Mauldin golden on Lake Amistad

Opening-round leader brings in 33-6 to claim semifinal-round lead of Stren Series Central

DEL RIO, Texas – While hefty weights were still posted across the board today, the numbers did slip a bit on day three of the record-breaking Stren Series Central Division opener on Lake Amistad. Whereas 17 pros in the top 20 broke the 20-pound mark yesterday, only five of them repeated that feat today, as did four co-anglers. Leading them all with a very impressive stringer is opening-round leader David Mauldin, who weighed in a limit totaling 33 pounds, 6 ounces to lead by just more than 2 pounds heading into the final day.

That hefty limit, combined with the record-breaking 53 pounds, 14 ounces he brought in during the opening round, puts Mauldin 21 pounds, 9 ounces away from the all-time four-day weight record that currently belongs to Dean Rojas. That record is for competitive bass fishing as a whole, not just FLW Outdoors events. Rojas caught a total of 108 pounds, 12 ounces over four days in 2001 on Lake Toho, and Mauldin’s three-day tally currently stands at 87 pounds, 4 ounces with one more day to go.

Though Mauldin is certainly on a hot streak, the weather in Del Rio today was cooler with sprinkles of rain. A few competitors blamed the temperature change for the cooled-off bite, though others thought Mother Nature served it up just right, giving weather the credit for their day-three success.

As for Mauldin, little has changed, as he continues to milk the same spots for the same mammoth fish that he did the first two days. The only difference today was that he caught them all on his first spot.

“I went to my spot that I’ve been starting on, and I never left,” Mauldin said. “I’m sharing the water with a guy in the top three.”

That means he’s fishing alongside either No. 2 Craig Dowling, no slouch himself with 31-5 on day three, and local Jim Criswell, who brought in 28-13 to sit in the No. 3 spot. All are clearly on some solid fish, but should Mauldin’s sweet spot dry up tomorrow, he says he has another big-fish backup.

“They bit there all day, so I never went to my good spot,” he said. “I’m going to start tomorrow where I started today. As long as I’m catching 8- to 9-pounders, I’ll be happy. I’m not leaving a spot where they’re biting.”

Along with the competition, Mauldin also reported some observational traffic in his honeyhole today, though he says they kept a respectable distance. He estimates that 500 pounds of fish have been caught by various competitors out of this area during the course of the tournament.

“I only spent the first 30 minutes on it the first two days and today I didn’t leave,” he said. “But now I need every ounce I can get.”

Dowling 2 pounds behind in second

Dowling was the only other angler to break the 30-pound mark today, hauling in a limit weighing 31 pounds, 5 ounces that proves he is still on the big fish. Dowling hasn’t dipped below the No. 2 spot this week but says his first three spots weren’t producing for him today.

“I went to something that I haven’t been doing all week, and I lost two 10-pounders early,” he said. “I was kind of down about that, but luckily there are so many big fish that you can afford to lose a few.”

Dowling’s strategy for tomorrow is to follow the fish, as he says the Amistad bass are currently quite transient.

“I’m just going to go fishing,” he said. “These fish are moving a lot, and I’m going to hit as many spots as I can.”

Criswell puts local knowledge to use

Local favorite Jim Criswell of Del Rio jumped from 16th to third on what he said was the best day he has had during this event. His limit weighed 28 pounds, 13 ounces and put him more than 5 pounds ahead of his nearest competition.

“The difference today was that the cloud cover hung around and we retained that prevailing wind,” said Criswell, counting himself among the anglers happy with today’s weather conditions. “I caught all these fish today in two places, and I’ll go to the same place tomorrow.”

Criswell feels confident that he can produce again tomorrow, saying he expects he can catch another 25 pounds at least. Adding to the experience is his favored local status, a position he’s enjoying.

“It’s an honor,” he said. “There are a lot of guys here who are good fishermen. I’ve just been lucky.”

Scott, Truax round out top five

Ricky Scott of Van Buren, Ark., continued his hot streak with a day-three catch weighing 23 pounds, 10 ounces that put him in the fourth spot heading into the final day.

Behind him in fifth is tournament veteran David Truax of Beaumont with a five-bass catch weighing 22 pounds, 15 ounces.

Best of the rest

Rounding out the top 10 pros who will compete tomorrow on Lake Amistad:

6th: Chad Griffin of Cresson, five bass, 19-9

7th: Kevin Lasyone of Dry Prong, La., five bass, 18-1

8th: Russell Cecil of Willis, five bass, 17-13

9th: Eddy May of Valley Center, Kan., four bass, 16-6

10th: Keith Combs of Temple, five bass, 16-3

Snyder snags co-angler lead on his birthday

Atop the co-angler heap is Royse City angler Jeff Snyder with a five-bass, 27-pound, 11-ounce catch that would have put him in the top five on the pro side. Making the day all the sweeter is that he took the lead on his birthday.

“I was throwing something totally different than my partner was throwing,” Snyder said. “I was using three types of worms: a shaky-head worm, a Texas-rigged worm and a wacky worm.”

Snyder said the preferred colors for his Zoom Trick Worms were watermelon candy and green pumpkin.

“I’m going to try the same thing tomorrow if (my pro partner) is fishing the same kind of water,” he said, adding he caught his bass today in depths of 15 to 18 feet. He too benefited from the weather today, as he and his pro fished an area slightly sheltered from the wind.

“(The weather) helped it today,” he said. “I think it hurt some people in the open-water areas.”

Gold hangs on to pattern and sits in second

With a 26-pound, 13-ounce day-three catch, opening-round co-angler leader Ed Gold of Broken Arrow, Okla., ended day three in the No. 2 spot, less than a pound behind the leader.

“It’s like the other days – that pattern is still working,” Gold said. “I caught fish when I got here on Saturday, and I’ve been catching them ever since.”

Weaver, Savage break 20-pound mark

Two other co-anglers brought in weights exceeding 20 pounds today, including No. 3 co-angler Chris Weaver of Lawton, Okla. His five-bass limit weighed 22 pounds, 11 ounces. In fourth is Mike Savage of Clever, Mo., with a limit weighing 22 pounds, 1 ounce.

Behind them in fifth with 18 pounds, 5 ounces is Eddy O’Mary of Schertz.

Best of the rest

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers who will fish tomorrow on Lake Amistad:

6th: Tom Medlock of Licking, Mo., five bass, 17-3

7th: Bill Gift of Alix, Ark., five bass, 16-13

8th: Jim Behnken of Floresville, four bass, 16-8

9th: Michael Herron of Paris, five bass, 15-9

10th: Dusty Schultz of Conroe, five bass, 14-11

The final day of competition begins tomorrow as the top 10 pros and co-anglers take off from Lake Amistad Marina at 7:30 a.m. Central time. The final weigh-in will begin at 4 p.m. at the Wal-Mart store located on Veterans Boulevard in Del Rio.