FLW -Detroit River

[Buckeyenut313]

Well, the Pundits picks are in. What do you all think?

I'll say:
1)Bryan Coates
2)Vic Vatalaro
3)Steve Clapper
4)Dave Lefebre
5)Dave McCrone

[JCOOPER]

Alot of us play fantasy fishing against each other.  Lets talk about picks thursday morning.

[dashaver63]

Sorry, but I gotta chime in on this one. I was a bit surprized to see Bryan Coates in the top 5 on a couple lists. Don't get me wrong, the guy can flat get 'em out there. However, I have to go with Kevin Vida. The guy won an Everstart out of Elizabeth Park with out leaving the river in 2005. 7 tournament wins on the river, St.Clair and Erie.

1.) Kevin Vida
2.)Art Ferguson III
3.)Steve Clapper
4.)Dave Lefebre (if he doesn't destroy his boat)
5.)Joe Balog

[SODY]

Normaly I would agree with these picks, however. I personaly witnessed out of state FLW pros on the water from 6:00 AM until Dark on every stretch of water out there all week. I was fishing Wed through Sun and ran into several from Oklahhoma , FLA etc. They want to win this one bad. Just a side note free VIP tickets for the cobo weigh -in are availible at local BP gas stations in the Detroit area. I picked up two in algonac.

I'm pulling for Art Furguson. (He signed my hat this year)
The M&M boat from Oklahoma.
KVD
I think one of the National Guard boats has a shot. (First to arrive last to leave)
Don't count out D.Rowe if he's fishing. Remember he was a 40K winner their once

My prediction is the winner will come from a combination of Detroit river/south shore fish/possible north channel/Huron fish. Days one and two.

Then a giant Erie sack to slam the door shut on the top ten.

[motocross269]

I am not going to give up my picks but let's guess what weight it will take to lead the tourney going into Saturday and Sunday........
I bet it will take 37 lbs to lead and around 30 to be in the top 10 and make the cut going into the weekend.

[Buckeyenut313]

IMO-When it comes to Erie there are few, if any, better than Coates. If you don't think he hasn't been on the water everyday the last 3 weeks you don't know him because he has been. Also, there is no way 37 pounds leads after 2 days. If you don't have over 40- you aren't leading. Also, when teams were struggling to get 22#'s last week Coates and his partner threw up 25#! 

[Cheetam]

Definitely over 40 to lead.  Probably closer to 44 or 45.  They do zero the weights after day 2, so it should be interesting to see if guys burn up their fish on the first 2 days to make the finals...

[motocross269]

Team tourneys are a different ball game.....
I think it will be tough to put 2 20lb bags together in a row.  Someone's fish may hold up for 2 days, but we will see.  The fish have been getting pounded down there in Lk Erie and in LSC.  I still think it will be a click or two below 40...  

[Langer]

Who cares about the Pro side.... Kevin (fishon1219) is going to be #1 on the Co-angler side. Good Luck Kev!

[dashaver63]

Oh I know Coates has been out there probably since May following his school throwing his Phoenix tubes. I hope the Ohio guy does well and wins. This will be without a doubt his biggest test and I hope he passes. As far as weight goes, it will take over 40lb.s, probably closer to 45 to lead after day 2 but for the cut probably around 35. A friend of mine has been out practicing for the Elite series next week working on techniques and has got some giants around Pelee.

[fishon1219]

Who cares about the Pro side.... Kevin (fishon1219) is going to be #1 on the Co-angler side. Good Luck Kev!

Thanks B. I need all the well wishes I can get.
I did have a chance to practise with Stacy King and Charlie Ingram this past week and I did manage to catch a fish or 2. It is all in the luck of the draw on my side. I will put up a report on practise days and how my tournament went after it is all done.

[Cheetam]

I'll be watching for you on the streaming video tomorrow Kev.  Make sure you throw some love out to the GLB crowd...

[Slipkey]

Just my humble opinion, but I totally agree with motocross.  The big ones are still out there, but after spending a day on the water yesterday with my cousin while he was practicing, the fish on Erie are not where they would usually be this time of year. They are kind of in transition right now.

You can catch a few off of deep structure, but the bite isn't consistent at all. I think most of those will have one big bag and one decent bag from the big lake.  I'm bettting those who make the cut will be a mix of 1/2 who fished St. Clair for a consistent bite and 1/2 who fished hard and made it work on Erie.  Just my 2 cents.    Here's my bets for the top 5 in the cut in no particular order (and where they'll fish) :

1) Dave Lefebre - Erie
2) Shinichi Fukae - Erie
3) Bryan Coates - Erie
4) Art Ferguson - St. Clair
5) Larry Nixon - St. Clair

That being said, the weather looks fairly stable so the bags could actually get bigger during the course of the tournament.  I'm currently 6th on the waiting list so I'm heading down this evening to see if someone doesn't show and I can luck in as a co-angler.  Wish me luck 

[McCarter]

1) Vic Vatalaro
2) Joe Balog
3) Clapper
4) Stacy King
5) Trombley

Vic has won a big one on erie and he is always in the hunt out there.  I think his knowledge of the lake and the current stage of the fish will key to consistant big bags.

