By B.A.S.S. Communications Staff

This time last month, Buddy Gross was struggling to walk after suffering a freak ankle injury while horseback riding.

His right ankle is still grotesquely swollen, but it didn’t slow him down on the water as he caught five bass that weighed 21-13 to take the opening-round lead in the Bassmaster Elite Series event at Lake Champlain out of Plattsburgh, N.Y.

“I made some good calls today,” said Gross, who weighed in four largemouth and one smallmouth. “I hit some stuff that I’d hit before and managed to catch a few.

“I had two smallmouth in my bag for the biggest part of my day, but I stopped on one more spot on the way in and caught another 4-pound largemouth to cull one of those fish.”

With three days left before the tournament is done, Gross didn’t go into specifics about where or how he was catching either species, but he did say he only hit about three of the 30 places he found to fish for largemouth during practice.

He had all but one of the bass he weighed in by noon.

“I’ve got a bunch of stuff left to fish, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be good,” said Gross, who picked up his first career Elite Series victory last year on Alabama’s Lake Eufaula. “They weren’t there like I expected them to be for most of practice, but they seem to be showing up now.

“If I can make it to Saturday when the sun is supposed to come out, I think it could be really good.”

As for the injured right ankle that dogged him during a 52nd-place finish at last month’s Bassmaster Classic, Gross said it's just a matter of being careful.

“If I hit it just wrong in the boat, it still sends a sharp pain,” he said. “It’s still swollen really badly. I know I need to see a specialist, but right now I just want to fish.”

Gross holds less than a 1-pound lead over 2nd-place Bryan Schmitt of Maryland (21-11) and 3rd-place Randy Pierson of California (21-0).

Unlike Gross, who focused mainly on largemouth, Schmitt targeted smallmouth most of the day. But he switched occasionally to largemouth when he was near the right type of habitat, and it was a decision that paid big dividends.

“I sampled a bunch of stuff I thought I could get a bite on early,” Schmitt said. “Some of it worked, some didn’t. Then about 11 o’clock, I ran some new stuff and caught a couple of big smallmouth and a couple of big largemouth.

“I probably caught 20 or so fish, but a lot of small ones.”

Schmitt said he fished roughly half the areas he identified as good possibilities in practice. Then with a good limit already in his livewell, he spent about an hour idling and looking for new water before weigh-in.

While he admitted 4-pound-plus largemouth are hard to come by on Champlain, he said the talk that 4-plus smallmouth are hard to find is false.

“I caught three of them today, and I don’t even know what I’m doing,” Schmitt said. “There’s a lot more big smallmouth in here than largemouth.”

Pierson, the 2018 B.A.S.S. Nation Championship winner, weighed in all largemouth, but that wasn’t necessarily his plan. He spent his day targeting smallmouth and then switching tactics when he saw something he said looked “largemouthy.”

“I’m pretty much throwing four baits,” Pierson said. “I’m throwing a Senko, a dropshot, a River2Sea S-Waver and a River2Sea Rover. It was just a matter of bouncing around through smallmouth stuff and moving shallow when things looked right for largemouth.

“Everything just went exactly right. It was a special day.”

Nine anglers caught more than 20 pounds on day 1 and eth Feider barely missed that benchmark, landing in 10th place with 19-11.

That total was more than enough to help Feider maintain his lead in the Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings. Feider, who was visibly nervous for the first 30 minutes on Bassmaster LIVE, has 693 points, while Jason Christie (627) and Patrick Walters (622) trail distantly behind him.

“I feel a lot better now than I did this morning,” Feider said. “I scrapped my plan to fish for smallmouth right away. I gave it maybe an hour and just wasn’t feeling it.”

That’s when he switched to flipping for largemouth.

“When I decided to go flip milfoil, I caught one the first five minutes,” he said. “It wasn’t a big one, about 3 1/2 pounds. But at that point, I knew I was gonna do it the rest of the day and that made me feel a lot better.”

