Chris Zaldain zoomed from 28th place on Day 2 into 6th place doing something very different than any other angler in this tournament. He’s throwing a ¾-ounce custom-made Chatterbait on 17-pound test line. That’s how he made the big jump Saturday with his biggest bag of smallmouth ever – 27 pounds, 4 ounces, which included a 6-pound, 5-ounce bass.
“I did it reaction bait fishing, and it was a helluva fun time – with a Chatterbait, of all things,” Zaldain said. “I’m really treating it just like a big swimbait with a nice slow wind.”
It appears to be working again today. Zaldain is hanging close to leader Jay Przekurat. BassTrakk showed him with 24-12 at 11 a.m. His bag includes a 6-pounder.
Zaldain found a big spawning flat near some very deep water 25 miles from the mouth of the St. Lawrence River. He said water surface temperatures there are only 69 to 71 degrees, significantly cooler than the 75-degree water he found in the St. Lawrence River. When he heads out of the St. Lawrence River to Lake Ontario, Zaldain said he simply follows the big July supermoon, which was full on Wednesday.
“When I hit land in Canada, lined up with that full moon, I’m in a spawning area,” he said. “I have it all to myself. It’s scary easy. When you’re around them, grandma could do it. It’s that easy.”
However, Zaldain had to do significant experimenting before discovering how to catch them the easy way. “You can see them tracking it,” he said. “I tried throwing a jerkbait – nada. I threw tubes, dropshots.”
His line is significant too – 17-pound test Seaguar Tatsu fluorocarbon. “Fifteen is too light for these big ones and 20 is too heavy, you can’t keep the bait down where it needs to be,” he said.
As for the Chatterbait, “I literally take a little bit from this Chatterbait manufacturer and a little bit from that Chatterbait manufacturer. I use a very, very sparse hand-tied skirt and, how about this, no trailer.”
