CLAYTON, N.Y. — There won’t be any century belts handed out this year at the Minn Kota Bassmaster Elite at the St. Lawrence River, according to Patrick Walters. Greg Hackney isn’t so sure about that.
There were two last year when both winner Jay Przekurat and runner-up Cory Johnston topped the 100-pound mark over four days.
“It won’t happen,” said Walters. “I’m calling it right now.”
Walters’ prediction is based on a daunting weather forecast including winds that will make Lake Ontario difficult to manage Thursday, the first day of this four-day tournament. The main reason the 100-pound mark was topped last year was due primarily to a weather rarity – four calm days in a row on Lake Ontario.
“I’m not looking forward to it,” said Walters, who is 5th in Angler of the Year points, 39 behind leader Kyle Welcher. “Honestly, you could easily go out (Thursday) and catch 13 pounds.”
Hackney doesn’t see it that way, saying, “The Canadian side (of Lake Ontario) is going to get blown out. But the American side should be fine. And it’s not going to be that bad in the river.”
Hackney comes into this event ranked 17th in AOY points. With a Bassmaster Classic berth assured, he’ll be fishing free and easy. Hackney noted that this tournament is a month later than it was last year. The fish are more into a summertime pattern. There are few fish shallow anywhere.
“I don’t know that it’s going to be won in the lake,” he said. “The majority of fish are offshore in the lake and in the river. Overall, the fish are harder to find than when we’ve been here in the past. You may not catch as many, but I still think someone will catch 100 pounds, and maybe as many as three guys.”
There is so much at stake for so many anglers in this event. Topping the list is the Progressive Insurance Angler of the Year title, where leader Kyle Welcher is up only 6 points on Brandon Cobb. Drew Cook is third, 30 points back, and he’s planning to go to Lake Ontario.
“I’ve got to,” he said. “I can’t win AOY in the river. This week it’s all or nothing. It’s hero or zero time. I’d be way more nervous right now if I were (Welcher or Cobb). It’s theirs to lose.”
There are also 41 Bassmaster Classic berths on the line, based on AOY points. Brandon Lester is in 41st place now. Steve Kennedy is in 40th, only two points ahead of Lester, but he wasn’t encouraged by what he’d found in the two days of practice that concluded Wednesday.
“We’ve been coming here a long time, and I know the river really well,” Kennedy said. “This was by far my worst practice in the river. I’ll be shocked if the weights are as good as they were the last time we were here.”
