Wednesday, May 06, 2009
One lure steals the thunder at Optimist tournament
Bill Cochran
Recent columns
The Storm ThunderStick, a lure that wiggles across the surface like an injured baitfish, dominated the Optimist Club of Cave Springs fishing tournament on Smith Mountain Lake the past weekend. It accounted for seven of the 20 leaderboard catches, including two first-places.
I can’t recall an instance in 41 years of covering Optimist tournaments when one lure strutted its stuff with such impact.
All four of the largemouth bass that won prizes in the contest were reported taken on a ThunderStick. So were the biggest smallmouth bass and the second-place striped bass. Even the fourth-place crappie was a ThunderStick victim. (See Cochran Field Reports for contest details).
The ThunderStick, a minnow-shaped, floating-diving lure, is best used after dark when things quiet down and baitfish, particularly alewives, ease into the shallows to spawn. This movement attracts game fish looking for an easy meal.
Here are profiles of three anglers who had success with ThunderSticks during the tournament:
BEN MULLINS landed the 7.10-pound contest winning largemouth bass on a ThunderStick, which he says is a favorite lure of his from mid-April to June.
“The bite recently has run from about 10:30 p.m. up to about 2:30 a.m.,” he said. “There usually is a good 3-hour period there that you can catch them.”
When fishing for largemouths, he casts parallel to the bank while trying to keep the lure off trees and rocks.
As for the speed of the retrieve, Mullins recommends that you “Reel just enough to cause the lure to make a wake across the surface.” His color choice is a black back with chrome sides.
Mullins caught his contest winning largemouth when casting to a tight spot under a boat dock with riprap nearby.
“I threw it back in there about three times and finally she bit. Sometimes they don’t hit right away; sometimes you just have to keep at it.”
GARY BOOTHE caught the 4.68-pound winning smallmouth bass on a jointed ThunderStick, a lure brand he has used for years. This particular ThunderStick had been given to him by a friend, Billy Phillipe, who drowned while fishing the lake last August. Boothe dedicated his winning catch to Phillipe, and plans to retire the lure.
Boothe often fishes the ThunderStick from the bank, wearing camouflage and keeping a low profile so as not to spook fish that have moved into the shallows. He likes to target riprap, working the lure parallel to the shoreline 1 to 6 feet off the bank.
“The closer you get to the bank, the better,” he said. “The alewives are spawning and producing activity around the banks which draws in the predatory fish.”
Follow your ears, he said, by listening for the sounds of baitfish and game fish.
Catches can occur anytime from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., and sometime during that period there will be blitz conditions.
“There always is a feeding frenzy that goes on and it can last from anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours. Usually it will come on like a light switch and go off like a light switch.”
April, May and June are key months, but fish can be caught on a ThunderStick well into the summer, said Boothe.
“I fish relatively slow. I like to keep it on top where it makes a V on the surface. I prefer braded line because it tends to float while monofilament likes to sink.”
His first-choice of color is a black back with chrome sides, but he will occasionally tie on a blue back.
RICHARD OAKES used a ThunderStick to land the contest’s No. 2 striped bass, a 21.06-pound trophy. He has used ThunderSticks for years.
He hooked his striper just after 1:30 a.m. Saturday.
Oakes likes to target riprap while working his lure parallel to the bank and tight against it. Color choice is either a black back or blue back with chrome sides.
