Grand Lake Top 5 Patterns Day 1
Flipping bushes and sight-fishing dominate in tough weather
The Costa FLW Series Southwestern event on Grand Lake presented by Ranger Boats is shaping up to be a heated contest between sight-fishing on the lower end and pitching bushes in the upper end. Pros from both respective camps reside in the top 10 after day one.
Nick Prvonozac of Warren, Ohio, leads the event from the sight-fishing side of the aisle. However, others in the top five are playing the bushes in the stained water and hoping the water will continue to rise.
The only question now is how much more will the Grand River Dam Authority (GRDA) allow the lake to rise as some believe it is actually being pulled down faster than it is filling.
Here is a closer look inside the top five.
2. Matt Arey – Shelby, N.C. – 17-14
Why Matt Arey has not purchased a satellite fishing office in the Ozarks regions is still a mystery. Arey’s knack for catching Ozark bass is undeniable, especially in the spring of the year. Not only has Arey won two FLW Tour events on Beaver Lake, but he owns a third and a fourth place trophy from Costa Series events on Grand as well.
And it looks as if Arey has intentions of keeping his Ozarks streak alive with his 17-pound, 14-ounce limit on day one – good enough for second place.
Arey spent most of his day sight-fishing in the difficult conditions thanks in large part to his new Costa lens color.
“The sunrise silver mirror from Costa is an undeniable advantage on days like this,” Arey says. “It takes their sunrise color lens and blends it with a mirror finish so you have that lowlight yellow lens combined with a mirrored outside that helps when the sun is in and out of dark clouds and it gets bright and dark again all day long – they’re able to handle a lot of that bright and dark light change that otherwise makes you want swap glasses all day.”
Arey says most of the fish he caught today were ones he had marked from practice.
“As long as I can catch a glimpse of them and know they’re still there, I’ll keep fishing for them,” he says. “I burned up a lot of my better 3-plus fish today. I still have a lot of 2- to 2-1/2 pounders left on beds, but that better 3-plus grade of fish might be a little harder to come by tomorrow.”
3. Tommy Martin – Hemphill, Texas – 16-15
Tommy Martin kicks off the tournament in third place with a 16-pound, 15-ounce catch that did not come from sight-fishing.
“I’m fishing up in the dingier water, pitching to places where I know beds are,” Martin details. “I can’t see beds, but I know that’s what they’re doing because I’ll pitch in there, miss a bite, pitch in there again and catch one. So I know there are beds around these targets. Some of the ones I caught today I shook off in practice.”
4. Todd Castledine – Nacogdoches, Texas – 16-12
Todd Castledine is no stranger to catching bass and he is at it again with a solid 16-pound, 12-ounce limit to start the event in fourth place.
Castledine is playing the “blind” sight-fishing game as well, fishing for spawners he can’t see.
“I checked a bunch of fish today that I found in practice and some of them were gone,” Castledine says. “The three better ones I caught without ever seeing the fish or the bed – I just kept pitching in there until I got them to bite. After that, I was good. I just went looking for tomorrow and found a few more I think will stay put.”
5. Drew Boggs – Lebanon, Tenn. – 16-6
Despite some mechanical issues during practice, Drew Boggs bounced back with a 16-pound, 6-ounce limit to start the event inside the top five.
“I tore my lower unit up yesterday, so I was a little worried about running real far,” Boggs says. “I stayed somewhat close and just flipped bushes and it worked out pretty well.”
Though he had a good day, Boggs is a little concerned about his bite because he believes the water is actually dropping.
“I could see where the water had fallen several inches off the stuff I was flipping yesterday,” he says. “And that’s probably not too good considering there is barely enough water to keep them up there right now.”