By B.A.S.S. Communications Staff
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. — When the weights are as tight as they are in the Bassmaster Elite Series event at Lake Champlain, Chris Zaldain knows he needs to fish for bigger-than-average bass in order to separate himself from the field.
The Fort Worth, Texas, pro applied his big-bass style of fishing to near perfection on Day 2, landing 21 pounds, 7 ounces to take the lead with a two-day total of 42-8. He holds a slim edge over Ed Loughran III in 2nd with 42-0 and 3rd-place Jacob Foutz with 41-15.
Zaldain opened the tournament in 7th place with 21-1 and now finds himself in prime position to win his first Elite Series trophy, a title he almost claimed at this lake in 2021.
“It felt great. This place has been good to me in the past,” he said. “How do you catch bigger-than-average fish? Simply put, you have to fish for them. I’m definitely in my comfort zone.
“These fish set up just like (they did) in California where I grew up,” Zaldain continued. “They set up on the most obvious stuff. That single sailboat in the middle of the cove, a bridge piling, pillars, rock openings, the real obvious stuff, but that stuff gets absolutely hammered. So, you have to throw something different in there.”
The remnants of Hurricane Debby pushed through New York Friday, bringing heavy rains and wind to the area and ultimately forcing the postponement of Day 2. Mostly sunny skies prevailed Saturday, and the Elite pros continued to put on a bass-fishing clinic, catching 100 limits and 1,789-3 total pounds.
“This place is setting up really nice after the rain we’ve had,” he said. “Rising water and moving water sets the largemouth up like no other.”
Zaldain has attacked Champlain with a two-pronged approach this week. The eight-time Classic qualifier started each day by catching 17 to 18 pounds of smallmouth in one specific area before searching for kicker largemouth later in the day. His two limits have each featured three smallmouth and two largemouth.
The smallmouth he has located are between 10 and 18 feet of water. Zaldain has mixed some “old school” smallmouth fishing with some “new school,” utilizing several dragging baits while also picking a couple of smallies off with his forward-facing sonar. Most of them are under 4 pounds, however.
“Right now, it's hard to catch a brown one over 4 pounds. I’m catching a lot between 3.65 and 3.90. But when you get a largemouth bite, they're all over 4 pounds.”
All of Zaldain’s green fish have come out of grass in 10 feet of water or less in one of four sweet spots, and the amount of current moving through the area plays an important role in how the largemouth set up in the grass. A swimbait has produced many of his larger bites.
“I’m constantly looking at the current,” Zaldain said. “I’m fishing on top of the grass as well as the edges and holes. I’m not using forward-facing sonar. I’m just reading water, reading current and reading wind.”
Zaldain filled out his limit within the first couple of hours of Day 2 before moving to his largemouth area. There, he landed a 4-pound largemouth and a 5-pounder, his two biggest bass of the day.
“That was awesome. The wind was howling on this little spot, and I had caught a couple flipping in the area,” he said. “I caught one that was a 3-pound largemouth that had a 5-pounder and a 4-pounder with it. I kept flipping and (didn’t catch anything), so I picked up my swimbait and I think I caught those two.”
While he’s caught over 21 pounds each day, Zaldain has lost several big bass — including one he believed to be close to 6 pounds today — that could have given him some separation over the field.
“I executed kind of poorly these last few days. I feel like I should be leading this thing by a lot,” he said.
After missing the last two tournaments due to health issues, Loughran finds himself in contention for his first Elite Series win. He opened the tournament in 38th with a 19-1 mixed bag before landing a 22-15 limit of largemouth on Day 2, his biggest bag ever at Lake Champlain.
“Traditionally when I come up here, it's easy for me to catch some decent smallmouth and I really struggled this week,” he said. “I’m a dropshotter, I’m not a minnow-pinger. I caught some of those dropshot fish on Day 1 and thought it was going to be good until Day 1.”
On Saturday, Loughran stayed in a small area of the lake with shallow vegetation where he had found both largemouth and smallmouth. The majority of his bites have come between 5 and 10 feet of water. After a little flurry early on, the bite slowed down, but a key bait change helped Loughran cull up to his final tally.
“I changed up a little and just started catching them,” he said. “I’ve got a couple other little spots close by and I haven’t touched them. So hopefully there are bass there, too.”
