By BassFan Staff
North vs. South.
That's what the Lake Champlain FLW Tour will come down to on the final day. Leader Scott Martin and 4th-place David Dudley, both former winners at the venue, will go up-lake to Missisquoi Bay when day 4 gets under way Sunday, while the other three members of the Top 5 will travel 60-plus miles down to largemouth-laden Ticonderoga. That long ride may be tougher than it's been all week, as the forecast predicts double-digit winds for the first time in the event.
Martin, who's seeking his third Champlain triumph, will start the day with a 2-03 advantage. He boxed 16-05 on Saturday to give him a 3-day total of 58-10.
Bryan Schmitt remained in the No. 2 slot with 56-07 after catching 17-11 on day 3. Jason Meninger moved up three places to 3rd after a day-best 19-06 haul gave him a 55-15 aggregate.
Dudley stayed put in 4th with 55-09 (17-03 on day 3) and Canada's Chris Johnston, who clinched the circuit's Rookie of the Year title on Friday, completed the Top 5 with 53-13 (15-04).
Here are the totals for the 10 anglers who advanced to the final day, with red numbers in parentheses indicating their deficit margins from the leader:
1. Scott Martin: 58-10
2. Bryan Schmitt: 56-07 (2-03)
3. Jason Meninger: 55-15 (2-11)
4. David Dudley: 55-09 (3-01)
5. Chris Johnston: 53-13 (4-13)
6. Austin Felix: 53-11 (4-15)
7. Shinichi Fukae: 52-06 (6-04)
8. Cody Meyer: 52-01 (6-09)
9. Stetson Blaylock: 51-12 (6-14)
10. Bryan Thrift: 51-01 (7-09)
Weights fell off a bit today as there were no 20-pound stringers and just one in excess of 18. Seven competitors caught 18 or more on day 2.
Weekend recreational traffic was likely a factor in the slower bite. Also, the number of visible bedding smallmouth in excess of 3 pounds in the north-central part of the lake is dwindling each day.
Martin caught four of his day-3 weigh-in fish off of beds.
There was only one change in the Top 10 on day 3 – Angler of the Year Andy Morgan dropped out, falling from 10th to 13th with a 16-14 stringer, and fellow east Tennessean Wesley Strader moved up from 13th to 10th with a 17-01 haul.
The WeatherChannel.com forecast predicts a sunny final day with the mercury topping out at 89 degrees (the highest of the week). The wind will come from the south/southeast at a projected 10 mph, but it'll undoubtedly be more forceful than that on the water.
Martin Lost Some Time
> Day 3: 5, 16-05 (15, 58-10)
Martin fished for only 10 minutes in the morning before having to make the 45-minute run back to the launch in Plattsburgh, N.Y. due to a mechanical issue. After swapping out boats, he fished around that area before eventually making his way back to Missisquoi for the final hour.
"I survived another day, so all is good," he said. "They're not biting that great up there – it's kind of going away. It could turn back on tomorrow if we get a little bit different weather, but for the most part it's not great. I think it'll still be good for two or three decent largemouth bites, though.
"I've still got some smallmouth on the beds and some fishing smallmouth as well. I'll have to do some of all of it because I'm going to need to come in with a 19- or 20-pound bag tomorrow."
Bryan Schmitt's bag got a big boost from a fish he caught on his final cast.
He caught about a dozen keepers for the day. He looked at four of the fish he brought to the scale and his repertoire also includes flipping and throwing a frog, a jig and a crankbait.
"I'm just going to go out and try to catch a big bag. If it's God's will for me to do that, then I can't be beat. Otherwise I'll finish right where I'm supposed to."
2nd: Late Cull Aided Schmidt
> Day 3: 5, 17-11 (15, 56-07)
Schmitt salvaged several places on the leaderboard by catching a 5-pounder on his final cast of the day. It came from a place he'd relocated to just prior to heading for the ramp.
"I got lucky there at the end," he said. "It was a lot different today – it was a lot tougher, and I have no explanation as to why.
"I'm going to go back down there tomorrow and keep doing what I've been doing. Anything could happen. (The right fish are) there, but I could come back with 14 pounds or it could be 22."
He went through 15 keepers and his final fish was the biggest. He busted off one good fish.
"I lost one that was close to 4 when it broke the line on the hookset on frog. I got a good look at it – it jumped about five times next to the boat, trying to get rid of the frog.
"Today was a lot of flipping and throwing a swimjig. Very few of them wanted to eat the frog today."
3rd: Meninger Must Execute
> Day 3: 5, 19-06 (15, 56-07)
Meninger thinks he'll have a shot at claiming his first Tour-level win if he can catch a final-day bag from Ticonderoga that's in the ballpark of his day-3 haul.
"I'm guessing that the area I'm in will hold up, but you never know," he said. "The weights I caught the first day (19-02) and today were very similar and I'm catching the kind of fish that are 3 3/4 to 4 3/4 and maybe 5 (pounds). But if I don't execute, I could have a day like I had the second day (17-07), when I broke off one and had two pull off."
He's doing all of his damage with a flipping stick, throwing creature baits and Z-Man finesse worms. He went through about a dozen keepers and a 5-pounder topped his stringer.
"It's a fairly big area that I'm fishing and it has some scattered milfoil and some rocks and a few points. I'm flipping the milfoil line and today it seemed like they were in the thicker grass."
Jason Meninger caught his second 19-pound-plus bag of the event on day 3.
He said the wind could play a role in how his final day unfolds.
"It shouldn't affect the fishing much, but it concerns me a little bit for the run. I'll have to give myself at least 2 hours to get back, so I might lose a little fishing time.
"If I'm fishing by 8 o'clock and I've got until noon or 12:30, I should get the bites. It'll just be a matter of whether I execute."
4th: Dudley Gains Some Ground
> Day 3: 5, 17-03 (15, 55-09)
Dudley gained about a pound on Martin today and now feels better about his chances.
"I actually think it's in reach," he said. "There haven't been a lot of 20-pound bags, but there's been quite a few knocking around 19. (Martin) could catch low 16 like he did today and I could catch high 19, so I say it's doable."
He handled about 15 keepers and weighed three largemouths and two smallmouths. A 3 3/4-pound green fish was his biggest specimen.
"I caught a few pitching a crawdad to them, I plucked some off the beds and I flipped up some largemouths. None of them were great – just decent-quality fish. I checked some smallmouths I had marked and I probably looked at another 16 pounds on beds.
"The wind's supposed to blow tomorrow and I'm fighting in my head whether I should go to the smallmouths first and then the largmouths, or the other way around. I'll probably end up going for the largemouths."
5th: Johnston's Weights Back-Sliding
> Day 3: 5, 15-04 (15, 53-13)
Johnston has been fishing in the northern part of the lake, but his weights have been dropping by multiple pounds each day. That'll cause him to head in the other direction on the final day.
His program has consisted primarily of sight-fishing for post-spawn cruisers, but he couldn't ply it for long on day 3.
"Some of the places I fished were high-traffic areas and the waves were pounding up against the bank," he said. "By 10 o'clock, I couldn't see them anymore.
"Tomorrow I'll just change everything and go to Ti. I didn't practice down there, but I've fished there every other time I've been here. My brother (Cory) practiced down there and checked the spots I like, and he told me what's good and what isn't."
In addition to trying to win the event, he has some extra incentive. He needs to stay seven places ahead of Jacob Wheeler (who finished 14th) in order to claim the Ranger Cup championship and win a boat and motor.
"I figure if I have a great day up north I could catch 17 pounds with the fish I have left, and I'm going to need more than that (to make a run at Martin)."
He got 20 keeper bites on day 3, but none quite reached the 4-pound mark.
"The biggest one I had, I watched him eat my Senko. I saw four or five other fish that were between 3 and 5 pounds, so there's still some there, but they're hard to catch."
Notable
> Day 3 stats – 20 anglers, 20 limits.
> Strader and Bryan Thrift tied for today's final cut position with 51-01, but Strader advanced due to a higher placement after day 2 (14th vs. 20th).
Weather Forecast
> Sun., June 26 – Sunny - 89°/66°
- Wind: From the SSE at 10 mph
Day 3 Standings
1. Scott Martin -- Clewiston, Fl -- 22-5 (5) -- 20-0 (5) -- 42-5 (10) -- 16-5 (5) -- 58-10 (15)
2. Bryan Schmitt -- Deale, Md -- 17-7 (5) -- 21-5 (5) -- 38-12 (10) -- 17-11 (5) -- 56-7 (15)
3. Jason Meninger -- Gainesville, Ga -- 19-2 (5) -- 17-7 (5) -- 36-9 (10) -- 19-6 (5) -- 55-15 (15)
4. David Dudley -- Lynchburg, Va -- 19-13 (5) -- 18-9 (5) -- 38-6 (10) -- 17-3 (5) -- 55-9 (15)
5. Chris Johnston -- Peterborough, On -- 21-2 (5) -- 17-7 (5) -- 38-9 (10) -- 15-4 (5) -- 53-13 (15)
6. Austin Felix -- Eden Prairie, Mn -- 18-2 (5) -- 18-4 (5) -- 36-6 (10) -- 17-5 (5) -- 53-11 (15)
7. Shinichi Fukae -- Palestine, Tx -- 16-6 (5) -- 18-11 (5) -- 35-1 (10) -- 17-5 (5) -- 52-6 (15)
8. Cody Meyer -- Auburn, Ca -- 18-14 (5) -- 18-3 (5) -- 37-1 (10) -- 15-0 (5) -- 52-1 (15)
9. Stetson Blaylock -- Benton, Ar -- 18-3 (5) -- 18-4 (5) -- 36-7 (10) -- 15-5 (5) -- 51-12 (15)
10. Wesley Strader -- Spring City, Tn -- 18-0 (5) -- 16-8 (5) -- 34-8 (10) -- 16-9 (5) -- 51-1 (15)
The following anglers did not make the cut and will not fish on day 4.
11. Bryan Thrift -- Shelby, NC -- 16-2 (5) -- 17-14 (5) -- 34-0 (10) -- 17-1 (5) -- 51-1 (15) -- $12,000
12. Braxton Setzer -- Montgomery, Al -- 16-2 (5) -- 18-9 (5) -- 34-11 (10) -- 16-4 (5) -- 50-15 (15) -- $12,000
13. Andy Morgan -- Dayton, Tn -- 18-2 (5) -- 16-14 (5) -- 35-0 (10) -- 15-8 (5) -- 50-8 (15) -- $12,000
14. Jacob Wheeler -- Indianapolis, In -- 17-13 (5) -- 16-6 (5) -- 34-3 (10) -- 15-15 (5) -- 50-2 (15) -- $12,000
15. Clark Wendlandt -- Leander, Tx -- 17-8 (5) -- 16-8 (5) -- 34-0 (10) -- 15-13 (5) -- 49-13 (15) -- $12,000
16. Scott Canterbury -- Springville, Al -- 16-13 (5) -- 17-3 (5) -- 34-0 (10) -- 15-11 (5) -- 49-11 (15) -- $12,000
17. Terry Bolton -- Paducah, Ky -- 15-12 (5) -- 18-13 (5) -- 34-9 (10) -- 15-0 (5) -- 49-9 (15) -- $12,000
18. Curtis Richardson -- Belleville, On -- 18-12 (5) -- 15-6 (5) -- 34-2 (10) -- 15-7 (5) -- 49-9 (15) -- $12,000
19. Jason Johnson -- Gainesville, Ga -- 18-4 (5) -- 16-6 (5) -- 34-10 (10) -- 14-7 (5) -- 49-1 (15) -- $12,000
20. Mike Kernan -- Wylie, Tx -- 14-3 (5) -- 19-13 (5) -- 34-0 (10) -- 12-0 (5) -- 46-0 (15) -- $12,000
