Quick Bites: FLW Tour Lake Champlain, Day 1

Wal-Mart FLW Tour

Lake Champlain, Plattsburgh, N.Y.

Opening round, Wednesday

Leader watch … Well, it’s that time of year again, time to analyze the points standings as the final event of the season is upon us. Currently leading the Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year points race is South Carolina pro Anthony Gagliardi, who caught a limit weighing 16 pounds, 1 ounce today. On any other lake, that would be quite a bit, but on a fish factory like Lake Champlain, that weight is only good for 48th. Luckily for Gagliardi, his nearest competition, Jim Moynagh, is behind him in 62nd with 15-11. In fact, of the top five point contenders, No. 3 Matt Herren finished highest on day one in 33rd. “I wish I had a couple more pounds, but I feel pretty good,” Gagliardi said. Indeed, a couple more pounds would have put him in the top 10. “I’d definitely like to get (AOY) under my belt,” he said. “That’s what I’m gunning for. That’s the best measure of a fisherman.” … As for Moynagh, he tried to hit Lake Champlain today with a clear mind. “I fished just like I would any tournament today,” he said. “It’s the most important tournament I’ve ever had, really. I just went out and thought about catching my next fish – I didn’t think about (AOY) when I was fishing.”

Slipping in the back … Now that we’ve talked about the points leaders, let’s discuss the guys who are really stressing it this week – the ones who are barely in, or just outside, the championship cutoff slot of 48th place in the points. No. 48 heading into this week’s event was Takahiro Omori, and he did himself no favors at all by ending day one in 196th place. Just outside the cut in 49th is Carl Svebek, who did only slightly better, finishing the day in 180th. Last year’s championship winner, George Cochran, is currently the No. 47-ranked pro, and he fared fairly well, ending day one in 64th. It certainly looks like a shift in the points is under way, which gives a lot of guys hope, but gives many others a reason to find some Pepcid Complete.

The flying co-angler … When co-angler Laura Long signed up to fish this week’s Lake Champlain event, she had no idea the day-one boat ride would feel more like a bad day at the amusement park. If it weren’t for the quick reflexes of her pro partner Sam Swett, Long would have gotten pretty wet today, and that probably would have been the least of her problems. “We were coming in, and with no warning, in the middle of the lake, the lower unit fell off,” Swett said. “I don’t know if I hit something; we never felt anything. We went into a 360-degree tailspin.” Swett estimates he was going 70 mph at the time. “I thought I was going to lose Laura,” he said. “She started flying, and I grabbed her by the life jacket.” Though the two made it back to the weigh-in unscathed, Swett and Long were counting their blessings. “We stayed level,” Swett said, crediting his steady Ranger boat for the lucky break. “Nobody was hurt. It could have been a lot worse.”

Throwing them Baksay … Everybody knows the fishing is easy on Lake Champlain. But is it easy enough to throw back keepers, even when you don’t have a limit in the livewell? Terry Baksay says it is, and he put his money where his mouth is, finishing today in the 20th position with 16-15 despite throwing back keepers weighing 2 1/2 pounds. “If I’m catching fish I don’t think are big enough to weigh in, I don’t put them in the livewell,” said Baksay, who made the decision to throw back anything under 3 pounds. “I live four hours away, and I fish this lake a lot. If I don’t catch 3-pounders, I don’t deserve to be fishing out here.” Baksay startled his co-angler this morning when, with only one keeper in the livewell, he caught three bass in a row that were 2 1/2 pounds. All of them went right back into Lake Champlain. “I tossed them back, and then I caught four good ones and culled the rest of the day,” he said. “But I’m not sure if I’ll do it tomorrow. The second day is usually tougher.”

Hey, can I borrow your phone? … They say it’s bad luck to have a banana in your boat on tournament day, but pro Sam Newby didn’t even need a banana for bad luck or even to slip on today – he fell all on his own. “The second bite I got, my foot slipped,” Newby said. The slip wasn’t the harmless, slightly embarrassing kind. No, Newby went all the way, falling into Lake Champlain and probably ruining his phone in the process. “If my wife’s listening (on FLW Live), my cell phone probably isn’t working,” he said. As for his plans for day two, Newby said his primary goal is to stay dry.

Was there a banana in that boat? … Chad Grigsby is currently listed on today’s standings sheet as being in 51st place with 16 pounds. However, he would have been in 10th place with 18 pounds if it hadn’t been for his 4-ounce upgrade that made him two minutes late. It seems that Grigsby stopped to catch a fish that would increase his total weight by 4 ounces. But stopping to land that fish cost Grigsby two minutes at check-in time, and those two minutes cost him a 2-pound penalty. So Grigsby’s 4-ounce upgrade wound up actually costing him 1 pound, 12 ounces and 41 spots on the leaderboard. Ouch.

Change is good … The 2007 Wal-Mart FLW Tour schedule was released yesterday, and the slate of events seemed to inspire a positive reaction from most competitors. Also playing to the anglers’ liking is the new Thursday-to-Sunday schedule, a change from the FLW Tour’s current Wednesday-to-Saturday routine. “I think Sunday will be really good for the fan base,” said pro Jim Tutt. “I don’t mind fishing Saturday and Sunday.” Angler of the Year contender Darrel Robertson thinks the 2007 lineup will play right into his hands. “The schedule is fine by me,” he said. “I like my chances.” Pro Mike Surman is also a fan, and he, in particular, is looking forward to the Potomac River and Detroit River dates. However, he says the extra weekend day of competition could require some creative strategy. “We’re going to get a lot more weekend traffic,” he said. But Chad Grigsby agrees with Tutt, saying, “I’d rather do that. It brings more people to the Fun Zone. Most people have to work on Friday.” With the 2007 schedule heavy on big-city venues, in addition to the more family-friendly schedule, more fans should indeed find their way to the Family Fun Zone and tournament weigh-ins next year.

Quick numbers:

198: Number of pros, out of 200, who caught bass on day one.

194: Number of those pros who caught a five-bass limit.

197: Number of co-anglers who caught fish today.

4,887-11: Weight, in pounds and ounces, of the bass brought in by pros and co-anglers today.

5-12: Weight, in pounds and ounces, of the heaviest bass brought in today, caught by No. 2 pro Tony Couch.

1: Number of times that No. 5 pro Thanh Le of Florida has been to Lake Champlain.

Sound bites:

“I love New York.” – Bronx native Judy Israel, echoing the state’s famous slogan after bringing in 16 pounds, 2 ounces of bass that put her in fourth place on the co-angler side.

“This is the best fishing I’ve had all year, but they’re all the wrong size.” – Pro Gabe Bolivar, who is fourth in Angler of the Year standings, but whose 13-plus-pound catch only put him in 121st place after day one.

“It’s all about the championship.” – Rookie pro Jason Knapp, on the mindset of anglers fishing the final event of the season. Knapp is currently ranked 19th in pro standings and ended day one in 48th place.

“It was too smooth.” – Pro David Walker’s tongue-in-cheek answer to the question of why he did not make a long run today. The big waters of Lake Champlain had been rocked by storms in pretournament practice, making navigation precarious.

“I like it. I’ve been looking at houses, actually.” – Florida pro Scott Martin, on the appeal of Lake Champlain.

Tomorrow’s takeoff is scheduled to take place at 6:30 a.m. Eastern time at the Plattsburgh Boat Basin, located at 5 Dock St. in Plattsburgh.