PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Just one day after yielding a record catch of 1,878 bass weighing 4,887 pounds, 11 ounces under nearly ideal conditions, Lake Champlain hammered the world’s top bass anglers Thursday in the final regular-season Wal-Mart FLW Tour event of 2006. The anglers, representing 38 states Japan and Canada, endured 7-foot swells as they raced to catch a limit of bass that would put them into the top 10 and possibly earn them a trip to the $1.5 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour Championship in Birmingham, Ala., Aug. 2-5.
When the final angler crossed the weigh-in stage at Plattsburgh Boat Basin it was Chevy pro Dion Hibdon of Stover, Mo., who retained control of the leaderboard with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 40 pounds, 11 ounces. He caught five largemouth bass weighing 20 pounds, 13 ounces on opening day then added four largemouth bass and one smallmouth bass weighing 19 pounds, 14 ounces Thursday. He caught his largemouth both days while fishing the outside edge of grass in the Ticonderoga section of the massive lake. He used a 5/8-ounce Lucky Strike jig in green pumpkin color tied to 20-pound-test fluorocarbon line.
“Four out of the five fish I weighed were the first fish I caught today,” Hibdon said. “I came back in with one small largemouth and culled it with a 3-pound smallmouth. It was just one of those days.”
Make no mistake, however, Hibdon’s impressive catches are by no means an accident. Entering the tournament in 75th place, he knew he had to make the top 10 and possibly win to qualify for the FLW Tour Championship. “I didn’t come here to play it safe,” he said. “I knew I needed to whack them, and [Ticonderoga] is the only place I know where you can do that on this lake. I spent my whole practice down there. I don’t think you can catch that stringer anywhere else.”
Scott Dobson of Clarkston, Mich., advanced in the No. 2 position with a total of 10 bass weighing 35 pounds, 11 ounces.
Rounding out the top five pros are Thomas Lavictoire of West Rutland, Vt. (10 bass, 35-9); BFGoodrich Tires pro Scott Martin of Clewiston, Fla. (10 bass, 34-9); and Curt Lytle of Zuni, Va. (10 bass, 34-8).
Also clearing the top-10 cut weight of 33 pounds, 5 ounces are team Land O’Lakes pro Keith Williams of Conway, Ark.; Tyson pro Tracy Adams of Wilkesboro, N.C.; Banana Boat pro Kevin Vida of Clare, Mich.; Jerry Williams of Conway, Ark. (Keith Williams’ father); and Shinichi Fukae of Mineola, Texas.
In the tour’s two previous stops on Lake Champlain, in 2002 and 2004, it took 32 pounds, 13 ounces to land a spot in the top 10. Interestingly, the top-50 weights were the same each of these years as well at 29 pounds, 12 ounces. This year the top-50 weight was 29-11 – a testament to the stability and consistency of the quality smallmouth fishery.
Adams earned the Energizer Keeps on Going Award of $500 for coming from behind to make the cut after finishing 33rd on opening day with five bass weighing 16-8.
Eddie Griggs of Richmond, Va., leads the Co-angler Division in the chase for a top award of $20,000 with an opening-round total of 10 bass weighing 28-7. He caught five bass weighing 13-2 to finish 41st Wednesday while fishing with Chevy pro Luke Clausen of Spokane, Wash., then added five bass weighing 15-5 Thursday while fishing with Chevy pro Kim Stricker of Howell, Mich.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Doug Weiser of Springdale, Ark. (10 bass, 28-4); Dana Perrotte of Winooski, Vt. (10 bass, 28-1); James Schneider of Albany, N.Y. (10 bass, 28) and Bill Gift of Alix, Ark. (10 bass, 27-10).
Also clearing the top-10 cut weight of 26 pounds, 14 ounces in the Co-angler Division are Matthew Parker of Whitesburg, Ga.; Mark Myers of Minneapolis, Minn.; Ralph Mulleins of Cumberland, Va.; David Markey of Wolcott, Conn.; and Jason Sherwood of Damascus, Md.
