Lake Champlain tourney resumes
EverStart Northern Division anglers back on course after one-day weather delay
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – After a well-deserved day of rest and relaxation, EverStart anglers were happy to fire up their boat engines once again after inclement weather and strong winds forced FLW Outdoors officials to cancel Thursday’s tournament action on Lake Champlain. Clearly anxious to resume competition, the top 21 pros and co-anglers departed Mooney Bay Marina shortly after 6:30 a.m. this morning, officially kicking off Friday’s semifinal round of action. However, unlike yesterday, anglers were greeted by much more favorable conditions – including calm winds and sunny skies – as they made their way toward the open waters of Lake Champlain.
Although the top 20 anglers in each division normally advance to the semifinals, tournament officials decided to expand today’s field by two anglers – one extra pro and one additional co-angler – due to the fact that there was a three-way tie in the Co-angler Division for 19th place after the first day of competition. With the second day of tournament action wiped out, EverStart officials had to rely solely on the day-one standings to calculate who would advance. However, with a three-way logjam at 19th place, there was no tie-breaking procedure in place to objectively eliminate one of the co-anglers. So, instead of sending one co-angler home, tournament officials decided to simply expand the field.
As a result of the cancellation, anglers who jumped out to a quick start to the competition clearly benefited – as many anglers who had hoped to make up ground Thursday never had a chance to compete again. Consequently, many household names – including FLW Tour pros Dion Hibdon, Dave LeFebre, Jim Moynagh, Jim Tutt, Terry Baksay, Koby Kreiger, Carl Svebek, Kevin Vida, Al Gagliarducci, Joel Richardson and Guido Hibdon – failed to make the cut.
However, the cancellation probably hit no angler harder than pro Dan Mansky of Youngstown, Ohio. Mansky, who came into the Lake Champlain tournament as the overall leader in the EverStart Northern Division Angler of the Year competition, appeared to be in great shape after initially turning in a 17-pound, 9-ounce stringer on the first day of competition. But because he came to the weigh-in eight minutes late as a result of a mechanical breakdown on the water, Mansky was docked a full 8 pounds – 1 pound per minute per tournament rules. Although he still held out hope for a huge comeback, Thursday’s cancellation effectively torpedoed any chances he had of winning the title.
“I was on some good fish, but I had some boat problems out there and I wasn’t able to get in on time,” said a clearly dejected Mansky. “I was trying to flag people down, but by the time someone stopped it was already too late.”
Currently Brian Gates of Mendon, Vt., leads all pro semifinal qualifiers after landing a 19-pound, 3-ounce catch in Wednesday’s competition. Tom Monsoor (second) of Lacrosse, Wis., Thomas LaVictoire (tied for third) of West Rutland, Vt., Sam Newby (tied for third) of Pocola, Okla., and Patrick Martin (fifth) of Carver, Minn., round out the top five.
The top five co-angler qualifiers are as follows: Johnathan Dingle (first) of South Meriden, Conn., Troy Sprague (second) of Lincoln, Neb., Dean Meckes (third) of Clayton, N.Y., Bob Melanson (fourth) of Springfield, Mass., and Philip Borsa (fifth) of Redford, Mich.
EverStart action continues at today’s weigh-in, scheduled to take place at 2:30 p.m. at Mooney Bay Marina, located at 15 Mooney Bay in Plattsburgh, N.Y.
Vital statistics:
Sunrise: 6:45 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 43 degrees
Expected high temperature: 68 degrees
Water temperature: 65-68 degrees
Wind: from the southwest at 5 mph
Relative humidity: 64 percent
Day’s outlook: partly cloudy
Related links:
Photos
Day-three pairings
Opening-round results