Daily Limit: Mosley looks to make move

History might just be on Brock Mosley’s side as he tries to make a move in back-to-back Elite events in New York. Yet it could turn against him. That’s just the fickle nature of fishing.

Head games and all sorts of other battles will be played out once the Berkley Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River presented by Black Velvet blasts off Thursday at 9 a.m. ET. Mosley hopes to seize on his good finishes up north — and forget a couple negative ones — to make a run to his first Classic.

“We’re finally getting up north, and I’m comfortable fishing up here,” Mosley said Monday from the water. “I believe I can move up in the next couple events and get a little cushion.”

Mosley stands just inside the Classic cut in the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings. He’s 39th, tied with Brian Snowden and Tyler Rivet with 371 points. Mosley has high hopes to qualify for the 50th Bassmaster Classic, and he said he’d feel better if he were to gain some ground on the current cut line, 42nd place.

“I love fishing up north, and I love fishing in New York,” he said. “If we could have all our events up here, it wouldn’t hurt my feelings.

“If I can just get through the next two weeks with a couple solid finishes, I’ll be OK. I’m hoping this week and next week I can have a couple top 20s, and I believe that would boost me up.”

The fourth-year Elite from Collinsville, Miss., had mixed results the past two years on the St. Lawrence. In 2017, he was the only angler to record bags of more than 20 pounds each of the four days in taking second. Last year, he missed the cut by finishing 68th.

“In 2017, I fished extremely clean. I think I lost maybe two fish, and they wouldn’t have made a difference,” he said. “Last year I ran the same deal, and I lost a couple of key fish each day that would have bumped me to that 20-pound mark. That was the difference between my weights.

“I will be 100 percent honest. Last year, I didn’t see the slugfest coming. I had the same typical practice, catching 20, 21, 22, like the year before, so I did not see that coming.”

Anglers had to average almost 20 pounds a day just to make the two-day cut last year. Day 1 saw 52 bags of 20 pounds or more, which was more than all four days in 2017 (48). There were 116 bags above 20 pounds overall, and nine topped 25 pounds, led by Matt Lee’s 27-12. Winner Josh Bertrand averaged almost 24 pounds a day in his 95-3 total of smallmouth.

“This year is different and should be more like 2017,” Mosley said. “The water is up. Talking to a few guys who were here last year, it’s not fishing the same. They’ll be some good bags, but it’s fishing tougher. There’s still high water, and a lot of fish are shallow. This reminds of 2017, when a lot of the top 10 fished shallow. I can see that happening again this year.”

That year was actually good to Mosley, at least in that he weighed in nine bags of smallmouth of more than 20 pounds. Four were at St. Lawrence and another four came in another second-place finish at Lake St. Clair, site of this year’s Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship. With three events remaining, including the rescheduled Elite on Oklahoma’s Fort Gibson, Mosley knows he’s got work ahead to be among the top 50 who advance to fish St. Clair.

“I haven’t had a good year to my standards,” he said. “I’ve had a couple good tournaments, but I’ve been really inconsistent. Lake Fork (72nd) is what’s holding me back, shooting me in the foot. I really need a top 10 to cancel that one out. If I can get one, I’ll be OK.”

After the St. Lawrence, Mosley is staring at the SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at Cayuga Lake. His only other time there was his rookie season in 2016 when his weakness in bed fishing landed him 104th.

“I never really figured them out, but I put my time in during the off limits and got a better feel for the lake and how it fishes,” he said. “I actually had a couple nice days. I kinda feel good about it. I feel comfortable now.

“I feel good about where the season is, what’s left. I’ve had success on the St. Lawrence, and I’ve had success on St. Clair. The main thing is I feel comfortable about the remaining lakes we have. I’ve been to all of them, and that’s a big deal for me. I’m a visual learner.”

In the 2015 Open on Fort Gibson, Mosley finished a respectable 22nd. He said the farther away events get from the spawn and sight fishing, the better he does. He did well in the June event on Lake Guntersville, finishing 19th to climb from 48th in points to just inside the Classic cut. He’s seeking to climb some more and not have to sweat getting to his first championship.

“It’s been a dream of mine since I was a kid, since going to my first Classic in 1997 in Birmingham,” he said, noting the 50th anniversary Classic will be on Lake Guntersville out of … “Birmingham of all places. I always wanted my first Classic to be Birmingham, even though I’m not from Alabama. I’m just 20 miles on the other side of the state line. It’s probably the closest to home we can have a Classic. My whole career that’s what I’ve aimed for, to make a Classic. It’s all about making something with so much history.”

Failure at St. Lawrence would certainly be disappointing, so he’d sure like to start rolling with a move up the AOY standings to make his 31st birthday next Wednesday that much sweeter.

“I just got to take one event at a time and catch them this week first, get on a good roll and finish the year out,” he said, noting other Southerners have won up north. “I’ve always felt when I comes to smallmouth, anybody has a shot. You just can’t let it intimidate you and figure it out.”