Chevy pro Anthony Gagliardi of Prosperity, S.C., caught a five-bass limit weighing 19 pounds, 15 ounces Thursday to capture the lead in the FLW Series Eastern Division tournament on Lake Champlain with a two-day catch of 10 bass weighing 39-11.
“I had a limit early,” said Gagliardi, who finished second at the 2009 FLW Tour Lake Champlain event. “I fished the same area I did yesterday and I am really fending off a lot of anglers just to hold my ground; I had my limit by 9:30 but was afraid to leave because I didn’t want anyone else catching the quality fish that are in this area.
“It’s a grassy flat about 10-13 feet deep and the bass seem to gravitate there because it is loaded with bait fish; not just one species, but several. I am seeing shiners, shad . . . perch, crawfish and I think that is what is making it so attractive.
“Like yesterday I am dragging tubes and soft plastics on the bottom and I don’t plan to change much for tomorrow.”
Most of today’s anglers had an early bite, before the wind picked which was about noon. Very few largemouth bass crossed the stage today and several frustrated anglers declared it was a waste of time largemouth fishing and were able to save their day by going North and catching limits of smallies.
Gagliardi now holds an one-pound, 2-ounce lead over second place pro Jason Ober of Johnstown, Pa., who managed to haul in a total of 10 bass weighing 38-9 during the first two days of competition.
Ober continued to fish the same area he did yesterday which is in the Northwest corner of the lake near the Champlain Islands. He also had his limit early, by 8:30, however once the wind kicked in he said it took him a long time to upgrade any of his fish.
“I’m still using a drop-shot with a 3 1/2 inch cut tail worm,” said Ober, who won an American Fishing Series event on Lake Champlain in 2008 and in 2009 finished third at the FLW Tour and 6th at the FLW AFS events. “I have been fishing clean most of the week; I’m getting a bite on every cast, but my biggest challenge is competing with the perch, there are just so many there it’s hard to get the bass to bite me.”
Rounding out the top-10 pros at Lake Champlain are:
| 3rd: | Shinichi Fukae | Palestine, Texas | 10 bass | 37-8 |
| 4th: | David Wolak | Wake Forest, N.C. | 10 bass | 37-4 |
| 5th: | Chevy pro Dion Hibdon | Stover, Mo. | 10 bass | 36-13 |
| 6th: | Michael Wolfenden | Warwick, R.I. | 10 bass | 36-3 |
| 7th: | Steve Lucarelli | Meredith, N.H. | 10 bass | 35-5 |
| 8th: | Lancen Halbert | Enoree, S.C. | 10 bass | 35-4 |
| 9th: | National Guard pro Michael Murphy | Gilbert, S.C. | 10 bass | 35-4 |
| 10th: | Scott Parker | Londonderry, N.H. | 10 bass | 35-3 |
Overall there were 687 bass weighing 1,839 pounds, 9 ounces caught by 146 pros Thursday. The catch included 127 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 a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 34-4 followed by Christopher Hall of Clarks Summit, Pa., in second place with 10 bass weighing 32-9.
“It was a lot tougher today than yesterday,” said Kinney-Hermes, who is a SUNY-Plattsburgh bass fishing alumni. “I didn’t have a bite until 12:30. I think the bottom is really key to my fishing. We were fishing in a rocky area and the wind actually helped me today. I think it was blowing the bait fish in so the bass followed.”
Kinney-Hermes caught five bass weighing 18-15 while fishing with Chevy pro Anthony Gagliardi, Wednesday and five bass weighing 15-5 while fishing with pro Chris Johnston of Peterborough, Ontario, Thursday.
Rounding out the top-10 co-anglers are:
| 3rd: | Tony Bushey | Champlain, N.Y. | 10 bass | 31-12 |
| 4th: | Jerry Vashina | Macungie, Pa. | 10 bass | 31-11 |
| 5th: | Chester Williams | Shavertown, Pa. | 10 bass | 31-2 |
| 6th: | Jerry Knier | Muncy, Pa. | 10 bass | 28-6 |
| 7th: | Patrick Bone | Cleveland, Ga. | 10 bass | 28-1 |
| 8th: | Michael McGhee | Blackstone, Va. | 10 bass | 27-15 |
| 9th: | Edward Pecore | Plattsburgh, N.Y | 10 bass | 27-7 |
| 10th: | Mike Casada | Stearns, Ky. | 10 bass | 27-7 |
Overall there were 569 bass weighing 1,263 pounds, 9 ounces caught by 146 co-anglers Thursday. The catch included 75 five-bass limits.
Co-anglers are competing this week for a Ranger 177TR with a 90 horsepower Evinrude or Yamaha outboard motor as well as valuable points that could help them qualify for the 2011 Forrest Wood Cup.
Anglers will take off from Dock Street Landing located at 5 Dock Street in Plattsburgh at 6:30 each morning. All weigh-ins will be held at the marina with Friday’s weigh-in beginning at 2:30 p.m. and Saturday’s at 4 p.m.
Fans will be treated to a Family Fun Zone at the marina prior to Saturday’s weigh-in from noon to 4 p.m. There will be a drawing for a $300 Cabela’s gift card and drawings for rod and reel combos will be held every 30 minutes during the event. Activities in the Family Fun Zone include a boat simulator and National Guard obstacle challenge. All activities are free and open to the public..
Coverage of the Lake Champlain tournament will be broadcast in high-definition (HD) on VERSUS. “FLW Outdoors”, will air Oct. 24 from 12:30 to 1:30 ET. “FLW Outdoors,” hosted by Jason Harper, is broadcast to approximately 500 million households worldwide.
ABOUT FLW OUTDOORS
FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world offering anglers worldwide the opportunity to compete for millions over the course of 189 tournaments in 2010. For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, call (270) 252-1000.By: Julie Huber,
