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Top lures at Lake St. Clair Open 2024

See the lineup of finesse baits used by the top anglers at the St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Lake St. Clair presented by SEVIIN.

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Photography by
Andy Crawford
Photography by
Dalton Tumblin
Photography by
Grant Moxley
Photography by
Seigo Saito
Captions by
Craig Lamb
Lake St. Clair validated its fourth-place ranking in the 2024 Bassmaster Best Bass Lakes list with an incredible showing at the St. Croix Bassmaster Open presented by SEVIIN. The 60th-place angler had 40 pounds after two days of fishing, and the weights went up from there. Topping the daily weights was Trey McKinney’s incredible Day 2 smallmouth limit weighing 27-12. 
Jay Przekurat racked up limits weighing 24-3, 25-1 and 26-1 for a final tally of 75-5 after three days, yet another validation for St. Clair’s lofty position in America’s best bass lakes. 
“I knew I needed a 25-pound average to win, almost unheard of in July after the spawn.” Given he fishes the final two Opens Division 3 events, Przekurat earns an automatic berth in the 2025 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Jockey Outdoors, a huge relief for the Bassmaster Elite Series pro as he goes into the final two events of that season. 
Click here to buy these lures at Bass Pro Shops.
Brett Cannon (10th; 66-15)
Cannon rotated through baits suitable for scoping smallmouth roaming and feeding on a variety of bait. 
A top choice was this Berkely PowerBait MaxScent Flat Worm, rigged on a No. 2 Gamakatsu G-Finesse Hook, with a 1/4-ounce weight. 
Alternatively, he used a Googan Saucy Swimmer on a 1/4-ounce jighead. 
Cannon also fished this 1/4-ounce Megabass Dark Sleeper Swimbait. 
He also fished a Googan Rattlin’ Ned on a 1/4-ounce Googan Rattlin’ Ned Head.
Kenta Kimura (9th; 67-7)
Kimura’s lure lineup allowed him to cover a variety of strike zone depths between 3 and 30 feet where he targeted smallmouth holding on subtle dropoffs covered in vegetation. 
A top choice was this Berkley MaxScent Pulse Tail 4.2 rigged on a No. 1 Ryugi Talisman Wacky/Neko Hook. 
Kimura also used this Megabass Spark Shad rigged on a 1/4-ounce jighead. 
Jack York (8th; 67-15)
York chose a lineup for smallmouth holding on the bottom or suspended over his area. A top choice was this 6th Sense Party Minnow rigged on a No. 1 6th Sense Drop Shot Hook with a 3/8-ounce 6th Sense Tungsten weight. 
Blake Smith (7th; 70-2)
Smith used a lure lineup for smallmouth feeding on gobie and shad. 
He made a drop shot with a Yamamoto Shad Shape Worm rigged on a 1/0 hook with a 1/2-ounce Flat Out Tungsten Weight. 
Another choice was this Yamamoto Shad Shape Worm rigged on a 1/4-ounce Buckeye Lures Scope Head.
Taku Ito (6th; 70-4)
Ito stayed on a roll, qualifying for a second consecutive Top 10 just two weeks after winning the Whataburger Bassmaster Elite at Smith Lake. 
A top choice was a drop shot made with this 3-inch Nories Rock Craw on a No. 1 Ryugi Talisman TG Delta Hook with a 1/4-ounce weight. 
 
Ito also used a lure from his Smith Lake win in this Nories Wrapping Minnow Spy Bait rigging it with No. 7 Ryugi Pierce Treble Hooks. 
Ito also used this 4-inch Deps Sakamata Shad on a 1/8-ounce jighead with a Ryugi prototype.
Click here to buy these lures at Bass Pro Shops.
Trey Schroeder (5th; 71-0)
Schroeder rotated through finesse rigs and a spybait for his offshore bite. Leading off was this Great Lakes Finesse Drop Minnow rigged on a 1/8-ounce Tackle Max Pure Tungsten Mullet Jig armed with a No. 1 hook. 
He also used a Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Flat Worm rigged on a No. 1 Gamakatsu G-Finesse Hook with a 3/8-ounce weight. 
For reaction bites, he used a Duo Realis Spinbait 90. 
Trevor McKinney (4th; 71-8)
McKinney had a dream tournament catching most of his fish from an area featuring sandy, hard bottom at a depth of 10 to 12 feet with growths of cabbage. 
McKinney literally caught all his weight on the new CrushCity The Mayor debuting this week at the ICAST trade show. He rigged it on the new 1/4-ounce VMC Redline Series Tungsten Swimbait Jig, designed for forward-facing sonar, and featuring a custom coated Vanadium Steel needle point 1X hook with a 90-degree eye. 
Jamie Bruce (3rd; 71-10)
Bruce fished open water areas with this lineup of baits. 
Leading off was this CrushCity The Mooch Minnow rigged on a 1/4-ounce BT Smeltinator Custom Redline Jighead. 
Bruce also used this CrushCity Freeloader on a 1/8-ounce prototype BT Rocker Jig. 
Alternatively, he used this CrushCity The Jerk on a 1/4-ounce BT Smeltinator Custom Redline Jighead. 
Aaron Jagdfeld (2nd; 71-12)
Jagfeld alternated between two baits for bottom feeding smallmouth. He made a drop shot with a Strike King 3X Baby Z Too rigged on a 1/0 Roboworm medium-wire Rebar Hook with a 3/8-ounce weight.
A top choice was this CrushCity Freeloader rigged on a 3/8-ounce VMC Hybrid Swimbait Jig. 
Jay Przekurat (1st; 75-5)
In Anchor Bay, Przekurat focused on several key stretches of hard sand bottom featuring sparse grass. He alternated between a drop shot and a swimbait rig. 
A key bait was a Strike King 3X Baby Zoo Too rigged on a 1/4-ounce Northland Tackle Smeltinator. The lighter weight allowed him to feather the bait over the smallmouth. 
Alternatively, he made a drop-shot rig with the same bait, rigging it on a 1/0 hook with a 3/8-ounce WOO! Tungsten Drop Shot Weight. 

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