Brandon Lester has jumped to the top of the early leaderboard thanks in part to one of those St. Lawrence River difference-makers – a 5 1/2-pound smallmouth bass.
Lester is well on his way to a 20-pounds-plus bag with that big smallmouth and a 4 1/2-pounder in his livewell. With three 2-pounders in his limit, BASSTrakk shows him with 16-12.
It’s not just finding and hooking those big smallmouth. Another big percentage in the equation is landing them. Successfully landing one of these big smallmouth bass, muscled-up from constant river current, in deep water on light spinning tackle is no easy feat. It requires skill, patience and a little luck.
“Being able to land those 5- and 6-pounders is the key,” said Kevin VanDam. “They’re hard to land. They fight and fight and fight.”
That has some anglers trying different drop shot hooks than what they’d normally use.
“The first time we came here, I missed a check because of (losing a fish),” said Justin Lucas. “I’ve been experimenting with hooks this week. The same drop shot hook you might use in an open lake where there is not much current isn’t the same hook you want here.”