Tom Lavictoire Jr. of West Rutland, Vt., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 14 pounds, 4 ounces Saturday to win the EverStart Series Northern Division event on Lake Champlain with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 43 pounds, 15 ounces. For his victory, Lavictoire Jr. earned $34,915.
Despite leading the first two days of the EverStart with limits of largemouth flipped up from the Ticonderoga grass, Lavictoire felt that it was about to slip away from him late on day three. Today was really a grind,” said Lavictoire. “The wind and the mud came into four of my five places down around Ticonderoga, and I caught fewer fish today than I did any other day of the tournament.”
His last bite might have made the difference between winning and second place. “On the very last fish of the day I was in the middle of saying a prayer when it bit and it was a 4-pounder.”
Lavictoire said he was flipping1/2-ounce jigs and tubes for the majority of the tournament on 40-pound-test PowerPro line, but that it was a late-in-the-game adjustment that sealed the deal. “I felt like the bait wasn’t getting to the bottom with the wind, so I put on a heavier weight so I could feel the bottom better and that heavier weight got me two quality fish I don’t think I would have caught if I hadn’t changed up.”
A Champlain veteran, Lavictoire was committed to fishing on the south end all three days. “I’ve got 150 places I can fish in Ticonderoga. I practiced in ‘Ti” for two and a half days and found I could consistently catch 17 to 19 pounds a day, so I just put my head down and went for it.”
The top 10 pros on Lake Champlain were:
| 1st: | Thomas Lavictoire Jr. | West Rutland, Vt. | fifteen bass | 53-1 | $34,915 |
| 2nd: | Frosted Flakes pro Dave Lefebre | Erie, Pa. | fifteen bass | 51-14 | $13,093 |
| 3rd: | Keystone Light pro Chad Grigsby | Maple Grove, Minn. | fifteen bass | 49-15 | $8,729 |
| 4th: | Joseph Wood | Westport, Mass. | fifteen bass | 48-13 | $7,856 |
| 5th: | David Wolak | Wake Forest, N.C. | fifteen bass | 47-9 | $6,983 |
| 6th: | Aaron Hastings | Middletown, Md. | fifteen bass | 46-13 | $6,110 |
| 7th: | Darrin Schwenkbeck | Keeseville, N.Y. | fifteen bass | 46-9 | $5,237 |
| 8th: | Bryan Labelle | Hinesburg, Vt. | fifteen bass | 46-9 | $4,364 |
| 9th: | Rob Digh | Denver, N.C. | fifteen bass | 44-10 | $3,491 |
| 10th: | Todd Brunelle | Milton, Vt. | fifteen bass | 39-5 | $2,619 |
Chris Blanc caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division Thursday a 6-pound, 1-ounce bass – that earned him the day’s EverStart Series Big Bass award of $250.
Robert Giannini of Rochester, Massachusets, won the co-angler division and a Ranger Z117 with an Evinrude or Mercury outboard motor with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 43-15 pounds, 15 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers on Lake Champlain were:
| 1st: | Robert Giannini | Rochester, Mass. | fifteen bass | 43-15 | Ranger Z117 with a 90 HP Mercury or Evinrude outboard + Ranger Cup $5,000 |
| 2nd: | Bryan New | Belmont, N.C. | fifteen bass | 41-15 | $4,513 |
| 3rd: | Scott Schafer | Glennville, N.Y. | fifteen bass | 41-13 | $3,611 |
| 4th: | Lenny Baird | Stafford, Va. | fifteen bass | 39-11 | $3,159 |
| 5th: | Dick Gum | Woodbridge, Va | fifteen bass | 39-8 | $2,708 |
| 6th: | Edward Jaskolski | Dudley, Mass. | fifteen bass | 38-14 | $2,257 |
| 7th: | Jason Bezio | Plattsburgh, N.Y. | fifteen bass | 36-15 | $1,805 |
| 8th: | Frank Miller | West Nanticoke, Pa. | fifteen bass | 36-10 | $1,354 |
| 9th: | Darren Carlson | Penfield, Pa. | fifteen bass | 31-3 | $903 |
| 10th: | Andy Dick | Wilmington, Del. | fifteen bass | 30-15 | $722 |
Gary Walker caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division Thursday – a 5-pound, 5-ounce bass – that earned him the day’s EverStart Series Big Bass award of $166.
The EverStart Series consists of five divisions – Central, Northern, Southeast, Texas and Western. Each division consists of four tournaments and competitors will be vying for valuable points in each division that could earn them the Strike King Angler of the Year title, which allows them to fish the 2014 Forrest Wood Cup.
The next EverStart Series Northern Division tournament will be Sept. 12-Sept. 14 at the Chesapeake Bay in North East, Md., and is hosted by the Cecil County Tourism Office.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWOutdoors.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow FLW on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWOutdoors.
ABOUT FLW
FLW is the industry’s premier tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2013 over the course of 220 tournaments across five tournament circuits, four of which provide an avenue to the sport’s richest payday and most coveted championship trophy – the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world. FLW is committed to providing a lifestyle experience that is the “Best in Fishing, On and Off the Water.” For more information about FLW visit the FLWOutdoors website look for FLW on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube.By: Jody White, Communications Specialist / FLW Outdoors
