Kevin VanDam

Oneida Largemouth Will Play a Huge Role….Again

August 13, 2009
(basszone.com, August 13, 2009)

Syracuse, NY – The 2009 Bassmaster Elite Series regular season wraps up on New York’s Oneida Lake, a body of water rich in Elite Series history. While smallmouth abound in the 51,000 acre lake, the largemouth have been the ticket to the winner’s circle the last two times BASS visited the lake for a regular season event. In 2006, Tommy Biffle claimed the title with over 63 pounds of green fish, and in 2008, Dean Rojas claimed his first Elite Series victory with 65 pounds of Oneida largemouth.

Both Biffle and Rojas enter the Champion’s Choice with a lot on the line. Biffle currently sits in 13th in the TTAOY standings, just 16 points out of the coveted 12th position and a spot in the Dash for Cash. Rojas, on the other hand, currently sits in 44th place, 65 points out of a guaranteed Classic birth.

However, there are other anglers looking to exercise the demons of a year’s past. In 2008, Todd Faircloth let the Angler of the Year title slip through his fingers with a 93rd place finish at Oneida. Currently sitting 5th in the TTAOY standings, a solid finish will better position him for a postseason run at the title which eluded him a year ago. The current Classic bubble boy, Matt Reed, also must improve from his 2008 Oneida performance, where he finished 86th, if he hopes to fish in the 2010 Classic.

This week, many of the Elite Series anglers began the official practice on Oneida with flipping sticks and frog rods strapped to the front deck, determined to take advantage of the elusive largemouth bite. As Aaron Martens said, “I’m going for largemouth because I’m sick of getting beat by them.”

While the lake looks extremely similar to years past, most of the anglers pointed out that there are a few key differences that could play a critical factor this week. Up shallow, there is a noticeable absence of defined grass clumps but offshore, the grass is thicker than in years past.

There is also an algae bloom taking place in certain areas of the lake, turning the water a green color and greatly reducing water visibility in those areas.

http://www.basszone.com/2009eliteseries/oneida/preivew/story.htm

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