Climbing Towards the Top at Smith Mountain
Moneta, Va. – Listening to 2009 Bassmaster Classic Champion Skeet Reese talk about the prognosis for the Blue Ridge Brawl at Smith Mountain Lake would have led anyone to remove him from their fantasy fishing team. His mood was less than jovial as he talked about the weather and the conditions that led to all of the big females he had located during practice pulling off the beds.
The great thing about Reese being in this mood is that he tends to fish by the seat of his pants, and when someone with his set of skills does that, it often results in a good finish.
The result of his ‘fly by the seat of his pants' approach is that Reese found himself qualifying for his second Elite 12 finish of the season. In doing so, he earned enough points to move into 2 nd place in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings.
“I had located several quality spawners in practice, but a cold front came through and all of them pulled off,” Reese said. “But, as the weather conditions started to warm, the fish started to pull up into the shallows again.” He set out to find a way to make the right fish bite.
What Reese found was that he could make them strike in the wind with an Osprey swimbait a Redemption Lures spinnerbait or a Lucky Craft crankbait. However, when the wind wasn't
blowing he used a variety of baits to sight fish. “I had like 15 rods on the deck doing what I could to make them bite,” he said. “My best baits were a white Berkley grub and green pumpkin three-inch Chigger Craw, especially as the week wore on.”
Reese found that Smith Mountain's smallmouth population proved to be the most agreeable when it came to going after spawners. However, unlike smallmouth that he has encountered at other lakes around the country who often strike in one cast, Smith Mountain's fish required a little extra. “These fish were stupid, they were extremely aggressive, but it still took a little to make them bite,” he said. “I would throw the bait into the nest and they would run back and forth for a while, then return to the nest, lock up and bite.”
Ironically, it was the fun he was having with the smallmouth that he said kept him from doing a little better on the final day. “I probably should have gone and looked for a few largemouth, but I kept running into bronzebacks.” He did lose one fish that would have helped him. “I lost the same six-pound fish twice on Sunday, that would have certainly helped me, but I can't complain the tournament went far better than I expected at the start.”
His climb to the Elite 12 started with a 13-pound, 3-ounce performance that landed him in 45 th place on day one. He climbed six places with 11 pounds, 4 ounces, but he smashed a 15-pound, 3-ounce limit on day three that put him into 11 th place. His 13-pound, 1-ounce bag on the final day moved him up two places to 9 th for the tournament with a total weight of 53 pounds, 5 ounces.
“It was especially rewarding because I didn't think I could have finished in the top 12 when the tournament started,” said Reese. “The tournament was an absolute grind, nothing came easy. It wasn't a fun week, but it really meant a lot to have made something out of nothing.
His performance at Smith Mountain brought his career earnings to a little more than $1,976,000, but more importantly, it put him in better position to challenge for the Angler of the Year Title. “We're halfway through the year and I'm in 2 nd place, I just need to keep fishing well and be in the top 12 for the shootout at the end of the season.”
Skeet Reese is a Bassmaster Elite Series pro, he is the 2009 Bassmaster Classic Champion and the 2007 Bassmaster Angler of the Year who has compiled career earnings that total more than $1.9 million in career earnings. Reese has qualified for 10 Bassmaster Classic appearances, and has finished in the top 10 41 times, including four wins in BASS competition in an 11 year career. Reese is a 39-year-old California native who resides in Auburn, Calif. with his wife Kim, and two daughters; Leamarie and Courtney. Visit his website: www.skeetreeseinc.com .
