Hammerin’ Hibdon whacks another 20, dominates Champlain opening round

Gagliardi hangs on to win 2006 Angler of the Year

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Lake Champlain tournaments are historically determined by ounces, but Dion Hibdon apparently isn’t very big on history. The veteran pro from Stover, Mo., bashed another big bag full of bucketmouths weighing almost 20 pounds and crushed the rest of the competition by 5 pounds to close out the opening round of Wal-Mart FLW Tour action.

Also, in a race that did come down to mere ounces, Anthony Gagliardi of Prosperity, S.C., the FLW Tour pro points leader coming into this event, clinched his first Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year title by fending off late charges by challengers Jim Moynagh of Carver, Minn., and Matt Herren of Trussville, Ala. Click here for more on Gagliardi’s AOY win.

Hibdon’s way

Hibdon, who led day one with the only sack over 20 pounds, weighed in a five-bass limit worth 19 pounds, 14 ounces on day two to establish an eye-popping two-day total of 40-11. His 20-13 on the first day and 19-14 the second day were, by far, the two best limits of the opening round, which were two days of fishing that saw a record number of limits.

While he wouldn’t admit it, it really was a statement round for Hibdon. To establish a 5-pound lead at a lake where literally everyone catches fish and claws for ounces to make the cut or a check, it definitely sends a message.

“Oh no, I wouldn’t do that,” Hibdon said. “It’s just that I really had to whack them to make the championship. I mean, four out of the five fish I weighed in today were the first fish that I caught. I just got lucky; the first fish that bit me were good ones. It was just my day.”

Hibdon made his day Thursday much the same way he did Wednesday: by ignoring the ubiquitous smallmouth bite. Despite some more adverse weather, he made the hour-long run down to the Ticonderoga end of Lake Champlain and started casting his big jig for big largemouths in the grass. While some pros who attempted to go south were turned back by the big water today, Hibdon said he had no trouble getting down there. And it obviously paid off.

“Actually, the ones I weighed in, I caught on the same spot I did yesterday morning,” he said. “I caught my limit off there again, and after that it was reindeer games.”

Hibdon is throwing 5/8- and ¾-ounce Lucky Strike jigs in what he called “bluegill color” on 20-pound line. The heavy setup sits in stark contrast to the rigs of many other competitors who are sight-fishing for smallies with light line and worms.

“I’m pretty excited about going down there and doing that. I’m catching them my favorite way and on my favorite bait in the whole world,” Hibdon said. “Am I doing anything special? No. I just spent my whole practice time down there looking for these fish. So is it an accident that I’m catching them that big? Nope. I just don’t think you can catch that big a stringer of bass anywhere else on this lake.”

In fact, Hibdon even weighed in a smallmouth Thursday, for good measure. He came back uplake around 11:30 and fished until he culled out his smallest largemouth with a bronzeback.

But don’t expect him to change tactics by staying close to home to go sight-fishing Friday. He’s heading south again in the finals.

“I didn’t come here to play it safe,” he said. “And I’m definitely not going to start tomorrow.”

Dobson second

Back in the pack with the rest of the mortals, Scott Dobson of Clarkston, Mich., claimed second place for the pros with a two-day total of 35 pounds, 11 ounces. He caught two solid limits – 17-11 and 18-0 – in the opening round.

“I had my limit by 7 o’clock just throwing a jerkbait around bedding fish. Then I went to a feeding area about 20 miles south, where I had saved some key fish for today,” he said.

Dobson, who caught all smallmouths, went south to his bigger-fish area with just 13 pounds in his livewell. There, beneath the cloudy skies, he had trouble seeing his fish, but still managed to eke out some big ones.

“It was so cloudy that all I saw were faded, black spots,” he said. “Then, my last fish I caught off a mooring buoy. I think it weighed 4-2, so it was my biggest fish of the tournament.”

Lavictoire third

Thomas Lavictoire of West Rutland, Vt., earned the third pro qualifying spot with an opening-round total of 35 pounds, 9 ounces.

