MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. — The lake ranked once as best in the country by Bassmaster is showing out again. This time the show is on at the Advance Auto Parts Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair.
Thirty bags of 5-bass limits weighing over 20 pounds have crossed the scales on a single day. The benchmark weight for judging a successful day here has been a 21-pound bag. Anything less was a bust for fishing on Championship Sunday.
The last anglers standing earned their keep. Here is a rundown of what got some of them to Championship Sunday on Lake St. Clair.
Bradley Roy
Bradley Roy used Lake St. Clair as his classroom for studying the nuances of northern smallmouth. He did that early on in his B.A.S.S. career, spending extra time learning the lake.
For the Kentucky native that meant shaking the notion that smallmouth always relate to specific structure. Here, following the bait is the priority.
“It has been all about gaining confidence in fishing this lake, letting go of past experiences, understanding big fish live all over,” said Roy, now in 12th place.
Shaking that myth, gaining experience as he matures as a pro, and following the nomadic path of the smallmouth are the keys thus far.
Jamie Hartman
Jamie Hartman qualified for his fifth Championship Sunday of the season by adjusting his tempo. He enters tomorrow in 9th place.
“Patience, it was all about patience,” he said. “I didn’t really have a strategy and that caused me to fish too fast.”
Intentionally slowing down forced Hartman to expand his knowledge and awareness of a chosen 2-mile area.
“It paid off because the area is loaded with fish,” he continued. “I’m just grinding it out, which I like to do, and it’s working.”
All of the above fueled Hartman’s confidence in the area. He will spend time there tomorrow.
Gerald Spohrer
Old habits are hard to break. Gerald Spohrer, like Roy, recognized the nomadic nature of northern smallmouth is much different than how they behave down south.
The smallmouth are staying on the go and so is Spohrer, who enters tomorrow in seventh place.
“Once I figured out that it was all about covering water then I was set,” he said. “I had spent way too much time in the same place after catching just one fish.”
Spohrer adjusted his strategy and began moving around. He found smallmouth nearly everywhere he went after establishing a lure and pattern.
“Smallmouth are all over this lake and I maximized my effort by continuing to fish new water.”
Matt Lee
Matt Lee built on a successful strategy from the past to qualify for Championship Sunday.
“The Canadian side was good to me last time, and I knew it wouldn’t be so pressured,” he said.
Lee validated his decision as he exited the canal connecting the weigh-in to the main lake on Day 1. Over 60 boats were fishing in the area.
“It was amazing to spend 16-hour days in practice and not see another boat,” he continued.
Lee also has used drop baits and techniques that have brought him success thus far during the current Elite season.
Mark Daniels Jr.
Elite Series rookie Mark Daniels Jr. is working on qualifying for his first GEICO Bassmaster Classic. He recognized earlier this year that swinging for the fences was the way to go.
“I followed my gut, almost making a really bad decision to run up the river,” he said. “Doing that would have only produced mediocre results.”
Mediocre here is 15 pounds. Daniels recognized that going all out is best. He went fishing the big water and caught the big weight needed to fish on Sunday.
Daniels begins tomorrow in fourth place in the tournament, and 20th in AOY, with the chance to perform well in his first Championship Sunday.
Jason Christie
Electronic eyes get the credit from Jason Christie for his second place position on the scoreboard.
Specifically, using Garmin Panoptix technology. It lights up the display screen with fish and bait, shown in real time, using three different views that are unique to marine electronics.
“I just can’t catch fish beneath the surface, I’m no good at that method,” he admitted.
“I’m cruising around my area, which is loaded with fish, and picking them off as I see them on the screen.”
Jordan Lee
The leader is known for his relaxed, carefree style of fishing. That changes when he happens upon a hot spot loaded with fish. Lately, that has happened often.
Lee happened on a winning school of bass on the final day at the 2017 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods. The reigning world champion has found the same scenario on Lake St. Clair.
“I didn’t have a strategy coming into this tournament,” he said. “I found the school on the first day of the tournament.”
Key to the area is an abundance of bait. So is an angler who is on a hot streak that could be destined to continue after tomorrow.