1000 Islands Midday Update – Day 2
Johnston starts hot despite rough seas
Out at Cape Vincent, the flags were standing straight out from their poles at 6 a.m., and the pros who decided to make the run out into the lake on day two of the Costa FLW Series presented by Evinrude at 1000 Islands were faced with a stiff challenge. A strong northeast wind has the river navigable, but rocking, and running west into Lake Ontario the waves were building into what Cory Johnston says were “6-footers.” For someone who isn’t bred to Lake Ontario like Johnston (and isn’t running a Ranger 522D), they sure feel bigger. Aside from the wind, it’s a beauty of a day, with plenty of sun and temps reaching into the upper 60s and probably the low 70s by weigh-in.
Today, we elected to follow the leaders, Cory Johnston and Kurt Mitchell. Both decided to head to the lake, Johnston toward Duck Island and Mitchell toward Grenadier Island. Johnston got off to a great start, boxing up a 5-pounder and a 3-pounder on his second stop of the morning before heading farther west around 9:15 a.m. Mitchell is off to a slower start, with only two small keepers in the livewell at about 11 o’clock. Neither pro has much company, and because of the distances and waves involved, we haven’t gotten updates on the rest of the field.
Even without updates, it’s about a guarantee we’re going to see some big bags at weigh-in, from both the lake and the St. Lawrence River. The sun should help the shallow bite, and the crew of veteran Ontario sticks in the top 10 should be able to handle the rough seas with relative ease.
Tournament details
Format: All boaters and co-anglers will compete for two days. The top 10 boaters and co-anglers based on cumulative weight after two days of competition will advance to the third and final round, with the winner in each division determined by the heaviest cumulative three-day weight.
Takeoff Time: 6:30 a.m. ET
Takeoff Location: Clayton Village Ramp, 750 Mary Street, Clayton, N.Y.
Weigh-In Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
Weigh-In Location: Clayton Village Ramp