Thomas LaVictoire Jr. knew he was up against some pretty stiff competition at the Lake Champlain Northern EverStart. He also knew he was on some pretty good fish near Ticonderoga.
Despite seeing his weights drop off each day, his 14-11 stringer on Saturday was more than enough to salt away his first EverStart Series win with a 3-day total of 53-01.
The West Rutland, Vt., resident edged FLW Tour pros Dave Lefebre, who finished 2nd with 51-14, and Chad Grigsby, who wound up 3rd with 49-15. Former Tour and Elite Series pro Dave Wolak was 5th with 47-09.
"This isn't going to sink in for a while," he said. "For me, the money's great – everybody needs $35,000 (the top prize), but I'll tell you what, just to win against these guys – I don't know what to say. They're Tour pros; they're the best at what they do. I'm just a guy who goes fishing every now and then."
Here's how the Top 10 finished up at Champlain:
1. Thomas LaVictoire Jr.: 53-01
2. Dave Lefebre: 51-14
3. Chad Grigsby: 49-15
4. Joseph Wood: 48-13
5. Dave Wolak: 47-09
6. Aaron Hastings: 46-13
7. Darren Schwenkbeck: 46-09
8. Bryan Labelle: 46-09
9. Rob Digh: 44-10
10. Todd Brunelle: 39-05
Details of Lavictoire's winning pattern will be published shortly.
