More Than Weather Behind BASS's Buffalo No-Go

BASS canceled the Erie/Niagara Bassmaster Elite Series at Buffalo, N.Y. early this morning prior to launch. It issued a statement that said the decision to cancel was "due to unsafe weather conditions and in the best interest of all concerned."

It's the second part of that statement that makes the decision controversial.

Among all the Elite Series anglers BassFan spoke with, none took significant issue with putting Lake Erie off-limits today. Winds of 15 to 25 mph from the north-northwest could have created potentially dangerous conditions, and there was a small-craft advisory.

What's at issue is the decision not to release the field into the Upper Niagara River, which is connected to Lake Erie at Buffalo and is largely protected from winds.

At the pre-tournament meeting, BASS tournament director Trip Weldon told the field there was a "plan B" in case the Erie winds turned dangerous. BASS distributed maps to the entire field with markings that showed which waters would be off-limits under restricted fishing.

Under plan B, boats could fish the Buffalo Harbor, and access the Niagara River by driving 4 miles through the no-wake Black Rock Canal, which enters the river through a lock. The indication from Weldon was that if winds were dangerous on Erie, the field would fish the Niagara.

And knowing that the river could be a factor, several pros – especially those familiar with conditions on Lake Erie – spent critical practice time in the river, should just such a situation arise.

That's why some are puzzled over the decision to cancel today's competition outright, rather than institute plan B.

Furthermore, several pros also voiced opposition to the ruling, and felt BASS was unduly influenced by "top pros" who didn't practice in the river, who felt 108 boats in the river would be too much, or who felt it would leave much of the tournament to chance.

BassFan noted such statements to BASS and asked for a clarification about the ruling – specifically, whether the decision to cancel the day outright was purely because of weather, of if other issues played a role.

A BASS official said: "The river is an option for the future and was an option today, but we feel it wasn't the best option. If necessary, tomorrow we'll go to the river with 108 boats. We felt canceling today kept the integrity of the competition, and was the best decision for all parties concerned."

Some Disagree

One pro who feels the decision wasn't the best for "all parties concerned" is Jon Bondy, who guides on western Lake Erie out of Windsor, Ontario.

"They told us plan B was to fish the river, and some of us spent valuable practice time there, hoping for rough weather," Bondy said. "We got it, and plan B was not executed. The river's at least 10 miles long, so that's 20 miles of shoreline, and with Grand Island (in the middle), that's more than 30 miles of shore to fish. There's plenty of largemouths and smallmouths in that river. It was a mistake."

Bondy added: "I understand Trip (Weldon) had to make a call, but a lot of anglers near the top who never practiced in the river were trying to influence him, as was I (the other way). We were told at the meeting, and weeks before, that we'd fish the river. But because most of the guys didn't prefish the river, they didn't want to fish the tournament in there."

Local Darrin Schwenkbeck, who grew up fishing the Niagara, was also counting on at least one river day. "A lot of the top names in the sport were complaining," Schwenkbeck said. "They didn't want to fish the river – they didn't practice it. But you know what? We go to different lakes all year long, and you have to have a backup plan. They're coming to Erie, they knew it was going to blow, and they didn't plan for it."

Leader Paul Hirosky, from Pennsylvania, is staying with Schwenkbeck during the event. Although Hirsoky does feel that a restriction to the river today may have helped him, he doesn't disagree with BASS's decision.

"I think it was definitely the right decision by BASS to not let us go out into the main lake, because I have a real healthy respect for the lake and safety has to come first," Hirsoky said. "But to cancel the day altogether, I guess it doesn't really matter to me one way or the other. It would have been really crowded in the river, and we would have had to idle 4 miles and locked through."

Hirsoky added: "I think I definitely could have had a real strong tournament day on the river, and I might have put some distance between me and some other guys near the top who maybe didn't practice the river. But by the same token, I didn't want to have to fish there. I can only imagine if one guy passes another guy in the no-wake zone – there'd be a protest and this and that. I stand by BASS's decision 100%."

Majority Agree

The majority do agree with the decision to cancel outright today. In fact, the ruling was met with large applause at launch this morning.

There could, however, be some misunderstanding among the field about what the river truly holds. The current does rip, even along the shorelines, but there are significant breaklines, channel edges, rockpiles, islands, docks and other cover that hold both largemouths and smallmouths.

But note that 108 boats may be in there tomorrow if the winds blow again. The forecast does call for diminished winds, but that could change.

If BASS opened the river today, that would have preserved the initial cut structure, and only the Top 50 would be fishing tomorrow.

Instead, the full field fishes tomorrow, then the Top 12 advance to fish day 4. So as it stands, if the waters are restricted tomorrow, there'll be 108 boats on the river regardless.

Rick Clunn was one of the pros who argued against fishing the river today, which was somewhat curious, because at the weigh-in yesterday he told BassFan that he was happy to have the river as an option. In general he disagrees with cancellations except in the most extreme conditions.

"I've only seen one or two cancellations that I thought were justified, and both were hurricanes," Clunn said. "This one may have been another. With our equipment, our boats are better than ever, but they're not made for these kinds of waters. But I'm glad we didn't fish in the river. We would have been like a bunch of kids mechanically going around and around.

"I don't want to knock the fishery, but it's not big enough for 108 boats," he added. "There's 26 mph current, which makes it very difficult to fish any eddy or bank, so you'd have a bunch of mechanical fishermen heading for any open bank left in the river."

And Kevin VanDam, who's 2nd in the Elite Series points, also applauded the decision. He said: "I think it's the right call. I'm sure some guys would have liked to fish the river, because they know it real well, but most people probably didn't have time to practice it.

"So I think it's the right call to make – to cancel the whole day instead of putting 108 boats in the river. I think it's only 10 miles long and not that wide, so I think it would be pretty crowded in there. A lot of people's seasons are on the line, and that's not the way to do it. BASS did the fairest thing for the whole field."

Notable

> The ruling obviously affects co-anglers as well. Local co-angler Tim Braun's currently 9th in the event. Since the co-angler division will be decided tomorrow, he only has 1 more day to fish. "Do I agree with the decision? Absolutely not," he said. "These guys are seasoned pros. They should be smart enough to prefish the river. It's called being versatile. I'm not happy about what they did today."

> Whether the host community wins or loses is unclear. On the downside, the area loses a day of tournament activity and fan turnout. There's also the possibly the public will take away a false perception that the Niagara is a small or crowded river. On the upside, fans will see a full-field weigh-in tomorrow.