Gluszek goes wire-to-wire at Cayuga

Pete Gluszek, 2012 Bass Pro Shops Northern Open #3 Champion

Seneca Falls, N.Y. — New Jersey’s Pete Gluszek hasn’t fished a Bassmaster Classic since 1999, but he’ll be back in 2013 after winning the Bass Pro Shops Northern Open on New York’s Cayuga Lake. Gluszek went wire-to-wire at the event, posted the best catches in the field on each of the first two days and a finishing with a three day total of 56 pounds, 1 ounce. It was good enough to outdistance second-place finisher Stephen Browning of Arkansas by 4-12.

Gluszek fished two patterns to catch his bass — starting deep and finishing shallow, contrary to conventional bass fishing wisdom.

“Early in the morning I was flipping and pitching milfoil in 10 to 16 feet of water,” Gluszek said. “I was using a black 5-inch Yamamoto Senko behind a 1/2-ounce Round Valley tungsten sinker. Later in the day, as the sun came up, lots of bass were moving shallower and I caught them by skipping a weightless black Senko underneath boat docks.”

Gluszek focused his attentions on a 15-mile stretch of water in the central part of Cayuga Lake. He made the switch from his deep pattern to his shallow water pattern at about 11:00 each morning.

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Elites in the Opens

Browning and other top pros here for same reason

Stephen Browning showing off his Day 3 catch

AUBURN, N.Y. — Stephen Browning’s wrapped boat and truck stand out in the parking lot where a dozen rigs are staged. It’s where the top 12 anglers are preparing to weigh-in for the last time at the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Northern Open. To either side of Browning are parked nondescript boats hitched to average trucks.

Browning is in contention to win. It’s the very reason why the Bassmaster Elite Series pro is here. He quickly blows off any suggestion that he’s here to play bully on the block.

“I’m here for the competition, first and foremost,” he said. “We have eight Elite events in a year. For me to be where I want to be competitively, I need to compete more.”

Browning came close to winning. At the Cayuga Lake event he finished second to Pete Gluszek, who is attempting a comeback to the top tier of B.A.S.S. competition. He’ll get a shot after earning a coveted berth in the 2013 Bassmaster Classic.

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Almost living the dream

New Jersey angler one big bag away from goal to fish Elites

A victory at Cayuga Lake would seal Pete Gluszek’s invitation to the Elite Series for next season, and give him the added bonus of a berth in the 2013 Bassmaster Classic.

SENECA FALLS, N.Y. — Qualifying for the Bassmaster Elite Series is Pete Gluszek’s goal for 2012. He’s within easy reach of that milestone as point leader at the season finale Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Northern Open.

Tomorrow is a pivotal day for the pro from New Jersey. He currently leads the tournament at Cayuga Lake by a 5-pound margin. Victory gives him the added bonus of a berth in the 2013 Bassmaster Classic. A win seals his invitation to the Elite Series for next season.

A restless night is ahead. Gluszek will battle insomnia because he’s experienced the benefits of the high stakes game he’s playing to win.

In the late 1990s he was a top pro on the B.A.S.S. tour, having fished the Bassmaster Top 100 Tour. In the day it was forerunner to the current Elite Series. He qualified for the Bassmaster Classic in 1997 and again two years later.

“It’s dizzying to think about what could happen tomorrow,” he said. “My goals now are skewed. I want to win this tournament. I know what it means to make a Classic.”

Meanwhile, Gluszek has spent the past three years as resident instructor at the Bass University. Credit this graduate level academics course of bass fishing for his motivation to score the triple play of Classic berth, Elite Series invitation and tournament victory.

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Gluszek stuck in first place

Pete Gluszek had to change up depths and use completely different methods on Day Two, and his efforts were rewarded with a bigger bag.

Seneca Falls, N.Y. — Conditions on New York’s Cayuga Lake were different today — overcast and cooler than yesterday — but not different enough to shake the first round leader in the Bass Pro Shops Northern Open. For the second straight day, New Jersey’s Pete Gluszek, a two-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier, brought in the heaviest catch of the round. His Day 2 limit weighing 20 pounds, 14 ounces gives him a 4-7 lead over Brian Bylotas (35-11) of Pennsylvania. Arkansas Elite Series pro Stephen Browning is third with 35-7.

“Everything changed today for me,” Gluszek said. “I had to change up the depths I was fishing and used completely different methods today. The areas that were red hot yesterday were cold today.”

Careful not to share much information before the tournament’s final round on Saturday, Gluszek added only that “It’s important to be doing the right thing at the right time.”

Browning moved into third place on the strength of the day’s only other 20-pound catch. His 20-7 jumped him up 16 places and into tomorrow’s finals, which will feature only the top 12 professionals and co-anglers.

Bylotas’s five-bass limit weighed 19-10 and moved him from 13th into second place. He liked the overcast conditions because he believed they kept the bass shallower and more active throughout the day.

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Day Two launch at Cayuga

Official tow service BoatUS watches over the Day Two field on Cayuga Lake.

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Open: Day One weigh-in

Arthur Cipoletti (75th, 7-11)

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Day One launch on Cayuga Lake

Dawn breaks on Cayuga Lake as anglers wait for launch on Day One of the Bass Pro Shops Northern Open #3.

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