Ish Monroe caught a 16-pound bag today at the Oneida Bassmaster Northern Open out of Syracuse New York. With a 2-day total of 35-14, the California pro will take a lead of more than 3 1/2 pounds into the final day of competition.
“My day started slow and I had to bounce around a bit; the wind kind of hurt me,” he said. “If the wind blows north or south, I can pick a bank and fish the area, but that east wind killed me because it rolls across the entire lake.”
He said he resorted to flipping creature baits into shallow grass because the wind was too stiff to throw a frog.
With the wind blowing like it was today, all the protected stuff had boats on it. Tomorrow’s going to be great – there will only be the top 12 guys, so I can fish some of those other areas that I couldn’t today.
"I’ve got an area where I can start if the wind dies down, and hopefully catch a few and have a good day. I think if I get 16 or so pounds again, I’ll be hard to catch.”
Here are the numbers for the 12 anglers who'll fish tomorrow.
1. Ish Monroe -- Hughson, CA -- 10, 35-14 -- 310
Day 1: 5, 19-14 -- Day 2: 5, 16-00
2. Michael Simonton -- Fremont, OH -- 10, 32-03 -- 295
Day 1: 5, 15-02 -- Day 2: 5, 17-01
3. John Pelletier -- Nassau, NY -- 10, 31-10 -- 290
Day 1: 5, 15-03 -- Day 2: 5, 16-07
4. Pat Golden -- High Point, NC -- 10, 31-09 -- 285
Day 1: 5, 16-04 -- Day 2: 5, 15-05
5. Fletcher Shryock -- Newcomerstown, OH -- 10, 30-09 -- 280
Day 1: 5, 17-02 -- Day 2: 5, 13-07
6. Randy Howell -- Springville, AL -- 10, 30-09 -- 276
Day 1: 5, 15-10 -- Day 2: 5, 14-15
7. Matthew Martin -- Chittenango, NY -- 10, 30-09 -- 272
Day 1: 5, 15-05 -- Day 2: 5, 15-04
8. Kurt Dove -- Del Rio, TX -- 10, 30-03 -- 268
Day 1: 5, 17-09 -- Day 2: 5, 12-10
9. Peter E Thliveros -- St Augustine, FL -- 10, 29-06 -- 264
Day 1: 5, 15-00 -- Day 2: 5, 14-06
10. Jason Dudek -- Excelsior, MN -- 10, 29-05 -- 260
Day 1: 5, 13-02 -- Day 2: 5, 16-03
11. Ron Bane -- Frackville, PA -- 10, 28-15 -- 257
Day 1: 5, 14-14 -- Day 2: 5, 14-01
12. Michael Iaconelli -- Pittsgrove, NJ -- 10, 28-13 -- 254
Day 1: 5, 15-00 -- Day 2: 5, 13-13
