Dave Chong, professional bass tournament angler, spoke at our August 21st OCAA club meeting.

Notes From Meeting

Dave spoke about his and Doug Brownridge's back to back to back bass tournament wins. This is quite an accomplishment considering how difficult it is for any team to even have any 2 wins in a tournament series in one season.

In tournaments, you have to believe that you can win 1st place. If you aim for a top 10 finish then that is what you will accomplish.

Drop shotting is not just for smallmouth bass. It works for largemouth bass also. When drop shotting use a flurocarbon leader or use flurocarbon as your main line. Strike Zone baits work well on a drop shot set up especially in goby infested lakes.

Fluorocarbon leaders are a must in clear water when you are using lures (e.g. jerkbaits) where you may pause the retrieve (suspend) your lure. When you stop retrieving your lure, the fish can see your line. Spinnerbaits don't need a flurocarbon leader since the lure is constantly being retrieved and the fish doesn't have a chance to see the line. Tie flurocarbon leaders to braided line using a Seaguar knot.

 Pro anglers use Berkley Gulp Alive! baits. They are better than live bait. Consider using Berkley Gulp Alive! Spray on your lures.

Dave believes that bass are getting harder to catch in lakes closer to the GTA due to heavy fishing pressure. The recreational angler is having a harder time catching the much sought after walleye for food. They are now targeting bass instead of walleye. Recreational anglers are targeting live released bass since tournament live release boats usually dump all the fish in one spot. Largemouth bass will stay close to where they were released where as smallmouth bass will swim back to the spot where it was caught. Bass tournaments cause fish to be relocated in another part of the lake when they are live released.