By David A. Brown
BASS PRESS RELEASE
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| Mueller continues to lead, Chris Johnston ounces behind. (Photo BASS) |
After sacking up 27 pounds, 1 ounce during Thursday’s
opening round, Connecticut pro Paul
Mueller added 25-1 Friday and maintained the lead in the SiteOne
Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River with a two-day total of
52-2.
Committing his day to the massive waters of Lake
Ontario, Mueller started on rock transitions in about 40 feet, but he seemed to
struggle in the early going.
“Some of the places I had, they really suspended
and those fish got tougher to catch,” Mueller said. “I realized I had to get
away from that and once I found fish on the bottom, those fish were easier to
catch.
“The fact that the shallower fish didn’t suspend
is kind of intriguing, but I also think the deeper fish were feeding on
something else other than gobies.”
Mueller got things moving in the right direction
around 11:30 a.m. when he boated a 4 1/2-pounder, the first of four big fish
he’d catch in about an hour. Moving into shallower areas and fishing rock structure
in 20 to 26 feet proved to be the key decision.
He caught all of his fish on a drop shot with a
Berkley MaxScent Flat Worm in the natural shad and goby colors. Noting that his
fish seemed much spookier in the day’s clear, calm conditions, Mueller said he
had to transition from vertical drops to a cast-and-drag presentation.
“The fish definitely got a little more finicky,
and they definitely got a little more boat shy,” Mueller said. “I think boat
shadow, livewell noise and the pinging transducer all contributed to that. The
big thing for me today was keeping away from the fish.
Chris
Johnston of Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, is in second place
with 51-12. After starting his morning in the St. Lawrence River, Johnston
plucked three of his better fish off the rocky point he fished Thursday. When
that bite slowed, he again moved to the small rockpiles and breaks in Lake
Ontario. Drop shotting produced his bites in both scenarios.
Johnston’s day-maker came during a late-morning
move. En route to his next spot, he made a quick detour to a rockpile in 6 feet
of water. He was looking for a big fish he’d spotted in practice and caught the
6-5 giant on his third cast with a 1/8-ounce black hair jig.
“The rockpile is 300 yards long, so I can’t
throw the drop shot because it’s too slow,” Johnston said. “I can cover water
faster with the hair jig, that’s the main thing. They’ll eat that drop shot if
I put it in front of them, but I can cover more water with the hair jig.”
Clark Wendlandt of Leander, Texas, is in third place with 47-13.
Returning to the same general area in Lake Ontario, Wendlandt started strong
with a couple of good fish early but faced a midmorning dry spell before making
an adjustment that allowed him to fill out a solid limit.
“I actually went to some new areas that I didn’t
fish the first day and caught some there,” Wendlandt said. “I just kind of
winged it because I had trouble with my trolling motor and I was struggling
earlier. I was trying to fish some ways that were a little easier.”
Mueller is still in the lead for Phoenix Boats
Big Bass honors with the mammoth 7-13 smallmouth he caught Thursday. The fish
is believed to be the biggest smallmouth ever caught in Elite Series
competition.
The tournament will resume Saturday with the Top
40 remaining anglers taking off at 6:45 a.m. ET from the Clayton Antique Boat
Museum. The weigh-in will be back at the museum at 3 p.m., with only the Top 10
anglers advancing to Championship Sunday with a chance to win the $100,000 first-place
prize.
Live coverage of the event will be available
starting at 8 a.m. on Bassmaster LIVE at Bassmaster.com with simulcasts on
ESPN2 and ESPN3. Check local listings for ESPN2 times.
The tournament is being hosted by Jefferson
County in cooperation with the Village of Clayton and the 1000 Islands Clayton
Chamber of Commerce.
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