It’s the Clapper
Lake Erie veteran thunders into EverStart pro lead on day two with almost 40 pounds
TRENTON, Mich. – When you ask EverStart Series pros who they’re going to watch out for when they come to compete in the Detroit area, one of the names that pops up almost invariably is Steve Clapper. For good reason, too. Clapper, a longtime veteran of the Michigan-Ohio competitive fishing circuit, has accumulated no fewer than 16 top-10 finishes in EverStart and BFL tournaments over the years, including four victories. Every single one of those tournaments was held on the Lake St. Clair-Detroit River-Lake Erie waterway.
In other words, if you’re going to compete in a bass-fishing tournament on this particular lake, you’re going to have to beat Clapper.
It was no surprise, then, when Clapper hauled in the second-heaviest five-bass stringer of the day – 20 pounds, 12 ounces – to push his two-day total to 39-3 and take over the lead in the Pro Division at the conclusion of the opening round of Northern Division competition Thursday.
The laid-back Clapper, who hails from Lima, in northwest Ohio, acknowledges the respect that he receives from his fellow anglers when they come to compete in his backyard. But, a modest fisherman, he plays down the idea that he’s The Man on western Lake Erie.
“I’ve been around a long time, and I’m older than a lot of these guys,” he said. “Yeah, I’ve won a few tournaments, but I’d have to go back and look at my resume to see which ones.”
Well, here’s his resume: four BFL victories – two in 1999 (Buckeye and Michigan divisions), one in 2000 (Buckeye) and one in 2001 (Michigan); Michigan Division points winner, 2001; sixth place, EverStart Northern, Detroit, 2001; third place, EverStart Northern, Sandusky, Ohio, 2001. Not to mention a slew of other second- and third-place finishes in BFLs held around here, among other top-10s.
And that’s just in FLW Outdoors tournaments. Clapper himself probably couldn’t tell you exactly how many other local tournaments he’s won on this particular lake.
Not that he would.
And, like a true fisherman, neither will he disclose exactly how it is that he tends to dominate here. It’s no secret that Clapper likes to fish in deep water out on Lake Erie, dragging a tube for smallmouths like everybody else on the leaderboard. But where did he go to find such big fish?
“It’s in the area of Pelee Island,” he explained elliptically.
For the record, Pelee Island is a big plot of land smack in the middle of Canadian Lake Erie way out northeast of Toledo, Ohio. But that’s the closest you’ll get to Clapper’s secret – at least this early in the tournament.
He did say that he caught his fish in 23 to 25 feet of water and that he didn’t initially want to head out onto the big Erie chop Thursday. Problem was, he only managed to snag a pair of 14-inch bass in the Detroit River early this morning, so he decided to head out the 50 miles or so to his stash of honey holes somewhere “in the area of Pelee Island.”
“At this tournament, when you’ve got just two fish in your livewell at 10:30, you get a little nervous,” he said. “We didn’t catch a bunch there – just what we needed. I know that quality fish live in that area, but it’s an area where you can zero, too.”
Judging by his record, that’s probably not going to happen this week to Clapper. However, whether or not he’s the only competitor fishing out there all depends on the weather.
Heavier winds were expected to churn things up on Lake Erie today and keep anglers within the relative safety of the Detroit River. But that didn’t happen. It was calm, so many of the top pros went out on the big lake for the big bass.
One of those pros was second-place James Bensch of Sandusky, Ohio. He caught just 5 ounces fewer than the leader in the first two days – 38-14 – and he did it a similar way out on Erie.
“I’m fishing a long ways away,” Bensch said. “If it blows hard tomorrow, I’m in big trouble.”
He’s not the only one. All of the pros who made the top-20 cut except three are from either Michigan, Ohio or nearby Ontario. So almost everybody knows that the key to this tournament lies somewhere under the five-foot swells of Lake Erie. That’s where many are headed Friday – if they can get there.
“If it’s calm tomorrow and everybody can go to where they want to go, it’s going to be a shootout,” Bensch said. “I fish against Steve (Clapper) and (fourth-place pro) Joe Balog every weekend up here, and that’s the only way to do it. This field is awfully strong at the top. I’m not going to back off an inch, and that’s because of who I’m up against.”
Neither is third-place Richard Grosse of Hebron, Ohio. He, however, is hoping that the wind picks up like forecasted and blows a few guys off of Erie because he is fishing exclusively in the river. Competing in his first EverStart tourney of the year, Grosse has mined a river-bend area on the edge of a grass flat for 38 pounds, 13 ounces over two days. It was a spot that he found at last year’s EverStart tournament here, when he finished in 13th place.
“With or without the wind, Clapper and those guys are going to go out (on the lake) anyway,” Grosse said. “But, if it blows, I’ll take any advantage I can get.”
Any advantage you can get. That’s a common sentiment here at this prolific fishery where more fish cross the scale than at Gorton’s. Most pros said that they would be shooting for at least 18 to 19 pounds to make the cut Friday.
Rounding out the top five pros were Balog, of Independence, Ohio, with a two-day total of 38 pounds, 6 ounces and Kevin Vida (5th place) of Clare, Mich., with 37-12. Incidentally, Balog was the 2001 EverStart Series Championship winner.
Clapper also won the day’s big-bass award in the Pro Division and $750 for a 5-pound, 1-ounce smallmouth.
All of the 20 qualifying pro semifinalists weighed in 10 bass in the opening round except 12th-place Larry Mason of Waterville, Ohio, who weighed in nine fish.
Doster dominates co-anglers
EverStart rookie Robert Doster of Allegan, Mich., moved up from his third-place position Wednesday to take over the lead in the Co-angler Division after the opening round Thursday. Doster notched 10 bass weighing 35 pounds, 9 ounces over two days, outdistancing second-place Jerry Thompson (33-13) of Bemidji, Minn., by almost 2 pounds.
Doster caught the majority of his smallmouth creel Thursday using his favorite technique, “hopping a tube off of rocks,” in 22 to 24 feet of water.
“I’ve been fishing tournaments for about 17 years, and this is one of the best tournaments I’ve ever fished,” he said.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers were Tim McCafferty (3rd place) of Canton, Mich., with nine bass weighing 30 pounds, 9 ounces; Robert Suci (4th) of Flint, Mich., with nine bass weighing 29-7; and Kenneth Taylor (5th) of Shelby Township, Mich., with nine bass weighing 29-2.
Jason Knapp of Uniontown, Pa., landed co-angler big-bass honors and $250 with a 5-pound, 5-ounce largemouth.
The semifinal round commences at 7 a.m. Friday as competitors take off from Elizabeth Park Marina in Trenton. The top 10 anglers in both divisions following tomorrow’s fishing will advance to Saturday’s final round. The pro winner takes home $15,000 and a new Ranger boat while the co-angler winner receives $6,000.
Click here for a preview of day three.
Day-two links: