FLW 2017 Costa Series Tournament Guide

COSTA FLW SERIES • T�������, J��� 22-24, 2017 1

LAKE CHAMPLAIN A product of the

June 22-24, 2017 PRESS-REPUBLICAN • Thursday, June 22, 2017

2 T�������, J��� 22-24, 2017 • COSTA FLW SERIES

Lake Champlain • Plattsburgh, NY June 22 - 24, 2017

CONTENTS

Brad Bailey Publisher

Previewing Champlain: An in-depth analysis of America’s sixth Great Lake By Jody White .............................................................3

Michael Gallagher Special Publications Editor

A Few Hours on Lake Champlain with David Duley

By Jody White ..............................................................................4

Jody White FLW Writer

Costa FLW Northern Division Set to Open 2017 Season on Lake Champlain Courtesy of FLW .......................................................6 2017 Costa Series Lake Champlain Information ........................7 Kentucky Lake Championship Pro Angler Results ........................ 8

Ed Noonan Contributing Writer Alyssa Senecal Adirondack Coast Visitors Bureau Contact Jospeh Opager FLW Media Contact Questions? Comments? Email specialpubs@pressrepublican.com or call 518-565-4183

SPONSORED BY

The effort to keep Lake Champlain’s bass population healthy.

By Ed Noonan ...............................................................................10

Content Notice

PRESS-REPUBLICAN

Unless otherwise stated, all content in this publication, including photography, was obtained through FLW media, with permission to reproduce. For information about this tournament on the web, go to https://www.flwfishing.com/tournaments/2017-06-22-lake-champlain

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PREVIEWING CHAMPLAIN With waters range from shallow and dirty to clear and rocky, America’s sixth Great Lake poses a big challenge to anglers.

BY JODY WHITE

Y

ear in, year out, Lake Champlain presents a challenge that is almost totally unique. When the Costa FLW Series Northern Division event gets under way on Champlain this week, competitors will have about 100 miles of water to choose from. The win could come from anywhere, and limits will be plentiful. The event, which is presented by Power-Pole, is likely to be an exciting one to follow.

The Layout

is heavily influenced by wind and usually only factors into tournaments in the spring, when the smallmouths are spawning.

The north end of the lake is broad, clear, and has a healthy mix of weed, rock, and smallmouths and largemouths. The Missisquoi River flows into the lake in the northeast corner, and the area around it is dirtier and grassier than the rest of the region. Unlike the south end, where largemouths are the sole target, winning limits of both species can be found within minutes of each other. Thus, a common strategy is to catch a limit of healthy smallmouths and then hunt for some kicker largemouths around grass or other shallow cover.

For the uninitiated, Champlain is daunting to break down and For the likely hard to understand. Basically, the 100-mile-long glacial lake flows south to north between the Adirondacks in New York and the uninitiated, Champlain is North or South, Green or Brown Green Mountains in Vermont.

Depending on the time of year, the tournament can skew toward The south end of the lake (around Ticonderoga) is narrow and daunting to mostly shallow. The water is dirtier, and there are big grass beds nearly break down and largemouths or smallmouths. Though smallmouths rarely win summertime events alone, they often play a big role for anglers who everywhere. Most of the grass is Eurasian milfoil, but there is a variety likely hard to can mix in some largemouths as well. of species present. Though some big smallmouths live in the south understand.

“Ti is not what it has been in past years, but there’s no doubt it end, they are almost never caught in the summertime. It’s largemouth can put out winning bags,” says Chris Adams, a local with extensive territory.

The midsection of the lake is deep and clear with some grass. It’s primarily rock and experience on the lake who often jumps into the fray. “I think for the few guys who is almost exclusively home to smallmouths and coldwater species that live in the main figure it out, Ti could do really well, but things have changed from a few years ago.”

According to Adams, the north end of the lake could be ready to show out. basin (the lake is more than 400 feet deep in some parts in the middle). The main lake

Continued on next page

4 T�������, J��� 22-24, 2017 • COSTA FLW SERIES Previewing Champlain • continued from previous page Anglers idle at the begining of last year’s tournament.

A FEW HOURS ON

LAKE CHAMPLAIN with

Lake Champlain tends to get a little crowded at the south end.

