SANDUSKY, Ohio - Failure is not an
option, and Fletcher Shryock is feeling the pressure
going into the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Northern Open on Lake Erie out of
Sandusky, Ohio, Sept. 12-14. The stress is self-imposed, but the young pro from
Newcomerstown, Ohio, can't alleviate it - not with a Bassmaster Classic berth
at stake.
"I have to win," Shryock said. "I've
got this hero-or-zero mentality. I've been carrying it for a while, and it's
not fun. It makes you feel like you have to swing for the fences or try
something oddball to make it work instead of just letting things happen the way
they should sometimes."
Shryock said he's ready to compete on Lake Erie -
which sits at No. 5 on Bassmaster Magazine's list of "100 Best Bass
Lakes" for 2013 - and he's as prepared as he can be for constantly
changing conditions. He is concerned about the fickle nature of the fishery's
smallmouth bass.
"I had the best day of smallmouth fishing of my life the other day,
weight-wise," Shryock said. "I stopped back
on the same area later that day and never caught another bass. It had been one
4 1/2-pounder after another, but when I got back, it was drum and walleye.
Timing will be key. I'm going to keep running the stuff where they are likely
to show up. With so much wind blowing, the fish move around a lot."
Shryock has given his game plan considerable thought,
deciding that he will focus on making a small number of bites count.
"I think to win up there right now, you might only get six or seven bites
in a day," he said. "At the St. Clair event, I only had a handful of
bites and didn't execute. You have to execute to win."
Shryock made the long run to Erie from Lake St. Clair
in Detroit, Mich., during the Bassmaster Elite Series Plano Championship Chase
in late August. He finished 89th but is more optimistic about his chances in
the Erie Open next week.
"I think it was the bait I was using. And things just didn't go my
way," Shryock said. "I've spent eight days
now, counting the St. Clair tournament, fishing (Erie). I'm ready."
Another Bassmaster Elite Series pro, Michael Simonton of nearby Fremont, Ohio,
predicts that weather will play a role in the Northern Open.
"In September and October, there's a good chance we'll have a day
canceled," he said. "If the wind blows out of the northeast, it will
be rough. The waves have all the way from Buffalo to build until they get down
to the western basin."
A former special education teacher at a local school, Simonton has plenty of
experience on Erie, derived from four or five outings a week each summer during
his teaching career. Since becoming an Elite Series pro, he has had less time
on his home lake, but still manages to fish it two or three times a week.
As one of the pros who ran 70 or more miles a day from Lake St. Clair to Lake
Erie to find larger smallmouth during the Elite tournament, Simonton said
launching from Sandusky will give the locals a strong advantage.
"We'll go from launching and running 70 miles to running just 25 or 30
miles," he explained. "I only had three or four hours to fish (at the
Elite event), and it was super rough. With waves that big, sometimes casting
can be ineffective because you get a big loop in the line. That makes it hard
to pick up the bite.
"At this tournament, I'll have almost double the time to fish. That is a
humongous difference."
Simonton predicts anglers will catch bass from 3 feet to 30 feet deep, though
he expects the winning smallies to be hooked in the 20- to 30-foot range.
Simonton says largemouth fishing can be productive, but he's confident it's
going to take bronzebacks to win the three-day tournament with more than 61 or
62 pounds total.
Other Elite Series pros competing include: Kurt Dove of Del Rio, Texas; Boyd Duckett of Demopolis, Ala.; Matt Greenblatt
of Port St. Lucie, Fla.; Charlie Hartley of Grove City, Ohio; Kevin Hawk of
Guntersville, Ala.; Timmy Horton of Muscle Shoals, Ala.; Randy Howell of
Springville, Ala.; Michael Iaconelli of Pitts Grove, N.J.; Chad Pipkens of Holt, Mich.; Chip Porche
of Bixby, Okla.; Derek Remitz of Grant, Ala.;
Jonathon VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich.; and Chris Zaldain of San Jose, Calif.
When competition begins Sept. 12, anglers will launch daily at 7 a.m. ET from
Shelby Street Boat Launch at 101 Shelby St., Sandusky, OH, 44870. Weigh-ins on
Day 1 and Day 2 will be held at the Shelby Street Boat Launch at 3 p.m. ET. On
Day 3, the final weigh-in will be held at 4:15 p.m. ET at Bass Pro Shops, 10000
Bass Pro Blvd., Rossford, OH 43460.
2013 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Series Title Sponsor: Bass Pro Shops
2013 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Series Official Sponsors: Toyota, Berkley,
Evan Williams Bourbon, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Skeeter
Boats, Triton Boats, Yamaha
2013 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Series Supporting Sponsors: Boat U.S.,
Carhartt, Diet Mountain Dew, Livingston Lures, Lowrance, Luck-E-Strike,
Power-Pole, Shimano
About B.A.S.S.
For more than 45 years, B.A.S.S. has served as the authority on bass fishing.
The organization advances the sport through advocacy, outreach and an expansive
tournament structure while connecting directly with the passionate community of
bass anglers through its Bassmaster media vehicles.
The Bassmaster brand and its multimedia platforms are guided by a mission to
serve all fishing fans. Through its industry-leading publications - Bassmaster
Magazine and B.A.S.S. Times - comprehensive website Bassmaster.com and ESPN2
and Outdoor Channel television programming, Bassmaster provides rich,
leading-edge content true to the lifestyle.
The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bass Pro
Shops Bassmaster Open Series, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series, Bassmaster
Wild Card, B.A.S.S. Nation events and the ultimate celebration of competitive
fishing, the Bassmaster Classic.
B.A.S.S. offers an array of services to its more than 500,000 members and
remains focused on issues related to conservation and water access. The
organization is headquartered in Birmingham, Ala.
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