> When I won on the St. Lawrence River back in 1992, it was the first time a B.A.S.S. angler won there exclusively with smallmouth. I averaged around 14 lbs a day.

> In the current era with [zebra] mussels and gobies, that’s so weak you don’t even want to take a 14-lb limit out of the livewell. Last year, I averaged more than 20 lbs a day and still finished 21st.

> “All 3 of those colors are laminates. Candy grass is what I use for a bluegill pattern all across the country, PB&J is what I use to for crawdads all across the country, and then black/blue is everything else.

> “The majority of baits I have are those 3 colors — I don’t carry 20 different colors of everything.

> “Black/blue is the most universal color across the country — I’ve won tournaments in FL, CA and NY on it. The candy grass color — I’ve won tournaments in NY and CA on it. PB&J is a great universal color — brown and purple works anywhere in the country, particularly in places like MO and TX. I’m covering all the bases by simplifying colors.

> “That’s how I cover the bases if you want to simplify. Obviously I have other baits, but if I had to have 3 baits that would be it.”

> “It’s very important. I can remember winning the [Bassmaster] Busch Shootout…. I caught a bass on a shakey head. I was catching them, but not fast and furious, just one here and there. This bass had a crawdad in it that had a little green, a little blue and little green pumpkin. I had a jig that matched that exactly. I threw it out, and the 3rd or 4th cast caught the biggest fish of that day that won me the tournament…and caught them faster.

> “…includes size. It’s hugely important.”

> “I think it’s more not being confused. The biggest thing for a lot of anglers is having a starting point, whether it’s a lake they normally fish or a new lake. So when I go to lakes, these are the colors I’m picking to start with because it’s simple.”

> “I think it’s a shadow thing more so than the actual black and blue. The black is darker than the blue, but they’re really close to each other. So I think it’s a shadow thing. They say fish don’t see colors…shades they see better….”

> “I’m a methodical type of fisherman, so I’ve had to get used to needing to catch nearly 50 bass a day just to keep up.

> “This is the toughest thing that I’ve ever done. Between this format and this group of anglers, it’s been different for me this year.”

> A large proportion of largemouth bass consumed blue crabs and mud crabs…also consumed grass shrimp, gulf menhaden and mysid shrimp.

> Prey diversity was greater at the lower estuary…than at the sites in the upper estuary….

> A principal components analysis based on the biomass diet data revealed that invertebrates were the most important prey resource…with finfishes playing a secondary role.

> Seasonal inputs of estuarine fish species, such as Gulf menhaden, represented an important prey resource…during both spring and summer.

> Non-native red swamp crayfish were the most important prey for largemouth bass….

> Non-native centrarchids (including largemouth bass) and amphipods [shrimp] were important prey items as well.

> Prickly sculpin were the most frequently consumed native fish. Other native fish and pelagic fish species rarely occurred in largemouth bass diets.