DiDonato gets it done

Ohio angler leads TBF Northern Divisional on gusty day one

SANDUSKY, Ohio – As is common on what could be considered the greatest of the Great Lakes, high winds and a rip-current threat kept The Bass Federation Northern Divisional competitors out of Lake Erie on Wednesday. Confined to Sandusky Bay, anglers found themselves fishing primarily for largemouths instead of typical Erie smallies.

Not surprisingly, an Ohioan took the overall lead on today’s opening day of competition, as Richard DiDonato of Dennison brought in a limit of five bass that weighed 13 pounds, 10 ounces, the heaviest catch of the day by a near 2-pound margin. While he leads the overall field, DiDonato more importantly leads the Ohio state team, as competition within the state teams matters much at TBF divisional events. The top two finishers from each state team advance to the 2008 TBF National Championship as a boater and a co-angler, respectively.

Also, tournament cash awards are given to the winning state teams in TBF divisional events, not individual anglers, though the overall top-weight-getter after Friday’s final weigh-in will receive a $500 Wal-Mart gift card as the Castrol Maximum Performer. Though DiDonato’s weight certainly didn’t hurt the Ohio team, his state currently sits in third among the six states represented at this week’s divisional, with Illinois catching the most weight on day one, followed closely by Indiana.

The Northern Divisional championship features 72 total competitors from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin. Each state sent 12 contenders, with six competing as boaters, meaning they are fishing out of their own boats, and six competing as nonboaters. Boaters and nonboaters are randomly paired each day, but every competitor is expected to receive equal front-of-boat fishing time.

DiDonato surprised by largemouth success

Though DiDonato is certainly familiar with Lake Erie, he considers himself far more astute with the big lake’s smallmouth population, not the largemouths that congregate in the bays. Nevertheless, DiDonato, competing as a nonboater this week, adjusted well, bringing in the day’s best limit despite the rough weather and Sandusky confinement.

“We basically stayed on a point all day and kept flipping and flipping and flipping,” said DiDonato. “We boated eight keepers, and I culled two fish.”

DiDonato credited his success today to the location.

“I don’t come to Lake Erie to fish for largemouths,” he said. “We got on them and I started popping, that’s all. Things were right for me today.”

DiDonato also said fishing as a nonboater may have helped him, as it enabled him to concentrate more on the fishing and less on the trolling motor. However, that nonboater status could determine his success tomorrow.

“I know where we can go and get smallmouths, but if (my day-two partner) goes in one direction and I need to go in the other for my four hours, we’ll never get there,” he said. “If we have to stay in the bay, which I hope we don’t, I don’t think I’ll come up with another largemouth bag like I did today. That was my boater’s location, so I can’t go back to it, and half my fish came off his spot.”

DiDonato reported catching bass today on customized tubes. “I buy regular tubes, and then I doctor them up with flavors and colors and different combinations,” he said.

While he may be unsure of his chances tomorrow, he certainly gave himself a distinct advantage with his day-one success. He leads the Ohio state team by a commanding 8 pounds, 9 ounces.

Edwards takes Indiana lead, second overall

With a day-one catch of five bass that weighed 11 pounds, 15 ounces, T.J. Edwards of St. Paul, Ind., found himself first on the Indiana state team and second on the overall weight list. Edwards currently leads the Indiana team by a solid 3 pounds, 4 ounces.

Edwards, a nonboater, went fishing for largemouths today, making the best of the situation after it became clear Lake Erie fishing was out of the picture.

“We’re going to make a long run tomorrow because the weather is nice,” Edwards said. “We’re going to try to win the whole thing tomorrow if everything pans out. We should do well if the weather cooperates.”

Though Edwards was aiming for largemouths today, he did find some smallies later in the day, and he said he caught his bass today on a jig and a crankbait, with the better fish coming on the crankbait.

“We found a lot of fish in practice,” he said. “Whether it will pan out, I don’t know. I’m an Ohio River fisherman. I fish shallow a lot, and this is a different ballgame.”

