LARGEMOUTH WILL BE KEY ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN
Elite Anglers Searching for Hot Spots in the CITGO Bassmaster Elite Series Champion’s Choice
What’s at stake: $673,150 in cash to the top 50 Elite pros and valuable points towards qualifying in the Bassmaster Majors, CITGO Bassmaster Classic and the race for the CITGO Bassmaster Angler of the Year award. The top 25 co-anglers compete for $115,400 in cash and merchandise. Telecast: The Champion’s Choice will be aired on The CITGO Bassmasters on Saturday, July 22 at 10 a.m. ET on ESPN2.
The Pros Said It
“The bass are in a post-spawn pattern and I think the wind will play a big part in how I do because this is such a gigantic lake. A lot of guys will do the same thing I’m doing. We’re going to be in a small area where there’s been tournaments won recently. Still, there’s so many variables, you never know until you get out there.” –Five-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier Mike Reynolds, 40, Modesto, Calif.
“I had a really good practice a while ago and now it’s changed a little bit. The lake has come up and I’m not getting big fish like I was before. I’ve had to change my strategy and technique. The fish are still there, but I’m catching smaller fish.” – 13-time CITGO Bassmaster Classic qualifier and winner of the Empire Chase presented by Mahindra Tractors, Tommy Biffle, 48, Wagoner, Okla.
“My expectations are sky high. I’ve had two good events now, just missed the top 12 in the first Major and I’m qualified for the next Major right now. I’m ready to go. I’m ready to get this thing started. It’s Lake Champlain, everyone should have a good time.” – Two-time Classic qualifier Lee Bailey, 44, Boaz, Ala., who led Day 1 of the Empire Chase.
“I’ve had a really tough time so far. All of the fish have been small, so I don’t know what I’m going to go do tomorrow. To free my mind and open my mind tomorrow, that will be most important.” – Yusuke Miyazaki, 36, Mineola, Texas, who led Day 2 of the Empire Chase.
The Strategy
Reynolds: He’ll use heavy rods to catch fish under heavy cover. Like a handful of other anglers, he’s fishing the middle-southern area of Champlain in search of largemouth.
Biffle: Just as he did to win on Oneida Lake last week, Biffle will target largemouth bass using both jigs and soft plastics. He’s planning to fish both ends of Champlain, targeting offshore shallow grass and predicts it will take 15 pounds a day to make the cut.
Bailey: Bailey is targeting largemouth bass in shallow water 2 to 6 feet deep. He is flipping 5/16-ounce to 1/2-ounce jigs most of the week, and trying his hand at a new lure, the MegaStrike Evolution jig. Bailey estimates a daily average of 17 pounds a day to make the Elite 12 final day cut.
Miyazaki: He’s suffered mechanical problems the last two days, making it difficult for him to focus on fishing. Miyazaki found lots of 2- and 3-pounders, but doesn’t believe he’s tracked down the 14- to 15-pound limits he’ll need to make the cut. When competition begins Thursday, he’ll change locations and lures and think freely – that will be the key to his success.
Location and Field
Champions Choice – CITGO Bassmaster Elite Series
Lake Champlain
Plattsburgh, N.Y.
July 13-16
Field
102 pros, 102 co-anglers
Cut to top 50 after Day 2
Cut to Elite 12 pro anglers after Day 3
Launch and Weigh-in
Plattsburgh Boat Basin
5 Dock St.
Plattsburgh, N.Y., 12901
5:30 a.m./ 3 p.m.
Background
Previous BASS events
2006, ESPN Outdoors Bassmaster Series
2005, CITGO Bassmaster Northern Open
2005, ESPN Outdoors Bassmaster Series
1999, Vermont Top 150
1997, Vermont Top 100
Previous winners on lake
18-12, Thomas Lavictoire, 2006
56-7, Joe Lucarelli, 2005
21-9, Kenneth Bracy, 2005
61-3, Michael Iaconelli, 1999
56-15, Roland Martin, 1997
Heaviest winning weight
61-3, Michael Iaconelli, 1999
Lowest winning weight
18-12, Thomas Lavictoire, 2006
Weather
Temperature
81 degrees
Lake level
98.97 feet above mean sea level
CITGO Bassmaster Elite Series
The Southern Sprint
#1 March 9-12 Battle on the Border presented by Mercury Marine – Lake Amistad, Del
Rio, Texas
#2 March 16-19 Lone Star Shootout presented by Triton Boats – Sam Rayburn
Reservoir, Jasper, Texas
#3 March 30 – April 2 Santee-Cooper Showdown presented by MotorGuide
– Santee-Cooper, Manning, S.C.
