Leaders Go Green On Day 1 At Champlain

By Sean Ostruszka
Special to BassFan

Rumor had it in practice that Lake Champlain’s smallmouth were in a bit of a funk and that largemouth might really come into play. Looks like the rumors were true and might’ve even been understated.

Sure, the majority of the big bags weighed in on day one of the FLW Tour’s season finale were comprised of spawning smallies, but the top of the leaderboard was dominated by green fish. Both leader Tyler Stewart and 2nd-place Tom Redington went all in on largemouth, with nine of the 10 keepers they weighed in being green. Stewart caught a fluke smallmouth on his way back in that barely culled out his smallest largemouth.

Champlain is notorious for tight weights, but Stewart has opened up a near 2-pound lead thanks to his 22-03 bag, with a big part of that being a 5-09 kicker.

Meanwhile, Redington is tied with John Voyles for 2nd, as both weighed in 20-07 bags. Yet, like the other two top guys, Voyles didn’t follow the norm. Yes, he chased brown fish, but opted to focus on staging smallies as opposed to spawners. Oh, and he weighed in a 4-pound largemouth he caught just before weigh-in.

Casey Scanlon was the only other pro to crack 20 pounds, hitting that mark on the nose. He also marks where the weights really start to bunch up, as 11 ounces separate him from Kurt Dove in 10th with 19-05.

Between them is Kurt Mitchell (19-15), Hensley Powell (19-14), Daryl Biron (19-12), Jeff Dobson (19-09) and Tommy Dickerson (19-08).

The majority of those guys all had bags mainly comprised of smallmouth, but for at least one day, largemouth ruled at Champlain, thanks in large part to Stewart.

“Today was awesome,” the young Louisiana pro said. “It didn’t start out that good. On my way down I hit a yacht wave and I broke off my front graph and messed up my Power-Pole mount. Once I got down [to the Ticonderoga area] and settled down, it happened pretty quick. I was back up here by 11 a.m.”

The area known as “Ti” has long been regarded as the best largemouth area on the lake, but it’s also known as one of the riskiest. It’s at least an hour run down to the very south end of the lake from takeoff in Plattsburgh, and that can be much longer and rougher if the wind blows.

Hence, despite getting a few quality bites down there the first day of practice, Stewart still dedicated his entire second day of practice to smallmouth.

“I told myself I’d only come back [to Ticonderoga] if I didn’t get on anything with a smallmouth deal,” Stewart said. “Sure enough, I didn’t get on anything. So day 3 of practice, I went back down there and tried to figure it out a little more. I got a few more bites and that’s what I ran with today.”

Needless to say, Stewart will continue to buck the trend that you can’t win on Champlain focusing on largemouths.

“I’m just hoping tomorrow I can get back down there and get seven to 10 more good, quality bites,” he said. “If you see me tomorrow with brown fish in my bag, either I got in a bind or I got lucky again on my way back in.”

Redington knows he may have to eventually make the switch to smallmouth depending on how the tournament progresses, but for right now, he’s focusing on largemouth because he feels his bite is only getting better.

He doesn’t want to say where he’s targeting the green fish – “I’m just fishing shallow” – with a big reason being that catching them has been quite the grind.

“I’m not on a lure or even location pattern,” Redington admits. “There’s just a lot of dead water, and you have to fish around a lot. Then, all of a sudden, you’ll get in an area and be like, ‘oh, they’re spawning here,’ or ‘oh, there’s a lot of fry here. I’m catching fry-guarders.’”

All told, he figures he caught 25 fish, but only eight of them were keepers, including a pair of 4 1/2-pounders. That lack of quantity, mixed with the hour-plus run, has him keeping his options open.

“The biggest thing for me is just getting keeper bites,” Redington said. “Trying to do that four days in a row with the fishing being so ding-dong might be tough to sustain. So, I’ll just have to adapt.”

Voyles also had to do a little adapting of his own.

After his starting spot produced little to write home about, he made a move to a staging spot north of Platssburgh where he’d caught some 3-pound smallies in practice that were grouped up. Sure enough, he managed a few right when he pulled up, and then he made an alteration.

“I made a little bait change and I went to wailing on them,” Voyles said. “I caught pretty much everything I weighed in in about an hour. I was probably done by noon.

“Needless to say, I’m excited to get back out there tomorrow.”

AOY Update

David Dudley is hoping for a repeat of 2012, when he won both the FLW Tour event on Champlain and the Angler of the Year title at the same time. Well, he put himself in prime position to do it on day 1.

