By Andrew CanuletteBASS Press Release
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. — Matt
Messer wasn’t necessarily joking when he said he can’t catch smallmouth
bass.
But Thursday, on Day 1 of the Nitro
Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifier at Lake Champlain presented by Bass Pro Shops,
Messer pounded the lake’s legendary smallmouth population, eventually weighing
a five-bass limit for 23 pounds, 9 ounces on a blustery day here in the far
northeast corner of the Empire State.
Messer, a 23-year-old native of
Warfield, Ky., is a self-confessed sucker for largemouth bass, so his success
with Champlain’s smallies surprised him.
“I had over 20 pounds (of
smallmouth bass) at about 10 o’clock this morning and then caught two bigger
ones late,” Messer said. “It was a pretty consistent bite all day. I culled out
like eight 4-pounders today … I saw some stuff in practice but didn’t have a
set spot to go to, so I was kind of bouncing around this morning. But I landed
on ’em big time this morning and I didn’t leave ’em there … I got every bite I
could. It was a fun day.”
So fun, in fact, that Messer never
had to look for the largemouth he figured he’d need to get a solid start to the
2025
Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers Series. Instead, he focused on an area
measuring about 1 1/2 miles long and hammered the smallies from the start on
Thursday. He said his best bites came from pairs and trios of smallmouth bass
suspended throughout Champlain’s water column.
The weather is expected to change
some overnight, with temperatures dropping from the lower 70s on Thursday to
the 50s for much of the fishing time on Friday. Sustained winds of 10-15 mph
are expected to blow from the north, as well, which could scatter bass and the
bait they’re chasing on Champlain.
No matter, Messer said. He’ll stick
with what put him in the pole position on Day 1.
“I tried to catch largemouth all
during practice (and got nothing,)” he said. “I don’t know how these boys are
doing it. I love largemouth fishing, but I can’t catch ’em here. So, I’m
sticking with the smallmouth.”
Grae
Buck, a 35-year-old pro from Green Lake, Pa., finished Day 1 with a 23-8
limit, only an ounce behind Messer’s total.
“It was the best day I’ve ever had
on Champlain,” Buck said. “Everything went right.”
Like Messer, Buck started on the
smallmouth bite and had a limit within an hour after take-off. That allowed him
to spend much of the day “headhunting” for largemouth bass, and unlike the guy
he’s trailing, Buck built his bag on largemouth. His 5-11 was the Phoenix
Boats Big Bass on Thursday but he also bagged another 5-pound largemouth
and added a 5-pound smallmouth to his mix.
“I found two good largemouth that
put me over the top today,” he said. “I don’t know if I can do it again
tomorrow, but we’re gonna’ try. It was the perfect start to the EQs. I know
Champlain better than the other places we’re going, so I wanted to make it
count this week.”
Until Thursday, though, Buck said
he’s not had great success at this 278,000-acre mammoth lake straddling the New
York/Vermont border.
“I’ve fished here a lot … cashed
checks here,” he said. “But I’ve never had a Top 10 here. I spent a lot of time
here before the off-limit (period) and tried to get really dialed in. One of
the areas (I found in pre-fishing) really paid off today.”
Rounding out the Top 5 on Day 1 of
the tournament are Tennessee’s Christian
Nash with 22-13; local favorite Alec
Morrison, of Peru, N.Y., with 22-10; and Alabama veteran Russ
Lane right behind with 22-9.
A total of 105 pros are competing
on Champlain, with 97 of them in the EQ field. The 10 atop the points standings
following the season’s three EQ tournaments will earn an invitation into the 2026
Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series. The other two EQ tournaments in 2025
are scheduled for Alabama’s Wheeler
Lake Oct. 2-4 and Florida’s Lake
Okeechobee Nov. 13-15.
In addition to first-place checks
of some $58,000, the three winners will earn spots in the 2026
Bass Pros Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour when it’s
held in Knoxville on the Tennessee River in March.
The 10 pros at Champlain who aren’t
in the EQ group are fishing for a Classic berth and part of $294,000 to be
split among the Top 40 anglers in the field.
The Top 50 anglers in the points in
both Division 1 and 2 of this year’s Opens qualified for the EQs. The circuit
also was open to any 2025 Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series pro as well as
the Top 3 anglers in the 2024
Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Championship presented by Lowrance.
Day 2 of the Nitro
Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifier at Lake Champlain presented by Bass Pro Shops
takes off at 7 a.m. ET Friday from the Plattsburgh Boat Basin. Weigh-in will
begin at 3 p.m. ET from the same location. The field will be cut to the Top 10
on Saturday for the final day of fishing.
Coverage of the Nitro
Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifier at Lake Champlain presented by Bass Pro Shops
can be found on Bassmaster.com
each day. Live coverage of Championship Saturday will be streamed on Bassmaster.com
as well as the Roku Sports Channel from 7-10 a.m. ET and 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
This event is being hosted by The
Adirondack Coast.
