Posted  July 14th, 2007  10:49 pm CST

Jay Yelas Wins Angler of the Year

Story by Dru Smith

Detroit, Mich. – Survival Saturday for the pros on Lake Erie. The third day of the Chevy Open in Detroit was the toughest of all week as the Wal-Mart FLW tour is now down to its final day. The ten remaining pros faced strong winds and incredibly rough waters as they tried to find enough Erie smallmouth’s to win the possible $200,000.00 top prize.

Six and seven foot rollers were the norm out on Lake Erie Saturday, but it didn’t stop these guys from finding fish. Steve Clapper continued his dominance of this tournament as he brought in another huge limit to take the lead with one day left. Clapper’s 23-3 will give him almost a three pound lead headed into Sunday.

Terry Baksay stayed strong and will be a factor in the final outcome. The Connecticut angler boated 20-5 pounds of fish on Saturday and feels confident about his chances. 

The co-angler turned boat driver this week, Trevor Jancasz is not fading either. His day three limit of 19-6 put him in third. Rounding out the top five was another Erie specialist, Thomas Moleski with 19-5 and Michigan’s own Kevin Long with 18-13.

One angler didn’t make it back to the weigh-in and the BASS ZONE caught up with him at the Canadian border. “The bilge went out and we couldn’t get rid of the water coming in. Once we took on water, the boat wouldn’t get up on plane.” Christopher King said as he waited at the border gates on his way back to Detroit. “It was a safety decision. I decided to head in early after not being able to get on my fish, but once we started taking water, I decided to not make the run.” 

FLW sent a trailer over to the Canadian side to pick up Chris and his co-angler Truman White. Neither angler will post a weight for Saturday’s round, but Chris plans to head back out tomorrow. “I may stay closer Sunday and just count my blessings,” he said. “If it is calmer I may give it another shot.” At the time King decided to head back, he did not have a fish in the boat.
 
Murphy Wins Co-Angler Title
Ken Murphy walked off stage with the co-angler trophy for his last day catch of 18-3. Ken made his tenth top ten appearance on Saturday and the Ranger team member finally took home the win and $40,000.00. “I practice out of my own boat and spent all my time on Lake St. Clair,” the Mississippi pro said. “Fortunately, my partners decided to go that way and it all worked out.”

Ken fished behind greats like Mark Davis, Gabe Bolivar and Terry Baksay on his way to outlasting the 199 other co-anglers. “I think the key was how I fished my baits,” he said. “I would leave the bail open on my Shimano reel and feed line out to help keep the bait down. I used a ¼ ounce drop shot weight (the ¼ ounce weight was lighter than most other anglers were using) and a Poor Boys Erie Darter to catch most of my fish.” Ken mounted his reel on a G-Loomis rod and spooled it with ten pound Seagar Fluorocarbon line.

When asked about making the move to the pro side, Ken responded, “I have some great sponsors now in Ranger and Mercury and if I can work out the right deal then maybe I will make the move.”

Terry Baksay is in the ZONE
“You hear guys say it and that’s what it feels like today, I’m in the zone”, Terry revealed. “Every time I decide to change it up a little, I caught a fish.” Terry has been making the right choices all week and three of his co-anglers reaped the rewards. “Every partner I had made the top ten and Ken (Murphy) won the title today,” he said. “We have caught over 130 pounds of fish off these spots this week.”

Terry noted that he wasn’t sure how many fish where still there, but he doesn’t plan to make any changes. “I’ve got three areas that are about the size of a football field and I’ve caught all my fish from there. I do have another spot that was holding better fish that I haven’t gone to yet.”

“The lake will have to go dead slick and all the fish will need to leave Lake Erie for me to have a chance to catch Steve (Clapper),” laughed Terry when asked about his chances of beating the legendary Ohio angler. “Seriously, the best I’ve done out there is 22 pounds, so we will see. I’m just going fishing and see what happens.”

Terry noted that his Solar Bat sun glasses have key for him all week. “Each day I’ve had a good smallmouth swirl at my bait right next to the boat. I’ll drop another lure down there and catch it. That wouldn’t have been possible without my Bats.”

DAY THREE STANDINGS

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