Lake Champlain Day 2 Coverage
Complete coverage of the final stop of the 2019 FLW Tour season
QUICK LINKS
FLW Live Leaderboard – CLICK HERE
12:30 p.m. – That's a wrap
The anglers atop the leaderboard have been pretty quiet as of late. They could very well have reached their ceiling or even be saving some fish for tomorrow.
Further down the leaderboard, a whole bunch of pros are now finding themselves with 12- to 15-pound limits. There were only a handful of anglers that did not bring five fish across the weigh-in stage yesterday, so we can assume a lot of unaccounted-for weights on the leaderboard could be limits. The one pro whose weight is unaccounted for that has potential to shake things up is Chad Warren. He had over 19 pounds and was on some good fish, but we’ve been unable to track him down today.
John Cox just got a school of 3-pounders fired up. We think he has about 14 or so pounds in the boat. We haven't seen Dudley in awhile, but he most likely culled up some. The AOY race comes down to Cox making the cut today.
You’re going to want to check back in to watch the live weigh-in at 2:30 p.m. ET on flwfishing.com. Between AOY, ROY, and FLW Cup qualifications, there is a lot on the line that could be settled today.
11:30 a.m. – FLW Cup bubble
It’s starting to get to make or break time for a lot of the pros who are on the bubble of making the FLW Cup (click to read FLW’s Cup bubble article). Todd Castledine’s marshal just mentioned that the Texas pro thinks the fifth fish he just caught might be the clincher for him to make the Cup.
B. Lat is still catching a good amount green fish down south. He just dumped a nice one in front of our camera boat while fishing his juice. He will need a few more culls to make today’s cut, but either way he will be happy since he basically punched his FLW Cup ticket yesterday.
Bryan Thrift says he has 14 pounds in the livewell, but he could easily have 17. Thrift is known to underestimate his weight totals on the water. In any case, he’s in pretty good shape right now.
While weights seem to be a little lower across the board, it’s still fairly early and we haven’t heard from everyone on the water. There’s still a chance we see a few 20-plus-pound bags come across the weigh-in stage this afternoon, just as we did yesterday.
10:50 a.m – Chipping away
Tom Redington has been stuck with around 10 pounds and without a limit for quite awhile now. He did some damage in the afternoon yesterday, so a lot can happen still for him.
Scott Martin, Austin Felix and a ton of other pros are chipping away at upgrading their limits. We also just learned that Matt Stefan and Jeremy Lawyer both have around 15 pounds in the box.
John Cox only has 10 pounds in his livewell so far. He has mentioned that the better fish he found in practice seem to have moved. Cox will need to get back on those fish if he wants any kind of shot at chasing down David Dudley.
Eric Jackson still looks to be leading the pack of day two anglers, and he’s currently sitting in sixth place overall. Getting on big green fish goes a long way on Champlain, and he’s been proving that this week (as has Tyler Stewart, who’s still leading the tournament, unofficially).
10:05 a.m. – Nelson on the board
We haven’t had much change on the FLW Live Leaderboard in the last half hour other than Ron Nelson's reported 18-pound limit. David Dudley happened gained a few ounces recently while fishing in the same area as Scott Martin. Tournament leader Tyler Stewart is on the move looking for some fresh water. Stewart was fishing the same area as Brian Latimer earlier. Aaron Britt hasn’t caught much since his initial flurry, but he’s 100 percent committed to the area.
John Cox is playing from behind right now, and his chances of winning Angler of the Year are looking slimmer by the minute. With Dudley making a strong push this morning, it’s going to take a massive effort from Cox to keep the race alive into the weekend.
We haven’t heard anything from for Bradford Beavers yet this morning. Ron Nelson is looking more and more like he will win the Polaris ROY, but we’ll see where it stands when we find out how Beavers is doing today. Braxton Setzer has a few fish for close to 8 pounds.
9:15 a.m. – Dudley
We finally caught up with AOY leader David Dudley and he currently has 15 pounds worth of smallmouths in the livewell. 15 pounds is a good start, but he will most likely need more if he wants to close the door and take the title.
|
PLACE |
NAME |
DAY 1 LBS-OZ (#FISH) |
DAY 2 LBS-OZ (#FISH) |
DAY 1 – 2 LBS-OZ (#FISH) |
BEHIND |
|
1 |
TYLER STEWART |
22 – 3 (5) |
16 – 12 (5) |
38 – 15 (10) |
|
|
2 |
AJ SLEGONA |
18 – 10 (5) |
18 – 8 (5) |
37 – 2 (10) |
1 – 13 |
|
3 |
AUSTIN FELIX |
19 – 0 (5) |
16 – 0 (5) |
35 – 0 (10) |
3 – 15 |
|
4 |
ERIC JACKSON |
17 – 6 (5) |
17 – 8 (5) |
34 – 14 (10) |
4 – 1 |
|
5 |
KURT DOVE |
19 – 5 (5) |
15 – 4 (5) |
34 – 9 (10) |
4 – 6 |
|
6 |
MATT BECKER |
18 – 5 (5) |
15 – 8 (5) |
33 – 13 (10) |
5 – 2 |
|
7 |
DAKOTA EBARE |
18 – 0 (5) |
14 – 12 (5) |
32 – 12 (10) |
6 – 3 |
|
8 |
CHRISTOPHER BRASHER |
17 – 10 (5) |
15 – 0 (5) |
32 – 10 (10) |
6 – 5 |
|
9 |
JOSEPH WEBSTER |
18 – 0 (5) |
14 – 8 (5) |
32 – 8 (10) |
6 – 7 |
|
10 |
SHAWN MURPHY |
18 – 14 (5) |
13 – 0 (5) |
31 – 14 (10) |
7 – 1 |
9:05 a.m. – Stewart limits
Tyler Stewart just filled out his limit with a nice 4 ½-pound largie. With that fish, Tyler regained the lead, unofficially. There’s definitely plenty of room to upgrade his limit, too. If he can do so, there’s a good chance he keeps the lead after today.
