Havasu Midday Update Day 3
Uribe is making magic again on Havasu
Good news is the top-10 pros and co-anglers fishing the final day of the Costa FLW Series Western Division opener on Lake Havasu dodged the heavy rains and blustery conditions initially in the forecast. Bad news, more like “bummer” news, is that today’s lack of wind seems to be limiting a lot of the reaction bites upon which many plans were laid.
Helpful is the solid cloud cover with occasional patches of light rain. For the most part, the action has been spotty, so it’ll be interesting to see if the afternoon bite improves.
Day-two leader Marty Lawrence got off to a quick start by sticking a plump 3-pounder on a swimbait slow rolled in front of an isolated tule edge in the back of a pocket. After that, he spent the next couple of hours pocket hopping and alternating between the swimbait and a finesse rig. By late morning, he had three keepers.
Second place pro Roy Hawk stuck with a pattern he’s been working all week — cranking artificial habitat structures and other shallow structure and popping a lipless crankbait over points. He also had three by late morning.
Jason Hickey, who started in third, had one small fish and another of about 3 1/2 pounds in the boat by about 9 o’clock.
The big story will likely end up being Joe Uribe Jr., who entered day three in fourth place — a little over 3 1/2 pounds off the lead. Swinging for the fences with the same 7-inch swimbait he used to win at Havasu in 2015, Uribe has over 20 pounds on the day.
Will Uribe make it two in a row? We’ll see when the weigh-in begins at 3 p.m. MT.
Tournament details
Format: All 124 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: 7:30 a.m. MT
Takeoff Location: Lake Havasu State Park-Windsor Beach, 699 London Bridge Road, Lake Havasu City, Ariz. 86403
Weigh-In Time: 3:00 p.m. MT
Weigh-In Location: Lake Havasu State Park-Windsor Beach, 699 London Bridge Road, Lake Havasu City, Ariz. 86403