FLW preview: Lake Champlain, June 19-22
FLW Tour heads to nation’s sixth-largest lake for final event of regular season
The upcoming Forrest Wood Open on Lake Champlain can be summed up with one word: H-U-G-E.
For starters, the lake is absolutely humongous by FLW standards – measuring 120 miles in length, boasting over 435 miles of surface water and containing a volume of 6.8 trillion gallons of water. There is also a huge total purse of $1.05 million for the taking – including a top prize of $210,000 in the Pro Division and $40,000 earmarked for first place in the Co-angler Division. In addition, the outcome of the Forrest Wood Open will have huge implications for anglers seeking a berth in the 2002 FLW Championship. Finally, the tournament boasts a huge subplot: the concluding chapters in the race for 2002 FLW Angler of the Year.
In short, the Forrest Wood Open could easily materialize as one of the most exciting and defining FLW Tour events of the entire 2002 season. And that would be … well … huge.
Lake Champlain history, facts
With 587 miles of shoreline and a maximum depth of 400 feet, Lake Champlain represents the largest lake FLW anglers will visit on the tour this year. Meandering along the border of New York and Vermont, Lake Champlain boasts more than 70 islands and some of the most beautiful scenery in the United States, featuring impressive vistas encompassing the Adirondacks, Green Mountains and Taconic Mountains as well as the Champlain and Vermont valleys.
Lake Champlain flows from Whitehall, N.Y., north across the U.S.-Canadian border to its outlet at the Richelieu River in Quebec, where it eventually drains into the Atlantic Ocean at the Gulf of the St. Lawrence River. Although Lake Champlain is long – covering more than 100 miles from north to south – the lake is relatively narrow, measuring only 12 miles at its widest point. Champlain, which has an average depth of 64 feet, can be broken down into five distinct segments (from north to south): Missisquoi Bay, Inland Sea, Malletts Bay, Main Lake and South Lake.
Tournament strategy wide open
As a result of a number of factors – lake size, seasonal patterns and extensive populations of both largemouth and smallmouth bass – anglers will undoubtedly have a multitude of fishing options at their disposal on Lake Champlain.
“You could go up there and fish for nothing but largemouth bass, or you could do nothing but target smallmouth bass all week. Or you could say to yourself that you want to try and catch a mixed bag,” said FLW Tour pro Scott Martin. “Some guys will catch most of their fish on plastics while others will use spinner baits, hard jerkbaits and big black and blue jigs. The spawn will also be going on, so you’re going to have a number of different ways to catch fish.”
FLW Tour pro Wesley Strader agrees that successful tournament strategies are going to be as diverse as the anglers themselves.
“It’s unbelievable how many ways you can catch fish at Lake Champlain,” said Strader. “It’s definitely going to be one of those tournaments where you can catch fish using almost any method. People will be flipping, sight-fishing, and throwing spinner baits and tubes. However, I don’t think there will be a whole lot of fish caught deep. I think it’s a little too early in the season for that up there.”
While most anglers would be hard-pressed to even think about using sight-fishing techniques in early summer at most FLW venues, up on Lake Champlain in late June, sight-fishing becomes a very real possibility.
“The largemouth bass are in the pre-spawn and spawning phases, while the smallmouth bass are either spawning or in the post-spawn phase,” said Martin, who has already done some pre-tournament scouting. “So, sight-fishing could definitely come into play.”
The overwhelming size of Lake Champlain should provide a welcome respite to anglers weary of the heavy fishing-boat congestion that plagues some of the smaller bodies of water during the first few days of a tournament.
“That’s another great thing about the size of Lake Champlain: Not everyone is going to be jammed up right on top of each other,” said Strader. “On Champlain, if you do find a couple of good spots, you might just have them to yourself the entire time.”
Winning by ounces
Because Lake Champlain is such a healthy fishery, many anglers are already predicting that this tournament could produce one of the largest total catches of the year on the FLW Tour.
“There’s going to be a lot of fish caught,” said Strader. “I think it will take about 17 pounds a day to make the cut, but there are going to be a lot of 15-pound stringers caught. This tournament could very well be decided by a few ounces. It could be that close.”
Martin agreed that the tournament leaderboard would most likely be separated by a razor-thin margin.
“Most of the time you need about a 3 1/2-pound average each day to get into the money round on Lake Champlain,” said Martin. “But a 4-pound average could be enough to win the tournament. A few ounces could definitely make all the difference. It’s going to be really tight.”
Because the finals of the Forrest Wood Open could come down to only a few ounces, Martin said the key to winning the tournament is being able to target the right species of fish at the right time.
“This is the best double-tiered lake in the country. And by that, I mean that Lake Champlain is absolutely incredible as both a largemouth fishery ANDa smallmouth fishery,” said Martin. “You’re probably going to need a good largemouth catch to win. But if the smallmouth bite is going, you could easily catch a 20-pound sack of fish. Anglers are definitely going to have to make some decisions.”
So, given all of that information, which anglers are expected to do well?
“This tournament is going to be totally up for grabs,” said Strader. “I’d be almost willing to guarantee that everyone is going to catch a limit and that every ounce of fish is going to make a significant difference. It’s going to be a slugfest out there.”
Angler-of-the-Year titles to be awarded
The FLW Tour event on Lake Champlain will also feature a very notable subplot as the tournament progresses; namely, the race for the 2002 FLW Angler-of-the-Year award in the Pro and Co-angler divisions. Currently, Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich., is the front-runner in the Pro Division with 914 total points. If VanDam manages to win the title, he would become the first FLW angler to win the prestigious award in back-to-back years. In second place is Jay Yelas of Tyler, Texas, with 886 points. Bernie Schultz of Gainesville, Fla., is in third place with 857 points. In the Co-angler Division, W.D. “Hoot” Gibson of Bryant, Ark., is in first place with 898 points. Co-angler Fred Hill (813 points) of Roxboro, N.C., is in second, while John Ballard of Parkville, Mo., and Al Little of Greensboro, N.C., are tied for third place with 801 points.
The FLW Tour event on Lake Champlain also represents the last chance for anglers to qualify for the 2002 FLW Championship, scheduled to take place Sept. 11-14 on Cross Lake in Shreveport, La. Only the top 48 anglers (based on year-end standings) in each division will be invited to the championship.
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