit Championship on Lake Michigan in Sturgeon Bay.
The tournament, fished using the Major League Fishing (MLF) catch-weigh-immediate release format, showcased Mitchell lighting up the SCORETRACKER® all day long and establishing a commanding 56-pound, 10-ounce lead over second-place pro Grae Buck of Green Lane, Pennsylvania, who caught 17 bass totaling 63 pounds even. The six-day event features the top 50 professional anglers from the 2020 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit season angling for a piece of $820,000, including the first-place prize of $200,000.
The 25 anglers that competed Monday in Group A will take Tuesday off before returning to the water on Wednesday to finish their two-day Qualifying Round. The 25 anglers in Group B will have their first day of competition Tuesday on Sturgeon Bay.
“It was just a phenomenal day for me – one of those days where nothing goes wrong and everything works like it’s supposed to,” said Mitchell, a five-year veteran of the Pro Circuit who is fishing in his second championship event. “It was my first time fishing at Sturgeon Bay, my first time fishing the MLF format, and now my first time leading a pro event after the first day.”
Mitchell said that he caught the majority of his weight from one area, a current break that he had found in practice. He caught his fish using two key baits – a drop-shot rig with a Yamamoto Shad Shape Worm and a Keitech Swimbait with a 3/8-ounce Dirty Jigs Matt Stefan Guppy Swimbait Jig Head.
“It wasn’t really anything special, just basic smallmouth tactics and baits,” Mitchell said. “I just got on some groups of fish that wanted to bite. The bigger ones seemed to come on the Keitech, but I caught more on the shad shape worm. I had no idea that I was going to catch that much.
“I’m not sure exactly what I’m going to do when I get back out there on Wednesday,” Mitchell went on to say. “I might try out some new areas, or I might just go sit on my best spot to make sure no one else fishes it. Either way, I can’t wait to get back out there.”
The top 10 pros after day one (Group A) on Sturgeon Bay are:
1st: Kurt Mitchell of Milford, Del., 33 bass, 119-10
2nd: Grae Buck of Green Lane, Pa., 17 bass, 63-0
3rd: Evan Barnes of Hot Springs, Ark., 20 bass, 61-10
4th: Casey Scanlon of Eldon, Mo., 17 bass, 57-0
5th: Matthew Stefan of Junction City, Wis., 14 bass, 47-1
6th: Greg Bohannan of Bentonville, Ark., 12 bass, 39-7
7th: Joshua Weaver of Macon, Ga., 12 bass, 37-1
8th: James Niggemeyer of Van, Texas, 10 bass, 33-4
9th: Troy Morrow of Eastonollee, Ga., 10 bass, 31-9
10th: Jon Canada of Helena, Ala., nine bass, 26-12
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall there were 228 bass weighing 750 pounds, 8 ounces caught by the 25 pros in Group A on Monday. Mitchell also caught the largest fish of the day – a chunky 5-pound, 10-ounce smallmouth bass.
The Tackle Warehouse TITLE presented by Toyota, the FLW Pro Circuit Championship, is hosted by Destination Sturgeon Bay. The total purse for the event is more than $820,000, including a top prize of $200,000.
Unique to the TITLE Championship, the event is being fished using the MLF catch-weigh-immediate release format. A select group of 25 pros (Group A) will compete on Days 1 & 3, with the other 25 pros (Group B) competing on Days 2 & 4. The top-10 pros from each group based on their cumulative two-day total will advance to Day 5. Only the top 10 pros will continue on to the sixth and final day of competition, with the winner earning the inaugural Tackle Warehouse TITLE Championship Belt presented by Toyota.
Attendance is limited to anglers and essential staff and fans are encouraged to follow the event online through expanded broadcast coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com and read the daily coverage, live blogs and photos at FLWFishing.com.
The MLF NOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action every day of competition from 7:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. They’re joined by FLW Live hosts Travis Moran and Todd Hollowell, who will be reporting and providing from-the-water analysis from Sturgeon Bay.
Television coverage of the Tackle Warehouse TITLE presented by Toyota event will be showcased across six two-hour episodes, premiering at 7 p.m. EDT, Oct. 9 on the Outdoor Channel. Episodes premiere in Friday night primetime slots on the Outdoor Channel, with additional re-airings on the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel.
The 2020 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit featured a field of 150 of the top professional anglers in the world competing at six regular-season events around the country. The top 50 anglers in the Angler of the Year (AOY) standings after the six events qualified t/o compete in this event, the inaugural Tackle Warehouse TITLE presented by Toyota.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
About FLW
FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, FLW and its partners conduct more than 290 bass-fishing tournaments annually around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Namibia, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, and Zimbabwe.
FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show while Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros. Acquired by Major League Fishing in late 2019, FLW is expanding its programming in 2020 to the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel as well as on-demand at MyOutdoorTV (MOTV).
For more information visit FLWFishing.com and follow FLW at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
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Legendary Yelas Went Old Skool at St. Clair for Another Top 10
Jay Yelas launched his pro career in 1989 by living in a van as a tournament fishing vagabond when gas was $1 a gallon. Now age 54, he is truly one of professional bass fishing’s living legends.
Yelas dominated the Bassmaster Classic in 2002 en route to victory, won the Bassmaster Angler of the Year title in 2003, and was recently voted a 2020 inductee of the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame. He has notched a Top 10 B.A.S.S. finish in five different decades
At Lake St. Clair, the former Oregon State forestry major finished 9th and taught the bass fishing universe that even now in the strangest of times, it’s not all about super high-tech sonar and drop shots. Instead, Yelas proved the old skool technique of burning skirted blade baits in shallow water still gets the attention of meaty bad attitude smallmouth.
“We used to catch ‘em really good here in the 1990s by burning spinnerbaits on shallow flats, but in recent years that pattern hasn’t worked very well,” reflects Yelas. “But man, it worked this week!”
“I fished in 5 to 7-feet of water all week on a flat with scattered vegetation that had current flowing across it. I put my trolling motor on high, made a ton of casts, and burned that vibrating jig on a fast 7.5:1 Lew’s baitcasting reel, and the smallies smashed it like they did in the good old days,” grinned the Yamaha pro.
The vibrating jig known best as a Chatterbait was invented by Ron Davis Sr. in South Carolina, but it didn’t hit the market until 2004. So Yelas’s weapon of choice this past week on St. Clair wasn’t even available in those “good old days” 30 years ago. But they are now, and Yelas pays $17 a piece for them, just like you and me.
He doesn’t pay for their trailers however, as his longtime treasured sponsor Gary Yamamoto makes both a Zako swimbait style trailer, and a Zako Kicker paddle tail trailer for vibrating jigs. Yelas used both versions of the highly effective trailers on St. Clair and chose a heavy ¾ ounce vibrating jig so he could make long casts in clear water and be able to burn it back to the boat.
“I may not have won, but I’m proud of my Top 10 finish, and I’ll promise you nobody had more fun than me last week on St. Clair. That pattern is just so awesome, it’s addicting,” grins the longtime Toyota Bonus Bucks participant.
“Mark Zona watched me fish for a while out there on the water and said, “Man, Jay, you’re going old skool on us this week.” I told him, “Heck yea, I am old skool,” laughed Yelas.
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Chance Encounter Leads Weidler To Bassmaster Elite Series Win At St. Clair
MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. — A random moment during practice led Bill Weidler to a most unexpected victory, as the Helena, Ala., angler amassed a four-day total of 86 pounds, 7 ounces to win the YETI Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair.
Bill Weidler, of Helena, Ala., has won the 2020 YETI Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair with a four-day total of 86 pounds, 7 ounces. Photo by Seigo Saito/B.A.S.S.
Weidler earned $100,500 and nearly doubled his career earnings with B.A.S.S. to $204,350.
“I just stumbled across a great area in Anchor Bay, and that was my primary spot,” Weidler said. “I went through it one day in practice; it was cold and I’m an old man so I decided to pull over instead of freezing running down the lake.
“I drifted through an area and caught a limit of 26 pounds in about two hours. I had two 6-pounders, and I was like, ‘I might have found something here.’ That’s where I camped out all week.”
Focusing on a 1,000-yard area of Anchor Bay, Weidler found his bass on the hard edges of grasslines in 14 to 15 feet. Watching his Humminbird 360 for clusters of baitfish helped focus his search.
After two hours of fruitless effort, Day 4 saw Weidler catch three of his best fish between 9 and 10 a.m. He caught fish throughout the day, but two big afternoon bites — a 4-4 and his second of two 5-plus-pounders — pushed him across the finish line.
