Ron Nelson Wins FLW Costa Series Lake Champlain
Last week, he made the same drive to and from Plattsburgh, N.Y., with the same cargo in tow - the winner's trophy. Nelson completed the Champlain Sweep by relying on bedding smallmouth, mostly on the upper half of the lake. His 19-08 stringer on the final day gave him an even 60-00 for the event and was enough to edge Brett Carnright, the leader after days 1 and 2, by 8 ounces. "This win was a little more gratifying," he said. "Going back to back solidifies that I understand the lake and what's going on with the lake. I made more mistakes with time management this time around and almost gave it away.
"Overall, every win is great, whether it's by an ounce or 8 ounces. To be on top is great. That's what you're fighting for." Nelson said several of the local anglers who competed said the fishing was better during the spawn last year, but he felt like this year's tournament was timed just right at the peak of the spawn. "I figured out the system and different sections of the lake," he said. "These fish have been spawning for a long time, but there were new fish coming up constantly during the tournament."
Patience Paid Off:
Nelson allocated a couple more days for practice this year, but it didn't take long for him to realize 3 1/2-pound smallmouth were readily available just about anywhere he went. A limit of those, though, wouldn't get him where he wanted to be, so the search continued. "It takes more time to find better quality fish," he said. "I was looking for those 4-plus ones. I could catch a million that weighed between 3-06 and 3-09, but finding those 4-02 to 4-06 fish is what can separate you." He went into the tournament with the mindset that he would target smallmouth initially, then chase largemouth for kickers. Ultimately, it was smallmouth that won it for him. He said the water level was lower this year and that took some of the largemouth habitat out of play.
"I fished different sections to stay out of wind," he said. "No matter what section I was in, good fish were everywhere, but you had to weed through the 3-pounders to find the 4-plus. If you found one, 100 feet away there'd be another one." He was methodical in his approach on several fronts, choosing patience over hastiness. Often, he was able to catch fish others had fished right over top of. "I came in behind boats to catch a lot of my fish," he added. Nelson spent half of his tournament in the Inland Sea and the other half in the main basin of the lake.
After catching a good limit early on day 1, he began to target largemouth, which were also bedding. He missed a big one, which could've pushed his bag toward the 23-pound range. Still, his 20-11 had him in the mix in 3rd with one of four 20-pound stringers to start the event. "I had no stress about catching 19 pounds," he said. "I had 25 marks in the 4-plus category." He took significant measures to ensure nothing was left to chance, including retying after every fish catch. "I made sure to be thorough and not be rushed," he said.
When moving to a new spot with a full livewell, he drove at half throttle so as to not stress the fish any more than usual. "I wanted to take care of the fish," he said. "It makes a huge difference. It all comes down to ounces since we were all fighting for the same age-class of fish." He also didn't jump ahead of himself during the tournament. "I didn't check anything for day 2 on day 1," he said. "I'd just go fish them the next day."
Confidence Was Key:
He came into practice without a flogger at his disposal, but knowing others had them to help determine if deeper beds were occupied by fish, he made the investment. The flogger is a cone-shaped tool that when pressed into the water makes it easy to decipher bottom composition and if there's a fish on a bed. "The first two days, I didn't use it, but on the last day I used it a lot with the winds and rain," he said. When targeting deeper water, Nelson tried to stay in the 11- to 15-foot range while 5 feet was the key zone for shallower fish.
"Most guys were in that 8 to 9 range so I tried to check a couple depth ranges guys weren't fishing," he said. On days 1 and 2, he bed-fished predominantly with a ballhead jig with a soft plastic rather than a dropshot. He was able to fish more cleanly that way, he says. His confidence on day 2 was such that while maneuvering his boat for the fish he'd previously marked, he came across a 3 1/4-pounder on a bed and caught it, but let it go. He was convinced that fish wouldn't help him by the end of the day. His hunch proved right as he hauled in 19-13 (tied for second-heaviest stringer of the day) to move into 2nd and keep pace with Carnright.
He said a key difference between last year and last week was that he was able to find new fish to target during the tournament a year ago, but having had a few extra days of practice this year he was able to come into the tournament with a deeper catalog of options to go to. "If you burn your fish up, you burn your fish up," he said. "I learned that last year after. This year, conditions weren't good for creating opportunities, but I had enough fish found." His day-3 bag was his smallest of the event, but 19 1/2 was still plenty to achieve his goal. He spent a good bit of time on one fish that never made it in his livewell. "The conditions were challenging," he said. "I had a 4 1/2-pounder that I missed on the jig. It might've been too shallow to fish that in those conditions. It laid down a little bit later on. For some reason that was the only fish that gave me trouble all week."
Later, he tried a surface walking bait that the fish came up and swiped at. "She came up on it and I messed up," Nelson said. "I had it hooked and she pulled free. I changed to a little white hair jig and she came up again and ate most of it, but she knew I was there. I spent most of my day on that fish. I'd leave and catch a couple and come back, then go fish for largemouth and come back." Without it, he thought he was going to come up short. "I thought I'd left the door open," he said. "I would've been over 20 with that fish."
Winning Gear:
Jig gear: 7'1" medium-action G. Loomis E6X spinning rod, 7'5" medium-action G. Loomis GLX spinning rod, Shimano Stradic Ci4+ spinning reel, 10-pound Sunline Super FC Sniper fluorocarbon line, 3/16-oz. ballhead jig, Reaction Innovations Smallie Beaver, Poor Boys Baits Erie Darter.
Nelson used the E6X model for deeper beds and the GLX version for the shallower areas. The E6X was a little stiffer while the longer GLX had more give to keep the shallower fish buttoned.
He preferred the beaver-style bait over a tube or a paddle tail swimbait because of how it falls through the water column. "A tube will spiral and a paddle tail will glide," he said. "I wanted something that would fall straight down toward the beds. If you worked it wrong, they wouldn't eat it. I had it figured out. It's those small details that make the big difference."
He also caught one weigh fish on a dropshot rigged on casting gear. He wacky-rigged a Zoom Trick Worm on a 4/0 straight-shank hook above a 1/2-oz. weight using 16-pound braid. "Those fish aren't line shy so why use 6-pound test or a 1/0 hook if they're going to eat it," he said.
The Bottom Line:
Main factor: "Prayer and perseverance. Even in practice, you'd get tired of catching small fish. I'd stick it out and eventually catch a big one. Being thorough, too, was a key. I don't mind guys catching 3s around me because I know I'm going to catch that 4-plus that's in there."
Performance edge: "My Ultrex trolling motor was super essential to my success. With that Spot Lock, it's all about precision when you're bed fishing. My new Ranger 520L was a great in the rough water and my reliable Mercury was what got me around the whole week."
FLW Costa Lake Champlain Winning Profile BassFan 6/27/18 (Todd Ceisner)
