SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Variety. The word resonates with anglers choosing to fish the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Northern Opens.
A glacial lake in western New York, another natural lake there spanning 125 miles in length and a tidal river in Virginia feeding into the Atlantic Ocean. Those diverse fisheries complete the lineup for the 2016 season.
This week it’s Oneida Lake, the largest inland lake inside New York State. In August the tour stops at the tidal James River. The season concludes in late September on Lake Champlain, which stretches 125 miles along the New York and Vermont borders.
For those living in the Northeast the Northern Opens make a logical choice. Look at the roster of any three events and you also see lots of outsiders. The reasons why are easy to understand.
Many come for the phenomenal largemouth and smallmouth fishing encountered along the way. Two of the fisheries rank among the best in the nation for quality catches of both species.
Count Randy Howell among those who clear a busy schedule and drive the extra miles from south to north. Howell, the 2014 Bassmaster Classic champion, also fishes the Elite Series. He’s got anything but extra time for another tournament.
“I never miss a chance to fish at Oneida and would live up here if the winters weren’t so cold,” he said. “The fishing is just phenomenal for largemouth and smallmouth.
“It’s hard to find a place where on a given day you can catch both, in the north, without getting blown off the lake like you do on the Great Lakes,” added Howell, winner of last year’s Open on Oneida.
Carl Jocumsen is another Elite Series pro who fishes the Northern Opens for the smallmouth fishing.
“It’s the best time of year to fish for smallmouth,” said the Australian, now in his second Elite Series season. “It’s the same timing for the largemouth when you are coming up here.
“Mentally, it’s good too, because in some tournaments up here you must decide between fishing for largemouth and smallmouth.”
A favorite stop will be Champlain, where mixed bags can win despite the lake’s healthy population of smallmouth.
“You would think because the lake is so close to Canada and far up north that it would be smallmouth,” said Michael Iaconelli, another Elite Series pro who clears his schedule for the Northern Opens.
“These lakes are so dynamic up here, though, and you get challenged more to figure out how both species are biting more so than anywhere else on our schedule,” the New Jersey native said.
This year’s schedule clearly plays into the favor of New Yorkers. They get two events on the state’s best bass fisheries. Oneida and Champlain are both known for producing big catches of largemouth and smallmouth.
Another benefit for the New Yorkers, and any co-angler in the events, is the format, which breaks down many handicaps associated with fishing from the back of the boat.
“Especially on Oneida, there is a lot of opportunity for the co-anglers with the offshore bite,” said Chris Bowes, senior tournament manager. “Potentially any cast, any direction can connect a co-angler with a good smallmouth.”
Bowes knows. A native of Syracuse, he grew up fishing Oneida while later enjoying membership in the Salt City Bassmasters, one of the first clubs organized in the New York B.A.S.S. Nation.
“What makes Oneida unique is that it’s a relatively shallow lake,” continued Bowes, who actually graduated from college with a degree in fisheries science.
“That shallow water lends itself to great growing conditions for aquatic plants across much of the lake,” he said. “All that vegetation and nutrients provides a great food substance for the entire food chain.”
At Oneida the anglers face choosing between largemouth, smallmouth, or both with an added bonus.
It could be a challenge, however – the spawn will be underway.
Find it all at Oneida. Not so on the James River. Timing will be everything. Matching the tide chart to the tournament hours will be a challenge. The James is a prolific largemouth fishery with a tough reputation.
Misjudge the tide and how time of day is managed and a tournament plan can quickly turn sour. Even so, the river and its backwaters are prolific producers of numbers of bass.
The smallmouth and largemouth will be biting on Lake Champlain in late September. That timing presents a whole other challenge since the lake runs north and south. By then the first Canadian cold fronts could be blowing through from the north. Cancellation days are possible. It’s too soon to tell, of course.
This go around the Champlain event is later than in past years. That could make the smallmouth bite more of a factor in the winning patterns.
“We’ll be there during a prime time for the smallmouth,” said Bowes. “Those big smallmouth could be feeding before the long winter.”
Take the good timing and multiply that by the two species and the sum of the whole makes perfect sense why anglers like coming to the north for the Opens