Author: support

Plocek’s Secret Weapon Secures BASS Victory on Oneida

Posted by Joe Haubenreich on Wed, Aug 13, 2008 @ 07:13 PM

August 9 Syracuse, NY — Congratulations to Secret Weapon Prostaff Ron Plocek, one of two anglers to share first place at the August 2008 Champion’s Choice Tournament. Ron gives a lot of credit to Secret Weapon spinnerbaits for his win. Here’s how it happened….

After a strong first day and a decent bag the second, Ron Plocek brought just two bass to the scales on the third day of the BASS Elite tournament on Lake Oneida last weekend. He didn’t think 5-10 was enough for him to have a shot of remaining first place. But as he sat in the hot seat before the crowd and angler after angler walked up and weighed in, no one brought in a bag that would knock him out of the lead. To his surprise, he was still there after the last angler left the stage!

Day One found Ron sitting atop the co-angler leader board with 10-13 and a 4-5 largemouth that took big fish honors for the day.

On Day Two he struggled and dropped a few places, but victory was still well within reach.

However, by 2:15 PM on Day Three, with no fish in the livewell, Ron was sweating it. His boater, BASS Pro Richard Scherer, was having an equally difficult day. Fish were not active after two days of extremely stormy weather, nor were they hitting slow-moving bottom baits. With the clock ticking down, Ron needed a miracle!

The two anglers were over a grassy flat on Oneida Lake. This is normally a productive pattern, but they were finding no takers. Retrieving his Secret Weapon spinnerbait just across the top of the grass, Ron let it drop into a hole in the vegetation, and as he slow-rolled it back up a 3-pound smallmouth bass smashed the lure. Into the livewell it went, and his next cast with a Zoom Speed Craw produced a 2-pound smallmouth from the same hole.

Those two fish turned out to be just enough to secure first place for the Liverpool, NY co-angler.

Ron considers himself a “power fisherman” but not a “speed fisherman.” He prefers heavy baits and heavy lines, but when it comes to spinnerbaits, Ron says he get more hits when retrieving as slowly as he possibly can.

“All the time I see people throwing spinnerbaits, and they seem to have just one mode of retrieve — steady, just under the surface. They don’t take account the reel ratio or other factors that affect the speed of retrieve. Keeping a spinnerbait too high in the water column causes them to miss a lot of fish. I keep my bait near the bottom or ticking the tops of the grass. I often hang up, but many times when I rip my bait from the grass I’ll get hit. This technique has been very successful for me.”

Ron’s spinnerbait of choice is the Secret Weapon Quickstrike. “Their vibration… your feel when using them is incredible. I love ’em. The Buzzrbaits are great, too; I’ve had lots of success with them.”

Does the brand of spinnerbait make any difference?

“You can’t fish and do well without having a great spinnerbait. Most spinnerbaits out on the market don’t run right out of the package. Catch a fish and get it out of tune, or if you pick up a little weed on it, and it won’t run worth a darn. I never have the problem with Secret Weapons,” declares Ron.

In the end, Ron shared his first place finish with Jesse Herbert, another New York angler who matched his total weight of 23-07. The two men shared first and second place prize money. In addition, Ron received $500 for the tournament’s biggest bass at 04-05.

In all trails but the co angler trail, a tie would be settled by declaring the winner who had either the biggest bag or biggest fish. Ron had both thanks to Secret Weapon spinnerbaits.

Read more:
Epic final round caps co-angler series run (ESPN)
Rojas Leads Elite Series Bass Fishing Event on Oneida Lake
(BassResource.com)