Day one of the Costa FLW Series Northern Division event presented by Mercury at 1000 Islands hasn’t been about if the wind will blow, but when. Everyone knew the gales were coming eventually. Still, the majority of anglers hung a left out of the dock this morning and charged toward Lake Ontario into a steady breeze that turned into a howling wind by midmorning.

Day one OTW gallery

For the bulk of the anglers fishing the lake, a long run was part of the plan – 40 to 60 miles according to the dock talk this morning. Increasing winds caused several of them to abandon their game plans and run back to the semi-sheltered waters of the St. Lawrence River. For those that braved the elements all day, a long, bumpy boat ride is in store for the trip back.

It seems as though the better bites are coming out deep – anywhere from 30 to 50 feet. Drop-shots have been the primary weapons of choice so far, with a few anglers tossing swimbaits and jerkbaits on shallow reefs but with little success.

We found several anglers in the river who reported catching decent fish in the lake before the wind pushed them back to calmer waters. It will be interesting to see how the boats that turned right out of takeoff fare – especially for the anglers who went after largemouths.

Right now, a lot of lake anglers are roughing the ride back to weigh-in, while the river guys will be able to take advantage of the last hour or so of fishing.

Tune in to FLW Live at 2 p.m. ET to watch it all unfold.