With bags of 21-4 and 20-11, Foutz jumped from 6th to 3rd on Day 2. The Tennessee angler finished eighth at Lake Champlain last year and is looking to improve that showing this time around.
Foutz has been targeting pelagic smallmouth between 20 and 60 feet of water. Many of the smallmouth are in groups — some groups as small as 3 and some schools as big as 20 and 30.
“If they're grouped up, you're pretty much guaranteed a bite,” he said. “The singles are bigger ones, but they're the hardest to catch. I think I have a bait deal figured out to help trigger the bigger ones in the group to bite instead of having to weed through 3-pounders.”
After landing the majority of his weight within the first 10 minutes of Day 1, the second day started much slower for Foutz, but as the day wore on, he was able to locate several groups of smallmouth.
“I knew the fish had changed and that the wind probably moved them around,” Foutz said. “I went to an area I found late on Day 1 and trolled around and picked a nice one off here and there.”
Greg Hackney, Loughran and Caleb Sumrall split Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the Day honors on Day 2 as each caught a bass weighing 5-7 while New York rookie Kyle Patrick holds tournament honors with a 6-2 largemouth he caught on Day 1.
The Top 50 anglers will launch from the Plattsburgh City Dock beginning at 7 a.m. ET Sunday and return for weigh-in at 3 p.m. The Top 10 anglers take center stage on Monday.
Day 2 Standings
1. Chris Zaldain -- Fort Worth, TX -- 10, 42-08 -- 103
Day 1: 5, 21-01 -- Day 2: 5, 21-07
2. Ed Loughran III -- Richmond, VA -- 10, 42-00 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 19-01 -- Day 2: 5, 22-15
3. Jacob Foutz -- Charleston, TN -- 10, 41-15 -- 101
Day 1: 5, 21-04 -- Day 2: 5, 20-11
4. Chris Johnston -- Otonabee, ON -- 10, 41-14 -- 100
Day 1: 5, 20-00 -- Day 2: 5, 21-14
5. Gregory DiPalma -- Millville, NJ -- 10, 41-10 -- 99
Day 1: 5, 22-11 -- Day 2: 5, 18-15
6. Matt Robertson -- Kuttawa, KY -- 10, 41-10 -- 98
Day 1: 5, 20-13 -- Day 2: 5, 20-13
7. Will Davis Jr -- Sylacauga, AL -- 10, 41-08 -- 97
Day 1: 5, 20-15 -- Day 2: 5, 20-09
8. Wesley Gore -- Clanton, AL -- 10, 41-07 -- 96
Day 1: 5, 21-01 -- Day 2: 5, 20-06
9. Caleb Sumrall -- New Iberia, LA -- 10, 41-02 -- 95
Day 1: 5, 19-07 -- Day 2: 5, 21-11
10. Robert Gee -- Knoxville, TN -- 10, 41-00 -- 94
Day 1: 5, 21-01 -- Day 2: 5, 19-15
11. Brandon Lester -- Fayetteville, TN -- 10, 40-15 -- 93
Day 1: 5, 21-08 -- Day 2: 5, 19-07
12. Seth Feider -- New Market, MN -- 10, 40-12 -- 92
Day 1: 5, 23-11 -- Day 2: 5, 17-01
13. Koby Kreiger -- Alva, FL -- 10, 40-11 -- 91
Day 1: 5, 20-08 -- Day 2: 5, 20-03
14. Logan Latuso -- Gonzales, LA -- 10, 40-04 -- 90
Day 1: 5, 20-01 -- Day 2: 5, 20-03
15. Trey McKinney -- Carbondale, IL -- 10, 40-02 -- 89
Day 1: 5, 19-15 -- Day 2: 5, 20-03