Eric Jackson found himself a few more keepers to get a limit for a little over 17 pounds. It sounds like he might be able to cull out at least one fish too. If all goes well for Eric, the rest of the day he might make his first cut on the FLW Tour.
8:30 a.m. – Britt gets going, largemouths
Aaron Britt stocked up on smallmouths to get a good limit worth about 17 ¼ pounds. That’s the biggest bag of the day so far. Matt Becker, Jay Kendrick and Josh Douglas also filled out their limits on brown fish and are looking to upgrade.
The largemouths chasers are also getting things rolling pretty good. Tyler Stewart found a little company on one of his prime spots but still managed to stick his second and third fish to get up to almost 10 pounds. Eric Jackson has three green fish over 4 pounds each in his livewell. Tom Redington also stuck a few meaty looking largemouths.
We’re working on getting a David Dudley update. Yesterday, it took him some time to find decent fish, but it sounds like the area he found may be juiced with AOY-winning fish.
7:50 a.m. – Bedded smallies, Stewart
Just like yesterday, those who are targeting bedded smallmouths are off to quick starts. Willert, Slegona, Felix and Becker all have some decent fish in the box. We haven't heard from Ron Nelson, but there's a 99.9% chance he has some in his livewell too. A lot of other pros are also getting into the seemingly endless population of 2 and 3 pound fish.
Day one leader Tyler Stewart is on the board now, too. He caught a largemouth with “a 3 ½-pound body and a 4-pound gut,” per our reporters on the water, so we’re calling it a 3 ¾. That’s a good start for Stewart, who made a long run to start the day and is just getting after it. Only a few other small fish have been reported from those who made longer runs. Most of the field is fishing the upper end of Champlain, so those who got away will have a lot of unpressured water to work with.
7:25 a.m. – Plenty of early catches
Updates are coming in early and often today. After much of the field made their runs from takeoff (a good portion of them about 30 minutes or so), we were hit with at least a dozen fish catches in short order.
Joel Willert seems to be on ‘em again this morning. He has three in the box for about 10 pounds and has a giant marked that he intends to work on next.
AJ Slegona has gotten to work, too, with three fish in the livewell for just over 9 pounds by his marshal’s estimation.
Some pros are still in the midst of long runs, but the ones who have already set down somewhere seem to be picking up where they left off yesterday. It’s going to be another rapid fire day on Champlain.
6:30 a.m. – Day two on Champlain is underway
Tyler Stewart weighed in 22 pounds, 3 ounces yesterday to claim the lead in the FLW Tour's last stop of the 2019 season. He was one of only four anglers to top the 20-pound mark, and his 1-pound, 12-ounce lead puts the second-year pro in great shape as day two kicks off. Another solid day will give Stewart and easy shot at the 30-pro cut on Saturday.
David Dudley (19-3 on day one) made a big move of his own, starting today in 11th place and 21 spots ahead of Angler of the Year leader John Cox, who had a one-point lead over Dudley entering the tournament. If Cox misses the cut and Dudley holds on, he's the 2019 Angler of the Year. We'll be keeping a close eye on that race throughout the day.
The Polaris Rookie of the Year race is another one to watch, with Ron Nelson currently sitting in 20th place and 45 spots ahead of Braxton Setzer. Bradford Beavers (51st entering today) is 31 spots back. As close as the AOY race could be this weekend, ROY is just as fascinating.
The forecast is similar in temperature and wind levels as yesterday, but we should see a lot more overcast conditions today. It'll be interesting to see how the change impacts anglers hoping to get on some sight fish.
Stick around all day for coverage of day two on Champlain, and be sure to tune in to FLW Live coverage at weigh-in starting at 2:30 p.m. ET.
CONDITIONS
Temperature at takeoff: 66 degrees
Forecast high: 84 degrees
Sky: Partly cloudy to cloudy
Precipitation: 10 percent chance
Wind: SE at 8 mph
TOURNAMENT DETAILS
Presented by T-H Marine
Hosted by City of Plattsburgh and Adirondack Coast Visitors Bureau
Takeoff: 6:30 a.m. ET at Plattsburgh City Marina, 5 Dock Street, Plattsburgh, N.Y.
Weigh-in: 2:30 p.m. ET at Plattsburgh City Marina, 5 Dock Street, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 4:00 p.m. ET days three and four
FLW Expo: 2-6 p.m. ET at Plattsburgh City Marina
FLW Live: 2:30 p.m. ET through the end of weigh-in