Chris Elliott of Beaufort, N.C., earned the day’s Snickers Big Bass award of $750 in the Pro Division with a 5-pound, 3-ounce largemouth while Brett Winborn of Alma, Ark., claimed the Snickers Big Bass award and $375 in the Co-angler Division with a 5-pound, 7-ounce largemouth.
Tony Couch of Buckhead, Ga., earned the tournament’s overall Snickers Big Bass award of $1,000 with a 5-pound, 12-ounce largemouth that he caught Wednesday.
Overall, 1,643 bass weighing a day-two record 3,885 pounds, 3 ounces were caught Thursday, including 276 five-bass limits. The lake produced a day-two record 1,646 bass during the 2004 FLW Tour stop.
This year’s two-day opening round catch of 3,521 bass weighing 8,759 pounds, 8 ounces is a tour record both in terms of number of fish and total weight. In fact, Lake Champlain in now home to the FLW Tour’s top three all-time opening round catches. FLW Tour anglers caught 3,457 bass weighing 8,239 pounds, 11 ounces in 2004 and 3,233 bass weighing 7,865 pounds, 8 ounces in 2002.
The coveted Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year title went to Team Folgers pro Anthony Gagliardi of Prosperity, S.C., who led the Angler of the Year race coming into the tournament and successfully fended off hard-charging Matt Herren of Trussville, Ala., who finished 13 places ahead of Gagliardi but fell short of the 36 places needed to take the title.
Final points will not be available until Saturday, but it is mathematically impossible for anyone to beat Gagliardi since he finished the tournament in 44th place with 10 bass weighing 29-13. Along with the title, Gagliardi earned $65,000, including a new Ranger boat powered by Evinrude.
“For the past three years people have been saying it was my breakout year, and every year I’ve managed to do a little better,” said Gagliardi, who notched a $200,000 win at the Chevy Open on Lake Murray earlier this year and never finished below 49th all season. “To have two wins and now this so early in my career is an incredible feeling. I had a lot of confidence all year, but for the last few months it has weighed on me, ever since I took the lead. I’m glad it’s finally over. It’s definitely something I’ll always cherish.”
Tylenol Extra Strength Rapid Release Gels pro Gabe Bolivar, who made his mark in the Stren Series Western Division before qualifying for the FLW Tour, won the Gain Rookie of the Year award Thursday after finishing the tournament in 107th place with 10 bass weighing 26-6. Bolivar entered the tournament with 828 points followed by Pepcid Complete pro Jason Knapp of Uniontown, Pa., with 715 points. Knapp finished the tournament in 95th place with 10 bass weighing 27-3.
Anglers will take off at 6:30 each morning from Plattsburgh Boat Basin located at 5 Dock Street in Plattsburgh. Friday and Saturday’s weigh-ins will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 25 Consumer Square in Plattsburgh beginning at 4 p.m.
The community is invited to attend the free Family Fun Zone Friday and Saturday outside the weigh-in tent in the Wal-Mart parking lot. The Family Fun Zone, which opens at 2 p.m. Friday and noon Saturday, features interactive displays, product samples and games for the entire family to enjoy.
The top 48 pros and top 48 co-anglers in the Angler of the Year standings following the end of competition Saturday will qualify for the FLW Tour Championship for a shot at $500,000 cash – the sport’s biggest award.
Weights are cleared for day three, and co-angler competition concludes following Friday’s weigh-in. The top 10 pros continue competition Saturday, with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from days three and four.
In FLW Tour competition, pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat movement and competing against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other co-anglers.
Coverage of the Lake Champlain tournament presented by Kellogg’s and hosted by the Champlain Shores Visitors and Convention Bureau will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States on Aug. 27 and Sept. 3 as part of the “FLW Outdoors” television program. “FLW Outdoors” airs Sunday mornings at 11 Eastern time. “FLW Outdoors” is also broadcast internationally to more than 350 million households in such countries as Germany, China, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Russia, Hungary and the United Kingdom, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoor-sports television show in the world. Additionally, FLW Outdoors is proud to provide tournament coverage to more than 800,000 servicemembers stationed around the world in 177 countries and aboard Navy ships through broadcasts on the American Forces Network.
Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail presented by Abu Garcia, Stratos Owners’ Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series. These circuits offer combined purses exceeding $37.9 million through 249 events in 2006.