A smallmouth whack fest. That describes the week at the Advance Auto Parts Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair. The lake once named best in the nation by Bassmaster Magazine put on a show.
All captions: Craig Lamb
Photo: Garrick Dixon
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Jason Christie won the tournament using a simple, old school tube jig. Check out his bait, and lures of the top finishers in this Championship Sunday lure gallery.
Photo: Garrick Dixon
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Bradley Roy
Bradley Roy fished his second Championship Sunday of the season at Lake St. Clair.
Bradley Roy fished his second Championship Sunday of the season at Lake St. Clair.
Photo: Garrick Dixon
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Roy cranked his way to 11th with a Rapala DT Series Crankbait. He alternated between the DT14 and DT16 models.
Photo: Garrick Dixon
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Paul Mueller
Paul Mueller used multiple lures to finish 10th. One choice was this Reins Fat Rockvibe Shad. He rigged it to a 1/2-ounce Do It Molds Tube & Tail Jig.
Paul Mueller used multiple lures to finish 10th. One choice was this Reins Fat Rockvibe Shad. He rigged it to a 1/2-ounce Do It Molds Tube & Tail Jig.
Photo: Garrick Dixon
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A Duo Realis Spinbait 90 and Lucky Craft LC RTO 3.5XD Crankbait were hard bait choices. To the soft bait arsenal he added a Reins Bubbling Shaker worm, rigged to a 3/0 Roboworm Rebarb Hook and 3/8-ounce Do It Molds Finesse Drop Shot Sinker.
Photo: Garrick Dixon
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Takahiro Omori
Takahiro Omori cranked his way to ninth at Lake St. Clair.
Takahiro Omori cranked his way to ninth at Lake St. Clair.
Photo: Garrick Dixon
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Omori’s main choice was a Lucky Craft LC Silent Deep Diver Crankbait, LC 3.5DD. The 3-inch bait weighs 3/4-ounce with a running depth of 11-13 feet. Omori used various colors in shad patterns.
Photo: Garrick Dixon
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Bobby Lane Jr.
To finish eighth, Bobby Lane used two new baits from PowerBait Maxscent. A 5-inch The General and 4.5-inch Hit Worm were the picks. He rigged both rigged to No. 1 Eagle Claw TroKar Hooks and 1/4-ounce Flat Out Tungsten Weights.
To finish eighth, Bobby Lane used two new baits from PowerBait Maxscent. A 5-inch The General and 4.5-inch Hit Worm were the picks. He rigged both rigged to No. 1 Eagle Claw TroKar Hooks and 1/4-ounce Flat Out Tungsten Weights.
Photo: Garrick Dixon
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Gerald Spohrer
Seventh-place finisher Gerald Spohrer was among a few top anglers using a crankbait. The bait paid off for locating smallmouth on the move.
Seventh-place finisher Gerald Spohrer was among a few top anglers using a crankbait. The bait paid off for locating smallmouth on the move.
Photo: Garrick Dixon
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The choice was this 6th Sense Lure Co. Cloud 9 Crankbait. He used the C15 model that ran the ideal depth of 12-14 feet.
Photo: Garrick Dixon
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Jamie Hartman
Jamie Hartman became the first Elite Series rookie to fish in five Championship Sundays in a season. He finished sixth place at Lake St. Clair to continue leading the Toyota Bassmaster Rookie of the Year race.
Jamie Hartman became the first Elite Series rookie to fish in five Championship Sundays in a season. He finished sixth place at Lake St. Clair to continue leading the Toyota Bassmaster Rookie of the Year race.
Photo: Garrick Dixon
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For covering water he used this Strike King Pro Model 5XD Crankbait, Sexy Shad.
Photo: Garrick Dixon
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Hartman used a Poor Boy’s Erie Darter rigged to No. 1 Owner Mosquito Hook and 3/8-ounce weight. He also used a Strike King KVD Dream Shot, rigged with a No. 2 Owner Mosquito Hook and 3/8-ounce weight.
Photo: Garrick Dixon
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Hartman also used a spybait. His choice was this Duo Realis Spinbait 90.
Photo: Garrick Dixon
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Matt Lee
“For the most part I had my fishing area all to myself,” said the fifth-place finisher. That was a rarity on Lake St. Clair, because most of the field fished there.
“For the most part I had my fishing area all to myself,” said the fifth-place finisher. That was a rarity on Lake St. Clair, because most of the field fished there.
Photo: Garrick Dixon
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Lee used a 5-inch Strike King Zero/Z-Too with ElazTech, Ice. He rigged that to a 1/0 Owner Straight Shank Hook or No. 1 Owner Circle Hook. To complete the rig he added a 3/8- or 1/4-ounce Strike King Tour Grade Tungsten Weight.
Photo: Garrick Dixon
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Jordan Lee
“Using a bigger bait made it easier for the fish to see the lure in the clear water,” noted Jordan Lee. It worked for the fourth-place finisher. The size also happened to match the perch forage.
“Using a bigger bait made it easier for the fish to see the lure in the clear water,” noted Jordan Lee. It worked for the fourth-place finisher. The size also happened to match the perch forage.
Photo: Garrick Dixon
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A key lure choice was this Strike King Zero/Z-Too with ElazTech, Pearl, rigged to No. 1 hook and 3/8-ounce Strike King Tour Grade Tungsten Weight.
Photo: Garrick Dixon
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On Day 3 using the drop shot rig produced a limit weighing 25-9, including a personal best smallmouth weighing 6 pounds, 13 ounces.
Photo: Garrick Dixon
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Mark Daniels Jr.
Elite Series rookie Mark Daniels scored third place using a trio of baits. “Clent Davis and I fished a buddy tournament, and he gave me a crankbait that was my big fish bait.”
Elite Series rookie Mark Daniels scored third place using a trio of baits. “Clent Davis and I fished a buddy tournament, and he gave me a crankbait that was my big fish bait.”
Photo: Thomas Allen
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The choices were these Dual Hardcore Shad Crankbaits, White and Perch.
Photo: Garrick Dixon
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For vertical presentations Daniels chose this 4-inch Z Man EZ TubZ.
Photo: Garrick Dixon
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Alternatively, he used this 4-inch Poor Boy’s Erie Darter, rigged to No. 1 Owner Mosquito Hook and 3/8-ounce tungsten drop shot weight.
Photo: Garrick Dixon
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Brock Mosley
Brock Mosley fished his second Championship Sunday of the season at Lake St. Clair. He set wind drifts over productive areas, using a drop shot rig for catching quality smallmouth.
Brock Mosley fished his second Championship Sunday of the season at Lake St. Clair. He set wind drifts over productive areas, using a drop shot rig for catching quality smallmouth.
Photo: Garrick Dixon
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The choice was this 4.75-inch NetBait Contour Worm, Green Pumpkin Chartreuse. He rigged that to a 1/0 Owner Drop Shot Hook with a 1/4-ounce drop shot weight.
Photo: Garrick Dixon
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Jason Christie
Jason Christie kept things simple all week, using a classic tube jig. The champion fished the lure over 20 feet of water, casting to fish found using the Panoptix feature of his Garmin electronics.
Jason Christie kept things simple all week, using a classic tube jig. The champion fished the lure over 20 feet of water, casting to fish found using the Panoptix feature of his Garmin electronics.
Photo: Garrick Dixon
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He chose this 4-inch Yum Tube, Green Pumpkin, rigged to a 3/4-ounce jig head. “I could catch one and bring an entire school with it back to the boat.” For the most part, Christie had his entire area all to himself.
Photo: Garrick Dixon
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