“It’s the best worst smallmouth bass fishery in the country,” said Brandon Palaniuk. “It has the best population of big ones, probably. But it is the toughest to fish. I think those two things go hand-in-hand. The reason it’s so hard to find ’em and catch ’em all the time is the reason it’s so good.
“You can’t just run to a big, long extending point out there and catch ’em. It doesn’t exist. So you have to put in the time to find them. But they move, so you’ve got to find them again. I think that’s what protects this fishery.”
That randomness provides some hope for anyone needing a last hour rally today. Palaniuk did some of that this week in finishing 29th and retaining his AOY lead. He culled at 3:59 with a 4:00 check-in time on Day 2. And he had some late heroics Saturday as well.
“I was on the verge of completely decimating it,” he said of the 40-point AOY lead he had entering this tournament. “It was on its way to going there.”
Dustin Connell had one of the best examples of being totally lost, then suddenly found on Lake St. Clair. On Day 2, he had one 14-inch keeper and a 2-pounder at 2:30 with a 4 p.m. check-in time.
“I pulled up to a spot where I caught a 5-pounder in practice,” Connell said. “First cast, 5-1. Threw back in there, another 5-pounder. Right after that a 3, then a 2 1/2, then another keeper. I caught 17 pounds in 10 minutes on a spot I didn’t even plan on fishing.
“This kind of fishing is so painful to me. I can’t just randomly cast around. I hate it. If I end up making the (top 50) cut at this one, I pulled something out of my hat.”
Connell did make the top 50 cut in 43rd place before finishing 49th on Day 3.
St. Clair is the paradox of smallmouth bass fishing. Like Palaniuk said, It’s the best worst smallmouth bass lake in the country.”
Imagine that. The average bass, almostly exclusively smallmouths, weighed 3 3/4 pounds yesterday.