PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The last regular-season event of the 2006 Stren Series began Wednesday morning as a full field of anglers took off onto Lake Champlain for the fourth and final Northeast Division qualifier of the year.
At stake this week are the customary spoils of the Stren Series: some $60,000 in cash and prizes for the pro winner and a possible $35,000 for the top co-angler. Mostly, though, anglers are here making last-ditch efforts to try to gain points and earn a berth into the Stren Championship, to be held at Alabama’s Wheeler Lake in early November.
To that end, there’s really no better place to do that than Lake Champlain, which is as prolific a tournament bass fishery as they come. The limits of feisty smallmouths and largemouths will come hot and fast this week, even if it is a little September cool in upstate New York. The competition – as always at Champlain – will be decided by mere ounces.
Another trend to watch out for this week: Can somebody win this event by catching smallmouth bass exclusively? History says no; good smallies will easily get you through the cut, but the winner always seems to be holding up fat largemouths for Saturday photos. Don’t think that goes unnoticed by the anglers: More than a few pros pointed their boats southward at takeoff Wednesday morning in hopes of capitalizing on the big largemouth bite in the Ticonderoga area, about 60 miles down at the bottom of the lake.
However, it is late September, and the weather could seriously test anyone who decides to take that chance. Connecticut pro Terry Baksay said conditions in practice weren’t exactly friendly for anyone who might want to make the big run on Champlain, which has previously seen tournament days canceled due to wind.
“On Saturday, I was just fishing this bay right here at Plattsburgh, and it was blowing like I’ve never seen it before. Let’s put it this way: I couldn’t even stand on my boat deck because it was so rough,” said Baksay, a noted smallmouth angler. “But I’m sure some people will still be ambitious and go down there.”
With steady 10 to 20 mph southerly winds kicking up the afternoon for most of the week, it will be interesting to see whether the lure of the Ticonderoga largemouth is enough to overcome the pain of a long run on a ruthless Lake Champlain.
Lefebre leads points
With just this event remaining, Dave Lefebre of Erie, Pa., who won the last Northeast Division contest at the Potomac River, leads the pro standings with 557 points. Another perennial Northern points contender, Kevin Bishop of Hilton, N.Y., is in second place with 547.
Michael McMahon of Hackettstown, N.J., has a definitive lead in the co-angler standings with 574 points. However, Ryan Bowman of Seneca, S.C., is in contention again in second place with 529 points. This is the second year in a row that Bowman has entered the final event ranked second; last year, he ultimately won the points race.
Logistics
Anglers take off from Plattsburgh Boat Basin at 7 a.m. Eastern time all week. Wednesday and Thursday’s weigh-ins will also be held at the park, which is located at 5 Dock Street, beginning at 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday’s weigh-ins will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 25 Consumer Square in Plattsburgh beginning at 4 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
The field will compete for two days to determine the top 20 pros and top 20 co-anglers who advance to day three based on their two-day accumulated weight. Weights are cleared for day three and anglers compete for 10 spots in each division on day four. Winners are determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from days three and four.
On the Web
For fishing fans unable to attend the Stren Northeast contest taking place this week in New York, FLWOutdoors.com offers FLW Live, a real-time window to the daily weigh-ins. Just access the online application during weigh-in hours to keep tabs on your favorite anglers.
Wednesday’s conditions
Sunrise: 6:23 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 48 degrees
Expected high temperature: 72 degrees
Wind: SSE at 10 to 15 mph
Maximum humidity: 51 percent
Day’s outlook: mostly sunny