Lucky Craft's Swindle and Reese Make Top 50 Cut

Plattsburgh, N.Y. (July 18, 2006) – New York lakes proved once again they are tough to conquer, as more than 100 anglers competed at the ninth stop on the Bassmaster Elite Series Tournament Trail, Champion’s Choice.

Gerald Swindle worked hard this week. It was a mental and physical challenge for him, as he weighed in limits everyday, but just couldn’t seem to catch the big ones he needed.

“I have never fished a tournament where I’ve been this tired and worn out, and it all has to do with how I chose to fish,” Swindle said. “I thought I was up for jerking the whole time, but I’m paying for it now. Today (Saturday) at 11:00 am, I was out of gas. I couldn’t get any more bites jerking.”

Swindle had a couple jerkbaits in his arsenal he believed would bring him within reach of the top 12.

“I caught fish during practice on the Lucky Craft Slender Pointer 112 in Table Rock Shad and Ghost Minnow,” Swindle said. I would throw the Table Rock Shad color in the morning, and switch to the Slender Pointer 127 in Ghost Minnow as the sun came up. I couldn't kill them necessarily, but I could catch 13 to 15 pounds and 12 to 15 fish a day.”

The jerkbait bite worked well for Swindle in practice and the first couple days of the tournament, but faded as the weekend progressed. After bringing in a 16 pound, 1 ounce bag on day one, Swindle couldn’t seem to find the big ones on Friday and Saturday, and had to switch it up a bit.

“This morning, I only caught one fish on a jerkbait, and then found one later this afternoon, but that was it,” Swindle explained. “It was a long day.

“I was also fishing a little jig on a break where the current was ripping around,” Swindle continued. “I would throw it in there and drag it around. Other than that today, I caught all my fish this week on the jerkbait. The wind was beating me so bad in some of my areas, it was all I could do to throw, break off and tie on. After a while, that gets really frustrating.”

Swindle finished day two with a 13-pound bag, and day three with 12 pounds, 5 ounces. With a total weight of 41 pounds, 6 ounces, he ended his week in 38th. With two more Elite Series tournament to go, Swindle currently sits 14th in Angler of the Year points standings.

Lucky Craft Pro and California native, Skeet Reese, also made the top 50 cut, but came up shy of the top 12. Sitting in 10th after day two, he had hoped to secure a spot to fish on Sunday, but it didn’t turn out that way, and he thinks he knows why.

“I never really targeted the largemouth bite much here,” Reese said. “I spent one day looking, but never really found anything, so I spent the last two days of practice looking for smallmouth. I had no idea the smallmouth bite was going to be so tough and the largemouth bite was going to be so good.

“I really missed a great opportunity to rally here and put myself back in the top 10,” Reese added. “I kind of knew I was in trouble because I really only had one spot I was fishing. I knew I could catch a pretty big sack there, but the cloud cover today killed me.”

The weather changed on Saturday, and as the clouds rolled in, Reese’s smallmouth bite was drastically affected.

“Taking off this morning, I saw the clouds rolling in and knew it was going to be slow through much of the morning,” Reese said. “I thought we would get some sun, but it never came out today. All week long, when the sun would come out, the smallmouth would bite. But today, with the clouds, I couldn’t get a bite. I’m still pretty green behind the ears when it comes to smallmouth fishing, and I wasn’t quite sure how to adapt and change with the conditions.”

Reese spent time trying to figure out the smallmouth pattern, and realized they don’t play fair. In fact, the smallmouth he was after seemed to do the opposite of the largemouth he normally catches.

“I think smallmouth, as a general rule, are sight feeders,” Reese continued. “So I think they are more aggressive when the sun is out, because they are always looking up for bait. Reaction baits work great in those conditions, but when it’s cloudy, they don’t chase as much. It’s the exact opposite of what we all learned as kids about fishing for largemouth. It’s amazing how different it was. Those fish just absolutely shut off with the cloud cover.”

Reese threw a lot of Lucky Craft this weekend, while the skies were clear, and finished his weekend in 41st with a total weight of 40 pounds, 1 ounce.

“Every fish I weighed in on Thursday and Friday, I caught on a Lucky Craft Pointer 100 in Chartreuse Shad,” Reese concluded. “Today, with the overcast skies, I couldn’t get the fish to come up and chase the jerkbaits, so I caught the little ones I brought in on a dropshot and a tube.”

 

There’s something to be said for having fun in a tournament, even when the finish wasn’t exactly what was expected. That’s exactly what Lucky Craft Pro, Joe Thomas did – have fun.

“You can get beat and still have fun,” Thomas said. “I’ve caught a lot of fish the last couple of weeks and it’s been awesome. I’ve been catching a lot of fish on a jerkbait and have been having a lot of fun with it.”

Thomas, like Reese, was also throwing a lot of Lucky Craft on Lake Champlain. It was working so well for him, he actually gave a couple friends some bait to try.

“On Champlain, my key bait was a Lucky Craft Slender Pointer 112 in Aurora Green Perch,” Thomas said. “This was the bait the fish wanted the most, no question about it. I was fishing an area with a couple of other guys around me and had to give a Slender Pointer to one of them. That’s how good that bait was out there. It’s a great bait this time of year, and a great color. It really looks like it’s alive in the water. The fish just can’t resist it.”

Many believed Oneida and Lake Champlain would fish similar, but Thomas found some differences between the two this weekend.

“At Oneida, the fish were on really defined grass lines without any contour changes,” Thomas explained. “Here on Champlain, the fish were on scattered grass on top of humps. If you had a hump or ridge with light, scattered grass coming out of about 16 or 17 feet of water, that’s where you would find the fish. They were coming out of 9 to 11 feet of water and would hit the bait about 4 or 5 feet beneath the surface.”

Thomas did fall short a bit, finishing in 61st with a two-day weight of 25 pounds, not enough to make the cut to 50. However, Thomas is still optimistic and looking forward to his next chance to fish.

“I did catch a lot of fish,” Thomas concluded. “I fell short a little bit, but I do think I caught all the fish in the areas I was fishing. Sometimes you have to look at the positives. If I would have caught a break this weekend, I might be smiling a little bit more, but it really was a good weekend.”

>>> Kelly Jordon

Right behind Thomas was pro, Kelly Jordon, who finished with a two-day weight of 24 pounds, 13 ounces. Jordon made the decision to fish for largemouth, a choice many of his Lucky Craft counterparts decided against. It was a long run to Ticonderoga, where Jordon decided to do most of his largemouth fishing.

“I wanted to fish down there (Ticonderoga), and made the choice to stay there after the first two days of practice,” Jordon began. “I just didn’t get the bites I needed. Yesterday (Thursday) I didn’t get any big bites, but caught a lot of keepers. Today I caught a 5-pounder, but then only had 2-pounders to go with it.

“It was a tough deal to run that far and only get a few good bites. I thought originally I could get two big bites each day, but as it turns out, I only got one in two days.”

Jordon missed the cut to 50 by about a pound, which was frustrating for him. It seemed the fish he needed were just too hard to find.

“The water has been really high and it’s not matted very well down near Ticonderoga,” Jordon explained. “I guess that killed off the grass. The fish were still there, but the big ones were really hard to find. Some guys found them, but the big 20-pound bags weren’t coming from down there.”

Jordon caught some smallmouth on Lucky Craft product. He knows he could have fished for smallmouth and not made the long run down south, but took the chance on the largemouth bite anyway.

“I threw the Lucky Craft Pointer 127 in Ghost Sunfish or Ghost Minnow and the Flash Minnow 110 in American Shad, and caught some smallmouth on them,” Jordon said. “What makes it frustrating is I could have stayed closer and fished for smallmouth, and I guarantee I would have brought in more weight. But, even doing that, I wasn’t going to win, and I don’t want to finish second. So I decided to make the run and take my chances on the largemouth down there.”

It’s been a tough couple of weeks for Lucky Craft’s Takahiro Omori. As a self-proclaimed shallow-water fisherman, these deeper fisheries have been taking a toll.

“It’s hard for me to pinpoint where the fish are on natural lakes like Champlain, especially in the summertime,” Omori said. “We’ve had some deep-water tournaments lately, and I try, but it’s just not been good enough.

“I was fishing a point and trying to catch some smallmouth with a Lucky Craft Pointer 78 in Ghost Minnow, with red Gamagatsu hooks on the front and back. I know the fish are in there, but I just couldn’t find them this week.”

Omori finished 85th with a total weight of 22 pounds, 12 ounces, but may have a chance for redemption next weekend. He will make his way south to Lake Wylie, where he won the Bassmaster Classic three years ago. Omori knows this lake, but also knows not to take it too lightly.

“I have very good memories from Lake Wylie and I’m going to keep thinking positively and hope for the best in North Carolina,” Omori said. “I’m excited to go back, but I have to be careful too. I don’t know yet, but the water in Lake Wylie could be a lot different than the last time I fished it. I hope to find some success with the Lucky Craft BDS series.

“It seems like everywhere I go this time of year, I have to fish deep,” Omori added. “I won on Wylie because I could fish shallow, which is what I prefer to do. Lake Wylie could fish much deeper this time of year, so I have to be cautious and have an open mind.”

Provided by Cox Group

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