Parker leads tough Illinois team

With a combined total of 51 pounds, 2 ounces on day one, the Illinois team leads the Indiana team in the race among the states by only a pound. Leading that Illinois team is Steve Parker of Riverton, Ill., who is third on the overall weight list with a five-bass catch Wednesday that weighed 11 pounds, 8 ounces.

“I thought it was kind of a slow day,” said Parker, who is entered this week as a boater. “I’ve had better days. I got two nice smallmouths early fishing rocks, and later in the day I caught three largemouths, and that was enough to give me my five-fish limit.”

Parker, too, has a solid lead on his state team, besting his nearest competition today by 3 pounds, 6 ounces. His success may in large part be due to the fact that he never planned to fish Erie.

“It didn’t affect me in the least,” Parker said of the day-one confinement to Sandusky Bay. “I wasn’t going to the big lake anyway. I’m not experienced on the big water.”

Parker caught two fish today on a crankbait and three fish on a tube and describes his tournament chances as “fair.”

“Our chances as a team are good,” he said. “My chances as an individual are fair. I just need to catch a limit.”

Jones leads Wisconsin team despite tough day

Jim Jones of Big Bend, Wis., who is no stranger to the top ends of leaderboards, caught three bass today weighing 9 pounds, 7 ounces to lead the Wisconsin state team by just less than 3 pounds. That weight also landed him in fourth on the overall weight list.

“It was slow – terrible,” Jones said of his day-one experience. “I didn’t catch a keeper until 2 o’clock, and then I caught three in the last hour.”

Luckily for Jones, one of his three keepers was a 5-pounder. He caught two largemouths and one smallmouth, and all of them came on a crankbait. He’s looking forward to the prospect of fishing Erie tomorrow should the weather cooperate.

“I know there are more fish to be caught on Lake Erie, but with the wind, I understand why they did it,” he said of the tournament director’s decision to stay in Sandusky today. “It’s probably the right thing to do, and hopefully there will be a lot bigger weights caught tomorrow.”

Jones is fishing as a boater, and he says if they have to fish the bay tomorrow, he is out of spots. In fact, he said the area seemed to be the key to success today on Sandusky.

“I think it was just the crankbait on the right spot, because we fished a lot of areas today and didn’t catch them,” he said. “When we got to the one spot, we caught all three of them.”

Jezierski holds 1-pound lead in Michigan state competition

Leading the Michigan state team by a pound is Jon Jezierski of Troy, Mich., who weighed in four bass today that totaled 8 pounds, 5 ounces. With that catch, Jezierski sits at No. 6 on the overall weight list.

“I had an awesome time,” said Jezierski, who is competing this week as a boater. “I had a great partner today. We struggled in the morning, and then about 11 o’clock, we started fishing riprap at marina entrances. I was throwing a wacky Senko.”

Jezierski reported catching one of his keepers on the last cast today on a crankbait. All the fish he caught today were largemouths.

“I’m from Michigan, so I was planning on fishing the lake,” Jezierski said of day one. “Largemouths are my weakness, so I was very happy to catch the four I did. I’m hoping we can get on the lake tomorrow and I can bring in a big bag of smallmouths.”

Jezierski said he feels confident he can bring in a limit the next two days if competitors are allowed to fish Lake Erie.

“The wind didn’t hurt me,” he said. “I actually did catch a couple of fish on windblown banks, so I guess I can say it didn’t really affect the fish.”

Domaille leads Minnesota

The Minnesota state team had a rough go of it on day one, as only three of their 12 representatives caught fish today. Leading that state is Timothy Domaille of Rochester, Minn., with a day-one catch of 3 pounds, 8 ounces. That weight leads his nearest competition by a pound.

Competition continues tomorrow

TBF Northern Divisional qualifiers will head out again tomorrow on Lake Erie with a 7 a.m. EDT takeoff from Sandusky Bay, located at 101 Shelby Street in Sandusky. Tomorrow’s weigh-in will also be held there beginning at 3 p.m.