As 50 of the world’s best professional bass anglers converge on New York’s Lake Champlain for the 2001 Wal-Mart FLW Tour Championship, undoubtedly their thoughts will be focused on cashing in on the $4.45 million total cash purse and $250,000 first-place prize. What’s more, the Visa $2 Million Challenge offers an extra cool million dollars to any angler who manages to land a state-record bass during the tournament. So what’s the story on New York’s state records and what are the pros’ chances to hook that extra million?
First off, there are no spotted bass in the state of New York. That fact alone effectively diminishes pros’ chances for a state record by a third. The Challenge rules adhere to Operation Bass’ tournament rules and accept only largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass. With no spotted bass record on the books for New York, there’s no record to break.
That’s one strike against the record-chasers.
In 1987, an angler by the name of John Higbie caught an 11-pound, 4-ounce largemouth bass at a place called Buckhorn Lake in central New York. That fish still stands as the record largemouth caught in the state, and is a formidable obstacle for any competitor looking to break it at the championship. Simply put, chances are small that a largemouth bass of that size exists in Lake Champlain.
“Champlain has very good bass quality,” said Bob Brandt, supervising aquatic biologist with the New York State Division of Fish, Wildlife and Marine Resources. “But an 11-pounder in New York waters would be extremely rare.”
Brandt pointed out that Buckhorn Lake is a private pond and likely held a low-density bass population at the time Higbie caught his fish. The room to roam and no fishing pressure were probably key factors in allowing the record largemouth to become so big. Champlain, on the other hand, obviously suffers a significant amount of fishing pressure. But, at 435 square miles, its size certainly could support an anomalous big largemouth here and there.
However, one of the direst indicators in the New York state-record largemouth record hunt is that Higbie’s record is 14 years old. In many states, a 14-year-old fish record is still considered relatively new. (By comparison, George Perry’s world record has stood for 66 years.) But the Empire State seems to turn over its fish records every New York minute. The state does have a 51-year-old northern pike record and a 36-year-old chain pickerel record. But beyond those, every single one of its freshwater fish records were set after 1980, the majority of them in the `90s and a number of them after Y2K.
“We recognize about six new records a year,” Brandt said. “(The largemouth) is one of our longer-standing records.”
Which means it’s a tough one to break. Strike two.
No matter. Nobody’s going to be fishing for largemouth anyway. Upstate New York is smallmouth bass territory. What’s the prognosis for a smallmouth record coming out of Champlain during the FLW tournament?
“We’ve seen numerous big smallmouth come out of there,” said Brandt. “The lake is rich with smelt and alewives for the bass to forage on. I’m sure you’re going to see some great fish.”
The problem is Lake Erie. The Big E is home to some of the most vigorous smallmouth fisheries in the North Country, and New York just happens to lay claim to some of its shoreline. Not surprisingly, the state-record smallmouth was caught in Lake Erie, by a man named Andrew Kartesz in 1995. It weighed a daunting 8 pounds, 4 ounces.
So how’s it look for our million-dollar record-chasers?
Said Brandt, “I think you’ll probably see some in the 5- to 7-pound range.”
On the other hand, at least it’s only a 6-year-old record. Time is on the record-chasers’ side with the smallies. And how tough is that weight, really? If a fish can weigh 7 pounds, it can weigh 8, right?
Foul tip.
New York state bass records
Largemouth – 11 pounds, 4 ounces, John L. Higbie, caught on a spinnerbait at Buckhorn Lake, 1987
Smallmouth – 8 pounds, 4 ounces, Andrew C. Kartesz, caught on a jig and grub tail at Lake Erie, 1995