Dale Hightower took in the lead in the race for Phoenix Boats Big Bass with a 5-15.

Competition will resume Friday with takeoff scheduled for 7 a.m. ET from Plattsburgh City Marina. Weigh-in will be held back at the marina at 3 p.m.

After Friday’s round, only the Top 45 pros will advance to Saturday’s semifinal round.

Live coverage for each day of the event can be streamed on Bassmaster.com and the FOX Sports digital platforms. FS1 will also broadcast live with the tournament leaders beginning at 8 a.m. ET on Saturday and Sunday.



Day 1 Standings

1. Buddy Gross -- Chickamauga, GA -- 5, 21-13 -- 100
Day 1: 5, 21-13

2. Bryan Schmitt -- Deale, MD -- 5, 21-11 -- 99
Day 1: 5, 21-11

3. Randy Pierson -- Oakdale, CA -- 5, 21-00 -- 98
Day 1: 5, 21-00

4. Chris Zaldain -- Fort Worth, TX -- 5, 20-11 -- 97
Day 1: 5, 20-11

5. Taku Ito -- Chiba, JAPAN -- 5, 20-07 -- 96
Day 1: 5, 20-07

6. Carl Jocumsen -- Queensland, AUS -- 5, 20-05 -- 95
Day 1: 5, 20-05

6. Lee Livesay -- Longview, TX -- 5, 20-05 -- 95
Day 1: 5, 20-05

8. Jeff Gustafson -- Keewatin, ON -- 5, 20-03 -- 93
Day 1: 5, 20-03

9. Brandon Lester -- Fayetteville, TN -- 5, 20-01 -- 92
Day 1: 5, 20-01

10. Seth Feider -- New Market, MN -- 5, 19-11 -- 91
Day 1: 5, 19-11

11. Justin Atkins -- Florence, AL -- 5, 19-10 -- 90
Day 1: 5, 19-10

12. Micah Frazier -- Newnan, GA -- 5, 19-08 -- 89
Day 1: 5, 19-08

13. John Crews Jr -- Salem, VA -- 5, 19-06 -- 88
Day 1: 5, 19-06

13. Destin DeMarion -- Grove City, PA -- 5, 19-06 -- 88
Day 1: 5, 19-06

15. Drew Cook -- Cairo, GA -- 5, 19-05 -- 86
Day 1: 5, 19-05

15. Dale Hightower -- Mannford, OK -- 5, 19-05 -- 86
Day 1: 5, 19-05

15. Garrett Paquette -- Canton, MI -- 5, 19-05 -- 86
Day 1: 5, 19-05

18. Chad Pipkens -- Dewitt, MI -- 5, 19-01 -- 83
Day 1: 5, 19-01

19. Keith Combs -- Huntington, TX -- 5, 18-15 -- 82
Day 1: 5, 18-15

19. Caleb Sumrall -- New Iberia, LA -- 5, 18-15 -- 82
Day 1: 5, 18-15

21. Justin Hamner -- Northport, AL -- 5, 18-14 -- 80
Day 1: 5, 18-14

22. Shane LeHew -- Catawba, NC -- 5, 18-11 -- 79
Day 1: 5, 18-11

23. Chris Groh -- Spring Grove, IL -- 5, 18-09 -- 78
Day 1: 5, 18-09

23. Brandon Palaniuk -- Rathdrum, ID -- 5, 18-09 -- 78
Day 1: 5, 18-09

25. Darold Gleason -- Many, LA -- 5, 18-08 -- 76
Day 1: 5, 18-08

25. Steve Kennedy -- Auburn, AL -- 5, 18-08 -- 76
Day 1: 5, 18-08

