Winning Pattern
Gluszek Overcame Wind
To Triumph At Champlain
article taken from BassFan.com

Photo: FLW Outdoors/Jeff Schroeder Pete Gluszek's victory at the Champlain Northeastern Stren was his biggest since 1999.

"In the spring, I get a check about 20 to 30% of the time," he said. "It's an Achilles' heel for me and my springtime patterning is still a work in progress.

"In the summer and fall though, I'm about 90% in the money."

He caught 33-00 over the final 2 days to win by 1-06 over New York's Aaron Wessels. It was his first Stren victory and his biggest triumph since the 1999 Alabama Bassmaster Invitational.

Here's how he did it.

Practice

Gluszek prefer to catch smallmouths at Champlain, but he knew that September tournaments on the big lake that lies on the New York/Vermont border are often won with largemouths. With that in mind, he split up his 5 practice days between the two species.

"I started out spending about half the day targeting largemouths and the other half looking for smallmouths," he said. "But as the week progressed, I started investing more and more time in largemouths. I was trying to listen to what the fish were telling me, and that was that the largemouths were snapping a lot better.

The weather forecast called for powerful winds (it blew so hard that day 2 was canceled), so he sought leeward areas in Missisquois Bay at the north end of the lake.

"I found the fish I ended up winning with on the first day, and then I struggled a little bit. I tried to put some smallmouth stuff together, but I couldn't seem to get a 3-pound average.

"On the last practice day I found a good group of largemouths in a protected area, and that helped me make it into the cut. I had plenty of backup areas for smallmouths, but that 3-pound average was challenging. The 3-pound largemouths seemed to be readily available."

Competition

> Day 1: 5, 17-00
> Day 2: Canceled (5, 17-00)
> Day 3: 5, 15-10
> Day 4: 5, 17-06 (10, 33-00)

Gluszek made the 30- to 40-mile run from the launch in Plattsburgh, N.Y. to the northern end of the lake on days 1 and 3 despite strong winds that created enormous waves.

"I had those areas that were protected, and I knew if I could get to them, I could catch a good bag," he said. "When you've got high-caliber fish located, you have to go to them no matter what the conditions.

"The fact of the matter was the largemouths weren't near where we launched the boats. You had to travel."

He was pleasantly surprised to find some quality smallmouths mixed in with his green fish. He weighed three bronzebacks on day 1 and two on day 3 before catching all largemouths on the final day.

His 17-00 bag put him in 9th place after day 1. Because of the day 2 cancellation, only the Top 20 were invited back for day 3.

He moved up to 2nd with 15-10 on day 3. His 17-06 bag on the final day was more than a pound and a half better than anyone else's.

Photo: FLW Outdoors/Jeff Schroeder Pete Gluszek's primary baits at the Champlain Northeastern Stren were a Net Bait Paca Craw (left) and a Vertical Lures Jig X.

He flipped three different baits during the tournament – a 1/2-ounce jig with a Net Bait Paca Craw trailer, the Paca Craw by itself and a Yamamoto Senko.

"Sometimes they'd mess with the jig," he said. "They'd bite it funny or hit it two or three times. When I ran into that situation, I'd just Texas-rig the Paca Craw, and I was usually able to get them with that.

"I fished around wood – mostly blowdowns and trees – on the first 2 days, but I also fished some grass, reeds, lily pads and milfoil. I'd use the Senko in certain places, like around docks or grass.

"We had calm conditions on the last day, so I went over to the New York side (west of where he'd been fishing) rock outcroppings, the edges of grass and deeper structure."

He also caught one weigh-in fish on a Chatterbait.

Winning Gear Notes

> Jig gear: 7' extra-heavy Rogue rod, Shimano MG casting reel (6.3:1 gear ratio), 20-pound Real Line copolymer, 1/2-ounce Vertical Lures Jig X (black/blue or green-pumpkin), Net Bait Paca Craw trailer (green-pumpkin or black/blue flake).

> Senko gear: 7' heavy-action Rogue rod, Shimano 4000 casting reel, 10-pound Real Line, 4/0 Gamakatsu EWG hook, Yamamoto Senko (black/blue flake or green-pumpkin, rigged weightless).

> Chatterbait gear: 7' heavy-action Rogue rod, Shimano Curado casting reel, 65-pound Power Pro braided line, 3/8-ounce Rad Lures Chatterbait (black/blue).

> Real Line is out of production, but he still has a substantial supply of it. "It's been my line for a while now and I'll keep using it until I run out."

> The line-tie on the Jig X is located behind the head. "It's mainly designed for weed fishing, but I used it around wood."

The Bottom Line

Main factor in his success – "Managing the conditions. This was an exteme-conditions tournament with monster waves and monster wind. Some guys aren't familiar with how to strategize for that, but I was able to fish the leeward sides of my spots and run 30 to 40 miles each day."

Performance edge – "The most important thing was my boat and motor (a Ranger Z20 with an Evinrude E-Tec 225 HO). We had sustained 35-mph winds, and about 35 boats didn't make it back to the weigh-in on the first day. I opted to run long-distance, and they afforded me the ability to get there and back and everything stayed intact."

Notable

> Gluszek said he couldn't determine whether this win was more significant than his Bassmaster Invitational victory in '99. "I love Lake Champlain – it's one of my favorite bodies of water in the world, and it was nice from that perspective. But winning is a great sensation no matter where you get it."