18.Sep.2011
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – David Wolak of Wake Forest, N.C., caught a five-bass limit weighing 19 pounds, 7 ounces Sunday to win $125,000 at the Walmart FLW Tour on Lake Champlain presented by Snickers Peanut Butter Squared with a four-day catch of 20 bass weighing 81-0.
The catch gave him the win by a solid 6-pound, 4-ounce margin over pro Gary Yamamoto of Palestine, Texas, who caught a total of 20 bass weighing 74-12 and earned $31,329.
“The key for me this week was being able to make the proper adjustments,” said Wolak who finally got redemption from a second place finish at Lake Champlain in 2007 and fifth in 2010 in FLW Series competition. “I fished in rain and cold and wind and was able to adapt correctly for every situation.
“On Thursday and Friday when we had the cold, wind and rain grass was gold,” Wolak continued. “Yesterday and today I looked for clean hard bottom. I covered a lot of water using my history and experience on this lake to make wise decisions. I was very fortunate and was able to capitalize on my past failures this week.
“Current played a huge role in my victory as well,” Wolak went on to say. “The lake is still pretty high so I looked for areas that had moving water, especially when I was targeting smallmouth. One of the great things about this lake is that it replenishes itself; if you catch one fish in an area go back because the fish will go back.
“Lake Champlain is a pretty special place for me. There is no other fishery in the country where you can catch both large- and smallmouth that are the same size,” continued Wolak. “You can fish north or south, anywhere you go you’ll catch fish. I must have caught over 50 fish today. It was amazing. I will be back every year.”
Known as the mixologist, Wolak’s winning sack contained four large- and one smallmouth today. His primary bait was ½ ounce Fin-tech Title Shot Jig for the largemouth and ¼ ounce Title Shot Jig for the smallmouth.
Wolak opened the tournament in second place Thursday with five bass weighing 22-8. On Friday he added another five bass weighing 19-4 to maintain second place. He then caught five bass weighing 19-13 on Saturday to make the crucial top-10 cut in first place. On Sunday he sealed his victory with a 19-7 stringer that included one kicker largemouth that weighed over 5-pounds.