When it comes to putting fish in the boat, professional anglers know their stuff. So who better to ask for advice than those who pay to play? The following 16 elite bass and walleye pros eat, breathe, and sleep fishing, and, lucky for us, they are willing to share invaluable insights gained from years spent working the water.
Hometown: Kenora
Series fished: FLW Tour
OOD: When faced with cold-front conditions on a largemouth fishery, what’s your number one bait or technique?
JG: Fish nearly always pull tighter to cover — it could be grass, wood, or even docks. That means flipping over anything else. Any kind of beaver- or craw-style plastic, Texas-rigged, will work. I like a Jackall Sasuteki Craw, a quality 1⁄2-ounce Tungsten sinker and a No. 4/0 straight shank flipping hook. Pair it with a 7’11” G. Loomis GLX rod.
OOD: What is your favourite finesse tactic when targeting smallmouth bass?
JG: Casting marabou jigs. They are like after dinner mints for shallow smallmouth and since they are so subtle, they can emulate any number of forage options. Use a light jig (1⁄16 to 1⁄8 oz.), and swim it through the water column.
Hometown: Kingston
Series fished: Renegade Bass Tour, Berkley B1, CBAF
OOD: What conditions or techniques come into play in deciding what line to use when targeting smallmouth bass?
LD: I’m a firm believer in using braid to a fluoro leader for all of my applications. This includes drop-shotting (10 lb. braid to 7 lb. fluoro), dragging tubes (20 lb. braid to 10 lb. fluoro), jerkbaits (15 lb. braid to 10 lb. fluoro) and spinnerbaits (30 lb. braid to 14 or 16 lb. fluoro). The only time I use mono is when I toss topwater baits.
OOD: What constitutes your ideal dock when fishing largemouth bass?
LD: It must have wooden uprights as well as weed growth and deep water nearby. The best docks are those that sit alone or are a distance away from others. Also, they should feature enough space from the bottom of the dock to the surface of the water to facilitate skipping baits underneath — bonus if some current is flowing into it.
Hometown: Ottawa
Series fished: Renegade Bass, Ontario Bass Nation, FLW Costa Series
OOD: What one largemouth bass bait do you have the most faith in to help get you a spot on the podium?
CS: It has to be a Texas-rigged Jackall Chunk Craw or Sasuteki Craw paired with an UltraTungsten weight. I can lighten up the weight for a slow drop, or bulk up if I need to get through heavy cover or when fish are deep.
OOD: In terms of electronics, what one feature is most valuable in finding fish and increasing your catch rate?
CS: Hands-down Humminbird’s Side Imaging. This feature allows you to quickly break down a lake with incredible detail. I am able to image the bottom in strips up to 240 feet (as opposed to 30) and see exactly what structure is around me.
Hometown: Peterborough
Series fished: FLW Tour, FLW Costa
OOD: What one smallmouth bass bait do you have the most faith in to help get you a spot on the podium?
CJ: There are no specific baits that I will go to. Part of tournament fishing is being able to adjust and adapt to the conditions you are dealt on that particular day. I will always have a drop-shot rigged with a Crosstail shad as well as a regular tube jig, though.
OOD: What do you suggest In terms of lure colour for small-mouth bass?
CJ: I like to stick with any natural colour for both a tube jig and drop-shot. With these two bass-producing baits, in natural hues, you simply can’t go wrong.
Hometown: Aurora
Series fished: Renegade Bass Tour, Berkley B1, CSFL Bassmania
OOD: What advice would you give someone interested in giving bass tournaments a try?
DC: Join a bass club in order to experience what tournaments are all about. They are not for everybody, so fishing as a non-boater in a club event is a good way to test the water. Another option is to sign up for a pro-am tournament as a non-boater.
OOD: How important are fish attractants for putting bass in the boat?
DC: Using scent will never hurt, but can definitely be a difference maker. My preference is Liquid Mayhem. It has great adhesion properties and doesn’t need to be applied as frequently as others. Garlic Crawfish is my favourite.
Hometown: Holland Landing
Series fished: CFT, Bassmania, Berkley B1
OOD: When in search of numbers of largemouth bass, what one bait are you more than likely to tie on
PS: A square bill crankbait. You can cover water effectively and efficiently and at times it seems you can catch every fish in the lake. They really work that well.
