Brock Mosley's Pattern, Baits & Gear

Brock Mosley posted a runner-up finish at the St. Lawrence in 2017 by catching smallmouths, but this time he rode green fish to a single-digit showing while he became a father for the second time. "I had a bad practice," he said. "My wife went into labor Wednesday night, which I knew was going to happen sooner or later on this trip, and I was real concerned all week and my head just wasn't right. I got frustrated with the smallmouths - it seemed like the bite was a lot slower than it had been in previous years. "On the third (and final) day of practice I just went to the bank for a little bit to clear my head and I caught a few largemouths, including a couple of good ones. I decided I was going to fish for largemouths until I had 17 pounds, then I'd go chase smallmouths. I thought I could salvage some points and maybe make the 40-cut and go on to the next one."

He caught 19 pounds worth of largemouths in the first 2 hours of day 1, then culled with 6 1/4- and 4 3/4-pound smallmouths from deepwater on a dropshot rig. Those were the only brown fish he took to the scale for the event. "Things kind of clicked and I really dialed in the largemouth on day 2. I just kept adjusting and figuring out what they were keying on." He caught them from docks, rocky banks, boulders and various other ambush points in 2 to 12 feet of water. Most of them bit a ChatterBait and a few were enticed by a topwater plug. "The reason I stuck with the ChatterBait more was because I could cover so much more water," he said.

Gear:

Bladed jig gear: 7'6" medium-heavy Ark Invoker rod, Shimano SLX casting reel (6.3:1 ratio), 15-pound P-Line Tactical fluorocarbon line, 3/8- or 1/2-ounce Z-Man EverGreen ChatterBait Jack Hammer (green-pumpkin), NetBait Big Spanky trailer (green-pumpkin).

Topwater gear: 7'3" medium-heavy Ark Moneymaker rod, same reel, 50-pound P-Line braid, Bill Lewis StutterStep (bone).

Dropshot gear: 7'2" medium-light Ark rod, Shimano Stradic spinning reel, 10-pound P-Line braid (main line), 6-pound P-Line Tactical fluorocarbon leader, 3/8-ounce tungsten weight, 1/0 dropshot hook, NetBait Drifter (goby).

BassMaster Elite Series Tour St. Lawrence River 2-5 Patterns - BassFan 7/29/20 (John Johnson)