“A lot of people don’t know this, but I went to the hospital Sunday morning [before the tournament began] thinking I was going to have a heart attack,” Stone explained. “I’ve been having chest pains for about two months. I spent all day Sunday and Monday in there [the hospital].”

After thorough examination, Stone was told his heart is okay and was cleared to fish. He plans to have more tests upon his return home. With that behind him for the time being, Stone was only able to fish part of Tuesday and Wednesday morning.

“I had to fish a lot of history on this lake because I didn’t practice much,” Stone said. “I’m not good at dropshotting or dragging a tube, so I went out and found them the way I like to catch them. I caught everything this week on a Lucky Craft Slender Pointer 112 or a Lucky Craft Staysee 90.”

Stone used a variety of colors while throwing the Lucky Craft jerkbaits.

“The key was having multiple colors to throw at them,” Stone added. “When I’d go through an area and catch a couple, I had to throw different colors at them my next trip through.”

Stone admits day one was a gift as he weighed in 18 pounds, 9 ounces after having a five-pound bite and other good keeper fish. Catching most of his fish in 10 to 14 feet of water, Stone was looking for broken chunk rock where smallmouth might reside.

Electronics were key for almost all the anglers this week, but after a successful day one, Stone had to rely on old-fashioned techniques to get the job done Friday.

“The second day was interesting,” Stone said. “I knew I had a lot on the line and knew I needed to make the cut in this tournament if I wanted a shot at the Classic. I got out to my first spot on Friday and my front GPS would not work. It was done. Even when you’re fishing this lake the way I am, you need your electronics so you can follow contour lines. I had no front GPS, so I had to triangulate and throw buoys. I was three miles from shore trying to look at a house and a green goat to line everything up. It was very challenging.”

All joking aside, Friday separated Stone from the rest of the field, as he had to rely on experience and know-how to catch a good bag. He would throw a buoy on a particular area he wanted to fish, run a mile or so above it and try to fish back to it. Stone had to pay attention to every small detail.

Even with the trials he faced on Friday, Stone weighed in a 15-pound, 7-ounce bag, which put him in the top 50 and gave him the chance to fish again on Saturday.

“Friday was an emotional rollercoaster for me,” Stone said. “At 2 p.m., I only had two fish. When I got back to the dock before weigh-in, I really thought I only had about 13 pounds total. I knew that wasn’t going to be enough. I was so glad to hear 15 pounds, 7 ounces.”

Stone was efficient on day three as well, bringing in 15 pounds, 11 ounces to finish in the top 30. The North Carolina resident was fishing the Lucky Craft jerkbaits with a fast retrieve on 10-pound fluorocarbon.

He is back in the Classic hunt, and Stone plans to fish just as hard during the Champion’s Choice on Lake Oneida this week. It all comes down to the final tournament in New York for this Lucky Craft pro.