The EverStart Series is headed to Lake Champlain July 18-20 when as many as 300 pros and co-anglers take to the water for the third of four stops in the Northern Division. Champlain’s plentiful smallmouth and largemouth make it a favorite tournament stop for many anglers but it presents a unique conundrum for those in the tournament. “It’s hard to know how it will be won for sure,” said Straight Talk pro J.T. Kenney of Palm Bay, Fla., who won the Lake Champlain EverStart series tournament in 2012. “Usually in June and July largemouth win, and in August and September smallmouth win. This tournament is right at the end of July, so it’s kind of in that transition period.
“You’re going to have to find what’s biting best. The winner may end up having a combination of both largemouth and smallmouth,” Kenney speculated. “With this event being held right in that transition time, that’s probably what we’ll be looking at.”
Kenney said that frogs, jigs, vibrating jigs, and Senko worms would be key baits for largemouth, while smallmouth would be caught on tubes, spinnerbaits, and jerkbaits. He figures that the tournament will be won with an 18½- to 19-pound-a-day average.
Anglers will take off from the Dock Street Landing in Plattsburgh, N.Y., at 6 a.m. Thursday through Saturday. Weigh-in will be held at Dock Street Landing beginning at 2:00 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
Pros will fish for a top award of $40,000 plus a Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard if Ranger Cup guidelines are met. Co-anglers will cast for a top award consisting of a Ranger Z117 with 90-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and $5,000 if Ranger Cup guidelines are met.
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 EverStart Series tournament on Lake Champlain is being hosted by the City of Plattsburgh and the Adirondack Coast Visitors Bureau.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWOutdoors.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the EverStart Series on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.
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 FLWOutdoors.com and look for FLW on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube.