Syracuse.com - Upstate anglers grab top two places on Day 2 of Bass Pro Shops Northern Open on Oneida Lake

[HuntingNY-News]

The field today was reduced to 12 pro and 12 co-anglers for the final day of fishing on Saturday. The final weigh-in will be at 3 p.m. Saturday in the parking lot at the Bass Pro Shops store in the Fingerlakes Mall.

The second day of the Bass Pro Shops Northern Open bass fishing tournament on Oneida Lake saw two Upstate New Yorkers rise to first and second in the overall standings.

It also saw the overall field, which started off Thursday morning with 162 boats carrying two anglers each, reduced to the top 12 pros and co-anglers for the final day of competition on Saturday.

Jim Bianchi, of Rush (near Rochester), turned in an impressive, five-fish bag of all largemouths weighing 19 pounds, 4 ounces to take over the top spot in the pro standings. His total overall weight is 35 pounds.

In second is Mike Morrin, of Seneca Falls, whose five-fish bag today weighed 16 pounds, 7 ounces. He's slightly more then two pounds off the lead with a total of 32 pounds, 15 ounces.

Tracy Adams, of Wilkesboro, N.C., who was in second after the first day, dropped to third with a total weight on 32 pounds, 7 ounces. Tied for third with the same weight is Jacob Powroznik, of Prince Grove, Va.

Elite Series pro Mike Iaconelli, of Pitts Grove, NJ, is concentrating on catching smallmouth bass in this tournament.David Figura | [email protected] 

Bianchi's second day showing was an eye-opener, as many anglers, including Elite Series Pro Mike Iaconelli, of Pitts Grove, NJ, who finished Day 2 in eighth place, were talking down the largemouth bite on the lake for this tournament. The lake's ever-shifting alge bloom has messed up many prime fishing areas in the shallow waters off shore. Many anglers said they were concentrating on the deeper waters.

"The largemouth (fishing) seems real funky to me," Iaconelli said. "The first day I tried fishing three straight hours for largemouths and didn't get a fish, and then switched to fishing exclusively for smallmouths.

He predicted "this will be won with all smallmouths."

Bianchi begs to differ. He said he caught his 5-fish bag before 10 a.m. and then backed off the area where he caught them, saving it for Saturday's final. He declined to say what he was using, other than he was fishing in 11-15 feet of water and "flipping."

The largest fish of the day, and the tournament for that matter, is a 5-pound, six pound largemouth caught today by, Kenny Garippa, of Tobyhanna, Pa. He landed the lunker on a green, pumpkin seed-colored Senko worm with black flake. Garippa, who turned in a nice bag of all largemouths weighing a total of 19 pounds, three ounces, however, did not qualify for Saturday's final after a poor showing on the first day.

The pros are allowed to weigh five fish each day; the co-anglers, three

On the co-angler side today, Kenny Woods, of Oneida, Ky., took the lead with a total weight of 19 pounds, 7 ounces. Following close behind In second is Brian Kelly, of Liverpool, with 19 pounds, 5 ounces.

Tied for third is Tom Hill, of Lexington, Ky., and Thomas Hajjar, of Philadelphia, Pa., both with a total weight of 19 pounds, 2 ounces.

The action picks up again on Oneida, with the final weigh-in scheduled for 3 p.m. in the parking lot in front of the Bass Pro Shops store in the Fingerlakes Mall in Aurelius.

The winning pro angler will get $6,400 plus a Skeeter boat and a Yamaha motor package, plus a trailer, worth more than $40,000. The winning co-angler will get a Nito boat, powered by a Mercury motor, along with a trailer.

For more on the tournament, including complete results, a blog featuring photos and comments from participating anglers, see bassmaster.com.

Below is a list of the those anglers who qualified for Saturday's final:

PRO ANGLERS

1. Jim Bianchi, Rush, NY, 35-00

2. Mike Morrin, Seneca Falls, 32-15

3. Tracy Adams , Wilkesboro, NC, 32-07

4. Jacob Powroznik, Prince Grove, Va., 32-07

5. Jamey Caldwell, Carthage, NC , 32-05

6. Chris Daves, Hopewell, Va., 31-11

7. Paul Malone, Pleasant Valley, IA, 31-03

8. Michael Iaconelli, Pitts Grove, NJ, 31-03

9. Eddie Levin, Westerville, OH, 30-13

10. Seth Feider, Bloomington, Minn., 30-09

11. Scott Canterbury, Springville, Ala., 30-08

12. James Niggemeyer, Van, TX , 30-03

CO-ANGLERS

1. Kenny Woods, Oneida, Ky, 19-07

2. Brian Kelly , Liverpool, NY, 19-05

3. Tom Hill, Lexington, KY, 19-02

4. Thomas Hajjar, Philadelphia, PA., 19-02

5. Chad Valentine, Rome, NY , 19-01

6. Shawn Phipps, Fredericksburg, Va., 18-11

6. Jason Shipton, Muncy, PA., 18-11

8. Joseph Simko, Swoyersville, Pa., 18-07

9. Destin Demarion, Grove City, PA , 18-06

10. Christopher Hall, Clarks Summit, PA, 18-05

11. Stephen Collins, Hastings, Canada, 18-00

12. Vince Lawyer, Webster, NY, 17-15

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog