Cory Johnston Wins the 2021 Basspro.com Bassmaster Northern Open on the St. Lawrence River!

Cory Johnston sack 15 mega smallmouth for 78lbs!
(Photo: BASS)

By David A. Brown, BASS Press Release

CLAYTON, N.Y. — Saving the best for last, Bassmaster Elite Series angler Cory Johnston turned in his biggest bag of the week, 27 pounds, 6 ounces, and won the Basspro.com Bassmaster Northern Open at the St. Lawrence River/1000 Islands with a three-day total of 78-0.

Edging Day 1 leader Cal Climpson by 13 ounces, Johnston won the top prize of $43,433. Hailing from Cavan, Ontario, Canada, he said local knowledge proved invaluable.

“It was a great week and I had a lot of fun,” Johnston said. “I have a lot of spots out on Lake Ontario. I only pre-fished for about two days out here; I just know this place so well, but it’s burnt me so many times.

“I caught a ton of fish and I caught a lot of big fish. It just goes to show you what an incredible fishery we have here, so we have to look after this place.”

The first two days, Johnston kept himself in the hunt with limits of 25-7 and 25-3 that put him in fifth and second place. His final-round limit was the event’s second-heaviest, behind Climpson’s Day 1 bag of 27-7.

Johnston’s win provided a much-needed dose of redemption, after what looked to be a run at the victory ended with a fourth-place finish at mid-July’s Farmers Insurance Bassmaster Elite at the St. Lawrence River.

Les Zacny and Cal Climpson Win 2019 FLW CANADA Cup with 68.36lbs.

Big smallies key to win

By Luigi De Rose

Climpson and Zacny a second generation of tournament wins.
(Photo: FLW Canada)

Les Zacny and Cal Climpson claimed the win in great fashion with three twenty-pound days besting second place Copper Gallant and Danny McGarry by 8-pounds. Les and Cal claim the key was to seek deep water, rocks and a source of current to find their way to the big win. Both first and second place teams will represent Canada in the FLW Championship.  

	#	ANGLER	CO-ANGLER	DAY 1	DAY 2	DAY 3	TOTAL
	1	LES ZACNY	CAL CLIMPSON	22.48	21.34	24.54	68.36
	2	COOPER GALLANT	DANNY MCGARRY	18.38	16.8	19.82	55
	3	BOB IZUMI	DARREN IZUMI	21.48	16.52	16.44	54.44
	4	DARCY ASSELSTINE	BEN ASSELSTINE	17.62	20.42	16.28	54.32
	5	JEFF MISFUD	JOE CASCANETTE	17.7	18.74	16.28	52.72
	6	JACK MORGAN	ANDREW MERCER	18.38	16.1	18.12	52.6
	7	JASON GREENTREE	FERN CAMPEAU	17.44	17.18	17.9	52.52
	8	MORGAN CIGINI	SCOTT SPENCER	16.56	17.36	18.5	52.42
	9	JASPER YU ZHANG	FRANK PERCIASEPE	19.32	20.08	12.8	52.2
	10	PATRICK ZAJDEL	SPENCER GAFFNEY	17.58	16.22	18	51.8

Canadian Mark Cavanaugh Wins B.A.S.S. Nation Eastern Regional!

Giant last day limit secures win.
BASS PRESS RELEASE
Canadian Mark Cavanaugh caught his winning catch of largemouth within the first half hour of fishing this morning to win the Academy Sports + Outdoors B.A.S.S. Nation Eastern Regional presented by Magellan Outdoors.
Cavanaugh, of Port Perry, Ontario, won the tournament after three days with a total weight of 45 pounds, 3 ounces. A 5-bass limit weighing 19-7 anchored his Day 3 catch.
"They were feeding fast and furious soon as I arrived," said Cavanaugh, a member of the Port Perry Bassmasters. "It didn't slow down until after I caught my limit and then the fish just shut down."
William Lortz II of Rochester N.Y., finished second with 41-7. Jason Vaughn of Bridgeville, Del., took third with 40-12. Casey Smith of Macdeon, N.Y., was fourth with 40-7. Mike Wolfenden of Warwick, R.I., was fifth with 39-11.

Fishing deep and shallow sets Mark up for success. (Photo BASS)

With exception of Smith those anglers also caught the heaviest individual weights for their states. Each top placing boater and non-boater from the 17 states and Ontario competing in the tournament advanced to the Academy Sports + Outdoors B.A.S.S. Nation Championship presented by Magellan Outdoors. Date and location of the championship will be announced soon.
Jon Robia of Norawood, N.Y., won the non-boater division with a total weight of 25-10. John Bernard of McKees Rocks, Pa., took second with 25-3 and Matt Becker of Finleyville, Pa., was third with 25-2.
Cavanaugh's fishing area improved daily as evidenced by his scorecard. On Day 1 the Canadian returned to the scales with a limit weighing 10-8 to put him in 52nd place. The next day he moved to 10th based on the lift provided by a limit weighing 15-4. He finished the tournament with the limit weighing 19-4.

2015 Bassmaster Elite Lake St. Clair Day 3: Brandon Palaniuk Extends Lead as St. Clair Group Shines!

St. Clair performs as river dies!

By Thomas Allen

BASS PRESS RELEASE

DETROIT — After a poor start to the season, Brandon Palaniuk of Rathdrum, Idaho, claimed that paying attention to the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings had been negatively affecting how he approached each day.
He hasn’t checked the points in a couple of months. He’s simply been swinging for the fences.
His approach is clearly working to his advantage — he weighed 20 pounds of smallmouth bass Saturday to retain the lead going into the championship round in the Plano Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair.

Brandon was the only one to catch big river bass. (Photo: BASS)

His three-day total was pushed to 64-5, keeping exactly 2 pounds between him and the second-place angler, Todd Faircloth.
“I started my day in the same place where I managed to catch three nice fish and one that I hoped to cull out later,” said the five-time GEICO Bassmaster Classic contender. He hooked, fought and boated all four bass on Bassmaster Live, an innovative video service that allows visitors to Bassmaster.com watch the leaders fish in real time.
“I left a little earlier, based on what I learned from the past couple days. It seems that the bite is shut off by noon, and I knew there were quality fish in St. Clair that could help me wrap up a limit.”
Palaniuk believes that to seal the victory Sunday, he’ll need his hot spot near Lake Huron — a 50-minute boat ride from Lake St. Clair — to produce another limit of 4-pound bass.
Coming in under the radar to take over second, Faircloth weighed five bass for 21-11 Saturday, including the Bass Pro Shops big Bass of the day, a 6-3 smallmouth. He has a three-day total of 62 pounds, 5 ounces.

2015 Bassmaster Elite Lake St. Clair Day 2: Brandon Palaniuk Grabs Lead as Crowds Tightens.

Bluewater Bridge area clusters leaders.

By Thomas Allen

bass press release

DETROIT — There was ample position shifting on Friday’s leaderboard during Day 2 of the Plano Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair, proving that some dreams never die, and persistence can pay off.

Brandon fishing in crowds but he's finding
the bigger ones.
(Photo: BASS)

After a strong showing on Thursday, Brandon Palaniuk stayed on the fish and weighed five smallmouth for 21 pounds, 1 ounce. With a two-day total of 44-5, Palaniuk claimed the top honors, including the Bass Pro Shops Big Bass, a 5-11 smallie.

“I caught my two biggest fish right away — both over 5 pounds — and I thought for sure I was about to catch the biggest limit of smallies I’ve ever weighed,” he said. “I managed to find another 3-pounder, but then the bite just died.”

The two-time Elite Series champion said he returned to the same spot a couple of times during the day to check if the fish had returned, but they hadn’t. He decided to run back into St. Clair where he managed to catch his fifth bass to fill out his limit with just minutes to go.

“The wind direction changed midday; the last couple of days it was out of the north, which pushes a lot of water from Huron into the river," he said. "I believe the current that gets created is key to those specific fish being on that spot. When the wind turned almost 180 degrees, the current was reduced.”

2015 Rayovac FLW Series Northern Division Lake Erie Day 1: Rhode Cracks 23-10 for Lead!

Big water equals big smallmouth. Johnston closer to AOY.

by David A. Brown

FLW PRESS RELEASE

He was hoping to preserve a special spot for later in the event, but when Jared Rhode realized he had to hit the sweet stuff, the fat smallmouth therein did not let him down. Sacking up a limit of 23 pounds, 10 ounces the pro from Port Clinton, Ohio, grabbed the day-one lead at the Rayovac FLW Series Northern Division event on Lake Erie.

“I have a spot where I’ve been catching quite a few fish, but I went there this past weekend and they weren’t there,” Rhode says. “I wanted to try to avoid fishing there today, in hopes that I could save my best spot.

Local knowledge propels Jared Rhode into lead.
(Photo: FLW)

“I fished elsewhere and I only had three bass, so I went to my best spot and caught them very quickly. There seems to be quite a few fish there and there are no other boat around, so I’m very excited about tomorrow.”

Fishing in the general vicinity of Pelee Island, Rhode’s first spot was shallow — about 10 feet. According to Rhode, this spot had kicker potential, but the fish didn’t cooperate.

“I only fished where I started for 10 to15 minutes because I could tell they weren’t there,” he says. “Once I went to my main spot offshore, I had my limit by 9 o’clock in the morning and I had most of my weight [shortly thereafter].

Long Rods and Short String. Flipping and pitching undercuts for largemou...

Outdoor writer Don Sangster joins Luigi De Rose of IBASSIN.com for a day of bass fishing. A recent hot spell had the shallow largemouth bass biting. The pair pitched and flipped 1/2oz Jackall and Ultra Tungsten jigs and 5" Phenix tubes into the cane and undercuts. Undercuts are hollowed out section of the bog that shallow bass love. These dark caverns can hold a lot of bass.

The Frosts Ice Over Bass Pro Shop Competition Part 2

Welcome back to IBASSIN’s exclusive interview with Simon Frost. He and his wife Melanie recently captured the 2013 Bass Pro Shop Lake Simcoe Open.

By Luigi De Rose

Simon and Melanie with one hell of a
big trophy!
(Photo: Derek Strub)

IBASSIN

You stated the smallmouth were in a state of transition. What was your most productive depth?

Simon

We found the best areas were 28 to 32 feet of water. The bass were right on that break line. The Humminbird Side Imaging would pick up the bass and if we drifted over the break, you could see the bass on the depth finder.

The side imaging was really important for keeping on the break lines. Those bass were right on that line and we had to follow it closely.

IBASSIN

You explained that the weather made fishing difficult. Did you fish are variety of places or just stay in one area?

Simon

We just fished one place that we knew very well. Actually, we didn’t get a chance to pre-practice for this tournament. We had booked the week off but couldn’t get away. That is what made the win so surprising because we didn’t get to practice at all.

IBASSIN

What were the best techniques?

Simon

Tubes were the only bait working.  We tried a few other things but tubes are what worked. We did try drop shotting for some suspended bass but they never bit. We casted far from the boat and slowly popped the tube back. All the tubes were rigged on 1/2oz jigheads.

The area we fished had no bait. We didn’t mark any bait and we only marked a few suspended bass. Most of the bass were right on the bottom. We think they were just inactive.

IBASSIN

What gear were you using? Please be specific and don’t worry about plugging any sponsors.

The Stradic Ci4 reel has become very common to serious
bass anglers. They Simon loves how well balanced it is with
the Cumara rods.
and 

Simon

The tube set up was all Shimano. The rod was a 7’6” Cumara medium action-spinning rod.  The reel was a Shimano 2500 Stradic Ci4.  We spooled up with 5lb test Power Pro braid and then a 12lb test XPS Fluorocarbon leader. That long rod was really helpful at casting great distances and getting that bait away from boat.

IBASSIN

Why are you using 5lb test braided line? Why so light?

Simon

I know, 5lb test is really light but it makes a difference. The thin line has less drag on the water and help the bait sink. We have never broken the braid on any bass. Our largest smallmouth on that 5lb test Power Pro has been about 7lbs plus we have landed numerous drum in the 15 pound range.

IBASSIN

I have been meaning to ask this question for a while. I have noticed that you have a Minn Kota Terrova Trolling motor. Why are you using that style of motor?

The Terrova offers many features
ideal for fishing deep water. It also
is matched to many Humminbird units. 

Simon

I switched to the Terrova because is has the I-PILOT feature. One of the neatest features is the spot lock. It works with GPS to hold you on a specific spot. If you drift off the mark, the motor will kick in and bring you right back to that spot. Recently, I have the I-PILOT Link feature which links to the Humminbird unit so you can share the GPS on your unit. You can use the link to create a route for the trolling motor to follow. We didn’t really create a route during the open but for open water that Terrova is really great. The motor has 101lbs of trust so it easily kept us in place.

IBASSIN

I guess that covers it. Very glad that we got a chance to chat and congratulations again on a great win.

Simon

Thanks Luigi!

Simon and Melanie Frost are super people. Simon has been on several television shows and featured in many magazine articles. His deep water smallmouth skills are very well known and respected. 

