Roy Solves St. Clair With 23-03 Stringer

By BassFan Staff

For some anglers, the largely featureless makeup of Lake St. Clair can be puzzling and frustrating. There are very few points, drop-offs or obvious fish-holding spots that stand out, and those who are so used to presenting baits along a piece of cover or across a change in bottom contour or composition have often gotten spun out by St. Clair’s vast expanse of relative nothingness.

Count Bradley Roy and Chad Morgenthaler among those who’ve been perplexed in the past. Not today, though, and they both hope what they did today is a sign they’ve put their past struggles at one of the nation’s premier smallmouth fisheries behind them.

“St. Clair is an odd place,” Morgenthaler said. “It’s hard to get a handle on it.”

Roy figured it out, bagging 23-03 to take the day-1 lead at the final full-field Elite Series tournament of 2017. He came into this week in the mix to make the Angler of the Year Championship and challenge for a berth in next year’s Bassmaster Classic so his strong start has done nothing to hurt either of those pursuits.

Morgenthaler, who’s had a miserable season, is exactly one pound back in 2nd. Matt Lee, who’s posted two top-12 finishes in the last three events, caught 21-13 and sits in 3rd. After sacking 21-12, which was good for 4th, Jason Christie now finds himself tied for 2nd in the Angler of the Year race, which saw a shakeup at the top today.

Mark Daniels, Jr. caught 21-11 and rounded out the top 5 on a day when 15 anglers eclipsed the 20-pound mark and another 14 caught 19-plus. The entire top 5 spent their whole day in Lake St. Clair as the event namesake is proving to be much more productive than its Great Lakes neighbors to the north and south.

The top of the AOY standings saw a change with Jacob Wheeler bagging 21-09, which put him in 6th on the leaderboard. It was enough to move him one point ahead of Brandon Palaniuk, who came in with a 40-point lead over Wheeler. Palaniuk caught the day’s biggest fish (a 6-08 brute), but his 17-13 stringer was only good enough for 47th, hence the evaporation of his points lead.

Here's a look at the top 12 after the first day of competition, with deficit margin from Roy indicated by red numbers in parentheses:

1. Bradley Roy: 23-03
2. Chad Morgenthaler: 22-03 (1-00)
3. Matt Lee: 21-13 (1-06)
4. Jason Christie: 21-12 (1-07)
5. Mark Daniels, Jr.: 21-11 (1-08)
6. Jacob Wheeler: 21-09 (1-10)
7. Mark Menendez: 21-00 (2-03)
8. Skeet Reese: 20-14 (2-05)
9 (tie). John Crews: 20-12 (2-07)
9 (tie). Aaron Martens: 20-12 (2-07)
11. Steve Kennedy: 20-11 (2-08)
12. Micah Frazier: 20-06 (2-13)

Michigan native Kevin VanDam said he had the best day he’s ever had at St. Clair on Tuesday this week, but he could only muster 14-09 today and that has him in 83rd. It also was a tough day for 2015 St. Clair Elite Series champion Todd Faircloth, who caught 14-06 and sits in 85th.

There will surely be some shakeup on the leaderboard Friday, which figures to be among the more intense days of competition of the season. It will be the final day of full-field competition this season and it’ll give those anglers who struggled today one last chance to rebound and prolong their campaign into the weekend.

It’s no secret that St. Clair’s smallmouth have a reputation for being nomadic and they behaved no differently today as many anglers remarked that areas that were covered with bass during practice were ghost towns. With a slight change in wind, which in turn can impact how the current moves through an area, those areas could light up again Friday.

Conditions were generally bumpy throughout the day with a westerly breeze under partly sunny skies, but the wind is expected to switch to the north on Friday with winds calming after the morning. According to the NOAA marine forecast for the rest of the weekend, wave heights on St. Clair are not expected to exceed two feet and with sunny skies expected, the weights could spike as a result.

Roy Committed to St. Clair

> Day 1: 5, 23-03

It wasn’t until mid-morning that Roy began to gain some momentum. He’d fished several areas early on with no bites, but when they started biting, the fish he was catching were better than what he’d seen in practice.

“These fish have grown up,” he joked. “There were a lot of 4s biting in practice so I knew 20 (pounds) was possible. To have 23 was a surprise.”

His bag was anchored by a 5-11 and he said he relied on “typical smallmouth stuff” as far as tackle and techniques. He added that he’s pretty much committed to stay in St. Clair for as long as he’s in the tournament.

“I’m going to try to stay on what I found and work with what I have,” he said. “I’m not catching as many as in years past, but the average quality seems better. I’m not catching them every cast.”

2nd: Morgenthaler In Good Spirits

> Day 1: 5, 22-03

Morgenthaler came into the event 94th in points with just one day-2 cut made this season, so to kick off the season finale in the fashion he did felt pretty satisfying.

“It feels real good,” he said. “It’s been one of those years. I’ve had opportunities that I’ve missed. I’ve caught them one day and not the second, so I hope that’s not the case tomorrow. I have three or four things going so I feel good I can catch them decent to stay in the hunt.

“Today was an important day because I built some confidence with a pattern that could help me down the road if I’m able to stay around on the weekend.”

He has previously struggled at St. Clair because of its lack of irregularities. He was 102nd in the 2015 Elite Series and has 88th- and 144th-place finishes from Detroit River FLW Tour tournaments on his résumé.

“It messes with your mind,” he said. “It’s horrible. It’s had my number because of that for a long time. I finally had to quit fighting it. The place I caught them on, I thought, was typical smallmouth stuff. It is more structure- or current-oriented. That’s what I looked for in practice and luckily this time I found it.”

He had the bulk of his weight before 9 a.m. and it came largely off one spot that he wound up sharing with another competitor who had 20-plus pounds. His kicker was a 5-07 and he had another in the 5-pound class.

“There are a lot of fish there and it’s the perfect spot for them to be,” he said. “When we both left it, I didn’t see anybody else on it.”

He caught a few more later on, but none that helped significantly.

3rd: Lee Stayed In Canadian Waters

> Day 1: 5, 21-13

Lee doesn’t think he’s found the winning spot, but it was pretty darn good today and he’ll take a second look at it tomorrow as he tries to solidify a berth in next year’s Classic.

“It blows my mind that I found potentially the best area,” he said. “It’s not a winning hole, though, because it doesn’t have enough fish. I was getting one bite every 30 minutes and usually a winning spot will kick out 4-pounder after 4-pounder.

“We’ll see about tomorrow. If I catch 15 fish and come in with 14 pounds, I’ll be bumfuzzled again. I didn’t think it was as good as it was today.”

He thinks the fishing is a little tougher this week compared to 2015 because of the algae bloom that’s happening, but he was able to make the most of the second spot he fished, which was on the Canadian side of St. Clair.

“It was a place where I’d caught a big one in practice and caught some other good ones,” he said. “I filled my limit there and wound up with 10 bites there. Half of them were small and half were big ones. I also jumped one off that was bigger than anything I weighed in.

“I just picked the right area. It’s just the same kind of deal as last time – a void in the grass in the abyss, as I call it. It’s something you can’t even see idling with the big motor. I spent all of my practice on the Canadian side and it’s the only place I have areas that have been good to me before. There’s less pressure over there.”

4th: Christie Caught ‘Em Everywhere He Went

> Day 1: 5, 21-12

It was an anxious day for Christie and it was not because of his position in the points standings. He got antsy in terms of where he was fishing and wound up bouncing around to a lot of spots. He’ll go out Friday morning still uncertain of where he wants to spend most of his time.

“I caught a lot of fish, got lucky and caught a few of the right ones,” he said. “I never sat in one spot too long, but I haven’t committed to anything. I haven’t found that spot I think I can sit on the next few days.”

When asked if he felt that spot exists at lake known for a roaming population of bass, he predicted there are hundreds of them.

“The chance that you’re going to find one is the difference, though,” he said. “I have a bunch of places, but it’s just hard to find one – that basketball-court size area where they live rather than where they migrate following bait.”

