BASS Lake Michigan Baits, Gear & Patterns
Jonathon Vandam's Winning Pattern, Baits & Gear
Then the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources stepped in and issued the B.A.S.S. tournament permit, but it restricted the field to the lower portion of the Bay of Green Bay, citing concerns over fish mortality. Sturgeon Bay was suddenly out of play. It resulted in some grumbling amongst the pros and griping at each other on the water as boats bunched up on areas holding the best fish. VanDam was able to avoid all of that, finding a couple sweet spots south of where the crowds were concentrated and had them to himself for 4 days, plenty of time to catch 79-02. Over the final 2 days, when only two others (Brandon Palaniuk and Aaron Martens) broke the 20-pound barrier, he averaged 22 pounds, including a tournament-best 23-04 on the final day to win by more than 2 pounds.
ÒWords just donÕt describe what this means to me,Ó he said. ÒIÕve been dreaming of this for a long time. ÓIn winning the Lake Michigan Elite Series, he scratched two major items off of his career to-do list Ð collecting a tour-level victory and qualifying for the Bassmaster Classic. And he did it in just his 15th Elite Series event and 2 months shy of his 24th birthday. With many fish in a funky mood, either cruising the shallows or just beginning their typical postspawn migration to deeper water, it forced the Elites to have a couple programs working. It wasnÕt like past events at Lake Erie where it was dominated by dropshotting suspended fish or bottom-huggers in deep water.
The wind blew sharply on the first day of practice, but calm conditions the rest of practice made for easy maneuvering and the ability to break down as much water as they needed.VanDam was able to key in on an area about 10 miles south of the most cluttered spots that featured a rocky point with an adjacent flat. He said it seemed the bass were chasing alewives, which were spawning in the shallows. ÒI basically was trying to concentrate on shallow water where the fish were feeding,Ó he said. ÒThere was a lot of bait up shallow.Ó He nailed a 5-pounder on a spinnerbait the first morning and saw a bunch of other good fish nearby. ÒAt that point, when it comes to smallmouths, youÕll get the biggest bites on reaction baits and they would consistently hit the spinnerbait,Ó he said.
Competition:
A lot of pros fishing the northeastern portion of the fishable waters last week were able to pounce on some sight-fishing opportunities the first day of the tournament due to the flat-calm conditions. VanDam was no different. He boxed a solid 17-11 to start out in 7th place. ÒI was up in Rileys Bay sight-fishing and that kind of saved me,Ó he said. ÒIt just wasnÕt happening on my spot. The fish may have been there, but I just couldnÕt get them going.Ó On day 2, he started to get dialed in on the fish he had to himself. ÒThat was a huge factor,Ó he said. ÒI could manage things a little better and not worry about someone moving in and catching a 4-pounder that I couldÕve used the next day.Ó After having to switch trolling motors in the morning, he caught a number of keepers on both a spinnerbait and a dropshot.
ÒThat clued me in to what was going on,Ó he said. ÒThe baitfish were continuing to spawn, but I could sense it was beginning to tail off.Ó While his weight dipped slightly to 17-07, it was enough to move him into 3rd entering the weekend, behind Dean Rojas and Martens. ÒI knew I was on the potential winning fish,Ó he said. He eclipsed the 20-pound mark on Saturday with 20-12, but so did Brandon Palaniuk, who caught 21-02 and led JVD by 4 ounces entering the final day. Between a slowdown in bites and a couple lost giants on day 4, his morning was one to forget. His afternoon, however, was one heÕll never forget.
He moved around trying to make sense of what was happening, but his final move to an area not far from where heÕd caught most of his weight paid off as he located a wad of 5-pounders hanging in 1 to 2 feet of water. He picked up the dropshot and went to work. ÒI had the trolling motor set to low so I could ease through real slowly and not spook them,Ó he said. ÒIÕd find one I could see and let him see the bait. On some, I had to make multiple casts to and I changed up baits and colors. ÒI basically had to guess where they were going and put the bait out in front of where they were and hope theyÕd go for it. If they could see it, theyÕd react to it.Ó
Winning Pattern:
While many were thrilled to not have to deal with windy conditions on the big water, a little breeze helped stack VanDamÕs fish a little better. ÒIn the area I was fishing, the wind created a current and it was almost like a reservoir when theyÕre moving water through,Ó he said. ÒThe current helps position the fish better on the structure.Ó When it was breezy, heÕd pick up the spinnerbait, but he caught the majority of his weight on the dropshot. Asked if he thought those fish would still be holding in the area in a week or two, he said, ÒI think theyÕd still be there. Maybe not as many, but thereÕd still be a bunch in there.Ó
Winning Gear:
Spinnerbait gear: 7Õ1Ó medium-heavy Shimano Cumulus casting rod, Shimano Core 50MG casting reel (7:1 ratio), unnamed 17-pound fluorocarbon line, 1/2-ounce Strike King Tour Grade Painted Blade spinnerbait (sexy shad or sexy blueback herring). He felt the painted willow-leaf blade on the spinnerbait was key to drawing reaction bites.
Dropshot gear: 6Õ10Ó medium-action G. Loomis NRX dropshot rod, Shimano Sustain 2500 spinning reel (6:1 ratio), 10-pound PowerPro Super 8 Slick braided main line, unnamed 8-pound fluorocarbon leader, 1/0 Lazer TroKar light-wire finesse worm hook, 1/4- or 3/8-ounce unnamed dropshot weight, 4Ó Strike King Dream Shot (KVD Magic).
The Dream Shot, developed by Mark Zona and Kevin VanDam, is expected to be unveiled at ICAST next week. The KVD Magic color is a green/silver combo with blue flake. ÒItÕs by far the best smallmouth bait there is,Ó VanDam said.
Main factor: ÒThe biggest thing, especially the last day, was just sticking to what I knew best. Knowing the smallmouths were in that area, the key was getting them figured out and getting them to bite.Ó
Performance edge: ÒMy Strike King polarized sunglasses were tremendous (on day 4) with the sight-fishing I was doing.Ó
Brandon Palaniuk's Pattern, Baits & Gear
The spot had everything an angler would want in terms of fish-holding structure. There was an isolated shoal with a small depression that dropped to 7 feet on one side. It also had some rock and grass and it was close to deep water. ÒI had to build on it every day,Ó he said. ÒThe first couple days, IÕd be done by 9 or 10 in the morning and IÕd just spend more time breaking down the area even more. Having that area to myself helped a lot. It allowed me to be able to manage them better.Ó He caught his day-1 weight on a topwater walking bait and a suspending jerkbait in the calm conditions. Everything on day 2 came on the jerkbait. By day 3, he knew every nook and cranny and it allowed him to take the lead with a 21-02 stringer, which he caught on the topwater and jerkbait. The first 3 days, many of his fish came out of 2 to 6 feet. He finally broke out the dropshot on the final day when he caught 20-plus again as the fish pushed out to 25 feet.
Topwater gear: 7Õ medium-action Abu Garcia Veritas casting rod, Abu Garcia Revo Premier casting reel (7.1:1 ratio), 12-pound Berkley Trilene XL line, unnamed 5Ó walking bait (light color with blueback pattern). Jerkbait gear: 6Õ9Ó medium-action Abu Garcia Veritas casting rod, same reel, 12-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon line, unnamed suspending jerkbait (clear with blueback pattern). He swapped out the stock hooks for VMC trebles on both the walking bait and jerkbait.
Dropshot gear: 6Õ10Ó medium-light Fenwick dropshot rod (no longer in production), Abu Garcia Revo Premier 20 spinning reel (5.1:1 ratio), 8-pound Berkley NanoFil (main line), 6-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon (leader), No. 2 Gamakatsu Split Shot/Dropshot hook, 1/4-ouce Eco Pro tungsten dropshot weight, 4Ó Berkley Gulp! Crawler (green-pumpkin and smelt).
Main factor: ÒThinking outside the box and with an open mind. That was the biggest deal and making the gamble to get away from the crowd and fishing something more toward the south.Ó
Performance edge: ÒMy Skeeter (boat) and Yamaha (motor) were pretty sweet. They gave me the confidence to run hundreds of miles this week. You donÕt know what the Great Lakes will bring you, but having the condifence to take off and run 40 miles, it puts your mind at ease.Ó
Aaron Marten's Pattern, Baits & Gear
Dropshot gear: 6Õ10Ó medium-light Megabass Hedgehog dropshot rod, Shimano Stella 2500 spinning reel (6:1 ratio), 6-pound Sunline Super FC Sniper fluorocarbon line, Nos. 1 and 2 Gamakatsu Split Shot/Dropshot hook, 4 1/2Ó and 6Ó Roboworm Straight Tail Worm (MM3), unnamed 1/8- and 3/16-ounce dropshot weight. He downsized to 5-pounder Sniper on the final 2 days and had numerous 5-minute fights to land fish.
Main factor: ÒConstantly moving around. I did way better when I moved around.Ó
Performance edge: ÒMy Phoenix boat is just sick. ItÕs an unreal ride. I donÕt think I hit one wave hard this week.Ó
Dean Roja's Pattern, Baits & Gear
Dropshot gear: 6Õ10Ó medium-heavy Quantum Tour Shaw Grigsby spinning rod, Quantum Catalyst PTi spinning reel (5.2:1 ratio), 8-pound Sunline Super FC Sniper fluorocarbon line, 3/0 Gamakatsu extra-wide gap hook, unnamed 1/8- and 3/16-ounce tungsten dropshot weight, 4" Big Bite Baits Finesse Worm (green-pumpkin/purple patterns). He upsized his weight to 3/16-ounce when fishing away from shoreline and went lighter in shallow water.
Main factor: ÒJust keeping everything simple and fishing my strengths. I was really focused in on maximizing every day. The first 2 days I caught everything I could. The 3rd day I caught everything that would bite. On day 4, I caught all I could. It was a different strategy from (the Mississippi River). It was interesting.Ó
Performance edge: ÒObviously, my Yamaha and Skeeter, as well as my MotorGuide trolling motor and Power-Poles. Those four things are so cricuial for fishing shallow like I like to do. TheyÕre everything to me.Ó
Ott Defoe's Pattern, Baits & Gear
He threw a soft plastic jerkbait to help him weigh fish from three different areas. He got off to a good start on day 1, catching 14 pounds in the first 45 minutes in Rileys Bay en route to a 16-11 stringer that put him in 13th place. ÒIf I could see one cruising, IÕd make a cast out in front of them and let the bait fall right there,Ó he said. ÒYou could catch them that way. IÕd make bomb casts and see the fish come up to the surface. The first 2 days I caught them all that way.Ó From there, he worked on main lake points and in Little Sturgeon, weighing between 14-11 and 15-even the final 3 days. One unique thing he did was throw a small, black hair jig up shallow to locate some bedding fish. ÒTheyÕd follow it and some would bite it,Ó he said. ÒIt usally got the attention of the bigger fish.Ó
Soft jerkbait gear: 7Õ4Ó medium-heavy Fenwick Aetos spinning rod (to be unveiled at ICAST), Abu Garcia Revo Premier 30 spinning reel (5.8:1 ratio), 10-pound Spiderwire Ultracast braid (main line), unnamed swivel, 8-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon line (leader), 4/0 VMC offset shank worm hook, 5Ó Berkley Gulp! Jerk Shad (pearl white). He threw the Jerk Shad weightless, but said the swivel and even the fluorocarbon leader imparted just enough downward pull to get the bait into the strike zone.
Hair jig gear: 7Õ4Ó medium-action Fenwick Elite Tech Smallmouth Series spinning rod, Abu Garcia Orra SX 20 spinning reel (5.8:1 ratio), 10-pound Spiderwire Ultracast braid (main line), 6-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon line (leader), 1/16-oz. VMC DM marabou jig (black).
Main factor: ÒBeing in a few good areas and keeping the bait in the water. It wasnÕt a horribly long run, maybe 35 miles each way, and having pretty calm weather was pretty good.Ó
Performance edge Ð ÒMy Nitro boat and Mercury motor. They were key to me being able to run all that distance.Ó
Lake Michigan Winning Pattern Bassfan 7/1/12 (Todd Ceisner)
Lake Michigan Patterns 2-5 Bassfan 7/6/12 (Todd Ceisner)