2018 Battle for the Underground Champ

[SU News]

After putting up a few solid fish as entries to the SUB Battle for the Underground 2018, Stephen Ciaramitaro (@Sciaramitaro) finished in first place after securing a 7lb 10oz Northern tank out of Massachussetts on his Cl8 Rat. For coming out on top, Stephen won himself a Low Down Custom XXH Rod, SU collaboration baits with 86 Baits & Sly Guy Lures, a 1-off Toxic Wade Hoggs, a DRT K9, Rago 4 piece trout, a  Tattuna print, a SU gear pack, and a few other products worth approximately $1300.  Swimbait Underground was able to learn a little bit about his story after the Battle.  

 

How long have you been fishing Swimbaits?  & How long have you been a member on SU?  

I’ve been throwing Swimbait’s religiously since spring of 2014. I joined SU on July 1st, 2014; so over 4 years.

 

What got you into throwing Swimbaits?

Well, my buddy Nate Batallas (@Batallas22) was tossing around a CL8 vole while we were fishing one day (I was throwing conventional stuff) and I said, “what the hell is gonna eat that thing? It’s huge!” Within the next hour he stuck his MA personal best on it coming in at 6lb8oz and I couldn’t believe it, I’ve never seen a fish that big. Went home that night and ordered an Okuma Guide Select heavy, Lews super duty, and a 7” slammer. It was all downhill from there haha.

 

Did you find success with them early on?

Luckily, I did find success throwing Swimbaits pretty quickly. My first Swimbait I bought was a 7” black and yellow slammer. Instantly started catching fish up to 4lbs. After that, I bought a 6” triple trout and stuck my personal best (at the time) on it October 28, 2014 weighing in at 7.93 lbs. From there on out it was Swimbait fever. I can’t lie and say I don’t throw an occasional frog into the pads once and a great while! You still need to remember where you came from before the big baits.

 

How long have you been fishing the SUB? & Was this your first year qualifying?

I wanna say I started fishing the sub tournaments in 2015. My first year on SU (2014) I wasn’t super active so I wasn’t really up to date with the SUB tournaments. I qualified for my first battle in 2015. I won the October SUB tournament with a 6lb5oz fish on the Roman Made mother, believe it or not haha. Unfortunately, I didn’t even catch a fish the whole week of that battle, but R8R won it in Cali that year with a 13-4 so I basically would have had to stick almost an 11lber to beat him (very very unlikely in MA).

 

 

This year going in to the battle did you have a plan of attack?

I had a pretty good plan this time around actually. Knowing the sticks I was competing against, I knew I had to put in as much time as possible, even if it meant freezing my ass off in 35-degree weather. I hadn’t been on a good fall bite during the day, but I knew that these fish had to eat at some point. I knew exactly where I was going to be fishing every night for the week and I stuck around there until I caught the winning fish.

I wish my plan of attack didn’t involve wearing winter gear and hand warmers but what can ya do, the weather is too unpredictable out here.

I basically fished this trout stocked pond for a month before the final battle and I felt like the fish were just getting bigger and bigger every single time I went. My confidence was through the roof and I really thought I had it dialed into where I knew that one big bite was coming sooner than later, and it did! Some will call it luck, but to me, it’s much more than that.

 

 

What were the conditions like for you during the battle?  It looked rainy and cold.

The conditions were not good to say the least. Cold, raw, nights aren’t the most comfortable fishing weather but when you’re on a good bite you have to stick to it regardless of the weather. A couple nights were almost unbearable to fish due to the wind and being on a small boat but the night I caught the winning fish, it was as calm as could be and it rained all day before I got to the pond. Post rain, you’ll always catch me with a rat bait on, and clearly, it worked.

 

You were on a solid Wade Hoggs bite for a while leading up to that last fish. Did you only switch to the Cl8 rat because of the post rain conditions or were there other factors?

I was actually throwing the Wade Hoggs before I got to that spot. That bait has been an absolute killer for me all year, but I just figured it rained all day, and it was time to throw the possum. It was literally my third cast with it that night and I stuck that 7-10. Who’s to say that fish wouldn’t have eaten the Wade Hoggs? Guess I’ll never know.

 

 

Are there any other details about that final catch you wouldn’t mind sharing?  Your retrieve, targeted area, the fight, etc.

Ya so basically, I’ve been getting bit real well at night casting as tight as I can into the shore at 45 degree angles. This specific spot the fish came off of has about 20 yards of sand, with a down log stretching to the edge of a weed line in about 12fow. I line up a cast (from what I could see) and tucked it super tight next to a patch of dying Lilly pads and close to the shore. I have been letting my bait sit for close to 20 seconds before I even start my retrieve. I was working the bait as slow as I could where it would maintain its action. I’d occasionally give it a left to right shake with reel turns after a pause. Right when the bait got to the end of that log and the beginning of the weed line, I gave two quick reel pops and the fish crushed it about 15 feet away from the boat. I couldn’t see a damn thing, I didn’t know how big it was, so I got the fish goin in the right direction and flipped her onto the deck and the rest was history.

Everything about that night was destined to be. I pulled up to the ramp, environmental police pulled up right after me, my boat registration was expired, I had an empty beer in my boat too.  Thankfully he just said renew your boat and have fun fishing, 30 minutes later I stuck that fish haha.

 

 

You were the first member outside of CA to win the SUB battle; do you have any advice for people outside the typical big fish states for the future battles?

The only advice I have is to learn your waters. Find a bait that your fish are keying in on, and keep casting. The more time on the water, the more you are going to figure out about the whole entire spot you’re fishing. Whether it’s trout stocked or not, big bass are keying in on some sort of bait. The first thing you can do right is getting on the water; everything else comes with time and experience, and sometimes, luck. I believe every state has a chance to win this battle, but like I said, you have a way better chance the more time you spend on the water. I’m just happy to be able to put the east coast on the map again; there really are some true giants out here. Handicap or not.

 

Anything else you would like to add?

I just want to thank the whole Swimbait Underground community for making all of this possible. They’re really changing the Swimbait world day after day. Also want to thank everybody that contributed to the final battle prize pack, without those dudes it wouldn’t be possible.

 

 

View full record

 

[253caster]

Great work @Sciaramitaro. Awesome to see an east coast guy grind it out in tough conditions for the win. 

Edited November 3, 2018 by 253caster

[carlsbadbassin89]

Hell yea sick write up!

[Jetfisherjohn]

Way to go! 

[Niki814]

Sick Wright up an a beast of a fish. Big fish are out there you just have to gride for them. Congrats on the win bet you are geeked !!!

[StriperAddict]

Man thats awesome congrats bro!!

[Harshwaters]

Congrats man.Well deserved.

[R8R]

Congrats @Sciaramitaro love the story of how things went down and the preparations you made to make it happen that alone up your chances of catching that winning fish. Congrats champ.

[Mossypumpkin]

Killer read, Stephen! Awesome story! Nothing better than seeing other people so stoked about swimbaits. SU is the greatest place on earth for getting and sharing info. Epic win for New England. Glad you won it, Stephen! Butnone of these years you’re gonna lose it to me  Thanks SU for putting this on for us! 

[northeast_trev]

Hell of a write up. When you're on, you're on! Way to grind it out especially in the later weeks. Awesome job steven!

[Rogervang]

Congrats Stephen!! Well deserve win! Awesome write up and thanks for sharing your story. 

[evans_usmc69]

Congrats! Glad to finally see it won outside of Cali!

[Sciaramitaro]

thanks everyone! It was a hell of a year!

[jcolo4sho]

Congrats Stevie!!!

[Mulder]

Congrats, Steve! Awesome write up!