Day 1 of the Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River was nothing short of astonishing. This place is always good. But for comparison’s sake, let’s look at last year’s event here which was held on the exact same week. There were 15 bags over 20-pounds on Day 1 in 2021. Yesterday, we saw 61. That’s 61 out of 90 anglers averaging better than 4-pounds per fish, almost all of which were smallmouth.
Yesterday, Mark Menendez sat in last place when the scales closed with 14-pounds, 1-ounce, that’s nearly a 3-pound average… in last place of a 90 boat field. That bag would have beat 17 anglers here on Day 1 in 2021.
There were 9 anglers yesterday that amassed 25-pounds or more having them right on track to chase down a Century Belt, and 22-pound bags stretched all the way back to 30th. With nearly 28-pounds leading after Day 1, there’s a realistic chance of 30 different guys hitting the 100-pound mark by the end of this. That’s not to suggest for a second that 30 guys will, merely pointing out that 30 guys still have a very realistic chance mathematically to do so after Day 1. Astonishing.