DAVID DUDLEY You Name It, We Have It!

“The Rouses Point area [in the northwest corner of the lake] hasn’t gone wide open, so that could be ready to go soon,” he says. “I think the Inland Sea [in the northeast arm] will put out consistent bags, but I think you’re looking at largemouths or a mixed bag to win.”

“My prediction is that it will be won on a mixed bag,” says FLW Tour pro Joe Holland, “Primarily smallies with a couple kicker largies each day. I foresee a couple big bags coming from Ti and some good fish and bags coming from down there, but I am not sure a guy can do it three days in a row. There are a billion 3-pound smallies in Champlain. If a guy figures out how to catch the fatter ones, the 3 3/4-pounders, and can throw in a couple kicker largies, he would be tough to beat in this one”

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COSTA FLW SERIES • T�������, J��� 22-24, 2017 5

D

avid Dudley has seen success nearly everywhere, but one of his sweet spots Most pros do take in every detail, from extra rocks to bedding rock bass (warmouth is Lake Champlain. The big northern lake fishes well shallow nearly all the to Dudley), but he’s more vocal about it than most. So, beside his observations that time, and that’s how he likes it. This year, the Costa FLW Series Northern relate to fishing, he’ll occasionally translate what a nearby bullfrog is croaking or go Division is opening the regular season on Champlain and Tour pro David Dudley is off on some other tangent. one of the 180 pro anglers competing in the event. FLW hopped in the boat with him Further on, Dudley comes to his first section of docks. Rigging up a wacky on practice for a look at how he prepares for a tournament on Champlain. rig, he effortlessly skips it up under the first one and readies himself for the After putting in a 17-hour day on Sunday (made possible by the long summer bite, declaring this a “get the net” spot. Alas, it’s a no-go for a bass, but days up north), Dudley took the first part of the morning to plenty good for a rock bass. He says that the lowertake care of a few mechanical issues and get a bit of sleep. than-usual water level on Champlain has the fish When he meets me at the ramp, the sun is already up and Dudley picks up the phone backed off the docks a little more than normal. That the parking lot is full. After dialing in a little tackle (Dudley when a reporter from the may be true, but he still spent a decent amount of time is surprisingly perfectly organized and says he’d put his Press-Republican calls. skipping around up shallow whenever a dock crosses organization up against anyone), we put into the water and After spinning a few tales his path. When he won on Champlain in 2012, almost drop the trolling motor right away. half of his weight came off docks, so it obviously For the second day of practice, Dudley elects to fish around of Champlain’s glory, Missisquoi Bay, which is a large bay on the north end of the Dudley catches a bass isn’t a pattern he’ll discard easily. lake that also contains the delta from the Missisquoi River. mid-interview and then it’s Further along, moving back out into the grass and While there are smallmouth to be had in the bay, it’s most time to move. past a rocky point, Dudley explains his philosophy notable for the population of largemouths, and that’s what for the day, or at least for the part of the day I’m in the Lynchburg, Virginia, pro is after this morning. the boat with a camera.

Starting off in a flat with scattered grass and rock, he swaps back and forth between “I pretty much already know where I want to fish and what I want to do up a swim jig and a vibrating jig depending on how thick the grass is to get a feel for the here,” says Dudley. “I just want to try and build on that now. When you’re area. Right off the bat, a small keeper inhales his swim jig to break the ice.

“This almost looks like speed worm territory,” says Dudley as he moves further on these venues so many times, that happens.”

Not that he wouldn’t check on the juice, but for Dudley, this part of practice along the flat.

Though he doesn’t tie one up, he remains super observant of his surroundings.

Continued on page 9

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6 Thursday, June 22-24, 2017 • COSTA FLW SERIES

COSTA FLW SERIES NORTHERN DIVISION SET TO OPEN 2017 SEASON ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. — As many as 400 pros and co-anglers are set to compete in the Costa FLW Series Northern Division event at Lake Champlain, June 22-24.

The tournament, which is presented by Power-Pole, is the first of three regular-season events scheduled in the FLW Series Northern Division. Pros will be competing for a top award of up to $46,000 in cash and a new Ranger Z518C boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.

“I was able to get out on Lake Champlain for a few days last week and the lake is fishing pretty good,” said Power-Pole pro Cory Johnston of Cavan, Ontario, the reigning three-time FLW Series Northern Division Angler of the Year. “The largemouth seemed to be in a bit of a funk, but they were probably spawning and just weren’t biting very well. In this tournament we are definitely going to see fish in all three phases of the spawn.”

For FLW anglers that compete on Lake Champlain, the major decision is always whether to fish on the north end of the lake, closer to the takeoff marina in Plattsburgh, or make the long run to the Ticonderoga area on the southern end. Johnston said that he expects that making the right call on that decision will be the key factor to success in this event.

“Champlain is so great because you can really get away from everybody – it’s such a big body of water that you don’t have to fish in a crowd,” Johnston said. “Somebody is always going to make the run down to Ti and catch them real good. When I was there it wasn’t on fire by any means, but that can definitely change in a hurry. I think that there will be at least three boats in the top 10 that are fishing down in Ti. “The key baits are going to be pretty typical Lake Champlain,” Johnston continued.

Scott Martin of Clewiston, Florida, took home the win in 2016 on Lake Champlain.

(Photo by Kyle Wood)

“Guys are going to be flipping a jig and throwing moving baits down in Ti and when they’re up north they’re going to catch them drop-shotting, throwing a tube, reaction baits and jerkbaits. I’ll be throwing a Jackall Rhythm Wave and flipping a jig for the most part.”

Continued on page 11

COSTA FLW SERIES • T�������, J��� 22-24, 2017 7

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION June 22-24, 2017

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8 T�������, J��� 22-24, 2017 • COSTA FLW SERIES

Kentucky Lake Championship Pro Angler Results Rank Name

Hometown

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

MICHIE, TN LEESBURG, OH COUNCE, TN NEWNAN, GA MONTEVALLO, AL BENTONVILLE, AR ROYSE CITY, TX BENTON, KY BENTON, KY BENTON, KY CENTRAL CITY, KY OSAGE BEACH, MO WAUSAU, WI PADUCAH, KY

JASON LAMBERT COLE FLOYD RANDY HAYNES MICAH FRAZIER CLENT DAVIS GREG BOHANNAN TOM REDINGTON JEFF DEFEW AUSTIN BROWN BRANDON HUNTER MATT ROBERTSON MARCUS SYKORA CODY HAHNER BILLY SCHROEDER

3 Day WT 71 71 68 65 64 64 64 64 63 61 42 41 41 41

Winnings

Rank Name

Hometown

$97,200 $21,600 $15,000 $13,300 $12,000 $9,500 $8,200 $7,200 $6,200 $4,600 $4,300 $3,800 $3,300 $3,300

15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

CAMDEN, TN MUSCLE SHOALS, AL PADUCAH, KY DARDANELLE, AR CLINTON, AR TUSCUMBIA, AL VIENNA, IL PARIS, TN LEESBURG, OH LONDON, AR NACOGDOCHES, TX PARIS, TN PARIS, TN MAYFIELD, KY CROFTON, KY COUNCE, TN BIRMINGHAM, AL OLMSTEAD, KY BON AQUA, TN LEBANON, TN CHICKAMAUGA, GA REEDS SPRING, MO BETHEL SPRINGS, TN PENDLETON, IN LEBANON, TN GOSHEN, IN BOWLING GREEN, KY BROOKELAND, TX MINNETONKA, MN SPRINGFIELD, MO BEECH BLUFF, TN BON AQUA, TN FISHERS, IN CORINTH, MS GREENWOOD, IN CADIZ, KY

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COSTA FLW SERIES • Thursday, June 22-24, 2017 9 On Lake Champlain with David Dudley • continued from page 5

tap, but certainly not as many as there would be a few years ago or later in the summer.

After fishing down a ways, it’s time for lunch. Dudley likens hunger to someone tapping on your shoulder all day to remind you about it, and figures that if he can eliminate a distraction that easily it’s worth doing. Pulled pork with plenty of fresh-cut veggies, some Cheetos and some Schweppes do the trick for Dudley. After eating, he does a little more flipping and then fires up again.

On the way to his next spot, Dudley does some high speed wandering, driving by his previous areas out deeper with a sharp eye on the water looking for grass. Then, he speeds out toward the Inland Sea. Heading through the highway bridge is easy enough, but it reveals just how rough Champlain can get. With 3-footers pounding against the railroad bridge beyond, Dudley elects to pick up a squarebill for the windblown bridge and not go any further into the rough water.

Working down the rip rap with a bite or two and a little smallmouth, it’s was all about looking for a needle in a haystack that could be worth $46,000 pretty apparent that anyone trying to fish in the wind will be having a tough and a new Ranger Z521C boat.

On of the realities of fishing up north is dealing with pike. They’re slimy, time of it.

After rolling down the rip rap a bit longer, Dudley calls it quits. Without toothy and can destroy a jig, but they pull real hard and hit with plenty of gusto. Pike can for sure be an annoyance in a tournament, but Dudley is being able to get out to his next target, he wants to go to the juice.

If the weather lays down at all then he’ll head out into the Inland Sea, but proudly pro-pike.

“I think those guys that whack them with a ruler and kill them are punks,” for now, Dudley heads off to get on his best stuff in Missisquoi Bay and keep looking for the winning fish. says Dudley as he pulls out a pair of pliers from his Cuda arsenal.

“They’ll make your heart throb and they’re a smile for a kid someday.”

Case in point is the next fish we see. Dudley spots what looks a lot like a small muskie sunning up in the shallows and immediately tried to catch it. * But not for long, a half dozen precise casts with the swim jig fail to tempt it and then it’s time to move along. There’s work to be done.

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As Dudley works further out into the grass he finally adds in a speed worm and almost instantly catches one. So far, nothing big has shown itself, but he’s already nearly caught a small limit of bass. It’s not uncommon to catch 50+ bass in a day on Champlain, especially on the north end of the lake – the trick is finding the big ones.

Working farther out off the bank, still flipping around with a wacky rig or running a vibrating jig through the grass, Dudley picks up the phone when a reporter from the Press-Republican calls. After spinning a few tales of Champlain’s glory and telling him that he’s trying to win or do well and qualify for the Forrest Wood Cup, Dudley catches a bass mid-interview and then it’s time to move.

Call for Your Reservation: 518-563-0920 The next place is another largemouth-looking area, this time with some more defined clumps of milfoil out off the bank. For that, Dudley picks up Route 3, Plattsburgh, NY • butcherblockrestaurant.com *Discount available Monday-Wednesday on food purchases only. a flipping bait and right away begins to get bites again. Despite covering water slower than before, he’s getting noticeably more bites flipping than he was with his previous arsenal. So far today, every move has been geared toward largemouths, but it’s not the entire plan.

“I used to fish a lot for smallmouth, but here in the last little bit the largemouth have been kicking butt.”

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10 T�������, J��� 22-24, 2017 • COSTA FLW SERIES

The

CREEL DEAL: The effort to keep Lake Champlain’s bass population healthy.

By Ed Noonan

S

ince the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society ranked Lake Champlain 13th among their list for best bass fishing, it has continued to attract thousands of cast-for-cash tournaments to America’s sixth Great Lake. Champlain’s pofile began to rise back in the early 2000s, when Plattsburgh hosted its first professional 3-day event. This year, the lake will be kick off the Costa Series tournament for the FLW’s Northern Division, attracting over 400 anglers.

Of course, the FLW isn’t the only organization that attracts pros to fish Lake Champlain— Plattsburgh hosts several tournaments each summer, and they are all an important component of the regional tourism economy. It is therefore important that both the smallmouth and largemouth bass population continues to flourish. And that is exactly why the Plattsburgh Black Bass Recreational Tournament Fishery Conservation Plan was approved by the Common Council of the City of Plattsburgh on April 1, 2015.

With the help of the New York

State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Region 5 fisheries unit, tournament organizer creel weight data are readily available for every professional bass tournament held in Plattsburgh.

Recent research has confirmed that posttournament mortality rates following these events are typically low and that five-fish creel weights for top ten anglers remainsstable at about 17 pounds per day since 2005.

