Team Silver Strike
Team Silver Strike
| Chad Pipkens | Ryan Said | Heath Wagner | Jeff Cox |
10/30/2011: Ryan Said and Chad Pipkens Sight Fishing Exploits using the Flogger Featured in November 2011 Bassmaster Magazine
Bassmaster Senior Writer Louie Stout has an excellent article in the November 2011 issue featuring Poor Boy's Baits Flogger sight fishing tool, covering the tournament successes of Elite Angler Ryan Said and professional bass angler Chad Pipkens, both Poor Boy's Baits pro staff members! The article also covers the exciting success host of Zona's Awesome Fishing Show, Mark Zona and guest pro angler Byron Velvick had catching a huge limit of toad smallmouth bass while taping an episode of the show to air in January 2012!
Chad Pipkens really put the Flogger on the wish list of serious bass anglers by winning 3 consecutive Michigan BFL tournaments with giant limits of Burt Lake bass caught from very deep beds weighing 27 to 28 pounds! 2011 Bassmaster Elite Angler Ryan Said goes on in the article to share how he uses the Flogger beyond the bedding season for sight fishing purposes such as studying bottom content and to locate bottom-hugging forage on days you can't see well enough above water. Said told Louie Stout in the article, "It really helps to determine subtle bottom changes that I can't see without the Flogger. And besides, sometimes it's just fun to look through to see what's really down there on the bottom."
Said did actually use the Flogger to catch a good largemouth bass during the 2011 Bassmaster Elite Series event on the St. Johns River. From the Bassmaster article: "A fish kept missing the fluke I was casting, and I knew it was coming from a bed, but I couldn't see it along the weed edge," he recalls. "I drifted over the area and used the Flogger to find the bed, then dropped a buoy near it. On the next cast, I was able to put my bait on the bed and catch her!" Do you have your Flogger yet?
09/30/2010: BASS Northern Open Tour - Event #3 - Chesapeake Bay, Maryland
Let me start by saying that the Chesapeake Bay would be an awesome place to call your "home waters." It is extremely diverse and there are miles and miles of water to learn and many different ways to catch fish. And not just different ways to catch fish, but lots of fun ways to catch fish...like frogging and buzzbaiting as well as cranking and flipping and swimming Poor Boy's jigs.
That said, the fishing was very tough. While the winner of the event found himself a little honey hole, keep in mind that the second place guy averaged only twelve pounds a day.
We all knew the big fish were there...we all caught some in practice and could often see them swimming around down there...but they were either extremely inactive or they were feeding on something that none of us could figure out.
The tide is a huge factor on the Chesapeake. In normal conditions the tide fluctuates by about two feet, but a little north wind or south wind can have a big effect on how the tide moves. The fish respond accordingly although not always in a predictable fashion. Generally the outgoing tide, specifically the last two hours, are the most favorable, but there are plenty of times when the high tide is good as well. The rules governing fish behavior relative to the tide are, as Captain Barbosa once said, "more like guidelines."
So the ideal goal going into the tournament was to try to understand the behavior of the fish in this tidal fishery. Once you can get an understanding of how they behave, then it makes it easier to find the most productive patterns.
The problem was getting bites. I personally just did not get enough bites to feel like I understood what the fish were doing. After six days of practice I felt like all I had was a few areas where I caught some fish.
Going into the tournament I was in first place in the Bassmaster Northern Open points race so that was weighing on my mind. In all truthfulness, it was not real hard to put that out of my mind because being in that position was so unbelievable. Sometimes ignorance is bliss! Until the day before the tournament it really didn't sink in. There were some nerves for sure but I have been fishing tournaments for a while and it wasn't too hard to focus on the task at hand which was executing my plan. So back to practice...
I practiced for six days. My first day out I went with Jack Rinkers who is a real good stick down there. He showed me a few things and we caught three good fish in one area. They ended up being the best quality fish we caught all week. It was a little creek with a nice channel bend and some laydowns.
The second day of practice I fished with my dad. First thing in the morning, as we were driving around in the North East Creek, we found a beautiful rock pile. I marked it up real good with the depth finder and decided to come back later and fish it at the optimal low tide.
