Leader Lucas Catches 127 Pounds on Cayuga; Another Strong Showing for Wheeler
UNION SPRINGS, N.Y. – It’s safe to say that the first day of the Fox Rent A Car Stage Six Presented by Googan Baits on Cayuga Lake will be remembered for a long time. Day 1 was referred to as the “best day of largemouth fishing we’ve ever seen on the Bass Pro Tour” by MLF NOW! analysts Marty Stone and JT Kenney, and while many anglers did well, it was Justin Lucas who came out on top with 35 fish for a staggering 127 pounds, 1 ounce.
Lucas Sprints Past Century Mark
It only took about a minute for Lucas to hook his first bass of the day — a 2-10 largemouth — and he didn’t have to wait much longer to catch his second… and his third… and his fourth. Apart from about an hour and a half during Period 2, Lucas never went more than 29 minutes without registering a scorable bass.
Although the Berkley pro seemed in control of his day from the start, he says that it wasn’t as easy going as it might have seemed to start his morning.
“I started on a spot this morning that I thought was my best spot, but it turned out to not be that great,” Lucas said. “I moved to a second spot I found in practice that was just a big patch of grass with an open area in the middle. That’s where I started to pick it up.”
Apart from one smallmouth that seemed to be random, all of Lucas’ fish were largemouth and caught on some form or fashion of a drop-shot. Thanks to his monstrous day, Lucas will enter his second day of competition on Monday with a 19-14 lead over Jacob Wheeler.
The Alabama pro’s goal is to secure his spot in the Championship Round by winning his group. With a handful of heavy hitters still within striking distance on SCORETRACKER®, Lucas’ plan is to keep his foot on the gas.
“I’m going to have to go out and catch as much as I can,” Lucas said. “I’d love to do it early in the morning to make the other guys lay off. Then I can kind of coast the rest of the day. I got a feeling that it’s never going to be that easy, though. I’m going to have my work cut out for me.”
Wheeler Stays Near the Top on SCORETRACKER® and AOY Race
This is the first time Wheeler has fished a tournament on Cayuga Lake, and if his first day is any indication of how his week here could go, he’s already a big fan.
“I thought that I had some spots and the fishing would be good, I just didn’t know it would be this good,” Wheeler said. “This is the most weight I’ve seen at a largemouth event in my life. It’s absolutely stupid.”
All of Wheeler’s 37 bass on Saturday were largemouth — the biggest being a 5-6. He caught almost all of his fish in patches of offshore grass with a Rapala OG Slim 6. That’s a potentially deadly combination for the rest of the field if Wheeler is able to keep it up throughout the week.
“When you’re able to pick up a crankbait and fish for schools of bass in the grass, it’s going to be a good day for me,” Wheeler said. “My thumbs are raw from catching so many. You pull up to the right spot here and that’s what can happen.”
The Tennessee pro and defending Bally Bet Angler of the Year came into Stage Six with a 38-point lead over second-place Jordan Lee in the 2022 AOY standings. Wheeler admits his sights are firmly set on repeating as AOY, but he knows that he has his work cut out for him if he wants to hold off Lee. His solid start on Cayuga is exactly what he believes he needed.
“My goal was to try to make the cut in a single day and I think I’ve done that,” Wheeler said. “I need to make a Top 10 here, so Monday is going to be about checking out some new stuff and not exposing some other stuff I have in my back pocket just yet.”
Big Bites Show up in Bunches for Much of the Field
Cayuga Lake flexed its big bass muscles on Saturday, setting the stage for what looks to be a week of epic largemouth fishing. Both the quality and quantity of largemouth and smallmouth on Day 1 has Group A’s anglers fired up for the rest of the week in western New York.
“When I heard the first 20 bass hit SCORETRACKER®, I knew that it was going to be a day of big fish,” Wheeler said. “I’ve never fished a tournament here before, but this has to be the best largemouth fishery in the northern part of the country, there’s no doubt about it.”
In all, there were 75 bass caught over 4 pounds, 24 caught over 5 pounds, and five caught over 6 pounds alone on Saturday. Those numbers may seem gaudy, but to the anglers who know Cayuga and have been here multiple times over the years, the quality of largemouth and smallmouth comes as no shock.
“I’m honestly not surprised,” Lucas said. “This lake has some serious quality in it, especially for a northern fishery. It’s a super impressive place and it’s like this any time I come here.”
We’ll see if Group B can perhaps match or even improve upon the showing that Group A put together.
Daily Leaders
- The Berkley Big Bass of the Day belongs to Chris Lane with a 6-13 largemouth.
- Justin Lucas had the most weight on SCORETRACKER® with 127-1.
- Jacob Wheeler caught the most scorable bass with 37.
What’s Next
The Fox Rent A Car Stage Six Presented by Googan Baits continues on Sunday as Group B takes on Cayuga Lake for the first time. The group is headlined by Jordan Lee, who is currently second place in the AOY standings behind Jacob Wheeler. The 40 pros will fish for three periods on Cayuga and will try to catch as many scorable bass as they can. Their weights will carry over to their second day of competition on Tuesday. You can watch the Group B’s entire day on MLF NOW! beginning at 7:45 a.m. ET on MajorLeagueFishing.com or the MLF app.