By BassFan Staff

Scott Martin already has two FLW Tour victories at Lake Champlain on his ledger. Another one this week would carry special significance.

"My son Reed turns 16 on Sunday (the final day of the event)," he said. "It'd be awesome to get a good finish for his birthday."

He laid the foundation for making that happen with a 22-05 stringer on the opening day of the circuit's regular-season finale. His was one of only two bags to exceed 20 pounds, but 15 competitors scaled at least 18 and the Top 46 all have 16 or more. Only four of the 160 pros failed to catch a limit.

Canadian Chris Johnston, who's had a stellar rookie campaign, caught 21-02 to grab the No. 2 slot. Alex Davis, who has a runner-up showing and a 13th-place finish this year but also three showings of 105th or worse, and 2012 Champlain winner David Dudley were tied for 3rd with 19-13.

Blake Nick, who fared no better than 54th in any of the season's first five events, completed the Top 5 with 19-03.

Here's a look at the initial Top 10, with red numbers in parentheses indicating deficit margins from the leader:

1. Scott Martin: 22-05
2. Chris Johnston: 21-02 (1-03)
3. (tie) Alex Davis: 19-13 (1-08)
3. (tie) David Dudley: 19-13 (1-08)
5. Blake Nick: 19-03 (2-02)
6. Jason Meninger: 19-02 (2-03)
7. Cody Meyer: 18-14 (2-07)
8. Curtis Richardson: 18-12 (2-09)
9. Mark Rose: 18-09 (2-12)
10. Michael Wooley: 18-06 (2-15)

Andy Morgan, seeking to join Dudley and Clark Wendlandt as the circuit's only three-time Angler of the Year winners, took a big step toward achieving that goal with an 18-02 bag that put him in 13th place. There's a strong possibility that he'll clinch the crown tomorrow if he can remain in the Top 20 as Jeff Sprague, the only angler within 20 points of him, is currently 45th.



FLW
Photo: FLW

Martin fished a lot of different places and employed a variety of techniques.

As is the norm from Champlain, weights are incredibly tight throughout the field. The 50th-place position (the cutoff for a $10,000 check after the day-2 weigh-in) sits at 15-13 and the next 33 anglers are all within a pound of that mark.

The WeatherChannel.com forecast for day 2 predicts partly cloudy skies, a high temperature of 85 degrees and a 5-mph wind out of the southeast. The area along the New York-Vermont border is in the midst of a warming trend that should see the high reach the 90s by the end of the weekend.

Martin's Confidence High

> Day 1: 5, 22-05

Martin, who won at Champlain in 2009 and 2004, employed a variety of techniques in several areas en route to compiling his day-best bag.

"I had a decent game plan going in and my practice wasn't too bad," he said. "I didn't feel like the fishing was as good as it's been in the past because I fished a lot of areas and didn't catch them very good, but I talked to some other guys who just killed them."

He went through about 15 keeper bites on day 1 and took five largemouths to the scale. The biggest was a 5-01 that bit late in the afternoon.

"I mixed it up between several areas and just kept rolling with it and I fished pretty clean," he said. "I'll try to fish similar water tomorrow and hopefully people will be respectful and cool and I can get the job done. Everybody gave me space and let me do my thing today – the sportsmanship was great."

He didn't do any sight-fishing, but may do some tomorrow.

"I have some marked and I'll go to them when I need them. I think my other areas have enough fish to last me for a few more days.

FLW
Photo: FLW

Chris Johnston's mixed bag was topped by a 5-13 bruiser.

"What it boils down to is I have a lot of confidence in where I'm fishing (the north-central part of the lake) and doing what I'm doing. I always used to go down and practice one day at Ticonderoga and it's funny, but the last couple times I did that I was saying to myself, 'I hope I don't catch them.'

"This is where I like to be," he continued. "It gives me a lot of options."

2nd: Big Bite for Johnston

> Day 1: 5, 21-02

Johnston ended up 2nd the last time he competed at Champlain (an FLW Series event in 2014), and he appears to be on his way to another strong showing.

