Inside Elite Boats: Mike McClelland

After his impressive top five finish on the St. Lawrence river, let’s take a look at Mike McClelland’s 2018 rig. Earlier in the year, McClelland gave us a tour of his Ranger 521L and explained about how he stores his gear during the tournament season.

Peepaw is a nickname given to McClelland some years ago, and is sometimes used while referring to him by his wife Stacy and a few close friends.

We started our tour of McClellandâs boat near the bow where his 36-volt Motor Guide X5 trolling motor is mounted.

He uses a TH Marine G Force handle to raise the trolling motor up and down. McClelland said the G Force handle is nearly indestructible.

There is a TH Marine Equalizer mounted to the trolling motor bracket that assists in the raising and lowering of the trolling motor.

The R2 Marine âTroll Perfectâ allow you to stop fighting the kick back and side to side torque steer of your trolling motor when it is set at high speeds.

The Eliminator prop nut is built to make your trolling motor perform better, longer, and quieter, and designed to lessen prop noise and vibration.

McClellandâs electronics are Garminâs Panoptix system equipped with both LiveVu Forward and LiveVu down. Here the transducer is shown in the LiveVu Forward position.

With one quick turn the transducer is placed in LiveVu Down.

There are two Garmin units mounted on the bow. Mounted at the top is the X5V 7610, the larger unit below is the X5V 7612.

The way McClelland configures the units while heâs fishing, is to leave the X5V 7610 on LiveVu Forward most of the timeâ¦

â¦and the X5V 7612 with three split screens showing mapping, 2D sonar and clear view down. McClelland credits the use of Panoptix for 11 of the 15 fish he weighed during this yearâs Bassmaster Classic. He said it allowed him to see those fish before he made the cast.

There is a TH Marine Hydrowave mounted to the bow, too. McClelland stated there are two settings he uses the most. One is âdelayed schoolingââ¦

â¦the second is the âcrawfish on gravel finesseâ setting.

He runs two Power Poleâs, and is able to control the raising and lowering of them from the front deck.

The center storage area in McClellandâs boat is what he refers to as the main work station. Stored inside are the first rod and reel combinations that get pulled for use every morning.

The storage boxes in this area contain the baits he believes will be used the most during a given tournament.

For instance, during our interview McClelland was preparing for a tournament on Table Rock Lake. He shows us a box full of finesse jigs and the trailers heâll be using.

He knows heâll want to throw crankbaits, so he has boxes within easy reach, loaded with both medium and deep-diving Spro Rock Crawlers.

These are the Gamakatsu treble hooks he uses for crankbaits. He uses replacement hooks to either adjust the buoyancy of the bait, or a stronger hook if heâs fishing a big fish body of water.

McClelland likes to leave crankbaits in their original packaging until theyâve been used.

These are some of the favorite colors he prefers to throw in clear water. You can see that some of these have obvious signs of use.

The crankbaits pictured here are some of his favorite colors to throw in stained water or on cloudy days.

McClelland has long been known as great jerkbait fishermen, and he carries several boxes of them in his boat. All of them are made by Spro and are of his own design.

They may look somewhat similar, but each of the four different types has a very specific purpose McClelland uses them for.

The McRip is to suspend at depths from 8 to 14-feet of water, depending on how itâs weighted.

The Spro McStick 95, also designed by McClelland is a suspending jerkbait he uses on calmer days.

The McStick 110 is his go-to jerkbait and the one he uses the most.

The McStick 115 is a floater/diver he uses when fish are trying to spawn, just coming of beds, or when theyâre schooling and the bait needs to stay near the surface.

These are the swimbaits McClelland has handy to use this week. Pictured is Big Biteâs 3.5 Suicide Shad, and Cabelaâs 3.4 and 4.4 Swimmers. You may recognize the pro on the packaging.

McClelland keeps a selection of plastics in the center storage area, too. He and Elite Series pro Jeff Kriet have a complete line of completion plastic baits.

The smallest storage area just in front of the console is used to store restock baits.

McClelland uses his own line of signature series Falcon rods, and Cabelaâs Arachnid Reels.

This front box contains extra rods and reels, and lineâ¦

â¦along with his Cabelaâs Guide Wear rain suit, stored in a Mustang Survival bag.

One more very important piece of gear is an Orion emergency marine kit.

On the other front-side locker is his remaining Falcon Rods and Cabelaâs reels slid into Pro Locker rod sleeves.

McClelland calls this storage area his nutrition station that always contains unsweet tea, fresh brewed daily.

An overview of the front deck of McClellandâs boat.

Along the passenger seat is where a plug knocker is stored. There is tape in one foot increments along its length.

The center box is surrounded by a work station holding pliers, etc. Inside the box is sunglassesâ¦

…Super Glue, reel oil, dips and dies, and scents. The scent is his own concoction.

Garmin 10 and 12-inch units are installed on the dash. The 12-inch unit is used for mapping while running, then switched to a combo of mapping and 2D sonar after shutting down. The 10-inch unit is a zoomed map and 2D Sonar while running, then goes to clear view down and side imaging after shut down.

McClelland chooses not to use a hot foot throttle.

He carries a throwable behind the driverâs seat.

A TH Marine non-puncture cull system stays in the livewell.

McClelland still uses what he calls an old school Cul-M-Rite system to manage the fish heâs caught. He thinks heâs used the same one for some 15 years.

Stored under the back deck is recharge kits for life jackets, Dude Wipes, and a spare prop.

Behind the passenger seat are three Mustang PFDâs. Two are inflatables, and a foam PFD he prefers on rough water days.

Under the PFDâs are a jump start kit, tool box, spare trolling motor prop, first aid kit and gloves.

McClelland uses all Odyssey batteries and Odyssey charger.

To manage power to the batteries McClelland has installed a Connect-Ease trolling motor connection kit.

He can quickly manage and isolate individual batteriesâ¦

â¦by using the provided plug and go connecters.

The Connect-Ease system also includes a volt meter to accurately test battery power.

The last box we looked into was located between the seats. Stored here are items McClelland wants to have quick access to, includingâ¦

â¦Amphibia low light running glasses and prescription glassesâ¦

â¦GPS and lens cleaner and G Juice for fish care.

The boat is powered by a 250 horsepower Mercury Pro XS, with two Power-Pole 8-foot Blades are attached to the back.

Thereâs also a Atlas hydraulic jack plate.

McClelland runs only a Fury, four-blade prop. He feels it is the best all-around prop, regardless of how you load the boat, and provides a quick hole shot.