Lake Champlain Top 5 Patterns Day 3
Several pros have their sights set on Scott Martin
Despite mechanical challenges early in the morning on day three, Scott Martin still leads the Walmart FLW Tour event presented by General Tire on Lake Champlain. However, Martin now has a new challenge arising: a serious threat to what would be his third FLW Tour win on Lake Champlain in the form of Ticonderoga-bound pros who moved a little closer to Martin’s top spot on Saturday.
One saving grace for Martin might be in the forecast, specifically a south wind, which is forecast to reach 10 to 20 mph on Sunday. That could be a bit of an obstacle for those making the long run to Ticonderoga.
Here is a look at the second- through fifth-place pros who will be gunning for Martin on the final day, and how they got into the top 10.
2. Bryan Schmitt – Deale, Md. – 56-7
Bryan Schmitt toted 17 pounds, 11 ounces back from Ticonderoga on day three to be the first guy in line to take a shot at Martin on the final day.
Schmitt has loved the looks of the grass beds in Ticonderoga from his first day of practice, saying the grass reminds him of his home “lake,” the Potomac River.
“After catching 21 pounds down there yesterday, I honestly thought I was going to smash them today [Saturday],” Schmitt says. “Everything was perfect: the weather, very little pressure, I could fish anywhere I wanted, and it just didn’t happen. I don’t know why. They bit so well yesterday, and today it was frighteningly dead. I caught a 5-pounder on basically my last cast that saved the whole day for me.
“I’m planning on going back down there tomorrow,” Schmitt adds. “I might only catch 15 pounds, or I might catch 22 pounds. Either way, I feel good about it down there.”
3. Jason Meninger – Gainesville, Ga. – 55-15
Speaking of Ticonderoga, Jason Meninger caught day three’s biggest limit – 19 pounds, 6 ounces – from waters far to the south to move him up to third place going into the final day.
“We had a little more breeze down there, and I went to bigger baits and bigger line,” Meninger says. “It was so slick the last two days that I had been using lighter stuff just to get bites. But today [Saturday], I think the breeze helped. I’m basically pitching to rock and hard cover in the grass. The wind seems to help the fish set up a little better on those hard spots in the grass.”
4. David Dudley – Lynchburg, Va. – 55-09
David Dudley brought in 17 pounds, 3 ounces on day three to hold onto fourth place with a total of 55 pounds, 9 ounces.
The first two days, Dudley had been starting in Missisquoi on the same reef area as tournament leader Scott Martin. But on Saturday, Dudley stopped short of Missisquoi to pick up a limit of bedding smallmouths before going north.
After catching 15 to 16 pounds of smallmouths, Dudley sampled his Missisquoi hot spots for largemouths in the afternoon and was only able to cull up a couple of times.
Like Martin, Dudley is a little puzzled as to why the largemouths in Missisquoi have suddenly shut down.
“I don’t know what’s happened up there,” he says. “I fished some of my best places again up there, and it wasn’t nearly as good as it was yesterday. Now I’m kind of torn about what to do tomorrow. Part of me wants to go up there and commit totally to Missisquoi all day, and part of me says I better get a limit of smallmouths before I go up there.”
5. Chris Johnston – Peterborough, Ontario – 53-13
Chris Johnston caught his lightest bag of the week – 15 pounds, 4 ounces – to grab fifth place going into the final day.
All week Johnston has been starting his day with bedding smallmouths and then moving to largemouth waters to upgrade.
“There are still a lot of smallmouths on beds here, but you have to stay on the trolling motor all day to find the right size to upgrade,” Johnston says. “Once I get to 15 or 16 pounds of smallmouths, I’ve been gambling on largemouths for my upgrades. The first couple of days it worked. I got some decent upgrades with largemouths. Today [Saturday], some of my largemouth water muddied up with the weekend boat traffic, and that made things a little tougher.”
Top 10 Pros
1. Scott Martin – Clewiston, Fla. – 58-10 (15)
2. Bryan Schmitt – Deale, Md. – 56-07 (15)
3. Jason Meninger – Gainesville, Ga. – 55-15 (15)
4. David Dudley – Lynchburg, Va. – 55-09 (15)
5. Chris Johnston – Peterborough, Ontario – 53-13 (15)
6. Austin Felix – Eden Prairie, Minn. – 53-11 (15)
7. Shinichi Fukae – Palestine, Texas – 52-06 (15)
8. Cody Meyer – Auburn, Calif. – 52-01 (15)
9. Stetson Blaylock – Benton, Ark. – 51-12 (15)
10. Wesley Strader – Spring City, Tennn. – 51-01 (15)
Tournament Details
Takeoff: Days 1-4 at 6:30 a.m. ET, Plattsburgh City Marina, 5 Dock Street, Plattsburgh, N.Y.
Weigh-in: Days 1 and 2 at 2:30 p.m. ET, Plattsburgh City Marina; Days 3 and 4 at 4 p.m. ET, Crete Memorial Civic Center, 4 Beach Road (Hwy 9), Plattsburgh, N.Y.
Expo: Saturday and Sunday, noon to 4 p.m., Crete Memorial Civic Center