Demecs takes the lead on Day 2 at the California Delta
OAKLEY, Calif. – The bar was set at 5 pounds, 2 ounces earlier this week when Conrad Demecs’ son, Kopeland, was born. Now the Arizona angler is focused on another set of scales as he took the lead on Day 2 of the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats on the California Delta.
“My wife (Madison) and I just had a baby five days ago, so I only got one day of practice and it would mean a lot to go catch them on a lake that’s only 16 hours from my house,” Demecs said. “This feels pretty good and I’m ready to catch them again tomorrow.”
Demecs has been consistent so far at this Western Division event presented by Tackle Warehouse, posting 19-5 on Day 1 and 19-0 on Day 2. His two-day total of 38-5 has him a scant 1-4 ahead of second-place Christian Ostrander, but this isn’t the first time Demecs has found success on the California Delta.
In 2017, Demecs placed third on the co-angler side of a Toyota Series event on the California Delta – but now the stakes are higher and so is the water level.
“As a boater, it’s more meaningful and the areas I’m in have definitely changed from years past, but I’m fishing ahead of what’s going on and catching postspawners,” Demecs said.
One of the secrets to his success has been to stay on the move. Demecs has found five or six areas, which he’s worked throughout the first two days.
“I expanded on an area I found at the last event and found some key stretches near where I fished last time,” he said of the March Toyota Series event on the Delta. “Now I’m just cycling through high percentage areas throughout the day and making multiple rotations.”
With the field cut to 25 on Friday, there’s less pressure on the fish but more pressure on the anglers. Luckily for Demecs, he found a new route to access one of his areas.
“I had to wait for the tide to drop out for some areas, but now I can give myself more time to fish in there,” he said. “Having my Next Gen Lithium batteries is pretty important because I’m fishing shallow and those allow me to draft shallower in the water. I’m fishing in about 2 feet of water – plus, they’re the official battery sponsor of the Toyota Series, so that works out pretty good.”
Toyota Series action on the California Delta concludes tomorrow with the final weigh-in broadcasting live on MajorLeagueFishing.com at 2:30 p.m. PT. This event is presented by Psycho Tuna and hosted by the City of Oakley.
Top 10 pros
1. Conrad Demecs – 38-5 (10)
2. Christian Ostrander – 37-1 (10)
3. Adam Deakin – 36-13 (10)
4. Hunter Schlander – 36-4 (10)
5. Cody Crist – 34-6 (10)
6. Ken Phillips – 32-15 (10)
7. Bill Brown – 31-14 (10)
8. Michael Moreno – 31-10 (10)
9. Patrick Touey – 30-3 (10)
10. Phil Tilbury – 29-7 (10)