Fresh off his victory in the Emo Walleye Classic this spring, Greg Stahn now has his eyes set on a bigger prize—the Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship (FFCBC).
Stahn and his partner, Todd Baker of Emo, topped all the competition in late May with a two-day bag of nearly 20 pounds—including one monster that tipped the scales at almost nine pounds.
But heading into this month’s FFCBC, the former fishing guide who lives north of Devlin has a different partner and a different approach because bass are definitely a different kettle of fish.
“It will be totally different stuff,” Stahn explained. “It’s more competitive with more pros and more teams.”
There are fundamental differences in how to win, as well.
“It’s very hard [with bass] to win with one big fish,” Stahn noted. “With walleye, you could theoretically win the tournament with just two fish.
“Also here, it’s a three-day tournament, so you have to be more consistent.”
The rules are different, too. At the FFCBC, anglers are allowed five fish per day instead of the four in the walleye tournament. And in Emo, many anglers went with live bait, but here it’s strictly artificial.
That will limit a competitor’s options.
But Stahn has seen all this before. He and partner, Theo DeGroot, are no strangers to the FFCBC—having worked as a team almost every year since the derby began in 1995.
To date, Stahn and DeGroot consistently have finished in the top third of the field, including their best finish of 24th. Eight times, they’ve had the big fish of the day.
Stahn also has been a guide since he was 14, working with his father who owned a tourist outfit. And since he continues to spend so much time on remote lakes, it became worth his while to learn to fly and now owns a Piper Cub on floats.
His victory at the Emo Walleye Classic notwithstanding, the FFCBC remains the crown jewel for Stahn. He said the competition is intense and the margin of victory is often a matter of ounces, not pounds.
“The difference between first place and 10th place can be only a couple of pounds,” he explained. “In fact, the biggest margin of victory was only about one pound.”
That’s why it is so important to have a game plan, but one that is flexible. There is no time to waste on unproductive tactics.
“You almost have to start in the morning with a game plan and have a fall-back plan if it doesn’t work,” Stahn said.
And what would that game plan be?
“With walleye, jigs and minnows tend to be most effective, as well as crankbaits. With bass, you try everything,” he remarked. “Some teams stay in 40 feet of water while others fish in water as shallow as two feet.
“Both do well.”
Stahn predicted most anglers will go with some kind of soft plastic or rubber bait—often impregnated with scents and salt.
“You have a better chance with those because the flavour and salt causes the fish to hold onto the bait longer, so you have a better chance to get a good hook set,” he explained.
“I have about four ‘go-to’ baits I can usually count on,” he added.
Still, there are no guarantees in this business. Although fish aren’t considered to be real intelligent, Stahn feels they can and do learn from experience, so the angler must constantly find new ways to fool them.
“The important thing is to be persistent. Never give up because one cast can get you one more fish and that can make the difference,” he stressed, referring to his experience in the EWC where he and Baker had been skunked for four hours—and almost had given up hope—when the lunker hit.
But what is it that makes the FFCBC so special that people come from as far away as Florida and California to compete?
“What makes it exciting is the calibre of fishermen who come here,” Stahn said. “It’s really fun just being a part of it.”
But it’s not just the competition that people like Stahn find so compelling. The whole community gets behind the tournament in a big way.
“The community support here is unbelievable,” he enthused. “Weigh-in on the third day is like a zoo. I like to hang around in the crowd and watch the other guys come in with their catches.”
Fishermen supposedly are notoriously superstitious, but Stahn said that’s not the case with him. He does, however, pay close attention to the solunar tables that are published daily in many newspapers.
These tables purportedly list the times during a 24-hour period when fish are most active.
“Definitely,” he said. “They do seem to help.”
With 135 other teams vying for the top prize, he and DeGroot will need all the help they can get—as will everybody else.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