16. JT Thompkins -- Myrtle Beach, SC -- 10, 40-01 -- 88
Day 1: 5, 18-10 -- Day 2: 5, 21-07
17. Tyler Williams -- Belgrade, ME -- 10, 39-14 -- 87
Day 1: 5, 19-12 -- Day 2: 5, 20-02
18. Patrick Walters -- Eutawville, SC -- 10, 39-13 -- 86
Day 1: 5, 21-10 -- Day 2: 5, 18-03
19. Cory Johnston -- Otonabee, ON -- 10, 39-13 -- 85
Day 1: 5, 19-12 -- Day 2: 5, 20-01
20. Joey Cifuentes III -- Clinton, AR -- 10, 39-09 -- 84
Day 1: 5, 20-13 -- Day 2: 5, 18-12
21. Jason Christie -- Dry Creek, OK -- 10, 39-06 -- 83
Day 1: 5, 19-07 -- Day 2: 5, 19-15
22. Justin Hamner -- Northport, AL -- 10, 39-06 -- 82
Day 1: 5, 19-11 -- Day 2: 5, 19-11
23. Kyle Patrick -- Cooperstown, NY -- 10, 39-03 -- 81
Day 1: 5, 21-11 -- Day 2: 5, 17-08
24. Austin Felix -- Eden Prairie, MN -- 10, 39-01 -- 80
Day 1: 5, 20-14 -- Day 2: 5, 18-03
25. Drew Cook -- Cairo, GA -- 10, 38-15 -- 79
Day 1: 5, 19-10 -- Day 2: 5, 19-05
26. Clifford Pirch -- Payson, AZ -- 10, 38-11 -- 78
Day 1: 5, 18-09 -- Day 2: 5, 20-02
27. Jay Przekurat -- Plover, WI -- 10, 38-08 -- 77
Day 1: 5, 20-09 -- Day 2: 5, 17-15
28. Cody Huff -- Ava, MO -- 10, 38-06 -- 76
Day 1: 5, 19-15 -- Day 2: 5, 18-07
29. Taku Ito -- Dalton, GA -- 10, 38-05 -- 75
Day 1: 5, 19-00 -- Day 2: 5, 19-05
30. Jacob Powroznik -- North Prince George, VA 10, 38-04 -- 74
Day 1: 5, 20-06 -- Day 2: 5, 17-14
31. Gerald Swindle -- Guntersville, AL -- 10, 38-03 -- 73
Day 1: 5, 18-07 -- Day 2: 5, 19-12
32. Cooper Gallant -- Bowmanville, ON -- 10, 37-14 -- 72
Day 1: 5, 19-14 -- Day 2: 5, 18-00
33. Bryan Schmitt -- Deale, MD -- 10, 37-14 -- 71
Day 1: 5, 19-11 -- Day 2: 5, 18-03
34. Matt Herren -- Ashville, AL -- 10, 37-11 -- 70
Day 1: 5, 21-00 -- Day 2: 5, 16-11
35. Ben Milliken -- New Caney, TX -- 10, 37-11 -- 69
Day 1: 5, 18-05 -- Day 2: 5, 19-06
36. Shane LeHew -- Catawba, NC -- 10, 37-11 -- 68
Day 1: 5, 19-01 -- Day 2: 5, 18-10
37. Logan Parks -- Auburn, AL -- 10, 37-09 -- 67
Day 1: 5, 19-10 -- Day 2: 5, 17-15
38. Kyoya Fujita -- Yamanashi, JAPAN -- 10, 37-09 -- 66
Day 1: 5, 18-00 -- Day 2: 5, 19-09
39. Alex Redwine -- Blue Ash, OH -- 10, 37-08 -- 65
Day 1: 5, 18-13 -- Day 2: 5, 18-11
40. Greg Hackney -- Gonzales, LA -- 10, 37-07 -- 64
Day 1: 5, 17-02 -- Day 2: 5, 20-05
41. Bob Downey -- Detroit Lakes, MN -- 10, 37-07 -- 63
Day 1: 5, 19-13 -- Day 2: 5, 17-10
42. Kyle Norsetter -- Cottage Grove, WI -- 10, 37-06 -- 62
Day 1: 5, 18-09 -- Day 2: 5, 18-13
43. Jordan Lee -- Cullman, AL -- 10, 37-03 -- 61
Day 1: 5, 17-12 -- Day 2: 5, 19-07
44. Lee Livesay -- Longview, TX -- 10, 37-02 -- 60
Day 1: 5, 19-01 -- Day 2: 5, 18-01
45. Brandon Cobb -- Greenwood, SC -- 10, 37-02 -- 59
Day 1: 5, 18-03 -- Day 2: 5, 18-15
46. John Garrett -- Union City, TN -- 10, 37-01 -- 58
Day 1: 5, 20-01 -- Day 2: 5, 17-00
47. Cole Sands -- Calhoun , TN -- 10, 37-00 -- 57
Day 1: 5, 17-14 -- Day 2: 5, 19-02
48. Carl Jocumsen -- Queensland, AUS -- 10, 36-13 -- 56
