Similar lure colors is a fishing secret

They call themselves “Triple-Threat” because Szklanka says his team members, Joe Vaccarella and Bob Wasson, are very good at dealing with changes on the fly when they go fishing together as a team. With 96 teams in the mix for competition and more than $50,000 in cash prizes, this team led the 3-fish daily bag on Day-1 with 20.55 pounds and did it again on Day-2 with a 20.00 lb bag. Their two-day total of 40.55 pounds provided a whopping 3-pound lead. Team “Triple-Threat” hung in there on Day-3 to earn the Championship Title with their Day-3 bag of 18.08 pounds, including a big fish of the day at 8.08 pounds to give them 58.61 pounds total and a wide margin of victory, beating Captain Jared Meyer and his team with their 3-Day total of 55.59 pounds.

So how did Team “Triple-Threat” do it?

Peter Szklanka, in a moment of celebration after the event, shared that it is all about common sense, simple presentation and stealth. “We fish from a small boat, a 19-foot Bass Tracker with a 200HP Mercury XPS and a Merc 9.9 four-stroke kicker. It’s a very quiet boat when we troll.” They fish with 8-foot, 6-inch White Diamond rods fitted with Okuma Coldwater line-counter reels loaded with black/red 27-pound lead core line from Fish USA. “We add a 60-foot leader of 12-pound test Berkley Big Game monofilament, not fluorocarbon, and we use a bait-school effect presentation.” Team Triple-Threat caught their fish due north of Dunkirk Harbor and slightly east in 80 to 100 feet of water depth, trailing seven to 10 color lead core lines and two Dipsy-divers. They use the “Precision Trolling App” to identify the running depth of trolled lures, which is why they use the Big Game mono leaders instead of fluorocarbon. The 12-pound Big Game is the same diameter as the 10-pound Berkley XT used in the App.

It’s all about understanding line drag, lure depth and where the lure is when you want it to be there. “We try to keep coordinated with that trolling bible App,” says Szklanka. The bait-school presentation idea means running all the same color lures, not necessarily by the same manufacturers. They ran Bomber Long-A (15A) lures, Yaleye Mooneye Minnow lures, and Wild-Berry #5 Colorado spinner worm rigs in their field of lures. All of our lures were in a basic “northern lights” color, which differs slightly from each manufacturer. From the side and bottom view, if you’re a fish, it must look like a giant school of forage. “We caught 25 to 40 fish daily, all the while looking for forage schools out there that we could skirt with our deployed lure field.”

Today, invited guests will meet with charter captains from the Eastern Lake Erie Charter Boat Association (ELECBA) to share a half-day of Lake Erie walleye fishing to discuss Lake Erie’s natural resource benefits, regional economy, tourism and community benefits.
Photo by Forrest Fisher

If you were wondering how to win a tournament, that’s how it’s done, kids.

Today at the Clarion Hotel pavilion on Chadwick Bay in Dunkirk, representatives of various conservation groups, including the NYSDEC from Albany and Buffalo, Lake Erie fisheries management groups, county and state legislators, outdoor communicators, and others, will meet with charter captains from the Eastern Lake Erie Charter Boat Association (ELECBA) as guests of the Chautauqua County and Erie County Fish Advisory Boards. They plan to discover more about charter boat fishing and share a day of walleye fishing to discuss Lake Erie’s natural resource benefits, regional economy, and tourism. It cannot get better with a rod in hand (weather permitting) and fish on the line. The fishing event is followed by a brief presentation and luncheon afterward. The event is by invitation only.

Remember, if you plan to fish Lake Erie sometime soon, go prepared. Add sunscreen, sunglasses, hydration supplies and motion sickness medicine to your preparation list to ensure you can enjoy a day on the water just for the fun of it. Fish on!

Gotta love the outdoors!

Outdoor Calendar:

Aug. 7: The Lake Erie VIP Experience, charter boat guest learning experience. Chadwick Bay Clarion Hotel Gazebo. By invitation only. Contact Eastern Lake Erie Charter Boat Association, Diane Steel, for info: 716-998-5137.

Aug. 7 – 18: Erie County Fair, Hamburg, NY; visit the Conservation Building to see live fish, animals, and conservation ideas for building bluebird box nests.

Aug. 8: WNY Walleye Assoc., monthly meeting, K of C, 36 Pierce Ave., Hamburg, 6:30PM.

Aug. 9-11: Sportsman’s Rendezvous, Cattaraugus County Fairgrounds, 501 Erie St., (route 353), Little Valley, $5 admission, info: 716-474-7251.

Aug. 15: Southtowns Walleye Assoc., monthly meeting and Kids Day event, 5895 Southwestern Blvd., kid’s crafts and learning stations – 6PM, general meeting – 7PM.

Aug. 16-17: Innovative Outdoors Walleye Challenge, Dunkirk Harbor from HQ at the Clarion Hotel Gazebo, $500 entry/team; info: Jim Steel, 716-481-5348 or visit https://innovative-outdoors.com.

Aug. 17: Roger’s Bird-Day Bash, 12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m., in the Lodge at RTPI, tickets $20; Includes all-day admission to RTPI.