smallmouth sPECTACULAR
Ron Nelson has been chasing , and catching , smallmouth bass on the Great Lakes and other northern fisheries for decades .
PHOTO BY CHARLES WALDORF
The rough waters of the Great Lakes , however , required specialized tackle to get down to the fish . While targeted depths were now approaching 30 feet , heavier lead heads were required to get down and stay down . Manufacturers began producing specialized tackle . Ohio Pro Lure , an early provider of jig heads around Lake Erie , expanded their lineup to include 1 / 2- and 3 / 4-ounce models . Newly introduced fluorocarbon fishing lines sank , helping the cause .
Bass fishing continued to progress across the North , and tactics were refined to better fish isolated deep structure . While specialized tackle made anglers more effective , one technique would change the game forever .
THE [ DROP- ] SHOT HEARD ROUND THE WORLD
I first remember drop-shot fishing on Lake Erie around 2001 . While tube jigs continued to produce great catches , they also caught loads of freshwater drum , a nuisance fish with no predators and growing numbers . Drop-shot fishing was all the rage at the time out West , and it quickly spread east along with the crowd favorite Roboworm .
For me , there seemed to be no logic in using a worm . For some time , it was well known that smallmouth across the Great Lakes primarily feed on gobies . Based on the knowledge to “ match the hatch ,” I designed the firstever goby-imitating lure ( with the help of Clapper and Erie ace Dave Hayward ). Over the course of three years , that bait won every major bass tournament held on Lake Erie , and many across other sections of the Great Lakes .
Over time , drop-shot lures further evolved . Berkley ’ s Gulp ! line was incredibly effective for a while . Soft Japanese-inspired baits were tops , the Jackall Crosstail Shad and Yamamoto Shad Shape Worm being among the best . Finally , super-plastics saturated the scene , with the Strike King Z2 being fondly regarded as a local secret during the early 2000s .
Drop-shot , drop-shot , drop-shot . For years , that seemed to be the only game in town across the Great Lakes , and certainly the only lure capable of winning a tournament . But within the last decade , there ’ s been a notable change . Leading professionals will help me explain .
ZERO TO 60 IN 2.0 DECADES
Ron Nelson won Polaris Rookie of the Year on the then-FLW Tour in 2019 . A year later he won Angler of the Year .
While you might think Nelson came out of nowhere to establish himself as a dominant force on the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit , he was long making a name for himself up North on the Great Lakes and other fisheries .
“ Twenty years ago , I was dragging tubes like everyone else ,” he says . “ But there ’ s not a strong bite for that now .”
Nelson explains that a combination of increased water clarity and more advanced anglers across the region made his home waters in Michigan more difficult fisheries .
“ It used to be that a small percentage of anglers knew how to catch them ,” he adds . “ Now , with advanced mapping and better electronics , everybody gets right on the fish .”
Nelson ’ s method to outpace the competition can be summed up by two words : electronics precision .
“ Shallow-water sight fishing was always my specialty ,” he says . “ I ’ d watch the reactions of the fish to different baits and different casts . Now , I do the same thing on structure ”
JUNE-JULY 2021 | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM 59