Day 1: 5, 18-12 -- Day 2: 5, 18-01
49. John Cox -- Debary, FL -- 10, 36-12 -- 55
Day 1: 5, 20-07 -- Day 2: 5, 16-05
50. Jamie Hartman -- Newport, NY -- 10, 36-10 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 18-06 -- Day 2: 5, 18-04
The following anglers did not make the cut and will not fish on Day 3
51. David Gaston -- Sylacauga, AL -- 10, 36-09 -- 53 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 17-07 -- Day 2: 5, 19-02
52. Bill Lowen -- Brookville, IN -- 10, 36-09 -- 52 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 18-00 -- Day 2: 5, 18-09
53. Pat Schlapper -- Eleva, WI -- 10, 36-07 -- 51 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 16-14 -- Day 2: 5, 19-09
54. Jeff Gustafson -- Kenora, ON -- 10, 36-06 -- 50 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 19-13 -- Day 2: 5, 16-09
55. Kyle Welcher -- Valley, AL -- 10, 36-05 -- 49 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 18-01 -- Day 2: 5, 18-04
56. Cliff Prince -- Palatka, FL -- 10, 36-03 -- 48 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 18-01 -- Day 2: 5, 18-02
57. Tyler Rivet -- Raceland, LA -- 10, 36-00 -- 47 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 16-00 -- Day 2: 5, 20-00
58. David Mullins -- Mt Carmel, TN -- 10, 35-14 -- 46 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 18-11 -- Day 2: 5, 17-03
59. Caleb Kuphall -- Mukwonago, WI -- 10, 35-14 -- 45 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 18-10 -- Day 2: 5, 17-04
60. Wes Logan -- Springville, AL -- 10, 35-13 -- 44 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 20-00 -- Day 2: 5, 15-13
61. Justin Atkins -- Florence, AL -- 10, 35-12 -- 43 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 16-05 -- Day 2: 5, 19-07
62. Matt Arey -- Shelby, NC -- 10, 35-11 -- 42 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 18-01 -- Day 2: 5, 17-10
63. Mark Menendez -- Paducah, KY -- 10, 35-10 -- 41 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 17-10 -- Day 2: 5, 18-00
64. Jonathan Kelley -- Old Forge, PA -- 10, 35-09 -- 40 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 17-05 -- Day 2: 5, 18-04
65. Alex Wetherell -- Middletown, CT -- 10, 35-07 -- 39 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 18-15 -- Day 2: 5, 16-08
66. Brock Mosley -- Collinsville, MS -- 10, 35-07 -- 38 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 18-02 -- Day 2: 5, 17-05
67. Clark Wendlandt -- Leander, TX -- 10, 35-03 -- 37 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 18-09 -- Day 2: 5, 16-10
68. Stetson Blaylock -- Benton, AR -- 10, 35-00 -- 36 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 16-08 -- Day 2: 5, 18-08
69. Timothy Dube -- Nashua , NH -- 10, 34-15 -- 35 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 18-05 -- Day 2: 5, 16-10