He spent his day in a 5-mile area of St. Clair and caught bass at virtually every spot, adding to his anxiety about where to spend more time.

“I can’t settle down,” he said. “I’d fish a little, then move, then move another half mile. I can’t make any sense why one would be different than another. I’m just floating around out there. On the positive side, I think about how many (bass) are out there. You have to think there’s one close to your bait and hopefully he’ll bite.”

He didn’t catch anything on a spinning rod today and said the wind made being efficient pretty challenging.

“It affects way I fish,” he said. “The wind is good for covering water, but when you come across them, it’s hard to sit and work on them. It’s almost like you spread them out and that makes it tougher.”

5th: ‘No Rhyme or Reason’ For Daniels

> Day 1: 5, 21-11

While Daniels was thrilled to get off to a strong start, he was unable to pinpoint a reason why he had the good fortune he did.

“You cannot explain it is the best way to explain it,” he said. “It just happens. Of course, you run waypoints where you got bites in practice with the mindset that there must be fish in that vicinity. Then you drift three miles and catch them. There’s no rhyme or reason why they are where they are.”

He caught fish all through the day and described his tactical approach as junk-fishing.

“I knew it would be random and sporadic and here and there and that’s what it was,” he said. “I’m very satisfied with today. I didn’t know what to expect, but I felt like if I could get 15 bites per day I’d have a good bag around 17 or 18. I’d have been stoked with that. To catch 21, I’m pleased with that as well.”

89th: Poor Practiced Carried Over for Vinson

> Day 1: 5, 13-10

Greg Vinson was the runner-up to Faircloth at St. Clair two years ago, but it doesn’t look as though he’ll be able to pull off a repeat this time around. He had some good fish come off and wound up weighing two squeakers to register a limit.

“This is probably just a culmination of three poor days of practice,” he said. “As I got into the day, you can’t help but notice who’s around you and that’s when I realized there were more fish in the area than what I thought.”

He plans to expand on his area tomorrow in the hopes he can generate more bites, something he struggled with in practice.

“I’m just going to hunker down and make the most out of that tomorrow,” he said. “I took a similar approach to two years ago and I spent lot of time on Monday running and idling to look for key features on the bottom with the water as calm as it was. I felt that was a better use of time, but looking back, I might’ve been better off to just fish.”

Notable

> Day 1 stats – 108 anglers, 97 limits, 3 fours, 5 threes, 3 twos.

> For the sake of comparison, the day-1 leading weight at St. Clair in 2015 was 23-10 (Alton Jones). It was 22-09 in 2013 (Chris Lane). In both 2013 and 2015, there were eight 20-plus pound bags on day 1.

