2025 NPFL St. Lawrence River Day 2: Drew Cook Leads with 27-07lbs!

Cook Expands NPFL Lead at St. Lawrence River, Welcher Maintains Narrow AOY Lead.

NPFL Press Release

With launch in Massena, New York, the top anglers continue to make the long run toward Lake Ontario, battling big smallmouth cruising the shallow sand flats.

Leading the charge for two consecutive days, Georgia pro Drew Cook has extended his lead at Stop Five of the 2025 NPFL Season at the St. Lawrence River in Massena, New York to 3 pounds, 2 ounces.

South Carolina angler Patrick Walters, who started in second place, remains there with 22-8 on a tougher Day Two, keeping him in contention. Alabama pro Kyle Welcher stayed consistent with 24-3 on Day Two, maintaining third place and, more importantly, holding onto his lead in the Progressive Angler of the Year race. All three anglers are making significant runs and have relied on mild weather conditions to catch better-than-average-sized bass.

Robert Wroblewski led the big bass race on Day One with a 6-7 lunker, but Drew Cook took over the big bass honors with a 6-10 smallmouth today.

Cook Cruising in New York

With a two-day total of 52-10, Drew Cook is one day away from earning his first NPFL victory. He started on Day One with a solid 27-2 limit and followed it up on Day Two with 25-8, anchored by a 6-10 big bass. His consistent performance has him 3 pounds, 2 ounces ahead of second-place Patrick Walters.

Like the other top anglers, Cook is focusing his efforts around the mouth of Lake Ontario, and several spots further up the river, rotating through flats where smallmouth are both spawning and roaming. As the tournament goes on and anglers spread out, the pressure is making things tougher.

TOP 10 BELOW

2025 NPFL St. Lawrence River Day 1: Drew Cook Leads with 27-07lbs!

Drew Cook jumps out on top after day one on the St. Lawrence River.

Drew Cook makes long run to Lake Ontario (Photo: NPFL)

NPFL Press Release

Long runs and giant smallmouth – that’s the story of Day One and, frankly, the entire event. Launching in Massena, New York, about 95 miles from Lake Ontario, the early summer conditions are perfect for catching big bass. Drew Cook leads the pack with a 27-2 bag, anchored by a 6-pound smallmouth.

In second place by just 2 ounces, South Carolina angler Patrick Walters weighed in 27-0 and capitalized on a strong start this morning. Kyle Welcher sits in third place with 24-13, while Andrew Ready and Andrew Upshaw are tied for fourth with 24-8.

Robert Wroblewski leads big bass with a 6-7 lunker. Progressive AOY leader Kyle Welcher is in third place with 24-13 on Day One. Greg Hackney, who started the event in second place for AOY, is in 13th, keeping the top anglers tight in contention. Coming into the event, Cook was in 8th place and is now looking to climb the leaderboard with a strong performance this week.

Cook Crushes Day One

Fully committed to fishing “near the mouth” of Lake Ontario, Drew Cook decent run and bounced between several spots, catching better-than-average smallmouth at each. With no forward-facing sonar in the NPFL, he kept things simple—targeting hard structure and keeping a bait around fish.

“It took me a little while to get to my fish, but I stopped and hit a couple of places on the way,” he said. “I’m not doing anything special—just fishing typical smallmouth stuff and targeting areas where they’re setting up.”

He caught his leading limit in about three hours and feels confident heading into Day Two, with similar conditions in the forecast.

“The hardest part is getting there, getting back, and being efficient with my time,” he said. “Yesterday, the forecast showed clouds and rain, but now it looks like tomorrow might be similar to today—and I’m good with that.”

Walters Off to Strong Start

Making a strong start, South Carolina angler Patrick Walters kicked off his day in the river, quickly putting a couple of keepers in the well. Staying true to his style, he bounced between multiple spots around the river mouth, landing big smallmouth along the way.

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2022 Fox Rent A Car Stage Six Presented by Googan Baits: Connell Cruises to Knockout Round Win; Wheeler Inches Closer to Clinching Back-to-Back AOYs

by Tyler Brinks

BASS PRO TOUR PRESS RELEASE

UNION SPRINGS, N.Y. – It continues to be a catch fest on Cayuga Lake for the Fox Rent A Car Stage Six Presented by Googan Baits. Wednesday’s Knockout Round was owned by Dustin Connell and seven other pros that will be moving onto the Championship Round to join Michael Neal and Justin Lucas.

Connell Conquers Cayuga

Make it four out of six Championship Round appearances clinched for Connell in the 2022 season. The Alabama pro took the top spot in the Knockout Round after catching 22 bass for 82 pounds, 2 ounces —all of them smallmouth; which may prove to be the difference for Connell if he’s able to come away with a win on Cayuga. In a tournament that’s been dominated by largemouth for the most part, it’s the smallmouth that have carried Connell to a one-in-10 shot at $100,000

“It was a beautiful day in New York and the smallmouth were bitin’,” Connell said with a grin after winning the Knockout Round over his buddy Wheeler. “I set the hook on a few today that I didn’t really want to, but I’m glad that I did so I could just know what’s going on for tomorrow.”

Connell caught most of his smallmouth drop-shotting a Googan Baits Drag N Drop. He brought in nine smallmouth over 4 pounds on Wednesday but no fish over 5 pounds. However, Connell seems to be playing a game of quantity this time around, and it continues to work out for him. Bad news for the other nine competitors left in the field — the Googan Baits pro feels like he still has plenty of smallmouth left to catch tomorrow.

2022 Fox Rent A Car Stage Six Presented by Googan Baits: Lucas Scores Championship Round Berth with 181 Pounds at Stage Six

by Tyler Brinks

BASS PRO TOUR PRESS RELEASE

UNION SPRINGS, N.Y. – The hits keep coming at the Fox Rent A Car Stage Six Presented by Googan Baits on Cayuga Lake as the lake continues to kick out big bass. Anglers in both competition groups are proving that they can catch them a multitude of ways, Cayuga is further cementing itself as one of the best largemouth fisheries in the country.

The bite slowed down some Monday, but it’s too soon to tell if that trend will continue for the remaining three days of the event. It could be the fishing pressure catching up with areas or the changing weather conditions. We’ll know for sure in the next few days, but the big totals posted through the first three days show it will take some serious weight to win this event during the finale on Thursday.

Lucas Advances to Championship Round

The Championship Round got its first entrant as Justin Lucas added 16 bass for 54 pounds on Monday, bringing his total to 181-1 over two days.

Even with a 19-pound lead to begin the day, Lucas knew he was not safe since the man right behind him was Jacob Wheeler. The start of the day hinted at a shootout as Wheeler got off to a fast start and the two took turns with the lead. It appeared that whoever caught the last bass of the day would win the round, but it ended up being settled earlier in the day.

The bite slowed for Wheeler and he was forced to start idling and looking for more areas once Lucas appeared out of reach. But Lucas sweated it out to the end and was thankful to advance.

“That dude is dangerous,” Lucas said of Wheeler. “I’m thankful I could get past him, but he’ll probably be out here again during the Championship Round. You have to make it there first to have a shot at winning, so I’m very thankful to make the final day.”

2022 St. Croix Bassmaster Northern Open at Oneida Lake Day 1: Mittelstaedt Scores 20-07lbs!

Mittelstaedt marches into Day 1 lead

By David A. Brown

BASS PRESS RELEASE

SYRACUSE, N.Y.  — Heeding a key piece of advice, Minnesota angler Kenny Mittelstaedt caught a five-bass limit that weighed 20 pounds, 7 ounces to lead Day 1 of the St. Croix Bassmaster Northern Open at Oneida Lake presented by Mossy Oak Fishing.

Anchoring his bag with a 4-13 smallmouth, Mittelstaedt leads Kyoya Fujita of Minamitsuru, Yamanashi, Japan, by 4 ounces. After a slow start yielded a few small bass, Mittelstaedt dialed in the pattern that produced all of his weight.

“The conditions today played into my favor, and it all just came together,” Mittelstaedt said of the day’s sunny skies and light to moderate wind. “I have to give a shoutout to my co-angler (Mickey Soler). He figured out the bait and I had the spots, and the combination of the two really came together nicely.