OOD: How important are onboard electronics to you when targeting bass?
PS: When I am fishing water less than 10 feet deep, my sonar is off and I will only run my mapping software. The HydroWave is a small piece of electronics that makes a big difference. It is always on when I am shallow. For deep water, down and side imaging are both a must.
Hometown: Cumberland
Series fished: Renegade Bass, 2017 Bassmaster Team Championship
OOD: When faced with cold front conditions on a smallmouth bass fishery, how do you adapt in order to catch fish?
EB: Smallmouth retreat during coldfronts. Increased patience and a much slower finesse presentation is required. I make sure that there’s constant contact between myself and the lure, and no excess line out once I’m on bottom. Slight twitches of the bait work best.
OOD: When the tourney pressure is on, what species of bass are you more prone to target and how?
EB: I fish for deep smallmouth. What’s required is river current between 1.5 and 2.4 mph, fluoro to braid leader, and a weight appropriate to the depth. I like a plastic crayfish, creature bait, or Texas-rigged worm in green pumpkin or black with red flecks.
Hometown: Elora
Series fished: Renegade Bass, Canadian Fishing Tour, FLW Opens
OOD: Tell us about your line selection when using spinning gear?
DS: I use a fluoro leader 100% of the time for my spinning applications attached to a Power Pro braid main line: drop-shotting (5 lb. braid to 6 or 8 lb. fluoro), shallow jig/tube/jerkbait fishing (10 lb. braid to 10 or 12 lb. fluoro), deep-water tubes and swimbaits (15 lb. braid to 12 or 15 lb. fluoro). The only straight fluoro set-up I have is for the occasional shallow dropshot (15’ or less of water) with straight 8 lb. fluoro — but I am slowly switching that to the 5 lb. braid rig as well.
OOD: In a mixed-bag lake, and when money is on the line, which species of bass are you more prone to target?
DS: I am 99% smallmouth focused. Most of our larger events are either Great Lakes or water such as St. Clair and Simcoe. Therefore, with few exceptions, smallmouth win the events.
Hometown: Ottawa
Series fished: Renegade Bass
OOD: How important is matching the hatch when bass fishing?
SB: Very important, especially when fishing jerkbaits and crankbaits. When doing the team championship down in Arkansas, this definitely came into play. Soon after we found the size of crankbait the fish wanted, they hit — but one colour was more dominant.
OOD: What are the top three onboard electronics features that help contribute the most to catching bass?
SB: I would go with map-making capability, like Lake Insight Genesis to help find those hidden gems. Second would be Structurescan. I prefer Downscan more than Sidescan. I get a true reading on what I’m looking at when the boat is over it. And lastly, GPS to keep spots marked for the next time you come back.
Hometown: Fenelon Falls
Series fished: CSFL, Can-Am Walleye
OOD: When fishing in early spring for walleye, what one tactic or technique gets the nod over all others and why?
GK: Jigs have accounted for most of my tournament wins and are what I use 90% of the time. Focus on water that is four to 10 feet deep in the spring. Emergent weedbeds adjacent to sand or hard bottom areas are key, especially in large shallow bays and large weedflats on the north side of the lake. Toss 1⁄8- and 1⁄4-ounce sizes in chartreuse, pink, orange, white, smoke, and black colour combinations.
OOD: How important are the use of fish attractants for walleye?
GK: Attractants have accounted for a number of tournament cheques. I like to use scented plastics or apply scent, like Berkley Powerbait or Megastrike, when facing cold-front conditions or when the walleye aren’t aggressive.
Hometown: Hearst
Series fished: Northern Ontario Walleye Trail
OOD: When fishing mid- to late-fall, what techniques do you rely on?
DM: I search for deep drop-offs or mid-lake humps next to the main-lake basin. I will target fish hanging along the transition lines, rock to mud or sand to mud, by dragging a bottom bouncer tied with a 6-foot minimum lead, tipped with crawler, big minnow, or leech. If fish are not in a biting mood, I’ll switch to a jig and minnow or even to a Jigging Rap.
OOD: If searching for numbers of walleye, what one bait are you likely to tie on?
DM: That would be a leech. But by far my favourite technique is still dragging a bottom bouncer. Think outside the box. Changing the lead length, colours of beads and blades, and trolling speeds will help.
Hometown: Thorne
Series fished: Northern Ontario Walleye Trail, NEOBA, Top 50 Pike Series
OOD: What advice would you give to aspiring tournament walleye anglers?
CS: Use all the resources available to you now to familiarize yourself with the waters you will be fishing. This means utilizing online tools, such as Google Maps, in conjunction with your electronics to scope out promising spots.
Most importantly, treat your competitors the way you want to be treated.
OOD: What advice would you give for fishing humps more effectively?
CS: Use side imaging and GPS waypoints to fine tune how you fish them. Finding the spot on the spot is key, and being able to Spot Lock with your trolling motor to dissect the area may just put you on those bigger fish.
Hometown: Wawa
Series fished: Northern Ontario Walleye Trail
OOD: How important is matching the hatch when walleye fishing?
JR: Extremely important! I try to trap most of the bait I use when possible. It is critical to have quality bait and to ensure it is in top shape. Matching the hatch can vary so much from one body of water to the next, but once summer rolls around, leeches are hard to beat.
OOD: Braid, fluoro, and mono, what conditions or tactics are deciding factors on what to use?
JR: I exclusively use braid on my jigging, rigging, and bottom-bouncing set-ups as a main line with fluoro as a leader. The fluoro leader I use for jigging is usually in the 16-inch range, while the rigging and bottom bouncing leader lengths depend on structure and fish activity. They usually range from 4 to 7 feet. Mono is only used on my line counter/planer board rods, where I run 10 lb. Berkley XT.
Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie
Series fished: Northern Ontario Walleye Trail
OOD: If you could only fish one rig for walleye, what would it be?
ST: A Mustad No. 2 Super Death Hook loaded with a crawler on a 5- to 7-foot fluorocarbon lead off an unpainted bottom bouncer. This is my go-to rig when I am trying to cover water fast to locate walleye and structure.
OOD: What are the top three onboard electronics features that help contribute the most to catching more walleye?
ST: Garmin’s Panoptix LiveVü Down Transducer has been a game changer. This sonar imagery not only shows fish in real time, it also shows my bait below the boat. Next, the side and down-imaging features help locate structure and fish quickly. Lastly, water temperature is an important parameter for finding active fish.
Hometown: Demorestville
Series fished: Northern Ontario Walleye Trail, Can-Am Walleye, Quinte Fishing Series
OOD: What are your valuable tips for anglers interested in increasing catch rates when trolling for walleye?
NW: Duplicating is king! Having all sorts of different line diameters and line amounts makes it very hard to dial in the bite. Also, don’t be afraid to start trolling a little faster than normal, and learn to read your sonar and graph.
OOD: What live-bait tactic do you consider your go-to for consistently catching fish in each of the three open-water seasons?
NW: Heavy jigs with soft plastics and capped off with a minnow or two are the ticket come spring. Summer sees the transition from jigging minnows to crawlers. Spinner rigs rule for covering water. Leeches under a slip float also get the nod. If I’m on a jig bite in the fall, I’ll seek out the largest minnows or shiners I can find and head for known humps and holes.
Hometown: Sault Ste.Marie
Series fished: National Walleye Tour, Northern Ontario Walleye Trail, Masters Walleye Circuit
OOD: During the dog days of summer, what one tactic or bait do you turn to when money is on the line?
JD: Glide-style jigging baits, such as the Jigging Rapala or Shiver Minnow. These aggressive baits are extremely effective when the water temperature is 65˚F and above. Work them vertically, fan cast, or troll. Trolling is my favourite inland lake tactic for covering water, quickly.
OOD: What tips can you share for trolling?
JD: Trust and read your electronics. Use your sonar, GPS, and Structure/Downscan together to help you build a better picture of the structure. Pay attention to small details. Look for wind relation to structure, current changes, water colour differences, and nuances in planer-board movement. Learn to adapt to changing conditions, quickly.
Originally published in the Ontario OUT of DOORS 2018 Fishing Annual
Contact Information
PO Box 2800 / 4601 Guthrie Dr.
Peterborough, Ontario Canada K9J 8L5
Phone: 705-748-OFAH (6324)
Fax: 705-748-9577
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