Davis delivers again, leads at chilly Shasta

San Jose pro swaps spots with day-one leader Gray

REDDING, Calif. – Temperatures dropped and reportedly so did the catch rate on day two of Stren Series Western Division action at Shasta Lake, but that didn’t stop Jim Davis from maintaining his momentum and grabbing the Pro Division lead with a stout two-day weight total of 25 pounds, 11 ounces.

Davis, who hails from San Jose, Calif., caught a five-bass limit weighing 12 pounds, 10 ounces Thursday, adding to his 13-1, second-place total from Wednesday. On Thursday, a day with many limits but where 10 pounds was considered a good catch, Davis’ weight was the third-heaviest pro limit of the afternoon.

“I just did the same today as I did yesterday. But rather than catching 70 or 80 fish a day, I caught something like 25 or 30,” he said. “I just had to slow way, way down.”

Davis passed up Wednesday’s leader, Gene Gray of Atascadero, Calif., who caught 10 pounds, 12 ounces Thursday and now has 24-7 in second place.

While the pros again went gangbusters on the limit count – 150 out of 155 of them brought in five bass – the kicker fish were even harder to come by than the first day. An overnight cold front and clear skies really clamped down on the big-fish bite. Bill McLaughlin won the $250 pro Snickers Big Bass award with a spotted bass that weighed a mere 4 pounds, 2 ounces.

“The cold helps me because I’m worming,” Davis said. “I don’t think the big reaction bite is going to go, and I put the swimbaits away. It’s nice because it kind of puts a buffer between me and those guys.”

While everybody has been catching pretty much the same kind of limits filled with 2-pound spots, Davis’ edge thus far can probably be boiled down to his fishing locations.

“I’m basically fishing transitioning areas where the fish are moving up and down the points, staying in the mouths of the main lake. There have been some other guys around me, but most of my big bites are coming from certain key areas,” he said. “I’m still fishing down to 50 feet, but the bigger ones are coming at 20 to 25 feet. I had two spots where I caught two bigger fish today. I’ve been fortunate every day to get two big bites. I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing and, hopefully, keep getting two big bites a day.”

McLaughlin pops biggest limit, grabs third

McLaughlin of Redding, Calif., worked his way into serious contention on his home waters after catching the day’s heaviest pro limit, 13 pounds, 6 ounces. Anchored by Thursday’s big bass, his two-day total is 23-8 and good for third place.

“That’s the first 13-pound limit I’ve had this year,” McLaughlin said. “I’ve been sick all week, but I feel better today.”

Like many pros, McLaughlin said he’s catching fish on plastics in deep water.

“I had to slow down today,” he said. “I’ve got a feeling that, if it clouds over tonight, the hard-bait guys might pass me tomorrow.”

Tuck fourth

Michael Tuck of Antelope, Calif., slid to the fourth pro spot with a two-day total of 22 pounds, 15 ounces. He caught a limit weighing 10-6 Thursday.

“Yeah, I struggled today. The cold weather got to them and the big fish just sat on the bottom. You couldn’t get to them,” he said. “It wasn’t until the last hour when the bigger fish turned on a little bit.”

Tuck said he caught most of his spots finesse fishing flats and cuts under the Interstate 5 bridge, a stone’s throw away from the tournament weigh-in site at Bridge Bay Marina.

“You can probably see me tooling around out there all day,” he said. “I’ve been catching them there for about three weeks, and I think I can win the tournament there, if only I can get them to bite.”

Dombrowski holds fifth

Pro Alex Dombrowski of Duvall, Wash., held on to the fifth-place position with a two-day total of 22 pounds, 4 ounces. He stayed steady by catching a 10-9 limit Thursday on a drop-shot and a jig.

“I slowed down big-time,” he said. “It got going later in the day. Hopefully, I can do it again tomorrow.”

Rest of the best

Rounding out the top 10 pros after two days at Shasta Lake:

6th: Shawn Milligan of Roseville, Calif., 21-15

7th: Robert Lee of Angels Camp, Calif., 21-12

8th: Cody Meyer of Grass Valley, Calif., 21-10

9th: Phil Strader of Glide, Ore., 21-9

10th: Gary Howell of Stockton, Calif., 21-9

Each of the top 10 pros caught limits both days of the opening round.

Local Keller extends co-angler lead

Charles Keller had another good day from the back of the boat on his home lake. The day-one co-angler leader from Redding, Calif., caught a limit on day two weighing 9 pounds, 3 ounces and held on to his lead with a total of 22-5.

Rest of the best

Jason Milligan of Anderson, Calif., earned the second co-angler spot with a two-day weight 20 pounds, 12 ounces. He caught a limit weighing 10-8 Thursday.

Steve Bornowski of Mesa, Ariz., caught the heaviest co-angler limit of the day – 12 pounds, 7 ounces – and moved up to third place with a total of 20-1.

Co-angler Roy Desmangles Jr. of Lincoln, Calif., placed fourth with a two day-total of 19 pounds, 12 ounces. He caught a limit weighing 9-1 Thursday.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers was Gary Haraguchi of Brentwood, Calif., with a total weight of 19 pounds, 8 ounces. He caught 8-11 Thursday.

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers:

6th: Willie Cummings of Tucson, Ariz., 19-4

7th: Charles Bean of Brentwood, Calif., 19-3

8th: Michael Peterson of Redding, Calif., 19-1

9th: Vaughn Hansen of Saint George, Utah, 19-0

10th: Chris O’Brien of Tracy, Calif., 18-14

Each of the top 10 co-anglers also caught five-bass limits Thursday. Overall, out of 155 co-anglers, 128 of them had limits.

Day three of Western Division competition at Shasta Lake begins as the field of 155 boats takes off from Bridge Bay Marina at 7:30 a.m. Pacific time Thursday. Following tomorrow’s competition, the fields will be cut to the top 10 anglers apiece based on three-day cumulative weight.