Weather Forecast

> Fri., Aug. 25 – Mostly Sunny - 73°/53°
- Wind: From the NNE at 5 to 8 mph

> Sat., Aug. 26 – Mostly Sunny - 74°/55°
- Wind: From the S at 3 to 5 mph

> Sun., Aug. 27 – Mostly Sunny - 76°/58°
- Wind: From the S at 7 to 12 mph

Day 1 Standings

1. Bradley Roy -- Lancaster, KY -- 5, 23-03 -- 110
Day 1: 5, 23-03

2. Chad Morgenthaler -- Reeds Spring, MO -- 5, 22-03 -- 109
Day 1: 5, 22-03

3. Matt Lee -- Guntersville, AL -- 5, 21-13 -- 108
Day 1: 5, 21-13

4. Jason Christie -- Park Hill, OK -- 5, 21-12 -- 107
Day 1: 5, 21-12

5. Mark Daniels Jr. -- Tuskegee, AL -- 5, 21-11 -- 106
Day 1: 5, 21-11

6. Jacob Wheeler -- Harrison, TN -- 5, 21-09 -- 105
Day 1: 5, 21-09

7. Mark Menendez -- Paducah, KY -- 5, 21-00 -- 104
Day 1: 5, 21-00

8. Skeet Reese -- Auburn, CA -- 5, 20-14 -- 103
Day 1: 5, 20-14

9. John Crews Jr -- Salem, VA -- 5, 20-12 -- 102
Day 1: 5, 20-12

9. Aaron Martens -- Leeds, AL -- 5, 20-12 -- 102
Day 1: 5, 20-12

11. Steve Kennedy -- Auburn, AL -- 5, 20-11 -- 100
Day 1: 5, 20-11

12. Micah Frazier -- Newnan, GA -- 5, 20-06 -- 99
Day 1: 5, 20-06

13. Brock Mosley -- Collinsville, MS -- 5, 20-05 -- 98
Day 1: 5, 20-05

14. Brett Preuett -- Monroe, LA -- 5, 20-04 -- 97
Day 1: 5, 20-04

15. Brandon Lester -- Fayetteville, TN -- 5, 20-02 -- 96
Day 1: 5, 20-02

16. Jonathon VanDam -- Kalamazoo, MI -- 5, 19-15 -- 95
Day 1: 5, 19-15

17. Jamie Hartman -- Newport, NY -- 5, 19-11 -- 94
Day 1: 5, 19-11

18. Jordan Lee -- Grant, AL -- 5, 19-09 -- 93
Day 1: 5, 19-09

19. Koby Kreiger -- Bokeelia, FL -- 5, 19-08 -- 92
Day 1: 5, 19-08

20. Michael Iaconelli -- Pitts Grove, NJ -- 5, 19-07 -- 91
Day 1: 5, 19-07

21. Keith Combs -- Huntington, TX -- 5, 19-06 -- 90
Day 1: 5, 19-06

21. Edwin Evers -- Talala, OK -- 5, 19-06 -- 90
Day 1: 5, 19-06

21. Randy Howell -- Guntersville, AL -- 5, 19-06 -- 90
Day 1: 5, 19-06

21. Takahiro Omori -- Emory, TX -- 5, 19-06 -- 90
Day 1: 5, 19-06

25. Luke Clausen -- Otis Orchards, WA -- 5, 19-05 -- 86
Day 1: 5, 19-05

25. Bernie Schultz -- Gainesville, FL -- 5, 19-05 -- 86
Day 1: 5, 19-05

27. David Williams -- Newton, NC -- 5, 19-03 -- 84
Day 1: 5, 19-03

28. John Hunter Jr -- Shelbyville, KY -- 5, 19-01 -- 83
Day 1: 5, 19-01

29. Bobby Lane Jr. Lakeland, FL -- 5, 19-00 -- 82
Day 1: 5, 19-00

30. Brent Ehrler -- Redlands, CA -- 5, 18-15 -- 81
Day 1: 5, 18-15

31. Casey Ashley -- Donalds, SC -- 5, 18-14 -- 80
Day 1: 5, 18-14

32. Shane Lineberger -- Lincolnton, NC -- 5, 18-13 -- 79
Day 1: 5, 18-13

32. Marty Robinson -- Lyman, SC -- 5, 18-13 -- 79
Day 1: 5, 18-13

34. Fred Roumbanis -- London, AR -- 5, 18-12 -- 77
