Hutson spies his way to Stren Series lead

Local pro finds enough visible fish to take over top spot

MANNING, S.C. – The tail end of Santee Cooper’s bass spawn trailed across the weigh-in stage on day two of the Stren Series event on Santee Cooper today.

Several of those sight-fish belonged to Mark Hutson of Moncks Corner, S.C., who now leads the event with a two-day total of 34 pounds, 6 ounces, giving him a slight 1-pound lead over second place.

Hutson is scratching and scraping for every visible fish left he can find on Santee’s lower Lake Moultrie. He weighed in just four bass today for 13 pounds, 3 ounces.

“It’s slim pickings down there now,” Hutson said. “I didn’t have a fish at 11 o’ clock and I went to one of the very last places I thought I might find a fish left on bed and ran into a few there.”

Hutson finished second in this event in 2007 by sight-fishing. His game is to find deeper fish bedding out on stumps that other anglers trolling the bank might miss.

“We had a lot of clouds and wind this afternoon,” Hutson added. “And that really kept me from being able to see down there deep where I normally find them. But I’m not giving up hope. I still feel that this next moon will bring in more fish. I saw some fish cruising around in one pocket late this afternoon and there’s still a chance they might lock down by tomorrow.”

Cordell climbs to second

Jason Cordell of Pelahatchie, Miss., moved up into the second place position today with a 19-pound, 14-ounce catch to amass a two-day total of 33 pounds, 5 ounces.

Cordell’s limit today was anchored by a 7-pound, 9-ounce lunker which took the Folgers Big Bass award for day two.

“I actually lost that fish yesterday,” Cordell said. “In fact, that was my problem yesterday, I lost several big ones. But today, I got them in the boat.”

Cordell is fishing a post-spawn pattern over deeper grass in the lower lake.

“I’m out off the bank and I’d say 80 percent of my fish are post-spawn,” he said. “I’m catching them on a wacky rig out over deeper grass and I’m just having to fish painfully slow.”

Tharp rockets to third

After some mechanical difficulties yesterday, Randall Tharp of Gardendale, Ala., got back in the game today with a 21-pound, 3-ounce catch that pushed him into third place with a two-day total of 31 pounds, 9 ounces.

Tharp won a BASS Open on Santee in May of 2008 and today he found himself right back in the very place where he won last year.

“I went back to the same place where I won last year and fished the same stuff and they bit again,” Tharp said. “I’m throwing a different lure this time, but I fishing the same area I was fishing this time last year.”

Last year, Tharp won with a floating topwater frog, but he did reveal that’s not working this year.

“I’ve tried it, they won’t eat it,” he added. “Today I threw a fast moving bait and they seemed to want it much better.”

Attaway slips to fourth

Day-one leader Norm Attaway of Clearwater, S.C., slipped to second place today with three bass weighing 9 pounds, 10 ounces for a two-day total of 31 pounds, 6 ounces.

“I couldn’t get on my best areas today,” Attaway said. “There were too many other boats on some of my best grass patches. I had them to myself yesterday, but today there were already boats on them when I got there.”

Undeterred, Attaway headed for some of his back up water, but the wind was whipping his other banks on the lower lake.

“I tried to fish them anyway – even in the wind – and right at the end of the day my co-angler and I caught our three best fish off one stretch. So the fish are still in those areas. I plan to start on them tomorrow before the wind gets up.”

Wolf fifth

Cecil Wolf of Hanahan, S.C., rounds out the top five in the Pro Division with a two-day total of 30 pounds, 12 ounces.

Rest of the best

Rounding out the top-10 pros in the Stren Series event on Santee Cooper after day two:

6th: Brent Riley of Ridgeville, S.C., two-day total of 30-7

7th: Matt Peters of Roswell, Ga., two-day total of 30-4

8th: Ken Ellis of Bowman, S.C., two-day total of 29-12

9th: Chuck Howard of Elloree, S.C., two-day total of 28-11

10th: Scott Canterbury of Springville, Ala., two-day total of 28-7

Malcom leads co-anglers

Shawn Malcom of Monroe, Ga., leads the Co-angler Division of the Stren Series event on Santee Cooper with a two-day total of 29 pounds, 12 ounces, which gives him a over an 8-pound lead going into tomorrow.

“I’m fishing a Senko really slow around lily pads,” Malcom said of his pattern. “I just have a lot of confidence in doing that and if my boater gets me around some pads tomorrow, I think I could do well again.”

Jamie Bladow of Houston, Ala., is in second place in the Co-angler Division with a two-day total of 21 pounds, 8 ounces.

Ron Buck of Port St. Lucie, Fla., is in third place with a two-day total of 19 pounds, even.

Larry Breckenridge of Dothan, Ala., slid to fourth place with a two-day total of 17 pounds, 14 ounces.

And Donald Miller of High Point, N.C., is in fifth place with a two-day total of 17 pounds, 6 ounces.

Big bass

Robert Carter of Pamplico, S.C., caught the big bass in the Co-angler Division on day two weighing 6 pounds, 13 ounces.

Rest of the best

Rounding out the top-10 co-anglers in the Stren Series event on Santee Cooper after day two:

6th: Luke Campbell of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., two-day total of 15-5

7th: Cleve Morris of Manning, S.C., two-day total of 14-15

8th: Bernie Bailey of Chesapeake, Va., two-day total of 14-5

9th: David Olinger of Pikeville, Tenn., two-day total of 13-5

10th: Walter Cumbee of Moncks Corner, S.C., two-day total of 12-8

Day three of the Stren Series Southeastern on Santee Cooper will begin Saturday at 7 a.m. from John C Land III Landing located at County Road S-14-260 (Greenall Road) in Summerton, S.C.