The rest of the day we managed to catch only two stripers. It was a long exhausting fruitless day. At the end of the day I pulled back to the rock pile we had found in the morning. I could feel my crankbait grinding the rocks...and then it happened...a big ol' fish clobbered it. Knowing what little I know about tidal water fishing, I was ecstatic. Offshore places on tidal waters can be phenomenal if you can find the right ones (the eventual tournament winner Nate Wellman found such a place).
The only problem was that once the fish got to the boat, I saw it was a catfish. I was so mad that it was not a bass that I unhooked it and launched it back into the lake...which was a big mistake. In the process of throwing the fish, his spine caught my finger and nearly sliced it off. I had about a five millimeter deep paper cut that was about an inch long. Blood was everywhere. For all you kids out there, don't throw catfish. We kept fishing the spot and boated four more catfish in the next twenty minutes. Alas...it would have been an awesome spot and I would have had it to myself.
Box score after two days of practice for me and Chad:
- Twenty-six hours of combined fishing time
- One blown outboard engine (Chad blew his up on the first day of practice)
- One cut finger
- Two stripers
- Five catfish
Needless to say there was still a lot of work to be done.
Day three was better for me. I actually caught five bass. The only problem was that I caught them in five different locations on four different lures. I felt like I had a little pattern fishing main lake weed edges on the outside milfoil...but I could not duplicate it as well as I would have liked. I fished a lot of that pattern with zero success.
Day four I caught only two fish but I shook off one other fish and lost one on a buzzbait...so really I had four fish on. The first fish was in a narrow creek with two channel bends and laydown wood. After catching that one fish, I shook off another bite in the same area...no need to educate the fish.
Later in the day I caught a nice three-pound fish on a buzzbait, again on main lake milfoil. I worked that area hard and did not catch any more fish...but I came back later in the day on low tide and lost another nice fish on a buzzbait again.
On day five I was starting to formulate my plan based on the limited success I had. I decided that my first spot in the tournament would likely be the place that Jack Rinkers showed me since it was a long run south and I could hit the tide at the best level down there and then come back and hit the tide at the best level up north. At the start of day five I decided to make the long run south so that I could run it in my own boat and figure out how to navigate the big water of the Chesapeake Bay. There is a TON of water out there. Waves get real big out there when the wind blows against the tide but fortunately it was calm that morning and I was able to find a good path down there. Even though I burned two hours of fishing time that morning, it was worth it to find the quickest path.
I completed day five by fishing several creeks on the east side of the bay but was unsuccessful. Once again I spent a lot of time fishing with very little results.
Day six...the last day of practice. I had already formulated my plan so I decided to go out and try all new stuff. Chad had caught a few good fish the night before in a certain area near the I-95 bridge and he invited me to check it out. I caught one thirteen inch fish in there and shook off two more but I didn't feel that great about it. The fish were there...we could see them...but there was just something that did not seem right to me.
The Tournament...
My plan going into the tournament was to start way south in Gunpowder Creek and fish that until low tide. Then I was going to run all the way back to the Bohemia River and fish that at low tide. Then I would come back up to the North East Creek and up into the Susquehanna River hitting those spots at dead low tide and the first part of the incoming tide.
We blasted off at 6:30am and I was boat twenty-four. I made the forty mile run in about fifty minutes then had to do about a fifteen minute idle to get back to the creek I was fishing. I pulled in to the channel bend and started fishing. As soon as I started fishing, another competitor pulled about 100 yards ahead of me and started fishing. That was a little frustrating.
I decided to slow way down and pick apart the cover methodically since I would be fishing mostly used water. I really felt good about the way I picked everything apart but I only caught one fish. He was a good one - about three-and-a-half pounds - but that was the only one. I caught him on a plastic craw Texas-rigged. The other angler in the creek with me caught two twelve-inch keepers and his co-angler caught one real good fish. The tide was right and the water was moving good but the fish were not biting. On to the next spot...
I ran up to the Bohemia River which is where I had caught a three-pound fish on a buzzbait in practice and lost another good one. I fished it hard. I only caught one fish out of there on a split shot rigged senko dragged on the bottom (boring!!). After I caught that fish, I kept working the area hard but did not get any other bites. Through the rest of the day I fished all the other areas where I had caught fish but could not get bit. It was pretty frustrating. I weighed only two fish for 5-6 on day one.
