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\t\t\tNew York’s Alex Korol has taken the lead on Day 1 of the Turtlebox Bassmaster Open at Lake Erie presented by Battery Tender with a total of 27 pounds, 1 ounce. \t\t<\/p>\n
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BUFFALO, N.Y. \u2014 \u00a0With a limit of 27 pounds 1 ounce of Lake Erie smallmouth,\u00a0Alex Korol<\/a>of Fairport, N.Y., is one of three western New York anglers at the top of the leaderboard on Day 1 of the\u00a0Turtlebox Bassmaster Open at Lake Erie presented by Battery Tender<\/a>. But closing out the victory in his first\u00a0Bassmaster Open<\/a>\u00a0is far from a done deal.\u00a0<\/p>\n A remarkable 114 anglers topped 20 pounds today, and they\u2019re tightly-packed down the leaderboard.<\/p>\n Forty-five of them will get paid tomorrow, and right now the 45th\u00a0place angler has 22-5. A pound more than that was good for 22nd\u00a0place while a pound less is enough for 73rd\u00a0place.<\/p>\n B.A.S.S. hasn\u2019t visited this part of Lake Erie since a\u00a02008 Elite Series tournament<\/a>\u00a0won by\u00a0Kotaro Kiriyama<\/a>. In that event, eight anglers had 20 pounds or more on Day 1, led by\u00a0Matt Reed<\/a>\u2019s 23-3. As noted above, that amount would have barely been inside the money cut today.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like they\u2019re bigger now,\u201d said former\u00a0Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series<\/a>\u00a0champion\u00a0Mike McClelland<\/a>, one of the handful of anglers who fished that 2008 tournament and who is also competing this week. \u201cMaybe we just have the technology to catch them better now.\u201d<\/p>\n Forward-facing sonar is allowed in this tournament, the last of the four Division 1 Opens. Korol said that the technology is part of his game plan, but the key is the presence of baitfish in his best area, a half-mile stretch of water where he spent the day.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s not much there otherwise,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s the bait that\u2019s keeping them there.\u201d<\/p>\n While he doesn\u2019t reside far away, Korol has fished far more on Lake Ontario than on this portion of Erie, and on the limited occasions that he has been here it\u2019s generally been in other months.<\/p>\n Lake Erie remained relatively flat by local standards, a seeming rarity when major tournaments come to town. The day started off cloudy, then got sunny.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like that helped,\u201d Korol said. \u201cSun and smallmouth\u00a0go hand-in-hand. I caught a 5-15 around 10 o\u2019clock and then I left them biting at around 11. The wind made a 180-degree change and they still bit, so the weather doesn\u2019t seem to matter. Bring it on. Those fish have been there for three days so I don\u2019t see why they\u2019d leave now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Joseph Ferraro III<\/a>, a Buffalo resident, is in 2nd\u00a0with 26-7. Like Korol, this is his first Bassmaster Open and he\u2019s making the most of it, utilizing 20 years of tournament knowledge to differentiate himself from the 20-pound bags down the line.<\/p>\n \u201cThe difference is capitalizing on the right bites and making sure that your presentation is perfect,\u201d he said. \u201cA lot of the fish here will follow but not bite and you have to know where the best rocks are and how to make those bass bite.\u201d<\/p>\n He made a long run to his primary area and did his damage early.<\/p>\n \u201cAn east wind usually makes it tough but I got it done in the first hour and a half of fishing. That\u2019s good, because it just died at 9 o\u2019clock.\u201d<\/p>\n Ferraro also holds the\u00a0Phoenix Boats<\/a>\u00a0Big Bass lead with a 6 pound 8 ounce smallmouth.<\/p>\n Billy Gilbert<\/a>\u00a0of Hamburg, N.Y., completes the trio of New York residents atop the leaderboard with 26-6, just an ounce behind Ferraro and 10 ounces ahead of Elite Series rookie\u00a0Aaron Jagdfeld<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 the top-ranked non-New Yorker so far. Gilbert caught 5-pounders on his first two casts to get started and dropshotted his way to the big bag.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I can get eight or nine of the right bites tomorrow I think I can do it again,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s the size of the fish that are there. If I can get the bites I think it will happen.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s been over three months since the\u00a02026 Turtlebox Bassmaster Opens presented by Battery Tender Division 1 anglers<\/a>\u00a0took to the water \u2014 plenty of time to study and consider what this tournament means. While neither of the current top two are qualified to make the\u00a02027 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers presented by Bass Pro Shops<\/a>\u00a0if they win, for others this is a chance to further their dreams to the next level.<\/p>\n This tournament is the final chance for anglers to move their way into the EQs for the opportunity to claim one of 10 invites to the\u00a02027 Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series<\/a>. This season, 50 anglers took on both divisions, and 35 of them will advance to the Elite Qualifier round.<\/p>\n At the end of today, Tennessee\u2019s\u00a0Dillon Falardeau<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 who qualified for the\u00a02026 Classic<\/a>\u00a0by winning an Open on the\u00a0Chesapeake Bay<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 sits in first place in the combined Open standings, trailed by\u00a0Brock Bila<\/a>.\u00a0Trey Schroeder<\/a>, another past Classic qualifier, is in 3rd, and former Elite Series pro\u00a0Darold Gleason<\/a>\u00a0is in 4th.<\/p>\n Friday\u2019s takeoff is scheduled for 6:30 a.m. ET at Buffalo Harbor State Park. The weigh-in will be held at the marina at 2:30 p.m.<\/p>\n Follow along with all of the action from the\u00a0Turtlebox Bassmaster Open at Lake Erie presented by Battery Tender<\/a>\u00a0on\u00a0Bassmaster.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n