Canadians Sim 21st & Richardson 86th
by Curtis Niedermier
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| Big largemouth key to lead for Stewart! (Photo: FLW) |
Tyler Stewart’s day-one limit of
more than 22 pounds set the bar sky high on Lake Champlain for this week’s FLW
Tour event, which is presented by T-H Marine. That’s not an easy mark to match,
and today Stewart’s performance was a little more on par with the rest of his
competition. He hauled in five largemouths that totaled 17 pounds, 14 ounces.
Stewart
is still in the lead going into the top-30 round, but John Voyles, who’s
fishing for smallmouths, is only 1 pound, 5 ounce behind him.
For
two days, Stewart has made the long run down to Champlain’s famed southern
waters near Ticonderoga to target plump largemouths that are in the midst of a
postspawn feeding binge. The difference in yesterday and today was that Stewart
weighed in one less 4-pound-class largemouth and didn’t have time to try and
pick off a bonus smallmouth like he did on Thursday. He also had a bit more
company in his area.
He
had to resort to fishing some of the “juice” he was saving for later in the
tournament.
“It
started off good this morning. I pulled up at the first place I stopped and
caught one close to 4 pounds,” he recalls. “I jumped around a little bit and
caught a few fish here and there, some 2 3/4s, then ended up catching a 4 1/2
around 10 o’clock. I had probably 16 pounds at that point. I culled a few more
times by ounces. Then right at the end of the day I caught another one about 4
pounds.”
Stewart
is catching his fish flipping plastics around a few different cover types. He
has a couple of key areas, but is also running and gunning a little bit and
fishing whatever fits his pattern. He ran new water today, but also spent part
of the day playing defense on his best stretches.
Looking
ahead to the weekend, clouds and rain are in the forecast, which bodes well for
the largemouth specialists and not so great for anyone trying to spy
smallmouths on beds.
“They
bit really, really good in practice down there in the rain,” adds Stewart. “The
only problem is if the wind picks up, getting down there and back is the only
issue. I think they’ll bite down there if it’s raining.
“I
think they will [hold up] as long as I don’t have a bunch of company. If I have
all my stuff to myself I feel like I could potentially catch a couple good
bags.”
2. John Voyles – Petersburg, Ind.
– 38-12 (10)
There’s
a pretty magical spot on Lake Champlain that’s produced every smallmouth bass
that John Voyles has weighed in so far this week (he weighed just one
largemouth yesterday). Today, Voyles learned that another pro caught 19-plus
from that spot on day one, but the Indiana pro got there first this morning and
was able to sack up 18 pounds, 5 ounces to go with more than 20 on the first
day. Assuming he gets full access to the spot tomorrow, he’s hoping to keep the
heat on Stewart and the rest of the pros running to Ti to target largemouths.
Voyles
says there’s a mix of spawning smallmouths and postspawn fish in his area, and
new ones are still moving in.
“I’ll
probably live or die on that spot because I really don’t have anything else.”
3. Daryl Biron – South Windsor,
Con. – 38-3 (10)
Daryl
Biron lives in Connecticut but considers Champlain to be his home waters.
Today,
he started down in Ti and fished some of the same stuff as yesterday, including
a place where he lost a couple good ones the day before. However, additional
boat pressure forced him to adjust strategies.
“Things
changed a little bit. There were a lot more boats down there,” he says. “I
couldn’t get on a lot of my stuff, so I had to go to some backup stuff. I know
the water pretty good so I went to some out-of-the-way stuff that most people
don’t know about.
“I’m
running a pattern, but the problem is we have some falling water that’s making
the pattern a little tougher to run. And pressure hurts too. All that boat
traffic down there muddies the water. I noticed when you have muddy water the
bite kind of goes away.”
Biron
spent the day checking his best areas, fishing if the water was right but
pulling the plug instantly if it wasn’t. He’s been consistent for two days,
weighing 19-12 and 18-7, and he’ll be in the top 10 if he can keep it up for
another day.
“I
was saying yesterday I had a lot left,” adds Biron. “Today, I went to check
that water and there were other fishermen on it. So I don’t know if I have a
lot left.”
4. Hensley Powell – Whitwell,
Tenn. – 38-2 (10)
Tennessee’s
Hensley Powell added 18 pounds, 4 ounces to the 19-14 he caught on day one to
move into the weekend in the top five.
Though
he has a handful of spots near Ticonderoga that he hasn’t fished yet, Powell
has done most of his damage off one key area that’s produced both largemouths
and smallmouths.
“I’m
trying to not hit anything and milk all that’s got before I start hitting some
more,” he says.
Powell
has a couple big smallmouths on beds that he’s holding in reserve, but he’s
hoping what’s left of his pattern will provide the bulk of his weight
tomorrow.
“I
was running a pattern in practice and was able to call my shots,” adds Powell.
“In practice it looked like there was an alewife spawn going on down there, and
I really caught them good. I’ve not seen that since the tournament started. I
think it’s petering down, we’re on the tail end of it or we’re getting down
there so late [in the morning] that it’s over with.”
5. Casey Scanlon – Lake Ozark,
Mo. – 37-11 (10)
Casey
Scanlon is in the Ticonderoga largemouth crowd as well.
“I
went down there, started in the same place [as yesterday] and got two keepers
right off the bat,” he says. “Basically, it went about like yesterday. I caught
a limit pretty quick. I kind of hit a little bit of a lull there, but just like
yesterday, when I lost one big one, today I lost two. I caught just as many
fish, but the average size was more like 2 1/2 instead of 3 1/4.”
Scanlon
is fishing three patterns on several types of cover and running a lot of water.
He says there are plenty of fish left in his best areas. If we get the cloud
cover that’s in the forecast, he expects to see plenty of action the next
couple days.
Top 10 pros
1.
Tyler Stewart – West Monroe, La. – 40-1 (10)
2.
John Voyles – Petersburg, Ind. – 38-12 (10)
3.
Daryl Biron – South Windsor, Con. – 38-3 (10)
4.
Hensley Powell – Whitwell, Tenn. – 38-2 (10)
5.
Casey Scanlon – Lake Ozark, Mo. – 37-11 (10)
6.
Austin Felix – Eden Prairie, Minn. – 37-11 (10)
7.
AJ Slegona – Pine Bush, N.Y. – 37-5 (10)
8.
Nick LeBrun – Bossier City, La. – 37-0 (10)
9.
Tom Redington – Royse City, Texas – 36-15 (10)
10.
Ron Nelson – Berrien Springs, Mich. – 36-11 (10)
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