Reel Chat with DAVID WOLAK
Wolak discusses his recent FLW Tour victory, his strategy of targeting both largemouth and smallmouth bass on Lake Champlain as well as his plans for the upcoming 2012 tourney schedule
– MODERATOR COMMENT –
Welcome to FLW Live Reel Chat. Today we’re joined by bass pro David Wolak of Wake Forest, N.C., who recently took home the top prize of $125,000 after winning the 2011 FLW Tour event on Lake Champlain.
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Currently, Wolak boasts over $260,000 in winnings and 10 top-10 finishes since he began his career with FLW Outdoors in 2002. Wolak also recorded his first-ever FLW Tour victory during the Sept. 15-18 FLW Tour Open event on Lake Champlain. In addition to a BFL win in 2003 on Smith Mountain Lake, Wolak has also recorded two top-10 finishes in the EverStart Series, FLW Series and FLW Tour.
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Today, David Wolak is here to take questions from you, the fans. So, without further delay, let’s get started.
Q: What did it feel like to get your first-ever FLW Tour victory?
— Titus Song (N.Y., N.Y.)
A: It felt awesome. I mean, FLW is a premier organization in bass fishing and a $125,000 win speaks for itself. I have aspirations across all aspects of fishing. I’ve won on the BASS trail and now I’ve won an FLW event. And let me tell you, it’s not easy on either side.
Q: Dave, I don’t know how much of a finesse fisherman you are, however, I’ve noticed a lot of pros using 7-foot, medium-action rods as a general purpose, “go-to” rod for their finesse applications. Do you subscribe to that same feeling? Is that what you use?
— Kevin McCarthy (Gaithersburg, Maryland)
A: Many times, especially for finesse jig fishing, I prefer a medium-heavy to a medium rod. Everything I fish with across the board is 7 feet or longer. The specific rod I used for this tournament was a custom-made Pinnacle Perfecta which has medium-heavy action and is 7 feet long. In general, a jig hook is different than a drop-shot hook so I like a beefier rod for that application. I’ve been able to penetrate the fish’s mouth better with greater backbone.
Q: Since you weighed so many largemouths, why didn’t you just focus solely on largmouths? I guess why bother with the smallies if you know you’re not going to need them?
— Nick T. (La Crosse, Wis.)
A: I would say one third of my fish I weighed in were smallmouths. And smallmouths are generally easier to catch during cold fronts than largemouths. The largemouth bite didn’t get good until later in the day anyways. So I kind of felt like I was wasting my time if I was fishing for largemouths in the morning. The smallmouths just give me a baseline to start my day and they allowed to feel more comfortable during the rest of the day. They are simply the more stable fish. Plus, it just so happened that in a few of my areas, the fish were mixed. And I actually try and target those areas.
Q: What is it about Lake Champlain that allows you to turn in one dominating performance after another?
— Jon Pageler (Napa Valley, Calif.)
A: Lake Champlain fishes very very similar to a lot of lakes I grew up fishing. For instance, the lake I grew up on and went to college near, Harbey’s Lake, has slighly tanic, yet clear water with a lot of natural rock and milfoil. I just learned how to fish for mixed bags and what those fish gravitate towards. Lake Champlain just fishes to the style I’ve built my career around. Over the last six or seven years I’ve made a lot of mistakes on Champlain and I’ve learned from those mistakes. I’ve been there and done that.
Q: Hi Dave, congrats on the win. All of us Canadian bassers are proud of you! I know you targeted both largemouth and smallmouth. However, besides a drop-shot, what would be your next favorite smallmouth bait be? Hope to see you on tour full time next year.
— Cody Hanley (Utopia, New Brunswick, Canada)
A: Thanks for the kind words and thanks for looking out for me. I would say my next favorite bait for smallmouths would be a downsized jig. Smallmouth tend to get in clearer, rockier situations, which is perfect for a jig.
Q: At what point in the Champlain competition did you start to get a sense that you could walk away with the title?
— Jim Interlandi (Chicage, Ill.)
A: I never did because Champlain is a place that if you make the right move at any time you can do like Gary Yamamoto did and catch a huge stringer. The problem is that after some success you can get brainwashed into fishing one area. I really have learned that the most important thing up there is to think on the fly and adjust accordingly to the weather.
Q: You said that your main adjustment was following the largemouths from the grass to hard targets like rock. Do all largemouths do this in a cold front or is it just a Champlain thing?
— Hal (Little Rock, Ark.)
A: To some extent, a lot of largemouths do this – not all of them, but a lot. If the grass is 100 percent healthy, they will stay there, but they are not easy to catch. You have a certain population that moves and a certain population that doesn’t. But the ones that stay just hunker down and are so inaccessible. I would rather target the ones that have moved to the rock and are accessible. And most importantly, Lake Champlain has so many fish it gives you instant gratification with your decisions. You start catching them and it instantly reinforces the decision you just made to move.
Q: Having your old friend Chris Hall in the boat as your co-angler must have made your victory that much more special. How important was Hallsey’s influence at the outset of this one?
— Bruce (New York, N.Y.)