My brother Phil and I did some math after the day one weigh in. We figured I need to finish at least fiftieth or better to get in the Classic. I figured that would mean catching at least seven pounds on day two...a tall order given my lack of success on day one. It took me a long time Thursday night to come up with a plan for Friday. I was totally baffled about where to go or what to try the next day.
My friend Jason Knapp had told me he was catching a fair amount of small keepers way up the Susquehanna River so that was in the back of my mind. He offered to let me run up there with him on day two but I decided to try a few of my spots first then run up there if I needed fish. I greatly appreciated that offer.
Instead of running all the way back to Gunpowder I decided to hit the Bohemia first on a high tide and see if it made a difference. I rolled in there first thing in the morning and caught a thirteen inch fish pretty quick...but that was it. Again I worked the area hard but to no avail.
I decided my second stop would be Cara Cove in the North East River. I had not fished this on a high tide yet but decided to give it a try anyway. I fished through the milfoil bed there with no success but when I got to the end of the weeds, there was nice dock. I had not fished the dock in practice but decided to throw at it anyway.
I pitched my plastic craw in by the dock piling and it got heavy. I slammed the hook and a three-and-a-half pound largemouth came wallowing to the surface. My partner was on the net and scooped up the fish. I don't know that I have ever been more relieved to have a fish in the net. I was shaking. It was a big ol' fish and it gave me such a jolt of confidence!
I finished working the dock but did not get any more bites. When I was done fishing the dock I noticed a rip rap bank that I had not fished in practice. The wind was blowing on it and it looked right. I decided to work it with a black buzzbait. About three casts down the bank I caught a nice two pound fish. Wow. I made two more passes on that bank and caught another two pound fish on a white / chartreuse spinnerbait. Now I was getting stoked. It was 10:30 at that time and I only needed one more fish for a limit and an almost guarantee of a Classic berth.
I decided to give the dock another try. I pitched my bait by one of the pilings and felt a small tap. I set the hook and a twelve inch bass came flying in the boat. I measured him carefully and he just touched the twelve inch mark so I put him in the livewell.
I fished the rest of the day, hitting all the spots where I had caught fish thoroughly, but never had another bite. Before I went back to weigh in I decided to measure that last fish I had caught to make sure he was long enough. I measured him and he was about a 1/32nd of an inch short. Lots of times if you flip the fish over, he is longer on one side than the other. When I flipped him over, he just barely...I mean barely...touched. The problem is that if for some reason he tensed up back at weigh in and did not touch the twelve inch mark, I would be penalized a pound. I could not afford that penalty so I was forced to let the fish go. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done in a tournament but it was just too much to risk.
I went back to weigh in and my four fish weighed 8-5. When I weighed in I was in 34th place with about 1/3rd of the field left to go. After the weigh in was over I was in 41st place and got a check for $300...but the real drama was yet to come.
I am an engineer by trade so math and Excel spreadsheets are my life. Back at the hotel I whipped up a quick spreadsheet based on the results of the tournament and the corresponding points standings. By my calculations there were two guys in the top thirty who could overtake the lead of the Northern points race (and Classic berth).
Both Travis Manson and Tracey Adams had made the top thirty cut to fish Saturday. Both could overtake the lead with a good finish. Travis was in 18th place and needed to move up to 8th place or better to overtake the lead. Tracey was in 8th place and needed to move up to 5th place to overtake the lead. Obviously Tracey was the one I was most concerned about. Tracey fished the FLW Tour for several years and has a lot of experience in big events.
I decided to drive home Saturday morning. No need to wait around and worry all day. I put my favorite CD's in and tried not to think about it. The weigh-ins are updated live on the internet and my brother Phil was going to watch from home and give me a call. About 2:30 the calls started coming in.
Travis only caught seven pounds and was thus out of the picture pretty quickly. Tracey, however, caught ten pounds and moved up to fourth place when he weighed in...but the top five in the tournament still had not weighed in.
The fifth place guy weighed in but did not move Tracey down at all; same for the fourth and third place guys. The second place guy weighed in and bumped Tracey down to fifth place. Finally, the leader weighed...dropped a 22lb sack on the scales...and bumped Tracey down to sixth place. I won the points, and Elite Series berth, and most importantly, a Bassmaster Classic berth. It was absolutely unbelievable!!
