Syracuse.com - Bassmaster Northern Open: Californian leads field after Day 1

[HuntingNY-News]

The tournament continues today. Weigh-in starts at 2:30 p.m. at Oneida Shores park and lasts for a couple of hours. The field will pared after today to 12 finalists, who will fish in Saturday's final.

Bassmaster.comIsh Monroe had some fun on Day 1 of the Bassmaster Northern Open on Oneida Lake.Californian Ish Monroe was brimming with confidence Wednesday evening when discussing his chances of winning the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Northern Open, which began Thursday morning on Oneida Lake.

“I didn’t come here all the way from California for the (tournament) points or cash,” he said. “I just plan to win this thing.”

The positive attitude paid off on the opening day of the three-day tournament as Monroe, an Elite Series angler from Hughson, took a commanding lead with a five-fish bag weighing 19 pounds, 14 ounces. They were all largemouth. He remained close-lipped about how he fished and what he was using.

“It was a little bit of grass, a little bit of me, a little bit of having fun,” he said.

The tournament, which featured a final count of 138 boats with a pro angler and co-angler in each, kicked off shortly after 6:30 a.m. at Oneida Shores Park. The launch was delayed several minutes because of driving rain. It rained for most of the morning, but the skies cleared just after 10 a.m.

The field is competing for $250,000 in cash and merchandise. The tournament is the final of a three-part series in which pro anglers who competed in all three have a chance to qualify for the Bassmaster Classic tournament in February.

This week’s event features more than 20 Elite Series professionals, along with a host of others (many from the local area) — all fishing head to head. The fishermen in the pro angler division weigh their five biggest fish each day. The co-anglers weigh their top three.

Kurt Dove, of Del Rio, Texas, finished the day in second place in the pro angler division, with five fish weighing a total of 17 pounds, 9 ounces. Fletcher Shyrock, of Newcomerstown, Ohio, was in third at 17-2.

Matt Martin, of Chittenango, was the top local, finishing 15th in the pro angler division at 15-5. His catch consisted of four smallmouth and a 4-pound largemouth that lifted his total weight. For the smallmouth, he said he was mainly “dragging grubs on the bottom.” The largemouth was taken on a topwater lure.

The biggest bass of the day was a 4-pound, 14-ounce largemouth caught by David Wolak, of Wake Forest, N.C., another Elite Series angler.

The tournament continues today with the weigh-in set at 2:30 p.m. at Oneida Shores. Afterward, the pro angler field will be cut to the top 12, and that group will compete in Saturday’s final.

See complete results from Thursday's Day 1.

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog