It feels pretty good to get out of New York with a great finish. Anytime you can make a top 12 in a field of such talented anglers is something to be proud of. The Elite Series is everything in this sport and my main goal each season is to get there. Oneida was a tough one, unexpectedly.
I think we all thought it would be a slugfest, but the algae bloom seem to have had the fish a bit of a funk. I personally did not have a very promising practice and the only spot I had had to last for 3 days as there was no plan B. My big regret was not making the appropriate adjustments to be able to move up on the final day. But that is the way it goes sometimes and I’m now moving my attention to the next tournament on Lake erie in Sandusky, Ohio
I caught fish at Oneida on a Reaction Innovations Little Dipper in Guntersville Shad color, using 7lb fluorocarbon line on an Abu Garcia Revo spinning reel and an Enigma rod. Finishing the tournament in 12th, the little Dipper played a big time role for me as the fish were very finicky and you almost had to be a magician to get them to bite. I found one area where it held a large school of smallmouth and so did several other anglers but the Little Dipper on the above mentioned set up prove to get me bites when others were struggling. There was several different patterns going on and you could catch them on several different patterns … within reason of course. The water conditions were clear in places and colored in some due to a heavy algae bloom so color choices obviously varied a little, but the baits remained the same. As far as locations go, again this lake has an abundance of fish but they are not everywhere. My main target was a long grass bed that had a hole in the middle of it that was about 30ft. deep. This is truly a wide open fishery and it is absolutely gigantic, with a healthy and strong population of fish.
Lake Erie is the next and final stop for the 2015 Northern Opens. I am in a good position after the first two tournaments and can’t wait to get to another smallmouth venue and hope to have a great ending to a season that has been very humbling so far.
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