Dave Wolak of North Carolina already has one win on Lake Champlain this year, and he put himself in good position to repeat with an FLW Series win on the fishery, as he and Jason Ober of Pennsylvania, both caught 21 pounds, 2 ounces to take a slim lead on day one of the FLW Series Eastern Division event. A betting man would guess that Wolak is around grass and bass.
“I am covering a lot of water and just keep moving,” said Ober, who won an FLW AFS event on Lake Champlain two years ago. “That and my experience are what really made the difference for me today.
“I am fishing up North using a drop-shot with a prototype bait that mimics a perch; right now the bass seem to be feeding on the perch so mimicking them has been key.
“I was able to eliminate a lot of water today, and tomorrow I am hoping the predictions for wind are wrong, I may not be able to get to my location if that happens, I need some bright sunshine too! I didn’t have a bite after noon today and that’s when the wind started to play a factor and the sun went under.”
Wolak was also using baits that mimicked the perch. He was using reaction baits and the key for him was to keep the bait moving. Unlike Ober, who caught all smallmouth, Wolak’s bag consisted of all largemouth bass.
“I ended up having a good day, but it started out really slow, I didn’t have my limit until about 11 a.m. I was here two weeks ago for an AFS tournament and the bite was crazy; I didn’t see those bites today but luckily the bites I did get were quality.”
Rounding out the remainder of the top-10 pros after day one at Lake Champlain are:
3rd: Sheron Brown, Shirley, Mass., five bass, 19-13
4th: Chevy pro Anthony Gagliardi, Prosperity, S.C., five bass, 19-12
5th: Lancen Halbert, Enoree, S.C., five bass, 19-9
6th: Charlie Hartley, Grove City, Ohio, five bass, 19-5
6th: Andy Montgomery, Blacksburg, S.C., five bass 19-5
8th: Mark Hickory, St. Albans Bay, Vt., five bass, 19-4
9th: Chevy pro Dion Hibdon, Stover, Mo., five bass, 19-1
10th: Matthew Applebaum, Johnson, Vt. five bass, 18-15
10th: Gary Yamamoto, Palestinie, Texas, five bass, 18-15
Overall there were 676 bass weighing 1,915 pounds, 5 ounces caught by 146 pros Wednesday. The catch included 123 five-bass limits.
In FLW Series competition, pros are competing for a top award of $50,000 plus valuable points in the hope of qualifying for a shot at the 2011 Forrest Wood Cup, the world championship of bass fishing.
Chris Kinney-Hermes of Champlain, N.Y., leads the Co-angler Division with five bass weighing 18-15 followed by Christopher Hall, Clarks Summit, Pa., in second place with five bass weighing 17-12.
“This is the best day on the water I have ever had,” said Kinney-Hermes, who last year was fishing in the FLW College division for SUNY - Plattsburgh. “Anthony (Gagliardi) was just a great guy to fish with and we were able to find a couple of really good spots. I was using a Gary Yamamoto Flat Tail Worm, black, most of the day. We each had our limit by about 11 a.m. and then from 11:45 to 12:15 we were on this spot that allowed each of us to cull all of our fish, it was incredible.”
Kinney-Hermes caught his bass on a drop-shot while fishing with Chevy pro Anthony Gagliardi, who is currently in fourth place.
The remainder of the top-10 co-anglers are:
3rd: National Guard pro Pat Lay, Cleveland, Tenn., five bass, 17-10
4th: Tony Bushey, Champlain, N.Y., five bass, 17-6
5th: Robert Gulley, Tupelo, Miss., five bass, 17-3
5th: Jerry Thompson, Bemidji, Minn., five bass, 17-3
7th: James Dixon, Southfield, Mich., five bass, 16-15
8th: Jeff Gengler, Tulsa, Okla., five bass, 16-11
9th: Max Allen, Frankfort, Ky., five bass, 16
10th: Edward Pecore, Plattsburgh, N.Y., five bass, 15-10
Overall there were 589 bass weighing 1,366 pounds, 11 ounces caught by 146 co-anglers Wednesday. The catch included 90 five-bass limits.
