09-19-2007, 03:10 PM
Wal-Mart FLW Series BP Eastern Division
Lake Champlain, Plattsburgh, N.Y.<br />
Final round, Saturday
Largemouths reign supreme "¦ Somewhat unexpectedly, largemouths proved to be the winning ticket on Lake Champlain this week. But the location of the hungry green bass was the real surprise. Conventional wisdom says to run south for largemouths and north for smallmouths, but the better largemouth sacks did not come from the Ticonderoga, N.Y., area this week. Instead, they came from isolated areas located surprising close to the ramp. The resident largemouths down south bite extremely well during the spawn and post-spawn periods, but aren't nearly as reliable come September.
True fish story "¦ Most bass fishing fans are aware of the aggressive nature of Lake Champlain smallmouths. For Kellogg's pro Clark Wendlandt, however, the bass proved too aggressive in one rare instance. On day one, Wendlandt was well on his way to a banner day. He just stuck a 5-pound smallmouth and had it played out right below the boat. Things were looking good, as the giant smallie had two hooks securely in its mouth and was finally beginning to give up. All of a sudden, Wendlandt's co-angler, Scott Leppanen informed the two-time Land O'Lakes Angler of the Year that he now had two fish on his line. Leppanen knelt down to scoop them both and all that was there was a 2-pound smallmouth and Wendlandt's jerkbait. "The 2-pounder just basically ripped it out of the 5-pounders mouth," Wendlandt said. He ultimately brought 19 pounds, 11 ounces to the scale that day, but he would have had at least another pound if not for the pesky 2-pounder. That wouldn't have made the difference in a victory for the Leander, Texas, native, but it would have earned him at least an additional $10,000.
Guido overcomes "¦ His trolling motors were unkind to him this week, but it wasn't enough to distract BP pro Guido Hibdon from winning $125,000. In just three days of FLW Series competition, (day three was cancelled due to high winds and unsafe waters) Hibdon tore up two trolling motors. On day two, it affected him so much he had to drift around and fish for smallmouths, something he hates to do. On day four, he spent the majority of his day on his main engine, yet still whacked a giant limit of largemouths.
Thanks Brian and Tyler "¦ Other than Hibdon, the angler who made the biggest move on day four was pro Brian Bylotas of Olyphant, Pa. Bylotas started the day in 10th place and moved up four spots to sixth with an 18-pound string, the second-heaviest of the day. "I actually started the day with a small limit of largemouths," he said. "Then I went looking to upgrade with smallmouths and I finished up my day with largemouths." His last and most productive spot was found on the final day of practice while fishing with his two sons Brian and Tyler. Kids, if you're reading this, make sure you get your fair share of daddy's $18,000 check.
Points update "¦ With three of the four regular-season events in the books, Castrol pro David Dudley owns a nine-point lead in the standings over Gain pro Koby Kreiger, who has earned 530 points. BP pro David Walker is third with 511 and Chevy pro David Fritts is fourth with 505. Rounding out the top five is Berkley pro Glenn Browne, who has tallied 504 points. The top 30 pros from both FLW Series divisions will advance to the East-West Fishoff, which will be held Jan. 17-19, 2008. Thirty winners from the fishoff will advance to the $2 million 2008 Forrest Wood Cup.
Quick numbers
20-5: Pounds and ounces of Hibdon's day-four catch.
439,636: FLW Outdoors career earnings, in dollars, for the Gravois Mills, Mo., pro.
1: Number of pros who ran 75 miles south to fish largemouths in Ticonderoga, N.Y., Saturday. The lone angler was Steve Kennedy.
10: Number of pros who caught more than 13 pounds Saturday.
1: Number of pros who lost in a one-on-one basketball game to an FLWOutdoors.com staff member Friday.
10: Number of pros who weighed in a limit on day four.
Sound bites
"When I get the opportunity to go smallmouth fishing, I'm going smallmouth fishing." - Pro Pat Fisher on how he decided which species of Lake Champlain bass to target.
"I love fishing. I'm daddy's little girl." - Brooke Spence, daughter of ninth-place pro Bill Spence.
"Everybody talks about junk fishing, but I actually fished junk." - Second-place pro David Wolak, who threw his baits at tires, metal scraps and garbage.
"Koby is a good friend of mine, but he's a rotten son of a gun. He wants to beat this old man so bad its eating him alive." - Hibdon, on Kreiger.
"I'm not smart enough to catch them." - Hibdon, on why he didn't target smallmouths.
"Honestly, it's not the money. It's knowing I can still do it. It's for me." - Hibdon.
The next event of the $10 million FLW Series season is a National Guard Western Division event, slated for Sept. 19-22 on the Columbia River in Richland, Wash. The next and final BP Eastern Division event is scheduled for Oct. 10-13 on Pickwick Lake in Florence, Ala.