“This is incredible,” the third-year Elite Series pro said of his first career victory. “I fought and fought; I had a (bad) start to the season, and I knew I had to get some work done. I was on my knees this morning praying that I could catch them.”
Weidler caught all of his fish on a drop shot with a Strike King Baby Z-Too in the gray glimmer color. He used a 3/8-ounce weight and a No. 1 Owner drop-shot hook.
Weidler placed 17th on Day 1 with 20-8. Catching the same weight the next day put him in 13th. Day 3 saw him weigh 22-10 and earn his Championship Sunday berth in eighth place, and Sunday’s limit of 22-13 sealed the deal.
“On Days 1 and 2, I should have had about 22 or 23 both of those days and just didn’t execute,” Weidler said. “I’m lucky I didn’t miss the cut.”
Weidler admitted he did not enter the St. Clair event with great optimism, as smallmouth bass have never been his specialty. Nevertheless, he held his own against formidable Northern pros like Canada’s Cory Johnston, who placed second, along with sixth-place Chris Johnston, who won the SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River in July with all smallmouth.
“I’m a largemouth guy; I’ve really struggled on smallmouth lakes,” Weidler said. “I grew up fishing the Coosa River and my boat really hasn’t come out of much more than 10 feet of water. I love a flipping stick and heavy line, so it was hard making the transition.
“But what I can say is that I thank the Lord for what He did for me this week because I feel He guided me where I needed to go and have the finish I had.”
Hailing from Cavan, Ontario, Cory Johnston spent his tournament in the main lake near the Canadian border and tallied 85-15. He turned in daily weights of 21-11, 21-5, 23-1 and 19-14.
Relying heavily on his Garmin LiveScope for target location, Johnston caught his bass on a drop shot with a Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Flat Worm and a Strike King Baby Z-Too, both in green pumpkin.
“I found a sunken barrel out there the first day of the tournament, and there were five bass on it,” Johnston said. “I’d throw out and pick them all off; I’d go there the next morning and pick them both off. Today, there was none there; I caught them all.”
Following his seventh- and ninth-place finishes in the past two Elite events (St. Lawrence River and Lake Champlain), Johnston has notched three consecutive Top 10s.
“That was my goal; I didn’t want to miss a Top 10 when we were up North,” Johnston said. “This is kinda my wheelhouse. I love dropping on them.”
John Cox of DeBary, Fla., led the tournament for three days but finished third with 85-12. Cox started Day 1 on Lake St. Clair, then moved to the St. Clair River where he spent the remainder of the event.
Catching all of his fish on a drop shot with a Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Flat Worm, Cox caught the event’s heaviest bag — 24-12 — on Day 1, then followed with 20-10, 20-12 and 19-10.
“Today, the bites were pretty random,” Cox said. “I caught two good ones on a seawall around midriver, then I went all the way to Lake Huron. I didn’t catch anything there, so I came back downriver and caught another good one, a 4-pounder.”
Cox hooked that last fish by a navigation marker. The smallmouth became temporarily entangled in the structure’s subsurface supports, but patience prevailed.
“When he bit, he swam right where I thought he was going to swim — right through those pilings,” Cox said. “So, I went up and took my line around it and it was a miracle I got that fish out.”
Ed Loughran III of Richmond, Va., won the Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors with a 6-5 smallmouth he caught on Day 2, earning an additional $1,000
Cox took home $3,000 for being the highest-placing entrant in the Toyota Bonus Bucks program, and Oregon’s Cody Hollen earned $2,000 for being the second-highest placing entrant.
With four events remaining on the Elite Series schedule, Texas pro Clark Wendlandt took the lead in the Bassmaster Angler of the Year race with 423 points. Rookie Taku Ito of Japan is in second place with 416 points and also leads the race for Rookie of the Year.