#4 April 20-23 Southern Challenge presented by Berkley – Lake Guntersville,
Guntersville, Ala.
#5 May 4-7 Pride of Augusta presented by Lowrance–Clarks Hill
Lake, Columbia County, Ga.
The Turn
#6 June 1-4 Sooner Run – Grand Lake, Grove, Okla.
#7 June15-18 Bluegrass Brawl – Kentucky Lake, Kentucky Dam Village, Ky.
The Northern Swing
#8 July 6-9 Empire Chase presented by Mahindra Tractors- Lake Oneida, Syracuse, N.Y.
#9 July 13-16 Champion’s Choice – Lake Champlain, Plattsburgh, N.Y.
The Final Charge
#10 Aug. 10-13 Capitol Clash – Potomac River, Charles County, Md.
#11 Sep. 14-17 The Rock presented by Theraseed – Table Rock Lake,
Kimberling City, Mo.
Local Sponsors: Local sponsors include the City of Plattsburgh.
CITGO Bassmaster Elite Series sponsors: Sponsors of the CITGO Bassmaster Elite Series include CITGO Petroleum Corp., Toyota, Busch Beer, Purolator, Triton Boats, Mercury Marine, Berkley, Lowrance Electronics, MotorGuide, Advance Auto Parts and Theraseed®.
BASS is the worldwide authority on bass fishing, sanctioning more than 20,000 events through the BASS Federation annually. Guided by its mission to serve all fishing fans, BASS sets the standard for credibility, professionalism, sportsmanship and conservation, as it has for nearly 40 years.
BASS stages bass fishing tournaments for every skill level and culminates with the CITGO Bassmaster Classic. Through its clubs, youth programs, aquatic resource advocacy, magazine publishing and multimedia platforms, BASS offers the industry's widest array of services and support to its nearly 550,000 members. The organization is headquartered in Celebration, Fla.
For more information, contact BASS Communications at (407) 566-2208 or visit http://www.bassmaster.com.
Anglers, listed by way of the Bassmaster Elite Series Power Index:
Rank Name Total Weight Average Weight Power Index (Avg. Weight)
1 Hackney, Greg 553 lbs 13 ozs 46 lbs 2 ozs 100.00 %
2 Iaconelli, Michael 546 lbs 6 ozs 45 lbs 9 ozs 98.78 %
3 Rojas, Dean 524 lbs 1 ozs 43 lbs 11 ozs 94.72 %
4 VanDam, Kevin 516 lbs 0 ozs 43 lbs 0 ozs 93.22 %
5 Crews, John 513 lbs 8 ozs 42 lbs 13 ozs 92.82 %
6 Evers, Edwin 490 lbs 10 ozs 40 lbs 14 ozs 88.62 %
7 Wirth, Kevin 473 lbs 11 ozs 39 lbs 8 ozs 85.64 %
8 Reese, Skeet 470 lbs 6 ozs 39 lbs 3 ozs 84.96 %
9 Martens, Aaron 466 lbs 13 ozs 38 lbs 14 ozs 84.28 %
10 Quinn, Jason 451 lbs 6 ozs 37 lbs 10 ozs 81.57 %
11 Wurm, Mike 444 lbs 13 ozs 37 lbs 1 ozs 80.35 %
12 Reed, Matt 444 lbs 9 ozs 37 lbs 1 ozs 80.35 %
13 Swindle, Gerald 439 lbs 14 ozs 36 lbs 11 ozs 79.54 %
14 Jordon, Kelly 436 lbs 4 ozs 36 lbs 6 ozs 78.86 %
15 Lane, Russell 435 lbs 12 ozs 36 lbs 5 ozs 78.73 %
16 Scroggins, Terry 434 lbs 11 ozs 36 lbs 4 ozs 78.59 %
17 Thliveros, Peter 423 lbs 12 ozs 35 lbs 5 ozs 76.56 %
18 Omori, Takahiro 422 lbs 1 ozs 35 lbs 3 ozs 76.29 %
19 Horton, Timmy 413 lbs 10 ozs 34 lbs 8 ozs 74.80 %
20 Jones, Alton 410 lbs 7 ozs 34 lbs 3 ozs 74.12 %
21 McClelland, Mike 406 lbs 5 ozs 33 lbs 14 ozs 73.44 %
22 Howell, Randy 404 lbs 6 ozs 33 lbs 11 ozs 73.04 %
23 Bailey, Lee 403 lbs 10 ozs 33 lbs 10 ozs 72.90 %
24 Klein, Gary 399 lbs 3 ozs 33 lbs 4 ozs 72.09 %
25 Reynolds, Jeff 398 lbs 14 ozs 33 lbs 4 ozs 72.09 %
26 Brauer, Denny 394 lbs 9 ozs 32 lbs 14 ozs 71.27 %
27 Biffle, Tommy 391 lbs 10 ozs 32 lbs 10 ozs 70.73 %
28 Hite, Davy 388 lbs 7 ozs 32 lbs 6 ozs 70.19 %
29 Murray, John 382 lbs 10 ozs 31 lbs 14 ozs 69.11 %
30 Clark, Preston 380 lbs 6 ozs 31 lbs 11 ozs 68.70 %
31 Rowland, Zell 378 lbs 13 ozs 31 lbs 9 ozs 68.43 %
32 Monroe, Ishama 372 lbs 11 ozs 31 lbs 1 ozs 67.34 %
33 Clunn, Rick 369 lbs 15 ozs 30 lbs 13 ozs 66.80 %
34 Tucker, Mark 367 lbs 14 ozs 30 lbs 11 ozs 66.53 %
35 Butcher, Terry 366 lbs 5 ozs 30 lbs 8 ozs 66.12 %
36 Cook, Ken 357 lbs 6 ozs 29 lbs 13 ozs 64.63 %
36 Faircloth, Todd 357 lbs 6 ozs 29 lbs 13 ozs 64.63 %
38 Kriet, Jeff 354 lbs 4 ozs 29 lbs 8 ozs 63.96 %
39 Gutierrez, Greg 353 lbs 2 ozs 29 lbs 7 ozs 63.82 %
40 Wolak, David 348 lbs 6 ozs 29 lbs 1 ozs 63.01 %
41 Kiriyama, Kotaro 347 lbs 6 ozs 28 lbs 15 ozs 62.74 %
42 Rook, Scott 344 lbs 12 ozs 28 lbs 12 ozs 62.33 %
43 Ponds, Pete 344 lbs 6 ozs 28 lbs 11 ozs 62.20 %
44 Hill, Kenyon 344 lbs 5 ozs 28 lbs 11 ozs 62.20 %
45 Schultz, Bernie 343 lbs 14 ozs 28 lbs 11 ozs 62.20 %
46 Mize, Jimmy 342 lbs 4 ozs 28 lbs 8 ozs 61.79 %
47 Miyazaki, Yusuke 339 lbs 7 ozs 28 lbs 5 ozs 61.38 %
48 Chapman, Brent 333 lbs 5 ozs 27 lbs 12 ozs 60.16 %
49 Grigsby, Jr, Shaw 332 lbs 9 ozs 27 lbs 11 ozs 60.03 %
50 Menendez, Mark 332 lbs 3 ozs 27 lbs 11 ozs 60.03 %
51 Shimizu, Morizo 327 lbs 14 ozs 27 lbs 5 ozs 59.21 %
52 Elias, Paul 324 lbs 11 ozs 27 lbs 1 ozs 58.67 %
53 Roumbanis, Fred 324 lbs 10 ozs 27 lbs 1 ozs 58.67 %