Day 1: 5, 18-12

35. Tyler Carriere -- Youngsville, LA -- 5, 18-11 -- 76
Day 1: 5, 18-11

35. Paul Elias -- Laurel, MS -- 5, 18-11 -- 76
Day 1: 5, 18-11

37. Greg Hackney -- Gonzales, LA -- 5, 18-10 -- 74
Day 1: 5, 18-10

38. Brandon Coulter -- Knoxville, TN -- 5, 18-09 -- 73
Day 1: 5, 18-09

38. Andy Montgomery -- Blacksburg, SC -- 5, 18-09 -- 73
Day 1: 5, 18-09

40. Seth Feider -- Isle, MN -- 5, 18-08 -- 71
Day 1: 5, 18-08

41. Dustin Connell -- Clanton, AL -- 5, 18-05 -- 70
Day 1: 5, 18-05

42. Chad Pipkens -- Lansing, MI -- 5, 18-02 -- 69
Day 1: 5, 18-02

43. Jesse Tacoronte -- Orlando, FL -- 5, 18-01 -- 68
Day 1: 5, 18-01

44. Ott DeFoe -- Blaine, TN -- 5, 18-00 -- 67
Day 1: 5, 18-00

45. Bill Lowen -- Brookville, IN -- 5, 18-00 -- 66
Day 1: 5, 18-00

46. Clifford Pirch -- Payson, AZ -- 5, 17-14 -- 65
Day 1: 5, 17-14

47. Brandon Palaniuk -- Hayden, ID -- 5, 17-13 -- 64
Day 1: 5, 17-13

47. Randall Tharp -- Port St. Joe, FL -- 5, 17-13 -- 64
Day 1: 5, 17-13

49. Tim Horton -- Muscle Shoals, AL -- 5, 17-12 -- 62
Day 1: 5, 17-12

49. Brian Snowden -- Reeds Spring, MO -- 5, 17-12 -- 62
Day 1: 5, 17-12

51. Josh Bertrand -- San Tan Valley, AZ -- 5, 17-12 -- 60
Day 1: 5, 17-12

52. Stephen Browning -- Hot Springs, AR -- 5, 17-09 -- 59
Day 1: 5, 17-09

52. Jesse Wiggins -- Cullman, AL -- 5, 17-09 -- 59
Day 1: 5, 17-09

54. Scott Rook -- Little Rock, AR -- 5, 17-06 -- 57
Day 1: 5, 17-06

54. Jason Williamson -- Wagener, SC -- 5, 17-06 -- 57
Day 1: 5, 17-06

56. Keith Poche -- Pike Road, AL -- 4, 17-05 -- 55
Day 1: 4, 17-05

57. Darrell Ocamica -- New Plymouth, ID -- 5, 17-00 -- 54
Day 1: 5, 17-00

58. Kelley Jaye -- Dadeville, AL -- 5, 16-11 -- 53
Day 1: 5, 16-11

58. Chris Lane -- Guntersville, AL -- 5, 16-11 -- 53
Day 1: 5, 16-11

60. Matt Herren -- Ashville, AL -- 5, 16-07 -- 51
Day 1: 5, 16-07

61. Jacob Powroznik -- North Prince George, VA -- 5, 16-06 -- 50
Day 1: 5, 16-06

62. Jared Lintner -- Arroyo Grande, CA -- 5, 16-05 -- 49
Day 1: 5, 16-05

62. Ish Monroe -- Hughson, CA -- 5, 16-05 -- 49
Day 1: 5, 16-05

64. Adrian Avena -- Vineland, NJ -- 5, 16-04 -- 47
Day 1: 5, 16-04

65. Brent Chapman -- Lake Quivira, KS -- 5, 16-03 -- 46
Day 1: 5, 16-03

65. Mark Davis -- Mount Ida, AR -- 5, 16-03 -- 46
Day 1: 5, 16-03

67. Tommy Biffle -- Wagoner, OK -- 5, 16-02 -- 44
Day 1: 5, 16-02

67. James Niggemeyer -- Van, TX -- 5, 16-02 -- 44
Day 1: 5, 16-02

69. John Murray -- Spring City, TN -- 5, 16-00 -- 42
Day 1: 5, 16-00

70. Gerald Spohrer -- Gonzales, LA -- 5, 15-13 -- 41
Day 1: 5, 15-13

71. Dave Lefebre -- Erie, PA -- 5, 15-12 -- 40
