Champlain show continues
AOY titles, championship qualifiers to be determined Thursday
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – While everyone knew that it would be like this, it’s still hard to wrap your mind around the sky-high numbers of bass produced by Wal-Mart FLW Tour anglers at Lake Champlain so far. And when the stakes boil down to one day of fishing at a top-flight fishery like this for coveted Angler of the Year titles and championship berths, the intrigue of your ordinary bass tournament certainly cranks up a notch or two.
Day two of opening-round action at the Forrest Wood Open commenced Thursday morning as 200 boats took off from Mooney Bay Marina under bluebird skies and calm winds.
While the weather was a welcome surprise – the forecast had hinted at a decline in conditions Thursday – it probably didn’t alleviate the nerves of some anglers who are anxious to squeeze a few extra ounces out of their limits on day two in order to move up the standings and advance to the $1.5 million FLW Tour Championship in August. Here at Lake Champlain where nearly everyone catches five-bass limits, just a single pound of fish one way or the other could move an angler up or down some 30 or 40 places in a single day. That translates to 30 or 40 points in the yearly standings, which means everything to those hovering on the bubble for the top-48 cut into the championship.
After Thursday’s competition and the top-10 tournament cut, 95 percent of the pros and co-anglers will have finished their FLW regular seasons. Those anglers will essentially know whether they are in or out for the really big money in August.
Less of a question mark are the races for the points titles. With his 17th-place performance Wednesday, Shinichi Fukae of Osaka, Japan, virtually assured himself the top spot for FLW Angler of the Year. So, unless he has major boat problems or somehow breaks every rod in his boat Thursday (though, even then he’d still probably find a way to catch fish), expect to see the first Japanese bass pro to adorn your Kellogg’s cereal boxes sometime soon. Fukae is poised to become the first bass pro ever to hold angler-of-the-year titles in two countries.
On the co-angler side, steady Keith Pace of Monticello, Ark., will likely hold on and win Co-angler of the Year despite a late surge by Wednesday’s tournament leader, Greg Gulledge, who is also from Monticello and also just happens to be Pace’s roommate on the road. Pace is in a good position to win since he is fishing with pro Aaron Martens of Castaic, Calif., who proved that he is on some good bass with his 18-pound, 6-ounce sack Wednesday.
While the sun shone at takeoff, the forecast is calling for scattered thunderstorms later in the day. Whether that happens and its effects on the anglers remain to be seen, but it probably won’t matter much. This is Lake Champlain; by this point, most of the contenders likely already have their limits in the livewell.
Both fields will be cut to 10 anglers apiece, based on two-day weight, following the conclusion of the opening round Thursday. Weigh-in takes place at 3 p.m. Eastern time at Mooney Bay Marina, located at 15 Mooney Bay in Plattsburgh. Pros are competing for a first-place prize of $200,000, and a $40,000 check hangs in the balance for the co-angler winner later in the week.
For bass-fishing fans unable to attend the festivities in person, you can catch all the weigh-in action live at FLWOutdoors.com with FLW Live. Show time starts at 3 p.m. Eastern.
Thursday’s conditions:
Sunrise: 5:10 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 57 degrees
Expected high temperature: 82 degrees
Water temperature at the ramp: 66 degrees
Wind: from the south-southeast at 11 mph
Maximum humidity: 49 percent
Day’s outlook: scattered thunderstorms