There were 20 bags over 20 pounds on Day 1 last week in the Elite Series event on the St. Lawrence River. There were three yesterday on Day 1 at Lake Champlain. But don’t be deceived by that fact. A closer comparison of these two northern New York waters indicates they fished remarkably the same on the first day.
| St. Lawrence | Champlain | |
| Total bass weighed-in | 537 | 539 |
| Total weight | 1,855-1 | 1,732-12 |
| Average weight per bass | 3.45 lbs. | 3.21 lbs. |
| Big bass | 6-1 | 6-1 |
| Limits caught | 105 | 107 |
| Bags of 20 lbs. or more | 20 | 3 |
| Bags of 18 lbs. or more | 50 | 50 |
| Bags of 14 lbs. or more | 91 | 88 |
| Bags of 12 lbs. or more | 99 | 105 |
The quality of the largemouth fishery in Lake Champlain helps it keep pace with the world-class smallmouth bass fishery that is the St. Lawrence River. Kevin VanDam’s Day 1 big bass at the St. Lawrence was a 6-1 smallmouth; Todd Faircloth’s big bass yesterday here was a 6-1 largemouth.