Feldermann finds 14, first on Friday

Co-angler Cloutier claims second

RED WING, Minn. – Mike Feldermann, for years a standout in the Wal-Mart BFL’s Great Lakes Division, found himself atop the field in EverStart Series Northern Division competition Friday. The pro from Galena, Ohio, caught five bass weighing 14 pounds even and holds a 1/2-pound lead heading into Saturday’s finals on the Mississippi River.

“I’ve been on these fish all week, but I just kind of figured them out today,” he said. “The area I’m in kind of has it all: current, chutes and every kind of vegetation – arrowheads, lily pads and hydrilla. That’s what those big fish key on after the spawn.”

Feldermann has focused his energies on a shallow-water area at the south end of Lake Pepin near Big Lake all week. Using mainly a Team Supreme buzzbait, he caught his limit of relatively bigger bass, mostly largemouth, in less than 3 feet of water.

“It’s just an area that I have that has big fish,” he said. “I’ve only caught five or six keepers a day there, but they’re big. They’re not concentrating in one area. I’m just fishing a lot of points in grass islands. The key is finding clear water.”

Like Feldermann, most of the pros headed down to Pool 4 Friday in search of clear water. The incessant rain throughout Minnesota has turned the upper Mississippi into high, churning, chocolate milk, especially in Pool 3. That, and windier conditions, made Friday’s fishing a tougher affair for many, but the those atop the leaderboard were able to find some clear areas at the bottom end of Pool 4.

“The further you go down, the cleaner it gets,” Feldermann said.

Also making it tough on anglers is the no-culling rule, which means competitors have to decide if they want to keep a fish immediately after catching it. The leader had his limit by 11:30 this morning and said that having to deal with the no-culling rule hasn’t bothered him so much.

“I like it,” he said, explaining that few fish here even reach the 4-pound mark. Since the fish he’s catching are relatively few but big, Feldermann hasn’t had to throw back a big kicker yet. “You could fish for weeks here before catching a 4-pounder.”

For that reason, Feldermann’s 11/2-pound lead is actually bigger than it seems. There aren’t very many oversized bass in this part of the river, and a 14-pound sack is big on any given day – but especially huge in an EverStart final round.

Feldermann, a six-time BFL champion, also feels comfortable on this waterway. The last EverStart event here, in 2002, he finished third.

“Yeah, I know my way around a little bit,” he said.

Ritter second

Opening-round pro leader Jeff Ritter of Prairie du Chien, Wis., battled the Big Muddy on its terms today, but came out in good shape in second place with a five-bass weight of 12 pounds, 8 ounces.

“The area that I’m in, higher water is better,” he said. “But it’s getting smaller because the muddy water’s slowly coming in.”

Ritter is also fishing grassy areas in Pool 4 and caught his limit by about 11 a.m.

“The plan for tomorrow is to hope for a good bite right away,” he said. “If their solid 2 ¼- to 2 1/2-pounders, I’m just going to put them in the livewell. To win, I think I’m going to need at least 14 pounds, but I do think it’s obtainable there.”

Larocque third

Along with Ritter, Aaron Larocque of Wabasha, Minn., represents the strong local pro contingency on the river this week. He qualified for the finals in third place with a five-bass weight of 12 pounds, 6 ounces.

The key to his success in this bad-weather, rules-challenging, small-bass tournament, he said, was patience.

“I’ve been working two key areas all week,” Larocque said. “I’d get a couple fish, leave, come back and get a couple more. The bite is good out there. It’s slow, but good.”

Izumi channels fourth

TV fishing host Bob Izumi of Milton, Ontario, worked his way into fourth place for the pros with a limit weighing 11 pounds, 12 ounces.

While he hasn’t particularly enjoyed fishing in the rain, he likes what it does for his fish.

“I tell you, it’s tiring to stand in that rain all day,” he sad. “But I like the conditions. It keeps the fish moving around and not so bunched up.”

Lefebre still in it in fifth

Dave Lefebre of Erie, Pa., the EverStart Mississippi River defending pro champ, maneuvered himself into a chance for repeat victory at this event. He placed fifth Friday with a limit weighing 10 pounds, 6 ounces.

Fishing not far from the area that won it for him in 2002, Lefebre said he could have had more weight than brought in except for the no-cull rule.

“I made a mistake,” he said. “I kept my first fish, a 14-incher. Then I got on some good, solid fish later, but I already had my limit. I could have easily had 12 pounds.”

Rest of the best

Rounding out the top 10 pros to qualify for Saturday’s finals at the Mississippi River are Chris Baumgardner of Gastonia, N.C., with five bass weighing 9 pounds, 15 ounces (6th place); Pete Gluszek of Franklinville, N.J., with four bass weighing 7-10 (7th); Wesley Strader of Spring City, Tenn., with four bass weighing 7-9 (8th); Douglas Stanton of Winona, Minn., with four bass weighing 7-8 (9th); and Bill Chapman of Salt Rock, W.Va., with three bass weighing 7-0 (10th).

Cloutier leads co-anglers

Rochester, Minnesota’s Scott Cloutier, fishing with Lefebre, caught the biggest of a small lot to lead the Co-angler Division Friday. Fishing with tubes, he weighed in three bass for 7 pounds, 6 ounces.

“He had a limit really quickly and he helped me out,” Cloutier said of Lefebre. “He’s got some super spots. I should have had a limit.”

Second place for the co-anglers went to Dave Norton of Burlington, Wis., for three bass weighing 6 pounds, 5 ounces. Third place went to Peter Cherkas of Des Moines, Iowa, for two bass weighing 4-8.

Troy Sprague of Lincoln, Neb., earned the fourth spot with two bass weighing 4 pounds, 4 ounces, and Scot Keefe of Hinesburg, Vt., claimed fifth, by virtue of a tiebreaker, also with two bass weighing 4-4.

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers to qualify for Saturday’s finals are Dave Goodwin of Batavia, Ill., with two bass weighing 3 pounds, 8 ounces (6th place); Mark Grahn of Wautoma, Wis., with one bass weighing 2-10 (7th); Steven Emery of Adrian, Mich., with one bass weighing 2-8 (8th); Larry Peterson of Hudson, Wis., with one bass weighing 2-7 (9th); and David Hoffman of Edwardsburg, Mich., with one bass weighing 2-7 (10th).

Final round Saturday

Day four of Northern Division competition at the Mississippi River begins as the final-round field of 10 boats takes off from Treasure Island Marina at 6 a.m. Central time Saturday. Friday’s weights carry over to Saturday, and each division’s winner will be determined by two-day combined weight.

The winning pro is guaranteed $10,000 cash plus an Evinrude- or Yamaha-powered Ranger 519 VS equipped with Garmin electronics, a Minn Kota trolling motor and EverStart batteries. If the winner is the original owner of a Ranger boat, he will receive a $10,000 bonus from Ranger for a top pro award worth $61,900. If he is a qualifying participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program, Ranger will award another $3,000 cash (or $1,500 to the highest-finishing Ranger Cup participant if not the winner), and Yamaha will match 50 percent of Ranger Cup winnings if the angler’s boat is powered by a Yamaha outboard. Garmin will award the winning pro $1,000 if he uses only Garmin electronics and at least one unit is a qualifying unit.

The winning co-angler is guaranteed $5,000 cash, and if he is a Ranger boat owner, Ranger will award him a new Ranger 519 VS for a total prize package worth $35,000. Co-anglers who make the final round of each regular-season EverStart Series event and wear an EverStart/Evinrude shirt and cap on stage are awarded points toward the EverStart Batteries and Evinrude Outboard Engines Co-angler Award. The co-angler receiving the most points by the end of the season receives a 2004 Evinrude 225HO Direct Injection outboard engine rigged on a Ranger boat equipped with a Minn Kota trolling motor and EverStart batteries.