
All captions: Craig Lamb



Taku Ito fished his third consecutive Championship Sunday, all of them dominated by catches of smallmouth. “I like smallmouth.” That’s an understatement. Ito had never caught a smallmouth until this year. He used two crankbaits and a Japanese crawfish imitator that he was reluctant to show in this gallery. His secret weapon is about to be revealed.



“I probably had more fun catching my fish than all those guys using a drop shot.” Jay Yelas did just that, rotating through three lures ideally suited for his mood.


Cody Hollen rotated through three baits at Lake St. Clair.



Shane LeHew rigged up a drop-shot rig with what he called “smallmouth candy.”


Most of Lake St. Clair was off limits to the anglers due to the border closure at Canada. That didn’t matter at all to Chris Johnston, who made a run at a second title using a drop shot.


Jake Whitaker spent the tournament in the St. Clair River, dragging a Ned rig to get strikes. “I needed to be near the bank,” he said of his comfort zone.


Clark Wendlandt’s bite improved as the sun came up to make roaming smallmouth seek shady ambush cover. He alternated between a drop shot and crankbait.



John Cox was all smiles and laughs in the St. Clair River. Cox rotated through a pair of drop-shot rigs to make the most of his week.


Cory Johnston did what he does best, which is use the drop-shot tactic for offshore smallmouth. He came close to winning, even though the highly productive smallmouth waters of his homeland were off limits due to the border closure.


Bill Weidler used finesse baits on hard edges of grasslines in 15-feet of water. Key was the presence of baitfish that attracted the smallmouth. Finesse baits matching the forage size did the trick.
