|
BREWERTON, N.Y. The CITGO Bassmaster Elite Series Empire Chase on Onieda Lake should be called "Empire Falls" for at least three anglers. Going into the event, there were four angler on the Elite Series who had made every cut this season, including the Major. They were Michael Iaconelli, Greg Hackney, John Crews and Mike Wurm. Onieda, though, proved to be a big stumbling block to keep that streak alive. All of those anglers, with the exception of Iaconelli, missed the cut Friday and will spend their first Saturday on the bank as their peers battle for the $100,000. And in the case of Hackney, his turn on the bank marks the first time in three years of Bassmaster competition that he failed to earn a check. "I can't believe they caught them that good," Hackney said. "I completely missed it." Hackney is obviously disappointed in the end of his streak, but he's taking it in stride. "It'll be worse when I get out of here and start thinking about it," he said. "But maybe I needed it: Sometimes defeat is better than victory in the long run. Maybe it will make me win the next one. "What's bad is I expected to win here. I like this lake and normally when I like a lake and catch them like I did in practice, well…." Hackney lifted his eyebrows and walked off. Overheard "We caught them left and right. My thumbs are wore plumb out."
Maryland angler Grant Goldbeck "I can't die on my home turf."
First-year pro Darrin Schwenkbeck "I think I've got tomorrow off. I fished pretty stupid."
Denny Brauer on his poor finish "At 10 o'clock this morning I had about a 14-pound limit. I looked in the live well and they all looked kinda sick. I was afraid they would all die. I let all of them go and started over."
Paul Hirosky on a fish care decision that cost him a chance to fish on Saturday "I probably had twenty rods and reels on the deck of my boat today. I think I caught a fish on every one of them."
Russ Lane, currently in 10th place "I was lost again today. I looked like Stevie Wonder out there trying to play basketball."
Gerald Swindle on his tough Day Two Frustration in ounces Hackney wasn't the only angler feeling the frustration of how Oneida's fishing turned out. That frustration lies with the fact that the fishing was so good and evenly matched it was hard to break away from the pack. Just 7 pounds, 3 ounces separate the top 50 anglers, the cut mark for the $10,000 minimum payday. It was even closer in the middle of the pack. Mike Reynolds was the last angler in with 25-3. But just a pound less would have barely made the top 70, and two pounds less was like a chasm. "One pound here is like 10 pounds at Guntersville," said Gerald Swindle, who finished in 80th place with 22-13, just 2 pounds, 6 ounces from the cut. It seems close. But by his count, that's virtually 20 pounds out. "It's frustrating because one guy can go out and catch 14, while another goes and catches 12 and the guy with 14 isn't on a special pattern to catch big fish because everybody is catching them. They both catch a fish and they look identical, but one's an ounce or two ounces heavier and that shoots him up the standings," he said. "That makes these the worst types of tournaments from a strategy standpoint. I know what to do if I'm behind somewhere else and have to catch up. Here, it's like a horse race. The first one out of the gate wins, the horse that stumbles, loses. There ain't no catching up." The list of those who stumbled is long and storied. And most of them are reliving at least one lost fish that would have made all the difference in the world, or a decision to fish for largemouth or smallmouth trying to find those precious ounces. "I brought two sets of Cull-Em Rite scales because I knew those ounces would be important," Jason Quinn said. "But I had no idea they would be this critical." Quinn finished in 39th place with 24-7, just 12 ounces out of the money. To put that in perspective, that averages out to just over an ounce for each keeper he weighed. "It's frustrating," Swindle added, "even more so when you lose fish. I lost four three-pounders before I ever got the first keeper in the boat. You lose one and you know that you've just lost your chance, more than that and you get suicidal. "You can't count the four-pounders weighed in here today. They are like gold and three-pounders are like silver. You lose one, it hurts. You lose two, it sucks. You lose three, you want to kill yourself. And if you lose four, that's like a giant kick in the…" A humbling sport Anybody who has fished more than a few times knows it's just inevitable that the fish are going to win more times than not. A weekend angler doesn't feel the pressure to catch fish; it's nice, but not a requirement. Not so for the BASS Elite anglers. The pressures are enormous, and a way of life is on the line. BASS Elite angler Marty Stone was on top of his game last year, finishing second in the Angler of the Year standings. This year has been a struggle. Standing on stage after weighing in on Day Two of the Empire Chase on New York's Oneida Lake, Stone was elated to make the cut to 50 anglers and get a chance to fish the final two days. Stone described the differences between this year and last year. "I went two years, two tournament seasons without missing a check. This year I've been out of the money five out of the last six tournaments. This is a humbling sport, and will take you to your knees."
|
