All captions: Craig Lamb
Palaniuk relied on a trio of baits. He began the day fishing a homemade 3/4-ounce tailspin with a No. 4 Colorado blade. âI slow-rolled it off the bottom in 37 feet of water.â Later in the day he cranked channel swings or rockplies in the backs of shallow spawning flats. A Rapala DT Flat 7, Ikeâs Demon, and Storm Wiggle Wart, Phantom Brown Orange Craw, were the choices.
Palaniuk fished open water with a 1/2-ounce Evergreen Jackhammer by Chatterbait, adding some orange strands to the skirt. For a trailer he added a Zoom Z Craw, California 420 and Green Pumpkin Flash.
Palaniuk concentrated on isolated vegetation using these two baits. His main choice was a 1/2-ounce bladed jig with a 4.25-inch Zoom Z Craw, California 420 pattern. Alternatively, he used a 3/8-ounce swim jig and white 4-inch Zoom Super Speed Craw.
Palaniuk used a 3/8-ounce white/green/black swim jig with a white Zoom Super Speed Craw for a trailer. He made a punch rig with a Zoom Z Hawg, June Bug, rigged to a 4/0 VMC Heavy Duty Flipping Hook, and a 1.5-ounce VMC Tungsten Weight. He also used a 1/2-ounce buzzbait with Zoom Horny Toad.
Palaniuk found bass holding on the deeper side of the contour lines near brushpiles. The weedless feature was key for this Neko-type rig. He made it using a 5-inch Zoom Magnum Finesse Worm, Green Pumpkin. To that he added a 1/32-ounce VMC Neko Weight at one end of the worm. He completed the rig with a prototype VMC Weedless Neko Hook.
Palaniuk cranked a Rapala DT Flat 7, Ikeâs Caribbean Shad to cover water. For a finesse approach he used a 3/16-ounce VMC Stand Up Shaky Head Jig with a Zoom Z3 Trick Worm, Z3 Edge color. Alternatively, he used a 3/4-ounce VMC Ike Approved Rugby Jig, with a 4.25-inch Zoom Z Craw, California 320 color.
Palanuikâs key drop shot weapon was a 4-inch Zoom Z Drop Worm, Green Weenie, rigged to a No. 2 drop shot hook, with 3/8-ounce tungsten drop shot weight.
Palaniuk created a drop shot using a Zoom Z Drop, with No. 2 drop shot hook and 3/8- or 1/4-ounce tungsten drop shot sinker. A Storm Arashi Spinbait, Green Gill, was key for triggering strikes using a spybaiting technique.
Palaniuk fashioned a drop shot rig using a 4-inch Zoom Z Drop Worm, Green Weenie and Purple Smoke. He added a No. 2 drop shot hook and 1/4- or 3/8-ounce tungsten weights. He used the same rig at the St. Lawrence River.
A drop shot rig worked best for Palaniuk at the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship. He made it with a 5.25-inch Zoom Super Fluke, Purple Smoke, rigged to a 2/0 straight shank hook and 3/8-ounce drop shot sinker.