MONROE, Mich. — Plenty of options will be available to anglers competing in the final regular-season Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Qualifier presented by Lowrance of the year at Lake Erie, many of which will revolve around postspawn smallmouth, according to St. Croix Bassmaster Opens presented by SEVIIN angler Michael Spaulding Jr.
“There’s tons of water to fish and a ton of different ways you can fish,” the Dundee, Mich., angler said. “There are so many different options. I think it will be a super-fun tournament. It will take at least 22 or 23 pounds a day to win. Even if the wind blows, the fish still eat on Erie when it blows.”
Tournament days are scheduled for July 16-18 with daily takeoffs scheduled for 6:30 a.m. ET. Anglers will return for weigh-in at 2:30 p.m. At the conclusion of the event, the top 10% of the field will punch tickets to the Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Championship presented by Lowrance scheduled for Oct. 22-25 at the Upper Mississippi River.
This is the first major Bassmaster tournament to launch out of Lake Erie’s western shore. In recent years for Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series and Bassmaster Opens competition, anglers launched in Lake St. Clair and had the option to run to Lake Erie. With anglers starting in Erie, and a decent run to the mouth of the Detroit River that connects Erie with St. Clair, some new strategies and water will likely come into play.
“It will play to an angler’s fishing style,” Spaulding said. “Erie is structure driven, while St. Clair is going to be more of a ’Scoping deal. You will follow the perch and bait around. From where we are taking off, St. Clair is about 40 miles. You’ll have a shorter day if you go up there. There is also 26 miles of the Detroit River to fish. It will be interesting, and the wind will be a huge factor in all of it.”
For good reason, much of the attention in this tournament will be focused on postspawn smallmouth feeding up after the spawn. On Lake Erie, those smallmouth will hold on the offshore rockpiles and reefs in 15 to 30 feet of water, as well as structure in the shipping channel. On St. Clair, meanwhile, the smallmouth gravitate to hard sand and grass in shallower water.
Spaulding also anticipates the Detroit River will garner attention from anglers who are comfortable in heavy current.
“Drop shots, spinnerbaits, jerkbaits and a minnow will all play,” he said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if someone got on a sneaky crankbait or spybait deal either. Sometimes in the summer, that will happen somewhere on the lake. Something out of the ordinary could be a big factor.”
There is also a healthy population of largemouth in the fishery, and someone could potentially catch a 20-pound bag targeting green fish.
“Lake Erie is my home lake, and we fish a lot on bad-weather days. There is at least 20 miles on this western shore with really good largemouth fishing in some of the backwaters. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone has a really good tournament on just largemouth.”
Explore Monroe Michigan is hosting the tournament.
