Kreiger leads semifinals at Lake Vermilion
Pro top 10 reads like a who’s who of bass fishing; rookie Caraballo leads co-anglers
TOWER, Minn. – Bountiful Lake Vermilion has allowed the cream to rise to the top all week long in EverStart Series Northern Division competition. With so many bass in the water and everybody catching them, it has taken superior strategy skills to find the big ones and make the cut. So it was no surprise when Koby Kreiger of Okeechobee, Fla., a pro with no fewer than 21 previous top-10 finishes in FLW Outdoors tournaments, came in with five bass weighing 15 pounds, 9 ounces to lead the Pro Division in Friday’s semifinals.
Conditions turned relatively sour Friday compared to the bluebird days of the opening round. The wind picked up, clouds rolled in and the temperature fell slightly.
Still, that didn’t really affect the fishing, Kreiger said. “The only thing about the weather that will affect anybody is the wind,” he said. “The windier it is, the tougher time I’ll have.”
The wind is churning up the water, making sight-fishing harder, so some competitors had to switch gears Friday. Kreiger caught his limit early on a Zara Super Spook Jr. in shallow water, capitalizing on the spawning smallmouth population. The he moved locations into deeper water, threw a Gitzit and landed four bigger bass.
“Tomorrow morning, I’m proud to say I’ll be starting right where I caught those four big ones,” he said.
If ever he needed a big-fish strategy, it’s here. Not only did all 20 pros catch five-bass limits Friday, most of those who made the cut into the finals are some of bass fishing’s heavyweights. Eight of the 10 finalists have either already won a big tournament or have seen their fair share of top-10s:
Second-place David Dudley of Manteo, N.C. (14 pounds, 3 ounces) – Won the richest bass-tournament payout in history, $700,000, at the 2002 Ranger M1. Has a number of top-10s, but has yet to win an EverStart.
Third-place Art Ferguson III of St. Clair Shores, Mich. (13-7) – Has 12 FLW Outdoors top-10s.
Fourth-place Mark Zona of Sturgis, Mich. (13-2) – Has three Northern Division top-10s and placed third at the 2002 EverStart Championship.
Fifth-place Dion Hibdon of Stover, Mo. (12-13) – Won the FLW Tour Championship (2000) and the Bassmaster Classic (1997).
Sixth-place Jim Moynagh of Carver, Minn., (12-10) – Won FLW Tour at Lake Minnetonka (1997).
Seventh-place Kevin Vida of Clare, Mich. (12-4) – Won two EverStart Northern Division tournaments, Detroit River (2002) and Lake Ontario (2001).
Eighth-place Jim Tutt of Longview, Texas (11-15) – Won two EverStart Central Division tournaments, Sam Rayburn Reservoir (2002) and Lake of the Ozarks (1999).
Only two pro finalists, ninth-place Tony Defilippo of Lake Ann, Mich., (11-13) and 10th-place Ricky Doyle of Keeseville, N.Y., (11-5) have never seen the top-10 in an FLW Outdoors tournament. Combined, the top eight pros have 97 top-10 finishes.
Kreiger – who has two EverStart victories included in his 21 top-10s, one of which was the 2002 Series Championship – is quick to point out that fishing resumes mean little come Saturday. Everybody starts the day with zero weight, and it’s a one-day shootout on a plentiful lake to determine who adds another trophy to his mantle.
“This lake is full of all kinds of fish,” he said. “Tomorrow, 10 of us have a chance to win.”
Dudley is banking that his chance is bigger than the rest.
“I caught more fish today than I have all week,” he said. “Plus, I found a giant today.”
Smallmouth specialist Ferguson said he has switched tactics all week to keep up with the bite, adding that the feisty Vermilion smallmouth, while plentiful, can be deceiving.
“These fish don’t weigh as much as they look,” he said. “I thought I had 15 pounds.”
The only one to break 15 pounds, Kreiger, said he would have preferred not to lead Friday.
“I’d rather be in second place,” he said. “I seem to have a tendency to peak too early. One thing that’s good about it is that I get to go where I want to go first in the morning (he will take off in boat No. 1 Saturday). But we all start at zero, so it doesn’t really matter.”
Caraballo finally goes fishing, leads co-anglers
Rookie Jess Caraballo of Danbury, Conn., led the Co-angler Division Friday with a five-bass weight of 11 pounds, 12 ounces. He said things finally went his way when he was able to go structure fishing for largemouth bass instead of the popular sight-fishing for smallmouth.
“My partners the first two days wanted to fish the beds,” he said. “Today was a totally different kind of fishing. We actually went fishing for the fish instead of just throwing bait at their heads.”
Second place went to Richard Wyrick of Frankfort, Ill., with a weight of 11 pounds, 10 ounces. Wyrick won the Co-angler Division of the EverStart Central tournament at Kentucky Lake earlier this season.
Todd Truax of Canton, Ohio, took third place in the Co-angler Division with a weight of 11 pounds, 7 ounces; Chris Wade of Preston, Conn., placed fourth with 11-1; and Trevor Jancasz of White Pigeon, Mich., placed fifth with 9-10.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers are Troy Schwab of Elk River, Minn., (sixth place) with 9 pounds, 3 ounces; Warren Thomas of Lakewood, Wis., (seventh) with 9-0; Mark McNeil of Ledyard, Conn., (eighth) with 9-0; Judy Israel of Clewiston, Fla., (ninth) with 8-13; and Art Smith of Hector, Minn., (10th) with 8-12.
All 10 co-angler finalists caught five-bass limits Friday.
Final round Saturday
Final-round action begins Saturday at safe light at Fortune Bay Resort in Tower. All competitors will restart the day with zero weight. The final weigh-in will also be held at the resort beginning at 3 p.m.
The winning pro is guaranteed $10,000 cash and an Evinrude- or Yamaha-powered Ranger 519VS Comanche bass boat equipped with EverStart batteries, a Minn Kota trolling motor and Garmin electronics. If the winner is the original owner of a Ranger boat, Ranger will award an additional $10,000 cash bonus for a total prize package of $61,900.
The winning co-angler is guaranteed $5,000 cash. If the co-angler winner is a registered Ranger boat owner, Ranger will also award a new Ranger 519VS Comanche bass boat.
Click here for a preview of day four.
Day-three links: