Stokes Pulls Ahead on Erie
Long run on back-to-back days pays off
One of a number of pros who elected to make the run from Sandusky to the Detroit River, Troy Stokes pulled into the lead on day two of the Toyota Series Northern Division event on Lake Erie. Weighing in 18 pounds, 4 ounces on day one, Stokes added 19-9 on day two for a 37-13 total.
Outside of lackluster weights, the storyline going into the final day is the weather. Today, a big storm rolled through during weigh-in, knocking out the live feed and sending tents and trash flying. On the water, it created high seas for anglers still on their way back. With stronger winds in the forecast for Saturday, anything is on the table, from a long, grueling run to a day spent in Sandusky Bay.
Fishing in the Detroit River, Stokes got his work done pretty quickly today.
“I got there before the wind started blowing, which was nice, because with the storm coming in, I got back early,” he says. “I caught ‘em pretty consistently throughout the day, but it’s hard to catch big ones.
“I got a couple big bites early before the wind started blowing right up the river. That kind of backs it up. I got a couple big ones right before that happened and then just weeded through some small ones.”
Casting a drop-shot and a tube, Stokes is fishing a milk run of spots in the Detroit River. He says his fish came anywhere from 3 to 18 feet deep, and things changed a bit from day one. Then, his bigger fish came shallow – today they all came in deeper water.
As for making the run in big winds. Stokes isn’t totally committed.
“My wrap is already coming off, I just noticed my jack plate isn’t working anymore, and my rod holder in my rod locker is coming off,” says Stokes. “It wasn’t even that bad today; I got scared when I was coming back because it got really big really fast, but it wasn’t like that the whole day. It took about two hours to get back. tomorrow its supposed to be a lot worse, so it’s a gamble.”
Top 10 pros
1. Troy Stokes – Brownstown, Mich. – 37-13 (10)
2. Dick Parker – Lorain, Ohio – 35-13 (10)
3. Drew Sanford – Springfield, Mo. – 34-14 (10)
4. Chase Serafin – White Lake, Mich. – 33-11 (10)
5. Jonathan Dietz – Corry, Penn. – 33-10 (10)
6. Tony Mitchell – Plainwell, Mich. – 33-8 (10)
7. Drew Six – Clinton, Ohio – 33-3 (10)
8. Lee Rogers – Newton, N.J. – 33-2 (10)
9. John Dawson – Mount Vernon, Ohio – 32-11 (10)
10. Jonathan Kelley – Old Forge, Penn. – 32-10 (10)
Drephal leads co-anglers
Hailing from New London, Wis., Harlan Drephal caught 12 pounds even to bump up from third place to first place with a 29-5 total. Fishing with Robert Grosse on day one and Joe Lucareli on day two, Drephal has out-fished his pro two days running. Going into the final day, three other co-angler have 28 pounds or better, so it's sure to be a race to the finish.