PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. — The Bassmaster Elite Series pros had a fine day on the water at Lake Champlain in the Champion's Choice presented by Toyota Tundra. They also had a swell afternoon at the microphone …
"I don't ever want to see Ticonderoga again. I don't like it, I'm mad at it. I'm not even gonna pass through it, I'm gonna drive around it. Those guys just out-fished me down there. I really wanted to move fast and catch 'em on reaction baits, but it was just too calm."
— Gerald Swindle (58th place, 14 pounds, 3 ounces)
"I feel good. I feel real good. I could have gotten more, but I didn't want to beat them up."
— Keith Phillips (13th, 16-12)
"I think we ought to make a rule: When we come north, you have to fish for smallmouth."
— Kevin Wirth (7th, 17-11)
"I hope I can get some more baits. The pike took 'em all."
— Steve Kennedy (1st, 21-6)
"I've caught a lot of smallmouths on mayflies with a fly rod, but today I decided to concentrate on the greenies." — Shaw Grigsby (15th, 16-11), reacting to a question about the intermittent swarms of mayflies on the stage.
"I had a great smallmouth practice this week, but they just didn't bite for me this week. I'll probably spend 75 percent of my time on smallmouths tomorrow. That's my best shot for making a major move tomorrow."
— Mike Iaconelli (42nd, 15-2)
"Short and fat, the way I like 'em. Fish, that is."
— Davy Hite (4th, 18-2) on his tournament-high 5-8 largemouth
"I fished for green fish all of practice. I made the hour run and caught a limit in 15 minutes with a 4-pounder. Hopefully the wind doesn't blow tomorrow."
— Scott Rook (3rd, 19-6)
"I hate fishing in the wind. This is as nice of weather as you can hope for."
— Peter Thilveros (10th, 17-4), on the relative calm of the afternoon, in sharp contrast to this morning's blast-off
"I'm sure some of it was my fault and some of it was the fishes' fault."
— Denny Brauer (6th, 17-14), who didn't land a fish on his first five bites
"I've got bruises on my ribs from setting the hook so many times."
— Fred Roumbanis (11th, 17-1)
"They should outlaw fishing for those green fish when were up here, and make everybody fish for smallmouth."
— Ken Cook (64th, 13-10)
"I drove my boat almost all the way back to Alabama today. I ain't going back down south tomorrow, cause I'd bet a steak dinner if the wind blows y'all gonna have to go get somebody."
— Swindle, on the long boat ride south
"I put all my eggs in the smallmouth basket and caught about what I thought I could."
— Jason Quinn (23rd, 16-2) on his limit of smallmouth
"I jumped fish off, and slapped a four-pounder off the windshield trying to swing it over the side of the boat. I just fished bad today."
— Charlie Youngers (106th, 6-4).
"This fishery is so great it even makes me think I'm a good smallmouth fisherman."
—Marty Stone (54th, 14-9)
"I take care of my finger so I fish the rest of my life."
— Takahiro Omori on the condition of bandaged hand after receiving 2nd degree burns while cooking
Editor's note: Check in daily during the tournament for live video of the weigh-ins and a realtime leaderboard at 3 p.m. ET Thursday through Saturday. ESPNOutdoors.com will air Hooked Up, the live Internet shows, on Sunday at 8 a.m., 10 a.m. and noon ET on Sunday. The 45-minute Hooked Up show begins at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, leading into the final live weigh-in and a realtime leaderboard at 3:45 p.m. ET.
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