Manson ahead on the St. Lawrence with 25-2, several pros over 21 pounds on Day 1

MASSENA, N.Y. – As expected, the weights were strong on Day 1 of the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats event at the St. Lawrence River. Leading the way, Travis Manson sacked up 25 pounds, 2 ounces to slide ahead of Brian Green, who tallied 23-14. Behind the leaders, it took 20 pounds to get into the Top 20, and there’s a bevy of pros with 21 and 22 pounds stacked tight on the leaderboard.

Manson “catching fish every drift”

A guide on the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario and a former Elite Series pro, Manson is no slouch when it comes to smallmouth. It’s not exactly a shocker to see the local, who now lives in Watertown, New York, leading the pack. According to Manson, things got off to a great start after a 90-mile run.

“It was a long run, and it started out pretty good; I was catching fish every drift,” Manson said. “It shut down quickly, and I had to make some adjustments. Of course, the wind decided to really kick up, so I had to change some weights so I could feel the baits a little bit better.

“I left my main area with a 3-pounder, so I knew I needed to upgrade. I stopped on a few areas where I was guiding yesterday and we caught them pretty good, and I was able to upgrade some more.”

Fishing deep the whole time, Manson said he’s not doing anything out of the ordinary.

“Everybody knows what I throw – the Beast Coast O.W. Sniper Jig, a Great Lakes Finesse Drop Minnow and a Gajo Spirit Shad,” he said.

As for Day 2, which will be shorter for him due to boat number, Manson has his fingers crossed.

“I don’t know how it’s going to go down tomorrow,” he said. “The area I was at today, I could pull up on a guide trip and there would be nothing. The next day, we could catch a few fish.”

Green looking good again

After notching a Top 10 in the season opener on Champlain, Ontario pro Brian Green has started hot on his home waters. Green lives about 20 minutes from the river on the north side, and from the sounds of it, he’s been putting in some serious time.

“It was actually kind of rough,” he said. “I had my first one by probably 10 [o’clock], finally, then lost two 5s back to back; they just came off right at the boat. I caught three good ones near Brockville, and I had a 1-pounder in the boat. I practiced a little bit in Morrisburg, and I rolled in there and caught a 5. It wasn’t part of the plan; it was backup, and it paid off.”

Fishing a lot of spots anywhere from 15 to 40 feet deep, Green thinks he’s got the quality figured out, but isn’t convinced he can do it again tomorrow.

“There was no pattern I was running,” he said. “I was kind of junk fishing to be honest. This is the biggest bag I’ve ever weighed here. I’ve fished a few events on the river, and every time I weigh in 20 – and that’s probably 50^th place. I knew I was doing something different to catch bigger ones, but I probably only had eight bites today.”