PEORIA, Ariz. – The 40 pros and co-anglers competing in Friday’s semifinal round of EverStart Series Western Division action on Lake Pleasant should be prepared to move around a lot. According to several pros fishing today, hopping from hole to hole is the only way to catch anything on this tough-fishing lake.
“I’m probably going to use the same pattern I’ve been using, but I’m going to go to different spots,” said opening-round pro leader Rudy Baldizan Jr. of Peoria, Ariz. “It’s so slow that you’ve got to catch one fish here, one fish there. It’s not going to happen on one spot because of the shutdown.”
A cold front earlier in the week has given the Lake Pleasant bass a case of lockjaw, as evidenced by Thursday’s drop in competitors’ catch weights. Some semifinalists are using a shallow-to-deep fishing pattern, working the back of the coves in the early morning then making their way out to humps and deepwater points as the day warms up.
“Some fish are shallow, but they turn on and off,” said sixth-place pro David Peltier of Simi Valley, Calif. “I caught a 3-9 (bass) yesterday, but it was from 50 feet of water. I think the females are still deep.”
With the field pared down to 20 boats, anglers looked forward to more space on Pleasant Friday.
“With fewer boats, I’ll be able to move around more freely,” second-place pro Marcus Clouse of Henderson, Nev., said. “That will be key.”
Friday’s weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 18551 N. 83rd Ave. in Glendale beginning at 4 p.m. Mountain time.
Weights are cleared for the semifinal round, and anglers compete for one day to determine who will advance to Saturday’s final round. Only the top 10 pros and 10 co-anglers compete Saturday, and the winner is determined by the heaviest two-day weight.
Friday’s conditions:
Sunrise: 7:27 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 45 degrees
Expected high temperature: 70 degrees
Water temperature at the ramp: 53 degrees
Wind: from the south-southeast at 6 mph
Maximum humidity: 56 percent
Day’s outlook: sunny