27. Brandon Card -- Salisbury, NC -- 5, 18-05 -- 74
Day 1: 5, 18-05

28. Jason Christie -- Park Hill, OK -- 5, 18-04 -- 73
Day 1: 5, 18-04

29. Patrick Walters -- Summerville, SC -- 5, 18-03 -- 72
Day 1: 5, 18-03

30. Austin Felix -- Eden Prairie, MN -- 5, 18-02 -- 71
Day 1: 5, 18-02

30. Chad Morgenthaler -- Reeds Spring, MO -- 5, 18-02 -- 71
Day 1: 5, 18-02

30. Paul Mueller -- Naugatuck, CT -- 5, 18-02 -- 71
Day 1: 5, 18-02

33. Kenta Kimura -- Osaka, JAPAN -- 5, 18-01 -- 68
Day 1: 5, 18-01

33. Brad Whatley -- Bivins, TX -- 5, 18-01 -- 68
Day 1: 5, 18-01

35. KJ Queen -- Catawba, NC -- 5, 18-00 -- 66
Day 1: 5, 18-00

35. Randy Sullivan -- Breckenridge, TX -- 5, 18-00 -- 66
Day 1: 5, 18-00

37. Jay Yelas -- Lincoln City, OR -- 5, 17-12 -- 64
Day 1: 5, 17-12

38. Scott Canterbury -- Odenville, AL -- 5, 17-11 -- 63
Day 1: 5, 17-11

38. Cory Johnston -- Cavan, ON -- 5, 17-11 -- 63
Day 1: 5, 17-11

38. Matt Robertson -- Kuttawa, KY -- 5, 17-11 -- 63
Day 1: 5, 17-11

38. Bill Weidler -- Helena, AL -- 5, 17-11 -- 63
Day 1: 5, 17-11

42. Greg Hackney -- Gonzales, LA -- 5, 17-09 -- 59
Day 1: 5, 17-09

42. Luke Palmer -- Coalgate, OK -- 5, 17-09 -- 59
Day 1: 5, 17-09

42. Gerald Swindle -- Guntersville, AL -- 5, 17-09 -- 59
Day 1: 5, 17-09

42. Jake Whitaker -- Fairview, NC -- 5, 17-09 -- 59
Day 1: 5, 17-09

46. Shane Lineberger -- Lincolnton, NC -- 5, 17-08 -- 55
Day 1: 5, 17-08

47. Mark Menendez -- Paducah, KY -- 5, 17-07 -- 54
Day 1: 5, 17-07

48. John Cox -- Debary, FL -- 5, 17-06 -- 53
Day 1: 5, 17-06

48. Bob Downey -- Hudson, WI -- 5, 17-06 -- 53
Day 1: 5, 17-06

50. Ray Hanselman Jr -- Del Rio, TX -- 5, 17-04 -- 51
Day 1: 5, 17-04

51. Caleb Kuphall -- Mukwonago, WI -- 5, 17-03 -- 50
Day 1: 5, 17-03

51. Cliff Prince -- Palatka, FL -- 5, 17-03 -- 50
Day 1: 5, 17-03

51. Hunter Shryock -- Ooltewah, TN -- 5, 17-03 -- 50
Day 1: 5, 17-03

51. Jason Williamson -- Wagener, SC -- 5, 17-03 -- 50
Day 1: 5, 17-03

55. Jamie Hartman -- Newport, NY -- 5, 17-02 -- 46
Day 1: 5, 17-02

55. Kelley Jaye -- Dadeville, AL -- 5, 17-02 -- 46
Day 1: 5, 17-02

57. Chris Johnston -- Otonabee, ON -- 5, 17-01 -- 44
Day 1: 5, 17-01

58. Todd Auten -- Lake Wylie, SC -- 5, 16-14 -- 43
Day 1: 5, 16-14

59. David Fritts -- Lexington, NC -- 5, 16-12 -- 42
Day 1: 5, 16-12

59. Bill Lowen -- Brookville, IN -- 5, 16-12 -- 42
Day 1: 5, 16-12

59. Kyle Welcher -- Opelika, AL -- 5, 16-12 -- 42
