Hawk bags 19-14 to take over top spot on Havasu
LAKE HAVASU CITY, Ariz. — Normally when he’s competing on his home lake, Roy Hawk shoots for 20 pounds a day. He fell just short of that benchmark on Day 2 of the Western Division Presented by Tackle Warehouse stop at Lake Havasu.
He’s not too upset about it. Hawk’s 19-14 limit proved enough to vault him from third place into the lead of the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats event.
The only angler in the field to top 18 pounds two days in a row, Hawk’s two-day total of 38-10 gives him a 1-2 cushion over Day 1 leader Mark Lassagne, with Christian Melton lurking just 1 ounce behind Lassagne. Reigning U.S. Open champion Kyle Grover (35-12) should also factor into a crowded chase for the trophy on Championship Saturday.
In the Strike King co-angler competition, George Fedor consolidated his lead. Sacking 15-14 on Day 1, Fedor one-upped himself by bringing 15-15 to the scales Friday, his 31-13 total giving him a lead of 2-1 over Larry Rogers.
Hawk putting local knowledge to work
Prior to this year, Hawk had spent six years touring nationally, the past five as a member of the Bass Pro Tour. One reason the Lake Havasu City native opted to take a step back from the national circuit was because he kept missing out on the annual Toyota Series stop on his home pond.
He’s put his prowess on the fishery on full display this week.
“I’ve had to miss this tournament a couple different times, and miss some of the WON Bass events that are here at my house,” Hawk said. “They’re like, ‘oh yeah, we’ve got this big tournament going on. Where is Roy at? Is he fishing?’ And it’s like, no, he’s in Florida.
“It’s really nice to be able to be here to represent Anderson Toyota and my other sponsors — and to actually do good, too.”
Hawk believes the primary reason for his success through two days is his knowledge of Havasu, especially at this time of year. Typically a February or March stop for the Western Division, this marks the first time the Colorado River reservoir has hosted the Toyota Series with its bass in the postspawn. Hawk has leaned on his knowledge of typical offshore, postspawn haunts.
“I think just having experience fishing here in May has really helped me,” he said. “I know the doors to knock on, because I’ve knocked on them before and they’ve opened, it’s worked. So I’m kind of just running stuff I know that typically works in May.”
Weighing all largemouth so far, Hawk has done his damage in the bowl-shaped portion of the lake, targeting areas in the 7 to 15-foot depth range. He’s plied “a variety” of habitat, rotating through several of the same spots on each of the two days.
While the morning bite has been best, particularly on Day 2, Hawk said he made a key cull in the final hour Friday that boosted his total by about 2 pounds.
“Each day I kind of feel around and try and find some new stuff, but I really haven’t found too much new stuff, so I’m just kind of going through the motions through the stuff I’ve already found,” Hawk said.
Believing he will need another 18 to 19 pounds Saturday to hoist the trophy, Hawk is optimistic his rotation can continue to produce. And while he called the ability to sleep in his own bed “beautiful,” he’s not feeling any pressure as a local favorite.
“Normally, you shoot for around 20 (pounds), but the fish are so skinny,” Hawk said. “I mean, some of those fish I weighed are like 6-pluses, but they weigh 5 pounds. They’re giant-looking. I’m really just going to go fishing. Whatever happens, happens.”
Top 10 pros
- Roy Hawk — 38-10 (10)
- Mark Lassagne — 37-8 (10)
- Christian Melton — 37-7 (10)
- Kyle Grover — 35-12 (10)
- Michael Caruso — 32-1 (10)
- Zach Verbrugge — 31-8 (10)
- Greg Miser — 31-8 (10)
- Julius Mazy — 31-6 (10)
- Christopher Owen — 31-5 (10)
- Joe Mariani — 31-0 (10)