"I've fished here once a year for the last 5 years," he said. "People say I'm a local, but I'm 6 hours from home (in Peterborough, Ontario). I like the way it fishes, though, and I've done well."

His bag contained three largemouths and two smallmouths. One of the largemouths weighed 5-13 and took big-bass honors for the day.

"I wasn't expecting to get 21 pounds – I was shooting for 18 just to stay in the AOY race in case Andy didn't catch them. I had 18 by 11 o'clock and then I went looking for a big largemouth, and I ended up getting three.

"Having that weight fairly early took a lot of the pressure off."

His goal for day 2 will again be 18 pounds.

"I think I can catch 15 pretty easy, then I'll need a couple kickers. I'm not on the mother lode by any means, but I have some big-fish spots and I know there's a few left in (his primary) area."

3rd: Mixed Bag for Davis

> Day 1: 5, 19-13

Davis had two smallmouths and three largemouths on his near-20-pound stringer. He picked up the largemouths – which included a 5-05 specimen – within a 15-minute stretch.

He had all of his weight by 10:15.

"Catching almost 20 pounds at Champlain isn't an easy feat, but when you get a 5-pound largemouth, that surely helps the ol' bag," he said.

FLW
Photo: FLW

Alex Davis caught three of his best fish within a 15-minute stretch.

He practice one day down at Ticonderoga, but opted to spend the tournament in the middle and northern portions of the lake.

"I'll probably run a lot of different stuff tomorrow. After I had my weight I checked on some other places and tried some new stuff. I never went to one section where I caught them pretty good in practice because I didn't see the need. I'll run all that stuff tomorrow if need be."

4th: Dudley Stayed Active

> Day 1: 5, 19-13

Dudley made a lot of stops and saw a lot of the lake on day 1. He fished enough to get 20 keeper bites and the five he brought back to the launch were all in the 4-pound class.

"I bounced around quite a bit and burned a lot of gas," he said. "I like this place; it's hard not to have a lot of confidence here. You feel like you're going to catch them, and then you do.

"It comes down to whether you get those 4-pounders that separate you from the field."

He said he has some water that he didn't fish today that he things will be productive going forward.

"I feel pretty confident that I can catch what I need tomorrow. If I had to, I think I could catch 15 pounds from the stuff I didn't go to today."

13th: Late Cull for Morgan

> Day 1: 5, 18-02

Morgan caught a 4-pounder in the day's closing minutes that gave him a 1-pound cull and likely garnered him a dozen places in the standings.

"It was kind of a struggle," he said. "I got on sort of a tear at mid-morning and caught a few decent ones, but then I didn't catch anything (that helped him) until I had 10 minutes left.

"My day really wasn't that great. It was a slow go – a snail's pace for here."

He caught a few fish off beds, but thinks he took only one of them to the scale.

"I caught all of (the sight-fish) I had. I did save one area and if it fires tomorrow, I should be okay. If it doesn't, then it's not going to be a good day for ol' Andy. That's the chance you take, though, and it's good to be in that position.

"I think 17 pounds would be a good weight – that should get me really close to the cut, if not make it. But there's a lot of variables still in play."

Notable

> Day 1 stats – 160 anglers, 156 limits, 2 fours, 2 threes.

