During the opening round of the 2019 Berkley Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River presented by Black Velvet, Ohio native Hunter Shryock decided that the overlooked largemouth bass roaming the shallow grassy bays of the St. Lawrence could be a factor at this year’s event.
In seasons past, several anglers have targeted the largemouths, and while occasionally producing bags near or in excess of 20 pounds, never had the weights exceed that of the winning smallmouths.
Another consideration for Shryock is his current position in the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of they Year race. At the point of official take-off on Day 1 at St. Lawrence, Shryock was sitting in 37th place.
Currently, the Classic cut line is 42nd, but that could change even more depending on who wins the remaining Bassmaster Opens. He knows the big money is at the Classic next March in Birmingham, Ala.
Shryock is focused on green bass and green backs.
“I started out fishing for smallmouth bass first thing this morning, but I decided after what I learned in practice I might have a better shot at a stronger finish by targeting the largemouths. It’s a gamble to focus on the green bass here,” Shryock said. “But they are overlooked, generally under pressured, and considering the weights will likely be down for smallmouth bass here this year, the largies could be a real factor.
“With smallies, there’s too much hoping for me,” he said. “I can predict the largemouth bite, but my head doesn’t work that way with smallmouth bass because they are notorious at being there one day and gone the next.
“I’ll know more after weigh-in whether or not I made the right decision. Based on today’s experience with the largemouth bass, I know I can predict another 16- to 18-pound day — maybe more. With the brown ones, not so much.
Shryock had been catching most of his bass punching thick matted grass with a 1 1/4-ounce tungsten weight trailed with a Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Bunker Hawg. He said it’s a reaction bite — either they’ll eat it right away, or they won’t.
“The bluegills are plentiful this time of year, and they prefer to hang out in the shade beneath docks and grass mats, which naturally attracts the bass,” he explained. “Some of the grass mats are too thick to work a frog across — the bass will literally miss the bait. So a punch rig that mimics a wounded bluegill beneath the mat works wonders. Especially here where they don’t often see a punch rig.”
You can safely bet there will be several bags of smallmouth nearing that 23- to 24-pound mark, maybe heavier, but it’s also pretty clear at this point, we won’t be seeing 50-plus-bags at or over 20 pounds on Day 1. Things are a little different this year for one reason or another.
“I know I can’t win with largemouth bass, I get that,” Shryock said. “But I’m comfortable fishing for them, and I know the size is there to be competitive — this year especially. That and I don’t think we’ll see four-day smallmouth weights in the 90-pound range this time, and that makes the green ones more valuable. It’s about points at this event for me. I need to climb in the AOY standings to remain in contention for the 2020 Classic.”
By the end of Day 1 at St. Lawrence, it’s a fair assumption that Shryock will have unofficially climbed the AOY standings a spot or two, but how important is it for the young angler to have a solid finish?
“I had a tough event at Guntersville, and it dropped me down the AOY leaderboard,” he said. “If I can do my job and catch them this week, I’ll be alright. I can’t just bring 12 to 14 pounds of smallmouth to weigh-in. A bag that size won’t cut it. That’s why I’m doing what I’m doing.”
He said winning would be great, but a strong finish at St. Lawrence is just as important to keep him in contention for a Classic berth.
“I’m not too proud to go after the points this week,” he said. “It’s critical that I don’t bomb in the remaining events to finishing strong this season.
“Hopefully I don’t prove myself wrong,” he laughed.
Editor’s note: Shryock had 20 pounds 3 ounces, good enough for 25th place on Day 1.