PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (June 28, 2019) – Pro Tyler Stewart of West Monroe, Louisiana, held his lead after day two of the FLW Tournament at Lake Champlain after catching a five-bass limit weighing 17 pounds, 14 ounces. Stewart’s two-day total of 40-1 will lead the final 30 pros into the third day of the event, with John Voyles of Petersburg, Indiana, in second with 38-12 and Daryl Biron of South Windsor, Connecticut, right behind in third with 38-3. Only the final 10 pros will continue on to Championship Sunday, where the winner will receive up to $125,000.
Stewart spent his day targeting largemouth in the Ticonderoga area of the lake, flipping plastics to a variety of cover.
“It started off good this morning. The first place I pulled up to I caught one that was close to 4 pounds,” said Stewart, who is eyeing his first top-10 FLW Tour finish. “I jumped around a little bit, caught a few fish here and there and then I ended up catching one that was about 4½ around 10 [a.m.]. At that point, I had about 16 pounds. I culled a few more times before catching one right at the end of the day that put me up another 2 pounds to get close to 18.
“I think they’re postspawn bass that are feeding up. The fish are just so healthy, it’s crazy,” continued Stewart. “All of my stuff I fished was main-lake stuff, so I think they’re all just really healthy, postspawn fish.”
Stewart said he ran some new water today, but also played defense on some of his best spots. In total, he said he put about 15 keepers in the boat.
“I think the areas will hold up for days three and four as long as I don’t have a bunch of company,” said Stewart. “If I have it to myself I feel like I could potentially catch a couple more good limits.”
The top 30 pros that made the cut and will fish Saturday on Lake Champlain are:
1st: Tyler Stewart, West Monroe, La., 10 bass, 40-1
2nd: John Voyles, Petersburg, Ind., 10 bass, 38-12
3rd: Daryl Biron, South Windsor, Conn., 10 bass, 38-3
4th: Hensley Powell, Whitwell, Tenn., 10 bass, 38-2
5th: Casey Scanlon, Lake Ozark, Mo., 10 bass, 37-11
6th: Austin Felix, Eden Prairie, Minn., 10 bass, 37-11
7th: A.J. Slegona, Pine Bush, N.Y., 10 bass, 37-5
8th: Nick LeBrun, Bossier City, La., 10 bass, 37-0
9th: Tom Redington, Royse City, Texas, 10 bass, 36-15
10th: Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich., 10 bass, 36-11
11th: Tommy Dickerson, Orange, Texas, 10 bass, 36-9
12th: David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., 10 bass, 36-4
13th: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 10 bass, 35-15
14th: Christopher Brasher, Longview, Texas, 10 bass, 35-15
15th: Jackson Kayak pro Eric Jackson, Walling, Tenn., 10 bass, 35-14
16th: Ryan Salzman, Huntsville, Ala., 10 bass, 35-12
17th: Joseph Webster, Winfield, Ala., 10 bass, 35-9
18th: Joel Willert, Prior Lake, Minn., 10 bass, 35-6
19th: Kurt Mitchell, Milford, Del., 10 bass, 35-5
20th: Jeff Dobson, Bartlesville, Okla., 10 bass, 35-4
21st: Charles Sim, Nepean, Ontario, Canada, 10 bass, 35-4
22nd: Chad Warren, Sand Springs, Okla., 10 bass, 35-3
23rd: Shawn Murphy, Nicholasville, Ky., 10 bass, 35-3
24th: Joshua Weaver, Macon, Ga., 10 bass, 35-3
25th: Scott Martin, Clewiston, Fla., 10 bass, 35-1
26th: Kurt Dove, Del Rio, Texas, 10 bass, 34-15
27th: Robert Behrle, Hoover, Ala., 10 bass, 34-14
28th: Bryan Schmitt, Deale, Md., 10 bass, 34-12
29th: Matt Becker, Finleyville, Pa., 10 bass, 34-9
30th: John Cox, DeBary, Fla., 10 bass, 34-6
Jordan Osborne of Longview, Texas, earned the $500 Big Bass award Friday after bringing a 4-pound, 13-ounce bass to the scale – the heaviest fish of the day. Overall there were 785 bass weighing 2,351 pounds, 11 ounces, caught by 162 pros Friday. The catch included 148 five-bass limits.