You can read all about it at http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/tournaments/elite/news/story?page=b_ES_SunshineShowdown_Duke_ShawRedemption

The weather starts getting cooler, the leaves start changing colours and then most people start thinking about putting the boats away and getting ready for ice fishing.  Well, the fall time is a great time of year to catch some monster bass.  Both small and largemouth are active and are strapping on the feed bag for the long winter months.  One of my favourite lakes in Eastern Ontario is Big Rideau Lake.

                Big Rideau Lake is part of the Rideau system which runs from Ottawa all the way to Kingston.  The section that I’m talking about in this system is between Portland and Smiths Falls.  These past two weekends (Oct 16^th & 23^rd) I was out, the sun was shining, the lake was calm and the bass didn’t disappoint.  We were fishing in 25- 40 feet of water using Okuma Trio spinning reel spooled with 8 lbs P-Line fluorocarbon on 6’9”” Med light  action Okuma Concept C3 drop shot rod.  The technique of choice is a drop shot.  Using a Strike Zone slammer on ½ oz pencil weights with a 1/0 Mustad Ultra Point Demon circle hook made it possible to catch fish like these.

3lbs Big Rideau smallie caught on a drop shot slammer

Water temperatures are in the mid to low 50s right now making the smallmouth rather aggressive.  In a matter of 4 hours we landed over 20 decent size smallmouth.  The majority of the smallmouths were coming off rocks with little to no weed cover what so ever.  As we were using our drop shots you can feel the bottom and the minute that we found weeds the bite would stop.  We would continue around the rock hump and you can feel only the bottom the bass were there.  Using a heavy drop shot weight, in our case ½ oz it helped us to keep that weight on the bottom to feel the contours of the structure we were fishing.  The key to a successful drop shot was for the weight to have constant contact with the bottom.  You didn’t want to hop that weight along.  We wanted to only move the bait and not the weight.  When we were able to do that, along with being away from the weeds is when the action got hot. 

However, smallmouths are not the only bass that are getting ready for the winter.  Largemouth bass are feeding as well.  This one was caught on a 4” Berkley Jigger Craw on a 3/8 oz shakey head.

Kim with a nice fall Big Rideau Largemouth

The 3 lbs largemouth came from 20 feet of water just off a deep weed line.  Once again finesse fishing is what used to catch this one.  The slow subtle fall of the bait is what trigger this one the bite.  Also, this time of year the largemouth will be cruising the shallows.  If you can find some weeds, pads etc. don’t be afraid to get in there with a frog or flipping jig to try and get those largemouth out of cover.

For more information about Big Rideau Lake or to book a trip, contact Peter Larmand at www.peterlarmand.com

Sitting at home one evening contemplating whether or not to go down into the basement into my tackle room, or as my wife calls it “a mini Bass Pro Shops” to work on tackle management and my annual cleaning of the reels. However, before heading down I decided to check my e-mails. I received an e-mail from a young angler who has some experience fishing local club events and does relatively well in them but wants to make the step to the bigger larger tournament circuits. I get asked this question at shows regularly and I thought that I would write about making the jump to the larger circuits and what are some of the other questions that I’m asked when answering the original question.

The first question during this conversation usually goes something like this “I have a small boat, do I need a bigger boat to fish the bigger circuits?” Well, the answer to that is it depends on what circuits you are doing. If you are fishing a circuit like the BASS Opens or the FLW Berkley Series which are multiple day events on much larger bodies of water like Lake Erie, Lake Champlain, Potomac River, Santee Cooper Reservoir, the list goes on and on. These bodies of water are large where you can end up going 10, 20 plus miles to your fishing spot to get away from the traffic. Meaning with the larger events, the fields are larger. Anywhere from 150 to 200 boat fields and along with these larger bodies of water come rougher conditions. Unlike the weekend warriors, tournament anglers do not have the luxury of only fishing in nice, calm sunny days. You could be out fishing on Lake Erie or Lake Champlain with 4 to 6 foot waves. So the quickest answer is yes you will need to a larger boat. 19 to 21 foot boats with 200 plus horsepower motors become the norm for fishing these events.

The other thing that anglers do not factor in when contemplating making the move up is the increase in financial outlay as well as time away from home. These events are not all within an hour from your home. Therefore, traveling expenses will increase. Lodging/accommodations, fuel for the boat and truck will increase or be incurred as you are now further away from home. Which is something else to factor in during your decision process on whether or not to make the jump to the larger event circuits?

I digressed a little here. However, the above is all true but the one thing that I wanted to talk about is the buying of excessive tackle. I have seen in the past and it happens a lot is anglers spending a pile of money on tackle that is usually totally unnecessary. Having been a tackle store owner in the past I have seen anglers that want to fish the larger team events go and spend a lot of money on tackle because they think that is what they need to do. The key for any angler is to perfect a technique before moving onto another one. What I like to do is when I am out on the water I will bring specific bait with me and I will force myself to only use that particular type of bait the entire day. For example, pitching/flipping, I will bring only my flipping stick and nothing but jigs with me. I will go and flip and pitch all day long so that I can become familiar with what a jig does once it’s in the water. As well what it feels like when I get a strike and try to imagine what the jig is doing in the water every time that I move it. Then and only then once I have figured out what the jig is doing and have a firm understanding will I try a different technique, say drop shotting or throw a swimbait.

So to summarize, if you are going purchase new tackle make sure you become familiar with it’s application and effectiveness before going out and spending a pile of money on bait and/or technique that you are not comfortable or confident in throwing.

The spinner bait is probably my most favourite lure to throw and the conditions above mean that I would be fishing my strengths. Fishing your strengths is what you want to be able to do whenever possible. It’s when you fish with more confidence and that usually means catching more fish.

With the ripple in the water it limits light penetration so the bass will be out cruising looking for baitfish. This will allow me to fish horizontally and since there is very little light penetration I want to keep my bait higher up within the water column. Meaning I want my bait within the top 1 to 2 foot range.

Another thing that I want my spinner bait to do is create as much vibration as possible. I can do this by doing a couple of things. I can fish with a single Colorado blade as opposed to a Willow or Indiana blade. I can also change to a larger blade say a number 5 Colorado blade instead of a number 3. Another thing that I can do if I’m using a willow leaf blade is to spread apart the top arm of the spinner bait. This will also generate more vibration. However, you will get better vibration from a single Colorado blade.

Now you might be asking yourself, what colour of blade and skirt is best for these types of conditions? I like to use dark colours during these conditions. Blues, blacks have worked best for me. I would even change my blade to a painted blade. I specifically will use the Booyah Moon Talker spinner bait in a ¾ oz black and blue with a black painted single number 4 colorado blade. If I have to, I will change the blade as necessary.

By putting some of the ideas mentioned in this article the next time that you are out fishing in these conditions, you will increase your chances of turning a miserable day to a good day on the water. See you on the water.

By Peter Larmand June 18, 2007