“I live in Pittsburgh, so I fish Erie a bunch, and Ontario is identical to Erie,” says
Becker. “I spent all my time on the lake looking around. I figure if you’re going to
beat any of these guys you have to do what you’re good at.”
Fishing vertically and efficiently was important as well. Instead of simply drift-
ing over a swath, Becker lined himself up to go over key areas, and would reel up
lightning-fast to drop on fish he marked.
“I was dropping [vertical fishing] on every one of them,” says Becker. “I did
catch a few just flipping out in front of the boat when I wasn’t marking them, but
90 percent of the ones I weighed, I dropped it straight on their head.
“It took me a little bit to figure out where to position my bait to drag right into
where the fish was. But once I figured that out, I could get it right through where
I marked them and they would eat it almost every time.”
WHY THE RIVER
TOOK A YEAR OFF
A basic drop-shot produced all of Becker’s winning weight.
CO-ANGLER CHAmPION
Name: Gary Haraguchi
Hometown: Redding, Calif.
Winning Weight: 53-02 (15 fish)
Winning Program: Haraguchi’s day-
one partner Jason Kervin suffered a
breakdown on the way from the
river to the lake. Despite being able
to fish for only a short time,
Haraguchi still scratched out a limit.
Then, on the final two days the
ever-smiling co-angler smashed
them with a Yamamoto Shad
Shape Worm on a
drop-shot and a
5-inch Yamamoto
Pro Senko rigged
wacky style on a
5/16-ounce
Frenzy Baits
Whack-A-Sack jig.
OctOber 2017 I fLWfIshIng.cOm
CONDITIONS
Weather | some rain and clouds
the morning of day one; other-
wise clear and sunny
air temperature | mid-50s to
upper 70s
Water temperature | upper
60s to low 70s
Water clarity | 15 feet
Wind | strong and from the
west on day one; strong and
from the northeast on day two;
lighter and from the northeast
on day three
moon Phase | waxing crescent
Predominant Lake features |
boulders, drops, large deep and
shallow flats, and grass in most of
the bays
fishery type | Great Lake and
large Northern river
Leading up the to this year’s Costa
FLW Series tournament at 1000 Islands,
the St. Lawrence River was on everyone’s
mind. Not only had Scott Dobson domi-
nated for two days on the river the year
before, but the Bassmaster Elite Series
was fresh off a river derby where 20-
pound bags were commonplace. When
the dust settled, only one of the top-10
pros had stuck with the river for more
than a fish or two, and the rest trekked to
Lake Ontario.
One of the best at the 1000 Islands,
Cal Climpson was on some fish in the
river prior to the tournament, but he
made the cut largely based on an excel-
lent day one out in the lake.
“I think the big thing was the weather
we had in the tournament,” says
Climpson of the river’s failure to produce.
“That was the No. 1 factor in my opinion.
I think in the river, at least for me and the
Elites, a lot of guys were on shallow fish
on rock and sand. Later in July, when you
get cold fronts or an unusual wind it really
causes those river fish to pull off the shal-
low spots, and they actually suspend in
the main river. Then they’re very tough to
target and hard to even find.”
Dobson would readily agree that con-
ditions weren’t ideal for a shallow bite in
the river. It was mostly windy and rainy on
day one, and on day two a stiff east wind
kept the river very choppy. He finished
38th.
Out on the lake, the fish were set up
deeper and were less affected by the
weather changes. Instead of trying to
visually spot a waning population up shal-
low in bad conditions, the pros could look
to their graphs and drop down on unsus-
pecting smallies.
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