Wolak Wallops 19, Beats Yamamoto By 6-Plus-Pounds

Van Murray — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 14:43:45 +0000

Dave Wolak loves being back home. He grew up in Pennsylvania and cut his tournament teeth on key Northeastern fisheries like Seneca, Oneida, the Hudson and of course, Champlain. That experience is important, but it wasn’t until he gambled it all and joined the Bassmaster Tour in 2005 that he learned to win the big one.

He won his first tour-level event back in 2006 and waited 5 long years to win his next, which he did today at the Champlain FLW Tour Open. He was the only pro to weigh more than 18 pounds on the final day, and his 19-07 limit clinched him a victory at the venue for the second time in a year (he won last year’s Champlain Bassmaster Northern Open).

It marked the third significant win of Wolak’s career, his first with FLW, and cemented his reputation as one of the absolute best in the world on mixed-bag, northern venues. It also demonstrated his growth as a pro as he exhibited a confident and collected air that allowed him to fish on the fly and make the critical, correct decisions to focus on different species to combat the ever-changing conditions.

Wolak’s 4-day, 81-00 total represented a strong mix of largemouths and smallmouths, and he amassed it across the season’s first major cold front and the resultant frigid and windy then still conditions.

Gary Yamamoto, who led day 1 and then shared the lead with Wolak on day 2, just couldn’t ride his shallow largemouths for another day. Yamamoto started to fade yesterday, and fell off the map today with a 15-11 limit.

Connecticut pro Daryl Biron, like Yamamoto, started the day a little more than 2 pounds behind Wolak, but also like Yamamoto, never truly challenged. After a 13-14 limit today, Biron finished 3rd and 8 pounds behind Wolak.

Glenn Browne retained his 4th-place position by virtue of a 16-pound catch, while Wesley Strader climbed all the way from 8th to finish 5th with a 17-13 limit.

Wolak’s Big Switch

> Day 4: 5, 19-07 (20, 81-00)

The key factor for Wolak was, halfway through the tournament, he changed from a focus on soft cover to hard cover – from grass to objects like wood and manmade banks.

He’d generally start on smallmouths, then move to largemouths, and he weighed a mixed bag every day.

“The key for me this week was being able to make the proper adjustments,” he said. “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. 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.

“Current played a huge role in my victory as well,” he added. “The lake’s 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.”

He celebrated his 35th birthday on Thursday, and said of his favorite lake: “Lake Champlain’s a pretty special place for me. There’s no other fishery in the country where you can catch both large and smallmouth that are the same size. 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’ll be back every year.”

His main weapons were Fin-tech Title Shot jigs. The details of his winning pattern, plus pattern information for the other top finishers, will be posted soon.

FLW East Series – Champlain

Van Murray — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 14:41:25 +0000

Wolak winds up fourth

Van Murray — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 01:51:44 +0000

After day one, North Carolina pro Dave Wolak sat in the bottom split of a three way tie for third with 19-15. He added 17-7 on day two and moved into fourth. Adding 15-12 in the final round, kept him at fourth with 53-2.

Wolak fished the Ticonderoga largemouths on day one, switched his focus to north end green fish on day two and returned to the upper end on day three. He fished a variety of reaction baits, but ended up doing best with jigs. Wolak had the big fish of day one and that 6-pound, 1-ounce largemouth confirmed his decision to go all green.

“A big part of your plan when you come to Champlain is determining which species you’re going to target,” he said. “The other thing is learning how to navigate in the wind.”

http://stren.flwoutdoors.com/tournament.cfm?cid=3&did=25&t=news&tday=3&atype=0&tid=6489&tyear=2010

Dave Wolak - Official Website of Elite Professional Angler Dave Wolak » FLW

Wolak Wallops 19, Beats Yamamoto By 6-Plus-Pounds

FLW East Series – Champlain

Wolak winds up fourth