The Frosts Ice Over Bass Pro Shop Competition Part 1

IBASSIN exclusive interview with Simon and Melanie Frost on their Bass Pro Shop Lake Simcoe Open Victory

By Luigi De Rose

Simon and Melanie Frost proudly display their winning catch.
(Photos: Yvonne Brown)

The Bass Pro Shop Lake Simcoe Open can be considered this country’s premier one-day bass tournament. Lake Simcoe, an hour north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada is arguably the best smallmouth bass fishery in the world. This lake is ground zero for Canadian bass fishing history. Host to countless tournaments, Lake Simcoe holds the Canadian bass tournament limit record with just over 31 pounds for 5 bass and the heaviest tournament bass ever caught. Coincidentally that 8.05lb smallmouth and the heaviest creel occurred on the same day but by two different fishing teams.

IBASSIN had the honour to chat with Simon Frost, one part of his husband and wife dynamic duo, about their victory.

IBASSIN

Congratulations on the win!

Simon

Thanks!

IBASSIN

So, what are you going to do with all that money?

Simon

Melanie says we have to fix the roof.

IBASSIN

What!? That must be one expensive roof. How much did you win?

Simon

The grad prize was $13 000 plus another $2000 for the Minn Kota and Humminbird contingency prizes. Yeah, it is a nice pay cheque.

IBASSIN

Explain to the readers the fishing conditions on Saturday, October 19, 2013.

Simon

It was terrible. It was wet, windy and cold. During that day it really cooled off and we were cold. The strong wind came from the southwest and created 2 – 3 foot waves at take off. But on the way back, there were 5- 6-foot waves. It took us an hour and a half to get back to the ramp.

The Bass Pro Shop Lake Simcoe Open actually occurs on two lakes, Lake Simcoe and its neighbour Lake Couchiching. The tournament weigh in and ramp is in the town of Orillia on the shores of Lake Couchiching. Typically, anglers journey into Lake Simcoe to find the larger smallmouth bass.

IBASSIN

How were the fishing conditions?

Simon

The fishing conditions were not great and different than in past years. Lake Simcoe hadn’t turned over yet and that mixed up the bass. Typically, the water temp for this event is around 52 to 53 F but we found the water temp about 60F from top to bottom. What this does is spread the fish out. The bass seemed to still be in late summer patterns instead of fall ones. You need to have the colder water temps to get the big weights.

IBASSIN

Not trying to diminish your achievement but your 22.85 lbs winning weight is very low compared to past Opens.

Simon

Yeah, we were shocked how poor the weights were when we arrived back at the ramp. We were hoping for a top 10 finish.  Our best weight at the Open was 27lbs and that got us 9^th place that year. Having 22lbs and winning was shocking.

It’s a bit of a funny story. We were one of the first to arrive at the ramp. The tournament organizers ask all teams who think they have over 20lbs to wait and do a drive by weigh-in. So we put the boat on the trailer and waited. Team after team walked passed us to the stage. Finally, two other teams met up with us and waited. We got to talking and Derek Strub suggested we go last because we might have the largest bag of bass. So we waited even more. We ended up being the last boat.

Giving the crowd something to cheer!

IBASSIN

How did that winning moment feel?

Simon

It was unreal. Total shock at first and then we were just amazed that we won.

Come back for part 2 with IBASSIN and Simon Frost as he explains their technique and strategy to figuring out the smallmouth. 

2013 CSFL Casey Cup Winners Joey Muszynski and Scott Mursion Winning Ways

by Luigi De Rose

Joey (right) and Scott landed one of the heaviest 5 bass limits
in Canadian tournaments.
(Photo: CSFL)

Anytime anglers reach greatest, we want to know about it. Here is a brief review of how Joey and Scott smashed the Casey Cup record with a 5 smallmouth bass limit of 29.55 lbs.

IBASSIN: 
Great job! So, how do you catch 29 pounds of smallmouth?

Joey: 
The spring was behind and we targeted both spawning and pre spawn fish . We had beds marked out in different areas that we would catch but we also sight fished for cruisers that were coming up during the event.  

IBASSIN: 
Explain your bait selection.

Joey: 
Most of the damage was done dropshotting and tubing with Jackall crosstail shads a prototype Set the Hook bait called the DSS80 and Set the Hook tubes. 

IBASSIN:
Was made the difference in you doing so well?

Joey:
Powerpro Super slick 8 braid with sunline fluoro leader played a huge role also enabling us to make long accurate casts to avoid getting the boat too close and spooking fish in the clear shallow water.  

IBASSIN Rules. Rule #2 Skipping

IBASSIN Rules. Rule #2 Skipping Finesse baits. Its a great method of catching bass. Learn on this how-to video to use a Senko and Tube to reach bass once though untouchable. This series of videos will make you a better bass angler