Quick Bites: Chevy Open, FLW Tour Detroit River – Day 3
2007 Wal-Mart FLW Tour
Chevy Open
Detroit River, Detroit, Mich.
Final round, Saturday
The view from the other side … If there is ever a time to get stuck in Canada on a competition day, then day three would be it, as Christopher King reasoned while en route back to Michigan. The pro entered today’s final round in the No. 6 position but got stuck on the Canadian shores after fighting the big Erie waves today and losing. As such, he did not make it back for weigh-in and thus scored a big goose egg today, but hey – the worst he can possibly finish in this tournament is 10th despite his day-three woes, and the 10th place finisher earns $25,000. Could be worse. “I can finish no worse than 10th right now, and I feel pretty good about that,” King said. “If this were yesterday, it would have been bad. I’m glad I made it this far, but I didn’t want this much excitement today!” … Luckily, King and his day-three co-angler partner, Truman White, are safe and sound and were towed back in this afternoon by FLW Outdoors officials. Yesterday’s relative calm turned into a windy day that produced some nasty-looking waves that might have even made a surfer jealous, and King paid the price for making the Erie run. “In the big waves, we started taking on a little water, and the pumps couldn’t keep up,” King said. “I couldn’t get the boat on plane, and with the back end full of water, it didn’t look good.” King and White were able to idle into shore, albeit the Canadian shore, where they awaited transport back to Michigan. Even if they had been able to make it back, King says they would have had little to show for it. “I didn’t even have any fish,” he said. “My co-angler had one and I had none, and it was already time to go back. Because of the waves, we only had an hour or so to fish. It was just not working out today.” Better luck tomorrow, guys.
Son of a gun … Steve Clapper holds the pro lead for the third straight day, but a little less than 3 pounds behind him is No. 2 Terry Baksay, who caught a limit weighing 20 pounds, 5 ounces today to contend for tomorrow’s $200,000 top prize. In the audience was Baksay’s son, future pro Christopher, and it turns out Baksay can thank young Christopher for his lofty position in the standings. “When we fish smallmouth tournaments, I power-fish, and Christopher likes to fish slow,” Baksay said. “He was throwing tubes in practice, and he started whacking them. I’ve caught fish on them every day because he told me to. His help was monumental.” … It’s no joke that Christopher is a future pro – Baksay intends to enter him into the Stren Series tournament scheduled to be held here on the Detroit River in August.
Heavy lifting … Baksay was full of fish stories this afternoon. As the video screens aired footage of him out on Lake St. Clair today, he related a story about catching a whopping 30-pound muskie – too bad he couldn’t weigh it in. “If you are not fishing St. Clair for muskies, you’re stupid,” Baksay said. “I’ve caught six muskies over 40 inches long, and (son) Christopher had one bigger than that.” Baksay said today’s 30-pounder hit a jerkbait, and he tried to miss it, but the muskie was too fast. “It was about 10 feet from the boat,” he said. “I fought him. The cameraman has some of the most spectacular coverage you’ve ever seen – I could not even lift it. It was at least 30 pounds.”
93rd time’s a charm? … James Richardson Sr. has built quite a career for himself from the back of the boat, accumulating 11 top-10 finishes in seven years over four FLW Outdoors tournament trails. Of those 11, there is one thing missing, and today, Richardson completed his 92nd tournament without a victory. “I’ve been so close so many times,” said Richardson, who has not competed regularly on the FLW Tour in some time but came back to fish this week’s tournament on a fishery where he has experienced quite a bit of his success. “I’ve got a second and a couple of thirds – I think I’ve had every number except 1!” While that’s not entirely the case, Richardson has finished second three times and finished fifth today despite heading into the final co-angler day as the No. 1 seed. “I thought today would be my opportunity, going out with Steve (Clapper),” Richardson said of his enviable day-three draw. “But it’s tough to fish in these conditions.” Indeed it is. Despite a rough ride to Erie, Richardson put together a day-three stringer that weighed 12 pounds, 14 ounces, good for $7,000. It may not be a win, but Richardson is content. “I think I’ve paid my dues, but if somebody had said, `Come on up, and we’ll give you fifth place,’ I’d have said, `I’ll be there.'”
Bumpy ride … Practically everyone who weighed in today had a few choice words for the hefty waves that complicated their fishing day today, a fact made even more obnoxious given that yesterday brought such calm conditions. “It was a whole different world out there today,” said No. 7 pro Shad Schenck. While yesterday’s calm conditions definitely did not last through today, there is a light at the end of the tunnel – tomorrow’s winds are only supposed to blow around 6 mph. “There were legitimate 7-footers on the way back,” said No. 3 pro Trevor Jancasz. “That’s more fun than Cedar Pointe,” joked Clapper upon watching footage of a big wave break over his boat, in reference to the amusement park that bills itself as “the roller coaster capital of the world.” … Rough conditions prompted Clifford Pirch to head back in as early as 11 a.m., a decision he questioned after weighing in only four worth 13-11, good for ninth. “I probably made a mistake coming in as early as I did,” Pirch said. “But the waves were so big they constricted you. I don’t have a lot of experience here, so I came in at 11 because I thought I could catch a few here. When you can get down in the bottom of (the waves) and not see out, they’re pretty good size.”
Quick numbers:
3: Number of FLW Tour top-10 finishes accumulated this year by co-angler winner Ken Murphy.
5: Number of ounces that kept him from his fourth top-10 – he finished 11th on Lake Norman in April.
3: Number of co-anglers with day-three catches of 18 pounds or better.
8: Murphy’s margin of victory over No. 2 co-angler Ben Felton, in ounces.
2-14: Clapper’s current lead over No. 2 Baksay on the pro side.
Sound bites:
“I’d probably have a job, which I’ve never had.” – Wal-Mart pro and No. 3 contender Trevor Jancasz on where he would be without sponsors such as Wal-Mart.
“You put it in the water and it blows up to a full-size Ranger, like a Chia Pet.” – Jimmy Houston, while giving away a Ranger die-cast boat during the preshow.
“I give a lot of credit to guys that went to Erie.” – No. 5 pro Kevin Long, who took the safer route to St. Clair today.
“I’m sure a lot of these guys have seen me come in with my tail between my legs.” – A modest Clapper, explaining away his phenomenal success on the Detroit River/Lake Erie.
Tomorrow’s final takeoff is scheduled to take place at 6:30 a.m. Eastern time at Elizabeth Park Marina, located at 202 Grosse Isle Parkway in Trenton.