Day 1 of this derby seems a bit slow. Probably because Lake Champlain’s reputation is so strong we expect it to be nothing but fireworks.
I’m on Seth Fieder this morning who is scrambling to win the Angler of the Year title. Thus far he appears to be more frustrated at times than calm and collected. That will change when the first keeper comes but in the meantime he’s had a break off, probably from a pike, and a few equipment issues.
Those things normally shake out after the morning jitters start working away.
My biggest question in the what he is doing is whether he is targeting largemouth or smallmouth. Actually that’s a big question for the field.
It’s cloudy, cool and spitting rain. That’s text book conditions for green fish. Smallmouth like the sun. As a pundit looking in the expectation is that green fish will be more important on a day like this. Then as the sun breaks out later in the derby the brown fish become the heavy favorite. Not sure any of it will play out that way.
This is, after all, a smallmouth factory. All of that, like the jitters, will eventually work its way out.