Coming into the tournament, he was one point behind John Cox. But his 19-03 bag has him tied for 11th, jumping him 20 points ahead of Cox, who is currently tied for 32nd with 17-06. Remarkably, Buddy Gross is tied with Cox, and he was third in AOY points coming into the event, thus still giving him a shot at the title if both pros ahead of him slip up tomorrow or over the weekend.

Notable

> Day 1 stats – 163 anglers, 157 limits, 1 four, 5 threes, 1 zero.

Weather Forecast

> Fri., June 28 – Mostly Cloudy - 83°/65°
- Wind: From the SE at 7 mph

> Sat., June 29 – Scattered Thunderstorms - 79°/61°
- Wind: From the WSW at 10 mph

> Sun., June 30 – Scattered Thunderstorms - 72°/61°
- Wind: From the NNW at 13 mph

Day 1 Standings

1. Tyler Stewart -- West Monroe, La -- 22-3 (5)

2. John Voyles -- Petersburg, In -- 20-7 (5)

2. Tom Redington -- Royse City, Tx -- 20-7 (5)

4. Casey Scanlon -- Lake Ozark, Mo -- 20-0 (5)

5. Kurt Mitchell -- Milford, De -- 19-15 (5)

6. Hensley Powell -- Whitwell, Tn -- 19-14 (5)

7. Daryl Biron -- South Windsor, Ct -- 19-12 (5)

8. Jeff Dobson -- Bartlesville, Ok -- 19-9 (5)

9. Tommy Dickerson -- Orange, Tx -- 19-8 (5)

10. Kurt Dove -- Del Rio, Tx -- 19-5 (5)

11. Chad Warren -- Sand Springs, Ok -- 19-3 (5)

11. David Dudley -- Lynchburg, Va -- 19-3 (5)

13. Austin Felix -- Eden Prairie, Mn -- 19-0 (5)

14. Shawn Murphy -- Nicholasville, Ky -- 18-14 (5)

15. Evan Barnes -- Hot Springs, Ar -- 18-11 (5)

16. AJ Slegona -- Pine Bush, NY -- 18-10 (5)

17. Bryan Thrift -- Shelby, NC -- 18-9 (5)

18. Derrick Snavely -- Piney Flats, Tn -- 18-8 (5)

18. Scott Martin -- Clewiston, Fl -- 18-8 (5)

20. Ron Nelson -- Berrien Springs, Mi -- 18-7 (5)

21. Nick Lebrun -- Bossier City, La -- 18-6 (5)

22. Matt Becker -- Finleyville, Pa -- 18-5 (5)

23. Ryan Salzman -- Huntsville, Al -- 18-4 (5)

24. Joel Willert -- Prior Lake, Mn -- 18-2 (5)

25. Joseph Webster -- Winfield, Al -- 18-0 (5)

25. Dakota Ebare -- Denham Springs, La -- 18-0 (5)

27. John Hunter -- Shelbyville, Ky -- 17-13 (5)

28. Christopher Brasher -- Longview, Tx -- 17-10 (5)

28. Bryan Schmitt -- Deale, Md -- 17-10 (5)

30. Brian Latimer -- Belton, SC -- 17-9 (5)

31. Andy Young -- Isle, Mn -- 17-7 (5)

32. Eric Jackson -- Walling, Tn -- 17-6 (5)

32. Bradley Dortch -- Atmore, Al -- 17-6 (5)

32. John Cox -- Debary, Fl -- 17-6 (5)

32. Buddy Gross -- Chickamauga, Ga -- 17-6 (5)

36. Terry Bolton -- Benton, Ky -- 17-3 (5)

37. Hunter Freeman -- Monroe, La -- 17-2 (5)

38. Jared McMillan -- Belle Glade, Fl -- 17-1 (5)

39. Matthew Stefan -- Junction City, Wi -- 16-15 (5)

39. Matt Greenblatt -- Port St Lucie, Fl -- 16-15 (5)

41. Tim Cales -- Sandstone, WV -- 16-14 (5)

41. Cody Murray -- Nampa, Id -- 16-14 (5)

41. Jacob Wall -- Jacksonville, Or -- 16-14 (5)

44. Joshua Weaver -- Macon, Ga -- 16-12 (5)

