Hall captures Champlain’s FLW Series co-angler title
Diversity and maximized opportunities fueled success
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Alabama pro Scott Canterbury has a new fan in Christopher Hall – the Pennsylvania co-angler who appreciates being given the opportunity to win his division’s title at the FLW Series Eastern Division event on Lake Champlain.
“If it wasn’t for Scott putting me on fish from the get-go – on my first cast, I caught a 3-pounder – I wouldn’t be standing here,” Hall said. “I got some good fish early but they started slowing down by mid-morning and Scott said `Let’s go to another spot and we’ll get bigger fish.’ Sure enough, we did and I
upgraded. We went to another spot and I upgraded again.”
Hall said he committed to sticking with finesse tactics the entire tournament. Varying his baits kept his presentations fresh and the fish responded.
“I fished a dropshot for three days – I glued that rod to the end of my hand,” he said. “I just kept changing my baits. I used a wacky-rigged Senko, Jackall baits – I had a whole box stuffed with dropshot baits.”
Hall held the second place spot for two days with weights of 17-12 and 14-13. He added 14-15 on day three for a winning total of 47-8. With his three pros fishing different areas, Hall said his winning performance required versatility.
“The first day, we fished up in the New York arm (northwest corner of the lake) and the second day, we ran almost all the way down to Ticonderoga and today we fished the Inland Sea (Vermont side),” he said. “I had to adapt all three days.”
Broken leader leaves Bushey in second
The vision of a plump smallmouth breaking off at boatside will probably haunt Tony Bushey for a long time, but the co-angler from Champlain, N.Y. said it’s a lesson hard learned. Placing second with 47-7, he finished just over a pound off the lead. He said the one that got away was all that and more.
“I was tired when I got home last night and I couldn’t find my fresh fluorocarbon so I grabbed the old stuff,” Bushey explained. “I thought it was good, but it wasn’t and I had a 3-pound fish break off at boatside. I’m disappointed in myself; I harp on the details.”
Bushy fished a dropshot the entire tournament and alternated between Berkley Gulp! Leeches, Yamamoto Shad Shape Worms and a Net Baits finesse worm in watermelon candy. He entered
weights of 17-6, 14-6 and 15-11 for a final score of 47-7.
C-rig propels Gengler’s big move
Jeff Gengler of Tulsa, Ok began day three in 21st place, but a key move led him to the heaviest co-angler sack of the tournament – a 19-pound, 11-ounce effort that paired with his two earlier weights of 16-11 and 8-7 for a third place total of 44-13.
He began his day with a dropshot and got a couple of fish on that rig, but switching to a Carolina rig baited with a Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Craw, really ignited his day. “I started out fishing a dropshot and caught a couple of fish on that. Then I started throwing a Carolina rig and caught most of my fish in half an hour.”
Gengler fished his C-rig over weedy bottom. He said that using a 1/2-ounce Tru-Tungsten weight provided the sensitivity he needed to adjust his retrieve in various bottom compositions.
Chester Williams of Shavertown, Penn. moved up to fourth with 44-9, while Edward Pecore of Plattsburgh, N.Y. took fifth with 42-0.
Best of the rest
Rounding out the top-10 co-angler leaders at the FLW Series Lake Champlain event:
6th: Michael McGhee of Blackstone, Va., 41-0
7th: Kurtis Michaux of Clermont, Fla., 40-15
8th: Anthony Brooks of Cornelia, Ga., 39-9
9th: Blaine Bucy of Follansbee, W.V., 38-14
10th: Richard Rhodes of Calvert City, Ky., 38-2