PLATTSBURGH, NY. – Rough winds and extreme heat greeted the best bass-fishing professionals in the world as day two of the FLW Tour Major bass fishing tournament on Lake Champlain continued Friday. Anglers launched into one of the finest fisheries in the United States as they continued the competition for a top cash award of up to $125,000.
David Dudley of Lynchburg, Va. all but locked up the 2012 Angler of the Year race, and continues to lead the event after he brought a five bass limit to the scales Friday weighing 18 pounds, 15 ounces. After two days of fishing, Dudley has weighed in 10 bass totaling 42 pounds, 15 ounces, and now holds a 3-pound, 13-ounce lead over Joseph Thompson of Landenburg, Pa., who caught five bass today weighing 20 pounds, 9 ounces. Thompson has weighed in 10 bass totaling 39 pounds, 2 ounces after his first two days.
“It’s funny, because everybody knows I hate to lose,” said Dudley, the leading all-time career money winner with FLW. “But it’s really like I’m out there playing two different games. I’m trying to win the Angler of the Year race, and working hard to do what I think I need to do to win that. But I’m also trying to win this tournament, so it’s been a big mental struggle for me on what to do and where to go, but I think I’ve managed it well. Winning Angler of the Year would make anybody speechless, and it would be an honor to win it for a third time.
“The bite was off today,” Dudley continued. “I caught a lot more fish yesterday than today. The numbers and size were down, but I guess that’s to be expected on days two, three and four of a tournament. I started out fishing the same spot as yesterday, but they just weren’t there today, so I had to move to a different area. I was able to pull up and started catching them on every cast. I had been saving that spot in case I need it, and today I needed it. The wind was blowing pretty good today, but you just have to do the best you can and manage the best you can. That’s what separates a lot of the anglers from the other anglers – how you handle wind, how you handle rain and how you handle the decisions you have to make on the water. The wind makes things tougher because of boat control and casting ability, but the wind doesn’t make the fish stop biting.”
Dudley opened up a little more about his bait selection Friday, but still did not want to give his fellow anglers any hints.
“I threw a little bit of different baits today than yesterday,” he said. “There was no one dominant bait. I’m throwing moving baits and slow-moving baits. My deck has a ton of rods on it, and you just go with whatever you feel. Moving was definitely the key for me today. If I would have stayed in my area from yesterday I wouldn’t have had near the weight I did. It’s very hard to win a tournament from only one spot, and you have to have stuff to back it up.”
When asked how confident he was for the rest of the weekend Dudley showed his humble side.
“I am always confident in my abilities as a fisherman,” he said. “But I’m never confident with the fish. I’m going to go out and do my best tomorrow.”
The top 20 pros that will fish tomorrow on Lake Champlain are:
1st: David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., 10 bass, 42-15
2nd: Joseph Thompson, Landenburg, Pa., 10 bass, 39-2
3rd: Jacob Powroznik, Prince George, Va., 10 bass, 38-13
4th: Blake Nick, Adger, Ala., 10 bass, 36-13
5th: Spencer Shuffield, Bismarck, Ark., 10 bass, 36-13
6th: George Cochran, Hot Springs, Ark., 10 bass, 36-9
7th: Koby Kreiger, Okeechobee, Fla., 10 bass, 36-8
8th: Cody Bird, Granbury, Texas, 10 bass, 36-5
9th: Roland Martin, Naples, Fla., 10 bass, 35-15
10th: Christopher Brasher, Spring, Texas, 10 bass, 35-13
11th: Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., 10 bass, 35-13
12th: Craig Dowling, Nashville, Tenn., 10 bass, 35-7
13th: Ron Shuffield, Bismarck, Ark., 10 bass, 35-1
14th: John Voyles, Petersburg, Ind., 10 bass, 34-13
15th: Ray Scheide, Dover, Ark., 10 bass, 34-12
16th: Brett Hite, Phoenix, Ariz., 10 bass, 34-11
17th: Jason Christie, Park Hill, Okla., 10 bass, 34-7
18th: David Wolak, Wake Forest, N.C., 10 bass, 34-6
19th: Barry Wilson, Birmingham, Ala., 10 bass, 34-5
20th: Scott Canterbury, Springville, Ala., 10 bass, 34-4
Jim Tutt of Longview, Texas and Kyle Mabrey of McCalla, Ala., shared Friday’s big bass honors with a pair of bass weighing 5-11 on the pro side to split $500.
