Two wins in one!
By Luigi De Rose
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Friends and family rejoice as the CSFL Classic and Regional Cup
comes home to Curve Lake First Nations. (Photo: Dave Chong) |
Labour day weekend marks the unofficial last weekend of
summer but for bass anglers in southern Ontario it is the CSFL National Classic
and Regional Cup.
The CSFL tournament circuit is made up of four divisions
plus a Canadian Pro Bass Tour that offers individual anglers and two-person
teams an opportunity to qualify for the Regional Cup. The Regional was held
Friday September 2nd, prior to the Classic weekend, to thin the field to the
best 50 to compete for the National Classic that was held Saturday, September 3rd
and Sunday, September 4th on Stoney Lake, Lakefield, Ontario.
Competitors must do well in the Regional to have an
opportunity to fish on the weekend and that is what eventual winners Duane
Jacobs and Mike Williams did to start off the long weekend with a bang!
With years of experience on Stoney Lake, the team of Jacob
and Williams ventured out along with the other 72 boats to discover the unseasonably
cool temps had made the bass skittish. “We tried to hook a few big smallmouths
in the morning during the Regional but they wouldn’t go.” declared Jacobs a 42-year-old
construction worker. “On Stoney, you need a mix of smallmouth and largemouth to
do well. Last year, we won the Stoney Lake Combo (Walleye and Bass) tournament
so we knew what kind of fish was needed to win.” stated Williams, a 39 year old
guide. The bite never really picked up until mid-morning as they targeted
largemouth hiding under shallow lily pads and slop. With the bites coming more
frequently, the duo realized they had a shot of winning the Friday tournament.
“By 1 O’clock, we decided to focus on winning the Regional
and hit our “A” water hard.” explains Duane. Having culled up several times,
they eventually brought in 16.9 pounds of largemouth. Luckily, they caught what they did as the
team of Dave Chong and Oliver Grigull sacked 16.8 pounds and narrowly missed
overtaking them.With $1 500 and medals for the win, the two Curve Lake First
Nations residents focus on the National Classic.
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Mike and Duane always keep it fun.
(Photo: Duane Jacobs) |
Saturday morning had them throwing topwaters to target the
lake’s chucky smallmouth but to no avail.
With the morning cool and the sky blue bird, Mike and Duane determined
that they had to continue pitching Punisher jigs to pads and weed mats in areas
that had a hard bottom in six feet of water and shallower.
“It seems the hard, rocky bottom held the heat and this sucked
in the bass from the surround areas. Our best water seemed to replenish each
day.,” acknowledged Mike, “Duane threw the frog a bit and other baits but the
fish were either small or never bit well. We had to just stick with the jig.”
Sticking with the Punisher Jig paid off with a Saturday weight
of 14.75 pounds. Their two-day limit of 31.65 pounds was enough to remain in
the lead but the Top 10 had shuffled considerably and several strong teams were
closing in.
Sunday morning was cool and crisp which worried Mike and
Duane. They decided to abandon their topwater smallmouth and focus the entire
day on throwing jigs to grass. “We just kept at it. I had a heavy action 7’2”
rod in my hand all day. We both used Punisher jigs. I had a Berkley Chigger
Craw as a trailer and Mike had a plastic chuck on his jig.” explained Duane. Sticking
to natural brown coloured jigs seemed to pay off best. As they filled their
livewell, it became evident that the quality and size of the largemouth was
shrinking.
