Syracuse.com - Clay angler lands two lunker smallmouth on opening day on Lake Ontario

[HuntingNY-News]

One weighed 4.70 pounds; the other, 4.55 pounds.

Cusano with his two big smallies. 

Mike Cusano, of Clay, holds up two impressive smallmouth bass he caught on opening day while fishing with buddy, Burnie Haney, of xxx, on Chaumont Bay on Lake Ontario.

Describing the day, Cusano wrote:

"Lots of fun as always being on the water with the Big Dog. I got to enjoy some time on the back deck and just sit back and focus on the fishing (You guys who don't like being non-boaters are nutty!!)

"The 4.70 -pound smallmouth came on a Lucky Craft Pointer 100 (Citrus SHad) out of 8-9 feet of water, was using a Rapsody Hot Rod -- Worminator (I know it wasn't the best rod for the presentation, but I really wasn't planning on throwing a jerbait for any substantial time -- so I left the Grim Ripper at home). I was using a 12# XPS Fluorocarbon spooled on a BPS Pro Qualifier. Key as Burnie mentioned was the pause... most of the bites would come on an extended pause after a series of hard jerks. Much to my surprise, I only lost one fish all day using a worm rod Jerkbait fishing..I just backed off a touch on the drag so as not to rip the hooks out.

"The 4.55- pound smallmouth came on a drop shot rigged 4" green/brown senko, fished on a Rapsody Hot Rod Series -- Plastic Surgeon , BPS Extreme spinning Reel (20 series) with a 8 # Fireline Braid with a 8 # XPS Fluorocarbon leader. The Plastic Surgeon is an extremely versatile rod adn has been a staple for fishing with a wide range of soft plastic techniques. I used it to fish weightless wacky senkos, weightless Texas-rigged senko, spider grubs, weighted t-rigged senkos/tubes/beavers, split shot rig and a drop shot. That rod is an absolute bait-launcher and I really felt like the long casts were essential when the water was calm in the morning."

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog