The Legend of Foggy Bottom
Low visibility delays Stren day two at Hudson River
CATSKILL, N.Y. – “The limit for this event is five 15-inch fish!” the voice of FLW Outdoors staffer Duane Link announces through the megaphone, breaking the eerie morning silence. “That’s five 15-inch fish!”
Through the stillness, muffled laughter surges from the looming gray shapes on the water.
From the Wal-Mart starter boat, Link pauses his rules recitation, then repeats: “No, seriously, guys. You can catch five 15-inch fish here.”
Somewhere in the fog that has thickened the air right down to the surface of the Hudson River Valley, a disembodied voice calls out: “How about just one?”
More laughter erupts from the looming gray shapes that are just beginning to resemble bass boats in the lifting fog.
Less time, likely fewer fish
Such was the scene Thursday morning at Catskill Point Park on the Hudson River as 107 Stren Series competition boats waited out a fog delay that lasted an hour and a half on the second day of Northern Division action.
Or inaction, as it turned out.
The anglers had a rough go of it, fishing-wise, on opening day at the Hudson River, and it doesn’t appear likely that today will improve much. Just four pros managed to catch limits yesterday, and with an even shorter day today, that number could conceivably drop to zero.
“This will probably go down as one of the toughest Stren events we’ve ever had,” said pro Dave Lefebre, who managed to place as high as 14th on opening day despite catching just two keeper bass. “There will be guys who will zero for a day and still make the cut.”
That probability increased with each passing minute of this morning’s fog delay. With a full day of fishing Wednesday, almost half the pro field posted goose eggs. With Thursday’s fishing cut down by an hour and a half thanks to the 8 a.m. start – not to mention the fact that many of the top fishing holes were thoroughly picked over yesterday – so many of those ever-critical early-morning bites seemed to disappear with the outgoing tide.
Not surprisingly, many in the field this morning seemed happy just to sit tight within the confines of Catskill Creek, hanging out with their buddies and taking in the scenery of the Catskills while waiting out the fog delay. It sure beats running 60 miles down the Hudson River in the nippy September air just to catch one or two bass that may or may not reach the 15-inch size limit.
Still, there is money on the line, and these guys are seasoned pros. So they will catch fish today – some more than others.
The only question is how big and how many.
Day-two weigh-in festivities begin at 3 p.m. Eastern time at Dutchmen’s Landing, located at Lower Main Street in Catskill, on the Hudson River.
On the Web
For those who can’t catch the weigh-in action in person, FLWOutdoors.com offers FLW Live, an online application that brings fans real-time weigh-in results, streaming video and audio.