With the quality of fish stablizing, the City of Plattsburgh, the Adirondack Coast Visitor’s Center and Lake Champlain Sea Grant (LCSG) will reach out to other tournament scheduling organizations such as the Ticonderoga Area Chamber of Commerce and LCI Derby, Inc. to develop similar conservation efforts.

They with also encourage tournament organizers at all Plattsburgh-based events to investigate taking steps that will increase survival and dispersal rates such as moving the bass release sites to more offshore locales.

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COSTA FLW SERIES • T�������, J��� 22-24, 2017 11 attended a number of these pro events I know that live-release fishing and minimizing the stress or mortality on each fish is very important to them. And while live-release is of course the best practice for any responsible angler, especially after reaching your catch limit, its a good reminder to casual sportsmen, pros, clubs and regional tournaments alike that may not have as much Recent research has equipment or expertise when running a tournament weigh in. confirmed that postOverall, efforts to keep the tournament mortality rates lake’s bass population robust following these events are seem to be yeilding results; when typically low and that looking at the various weights of five-bass daily catches have of the five-fish creel weights for professional tournament events top ten anglers remains weighed in at Lake Champlain stable at about 17 pounds professional weigh-ins have per day since 2005. consistently increased. The average daily creel limit weights for the top ten anglers from each of ten FLW Outdoors events have increased from 14 pounds in 2002 to 18 pounds in 2016.

For further information on Lake Champlain survival and dispersal rates, go to www.uvm.edu/seagrant/sites/default/files/uploads/publication/bass_ tournament_lcsg-2013-04.pdf To learn more about the work done by the Lake Champlain Sea Grant, contact Mark Malchoff at (518) 564-3037 or email mark.malchoff@plattsburgh.edu.

Costa Series • continued from page 6

Johnston said that he thinks the winner will likely weigh in a three-day total right around 57 pounds.

“There are lots of smallmouth to be had, but I don’t think you can catch three big days of smallmouth,” Johnston went on to say. “You’re going to have to find and mix in some largemouth. I’m planning on fishing for largemouth – if I can find them.”

Anglers will take off from the Plattsburgh City Marina, located at 5 Dock St., in Plattsburgh, at 6:30 a.m. EDT each day. Weigh-ins will be held at the marina each day beginning at 2:30 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.

The event is hosted by the City of Plattsburgh and the Adirondack Coast Visitors Bureau.

In Costa FLW Series regular-season competition, payouts are based on the number of participants competing in the event. At Lake Champlain pros will fish for as much as $46,000 and a Ranger Z518C boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard if Ranger Cup qualified. Co-anglers will cast for a Ranger Z175 boat with a 90-horsepower Evinrude outboard, and an additional $5,000 if Ranger Cup qualified.

The Costa FLW Series consists of five U.S. divisions – Central, Northern, Southeastern, Southwestern and Western. Each division consists of three tournaments with competitors vying for valuable points that could earn them the opportunity to fish in the Costa FLW Series Championship. The 2017 Costa FLW Series Championship is being held Nov. 2-4 on Kentucky Lake in Paris, Tennessee.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Costa FLW Series on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.

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Store Hours: Mon.-Fri. 8-7 • Sat. 8-6 • Sun. 9-5 Pharmacy Hours: M-F 8-7 • Sat. 8-3 • Sun. 9-1 3 Gorman Way, Village Plaza, Peru, NY, 12972 • 643-2318

You can read up on all the tournament excitement online!

Check out the Press-Republican’s mobile-friendly digital edition — go to www.pressrepublican.com and scroll down to “Special Publications”.

COSTA FLW SERIES • Thursday, June 22-24, 2017 12

FIND ADVENTURE. FIND YOUR WAY TO PHIL’S.

SILVERADO 2500 HD

Service Hours: M-F 8-5pm, Sat. 8-12pm Sales Hours: M-F 8-7pm, Sat. 8-4pm

PHIL’S

CHEVROLET

STOP BY AFTER WORK, WE’RE OPEN EVENINGS ‘TIL 7:00 PM! www.philschevrolet.com • Check us out on facebook (Phil’s Chevrolet Inc.) Disclaimer: Tax, title, registration fees extra. Not responsible for misprinted ads. 0% financing available thru GM financial on select models. Credit approval needed. Some customers may not qualify. See dealer for details.