For this episode, Angelo and Pete relive a couple of blasts from the past. Going back to June 14 and 15th of 1986, our boys made their way to Lac St. Pierre in the town of Contrecoeur Quebec. They were fishing what was at that time the only draw-style tournament in the country (two people fish out of the same boat but are against each other and the rest of the entire field) held by East Coast Pro Bass.
On the last day of pre-fishing, Pete came across a great Largemouth spot and ultimately won the tournament.
Pete and Angelo never went back Lac St. Pierre to shoot an episode for the Fish’n Canada Show, but that win was always in the back of their minds.
After a visit with the boys at the Princecraft Boats headquarters about five years ago, our combined group of boaters and anglers finally revisited the waters of St Pierre. After nearly 25 years, there was no way Pete could recall his exact spot (there was no GPS back then) so they were basically on new water.
FAST FORWARD TO 2013
“JP from Princecraft was on my boat,” recalled Pete, “and we were catching some Pike and Smallmouth Bass. But when we came upon Ang’s boat, he was all excited and told us where to cast. We did and bam: JP popped a big smallie and from then on, it was crazy.”
“Not only were there big Smallmouth where Pete and JP were,” says Ang, “but just up the bank we found an area loaded with Largemouth—and some big gals too!”
Angelo and Pete left for home with smiles on their faces after yet another visit to Lac St. Pierre.
Fast forward to 2013 and they finally decided to grab the camera gear and crew and head out for a shoot.
Upon returning to Angelo’s exact hotspot, however, the boys were actually concerned; there were lots of fish there, but the size wasn’t even close to the last trip. The Largemouth had also seemingly moved into their Smallmouth area. Bizarre!
Ang: “We didn’t even see a fish under three pounds here last time out. Are the big fish gone, or do we need to change things up?”
JIG & PIG
The boys worked their butts off, tweaking presentations and trying to pinpoint exact fish locations. On the first trip here, the weapon of choice was a Jig and Pig for Largemouth. On the last trip, it was a strong tube jig bite for Smallmouth. This time it was a free-for-all.
Actually, Ang caught a giant smallie between five and six pounds on a wacky-rigged Senko drop shot rig—three totally different presentations.
“On this trip,” Angelo says, “the bite was very different. I would basically work the bait very slowly and let the fish come to the bait instead of the usual current tactic of drifting the bait to the fish.”
After a difficult start, this shoot ended up very much in the positive—another great trip to the St. Lawrence!