70. Bryan New -- Leesville, SC -- 10, 34-12 -- 34 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 18-00 -- Day 2: 5, 16-12
71. Matty Wong -- Honolulu, HI -- 10, 34-10 -- 33 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 18-07 -- Day 2: 5, 16-03
72. Mike Huff -- London, KY -- 10, 34-08 -- 32
Day 1: 5, 17-12 -- Day 2: 5, 16-12
73. Steve Kennedy -- Auburn, AL -- 10, 34-06 -- 31
Day 1: 5, 15-12 -- Day 2: 5, 18-10
74. Hunter Shryock -- Ooltewah, TN -- 10, 34-02 -- 30
Day 1: 5, 18-08 -- Day 2: 5, 15-10
75. Drew Benton -- Panama City, FL -- 10, 34-01 -- 29
Day 1: 5, 18-07 -- Day 2: 5, 15-10
76. Brandon Card -- Salisbury, NC -- 10, 34-01 -- 28
Day 1: 5, 17-15 -- Day 2: 5, 16-02
77. Buddy Gross -- Chattanooga, TN -- 10, 34-01 -- 27
Day 1: 5, 16-14 -- Day 2: 5, 17-03
78. KJ Queen -- Catawba, NC -- 10, 33-13 -- 26
Day 1: 5, 16-10 -- Day 2: 5, 17-03
79. Michael Iaconelli -- Pitts Grove, NJ -- 10, 33-10 -- 25
Day 1: 5, 18-13 -- Day 2: 5, 14-13
80. Paul Mueller -- Naugatuck, CT -- 10, 33-07 -- 24
Day 1: 5, 15-13 -- Day 2: 5, 17-10
81. Luke Palmer -- Coalgate, OK -- 10, 33-05 -- 23
Day 1: 5, 18-00 -- Day 2: 5, 15-05
82. Brad Whatley -- Bivins, TX -- 10, 33-03 -- 22
Day 1: 5, 17-13 -- Day 2: 5, 15-06
83. Scott Martin -- Clewiston, FL -- 10, 33-02 -- 21
Day 1: 5, 17-12 -- Day 2: 5, 15-06
84. Bryant Smith -- Roseville, CA -- 10, 32-14 -- 20
Day 1: 5, 17-12 -- Day 2: 5, 15-02
85. Marc Frazier -- Newnan, GA -- 10, 32-12 -- 19
Day 1: 5, 16-13 -- Day 2: 5, 15-15
86. Jake Whitaker -- Hendersonville, NC -- 10, 32-10 -- 18
Day 1: 5, 18-05 -- Day 2: 5, 14-05
87. Rick Clunn -- Ava, MO -- 10, 32-05 -- 17
Day 1: 5, 16-08 -- Day 2: 5, 15-13
88. John Crews Jr -- Salem, VA -- 10, 32-02 -- 16
Day 1: 5, 15-12 -- Day 2: 5, 16-06
89. Brandon Palaniuk -- Rathdrum, ID -- 10, 32-01 -- 15
Day 1: 5, 13-01 -- Day 2: 5, 19-00
90. Scott Canterbury -- Odenville, AL -- 10, 31-13 -- 14
Day 1: 5, 18-05 -- Day 2: 5, 13-08
91. Kenta Kimura -- Osaka, JAPAN -- 10, 31-12 -- 13
Day 1: 5, 17-00 -- Day 2: 5, 14-12
92. Chad Pipkens -- Dewitt, MI -- 10, 31-06 -- 12
Day 1: 5, 17-08 -- Day 2: 5, 13-14
93. John Soukup -- Sapulpa, OK -- 10, 31-03 -- 11
Day 1: 5, 14-00 -- Day 2: 5, 17-03
94. Todd Auten -- Clover, SC -- 10, 30-05 -- 10
Day 1: 5, 15-05 -- Day 2: 5, 15-00
95. Joseph Webster -- Hamilton, AL -- 10, 29-11 -- 9
Day 1: 5, 15-03 -- Day 2: 5, 14-08
96. Frank Talley -- Belton, TX -- 10, 29-04 -- 8
Day 1: 5, 18-00 -- Day 2: 5, 11-04
97. Ray Hanselman Jr -- Del Rio, TX -- 10, 28-08 -- 7
Day 1: 5, 14-04 -- Day 2: 5, 14-04
98. Hank Cherry Jr -- Lincolnton, NC -- 9, 27-15 -- 6
Day 1: 5, 17-12 -- Day 2: 4, 10-03
99. Keith Combs -- Huntington, TX -- 10, 27-15 -- 5
Day 1: 5, 17-02 -- Day 2: 5, 10-13
100. Jason Williamson -- Aiken, SC -- 10, 26-09 -- 4
Day 1: 5, 14-15 -- Day 2: 5, 11-10
101. Bernie Schultz -- Gainesville, FL -- 8, 23-14 -- 3
Day 1: 3 -- 08-00 -- Day 2: 5, 15-14
