![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image0-1.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/dsc_3604-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\t\t\t![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/FUJIFILM_01-cropped-6x5-1.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
BUFFALO, N.Y. \u2014\u00a0Alex Korol<\/a>\u00a0said that he \u201cjust wanted to see how he could compete against this caliber of fisherman,\u201d but through two days of the\u00a0Turtlebox Bassmaster Open at Lake Erie presented by Battery Tender<\/a>\u00a0he\u2019s left no doubt about his abilities on the eastern basin of this Great Lake. The 33-year-old from Fairport, N.Y., has totaled 52 pounds, 2 ounces of Lake Erie bronze and holds a lead of nearly 2 pounds over\u00a0Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series<\/a>\u00a0pro\u00a0Aaron Jagdfeld<\/a>\u00a0in 2nd.<\/p>\n Dillon Falardeau<\/a>\u00a0is\u00a03rd\u00a0with 50-5, just an ounce behind Jagdfeld.<\/p>\n \u201cI really didn\u2019t know what I was on after practice,\u201d Korol said. \u201cBut I think the area is so strong because the bass are staying with the bait and the bait is still there. It blows my mind. With the calm conditions there were tighter groups today.\u201d<\/p>\n But that doesn\u2019t mean that amassing 27-1 and 25-1 bags has been easy. He said that the bass are extremely wary, and once he catches one or two out of a group it pays to leave and find some unmolested fish. Furthermore, he\u2019s been sick for over a week and couldn\u2019t celebrate his Day 1 lead because he was at urgent care.<\/p>\n Korol says that he\u2019s fishing a drop shot, a common offering this week, \u201cbut the way I\u2019m working it is extremely unique. It makes it into more of a reaction bite.\u201d<\/p>\n His plans for Championship Saturday?<\/p>\n \u201cI cannot wait to burn it down tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n He\u2019ll lead a group of 10 anglers into Championship Saturday who caught a minimum of 46-10 over two days. That computes to an average of 23-5. Ninety anglers who averaged 20 or more pounds per day failed to make the cut, with 55 of them failing to get paid. The 45th\u00a0place position, the lowest that will earn a check, was 43-6.<\/p>\n On another atypically calm August Erie day, the overall catches weren\u2019t quite as impressive as they were yesterday. Thursday there were 114 bags of 20 pounds or more and today there were over two dozen fewer than that. Still, it was a monumentally impressive day by any measure.<\/p>\n Everyone in the Top 10 has weighed in at least 22 pounds each day. Fishing fans will have to scroll down to 24th\u00a0place to find an angler who didn\u2019t hit or top 20 each day.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s safe to say that Erie is on fire right now,\u201d said Tournament Director Hank Weldon.<\/p>\n Jagdfeld has suffered through an inconsistent first year on the Elites, with only two money finishes heading into the season\u2019s last event. He\u2019d love to play the spoiler in Korol\u2019s debut, simply to get some momentum going.<\/p>\n \u201cI pride myself on being a Great Lakes smallmouth angler,\u201d he said. \u201cSo anything I can learn this week going into the St. Lawerence River would be great.\u201d<\/p>\n Like Korol, he said that the presence of bait was key to his success today. Both anglers saw their weights decrease day over day, but not significantly.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that the wind pushed bait into my area,\u201d he explained. \u201cThe fish were floating higher in the water column today.\u201d<\/p>\n Falardeau would love to earn his second Open victory \u2014\u00a0he won on the\u00a0Chesapeake Bay<\/a>\u00a0in 2025 to qualify for the\u00a02026 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic\u00a0presented by Under Armour<\/a>\u00a0\u2014\u00a0but he\u2019s mostly focused on making the\u00a0Bassmaster Elite Series<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou have one chance,\u201d Falardeau explained. \u201cIf they didn\u2019t eat it on the first drop I moved on to the next one. I had to throw at 300 fish to get seven or eight bites.\u201d<\/p>\n Garrett Smith<\/a>\u00a0of North Carolina caught the\u00a0Phoenix Boats<\/a>\u00a0Big Bass, a 6-13 smallmouth that ate a micro football jig and surprised him with its girth.<\/p>\n \u201cIt came straight at me and jumped like it was going to come into the boat,\u201d he said. \u201cI didn\u2019t realize how big it was until I swung it and it was lying in the floor of the boat.\u201d<\/p>\n While Korol is not qualified to make the\u00a02027 Bassmaster Classic<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers presented by Bass Pro Shops<\/a>\u00a0if he wins, for others this is a chance to further their dreams to the next level.<\/p>\n Falardeau looked at Jagdfeld above him in the standings and recognized that leapfrogging the Michigan pro may be tough.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s still an Elite Series pro living my dream,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m trying to get where he\u2019s at.\u201d<\/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 2027 Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series. 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 tomorrow\u2019s weigh-in, the official standings for\u00a0Division 1<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0combined Opens standings<\/a>\u00a0will be released.<\/p>\n Saturday\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