Day 1: 5, 15-12

72. Alton Jones -- Lorena, TX -- 5, 15-11 -- 39
Day 1: 5, 15-11

72. Mike McClelland -- Bella Vista, AR -- 5, 15-11 -- 39
Day 1: 5, 15-11

74. Rick Clunn -- Ava, MO -- 5, 15-10 -- 37
Day 1: 5, 15-10

75. Chris Zaldain -- Laughlin, NV -- 5, 15-07 -- 36
Day 1: 5, 15-07

76. Cliff Prince -- Palatka, FL -- 5, 15-05 -- 35
Day 1: 5, 15-05

77. David Mullins -- Mt Carmel, TN -- 5, 15-02 -- 34
Day 1: 5, 15-02

78. Paul Mueller -- Naugatuck, CT -- 5, 15-01 -- 33
Day 1: 5, 15-01

79. Cliff Pace -- Petal, MS -- 5, 14-15 -- 32
Day 1: 5, 14-15

80. Britt Myers -- Lake Wylie, SC -- 5, 14-13 -- 31
Day 1: 5, 14-13

81. Cliff Crochet -- Pierre Part, LA -- 5, 14-10 -- 30
Day 1: 5, 14-10

81. Gary Klein -- Mingus, TX -- 5, 14-10 -- 30
Day 1: 5, 14-10

83. Kevin VanDam -- Kalamazoo, MI -- 5, 14-09 -- 28
Day 1: 5, 14-09

84. Justin Lucas -- Guntersville, AL -- 5, 14-09 -- 27
Day 1: 5, 14-09

85. Todd Faircloth -- Jasper, TX -- 5, 14-06 -- 26
Day 1: 5, 14-06

86. Morizo Shimizu -- Suita, Osaka JAPAN -- 5, 14-05 -- 25
Day 1: 5, 14-05

87. Brandon Card -- Knoxville, TN -- 5, 14-02 -- 24
Day 1: 5, 14-02

88. Hank Cherry Jr -- Lincolnton, NC -- 5, 13-13 -- 23
Day 1: 5, 13-13

89. Greg Vinson -- Wetumpka, AL -- 5, 13-10 -- 22
Day 1: 5, 13-10

90. Jeff Kriet -- Ardmore, OK -- 5, 13-06 -- 21
Day 1: 5, 13-06

91. Stetson Blaylock -- Benton, AR -- 5, 12-15 -- 20
Day 1: 5, 12-15

92. Dean Rojas -- Lake Havasu City, AZ -- 5, 12-14 -- 19
Day 1: 5, 12-14

93. Kelly Jordon -- Flint, TX -- 5, 12-11 -- 18
Day 1: 5, 12-11

94. Drew Benton -- Panama City, FL -- 5, 12-06 -- 17
Day 1: 5, 12-06

95. Skylar Hamilton -- Dandridge, TN -- 5, 12-04 -- 16
Day 1: 5, 12-04

96. Gerald Swindle -- Guntersville, AL -- 5, 12-03 -- 15
Day 1: 5, 12-03

97. Shaw Grigsby Jr. Gainesville, FL -- 5, 11-10 -- 14
Day 1: 5, 11-10

98. David Walker -- Sevierville, TN -- 3, 10-13 -- 13
Day 1: 3, 10-13

99. Alton Jones Jr. Lorena, TX -- 5, 10-12 -- 12
Day 1: 5, 10-12

100. Fletcher Shryock -- New Philadelphia, OH -- 4, 10-03 -- 11
Day 1: 4, 10-03

101. Robbie Latuso -- Gonzales, LA -- 3, 09-12 -- 10
Day 1: 3, 09-12

102. Russ Lane -- Prattville, AL -- 3, 09-04 -- 9
Day 1: 3, 09-04

103. Boyd Duckett -- Guntersville, AL -- 4, 09-01 -- 8
Day 1: 4, 09-01

104. Terry Scroggins -- San Mateo, FL -- 3, 09-01 -- 7
Day 1: 3, 09-01

105. David Fritts -- Lexington, NC -- 3, 07-05 -- 6
Day 1: 3, 07-05

106. James Elam -- Tulsa, OK -- 2, 06-06 -- 5
Day 1: 2, 06-06

107. Clent Davis -- Montevallo, AL -- 2, 05-04 -- 4
Day 1: 2, 05-04

108. Brett Hite -- Phoenix, AZ -- 2, 04-00 -- 3
Day 1: 2, 04-00