Now comes the hard part. I need to find a way to come up with $60,000 - $80,000 to fish the Elite Series... My business partners all year (and the past couple years) have been outstanding. Poor Boy's is a quality company that makes products that will improve your success.
Lastly I just want to say "Thank You" to everyone who has been supporting me all year. My extended family has really got on board this year and it has been an awesome ride! My parents came down to the Chesapeake...I was on the phone with my brother (my coach #1) and my friend Matt (coach #2) every night...and of course there was all kinds of well wishes from the Facebook community. It was great and all I can say is "Thank You!"
Everything that happens is allowed by God so He gets all the thanks and praise. I can't explain why He allowed this to happen now...all I can say is "thank you" once again. It is my goal to follow His leading in every area of my life...whether its fishing or not. I'm not nearly as successful as I would like to be in this endeavor, but it's the goal anyway.
09/03/2010: Two Tourney Weekend - August 28th & 29th
Saturday...BFL
The weekend of August 28th and 29th I fished two tournaments. Saturday was the BFL out of Elizabeth Park on the Detroit River. Sunday was the TBF State Fish Off out of Harley Ensign on St. Clair.
Unfortunately I did not have a chance to practice for either. I hate not practicing for tournaments because there are just too many good fishermen out there that with just a day or two of practice will dominate the event.
On the plus side, Heath Wagner was practicing and found the fish doing pretty much the same thing as they had been doing for the last couple weeks.
I decided that I would start the BFL on Saturday by running the same stuff I did in the BASS Open. But I also prepared myself mentally to be ready to pull the plug on that plan if it was not working. A lot of times it is easy to get locked onto a spot that you have done well on in the past. It is necessary to think about your plan ahead of time and make sure you don't sink your boat on the spot.
Per the usual, as soon as we got to the first stop Saturday morning, my co-angler caught a nice three-pound-plus fish on a dropshot. I've come to accept that this is the way all tournament mornings start.
My first fish was well over four pounds. My second fish was five-and-a-half pounds...an absolute beast. He bit a dropshot Poor Boy's Darter DS and came straight up and jumped, tail-walked and thrashed...I was shaking as soon as I saw him. My co-angler did a great job netting him but I was a mess for a few minutes after that fish...a fish that size is just an awesome thing to behold.
My next fish was a fourteen-incher. I was afraid he would get eaten in the livewell.
After that, things went south with the bite. The wind calmed down and the sun came out hot. I really thought a good crankbait bite would develop...but it never did. Throughout the rest of the day my co-angler and I had to work our tails off for our fish. We were only hitting one here and one there. Still, we both built up good bags by working hard and keeping our head in the game despite the lack of bites.
All five of my weigh fish came on a Poor Boy's Darter DS on a dropshot. I did catch one on a crankbait but ended up culling it. My co-angler also caught his biggest fish of the day...about four-and-a-half pounds...on a Darter DS I gave him. We were throwing the green pumpkin color. Love that worm.
My five fish weighed twenty pounds, six ounces and I finished third. I missed big bass by two ounces! My co-angler weighed eighteen pounds and also finished third.
Side note: My co-angler's name was Chad Lee...his brother is Cliff Lee...pitcher for the Texas Rangers and Cy Young award winner. Chad is a great businessman in his own right and owns his own scrap metal company and is an relentless (and very good) duck hunter.
Sunday...TBF
Although we did not get many bites on Saturday, I elected to run back to Erie from Harley Ensign for the TBF event. Chad was fishing this event too, so we made the run together.
When we got to our first spot we were fishing close to each other, just like in the BASS Open. Chad caught two, two-pound fish. I caught two, two-pound fish. That was it. Not a good omen for the day.
We both started bouncing around on our spots but to no avail. My co-angler picked two fish in the three pound class but nothing consistent where we could duplicate the bite. Chad found pretty much the same thing.
At 11:30 I decided to bail on the north shore. It was not an easy decision to make but there were just too many clues telling me that the fish were either gone or totally in a funk.
I hit two or three spots in the mouth of the river but we did not get any bites. My last spot before running back to Harley was a shallow four-foot spot with some weed patches. Alas that we only had twenty minutes to work the area! The smallmouth were loaded in there!
Prior to going in the area I asked my co-angler if he had brought a lipless crank or a spinnerbait. He had neither. Since he already had two decent fish, I gave him the lipless to throw since that usually works better in the area we were about to fish. I had a spinnerbait already tied on so I just went with that. He smoked me with the lipless. The fish wanted it bad. I caught a few on a spinnerbait but he put together a seventeen pound bag on the lipless. Once he had a decent bag, he gave me the lipless back and I culled a few but it was too late...we had to leave to get back in time. We made the long run and got back with four minutes to spare.
My co-angler was Josh Fulks and he qualified for the State Team in third place. I finished the event in fourteenth place...about one-tenth of a pound out of the Alternate position (thirteenth place) and about a half pound out of the last State Team position (twelfth place).
I was very happy with the decisions I made both on Saturday and Sunday. Again, I can't explain why, but they have been good decisions for the most part. My only dilemma Sunday was that I just ran out of time. I had no clues telling me to fish that spot sooner so I can't say that was a mistake.
Now it's time to prepare for the Chesapeake!
08/25/2010: I finished fourth this weekend at the State Championship out of Muskegon Lake. I qualified for the State Team. Unfortunately I was not using any Poor Boy's baits in the tournament, but had them tied on. I actually should have won but two fish died on me and I lost 2lbs off my total. That was unfortunate.
I did catch a few fish in practice the weekend before on a Darter Jig swimming it through the weeds. The Darter jig came through that nasty thick grass really well. But by tournament time most of the fish had moved out and I caught them on the crankbait in 10-12 feet of water on the weed edge near the deeper water breaks. Plus the shallow weeds just got hammered by other tournament fisherman. I fished White Lake.
08/22/2010: Ryan Said takes 3rd place in the 2010 BASS Northern Open on the Detroit River / Lake Erie on the professional side.
This stuff is getting crazy. I can't totally explain why things have been going so well this year. There are a few things I can point to, like better on-the-water decision making, but I can't necessarily figure out why I am making those better decisions. I'll keep working on it and let you know if I figure it out.
I started practicing for the second stop of the Bassmaster Northern Open Tour on the Detroit River on Saturday, August 14th. The weather websites said the wind was supposed to be pretty bad so rather than waste a day on Erie, Chad and I decided to head to St. Clair. Fishing has been pretty good on St. Clair this year but just recently it had started to decline a little. Weights in the Wonderland tournament the week before were what most people would consider to be low. Still, you know the fish are there.
The wind was brutal even on St. Clair for most of the day (and it would turn out to be a theme for the week). Chad and I practiced long and hard that day but neither of us felt good about what we found. I didn't find anything new and was only able to verify the one good spot I have in the lake...but even that spot is not near as exact and specific as I would like it to be. At least I had a Plan B if everything went south on Lake Erie...but I hoped not to have to run up to St. Clair.
Sunday I practiced with Benny Miller on Erie. We had a good time and caught a lot of fish but only one in the four-pound class. There was one area that I had been fishing for the last two weeks that we did not hit though. I knew there were fish in the area so most of what Benny and I fished was either new water or water I had not yet worked on this year. Most of the fish we caught came shallow on cranks but we did pick off a few in deeper water off Colchester.
Monday the wind was so bad that Chad and I could not get out on Erie. We poked around the mouth of the Detroit river, and even up in the river to no avail.
Tuesday the wind was not much better...but we had to go...we had to get out in Erie. We battled five-foot waves all day and got soaked but it turned out to be worth it. I did not catch much but I did find one new spot that ended up saving the day for me on day two of the tournament. We also pretty much locked in the fact that all of the wonderful deep structure we have worked so hard to find over the last five years...was holding ZERO fish.
Wednesday I checked out a few things in the morning, and since it was calm, was able to verify a few shallow crankbait spots, but that was it.
Since Chad had not been on Erie much prior to the tournament, he stuck some fish in the areas where I knew the fish were living. That told us both they were still there. I kind of laid off the areas...but it was tough to do that. Even though you know the fish are there, when you don't get to stick a few, it messes with your confidence. In truth, I was not terribly confident going out day one of the tournament...but I wasn't totally out of it mentally either. I felt like I had a lot of places to fish and one of them would have at least fifteen pounds on it.
