For anyone who might have missed this post in the Lake St. Clair fishing report board:
I was fortunate to spend a day in the boat - a beautiful deep V Ranger 620VS with a Yamaha 4-stroke outboard - with Ohio bass pro Mike Trombly, one of the nicest bass anglers on the water.
We launched on to Lake St Clair Thursday morning to moderate wind, partly sunny skies and lazy 2 to 3 foot rollers. The water was slightly stained with visibility only a few feet.
Our first task was to run into another nice guy of tournament fishing, Lima Ohio bass pro and forum member Steve Clapper. Steve thought he might need a rain suit as the day progressed (pretty good idea this day).
(http://www.greatlakesbass.com/images/080807mt-sc024.jpg)
As we visited briefly, riding up and down the swells, Steve tossed out a drop shot, catching a few small bass telling us the bite had been slow so far. Maybe the big bass had moved.
After our chat, Mike headed towards his previous hot spots and caught a few little ones himself. Then we saw the only wrapped boat I can pick out for sure from a distance and Mike said we needed to go over and give him a hard... er, stop and talk for a minute. Mike said I wouldn't recognize him up close.
(http://www.greatlakesbass.com/images/080807mt-ch025.jpg)
| IAMS pro Chip Harrison (looking svelte) | (http://www.greatlakesbass.com/images/080807mt-ch1025.jpg) |
| (http://www.greatlakesbass.com/images/080807mt-bp025.jpg) | was fishing nearby, checking out the competition, and in the back of his boat we found another of our illlustrious members - BryanP, |
one of our favorite multi-company reps out for a little 'research.'
Chip made a comment about everything within 10 square miles basically being HIS spot and we had to go... Mike laughed and said something to me about donuts around an IAMS boat. Then, speaking in the secret code language of top bass anglers, they briefly spoke about some other spots and I got the distinct impression that Chip was on some real toads somewhere and was only guaging the competitions' areas of the lakes. No surprise he won the BFL Saturday based on his matter of fact description of his practice.
Then, Mike got to work figuring out what the bass are doing this week. This is still a time of movement on Lake St. Clair. Lots of big catches are coming in, but not everyone can just sit in one spot week after week and do so.
Mike made some adjustments to what worked last week and didn't seem to be working this week, and it started to pay off. Mike felt the bass might have actually moved towards shore and as we moved in, he seemed to be right, because the bass got bigger.
Here was one of the first of the big ones Mike put in the boat:
(http://www.greatlakesbass.com/images/080807mt-b1027.jpg)
A real football, so despite not being that long, the bass still weighed over 4 1/2 pounds (Mike likes to weigh his bigger bass to guage exactly what he is catching from his various spots.
(http://www.greatlakesbass.com/images/080807mt-b1w028.jpg)
One very impressive action was Mike's ability to see bigger bass on his electronics and 'TV fish' them into the boat. Trombly would say, "there's a big one" pointing at the graph, and then pitch his special Mike's RX tube or a drop shot over the side, and whap, the fight is on!!
Next thing you know, Mike's weighing another tank smallie - this one going over 5 pounds!!
(http://www.greatlakesbass.com/images/080807mt-b2030.jpg)
After seeing him do this over 10 times, it is pretty clear he is very good at recognizing bigger bass on his electronics, and then putting them in the boat. These smallmouth bass experts are something else!! Mike did land some rock bass and a couple walleye during the day, but whenever he said he saw a big smallie on the screen, he converted a quality bass into the boat almost every time.
I managed to catch a few small ones and rock bass early on 3" Nemesis gobies drop-shotted. I don't think I had the patience for drop shots this day probably. I caught a few keeper smallies on 4" Nemesis gobies and 4" Xtreme Bass Tackle (XBT) tubes. I cycled through XBT Erie Goby, St. Clair Crayfish and then St. Clair Craw based on the water color and some tips from Mike.
I caught a few better quality bass on St. Clair Craw. In between, I tried some bigger crankbaits - several times, I got smacked as the bait turned up to the boat, but never hooked up. I really wanted to try the KaRu VibraSpin too. Throughout the day, I slow-rolled them through the water column. I had multiple wacks and grabs, sometimes two or three in a row, but never hooked up. I did best this day as far as hits throwing a brown-orange #2 KaRu.
I probably had 10 different casts with a hit or more on the way in without hooking up. Not sure what they were although I would think some had to be smallies, and not sure why I couldn't hook up other than the water color was off a little... maybe. The number of strikes was enough to make me want to keep working at it. I've had several days earlier this year where I really smacked largemouth bass on the VibraSpin.
Mike, meanwhile just kept putting big bass into the boat. Here was another one that he saw on the graph and pitched to after another move. If you're fortunate to get into these St. Clair all growed up bass, you know how hard they fight, even just trying to fight them into the boat - Mike had to wrestle this toad:
(http://www.greatlakesbass.com/images/080807mt-b3031.jpg)
Another beautiful Lake St. Clair trophy smallmouth bass caught by Mike Trombly this day - one of a respectable number of big ones (yeah, who wouldn't be happy catching whoppers like this all day?!?):
(http://www.greatlakesbass.com/images/080807mt-b3032.jpg)
I ended up catching one really big smallie myself - Mike loaned me one of his Mike's RX special tubes because he wanted me to try them and he's really is a super nice guy. I guess I'm rusty - I thought I had a small musky or big walleye. In defense of my honor, the bass did fight like a walleye, not a bass ;D
I tossed off the side a ways. Felt the pickup and then heavy weight of a strong fish. The bass actually stripped out several feet of line 3 times.
A little while after that, we got surrounded by multiple storms. As soon as we saw an opening to run through back to the ramp, we did so so Mike could get some supper and prepare for his last day of practice before the BFL and Wonderland Marine West Open.
It was a very enjoyable day. Always a pleasure to watch a true expert put a bunch of bass in the boat. And always nice to spend the day in a boat with such a quality, friendly person! Thanks Mike!!
I concur that Mike is a super nice guy. In fact, I have met several of the Trombley family, and every one I have met have been a pleasure to know. And most of them love bass fishin'.