It was literally a ton of fun at Day 1 of the HUK Bassmaster Elite at the St. Lawrence River presented by Black Velvet. The total of 527 bass that came across the scales topped the one-ton mark – 2,081 pounds, 6 ounces, to be exact.
Only weather could prevent another smallmouth bass extravaganza on the St. Lawrence River today, according to the anglers yesterday, and that’s not going to be a factor. Clear skies, light southwest winds and a high temperature of 84 are forecast.
Bass tournaments of the four-day variety are always about consistency. You always see significant movement in the standings from Day 1 to Day 2. Watch for that today.
It was only 13 months ago when the Elite Series anglers were competing on this same body of water. To get an idea of why “Wow!” was uttered in amazement so many times at yesterday’s weigh-in, the following is a comparison of the statistics from Day 1 on July 20, 2017, and Day 1 on August 24, 2018.
The key statistic: the average weight of all the bass that hit the scales yesterday was a half-pound heavier than last year.
| 2017 | 2018 | |
| Heaviest Limit | 24-5 | 27-12 |
| Big bass | 6-1 | 6-12 |
| 25-lb. limits | 0 | 7 |
| 20-lb limits | 20 | 52 |
| 50th place | 18-0 | 20-3 |
| Total lbs. weighed | 1855-1 | 2081-6 |
| Avg. weight per bass | 3.45 | 3.95 |