PLATTSBURGH, N.Y., June 25, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Pro Scott
Martin of Clewiston, Florida, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 16
pounds, 5 ounces Saturday to take a 2-pound, 3-ounce lead into the
final day of the Walmart FLW Tour at Lake Champlain presented by
General Tire. Martin's three-day total of 58 pounds, 10 ounces make
him the No. 1 seed on championship Sunday as the field is now cut
to 10 in the four-day competition that features 160 of the world's
best anglers competing for a top cash award of up to $125,000.
Link to photo of pro leader Scott Martin
Right behind Martin in second place is Bryan Schmitt of Deale, Maryland, who brought in a five-bass
limit weighing 17-11 for a three-day total of 15 bass worth
56-7.
"I had some adversity to overcome out there today, so I feel
very blessed to have caught what I did," said Martin. "I
experienced some mechanical issues this morning and had to return
to the takeoff ramp. After I was cleared, I made some adjustments
and caught some nice smallmouth."
Martin said he caught three of his limit-fish from an area near
Rouses Point, and two from a
couple of honey holes. He said he used a creature bait, a tube and
a topwater bait to piece together his limit.
"My original plan was to save those fish for tomorrow, but I
ended up needing them today," said Martin. "I'm glad I had them,
but I'm going to have to go out there tomorrow and figure out
something new."
In addition to the smallmouth bite, Martin said he plans to
focus on largemouths as well. He said he will have 15 rods on the
back of his boat and is prepared to throw everything he has at
them.
"At this lake, ounces are everything, and if you don't catch a
nice bag you'll fall behind," said Martin. "This tournament can't
be won with just smallmouth, so I need tomorrow to be an epic day.
I'm fishing good. I'm fishing clean. I feel like I've made some
really good decisions over the past few days, I just have to keep
it rolling."
The top 10 pros advancing to the final day of competition on
Lake Champlain in are:
1st:
Scott Martin, Clewiston, Fla., 15 bass, 58-10
2nd:
Bryan Schmitt, Deale, Md., 15 bass, 56-7,
3rd:
Jason Meninger, Gainesville, Ga., 15 bass,
55-15
4th:
Walmart pro David Dudley,
Lynchburg, Va., 15 bass,
55-9
5th:
Chris Johnston, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, 15 bass,
53-13
6th:
Lowrance pro Austin Felix,
Eden Prairie, Minn., 15 bass,
53-11
7th:
Yamamoto Baits pro Shinichi Fukae,
Palestine, Texas, 15 bass,
52-6
8th:
Cody Meyer, Auburn, Calif., 15 bass,
52-1
9th:
Livingston Lures pro Stetson
Blaylock, Benton, Ark., 15
bass, 51-12
10th:
Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., 15 bass, 51-1
Finishing 11th through 20th are:
11th:
Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 15 bass, 51-1, $12,000
12th:
Braxton Setzer, Montgomery, Ala., 15 bass, 50-15, $12,000
13th:
Livingston Lures pro Andy Morgan,
Dayton, Tenn., 15 bass, 50-8,
$12,000
14th:
Jacob Wheeler, Indianapolis, Ind., 15 bass, 50-2,
$12,000
15th:
Clark Wendlandt, Leander, Texas, 15 bass, 49-13, $12,000
16th: Quaker
State pro Scott Canterbury,
Springville, Ala., 15 bass, 49-11,
$12,000
17th:
Terry Bolton, Paducah, Ky., 15 bass, 49-9, $12,000
18th:
Curtis Richardson, Belleville, Ontario, Canada, 15 bass, 49-9,
$12,000
19th:
Jason Johnson, Gainesville, Ga., 15 bass, 15 bass, 49-1,
$12,000
20th: GoPro
pro Mike Kernan, Wylie, Texas, 15 bass, 46-0, $12,000
For a full list of results visit FLWFishing.com.
Overall there were 100 bass weighing 320 pounds, 7 ounces caught
by 20 pros Saturday. All of the top-20 pros weighed in a five-bass
limit.
Al Gagliarducci of West Suffield, Connecticut, won the co-angler
division and $20,000 Friday with a
two-day total of 10 bass weighing 33 pounds, 11 ounces, followed by
David Hudson of Jasper, Alabama, who finished in second place
with 10 bass weighing 31 pounds, 13 ounces worth $7,600.
Adding another accolade to his illustrious career, Livingston
Lures pro Andy Morgan of
Dayton, Tennessee, clinched his
third Angler of the Year title Friday. Morgan made the top-20 cut
in 10th place, guaranteeing him the season-long
cumulative points title. Morgan became the third angler in FLW Tour
history to win the title three times, earning him a check for
$100,000 and an automatic berth into
the 2017 Forrest Wood Cup.
Pro Chris Johnston of
Peterborough, Ontario, Canada,
clinched the 2016 Walmart FLW Tour Rookie of the Year award, which
is awarded to the rookie pro angler who finishes the season with
the highest point total.
Bryan New of Belmont, North Carolina, clinched the Walmart
FLW Tour Co-Angler of the Year title and won a new Ranger Z518C
boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard.
Anglers will take off Sunday from the Plattsburgh City Marina
located at 5 Dock St. in Plattsburgh at 6:30
a.m. EDT. Sunday's final weigh-in will be held at the Crete
Memorial Civic Center, located at 4 Beach Road beginning at
4 p.m.
Fans will also be treated to the FLW Expo Sunday from
noon to 4 p.m. at the Civic Center
before the final weigh-ins. The Expo includes a 100-yard Lew's
Casting Lane, the opportunity to interact with professional
anglers, enjoy interactive games, activities and giveaways provided
by FLW sponsors, and learn more about the sport of fishing and
other outdoor activities. All activities are free and open to the
public.
Coverage of the Lake Champlain tournament will premiere in
high-definition (HD) on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) Oct. 12 from 1 p.m.-2 p.m.
EDT. The Emmy-nominated "FLW" television show airs on NBCSN,
the Pursuit Channel and the World Fishing Network and is broadcast
to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most
widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the
world.
The Walmart FLW Tour at Lake Champlain presented by General Tire
is hosted by the City of
Plattsburgh and the Adirondack Coast Visitors Bureau.
For complete details and updated information visit
FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and
more, follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on
Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.
About FLW
FLW is the world's largest tournament-fishing organization,
providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete
for millions in prize money in 2016 across five tournament
circuits. Headquartered in Benton,
Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW conducts more than 235
bass-fishing tournaments annually across the United States and sanctions tournaments in
Canada, China, Mexico
and South Korea. FLW tournament
fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated "FLW" television show,
broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, while FLW
Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros. For
more information visit FLWFishing.com and follow FLW at Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Periscope: @FLWFishing.
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SOURCE FLW