California Bassmaster Elite Series pro Ish Monroe caught a sack that weighed just 2 ounces shy of 20 pounds to grab the day-1 lead at the Oneida Bassmaster Northern Open out of Syracuse, N.Y.
“This lake is awesome, just awesome,” he said. “I had everything that I weighed in by 8:30 this morning. It was pretty interesting. It was partly my spot, partly me and partly just having fun. I feel like I can catch ’em like this every single day.”
In second was former Elite Series pro Kurt Dove of Texas with 17-09.
“I caught 12 or 14 smallmouth today, and one good largemouth," he said "I’m fishing in an area that’s got some grass and should have some largemouth in it.
"It was a bit of a grind; I finally got my limit by 10:30, then between 11:00 and 1:00 they bit pretty good. I’m throwing reaction baits and working three areas over hard and fishing the best I can."
Here's a look at the Top 12:
1. Ish Monroe -- 19-14
2. Kurt Dove -- 17-09
3. Fletcher Shryock -- 17-02
4. Jami Fralick -- 16-05
5. Pat Golden -- 16-04
6. Drew Sanford -- 15-13
7. Jimmy D. Kennedy -- 15-12
8. Russ Lane -- 15-11
9. Randy Howell -- 15-10
10. (tie) Keith Allen -- 15-09
10. (tie) Shinichi Fukae -- 15-09
12. Preston Johnson -- 15-08
