Unrelenting winds out of the west that stirred up the eastern end of Lake Erie with 5-foot waves this morning forced FLW Series tournament director Ron Lappin to call an end to the Lake Erie Northern FLW Series after just one day of competition.
After winds prompted Friday's competition to be scrapped and with a dicey wind forecast for Saturday afternoon, the plan was to fish from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturday. According to a report on the FLW website, Lappin made the decision early this morning after boating to the mouth of the harbor where the competitors were launching from.
“As soon as I got out to the opening, I saw 5-footers washing up,” Lappin said, according to the report. “The front that was supposed to go through yesterday evening [Friday] apparently didn’t. The weather report showed gusts to about 22 mph coming in until about 10 a.m., then letting up some, then picking up again in the afternoon. So even if we had waited an hour or two, it wouldn’t have made much difference.
“There’s no sense in taking chances. This is the type of waterway that can get really dangerous in a hurry,” Lappin said. “Going out in even marginal conditions is asking for trouble, so for the best interests of everyone involved we ended the tournament with the standings as they are.”
With the tournament effectively over, here's how the top 10 shook out:
1. Neil Farlow: 24-04
2. Ben Wright: 24-03
3. Charles Sim: 23-03
4. JT Kenney: 23-02
5. J. Todd Tucker: 22-15
6. Austin Felix: 22-12
7. Moo Bae: 22-08
8. Travis Manson: 22-06
9. Philip Jarabeck: 22-05
10. Jason Kervin: 22-03
