Powell Leads on Wheeler
Former FLW College Fishing star leads the Costa FLW Series event with 18+ (updated)
If there is one thing an angler can conclude from day one of the Costa FLW Series presented by Mercury and hosted by Florence/Lauderdale Tourism, it’s that the “out” or offshore bite has certainly not developed on Wheeler Lake yet. Though a couple of pros on the leaderboard are fishing out, it’s still Wheeler’s backwaters, creeks and banks that seem to be keeping the dip nets busy.
The rumor is that the TVA is supposed to run the water harder tomorrow, which might help those fishing offshore, but those fishing up shallow seem to think the spawn is not near as far gone as it should be with water temps pushing toward 78 degrees. Several fishing shallow told of catching fish with fresh bloody tails that were in a place a bass would probably spawn.
There are also some remnants of a shad spawn left, and one pro who landed on it at the right time this morning was Shane Powell of Midland City, Ala., who leads the event with 18 pounds, 10 ounces. Powell estimates he caught 10 fish on the day.
“The first spot I went to this morning was all a shad-spawn deal, no doubt,” Powell says. “I caught my first 8 pounds in about five minutes. When I found the spot the other day, I saw the shad up there spawning.”
From there, Powell headed to an area that he says is a “typical bass spawning area.”
“It looks like a place I would fish in April,” Powell says. “All shallow spawning stuff. I culled up several times there, and one of the ones I caught looked like it was still full prespawn – big and round – like it just got there. So hopefully there are still more headed that way.”
Powell says he is alternating between two shallow-water baits for most of the day.
“I did catch my biggest one off a dock at the end of the day,” he adds. “But that was more a luck deal.”
Top 10 pros
1. Shane Powell – Midland City, Ala. – 18-10 (5)
2. Kim Carver – Milledgeville, Ga. – 18-2 (5)
3. Dustin Smith – Mount Dora, Fla. – 17-7 (5)
4. Bryan New – Belmont, N.C. – 16-8 (5)
5. Bradford Beavers – Ridgeville, S.C. – 16-6 (5)
5. Peter Cherkas – Des Moines, Iowa – 16-6 (5)
7. Mike Miller – Trinity, N.C. – 16-2 (5)
8. Danny Shell – Albertville, Ala. – 15-12 (5)
9. Wes Logan – Springville, Ala. – 15-11 (5)
10. Jared Dial – Winter Haven, Fla. – 15-6 (5)
Cicero paces co-angler field
Leading the co-angler division is Scap Cicero of Wetumpka, Ala., who toted 18 pounds to the scale on day one. Cicero says he was able to fish an area that he has a lot of confidence in on Wheeler and as a result caught 10 to 12 fish on the day.
“These fish have just finished spawning. Their tails were still red,” Cicero says. “They were still in the vicinity of the bank.”