Lake Havasu Top 5 Patterns – Day 1
A mixed bag of prespawn patterns has the weights stacked
It almost literally couldn’t get any tighter at the top of the standings on Havasu. After day one of the Costa FLW Series presented by Ranger a whopping 1 pound, 7 ounces separates first and 10th place and there is a two-way tie for second – just 4 ounces behind the leader. Carl Limbrick Jr. popped 17 pounds, 7 ounces for the lead, but he’s got a pack of Havasu locals and western sticks hot on his heels.
2. Chris Kinley – Lake Havasu City, Ariz. – 17-3 (5)
A Lake Havasu local, Kinley seems primed for success going forward and is tied for second.
“The last couple tournaments I’ve been doing fairly well and I’ve got a couple patterns that seem to be holding up,” says Kinley. “I’m fishing a little bit different – a little off speed and not fishing around a lot of people.”
Targeting prespawn fish with light tackle, Kinley says he caught about 10 keepers and then quit fishing around 1 o’clock in the afternoon.
“I’m feeling pretty confident, but this is fishing,” says Kinley. “As soon as you get confident the rug will come out from underneath you.”
2. Ted Stewner – Winnipeg, Manitoba – 17-3 (5)
“Watch out for my buddy Ted Stewner out at Havasu. He is a legit hammer up here and won a few local tournaments down there last year.”
Those are the words of FLW Tour pro Jeff “Gussy” Gustafson, who is an all-around hammer, but also very dialed in on Canadian anglers.
Stewner is retired and has been wintering and fishing on Havasu the last three years – according to Gussy and local legend – and it seems like he’s figured something out.
“Today was really tough, tougher than my whole practice. I only had two fish at 12:30,” says Stewner. “I’m getting about eight bites per day, so I’ve got to get them all in to do really well. I’ve never been on here with so much boat traffic, and these fish seem to really shot down with all the boat traffic – so who knows what will happen tomorrow.”
Like the rest of the contenders, Stewner doesn’t want to divulge much, be he will say that he’s targeting solely smallmouths and doing it with finesse tactics.
4. Cody Murray – Nampa, Idaho – 17-2 (5)
Fishing out of Cody Meyer’s old boat, Murray not only looks like him on the water – his weights are also comparing favorably to the superstar FLW Tour pro’s typical effort.
“I started fishing for largemouths in the morning, I fished for 2 hours and never got bit,” says Murray. “Then I ran south and fished for smallmouths for 4 hours and didn’t catch anything. Then, I ran back up to fish for largemouths and it was on.”
Murray says he’s fishing specific targets and angles and believes the sun and the shadows in the afternoon ignited his bite. Murray was boat 89 on day one, so he’ll have about the same amount of time to fish on day two, but he thinks he might be able to get his bite going earlier this time – if he can dial things in around noon he could be one to watch.
5. Shaun Bailey – Lake Havasu City, Ariz. – 16-14 (5)
Making his living as a guide on Havasu, Bailey had a heartbreaking day.
“I caught one on my very first cast this morning and I thought for sure I was cursed. I didn’t get bit again until 11:45 a.m., then I got a couple other keepers and my fourth fish was a giant one,” details Bailey. “I don’t know how big it was – maybe 8-plus? I fought it for a long time, I got it up, it took me back down, I got it up, it took me back down. Finally, it took me back down into the brush I caught it from and broke me off.”
Leveraging his local knowledge, Bailey is mostly focusing on the many man-made brush piles and habitats in the lake and predominantly throwing a crankbait. Though he had a pretty unlucky day, he got things rolling in the afternoon and enters day two with a good head of steam.