Jackson back in action at Seminole

2007 Stren Series Championship winner is back on top in Southeast Division event

BAINBRIDGE, Ga. – Overall, Lake Seminole was a bit kinder to Stren Series competitors in the Southeast Division event on day two.

Calmer winds allowed anglers to get out on main-lake portions of the Georgia impoundment and stay focused on the tiny areas holding schools of fish.

Several 20-pound-class limits graced the stage, and pros brought in 18 five-bass limits.

And while Ol’ Sem was kinder to some, it was cruel to others, bucking eight of yesterday’s leaders out of the top 10.

Once again, the two main patterns delivering for pros in the main lake continue to be lipless crankbaits fished along main-lake grass-bed edges and flipping thick mats of vegetation.

One of those who put the big stick to work today was Mike Jackson of San Mateo, Fla., who boated four bass for 21 pounds, 7 ounces to take the lead after day two with 28 pounds, 13 ounces.

If Jackson’s name sounds familiar, it’s because he won the Stren Series Championship in Mobile, Ala., last November.

Jackson caught five keepers yesterday for 7 pounds, 6 ounces, but changed water and tactics today for his big bag. His day-two, four-fish catch was anchored by a 6-pound, 10 ounce bass and an 8-pound, 2-ounce giant, which took the big-bass honors in the Pro Division.

“I could’ve had nearly 30 pounds today,” said Jackson, still nervously excited from his big day. “I lost another monster – I never turned her. She kept digging and I just couldn’t do anything with her; she eventually won the battle by pulling off. If I had gotten her in, I would have really blown this thing open.”

Yesterday, Jackson fished a shaky head in 20 feet of water to get his small limit. But this morning, he pulled out his big sticks, tipped with heavy weights and Berkley Chigger Craws, and went to work.

“I found this place five or six years ago in a BFL, and it looked awesome,” he continued. “I fished it in practice, but just got two little bites. This morning I figured I would give it a try for a while, and I caught a big one in the first hour. From that point on, I would get a bite about every 45 minutes or so. In all, I had seven bites and boated four.”

Shoalies take Brownlee to second

Clint Brownlee of Tifton, Ga., put his shoal bass knowledge of the Flint River to good use today to collect 19 pounds of the rare species. His five-bass limit was anchored with a beautiful 6-pound, 4-ounce shoalie to give him a two-day total of 26 pounds, 15 ounces.

Brownlee is fishing from an aluminum tunnel-hull boat, which allows him to skim across treacherous shoals in the extreme upper part of the Flint River.

“It was just one of those days up there,” Brownlee said. “Everything went just right and fell into place. I’ve got two stretches up there I really like, and I drifted each one a couple of times today.”

Brownlee’s lure lineup includes spinnerbaits, crankbaits and jigs.

“The biggest one came on a jig,” he revealed. “It’s pretty special to catch a shoalie that big, especially during a tournament.”

Supik rises to third

Nicolas Supik of Natrona Heights, Pa., climbed into third place with a five-bass limit weighing 17 pounds, 8 ounces for a two-day total of 23 pounds, 8 ounces.

Supik is fishing lipless Rat-L-Traps in the main lake.

“I’ve got two tiny areas along the grass flats where the fish are really bunched up,” Supik said. “These two places are just little dips in the grass, and I couldn’t get back to them if it wasn’t for my Lowrance GPS – it puts me dead on those spots.”

Couch fourth

Rick Couch of Ocala, Fla., jumped into the fourth-place spot with a 15-pound, 12-ounce limit today for a two-day total of 22 pounds, 6 ounces.

Couch is known for his flipping prowess, and he’s putting it to work at Seminole.

“The wind really let me fish like I needed to today, and it made a difference in my catch rate,” Couch said. “Also, I think the water came up a little bit, which helped loosen the mats so I could get a bait down through there easier. With less wind and looser mats, I could make much better presentations than I could yesterday.”

Jordan fifth

Local pro Frank Jordan of Bainbridge, Ga., was one of only two pros to stay in the top 10 from yesterday. His four-bass catch of 11 pounds, 14 ounces helped him move from ninth to fifth today.

Jordan is fishing Rat-L-Traps on the main lake and noted that local knowledge has been a huge help.

“When it’s 80 degrees and everyone’s busting 20-pound sacks out here, local advantage kind of goes out the window,” Jordan said. “But when it’s tough like this, being a local pays off.”

Jordan is working a series of grass points and troughs that he’s known about for years.

“These places I’m fishing I found during the summers when the grass mats out and you can see the defined points and troughs,” he revealed. “You can’t really see them during the winter when the grass thins out, but the contours are still there.”

Rest of the best

Rounding out the top 10 pros in the Stren Series Southeast on Lake Seminole after day two:

6th: Curt Fannin of Prestonburg, Ky., two-day total of 22-3

7th: Greg Pugh of Cullman, Ala., two-day total of 20-4

8th: Troy Arthur of Bainbridge, Ga., two-day total of 20-0

9th: Shane Cole of Empire, Ala., two-day total of 19-5

10th: Billy Bowen of Ocala, Fla., two-day total of 18-12

Goins leads co-anglers

Gerrit Goins of Cleveland, Tenn., moved from third to first in the Co-angler Division thanks to a single 2-pound bass today. He now leads with a two-day total of 14 pounds, 7 ounces.

Rest of the best

Joseph Jenkins of Harrogate, Tenn., zeroed today but his 14-pound, 2-ounce catch from yesterday held him in the second-place position in the Co-angler Division.

Stephen Kocell of Waxhaw, N.C., caught the big bass in the Co-angler Division today, weighing 7 pounds, 10 ounces. That big bass also propelled him into the third-place position with a two-day total of 14 pounds, 1 ounce.

Delane Harrison of Cottondale, Ala., is in fourth place thanks to two big bass weighing 13-pounds, 6 ounces that he landed on day two.

And Christian Bladen of Chancellor, Ala., is in fifth place with a two-day total of 12 pounds, 12 ounces.

Rounding out the top-10 co-anglers in the Stren Series Southeastern on Lake Seminole after day two:

6th: Joseph Ellis of Cincinnati, two-day total of 12-9

7th: Tom Ridley of Valdosta, Ga., two-day total of 12-5

8th: Stephen McCord of Dothan, Ala., two-day total of 12-4

9th: Ralph Moseley of Panama City, Fla., two-day total of 12-3

10th: Leo Reiter of Goshen, Ind., two-day total of 12-2

Day three of the Stren Series Southeast event on Lake Seminole will begin on Friday at 7:15 a.m. at the Earle May Boat Basin in Bainbridge.