54 Edwards, Jarrett 318 lbs 5 ozs 26 lbs 8 ozs 57.45 %
55 Sedgwick, Ray 311 lbs 5 ozs 25 lbs 15 ozs 56.23 %
56 Browning, Stephen 305 lbs 9 ozs 25 lbs 7 ozs 55.15 %
57 Morris, Rick 303 lbs 8 ozs 25 lbs 5 ozs 54.88 %
58 Reynolds, Mike 297 lbs 6 ozs 24 lbs 13 ozs 53.79 %
59 Hartley, Charlie 295 lbs 1 ozs 24 lbs 9 ozs 53.25 %
60 Brauer, Chad 293 lbs 7 ozs 24 lbs 7 ozs 52.98 %
61 Daniel, Stephen 290 lbs 7 ozs 24 lbs 3 ozs 52.44 %
62 Tyler, Mark 286 lbs 2 ozs 23 lbs 14 ozs 51.76 %
63 Hamilton Jr, Robert 283 lbs 9 ozs 23 lbs 10 ozs 51.22 %
64 Gliebe, David 277 lbs 0 ozs 23 lbs 1 ozs 50.00 %
65 Scalish, Frank 276 lbs 8 ozs 23 lbs 1 ozs 50.00 %
66 Rogers, Brooks 272 lbs 1 ozs 22 lbs 11 ozs 49.19 %
67 O'Shea, Mike 260 lbs 14 ozs 21 lbs 12 ozs 47.15 %
68 Desaro, Bink 259 lbs 6 ozs 21 lbs 10 ozs 46.88 %
69 Stone, Marty 258 lbs 6 ozs 21 lbs 9 ozs 46.75 %
70 Thomas, Joe 258 lbs 1 ozs 21 lbs 8 ozs 46.61 %
71 Snowden, Brian 253 lbs 6 ozs 21 lbs 2 ozs 45.80 %
72 Stringer, Bradley 251 lbs 7 ozs 20 lbs 15 ozs 45.39 %
73 Luce Jr, Elton 249 lbs 2 ozs 20 lbs 12 ozs 44.99 %
74 Velvick, Byron 248 lbs 8 ozs 20 lbs 11 ozs 44.85 %
75 Rogers, Mark 242 lbs 12 ozs 20 lbs 4 ozs 43.90 %
76 Short, Kevin 241 lbs 12 ozs 20 lbs 2 ozs 43.63 %
77 Weyer, Charlie 241 lbs 9 ozs 20 lbs 2 ozs 43.63 %
78 Wilks, Dustin 231 lbs 3 ozs 19 lbs 4 ozs 41.73 %
79 Eaker, Guy 221 lbs 9 ozs 18 lbs 7 ozs 39.97 %
80 Goldbeck, Grant 201 lbs 8 ozs 16 lbs 13 ozs 36.45 %
81 Houston, Jimmy 200 lbs 5 ozs 16 lbs 11 ozs 36.18 %
82 Yarnall, Randy 169 lbs 15 ozs 14 lbs 3 ozs 30.76 %
*** Kennedy, Stephen
*** Lowen, Bill
*** Lintner, Jared
*** Hallman, Bradley
*** Segraves, Terry
*** Schwenkbeck, Darrin
*** Connella, Jeff
*** Smith, Jr, William
*** Langill, Kevin
*** Smith, Dave
*** Starks, Jeremy
*** Bondy, Jon
*** Phillips, Keith
*** Fralick, Jami
*** Youngers, Charlie
*** Lane, Chris
*** Hirosky, Paul
*** Myers, Britt
*** Dove, Kurt
*** Hurtado, Vince
*** Ash, Rick
*** Merkin, Doc
*** Brodeur, Ken
*** Picou, Conrad
***An angler must have fished 12 qualifying events during the last two seasons for his weight to appear. A qualifying event is a Bassmaster Tour tournament, an Elite 50 tournament or Bassmaster Classic. In 2006 and beyond, a qualifying event is defined as a CITGO Bassmaster Elite Series tournament, a Bassmaster Major and a CITGO Bassmaster Classic.
