Top Coates

Local favorite Bryan Coates grabs overall lead, makes strong bid to defend 2005 Stren Series title on Lake Erie

CLEVELAND – The Cleveland Kid is at it again. After netting nearly $65,000 in cash and prizes at last year’s event on Lake Erie, Stren Series pro Bryan Coates has clearly decided that one tournament title on the Great Lakes isn’t nearly enough. Despite an incredible day of fishing from the majority of his fellow Northeast Division competitors – no pro on the top-10 list in Wednesday’s competition caught less than 20 pounds – Coates blazed a searing path on the water en route to claiming the top overall spot with an amazing five-fish catch of 24 pounds, 10 ounces.

And nobody seemed more surprised than Coates himself.

“I really didn’t expect this,” said Coates, who currently resides in Amherst, Ohio. “It just turned out to be a perfect day. I wasn’t really catching that many big fish in practice. And the first few spots I pulled up on today, I couldn’t catch anything. That’s when I started to get nervous. But in the end, everything worked out. It was just a stellar day out there.”

Although Coates wouldn’t divulge the location of his fishing hot spots, he did acknowledge that defending his tournament title was something he’s been thinking about for a long, long time.

“I won here last year, and for me to come back this year and catch them on the first day like I did, that was special,” he said. “There’s definitely some pressure, being that this tournament is right in my backyard. For weeks, people have been wishing me well. They keep telling me that I have to do it for Cleveland.”

Coates, who has been targeting rock piles with a combination of ISG Dream tubes and Goby Bam baits, said he “pretty much” plans to go with the same game plan in tomorrow’s competition.

Dameron digs deep to claim second

Although Roy Dameron of Daniels, W. Va., argues that he has virtually no familiarity with Lake Erie, you’d never know it from today’s finish. Using a total catch of 23 pounds, 12 ounces, Dameron grabbed second place overall and put himself in perfect position to qualify for Thursday’s top-20 cut.

“I’m a Southern boy, so I really don’t know this lake that well,” said Dameron. “I had an OK practice, but today, whenever I got a bite, it seemed to be a good fish. The first two fish I caught today were over 5 pounds, so it was definitely a great way to start out the tournament.”

However, Dameron said it wasn’t easy. Although Dameron didn’t get seasickness like a lot of his fellow competitors, he acknowledged that the wind – which picked up throughout the afternoon – made for an uneasy flight back to the weigh-in stage.

“It was pretty rough out there,” said Dameron, who made a 30-mile run each way in today’s competition. “You have to run fast to get to your spots, especially if you’re making longer runs. And it was really rough on the boat. I’d like to do the same thing tomorrow. But if the weather gets worse, it’s going to be tough to get to some of my spots.”

As an added bonus, Dameron also claimed the day’s Big Bass award in the Pro Division after netting a 5-pound, 11-ounce fish in today’s competition. The award is worth $525.

Lucarelli and son

While many anglers had an incredible day on the water, no family unit had everything go their way quite like New Hampshire duo of Steve and Joe Lucarelli. When all was said and done, Steve finished the day in third place, while his son, Joe, grabbed seventh place overall.

“Considering how our prefishing went, and considering that my son is right there (on the leaderboard) with me, it was definitely a great day,” said Steve, who recorded a catch of 22 pounds, 11 ounces. “Together we prefished for eight days, and on a number of those days, we only caught one or two fish all day. So to share this accomplishment with my son, with the tough conditions we had today, is just incredible.”

Best of the rest

Christopher King of South Amherst, Ohio, and Tommy Williams of Shepherdsville, Ky., tied for the day in fourth place after both anglers landed a bag weighing 21 pounds, 15 ounces.

“We did really well today,” said Williams. “I’ve been up here for five days prefishing, and I finally figured something out two days ago. I’m definitely fishing a very unorthodox style. I don’t want to say what it is, but it’s something that I have a lot of success doing back home in Kentucky. Overall, my partner and I probably caught 30 fish today. I was throwing back 3-pounders all day. That’s how good the fishing was.”

Guilliams powers his way to co-angler lead

Gary Guilliams of Troutville, Va., used a dominating catch of 21 pounds – 2 pounds greater than his nearest competitor – to grab the top overall spot on the co-angler leaderboard.

“It was just an outstanding day out there, whether you were in a tournament or just out (recreational) fishing,” said Guilliams. “We had a lot of fun.”

However, Guilliams said that much of the credit has to go to his pro partner, Tony Black, who finished the day in 13th place in the Pro Division.

“You can practice all you want, but as a co-angler, you’re at the mercy of your pro partner more times than not,” said Guilliams. “And today I had a really great partner. He had the spot, and we just stayed there all day. It was just a great day of fishing.”

Guilliams also earned $205 for winning the Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 6-pound, 13-ounce smallmouth bass.

Best of the rest

Rounding out the top five co-angler leaders after the first day of competition at the Stren Series Lake Erie event:

2nd: David Williams of Fredericksburg, Va., 19-0

3rd: Rob Webber of Elyria, Ohio, 18-9

4th: Blaine Bucy of Weirton, W. Va., 18-2

5th: Gilbert Brown of Fredericksburg, Va., 17-6

Day two of Stren Series action on Lake Erie continues at Thursday’s takeoff, scheduled to take place at 6:30 a.m. EDT at Voinovich Park Marina, located at East Ninth Street in downtown Cleveland.