Chad and I started on the same little rockpile. Chad caught a two-pound fish and a four pounder. His co-angler caugh a three pounder and my co-angler did as well. I caught nothing...nice. Stop number two didn't yield anything either. Stop number three was money. We worked it all day. Chad pulled in there later in the day and both of us and our co-anglers did most of our day one damage there. For some reason, I only got one four-pound bite that day...just one of those fluke things...and only weighed sixteen pounds, fifteen ounces. We caught them in seventeen to nineteen feet on scattered rock flats.
Naturally both of us started day two on that same spot where we caught them on day one. Chad and I were litterally within talking distance, just making small adjustments with the trolling motor and holding the spot. My first fish on day two jumped off. My fault...he bit right under the boat and came straight up and I was not ready for him. I then boated a three pounder, two fourteen inch fish, and a another high three-pound fish.
Then tragedy...I lost one that was in the four-and-a-half pound range right at the boat. For those of you who have never experienced tournament fishing, losing a fish of that size in a tournament of that magnitude would be like having a sixteen-year-old driver ram his Honda Civic into the back of your new Dodge Viper...an absolute pit in your stomach. After loosing that fish, the bite in that area essentially stopped.
So by 8:30 I should have had about fifteen pounds in the boat...instead I had four fish for ten pounds. Mentally I was on the border of loosing it after jumping off a fish of that size. I decide to start moving shallower. The wind had laid down some and it felt right for a crankbait. I picked up a crankbait in a shad color and started chunking and winding through areas where I had caught fish before in thirteen to fifteen feet of water.
My first fish on the crankbait was about two-and-a-half pounds and it filled my limit. I felt a little better. My next fish about five minutes later was well over four pounds. I culled a fourteen-inch fish with that four pounder. That always feels great! Three casts later I boated another four pounder...awesome. Now I was shaking.
That was the last of the crankbait bite in that area but I moved up into eight feet and culled my smallest fish with a solid three pounder on a smaller crankbait. Now my smallest fish was three pounds and I had two fish that were well over four pounds.
Later in the day I moved back to the area where I caught them on the crankbait and culled two more fish with the Poor Boy's Darter DS. After the way the morning went, it was awesome to end the day like that. I ended up weighing just over nineteen pounds, and even more importantly, got a solid boost of confidence going into day three.
Day three was different by far than the previous two. Chad and I started on the same spot once again. This time it was my turn to whack ‘em. I had about sixteen pounds by 8:30. I tried my crankbait spot but did not get any bites. I then moved to the spot where Chad and I had started on day one...and it was loaded. I culled with two four-pounders. The action died a little so I bopped around on a few other spots but couldn't cull. I came back to the spot where I had caught the two four pounders and caught two more and lost one before I had to go in. It was a flurry of activity at the end of the day and I left them biting...but I knew I had a good bag and that always feels great.
When we got back to weigh-in we learned that three of the top guys had tanked. They had all been fishing the same spot and the fish just simply left. I hate to see anybody loose out like that but it was to mine and Chad's advantage. I moved up to third with my twenty pound bag and Chad moved up to fifth with a nineteen pound bag.
What a tournament...again. Fishing is a wild sport. It has the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. There is nothing else like it in competitive sports!
Alright...this is always my favorite part...the tackle.
Day one I started out with a Poor Boy's Darter DS in green pumpkin on a dropshot. I caught my first two fish on that bait. Then my co-angler, Lamar Spade, started waxing me on a dropshot rigged white and chartreuse stick worm (wacky style). No idea why he decided to throw that bait but it worked. About the only thing I had close to that was a white soft jerkbait so I hung that guy on my dropshot and caught several fish that way as well. Between the Darter DS and the soft jerkbait I did all my damage on day one. I used 8lb fluorocarbon on my dropshot with a 1/2oz weight and a 1/0 sharp dropshot hook.
Day two I began again with the Darter DS. Again I was throwing the green pumpkin color and again I caught most of my fish on that bait in the morning and again later in the day. Late in the day I culled two good fish with the Darter DS.
