This is the 4th year of the Bassmaster Elite Series' existence, and it's visited New York's Oneida Lake during each of those campaigns. The lake hosted regular stops in 2006 and '08 and the first 2 days of the Memorial Major in '07.
It's been pretty much the same story each time – everybody catches a lot of fish and most
that go to the scale are smallmouths, but largemouths ultimately prevail. Like most lakes in the Northeast, Oneida is a couple of weeks behind its normal schedule due to an abnormally cool spring and summer, but anglers have reported that the fishing isn't markedly different than in years past. Few would be surprised if history repeats this week.
On the flip side, the smallmouth-chasers might have a better chance of winning this time than on any prior visit. It's been 3 years since the Elite competitors – and chiefly winner Tommy Biffle – showed fishing enthusiasts throughout the region what a productive largemouth fishery Oneida could be, and pressure on the green fish might be taking its toll. Whether that factor – which was kicked around last year, too – can open the door wide enough for a brown-fish guy to slip through remains to be seen.
When it's over, the 12-angler field for the inaugural two-event postseason in Alabama to determine the Angler of the Year (AOY) will be set. Also, the Top 37 on that same points list will have secured berths for the 2010 Bassmaster Classic at Alabama's Lay Lake.
Before getting into more about the bite, here's the lowdown on the lake itself.
BassFan Lake Profile
> Lake Name: Oneida Lake
> Type of Water: Natural lake
> Surface Acres (full pool): 51,000 acres
> Primary structure/cover: Humps, weedlines, drop-offs, rock shoals, a few docks
> Primary forage: Perch, emerald shiners, immature white bass/white perch, mayfly nymphs/emergers
> Average depth: 12 feet in west end, 30 feet in east end
> Species: Largemouths, smallmouths
> Minimum length: 12 inches
> Reputation: Mega-numbers lake with easy 2-pound average, 3-pound fish abundant but tougher to catch
> Weather: Mostly stable, with highs in the mid to high 80s and light to moderate winds
> Water temp: Mid to high 70s
> Water visibility/color: 5 to 10 feet in some places, a foot or less in others due to algae bloom
> Water level: Full pool
> Fish in: 1 to 40 feet
> Fish phase: Post-spawn/summer
> Primary patterns: Tubes, dropshots, topwaters, jigs, jerkbaits, Carolina-rigs, flipping, jigworms, spinnerbaits
> Winning weight: 66 pounds (4 days)
> Check weight: (Top 50): 26 pounds (2 days)
> Fishing quality (1=poor, 5=great): 3 for Oneida
> Biggest factors: Largemouths – will their dominance continue?
> Biggest decision: Smallmouths or largemouths, and west end or east end?
> Wildcard: A big school of chunky smallmouths – this could be the year of the brown fish
The Green Revolution
When the Elite Series came here for the first time in '06, it was fully anticipated that four bags of smallmouths averaging 15 pounds would win. Several anglers accomplished that, but Biffle topped them all as he yanked big largemouths from inches of water by flipping and throwing a frog.
Peter Thliveros won the now-defunct Major the following year, but he actually accomplished that at nearby Lake Onondaga (the Top 12 transferred there after the first 2 days). Dean Rojas led the cut at Oneida, and all 10 of his fish were largemouths enticed by either a frog or a flipped creature bait.
Last year, the idea that smallmouths would be the ticket to victory was floated around, if for no other reason than word about the largemouths had been out for a couple of years. But Rojas fished pretty much the same way he had previously, weighed 20 green ones and went home with the trophy.
The 'Late' Effect
The late arrival of true summer-type weather has thrown a couple of new wrinkles into Oneida. The grass isn't as dense as it has been in years past, and the warming trend the region has experienced over the past 10 days or so has brought on a major algae bloom.
Mike Iaconelli has been on fire for the past calendar year and he always fares well at Oneida.
Also, a good portion of the smallmouths are still be in a post-spawn mode instead of the full summer phase that Elite anglers have found them in during past visits. Many haven't fully fed up following the reproduction season and their average weight might be a quarter-pound smaller.
"The cool, wet July that kept a lot of the grass back has kept a lot of the fish from grouping up and fattening up for the summer," said Craig Nels, who guides on Oneida. "There doesn't seem to be as big of an offshore bite – it seems like more of a post-spawn, crawdad sort of bite.
