PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. — Catching a five-bass limit at Lake Champlain isn’t an issue in a Bassmaster Elite Series tournament. Last year, only three anglers in the 85-man field failed to weigh-in a limit each day they competed. In 2017, in a 109-man field, only four anglers failed to weigh a limit each day.
And at the same time, it’s difficult to catch those difference-makers that separate an angler from the rest of the field. Going into the final day last year at Champlain, the top 10 were separated by only 2 pounds, 12 ounces. Brandon Palaniuk came from fifth place to win a year ago with a four-day total of 80 pounds, 1 ounce. His margin of victory was 1-3 over second-place Seth Feider and 1-12 over third-place Jamie Hartman.
That scenario creates down-to-the-final-minute drama. That drama is heightened by the fact that this is the next-to-last tournament in the Elite Series season and the Angler of the Year race is on the line. The afore mentioned Seth Feider has a 48-point lead over second-place Jason Christie and a 52-point lead over third-place Patrick Walters as the four-day Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Lake Champlain begins with a 7 a.m. E.T. take-off Thursday.
“I’m really nervous because I didn’t have a good practice,” said Feider, whose worst finish this year was 29th on the Tennessee River in the second tournament of the season. “It’s way too close for me. I wish I had a 48-point lead with one tournament left instead of two.”
On the other hand, Jason Christie said he hasn’t thought about the AOY race once in the past month since the last Elite Series tournament on Lake Guntersville in late May.
“The ball is in (Feider’s) court,” Christie said. “He’s taken care of business all year. He’s going to have to have two bad events for anyone else to have a chance. It’s pretty much up to him.”
Practice has produced plenty of bites, as is the norm at Champlain, where mixed bags of smallmouth and largemouth are common. But this tournament is a full three weeks earlier than the one that finished on August 2nd last year. The consensus seems to be that the post-spawn bass haven’t had time to fully recover from the spawn.
“The fish haven’t had time to fatten up,” said Feider, who added that Palaniuk’s winning total of 80-1 will be hard to match this year. “If anyone does, it will come from Ticonderoga, and I didn’t go down there.”
The Ticonderoga area, at the far south end of Lake Champlain, is a noted largemouth area. But it’s always a gamble because of the long run required.
The weather also has Feider nervous. It’s been overcast the last two days of practice. Rain is predicted for Thursday.
“It’s always better when it’s sunny and calm versus windy and cloudy, up north anyway,” Feider said.
Palaniuk doesn’t feel comfortable about matching his performance last year, saying, “I’m fishing differently. There are not as many fat ones as a year ago, just because we’re so much closer to the spawn. I’m not as dialed-in as I was last time. I’ve been fishing a little too far ahead of the fish, I think. Last year I could look at the map and tell you exactly where I was going to catch them. And I caught a lot of 4-pounders. This year, it’s 3- to 3 ¼-pounders, which aren’t going to get it done.”
Christie summed it up by saying, “I just know we’re at Lake Champlain and they’re gonna catch ‘em. Whether I’m one of those guys is yet to be determined.”
Let the drama begin.