Indiana Smallmouth

If you’re an avid smallmouth fisherman and care about the resource, please stop in and visit the Smallmouth Alliance for their annual fund raiser. Great speakers and awesome raffles. Make a difference and have a great meal all in one place.

A MUST FOR ANY SERIOUS SMALLMOUTH FISHERMAN

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — If several hundred spectators hadn’t been there to witness it firsthand, both from the water and from the bank, it would be hard to believe how easily Kevin VanDam won his third Bassmaster Classic crown this week at Alabama’s Lay Lake.

In an era when increasingly specialized electronics and 70-plus mph boats are considered indispensable on the Bassmaster Elite Series, the simple fact is that VanDam probably could have won this tournament out of a jon boat with a 9.9-horsepower outboard.

James Overstreet
VanDam holds the trophy as confetti begins to fall. “I didn’t have to work my equipment very hard,” VanDam said. “But I certainly did during practice.”

Based on past experiences, he believed that the coontail in the backs of creeks and pockets had the potential to produce the winning weight. He said that he scoured the lake “dam to dam” with his side-imaging sonar looking for such areas and only found two other places where it existed, although neither was quite as sexy as the back of Beeswax Creek.

He mined a large spawning flat in the back of Beeswax for three days and delivered three limits that totaled 51 pounds, 6 ounces. He outlasted Jeff Kriet, Todd Faircloth, Russ Lane and 47 others to take home the trophy to an increasingly crowded mantle.

In many respects, it was déjà vu all over again for the Kalamazoo, Mich., angler. He found the area during practice for the 2007 Classic, which was chilly like this year’s, but a warming trend at the end of the prefishing period spread the fish out.

This year the cold persisted through the first two days of the tournament and lasted long enough to keep the bass buttoned up in the back of Beeswax. The 2007 Classic was also the event when he introduced the Strike King Red Eye shad to the world. It produced a third-place finish that week, but it’s come through multiple times since then, including this most recent event.

He used gold and gold sexy shad hues to match the gizzard shad that choked his chosen fishing area. Using his GPS, he marked key stumps and shellbed points and when the bait bounced off those key pieces of structure, he let it flutter down to generate strikes. He said he caught seven bass off a single stump.

“Well, this was a challenging week weatherwise. I’ve had a lot of success in Alabama over the years,” VanDam said of his seventh Classic in the state. “It’s always eluded me. I love fishing these lakes.”

VanDam was also appreciative of the fishing-savvy fans in the state, saying the throngs of spectators gave him room to win. “In 1992, when I won my first AOY, what I remember about Alabama is the fans,” he said. “One of the main reasons I was able to catch what I did was the fans. I was fishing in the back in Beeswax Creek and the fans were very courteous.”

James Overstreet
At 8:24 a.m., Kevin VanDam he put his second 4-pounder in the boat on Sunday en route to a 19-7 day.The victory wasn’t wire to wire: VanDam led after Day One but trailed Kriet by 2 ounces after the second day. When they launched Sunday, he was only a single ounce ahead of Faircloth. All three fished almost exclusively in Beeswax, but VanDam’s fish proved the most reliable, plentiful and sizable over the course of three days.

If VanDam’s legacy as the greatest fisherman alive wasn’t already cemented, then this week’s victory adds another weatherproof brick to the wall. He now trails only Rick Clunn (four) on the all-time Classic victory list. Only three other anglers, Bobby Murray, Hank Parker and George Cochran, have won more than once.

VanDam also has five Bassmaster Toyota Tundra Angler of the Year awards, including the past two. Furthermore, he’s only 42 and may not have peaked yet.

VanDam boated Sunday’s big bag of 19-7 to weather the charge by Kriet, who totaled 46-6. Todd Faircloth finished third with 44-2 while Lane made a major jump in the standings with 18-1 Sunday to take fourth with 43-12.

VanDam’s Day One and Day Three bookend limits of 19-8 and 19-7 were the only bags to eclipse the 19-pound mark. His area was so chock-full of bass, he said, that on the first day of competition he “threw back a 15-pound bag and a 14-pound bag and a 13-pound bag.”