A: Chris has been a great friend, probably my best friend, for the last 20 years. When we fished together we just clicked. We sort of evolved together on these types of lakes. His dad, who passed away a few years ago, was my main mentor in bass fishing. I can remember Chris saying at the registration meeting, “I wonder what my dad would say now. We have no excuse not to catch them.” So it was definitely special for both of us. It would have been even better if he had won; he was like a fish or two away. But to have friends and family there made it a special moment.
Q: It seems to me like Lake Champlain is becoming more and more of a largemouth lake. Is that because the population is growing or are anglers just becoming better at targeting them and they’ve always been there?
— Chris N. (Scranton, Pa.)
A: If you look back, it seems to flip flop every year. Last year, Shinichi Fuke won on smallmouths. Earlier this year at the EverStart, Avena won on largemouths. A lot of it depends on what time of year it is, what the conditions are and how the fish are grouped up. Typically a solid base of smallmouths with a few good kicker largemouths is a good strategy. The ability to fish for both makes an angler that much more dangerous on Champlain. Some days, the largemouth just won’t bite. I would say yes, the largemouth bass have always been there but they don’t always bite so you have to adjust on the fly based on the conditions.
Q: David, how does this win compare to others in your career?
— David Perlman (Minneapolis, Minn.)
A: This one was a big obstacle for me to overcome. I had a win at the Opens last year. But another tour win was important because there a lot of “onesy” guys out there who just get on a good group of fish and win. To do it on Champlain, a place I have a huge affinity for really makes me feel good. And it came off of sort of an average season. To have one of those unbeilevable weeks where everything works out is great, especially in such a humbling sport.
Q: I heard that the smallmouth area you fished is basically a community hole, but that you out-fished everybody there. Was it a matter of you having the “spot on the spot” or was it your technique?
— Keith (Fayetteville, N.C.)
A: It’s a combination of both. I didn’t have the spot on the spot. Many times when I got there there would already be boats in the area. I didn’t really pay attention to what everybody else was doing. I would basically get what I needed to get and then I’d get out of there and fish some of my other smallmouth spots. But there is that smallmouth window each morning that you have to captialize on – whether it’s rolling a spinnerbait or throwing a topwater over the flats. This year, that community hole was just a little better because of the high water. I knew I couldn’t win the tournament there, but I could get the base I needed in that two-hour smallmouth window. Once the cut was made, I could run around and have more areas to myself.
Q: David, what was your go-to bait(s) during the Champlain event?
— Jon Stebbins (San Diego, Calif.)
A: It depends on what fish I was targeting and what day it was. The first day it was the Sasuteki Craw for the largemouths and a drop-shot for the smallmouths. As the tournament wore on I depleted those onesy, twosy largemouth mats and I moved to the rock with that jig. If the weather was different, those baits would likely have been different too.
Q: What are your plans for 2012 in terms of schedule? If I’m not mistaken I believe Champlain is an FLW Tour Major next year.
— Marcus (State College, Pa.)
A: I’m working on my tournament schedule for next year. I’m not 100 percent sure what it will entail, but I would sure like to be at Champlain next year. To be quite honest, I’m busy planning my Christmas vacation to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, for a ski trip first. That I know for sure (laughs).
Q: Can you talk about why the smallmouth were located where they were for you during the tourney and the reason you used the set-up you did to catch them?
— Joel (Everett, Wash.)
A: It was a confidence thing. It was more about catching them as quickly as possible. I just wanted them easily accessible, because I had limited time in my own personal window. The perch are big forage in the system, and that Jackall Super Cross Tail Shad on a drop-shot is like the ideal perch imitator, especially when the bass were suspending. When they were on the bottom, I’d just put the jig in front of their face.
Q: David, do you change line before every tournament? It’s been a couple months since I fished. Should I change mine out before this weekend? I’m using 100% fluorocarbon line on all right now. Thanks.
— Kevin (Joelton, Tenn.)
A: Yes. When there is money on the lake you should change your line. Last week, I used Sunline FC Sniper. Its a great line, but all line goes through normal wear and tear. Kevin, if you haven’t changed it in that long, it would probably be wise to do so. There is still a certain amount of abrasion and memory going on that you can’t even see.
Q: Dave, how is the Fin-tech jig different than any other jig. Is it the skirt? The action? What makes it so good?
— Michael B. (Albany, N.Y.)
A: First of all, the Fin-tech jig is sold only as a jighead. The design of the jighead and its retainer system is exceptionally unique because it allows your trailer to make your jig entirely weedless – in essence it’s a Texas-rigged jig. Therefore, in the Northeast with so much cover like grass, rock and wood you are constantly gettting hung up or are cleaning off your bait. That jig just overall made me more efficient. I didn’t have to break off as much and I didn’t have to pick grass off my bait. On lakes like Champlain, I want to get the bait in and out of the cover as efficiently as possible. I would guess that the Fin-tech jig allowed me to fish almost 25 percent more effienctly than the normal exposed head design.
– MODERATOR COMMENT –
Unfortunately, that’s all the time we have to chat with David Wolak today. Thanks, once again, to all the fans who tuned in and participated in today’s Reel Chat. And a special thanks to David Wolak, the recent FLW Tour winner on Lake Champlain, for giving us his time and insights into bass fishing. Check back shortly for a complete transcript of today’s FLW Live Reel Chat.