Coleman’s ingenuity

California pro catches 7-5 kicker, leads opening round at Lake Havasu

LAKE HAVASU CITY, Ariz. – As tough as the fishing was at Lake Havasu on Wednesday, it only seemed doubly so on Thursday. But at a tournament like the Stren Series Western Division opener, it’s no surprise that, when the going gets tough, the tough climb mountains. Literally.

Aaron Coleman, a pro out of Oakland, Calif., came in with the only five-bass limit out of 400 anglers Thursday and established a commanding 4 1/2 pound lead to close out the opening round on day two of competition. His limit – 15 pounds, 7 ounces – contained an unbelievable 7-pound, 5-ounce kicker largemouth that easily won the day’s $750 Snickers Big Bass award.

For most of these Western anglers accustomed to fishing hog ponds like Clear Lake and the California Delta, a 7-pound fish probably isn’t worth getting too worked up over. But at Lake Havasu this week where the fish have a serious case of lockjaw and where anything caught – even a 7-ounce guppy – is worth a pat on the back, Coleman’s 7-5 kicker was a true jaw-dropper. Several other proud pros tried for the big-bass award with nice fish in the 5-pound range, but it was no contest once Coleman weighed in.

“I feel pretty good. It’s a simple fact that my road to get here has been tough,” Coleman said. “But I stayed calm because you’ve got to keep your composure.”

On Wednesday, Coleman endured a three-hour wait for help after he became stuck on a sandbar. After getting unstuck, with his rhythm and fishing patterns out of whack, he still managed to scratch out one of the few limits of the day.

The reason he got stuck is probably the same reason he caught today’s only limit and now holds the lead. Coleman caught his fish Thursday out of a little backwater area that, he says, has been untrammeled by tournament anglers.

“I don’t think anybody’s been in there for years,” he said.

He found the area in practice by climbing the hills that rise from the banks of Lake Havasu and scouting out hidden bass water. He spent two days driving his boat from peak to peak just so he could get an aerial view of the areas until he finally found his honey hole.

“It’s time-consuming,” he said. “You’ve got to beach the boat, get out, walk up and down, then get out again and walk up. I basically climbed up the steepest mountain I could find and went looking at the water like in a helicopter.”

The backwater that Coleman found obviously holds some fish. Hidden away by a patch of tules and apparently some very shallow water, he explained that he had to cut his way in the first time he ventured into the area.

So far, the extra effort has been worth it for Coleman. He said he caught most of his fish flipping a brown-and-purple Booyah jig. His big fish came out of a small patch of tules in about 3 feet of water.

“I think she just lives there and was putting on bulk getting ready to spawn,” he said. “I think I figured something out that’s a little bit different. I’m basically fishing a lot slower than everybody else, working for an irritation strike. That, and the backwater I’m in doesn’t get any pressure.”

Lee hangs onto second, Reese third

Day-one pro leader Robert Lee of Angels Camp, Calif., caught three bass weighing 7 pounds, 1 ounce on day two and slipped into the second qualifying position with an opening-round weight of 21-13.

Jimmy Reese of Witter Springs, Calif., rose into the third pro slot with and opening-round weight of 20 pounds, 1 ounce. He tallied two solid sacks – 9-12 on day one and four bass weighing 10-5 on day two – to climb the ladder.

“I didn’t catch any fish today where I caught them yesterday,” said Reese, adding that he caught the bulk of his fish on plastics fishing rock bottom in about 15 feet of water. “I just kind of went prefishing.”

Billheimer fourth, Ward fifth

Where Reese found success with plastics, fourth-place pro John Billheimer Jr. of Discovery Bay, Calif., went another route. He threw a Norman DD-22 crankbait and landed just two bass, but they weighed a collective 10 pounds, 7 ounces and launched him up the leaderboard with an opening-round weight of 19-12.

Anchoring Billheimer’s catch today was a 6-pound, 2-ounce largemouth, the second-largest of the day.

“I had a really bad prefish,” said Billheimer, who fished all day in the clear-water canal at Lake Havasu City. “I was fishing with plastics and I had one bite the whole time. When the tournament started, I got three bites on the crankbait. I caught this one on a Norman DD-22.”

Fred Ward of Phoenix landed in the fifth spot with an opening-round weight of 17 pounds, 15 ounces. He caught four bass Thursday, all largemouths, weighing a collective 8-10.

“It was about the same as yesterday,” Ward said. “I’m doing a little drop-shotting in shallow water, rigged wacky-style. I think they’ve seen enough straight worms and they’re ready for a change. I just don’t know if I’ve got any more fish left.”

Rest of the best

The top 20 pros made the cut into the two-day final round starting Friday. The cut weight settled at 12 pounds, 9 ounces.

Rounding out the top 10:

6th: Jason Borofka of Salinas, Calif., seven bass, 17-12

7th: David Kromm of Kennewick, Wash., nine bass, 17-6

8th: William McAninch of Sylmar, Calif., six bass, 17-2

9th: Jimmy Walker of Alpine, Calif., six bass, 16-13

10th: Clayton Meyer of San Diego, seven bass, 15-11 (Defending Stren Series Lake Havasu champion)

Jarvis leads co-anglers into finals

Travis Jarvis of Caldwell, Idaho, leads the Co-angler Division with a two-day total of five bass weighing 14 pounds, 1 ounce. Included in Jarvis’ two-bass, 6-13 catch Thursday was a 4-pound, 3-ounce kicker largemouth, which won the Co-angler Division Snickers Big Bass award and $250.

“I’ve had a good time, but prefishing was really tough,” he said. “But you just get in the back of the boat, go at it with ease and catch what you can catch.”

Unlike day one where he caught his three fish on a crankbait, Jarvis landed his day-two bass on a drop-shot with a Roboworm.

“Today it was the drop-shot,” he said, “which was good because I know how to target where I need to target.”

Day-one leader Mike Iloski of Escondido, Calif., dropped into the second co-angler spot with an opening-round weight of 12 pounds, 4 ounces.

Co-angler Randy Bruno of Huntington Beach, Calif., placed third with a two-day weight of 11 pounds, 9 ounces.

Terrence Rath of Lake Havasu City grabbed the fourth co-angler spot with 11 pounds, 5 ounces, and Jody Rice of Bethel Island, Calif., took fifth with 10-15.

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers to make the cut:

6th: Jason Bubier of Oroville, Calif., 10-1

7th: John Rickicke of Phoenix, 9-9

8th: Gayle Janes of Bermuda Dunes, Calif., 8-14

9th: Mark Walsh of Las Vegas, 8-13

10th: Kyle Clement of Anderson, Calif., 8-2

The top 20 co-anglers advance into the next round. The co-angler cut weight settled at 5 pounds, 13 ounces.

Into the cut

Day three of Western Division competition at Lake Havasu begins as the semifinal-round field of 20 boats takes off from Lake Havasu State Park in Lake Havasu City at 7:30 a.m. Mountain time. Anglers’ weights are reset to zero for Friday, and winners in both fields are determined by the heaviest accumulated weight over the next two days.