Martin capitalizes as Champlain turns ugly

Stiff south winds wreak havoc on finalists

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – When placid, Lake Champlain is a dream come true for bass fishermen. But when the wind blows, especially from the south, the lake feels like a never-ending rollercoaster. In dangerous conditions, only two pros made the 70-mile run south to Ticonderoga. But the leader stayed up north and caught a nice limit of largemouths.

The two pros who ran were Mike Hawkes and Kyle Mabrey. For Mabrey it was a success as he caught 16-4. But Hawkes struggled to flip as the grass expanded horizontally in the wind. He complained of constantly fouling his baits and said there were hardly any lanes to get baits through.

Dave Lefebre and Clark Wendlandt had been running south, but both punted and stayed north today. For Wendlandt, whose goal is to win the Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year award, it worked great. Lefebre regretted the decision and will likely make the long run tomorrow. Wendlandt didn’t catch a big bag up north, but his AOY counterpart Luke Clausen caught only four bass that weighed 7-1. Wendlandt managed 12-12 and, with an average day tomorrow, will become the first angler in FLW Tour history to claim three AOY titles.

“It’s my goal every year,” Wendlandt, a Kellogg’s pro, said of winning AOY. “I think it’s the most impressive achievement in bass fishing.”

Wendlandt said he was fortunate that Clausen didn’t catch them today, and he doesn’t anticipate it’s going to happen again tomorrow. His goal for Sunday is at least 12 pounds, and he thinks his best shot is down in Ti.

“With that south wind today, I decided it wasn’t worth the risk. I heard tomorrow it’s supposed to blow from the west, and with a west wind, you can pretty much ride wide open. If I fished up here, I could easily have 8 pounds because I don’t really know what the smallmouths are doing.”

Clausen said the wind completely wiped out his spot, which was holding hundreds of smallmouths.

“I really struggled today,” said the Chevy pro. “I thought I was going to win the tournament at this spot. I left at 1 p.m. with only one fish. Yesterday at 1 p.m. I had over 18 pounds, and today I only had one 13-incher. If I can find that same school of fish tomorrow, I think I can catch 20 pounds.”

For Clausen to win AOY, he has to finish three spots above Wendlandt, who has a two-point lead and the tiebreaker.

Martin in position for third FLW Tour win

In practice Scott Martin located a few isolated offshore rock piles on the north end of the lake. These half-dozen spots, which have a mixture of grass, are in 6 to 12 feet of water. They also happen to be absolutely loaded with postspawn largemouths. Once he explored the area, Martin knew he had discovered something special.

After catching 35-13 during the opening round, he calmly sacked 18-8 today to take a commanding 2-pound, 4-ounce lead heading into the final day of competition.

“Smallmouths love bare rock, and largemouths love rock with grass,” said the pro leader.

Martin is using a crankbait and a 1/2-ounce jig with a green pumpkin Berkley Chigger Craw to catch his fish. On the crankbait, he ties 12-pound Trilene 100% fluorocarbon line, and he uses the same line but in 17-pound-test on the jig.

“I use the crankbait as a search tool as a way to find them and get them going, and then I thoroughly comb through the area with the Chigger Craw. The wind was tough and boat control was crucial, but I think it almost made the bite better.”

That was certainly not the case for the other finalists. The National Guard pro estimates he made 15 culls during the course of the day.

“I think the area I’m fishing definitely is replenishing each night. When I found this spot, I knew I could potentially win the tournament there. That little bit of good grass I’ve found is a magnet for fish.”

Martin is fishing this week with a heavy heart as his maternal grandmother passed away Wednesday. He said he has dedicated the tournament to her, and he can feel her presence on the water with him.

Mabrey second

Mabrey not only ran to Ticonderoga, he traveled a few miles past it. It cut his fishing time in half, but it was worth it. Within his first 20 casts, he had already caught 10 largemouth bass.

“I’m not disappointed at all,” he said. “I expected the weights to drop and they did. I’d rather have three hours down there than six or seven hours up here.”

Mabrey is not flipping – instead opting to cast crankbaits on the edges of milfoil with 30-pound Spiderwire braid.

“I’ve got three sweet spots, but unfortunately only one of them got hot today.”

The McCalla, Ala., pro wouldn’t reveal his exact crankbait, but he shed some light on his pattern.

“To me, the key has been throwing a crankbait that makes no noise. This is not a reaction bite – they are eating.”

Pugh struggles to sight-fish



During the opening round, Greg Pugh had been sight-fishing for spawning largemouths. Today’s wind made that nearly impossible, but he stayed in the same area and milked out a 14-pound, 12-ounce limit for third place.

He has been using an array of soft plastics, but Senkos and tubes have been particularly effective. His area is approximately a half-mile long, but within it there are six sweet spots where the most spawning activity takes place.

“It was tough to see, but I did find a 5-pounder and a 4-pounder on bed. I left them there because they wouldn’t lock down. Tomorrow I think I have an opportunity to catch a really big sack.”

Yelas, Gagliardi round out top five

Jay Yelas is fishing for largemouths, but he’s running north, not south. Working the Missisquoi Bay area with a 10-inch Berkley Power Worm and a 1/2-ounce Berkley Gripper jig, Yelas caught a 14-5 limit of green bass.

He tips the jig with a green-pumpkin Chigger Craw. His favorite color for the worm is blue-fleck.

“I’m flipping clumpy milfoil and working a rock pile,” he said. “I couldn’t fish the milfoil today because of the wind, but the rock pile was protected.

“I could catch 19 or 20 pounds tomorrow if the wind allows me to fish the spot.”

Gagliardi is fishing for smallmouths up north – using Senkos and topwaters like the Lucky Craft Sammy and Gunfish. He weighed four bass worth 13-13.

Rest of the best

Rounding out the top 10 pros at the FLW Tour event on Lake Champlain:

6th: Mark Hardin of Jasper, Ga., 13-1

7th: Wendlandt of Leander, Texas, 12-12

8th: Lefebre of Union City, Pa., 12-5

9th: Hawkes of Sabinal, Texas, 11-1

10th: Clausen of Gainesville, Ga., 7-1

The final day of competition will begin Sunday at 6:30 a.m. at the Dock Street Landing located at 5 Dock St. in Plattsburgh.