"I don't think the smallies are as heavy as they are sometimes and local tournaments have shown that. The BFL last weekend was won with a mixed bag of 17 and change, but then it dropped down into the 14s right after that. The largemouth fishing has been pretty good – guys are catching some kickers in the grass and reeds."
He said the algae bloom is basically just a carpet on the surface that prevents anglers from seeing into the water column, but doesn't change conditions down there. But if the wind blows and churns up the organic matter, the particles will disperse downward and give the impacted areas a greenish tint.
"It comes and goes from day to day and with the calm conditions and warm weather coming, we'll probably get another bloom. The fish still bite, but topwaters and reaction baits might not be as effective.
"If anybody blames (a poor finish) on the bloom, that's not much of an excuse."
Field Notes
Following are practice notes from some of the anglers who'll compete this week.
Clark Reehm
"I'm not very confident. It seems pretty easy to get 10 to 12 pounds of smallmouths and I feel good about being able to do that, but I've felt confident before and had my butt handed to me. You pull up to a place and there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to why the fish there weigh half a pound, 2 pounds or 3 pounds.
"I've got some largemouth found and some smallmouth found and I'm here to get a check, so I'm not worried about stuff that'll hold up for 4 days. I'm looking for 2 days."
Davy Hite
"This is the 4th year in a row we've come up here and it's the same old routine – some smallmouth stuff and some largemouth stuff. I don't mind going someplace in consecutive years, but when we've been to the same place at basically the same time for this many years in a row, it's not a good situation.
"The largemouths are really a gamble, but that's the way these tournaments are won. In the past I've tried to just fish smallmouth and get a decent check and move on, but so many times you catch 30 or 40 fish a day and you've still got 10 pounds. I'm going more for the largemouth this year."
Tommy Biffle
"My practice hasn't been real good. The water's a little bit lower and I don't know if it's local pressure that's made them harder to catch or everybody who's here looking for them, but I haven't been able to find many largemouths.
"This is a good little lake, but we've been here too many times at the same time of year and everybody knows the same places. I'm thinking I'm going to have to mix it up because the largemouths are scaring me."
Dean Rojas
"In some places around here things are still the same (from last year) and in other places they've changed. There's not as much grass and a lot of that has to do with the cold summer. Things are behind and they probably won't catch up because in another month, it's going to start getting cold again.
"It probably has a better chance of being won on smallmouths than in years past, but you never know. If you come across the right stretch, it doesn't take long to get healthy (with largemouths). There are some deeper largemouths, but it's just a matter of finding them."
Kevin VanDam
"Every year we come here it's different. The fish are in different stages and don't seem to be locked into a summer pattern like they should be. I've had a better practice than I did last year, but I'm still not catching the 3-plus-pounders that you've got to have.
"I've spent a lot of time fishing for largemouth and haven't found anything amazing there either. The weather will be a factor, too, and I hope we get a little bit of wind. There's a lot more emphasis on fishing shallow and I'll be curious to see if (Rojas) can catch them on a frog again. The fishing's not bad, but it's just not the power-fishing style I like."
Jeff Kriet has been impressed with the size of some of the offshore smallmouths he caught in practice.
Jeff Kriet
"I think I can catch them. This lake's always pretty good and it's just a matter of getting that 13 pounds or better – that seems to be the magic number.
"It's about like it always is, but it seems like the quality of fish is a little better. I'm not doing anything special, but it just seems like they're weighing a little bit more."
Matt Herren
"I had a decent first day, but the next day I looked at some new stuff and the bite wasn't really all that hot. This is my first time here and the lake's kind of small, but it looks like people can spread out.
"Smallmouths have a history of packing their bags and moving around a lot, so I'm just going to have to put my head down and go to work."
Shaw Grigsby
"It pretty much sucks for me – I never do well on this lake. I just never seem to get the feel for it. I've been here three times and I think I've made a check once.
"I'm catching some and if I had to guess right now I'd say I have a shot at making a check. But do I have enough to make the Top 12? Probably not at this point. I really wanted to focus on one species, but the largemouth fishing hasn't been that good for me and I'll probably have to swing both ways."
Gary Klein
"It's been about what I expected – no surprises. I'm fishing both (species) and I've found some stuff I like. I'll just fish the day and go for whatever I can get bit by.