After catching an early limit of spawning smallmouths weighing 17-12 on day one, he used the rest of the day to scout new fish. That led directly to his 17-13 limit on day two.

“Yesterday, I quit at 7:15 and went looking for more big ones. Without that, I probably wouldn’t have caught as much as I did,” said Lavictoire, a well-known Champlain stick. “I don’t know what I have left for tomorrow, though. I might have to scrounge for a few.”

Martin fourth

Scott Martin of Clewiston, Fla., the 2004 FLW Tour Lake Champlain champion, earned another trip to the finals by catching a total of 34 pounds, 9 ounces in the opening round and placing fourth. He caught 18-13 Wednesday and 15-12 Thursday.

“It was really cloudy today, so I never saw any of the fish that I caught,” said Martin, who has been mining the flats on the north end for spawning smallies. “One thing that has been holding true is that the areas where I won here are still holding fish. There are just so many fish here that I haven’t had time to get to them all.”

Lytle fifth

Curt Lytle of Zuni, Va., placed fifth with an opening-round total of 34 pounds, 8 ounces. He caught 17-13 on day one and 16-11 on day two.

Lytle is fishing the same largemouth areas on the south end as Hibdon, but today he also weighed in a smallmouth.

“I got lucky is what happened there,” Lytle laughed. “It looks like I know what I’m doing when I catch both species, but I don’t know how to catch a smallmouth. That was an accident.”

Rest of the best

Rounding out the top 10 pros to make the cut at Lake Champlain:

6th: Keith Williams of Conway, Ark., 34-6

7th: Tracy Adams of Wilkesboro, N.C., 34-3

8th: Kevin Vida of Clare, Mich., 34-1

9th: Jerry Williams of Conway, Ark., 33-7

10th: Shinichi Fukae of Mineola, Texas, 33-5

All of the top 10 pros caught limits both days of the opening round.

A total of 174 pros caught limits Thursday.

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.

Griggs tops co-anglers

Eddie Griggs of Richmond, Va., led the Co-angler Division with a two-day total of 28 pounds, 7 ounces.

Griggs, who fished with Luke Clausen and Kim Stricker – both Chevy team pros – caught 13 pounds, 2 ounces Wednesday and 15-5 Thursday.

“They both fished the same way on the spawning flats up north,” Griggs said. “Yeah, I think I’m going to buy a Chevy truck if I win this thing.”

Griggs caught his fish Thursday, mostly smallmouths, on a green-pumpkin Shaky Head worm and a 4-inch Yum tube.

Second place for the co-anglers went to Doug Weiser of Springdale, Ark., for an opening-round total of 28 pounds, 4 ounces.

Dana Perrotte of Winooski, Vt., claimed third for the co-anglers with a two-day total of 28 pounds, 1 ounce.

Day-one co-angler leader James Schneider of Albany, N.Y., earned the fourth qualifying spot with 28 pounds even.

Bill Gift of Alix, Ark., rounded out the top five co-anglers with 27 pounds, 10 ounces.

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers to make the cut at Lake Champlain:

6th: Matthew Parker of Whitesburg, Ga., 27-6

7th: Mark Myers of Minneapolis, 27-6

8th: Ralph Mulleins of Cumberland, Va., 27-3

9th: David Markey of Wolcott, Conn., 27-1

10th: Jason Sherwood of Damascus, Md., 26-14

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.

More records for Lake Champlain

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.

Finals ensue Friday

Day three of competition at Lake Champlain begins as the 10 pros and 10 co-anglers take off from Plattsburgh Boat Basin, located at 5 Dock St. in Plattsburgh, at 6:30 a.m. Eastern time Friday for the second half of competition. The co-anglers will wrap up competition Friday, while the pros are fishing the first half of a two-day final round.

For this tournament, the top award for the winning pro is $100,000. The winning co-angler will earn $20,000.