ORLANDO, Fla. — Koby Kreiger has the most to win in this week’s Classic Bracket, and with Niagara Falls looming downstream, all the competitors have a lot to lose.
It’s highly unlikely any of the eight Elite pros would break down at exactly the wrong time, founder down the Upper Niagara River and cascade over the Horseshoe Falls, but that’s the nightmare.
“It’s one of those deals where it’s sort of an eerie feeling knowing just downstream, people back in the day went over that thing in barrels and stuff and made the place famous,” said Kreiger, adding the off limits line is nowhere close to danger. “Obviously, we’re not real close, and obviously if we go past the off limits line, we’re disqualified anyway.”
After staying alive, his main concern is the event’s automatic Classic berth. The Top 8 finishers from Cayuga advanced to the head-to-head bracket format that starts Tuesday. After one day of practice, Kevin VanDam and Drew Benton in Match 1 and Jacob Powroznik and Kreiger in Match 2 will fish from 8:30-11:30 a.m. ET.
After a 2-hour break, Jordan Lee faces Dean Rojas and Brett Hite battles Keith Combs from 1:30-4:30 p.m. ET. On Wednesday, the matches flip flop times and the best two-day totals win. The winners advance to Thursday’s semifinals from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and the final is the same time Friday.
The anglers launch from Anchor Marina on Grand Isle and will be at their spots for first cast. Fish will be weighed on boats under the watchful eyes of judges as well as viewers of Bassmaster LIVE. The best five-fish limits caught between the International Bridge and the I-90 North bridge wins.
Gene Gilliland is serving as a judge, and for redundancy, he said each fish weight will be added in BASSTrakk (for the first time being official) and it will also be written down and that sheet photographed, just for redundancy.
Kreiger is the only one outside the Classic cut in the Toyota Angler of the Year standings, but he might have an advantage having cut his teeth on northern fisheries. He is considered among the favorites.
“I definitely, definitely have the most to gain out of anybody,” he said. “I don’t know if I’m any kind of a favorite or not. I enjoy fishing that kind of stuff. I fished the St. Clair and Detroit rivers growing up, and that’s the only thing I can compare it to.
“They both have a lot of current – probably not as much as the Niagara River, but I would say I’ll be happy to be there fishing current instead of being, let’s say, on Kentucky Lake and having to go out in the middle and fish a ledge. If I was going to have to pick a place to fish, I’m not mad.”
KREIGER MIGHT GET GIFT
Kreiger’s roommate on the Elite Series road, Powroznik, hinted he make take it easy during their first-round match. Both were among the eight anglers answering plenty of questions at an ICAST news conference Wednesday, but they created a few more, specifically are you really going to throw the match?
“I’m going to fish. I’m not saying I’m going to let him … He’s going to have to earn it,” Powroznik said. “But it’s going to be, it’s just going to be one of those deals. Let’s just see what happens.
“I wish I’d drew VanDam in the first round. Just to go against him, see what’s going on. That would have been the best.”
Powroznik has fished Niagara three or four times, and said the current is possibly the strongest he’s ever competed on. That just makes the fish an easier puzzle to figure.
“It’s not hard fishing up there, because they kind of give themselves away. They get in current breaks,” he said. “They get out of that current that’s ripping like that.”
Since the hint was thrown, the question must be asked. Are you going to fish hard or go easy so your roommate can try to qualify for the Classic?
Powroznik hemmed and hawed some more, before answering, “We’ll keep the suspense up.”
KVD SAW BENTON TAKE HIS FISH
We stand by the report that Drew Benton and Kevin VanDam have never been properly introduced, but KVD begged to differ at the news conference, saying he ran into the Elite rookie within the first moments of the first day of the 2016 season. What he saw was someone to be reckoned with.
At St. Johns, Benton was the 69th boat to launch with KVD at near the end of the line leaving several minutes later. When KVD got close to where he had marked several bedding bass, he witnessed Benton in action.
“I was idling up in the manatee zone and he was putting one in the livewell while I was putting down my trolling motor,” VanDam said. “Then he caught the second one and he was gone.”
CAYUGA WAS INCREDIBLE, TOO
Benton said getting a limit quick on St. Johns was similar to his time on Cayuga. Most of the top eight reported early success.
“On Cayuga, I ran across the lake, didn’t even put the trolling motor down, caught a 4-pounder,” Benton said. “Run around the corner, caught another 4-pounder. Run down the lake where I had three kinda deep and caught those. I put the last one in the box at 7:05.”
Powroznik said fishing was ridiculous as he had 20 pounds before boat No. 50 blasted off.
“I had about 19 pounds in the first hour,” said KVD, who won his record 22nd event there. “The rest of the day, I caught 18 pounds four times over to catch 20 that day.”
DANGER DOES LURK ON NIAGARA
The thought of going over the falls isn’t that far-fetched. Benton had some tales on that topic.
On Day 1 of the Northern Open on Oneida, Benton drew co-angler Neil Deleeuw, a Canadian law enforcement officer. He told Benton there’s an alarm and Coast Guard boats at the ready.
“Any time the alarm goes off, they go out,” Benton said. “He said they get calls all the time, people cry, ‘Hey, my boat’s broke down. You have to come get me.’ One time they actually rescued somebody by helicopter.”
SOUTHERN BOY, NORTHERN WATER
Keith Combs heads north not knowing exactly what he’ll do. He’s never fished there, and in fact hasn’t fished a river event for brown fish.
“It’s a lot different than a lot of places. A southern reservior, that’s something I’m accustomed to fishing. Here, it’s not as easy to explain because I have decent experience on smallmouth, but not a lot of smallmouth in current,” Combs said. “For me, it’s just going to be picking up a reaction bait, and hopefully they’ll bite that.”
Combs said his research consists of looking at tournament results and seeing what kinds of weights he’ll need to do well. He said to win you only have to beat three others.
“I think you just look at the way the place sets up and whatever draws you to it, just go fishing,” he said. “I’m going to leave it open.”
CURRENT NECESSITATES FLOAT PLAN
The strong current in the Upper Niagara can group fish in slower water ambush points, but keeping a boat next to such spots can be a tricky prospect. Brett Hite thinks the fish will be just coming off beds and still shallow.
“You’re going to have to drift with the river,” he said. “A lot of hopping. Big motor, go back down. It might be a half mile stretch and there might be two or three spots.”
‘I DO’ PROGRAM BENEFITS FLORIDA
Tim O’Neil is trying to get more folks to say “I do.” Not to get married, but to get their fishing license. His Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida booth was stationed with like-minded others in Conservation Corner at ICAST. He created the “I Do” campaign for the Florida Wildlife Commission.
“The thing is, ‘I do’ buy my fishing license. I always buy my fishing license. Buying a license is your best conservation investment,” O’Neil said. “What we’re trying to do is education the consumer on how important their money is. In Florida, we could have sold another 700,000 and gotten $8 a piece in federal funding. We left dollars on the table.”
About $5.6 million. O’Neil said there are only three states receiving their maximum allocation of available conservation dollars from the federation government — Texas, Alaska and California. All other states could get more funds by selling more licenses.
He thinks the goal of maxing out is doable, especially if residents realize all the money will go back into the resource right down the street.
“By statute, every penny goes back to the fishing resource,” O’Neil said. “It can be habitat restoration, law enforcement. It goes right back, along with the matching funds.”
REFITTED JUST LIKE APPLE
David Haddon of Johnson Outdoors Watercraft won another award for the Best of Show Boat for its Old Town Predator PDL kayak. Many hoped the pedal console insert would fit the Predator XL with trolling motor insert.
“It’s all about the pedal — hands-free fishing,” Haddon said of the new craft. “We had to design the whole boat to work together with that. So the boat, the seat and the rudder was all redesigned.”
What? So the pedal won’t fit the XL?
“We’re like Apple,” he quipped.
