Don McClure, Professional Guide and Tournament Angler Wins PA Open
The Delaware River is a hard river to catch quality bass in a tournament late in the year, but Don McClure, Pro Staff Administrator for Reeltime Anglers, and Dale Gorrell, take win and big bass by more than seven pounds.


    Don McClure, Professional Guide and Tournament Angler Wins PA Open

/Fishing News Articles/ - WILMINGTON, DE, November 28, 2005 - The Delaware River is a hard river to catch quality bass in a tournament late in the year, but Don McClure, Pro Staff Administrator for Reeltime Anglers, and Dale Gorrell, take win and big bass by more than seven pounds.

For the first time, Reeltimeanglers.com member Dale Gorrell and myself, Pro Staff Administrator Don McClure teamed up for the PA Open on the Delaware River, and what a day it turned out to be.

"First, let me begin by saying I have never had a day on the water like this one. We fished extremely well together said Don McClure."

"For the first time, Delaware Tackle.com member Dale Gorrell and myself, Pro Staff Administrator Don McClure, teamed up for an event and what a day it turned out to be."

"First, let me begin by saying I have never had a day on the water like this one. We fished extremely well together. Dale's ability to concentrate on pinpoint casting and boat control made precision pitching and skipping easy for me from the back of the boat. We worked all day with him working power presentations from the front and me following with finesse."

The Delaware River (PA) Open, launched at 7:30 from Neshaminy State Park. The water temperature near the ramp was 58 degrees and the tide had just started to roll in. Don said "We made our first and longest run of the day early. We ran downriver to some very nice looking chunk rock with overhanging branches. Dale was throwing the spinnerbait up shallow while I used a Spotsticker jig-head tipped with a Yamamoto Kreature on the break line from the shallow to deep water (9-21 feet)".

Don and Dale worked the shoreline and started talking a little more, and since neither of us had been on this body of water for a while I made the change to a 4" "Yamamoto Senko" and set out to catch a small fish. I wanted to catch an easy, small fish with the intention of looking at the fish to see whether they were hanging close to structure or suspending.

Shortly thereafter I hooked into a small fish that took the Senko from just a couple feet off the shore from a small log. After getting the fish in the boat I saw what I wanted and decided to stick with the Senko. Oh, and the fish was legal size and went 1.12 lbs but, would be culled out later in the tournament. We continued working the same structure for sometime and ended up with a five fish limit by 10:00 AM.

After we got the limit,Dale noticed an area about 200 yards away that he said looked good, as it used to be a large pad field. We scooted over to this area and Dale quickly nabbed three fish on the Terminator spinnerbait. We only made two passes around this small cove and we were off again to the next hole.

Throughout the day we checked many spots and Dale showed me many of his more productive areas for various times of year. In fact, the last spot of the day was one that proved to be the biggest producer of the day.


"As we worked our way out I threw out a Texas rigged Kreature to some underwater structure in about seven feet of water and BAM! I thought at first I may have been hung on a small branch but that branch then turned into a fish. Since we were catching two pound fish most of the day this felt big. Once in the boat I landed what would later be the winner of the "Big Fish Award", a 3.05 lb largemouth."

At weigh-in time we ended up with a bag of five fish for 12.19 pounds and we caught approximately sixteen keepers throughout the day.

"We won the event by over seven pounds! This is quite unusual for the Delaware River, as most tournaments are won there with 7-8 pounds most of the time, Don said."

Lastly, just as a note to those who may be scratching their heads in amazement and wondering how an event can be won with only twelve pounds, the answer is simple. The Delaware River is a tough fishery and through years of contamination by encroachment and oil spills, the fish are just now starting to make a comeback.

Don McClure said "Reeltimeanglers showed what bass fishing in tough situations is all about. Steve vonBrandt, Co-owner of Delaware Tackle, Reeltimeanglers, and Anglers Radio preped us for the tournament with all the right techniques and baits, along with the strategy that won the tournament and took big bass."

All of our tackle we used came from Delaware Tackle, available online as well, at www.delawaretackle.com and it was supplied to us free. Delaware Tackle spends a good deal of time helping young anglers, women, and new tournament anglers all over the northest.
"They offer many more services than just Premium Tackle though."

"They were a major factor in winning more than just this one tournament in the last year said Don McClure", and they have a huge website that caters to anglers of all ages and gender. I think they are an innovator in the sport of bass fishing in the northeast, if not the entire US!

"I know they cut down the time I would have had to spend on my own to learn just a few rivers and lakes by five years, Don said" I know two spots that I never would have found on my own for sure."

Don said "Thanks to Delaware Tackle and Reeltime Anglers, I have pocketed more than a few thousand dollars just the first year in local tournaments before I switched to the larger Skeeter boat, and started fishing National Bass and the FLW tour events." "The instructions alone though were worth more than triple that amount though."

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Reeltime Anglers
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Wilmington, Delaware
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