Heritage Cup Elimination Round 1 Gear and Patterns
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – When the anglers fishing the Elimination Round 1 of the Bass Pro Shops Heritage Cup Presented by Berkley found themselves in Syracuse, New York, they didn’t know where they would be fishing. This area is home to several popular bass hotspots like Oneida Lake, as well as the Finger Lakes.
Turns out, the first 10 anglers to fish the event were on their way to Henderson Bay on Lake Ontario when they headed out that morning.
One angler who was thrilled to see that the trucks were driving past Lake Oneida was Fred Roumbanis, who was mentally preparing for Oneida and factoring in his past struggles there.
The good news didn’t stop there for Roumbanis, and he ended up landing on a massive group of smallmouth right away on Lake Ontario and won the round in a landslide.
Roumbanis in a Runaway
Roumbanis shared that he had visited Henderson Bay one day in the past and had an idea of what to expect when they launched the boats.
“I knew it was a world-class smallmouth fishery, and even though the area I fished when I was there was out of our zone, I got as close to that area as we were allowed to and started graphing fish,” he said.
What he found was a rock reef coming out from the shore. In the center of the reef was a bowl-shaped indention that held plenty of fat smallmouth bass.
“I could literally see them swimming down beneath the boat, and I was anxiously waiting for them to call ‘lines in’ so I could start fishing,” Roumbanis recalled. He opted for a drop-shot rig and caught them consistently all day long for a massive total of 33 bass for 74 pounds, 8 ounces.
“When I am smallmouth fishing I like a 3-inch soft plastic, and I fished a variety of them in Green Pumpkin colors, including some that my son Jackson poured for me with recycled Gene Larew plastics,” he said.
He fished them on a Size 1 Hayabusa Drop Shot Hook and alternated between a 3/16, 1/4, and 3/8 ounce drop-shot weight before figuring out the key. “They seemed to want a specific speed as the bait fell, and that day, a 1/4 ounce was the best,” said Roumbanis, who added that his rod and reel setup also played a big role.
He fished a 7-4 medium Dobyns “Boom Boom” Series spinning rod with a 7.1:1 Sixgill Banshee reel that he spooled with 20-pound yellow Cortland Master Braid with an 8-pound Cortland “Drop Shot” fluorocarbon leader.
“The 7-4 rod helps since using a little bit longer rod gives you some more leverage, and I was using a ‘lift and drop’ retrieve and that popping up and falling was crucial for getting bites. The reel is also one of the fastest retrieves you will see in a spinning rod, and that helped to pick up the slack when one bit it on the fall,” he added.
Wheeler Finishes Second
When Jacob Wheeler started the day, he decided to target largemouth bass and was able to catch some, but his day turned around when he shifted to fishing for smallmouths as he ended up in second with 18 bass for 49-5.
“I caught a few up shallow flipping laydowns and punching mats with a Googan Baits Bandito Bug, but the majority of my fish were smallmouths that I caught on a 3-inch finesse swimbait,” Wheeler said.
When fishing the small swimbait, he targeted things that he could visually see. “I was looking for shade and any darker spots I could find,” he added.
He fished the swimbait on a 1/4-ounce jighead and opted for a 7-foot medium Duckett Fishing “Jacob Wheeler Series” rod with a 2500-sized spinning reel. Wheeler spooled with a combo of 8-pound Sufix NanoBraid and 8-pound Sufix Advanced fluorocarbon.