Sportsman Spotlight
Hometown: Angola, Ind.
Occupation: DH Mechanical and Facility Consulting (he owns it)
Favorite fish species and biggest: Smallmouth 6-15
Favorite Michiana lake: Clear Lake, Stueben County.
Favorite rod and reel: Shimano Vanford spinning reel and Dobyns Champion Extreme 742 rod.
Hobbies when not fishing: Spending time with wife
If you only had one lure and why: Mango Jig - I can swim it, hop it on the bottom and they bite it in cold water.
Best tip to give a new Michiana angler: I’m big on paying attention to the details. It’s always about the details. Pay attention to the little things around you, not what other anglers are doing.
By Louie Stout
Heath Wagner knows how to catch ‘em around the Great Lakes area.
The Angola, Ind. angler has won six Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) tournaments and won more than $77,000 over the course of 38 tournaments. But over the years, he’s been a serious threat during inland lake and river tournaments.
Due to business obligations, he sat out most of last year and primarily fished weeknighters, but his name still resonates with anglers throughout eastern Michiana.
He’s a frequent seminar speaker, recently became a licensed fishing guide and will dabble with that this season for both bass and walleye.
Here’s a Q/A we did with him:
MON: Given your success on the Great Lakes, I bet you get a lot of anglers seeking you out for information.
WAGNER: I do. People ask for spots and I don’t share spots. I work too hard for them. Now, I don’t have any problems explaining what’s going on in a body of water or how I found them. So, don’t ask anglers for spots; ask how they find them and inquire about details of what fish are doing. That’s how you become a better angler.
MON: You do quite a few sport show seminars. Do you enjoy that?
WAGNER: I really do. If I had more time, I’d do more. I like sharing my knowledge about the science of fishing. The process of locating fish is the best part of the sport. It’s like mushroom hunting; once you find a spot, it’s special. I want to know why they are there today. And I love talking about that part of it.
MON: You’re considered an expert with electronics. What do you use mostly?
WAGNER: I’m a big proponent of electronics and different brands have their strengths. I use Garmin which I believe has the best forward-facing sonar (FFS). Lowrance has the bests user-friendly mapping and Humminbird has the best mapping.
MON: What about 360?
WAGNER: I don’t use it very much, but it is very handy. If I had a choice, I’d have two FFS units, one for LiveScope and one for LiveScope Perspective mode for shallow water applications.
MON: Do you use Perspective (known as Landscape Mode on Humminbird) a lot?
WAGNER: I do. It’s the most under-utilized feature among anglers for spring and bed fishing. And the Garmin version is very good. You just need to spend time with it to learn just how effective it is for fishing shallow fish.
MON: You throw a lot of A-rigs. What are some tips you would offer?
WAGNER: If you catch a 5-pound smallmouth on an A-rig, it will change your life! I advise guys who use the less expensive brands, like the Yum Umbrella, to upgrade their rig. Big smallmouth will destroy the Umbrella, which is a fine rig for general bass fishing. I prefer the Hog Farmer Mini Rig with blades.
Also, play with your jighead sizes. It’s critical, because you can oversize or undersize the rig. If it sinks too fast, fish may shy away. One of the cool things about FFS is it’s taught us how bass react to our lure presentations. It’s vital to get that sink rate dialed in so fish react to it and that can change from day to day.
MON: What about your lure arrangement?
WAGNER: I always put all the same color except for one that is different. It seems like no matter where you put that oddball color, that’s the one they bite. I typically put my oddball color in the middle.
MON: What’s the most overlooked lure on Michiana inland lakes?
WAGNER: You may laugh, but it’s the pre-rigged plastic worm. I’ve won a ton of money on that over the years. Most of the time I use Kelly’s Plow Jockey. We’ve gotten too complicated about our lure choices and forgotten basic lures that fish still bite and bite often.