Webber snares pro lead at Erie
Saros, Jancasz top co-anglers
PORT CLINTON, Ohio – While the total number of five-bass limits was down relative to previous EverStart Series tournaments on Lake Erie, anglers still caught a load of smallmouth bass on day one of Northern Division competition on the great lake. Leading the pack was Rob Webber, a local pro from Elyria, Ohio, who placed first Wednesday with five bass weighing 21 pounds, 3 ounces.
“It was a pretty exceptional day,” said Webber, a Wal-Mart BFL Buckeye Division veteran who is competing in his first EverStart event. “We were done fishing by 10 o’clock. I’m happy with it, though I didn’t expect I’d have that much (weight).”
Webber caught his limit, like many competitors Wednesday, by throwing tubes and targeting a reef area in 10 to 25 feet of water. However, unlike a lot of the field, he and – not coincidentally – several of the other top pros chose to go east instead of north when deciding where to fish. Many anglers who set their sights on Pelee Island north of takeoff at Dempsey State Access found a fickle bite while the pro leaders – including Webber, second-place David McCrone and third-place Vic Vatalaro – all went east toward Cleveland.
“I was pretty surprised there wasn’t a lot of boats around me,” Webber said. “This time of year, the fishing is pretty spotty here. But if you find a spot, chances are you can find a good one. The biggest problem was cutting through the sheepshead to get through to the bass.”
McCrone and Vatalaro also took advantage of the long eastern run, which not only yielded them leading stringers, but also an easier ride to their spots. There was a light southerly wind on Erie Wednesday, and that made the run along the southern shore much smoother than for those who went out onto the lake.
McCrone of Minnetonka, Minn., bounced tubes on rock piles to land his limit worth 20 pounds, 12 ounces. While he only caught six keepers, he was surprised by his total weight Wednesday.
“That was more than I thought,” he said, adding that he thought he had about 18 pounds in his livewell. “It makes me a little bit nervous now.”
Kent, Ohio, native Vatalaro caught 20 pounds, 9 ounces and is no stranger to success in tournaments held here. He won the EverStart event launched from Sandusky, Ohio, just across the bay from here, in 2001.
Still, he was thinking instead of his performance last month at the Detroit River EverStart. “I got burned over in Detroit,” he said. “This time, I changed tactics completely and went toward Cleveland. I went to a spot I hadn’t fished in five years. I knew it from the old days and picked a little-known spot an old guy taught me.”
While Vatalaro also caught his bass on tubes over rocks, his target area was in relatively shallow water, around 12 feet. He caught a total of 12 fish and stopped fishing by 11 o’clock.
The only other angler to top 20 pounds was pro Bill Chapman of Salt Rock, W.Va. His five-bass sack weighing 20 pounds, 5 ounces was good for fourth place Wednesday.
Rounding out the top five pros were Steven May of Deerfield, N.H., and Mike Trombly of Perrysburg, Ohio, who tied for fifth place with a weight of 19 pounds, 9 ounces.
Robert Sherry of Saint Charles, Ill., (seventh place, 19 pounds, 2 ounces); Joe Balog of Independence, Ohio, (eighth, 18-14); Dwayne Horton of Knoxville, Tenn., (eighth, 18-14); and Ed Allen of Lakeview, Ohio, (10th, 18-12) filled out the top 10 in the Pro Division.
Edward Rogers Jr. of Grand Rapids, Mich., took pro big-bass honors and $750 Wednesday with a nice 5-pound smallmouth.
Testy bite tests Erie regulars
What is notable are some of the names not on the pro leaderboard at this tournament. Lake Erie heavyweights like Clare, Michigan’s Kevin Vida, Detroit River winner David Hayward of nearby Sylvania, Ohio, and Northern Division points leader Mark Zona of Sturgis, Mich., all suffered average performances Wednesday and have a lot of work to do on Thursday to make the cut. Vida and Zona placed 99th and 100th, respectively, and Hayward placed 82nd. And where is the sultan of Erie smallmouth, Steve Clapper of Lima, Ohio? He landed in 65th place.
According to Vida and Zona, who were fishing normally productive Pelee Island, the problem wasn’t lack of fish. It was a matter of fishing with the wrong bait.
“They’re there,” Vida said. “I just can’t get them to bite.”
“Man, it was like an aquarium out there,” Zona said. “People were catching them all around me.”
Leader Webber explained that a late smallmouth spawn this year has thrown off the seasonal bite. Seventy-five pros caught limits and the field weighed in a total of 1,759 pounds, but those numbers tend to be higher at an Erie tournament.
“We had a very slow spring,” Webber said. “The fish were spawning until July, so the fishing has been a little bit behind all year. As for me, I’m just happy that things worked out as they did.”
Co-angler leader hopes to win one for Tex
Robert Saros of Mishawaka, Ind., took the lead in the Co-angler Division with a nice five-bass stringer weighing 18 pounds, 10 ounces. Fishing with Vatalaro, Saros used his smoke purple-and-green “D’s” tube to land six keeper bass Wednesday.
“It was beautiful because the water wasn’t rough and we had a long run today,” Saros said. “As a co-angler, you’re only as good as the pro in the boat, and we worked well together.”
Saros found his success early in this tournament rather poignant since he lost a good friend, longtime bass angler Tex Galloway, who passed away recently. He hopes he can continue to do well and dedicate the event to Galloway and his son, Kurt.
“His son was supposed to fish here this week, but he stayed home to take care of his dad’s business,” Saros said. “Tex would have been here to watch his son, and I told Kurt I would do my best for him.”
Saros also collected $250 for the co-angler big-bass award Wednesday. His kicker smallmouth weighed 5 pounds, 5 ounces.
Points leader Jancasz keeps rolling
Coming in second for the co-anglers was Trevor Jancasz of White Pigeon, Mich., with a five-bass weight of 18 pounds, 5 ounces. He used a green tube and a jerkbait to land his bass in water 7 feet deep or less.
“You could see them,” he said of the fish he caught today.
Jancasz is hot this season, his first full year in Northern Division competition. He finished eighth and fourth at the first two events and leads the standings by seven points. He doesn’t appear to be letting up, either.
“Yeah, I’m trying to go for that boat (awarded to Co-angler of the Year),” he said. “I went out practicing with (Joe) Balog yesterday and kind of caught my groove. I think I carried it over into today.”
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers are Charlie Compton of Kendallville, Ind., (third place) with a weight of 17 pounds, 14 ounces; Brad Baldwin of Dayton, Ohio, (fourth) with 17-5; Gary Nelson of Louisa, Ky., (fifth) with 16-14; Mark Phillips of Fayetteville, Ark., (sixth) with 16-12; Eric Struif of Lake Villa, Ill., (seventh) with 16-10; Bob Evans of Elkhart, Ind., (eighth) with 16-8; Chuck Willis of Kettering, Ohio, (ninth) with 16-5; and Michael Wooley of West Bloomfield, Mich., (10th) with 15-13. All 10 of the top co-anglers caught five-bass limits.
Thursday’s fishing action ensues at sunrise at Dempsey State Access as the field takes off for the second half of opening-round competition. The top 20 anglers in both divisions following tomorrow’s fishing will advance to Friday’s semifinal round.
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