Rich's biggest dropshot bass of the year, caught at Tyler Lake.

CTF name: RichZ
Real name: Rich Zaleski
Age: 63
Family members: Wife of almost 43 years, Terry. Kids are grown. Tom's 42 and Heather is 36. Grandkids are 20, 11 and 9. Step grandkids are in their twenties, and have kids of their own, so I'm a step-great-grandfather 4 times over.
Current City: Stevenson, CT
Hometown: Bridgeport, CT
Occupation: General ne'er-do-well.

1. You’ve posted a lot of great reports from Lake Champlain. What advice would you give to the guy who has never fished there and may be intimidated by the travel time from CT and the fact that is such a big body of water?
I don't think of Champlain as being all that far away. In most of the 'bass belt' states, it's common to drive 2 to 4 hours to get to a tourney site or your favorite body of water. In CT, it's tough to drive 2 hours and still be in the state. I fish the south end mostly and from home, I can be in the water at South Bay in 3-1/2 hours.

As far as its size goes, Champlain IS big. But early on, I learned to think of it as a bunch of small waters that just happen to be connected to each other. You can find water to fish from any boat you can drag up there. When I was running a 20-footer with a 200hp, launching at Ti and running to Alburg Passage wasn't out of the question. But you run away from and past an awful lot of good fishing when you do that. In a small boat, it makes sense to launch where you're going to fish. In the lower half of the lake, I know of 14 public boat ramps, and at one point or another, I've used 8 or 9 of them. Anywhere you launch at Champlain, you're close to good fishing. I fish it now from my 17-foot G3 with a 50, and have never felt like I was overmatched by the conditions. I fished it for a lot of years from a 14-footer with a 20, and only once did I feel like I had to come off the water because of conditions.

I just love the fishing up there. I can fish familiar water or go exploring places I've never wet a line, depending on my mood. And the variety in both the types of habitat to fish, and the species you can target or catch by accident isn't matched anywhere else. Of course it doesn't hurt that my son lives up there and it gives me the opportunity to fish with him and spend time with him. But if he wasn't there, I'd still go up at least once a month.


When he's not fishing Connecticut waters, you can usually find Rich on southern Lake Champlain, where this monster came from a sparse patch of reeds.

2. You were the first president of the CT BASS Federation. What year was it started? What made you get involved and how long were you president? What have been some of the major changes in the Fed over the years?
It was 1974, and I guess the driving force was that we wanted to be a part of what was then the National Federation Championship. But we needed five clubs to form a Federation, and there were only four in the state at the time. I was a member of Central Connecticut in those days, and we had Capitol Region, a club from Danielson that I don't really remember the name of, and of course, CT Yankee. I helped a group of guys from my end of the state get Housatonic Valley going, so we could get the Federation formed. But between the time that we filed the paper work and BASS's response, the northeastern club folded. A couple Navy guys who had been CCB members broke off to form a club down in the Southeastern corner to get us back in business, and then CT Bass Worm Masters got started, so that by the time we were officially a Federation. We actually had six clubs, but we almost didn't make it into existence when we lost the Danielson guys.

In the early days, we had Federation meetings in the basement of a condo in West Hartford. Kenny Defusco from HVB was the Secretary, and with some help from Chris King (BooYaSkeeDaddy on CTF) we put together a few issues of a newsletter. I can remember us pasting the first issue together on my kitchen table during the '75 Super Bowl. Minnesota lost to Pittsburgh.

If memory serves, the other "founding members" were Bob Wilson from Capitol Region, Ken Defusco (HVB), Jerry Blonigan from the southeastern club, Mike Barrows from CT Bass Worm Masters and Russ Hall from CT Yankee. I think Russ was kind of a "place holder" as the CT Yankee rep, because one of the Picirillo brothers -- wish I could recall whether it was Bill or Bob -- became the rep from that club shortly thereafter.

The Federation in the early years didn't have a pot to practice pitching into. To learn that they now have an actual bank account and don't spend every penny they raise every year is stunning. Anyway, by '76, my part time writing career was occupying my time into the wee hours almost every night, and combined with me chasing the regional tourney circuits of the day -- NBAA and NABA -- I needed to drop something to make some time for my family. I was a member of Housatonic as well as Central, and decided that it was time to leave CCB and the Federation Presidency, to concentrate on writing without having to give up competitive fishing. A few years later, the most serious of the tourney fishermen in Housatonic Valley left to form Western Connecticut Bassmasters, and that's where I ended up for the remainder of my time with the Federation.

When ESPN bought out BASS and the whole "TBF" evolution started, then FLW stepped in and 'took' TBF from BASS, I really felt like that was the end of the organization that I had helped to found, and guided through its first, difficult years. It's very encouraging to see that it has survived and prospered under the Federation Nation banner.

3. You have an extensive background in fishing journalism. Tell us about some your work. What is the most memorable article, interview or experience involved in covering fishing?
My first article was written for the house magazine of an organization called All American Bass Casters. They put on the very first "big money" tourney in Connecticut, on Candlewood, back in '73. I had been wanting to try my hand at writing an article ever since another Connecticut angler -- Wally Piedel, then of Southington -- had an article published in BassMaster magazine in '72. The fledgling AABC magazine boasted contributions from some of the regular writers of Fishing Facts, which was my favorite magazine at the time, and seemed the perfect place to see if an article would fly. I wrote a couple page article, sent it off, and was pleasantly surprised to receive a $15 check and a request for more. And one article later, while I had a third in the works, AABC folded. Emboldened by my success with AABC, I sent the new effort to Fishing Facts. And they bought it for an amount that at the time, was about like getting an extra couple paychecks that month!

Over the next two years, I had 20 articles published in FF. Soon I was writing for Bassmaster, Bass Fishing, and numerous other publications. But it was when the Lindners, who had also been regular FF contributors during the early years, started In-Fisherman Magazine, that my writing career really blossomed. They were the perfect venue for the kind of detailed how-to/why-to pieces that I most enjoyed writing.

I guess my favorite of all the work I did over the years, would be a 4-part series I did for In-Fish in the mid-'80s on recognizing and coping with the effects of fishing pressure. But the work that has generated the most response from readers is my original finesse fishing article from In-Fisherman in 1987. I've had more people from all over the country contact me to thank me for that effort than anything else I've ever written. I've lost the original files, but you can find a scanned copy of it at: http://www.richz.com/fishing/articles/finesse_87_in-fish.pdf

I was a part of the press corps at 18 Classics between 1980 and 2000, and at the All American for many years as well. No matter what I have covered or will cover in the future though, the highlight of my career in as an outdoor writer will always be the 2nd day of the 1994 BassMasters Classic, when I was the press observer in the late Bryan Kerchal's boat. He was an absolute pleasure to spend time with, and to have been with him during that incredible event is something that will stay with me for the rest of my life.

4. You're well known on CTF as being the resident drop shot expert. With so many techniques to specialize in, why the drop-shot? Can you post a link to your drop-shotting article(s) on your site.
I figure that the activity/aggressiveness level of most of the fish is somewhere between neutral and negative most of the time, so I long ago made finesse tactics a very big part of my approach. And the drop shot is simply the most consistently effective and versatile finesse presentation I've ever used. You can find my DS article at:
http://www.richz.com/fishing/articles/dropshot.html


Rich has been drop shot fishing since way before the technique had a name. This Candlewood smallie bit his drop shot in 1995.

5. What are some of the most significant changes in fishing gear/lures during your lifetime?
The lure part of this business is so copycat oriented that it's tough to pick out 'advances' in that arena. I don't think very many people in CT realize that jerkbaits for cold-water/pre-spawn smallies is a technique that really started right here on Candlewood Lake. A number of the Candlewood regulars started doing this in the very early '80s, and I'd never seen it even mentioned in print until my In-Fisherman article in '83.


This 1983 photo was from the first article ever published nationally about jerkbaiting for smallmouth in the early spring.

And of course the Slug-Go, which spawned the entire soft jerkbait/soft-stickbait lure family, is a Connecticut development too, and I'm proud to say that it was my In-Fish article in the spring of 1990 that sprung it into the national fishing consciousness.

Other than lures, the sensitivity of today's rods, along with the overall light weight and amazing strength of quality rods and reels today is a huge advantage over what we used in the '60s and '70s. Also, I believe that our most important tool in finding and catching fish is between our ears, and the more information we feed it, the better it can serve us. Toward that end, I would rate the combination of side imaging technology with GPS as the 2nd most important recent technological advance in fishing, right behind the internet, where there is so much information available so quickly and easily to every angler who's willing to search it out.

6. What are your thoughts on the private ctfisherman.com?
I really can't say I was in favor of it, and I'm still in the "wait and see" mode. My bag is sharing the fishing knowledge I've gained over the years, and the 'open' CTF exposed what I shared there to a wider audience.

7. Name a species of fish that you have never caught, but would like to?
Permit.

8. What are some of the biggest mistakes young bass anglers make when it comes to catching more and bigger fish?
Placing too much emphasis on the lure, and not enough on location has to be at the top of the list. Not paying attention on the water is right up there, too. I see too many guys who seem oblivious to little natural clues, yet they pay close attention to things like what or where someone else is fishing. Sometimes, something like noticing skittish baitfish, or whether an osprey is hunting over deep water or in the shallows, can be an important clue in solving the day's puzzle. And finally, when you catch a fish, STOP. Until proven otherwise, assume that fish was part of a group, and there are more right around there. If you just keep your foot on the trolling motor pedal and keep trucking along, the odds are good that you're passing up the opportunity to catch another couple fish -- or a even a big bunch of fish -- right where you just caught the last one.


Another of Rich's passions is crappie fishing, and he penned numerous articles on late season crappie angling in the '70s. These are December fish from Pattaganset.

9. What are your top three tips for catching a big bass in CT?
Fish often and long; Fish in the nastiest conditions; and fish a heavy jig with a big trailer.

The last tip might come as something of a surprise, given that it comes from such an advocate of finesse tactics. But finesse isn't just about small lures and light line. Finesse is about making something appear to be alive and vulnerable, and sticking right where the fish you're after should be. If you want BIG fish, you don't want to be led astray by too many small fish. That little 4" worm on the dropshot will get bit by the biggest bass in the lake, just like a 1-ounce jig with a fat, 5" trailer will. But it will also get bit by a lot more small fish, and when you're singlemindedly after a pig, small fish can often lead you in the wrong direction. A bulky lure that looks a little less vulnerable will still get bit by some little guys, but not nearly as many, and that makes it easier to focus on the limited feedback you get from the big guys.

10. What are you most proud of in your lifetime?
My kids and grandkids.

11. Besides your wife, name your top five favorite women off all time in entertainment (TV, movies, music, etc.)
Whoa! I'm not sure it's possible to answer this one without getting myself in trouble somewhere. Ahh, what the heck. My five favorite female entertainers. Well trying to judge by some standard other than just as eye candy, I love old blues and R&B from wayback, so lets start with Ertha Kitt and Billie Holiday.

I'm trying to think of an actress I really liked who didn't end up turning into some kind of left wing wacko political activist and turning me off so much I'd never watch her again. Sorry, I can't, so I guess it's back to eye candy. How about Jessica Alba, Charlize Theron and Scarlett Johansen. Or, just add three random women's beach volleyball players to the list for their contributions to making the summer olympics watchable. That's all you're getting out of me, as that will get me in enough trouble as it is.

12. Is there a lure or fishing technique you’d like to improve on?
All of them. Why would anyone want to stop getting better at something they enjoy?

