The year began with booming weights in Texas, with two Northeast pros earning the coveted century Belt.

The big one, otherwise known as the Bassmaster Classic, was a great event as always. The Northeast anglers had a strong showing, read about it here. Since the classic, the Elite series had their annual trip down to Florida, stopping at the Harris Chain of Lakes and the St. John’s River. The Harris Chain was a great event for the boys up north. Tyler Williams highlighted the field, with a top 5 finish coming in 4^th place with 66 pounds, 3 ounces.  Tyler said he had a ton of fun fishing this event, he felt loose, and this allowed him to fish clean. Tyler continues to build a name for himself finding success across the country as “The Maine Event.”

Following him was Kyle Patrick, with a solid 18^th place finish with 42 pounds 6 ounces. Kyle was happy with the top 20 finish, adding some points to his season totals. Paul Mueller finished in 22^nd and Tim Dube finished at 28^th place. Awesome to see 4 northeast anglers finish in the top 30, and show out down south in a Florida tournament.

The St. Johns was a slightly different story however, a rather difficult field had Alex Wetherell in 44^th with 38 pounds and Tyler Williams in 51^st with 26 pounds as the Northeast standouts. However, Cory Johnston, a Canadian, took home the win with 93 pounds. The elite series just wrapped up at Lake Murray in South Carolina. Another tough showing for the northeast guys, but a decent finish for Kyle Patrick in 37^th with 47 pounds 8 ounces. Tyler Williams said he just couldn’t get his jig bite going like he was hoping for, but he is excited to head to Wheeler Lake in Alabama June 13.

The Northeast guys have a lot to look forward to on the second half of the season, and the Elite Series heads up for the annual “northern swing” beginning August 8 at Lake Champlain followed by the St. Lawrence River August 15. All the guys are excited and have high hopes at both stops, but if Tyler Williams and Kyle Patrick can get some momentum going into these events both anglers will have a legitimate shot at taking home either the Angler of The Year trophy, the Rookie of The Year trophy, or even both. Kyle Patrick is currently sitting in 3^rd in ROY points and 9^th in AOY with 365 points. Tyler Williams is holding in 6^th in ROY and 13^th in AOY with 358 points. Both anglers have had amazing starts to their Elite Series careers and don’t plan on slowing down.