The longer Thursday’s weigh-in lasted, the more jaw-dropping it became. The headline, finally, was 20 anglers catching bags of 20 pounds or more on the St. Lawrence River. But there were several significant sub-heads, like Kevin VanDam’s first-place total of 24 pounds, 5 ounces, and 50 pros catching 18 pounds or more.
This is the third time in the last five years the Bassmaster Elite Series has been here in Waddington, N.Y. This storied smallmouth bass fishery, which includes a significant largemouth population, has always been productive. So these anglers were expecting another fun week, confirmed by three days of promising practice time. Reality hit Thursday in a surprising way.
“I knew it was going to be good, but I didn’t know it was going to be this good,” said Mark Davis, who bagged 17 pounds, 10 ounces and finished tied for 51st place – 51st place! Added Davis, “It’s just crazy.”
That’s where today’s two-day cut will be. The top 51 anglers in the 109-man field will advance to compete Saturday. In the following comparison of the last three Day 1 results, 50th place is listed for comparing apples to apples, since the two-day cut mark was at 50th place in 2013.
2013 – St. Lawrence River Elite Series – Day 1
| 20-lb. bags | 13 |
| Big bag | 23-9 Brandon Palaniuk |
| 50th place | 17-1 |
| 50th place Day 2 | 34-2 |
| 5-bass limits | 95 of 99 anglers (96.3%) |
2015 – St. Lawrence River Elite Series – Day 1
| 20-lb. bags | 10 |
| Big bag | 22-15 Shaw Grigsby |
| 50th place | 16-3 |
| 50th place Day 2 | 30-8 |
| 5-bass limits | 95 of 107 anglers (88.8%) |
2017 – St. Lawrence River Elite Series – Day 1
| 20-lb. bags | 20 |
| Big bag | 24-5 Kevin VanDam |
| 50th place | 18-0 |
| 50th place Day 2 | ?? |
| 5-bass limits | 105 of 109 (96.3%) |