BAINBRIDGE, Ga. – When the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Southern Division heads to Lake Seminole, anglers and fans are nearly always in for a good event. So far, the high hopes have been realized, with anglers catching plenty of fish in all sorts of ways.
In the lead, Bainbridge local Matt Baty has 40 pounds, 15 ounces – produced by two very even days of fishing. Right behind him, Wyatt Frankens of Corrigan, Texas, has also been steady, tallying up 39-4. Then Tracen Phillips is third with 38-15, also very much in the hunt, and Ridge Faircloth and Levi Thibodaux round out the top five.
On top on the co-angler side, Kenny Garand has been very consistent and leads with 29-10. Keith Honeycutt and Dylan Casazza are tied by weight, in second and third, respectively, with an even 25 pounds.
Baty doing it all through two days
Though the Top 10 has plenty of notable forward-facing sonar experts in the mix, the story of this event is probably how good the fishing has been without it. Or, maybe how important it has been to manufacture bites when the screens are off. As a local with a long history on the lake, Baty is in a prime position to do so, and only weighed one fish caught with forward-facing sonar on Day 2.
“It was a little tougher today; it wasn’t easy, and I think tomorrow is going to be even tougher,” he said. “I stayed in the creek longer today, and it didn’t really work out. I caught two good ones off the bat on my starting spot, cranking, and then it got tougher. At my second spot in the creek, I jumped about a 4-pounder off on a Coike, and then I went to a ledge, and man, I can’t make them bite on the ledges.”
If Baty had fished clean, he might have a huge lead right now.
“I ran back up the Flint, to a little ‘Scopin’ hole on some stumps, and I caught another big one today – a 5-pounder on the Coike,” he said. “I threw back in there, and I hooked another giant, and my reel back-reeled and my line broke in my spool – so, I lost that one.”
In addition to crankin’ and his Coike fish, Baty also culled swimming a worm – about as old-school as it gets.
“It’s junk fishing 101, I can’t find a school of fish where I can sit and catch a bunch,” he said. “It’s still a little early for them to really be grouped up. They’re starting to, but we keep having these little cool snaps that back them up.”
Baty picked 59 pounds as the mark to hit to win, and he’s right in reach of that goal. If he does pull off the win, it’d be his second Toyota Series win on his home lake.
“I feel pretty good,’ he said. “If I catch 19 tomorrow, I’ll have 59 pounds. The only thing I’m worried about is if the wind blows on my ‘Scopin’ hole, but, I can still chunk a crankbait and swim a worm in the wind. I feel like, anytime you can fish Championship Day, and be in position to win, whether it happens or not, it’s a milestone. Winning is awesome, but just to make it and have a shot is cool to me.”
Frankens on a roll far from home
Behind Baty, Frankens probably doesn’t want to hear about how it’s cool just to be in the hunt. On his home lake of Sam Rayburn, he’s finished second three times in Toyota Series events – never quite sealing the deal. Not a pre-tournament favorite, he certainly wouldn’t say ‘no’ to a win over in Georgia.
“I went all-in on the offshore deal,” Frankens said. “I heard there were some guys catching them offshore last year in the Toyota, and I’m pretty decent at that. So, I decided I was going to put a lot of idle time in, just to see what I could find. I’ve got a few places where they’re schooled up, but they’re getting tougher.”
On Day 1, four of Frankens’ fish came with the graphs off, but he righted that imbalance today to a degree. Regardless, he’s staying off the bank – you won’t find a frog rod on deck.
“I’m doing a lot of main river fishing, but I’m also doing some creek fishing as well,” he said. “I’ve got a one-two punch going. I’m doing some cranking and dragging, and I’m really trying to dial in my three-hour scope period. I started a little later today. I feel like the only way I’ve got a shot at a big bite is in those trees, but they’ve eluded me.”
Today, Frankens whaled on ‘em while the camera was on him, but he still couldn’t crack the code on a 5- or 6-pounder to make a difference.
“I put in a lot of graph time, and then I’m searching every day,” he said. “I found a new group today, Rob Matsuura was there taking pictures today, and I found a load of them. The problem with the offshore school deal is I don’t have it all to myself, and they’re getting really intelligent.”
Top 10 pros
1. Matt Baty – 40 – 15 (10)
2. Wyatt Frankens – 39 – 4 (10)
3. Tracen Phillips – 38 – 15 (10)
4. Ridge Faircloth – 37 – 15 (10)
5. Levi Thibodaux – 36 – 14 (10)
6. Dylan Quilatan – 36 – 7 (10)
7. Kyle Glasgow – 36 – 1 (10)
8. Mason Boylan – 35 – 3 (10)
9. Clint Brown – 34 – 15 (10)
10. Max Hondorp – 34 – 10 (10)