Tom's Omnia Success Story
Ever since its inception, Omnia Fishing has been about one thing: smarter tackle shopping that helps customers find success on the water. We recently heard an awesome story that one of our Ambassadors, Tom, recently experienced exactly what we hope for all of our customers - utilizing our fishing report information to help him catch his personal best fish! Tom recently got into fishing and was looking to try new techniques on a lake that he fishes often. Being an Ambassador, he knew of Omnia's fishing reports, so he took a look at the fishing reports that were submitted for this particular lake to try and discover new techniques and baits to try. We had a chance to catch up with Tom, and this is the story he shared with us:
Tom's Story
While I have been fishing my whole life, I started focusing pretty heavily on bass fishing in August or so of 2022. I primarily fish bright and early on the weekends and am generally self taught when it comes to learning different techniques and baits. I usually find a bait that catches fish for me and end up sticking with it, without giving too much thought about trying new things. That mindset changed in late July of 2023.
I spent that morning throwing a jerk bait on the outside weed edge of a lake that I fish pretty frequently. It's been a tried-and-true bait for me on this lake, but I had just recently gotten a new setup (G. Loomis GLX 822S SYR / Shimano Vanford) so I wanted change it up a little with a drop shot. I had a pretty successful day on the water, catching roughly 15 or so bass, but none being over two pounds. I went home and filed my fishing report on this lake and saw that there was another angler who had filed a report on the lake, for that very day as well.
My mind was blown. His fishing report stated he caught two six pounders on the very morning that I was out there as well. I have caught a couple hundred bass on this lake so far this year, but my biggest was 3.39 pounds; not even close to the six pounders this person had caught. His report said he was targeting boulders with a Neko rig and a drop shot. Having some success with the drop shot, I was determined to try the bait he recommended - a Roboworm 6" Straight Tail Worm.
I began planning out my next outing on the water. As I mentioned, his report highlighted the Roboworm 6" Straight Tail Worm, but I wanted to change it up a little bit. I opted for the Missile Baits Magic Worm since they were a little bigger in profile. I was hoping to draw out a bigger bite by throwing a bigger bait. I placed my Omnia order on Tuesday to make sure I had my baits by the weekend. As expected, my order showed up on Friday. I was ready for my next shot on this lake.
Saturday morning finally rolls around and I'm on the water by 5:30 AM. I knew an area that had boulders that I had previously marked on my graph, so I made a beeline to them as fast as I could. I made my first cast with the drop shot, and began to feel the boulders on the bottom. As I worked my way through the bottom, I made mental notes of where the rocks had "gaps" or "spaces" in between them. On my second cast, I got bit and set the hook, pulling in a nice 2.27 pound largemouth. I made my next cast, and worked my way through the first set of boulders. As I pulled through that first set, I continued working the drop shot through the "gap," expecting to reach the second set of boulders, but I didn't feel them. I recalled information from Tactical Bassin that if you are pulling your bait through cover and don't feel that "anticipated" piece of cover, you may have a fish on the line that's swimming at you with your bait. Testing this theory, I reeled down and set the hook. My drag started peeling out. It didn't stop. The fish seemed to pull for ages but finally started making its way up to the surface. She jumped out of the water near the back of the boat. I had never seen a fish so big in my life. She made another hard run under the boat and I used that opportunity to grab my net. As she came back up to the surface, I quickly scooped her on the first go. Lifting the fish out of the water, I immediately knew this fish was going to break my personal best.
I get the fish on the scale and the weight flies by four pounds, then five pounds, then six pounds! It stops at 7.25 pounds. 7.25 pounds! I could hardly believe it. This fish was so special to me being that it more than doubled my previous personal best and it coming from the northern part of the country made it a fish of a lifetime for me.
I really have to give credit to the Omnia fishing reports, because without reading them, I would've just stayed in my usual routine of working the weed edge with a jerk bait. I had to make the uncomfortable decision (to me) to abandon my comfort bait and execute a plan that Omnia presented me with. With a small adjustment to the technique showcased in the fishing report, I was able to catch my fish of a lifetime.
