CASCO, Maine — The traditional winning strategy for multiple-day tournaments on Sebago Lake is to pursue largemouth bass the first day and chase smallmouth the following days. That will likely be the case this week during the B.A.S.S. Nation Eastern Divisional in Maine, the final divisional of the season.
“The largemouth seem to hold up really well for the first day of the tournament, then after that, you see a lot of guys fishing offshore structure and rockpiles for smallies,” said Jim Lowe, Maine B.A.S.S. Nation tournament director.
“I am very confident whoever comes in with a big bag of largemouth on Day 1 and can find good-size smallmouth for Days 2 and 3 will walk away with it,” continued Lowe. “It is a rarity for someone to come in back-to-back days with big bags of largemouth.”
Some largemouth will be holding on the main lake rockpiles, but the majority of green bass will be hanging around the grasslines and boat docks in the coves. A black-and-blue 1/2-ounce jig with a soft plastic trailer will produce best, he said, and Senkos will also catch some largemouth in the shallows.
Lowe said Zara Spooks and wake baits worked along the main lake flats trick big smallmouth into biting. Smallmouth hugging the bottom along the flats can be taken on a Carolina rigged 6-inch plastic lizard in a watermelon-red flake hue. Drop shotting with a finesse worm works best for smallmouth holding in the 30- to 40-foot depth range.
Lake Facts
Forage base — smelt, sunfish, crawfish
Surface acreage — 30,513 acres
Average depth — 107 feet
Shoreline mileage — 105 miles
Expected water clarity — 15 to 20 feet of visibility
Dominant structure/cover — rockpiles, docks, hydrilla, coontail, water cabbage
Predicted winning weight — 53 pounds