On Day 2 of the BASS Elite Series tournament, Randy Howell is finding enough smallmouth bass in Oneida Lake to take the lead. This time of year, smallmouth bass tend to chase baitfish such as shad and will often move around the lake in packs. The key is finding the baitfish and then you’ll find the smallmouth bass.
Largemouth bass will tend to be more consistent in their locations.
Day 2 BASS Tournament Oneida Lake – Smallmouths
But now, the Bassmaster Elite Series pro from Springfield, Ala., says he’s got something key figured out about Oneida Lake’s big smallmouth and largemouth populations.
So I moved to another area, and that area ended up being good,” Howell said. “Two or three times I had schools of 3- to 4-pounders – smallmouth – chasing my bait back to the boat. So I know there’s plenty of big smallmouth in the area. But they move; they’re chasing shad. As long as I keep moving around and finding them, I’ll be OK.”
He said most of the fish he hooked into were 3- to 3 1/2-pounders. The bag he brought in was four cookie-cutter smallmouth supplemented by one 3 3/4-pound largemouth he kept instead of a slightly smaller smallmouth. Source
The Day 1 leader, Mike Iaconelli fell to 5th place today.
After day 1 saw Mike Iaconelli open everyone’s eyes with a 20-plus pound bag that gave him nearly a 3 1/2-pound lead, things tightened up considerably on day 2 of the Oneida Lake Bassmaster Elite Series season finale. Source
Some great quotes from the pros after Day 2:
“This lake has beat me like a red-headed step-child this week.” – Pete Ponds
“If I told you about my day, I’d be up here all night whining.” – Keith Combs
“I don’t like catching them smallmouth very well, but I liked it OK this time.” – Tommy Biffle after moving to 4th place in the standings after Day Two. Source
For great photos of Day 2 weigh in, check out the Bassmasters web site here.
Top 10 Standings as of Day 2
1 Randy Howell
2 Boyd Duckett
3 Scott Rook
4 Tommy Biffle
5 Michael Iaconelli
6 Brent Chapman
7 Brandon Palaniuk
8 Terry Scroggins
9 Matthew Herren
10 Jason Quinn Source
Want more details of the tournament specifics? Hope this helps!
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Day 2 of the BASS Elite Series tournament, Oneida Lake had some significant changes in the standings and smallmouth bass were prominent players so far in the tournament. I can’t wait to see what happens in the next 2 days!
