By BassFan Staff
Minnesota's Mille Lacs Lake may indeed be the best smallmouth bass fishery on the planet at the moment. Where else would a 19-pound sack of bronzebacks put an angler in the bottom 40 percent of any tournament field?
Despite less-than-ideal weather conditions, 23 of the 50 anglers competing in the Bassmaster AOY Championship caught at least 20 pounds on day 1. Takahiro Omori led the way with a 26-07 haul and three others boxed at least 25.
Seth Feider, the lone home-state angler in the field and a prohibitive favorite this week, weighed 25-08 to share the No. 2 spot with Jason Williamson. Brent Ehrler was next with 25-05 and Matt Herren completed the Top 5 with 23-14.
Here's a look at the early Top 12, with deficit margins from the leader indicated by red numbers in parentheses:
1. Takahiro Omori: 26-07
2. (tie) Seth Feider: 25-08 (0-15)
2. (tie) Jason Williamson: 25-08 (0-15)
4. Brent Ehrler: 25-05 (1-02)
5. Matt Herren: 23-14 (2-09)
6. James Elam: 23-08 (2-15)
7. Greg Hackney: 23-05 (3-02)
8. Bradley Roy: 23-04 (3-03)
9. Kevin VanDam: 23-01 (3-06)
10. Bobby Lane: 22-15 (3-08)
11. Alton Jones: 22-09 (3-14)
12. Bill Lowen: 22-05 (4-02)
Runaway oints leader Gerald Swindle managed just three fish for 9 1/2 pounds, leaving the door wide open for Keith Combs to close the gap. But Combs, the only competitor with a mathematical chance of chasing down Swindle, bagged a pedestrian 16-11 and sits in 41st, just eight places ahead of Swindle.
Combs came into the event facing a 43-point deficit, and that'll be all but impossible to overcome now as he'll need to leap-frog more than 30 anglers over the final 2 days of the event – and that's assuming that Swindle remains where he is. Making up that much ground is a tall order in an event in which everybody's catching 4-pounders, but fish weighing 6 pounds or more are rare (only two showed up on day 1).
Gerald Swindle caught only three fish on day 1, but held onto most of his massing lead in the points race.
Although he retained the vast majority of his lead, Swindle was naturally disappointed by his day-1 showing.
“I just didn’t get many bites today,” he said in a press release distributed by B.A.S.S.. “I wish I had a good story to tell, or an explanation to give, but I just couldn’t figure out where the fish were located or what they would be willing to eat.
“It’s not a good feeling coming into the championship with the lead in hand only to fall on your face the first day. But all I can do is get back out there tomorrow and figure out where I went wrong. I’m mad at them now, so that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
A series of thunderstorms made for a wet and windy day on the shallow, 132,500-acre venue, and the competitors, most of whom are fishing away from the bank, had to contend with 3-foot rollers. More of the same is in the forecast for the early portion of day 2.
Unlike at a regular-season Elite Series event, there will be no field reduction after day 2. All 50 anglers will return to the water for the finale on Sunday after taking Saturday off to conduct Bassmaster University seminars and partake in other fan-friendly activities.
Right Bites for Omori
> Day 1: 5, 26-07
Omori, who won a regular-season event this year at Alabama's Wheeler Lake, thought he might be able to catch 20 pounds on day 1, but had no inkling that he'd exceed that mark by almost one-third.
"I just got the right bites," he said. "It's the biggest smallmouth bag of my life.
"I had one area that was pretty good, so I stayed in that same area and didn't have much company. I started catching them right away and I had all my weight by noon – I couldn't get bit after that."
Many expected Seth Feider to catch a good bag, and the home-state angler delivered.
His bag was topped by a 6-pounder and his other four were all in the 5-class. He's fishing deep, but declined to reveal what he's throwing.
He'll go back to the same place to start day 2.
"I have no clue what I can catch – I've never fished here before. We'll find out tomorrow."
2nd: Feider Figured it Out
> Day 1: 5, 25-08
Feider, who spends a lot of time on Mille Lacs and calls it his favorite lake, didn't practice for this event even though winning it (or posting a very high finish such as his runner-up showing last week at the Mississippi River) could gain him an improbable berth in the Classic. Conditions were different that he expected when he got on the water, but he had things wired by lunchtime.
"It's not the lake I expected," he said. "I went to some places where I thought they'd be and that didn't work – they're transitioning to the fall pattern, but they're still in between.
"I didn't figure it out until noon, and then I found some good stuff this afternoon."
He caught two of his biggest fish with about an hour left in the day, then spent the rest of his time scanning structure on his electronics.
"I feel good about the next 2 days. I talked to Tak and Ehrler and they're both fishing one spot, and those will dry up tomorrow or on the last day. They're not grouped up like they will be later in the fall – there aren't any mega-wads yet."
2nd: Williamson Caught a Bruiser
> Day 1: 5, 25-08
Williamson's bag was headed up by the day's biggest fish – a 6-01 specimen.
"The place I fished today was the best spot I found in practice, but I couldn't have told you what was actually there," he said. "I think a lot of people were wondering exactly how good it was going to be because there were a lot of unknowns. Now I've seen that it's doable."
He caught most of his stringer during the early hours, but made one cull in the afternoon. All of his weigh-in fish came from the same place.
Jason Williamson's 6-01 brute took big-bass honors for day 1.
"I'm going to have to move on eventually. There were a few people in the area and it got a lot of pressure today."
