2019 Bassmaster Elite Cayuga Lake Day 3: Jeff Gustafson Maintains Lead with 64-05!

Cory Johnston 6th & Chris Johnston 20th.
By Bryan Brasher
BASS PRESS RELEASE

Gussy on the verge of his first Elite win, a first for any Canadian.
(Photo: BASS)

As Jeff Gustafson struggled through a difficult Saturday at the SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at Cayuga Lake, he assumed he would probably fall out of the lead.

What he didn’t know is that most of the field was struggling right along with him — and despite catching five bass that weighed only 15 pounds, 4 ounces, he held on to first place with a three-day total of 64-5.

The Canadian pro will now lead the Top 10 remaining anglers into Championship Sunday with a chance to earn his first Bassmaster Elite Series victory and the $100,000 paycheck that goes with it.

“Today went by a lot quicker than the last two days when I had those big bags,” said Gustafson, who started the event with catches of 23-11 and 25-6. “I’m pretty surprised to be in this position. Hopefully I can close the door and catch those big fish again like I did the first two days.”

Despite his Day 3 dropoff, Gustafson has more than a 4-pound lead over second-place angler Chris Zaldain (60-0), who also struggled Saturday bringing in only 14 pounds. Minnesota pro Seth Feider caught just 15-14 and is in third with 58-11.

Gustafson was shocked to still be at the top of the standings.

“I was pretty sure I would have enough to stay in the Top 10,” he said. “But I figured I’d be probably fourth or fifth and playing catchup.

“I figured there would be another parade of 20-pound bags.

2019 Bassmaster Elite Cayuga Lake Day 2: Jeff Gustafson Captures Lead with 49-01!

Cory Johnston 14th & Chris Johnston 31st.
By Bryan Brasher
BASS PRESS RELEASE

Gussy in his element out deep.
(Photo: BASS)

Canadian pro Jeff Gustafson came into the SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at Cayuga Lake with modest expectations.

But his confidence has grown with each passing day — and on Friday, it grew by leaps and bounds as Gustafson caught five bass that weighed 25 pounds, 6 ounces and took the lead with a two-day total of 49-1.

His catch of 25-6 is the biggest of the tournament so far.

“It was a dream day — both of the last two days were,” said Gustafson, who lives in Keewatin, Canada. “I was expecting that to happen either day, but now the expectations are pretty high. I’ve seen what’s out there, and it’s pretty impressive.”

While much of the field has been concentrating on shallow grass, Gustafson has focused on small patches of hard bottom offshore. Since this is his first trip to Cayuga, he said he doesn’t know a lot of spots to try.

So, he’s been sticking mainly with one area.

“There’s just not a lot of rock here,” he said. “In practice, I idled for hours and every couple of hours I’d kind of find something.

“When I started the tournament, my plan was to get a limit of largemouth and then go fish for smallmouth. I thought the smallmouth would be my biggest fish, but they disappeared.”

Gustafson has been using an Aqua-Vu underwater camera — and on Friday, he saw a few smallmouth that gave him an extra tinge of hope for the final two days.

“Even though I caught 25 pounds today, it wasn’t as easy as it might have seemed,” he said. “I’m really just catching one here and one there, but they’re the right ones.

“If the smallmouth turn back on, that could really make a big difference for me.”

unnamed.jpgThursday’s leader Chris Zaldain of Fort Worth, Texas, caught another impressive bag of 21-11 and now rests in second place with 46-0.

He said his day could have been much better if it hadn’t been for some early miscues.

“With the way they’re biting, you’ve got to capitalize early,” Zaldain said. “I had some big bites early today and didn’t catch any of them. I missed a bite on a swimbait when the fish just crushed it, and then I broke one off.

“You have to put fish in the boat in that situation.”

2019 Bassmaster Elite Cayuga Lake Day 1: Chris Zaldain Scores Lead with 24-05lbs!

Gustafson 2nd, Cory Johnston 35th, Chris Johnston 49th.
By Bryan Brasher
BASS PRESS RELEASE

Despite Zaldain's gear being stolen, he came out swing!
(Photo: BASS)

Chris Zaldain’s day couldn’t have started much worse.

Or ended much better.

The California native who now lives in Fort Worth, Texas, woke up Thursday to find that several of his best rod-and-reels had been stolen during the night.

But with what he had left, he went out and caught five bass that weighed 24 pounds, 5 ounces to take the first-round lead at the SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at Cayuga Lake. His catch was 10 ounces better than that of second-place angler Jeff Gustafson (23-11) and one of 14 bags of the day that weighed at least 20 pounds.

“I opened up my rod box and my whole top layer — my starting lineup of Megabass rods and Shimano reels, $1,000 combos — were just gone,” Zaldain said. “It started out really bad. But I decided to salvage what I had, re-tie a few things and just stick to what I knew.”

As is often the case during the early rounds of an Elite event, Zaldain was tight-lipped about how he caught his fish. He said he only used two or three baits most of the day, but wasn’t specific about what they were.

It helped him, he added, that the situation took place on a fishery where the bass are often very cooperative once you locate them.

“Just like any northern fishery, when you find the bass here, they will bite,” he said. “I will say they’re not as easy to find as they were when we were here in 2016. I’m not finding huge groups of fish where you catch one every cast.

3 Bass Techniques You Need to Know

To be a better bass angler, you just have to know these 3 techniques. Check out this video to help you figure out how to make these classic techniques work for you.
This video focuses on how to
1. Walk the Dog
2. Stroking a jig.
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All 3 techniques will make you a better angler.

Les Zacny and Cal Climpson Win 2019 FLW CANADA Cup with 68.36lbs.

Big smallies key to win

By Luigi De Rose

Climpson and Zacny a second generation of tournament wins.
(Photo: FLW Canada)

Les Zacny and Cal Climpson claimed the win in great fashion with three twenty-pound days besting second place Copper Gallant and Danny McGarry by 8-pounds. Les and Cal claim the key was to seek deep water, rocks and a source of current to find their way to the big win. Both first and second place teams will represent Canada in the FLW Championship.  

	#	ANGLER	CO-ANGLER	DAY 1	DAY 2	DAY 3	TOTAL
	1	LES ZACNY	CAL CLIMPSON	22.48	21.34	24.54	68.36
	2	COOPER GALLANT	DANNY MCGARRY	18.38	16.8	19.82	55
	3	BOB IZUMI	DARREN IZUMI	21.48	16.52	16.44	54.44
	4	DARCY ASSELSTINE	BEN ASSELSTINE	17.62	20.42	16.28	54.32
	5	JEFF MISFUD	JOE CASCANETTE	17.7	18.74	16.28	52.72
	6	JACK MORGAN	ANDREW MERCER	18.38	16.1	18.12	52.6
	7	JASON GREENTREE	FERN CAMPEAU	17.44	17.18	17.9	52.52
	8	MORGAN CIGINI	SCOTT SPENCER	16.56	17.36	18.5	52.42
	9	JASPER YU ZHANG	FRANK PERCIASEPE	19.32	20.08	12.8	52.2
	10	PATRICK ZAJDEL	SPENCER GAFFNEY	17.58	16.22	18	51.8

Micah Frazier Wins 2019 Bassmaster Elite St. Lawrence River with 87-4lbs!

Johnston falls to 2nd, 1 pound short. 

By James Hall

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Ned rig key to Frazier's massive last day limit.
(Photo: BASS)

The great smallmouth battle of 2019, also known as the Berkley Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River presented by Black Velvet, came down to a rookie Canadian pro who has spent his life plying the pristine waters of the storied fishery and a young Georgia pro who is experiencing a breakout season.

Chris Johnston of Peterborough, Canada, was the favorite leading up to this event because of his history on the St. Lawrence. Micah Frazier of Newnan, Ga., wasn’t on the radar of anglers who may finish in the top half of the field. As the scales settled in Waddington, N.Y., these two prolific pros held their breath alongside thousands of fans waiting to see which of these anglers would wear the crown.

And by just 14 ounces, Frazier toppled the overwhelming favorite. The Georgia pro’s massive 25-pound, 9-ounce limit on Day 4 vaulted him from 10th place to Elite Series champion, completing a four-day total of 87-4.

“I had no idea I had that much weight,” Frazier admitted. “I’m terrible at judging smallmouth. Still, I felt like I had an outside shot at winning as long as the leaders didn’t crush them.”

Frazier caught bass all day long. His culls were countless, and the big fish kept on biting his bait. That bait, the only one he used all four days of the event, was a prototype Yum Ned Dinger fished on 1/4- or 1/8-ounce mushroom jigheads. “I don’t think the bait is out yet, but it mimics a goby better than anything I’ve seen. It has a hollow section in the tail that makes it stand up and it bubbles a little when you shake it.”

Frazier’s pattern was simple. The Georgia pro focused on areas 18 to 40 feet deep, keeping his line perfectly vertical under the boat while drifting with the current. “I’d seen some light sand spots and there were a lot of mussels and shells there,” he said.

Frazier’s win puts an exclamation mark on a breakout season. The soft-spoken pro has been fishing the Elite Series since 2016, but this year has captured two third-place finishes (Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest on Lake Fork and the Bassmaster Elite at Lake Hartwell) along with his win on the St. Lawrence.

“This year has been so special. The atmosphere on the Elite Series now is just incredible. All the guys are positive and I have never had so much fun fishing as I have had this year. B.A.S.S. and Bassmaster fans are just awesome.”

2019 Bassmaster Elite St. Lawrence River Day 3: Chris Johnston Slim Lead Over Zaldain.

Johnston in position to become first Canadian Elite Champion.

By James Hall

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Johnston ready to gamble for first Elite win.
(Photo: BASS)

The leaderboard is getting interesting at the 2019 Berkley Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River presented by Black Velvet, as Canadian Chris Johnston maintained the top spot after three days of competition. His 19-pound, 1-ounce limit gave him an impressive three-day total of 66-5. However, his lead is miniscule.

“I had a really tough day,” Johnston admitted. “I started in the same place I have started the past two days. I immediately lost a 5 1/2 pounder. That hurt. I caught only one keeper, a 3-pounder, over the next hour. The cloud cover made it impossible to see the fish, so I couldn’t work them like I needed to. So, I left and went to new water.”

Although most anglers wouldn’t call catching over 19 pounds a tough day, Johnston’s limits have been shrinking since Day 1. He weighed in the event’s largest limit on Day 1 (24-7), and 22-13 on Day 2.

“I was afraid my fish would run out. I have a tough decision to make tonight. I may trash everything I’ve been doing and head toward Lake Ontario. I practiced up there and know that the winning limit can be caught there. I just have to decide whether it’s worth the gamble,” said Johnston.

 If the gamble pays off, Johnston would be the first Canadian angler in history to win an Elite Series event.

A scant 6 ounces distant sits Texas-based pro Chris Zaldain. His monster Day 3 limit of 23-12 gives him 65-15 heading into Championship Sunday.

“I couldn’t hardly sleep last night because I was looking forward to this morning. The wind, the clouds … everything set up perfectly for the area I’m fishing,” he said.

However, his morning started off slowly. “I fished my first three primary spots and didn’t get a bite. However, I made a key adjustment by sliding out just a little deeper and caught the 5-11 and 5-15 on back-to back drops.” Zaldain said the problem was not catching the fish, but finding them.

Les Zacny and Cal Climpson Win 2019 FLW CANADA CUP with 68.36lbs!

Les and Cal win 13lbs over Copper Gallant and Danny McGarry.
Bob and Darren Izumi finish 3rd. More info coming up. 

2019 Bassmaster Elite St. Lawrence River Day 2: Chris Johnston Continues to Lead with 47-4lbs!

Jeff Gustafson 32th & Cory Johnston 36th.

By James Hall

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Consistence key for Johnston's lead.
(Photo: BASS)

The only thing clearer than the pristine waters of New York’s St. Lawrence River is the realization that Elite Series pro Chris Johnston is a force to be reckoned with. The Canadian is known as a smallmouth specialist and earned that moniker after the first two days of the 2019 Berkley Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River presented by Black Velvet. Johnston weighed in 22-13 today, giving him a two-day total of 47-4 and the lead heading into Semi-Final Saturday. Still, Johnston is not overconfident.

“I have been leading on Day 2 on this river for more tournaments than I can count, and have blown it on the third day. So, I’m not going to count my chickens just yet,” Johnston said. Plus, the area he has fished relentlessly over the past two days alongside Elite Series pro Shane LeHew may no longer hold enough fish for the win. “I didn’t get a lot of bites today and only caught six or seven 4-pound fish there. And I never saw a kicker fish. So, I’m pretty sure I’m going to have to scramble tomorrow. I really believe the guy that wins this event is going to be the one who makes the best adjustments on the fly. I just hope I can figure out those adjustments.”

Hot on the trail of Johnston is Elite Series veteran Steve Kennedy, who is only 15 ounces out of the lead. The affable Alabama pro followed up his impressive Day 1 limit of 23-7 with another solid 22-14 worth of smallmouth for a total of 46-5. “I’m living on the edge,” Kennedy admitted. “I’m only fishing for seven or eight bites per day. If the weather report is accurate and we get overcast skies tomorrow, I might have to change my game plan.”

Kennedy’s tactic so far has been to cast a big glide bait to locate fish, then cast to the fish with a swim bait or hair jig. However, if he can’t see the fish, his weight could slide south.

“I’ve caught some of my biggest fish looking at them. I mean, I’ve had to cast four or five times at the bass to get them to bite. If I can’t see them, I may be in trouble.”