Co-anglers
Alabama
Hill, James – Ozark
Howell, Roger – Clayton
Jones, James – Pinson
Mealer, Frank – Irondale
Mize, Sam – Muscle Shoals
Parten, Harry – Columbiana
Potts, Harry – Ozark
Raia, Charlie – Gardendale
Sparks, Jimmy – Tuscumbia
Stringer, Walter – Tallassee
Swindle, Tommy – Cleveland
California
Adams, Bill – Exeter
Frink, Tom – Simi Valley
Haraguchi, Gary – Brentwood
Martens, Justin – Lancaster
Pratt, Tony – Paso Robles
Tosh, Steve – Modesto
Connecticut
Kish, Louis – Goshen
Paul, David – New London
Delaware
Dick, Andrew – Wilmington
Florida
Barberee, Glenn – Crestview
Delgado, Mary – Tampa
Ezell, Tim – Key West
Frazier, Mike – Orlando
Illinois
Luszcak, Jason – Palos Hills
Indiana
Jenkins, Andy – Elkhart
Massachusetts
Benham, David – Lenox
Foster, John – Everett
Kyriacos, George – Rockland
Maryland
Freeman, Bruce – Street
Vogelsang, Robert – Jessup
Maine
Staszewski, Jim – West Gardiner
Michigan
Frickman, Mark – Grand Ledge
Gould, Stephen – Kalamazoo
Matteson, Eddie – Farmington
Suhr, Robert – Roscommon
Vandam, Jonathan – Kalamazoo
North Carolina
Hauser, Wayne – Winston-Salem
New Hampshire
Guichard, David – Nashua
New Jersey
McCullough, John – Woodbine
Pitlak, Ed – Norwood
Townsend, Craig – Mount Holly
New York
Barth, Detlef – Bolivar
Bergman, Ron – Phoenix
Bigford, Derrick – Cicero
Cook, Karl – Watertown
Cunningham, Kevin – Farmingdale
Cusano, Michael – Clay
Daino, Craig – Central Square
Dence, Jim – Pulaski
Digirolamo, Dominic – Belmont
Dirado, Peter – Holland
Faraci, Tony – Troy
Fiore, John – Groton
Fiorille, George – Moravia
Garlock, Richard – Alexandria
Graham, Mike – Jamestown
Green, Richard – Greenfield Center
Herbert, Jesse – Pennellville
Kaproth, Mike – Ithaca
Knapp, Bill – Lee Center
Laclair, Lawrence – Hannibal
Lafaver, Larry – Watertown
Livingston, David – Scottsville
Luther, Carl – Rochester
Martin, Matthew – Lafayette
Mathews, James – Camden
Mclaughlin, David – Massapequa
Monica, Thomas – Bridgeport
Nels, Craig – Baldwinsville
Nolan, Richard – Ballston Spa
Pavlot, Tom – Utica
Popp, Bob – Oswego
Pratt, Steve – Corfu
Prichard, Charles – Brewerton
Putnam, Scott – East Chatham
Renfrew, Ian – Phoenix
Rice, Pete – Gansevoort
Rodriguez, Alvaro – Clarence
Savino, Anthony – Marlboro
Scott, Daren – Liverpool
Sheffield, David – Amherst
Terpening, Craig – North Syracuse
Tierney, James – Lock
Ohio
Smith, Del – Castalia
Thomas, Rich – Mansillon
Pennsylvania
Bean, Dick – Sayre
Billman, Rick – Williamsport
Bishop, Donald – Verona
Carl, Michael – Bethlehem
Harris, Timothy – Tyrone
Kashuba, Jeff – Stroudsburg
McTamney, Marty – Philadelphia
Nagle, Daniel – Pine Grove
Norton, David – Athens
Wright, Jack – Philadelphia
South Carolina
Huston, Bill – Sunset
Stephens, Howard – Columbia
South Dakota
Logue, Thomas – Tyndall
Virginia
Hood, Wes – Annandale
Vermont
Butler, Larry – New Haven
