JACK WOLLITZ Location tops lure selection

A question at the top of just about every angler's list has to do with which lures or baits the fish are biting.
It certainly is tempting to drive up to the lakeside tackle store and ask the proprietor for lure recommendations. But the more appropriate question for those who want to zero-in on the fish ought to be "Where are they living?"
The answer to that second question is much more informative. And savvy anglers know they have choices based on their personal skills and strengths once they know where their preferred fish are holding.
Only tools
Lures, after all, are tools to be applied where they are most effective. One wouldn't, for example, use a ratchet to drive a nail any more than toss a deep-diving crankbait to a shallow bank even if the bait shop reported the fish were eating plugs.
But if you know the fish are biting in the weeds or way back up in the creeks, then you rig up accordingly.
I carry close to 100 pounds of lures on my boat. Too many, for sure, especially when I look back at what I tossed this year. I caught most of my bass this year on five basic lures: soft plastic tubes and lizards, rigged Texas-style with bullet weights; tandem willow-leaf spinnerbaits; Bomber and Bill Norman crankbaits; and the topwater Pop-R.
So why do I carry all the other baits? They are insurance. I like to be prepared in circumstances calling for special presentation.
One such time occurred a month ago on Lake Milton.
I happened on a spot where the weeds were matted over on the surface, a perfect place to drag a hollow plastic, weedless lure. I had a Snagproof Frog tied on one of my heavy-line rods. The first few casts went unnoticed.
But at the end of the weeds, in a little point that jutted away from the thicker part of the mat, an explosion erupted under the frog. A bass surged away with the lure in its mouth and I jabbed the hook into its jaw.
It turned out to be a five-pounder, and seemed to grow with each leap.
That's what I call insurance.
Champs crowned
When it comes to winning bass championships, Warren brothers George and Nick Prvonozac have few peers in Northeast Ohio. This year, they won the season points title of the Extreme Bass Series.
On the Greater Ohio Tournament Trail, meanwhile, Steve Zarbaugh of Poland and partner yours truly (OK, it's me, but I'm trying to be humble since I write this column) took first place in the circuit's 2003 points race.
The Extreme and G.O.T.T. are two-person "buddy tournament" trails.
The Prvonozac brothers are versatile anglers with a tremendous amount of experience in Ohio and the U.S. as they competed in tournaments of national prominence. Their steady performance spanned events at Mosquito, Berlin, Presque Isle/Lake Erie and the Ohio River.
Now they take their skills to the Extreme Championship on Saturday and Sept. 14 at Lake Chautauqua, N.Y.
Enroute to the G.O.T.T. title, Zarbaugh and I scored two second places (West Branch and Lake Milton) and added in-the-money finishes at Mosquito and the Ohio River New Cumberland Pool.
The G.O.T.T. championship tournament began Saturday on the Ohio River, continues today at Mosquito Creek Reservoir and concludes this afternoon with the final weigh-in at Gander Mountain in Niles.
jwwollitz@aol.com