13. What about in your life. Is there something about yourself that would you like to improve on?
My weight has gotten out of hand the last 8 years or so, so I definitely need to improve my self control at the dinner table. And I should have written another book by now. Need to buckle down and get some serious writing done.

14. Tell us a funny or good story about fishing with a fellow CTF member.
Well, I probably fish with Jimfish more than any other CTFer, and taking him up to Champlain and introducing him to water chestnut was kind of neat. Jim's well known for his love of flipping and fishing the pads, and chestnut is kind of like pads with a mean streak and fishing it with anything other than a flipping stick is foolhardy. So Jimfish was like a kid in a candy store when he got into the nut, and that was really fun to be a part of.

15. Tell us about your personal best smallmouth and largemouth.
Smallie, it would be the 1st of two 6-2 brown fish I've caught in New Hampshire. A "fan" from Japan had come to the US to spend a week fishing with me, and a week fishing with Tom Seward (who also wrote for Fishing Facts back in the day). Yasunori Imai and I spent two days of that June week on Winnepesaukee, and on the evening of the 2nd day, after we'd already caught about a hundred smallies, dusk was approaching, and the area known as "the graveyard" chock full of nasty, lower unit eating boulders, lie between us and the ramp. But just as we were about to leave, a mayfly hatch like I've never seen before started. Suddenly, we were surrounded by surfacing fish. Smallies, white perch, trout, landlocked salmon, EVERYTHING was feeding on those emerging bugs.

After a few fruitless casts with it, I broke the jighead and grub off my spinning rod and tied a clear, Tiny Torpedo to the 6 pound mono. The lure hit the water and I 'burped' it twice. The next time I pulled on it, I was setting the hook into the biggest smallie I'd ever caught. By the time I'd landed it, weighed it and let it go, it was full-on dark. I made a couple more casts without a hit, and we decided we had no choice but to leave those actively feeding fish. The ride back across the graveyard, heading from Farm Island to Center Harbor was 'interesting' to say the least. But it was worth it!

Largemouth, I'd have to go with my largest Connecticut bass, which came from Winchester Lake in October of hmmmm what year was that? I'm gonna say 1990, but it might have been earlier. Drove up with a half-day to fish, and it was a very nasty day. Cold and raw, threatening to rain, with a stiff breeze out of the southeast. Put the pond boat in the water and electric motored up to the mid lake area, where there's a number of larger trees very close to the channel. I had one tree -- really a tree with two fallen trees that layed up against it -- that I really liked. I'd discovered it the previous fall, when the lake was down about six feet for dam repairs, and had caught numerous big fish off that same tree. On this day, I don't think I made a cast until I got to THE tree. I threw a 3/4 oz black and emerald green Hankie Jig dressed with a #10 black pork frog at the tree trunk, and on the 2nd cast, hooked the big fish that I'd gone there for. Put it in the aerated cooler, and after fishing for another hour without a bite, put the boat back into the bed of the pickup and headed for work. Got the fish weighed at the deli next door to my office -- it went 9-4. Then I released it in a small, private pond I had access to. I've caught a couple at the stick marsh in Florida that might've been bigger, but didn't weigh them, so I consider that one my top fish. A nine from CT means a lot more than a 10 from FL in my book.

16. Is there anything about the sport/lifestyle of pro bass fishing that might surprise us?
Yeah, how much work it is, and how few guys actually make a living at the fishing end of it. If it wasn't for all the other work they do for their sponsors, most would have to go back to doing whatever else they know how to do. The driving is what always stopped me from giving it a serious try. There's a lot more hours spent behind the wheel than on the front deck with a rod in your hand.