Day 1: 5, 16-12

62. Cody Hollen -- Beaverton, OR -- 5, 16-11 -- 39
Day 1: 5, 16-11

62. Derek Hudnall -- Denham Springs, LA -- 5, 16-11 -- 39
Day 1: 5, 16-11

62. Scott Martin -- Clewiston, FL -- 5, 16-11 -- 39
Day 1: 5, 16-11

65. Wes Logan -- Springville, AL -- 5, 16-09 -- 36
Day 1: 5, 16-09

65. Ed Loughran III -- Richmond, VA -- 5, 16-09 -- 36
Day 1: 5, 16-09

65. Pat Schlapper -- Eleva, WI -- 5, 16-09 -- 36
Day 1: 5, 16-09

68. Brock Mosley -- Collinsville, MS -- 5, 16-08 -- 33
Day 1: 5, 16-08

69. Gregory DiPalma -- Millville, NJ -- 5, 16-06 -- 32
Day 1: 5, 16-06

70. Mike Huff -- London, KY -- 5, 16-05 -- 31
Day 1: 5, 16-05

71. Skylar Hamilton -- Dandridge, TN -- 5, 16-04 -- 30
Day 1: 5, 16-04

72. Joshua Stracner -- Vandiver, AL -- 5, 16-03 -- 29
Day 1: 5, 16-03

73. Brandon Cobb -- Greenwood, SC -- 5, 16-02 -- 28
Day 1: 5, 16-02

73. Marc Frazier -- Newnan, GA -- 5, 16-02 -- 28
Day 1: 5, 16-02

75. Brian Snowden -- Reeds Spring, MO -- 5, 15-15 -- 26
Day 1: 5, 15-15

76. Matt Arey -- Shelby, NC -- 5, 15-13 -- 25
Day 1: 5, 15-13

76. Frank Talley -- Temple, TX -- 5, 15-13 -- 25
Day 1: 5, 15-13

78. Drew Benton -- Blakely, GA -- 5, 15-08 -- 23
Day 1: 5, 15-08

79. Clifford Pirch -- Payson, AZ -- 5, 15-03 -- 22
Day 1: 5, 15-03

80. Matt Herren -- Ashville, AL -- 5, 15-02 -- 21
Day 1: 5, 15-02

80. David Mullins -- Mt Carmel, TN -- 5, 15-02 -- 21
Day 1: 5, 15-02

82. Clark Wendlandt -- Leander, TX -- 5, 14-14 -- 19
Day 1: 5, 14-14

83. Hank Cherry Jr -- Lincolnton, NC -- 5, 14-13 -- 18
Day 1: 5, 14-13

83. Rob Digh -- Denver, NC -- 5, 14-13 -- 18
Day 1: 5, 14-13

83. Tyler Rivet -- Raceland, LA -- 5, 14-13 -- 18
Day 1: 5, 14-13

86. Rick Clunn -- Ava, MO -- 5, 14-10 -- 15
Day 1: 5, 14-10

87. Koby Kreiger -- Alva, FL -- 5, 14-07 -- 14
Day 1: 5, 14-07

88. Stetson Blaylock -- Benton, AR -- 5, 14-01 -- 13
Day 1: 5, 14-01

89. Harvey Horne -- Bella Vista, AR -- 5, 13-14 -- 12
Day 1: 5, 13-14

90. Bernie Schultz -- Gainesville, FL -- 5, 13-12 -- 11
Day 1: 5, 13-12

91. Yusuke Miyazaki -- Forney, TX -- 5, 13-07 -- 10
Day 1: 5, 13-07

91. Bryan New -- Belmont, NC -- 5, 13-07 -- 10
Day 1: 5, 13-07

93. Kyle Monti -- Okeechobee, FL -- 5, 12-14 -- 8
Day 1: 5, 12-14

94. Robbie Latuso -- Gonzales, LA -- 5, 12-02 -- 7
Day 1: 5, 12-02

95. Quentin Cappo -- Prairieville, LA -- 2, 05-01 -- 6
Day 1: 2, 05-01