Day one on Lake Champlain was cancelled due to weather.
Here's what I've got going:
Bucket A: Jamie Hartman
This was a no brainer for me; not only is he from NY and killing the elite series on his rookie year, he has way more experience on this lake than most of the other guys do. He's fished it a lot and even has a win here in an FLW tournament. Despite an article just published on bassmaster describing him being in "panic mode" this week because he's never fished this lake under the current conditions, I'm hoping he'll do well here. (Although that article was a little scary). I also wanted to pick Brandon Palaniuk and Jacob Wheeler.
Bucket B: Dave Lefebre
I wanted Dave on my team for two reasons. For one, like Hartman, he probably has the most experience on this lake out of all the Elite guys and he's really good here. He's been getting top tens on Champlain for a very long time. Secondly, I wanted someone who has the guts to run down to Ticonderoga and fish for largemouth and Dave has always done that here. I also wanted to pick Jacob Powroznik and Seth Feider.
Bucket C: Skeet Reese
While history played a key role in me picking the other two guys previously, Skeet doesn't have a lot of history here except a 2nd place finish. But I know the level of competition that Skeet is capable of, and I know he doesn't belong in bucket C. With the Classic on everybody's mind, I predict Skeet will perform well here. I considered Kennedy and a couple other guys, but ultimately went with Skeet.
Koby Kreiger:
Just like Hartman and Lefebre, I was surprised to see -not just how many times Kreiger has fished this place - but how many times he's been in the money. He obviously has something figured out about Lake Champlain, and for that reason he ended up on my roster. I surprised myself by passing up Justin Lucas and Chad Pickens here.
Bucket E: Jesse Tacoronte
With a bucket utterly devoid of active success, my goal for bucket E was to find literally anyone with some experience on the lake. Turns out, Jesse has had two very solid tournaments here recently in the Bassmaster Opens, and for that reason I chose him for my team (at considerably low ownership). Whether or not he's the secret weapon I'm hoping for, I didn't feel like I could rely on anyone in his bucket and he seemed like he had the best chance.
Let the games begin (tomorrow)! I'm a little nervous about my picks. We shall see.
