Top 5 Patterns from Sam Rayburn Day 2
Key adjustments save the day for rest of top pros
Ricky Guy of Humble, Texas made some big changes in his location and his tactics and took the day two lead in the Costa FLW Series event presented by Mercury with a total weight of 49 pounds, 12 ounces. Guy focused his efforts on spawning fish to produce the day’s biggest fish – a 10-pounder.
Here’s a look at how the rest of the top five are battling Rayburn.
Read about Guy’s leading pattern here.
2. Chris McCall – Brookeland, Texas – 43-11 (10)
One fish does not a tournament make; but for Rayburn stick Chris McCall, a single fish reversed the momentum and led to a limit catch of 19-8 and allowed him to advance from third to second.
Lamenting the day’s northeast wind, which shut down some of his top areas, McCall says his day seemed to be unraveling with a largely unproductive morning. Thankfully, things turned around when a big fish decided to eat.
“It definitely got tougher today,” McCall says. “I didn’t have much in the boat until 11 o’clock and then I ran into a train and it changed my whole day.”
Returning to the areas in which he caught his day-one fish, McCall found that the large flat he had previously targeted was not happening. Needing something different, McCall came across the right spot and one big bite told him where he needed to be focusing.
“I was really struggling, but luckily, I pulled into the center of one little drain, fired out that Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap, she loaded up and all heck broke loose,” McCall explains. “Today, the bites were so random. I like to have them grouped up, but the big flat I fished yesterday, they didn’t fire there at all.
“I think they dropped off a little into the drains and maybe I didn’t run enough drains or ditches. The grass isn’t as good as it’s been and I’m struggling to find the right stuff. But every now and then, you get a good bite.”
3. Cory Rambo – Orange, Texas – 41-10 (10)
Picking through quantity to find the quality can be an exhausting chore, but Cory Rambo did just that, as he improved from fourth to third on the strength of his 18-1 limit.
“I caught probably 60 fish today, but it’s hard to get a big one,” Rambo says. “I had to wade through a lot of numbers to get what I had. The third day after a cold front is usually the worst, so maybe it will be better tomorrow.”
Focusing on prespawn fish, Rambo was throwing a Carolina rig with a 6-inch green pumpkin Big Bite Baits lizard (tails dipped in chartreuse dye) and a 6th Sense Snatch lipless crankbait. The C-rig produced best, but the reaction bait also made important contributions.
“Some of my key fish did come on the (lipless crankbait),” adds Rambo. “I have a couple of spots with big ones. It’s hard to sit there all day and try it but that was my plan.”
Notably, the top lipless color is a new prototype to be known as Rambo Red.
4. Kris Wilson – Montgomery, Texas – 39-15 (10)
After leading day one with the tournament’s heaviest sack — 27-10 — Kris Wilson struggled on day two. Catching a limit that weighed 12-5, he slipped to fourth place.
With a cold front passing through the area a day before the tournament, Wilson surmises that the bluebird conditions of a post-frontal day stymied his bite.
“I wish I knew what happened,” Wilson says. “I guess it’s just the high pressure.
“I went back to the same areas and used the same baits. I tried some new things, but nothing seemed to work.”
Wilson kept mum on his specific techniques, but says that he’s targeting prespawn fish by focusing on staging areas heading into pockets.
5. Lendell Martin Jr. – Nacogdoches, Texas – 39-03 (10)
Making a big move from 28th place, Lendell Martin Jr. ran new water on day two, sacked up 22 pound, 10 ounces and moved into fifth place. The big jump was spurred by flipping flooded bushes for spawning fish.
Martin had confidence in his game plan because of massive shoreward migrations he’d seen prior to the front that arrived earlier in the week. These Texas fish are resilient, so he knew that a couple of warm days would get them active again.
“I knew this front was coming in, but those fish had already made a commitment and the water’s still coming up,” Martin says. “They’re Florida (strain largemouth bass), so once they get up (to spawn), they’re going to stay.”
Reporting 35 bites today, Martin fished a 1/2-ounce black/blue Stanley Jig with a black/blue Yamamoto Flappin’ Hog.
“I was just swimming it in and out of the bushes,” Martin recalls. “It’s a bait you can use to cover a lot of water.”
Tournament Details
Format: All 202 boaters and co-anglers will compete for two days. The top 10 boaters and co-anglers based on cumulative weight after two days of competition will advance to the third and final round, with the winner determined by the heaviest cumulative three-day weight.
Takeoff Time: 7 a.m.
Takeoff Location: Umphrey Family Pavilion, 5438 RR 255, Brookeland TX 75931
Weigh-In Time: Days 1 and 2 at 3 p.m.; Day 3 at 3 p.m.
Weigh-In Location: Umphrey Family Pavilion, 5438 RR 255, Brookeland TX 75931
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