"I haven't found the kind of smallmouth that I think it'll take to win and I still think it's going to be largemouth-dominated. Every year guys beat the bank in practice and then go fish for smallmouths, and the guys who stay committed to the largemouths end up catching them. I'm doing my own thing and I feel good about it, and I'm looking for it to be a 4-day event."
Russ Lane
"I usually target largemouths and I've fared pretty well here, but it seems like it's come down to getting a couple of fortunate bites. There were times when I didn't have a limit by lunchtime. I've been kind of looking for smallmouths a little more and I have a hunch they might win it this time."
"I came into this thing taking kind of a conservative approach. I'd love to get into the Top 12 (on the points list) and make the postseason, but to do that I'd probably have to win this tournament. Making the Classic was my goal at the start of the year, and I want to make sure I do that."
Mike McClelland
"It's pretty typical for Oneida, in my opinion. The quality of fish I feel like is a little better this year as a whole – it might take a little more weight than it usually does to make the 50-cut or the Top 12.
"I don't think it can be won solely with largemouths, but whoever wins is going to have a few mixed in. We've been here three times and educated the general public on how to catch them and they've had some fairly major tournaments here the last couple of weeks, so they've been pushed on pretty hard and moved around and they might not be as anxious to bite as they once were."
Top 10 to Watch
In no particular order, here are BassFan's picks for the Top 10 to watch in this event.
1. Dean Rojas – He and his frog have run roughshod over this place on the last two visits, and his practice seemed to go pretty much like he expected. He says he's fishing to win and not thinking about the Classic (he needs to move up seven places to nail down a berth), so look for him to be a big factor once again.
Dave Wolak has finished no worse than 5th at Oneida in his three Elite Series visits.
2. Gary Klein – He hasn't fared particularly well here the last two times, but seems to be onto something decent on the green-fish side. He has four finishes of 16th or better in seven events this year, and another one is a distinct possibility.
3. Kevin VanDam – He finished 3rd here in 2006, but has had lackluster showings on his last two visits. However, he's coming off his second-worst placement of the year (28th at the Mississippi River) and that makes him particularly dangerous.
4. Jeff Kriet – Some guys will do well fishing offshore, and Kriet might be one of them. He's content to let others pound the banks – he'll stay out and do what he does best
5. Skeet Reese – His 29th at the Mississippi River was his first non-Top 10 in four events and his lowest finish of the season. His Oneida ledger is a bit of a mixed bag, but he's versatile and incredibly consistent.
6. Mike Iaconelli – His three finishes here have been 6th, 3rd and 10th and he's coming off a runner-up finish at the Forrest Wood Cup. He's been sizzling hot for more than a year now and catches them wherever he goes.
7. Steve Kennedy – His versatility will be a definite strong suit this week and he's still hunting a spot in the postseason. Needs a high finish to get it, but his record here is strong and he's superb at finding his own route to the top of the leaderboard.
8. Mike McClelland – He hasn't fished with the consistency this year that made him an AOY contender throughout 2008, but he's made the Top 12 in two of the last three events. He and good buddy Kriet might have something going in the deeper water.
9, Tommy Biffle – He wasn't overly enthused about his practice, but he can pull largemouths from shallow water with the best of them. He sits just one slot outside the postseason cutoff.
10. Dave Wolak – He hasn't finished better than 30th all season, but that should change here. This venue represents a "home game" for the Pennsylvania native, and with two 5ths and a 4th, he never disappoints the partisan crowd.
Launch/Weigh-In Info
Anglers will launch at 6 a.m. Thursday through Sunday from Oneida Shores County Park (9400 Bartell Road, Brewerton, N.Y.). Weigh-ins will start at 1 p.m. in the same location.
Weather Forecast
Here's the weather forecast for the tournament.
> Thurs., Aug. 12 - Sunny - 84°/63°
- Wind: From the N/NE at 8 mph
> Fri., Aug. 14 - Sunny - 87°/65°
- Wind: From the NW at 5 mph
> Sat., Aug. 15 - Partly Cloudy - 87°/67°
- Wind: From the NNW at 4 mph
> Sun., Aug. 16 - Partly Cloudy - 87°/68°
- Wind: From the S at 5 mph
Notable
> BassFan Big Stick John Murray has a strong record at Oneida and has departed with a check after each Elite Series visit, including a 7th-place finish at the '07 Major. To read his practice report, click here.