2020 Bassmaster Elite Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota
2020 Bassmaster Elite Series Premier Sponsors: Abu Garcia, Berkley, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Skeeter Boats, Talon, Yamaha
2020 Bassmaster Elite Series Supporting Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops, Carhartt, Garmin, Huk Performance Fishing, Mossy Oak Fishing, Rapala
2020 Bassmaster Elite Series Conservation Partners: AFTCO, Huk
2020 Bassmaster Elite At Lake St. Clair Local Hosts: Detroit Sports Commission, Macomb County, Huron-Clinton Metroparks (HCMA), Lake St. Clair Metropark
About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S. is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 515,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), television show (The Bassmasters on ESPN2 and The Pursuit Channel), radio show (Bassmaster Radio), social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, Basspro.com Bassmaster Opens Series, TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Series, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School Series presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors, Bassmaster Team Championship, new Huk Bassmaster B.A.S.S. Nation Kayak Series powered by TourneyX presented by Abu Garcia and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic.
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5 Pieces of Equipment to Pack for Big Water
Northern fisheries like the Great Lakes, Lake St. Clair, and other massive bodies of water can intimidate inexperienced anglers. The allure of tangling with big smallmouth draws bass fisherman from all over the country, but the threat of ocean-like waves and foul fall weather turns just as many away.
We caught up with Bassmaster Opens pro Trait Zaldain while her husband Chris competed on St. Clair to pick her brain on a few tips she’d have for someone making their first trip to big water. Trait does a ton of work each year introducing young anglers to bass fishing, and pushes to make the entire sport more inclusive.
It could be argued that Trait stays as busy off the water as her husband, The Zaldaingerous one, does on the water during Bassmaster Elite events. Between coordinating with sponsors, working on their burgeoning YouTube channel, helping Chris prep for the tournament, and sneaking in opportunities to prepare for her own Bassmaster Open events – it’s amazing she has time think. Trait graciously offered up five pieces of equipment she packs to help tame big water fisheries.
“Big water doesn’t have to be intimidating,” Zaldain reasoned. “As long as your equipment is in a good place and you’ve done your due diligence in preparation you will be just fine. Respect big water and it’ll respect you.”
- Reliable boat and motor
It may sound obvious, but a trustworthy boat and a reliable outboard is Trait’s first key to enjoying a trip up north. Having the utmost confidence in her Yamaha powered Skeeter allows Trait to focus on fishing as opposed to worrying safety.
“Make sure go through your boat tightening any screws and bolts or fastening anything that needs some TLC,” Zaldain explained. “Have your outboard serviced before your trip if need be. Go over everything like a fine toothcomb. Not only will this keep you safer on the water, but it’ll give you the peace of mind knowing you’ve taken the necessary steps.”
- A quality rain suit
The second piece of gear Trait packs is a quality rain suit like a Carhartt Storm Defender Jacket and Bibs. While a rain suit is handy for pop-up storms or rain showers, it’s just as important to wear while driving from spot to spot, as you will undoubtedly get splashed with water from wave spray. Even on sunny days Trait is sure to pack her rain suit.
- A butt seat
While it typically gets left in the back of her truck, Trait says a butt seat for the front deck of her Skeeter is worth its weight in gold when the wind starts blowing up north. Staring at your electronics is oftentimes a necessary part of big water fishing. Having a seat to lean on while your attention is fixated on your graphs is extremely helpful while riding the waves throughout the day.
“Butt seats may not have a reputation of being cool in the bass fishing world but they are super helpful when waves get rolling,” Zaldain said. “They help you stay focused and keep you safer. Look at any Elite Series angler’s boat on days with heavy wind forecasted and I’ll guarantee you’ll see a butt seat.”
- Foam PFD vs. inflatable PFD
Another precaution Trait takes when fishing on a massive body of water is swapping her inflatable personal floatation device (PFD) for a reliable Mustang foam life jacket. There are horror stories of the CO2 cartridges inside inflatable PFDs malfunctioning and good old-fashioned foam PFDs take that concern out of the equation. When fishing somewhere you might not be able to see land from, it’s best to not take any chances.
- A spinning rod and a drop shot
A spinning combo rigged with a drop shot and a 10,000 Fish Yoto Worm is the final item Trait doesn’t leave home without when heading to big water. As we’ve seen in countless Bassmaster tournaments over the years, a drop shot rig is as effective of a presentation for northern smallmouth as anything available. Trait’s learned to love this technique and believes it’s a good addition to any anglers’ repertoire.
Trait’s tips are helpful whether you are considering your first trip to big water or you needed a refresher before making your yearly visit to one of these colossal, famed fisheries. Take her advice and this list into account when planning your next vacation to the land of giant smallmouth and jumbo waves.
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