In the Simcoe Open a limit of five pound smallmouth usually doesn't put you in the top 5. This late fall tournament usually takes a 5 1/2 to 6 pound average to win. The Canadian tournament record for a five bass limit was set in this tournament in 2006 at 29.90lbs. Last year it took 29.22lbs to win. There are some major bonus in this tournament should somebody set a new record of 5 bass weighing more than 30lbs. A $10000 bonus will be awarded to the team that can do that. Should one team break the Canadian record for the heaviest single smallmouth weighed in, which is currently at 9.84lbs, they will receive a $100000 boat and truck package from Toyota and Tracker Marine.
I will be able to get about 5 days of prefishing in for this event which hopefully will be enough to cover the entire lake. There is so much water on Lake Simcoe that looks good, but only small key spots will hold fish. I have never fished the lake this late in the year before so this is something that is new to me. I fish Simcoe a lot in the summer and that has hurt me so much in tournaments because I have so much water to choose from. Knowing a lot can hurt you! I am approaching this tournament with an open mind and that is usually when I am the most successful.
I have heard there is a good jerkbait bite on the lake right now in the shallows. I can't wait to try some of the XRaps and Husky Jerks on those fish. Jigging spoons are commonly used late in the year for deeper smallmouth and they could play a role. Rapala has come out with a new lipless lure called the Clackin Rap. This lure is basically a lipless crankbait with a chamber inside that produces a very unique clacking sound. I think this could be a good substitute for a jigging spoon.
Keep checking back next week for updates on how my prefish is going.
Lawren
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