PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (Sept. 5, 2007) - Mild temperatures and smooth water greeted anglers in the FLW Series Eastern Division bass fishing tournament on Lake Champlain on Wednesday. The weather gave anglers ample opportunities to make an impact on the first day of competition, but in the end, Guido Hibdon of Gravois Mills, Mo., landed five bass weighing 23 pounds even to lead day one of the event. He now holds a 2-pound, 8-ounce lead in the $1 million tournament featuring 190 pros and 190 co-anglers representing 33 states, Canada and Japan.
"Largemouth is all I fished for today," said Hibdon, who has won more than $314,000 in FLW Outdoors events. "I fished not too far away today. I may not catch them again, but the other guys have overlooked some close ones."
Hibdon's son, team Chevy pro Dion, had mechanical problems with his motor and called Hibdon to ask if he would come get him. "He told me that he had a pretty good bag (of fish) and that he was broke down," Hibdon said. "I asked him, 'How good a bag?' I had to (rib) him some. But I went and hauled him in."
Hibdon said he caught 20 keepers and had his 23-pound bag by 10 a.m. and then received the call from Dion.
"After I had that 23 pounds, I just quit," Hibdon said. "I lost two good ones. Where I'm fishing, I'm in extremely thick stuff, and I just couldn't get to them. But I knew once I had that weight that there was no point in bruising them. I just decided to lay off."
Brian Bylotas of Olyphant, Penn., trails Hibdon in the No. 2 spot with five bass weighing 20-8.
Rounding out the top five pros are Danny Correia of Marlborough, Mass. (five bass, 20-6); Koby Kreiger of Okeechobee, Fla. (five bass, 20-3) and Clark Wendlandt of Leander, Texas (five bass, 19-11).
Bud Pruitt of Spring, Texas, earned the day's $500 Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 6-pound, 7-ounce bass he caught.
Overall there were 877 bass weighing 2,380 pounds, 4 ounces caught by 187 pros Wednesday. The catch included 157 five-bass limits.
Pros are competing this week for a top award of $125,000 plus valuable points in the hope of qualifying for the East-West Fishoff and a shot at advancing to the 2008 Forrest Wood Cup, where the winning pro will earn as much as $1 million - the sport's biggest award. The top 30 pros from both FLW Series divisions after four qualifying events are complete will advance to the East-West Fishoff, which will be held Jan. 17-19, 2008. The location for the fishoff has not yet been announced. Thirty winners from the fishoff will advance to the 2008 Forrest Wood Cup.
Wally Coward of Beech Island, S.C., who had never caught a smallmouth before day one of competition, put together an 18-pound, 9-ounce limit of them and leads the Co-angler Division followed by Lynn Baciuska of Afton, N.Y., and Mark Phillips of Fayetteville, Ark., who are tied for second place with five bass weighing 17-2.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Dererk Savage of Port St. Lucie, Fla. (five bass, 16-14) and Marc Lamphier of Burlington, Vt. (five bass, 16-7).
Tom Luciano of Pottersville, N.Y., earned $300 for the Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 5-pound bass he caught while fishing with pro Roger Crafton of Boca Grande, Fla.
Overall there were 608 bass weighing 1,355 pounds, 3 ounces caught by 173 co-anglers Wednesday. The catch included 68 five-bass limits.
Co-anglers are competing this week for a top award of $25,000. Like the pros, the top 30 co-anglers from both FLW Series divisions after four qualifying events are complete will advance to the East-West Fishoff for a shot at the $2 million, 2008 Forrest Wood Cup.
Anglers will take off at 6:30 each morning from Dock Street Landing located at 2 Dock St. in Plattsburgh. Thursday and Friday's weigh-in will be held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday's weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 25 Consumer Square in Plattsburgh, beginning at 4 p.m. Children will also be treated to a Family Fun Zone prior to Saturday's weigh-in from noon to 4 p.m. at Wal-Mart. Activities in the Family Fun Zone include the Fujifilm trout pond, a Ranger boat simulator and assorted fishing-themed games. All activities are free and open to the public.
In FLW Series competition, pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat movement and competing against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other co-anglers. The entire field competes for the first three days, and co-angler competition concludes on day three with the winner determined by the heaviest accumulated three-day weight. The top 10 professionals continue competition on day four, and the winner is determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from all four days.