Despite falling water and increased spectator galleries, VanDam remained confident all three days.

“Some people worry about anything and everything,” he said. “I don’t worry about things that I can’t control.”

It appeared that the only thing that could shake VanDam’s confidence was a matter of simple mathematics. After 20 Classics, he’s only won three times. As a batting average, that would be poor, but compared to his competitors, he’s Ted Williams. “In this sport, you’re going to lose a lot more than you win,” he said.

At this point, that provides little consolation to the rest of the field, all of whom would give anything to win anywhere near as often as VanDam does.

LIVING THE DREAM

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — There’s a buzz in Beeswax.

Jeff Kriet of Ardmore, Okla., leads the Bassmaster Classic on Lay Lake with a two-day limit of 32 pounds, 1 ounce. Fishing lipless crankbaits in Beeswax Creek with two others close behind, Kriet said he’s out to obtain a breakthrough win.

Coming into the event trailing Day 1 leader Kevin VanDam by 3 pounds, 1 ounce, Kriet surged ahead with the day’s heaviest limit — a 15-10 sack of largemouth. Kriet focused most of his effort on a 200-yard stretch of the creek in about 5½ feet of water. He said the sweet spots had a grassy bottom and stumps near a slight roll-off.

James Overstreet
Jeff Kriet jumps on stage showing some confidence.”I caught 11 keepers, but it’s slow,” Kriet said. “It’s cold and there’s a lot of pressure. I watched [Todd] Faircloth catch a couple and I watched VanDam catch a couple of his. I know that if any one of us had it to ourselves, it would be a blowout.

“Tomorrow, I’ll just grind it out until I can’t grind anymore. I know a lot of other guys would like to be where I’m sitting and I appreciate those guys — and they know who they are — who stayed off of me.”

Kriet acknowledged a tight race, but said he has confidence in what Sunday holds for him.

“I think I have a chance,” he said. “It’s about time I won one of these.”

In second place, VanDam trails Kriet by 2 ounces with 31-15. VanDam began his day power fishing the sunny cove off Beeswax Creek where he did his Day 1 damage. He tried other spots, but finished his day back in Beeswax. VanDam’s limit weighed 12-7.

“The lake changed a lot,” VanDam said, noting a depth drop of about a foot. “It got tougher today with those high, bright skies.

“I’m not going to die in one place tomorrow. I have other places to look at.”

Sitting just an ounce behind KVD, Todd Faircloth of Jasper, Texas, dropped a notch to third place with a 13-12 limit that gave him a 31-14 total. Also working in Beeswax, Faircloth caught most of his fish on a Sebile Flats Shad in hollow green color.

“It’s a grind out there — we’re all fishing the same area,” Faircloth said. “I feel like if you could let something rest for 30 minutes to an hour and come back to it, you could catch one or two. But it’s just not getting much of a rest.”

Improving from seventh place, Michael Iaconelli is in fourth with 26-12. Ike caught two largemouths on a vibrating Lazer Lure in spicy shad and a pair of spots on Berkley Shaky Worm rigged on a 3/16-ounce Tru-Tungsten Iky Head.

Russ Lane of Prattville, Ala., gained four spots to place fifth with 25-11. Lane caught his fish on an Excalibur XR50 rattlebait in Foxy Shad, a Strike King Red Eye Shad in Sexy Shad and a ¾-ounce flipping jig with a Biobait YoMama trailer.

Tommy Biffle of Wagoner, Okla., placed sixth with 24-9, Takahiro Omori was seventh with 24-5, Matt Herren took eighth with 23-6, Brent Chapman finished ninth at 21-2 and James Niggemeyer rounded out the top 10 with 20-7.

Jason Quinn of Lake Wylie, S.C., secured the final top-25 spot with 15-9. After placing 35th on Day 1 with two fish weighing 5-12, Quinn moved up 10 notches on Day 2 with a four-fish bag weighing 9-13.

Despite pleasant conditions of light breezes and rapidly warming temperatures, Day 2 saw a sharp decline in productivity. Total fish caught dropped from 189 on Day 1 to 153, with limits slipping from 30 to 19. Greg Hackney, who blanked Saturday, theorized that he saw too much of a good thing too soon.

“I think the fish were so cold for a week and today they were lying out there getting a sun tan,” Hackney said.

Omori, who missed his limit by one fish and dropped two spots, lamented a lackadaisical bite.

“It was a lot different today,” Omori said. “The fish were missing the bait today. They just weren’t taking it.”

Sunday’s forecast for continued sunshine should bring more stability as the fish start to adjust. If the water level remains consistent, those with stout rods and heavy baits may find the home run they need.

“Every minute this sun stays warm, we get close to the big females moving up,” said Herren, who improved 10 places from 18th on Day 1. “The flipping bite should get good.”

Dean Rojas, who made the cut at 23rd place, found some warm water and enjoyed some topwater action with his signature series Spro Frog.

“I have a little pocket with 58-degree water and I had two fish come up and eat the frog,” Rojas said. “It’s supposed to get warmer tomorrow, so [the frog] will probably get some more action.”

Day one Leader Kevin Vandam

Can he hand on for a thrid title?

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — No one enters the Bassmaster Classic to work on a tan, but the 51 competitors who took to Lay Lake were undoubtedly pleased to see a day of sunshine. After a tough practice marred by extremely cold conditions, the sun came out and the fish started biting.

Kevin VanDam Bassmaster Classic
James OverstreetKevin VanDam leads after Day 1, a far cry from his dismal 45th-place start in 2009.
Daytime temperatures reached the upper 50s, and that warmed the shallow creeks where largemouth like to roam. Moreover, a full day of intense sunlight sent the invigorating radiation into the water column to stimulate some of the fish that had been laying low. Thirty anglers found limits, and only three blanked.

Two-time Classic champion Kevin VanDam grabbed the early lead with a limit weighing 19 pounds, 8 ounces. Understandably guarded with his details, VanDam said he was using a trio of baits to “effectively cover the range of water in the area that I’m fishing.”

With the lake temperature remaining in the low to mid-40s, VanDam said he found the fish mostly concentrated in small areas, but he expects the next two days — with more sunny conditions in the forecast — to see the fish spreading out.

“People see the big weights that some of us caught and they may think that fishing’s easy, but it’s not — it was a struggle today,” VanDam said. “You’d catch several fish and then go two hours without catching another one.”

VanDam said Day 2 could see big movement in the leaderboard.

“Lay Lake is full of fish,” he said. “This lake has the potential to produce a 25-pound bag, so anyone within 10 pounds of the lead has a chance to win.”

Behind VanDam was Todd Faircloth of Jasper, Texas, who caught a limit weighing 18-2. Fishing reaction baits, he caught about 10 keepers — a mix of spots and largemouth. Faircloth secured his limit of spots by about 10 a.m., then upgraded with three largemouth.

“I was just covering some water and staying in the four areas that I have confidence in,” Faircloth said. “I fished three of them today, and I caught fish in two of them.

“I caught them better than I thought I was going to catch them today. Practice was tough for me. I caught some fish, but I wasn’t getting a whole lot of bites.”

In third place, Oklahoma pro Jeff Kriet fished mostly a Sebile Flats shad, but mixed up his presentation with a jerkbait. He caught a limit of 16-7 in a backwater creek.

Mike Iaconelli
James OverstreetMike Iaconelli, holding the big bass of the day at 6 pounds, 10 ounces, stands in seventh.
“I’m just grinding — I have a few key stretches and I’d hit them, catch a few fish, leave them and come back and catch some more,” Kriet said. “There’s a lot of fish there and I jerked on quite a few, but I felt like I had to. I just didn’t want to get behind.”

A shad die-off caused by the week’s cold weather still haunted many, as the fish had plenty of easy targets. However, Kriet said the area that he and his top two competitors fished appeared to have suffered little.

“I haven’t seen nearly as many shad dying in there as in other places,”he said.

Mississippi pro Cliff Pace sits just 4 ounces behind Kriet in fourth place with 16-3. Fifth place went to 2004 Classic winner Takahiro Omori who sacked up a limit of spotted bass that went 15-7.

