Hopkins hops into Stren Series lead on Lake Texoma

Middleton bags heavy limit, tops co-angler field

DENISON, Texas – Weather is a fickle vixen that showers some with affectionate blessings while shunning others with harsh rejection. Mounds, Okla., pro Ronnie Hopkins Jr. was fortunate to encounter the former en route to a day-one lead at the Stren Series event on Lake Texoma.

With puffy morning winds growing even stronger – and switching from north to south – several long-faced anglers reported bruising runs through brutal waves as the big impoundment grew angrier by the minute. Broken trolling motors, spun hubs and busted plans – all casualties of a day on testy waters.

However, as Hopkins demonstrated with his 17-pound, 14-ounce stringer, finding favor amid meteorological moodiness is often a matter of working with what the weather gives you and realizing that even the strongest of personalities have soft spots where generosity abounds. In this case, persistent winds blew loads of baitfish onto shoreline structure, and bass of all sizes and colors moved in to chew.

“It was really rough today, but the wind helped me a lot – I got on the feeding fish and caught them all day long,” he said. “The fish have moved up for the fall, and they’re anywhere from 2 to 5 feet deep. They’re loaded on (the structures) pretty good. I lost two good fish today and caught 10 keepers.

“I just went out and had fun. I’ve been trying too hard, so I just went out and went fishing.”

Targeting isolated rocks, points and rock clusters, Hopkins threw topwater plugs, spinnerbaits and crankbaits. Understandably guarding of his exact location, Hopkins said, “I probably don’t even need to get gas for tomorrow.”

As for day two, he expressed confidence in his continued success. “I think I can catch 13 pounds again pretty easily. Any more than that, and I’ll have to get lucky and get a big bite.”

Hatchell second

Landing in second place, Craig Hatchell will enter day two with a solid 16-pound, 3-ounce weight. The Whitesboro, Texas, pro also leveraged the wind by fishing jigs around rock piles on shallow banks with baitfish accumulations. Presentation angles, Hatchel said, proved critical in the prevailing conditions.

“I’d throw (the jig) on the other side of the structure and swim it back through the structure, and they’re ambushing it,” he said. “You don’t want to throw onto the structure – you want to throw up from the structure and come back down through it.

“I caught about four limits today, and around 1 o’clock I started getting really confident with (my catch).”

Notably, Hatchel and his co-angler – Naohiro Maruo of Takamatsu Kagawa, Japan – both held temporary leads in their respective divisions.

Rest of the best

The next three pros tied for third place. Nick Aber of Piedmont, Okla., Douglas Jones of Fort Gibson, Okla., and David Vance of Winnsboro, Texas, each caught 13 pounds, 5 ounces.

Rounding out the top 10 pro leaders at the Stren Series Texas Division event on Lake Texoma:

6th: Robert McFarlane of San Antonio, Texas, 12-15

7th: Don McFarlin of Gordonville, Texas, 12-14

8th: Theron Caldwell of Colleyville, Texas, 12-7

9th: Ben Matsubu of Hemphill, Texas, 12-5

10th: Russell Cecil of Willis, Texas, 12-4

Middleton carves 2-pound lead in Co-angler Division

Elgin, Okla., co-angler Bo Middleton nabbed 13 pounds, 10 ounces from the back of the boat to finish in the top spot for day one. His catch – better than third place on the pro side – bumped Danny Joiner, the co-angler leader up until that point, down to second place with a 2-pound deficit.

Based in Irving, Texas, Joiner had a limit by midmorning and caught about 20 bass with six keepers. Tucking into a sheltered cove provided a wind break, but he found that the weather’s overall effects actually worked in his favor, as he bagged 11-8.

“You have to keep your bait right in front of the fish in this dirty water, but the fish won’t get scared if you stay really close,” he said.

Joiner’s limit catch included a 4-pounder that held the big-bass spot until Baton Rouge, La., co-anger Billy Yelverton (15th) bested that mark with a 4-10.

Rest of the best

Naohiro Maruo of Takamatsu Kagawa, Japan, finished third with 10 pounds, 8 ounces; Brad Stewart of Hutto, Texas, was fourth with 9-6; and David Underwood of Waco, Texas, took fifth with 8-5.

Rounding out the top 10 co-angler leaders at the Stren Series Lake Texoma event:

6th: Steven Faske of Bastrop, Texas, 8-10

7th: Kenny Mosser of Alba, Texas, 8-3

8th: Edwin Loitz of Trinity, Texas, 7-14

9th: Allan Shivers of Vidor, Texas, 7-11

10th: Richard Carpenter of Sam Rayburn, Texas, 7-10

Day two of Stren Series action on Lake Texoma continues at Thursday’s takeoff, scheduled to take place at 7:30 a.m. CT at Hiport Marina, located at 120 Texoma Harbor Drive in Pottsboro, Texas.