Wildfires out west provided a hazy start to the morning for Stop #7 on the Mo-Yak Fishing Tournament Series.  After the smoke cleared, Joe Mersky came out on top after tying Justin Coon with 84.25″!  Let’s see how he did it…

What was your strategy going into the day.
I had planned to go out first thing with a topwater arsenal. Just in case I would bring my chatterbait for shallow and mid-range, and a Texas rig for the deeper fish. I actually didn’t stick to my topwater plan as I wasn’t feeling it, I think I threw a bluegill swimbait 3 times. After that I committed to the chatterbait and Texas rig.

Were you able to prefish and did you find anything that helped you on game day?
I didn’t get any time on Pomme before the tournament. I had done a bit of research on topography maps, also reading that the bass were moving to the holes.

What was your best finish before this one?
Stockton, I had placed 6th.

What was the general tackle you used to win?
I fished a 1/2oz sprayed grass Jackhammer with a candy grass d bomb trailer primarily. When the bite would slow I threw a 1/4oz Texas rig with a 10″ green pumpkin curly tail.

Anything else special about the day?
Within the first hour, I landed my biggest bass. I had thrown my jackhammer in 2 feet of water onto some rocks. I was slowly working it as a jig and once I started to retrieve the lure, right next to my boat the fish blew up, luckily I had my drag set. I was able to tire her out and land it.  I ended up losing about 3 to 4 more big ones, due to the Texas rig and the bite being weird with it. But when it worked, it produced 14 to 16 inchers.

How far did you have to travel to find your fish?
I really only traveled about 2 miles, I just stayed where I was because the boats weren’t bad at all, and there were only a few of us there.

What depth range were you looking for?
I was shooting for very shallow to 3 feet in the early morning. Once 10 am came around I switched to 3 to 8 foot and 10-15 foot.

Did the weather affect your bite?
Traveling first thing in glass calm water made getting set up very easy. Once the wind had picked up, I was ready to come back, it was blowing in the direction I needed to go. The wind definitely helped with the chatterbait bite.

Do you plan to fish the remaining MoYak schedule?
Unfortunately due to some very recent issues, ill only be fishing the remainder of September online, KBF national, and the AAKS. With hopes of coming back soon.

Are there things that MoYak can do better?
I think everybody running Moyak is doing a great job. This is a very fun competitive club to be a part of. The only thing I would ask, and I am grateful for the past 2 tournaments, is that we stay as far from the rain as possible! Thanks for having me!

Derby Stats
Anglers 77
Fish caught – 404
Total limits – 50
Margin of victory – 0″
Smallest Bass Award – Trevor Fanning 4.75″
Air temp at launch – 71
Air temp at takeout – 89
Water temps reported
Up river – mid 70’s
Main lake – 80’s