Plattsburgh NY was the host of the MLF invitational on Champlain this past week boasting some of the best anglers in the country and some of the strongest anglers coming out of the northeast. The weights where consistent and so was the bite, as there was a mix of fish in pre spawn, spawn and post spawn. This made for a wide variety of successful techniques but it was Jacob Walker who came out on top with a convincing win after the final day of the event was cancelled due to high wind. Jacob finished with a 2 day total of 42lbs 5 ounces, taking home $80,000 in winnings. It wasn’t made easy though, as he was trailed by Nick Hatfield and Alec Morrison (Connecticut) who both had 40lbs in 2nd and 3rd. Morrison had a strong event as well as a Connecticut native who loves fishing Lake Champlain. With the win, Walker locked up a trip to REDCREST (Major League Fishing’s version of the Bassmaster Classic) next year in his home state of Alabama.

Untapped fish allowed Walker to dominate the tournament. Jacob had never fished Lake Champlain before, but he fished clean and located winning fish after getting a feel for what stage the quality fish where in. After scanning a major spawning area and seeing dozens of empty beds, he knew the big fish couldn’t be far away. He ended up finding schools of big smallmouth set up on drop-offs near the spawning areas. His first few fish where fat so he knew there was bait around as well. Walker said if he wanted to, he could have caught over 100 fish each day of the event.

The winning gear for Jacob was his 5 or 6 inch Deps Sakamata Shad in silver on a 3/16 ounce Owner Range Roller head. He said it matched the hatch of the alewives perfectly, and it looks like the smelt. He showed the cameras the similarity between his bait and an alewife he snagged on accident during the tournament. 16 pound test mainline and 10-pound fluorocarbon leader paired with his medium heavy G Loomis GLX863 was the ideal setup for the technique. Walker stayed patient in his zone. A key part of his success was making very precise presentations and waiting for bigger fish to show themselves. He reiterated that he could have caught fish on every cast, but it was his patience to hunt out the big ones that allowed him to hoist the big check on stage.

Another great event on Lake Champlain, one of the best fisheries in the Northeast and a highly regarded lake across the country.