44. Charles Sim -- Nepean, On -- 16-12 (5)

46. Greg Bohannan -- Bentonville, Ar -- 16-11 (5)

47. Brad Knight -- Lancing, Tn -- 16-10 (5)

48. Troy Morrow -- Eastanollee, Ga -- 16-9 (5)

48. Brandon Mosley -- Choctaw, Ok -- 16-9 (5)

50. Scott Wiley -- Bay Minette, Al -- 16-7 (5)

51. Bradford Beavers -- Summerville, SC -- 16-6 (5)

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

52. Pete Ponds -- Madison, Ms -- 16-5 (5)

54. Brandon McMillan -- Clewiston, Fl -- 16-4 (5)

54. Charlie Evans -- Berea, Ky -- 16-4 (5)

56. Dylan Hays -- El Dorado, Ar -- 16-2 (5)

57. Josh Douglas -- Isle, Mn -- 16-1 (5)

58. Drew Ratley -- Shreveport, La -- 16-0 (5)

58. Jim Moynagh -- Carver, Mn -- 16-0 (5)

60. Cody Kelley -- Conway, Ar -- 15-14 (5)

60. Clark Reehm -- Elm Grove, La -- 15-14 (5)

60. Dicky Newberry -- Houston, Tx -- 15-14 (5)

60. Rob Jordan -- Flowery Branch, Ga -- 15-14 (5)

60. Wade Strelic -- Alpine, Ca -- 15-14 (5)

65. Larry Nixon -- Quitman, Ar -- 15-13 (5)

65. Robert Case -- Point, Tx -- 15-13 (5)

65. Kyle Weisenburger -- Columbus Grove, Oh -- 15-13 (5)

65. Braxton Setzer -- Wetumpka, Al -- 15-13 (5)

69. Bill McDonald -- Greenwood, In -- 15-12 (5)

69. Blake Smith -- Lakeland, Fl -- 15-12 (5)

69. Billy Hines -- Vacaville, Ca -- 15-12 (5)

72. Mike Surman -- Boca Raton, Fl -- 15-11 (5)

73. Grae Buck -- Harleysville, Pa -- 15-10 (5)

73. Jason Meninger -- Saint Augustine, Fl -- 15-10 (5)

75. Troy Roder -- Brookeland, Tx -- 15-8 (5)

75. Curtis Richardson -- Belleville, On -- 15-8 (5)

77. Miles Howe -- San Juan Capistrano, Ca -- 15-7 (5)

77. Darrel Robertson -- Jay, Ok -- 15-7 (5)

77. Matt Reed -- Madisonville, Tx -- 15-7 (5)

80. Chad Grigsby -- Maple Grove, Mn -- 15-6 (5)

80. Zell Rowland -- Montgomery, Tx -- 15-6 (5)

82. Andy Wicker -- Pomaria, SC -- 15-5 (5)

83. Matt Wittekiend -- Angleton, Tx -- 15-4 (5)

83. Scott Ashmore -- Broken Arrow, Ok -- 15-4 (5)

83. Joey Cifuentes -- Clinton, Ar -- 15-4 (5)

86. Chris McCall -- Palmer, Tx -- 15-3 (5)

87. Sheldon Collings -- Grove, Ok -- 15-2 (5)

87. Jason Abram -- Piney Flats, Tn -- 15-2 (5)

87. J Todd Tucker -- Moultrie, Ga -- 15-2 (5)

90. David Gaston -- Sylacauga, Al -- 14-15 (5)

91. Chuck Medley -- Owens Cross Roads, Al -- 14-13 (5)

91. Tim Frederick -- Leesburg, Fl -- 14-13 (5)

93. Richard Lowitzki -- Hampshire, Il -- 14-12 (5)

93. Todd Castledine -- Nacogdoches, Tx -- 14-12 (5)

93. Mark Fisher -- Wauconda, Il -- 14-12 (5)

96. Gary Yamamoto -- Palestine, Tx -- 14-11 (5)

96. Clayton Batts -- Butler, Ga -- 14-11 (5)

98. Ramie Colson Jr -- Cadiz, Ky -- 14-9 (5)

98. Randy Despino -- Colfax, La -- 14-9 (5)

100. Corey Neece -- Bristol, Tn -- 14-7 (5)

100. Bradley Hallman -- Norman, Ok -- 14-7 (5)

100. Craig Rozema -- Simpsonville, SC -- 14-7 (5)

100. James Niggemeyer -- Van, Tx -- 14-7 (5)

104. David Williams -- Maiden, NC -- 14-6 (5)

