Auten Hunting For One Or Two Slightly Bigger Fish In Northern Open On Lake St. Clair
Bassmaster Pro Todd Auten
Size matters. It will definitely matter in the Bassmaster Northern Open on Michigan’s Lake St. Clair next week, according to veteran pro angler Todd Auten.
“I have not been up there yet, so I don’t know what to expect – other than there will be a lot of fish caught,” said Auten, the PAA Angler of the Year in 2011. “Up there it seems like everybody catches about the same weight, so you have got to catch one or two bigger ones every day – and to win you really have to get on the bigger fish.”
Auten said that while he has no idea what it will take to win the Open on St. Clair, everybody will be able to fish their individual strengths.
“You can probably do what you want to do where you want to do it and do pretty good in the tournament,” he said. “You just have to get a little bit lucky and get a couple of big bites. Going from a 3-pounder to a 3 1/2- or 4-pounder can jump you way up in the standings.”
Auten said he made a conscious decision to fish the opens this year instead of the Elite Series, both to cut back on the cost of tournament fishing and to fish lakes that are more suited to his fishing strengths. Plus, he noted, if he should win one of the Open tournaments, he would get an automatic berth in the 2015 Bassmaster Classic on South Carolina’s Lake Hartwell.
“I could have fished the Tour if I had wanted to, but I felt I needed to fish the lakes that I’ve done good on in the past,” he said. “It helped financially, too, because the entry fees are more affordable.”
Auten said he would love to return to the elite Series if he can get some sponsorships to help with the higher entry fees and the cost of traveling to fish.
He likely will qualify through the Opens for the 2015 Elite Series. Although he is ranked 15th in the Northern Open standings, a good showing at St. Clair could boost him into the top 10. The top five from each of the Open divisions qualify to advance to the Elite Series, but since a lot of pros fishing the Opens are already qualified through the Elites, the top five can be selected going down through 10th place in each division. Auten finished 28th in the first Northern Open in May on Douglas lake in Tennessee and followed that with a 45th place finish in the second Northern Open on Lake Champlain in early August.
He only has to maintain in the Southern Open Division where he is ranked 3rd going into the third and final Southern Open in October on Lake Norman, just up the Catawba River from his home on Lake Wylie, S.C. Auten began the year by finishing 28th in the first Southern Open on Lake Tohopekaliga in January, but followed that with a second place finish at Smith Lake in Alabama in March.
Although Lake Norman is a short drive from his front door, Auten is not particularly looking forward to fishing the Open tournament there.
“It;s hard to practice that lake because it’s hard to go back to anything you have caught the day before and catch them again. You about have to get a mindset to fish new water every day,” he said.
But, he added, with one Northern and one Southern Open left, “I’ve got two more chances to win one and get to the Classic.”
Bassmaster Northern Open #3
Sep 4-6, 2014
Lake St Clair
Lake St. Clair Metropark