Weather Forecast

> Fri., June 24 – Sunny - 79°/56°
- Wind: From the E at 5 mph

> Sat., June 25 – Partly Cloudy - 85°/60°
- Wind: From the SE at 5 mph

> Sun., June 26 – Partly Cloudy - 90°/66°
- Wind: From the SSE at 11 mph

Day 1 Standings

1. Scott Martin -- Clewiston, Fl -- 22-5 (5)

2. Chris Johnston -- Peterborough, On -- 21-2 (5)

3. Alex Davis -- Albertville, Al -- 19-13 (5)

4. David Dudley -- Lynchburg, Va -- 19-13 (5)

5. Blake Nick -- Adger, Al -- 19-3 (5)

6. Jason Meninger -- Gainesville, Ga -- 19-2 (5)

7. Cody Meyer -- Auburn, Ca -- 18-14 (5)

8. Curtis Richardson -- Belleville, On -- 18-12 (5)

9. Mark Rose -- West Memphis, Ar -- 18-9 (5)

10. Michael Wooley -- Collierville, Tn -- 18-6 (5)

11. Jason Johnson -- Gainesville, Ga -- 18-4 (5)

12. Stetson Blaylock -- Benton, Ar -- 18-3 (5)

13. Andy Morgan -- Dayton, Tn -- 18-2 (5)

14. Austin Felix -- Eden Prairie, Mn -- 18-2 (5)

15. Wesley Strader -- Spring City, Tn -- 18-0 (5)

16. Pete Ponds -- Madison, Ms -- 17-13 (5)

17. Jacob Wheeler -- Indianapolis, In -- 17-13 (5)

18. Clark Reehm -- Huntington, Tx -- 17-10 (5)

19. Kyle Mabrey -- Mccalla, Al -- 17-8 (5)

20. Clark Wendlandt -- Leander, Tx -- 17-8 (5)

21. Bryan Schmitt -- Deale, Md -- 17-7 (5)

22. Dan Morehead -- Paducah, Ky -- 17-5 (5)

23. Jim Moynagh -- Carver, Mn -- 17-4 (5)

24. Kyle Monti -- Okeechobee, Fl -- 17-3 (5)

25. Mark Daniels Jr -- Tuskegee, Al -- 17-3 (5)

26. Barry Wilson -- Birmingham, Al -- 17-3 (5)

27. Greg Bohannan -- Bentonville, Ar -- 17-1 (5)

28. Chris Mccall -- Brookeland, Tx -- 16-15 (5)

29. Scott Canterbury -- Springville, Al -- 16-13 (5)

30. Rob Kilby -- Hot Springs, Ar -- 16-13 (5)

31. Todd Auten -- Lake Wylie, Sc -- 16-11 (5)

32. Anthony Gagliardi -- Prosperity, Sc -- 16-11 (5)

33. Matt Arey -- Shelby, Nc -- 16-8 (5)

34. Gerald Spohrer -- Gonzales, La -- 16-7 (5)

35. Shinichi Fukae -- Palestine, Tx -- 16-6 (5)

36. Joe Holland -- Jefferson, Me -- 16-5 (5)

37. Brian Latimer -- Belton, Sc -- 16-3 (5)

38. Jeff Sprague -- Point, Tx -- 16-2 (5)

39. Marc Evans -- Angola, In -- 16-2 (5)

40. Glenn Chappelear -- Acworth, Ga -- 16-2 (5)

41. Matthew Stefan -- Junction City, Wi -- 16-2 (5)

42. JT Kenney -- Palm Bay, Fl -- 16-2 (5)

43. Braxton Setzer -- Montgomery, Al -- 16-2 (5)

44. Bryan Thrift -- Shelby, Nc -- 16-2 (5)

45. Jim Tutt -- Longview, Tx -- 16-1 (5)

46. Jimmy Reese -- Witter Springs, Ca -- 16-0 (5)

47. Jim Jones -- Big Bend, Wi -- 15-15 (5)

48. Austin Terry -- San Angelo, Tx -- 15-14 (5)

49. Rusty Trancygier -- Hahira, Ga -- 15-13 (5)

50. Clayton Batts -- Macon, Ga -- 15-13 (5)

51. Terry Bolton -- Paducah, Ky -- 15-12 (5)

