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Plattsburgh, NY – Partly cloudy skies and light winds greeted the 50 Elite Series anglers who prepared to head out Saturday morning. The eighth stop on the Bassmaster Elite Series trail has been up and down for many in the
field. But the 50 pros who remained had one goal in mind – make it to Sunday.
The back story at Saturday's launch was among the two at the top of the Angler of the Year
race. Who would survive to fish on
Sunday? Kevin VanDam came into the Champion’s Choice event as the AOY leader with only a 62-point margin of error over Skeet Reese. As it turned out, Skeet survived the cut while KVD came up short,
finishing in 27th place, to end his week
in Plattsburgh.
Skeet has a golden opportunity to open a sizable lead over VanDam with a win; however, in order for that to happen, it looks like Timmy Horton is going to have to sleep in Sunday morning as he
finished strong again Saturday with a limit weighing 18-8, giving him almost ten pounds over his closest competitor with a total weight of 64-6.
Heavyweight record holder Steve Kennedy, who is the proverbial “closest competitor” with a total weight of 54-9 has proven that he can flat out fish. He’s going to need everything he can muster Sunday as his weights have slid the wrong way since he
started the tournament as the leader. Steve brought five bass to the stage Saturday weighing 15-5 – two-and-a-half pounds lighter than Friday’s bag.
In third place, and over 12 pounds behind Horton, is Britt Myers. Myers brought 18-13 to the scales today, raising his three-day weight to 51-14. Fred Roumbanis, winner of the first Major of 2007, ended the day in fourth with 51-9, his lightest of the tournament so far, weighing 14-5.
Peter Thliveros ended the day with one of two 19-pound limits – his weighing 19-2 – boosting his total weight to 50-13 and moving him into fifth place. Rounding out the super six was Skeet Reese, who’s 17-8 limit secured his place in the top 12 by giving his three-day total weight of 50-9.
Here’s how the rest of Sunday’s field looks:
7. Yusuke Miyazaki 15 50-4
8. Shaw Grigsby 15 49-12
9. Tommy Biffle 15 49-7
10. Takahiro Omori 15 49-5
11. Cliff Pace 15 49-0
12. Bradley Hallman 15 48-7
Horton Has the Spot
Horton has been the top dog since Friday, and with a big bag in hand by 7:30 this morning, he was able to change to relax and just go fishing. “It went really good today…it’s been a real special week,” he said. “I could’ve sat there and caught them one after the other again today, but I didn’t feel like it would do me any good.”
Timmy is making the 75-mile run down south to a tiny spot that he admits has just been magical. “It’s really a neat spot down there,” he said. “It’s the type of deal that’s just really special because of, not only the amount of fish, but also the quality that’s holding there.”
Known for his consistency tournament-to-tournament, and year-to-year, Horton admits that not visiting the winner’s circle since 2004 has been a thorn in his side. “I have never missed a Classic in my career,” he said, “but from a win perspective it’s been a while, and I really want to get back up there again.”
With an almost six-pound lead to start the day Saturday, Horton explained that the pressure was, for the most part, off his shoulders – particularly since he had most of what he weighed before the sun got high. “It really allows you to relax a little bit and not sit on them all day,” he said.
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“If you sit there and catch them and catch them and catch them, you’ll go back the next day and get one or two bites. Fish management is really important – particularly on a lake like this where you can catch fish one after the other. I did that yesterday, but I caught 20 pounds pretty quick which allowed me to go and spend some time looking.”
Horton admitted that he has some company down south, but explained that it’s not a factor in his final-day plans. “I’m fishing a real small spot, and you’ve got to make the right cast with your jig to hit it,” he said. “There are other guys down there with me, but this group is so classy that I know I’ll have my primary spot to myself.
“About the only wildcard that might come up is if the wind blows and I can’t get down there or something. Assuming that’s not the case, I feel pretty good about how it’s going and think that I’ll be able to get another 15 pounds out of it tomorrow.”
