Texoma: take two
Blue-bird skies greet Stren Series Central Division anglers on day two
DENISON, Texas – While the day-two takeoff at the Stren Series Central Division event on Lake Texoma once again got off to a chilly start, don’t expect that to last. The forecast for the Denison area calls for mostly sunny skies with a high temperature of 78 degrees and winds out of the southeast. While that will certainly make for a pleasant day on the water, the effect on the bite remains to be seen.
Day one started out cool, cloudy and windy. A good majority of Stren Series anglers reported catching most of their fish in the early hours. When the sun broke through in the afternoon, the bite died considerably.
Pro Wade Middleton of San Antonio, Texas caught a five-bass limit yesterday that weighed 8 pounds, 15 ounces. Despite being in 81st-place, Middleton feels he still has a good chance at making the top-20 cutoff.
“I think anybody with 8 pounds still has a good chance,” explained Middleton. “The guys that targeted smallmouths yesterday are going to struggle. I think the weights will drop by a pound or so.”
With sunny skies and warmer temperatures on the docket, Middleton said he plans to fish docks and rocks for largemouths and spots using spinnerbaits.
Pro Bob Kujan of Belton, Texas, disagreed with Middleton’s assessment. He feels that the sunshine will spread the field out resulting in less angling pressure. Kujan plans to flip small finesse-type baits under boat docks and to isolated timber.
“I believe it is going to be better than yesterday,” Kujan said. “A lot of people are going to be spread out.”
Austin, Texas, native John Cox sits just behind Middleton with 8 pounds, 8 ounces. His focus today is on covering as much water as possible.
“I’m not real sure what this sun is going to do to the bite,” said Cox. “I’m going to go fish muddy water. Hopefully, that will keep the fish up longer with this sun.”
Whatever effect the bright sunshine has, the day two weigh-in will still be held at 3 p.m. Central time at Highpoint Marina, which is located at 120 Texoma Harbor Drive, in Pottsboro. For those who are unable to attend, FLWOutdoors.com will stream it live via FLW Live.
Pros and co-anglers will compete for two days to determine the top 20 pros and top 20 co-anglers who advance to Friday’s semifinal round, based on their two-day accumulated weight. Weights are cleared for the semifinal round and anglers compete for 10 spots in each division in the final round. Winners on day four are determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from days three and four.
Thursday’s conditions
Sunrise: 6:42 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 52 degrees
Expected high temperature: 78 degrees
Water temperature: 62-68 degrees
Wind: SE at 8 mph
Maximum humidity: 55 percent
Day’s outlook: mostly sunny