Erie optimized

Great Lake serves up great conditions for EverStart finalists

BUFFALO, N.Y. – They’ve seen the extremes, now the EverStart Series Northern Division finalists will fish Lake Erie’s mid-range temperament – and this might be their best opportunity yet.

On day one, strong winds whipped Erie into a frothy frenzy with waves pushing as high as eight feet. Running anywhere was an exercise in misery and maintaining boat control proved frustrating. The second day was the polar opposite, with nearly flat conditions affording anglers unhindered travel and precise positioning.

Today will see moderately windy conditions somewhere in between and that may be just the ticket for a super weigh in. Locals often say that Erie’s smallmouth bite best in rough water, but getting to them and holding on a spot is the hard part.

If anyone can challenge that line of reasoning it’s day-two leader, Gaspare Costabile, whose productivity has been consistent for two days. In the first round, the pro from Niagara Falls, Ont. sacked up 22 pounds, 2 ounces and followed yesterday with 22-11.

Costabile is dropshotting an area of transitional bottom in 35 feet about seven miles from the take-off point, so he doesn’t have to run far. Although he has pulled 44 pounds, 13 ounces from this spot, he’s confident that it will produce again today.

“I had a lot of fish that I couldn’t land yesterday, so I know there are some good fish there,” he said. “I’m hoping that because (my spot) is close to open water that it’s going to replenish. I only need five.”

Trailing the lead by just 6 ounces, Lawrence Mazur starts the day in second place with 44-7. He brings a lot of momentum to the final round, after posting the pro division’s heaviest bag – 24-3 – in yesterday’s second round. Today, he’ll return to his deep-water spot off Angola, N.Y. and dropshot a variety of baits including the Jackall Crosstail Shad, Castaic Baby Jerky J and Poor Boys Erie Darter.

“That spot is loaded with fish,” he said. “Yesterday, I fished until 9:30 and I was done. I went there yesterday and caught 25 fish. It’s a deep shelf and I’m fishing 62-75 feet of water. I found this spot about four years ago and I don’t even have to check it. I know that the third week of July, the fish go out there and the second week of September, they’re gone.”

Third-place pro John Voyles sits less than 3 pounds off the lead and he’s confident that he’s fishing the right area to give himself a shot at winning. The Indiana pro will head south to the Dunkirk area and dropshot a Reins 5-inch Bubbling Shaker in watermelon.

“I’m confident I’m around good fish, I just need five of them to bite,” Voyles said. “The first day, I had five big bites and I ended up dumping one of them. Yesterday, I had a pound penalty, so that hurt. But I’m confident that I’m around the right ones.”

Yesterday, fourth-place pro Simon Frost endured the frustration of finding his top two spots practically barren. He managed to scramble around and find a good bag, but he’s hopeful that at least one of his primary spots will have reloaded by the time he arrives today.

Mike Desforges, who starts in fifth today, will buck the deep water trend and focus his efforts in the 10- to 12-foot zone. The Ontario angler will use mostly jerkbaits and spinnerbaits.

Logistics

Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at the Walmart located at Rogers Road and Southwestern Blvd. in Hamburg starting at 3:30 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 Erie is being hosted by the Buffalo Niagara Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Friday’s conditions:

Sunrise: 6:25 a.m.

Temperature at takeoff: 65 degrees

Expected high temperature: 84 degrees

Wind: SW 7-11 mph

Humidity: 49 percent

Day’s outlook: Partly cloudy to mostly sunny