DON’T CALL IT A COMEBACK
by Rob Barnes
This August, Lamiglas Pro Team member Ed Stachowski grinded it out in an all-out slug fest against the nation’s top walleye anglers on the St. Mary’s River in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. His efforts were rewarded by securing a 9th place finish and a hefty check against a field of over 80 professional anglers.
“With US waters of Lake Superior, Lake Huron, and the entire river system in play, it was a challenge to locate the right fish.” He said. “I put over 40 hours of run time on my outboard motor covering water in nine days, this was between practice and the two days of the tournament.” After catching just two fish on day one, Stachowski rallied on the second of the tournament to secure a solid finish against the best in the country.
Stachowski with St. Marys River gold
“BACK-UPS TO MY BACK-UPS”
Stachowski believes in developing plans for multiple contingencies. “During practice we found some better fish near DeTour using a combination of Reapers (crankbaits) for suspended fish and spinners for fish on rock structure.” He said.
When asked about back-up plans, “Back-up plan number 1 was trolling spinners behind Off Shore Tackle planer boards in dense weed beds and back-up plan number 2 was jigging a current seam with ½ ounce fire tiger colored WNC Marble Eye jigs on my 6’ Lamiglas Closer rods.”
It turns out that his plan to leverage vertical jigging would pay off. “I ended up getting key fish on jigs both days of the tournament. The Closer Walleye Series provided me and the co-angler partners I was paired up with the utmost in sensitivity and feel.” When asked about fine tuning his jigging technique to the conditions, “What made a difference was hovering my jigs over jagged structure in an eddy with current flow varying from 0.5-1.8 MPH throughout the drift. This was counterintuitive at first since the water temperatures were nearing 70 degrees which normally dictates a more aggressive jig stroke.”
YET ANOTHER TOP 10 TOURNAMENT FINISH ON THE CLOSER
Stachowski’s top ten finish out of Sault Ste. Marie cements Lamiglas rods as a tournament proven performer on the national stage of walleye fishing. For those who are looking forward to fall walleye jigging this season, you can learn more about The Closer Walleye Series of rods at www.Lamiglas.com. Also, be sure to follow Ed Stachowski on his Facebook page “Ed Stachowski Professional Angler” for more tournament proven tips.
Ed preparing for his flight to be sent off on day one of the tournament.
Photo by F.IN Outdoors Media.
