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Stone, Reese Make Top 50 Cut
Lucky Craft Baits Dominant on Oneida Lake |
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>>>Marty Stone |
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Lucky Craft lures were dominant at this past weekend’s tournament, as Lucky Craft Pro, Marty Stone, among others, caught most of his fish on Lucky Craft product. “This was a Lucky Craft tournament for me, from start to finish,” said Stone, a Linden, N.C. resident. “It was probably the most dominant Lucky Craft tournament I’ve ever had. I caught all of my fish on Lucky Craft product – the Lucky Craft Slender Pointer 97 and 112 (in Aurora Green Perch, Ghost Minnow or American Shad), the Gunfish 115 in the frog color and the Sammy 100 in Ghost Minnow. The jerkbait was the dominant bite and the Slender Pointer 112 was my go-to bait. I probably weighed in 90 percent of all my fish on that bait.”
Stone had his best tournament finish of the year, ending his week Saturday in the 27th spot; but maybe even more important, he had fun. His total weight for the weekend was 40 pounds, 3 ounces, and Stone was definitely on some fish. “It was a fun week; I caught a lot of smallmouth,” Stone continued. “I probably missed the boat a little bit by not looking for some largemouths, but it’s hard when you’re catching one or two largemouth and tons of smallmouths. The first two days of this tournament were the most fun I’ve ever had in a tournament. Conservatively, I probably caught 50 fish a day. My hands are cut up, they’re blistered and I’ve got bandages everywhere, from sticking hooks in me to sticking fins in me.” It hasn’t been a paramount year for Stone, but he believes things have taken a turn for the better after his performance on Oneida Lake. “It felt nice to have a good tournament for a change,” Stone said. “It hasn’t been my best year and I’ve got some individual goals to strive for. I’m trying to get back to the top 50 and I want to make sure I re-qualify and make it to the majors for next year. I don’t want to let this year turn out to be a wash and I feel like my fishing has turned around.” Next weekend, Stone along with his fellow anglers, will travel further North to Plattsburgh, N.Y. to fish on the popular Lake Champlain. Stone knows it is decision time and is looking forward to the tournament. “There are a lot of decisions to be made at Lake Champlain,” Stone concluded. “Part of that lake is famous for largemouth fishing, but that particular section is an hour away on a smooth day, so it is decision time. You can take a gamble, not make the run and just hope you catch enough smallmouth to survive. It’s one of the biggest lakes we fish and it will be a phenomenal tournament.”
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>>>Skeet Reese |
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Skeet Reese, proud new father to little Courtney Reese, also made the top 50 and fished on Saturday. He seemed to be on a different pattern than most of the anglers this weekend, and it paid off for him. Reese finished in 43rd with a total weight of 38 pounds, 1 ounce. “Most people were fishing outside grass lines in about 10 to 15 feet of water,” Reese explained. “I actually found more fish shallow. Every time I went deep, I would catch smaller ones, and on the bank I’d catch the bigger ones. For me, I concentrated on 7 feet of water or less for most of the tournament, fishing inside grass lines around rock.” Like Stone, Lucky Craft was a prevalent part of Reese’s arsenal as well, and there was not a lack of fish.
“I had three baits this week that pretty much caught all my fish – a dropshot worm, a Lucky Craft Pointer 78 in a perch color and a Lucky Craft Sammy 100 in Chartreuse Shad,” Reese said. “Those were the three I had on deck for most of the day today (Friday) and yesterday. “I was trying to cover a lot of water and I really did have fun,” Reese added. “I caught more fish than I normally do, probably 20-25 fish a day.” Reese is a self-proclaimed largemouth fisherman, but had to admit the smallmouth fishing on Oneida Lake was pretty exciting. “You fight largemouth for a while and then they give up and you swing them in the boat,” Reese explained. “When you hook a smallmouth, it must think it is their last breath of air and water, and they just fight and fight until the very last second. The whole time you’re fighting them, you’re thinking the line is going to break or the fish is going to rip off. Smallmouth make the adrenaline flow quite a bit here.” Lake Champlain creates quite a predicament for Reese, as decision-making has his stomach in knots. Weather could be the determining factor, and Reese just hopes it is as plain as black and white. “For Champlain, I have to make a decision on whether I fish for smallmouth or largemouth,” Reese said. “I really don’t want to make my decision until I can see some long-term weather forecasts. If it looks like we’re going to get some wind and weather, then the largemouth fishing is out the window. The place I caught the largemouths last time is about a 60-mile run and on Lake Champlain, when it blows, it’s not a fun ride. “As much as I want to chase smallmouth and know you can do well there, largemouth are my strength and I know I have a tough decision to make. Hopefully the weather forecast will be clear enough to make the decision for me.”
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>>>Takahito Omori |
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Japan native, Takahiro Omori, didn’t have the tournament he had hoped for, missing the top 50 cut by mere ounces. After long and grueling hours of practice, Omori just couldn’t seem to find those big fish. “I practiced around 16 hours a day – about 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. – the first two days,” said a tired Omori. “The last day of practice I spent about 9 hours out there. Seems like all the fish I found just weren’t big enough. “I was fishing mainly the offshore hump around some milfoil, with the Lucky Craft Pointer 100 in Aurora Black. I only missed the cut by about 7 ounces, which is pretty frustrating.”
Omori finished his week in 55th with a two-day total of 24 pounds, 14 ounces. After a rough week, he will travel to Lake Champlain, where he just recently fished an FLW tournament. It didn’t turn out the way he wanted either, and Omori knows he’ll have to work hard next weekend, as he fights again with the difficult lake. “This weekend and my last tournament in Champlain I was fishing for smallmouths, so I’m thinking about fishing for largemouths this time,” Omori said. “Last time I fished in the south end of the lake. It’s a very long run and you have to get gas to make it back. It takes at least an hour to get down there if the lake is calm. If it’s rough, you can count on about three hours just to get down there. “I finished the worst I’ve ever finished in a tournament on Champlain. But I’m going to try and be optimistic about going up there next weekend. It will be a post-spawn pattern and hopefully I can find some largemouths to bring in and come in with a nice sack.” |
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>>>Joe Thomas |
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Joe Thomas was catching a lot of fish everyday, but also had trouble bringing in the weights needed to make the cut to 50. With a total weight of 24 pounds, 8 ounces, Thomas ended his tournament Friday in 61st. He too was fishing with Lucky Craft. “The majority of my fish were smallmouths and I caught most all of them on a Lucky Craft Slender Pointer 112 in Aurora Green Perch,” Thomas began. “I was fishing the outside grass lines, for the most part, and just worked back and forth. Every now and then, I would see a fish come up and chase the bait. That means they’re schooling and if you can get in that area and stay there, you can work at catching them. I caught a lot of fish everyday, but the key thing for me yesterday (Thursday), was I caught a couple key largemouths.” “Today I spent a lot of time trying to get those largemouths to bite and they just wouldn’t do it for me,” Thomas continued. “I think that might have been the kiss of death for me because a couple of three pounders would have made a huge difference. I had two main areas where I was pitching a jig in the grass. Some of the guys caught them (largemouths), but the only thing I can think is I just worked them over pretty well the first day. “Smallmouths on the other hand were everywhere out there,” Thomas added. “In hindsight, I wish I would have spent my day today culling through them to get the weight I needed to make a check.” Overall, Thomas wasn’t too disappointed with the tournament and is ready to head North to big Lake Champlain. “Overall, I don’t have any regrets. I didn’t lose any big fish,” Thomas concluded. “As for Champlain, I usually do pretty well there. I like that lake a lot. Where Oneida Lake fished really small, Lake Champlain is huge and has a lot of water to cover in three days. I’m looking forward to it.”
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>>> Kelly Jordon |
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Elusive largemouths also took their toll on Kelly Jordon, who came into the tournament with largemouths on the mind. “I came into this tournament thinking I really needed to look for largemouths, so that’s what I did,” Jordon said. “In practice, I spent a lot of time on smallmouths and found some stuff I knew I could go catch if I needed too. I really tried to focus on the largemouths, and I was catching them on a Lucky Craft topwater G-splash in American Shad, a Sammy and a Gunfish.” Jordon weighed in a two-day total of 24 pounds, 7 ounces, and was successful with Lucky Craft lures this weekend. But he lost a couple fish that could have made a difference.
“Today (Friday) the largemouth bite didn’t happen for me at all, so I went to the smallmouths,” Jordon explained. “I caught a few Carolina rigging and a couple throwing tubes. Finally I pulled out a Lucky Craft Slender Pointer 127 (in Ghost Minnow) and started catching them pretty good. I had the bites to have about 14 pounds, but had two nice size fish get off; a three-pounder and one close to four pounds. “Those were the only two fish I lost this whole tournament, but that’s hard, because if I could have brought them in, I’d be fishing tomorrow for sure. So I’m pretty disappointed, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.” Jordon is pleased with his season so far, as he sits 12th in the Angler of the Year points standings after his 63rd place finish in Oneida. Even though the largemouth bite may have hurt a bit in Oneida, Jordon plans to go after them again on Lake Champlain. “Going into Champlain next week, the smallmouth bite will be similar to here,”
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>>> Gerald Swindle |
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Again, Lucky Craft was the dominant bait for Gerald Swindle, as well. Swindle fell short this week after what has been a very successful season. “I threw mostly Lucky Craft this whole weekend,” Swindle said. “In practice, I caught most my fish on the Lucky Craft Slender Pointer 112 in American Shad. I was fishing the outside grass lines, and went in yesterday (Thursday) trying to do the same thing. I’d catch a few in the morning and then switch over to the Slender 112. I had some key bites yesterday and I lost them, so I really dug myself a hole.” Finishing in the 79th spot with a two-day weight of 22 pounds, 13 ounces, Swindle knew it would be hard to get out of the hole he had dug.
“Today (Friday), I went out trying to make up ground from yesterday,” Swindle continued. “I actually threw the Slender Pointer 127, a size bigger, thinking I might find a way to catch a big one. I caught a lot of fish jerking over grass with a pretty erratic action, but still couldn’t make up any ground. It’s like the harder I caught them, the better everyone else did too. These tournaments come down to getting off to a good start and I didn’t do that.” Swindle knows the importance of a good start and knows that will be key to a good finish on Lake Champlain. “Lake Champlain will be about the same as this tournament,” Swindle said. “I’ll go up there and try to catch them jerking, and maybe throw in a couple other techniques. I have to go to Champlain and get a good start. If you don’t do that on the first day, it’s really hard to come back.”
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Copyright 2005 LUCKY CRAFT, INC. |