Bird and Croll Win Oneida Teams Opener

Saturday, July 17th was the opening tournament of the U.S. Angler’s Choice Oneida Teams Division on Oneida lake near Syracuse, NY. A record 21 teams arrived early at Oneida Shores County Park in anticipation of a great day of fishing. The staff at Oneida Shores were all in place as promised to get our teams launched (and parked) quickly. All 7 events on the Oneida Teams Division will launch from Oneida Shores.
The weather was picture perfect to start the day…calm, a few clouds, and a lake full of bass. The teams all ventured in a different direction as their boat numbers were called. Many teams decided to fish down lake and others chose to lock through the Erie Canal system in search of giant largemouth aw well as quality smallmouth. A few teams elected to run across the lake to Big Bay to see if any remaining big post-spawn largemouth were eager to bite.
Smallmouth garner most of the attention on this lake (except for the walleye) and today would prove to be no exception. While we usually see a 4-5 pound smallie or 2 at an Oneida Teams weigh-in, today’s best were in the 3 ½-3 ¾ pound range. However, they were consistent enough to keep a lot of teams locked on to the main lake shoals and earning them nice limits.
Just out of the money in 5th place was the PA/MD team of Bryce Melchior and Ed Gardner. Their limit weighed 14.84 pounds and earned them discount coupons courtesy of Furnace Bay Rods. Pennsylvania’s Brian and Lennie Smith teamed up to catch a real nice limit of smallmouth weighing 15.43 pounds. That was good enough for $260. Brian and Lennie were asked about their lack of largemouth and their reply was,”We don’t come all the way up here to catch largemouth!”.
Finishing in 3rd place, and competing in their first Oneida Teams event was John Conlon and Stanley Johnson. Their 5 bass limit totaled 16.39 pounds and was anchored by a 4.16 largemouth. In addition to 2 nice walnut plaques from Wilson Trophy Company, this Pennsylvania duo also collected $320. Great job, guys!
2nd place in this event was claimed by Jim Griffith and Norm Fey, also from New York. These 2003 Regional Qualifiers collected a few Big Bass honors as well as a victory last year and were one of the most consistent teams on the trail in 2003. Targeting largemouth bass, Jim and Norm put together a fine limit of big greenies weighing 17.20 pounds. They were tickled to receive the runner-up plaques, but really beamed when awarded checks for $560. Congratulations, Jim and Norm.
Our champions today finally shook the monkey off their backs, a.k.a. Phil Mickelson with their victory . Stewart Bird and Steve Croll had countless 2nd and 3rd place finishes last year, en route to becoming the 2003 Angler’s of the Year in the Traveler’s/Choice Division. Stewart and Steve used their countless years of experience to assemble a big limit of bass that weighed 18.30 pounds. They also tricked a 5.34 lb. largemouth into the net which proved to be the tournament lunker. In addition to 1st place AND Big Bass plaques, Stewart and Steve took home a total of $1350! Their decision to remain in the Traveler’s/Choice Division has allowed Jim and Norm to emerge as front runners in what will prove to be a very exciting AOY race!
At least 3 teams fishing today had never even seen the lake until the morning of the tournament. 20 out of 21 teams produced a 5-bass limit and the other team had a nice limit fish get off at the boat just before weigh-in. These teams are what U.S. Angler’s Choice is all about. One of these teams is Nick and Barbara Voudouris from Virginia. Moving here recently from Texas, they were looking for a quality circuit in their new hometown area to fish when they stumbled across Angler’s Choice during the winter. Not only did Nick and Barbara choose to compete in the DelMarVa Division, but have also competed in all of the Kerr Super Teams events and plan to continue with Oneida as well. Their dedication to Angler’s Choice is what we are all about…a competitive circuit with a generous pay back, a Regional Championship with BassCat/Mercury rigs as prizes, and fun and comraderie like no other trail around. Prior to March of this year, they had never even seen any of our tournament waters but are loyal members nonetheless. Others like Sonny Bell and Dennis Deahl from Maryland have heard how great Oneida Lake is as well as how friendly the teams and the community are and chose to make the trip, had a decent finish, and left feeling they had just fished a very special lake. Andy Hammond and Bob Galini fished Oneida for the first time at this event and just missed a top 10 finish.
The returning members are the roots of this and any other trail and with almost 100% returning from last year, coupled with new teams, Oneida Teams should continue to grow. The next Oneida Teams tournament is on July 31. Oneida Shores County Park will open at 5:00AM for our teams. PLEASE be sure to tell them at the gate you are with Angler’s Choice.