Leaderboard shuffles at Santee Cooper
Local Lindwood Thornhill takes charge at EverStart Eastern
MANNING, S.C. – When fishing gets tough on Santee Cooper, experience becomes a major asset. Lindwood Thornhill of Pineville, S.C., has a lot of experience on Santee Cooper lakes, make that 40 years of guiding experience on lakes Marion and Moultrie.
Thornhill used some of that knowledge today to catch 20 pounds, 5 ounces of bass to take the lead in the Santee Cooper EverStart Series event.
Thornhill was pleasantly surprised this morning when he went to one of his pet holes on Lake Moultrie and started loading the boat with hefty bass.
“I have not been to this place for the entire tournament because I thought the water was too muddy,” Thornhill said. “This morning I figured I would give it a try anyway. I had a 20-pound limit by 8 a.m.”
A variety of Zoom soft plastics have been Thornhill’s primary baits this week. He is using a Zoom lizard and an Ol’ Monster worm. “It’s a small place,” he said. “So it’s important to switch baits. I am Texas rigging and Carolina rigging the soft plastics and throwing a rattle trap or spinner bait when I think the fish need a change.”
Nixon knocking on the door
Edward Nixon of Mint Hill, N.C., weighed in 16 pounds, 12 ounces today for second place. Although he did not want to reveal his lures, he did say he was fishing extremely shallow in one creek in Lake Marion.
Another local moves up
Wayne Clifton of Goose Creek, S.C., is another Santee Cooper local who relied on his experience today. His 20 years of past fishing experience on the lake helped him land 15 pounds, 6 ounces for third place.
Clifton did not have a fish at noon and began running likely fishing spots from experience. On one small place, he hit the jackpot and caught his limit in an hour and a half.
He used a Zoom Trick Worm rigged with a tiny 1/64-ounce weight on 10-pound-test line on a spinning rod. “You have to fish real slow,” he said. “It’s a tiny place, no bigger than a truck and boat. If it doesn’t work tomorrow, I’ll just keep hitting different places and hopefully find another load of fish.”
The rest of the best
Rounding out the Pro Division top five are David Givens of Hernando, Fla., in fourth with 14 pounds, 15 ounces and Glenn Browne of Ocala, Fla., in fifth with 14 pounds, 3 ounces.
He was not kidding
When Eastern EverStart points leader Tony Christian told everybody that he was out of fish yesterday, anglers kind of rolled their eyes and said, “Yeah, right, Tony.”
Well, he was not kidding. The red-hot rod from Hull, Ga., did not bring in a keeper today. “I told you so!” Christian exclaimed. “This is the first time I have worn shorts all year. I think my white legs scared them away.”
Poland leads co-anglers
Steve Poland of West Palm Beach, Fla., had the kind of stringer that would have made a pro proud today. Poland’s five-fish limit weighed 13 pounds, 2 ounces and put him in first place in the Co-angler Division.
Poland caught all of his fish on a junebug-colored Bass Assassin slug bait Texas-rigged with a 1/8-ounce rattle weight.
Rest of the best
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Ron Klys of Gainesville, Fla., (second) with 7 pounds, 7 ounces; John Deak of Phillipsburg, Ohio., (third) with 5 pounds, 6 ounces; Tee Watkins of East Point, Ky., (fourth) with 5 pounds, 3 ounces; and Jeff Haywood of Troy, N.C., (fifth) with 4 pounds, 12 ounces.
Top-10 action continues tomorrow at the John C. Land III Boating Facility at 6:30 a.m.
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