As stated previously, I started throwing a Tennessee shad crankbait around 10:30 on day two when the wind laid down just a little and the sun was shining. I upgraded the hooks to #1 sharp trebles and threw it on 12lb fluorocarbon. I caught two four-pound-plus fish on the crankbait on day two.
Day three I began again with the Darter DS but this time the sky was much more overcast so I went with the black Darter DS. The black seems to work better under darker conditions, whether from overcast skys or dirty water.
I caught my first three fish on the Darter DS but then decided to try a tube a little. Neither Chad nor I had thrown the tube much to that point, but I have found that when conditions are darker, they seem to bite a tube well. I went with my absolute favorite color on Lake Erie, Roadkill Blues (made by Poor Boy's). It is a greenish-brown tube with blue and gold flake. I can't explain why, but they love it. I ended up catching four of my five weigh fish that day on the tube.
I fished the tube on 10lb fluorocarbon It's been a while since I have felt that good throwing a tube. I stuck a 1/2oz jighead in the tube and drug it on the bottom, almost in a dead-sticking fashion.
If you have any questions on anything...fishing or the tackle...or music or pizza or God...shoot me a message on Facebook. You can do it on the Team Silver Strike page or my own personal page. Thanks for reading!
08/13/2010: Wonderland Open 2010
It seems like each time I get a new partner for the annual Wonderland Open, I do better in the tournament. Chad Pipkens and I had fished it several times and we managed a 22nd place and a 10th place. Then I fished it with Nick Ryan and we moved up to 5th place. This year I fished it with my brother Phil and we bumped up to 3rd place! I think I need a new partner for next year!
My dad and I practice for the Wonderland the weekend before the event. Then my dad and my brother and I fished again the Saturday before the tournament. In both practice outings we caught some really nice fish…but they were all in a very small specific area. Lots of people know where I like to fish but 98% of that water was absolutely dead…not even sheephead in most cases. On the Sunday morning of the tournament Phil and I hedged our bets on that small area and made the rough ride out to Erie. Most of the field went north…and I had caught some good fish in St. Clair the Thursday night prior…but I could not give up on Erie. Lake Erie greeted us with steady five-foot rolling waves with six-footers mixed in and an occasional seven-footer. Fortunately they were rolling for the most part so the ride was actually not that rough, just very, very wet.
We arrived at our spot and began catching fish immediately. (I have to beg your pardon for not revealing the specifics…but I have another big tournament coming up out there and need to keep a few things tight to the vest for a little bit!)
We caught fish steadily until about 10:45 off that first spot. Actually, it was taking about twenty minutes to make a pass due to the waves so “steadily” is probably not the best word…but you get the idea. The only thing I can figure is that after about 10:45 the water just became too muddy for them. They shut off, which is not real typical of Erie fish that are in a good school.
At 11:30 we decided to start moving around. We bounced around on a couple of spots as best we could in the waves. We figured we had to leave about 1:45 to be back in for a 3:00 check-in time. At about 1:00 I caught a real nice fish that culled for us and ended up putting us in 3rd place. We had gone a long time without a bite. I had to work hard to keep my head in the game with the big waves but I was ready for that fish and we got him in the boat.
Phil caught five of the nine keepers that we caught that day. I caught four. All came on a dropshot. I was throwing a black Poor Boy’s Darter DS. Black seems to be a really good color anytime the light penetration is lower (due to mud or clouds). We also had to go with shorter than normal leaders for some reason. We were only throwing about twelve-inch leaders. It seemed to make a difference.
We actually estimated our weight to be about nineteen pounds but they came in a little heavier than that…which is always a nice feeling! We won $1,500 each and a real nice trophy. Hopefully those fish don’t go anywhere I can catch them again in the BASS event!
07/26/2010: Ryan came in 2nd in the Bassmaster Northern Open on Champlain over the weekend. http://www.bassmaster.com/news/wolak-wins-2010-northern-open
07/01/2010: I have only fished a couple tournaments this year so far and have not done that well so I don't have much to report yet. I am headed to Muskegon next week for the TBF State Tournament so hopefully I will have something good to report! I am also fishing at least the first two Bassmaster Northern Opens on the pro side so I will send you reports on those when they are done.