Howell Hammers 30-6 on Santee
26 pros top the 20-pound mark in day-one slugfest
Before the Costa FLW Series Southeastern Division event began on Santee Cooper Lakes, reports of 30-pound limits being caught in tournaments had become commonplace around the lakes.
In an event just last weekend a South Carolina pro by the name of Daniel Howell weighed in an eye-popping 33-pound limit to win.
Howell followed up his double-3s from last weekend with yet another 30 pounds, 6 ounces today to set the leading bar on day one of the Costa FLW Series event, which is presented by Bass Pro Shops and hosted by the Clarendon County Chamber of Commerce.
Clearly, Howell is onto something pretty spectacular on Santee Cooper.
“I started the morning throwing a frog in a little pocket up the lake,” Howell says. “The first two I caught on it were 7-pounders. After that I ran down the lake to some spawning pockets where I had marked some big ones on beds during practice. I didn’t really sight-fish them; I just knew where they were set up, and I caught three that way. After that I just went looking to find some more fish for tomorrow.
“The ones I have left on beds are not that big,” he adds. “I really need that frog bite to shine again in the morning to catch a big bag again tomorrow.”
Top 10 pros
1. Daniel Howell – Prosperity, S.C. – 30-6 (5)
2. Jonathan Canada – Pelham, Ala. – 26-15 (5)
3. Ronnie McCoy – Lamar, S.C. – 26-0 (5)
4. Tony Couch – Buckhead, Ga. – 25-14 (5)
5. Buddy Gross – Chickamauga, Ga. – 25-11 (5)
6. Ken Ellis – Bowman, S.C. – 24-3 (5)
7. Chuck Howard – Elloree, S.C. – 23-7 (5)
8. Barry Wilson – Birmingham, Ala. – 23-5 (5)
9. Clint Brown – Bainbridge, Ga. – 22-15 (5)
10 (tie). Bryan New – Belmont, N.C. – 22-11 (5)
10 (tie). Robert Clarke III – Pineville, S.C. – 22-11 (5)
McNeill leads co-anglers
Spencer McNeill of Ladson, S.C., leads the co-angler division on day one with five fish weighing 20 pounds, 13 ounces.
McNeill found a YUM Dinger to be the key to his success in the back of the boat.
Top 10 co-anglers
1. Spencer McNeill – Ladson, S.C. – 20 – 13 (5)
2. Mark Lamb – Wake Forest, N.C. – 15 – 4 (5)
3. Adam Beckum – Martinez, Ga. – 14 – 3 (5)
4. Bud McKelvey – Knoxville, Tenn. – 13 – 9 (3)
5. Keith Westrick – Dallas, N.C. – 13 – 6 (3)
6. Gerald Bozeman – Sylvester, Ga. – 12 – 3 (5)
7. Roger Hahn – Fairfield, Ohio – 12 – 1 (4)
8. Max Terry – Sumter, S.C. – 11 – 13 (5)
9. Roger Stubbs – Locust Grove, Ga. – 11 – 12 (2)
10. Randy Brown – Lugoff, S.C. – 11 – 11 (5)
Tournament information