52. Charlie Weyer -- West Hills, Ca -- 15-12 (5)

53. George Kapiton -- Inverness, Fl -- 15-11 (5)

54. Powell Kemp -- Scotland Neck, Nc -- 15-11 (5)

55. Zack Birge -- Blanchard, Ok -- 15-11 (5)

56. Brandon Mcmillan -- Clewiston, Fl -- 15-11 (5)

57. Jeff Gustafson -- Keewatin, On -- 15-10 (5)

58. Darrell Davis -- Dover, Fl -- 15-10 (5)

59. Gene Eisenmann -- Frisco, Tx -- 15-10 (5)

60. Michael Neal -- Dayton, Tn -- 15-10 (5)

61. Darrel Robertson -- Jay, Ok -- 15-10 (5)

62. Kurt Dove -- Del Rio, Tx -- 15-10 (5)

63. Chris Neau -- New Orleans, La -- 15-9 (5)

64. Jim Dillard -- West Monroe, La -- 15-9 (5)

65. Joshua Weaver -- Macon, Ga -- 15-8 (5)

66. Cory Johnston -- Cavan, On -- 15-8 (5)

67. Scott Suggs -- Alexander, Ar -- 15-8 (5)

68. Jay Kendrick -- Grant, Al -- 15-8 (5)

69. Christopher Brasher -- Longview, Tx -- 15-7 (5)

70. Brandon Cobb -- Greenwood, Sc -- 15-5 (5)

71. Richie Eaves -- Nauvoo, Il -- 15-4 (5)

72. Lendell Martin Jr -- Nacogdoches, Tx -- 15-4 (5)

73. Travis Fox -- Rogers, Ar -- 15-4 (5)

74. John Voyles -- Petersburg, In -- 15-3 (5)

75. Matt Greenblatt -- Port St Lucie, Fl -- 15-3 (5)

76. Tracy Adams -- Wilkesboro, Nc -- 15-1 (5)

77. Jonathan Newton -- Rogersville, Al -- 15-1 (5)

78. Luke Dunkin -- Lawrenceburg, Tn -- 14-15 (5)

79. Jay Yelas -- Corvallis, Or -- 14-15 (5)

80. Bradley Hallman -- Norman, Ok -- 14-15 (5)

81. Gary Yamamoto -- Palestine, Tx -- 14-13 (5)

82. Jimmy Brewer -- Marshall, Tx -- 14-13 (5)

83. Todd Hollowell -- Fishers, In -- 14-13 (5)

84. Kenneth (Boo) Woods -- London, Ky -- 14-11 (5)

85. Troy Gibson -- Mountain Home, Ar -- 14-11 (5)

86. Zell Rowland -- Montgomery, Tx -- 14-10 (5)

87. Jason Reyes -- Huffman, Tx -- 14-10 (5)

88. David Smith -- Del City, Ok -- 14-9 (5)

89. Andrew Upshaw -- Sapulpa, Ok -- 14-8 (5)

90. Shirley Crain -- Fort Smith, Ar -- 14-8 (5)

91. Tim Frederick -- Leesburg, Fl -- 14-7 (5)

92. Kurt Mitchell -- Milford, De -- 14-7 (5)

93. Chase Brooks -- Iraan, Tx -- 14-7 (5)

94. Tommy Dickerson -- Orange, Tx -- 14-6 (5)

95. Shawn Murphy -- Nicholasville, Ky -- 14-4 (5)

96. Tim Malone -- Gatlinburg, Tn -- 14-4 (5)

97. Sven Hilland -- Sanford, Fl -- 14-3 (5)

98. Mike Kernan -- Wylie, Tx -- 14-3 (5)

99. Timmy Thompkins -- Myrtle Beach, Sc -- 14-3 (5)

100. Bob Morin -- Seymour, Tn -- 14-2 (5)

101. John Devere -- Berea, Ky -- 14-1 (5)

102. Andy Young -- Mound, Mn -- 14-1 (5)

103. Jason Abram -- Piney Flats, Tn -- 14-1 (5)

104. Peter Thliveros -- Saint Augustine, Fl -- 14-0 (5)

105. James Watson -- Nixa, Mo -- 14-0 (5)

106. John Cox -- Debary, Fl -- 13-14 (5)

107. Ryan Chandler -- Hebron, In -- 13-13 (5)

108. Kerry Milner -- Bono, Ar -- 13-12 (5)

109. Troy Morrow -- Eastanollee, Ga -- 13-12 (5)

110. Larry Nixon -- Bee Branch, Ar -- 13-11 (5)

111. Shane Lehew -- Mooresville, Nc -- 13-11 (5)

112. David Fritts -- Lexington, Nc -- 13-11 (5)

113. Mike Boyles -- Kimberling City, Mo -- 13-10 (5)

114. Tony Davis -- Williston, Fl -- 13-9 (5)

115. Tom Monsoor -- La Crosse, Wi -- 13-9 (5)

116. Richard Lowitzki -- Hampshire, Il -- 13-9 (5)

117. Daryl Biron -- South Windsor, Ct -- 13-7 (5)

118. Jason Lambert -- Pickwick Dam, Tn -- 13-6 (5)

119. Tom Redington -- Royse City, Tx -- 13-3 (5)

120. Eric Jackson -- Walling, Tn -- 13-3 (5)

121. Brad Knight -- Lancing, Tn -- 13-1 (5)

122. Terry Segraves -- Kissimmee, Fl -- 13-1 (5)

123. Scott Wiley -- Bay Minette, Al -- 13-0 (5)

124. James Stricklin Jr -- Fort Smith, Ar -- 12-15 (5)

125. Mike Surman -- Boca Raton, Fl -- 12-15 (5)

126. Jamie Horton -- Centerville, Al -- 12-15 (5)

127. William (Billy) Shelton III -- La Crosse, Va -- 12-14 (5)

128. Drew Montgomery -- Maiden, Nc -- 12-14 (5)

129. Brandon Hunter -- Benton, Ky -- 12-13 (5)

130. Jayme Rampey -- Liberty, Sc -- 12-13 (5)

131. Randy Haynes -- Counce, Tn -- 12-11 (5)

132. Cody Kelley -- Conway, Ar -- 12-11 (4)

133. Blake Smith -- Lakeland, Fl -- 12-10 (5)

134. Charlie Evans -- Berea, Ky -- 12-5 (5)

135. Shane Melton -- Kokomo, In -- 12-5 (5)

136. Dalton Cooksey -- New Concord, Ky -- 12-4 (5)

137. Bill Terrell -- Memphis, Tn -- 12-3 (5)

138. Randy Blaukat -- Joplin, Mo -- 11-14 (5)

139. Ramie Colson Jr -- Cadiz, Ky -- 11-11 (5)

140. Buddy Gross -- Ringgold, Ga -- 11-10 (5)

141. Jerry Lawler -- Athens, Al -- 11-8 (5)

142. Craig Livesay -- Johnson City, Tn -- 11-5 (5)

143. Rex Huff -- Corbin, Ky -- 11-2 (5)

144. Scott Ashmore -- Broken Arrow, Ok -- 11-1 (5)

145. Kevin Johnson -- Surprise, Az -- 10-15 (5)

146. Shawn Gordon -- Russellville, Ar -- 10-13 (5)

147. Troy Broussard -- Beaumont, Tx -- 10-12 (5)

148. Chris Whitson -- Louisville, Tn -- 10-8 (5)

149. Michael Hall -- Annandale, Va -- 10-8 (5)

150. Jimmy Houston -- Cookson, Ok -- 10-6 (5)

151. Bill McDonald -- Greenwood, In -- 10-6 (5)

152. Nick Gainey -- Charleston, Sc -- 10-2 (5)

153. Matt Wittekiend -- Angleton, Tx -- 9-13 (5)

154. Charlie Ingram -- Centerville, Tn -- 9-12 (5)

155. Keith Amerson -- Selmer, Tn -- 9-9 (5)

156. Jordan Osborne -- Longview, Tx -- 9-0 (5)

157. Harry Moore -- Valley, Al -- 7-6 (3)

158. Glenn Browne -- Ocala, Fl -- 6-13 (4)

159. Stephen Patek -- Dallas, Tx -- 5-8 (3)

160. Larry Schroeder -- Clayton, Oh -- 0-0 (5)

Big Bass

> Day 1: Chris Johnston -- 5-13 -- $500