As usual, Brody Campbell put himself in contention for the win in another Toyota Series event. Photo by Jody White.
By Tyler Brinks, Toyota Series Press Release
MASSENA, N.Y. – With several high-profile events on the mighty St. Lawrence River producing countless big bags of smallmouth in recent weeks, expectations were high coming into the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Northern Division event. It’s safe to say the famed river lived up to its reputation and maybe even surpassed it as Ohio’s Brody Campbell took the Day 1 lead with 26 pounds, 2 ounces, one of three pros to exceed the 26-pound mark.
Just 2 ounces back of Campbell are Erik Luzak and Christian Greico, who weighed 26 pounds apiece, and the weights are stacked below. Tournament Director Mark McWha welcomed many anglers to the “20-pound club” after weighing their bags, but the club became much less exclusive as the weigh-in progressed, with 56 pros and nine co-anglers reaching that number. On the co-angler side, Alabama’s Eric White bagged 23-12, a lead of more than 2 pounds over Virginia’s Hunter Tibbetts, who brought in 21-10.
This event is presented by Suzuki Marine and hosted by the Town of Massena and features a field of 140 pros and co-anglers.
Campbell starts strong with the lead and Big Bass
Campbell is a bass tournament iron man, already fishing his 19th MLF event this season across the country and at different levels. He’s already scored a Toyota Series win in January on Sam Rayburn in Texas and hopes to add another victory this week on the northern border. With over 26 pounds, he’s well on his way and reported catching his limit quickly this morning, which included the day’s big bass at 6-13.
“I made a long run, over an hour away, and once I got down there to my first spot, I had almost 27 pounds in my first 30 minutes of fishing,” he said. “It’s a place I’ve caught them before, and it was loaded. I broke one off my first cast that was over 6 pounds. Then, my second cast, I catch that one that was almost 7, and the next one after that was 6 1/2.”
TOP 10 BELOW
Not wanting to divulge much this early in the event, it’s safe to say he has a magic area and left it shortly after filling his limit.
“I started working my way back around 10 o’clock and fishing some stuff and looking for places where I could upgrade, but I never really did,” he said.
One thing that Campbell sees as a positive is a longer day of fishing tomorrow, allowing him to spend more time and shoot for a mega-bag.
“I was the third boat today, so I’ll have almost an extra 2 hours tomorrow to hammer down on them,” he said. “I was in and out quickly today because I didn’t want anyone to see me, and thankfully, I didn’t even see any boats try to get on it. Hopefully, with a later boat number, I can get on the spot and try to catch a big bag.”
Campbell has recently spent many days on the fishery and feels good about his chances to back up his first day’s weight.
“I’m excited for tomorrow, and hopefully, I can catch another 24 or 26 pounds and stay in the hunt for this thing,” he said. “I’ve spent a lot of time here in the summer the past two years, and I know places to go and how to catch them; it’s just a matter of whether or not they bite. I think it will take another 26 pounds to stay in the lead here, because this place is capable of even bigger bags. I had a 29-pound bag out here a couple of weeks ago, so it can happen to anyone.”
This is the second event in the Northern Division, and if he stays steady, Campbell will also take control of the Fishing Clash Angler of the Year lead, after finishing fourth to kick off the season on Lake Champlain in late June.
One is from Canada, and the other lives in North Carolina, but Luzak and Greico are knotted up with 26 pounds. They each found success to start the event, but both said it was not an easy bite due to long runs and limited fishing time.
Luzak of Fenelon Falls, Ontario, said it was a slow bite today, even though the results were there at the end of the day.
“It was actually kind of tough out there for me, honestly, and a lot of slow upgrades,” Luzak said. “I’m not on a deal where you catch a bunch of fish, and you need to keep on them, changing weights and colors to get one to react. You need to pester them to get the key ones to bite.”
His last upgrade came shortly before he had to make the long ride back to Massena.
“My biggest fish of the day was 20 minutes before I had to start making the trek back,” Luzak said. “Being that it was a little slower today, I’m a little worried about tomorrow because they are so hard to get to bite. I’m around the right fish, though, and if I can get five of them, I should be all right.”
Greico had a subpar finish by his standards at last month’s Tackle Warehouse Invitationals stop on the river, but the 49th-place finish there helped him today.
“I didn’t do that well, and in that one, I stayed in the middle part of the river and caught all I could catch in those areas,” Greico said. “That wasn’t enough, so I knew I had to figure out the bite closer to the lake. I spent all my practice time for this one down that way.”
Greico reported catching just seven or eight bass today, but the quality he’s around has him feeling good about his chances the rest of the week.
“I caught 22 pounds or so right off the bat and then it slowed down, but I was able to cull my way up a few times to get to my total,” Greico said. “The fish I’m around are the right kind, I’m just hoping there’s enough to get me through the tournament.”
Top 10 pros
1. Brody Campbell – 26 – 2 (5)
2. Erik Luzak – 26 – 0 (5)
2. Christian Greico – 26 – 0 (5)
4. Alex Korol – 25 – 15 (5)
5. Clay Reece – 25 – 6 (5)
6. Hayden O’Barr – 24 – 15 (5)
7. Spike Stoker – 24 – 9 (5)
7. Jeremy Gordon – 24 – 9 (5)
9. Tommy Dickerson – 24 – 4 (5)
10. Broderick Luckey – 23 – 10 (5)
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