“It was standard finesse fishing, but it was playing the conditions. I fish shallow a lot in Minnesota, so I was just doing what the day indicated. This is my third time on Oneida, and I think this is the first time I’ve fished in less than 8 feet.”

Dube Goes Wire-To-Wire At B.A.S.S. Nation Lead On St. Lawrence

Canadians Dan McGarry 2nd, Tracy Rich Wins Non-boater

BASS PRESS RELEASE

WADDINGTON, N.Y. — After a rocky start, Timothy Dube of Nashua, N.H., regrouped, secured his limit and claimed a wire-to-wire win at the TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Northeast Regional at the St. Lawrence River with a three-day total of 62 pounds, 10 ounces.

 

Setting the Day 1 mark with 23-3, Dube added a second-day limit of 21-4. After entering Championship Friday with a lead of 2-1 over Hamburg, N.Y.’s Billy Gilbert, Dube finished with 18-3 and edged Danny McGarry of Newcastle, Canada, by 1-14.

 

Dube won the top prize of $5,500 and qualified for the TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Championship, which will be held Nov. 9-11 on Pickwick Lake. The top boater and nonboater from each state and the province of Ontario qualified for the championship.

 

“Eight years ago, I fished my first qualifier and I never thought I’d be here,” Dube said of his win. “I have no words for this.”

 

The first two days saw Dube enjoying remarkable efficiency by catching his four-bass limit on his first four stops. The final round tested him with an early frustration, but Dube was able to overcome the setback and rally for the win.

 

“Today was a struggle; it was the first day all week that I’ve lost fish,” Dube said. “I worked on a big fish that was about 5 pounds for about an hour early in the morning, finally got it to bite, and she came off and disappeared.

 

“I was definitely nervous. I didn’t even have a fish in the boat when I lost that big one and I thought ‘Here we go.’ But I put the train back on the tracks, found some other fish and caught my limit.”

 

Targeting bottom with a rock/sand/gravel mix, Dube caught his fish on a Ned rig with a 3/8-ounce Swagger Tungsten head and a goby colored Z-Man Finesse T.R.D. and a drop shot with a 1-ounce weight, a No. 1 Owner mosquito hook and a white Berkley MaxScent Flatworm. 

 

Day 1 brought mostly sunny skies, but Day 2 saw dimming cloud cover. Sunshine returned for the final round, but while Dube found the brighter day facilitated his sight fishing, the fish seemed to be in a finicky mood.

 

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.”

Josh Bertrand Wins 2018 BASS Elite St. Lawrence with 95-03lbs!

Bertrand also leads AOY!
By Thomas Allen

BASS PRESS RELEASE

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Drop shotting Berkley MaxScent key to big win.
(Photo: BASS)

After what he claimed was a tough day, Josh Bertrand of San Tan Valley, Ariz., mastered the New York smallmouth bass and produced a giant five-bass limit that weighed 23 pounds, 1 ounce to take home his first Bassmaster Elite Series championship today.
                                                                                                                                
Bertrand’s four-day total was 95-3, which earned him an impressive $100,000 payday in the Huk Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River presented by Black Velvet and valuable Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year points.

The derby was the final regular-season event before the Top 50 pros in the points race advance to the AOY Championship at Georgia’s Lake Chatuge in mid-September.
 
Bertrand will begin the championship in second place in points, but taking home the coveted blue Bassmaster trophy at Waddington is a great way to cap off an extraordinary season.
 
“It’s hard to put into words how I feel right now,” he said. “I am so happy to have finally won one of these, and I’m excited to extend my season into the AOY Championship. But right now I’m going to let this victory sink in.”
 
The 29-year-old angler said the fishing on Championship Sunday was tougher than the previous three days.

“As it usually does, things were more of a struggle today, despite weighing over 23 pounds,” Bertrand said. “The key for me was confidence in my presentation. All week I’ve been catching my fish on a Berkley MaxScent Flat Worm, and I knew it was going to keep on producing — I just had to stick with it until the final minutes.”

That’s exactly what he did, and it paid off big time.
 