He opted not to reveal pattern details, but said he's employing spinning gear with light line.
4th: Ehrler Moved Up
> Day 1: 5, 25-05
Ehrler was a couple spots outside the Classic cutoff (currently 39th place in the points standings) when the event began, but is now seven places to the good after a strong opening day.
"It feels good to not be in the hole right now," he said. "Unfortunately, there's still 2 days of fishing left and the weather could end up hurting me. A lot of wind makes things difficult and I don't have that many areas."
He went through a dozen keepers, the biggest of which was a 5 3/4-pounder. He didn't lose any and made his last cull in the late morning.
"Practice was pretty brutal – I wasn't catching them well. But obviously there's some big fish that live here and for that I'm blessed."
41st: Combs Still Confused
Combs hasn't caught a fish over 4 pounds since practice started on Monday and he didn't connect with much quality on day 1.
"I had one spot that I had high hopes for, but that school left," he said. "After that I basically just started practicing again.
"Gerald definitely had a slip today, but I didn't accomplish enough in practice to figure things out. Today was about the same as I was catching in practice, so I obviously missed something, somewhere. I actually though I might've salvaged the day, but then I got to the scales and everybody had 20. I knew the top end (of the standings) would be like that, but I didn't know it was going to go so deep."
His primary goal now is to hang onto 2nd place in the points, as there's a $10,000 difference between that and 3rd in the AOY bonus money.
"If I caught two tremendous bags – like 25 pounds each – then maybe I could catch Gerald, but I don't want to fall on my face and get passed up. If I do that and (Randall) Tharp catches them good, he could beat me.
"I still want to feel like I did everything I could to catch a good bag. Maybe it'll come together for me tomorrow."
Notable
> Day 1 stats – 50 anglers, 46 limits, 2 fours, 1 three, 1 two.
Weather Forecast
> Fri., Sept. 16 – A.M. T-Storms – 69°/55°
- Wind: From the SSW at 6 mph
> Sun., Sept. 18 – Mostly Sunny – 76°/56°
- Wind: From the S at 13 mph
Current Points Standings
1 -- Gerald Swindle -- Guntersville, AL -- 905
2 -- Keith Combs -- Huntington, TX -- 870
3 -- Greg Hackney -- Gonzales, LA -- 860
4 -- Randall Tharp -- Port St. Joe, FL -- 856
5 -- Jordan Lee -- Grant, AL -- 841 -- 284- 7
6 -- Jacob Powroznik -- Port Haywood, VA -- 821
7 -- Edwin Evers -- Talala, OK -- 789
8 -- Ott DeFoe -- Knoxville, TN -- 786
9 -- Chris Zaldain -- Laughlin, NV -- 785
10 -- Jason Christie -- Park Hill, OK -- 778
11 -- Justin Lucas -- Guntersville, AL -- 777
12 -- Takahiro Omori -- Emory, TX -- 773
13 -- Drew Benton -- Panama City, FL -- 768
14 -- Bobby Lane Jr. -- Lakeland, FL -- 767
15 -- Hank Cherry Jr -- Maiden, NC -- 765
16 -- Michael Iaconelli Pittsgrove, NJ -- 763
17 -- Alton Jones -- Lorena, TX -- 758
18 -- Aaron Martens -- Leeds, AL -- 747
19 -- Steve Kennedy -- Auburn, AL -- 747
20 -- Matt Herren -- Ashville, AL -- 740
21 -- Brandon Palaniuk -- Rathdrum, ID -- 737
22 -- Dean Rojas -- Lake Havasu City, AZ -- 737
23 -- Bill Lowen -- Brookville, IN -- 731
24 -- Brett Hite -- Phoenix, AZ -- 728
25 -- James Elam -- Tulsa, OK -- 727
26 -- Todd Faircloth -- Jasper, TX -- 724
27 -- Jared Lintner -- Arroyo Grande, CA -- 714
28 -- Skeet Reese -- Auburn, CA -- 712
29 -- Bradley Roy -- Lancaster, KY -- 710
30 -- Jason Williamson -- Wagener, SC -- 688
31 -- Kevin VanDam -- Kalamazoo, MI -- 682
32 -- Brent Ehrler -- Newport Beach, CA -- 669
33 -- Shaw Grigsby Jr. -- Gainesville, FL -- 669
34 -- Casey Ashley -- Donalds, SC -- 668
35 -- Keith Poche -- Pike Road, AL -- 667
36 -- Dave Lefebre -- Erie, PA -- 662
37 -- Andy Montgomery -- Blacksburg, SC -- 658
38 -- Ish Monroe -- Hughson, CA -- 657
39 -- Fred Roumbanis -- London, AR -- 656
40 -- Boyd Duckett -- Guntersville, AL -- 654
41 -- Chris Lane -- Guntersville, AL -- 647
42 -- Clifford Pirch -- Payson, AZ -- 645
43 -- Randy Howell -- Guntersville, AL -- 639
44 -- Seth Feider -- Bloomington, MN -- 636
45 -- Adrian Avena -- Vineland, NJ -- 634
46 -- Cliff Pace -- Petal, MS -- 633
47 -- Tommy Biffle -- Wagoner, OK -- 632
48 -- Stephen Browning -- Hot Springs, AR -- 617
49 -- Gary Klein -- Weatherford, TX -- 613
50 -- Kelly Jordon -- Flint, TX -- 600
