2014 BASS Northern Open Lake St. Clair Day 2: Balog Still Leads Over Smallmouth fest.!

Canadian brothers sit 3rd and 6th.

By Louie Stout

SEP 5, 2014

DETROIT – Joe Balog’s hopes of running the table in the Bass Pro Shops Northern Open #3 presented by Allstate could be blowin’ in the Lake St. Clair wind on Saturday.

Balog slapped an impressive 25 pounds, 2 ounces of smallmouth bass onto the scales Friday, expanding his first-day lead to nearly four pounds.

But a forecast calling for a turnaround in the wind – from the southwest to the northwest – is fret-worthy fodder.

Balog steals the day with 25 pound bag.
(Photo: James Overstreet BASS)

“I’m really fishing something ‘off the wall’ and I’m concerned what the wind change might do to my fish,” the Harrison Twp, Mich. angler said.

Fellow Michigan angler Chad Pipkens, anchored in second place with 43 pounds, 10 ounces, expects the wind change to benefit him greatly and give him more time to fish his most productive area.

“I’ve had to leave it early every day this week because the wind made it difficult to fish,” he said. “If I could get a couple more hours there, I’ve got a shot.”

The field will be cut to 12 on Saturday. Canadian Chris Johnston is third with 43-12, Michigander Ben Nielsen is fourth with 42-13 and Elite Series Pro Fletcher Shryock of Ohio is fifth with 41-14.

Johnston’s brother, Cory, is sixth with 41-14.

2014 BASS Northern Open Lake St. Clair Day 1: Balog Sacks Lead with 22-8!

Balog leads over a strong local showing.

By Louis Stout

bass press release

DETROIT — The home-field advantage played a big role in the first round of the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Northern Open presented by Allstate on Lake St. Clair Thursday.

Joe was one of 11 who cracked 20 pounds.
(Photo: James Overstreet BASS)

Two local anglers jumped to the head of the pack, with formidable pro Joe Balog of Harrison Township, Mich., sacking 22 pounds, 8 ounces, good for a 4-ounce lead over fellow Harrison Township angler Andrew Smith.

Canadian Chris Johnston is third with 21-12, while Bassmaster Elite Series pros Fletcher Shryock of Ohio and Michigander Chad Pipkens are tied for fifth with 21-6.

In addition to valuable prizes going to the winner of this final leg of the Northern Open is a berth in next February’s Bassmaster Classic to be held on Lake Hartwell of out Greenville, S.C., providing the winner has competed in two previous 2014 Northern Opens.

Larry Nixon Wins the 2012 Walmart FLW Tour Open on St. Clair

26.Aug.2012 by Brett Carlson
FLW Press Release
WOODHAVEN, Mich. – With his spot in bass fishing history already secure, it would be easy for Larry Nixon to coast for a few years before riding off into retirement. But Nixon simply isn’t wired that way; the competitive fire still burns. This week at the Walmart FLW Tour Open on Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair, Nixon clinched his fourth FLW Tour win and his second on Lake St. Clair – a week before his 62nd birthday no less.
After a poor practice, Nixon was apprehensive about his chances to even cash a check. He’d go hours without a bite, but every time he’d return to one particular area, he’d get bit and then immediately leave. What Nixon didn’t know was that this 1/4-mile stretch of St. Clair, located on the south end near the Belle River, was absolutely loaded with giant smallmouths.

2012 Walmart FLW Tour Open Lake Erie Day 3: Legendary Nixon Takes Lead Win Big Sack

25.Aug.2012 by Brett Carlson
FLW Press Release
WOODHAVEN, Mich. – Bucking the normal trend of diminishing weights, Larry Nixon has improved his catch each day of the Walmart FLW Tour Open. After sitting in relative obscurity on day one with 17 pounds, Nixon rallied on day two with nearly 23 pounds. Today he upped the ante to 23 pounds, 11 ounces and is one day away from his second tour title on Lake St. Clair.

Larry is trying to capture his 3rd national tournament
on St. Clair. Can he do it fishing amongst several other
top 10 anglers?
(Photos: FLW)

After a relatively poor practice, Nixon was pleasantly surprised to learn his one area that had potentially was actually loaded with giant smallmouths. This spot, a 1-square-mile stretch of water, is essentially a flat with a clean, hard bottom that has scattered rock and grass. It also possesses a considerable amount of baitfish – namely perch and emerald shiners. The area is so big crowding is not an issue, but each of the top three pros are fishing it, as well as ninth-place Shinichi Fukae and 10th-place Chris McCall.
“In practice I really thought I stunk,” said Nixon. “But you never know what you have until you fish it hard. Today was one of those great days. I got on my best waypoint and they were just loaded there. I caught them and caught them, and I was getting concerned because they were mostly 2- to 2 1/2-pounders. Finally I caught one real big one, and another that was pretty big. It really wasn’t as good as yesterday to be honest.”
Nixon has fittingly named this spot “awesome” on his GPS and said it produces best right away in the morning. In fact, the General said he had close to 20 pounds by 8 a.m. By the end of the day, he had caught roughly 25 keepers.

2012 Walmart FLW Tour Open Lake Erie Day 2: McDonald Take Control with St. Clair Bass

McDonald sacks 25-pound limit on day two of FLW Tour Open

24.Aug.2012 by Brett Carlson
FLW press release

TRENTON, Mich. – Lake Erie stole the spotlight on day one of the Walmart FLW Tour Open as the top three pros all opted for the big lake. Day two was a different story as one particular area of Lake St. Clair delivered three giant stringers – the heaviest belonging to Indiana pro Bill McDonald.
Each of the last two days McDonald has started with just one rod on his deck – a drop-shot rig. What he’s doing isn’t anything special – just dragging around plastics in 14 to 16 feet of water. But the area he’s fishing is more than special.

Bill is on them! He got biggest today on the first cast.
(Photos: FLW)

“I just had a phenomenal day,” said McDonald. “The biggest fish in my bag I caught on my very first cast.”
That 5-pound, 10-ounce smallmouth anchored McDonald’s 25-pound, 2-ounce limit and tied as the heaviest bass of the day in the Pro Division.
McDonald said he basically fished one spot and was done at 10:30 this morning, but stuck around to halfway guard the area, which is essentially a flat with scattered rock and grass.
“I would say it’s a 200-yard stretch of water that I’m just drifting through and hitting different waypoints. I’m sharing the area with Larry Nixon but it’s not like we’re bow to bow or anything. Today there were lots minnows and perch in the area and I think that’s helping.”
McDonald has been executing almost flawlessly despite the sheer strength of these giant smallmouths. To date, he’s lost just one fish.

2012 Walmart FLW Tour Open Lake Erie Day 1: LE Leads as Big Bags Abound

Arizona pro sacks 22-14 to lead FLW Tour Open

23.Aug.2012 by Brett Carlson

TRENTON, Mich. – As expected, over two thirds of the field at the Walmart FLW Tour Open pointed their boats north Thursday morning towards Lake St. Clair and the St. Clair River. But the few that ventured south to Lake Erie found exactly what they were looking for – giant smallmouths in the 6-pound class. In fact, each of the top three pros opted for Erie instead of St. Clair.

Le lands big smallies to take lead in very close day 1.
(Photos: FLW outdoors)

While the bites on Erie weren’t as numerous, the average size was impressive. Leading the pack is veteran pro Thanh Le, who caught the biggest smallmouth of his life today. His 6-11 brute was also the heaviest bass of the day and it anchored his 22-pound, 14-ounce limit.

Le went to his first spot, which was his best spot in practice, and was disappointed to only find catfish and drum. His fortune changed at spot No. 2 as the 6-11 bit. He moved again, caught two or three more and steadily climbed until he had a limit in the Ranger at 11:30 a.m.

“I went to Erie because I hate grass fishing; I prefer targeting rocks and structure,” said Le. “On Erie, they’re either there or they’re not.”

Le said he visited seven places and essentially hit all the productive water he has. Most of these areas have water 20 to 30 feet deep.

“I’m fishing tubes and drop-shots, barely dragging it along the bottom. I am not getting a lot of bites, but the ones I'm getting are big.”