Balog, same story.  I think Joe has more top 10 finishes on erie than anyone.  Plus, he has been the bridesmaid before.  I think a 2nd place finish against the rest of the pack is pretty realistic.

Clapper knows the lake and the fish so well, he can probably look at the competition and guess what they will weigh in before the tournament begins.  He knows what he has to do, and will use his experience to pull out a few extra big fish each day to stay a step ahead of the majority.

Stacy King has a good track record on Erie.  Plus, he is catching them consistantly during practice.  And he is using my Goby thanks to Kev.  He likes it and said he will be using it in the tournament.  From what Kev tells me, the guy can catch fish anywhere.  Wish i could fish with him.  He was 6th place last year in the Everstart/Stren.  But now he is armed with the Nemesis Goby, its possible that he cant be stopped.

Trombley knows the lake, and he knows the river.  If he burns em up in the first couple days on erie, you can bet he will have a good bag of fish hidden somewhere in the river.  He is consistant and with a proven tournament record he will be tough to beat.

We will see how it plays out.  With this many pros fishing, i really dont think st clair will play much of a role in any of the top 10 finishes.  But you never know.  there are plenty of 20+ lb bags to be had in Clair, but the big guns who target erie will be more consistant.  If the weather holds up, we should see some amazing results.

If the SCR turns on, it could change a lot of things.  I have talked to a few river guys who claim the big bite is starting to show up but its hit or miss.  If someone finds them up there, it could get interesting.

McCarter himself

[dashaver63]

Hey Motocross, you going down to see Andrew Lemle this week? I thought about going up but Elizabeth Park barely held the 120 boat field for the Stren Events so I'm sure it'll be a madhouse with 200 boats and more than double that in spectators.

[Ryan]

McCarter,
That is really sweet that Stacy King is going to be using your goby baits.  Every off season I enjoy watching his Bassin' Blowups video about fishing topwaters and you can tell he knows his stuff.  You must be pretty proud.

-Ryan

[motocross269]

I have to work this week...I am thinking about going down Friday AM and watch the launch, but I will have to wait and see...I haven't talked to Lemle this week I am sure he is pumped...I was suppose to call him after the BFL, but I know he has alot going on and I really can't give him any Info about how it went until he is done this week anyway.

[djkimmel]

Just want to wish good luck to all the GreatLakesBass.com members and regular visitors who are fishing the FLW Tour tomorrow!!!! We are represented well with many anglers being in the pundits picks. Members and visitor boaters include Dave Reault, Steve Clapper, Bryan Coates, Joe Balog, Mike Trombly, Kim Stricker, Marcel Veenstra, Scott Dobson and Roy Randolph - these are the persons I'm aware of anyway. If I missed anyone, good luck to you too!

Nonboater - shoot! I don't know if I can figure out and list them all... I really don't know everyone's real name on here but here's some I'm sure of (lucky ducks): Wonderland Marine West's Rob Bakeman, Jeff Harris, Karl Acord, Mike Oberski, my buddy Ben Felton (watchout co-anglers), Rob McMurray, Jay Ahonen, Jeff Cox, and Kevin Barrows!! Who did I miss? Shoot again! I missed Scott Leo. Anyone else?

GOOD LUCK AND WHACK A BUNCH OF TOADS (OR FOR OUR FRENCH READERS - HAWGS)!!

[McCarter]

McCarter,
That is really sweet that Stacy King is going to be using your goby baits.  Every off season I enjoy watching his Bassin' Blowups video about fishing topwaters and you can tell he knows his stuff.  You must be pretty proud.

-Ryan

Its awesome.  Kev went out fishing with him and Stacey was using something different.  Kev was whacking them good on my gobies so Stacey asked him for one.  And then Stacey started killing them, too.  So he gave me a good sized order.  I would have loved to give them to him for free but i am about $600 in the hole from buying all the stuff to get going.  Plus, i figure he has the money, right?  Whats $4.00 for a bag of 8? 

Kev also turned Charlie Ingram onto them as well.  Between what Stacey and Charlie order this past week, plus what i sell to my couple customers i already have, the wife and I were able to splurge on Kraft American Cheese Singles instead of Gov't cheese.  I love the way Kraft cheese stays yellow when melted on a burger.  The gov't cheese always turns a greenish brown.

McCarter himself

[motocross269]

Here are the 5 picks that I used for the fantasy fishing...

1. Vida
2. Lefebre
3. Ferguson
4. Clapper
5. Yelas

Hopefully they do well.....I could use the 5 grand...I see Clapper is leading so that is a good start...