Bryan Labelle Wins 2018 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Eastern Open No. 3 on Lake Champlain with 58-10lbs

Molix Pro Carl Jocumsen big bass 6-5lbs!
By Jon Storm
BASS PRESS RELEASE

Flipping and spinnerbaits key to win for local.
(Photo: BASS)

Bryan Labelle of Hinesburg, Vt., began Saturday’s final round of competition at the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Eastern Open No. 3 at Lake Champlain with the firm belief that he could catch 18 to 19 pounds. 
 
He felt that’s what he needed to hold off second-place Bobby Lane. Turns out the fishing was tough across the board, and Labelle caught just 15-8, the sixth heaviest limit among the final Top 12 anglers. Still, it was enough to best second-place Buddy Cippoletti of Wading River, N.Y., by 2-3 ounces and deliver Labelle the first significant win of his career.
 
Cipoletti weighed a 17-10 limit, while Lane, an Elite Series pro from Lakeland, Fla., who began the day in second place, weighed just 14-2 and finished third. Only half of the final 12 pros topped the 15-pound mark.
 
“I’m super excited, obviously — I didn't think I had it,” Labelle said. “It was my worst day ever on Champlain. I thought I had 12 1/2 or maybe 12 3/4 pounds. I didn’t realize I had 15. 
 
“This is my first big win. I was real nervous in line. Bobby (Lane) made it pretty hard on me. He was going through the weights back and forth — what we needed. For me, I think the most important thing was sticking to my game plan. I made a big mistake today, trying to target smallmouth to start. I was second-guessing myself all day, but once I changed to largemouth, I stuck with that all day.”
 
Labelle noted he has thousands of waypoints on the lake. He runned and gunned, stopping and dropping for about 10 minutes at each spot in search of largemouth. He weighed four largemouth and one smallmouth today.
 
Labelle’s key bait was a 1/2-ounce Dirty Jigs Scott Canterbury Flipping Jig, tipped with a Zoom Flippin’ Blue trailer. He was flipping and pitching grass areas in Mississquoi Bay, at the north end of the lake.
 

2017 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Northern Open No. 1 on Oneida Lake Day 2: Steve York Leads with 36-12lbs!

Morning bite key to smallmouth 

By Andrew Canulette

BASS PRESS RELEASE

The 198 anglers competing in the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Northern Open No. 1 hammered the smallmouth bass on Thursday.

Steve York rode that bite into 19th place on Day 1, but he wanted more on Day 2.

York jumps into lead with 19lb limit. (Photo: BASS)

York caught three hefty smallmouths Friday on Oneida Lake, and he added a pair of kicker largemouth bass that filled his limit. The mixed-bag weighed 19 pounds, 11 ounces and was the heaviest creel so far in the tournament. The haul propelled the Bronson, Michigan pro to the top of the leaderboard with a two-day total of 36-12.

Now York will try to hold off the remaining 11 anglers who are hot on his heels for the tournament championship. The winner will collect a boat/motor package valued at nearly $50,000, as well as a berth in next year's GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK'S Sporting Goods provided he fishes the final two Northern Open events in 2017.

York fished with purpose on Friday. After a slow start, his primary area finally turned on and he boated three keeper bass in short order. York swung out of the spot and returned later to find the area still producing. He's hoping it continues to do so on Saturday when he hits the water and heads for the same honey hole.

2017 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Northern Open No. 1 on Oneida Lake Day 1: Alex Wetherell Jumps into Lead 18-09lbs!

Wild weather greets anglers in New York
By Andrew Canulette
BASS PRESS RELEASE

The weather turned foul on Thursday during the opening round of the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Northern Open No. 1 on Oneida Lake.
But the fishing was nothing short of spectacular.

Wetherell on the smallmouth. (Photo: BASS)

The 396 professionals and co-anglers participating in the tournament hammered Oneida’s smallmouth bass on the first day of competition, with 150 of the 198 pros boating a five-bass limit.
Connecticut pro Alex Wetherell led the way with five bass that weighed 18 pounds, 9 ounces. Wetherell had his limit just 90 minutes after launch, and he slowly culled up throughout the day. He estimated he caught 25 to 30 smallmouth to put together a bag that was anchored by a pair of 4 1/2-pounders.
“I think my smallest fish was 3-3,” Wetherell said. “Last year, I was going after largemouth, but I gave up on that in practice this year. It looks like it was a good decision.”
Wetherell’s haul was indicative of recent productivity on this 50,000-acre lake, which is the largest body of water located entirely within the state of New York. Oneida is loaded with forage fish such as gobies and perch, and a mayfly hatch has further induced postspawn bass into a feeding frenzy.
The combination has created the perfect storm for fishing, despite the actual storms that plagued anglers Thursday afternoon.
“I had mayflies and crawfish all over my boat today,” Wetherell said. “There are gobies and perch in there everywhere, and I even had to two shad spit up in my livewell today. So the bass, they’re chewing.”

2017 Costa FLW Series Northern Day 1: McFarlin Leads with 19-07lbs!

Farlow 5th, Izumi 7th & Cory Johnston 8th
By Jody White
FLW PRESS RELEASE

Plenty of smallies still on beds. (Photo: FLW)

Leading day one of the Costa FLW Series event presented by Power-Pole on Lake Champlain, Shayne McFarlin of Martin, Ga., sacked up 19 pounds, 7 ounces of smallmouths to get the ball rolling. Behind him, he’s got a murderer’s row of out-of-town Champlain sticks and locals from Vermont and New York. Though the fishing was good on day one, weights fell slightly short of some pre-tournament expectations. Even so, eight of the top 10 weighed more than 18 pounds, and in true Champlain style, 10th place is only 1 1/2 pounds off the lead.

Like many others up high in the standings, McFarlin relied heavily on spawning smallmouths for his weight and fished the northern half of the lake.

“I pretty much stayed local,” says the Georgia pro. “I’ve got probably 20 fish marked, and I caught three of the biggest I had today. I left a few because I found a few bonus fish. I’m trying to save ’em. I don’t want to be greedy, but honestly I didn’t think I had 19 pounds.”

The forecast for Friday doesn’t look pretty. It’s supposed to blow pretty hard and storm, which could put a damper on some of the sight-fishing. Luckily for the leader he has other options.

TOP 10 BELOW

Wil Hardy II wins 2016 BASS Northern Open #1 on Oneida Lake with 53-13lbs!

Hardy Claims 1^st Open Win!

By John Neporadny Jr.

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Milking one spot for three straight days made a winner of Wil Hardy II at the Bass Pro Shops Northern Open #1 on Oneida Lake.

New to smallmouth but not fishing, Hardy focused on smallies for the win.
(BASS Photo) 

The Harlem, Ga., angler caught his second consecutive 18-pound limit (18 pounds, 4 ounces) of smallmouth bass to win the pro division and the grand prize of a $45,000 Nitro Z20/Mercury 225 Pro XS  rig and $8,491 in cash.  The 26-year-old Hardy finished with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 53-13 to win his first B.A.S.S. tournament and claim a 2017 Bassmaster Classic berth if he fishes the remaining two Northern Opens.

Kevin Van Dam Wins 2016 BASS Elite Cayuga Lake Event with 71-13lbs!

KVD is King again!
By Bryan Brasher

BASS PRESS RELEASE

KVD is BACK! (Photo BASS)

A little over six weeks ago, many professional fishing fans were wondering out loud, “What’s wrong with Kevin VanDam?”

Now those same fans must be wondering just how many gigantic moments VanDam has ahead of him.

After recording his 21st career victory at Louisiana’s Toledo Bend Reservoir in May, VanDam won again Sunday, coming from behind to claim the $100,000 first-place prize in the Busch Beer Bassmaster Elite at Cayuga Lake. After going five years between victories, the Michigan superstar has now won twice in seven weeks.

VanDam, went into Sunday’s final round in third place, almost 2 pounds out of the lead. But a final-day catch of 15 pounds, 7 ounces put him over the top with a four-day mark of 71-13. Jordan Lee, a 24-year-old Alabama angler who led going into the final round, finished second with 70-12.

“You just never know how things are going to go out here,” said VanDam, who extended his own B.A.S.S. record with his 22nd career win. “I’ve said it many times before. It’s really hard to win against these guys.

“I feel pretty lucky today, for sure. I didn’t have a great day today.”

Unlike Toledo Bend, which he described as the “toughest tournament he ever won,” VanDam went into the Cayuga Lake event with a lot of confidence based on what he’d seen in practice. He used a variety of patterns throughout the week and exploited the lake’s solid populations of both largemouth and smallmouth bass.

2016 BASS Elite Cayuga Lake Day 3: Jordan Lee Continues to Lead with 58-02lbs.

Lee living large.
By Bryan Brasher

BASS PRESS RELEASE
As an Alabama resident and former member of the Auburn University Bass Fishing Team, Jordan Lee has spent plenty of time on Lake Guntersville.

Drop shot key for Lee during calm conditions.
(Photo: BASS)

On that famed Alabama fishery, largemouth bass wallow out holes in aquatic grass to make their spawning beds — and that’s where Lee always looks for them during the spring.

The fish are doing the same thing on Cayuga Lake this week, and Lee’s hard-earned, home-grown knowledge has put him on the verge of his first career victory on the Bassmaster Elite Series.

The 24-year-old angler caught 17 pounds, 10 ounces of largemouth during Saturday’s semifinal round and maintained the lead in the Busch Beer Bassmaster Elite at Cayuga Lake. His three-day total of 58-2 gave him a narrow lead over Arizona angler Brett Hite (57-3) and Kevin VanDam (56-6) — a Michigan superstar who fished his first event with B.A.S.S. in 1987, four years before Lee was born.

“I’m honestly just a little bit disappointed in the way things went today,” said Lee, who won the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Classic qualifying event in 2013. “I was hoping to catch a couple of more big ones. I fished clean and probably caught about 25 fish, but I just never had any big bites today.”

2015 Bassmaster Northern Open Oneida Lake Day 1: Kraig Kettelkamp Leads with Largemouth.

Smallmouth and largemouth both key patterns.

By Craig Lamb

bass press release

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The home lake advantage doesn’t apply to Kraig Kettelkamp, but the western New Yorker applied local logic to his lead at the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Northern Open presented by Allstate.

Kettelkamp, of Clifton Springs, caught 20 pounds, 7 ounces, of largemouth from Oneida Lake to take the lead by a slim margin of 2 pounds. The fulltime salesman faces stiff competition from two former Bassmaster Classic world champions with successful pasts on the fishery. Those are current runner-up Randy Howell and fifth-place angler Boyd Duckett, who won a Bassmaster Elite Series event here in 2012.

Local lead star studded event.
(Photo: BASS)

The leader is exclusively targeting largemouth. By comparison, smallmouth filled the 5-bass limits of the remaining top four anglers.

“In practice I caught both but the smallmouth bite didn’t work today,” said Kettelkamp.

He described uniquely distinct areas for largemouth and smallmouth, even though the latter bite failed to produce today.

“My key fishing areas are very specific and feature the habitat for largemouth or smallmouth,” he added. “I’m not targeting a mix like some anglers.”

That could be boom or bust on a lake where the same areas can produce tournament-winning catches of both species. That might not be a factor for Kettelkamp, whose knowledge of prevailing patterns for largemouth and smallmouth are beneficial.

Kettelkamp declined to disclose details of his pattern, although he eluded of switching tactics should the largemouth bite fail in the morning.

2015 Bassmaster Elite St. Lawrence River Day 1: Florida Legend Take Lead with 22.15lbs!

The bass are biting for Elite anglers.

By Bryan Brasher

bass press release

WADDINGTON, N.Y. — On a Northern fishery known for producing monster smallmouth bass, three Florida largemouth gurus stole the show during the opening round of the Evan Williams Bourbon Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River.

Shaw was one them in the rain and during the shine.
(Photo BASS)

Shaw Grigsby of Gainesville, Fla., caught five smallmouth that weighed 22 pounds, 15 ounces and grabbed the lead ahead of Lakeland, Fla., pro Bobby Lane (21-10) and a second Gainesville angler, Bernie Schultz (21-7).

Grigsby said he made a long run that was slowed some by shipping traffic. But once he arrived where he wanted to fish, he caught bass steadily — even when the heavy rains began.

Doug Brownridge Wins the 2014 Old Milwaukee B.A.S.S. Nation Eastern Divisional!

Big win with big smallmouth!

By Tyler Wade

bass press release

WADDINGTON, N.Y. — Doug Brownridge has finished two tournaments with 71 pounds and ended up second. He had no plans to finish second in the 2014 Old Milwaukee B.A.S.S. Nation Eastern Divisional, so he resolved to catch 72 pounds — and win.

Largest bass of the day was insurance to a
win on the St. Lawrence for Ontario angler
Doug Brownridge.
(Photo: BASS)

He did, indeed. Brownridge ended the divisional with 72 pounds, 9 ounces over three days. What’s exceptional about that is all of his bass were smallmouth, averaging nearly 5 pounds each. Well, almost all of them were smallmouth.

“I’ve got one largemouth in my bag today,” he said on the final day. “I had a chance to cull up with a smallmouth that was 1/4 pound heavier, but it didn’t look that healthy.” So Brownridge put the smallie right back into the St. Lawrence River and held onto the largemouth.

Brownridge has led the tournament since its opener on Wednesday and has never even been threatened with losing his lead. He caught 24 pounds, 5 ounces on the first day, and then followed it up with 24-2 sacks on Days 2 and 3. He had the three biggest bags of the tournament.

2014 Old Milwaukee B.A.S.S. Nation Eastern Divisional Day 2: Doug Brownridge Leads After Another 24 Pound Bag!

bass press release

WADDINGTON, N.Y. — Doug Brownridge followed up his massive 24-pound, 5-ounce bag on Day 1 of the 2014 Old Milwaukee B.A.S.S. Nation Eastern Divisional with one that weighed 24-2, extending his lead in the tournament on the St. Lawrence River to nearly 6 pounds.

“I’m still not comfortable yet,” said Brownridge, a member of the Mississauga Bassmasters in the Ontario B.A.S.S. Nation. “I’m going to have to fish hard all day tomorrow.”

Brownridge on his way to a victory with

six pound lead.

(Photo: BASS)

The Canadian angler shows no signs of slowing down, though. He caught most of his fish in the same place on Day 2 as he did on Day 1, leaving him plenty of areas to pick apart on the final day.

“I dropped a horse today, though,” said Brownridge, referring to a big fish he lost. It’s not the only one, either: He lost a couple on the first day, as well. “That one was a monster. If I had gotten that one, I’d be much better off.”

Still, Brownridge said he figured out something that he thinks will help him on the final day. And he’ll have to work hard early on Day 3. “My smallmouth bite just shuts down around 10 o’clock,” he said. “I’ve got to really get them in the morning.”

Brownridge has 48 pounds, 7 ounces for two days. His closest competitor is Rob Messenger of New Hampshire with 42-14. Messenger was also the runner-up on Day 1.

Brownridge and Messenger are currently among the team leaders slated to qualify for the 2014 Old Milwaukee B.A.S.S. Nation Championship, Nov. 6-8, on the Ouachita River in Monroe, La. The top angler on each team advances there, and one competitor from each of six divisions will earn a coveted berth in the 2015 Bassmaster Classic.

2014 Old Milwaukee B.A.S.S. Nation Eastern Divisional Day 1: Doug Brownridge Leads with over 24lbs of Smallmouth.

By Tyler Wade

bass press release

WADDINGTON, N.Y. — When Doug Brownridge took off on Day 1 on the St. Lawrence River, he knew exactly where he was heading.

He chose correctly, and he currently leads the 2014 Old Milwaukee B.A.S.S. Nation Eastern Divisional with 24 pounds, 5 ounces.

“This year, I was second in a Canadian Open and sixth and first in two other tournaments here,” said Brownridge. “I’ve spent 10 to 15 tournament days on this river this year. So I knew right where I wanted to go.”

Doug has the tournament experience and knowledge
of the river to win.
(Photo: BASS)

Brownridge, a member of the Ontario B.A.S.S. Nation, doesn’t even know what’s special about the spot he’s got. He only knows that it produces big fish, and that’s enough to keep him coming back for more.

Just in case it doesn’t bear similar fruit on Day 2, Brownridge has plenty of backup areas.

“I’ll run out of time before I run out of spots,” he said.

“Smallmouth are notorious for moving. They never give up that easily.”

Brownridge had his Day 1 limit by 10 a.m., and he culled up once with a 5-pound, 12-ounce smallmouth.