Top 10 baits from Tackle Warehouse Invitational at the Detroit River
by Major League Fishing 7 Aug 2024 09:59 PDT
Lots of finesse morsels got the job done at the Detroit River and the adjoining waters © Major League Fishing
By the end of it, the entire Top 10 at Stop 6 Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches at the Detroit River was making the trek into St. Clair for big bags of smallmouth.
Though the baits and areas varied, the general techniques were similar - find a good section or two and settle in with forward-facing sonar. With everyone in the Top 10 catching more than 20 pounds a day, it was an extremely productive event, especially considering the afternoon runs and heavy pleasure traffic on the weekend.
Earning the win, Keith Carson tallied 67-6, mostly with a minnow and entirely in Anchor Bay. Behind him, a number of areas played, and minnows, jigs and drop-shots all had their time in the sun.
Here's what got the job done in the last Tackle Warehouse Invitationals event of the season.
1. Minnow the way to go for Carson
Carson got the job done in Anchor Bay, searching out smallmouth with Lowrance ActiveTarget and maintaining a level of consistency that nobody else matched. His primary setup was a 7-foot, 2-inch Fenwick World Class walleye rod, a 3000-size Abu Garcia Zenon, 8-pound Berkley FireLine, a 10-pound Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon leader and a 5.3-gram jighead with a Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Jerk Shad. Carson also used a drop-shot with a 3/16-ounce weight and either a Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Flatnose Minnow or a Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Flat Worm in brown back.
2. Morrison misses the win but earns AOY
Finishing off a spectacular season in style, Alec Morrison locked up Fishing Clash Angler of the Year as well as Polaris Rookie of the Year for the Invitationals.
"I feel great; I've had a day to reflect on everything now," Morrison said. "It wasn't the initial goal going into the year, but it became that. It was something I knew was attainable, but I knew it was going to be really hard. Overall, it's amazing. I'm really glad to have this kind of success with my first year at this level, and it's pushing me to want to do even better the rest of this year and next year."
At St. Clair, Morrison fished along the shipping channel and in Canada, throwing a Beast Coast O.W. Sniper jig in the 3/8- and 1/4-ounce sizes depending on depth. For deeper areas, Morrison used the 3/8-ounce model on a Millerods SpinFreak. Shallower, he went with the 1/4-ounce model and a Millerods BassFreak.
"That's what I caught most of my biggest ones on," Morrison said of the jig. "It was one for one area and one for the other. One area, I was fishing in 20- to 21-foot, and I had a shallower area that was like 17- to 18-foot. Both places I wasn't around any of the taller, thicker grass; the best sections were the really short sand grass in really clean areas."
3. Staying shallow key for Avena
Making the run to Anchor Bay every day, Adrian Avena knocked out big bags consistently and might have had a shot at the win on the last day.
Avena's primary bait was a 3/16-ounce finesse jig with either a piece of Berkley PowerBait MaxScent The General or a Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Lil' General. He also used a 4-inch Berkley PowerBait Drip Minnow in HD emerald shiner on a 1/8-ounce Berkley Fusion19 Hybrid Jighead. For both, he used a 7-foot Abu Garcia Fantasista X spinning rod, an Abu Garcia Revo Rocket SP30, 8-pound Berkley X9 braid and an 8-pound Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon leader.
"It seemed like once you got around one, you were around a few more," Avena said. "I wasn't fishing in the crowds. I was probably doing something similar to what Carson did, and maybe fishing a little shallower, too - I was fishing 8 to 12 feet. If you got around some sand, they were a little easier to see there, but I caught a bunch out of the grass, too."
4. Hall 'Scopes up another good smallie event
One of the best in the country at the screen game, it was no surprise to see Kyle Hall cracking them on St. Clair.
Fishing in Anchor Bay, Hall used a Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Jerk Shad both on a jighead and weightless as well as a wacky-rigged Berkley PowerBait MaxScent The General. LiveScoping for pretty shallow fish that were close to the surface, Hall actually saw a few of them bite weightless baits with his eyes after finding them on 'Scope.