17. What got you interested in fishing, and how long have you been doing it?
I grew up in Bridgeport. My father didn't fish, but like most kids in those days, fishing was just one of the activities I was exposed to through friends and relatives. I fished casually -- mostly saltwater -- as a kid. But one year at the old Polish Falcons summer camp on Crystal Lake in Middletown, I must've been 10 or 11 at the time, I got caught in a tangle of legs hanging off the swim platform, and I was kind of panicking. I opened my eyes and I was face to face with what seemed at the time an absolute, monster bass. In retrospect, it was probably a 3-pounder. But to see it calmly sitting there, suspended under that dock, with 10 or 15 noisy kids on top of it, lots of diving, going on, and me thrashing for my life, it just sat there ignoring all that activity. Not sure how I got through the tangle of legs and onto the dock, because all I thought about from that moment on, for the rest of that camp session, was catching bass. I fished a lot after that, saltwater and freshwater both.


Rich grew up a bike ride from Pleasure Beach (Steeplechase Island) in Bridgeport. He caught these blackfish from the Breakwater there in '56 or '57.

But eventually, girls, basketball, girls, hot rods and uhm, girls, drew my attention away from fishing for a while. But when I got married and bought my little house near Lake Zoar, it was only natural that I start again. The first spring was fun, but when summer came around and I stopped catching them, I decided that some serious learning needed to be done, and that was the start of the obsession. That was in '66, and I haven't stopped since, although I don't spend a whole lot of time and effort on Zoar any more.

18. What is your most memorable fish-that-got-away story?
You know, I usually put lost fish out of my mind very quickly, but one has stuck with me for a long time, and it wasn't even my fish. I guess I committed it to memory because I learned a lot from it. It was a HVB club tourney at Congamond, on a rainy, October day. Marty Wencek -- just a teenager at the time -- was fishing with me. We each had a fish or two in the boat when the rain let up enough that we stopped for lunch. We each made a long cast toward deep water and attacked our lunches. Marty never touched his rod until he'd finished wolfing down his sandwich. When he picked it up and tightened up the line, it felt heavy, and he just kind of jerked softly on it, figuring his little 1/16 oz head and 4" worm were mired down in the black snot that's so common there.

In response to the little jerk, Marty's rod doubled over and his drag spun. The fish that eventually came to the surface about 10 feet off the side of the boat was huge. We both guessed 7 or better, but then again, they always look bigger until you actually have them in your hand, don't they? The fish wallowed on the surface, its huge mouth open in our direction. It shook its head and the line popped. Then it just sat there, unaware it was free. We could see the jighead and black/chartreuse worm in the roof of its mouth. That's the image that became a permanent part of my mental fishing database.

Then it just swam away. But the lessons reinforced by that fish were that even under "ideal" conditions for shallow, aggressive fish, fishing deep with small, slow presentations was still a viable alternative, and that sometimes, deadsticking (we called it 'zero speed control' in those days) could be a very effective trigger. We ended up taking first and second in the tourney, catching most of our weight in the afternoon, by deadsticking little worms in 15 to 25 feet of water. I couldn't begin to estimate the number of fish I've caught over the years based on the lessons taught by Marty's lost pig that day.

19. Is there a dream fishing trip you would like to take?
Well, sooner or later, I need a return trip to Lake of the Woods for musky. Spent a week there in an In-Fisherman assignment some years back, and I realized then, that it's a good thing I don't live close to a decent musky fishery, because I'd probably be single and unemployed if I did.

20.What is it about targeting large and smallmouth bass that has kept your interest over the years?
I think the fact that the bass is such a plastic fish has a lot to do with it. They find a way to fit into just about any available environment and thrive, so more so than any other game fish, there's a tremendous number of variables that can effect their behavior and location at any given time, which means there is nothing cut and dried about fishing for them. Some days and some places you catch them deep, and other situations, you end up fishing in a foot of water. Sometimes they are very aggressive, and other times, you have to tempt a reaction from a fish that has no interest in opening its mouth. Experience -- especially if you pay attention to EVERYTHING that happens on the water -- is a great teacher, and it certainly helps you arrive at the right decisions more often and more quickly. But still, every day on the water after bass is a new puzzle, and solving it is always satisfying.