Lake Champlain, Plattsburgh, N.Y.<br />
Final round, Saturday
Largemouths reign supreme "¦ Somewhat unexpectedly, largemouths proved to be the winning ticket on Lake Champlain this week. But the location of the hungry green bass was the real surprise. Conventional wisdom says to run south for largemouths and north for smallmouths, but the better largemouth sacks did not come from the Ticonderoga, N.Y., area this week. Instead, they came from isolated areas located surprising close to the ramp. The resident largemouths down south bite extremely well during the spawn and post-spawn periods, but aren't nearly as reliable come September.
True fish story "¦ Most bass fishing fans are aware of the aggressive nature of Lake Champlain smallmouths. For Kellogg's pro Clark Wendlandt, however, the bass proved too aggressive in one rare instance. On day one, Wendlandt was well on his way to a banner day. He just stuck a 5-pound smallmouth and had it played out right below the boat. Things were looking good, as the giant smallie had two hooks securely in its mouth and was finally beginning to give up. All of a sudden, Wendlandt's co-angler, Scott Leppanen informed the two-time Land O'Lakes Angler of the Year that he now had two fish on his line. Leppanen knelt down to scoop them both and all that was there was a 2-pound smallmouth and Wendlandt's jerkbait. "The 2-pounder just basically ripped it out of the 5-pounders mouth," Wendlandt said. He ultimately brought 19 pounds, 11 ounces to the scale that day, but he would have had at least another pound if not for the pesky 2-pounder. That wouldn't have made the difference in a victory for the Leander, Texas, native, but it would have earned him at least an additional $10,000.
Guido overcomes "¦ His trolling motors were unkind to him this week, but it wasn't enough to distract BP pro Guido Hibdon from winning $125,000. In just three days of FLW Series competition, (day three was cancelled due to high winds and unsafe waters) Hibdon tore up two trolling motors. On day two, it affected him so much he had to drift around and fish for smallmouths, something he hates to do. On day four, he spent the majority of his day on his main engine, yet still whacked a giant limit of largemouths.
Thanks Brian and Tyler "¦ Other than Hibdon, the angler who made the biggest move on day four was pro Brian Bylotas of Olyphant, Pa. Bylotas started the day in 10th place and moved up four spots to sixth with an 18-pound string, the second-heaviest of the day. "I actually started the day with a small limit of largemouths," he said. "Then I went looking to upgrade with smallmouths and I finished up my day with largemouths." His last and most productive spot was found on the final day of practice while fishing with his two sons Brian and Tyler. Kids, if you're reading this, make sure you get your fair share of daddy's $18,000 check.
Points update "¦ With three of the four regular-season events in the books, Castrol pro David Dudley owns a nine-point lead in the standings over Gain pro Koby Kreiger, who has earned 530 points. BP pro David Walker is third with 511 and Chevy pro David Fritts is fourth with 505. Rounding out the top five is Berkley pro Glenn Browne, who has tallied 504 points. The top 30 pros from both FLW Series divisions will advance to the East-West Fishoff, which will be held Jan. 17-19, 2008. Thirty winners from the fishoff will advance to the $2 million 2008 Forrest Wood Cup.
Quick numbers
20-5: Pounds and ounces of Hibdon's day-four catch.
439,636: FLW Outdoors career earnings, in dollars, for the Gravois Mills, Mo., pro.
1: Number of pros who ran 75 miles south to fish largemouths in Ticonderoga, N.Y., Saturday. The lone angler was Steve Kennedy.
10: Number of pros who caught more than 13 pounds Saturday.
1: Number of pros who lost in a one-on-one basketball game to an FLWOutdoors.com staff member Friday.
10: Number of pros who weighed in a limit on day four.
Sound bites
"When I get the opportunity to go smallmouth fishing, I'm going smallmouth fishing." - Pro Pat Fisher on how he decided which species of Lake Champlain bass to target.
"I love fishing. I'm daddy's little girl." - Brooke Spence, daughter of ninth-place pro Bill Spence.
"Everybody talks about junk fishing, but I actually fished junk." - Second-place pro David Wolak, who threw his baits at tires, metal scraps and garbage.
"Koby is a good friend of mine, but he's a rotten son of a gun. He wants to beat this old man so bad its eating him alive." - Hibdon, on Kreiger.
"I'm not smart enough to catch them." - Hibdon, on why he didn't target smallmouths.
"Honestly, it's not the money. It's knowing I can still do it. It's for me." - Hibdon.
The next event of the $10 million FLW Series season is a National Guard Western Division event, slated for Sept. 19-22 on the Columbia River in Richland, Wash. The next and final BP Eastern Division event is scheduled for Oct. 10-13 on Pickwick Lake in Florence, Ala.