5. Canada minnows into the Top 10
Always a threat in a smallmouth derby, Jon Canada knocked out a Top 10 in his usual style, putting in the time behind his screens all week long.
For Canada, a 5-inch Deps Sakamata Shad was the key bait, and he threw it on an Owner Range Roller or a Northland Tackle Smeltinator Elite Series Jig. Throwing the scarce minnows on high-quality tackle, Canada went with a 3000 Daiwa Exist on a 6-foot, 10-inch Shimano Expride rod with 10-pound YGK braid and a matching Seaguar Tatsu leader.
"Sometimes they would be around little sections of sand with whatever that grass is," Canada said. "Sometimes it was just bait. Most of it was sand places, and really, it was current, and it would change every day depending on where the wind was."
6. Anchor Bay produces for LeBrun
Riding the Anchor Bay train, veteran pro Nick LeBrun mixed and matched between two presentations.
"It was mainly about rotating the drop-shot or the minnow; sometimes fish would want one or the other," he said.
For his drop-shot, LeBrun used a 5-inch Yamamoto Shad Shape Floater that he threaded on a 1/0 Hayabusa FPP Straight hook with a 1/2-ounce Elite Tungsten weight. LeBrun went with a 7-foot, 3-inch medium light + Temple Fork Outfitters Resolve Series spinning stick with 12-pound Sunline SX1 and an 8-pound Sunline Sniper leader.
7. Jig plays for Parrish as well
Mixing Anchor Bay and the main lake, Jaden Parrish earned a Top 10 and wrapped up a Bass Pro Tour qualification in the process.
Parrish ended up catching most of his fish on a 5/16-ounce 6th Sense Divine Ball Head Finesse Jig in green pumpkin that he trailered with a Z-Man Finesse TRD. He used a 7-foot, 5-inch Pride Rods "'Scopin' Time" spinning rod.
"My deal this week was a two-prong approach," he said. "I started in Anchor Bay but left there and fished out near the shipping channel and targeted taller patches of grass. Day 3, I solely caught my weight near the shipping channel."
8. St. Clair the place to be for Johnston
One of today's premier smallmouth anglers, Cory Johnston made the run to St. Clair every day and surged into the mix on Day 2 with a 23-pound bag.
For Johnston, a 6th Sense Party Minnow did the heavy lifting. A bait he designed, the Party Minnow was made to work well on a drop-shot, and that's exactly how he fished it all week.
9. Drop-shot and jig do work for Williams
Making his first Top 10 on the Invitationals, Jack Daniel Williams wrapped up a good sophomore season that saw him earn checks in each event.
"I found a little place in practice out of the way with grass spots and sand spots, and I ended up catching most of my weight there," Williams said. "It was just grass and little bare spots. In the morning they were down in the grass, and when the sun got up they got up above it, and you could see them a lot better."
To catch his fish, Williams fired around a drop-shot with a Damiki Armor Shad and a 3/8-ounce weight as well as a 3/8-ounce Missile Jigs Ike's Micro Football Jig with a Strike King Rage Ned Bug. He used 22-pound Sunline Almight for his main line and a 12-pound leader. He fished everything on homemade rods built by his buddy Chris Davenport.
10. Lefere also finishes strong
Robby Lefere has not had an easy entry to national competition, but he closed out the season well on his home waters.
"I made the run to St. Clair," Lefere said. "I had four or five different areas, a little out by the shipping channel and a little out by the Mile Roads. I'd roll through an area, and if they were off the bottom chasing, I'd stay, and if I didn't see that, I'd move on."
Throwing a drop-shot with a Strike King Baby Z-Too and a 3/8- or 1/2-ounce weight was the primary program for Lefere, and he also mixed in a 5-inch Strike King Z-Too on a 1/4ounce ball head. He used a 7-foot Team Lew's Signature Series rod with a Lew's Custom Lite Series reel.