Billy McCaghren of Mayflower, Ark., was in sixth with 15-4. Although he threw a lipless crankbait most of Day 1, he’s expecting a strong flipping bite on Day 2. He said if the fish will turn on in the grass, “It’s going to get good.”

In seventh place with 14-9 was Mike Iaconelli, the 2003 Classic winner. He earned the day’s big fish honors with his 6-pound, 10-ounce largemouth. The Pittsgrove, N.J., pro said he had his hands full when the hawg gobbled his finesse rig.

“I was kind of struggling before that fish, and when you get a big one on like that on light line, it leaves you breathless,” Iaconelli said.

Rounding out the top 10 were Tommy Biffle of Wagoner, Okla., with 14-3; Russ Lane of Prattville, Ala., with 14-1; and James Niggemeyer of Van, Texas, with 13-3.

It’s Super Bowl Sunday and the home town Colts will represent the city of Indianapolis and the state of Indiana in the NFL’s biggest game.

All I gott say is? Go Blue…..

Well, it’s here. The fifth annual Indiana Fishing Expo is this weekend @ the johnson County Fairgrounds in Franklin Indiana. 250 Fairgrounds st. Franklin, In. 46131. This years show promises to be as good as any we have ever had. The economy took it’s toll on a few vendors from shows past, but, we have replaced them with equally quality vendors. As 2011 brings new hope for the vendors coupled with the new vendors and 2011 show is allready shaping up to be dandy. We will be changing web site layouts this year as the other can no longer be updated. We will go with a format similar to this one so we can have vendor inneraction. I hope to see everyone there again this year as you stock up for the 2010 fishing season and catch some great guest speakers.

Remember to bring the kid’s. Go Fish Indiana is bringing their full display that is loaded with kid inneraction programs, and it’s all free once inside.

Adults: $3.00 Children 16 & Under: FREE
Parking: FREE

www.indianafishingexpo.com

We now have IS gear available. Currently we have shirts, hats and hooded sweatshirts for the IS faithful. Please check out the link in the Features section or click Here

Randy Blauket recently wrote an editorial on Bassfan.com that hits home and hits it on the head. His article calls out BASS and FLW as creating ‘pro’ circuits that have priced the very anglers that comprise their schedules out of competition. The costs to compete at that level is mind warping and as Randy states is one factor in the demise of the big dollar ‘pro’ trails. Since ESPN started the quest to make bass fishing the next Nascar, the downhill slide is evident. The money, the sponsors, the boats, trucks, motors, the list goes on and on. I think the most compelling point in Randy’s editorial is the fact that the best anglers in the country do not comprise the pro ranks. There are no doubt some legendary anglers fishing those tours today but as Randy states, without sponsors and marketability, the aspiring angler has very little chance at making pro status. I was just recently thumbing through my latest Bass Pro book and have realized that I have nearly been priced out of recreational fishing. I notice that the cost of all aspects of bass tackle has increased in a big way in recent years. You can look simply at the average crankbait cost to see my point. Average crank costs have gone from $4 to over $8. If you have not checked out bass boats lately, you are in for a shock. Though most manufacturers launched budget level rigs, to get into tournament calibur glass rig, better be ready to sign a note of $30k and that is a cheapy. In fact, to get into a new 20′ rig from the big name manufacturers (Ranger, Triton, BassCat, etc) boat/motor/trailer will run you at least $45k. Throw in a 3/4 ton truck to pull it and you can see where Randy’s $100k+ in gear statement comes into perspective.
Check out the article on Bassfan.com, it is a good one.

Any avid smallie angler is certainly intimately familiar with the fluke. This bait is absolutely deadly on bass during multiple seasonal periods. I personally love to fish a fluke weightless when bass are actively chasing bait. They will absolutely smoke a fluke sometimes throwing the bait high in the air with the attack. This year Zoom has released a new take on the tried and true soft plastic jerk bait, the Swimming Super Fluke. They have added a sassy-shad type tail in lieu of the standard split tail. I cannot wait to try these out, I really want to see what that tail does when fished weightless with an erratic jerk style retrieve.

Zoom Swimming Super Fluke