2014 BASS Northern Open #2 Lake Champlain Day 1: Scott Siller Leads a Thriller!

Wild weather wipes a lot of patterns clean!

By John Neporadny Jr.

bass press release

Plattsburgh, N.Y. — Several competitors spun tales of thrilling rides in 5- to 8-foot waves, but the most exciting moment for Scott Siller was weighing in a 20-pound limit to take the pro division lead in the Bass Pro Shops Northern Open at Lake Champlain.

The 44-year-old police officer from Milwaukee, Wis., also experienced a rough ride on wind-swept Champlain, which reminded him of fishing back home.

“It reminded me of Lake Erie,” he said. “It was terrible. We got soaking wet.”

Siller sits in the lead
as many pros fumble first day.
(Photo: James Overstreet BASS) 

Siller noted Champlain fishes similar to his home waters of Sturgeon Bay so he was able to fish his strengths. He found some areas in practice that were holding smallmouth bass, but he never could catch any brown bass over 3 pounds. “I really didn’t have a very good practice,” he said. “I had a couple of areas where I caught some big fish (largemouth) and I went in there today and within an hour and a half I had about 20 pounds.”

After culling out a keeper, Siller left the area and looked for some spots to help his partner catch some fish. Siller noted he didn’t see any other competitors in his primary area so he plans on making the long run again Friday.

The Wisconsin angler is competing in his sixth B.A.S.S. event and his previous highest finish was a 22nd-place effort last year in a Northern Open at Lake Erie.

Challenging Siller is Bassmaster Elite Series pro Mike Iaconelli who moved into second place with a 19-6 limit. Iaconelli has plenty of history on Champlain having fished club tournaments here in the early 1990s and winning his first professional tournament, a Bassmaster Top 150 event, in 1999. “That was a pretty special thing so I would like to win here again,” he said.

The wind changed the lake level in the area Iaconelli was fishing so he had to make some adjustments. “It was a slower day than what happened in practice,” he said. “My (lake) level rose today and the fish got scattered.”

“I am concentrating on largemouth, but I am catching a few smallmouth mixed in,” he said. "I went out of my way in practice this week to strictly fish for largemouth.” The touring pro from Pitts Grove, N.J. , knows smallmouth tend to roam this time of year on Champlain, so he is sticking with a more reliable largemouth pattern.

The rest of the top five in the pro division includes RC Cooper, Nashua, N.H., in third place with 19-1; Shin Fukae, Palestine, Texas, fourth, 18-13; and Rick Nitkiewicz, Pittsburgh, Pa., fifth, 18-11.

Fishing for only the second time on Champlain, Shawn Parenteau of Kingston, N.H., caught a three-fish limit weighing 11-2 to take the lead in the co-angler division. “I was dropshotting and catching all smallmouths,” said the 39-year-old Parenteau, who caught his limit by 8 a.m.

Hosting this week’s Northern Open is The Adirondack Coast Visitors Bureau (www.goadirondack.com). The launches and weigh-ins each day will be held at Dock Street Landing at 5 Dock Street in Plattsburgh.