104. Kyle Cortiana -- Coweta, Ok -- 14-6 (5)

104. Chris Neau -- New Orleans, La -- 14-6 (5)

107. Jim Tutt -- Longview, Tx -- 14-5 (5)

107. Rusty Trancygier -- Hahira, Ga -- 14-5 (5)

107. Kerry Milner -- Bono, Ar -- 14-5 (5)

110. Lendell Martin Jr -- Nacogdoches, Tx -- 14-4 (5)

110. Charlie Ingram -- Centerville, Tn -- 14-4 (5)

110. Jim Jones -- Big Bend, Wi -- 14-4 (5)

110. Jamie Horton -- Centerville, Al -- 14-4 (5)

110. Bill Hutchison -- Bessemer, Al -- 14-4 (5)

115. Nick Gainey -- Charleston, SC -- 14-3 (5)

115. Robert Behrle -- Hoover, Al -- 14-3 (5)

115. Jeremy Lawyer -- Sarcoxie, Mo -- 14-3 (5)

115. Jason Reyes -- Huffman, Tx -- 14-3 (5)

119. Marty Lawrence -- Mesa, Az -- 14-1 (5)

120. Jonathan Canada -- Helena, Al -- 13-15 (5)

120. Bailey Boutries -- Daphne, Al -- 13-15 (5)

122. Wes Logan -- Springville, Al -- 13-14 (5)

122. Timmy Thompkins -- Myrtle Beach, SC -- 13-14 (5)

124. Andrew Upshaw -- Tulsa, Ok -- 13-13 (5)

125. Ryan Chandler -- Hebron, In -- 13-12 (5)

125. Johnny McCombs -- Morris, Al -- 13-12 (5)

127. Billy McCaghren -- Mayflower, Ar -- 13-11 (5)

128. Derek Fulps -- Broken Arrow, Ok -- 13-10 (5)

128. Glenn Chappelear -- Acworth, Ga -- 13-10 (5)

130. Aaron Britt -- Yuba City, Ca -- 13-9 (5)

130. Rex Huff -- Corbin, Ky -- 13-9 (5)

130. Alex Davis -- , Al -- 13-9 (5)

133. Chad Randles -- Elkhorn, Ne -- 13-8 (5)

134. Cody Hahner -- Wausau, Wi -- 13-7 (5)

135. Chris Whitson -- Louisville, Tn -- 13-6 (5)

135. Jordan Osborne -- Longview, Tx -- 13-6 (5)

135. Jimmy Brewer -- Marshall, Tx -- 13-6 (5)

138. Russell Cecil -- Willis, Tx -- 13-2 (5)

139. Tim Malone -- Kodak, Tn -- 13-1 (5)

140. Austin Wilson -- Citrus Heights, Ca -- 13-0 (5)

140. Sam George -- Athens, Al -- 13-0 (5)

142. Colby Schrumpf -- Highland, Il -- 12-15 (4)

143. Randy Blaukat -- Joplin, Mo -- 12-14 (5)

144. Rex Jaeger -- Hamilton, Oh -- 12-10 (5)

144. Chip Harrington -- Olathe, Ks -- 12-10 (5)

146. Darrell Davis -- Dover, Fl -- 12-9 (5)

146. David Wootton -- Collierville, Tn -- 12-9 (5)

146. Miles Burghoff -- Hixson, Tn -- 12-9 (5)

146. Jimmy Reese -- Witter Springs, Ca -- 12-9 (5)

150. Tom Monsoor -- La Crosse, Wi -- 12-6 (5)

151. Bob Morin -- Seymour, Tn -- 12-4 (5)

152. Randy Allen -- Gilliam, La -- 12-2 (5)

152. Barry Wilson -- Birmingham, Al -- 12-2 (5)

152. Chuck Stratton -- Chaffee, Mo -- 12-2 (5)

155. Jon Englund -- Farwell, Mn -- 12-1 (5)

156. Ron Farrow -- Rock Hill, SC -- 11-9 (5)

157. Tyler Woolcott -- Port Orange, Fl -- 11-7 (5)

158. Alton Wilhoit -- Noble, Ok -- 11-2 (5)

159. Luke Dunkin -- Lawrenceburg, Tn -- 8-5 (3)

159. Jay Kendrick -- Grant, Al -- 8-5 (3)

161. Kevin Finley -- Phoenix, Az -- 7-2 (3)

162. Jimmy Houston -- Cookson, Ok -- 6-8 (3)

163. Harry Moore -- Valley, Al -- 4-13 (3)

Brant Grimm -- Church Hill, Tn -- 0-0 (0)