Kennedy Short of Bigs
Steve Kennedy stormed out front Thursday with 21-6, but since then he’s not been able to cross the 20-pound mark. Saturday, he slipped further behind Horton and weighed his lightest bag of the tournament. “I didn’t feel like I had all that good of a day,” he said. “I stopped on my best place – where I started at this morning - and gave myself 10 minutes to try and make something happen.
“I culled three fish there and came to the weigh-in, so I’m really fortunate to have what I did.”
Like Horton, Kennedy is fishing down south and explained that it’s not because of a lack of bites, but it’s the big bites that aren’t materializing that’s hurting him. “I don’t know what was going on, but the big bite never showed up,” he said. “I’m catching a lot of fish, but today the quality wasn’t there at all.
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“It’s really kind of weird to tell you
the truth because I can’t get my timing right – Thursday they bit really good in the afternoon, and yesterday they ate in the morning. Today, the big fish never did really fire for me, so I don’t know.”
Kennedy explained that it’s tempting to pick up his flipping stick and begin punching through the abundant grass mats in the area he’s in. Instead, he’s committed to working his frog that’s been dependable since practice. “I could pick up a flipping stick and start punching mats with a jig and catch 10 pounds so fast it would make your head spin, but that’s not going to do me any good,” he explained.
“I got on a frog bit in practice, and have gotten better quality with it all week so I’ve stuck with it.”
“I’ll have my flipping stick out if I miss something, but I’m committed to the frog,” he said. “The biggest problem that I have right now is the mowers because I’m fishing down in all the chestnuts.
I’ve lost three places out of my best six because of it…they’re just gone. Sometimes you can find the fish when they reposition, but these are just gone.”
No Change for Meyers
Britt Meyers started the day in 10th place badly needing to make the top 12 cut – something he’s been unable to do so far in this, his
sophomore year. “I made the long run down south again today,” he said. “I’m just fishing one big grass bed really methodically just working around the edges and in towards the middle.
“It was just a really good day…I think my co-angler had almost 16 pounds, so the area is really strong and it’s just loaded with fish.”
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Meyers didn’t want to allow any room for error after he’d boated his near-19-pound limit. As such, he elected to take the slow ride north a bit early. “I came in with about an hour to spare today,” he explained. “I didn’t spend any time looking around, I just wanted to have plenty of time to make that long run knowing that I had a good sack.”
Thought Meyers is in and around several guys in the top 12, he’s not concerned about his pattern petering out. “I’m fishing a little bit differently than anyone else down there,” he said. “There’s a 50-boat tournament going out of there tomorrow and they’ve been watching us real close today. Hopefully, they’ll give us room to fish.”
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For tomorrow he’s not planning to pull out all the stops and gamble for the win. He’s satisfied knowing that he’s accomplished his primary goal of making the top 12. “I don’t plan on making any changes tomorrow,” he said. “I just hope that the wind doesn’t blow too hard so that we can all make it down there.”
Roumbanis Lost on Top
Fred Roumbanis started the tournament in 11th place, but moved into third Friday on the heels of a 20-pound stringer. Saturday was a 180-degree turn around for the Oklahoma pro. “It was tough today,” he explained. “The water came up a couple of feet, the water temperature dropped a few degrees, and the fish just weren’t very active.
“As soon as the sun came up, my topwater bite just died…and it wasn’t that strong to begin with today.”
An obviously dejected Roumbanis was at a loss for where the wheels came off the topwater wagon he’d hitched himself to. “As you can tell, I’m a little disappointed about how my day went today,” he admitted. “Tomorrow, I’m going to make an adjustment and just change my game plan. I’ll do less top water and a lot more flipping and try to make something work.”
After catching 20 pounds Friday – and leaving biting fish to look for new water – Roumbanis explained that Saturday couldn’t have been more of an opposite for him. “Today I only caught six, so I really struggled,” he said. “If the night gets warm I might change my tune a little, but right now I’m really disappointed that they didn’t eat like they have been.
“They were just killing it in practice and the first couple days.”
Besides an overhaul in his game plan from top water to flipping Sunday, Fred explained that smallmouth might get top billing if things don’t go as planned. “I don’t know…I’m probably going to do a lot of the same thing until around 11:00,” he said. “If I don’t have much of anything going by then I might just go smallmouth fishing.”
Thliveros Feeling Fortunate
Thliveros started his day in 22nd place hoping to get to 13th so that he could have a leisurely drive to Erie for next week’s tournament. Instead, what happened was nothing short of incredible as he managed to move up inside the top 5 shattering his hopes of taking a Sunday drive. “I was really fortunate today,” he said.
“I caught five really good fish, and it just worked out really good for me today…I just had the right bites, that’s all there is to it.”
Thliveros hasn’t weighed a smallmouth all week and, oddly enough, hasn’t had to make the 75-mile run down south to find the green fish. “I’m staying up north and, surprisingly, catching
largemouths,” he said. “The first year I came here, I got on a largemouth bite up north and really did well.
“Since then, all I’ve been able to get on up here were smallmouth. They finally regrouped, and I was able to put them in the boat.”
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Thliveros isn’t sure how or why he boated over 19 pounds Saturday, but he does have a theory. “I think all that happened today is that a school of larger fish just moved in and started feeding and pushed out the small two- and three-pound schools,” he said. “I went into the same spot yesterday and caught 14 pounds, so I was really surprised today.”
Timing is everything, or at least that’s what they say. Thliveros explained that timing has, for him, been about the same all week; however, Saturday the two- and three-pound fish he’d been around vanished. “It’s been pretty much the same – by about 10:00 it’s over with,” he said.
“Today though, by 8:30 I had my first limit and had a good portion of my weight. About 9:00, I caught one more fish that I was able to upgrade with.”
Everything is the same Sunday for Thliveros, and he admits that if he had to gamble, he wouldn’t know where to start. “I wouldn’t know what to do differently,” he explained. “I think what I’m doing is about the best option I’ve got to pad my stringer.
“I only have two places, so about the only thing I know to do is go looking. The thing that’s the most disappointing is that I don’t have a shot a winning.”
Skeet
Skeet launched his boat this morning in a tie for 10th with Britt Meyers, but one things certain – he knows his way around the top 10 on Saturday as he’s been there nearly all season long. “I had a good day today,” he said. “It started a little slow, so I went over to my second area.
“Once I got into the right school, it was one every cast. I was pretty happy at that point, and had around 12 pounds pretty quick.”
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Knowing that 12 pounds wasn’t going to get it done, but also knowing that there was a lot of time left in the day, Skeet pressed on and hit the mother load. “I went a little further south and got into another school that had some larger fish in it,” he said. “I jumped one off that would’ve been over four pounds.
“That would’ve given me over 18 pounds and moved me up a little more. But all things being equal, I can’t complain a bit.”
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Skeet explained that in terms of numbers, his day was off compared to yesterday; however, in terms of size it was obviously the best of the tournament for him so far. “I culled out a 15-pound limit this morning, so today was definitely the best day I’ve had so far,” he said. “I caught 30 to 40 keepers – which is not as many as I have been catching – but they were all good quality fish.”
Reese explained that the mystery of who will win is all but over now. As such, the pressure is off for tomorrow, so wind or no wind he’s just going fishing. “I heard a rumor that it’s forecast to blow tomorrow,” he said, “but I really have no preconceived notions or worries, so I’m just going to go fishing.”
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DAY
THREE STANDINGS
| Pl. |
Pro
Angler |
DAY
1 |
DAY
2 |
DAY
3 |
TOTAL |
| Fish |
Weight |
Fish |
Weight |
Fish |
Weight |
Fish |
Weight |
| 1 |
Timmy
Horton |
5 |
21-
2 |
5 |
24-12 |
5 |
18-
8 |
15 |
64-
6 |
| 2 |
Steve
Kennedy |
5 |
21-
6 |
5 |
17-14 |
5 |
15-
5 |
15 |
54-
9 |
| 3 |
Britt
Myers |
5 |
14-10 |
5 |
18-
7 |
5 |
18-13 |
15 |
51-14 |
| 4 |
Fred
Roumbanis |
5 |
17-
1 |
5 |
20-
3 |
5 |
14-
5 |
15 |
51-
9 |
| 5 |
Peter
E Thliveros |
5 |
17-
4 |
5 |
14-
7 |
5 |
19-
2 |
15 |
50-13 |
| 6 |
Skeet
Reese |
5 |
16-
4 |
5 |
16-13 |
5 |
17-
8 |
15 |
50-
9 |
| 7 |
Yusuke
Miyazaki |
5 |
13-
0 |
5 |
20-
7 |
5 |
16-13 |
15 |
50-
4 |
| 8 |
Shaw
E Grigsby, Jr |
5 |
16-11 |
5 |
14-
3 |
5 |
18-14 |
15 |
49-12 |
| 9 |
Tommy
Biffle |
5 |
15-14 |
5 |
17-
0 |
5 |
16-
9 |
15 |
49-
7 |
| 10 |
Takahiro
Omori |
5 |
17-
9 |
5 |
12-
7 |
5 |
19-
5 |
15 |
49-
5 |
| 11 |
Cliff
Pace |
5 |
15-
0 |
5 |
16-
0 |
5 |
18-
0 |
15 |
49-
0 |
| 12 |
Bradley
Hallman |
5 |
15-14 |
5 |
16-
0 |
5 |
16-
9 |
15 |
48-
7 |
| 13 |
Brent
Chapman |
5 |
14-14 |
5 |
19-
0 |
5 |
14-
8 |
15 |
48-
6 |
| 14 |
Scott
Rook |
5 |
19-
6 |
5 |
14-10 |
5 |
14-
3 |
15 |
48-
3 |
| 15 |
Jared
Lintner |
5 |
15-11 |
5 |
15-13 |
5 |
15-14 |
15 |
47-
6 |
| 16 |
Todd
Faircloth |
5 |
14-14 |
5 |
15-
0 |
5 |
17-
7 |
15 |
47-
5 |
| 17 |
Dave
Wolak |
5 |
14-15 |
5 |
17-
3 |
5 |
14-15 |
15 |
47-
1 |
| 18 |
Kenyon
Hill |
5 |
15-
8 |
5 |
16-14 |
5 |
14-
9 |
15 |
46-15 |
| 18 |
Preston
Clark |
5 |
13-
3 |
5 |
16-
5 |
5 |
17-
7 |
15 |
46-15 |
| 20 |
Kevin
Wirth |
5 |
17-11 |
5 |
12-11 |
5 |
15-14 |
15 |
46-
4 |
| 21 |
Greg
Hackney |
5 |
15-10 |
5 |
13-12 |
5 |
16-12 |
15 |
46-
2 |
| 22 |
Edwin
Evers |
5 |
17-10 |
5 |
15-
0 |
5 |
13-
5 |
15 |
45-15 |
| 23 |
Matthew
Sphar |
5 |
16-
5 |
5 |
14-
8 |
5 |
15-
0 |
15 |
45-13 |
| 24 |
Ken
D Cook |
5 |
13-10 |
5 |
18-
7 |
5 |
13-11 |
15 |
45-12 |
| 25 |
Kelly
Jordon |
5 |
16-
0 |
5 |
13-12 |
5 |
15-13 |
15 |
45-
9 |
| 26 |
Rick
Clunn |
5 |
15-10 |
5 |
18-10 |
5 |
11-
2 |
15 |
45-
6 |
| 27 |
Kevin
VanDam |
5 |
16-
3 |
5 |
15-13 |
5 |
13-
4 |
15 |
45-
4 |
| 28 |
Stephen
Browning |
5 |
16-
1 |
5 |
15-13 |
5 |
13-
5 |
15 |
45-
3 |
| 28 |
John
Murray |
5 |
14-15 |
5 |
16-
8 |
5 |
13-12 |
15 |
45-
3 |
| 30 |
Aaron
Martens |
5 |
15-14 |
5 |
14-
8 |
5 |
14-10 |
15 |
45-
0 |
| 31 |
Dean
Rojas |
5 |
16-11 |
5 |
15-
2 |
5 |
13-
1 |
15 |
44-14 |
| 32 |
Rick
Morris |
5 |
16-
2 |
5 |
12-
4 |
5 |
15-12 |
15 |
44-
2 |
| 33 |
Terry
Scroggins |
5 |
11-15 |
5 |
16-11 |
5 |
15-
4 |
15 |
43-14 |
| 34 |
Kotaro
Kiriyama |
5 |
15-
7 |
5 |
16-14 |
5 |
11-
7 |
15 |
43-12 |
| 35 |
James
Kennedy |
5 |
13-
8 |
5 |
15-
9 |
5 |
14-
6 |
15 |
43-
7 |
| 36 |
Alton
Jones |
5 |
12-12 |
5 |
17-
4 |
5 |
13-
6 |
15 |
43-
6 |
| 37 |
Kurt
Dove |
5 |
16-12 |
5 |
12-
0 |
5 |
14-
8 |
15 |
43-
4 |
| 38 |
Ray
Sedgwick |
5 |
15-
9 |
5 |
14-13 |
5 |
12-12 |
15 |
43-
2 |
| 39 |
Grant
Goldbeck |
5 |
14-
0 |
5 |
15-
4 |
5 |
13-10 |
15 |
42-14 |
| 40 |
Denny
Brauer |
5 |
17-14 |
5 |
11-
0 |
5 |
13-15 |
15 |
42-13 |
| 41 |
Jami
Fralick |
5 |
14-10 |
5 |
14-14 |
5 |
13-
2 |
15 |
42-10 |
| 42 |
Scott
Campbell |
5 |
16-
0 |
5 |
12-12 |
5 |
13-13 |
15 |
42-
9 |
| 43 |
James
Niggemeyer |
5 |
15-
1 |
5 |
13-11 |
5 |
13-12 |
15 |
42-
8 |
| 43 |
Davy
Hite |
5 |
18-
2 |
5 |
11-
4 |
5 |
13-
2 |
15 |
42-
8 |
| 45 |
Jason
Quinn |
5 |
16-
2 |
5 |
13-
1 |
5 |
12-11 |
15 |
41-14 |
| 45 |
Steve
Daniel |
5 |
16-15 |
5 |
18-
2 |
3 |
6-13 |
13 |
41-14 |
| 47 |
Paul
Hirosky |
5 |
14-14 |
5 |
19-
1 |
3 |
7-11 |
13 |
41-10 |
| 48 |
Jason
Williamson |
5 |
16-10 |
5 |
11-
9 |
5 |
11-
5 |
15 |
39-
8 |
| 49 |
Marty
Stone |
5 |
14-
9 |
5 |
13-12 |
5 |
10-11 |
15 |
39-
0 |
| 50 |
Bernie
Schultz |
5 |
15-
2 |
5 |
16-
6 |
5 |
7-
5 |
15 |
38-13 |
As with each Elite Series event, The BASS ZONE will be On Location all week with our up-to-the-minute “On the Water
Blog,” “Reel-time Chat,” and post-day
interviews.
NOTE:
Harold
Allen and Mark Jeffreys will be featured in a
new section called "Wide Open"
Check out the updates throughout the New York
swing. CLICK
HERE STAY
TUNED!!!!!!
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