Dim and damp

EverStart Northern field tackles a testy Champlain

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The rain that will fall on Lake Champlain today won’t come close to replacing recently receded flood waters. Nevertheless, as the EverStart Northern Division field enters day two, this lake straddling the New York/Vermont border is definitely having a bad hair day.

At the morning boat check, scattered droplets thumped windshields and hooded rain jackets, while the American flag whipped steadily. This is nothing new on Champlain – a lake known as much for its temperamental moodiness as for its abundance of quality largemouth and smallmouth bass. So, to access the latter, fishermen will deal with the former.

Prior to takeoff, Pennsylvania pro Jason Knapp was tying on a white spinnerbait with a willow and Colorado blade. He’s hoping this bait sees minimal air time, but he knows that it can contribute strategically to his overall game plan.

“We had sunny conditions in practice, but with the wind and overcast skies today, I’ll use this as a fish-finding tool to cover some water,” Knapp said. “Flipping will be my main (tactic). I had all smallmouth yesterday, but I’m going after a big bag of largemouth today.”

Sheron Brown, of Shirley, Mass. starts the day in 80th place with 10 pounds, 8 ounces, but he has a plan to move himself up in the standings. His strategy involves a pair of topwater baits.

“My primary pattern has been smallmouth on rocky, gravel points with a Storm Chug Bug in white ghost,” he said. “I’m culling out smallmouth with largemouth on a Koppers Live Target frog. With the frog, I’m looking for reeds with matted grass and a little bit of wood. There’s always a frog bite there.”

New Jersey pro Adrian Avena leads the field with 21-3. He ran south to Ticonderoga on day one and put a whooping on the largemouth by rotating through flipping baits, weightless Senkos and swimbaits. Avena said he’s planning to mirror that deal today, but he’s not locking himself into a do-or-die scenario.

“I’m in the first flight today, so as long as I can get down there and the wind doesn’t blow too hard, I should be okay,” he said. “I have a fall-back spot (in the north end of the lake) where I can catch 14-15 pounds if I’m lucky but I feel like I can go down south and catch them pretty good again.”

Anglers will find bass in various stages of the spawn, but as fourth-place pro James Schneider noted, Champlain’s geography can play a prominent factor in locating the heaviest fish. At 125 miles in length, the lake presents vastly different habitat and climatic variances from is narrow southern end to the broader northern extremes. That means the likelihood of finding fatter prespawn fish is statistically greater in the upper region.

The list of productive baits includes dropshots, wacky-rigged worms, tubes and Texas-rigged plastics. Co-angler leader Trudy Noechel used the latter two baits to catch an 18-pound bag that included her division’s biggest fish – a 5-pound largemouth.

Logistics

Anglers will take off from Plattsburgh Boat Basin located at 5 Dock Street in Plattsburgh, N.Y., at 6 each morning. Friday’s weigh-ins will also be held at the marina beginning at 2

p.m. daily. Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at the Walmart located at 25 Consumer Square in Plattsburgh starting at 4 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.

Pros will fish for a top award of $35,000 plus a 198VX Ranger boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard if Ranger Cup guidelines are met. Co-anglers will cast for a top award consisting of a Ranger 177TR with 90-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and $5,000 if Ranger Cup guidelines are met.

The EverStart Series consists of five divisions – Central, Northern, Southeast, Texas and Western. Each division consists of four tournaments and competitors will be vying for valuable points in each division that could earn them the Strike King Angler of the Year title along with $5,000 for the pro and $2,000 for the co-angler. The top 40 pros and co-anglers from each respective division will qualify for the EverStart Series Championship that will be held on Kentucky Lake in Buchanan, Tenn., Oct. 27-30.

The EverStart Series tournament on Lake Champlain is being hosted by the City of Plattsburgh.

Friday’s conditions:

Sunrise: 5:09 a.m.

Temperature at takeoff: 60 degrees

Expected high temperature: 67 degrees

Wind: SE 10-15 mph

Humidity: 84 percent

Day’s outlook: Rainy