Exclusive Interview: Jarrod Dean 2011 Top Bass Classic Winner and 2011 Team of the Year

Gerard Cocks and Jarrod Dean
2011 Top Bass Classic Champions
(Photo: Lures & Tours)

Ibassin got a chance to chat with the 2011 Top Bass Classic Champ Jarron Dean.

Jarrod Dean, Pickering, Ontario, and his fishing partner Gerard Cocks, Toronto, Ontario, blew away the crowd and competition on Sunday, September 18, with an astonishing two day limit of 36.86 lbs, backed by an amazing 20.87 lb, 5 bass limit on Sunday.  This is their second Classic win in a row and this win also secured the 2011 Team of the Year honours.

Jarrod and Gerard have been winning tournaments in Ontario at a staggering pace. This was their third win of 2011.  In conjunction with tournament fishing, Jarrod is owner of Punisher jigs. His jigs are an Ontario phenomena, particularly the mini jigs.  Jarrod and team mate Gerard know the intricacies of jig fishing like few others.

What follows is an in-depth look at how they won.

 “We had an amazing practice. Friday we could have weighted 24 lbs. That was just the fish we hooked, most were shaken off. Gerard also had one about 6 ¾ lbs along with so many smallmouth in the 4 pound range.” declares Jarrod.

Team of the Year & Classic Champs!
(Photo: Lures and Tours)

Saturday (Day 1) the fishing was tougher than practice. Numerous bass were lost; they seemed very temperamental. The majority of the day was spent fishing deep weedlines and shallow grass with rock and some dock fishing. Day 1’s catch totalled 15.97 lbs, enough for fifth place. Their creel had four largemouth and one good smallmouth. The fish were caught mostly on jigs and a few on crank baits.

Sunday (Day 2) was a day of emotions. “At 11:30am we had 4 lbs in the well and were ready to dump the bass and grab the trailer.” recalls Dean. In the afternoon, their luck changed and the fish started coming to the net.  Again, the bass were caught along deeper weedlines and shallow water. Bigger bass usually came from the shallow cover.

By mid-day the livewell held three 2 pounders and a pair of mini 13” bass. Deciding to try a shallow weedline, dotted with rocks, the action picked up. First they nailed a 2 pounder, then a 5 pounder that lifted their spirits, and then they caught another 2 pounder. With the creel quickly upgrading, the pair felt rejuvenated. Euphoria spike when Jarrod landed a 5 pound smallmouth. The two felt they really had a chance to win.

As quickly as their spirits soared, it crashed. “G (Gerard) has a monster on and lost it. It was well over 6 pounds!” lamented Jarrod. Heartbroken, Gerard needed 15 minutes just to shake off the misfortune. He felt he lost the Classic with that fish.  “Soon after, I had a big smallmouth on and the line broke!” explains Jarrod. After loosing two key big bass, the pair felt the Classic escaped them.

“We only had a few minute left to fish so we decided to try a bank that has six docks on it. On the second last dock, Gerard set the hook into a beast. He flung it into boat and dropped it in the live well, culled and we were off. I didn’t really get to see that big bass…we were in such a rush.” describes Dean

Gerard’s big bass weighted 5.7lbs, vaulting the day’s five bass limit weighed to 20.87lbs. This was enough to claim the championship and another accolade for Jarrod and Gerard.

Tackle

Cranking Tackle
Shimano Crucial Reaction Casting Rods and a borrowed Loomis 6’6” Cranking rod from Gerard. (Jarrod was unsure of the exact model) with Core Reels
Bait: Lucky Craft RC 1.5 and 2.5 and some Rapala

Jig Tackle
Shimano Cumara Casting Rod 7'7" Heavy and 7’ 4” Flipping rod paired with Shimano Curado 201 G Series reels. Line was 80 lb PowerPro for the big rod and 65 lb PowerPro on all the rest. 

Jigs: Jarrod’s Punisher mini jigs and regular flipping jigs in a range of colours. Gerard’s big bass came on a watermelon/green pumpkin jig and matching trailer.