Overall there were 605 bass weighing 1,759 pounds, 12 ounces caught by pros Friday. The catch included 118 five-bass limits.
Pros are competing for a top award of up to $125,000 this week plus valuable points in the hope of qualifying for the 2012 Forrest Wood Cup. The top 35 anglers in the point standings from the six FLW Tour Major tournaments will qualify. Anglers are also vying for the 2012 FLW Tour Angler of the Year title that will be determined by the most points accumulated over the six Tour Majors. In his final bid of the season for Angler of the Year points, Dudley holds a one-point lead over Jim Moynagh of Carver, Minn.
Marc Marsh of Prosperity, S.C., leads the Co-angler Division with 10 bass weighing 30-12 followed by Larry Kempler of Bluemont, Va., in second place with 10 bass weighing 30-3.
The top 20 co-anglers that will fish tomorrow are:
1st: Marc Marsh, Prosperity, S.C., 10 bass, 30-12
2nd: Larry Kempler, Bluemont, Va., 10 bass, 30-3
3rd: Doug Caldwell, Kane, Pa., 10 bass, 29-9
4th: Christopher Hall, Clarks Summit, Pa., 10 bass, 29-7
5th: Mark Myers, Cedar Falls, Iowa, 10 bass, 29-5
6th: Shane Winchester, Glasgow, Ky., 10 bass, 28-14
7th: Glenn Babineau, Mechanicville, N.Y., 10 bass, 28-4
8th: Nick Hensley, Cumming, Ga., nine bass, 28-2
9th: Jason Johnson, Gainesville, Ga., 10 bass, 27-13
10th: James Schneider, Watervliet, N.Y., 10 bass, 27-12
11th: Ralph Mulleins, Cumberland, Va., 10 bass, 27-11
12th: Richard Peek, Centre, Ala., 10 bass, 27-9
13th: Patrick Bone, Cleveland, Ga, 10 bass, 27-8
14th: Frank Divis Sr., Fayetteville, Ark., 10 bass, 27-0
15th: Daniel Ferguson, Durham, N.C., nine bass, 27-0
16th: Michael McCoy, Mentor On The Lake, Ohio, 10 bass, 26-0
17th: Patrick Stines, Granger, Ind., 10 bass, 25-11
18th: Brook Pauley, Morgantown, W. Va., nine bass, 25-7
19th: Anthony Savino, Marlboro, N.Y., 10 bass, 25-6
20th: Josh Smith, Hamilton, Ohio, 10 bass, 25-5
Kevin Gordon of Aiken, S.C., caught Friday’s big bass weighing 5 pounds, 4 ounces in the co-angler division to win $250.
Overall there were 486 bass weighing 1,106 pounds, 13 ounces caught by co-anglers Friday. The catch included 73 five-bass limits.
After making the top-20 cut today, Nick Hensley of Cumming, Ga., clinched the Walmart FLW Tour Co-Angler of the Year presented by Kellogg’s title and a new Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard plus an automatic berth into the 2013 Forrest Wood Cup.
“This means everything in the world to me,” said Hensley. “At the beginning of the year I couldn’t have even dreamed of this. As I got closer and closer to the title, I could see it and it really gave me the drive to win it. This is amazing.”
Co-anglers are fishing for a top award of $25,000 this week plus valuable points that could help them qualify for the 2012 Forrest Wood Cup. The top 35 co-anglers in the point standings from the six FLW Tour Major tournaments will qualify.
Anglers will take off from Dock Street Landing located at 5 Dock St. in Plattsburgh, N.Y., at 6:30 a.m. each morning. Saturday and Sunday’s final weigh-ins will be held at the Plattsburgh State Field House located at 167 Rugar St. in Plattsburgh beginning at 4 p.m.