Stewart stays on top!

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Pro Tyler Stewart of West Monroe, Louisiana, held his lead after day two of the FLW Tour at Lake Champlain presented by T-H Marine after catching a five-bass limit weighing 17 pounds, 14 ounces. Stewart’s two-day total of 40-1 will lead the final 30 pros into the third day of the event, with John Voyles of Petersburg, Indiana, in second with 38-12 and Daryl Biron of South Windsor, Connecticut, right behind in third with 38-3. Only the final 10 pros will continue on to Championship Sunday, where the winner will receive up to $125,000.

Stewart spent his day targeting largemouth in the Ticonderoga area of the lake, flipping plastics to a variety of cover.

“It started off good this morning. The first place I pulled up to I caught one that was close to 4 pounds,” said Stewart, who is eyeing his first top-10 FLW Tour finish. “I jumped around a little bit, caught a few fish here and there and then I ended up catching one that was about 4½ around 10 [a.m.]. At that point, I had about 16 pounds. I culled a few more times before catching one right at the end of the day that put me up another 2 pounds to get close to 18.

“I think they’re postspawn bass that are feeding up. The fish are just so healthy, it’s crazy,” continued Stewart. “All of my stuff I fished was main-lake stuff, so I think they’re all just really healthy, postspawn fish.”

Stewart said he ran some new water today, but also played defense on some of his best spots. In total, he said he put about 15 keepers in the boat.

“I think the areas will hold up for days three and four as long as I don’t have a bunch of company,” said Stewart. “If I have it to myself I feel like I could potentially catch a couple more good limits.”

Nick LeBrun, Bossier City, La. has caught 10 bass weighing 37-0 to climb to eighth place. The top 30 pros that made the cut and will fish Saturday on Lake Champlain are:

 1st: Tyler Stewart, West Monroe, La., 10 bass, 40-1 

 2nd: John Voyles, Petersburg, Ind., 10 bass, 38-12 

 3rd: Daryl Biron, South Windsor, Conn., 10 bass, 38-3 

 4th: Hensley Powell, Whitwell, Tenn., 10 bass, 38-2 

 5th: Casey Scanlon, Lake Ozark, Mo., 10 bass, 37-11 

 6th: Lowrance pro Austin Felix, Eden Prairie, Minn., 10 bass, 37-11 

 7th: A.J. Slegona, Pine Bush, N.Y., 10 bass, 37-5 

 8th: Nick LeBrun, Bossier City, La., 10 bass, 37-0 

 9th: Tom Redington, Royse City, Texas, 10 bass, 36-15 

 10th: Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich., 10 bass, 36-11 

 11th: Tommy Dickerson, Orange, Texas, 10 bass, 36-9 

 12th: Polaris pro David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., 10 bass, 36-4 

 13th: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 10 bass, 35-15 

 14th: Christopher Brasher, Longview, Texas, 10 bass, 35-15 

 15th: Jackson Kayak pro Eric Jackson, Walling, Tenn., 10 bass, 35-14

 16th: Ryan Salzman, Huntsville, Ala., 10 bass, 35-12

 17th: Joseph Webster, Winfield, Ala., 10 bass, 35-9 

 18th: Joel Willert, Prior Lake, Minn., 10 bass, 35-6 

 19th: Lowrance pro Kurt Mitchell, Milford, Del., 10 bass, 35-5

 20th: Lowrance pro Jeff Dobson, Bartlesville, Okla., 10 bass, 35-4 

 21st: Charles Sim, Nepean, Ontario, Canada, 10 bass, 35-4 

 22nd: Chad Warren, Sand Springs, Okla., 10 bass, 35-3 

 23rd: Shawn Murphy, Nicholasville, Ky., 10 bass, 35-3 

 24th: Joshua Weaver, Macon, Ga., 10 bass, 35-3 

 25th: Scott Martin, Clewiston, Fla., 10 bass, 35-1 

 26th: Kurt Dove, Del Rio, Texas, 10 bass, 34-15

 27th: Robert Behrle, Hoover, Ala., 10 bass, 34-14 

 28th: Bryan Schmitt, Deale, Md., 10 bass, 34-12 

 29th: Matt Becker, Finleyville, Pa., 10 bass, 34-9 

 30th: Berkley pro John Cox, DeBary, Fla., 10 bass, 34-6