Top 5 Patterns from Grand Lake Day 2
Weights stacked tight among the top pros
While Bradley Hallman rose from seventh to first, he leads by the slimmest of margins. The top-five is packed tight and stacked with sticks, and most of them made it there on the backs of bedding bass.
Though an intense storm put a damper on some of the sight-fishing action in the morning, the second part of the day was perfect for fishing the spawn. Saturday’s final day might be less perfect – with a 70 percent chance of rain and scattered thunderstorms headed in the pros’ ability to see the fish could be cut down considerably.
2nd Place – Jonathan Henry – 43 pounds, 8 ounces
You’d be hard pressed to find someone happier to be second than Grant, Ala., pro Jonathan Henry. Like many others, Henry is primarily sight-fishing, but he is making a concerted attempt at catching the fish he has marked before they see him and he is looking in some specific places.
“The only places I looked are where I thought nobody else would look,” says Henry. “I’ve been saving some fish in places that I’m almost certain nobody else will look.
“I’m running out of big ones. I have four or five fish in the 4-pound class marked, but I caught two 5-pounders on day one and those were two of the biggest fish I had found all week.
“Fish management is the number one key to win a big tournament like this if you’re sight-fishing,” adds Henry. “I don’t care about being the leader until tomorrow.”
There’s an interesting split developing between anglers who are targeting spawning bass with a wide variety of baits and those who basically have one rod on the deck. Henry falls into the latter camp and is using a Yum Christie Craw to catch his bass.
3rd Place – Todd Castledine – 43 pounds
Doing almost the same thing he did yesterday, Nacogdoches, Texas, pro Todd Castledine caught 19-3 and dropped into third place on the second day.
Stymied by terribly weather and freshly muddied water in the morning, Castledine managed to find a pocket that was loaded with boats and bedding bass in the afternoon. Though he couldn’t explain why he was able to catch them and the others weren’t, the Texas pro was happy to fish behind them and catch a big limit.
“I have a bunch marked, but I don’t know if they are big ones,” says Castledine. “I caught two 3-pounders at the end of the day that I didn’t need.”
Castledine says he has caught everything on a Texas-rigged Strike King Rage Tail Structure Bug. Though he has less of a plan than Jonathan Henry, the sight-fishing master is sure to be a threat on the final day.
4th Place – Matt Arey – 40-6
Quaker State pro Matt Arey kept up with his bed-fishing program on day two and brought in 19 pounds, 8 ounces to rise one place in the standings.
“If the sun is out and calm, I think I can catch some,” says the Shelby, N.C., pro. “But, I don’t have many marked that I think I can catch easily.”
Arey is fishing the lower third of the lake and has lost upward of 30 marked fish to the increasingly muddied water further up the lake. He is using a variety of soft plastics to catch his fish.
5th Place – Jason Christie – 40-4
Lurking in fifth is Park Hill, Okla., pro Jason Christie, who is mixing in some sight-fishing and regular fishing for his weights.
“I caught two fishing and three sight-fishing,” says Christie. “I’m fishing between beds, and you can pick up some random ones between beds or on a deep bed.
“I’ve got like seven or eight rods on deck. Every fish has a unique personality so I’ve just been changing up.”
The Oklahoma pro says he has fish marked, including a 5-pounder he shook off today, and seems like as good a bet as any to make an upward move.
Top 10 Pros
1: Bradley Hallman – Norman, Okla. – 43-11 (10)
2: Jonathan Henry – Grant, Ala. – 43-8 (10)
3: Todd Castledine – Nacogdoches, Texas – 43-0 (10)
4: Matt Arey – Shelby, N.C. – 40-6 (10)
5: Jason Christie – Park Hill, Okla. – 40-4 (10)
6: Dylan Hays – Sheridan, Ark. – 39-0 (10)
7: Robbie Dodson – Harrison, Ark. – 37-13 (10)
8: James Watson – Springfield, Mo. – 37-7 (10)
9: Jeremy Lawyer – Sarcoxie, Mo. – 37-3 (10)
10: Brandon Perkins – Counce, Tenn. – 36-9 (10)