St. Clair better by the day

Smallmouth bass fishing was good on Day 1 of the YETI Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair. It was even better on Day 2.

“It’s going to take a lot of weight to win this tournament,” said Clark Wendlandt, who posted the heaviest 5-bass limit Friday of 24 pounds, 5 ounces and moved into second place. John Cox’s tournament leading two-day total of 45-6 sets the pace for a 90-pound winning weight.

There were 18 bags of 20 pounds or more caught on Day 1. There were 26 on Day 2. The average weight of all the bass weighed on Day 1 was 3.53 pounds. It trended up as well, to 3.58 pounds. Big bass on Day 1 was 6-0. It was 6-5 on Day 2.

Will boat traffic on a beautiful late August weekend change this trend? That’s the question today. Lake St. Clair has answered all the previous questions in affirming its stellar reputation as one of the premier smallmouth bass fisheries in the country.