Champlain Islander

I took my 81 year old uncle over to the day 1 weigh inat Plattsburgh NY for the BASS Elite Series Tournament. Here are a few pictures I took.

Kevin VanDamcoming into the dock for his day 1 weigh in.

Champlain Islander

Picture of all time money winner Denny Brauer going from the boat to the stage. He had a bag of 5 Large Mouth weighing 19 pounds 5 oz and is in 5th place after day 1

Champlain Islander

One of my personal favorites because he is such an awsome fishing machine and a real gentleman KVD in person. He is in 14th place with a catch of 16 pounds 9 oz all Small Mouths if I remember right.

Champlain Islander

Picture of Denny at the weigh in showing off a couple of his green fish.

Champlain Islander

For all those fans of the N.J. Mouth here is Michael Iaconelligoing from the boat to the stage. He didn't have a great day and only checked in 12 pounds 9 oz and is in 50th place just behind the old grand master Rick Clunn.

Champlain Islander

A random shot of some other boats in a later flight as they are preparing to weigh in. I didn't see the 5:30 am launch this morning on day 2 but at 5:45 I could hear them coming up the lake. The sounds of those tricked out boats blasting through the chop got me out of bed. About 2 dozen boats went right by my dock at warp speed heading for their honey holes. Too bad I didn't have a HNIT shirt and hat. I would have posed with many of the big boys on the tour. Think of those publicity shots!

m.t.hands

great pics as always man, whats with all the old men in the top ten,
denny, tommy biffle, and paul elias? looks like they are catchin'em pretty good, with a goodmix of brown and green fish, bunch of limits, the way there catching them its anybodies tournament still, would be nice to see denny or paul win it, but i wouldn't count kvd or ike out

Champlain Islander

Most of the older guys came from the deep south and are really good at pitching in heavy cover for the largies. In addition they are tough as nails and elected to do the brutal 70 mile trip to the south end of the lake. One guy has already swamped his boat and must have busted it up because they had to put him in a new boat. The smallies are post spawn and aren't concentrated right now so all the old times are doing what they do best fishing for the larger greenies. They must be finding them because the largemouths have dominated the past 2 tourneys held this year. KVD and some of the other young guys have the strategy of qualifying with the smallies because they are closer to the launch and are still abundant to the pro fishermen. They are shooting for a 16-18 pound bag for making the cut then they will go after the largies they found in practice to try and win it. Taking the trip south can be an all or nothing deal if the wind comes up. On flat days it takes them about an hour and when the wind comes up that time can extend to 3 hours or more and bust them up. I can't imagine the stress put on those guys looking at the forecast the night before and making the decision to go for broke by taking the long trip when there are so many 4 pound smallies within a couple of miles of the launch. I stood at the dock this morning and watched the guys that elected to come north. I could hear them coming for over 5 minutes. I had my camera but they were all racing single file out in the middle. Big rooster tails on a flat calm surface…nothing quite like it.

JoshKeller

you should have given denny brauer some sunscreen.. he looks fried!

m.t.hands

looks like denny fried the field, (20# daily average) almost an 8# advantage over chapman, denny is one of my favorites, super nice guy and tough as nails, hats off to him, CI i love having guntersville in my back yard, but man champlain keeps puttin out some real numbers, but at least i can still put the boat in water in dec-feb, i just had to throw that out there didn't i


[/align]Elite Series: Lake Champlain final standings
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2006 Champion's Choice 7/13-7/16
Lake Champlain, Plattsburgh N.Y.
Standings Day 4

Elite anglers Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Denny Brauer Camdenton, Mo. 20 80-03 305 $102,000.00
Day 1: 5 19-05 Day 2: 5 18-10 Day 3: 5 19-00 Day 4: 5 23-04
2. Brent Chapman Lake Quivira, Kan. 20 72-05 295 $30,000.00
Day 1: 5 19-02 Day 2: 5 16-05 Day 3: 5 18-15 Day 4: 5 17-15
3. Terry Butcher Talala, Okla. 20 70-11 290 $25,000.00
Day 1: 5 19-08 Day 2: 5 17-03 Day 3: 5 17-01 Day 4: 5 16-15
4. Mark Tyler Scottsdale, Ariz. 20 69-06 285 $18,000.00
Day 1: 5 18-15 Day 2: 5 15-01 Day 3: 5 18-13 Day 4: 5 16-09
5. Tommy Biffle Wagoner, Okla. 20 68-13 280 $17,000.00
Day 1: 5 18-09 Day 2: 5 19-00 Day 3: 5 15-09 Day 4: 5 15-11
6. Chris Lane Winter Haven, Fla. 20 68-08 291 $16,500.00
Day 1: 5 21-02 Day 2: 5 19-08 Day 3: 5 17-09 Day 4: 5 10-05
7. Mike Wurm Hot Springs, Ark. 20 67-08 272 $17,000.00
Day 1: 5 19-08 Day 2: 5 16-06 Day 3: 5 17-00 Day 4: 5 14-10
8. Todd Faircloth Jasper, Texas 20 66-06 268 $15,500.00
Day 1: 5 17-03 Day 2: 5 18-14 Day 3: 5 15-12 Day 4: 5 14-09
9. Kevin VanDam Kalamazoo, Mich. 20 64-14 264 $14,000.00
Day 1: 5 16-09 Day 2: 5 16-13 Day 3: 5 16-04 Day 4: 5 15-04
10. Paul Elias Laurel, Miss. 20 64-03 260 $15,500.00
Day 1: 5 18-01 Day 2: 5 16-03 Day 3: 5 19-14 Day 4: 5 10-01
11. Zell Rowland Montgomery, Texas 20 63-11 257 $12,500.00
Day 1: 5 16-15 Day 2: 5 17-11 Day 3: 5 14-12 Day 4: 5 14-05
12. Paul Hirosky Guys Mills, Pa. 20 59-05 254 $12,300.00
Day 1: 5 19-06 Day 2: 5 13-12 Day 3: 5 16-12 Day 4: 5 9-07
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Purolator Big Bass
Day
1 Mike Wurm Hot Springs, Ark. 6-06 $1,000.00
2 Todd Faircloth Jasper, Texas 6-03 $1,000.00
3 Paul Elias Laurel, Miss. 5-01 $1,000.00
4 Denny Brauer Camdenton, Mo. 5-02 $1,000.00

Purolator Big Bass of Tournament
Mike Wurm Hot Springs, Ark. 6-06 $1,000.00

Busch Heavyweight
Day
1 Chris Lane Winter Haven, Fla. 21-02 $1,000.00
2 Brian Snowden Reeds Spring, Mo. 20-08 $1,000.00
3 Paul Elias Laurel, Miss. 19-14 $1,000.00
4 Denny Brauer Camdenton, Mo. 23-04 $1,000.00

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Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 92 485 1280-02
2 101 508 1419-03
3 46 245 703-07
4 12 60 178-15
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251 1298 3581-11