August 13, 2004

Hudson yields lead to Pennsylvania angler

CATSKILL, N.Y. - Dave Wolak and Pete Gluszek are neck-and-neck at the CITGO Bassmaster Northern Open presented by Busch Beer. Heading into the final day, neither is prepared to give an inch.

"If those fish show up where I caught them yesterday, I believe I'll win the tournament," said Gluszek of Franklinville, N.J., who boated four bass weighing 5 pounds, 15 ounces on Friday and dropped to second place, just 1-1 behind Wolak.

Wolak, of Warrior Run, Pa., didn't have far to climb to take the lead. After the first round, he stood in second with 13-15. On Friday, he added 11-12 to bring his total up to 25-11, earning the lead.

"I'm fishing a half-mile stretch on the main river, hitting the outside edge in low tide, the inside edge in high tide," Wolak said. "I did the same thing today (that I did Thursday.) At about 12:30, I left my fish to go find some other fish, because I had five. I didn't find any, so I'll go back to my main stretch again tomorrow.

"I usually don't do as well (on tidal waters) 'cause I run around a lot. This week I'm being steadfast."

Gluszek, a noted tidal fisherman, had a different set of problems on Friday.

"I had a primary area where I caught everything yesterday. I stayed with it too long today 'cause I wanted to give the big fish a chance to bite," he said, adding that he spent four biteless hours on the area. "Tomorrow, I'm going to fish the tides a lot differently."

Both anglers are chasing the $50,000 prize for the top angler in the boater division. They are also in hot pursuit of berths to the CITGO Bassmaster Open Championship presented by Busch Beer. The top 20 boaters and non-boaters from each of the four Open divisions will qualify for the tournament, which will in turn send the top five boaters to bass fishing's world championship, the CITGO Bassmaster Classic presented by Busch Beer.

Gluszek, who finished seventh on the three-event series' first stop on New York's Lake Erie, is in strong contention for a berth. Wolak, however, has something to prove after a 76th-place finish on Erie.

"I was disappointed in Erie. I did well last year on Erie, and this year I finished out of the cut," he said, referring to the second-day cut that drops the full field to just the top 50 boaters and top 50 non-boaters at each tournament. "I'd like to bounce back and make the championship."

On the non-boater side, Maryland's William Sanders strengthened his grip on the leaderboard by bringing in 4-3, bringing his two-day total to 15-6, more than 4 pounds heavier than his closest competitor, New Yorker Robert Jorgenson, who brought in 10-14 over the first two days. If he keeps the lead, Sanders will earn the non-boaters' $24,000 top prize.

In addition to Wolak and Gluszek, the top five boaters include veteran angler and Classic champion Woo Daves of Virginia, 23-7; New York's Todd Cole, 21-12; and Terry Baksay of Connecticut, 21-9. On the non-boater side, Sanders and Jorgenson are joined by James Wylie of Canada, 10-6; Maryland's Jim Kline, 10-6; and Pennsylvania's Scott Thomas, 9-14.

The $1,000 Purolator Big Bass award on the boater side went to Todd Cole, whose 4-7 lunker helped him move into fourth place after a 21st-place showing on day one. The non-boater side's $400 Purolator Big Bass award went to Richard Baker of Pennsylvania, who brought a 3-7 bass to the scales before it was returned to the Hudson. Pete Gluszek's day one big bass, 6-1, remains the biggest bass caught at the Northern Open and will earn him an additional $1,000 as the Purolator Big Bass of the Tournament if it holds out through Sunday's round.

Daily weigh-ins will take place at Catskill Point Park at 2:30 p.m. Anglers launch beginning at 6 a.m.

Sponsors of the CITGO Bassmaster Northern Open include CITGO Petroleum Corp., Busch Beer, Purolator, Triton Boats, Mercury Marine, Berkley, Abu Garcia, Lowrance Electronics, Flowmaster Exhaust Systems, MotorGuide, Bass Pro Shops, and BankOne.

Local Sponsors include Greene County Tourism Promotion Office.


BASS Communications -Aug 13, 2004

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Posted by DODGE at August 13, 2004 11:56 AM in Tournament (BASS)

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